Keyboard Immortal

Chapter 2436: So Wild?

Chapter 2436: So Wild?

But it was true that the Mermaid Queen couldn’t sit still as a conflict broke out between Zu An and the Ocean races’ experts, so she stepped forward to stop him and attempted to defuse the situation. 

“The Dragon Kings do not mean that, though there is indeed something weird about this incident. How could the North Sea Dragon King’s subordinates witness the Peacock Princess murdering the North Sea Crown Prince when she was with us last night?”

The Ocean races’ experts nodded. As expected of our queen. Her heart is still with us!

Even the North Sea Dragon King had to concede, as her words were well-spoken.

“How am I supposed to know? All I know is that she didn’t have time to pull off the murder. She merely stumbled upon the experts pursuing the murderer while taking her leave, which resulted in this misunderstanding.” Zu An harrumphed.

He was amazed by how sharp-witted the Mermaid Queen was. She knew the right things to say even though they hadn’t rehearsed it at all.

Seeing Zu An’s adoring eyes and feeling his strong hands wrapped around her waist, the Peacock Princess stiffened up. She was still young, and this was her first time being so intimate with a man.  However, she quickly realized her reaction was unlike that of a lover. She quickly made a mental note to play the part properly, and her body slowly loosened up till she was resting in his arms.

Zu An was amazed by her acting talent.

The Mermaid Queen eyed the two of them before slowly adding, “Have you forgotten about the Incestuous King? He harbors hatred toward us for what happened before, and he’s worried that his defeat might lead to us allying with the Fiend races, so he came up with a ploy. I suspect he disguised himself as the Peacock Princess to drive a wedge between us. Based on what I have heard, this isn’t the only incident that happened today.”

A number of experts nodded in agreement. They had heard news about other clashes with the Fiend races by the borders today. Things appeared to be unusually heated up today. None of them were fools; it was just that they hadn’t thought about it in that direction before. The Mermaid Queen’s reminder prompted them to think deeper into it. 

Some of them even grumbled, “The Incestuous King is too… that. We have already… yet he still treats us like that.”

The Mermaid Queen took this chance to further persuade the Dragon Kings, “Dragon Kings, if he is already treating us like this when we still have value to them, think about what will happen to us when everything settles down, and we become meat on his chopping block.”

The Four Dragon Kings exchanged looks. They were no strangers to power struggles; it was just that they had subconsciously avoided thinking about that in the past. Now that reality was being shoved in their faces, they understood that there was a good chance of the monsters betraying them.

The North Dragon King spoke up. “Hmph. I’ll investigate this matter. If it is the monsters’ ploy, our North Sea will get even with them. Otherwise…”

He turned to Zu An and the Peacock Princess, and slowly trailed off. What else could he do if it wasn’t the monsters? Was he going to challenge this expert?

Fortunately, the Mermaid Queen rescued him from his awkwardness, saying, “The monsters must have left traces of their misdeeds behind. I believe the North Sea Dragon King will find out the truth.”

Only then did the North Sea Dragon King’s expression loosen up.

The other Dragon Kings sent telepathic messages to the Mermaid Queen, requesting her to solicit Zu An as their backer. With the support of someone as powerful as him, they would be more confident when facing off against the monsters. Otherwise, the Ocean races were bound to lose against the savage monsters. 

The Mermaid Queen happily accepted their request before turning to Zu An. Whether it was for herself or for the Ocean races, she wanted to get him to stay behind. 

Soon, Zu An left with the Peacock Princess, and the Mermaid Queen apologetically bade the crowd farewell.

As everyone looked at the three departing silhouettes, the massive palace fell eerily quiet.

Damn it, I’m feeling jealous!

Zu An’s group returned to the Mermaid Queen’s bedroom. 

Peach was overjoyed to see them return with the Peacock Princess, and she wanted to flatter the queen’s husband. However, she suddenly saw Zu An holding the Peacock Princess’ waist, and her smile stiffened up. What the hell? 

She glanced over and saw her queen looking unfazed. That confused her.

Are you all that wild?

Luckily, Zu An quickly released the Peacock Princess’ waist once they were inside the room.

The Peacock Princess did a light twist to the side before bowing to Zu An. Her face was slightly reddened as she said, “Thank you for saving me.”

She then turned to the Mermaid Queen and bowed too. “Thank you, my queen.”

She had seen how the Mermaid Queen had sacrificed her reputation to rescue her earlier. As she didn’t know Zu An, she assumed he was a helper the Mermaid Queen had brought in to assist her. 

But for some reason, she found him oddly familiar. On top of that, he had brought out a feather of their Peacock race. That wasn't a first feather, but it was indeed a precious keepsake. It contained a mark that only their people could sense, signifying that he was a friend of the Peacock race.  That raised many questions in her mind. 

The Mermaid Queen was perplexed too. She turned to Zu An and asked, “Is she still under the monsters’ evil sorcery? Is there a way to save her?”

“I checked her body. The evil sorcery controlling her has become faint and should dissipate soon. This is also a result of Mojard’s ingenuity. With this, the Ocean races wouldn’t find evidence even if they captured her, and would think she wanted to kill the North Sea Crown Prince of her own volition.”

The Peacock Princess was taken aback. 

When did he inspect my body? Why don’t I know about it? Does this mean that he's examined me from top to bottom with his ki or divine sense?

She forced a smile and said, “After capturing me last night, Mojard conducted an eerie ceremony. All of a sudden, I couldn’t control my body anymore. I was still conscious, but I was forced to obey his orders. The feeling of not being able to control my body was terrifying.” 

As she recalled that sensation, her face paled. “After the ceremony, he ordered me to kill the North Sea Crown Prince. He told me where the crown prince would be at a specific time and told me to camp there in advance.”

Zu An and the Mermaid Queen exchanged looks. No wonder they couldn’t find her last night. Mojard had already sent her out on a mission. 

“But this morning, after I killed the North Sea Crown Prince, I suddenly regained control over my body and found countless Ocean race experts chasing after me. I tried my best to escape, but I eventually slipped up and was captured. You know what happened afterward.”

The Peacock Princess sounded terrified. She dared not imagine what would have happened if not for the duo before her. She then eyed Zu An with reddened cheeks and asked, “Why did you employ… such a method instead of telling the truth?”

Zu An chuckled. The Mermaid Queen answered on his behalf, saying, “Sometimes, the truth is of secondary importance. The key is whether your words sound credible or not. Even if we revealed the truth, would the infuriated North Sea Dragon King and the Ocean races’ experts believe us? You were conscious, after all.

“Taking a thousand steps back, even if they believed us, who would dare exact vengeance on Mojard given how formidable he is? It doesn’t matter whether you were controlled or not; the North Sea Crown Prince still died at your hands. Not to mention that the Ocean races were already considering an alliance with the monsters. Given these factors, it should be obvious what the Dragon Kings would choose to do.”

The Peacock Princess’ face turned pale. Having been born into a distinguished background, she had picked up many things from her surroundings. She understood that the culprit behind the North Sea Crown Prince murder could only have been determined to be her, and no one else.  Upon further thought, she had to agree that Zu An’s method was indelicate but effective. 

Zu An felt apologetic to the Mermaid Queen. “I’m grateful for your cooperation, my queen, and I’m sorry for sullying your reputation.”

As for the Peacock Princess’ reputation, it didn’t matter, since she would have been dead otherwise.

The Mermaid Queen looked at Zu An with a deep smile. “I doubt anyone in the Ocean races will dare marry me after today’s farce. How do you intend to compensate me?”