Ch. 68 – Lord of the North Sea

Have I entered this guy’s lair? Feng Ye wondered with a glance at Hao Chen beside him. He saw a look of astonishment on his face that said: ‘I actually have such a market?’

It seems the master of North Sea City has no idea that he’s shouldering such an important responsibility, Feng Ye revised mentally.

At the same time, he had a vague feeling that there was going to be something interesting to watch this time.

However, before watching the show, he still had to rescue these two silly boys from the trouble they’d gotten into.

So Feng Ye walked out of the crowd and stopped directly between Cao Zirui and the crab. Holding each of them back with one hand, he used a clever trick to separate the crab’s claw from Cao Zirui’s sword.

He smiled politely at the crab and issued an apology: “My fellow disciples are young and ignorant, and offended this noble…..crab. A great man does not bear grudges against his lessers, so please don’t bother with them.”

Seeing that Feng Ye had a decent attitude, the crab stopped waving his claws. He glanced at Fang Yang, the culprit who had caused this commotion, where he was shielded behind Feng Ye.

Fang Yang met the crab’s eyes and finally had time to give the apology he hadn’t had a chance to issue: “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were…..a crab monster?”

“Hmph!” The crab huffed. Without pursuing the matter further, he just waved his claws and said: “I’ll let it go this time.”

When there was no fight to be seen, the onlookers dispersed with disappointment.

The crab returned to his stall, which was empty. Aside from himself, there was only a piece of fabric on the ground.

Anyone seeing this would think that the crab was the commodity, not the stall owner.

Fang Yang can’t be blamed for this, Feng Ye thought. So after listening to Fang Yang’s explanation, he comforted the apologetic-looking youth.

“I was reckless,” Cao Zirui also apologized.

“You were trying to help me. It’s not your fault.” After receiving comfort from Feng Ye, Fang Yang passed it on to Cao Zirui.

He motioned to Feng Ye and Hao Chen, and the four of them formed a circle. Fang Yang glanced at the crab not far away and asked in a deliberately soft voice: “Who is the Lord of the North Sea he mentioned?”

The crab had looked so proud when he spoke that title. It appeared that the Lord of the North Sea was a very powerful person. Come to think of it, the gods in heaven, big and small, were all very powerful compared to mortals.

But Fang Yang didn’t know how powerful this person was, nor what kind of god the Lord of the North Sea was.

Cao Zirui shook his head when he heard this. He didn’t know much about the Lord of the North Sea, and had only learned today that the master behind North Sea City was a god in heaven.

Feng Ye and Hao Chen were wearing strange expressions. Who was the Lord of the North Sea? This question…..

Feng Ye couldn’t help but glance at Hao Chen, and their gazes collided.

Both of them were startled.

Why is Feng Ye looking at me? Could it be that he’s discovered my identity? Hao Chen thought with some suspicion. He had looked at Feng Ye to see how he felt about the Lord of the North Sea – that was, how he felt about Hao Chen. This made him wonder if his disguise had fallen off.

Feng Ye was thinking the same thing, but he reacted quickly and asked Hao Chen in puzzlement: “My knowledge is limited, and I know very little about the major or minor gods in heaven. Just what kind of god is this Lord of the North Sea? Does Fellow Daoist Hao Chen know anything?”

Did he really just look at me to ask this question? Hao Chen still had some doubts, but they were easily assuaged by Feng Ye’s inquiry.

It was a rare opportunity to introduce himself openly. Hao Chen shamelessly proceeded to praise himself: “What a coincidence! I read about the Lord of the North Sea in a certain book.”

“Oh? Tell me about him.” Feng Ye cooperated, setting up the stage for him to perform.

With a swish, Hao Chen opened his fan and began to boast: “It is said that when the world began, the sky rose and the earth descended, and the sun and moon had not yet begun to shine when the first gods were born in heaven.”

“Afterward, the sun, moon, and stars found their places, and with the advent of the cycle of life and death and the rise of countless races, gods with other responsibilities were born one after another. However, these gods born later were less powerful than the earliest gods. The ancient gods were stationed in the eight directions and the four poles, jointly protecting the order of heaven.”

“For example, Lu Wu of Kunlun, the Phoenix of Penglai, and…..the Kunpeng of the North Sea.” Although Hao Chen endeavored to suppress his pride when he said this, the word “proud” was practically written across his face.

Feng Ye inwardly rolled his eyes. Pretending he hadn’t noticed, he just nodded seriously and suddenly said: “It turns out that the Lord of the North Sea is the Kunpeng.”

The Kunpeng was widely known across the world, and there were many poems and songs describing a bird with wings like clouds that hung from the sky, so Fang Yang and Cao Zirui were not unfamiliar with this name. They just hadn’t known that the Kunpeng also held the title of Lord of the North Sea.

When Feng Ye pointed this out, they both seemed to have reached an epiphany.

Seeing how well-known he was, Hao Chen’s pride swelled and he waved his mini fan with increasing speed. He cleared his throat and continued: “The Kunpeng was born to guard the North Sea. For tens of thousands of years, he has been diligent and loyal in his duties, protecting the countless lives that reside there.”

“It sounds as if the Lord of the North Sea is a responsible, gentle, decent god,” Fang Yang exclaimed with some admiration.

