Hearing this, the Dragon Girl fell silent for a moment.
She sighed and said, "My name is Bai Zhu."
"Bai Zhu? What a strange name," Su Qing remarked, nodding.
It was indeed quite odd… after all, 'Bai Zhu' literally meant 'white candle.'
Upon hearing Su Qing call her name strange, Bai Zhu couldn't help but huff inwardly. However, she only expressed her dissatisfaction in her mind. After all, she had already fallen into the hands of this Mountain God… she had to behave.
Su Qing noticed the flash of annoyance in her eyes and chuckled. "Alright, I'm just joking. Your name is actually quite lovely. More importantly, tell me—what exactly did you do in the Dragon Palace that makes you afraid to even step into the water?"
Bai Zhu rolled her eyes internally. One moment the woman said it was strange, and the next she said it was lovely. Did she look that easy to fool?
However, she didn't voice her complaints. She remained silent as she organized her thoughts before finally speaking. "I… I accidentally broke a jade cup belonging to the East Sea Dragon King."
"Huh?" Su Qing was stunned, her tone filled with confusion.
"?"
"Nothing. So, why are you afraid of going into the water?"
"The moment I enter the water, the people chasing me will find me…"
"Oh? Is the Dragon Clan that impressive?"
"You don't even know that? The Dragon Clan are the kings of the water! How could they not be impressive?"
"Is that so?" Su Qing rubbed her chin. "And after you broke his jade cup, how did he plan to punish you?"
"He said he would execute me…"
"Just for a jade cup? If I remember correctly… the Dragon King isn't exactly lacking in such trinkets."
"Umm… it was a gift from the Jade Emperor."
"Ah… well, that explains it." Su Qing looked into her eyes and smiled helplessly. This girl still held a sliver of hope and was lying to her. However, Su Qing wasn't in a hurry to expose her. Instead, she asked, "But I'm curious, why were you the one to break his cup?"
"I'm a maid in the Dragon Palace. I broke it while cleaning."
Su Qing studied her, then shook her head with a light laugh. "You're lying. You're not a maid of the Dragon Palace… in fact, you've been lying through most of your words. It might be true that you broke a cup, but it wasn't a gift from the Jade Emperor. Given the Old Dragon King's personality, if the Jade Emperor gave him something, he’d let it gather dust in storage rather than actually use it. Furthermore, the Dragon King almost certainly never said he would kill you."
Having seen enough, Su Qing finally pierced through the girl's fabrications.
Although Su Qing didn't particularly like the East Sea Dragon King, she didn't let personal grievances cloud her judgment of his character.
Bai Zhu fell into a long silence.
"……"
"I told you, didn't I? I can tell when you're lying… you've been deceiving me, little one." Su Qing spoke before Bai Zhu could open her mouth. "Fine, I won't ask you any more. Since you're unwilling to tell me, let's go see the East Sea Dragon King together. We aren't far from the Dragon Palace… we'll be there soon."
Bai Zhu froze, realizing Su Qing wasn't joking. She had been clinging to a faint hope, but now she realized that hope shouldn't have existed in the first place. When Su Qing spoke those words, it meant her patience was nearly exhausted. She shouldn't have tested this person's limits.
She hurriedly spoke up, "I'll tell you… I'll really tell you this time, I won't lie. Please, don't take me back!"
Su Qing maintained her calm smile. "Oh? But…"
Before Su Qing could finish, Bai Zhu began spilling everything on her own.
"I… I actually ran away from home!" Bai Zhu cried out. "Then I got lost in the sea and somehow ended up here… There's something in the deep forest that scares me, so I didn't dare go near it. That's why I've been wandering here. I didn't dare go back into the sea because… because if I did, I'd get lost again, and my father's people would find me more easily."
Hearing this, Su Qing chuckled and nodded. "You said… you're a Dragon Princess? But I recall that the royal families of the Four Seas all carry the surname Ao. Yet your surname is Bai…"
Bai Zhu lowered her head. "Because I'm not a dragon from the Four Great Dragon Palaces… to be precise, I'm not even a true dragon. My bloodline is closer to a Flood Dragon. So… you understand why I'm not named Ao, right?"
Within the four seas, the Four Great Dragon Clans weren't the only ones. Aside from them, there were many smaller dragon tribes. They were certainly inferior in power and their bloodlines weren't as pure; naturally, they didn't have access to the Dragon Transformation Pool. They existed as subordinates to the Four Great Dragon Clans.
Bai Zhu's tribe was one of these.
Su Qing nodded slightly. This time, the girl was indeed telling the truth and was no longer trying to deceive her.
"Wait, if you aren't a princess of the Four Great Dragon Clans, why is the East Sea Dragon King trying to catch you?" Su Qing asked, spotting another discrepancy.
Bai Zhu pouted. "Because I was supposed to marry the Dragon Palace's Sixth Prince tomorrow, but I fled the wedding… So my father and the East Sea Dragon King are both searching for me."
"Setting aside the fact that you're getting married at such a young age… with your level of strength, escaping a wedding is quite… incredible."
Su Qing knew the girl wasn't lying now, but she still found it hard to believe.
Bai Zhu gritted her teeth. "I… I'm not weak! With a bit more cultivation, I'm only a tiny bit away from the Earthly Immortal realm. Besides, I'm already one thousand and twenty years old this year!"
Su Qing was momentarily stunned. She looked the girl up and down—she looked no older than thirteen or fourteen. Then she nodded. She had wanted to comment on it, but then she remembered the girls in her own household. It seemed perfectly understandable now.
"Fine, I believe your age. But to be able to escape without even reaching the Earthly Immortal realm, you're quite something," Su Qing said, spreading her hands.
