Chapter 205: Speaking Human Words, Lord Ye’s Love For Dragons
Only Chen Shun’an noticed that Lu Jing was somewhat indignant, with anger suppressed in his sea of consciousness, and the occasionally overflowing power of intent carried a bone-chilling coldness, almost freezing the surrounding air currents.
Yet he concealed it without erupting, pretending to maintain control.
Chen Shun’an’s heart stirred.
Lu Jing was now a master of Slay Five Thieves, and those who could make him face them like a formidable enemy, choosing only to evade—looking across the entire Wuqing County, there weren’t many.
Could it be…
“We’re here.”
As he was thinking, Lu Jing’s voice came.
River Wind wrapped in snowflakes blew across his face like fine sand brushing over.
Between heaven and earth, it seemed everything was frozen.
Only the sails on the ship were still flapping loudly.
Everyone looked over and saw a iceberg about ten feet wide lying in the river heart, half submerged in the icy river and half exposed in mid-air.
Atop the iceberg lay a porpoise, surprisingly like a human, belly up, basking in the sparse sunlight.
Its tail gently slapped the broken ice at the edge of the iceberg.
Not far away, several martial artists crouched in the snowfield, carefully tending to it.
You shovel the poop, I’ll keep watch.
Someone else had prepared top-quality fresh fish catch, ready at any moment to feed it.
The sight was truly like serving an old master; they were just short of massaging its shoulders and legs.
“Here, here, here, meow meow meow…”
On the iceberg, a martial artist carefully approached, carrying a fish cage, making all sorts of pig-calling, cat-summoning noises from his mouth.
The fish basket was filled with large fish with plump heads.
However, the porpoise merely glanced indifferently at the fish cage, sniffed it, flicked its tail to knock over the fish cage, then used its round head to nudge the wine gourd hanging from the man’s waist.
“My heavens, you can’t drink alcohol… just a little, only a little.”
Pestered relentlessly by the porpoise, the man couldn’t hold out and could only take the wine gourd.
Who would have thought it needed no guidance; the porpoise held the gourd with its flippers, rubbed it on the ice surface, and the stopper fell off with a pop.
The porpoise then gulped it down joyfully; several pounds of strong liquor went down in the blink of an eye.
Then, the porpoise lay drunkenly on the ground, snoring loudly in deep sleep.
On the tower ship, the atmosphere was strangely quiet.
Not to mention the others—even Chen Shun’an was dumbfounded.
This porpoise had also picked up the bad habit of heavy drinking?!
Chen Shun’an shook his head silently.
Indeed, mixing with the Sacred Dynasty, even the purest creature would become corrupt and chaotic!
Fortunately, I, Chen Shun’an, emerge from the mud unstained.
Let Chen Mou teach this porpoise to reform and return to the righteous path.
Lu Jing couldn’t help but fall silent for a moment; he probably hadn’t expected this Grand Canal Porpoise to succumb to temptation so easily.
In just a few short days, not only had it fattened into a pig, but it had also become a drunkard.
How could they ride it like this?
Everyone waited a moment.
After the porpoise sobered up a bit, Lu Jing finally spoke,
“Luo Kun, you go first.”
“Yes!”
Descending from the cabin, Luo Kun picked up the saddle, pulled a rope, and a side of the ship opened like a gate.
Fresh, damp river wind blew in.
He pushed the small boat, and they dropped together onto the river, quickly paddling toward the porpoise.
Actually, proving proficiency with demonic fish was quite simple.
It was simply to successfully place the saddle on the porpoise, obey commands at will, fast or slow, and submit to the martial artist’s training.
As for whether you truly understood demonic language… it didn’t matter.
Only the result counted.
Chen Shun’an watched Luo Kun’s retreating figure, his eyes revealing a profound look.
Luo Kun’s abilities, Chen Shun’an had seen before.
He raised quite a few wild beasts, including foxes and weasels.
The fox he raised seemed to understand his words; it could punch and kick like a martial arts practitioner in public, mimic an official master striding in the four-square step, and with one whistle, act like a coy little wife, full of coquettish glances.
It left the crowd stunned.
When he reached the iceberg.
Luo Kun took out a purple sand bowl from his bosom, filled with “demon-enticing soup” brewed from various mountain delicacies and secret medicines like white-fleshed polygonatum, ground cypress branches, and Ming codonopsis, its strange fragrance assailing the nose.
Luo Kun used this item, combined with rewards and punishments, to tame wild beasts with initial intelligence.
“Little treasure, have a taste…” Luo Kun forced a fawning smile and pushed the bowl forward.
At the same time, he silently gripped the saddle, preparing to throw it onto the porpoise’s back.
The porpoise glanced at Luo Kun, its nostrils flaring, a human-like flash of disdain in its eyes.
What pig feed; I’ve seen it all.
The porpoise said nothing, merely spitting a string of saliva disdainfully at Luo Kun.
Luo Kun was drenched head to toe in saliva, like a drowned rat, and rowed away in utter embarrassment.
“Next…”
Lu Jing saw this, his expression unchanged.
One by one, the “Tongming Envoys” quickly rowed over in small boats.
Some tried to appeal with cuju toys; others skilled in sound arts with superb ventriloquism hoped to bond with the porpoise this way.
But without exception, all ended in failure.
The best managed only to touch the porpoise, but once they revealed the intent to saddle it, the porpoise resisted, retaliating with saliva.
