NHWSG chapter 80

Xing Yingzhu didn’t go into detail with Sheng Zhao about how exactly the Seventh Princess was “unwilling.”

But judging from his expression, it was obviously not a pleasant story.

Sheng Zhao was quite self-aware. He knew he was just an ordinary young office worker, lost in the crowd, and no matter how much he wracked his brains, he couldn’t truly understand the thoughts of those high-ranking individuals.

Moreover, judging from the broad vision and vast responsibility of Seventh Princess’s CPU processing power, it was probably something he could never comprehend in his lifetime.

This kind of person, Sheng Zhao acknowledged that he had no qualification to judge her right or wrong, merits or faults… of course, it wasn’t his place to judge.

“And, did you see the blue bird on her shoulder?” Xing Yingzhu lowered his eyes lazily and said, “That’s not a bird, that’s a phoenix.”

Sheng Zhao: “…”

Goodness gracious, I’m just flabbergasted. Sheng Zhao thought, he initially thought it was some kind of powerful monster, but Xing Yingzhuo directly classified it as orthodox.

“A phoenix… Is it really that small?” Sheng Zhao asked with difficulty.

“Small?” Xing Yingzhuo raised an eyebrow and said, “If it wasn’t following that person, it would be bigger than the dragon in the underground river of Shengcheng.

Sheng Zhao was dumbfounded, for a moment not knowing whether to ask “why did it become so small” or “why would a divine beast willingly become someone’s pet.”

“But weren’t all the ancient divine beast clans extinct?” Sheng Zhao asked.

“Avian creatures don’t count,” Xing Yingzhu said. “Avian creatures have the phoenix as their leader, so they fall under her protection. Each avian creature is counted as one, obedient from the start, and not affected by that turmoil in the least.”

“As for the blue bird on her shoulder… that’s her attendant, the leader of the Qing Luan clan,” Xing Yingzhu said. “The Qing Yang family manages the phoenix, commanding all birds since ancient times. Apart from Qing Luan, there are also phoenixes, swan geese, and other birds. After her grandfather and father died, these naturally fell to her, and besides—”

Xing Yingzhu suddenly stopped, seeming to suddenly realize that what came after “besides” wasn’t suitable as a bedtime story.

So he cleared his throat and changed the topic.

“So now you know,” Xing Yingzhu said. “If you don’t meet her, it’s fine. But if you do, just don’t provoke her.”

Sheng Zhao obediently nodded.

Actually, even if Xing Yingzhu didn’t say anything, with his courage, he wouldn’t dare to casually provoke someone he didn’t know.

“But what about that sea she mentioned…” Sheng Zhao hesitated, “What does it mean?”

Xing Yingzhu remained silent for two seconds, seemingly pondering how to explain this matter.

Because for them, that place was considered common knowledge. Sheng Zhao’s question actually caught Xing Yingzhu off guard.

If it were any other ancient monster with some age, they would have heard of that place. Some older ancient monsters probably knew the origin of that place, while some younger and less knowledgeable little spirits knew to avoid that area and not approach it at all.

In the Three Realms, each has its own place, just like humans live in the human world, monsters in the monster realm, and ghosts cycle through reincarnation.

Wherever there is a place, it falls within these Three Realms and Six Paths—except for two places.

One was the Heaven Beyond Heaven where the Seventh Princess resided, and the other was the Abyss of the Forbidden Sea.

That place is older than the Seventh Princess herself, a deep abyss in the sea. Initially, it wasn’t called the Abyss of the Forbidden Sea but the Abyss of the Northern Sea. However, later generations of divine beings regarded that place as a place for confinement and custody, sealing many wicked monsters inside, so over time, the name changed.

The Abyss of the Forbidden Sea was of great importance. For so many years, it had been managed by divine beings. Even though the divine beings declined later, and immortals began to replace gods in the human world, they still couldn’t meddle with that place.

Xing Yingzhu himself didn’t know the intention behind the other party asking him to check out that place, but regardless, over the years, although he and the other party didn’t get along, he still understood her somewhat. The things she ordered usually had reasons behind them.

“If you insist on understanding, it’s probably like a labor camp,” Xing Yingzhu said.

A question mark slowly emerged on Sheng Zhao’s forehead.

The origin of that place was extremely complicated, involving many events from ancient times, various ancient myths, and messy timelines intertwined. If told from the beginning, it would probably take three days and three nights to finish.

Xing Yingzhu’s already limited patience had been consumed almost halfway through the night, and he had reverted back to being that “heartless and unfeeling” ancient monster.

He wrapped the blanket around Sheng Zhao and decisively ended the topic.

“The creatures locked up there are all monsters like me—alright, you can go to sleep now.”

“What’s with that!” Sheng Zhao squirmed out from under the blanket, complaining, “Whose bedtime story stops halfway? You’re asking for me to have nightmares.”

Xing Yingzhu impatiently furrowed his brows and was about to retort, but he caught sight of a hickey on Sheng Zhao’s neck and swallowed his words.

Forget it, Xing Yingzhu thought generously, this guy is already mine, as a mature male, I should be more tolerant.

