Thud!
Stone hit stone with a thud sound as Zulong placed the last piece of the broken wall back in its place. He carefully applied the special substance the turtle alchemist used to fuse back the stones in place. The cracked lines remained, but at least now it was a wall again.
Zulong then moved on from the wall. He quietly passed a petrified turtle servant holding a jar of the special substance and began placing a piece of the ruined table's leg back in place. This process continued for a while.
Zulong worked in silence. He only ordered tools to be brought to him, glues, hammers, a new leg. The dragon was not skilled, but he had made continuous improvements throughout his time repairing the furniture. All the while he did not speak anything of Gui Daiyu.
The joints were simple enough to figure out though. Zulong wasn't wholly accurate in lining up the wood and stone. Sometimes his grip would be too strong and he'd crush them. But he was undoubtedly making progress.
Without any rest, Zulong completely renovated his room in a little over a week. It was shabby to say the least. The former luxurious residence had been demoted to a common hovel. The turtle helper was however unwilling to say that out loud.
"Hey you," Zulong called out to the turtle.
"Uh ye…yes?"
"Stop stuttering, and tell me where's that princess of yours?" He asked the shaking turtle.
"Oh ah, her… Um," the poor turtle debated whether to tell Zulong or not. However seeing Zulong beginning to get impatient he decided to answer. "His majesty had elected to punish the foolish princess," he admitted.
"Punish?" Zulong raised an eyebrow. "Where is she at the moment?"
"It was decided for the princess to work in the fields," the turtle said.
"Right, so where are the fields?" Zulong asked. "Wait, actually what are these fields?"
The turtle hastily brought out a stone tablet from his storage pouch. "Ah, that will be the spiritual herb farms. She should be there," he handed the tablet to Zulong. It was a simple map of the turtle kingdom.
Zulong looked at the map in a sense of familiarity. He had seen similar drawings in his master's palace during his long reading sessions. He had never really paid too much attention but he was getting a sense of déjà vu from the tablet.
Zulong soundlessly left the turtle heading in the direction of the farms. The stuttering creature hurriedly sent a mental message to his superiors. He was terrified of the prospects of the dragon killing the princess.
The turtle king sat in the middle of his meeting. He has been experiencing many headaches since the incident between Zulong and Gui Daiyu. His advisors were imploring him to banish the princess to appease the dragon. Some were even calling for her head.
However, the intricate alliance he had built would fall apart the moment she died. But on the other hand Zulong was too important to ignore. Even the Sharks, Mosasaurs, and their underlings can only swallow their hatred in that scenario.
However, the personal feelings of a father stopped him from making any drastic decisions. For now, their esteemed guest had been keeping quiet and only made odd requests for materials, so the Turtle king ignored the issue for now.
"Your majesty! Your majesty!" A turtle servant ran abruptly into the chamber catching the attention of all the ministers present. It was one of the head butlers of the palace, of some renown though his cultivation was only at the True Immortal realm.
Some of the ministers growled in annoyance. They did not like to be disturbed by just anybody, especially not a servant. Hence the king signalled for him to speak.
"Speak quickly servant, what is it," he said.
"Ah your majesty, urgent news, urgent news! Esteemed guest Zulong had left his room," the servant frantically said. Immediately the atmosphere changed. The orderly chamber descended into complete anarchy as ministers acted like terrified chickens.
"We must find him immediately, men let's go before he gets too far," the turtle king grabbed his closest guards and ministers and bolted out of the room. The urgency was tangible. "Hurry, he could be anywhere by now!"
"Your majesty, let me divine his location!" A turtle minister exclaimed and opened his palms to count. "What? Why isn't this working?" The same turtle exclaimed.
"No time ministers, let's move it," the king called out.
"But I haven't told them where he went," the butler who was left by himself quickly ran after. However his low cultivation ensured that he couldn't catch up at all.
Zulong, unaware of the situation at the palace, made his way to the fields. He couldn't fly, hence he ran with his legs. Although the loss of his extreme speed was bothersome, he was still quick on his feet.
The spiritual herb farms weren't far away from the capital. It was fairly large and hence easy to find. Zulong looked at the tablet map again to confirm he had the right place. Finding someplace was difficult without the aid of divine sense.
He looked up and noticed a familiar woman working the fields. It was a strange sight. He remembered a ferocious warrior who was unafraid to go toe to toe against him who was now working the fields amidst commoners.
Even stranger was her enthusiasm in doing so. It looked like she was enjoying her time there. Zulong did not know what he was expecting but he certainly did not expect this.
The same person who had defeated him looked so ordinary doing such demeaning work. As a sovereign he'd expected her to at least be commanding these farmers. To think this was the same person who gave him his first defeat.
Zulong did not count his fight against Shen Feng as a proper defeat. He acknowledged the wind god as a supreme being of the same stature as himself. But to lose against a lower life form was something he'd never expected to happen to him. Even if such an event were to happen, that person must be of extraordinary disposition.
"Hey Daiyu, can you help old Green with the azure spirit grass?"
"Sure thing sir," the princess replied and happily went to help another turtle farmer. She aided the older gentlemen in pulling out the grass and collected them in baskets. Zulong noticed that none of the individuals present aside from Gui Daiyu were even immortals.