These two-legged beasts, wanting to ride me?
Then they weren’t cute.
Gradually, Lu Jing’s face grew somewhat gloomy.
Song Qinghe observed the whole time, holding a Western telescope, watching everyone’s interactions with the Grand Canal Porpoise while silently recording something.
“Next, Xiao Changping.”
The calm voice rang out.
Xiao Changping cupped his hands toward Lu Jing, full of confidence, and strode down from the cabin.
Upon reaching the iceberg, the porpoise, plotted against repeatedly by humans wanting to ride it, was on alert.
Seeing Xiao Changping approach, it pushed off the ice with its flippers and slid quickly to the edge, plunging into the water, swimming swiftly underwater for a moment before hiding behind a nearby ice reef.
Xiao Changping, seeing this, remained unperturbed, straightened his clothes, and bowed deeply toward the porpoise, sincerely saying,
“The great king hides in river and sea, three visits hard to find the sacred lord seeking.”
“Porpoise Great King, we brave the snow to come again today, not to force you, but because the river is in peril! Entrusted by the people of Wuqing, I specially request the great king to emerge. Now demonic calamities rage, occupying our Grand Canal, devouring passing ships’ passengers; ordinary aquatic creatures all flee its ferocious flames. Riverside commoners burn incense and pray day and night, suffering unspeakably.”
“If the great king deigns not to refuse, and emerges to help, we martial world comrades have prepared three gifts: first, a ten-li bay along the shore for your kin to rest and recuperate; second, a thousand loads of Taihu silver fish for your ready use; third, upon success, the people of eighteen prefectures along the river will jointly honor you as ‘Protector of the Nation, Pacifier of the River True Lord,’ erect a temple for worship, with incense enduring forever!”
At the same time, a concealed power of intent, following a special rhythm, quietly surged like a fine stream toward the porpoise, seemingly to enchant its mind.
Xiao Changping’s voice carried clearly.
On the tower ship, the crowd heard it, their expressions varied.
“Scholars sure know how to talk—a whole set, truly intimidating!”
“Quite the bold tone, making decisions for Lord Lu.”
Someone said this sarcastically.
Lu Jing heard it but was not angry at all; instead, he smiled,
“No harm; if he can truly invite this porpoise to emerge and serve us, what’s wrong with preparing three gifts?”
In the crowd, Chen Shun’an keenly noticed the power of intent Xiao Changping had quietly released.
It seemed to be a unique mind-entrancing technique.
Xiao Changping was indeed a martial world eccentric with signature skills.
He could teach toads; just chanting “time to come out for school,” and a big toad from his carried jar would jump out onto the ground.
When he said next, “The teacher is here, why aren’t the students coming to class?”, over ten little toads would hop out one after another, lining up in two rows before the big toad and squatting.
Then he would say, “Ah! Time for the teacher to teach the students to read,” and the big toad would croak loudly, the little toads chorusing in response.
Call and response, one after another, even impromptu quizzes on arithmetic, answering with croak counts, truly like a teacher instructing students.
Finally, he would say “Class dismissed~,” and the big toad would slap the ground with its foot as a bell, then jump first back into the small jar.
The little toads would then orderly return.
He also had the skill “ants forming arrays,” equally impressive.
Chen Shun’an had personally seen his tricks, seamless and flawless, truly like sorcery.
So at this moment, almost everyone stared intently at Xiao Changping in the distance.
Especially since the porpoise seemed to really understand Xiao Changping’s words, swimming out from behind the ice reef, poking its round head above water, curiously eyeing Xiao Changping.
Joy appeared on Xiao Changping’s face; he was about to say more.
But the porpoise’s belly rumbled, and it suddenly spoke human words, voice like muffled thunder,
“Great king… hides… in river and sea, three visits, hard to find sacred lord seeking…”
The voice wasn’t loud, like a parrot mimicking, imitating Xiao Changping, yet every word clear.
The expression on Xiao Changping’s face froze instantly, turning to utmost terror.
He seemed to encounter something unimaginable, pointing at the porpoise with trembling fingers,
“You… you… speaking monster… monster!!!”
With that, his eyes rolled back, and he toppled straight backward, scared unconscious.
Several observing martial artists rushed over; you grabbed the legs, I shouldered the arms, carrying him back to the small boat.
In an instant, the tower ship fell silent for a moment, then erupted in waves of uproar.
Many hadn’t expected Xiao Changping to be someone who admired dragons like Lord Ye.
Day after day seeking monsters arduously, yet upon truly seeing one, he showed such an unsightly state.
Song Qinghe shook his head, both excited and regretful, scribbling in his hand, seemingly crossing off Xiao Changping’s name.
This Grand Canal Porpoise’s intelligence was probably higher than everyone imagined.
It had even refined its transverse bone, able to speak human words.
If using this Grand Canal Porpoise as an opportunity, they could figure out the distribution of aquatic creature groups in the Grand Canal, locations of sunken treasure ships, underwater precious materials…
Five Rivers River Affairs was a neglected department, long sidelined, with light duties and idle affairs, quite looked down upon from above.
Who knows, this might be the chance to soar to the skies!
Lu Jing stood with hands behind his back, facing the river wind, a trace of disappointment flashing in his eyes.
“Next, Chen Shun’an.”
Lu Jing turned his head, glancing slightly at Chen Shun’an.