Knowing Su Qing was still skeptical, Bai Zhu explained helplessly, "It's because… because I have a bit of atavism. I have a trace of ancestral blood that allows me to use special abilities. That's how I managed to escape…"
"Ancestral blood?" Su Qing crossed her arms, looking at her with curiosity. "Tell me about it. I'm interested."
"My tribe's ancestors were considered children of the Torch Dragon," Bai Zhu said softly, no longer hiding anything. "However, our branch… to put it nicely, we're only considered illegitimate descendants of that being, so our bloodline was never pure. Plus, so many years have passed that aside from still being classified as dragons, there's nothing special about us. We're just slightly stronger than Flood Dragons."
"I think I understand what you mean…" Su Qing rubbed her chin. "So, your atavism gave you some of the Torch Dragon's abilities?"
"Yes… that's why my cultivation is so fast, and why the East Sea Dragon King's Sixth Prince was willing to take me as a concubine." Bai Zhu's mood darkened as she spoke. "I don't want to get married, and I don't want to be a concubine… much less be bought and sold like a piece of cargo. So, I ran."
"Oh? I see… I thought you fled because you had a sweetheart!" Su Qing chuckled. She had heard many stories and read many novels, so her mind had immediately jumped to those popular tropes. She hadn't expected this to be the reason.
Bai Zhu huffed. "Instead of getting married, I want to cultivate to a higher realm… that way, I can control my own fate. I don't want my destiny to always be held by others."
'Just like right now,' Bai Zhu added silently in her heart, feeling utterly depressed. She had gone to so much trouble, only to end up in this situation. As for using her abilities against the Mountain God in front of her? She didn't want to try. Trying might lead to dying. For her own safety, it was better not to seek death. Since this woman could catch her so easily, it meant her strength far exceeded her own. She couldn't win a fight, and she couldn't even outrun her.
Su Qing looked at Bai Zhu and tilted her head. "Alright, alright, quite ambitious! Come on, let's go see the East Sea Dragon King."
Bai Zhu froze. "You're still going to hand me over to the Dragon King? I told you everything!"
Su Qing chuckled and shook her head. "Don't worry. If you behave, I can help you cancel this marriage."
Bai Zhu huffed. "You… you're lying. You're just a Mountain God. How could you possibly help me cancel the marriage?"
Su Qing laughed even harder. No wonder this girl wasn't afraid of her and even dared to lie—she had no idea who Su Qing was.
"I can. Why wouldn't I be able to?" Su Qing rubbed her chin. "How about this: if I really help you cancel this marriage, you'll follow me and work for me from now on. How does that sound?"
Bai Zhu looked up at Su Qing and remained silent for a long time. Finally, she asked, "And if you can't?"
"If I can't, I'll risk my life to get you out of there," Su Qing said, looking into her eyes. "Is that acceptable? I… may not be the most powerful person, but I do have some connections in the Immortal Realm…"
Bai Zhu stared at Su Qing for a good while. Finally, she sighed. "Fine! I'll trust you."
In truth, Bai Zhu didn't really believe her. She only said she did because she had no other choice. She couldn't even move, let alone escape. Thus, she had to trust her whether she wanted to or not. At worst, she would try to make a break for it on the way back… maybe her spells would actually work then?
Su Qing knew the girl didn't truly believe her, but she didn't care. She was more curious to see what kind of expression the girl would have when she saw the Old Dragon King's reaction to Su Qing's arrival.
"Then, follow me!" Su Qing said. With a flick of her finger, Bai Zhu floated into the air.
Seeing this, the girl hurriedly said, "Since you're helping me cancel the wedding, why are you still keeping me tied up?"
"I feel like you have other ideas, so I'll have to trouble you to endure it a bit longer." How could Su Qing not see that the girl was thinking of slipping away? It was better to keep her secured. Besides, once everything was over, the girl would be the one benefiting.
"I knew you were lying to me…" Bai Zhu muttered, seemingly trying to guilt Su Qing into releasing her.
However, she clearly underestimated Su Qing's level of shamelessness. Su Qing wasn't the type to be manipulated by moral high grounds, especially when she held absolute control. It was impossible to blackmail her. Su Qing simply smiled at Bai Zhu's words and dove into the water with her.
Su Qing could have ignored the girl, but she was genuinely curious about the Torch Dragon bloodline. She decided to see this meddling through to the end. Later, she would keep the girl by her side and study her slowly. Besides, the girl was quite cute. Having her around would be easy on the eyes. Of course, Su Qing told herself she definitely didn't just have a weakness for cute dragon girls.
As she pondered, Su Qing soon approached the vicinity of the East Sea Dragon Palace. Immediately, several Water Yaksas rushed over.
They were originally heading for Bai Zhu, but as they got closer, they saw Su Qing with the girl in tow. While these Water Yaksas might not know all the rumors from the heavens, they certainly knew who Su Qing was. After all, this was the Dragon Palace's 'Consort'! Or rather, since Su Qing was a woman, should they call her 'Consort-Mother'? Regardless of the title, her status was vastly higher than theirs.
Thus, upon seeing Su Qing, they immediately knelt.
"We pay our respects to Sovereign Su!"
They didn't dare mention Bai Zhu. Seeing Su Qing's posture, she was clearly heading for the Dragon Palace. Once she arrived, the Dragon King would handle it; there was no need for them to lose face in front of her.
Su Qing nodded at the Water Yaksas. "Take me to see the Old Dragon King. Tell him… I have business with him. Tell him to come out and meet me quickly."
Although the Dragon King was technically her father-in-law, Ao Ying's relationship with him was strained, and Su Qing didn't like him much either. Naturally, she didn't bother with the usual pleasantries, presenting herself instead in her official capacity as the Lord of Changbai Mountain.
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