“That’s a place where monsters are imprisoned,” Xing Yingzhu said. “Most of the creatures locked in there are from the ancient times. Because they were ‘serving their sentences’ during the ‘clean-up,’ they managed to escape death by not following their clan to perish.”

“So if the Seventh Princess said there’s been activity there, it means the prisoners inside are restless?” Sheng Zhao’s mind was working quickly and he said, “So last year’s chaotic celestial phenomena, were they also related to this?”

“It’s possible,” Xing Yingzhu said nonchalantly.

“Why would they make you go see it then!” Sheng Zhao said anxiously, “You said yourself, those locked up in there are from the ancient times. At the very least, they’re on par with you in your previous life. And now they’re all coming together. Making you go see them now, isn’t that setting you up?”

Xing Yingzhu glanced at him with a smile that wasn’t a smile and said, “She wasn’t wrong… How about it, you’re willing to speak up for me about everything?”

“Well, the way you put it.” Sheng Zhao felt he was being unreasonable. “You’re my boyfriend, who else would I speak up for if not you?”

“But what if she’s intentionally making things difficult for me, just to send me to my death?” Xing Yingzhu chuckled and said, “What would you do?”

“I… I can’t do anything.” Sheng Zhao’s momentum suddenly disappeared, and he said softly, “If she’s really unreasonable and won’t listen to reason, I can only persuade her forcefully. If she gets angry and wants to kill me, then we’ll both end up dead, becoming a pair of lonely ghosts.”

Xing Yingzhu couldn’t help but chuckle.

Regardless of whether Sheng Zhao was serious or just acting on impulse, not realizing the weight of his words, Xing Yingzhu was still pleased.

He chuckled and pinched Sheng Zhao’s cheek, showing mercy to his heart.

“I won’t go fight them,” Xing Yingzhu said. “The seal on the Abyss of the Forbidden Sea is a long spear she used in battle back then. With a divine artifact as the seal, I can’t enter either.”

Sheng Zhao seemed like he wanted to say something, but Xing Yingzhu interrupted him.

“Besides, I’m just going to check the situation,” Xing Yingzhu said. “I’ll be back in two or three days. You can play some games with Hu Huanyang and take a couple of naps while I’m gone.”

“What do you mean?” Sheng Zhao felt something was off this time. “You’re not taking me with you this time?”

“Why would I take you?” Xing Yingzhu furrowed his brow slightly. “Can you even go to that place?”

“No way!” Sheng Zhao protested. “You took me to see monsters before, why are you saying you won’t take me now?”

Xing Yingzhu, the head of the Xing family, was in no mood to explain. He furrowed his brow and decisively said, “I’m not taking you.”

In the past, he would have taken him, but now that Sheng Zhao had become a member of his family, he had to be more responsible. He couldn’t just let him go out and get hurt.

Moreover, going to the Abyss of the Forbidden Sea required passing through the South China Sea. Sheng Zhao couldn’t come along for such a long journey, so he could only wait in the human world. There was no need to take him along.

Sheng Zhao: “…”

Unfortunately, Sheng Zhao wasn’t pleased with this. He threw off the blanket, boldly pounced on Xing Yingzhu, knelt on either side of his knees, and challenged the authority of the family head.

Pressing down on Xing Yingzhu’s shoulders, he said confidently, “I want to go too. You’ve taken me before, you can’t just not take me this time. Since you said you can’t enter either and it’s just to check the situation, and not dangerous, why won’t you take me?”

Sheng Zhao puffed up his chest as if rallying himself, his voice resolute, “Otherwise, I can’t help but suspect, do you have other snakes outside?”

Xing Yingzhu: “…”

The slight touch of emotion he felt earlier from Sheng Zhao’s candidness dissipated instantly, almost making him laugh out loud from frustration.

Indeed, Sheng Zhao was Sheng Zhao. He was obedient, caring, but also infuriating!

Having other snakes outside—Xing Yingzhu felt insulted. Were there thousands of wild snakes outside? Was he the kind of person who would be attracted to them?

Xing Yingzhu pinched Sheng Zhao’s waist in anger, almost wanting to press him down again right then and there, to let him know whether or not he had other snakes outside.

Sheng Zhao whimpered in pain and, taking advantage of the situation, threw himself onto Xing Yingzhu again, whispering to him with no shame, “Take me with you, if you don’t, I won’t feel at ease at home.”

“What’s there to worry about?” Xing Yingzhu asked impatiently. “Are you worried that I’ll go out and find some little fox spirits?”

“No, it’s about your safety,” Sheng Zhao said, trying to please him. He smiled and kissed his lips, murmuring softly, “I’ve been thinking, there’s probably no signal in that place, so I won’t be able to call or message you. I’ll be worried about you, and if I don’t hear from you, I won’t be able to eat or sleep well, and even if I manage to fall asleep, I’ll have nightmares—”

Goodness gracious, Xing Yingzhu sighed inwardly. This silly kid sure can be clingy, even more so than a monk preaching in the Western Heaven. Unfortunately, his voice wasn’t loud, and it kept buzzing in his ears, giving him a headache.

…But he sure knows how to act spoiled, Xing Yingzhu thought.