'Why would someone do this?' He wondered. He saw no point in doing such manual labor. An exalted immortal should not be so happy to do these things. He could understand begrudgingly accepting punishment, but this was beyond his comprehension.
He was noticed by one of the farmers at the outskirts. It was an older turtle below the immortal realm. He swam up to the dragon who was silently observing the fields with his arms folded.
"Hello there stranger," he greeted politely. Zulong did not respond nor acknowledge the turtle's existence. "Uh, are you the new applicant?" He asked while receiving no response. "Rude," he commented.
"Leave my sight before I make you," the dragon threatened as if he was talking about the weather. Although his words carried no true malice the turtle farmer still jumped back in fright.
"Hey!" Gui Daiyu called out. She had noticed the dragon and came over. Although she was not as frightened as the farmer she was still evidently nervous and unsure of the situation. Yet she stood bravely sliding the farmer behind her.
"You don't say that here, especially not to my people," she countered. "Why are you here…If I may ask?" She quickly added with haste.
"Mild curiosity," Zulong admitted after a while. "I expected a fellow monarch, yet I found this," he said in some disappointment.
"Monarch? I guess I can be considered such," Gui Daiyu put a finger on her lip. "I'm a princess still though so not really? I mean, I am the designated heir, not that that's going to happen anymore," she said with a small self-deprecating laugh.
"Why's that?" He asked, raising one of his eyebrows.
"I think you already know the answer to that," she countered.
"You proved your strength, your power is surely above and beyond your peers. You'd surpass your pathetic excuse of a father within…" Zulong counted his fingers and did some calculations based on Gui Daiyu's performance. "Within like two thousand years or so?" He guessed. It was difficult without divine sense but he was experienced enough to grasp her cultivation during their exchange.
"I insulted you," she corrected with slight hesitation. "I jeopardised our entire clan, endangering all our lives. Do you not understand this?"
Zulong silently thought back on the scrolls in Da Hai's library and nodded in understanding. "Strength is what is ultimately important. Just take your crown back after surpassing the weak coward."
"Please stop insulting my father, he's a good king," she said.
"So you say."
"My father led our entire clan to prominent influence. We are the resource centre of the entire East Sea. Alchemy, smithing, and formations are some of the most important resources for cultivation and we have them in droves, " she proclaimed in pride.
"Someone will just come and steal all of it."
"We have plenty of allies indebted to us. They know that without us providing the logistics, their ability to sustain their lifestyles would take a massive dive," she countered. "Besides, not everyone is obsessed with fighting and conquering. A kingdom's purpose is to bring order and stability, as my father had done," she said in admiration and pride. She gestured towards the prosperous city and farms.
"Is that so," Zulong said. "What's stopping a mole from betraying you all?"
"We're not as stupid as you think we are," Gui Daiyu pointed at herself. "We have allies, powerful allies that enjoy our benefits and protect us. Our people are united, they work in harmony each contributing to our clan. They are indebted to my family as we are indebted to them."
"What, the commoners?" Zulong scoffed. "What would you care about these lower creatures?"
"They are the backbone of our society," Gui Daiyu retorted. "They ensure that we are able to do the things we do. They grow and mine, build and gather. They are key to our kingdom. Let me ask you, what is a kingdom without its people?"
"Their purpose is to serve their ruler obediently, as is proper of lesser creatures," Zulong recited. Gui Daiyu looked extremely unimpressed.
"You see so little worth in them? You must think they exist for the sake of our ego don't you?" She asked. "
"I do not understand why you as a superior being will so willingly, so eagerly partake in such manual chores with your lessers," he admitted.
Gui Daiyu frowned, this man was so thick headed. She looked back at the farmers still harvesting the newest batch.
"Perhaps you should show him the system princess," an elderly man with a straw hat swam over.
"Mr Greeny," Gui Daiyu greeted. "Yes, that is a good idea," she turned towards the dragon. "Would you like to see how our kingdom functions?"
Zulong contemplated, the princess insisted that there was merit. She was also someone who had overcome him even if he was in a severely weakened state.
"Young man, it will at least be entertainment for you to pass the time," old Greeny said.
"Young man? Who do you think you are?" Zulong threatened. Gui Daiyu took this moment to step in front of the old man.
"Esteemed guest, please. He's just a weak mortal, completely not worth your time. Do you kill everyone who even looks at you wrong?" She said with a frown.
"Why do you even care?"
"Because he is my subject," she declared.
Zulong saw the determination on her face. "Oh what the hell," he shrugged. "What have you got to show me?"
"Fantastic," Gui Daiyu smiled, eager to show off her nation. "Follow me, I'll show you around.
Old Greeny watched the duo go off with a satisfied smile. "Finally got him out," he said softly, unheard by everyone.
As the duo faded into the lands a group of soldiers approached. "Hey you there," they called out. "Have you seen an angry antlered man around?"
"He went that way," old Greeny pointed at the opposite direction the duo went in. "You just missed him," he said with a smile.
"Ok thank you. You there, report to his majesty at once," the leading soldier called out another soldier. While they left, some soldiers could be heard complaining about divination not working.
Old Greeny was suddenly engulfed by azure light revealing a middle aged Da Hai. "Hope this pans out well," he said before disappearing, unseen by anyone.