With the old turtle settled, only the great crocodile remained.
The crocodile stared in stunned disbelief. He had never imagined the old turtle could be so shameless as to willingly submit to a minor river god mansion under the Central Plains dynasty.
But when Lu Zheng’s gaze turned to him, the crocodile could not help shivering. The problem had come full circle back to him.
“I…” The crocodile forced his jaws apart and glanced cautiously at Lu Zheng. “I’ll give up the black-turtle pearl. I’ll return to the Eastern Sea, all right?”
The black-turtle pearl!
The True Spirit Secret Art of Black-Turtle Water Control!
Could he really let it go? Would he not gather friends when he got back to the Eastern Sea and return for revenge?
More importantly, though the crocodile’s life could be spared, he had tried to kill Zhu Yushan and had attacked Lu Zheng’s group without provocation. Could they truly just let him walk away?
Lu Zheng’s eyes flickered. He looked the crocodile up and down, lingering for a long time on the plumpest parts of its body, then quietly swallowed.
The great crocodile: Σ(°△°|||)︴
“No, wait, what are you looking at?” His voice actually trembled. “What’s so interesting about me?”
Lu Zheng waved a hand. “Nothing. I just suddenly remembered the crocodile I roasted last time and lost myself for a moment. No offence, no offence.”
Everyone turned as one to stare at Lu Zheng with strange expressions.
That direct?
The crocodile’s eyes bulged with fury. “Kill me or flay me, do as you please! How dare you toy with me?”
“You misunderstand,” Lu Zheng said with perfect sincerity. “It really was just a coincidence. This is my first time meeting a crocodile demon. The one I ate last time never managed to gain sentience. You don’t need to put yourself in its shoes.
What I did was slice open its belly, stuff it with chillies, onions, radish, ginger, and garlic, trim away some excess fat and sinew, sew the belly shut, then coat the outside evenly with butter, cumin, pepper, and other spices. I laid it on a big iron rack I had prepared and slowly turned it over the fire so it cooked evenly. It took more than an hour before it was perfectly done.
I have to say, crocodile meat tastes a bit like chicken. And once the skin is properly roasted, it’s crisp on the outside and tender inside, a bit like sea cucumber. Not only delicious, but highly nutritious.
That crocodile was only one zhang long, so I made an iron rack one-and-a-half zhang wide. I thought it would be plenty. Now I see it wasn’t big enough. This time…
Ahem. I mean, I just suddenly remembered the incident. Don’t get the wrong idea.”
Everyone, “…”
Though speechless, Zhu Yushan and his wife, who had tasted Lu Zheng’s cooking before, both swallowed audibly.
The crocodile was both shocked and furious. He wanted to fight to the death, but the flying sword inside him kept releasing sharp bursts of sword qi that constantly prodded the demonic power protecting his organs.
If he risked his life now, the only life he would lose would be his own. Then he would become the next dish on this man’s table.
Being eaten was one thing; Eastern Sea demons fought and devoured each other all the time. He was prepared for that. But…
To be eaten with such ceremony, with every detail described so vividly, was something no demon could stomach.
Combined with the eager, hungry looks from the others, it sent chills down his spine.
“What exactly do you want? Say it straight! Scaring me like this only dishonours your status as a senior sword immortal!” The crocodile forced down his terror and barked loudly.
Lu Zheng blinked. “Another misunderstanding. I’m no senior sword immortal. I’m about the same age as Brother Zhu.”
“What?”
This time not only the crocodile, even the old turtle looked at Lu Zheng in astonishment.
Flying swords, martial techniques, spiritual secret arts; a young man making rapid progress thanks to lucky encounters was normal, but no encounter could explain mastering so many different paths, could it?
“Brother Lu is a disciple of White Cloud Temple. His talent is rare in this world. To call him friend is my good fortune,” Zhu Yushan said.
Lu Zheng laughed and clapped Zhu Yushan’s shoulder. Truth be told, Zhu Yushan had contributed a fair share to his own rapid progress.
