Ao Ying was a bit bewildered...
She always felt that Su Qing's focus was a bit off.
Why was she even focusing on her age?
Was six hundred years old very old?
Su Qing also suddenly realized that her focus seemed a bit off... and couldn't help but feel a little awkward.
She could only clear her throat twice to ease her embarrassment.
However, Su Qing couldn't be blamed for this...
After all, when the two met, Ao Ying had called Su Qing "older sister"...
And she had called her "older sister" so smoothly, sentence after sentence.
Making Su Qing believe that she was indeed older than her!
Who would have known that Ao Ying was already six hundred years old?
And what about herself?
Whether she was even two hundred years old was still a question.
Even at most, Su Qing felt she hadn't exceeded three hundred years old.
However, Su Qing didn't plan to directly tell Ao Ying that she was actually younger than her.
She kept calling her "older sister"...
And then after a conversation, she'd discover that the "older sister" she was talking to was actually a younger sister.
Wouldn't that be incredibly awkward?
So, it was better not to say anything... just pretend not to know.
Anyway, Su Qing's thick skin could be thickened as needed.
Su Qing cleared her throat twice, shook her head, and casually brought the conversation back on track.
"I didn't expect you to have such experiences... it's truly regrettable. Even a princess is ultimately just a political tool."
Ao Ying heard this, just smiled helplessly, and didn't dwell on Su Qing's strange comment earlier.
She merely spoke with an attitude almost as if discussing an outsider's affairs:
"This is unavoidable... Born into a royal family, it's hard to make your own decisions about many things."
"Moreover, Father King always cares about his reputation. At the banquet, in front of the Ten Directions Demon Kings, he probably couldn't refuse that Mudfish Demon."
"Besides, that Mudfish Demon's power is immense, so it's normal for Father King to want to win him over."
"After all, trading a daughter who only reached the Divine Immortal realm after six hundred years of cultivation for a Great Earthly Immortal Demon King with huge potential and considerable power... no matter how you look at it, it's a profitable deal."
Su Qing raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.
Whether the deal was profitable or not, Su Qing couldn't comment.
But this act of selling one's daughter still felt unpleasant.
However, Su Qing was too lazy to comment on someone else's father.
No matter how bad he was, it wasn't for an outsider like her to judge.
She shook her head slightly and asked:
"Who exactly is that Mudfish Demon?"
"I don't know much, only that the Mudfish Demon is a Great Earthly Immortal Demon, named Great King Black Mud!"
"He occupies a six-hundred-li great river in Xi He Niu Zhou Aparagodaniya as his kingdom! He has a magical bell in his hand, which is quite eerie... even ordinary Earthly Immortals find it hard to get close to him."
"That Mudfish Demon also has thirty thousand demon soldiers and over ten Divine Immortal realm demon generals under him..."
"And he is sworn brothers with the Nine Great Demon Kings... these ten, together, are called the Ten Directions Demon Kings."
Ao Ying naturally wouldn't hide anything. If Su Qing wanted to know, she would honestly tell her everything she knew.
To Ao Ying, Su Qing was an excellent older sister.
She didn't want to deceive her about these matters...
Su Qing had saved her life, and deserved to know the stakes involved.
After hearing Ao Ying's description, Su Qing also gained a general understanding of the Mudfish Demon's power.
That Mudfish Demon indeed had some power...
But after learning about the Mudfish Demon's power, and then recalling the seventy-two cave demon kings of Flower-Fruit Mountain...
It was truly a world apart.
But then again, Flower-Fruit Mountain was a blessed land, inherently detached from worldly strife...
The demon kings here, to put it plainly, were just slightly more powerful monsters.
Although they were called demon kings, most of them were just self-proclaimed.
Of course, nowadays, there were no longer any seventy-two cave demon kings on Flower-Fruit Mountain...
"So that's how it is..."
Su Qing nodded slightly, then said:
"However, you've now escaped the Dragon Palace and eluded your pursuers."
"Now there's no need to worry about this anymore... just focus on recovering here."
"Staying here for a hundred, two hundred years, wouldn't be a problem..."
Hearing this, Ao Ying just shook her head slightly.
"If my Father King finds out I'm here... he will definitely send people to catch me and take me back. Staying here might implicate you, older sister, I cannot harm you like this!"
"He sent people to kill you before, so why would he send people to capture you and take you back?"
"For the sake of the Dragon Palace's reputation... he certainly will." Ao Ying just looked at the clouds in the sky and said: "I know my Father King best. He values his reputation above all else!"
Su Qing was speechless for a moment...
Does this East Sea Dragon King have some serious issue?
After a moment of thought, Su Qing no longer insisted.
She just shook her head slightly and said:
"Alright, have it your way. Whether to stay or go, you decide!"
"If you stay, I'll protect you if I can. If you want to leave, I won't stop you."
"However, your claim that the Dragon King will come for you is just your speculation!"
"After all, you've been here for so many years... wouldn't that old Dragon King know you're here?"
"Since he knows where you are, but hasn't come for you all these years, he probably has no intention of coming for you anymore!"
"Your worries are most likely superfluous."
Ao Ying smiled helplessly, shaking her head slightly.
Then she stood up and bowed to Su Qing.
She didn't continue talking about the East Sea Dragon King.
How could she not know her own Father King?
"Regardless, I must thank Older Sister Xiao Qing for taking me in these past days. If not for Older Sister Xiao Qing, I'm afraid I would have already died tragically on that beach."
Su Qing shook her head slightly and said:
"I just lent you a place to recuperate."
"This is a great kindness to Ying... Unfortunately, Ying has no way to repay such a favor."
Ao Ying sighed softly.
Her benefactor saved her life and gave her a place to recuperate.
But she didn't even know how to repay her benefactor...
After all, she had nothing. Her treasures were all destroyed during the fight with the Flood Dragon... turning into worthless scrap metal.
The only thing of value on her whole body was herself...
But even repaying herself to someone would only add trouble for them.
If Father King really came looking...
It would only harm them.
Su Qing heard this, waved her hand, and repeated the same words.
"If you have nothing to repay with, then don't repay!"
Ao Ying heard this and smiled bitterly in her heart.
She shook her head slightly, intending to tell Su Qing that she would leave in a few days and not cause further trouble.
But just as the words reached her lips, she suddenly saw changes in the sky.
As if a storm was approaching.
She looked up at the sky, her brows furrowing involuntarily...
A sudden ominous premonition rose in her heart.
Su Qing also looked up at the sky, muttering to herself:
"It was clear skies just now, how did it suddenly look like a storm is coming?"
Ao Ying looked at Su Qing, a bitter smile on her lips.
She had already sensed several familiar auras within the clouds...
"It seems... Older Sister was right, Father King already knew I was here."
"Now, he's probably here to take me back."
Su Qing: "..."
Ao Ying looked at Su Qing, her face full of apology.
"I originally planned to leave in a few days to avoid implicating you, Older Sister."
"But I didn't expect Father King and his people to arrive so quickly. I haven't even left, and they're already here."
"I'm sorry, Older Sister, in the end, I still caused you to be implicated."
Su Qing was a little speechless.
She gently patted Ao Ying's shoulder and said:
"Alright, let's go. We'll go meet your father..."
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