Cao Zirui nodded in agreement.

Feng Ye…..rolled his eyes inwardly. The rumors he’d heard clearly stated that this Kunpeng slept after eating and ate after sleeping, would wake up grumpy, and had never done any serious work a day in his life.

It would be more appropriate to call the Lord of the North Sea the God of Sleeping.

Hao Chen was clearly taking advantage of the fact that nobody knew what kind of person the Kunpeng was to wildly fabricate stories.

Although Feng Ye wanted to poke holes in Hao Chen’s arrogance, very regrettably, he shouldn’t know many details according to his current identity.

“Oh right, isn’t the North Sea in the north?” After some thought, Fang Yang asked a question that stunned both Feng Ye and Hao Chen: “Who is more powerful, the Kunpeng of the North or Yinglong of the South?”

Before the Kunpeng, Yinglong was the first god Fang Yang had ever heard of. He was very curious to know how powerful this cold, cruel god of war was in comparison to an ancient god like the Kunpeng.

This question truly stumped Hao Chen. He wanted to say that as the Lord of the North Sea who was thousands of years old, he naturally wouldn’t be afraid of Yinglong, who was only born as a god two thousand years ago.

Although cultivation levels didn’t necessarily correspond to age, in most cases, age was indeed linked to power. Yinglong’s age was only a fraction of his, so logically speaking, his strength should be far inferior.

But the thing was, he was really a little…..not afraid, but certainly intimidated. Hao Chen had no desire to confront such a violent deity unless absolutely necessary. He didn’t fear a fight, but if Yinglong set his sights on the North Sea, it would be a serious problem.

Yinglong didn’t even have a homeland to protect. Although he nominally resided in the Southern Sea, Yinglong wasn’t actually in charge of that area. That would be the Phoenix of Penglai Island, which was also located in the Southern Sea.

As a neighbor of the Phoenix, this Yinglong hadn’t learned the gentle kindness that the Phoenix was known for. On the contrary, he was ferocious to the extreme. He was also solitary and free from attachments, while Hao Chen had burdens and responsibilities and had little freedom to act.

Even with his thick skin, Hao Chen couldn’t boast that he wasn’t wary of the God of War Yinglong at all, so he declined to answer Fang Yang’s question.

Feng Ye didn’t answer either. It was indeed a little…..difficult to say who was stronger between the Kunpeng and Yinglong.

The two maintained a tacit silence, but while Hao Chen couldn’t openly brag, the crab could do so very easily.

Not far away, the crab pretended to be setting up his stall, but was actually eavesdropping the entire time. He blew bubbles in agreement when Hao Chen praised the Kunpeng, and ultimately couldn’t help but speak up.

He said as a matter of course: “Naturally, our Lord is stronger!”

The four of them turned around to face the crab.

Without any scruples, he boasted with a hint of contempt about something that even the lord in question didn’t dare brag about: “What is that Yinglong? He’s just a common jiao, merely a snack for our Lord!”

Hao Chen: “……” No. Although some divine birds did feast on jiao, he had never eaten one himself. Jiao all resided in the Southern Sea, and he had never gone there.

This crab was just boasting with no logic at all. It was as ridiculous as saying that polar bears ate penguins.

Feng Ye shook his head with a smile, and didn’t interrupt the crab’s chatter.

Although Fang Yang didn’t know how strong the Kunpeng was, the God of War shouldn’t be as pitiful as the crab claimed, a mere snack. So he inquired: “But isn’t Yinglong able to roam freely throughout the world?”

“Hmph! Our Lord can even soar to the sky!” The crab shook his claws and said proudly: “Not to mention going ninety thousand li straight up, and ninety thousand li under the sea, our Lord can come and go as he pleases.”

This was indeed the case. Hao Chen nodded in satisfaction. Whether or not he could defeat Yinglong was one thing, but listening to flattery was a different matter. 

“And our Lord’s size is comparable to that of a mountain! How can that tiny Yinglong compare to him!” The direction of the crab’s boasting was growing increasingly wondrous.

Feng Ye suppressed his laughter and echoed: “Indeed, I’ve also heard that the Kunpeng is thousands of li long and weighs unknown tens of thousands of tons. While Yinglong isn’t small, compared to the Kunpeng, it’s like a sesame seed weighed against a watermelon. Isn’t that right, Fellow Daoist Hao Chen?”

At the end of his statement, Feng Ye turned toward his companion.

Hao Chen was caught off guard by this question that was suddenly thrown at him, and couldn’t help but start to suspect again that Feng Ye had discovered his identity.

But when he looked closely at Feng Ye’s expression, which was serious and proper, it really seemed like he was just asking a simple question. Hao Chen couldn’t really tell if Feng Ye knew or not, or whether he had asked this intentionally. He could only reply with caution: “That seems correct…..”

“Tens of thousands of tons?!” Fang Yang was astonished. What a staggering weight! He couldn’t even imagine it.

Feng Ye patted his shoulder and said lightly: “Just think of him as a fatter fish.”

Maintaining his innocent look, Feng Ye asked: “Right, Fellow Daoist Hao Chen?”

Hao Chen: “……” This guy has to know, right?

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Chapter 67 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 69