By this point, Lu Zheng had already arrived above Tonglin County.
“Come on, let us go home first for a meal, then I will send you back to the East Sea.” Lu Zheng said.
As he spoke, Lu Zheng was already pondering what gift he should choose when the time came.
This world was not too different from modern legends, so the Dragon Palace had always been synonymous with wealth.
Gold and silver treasures, pearls and agates, crystals and jade stones, those were piled up like mountains, but he was no ordinary person and did not seek riches.
That left magical treasures.
His flying sword was still the Red Jade Sword, its quality no longer matching his strength. He wondered if the Dragon Palace had any good flying swords.
Or perhaps choose a magical treasure that could enhance his thunder techniques? Actually, a treasure that could boost his speed would not be bad either.
Oh dear, this was so difficult!
He had no idea what good things were in the Dragon Palace treasury. Poverty had truly limited his imagination!
However, safely returning the Jade Dragon King’s little princess would surely mean the return gift would not be too light, or perhaps he could just let them decide without choosing himself.
Tsk tsk, that was a good idea!
Lu Zheng’s mouth curved into a smile, his face lighting up, and his gaze towards Ao Qian became even kinder.
“Alright!” Ao Qian nodded repeatedly, her face full of eagerness. “Best to go back quickly!”
Liu Qingyan could not help laughing. “So eager the moment your injury heals?”
One must know, if not for running into them, it would have been unknown how long it would take for Ao Qian to recover enough for the demonic qi not to hinder her movements.
Ao Qian pouted. “No, it is not that. It is mainly that demon!”
Lu Zheng turned back, asking curiously, “What about that demon?”
Ao Qian said, “Although that demon masked its true body with demonic qi when it attacked, I glanced back and vaguely saw its original form.”
Seeing Ao Qian stop halfway, Lu Zheng and Liu Qingyan exchanged a glance, unable to hide their shock. “Could it be…”
Ao Qian nodded dejectedly. “It was also a dragon, a jade dragon.”
“Hiss…”
Lu Zheng and Liu Qingyan looked at each other, both drawing in a sharp breath of cold air in unison.
“A jade dragon that has fallen to the demonic path, lurking within the Jade Dragon Clan?” Lu Zheng murmured to himself.
“What was the purpose of ambushing Ao Qian?” Liu Qingyan looked at Ao Qian.
Ao Qian shrank her neck and shook her head. She did not know, but she knew that if that demonic jade dragon continued to lurk, it might cause further harm to the Jade Dragon Clan.
“So, if we can return as soon as possible, that would be good, to notify Father of this matter quickly.”
However, as the conversation reached this point, Lu Zheng suddenly was no longer in a hurry.
Blinking, Lu Zheng said, “Let me think carefully. This matter needs long-term planning.”
“Planning what?” Liu Qingyan asked.
“Planning whether, if we tell the Jade Dragon King that a demonic jade dragon is lurking, he can find the other party immediately.”
Ao Qian blinked, her face full of bewilderment.
Liu Qingyan also blinked, frowning as she said, “Probably rather difficult, I suppose?”
The higher the cultivation, the more perfect the lurking, and thus the harder to find. Although the Jade Dragon King was formidable, Lu Zheng and Liu Qingyan dared not guarantee he had the ability, after all, that demonic dragon was also an expert.
“So, if the Jade Dragon King cannot find it right away, and Ao Qian stays in the Dragon Palace, might there still be danger? If that demonic dragon finds another opportunity, could Ao Qian escape a second time?”
What Lu Zheng did not say was, if he sent Ao Qian back and the other party was not found and eliminated immediately, would that not bring disaster upon himself and his loved ones?
Heaven knew if that demonic jade dragon would take its anger out on him!
Just from this clump of demonic qi, the opponent’s cultivation was extremely high; he was absolutely no match.
Lu Zheng dared not gamble with the lives of himself and his loved ones, especially since the East Sea dragon clans were not under Da Jing’s jurisdiction.
Liu Qingyan understood Lu Zheng’s meaning, frowning as she nodded. “Indeed.”
Hearing Lu Zheng’s words, Ao Qian could not help but shudder and squeezed back into Liu Qingyan’s embrace.
Liu Qingyan patted Ao Qian and comforted her softly a few times, then could not help saying, “But if Ao Qian does not go back, her father will worry. Perhaps at this moment he already thinks she has…”
“That will not happen.” Ao Qian poked her little head out from Liu Qingyan’s embrace. “I have a natal dragon soul jade plaque left in the Dragon Palace. They can divine my fate through the plaque; the plaque’s appearance reflects my condition. Since I am not dead, the plaque is not broken. I am very healthy now, so the plaque will also glow brightly. Father will not worry.”
Advanced, finally seeing something from traditional web novels. He wondered if Baiyun Temple’s direct disciples had such things.
“Then… perhaps we should not send Ao Qian back for now?” Liu Qingyan hugged Ao Qian, then looked at Lu Zheng. “At least wait until the Jade Dragon King has dealt with that demonic dragon before sending her back.”
“That would be best, but the problem is, how to notify the Jade Dragon King of this?”
Lu Zheng had no desire to go personally to deliver the message; that would be asking for trouble.
Notify the Zhenyi Division or his sect, and let them handle the liaison with the Jade Dragon Clan?
That was not safe either. The Jade Dragon Clan was one of the four great dragon clans of the East Sea, with immense strength and foundations, their influence greater than Baiyun Temple’s.
If that demonic dragon held a high position in the Jade Dragon Clan and hid deeply, it might trace clues from this lead and eventually find its way to him.
Moreover, with Ao Qian in his home…
Good grief, this seemed even more dangerous than sending the little loli Ao Qian back!
Lu Zheng voiced his concerns, and Liu Qingyan also felt it was quite troubling, so she could not help asking, “Now that Ao Qian is missing and that Deputy General Xie has met with mishap, the Jade Dragon King will surely investigate the battlefield, will he not?
Could he not detect the traces of demonic qi that appeared at the scene?”
“The problem is we do not know.” Lu Zheng shook his head. “We do not know if that Jade Dragon King knows or not.”
Hearing the two discuss, the little loli Ao Qian poked her head out from Liu Qingyan’s embrace again, blinked, and said, “Um, Father gave me a thousand-li mirror before. This mirror comes in a pair; the other is in Mother’s sleeping palace. I can contact Father and Mother directly with it.”
Lu Zheng, “…”
Liu Qingyan, “…”
“Why did you not say so earlier?” Lu Zheng said helplessly.
Ao Qian blinked. “I, I was injured before, so I could not use this mirror either, and then I just forgot.”
Lu Zheng, “…”
Liu Qingyan shook her head, then said, “Then this matter is simple. First notify the Jade Dragon King of this, then let Ao Qian stay in the Central Plains for a while to see. Once the Jade Dragon King has dealt with that demonic dragon, we will send Ao Qian back.”
With the Jade Dragon Clan’s strength and heritage, Lu Zheng and Liu Qingyan did not doubt that the Jade Dragon King could handle a single demonic dragon; it was merely a matter of time.
“Alright, alright!”
Ao Qian also immediately nodded happily. “I was already bored to death staying in the Dragon Palace. This time out, I will not go back until I have played my fill!”
Lu Zheng and Liu Qingyan: ?_?
The crisis resolved, and she was immediately happy again? She really was just a child…
