Chapter 87: Futile Struggles

Translator: Noodletown Translated Editor: Noodletown Translated

“I will walk Your Majesty and Fuma out,” Premier Xia bowed and extended his hand outward.

“Go back and tell the Elders not to come out to see us off,” Zhao Guang said lightly.

“As you wish, Your Highness. But I must complete my duty,” Premier Xia said while walking them out.

He didn’t stop until they were at the main gate of the Dragon Palace. “I’ll stop here. I wish Your Majesty and Fuma a safe journey!”

Hao Ren turned to face Premier Xia and replied, “Premier Xia, thank you for giving me the tour today. Goodbye!”

“Goodbye?” Premier Xia froze for a moment before he realized that the Fuma was saying farewell to him.

He was so grateful for Hao Ren’s simple farewell that he stared at Hao Ren and was at a loss for words.

“Follow me,” Zhao Guang walked into the protection array formation and said, “Three to the left, one forward, six to the right.”

He started to give Hao Ren instructions again.

Hurriedly, Hao Ren took out the Water Repellent Bead and put it in his mouth. He followed Zhao Guang closely and cautiously.

Standing at the gate of the palace, Premier Xia looked at the back of Hao Ren with tears in his eyes. “What a virtuous, considerate, and kind Fuma! I wonder when I will see him again,” he thought.

In the vast ocean, Zhao Guang strolled forward while Hao Ren followed him anxiously as if he was in an English Listening Test for the College Entrance Examination. He was afraid of mishearing Zhao Guang’s instructions and misstepping due to his nervousness.

They continued to walk for more than ten minutes before they were out of the array formation. Although Hao Ren had the Water Repellent Bead in his mouth, his clothes were soaked, not by sea water but by his sweat.

After they went back on land, Hao Ren spat out the bead and felt a bitter taste in his mouth. By now, the sky had turned dark, and the only illumination was the moonlight reflecting on the surface of the sea.

Hao Ren took out his cell phone and saw it was already ten o’clock. Although the legend said, “One day in the Dragon Palace equals one year on land,” it wasn’t the case here. However, the time had indeed passed quickly.

Zhao Guang went over to start his car, and Hao Ren cleaned the bead and said to him, “Uncle, here’s the bead you loaned me.”

“You can keep it,” Zhao Guang started the car and said, “Get in the car. It’s already late; you can stay the night at our home and go directly to school tomorrow.”

Considering that Grandma and his parents had probably all gone to bed, Hao Ren nodded and replied, “Thank you, Uncle.”

“What do you think of the trip?” on the way back home, Zhao Guang asked Hao Ren.

“Very different from what I had imagined,” Hao Ren answered.

“Hehe. I go back to the Dragon Palace once every month to deal with the backlog of work. Today, I took you with me, so you could look around. Although we don’t live there, the Dragon Palace is an important place for us,” Zhao Guang said.

Hao Ren nodded. He suddenly thought of the incident in the Ice Palace and asked, “Today when I toured the Ice Palace with Premier Xia, I saw an Immortal Maid being imprisoned in an ice block. Did you know about it?”

“I did. She is an Immortal Maid sent down from the Above Realm 200 years ago. Now that I think of it, the imprisonment time has come to an end by now.”

“I asked Premier Xia to release her,” Hao Ren said.

To Hao Ren’s surprise, Zhao Guang was calm. “She is just an Immortal Maid who made a mistake. It is no big deal that we release her. After all, we can’t imprison her in the Dragon Palace forever,” he said.

Zhao Guang wouldn’t deny his son-in-law this little authority and didn’t blame Hao Ren for his interference. Besides, he knew Premier Xia, a cautious man, would handle this issue well.

Hao Ren was relieved because he had been afraid that Zhao Guang would scold him for deciding without consulting with him.

The car drove steadily on the highway. Shortly after, they returned home.

It was already 11 o’clock.

Zhao Hongyu heard the car and came downstairs in her pajamas to greet them.

“You are back together! Are you hungry?” she asked with concern.

“No, I’m not,” Hao Ren shook his head and replied. Having eaten two small red fruits, he was still full. However, he felt a bit tired after walking around for a long time.

“I’m not hungry either. Let’s call it a day,” Zhao Guang took off his jacket and said tiredly. He had spent the whole day working in the Dragon Palace and was exhausted.

Now, Hao Ren understood why Zhao Yanzi was not eager to go back to the Dragon Palace. After all, it was not a gigantic place, and it was always midnight when the trip ended. She didn’t like that.

“You stay the night in Zi’s room. I need to work on some of my designs tonight in the studio,” Zhao Hongyu said to Hao Ren. Tonight, she had her hair up.

“Can I sleep in the room my grandma used?” Hao Ren asked.

“Since your grandma won’t come back soon, I sprayed some bug repellent in that room. It’s not suitable for living right now,” Zhao Hongyu explained with a smile.

“Then I…” Hao Ren stopped speaking when Zhao Hongyu began to tug him upstairs. They stopped at Zhao Yanzi’s door and knocked.

“Going to sleep now!” Zhao Yanzi’s yell came from inside the room.

“Naughty girl!” Zhao Hongyu took out a key and unlocked the door. Sure enough, Zhao Yanzi, in her pink pajamas and a casual ponytail, was crouching in her chair playing games on the computer.

She turned and was displeased at the sight of Hao Ren. “Why are you here?!” she yelled.

“Ren will sleep in your room tonight. Stop playing games and go to bed now!” Zhao Hongyu said as she dragged Hao Ren into the room. She took out beddings from the wardrobe and placed them on the rug before Zhao Yanzi’s bed.

“Mom!” seeing her mom putting Hao Ren into her room for the night without consulting her, Zhao Yanzi yelled in protest.

“Don’t yell. I need the studio in the attic tonight, and I sprayed bug repellent in Grandma’s room. Plus, the living room is too cold for sleeping. He has to stay in your room for the night,” ignoring Zhao Yanzi’s protest, Zhao Hongyu spread out the bedding and said to Hao Ren, “Ren, go to bed soon.”

“Thank you, Auntie,” Hao Ren said sincerely.

“If Zi disturbs your rest, come to me,” with that, Zhao Hongyu walked out of the room and shut the door.

“You!” the moment Zhao Hongyu left the room, Zhao Yanzi jumped from her chair and yelled, “You did this on purpose!”

Hao Ren felt wronged since he had meant to stay the night in the room his grandma had used, and that was why he came back with Zhao Guang. He had not expected that the room Grandma stayed in would be unavailable due to being sprayed with bug repellent.

However, he didn’t want to explain to Zhao Yanzi.

After he unbuttoned his jacket, he walked toward the bathroom.

Seeing his familiarity with her room, Zhao Yanzi was even angrier. “I forbid you from living in my room!” she yelled again.

“Go to bed early. Staying up late playing games and waking up late in the morning is bad for you. You have school tomorrow!” Hao Ren turned and lectured her.

“You have no right to lecture me!” enraged, Zhao Yanzi picked up a pillow and threw it at Hao Ren.