Learning that Lu Zheng was so young yet already this strong, the crocodile’s aura weakened further. “You still haven’t told me what you want from me.”
Lu Zheng smiled. “I happen to be short of a good gatekeeper and guardian…”
The crocodile’s heart jumped. His eyes flashed. “I…”
“If Your Excellency is willing to open your true-spirit sea of consciousness and allow me to plant a restriction on your divine soul…”
The crocodile, “…”
“Not even in your dreams! That would place my very life in your hands!” he roared.
He had planned to agree first, then flee the moment he was safe. He had never expected this man to be so ruthless as to demand a soul restriction. How was that different from slavery? His status would be even lower than the old turtle’s!
The moment the thought crossed his mind, the sword qi inside him surged. Panicked, he hurriedly circulated demonic power to protect himself.
“Er… I can swear an oath. How about I serve as your guardian for ten years?”
Lu Zheng ignored him and turned to Zhu Yushan. “Brother Zhu, I’m rather interested in that True Spirit Secret Art of Black-Turtle Water Control. May I have a look?”
Zhu Yushan started, instinctively glancing at the old turtle, but then realised what Lu Zheng meant by asking him. He nodded decisively. “You saved my life. A mere manual is nothing. Take it, Brother Lu!”
Lu Zheng raised an eyebrow and muttered to himself, “Ah, the True Spirit Secret Art of Black-Turtle Water Control… It’s not that it can’t be passed on; it just mustn’t be given to the wrong person.”
The crocodile, “…”
First the stick, then the carrot?
He saw it clearly: his strength was considerable and useful, so Lu Zheng did not truly want to kill him. But if he remained stubborn, the man would not mind enjoying a crocodile feast either.
Life and death hung in the other’s hand; that was intimidation.
A priceless manual dangled before him; that was enticement.
His new master’s future was boundless; that was momentum.
Now that the secret art had been brought out, if he still refused to yield, he would be courting death.
Moreover, the old turtle had already set a perfect example.
The crocodile was violent, but not stupid.
So he obediently relaxed his body, withdrew even the demonic power protecting his insides, opened his true-spirit sea of consciousness, and said respectfully, “Yue Honghai pays respects to Master.”
Done!
Lu Zheng smiled and nodded, then began planting the restriction on Yue Honghai.
At its core was a Greater Pure Jade Palace Thunder Art: the Great Seal Divine-Subduing Thunderbolt, specially designed to target divine souls.
Around the thunder he wrapped a small Geng-metal Divine Wind that spun into an ever-strengthening vortex.
Outside the wind he added a Flying Feather Riding Radiance sword qi, a Golden Palace Heart Sword, and a White Cloud sword qi, forming an unstable triangle.
Finally, he encased everything in layers of innate cloud qi that concealed the contents completely. The cloud qi was inscribed with dense White Cloud Temple soul-restriction runes.
Then Lu Zheng sent this ball of innate white cloud qi deep into the core of Yue Honghai’s divine soul and fixed it in place.
Now Yue Honghai’s life and death lay in the flick of his wrist.
Yue Honghai stared in stunned silence. He had never imagined that besides sword arts, martial arts, and spiritual secrets, Lu Zheng also commanded thunder arts, wind arts, and innate cloud techniques.
Why did it suddenly feel like he had latched onto a massive thigh?
When Yue Honghai glanced at the old turtle, his eyes actually carried a trace of superiority.
“Open your mouth!”
Yue Honghai opened obediently. The Silver Feather Azure Dawn Sword flew out from his nearly one-zhang-long jaws.
Feeling the sword leave his body, he spun, stirred the surrounding water, and transformed back into the burly man from before.
Only now he wore no green clothes…
Li Hanyu hurriedly turned away. Lu Zheng grinned, pulled a set of clothes from his gourd, and tossed them over for him to put on.
Hum!
Yue Honghai’s fate was sealed. Another wave of destiny light arrived.
Compared to the few dozen strands the old turtle had contributed, Yue Honghai provided nearly two hundred, letting Lu Zheng earn yet another tidy profit.
