Chapter 268: Chapter 171: The Epic Meeting of the Great Shark and the Small-Fry Red Dragon
Li Qingping said expressionlessly: "Didn’t I hand the Phoenix feather over to Cezar?"
"What’s the use of that feather?" Yaguba tilted his head, looking askew at Li Qingping, "Still need the Shark to act?"
"I was wondering the same." Cezar said, casting a curious glance at Li Qingping.
"You will understand when the time comes, Your Highness." Li Qingping didn’t seem inclined to explain.
"Wait a minute, it’s my first time seeing someone being a riddle maker to their own people." Yaguba said.
"Isn’t this Shark a bit modernized?" Li Qingping said, "Not only can speak Chinese but also the language of the internet."
"Don’t underestimate the wisdom of the Shark nobility, arrogant human." Yaguba said disdainfully.
Li Qingping shook his head, no longer engaging with this green tea shark.
"Enough, let’s stop the small talk here." Cezar said, "Li Qingping, can you accompany me to see the King?"
"Of course." Li Qingping nodded, "We should depart now, the Royal Palace is less crowded at this time, the Prince and Second Prince should still be asleep."
Cezar nodded, then picked up the Crystal Ball and left the Floating Castle with Li Qingping, heading to the largest island under the sky of the Box Garden. Upon seeing Cezar and Li Qingping, the guardians immediately half-kneeled in salute.
The two passed through rows of half-kneeling guards, entering the brightly lit interior of the Royal Palace. The enormous palace presented an enchanting hue under the blood-red sky, like a woman in loose ancient attire showing her shoulder.
Soon, they arrived in the depths of the palace, the bedroom. Looking up, they saw a grand bed surrounded by an invisible barrier, where the King lay quietly. Black veins moved across his face and hand back like little black snakes writhing. His lips were pale, his complexion bloodless, his exposed skin alternated in black and white shades.
Anyone would think that a corpse was lying on the bed upon seeing this scene.
The bedroom window was open, outside were rows of blood-red trees, a leaf spiraled down among them, shattering the sunset glow into fragments.
Cezar lowered his gaze, quietly looking at the King’s sleeping face.
Blown by the wind, leaves approached the bed beneath the King but were instantly burnt to ashes by the barrier.
At this moment, the King’s hands held a dark white staff, known as the legendary "White King’s Staff," capable of suppressing anecdote of generations and below indiscriminately. The barrier protecting the King was formed from the staff.
No one knew when this barrier would vanish, maybe on the day the King died.
By then, the White King’s Staff would change owners. Whoever obtained the staff would gain the right to rule the Box Garden World.
The little Shark in the Crystal Ball licked its sharp teeth, wondering if it could grow bigger by eating this thing.
Li Qingping silently half-knelt behind Cezar, never raising his head.
"Father... It’s been a long time." Cezar looked at the old man and quietly spoke.
Yet, his response was still a dead silence, while outside, the blood-red leaves swayed in the wind, and the entire palace was enveloped in a rustling murmur.
"I will definitely live on." He said softly, "With more freedom than anyone else."
Yaguba blinked, and at that moment, it suddenly heard a gentle footstep.
It turned over in the seawater, looking behind, only to see a gracefully and luxuriously dressed woman walking in. A golden hairpin adorned her head, and the long tail of her dress dragged on the ground like a bird’s tail feather.
"Cezar, my child... I heard from the guardians that you came to check on your father." Carolina said while walking.
"Mother, I’m not dead, are you disappointed?" Cezar suddenly asked.
Carolina was taken aback.
"It’s okay... I don’t hate you." Cezar said calmly, "On August 1st, I will leave here as promised, never to step into the Box Garden again. If you have even a hint of affection left for me, please let me and Li Qingping leave together..."
He paused: "Only you can persuade the two brothers, right?"
Carolina remained silent for a while before speaking: "What nonsense are you talking about, child?"
She paused, looking down at Li Qingping who was kneeling on the ground: "Li Qingping, I heard you voluntarily requested to withdraw from the Royal Court Team. Don’t you know how much the King values you? Even after you silently left the Box Garden, he still retained your position as Vice Captain of the Royal Court Team... But as soon as he fell ill, you resigned immediately."
Li Qingping stayed silent.
His face cold, his pitch-black eyes reflected the floor, as if refusing to respond to her words.
"Enough..." Carolina said softly, "You all, go back, let the King rest quietly."
Cezar turned around, his white forehead hair fell covering his eyes. He hugged the Crystal Ball and passed quietly by the Queen, Li Qingping followed closely.
If it were a different time, Li Qingping might have grabbed Carolina to threaten the Royal Court Team.
But now the Legendary Whale hasn’t landed yet, doing so would be meaningless, instead giving them an opportunity, a chance to label him a "traitor" and attack him openly.
On the way back, Yaguba muttered quietly, "Scrap Red Dragon, want to befriend Shark must pay friend fee."
Li Qingping not only couldn’t understand but also felt annoyed.
He was about to retaliate against the Shark when Cezar suddenly explained:
"The friend fee Yaguba refers to are Anecdote Fragments. It seems consuming them can make it stronger, so I’ve been feeding it fragments these days to break through."
"Hear that, Scrap Red Dragon?" Yaguba waggled his eyebrows, slapping the seawater with his tail.
"Green Tea Shark..." Li Qingping said flatly, "But I don’t mind casually feeding you some worthless stuff."
With that, he summoned the Anecdote Atlas, swiftly extracting from it some anecdote fragments he never used, tossing them one by one into the Crystal Ball like feeding a pet.
The little Shark’s eyes glowed like Astro Boy, opening the Crystal Ball lid with its tail, it opened its mouth, swallowing the fragments Li Qingping tossed like eating potato chips, then patted its belly with its fin.
It belched contentedly, "Li Qingping, you’re the best... Since you paid the friend fee, Shark won’t call you Scrap Red Dragon anymore, I treat friends very well!"
Yaguba paused, lowering its voice darkly:
"Green Tea Red Dragon."
"Scrap Shark."
Li Qingping said expressionlessly, putting away the Anecdote Atlas swirling in mid-air.
Seeing Li Qingping and the Shark getting along well, Cezar turned his gaze away from them in relief. For some reason, Li Qingping seemed to quite like this Shark, as though he found it resembling a friend of his.
On this short journey, Li Qingping fed Yaguba with a total of 10 anecdote fragments of the commonplace level and 5 of the general level that he couldn’t use.
[Consumed 10 "commonplace level" anecdote fragments and 5 "general level" anecdote fragments, triggering the effect of the exclusive cultivation system "Anecdote Gluttony," your real size increased by 22.5 meters.]
[Third Body—Eternal Abyss Shark "Yaguba" size change: 124.5 meters→147 meters.]
Yaguba patted its round belly with its fin, licking its little sharp teeth: "I, Shark... can’t resist starting a killing spree."
"Green Tea." Li Qingping said.
"Scrap." the little Shark said.