Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, but Thunderbolt Taoist Sect

Chapter 178, climbed back, updated once more.

In folk culture, the dragon symbolizes good fortune and auspiciousness, as well as the affection between men and women. Judging from the wedding banquet of the Dragon Girl and Ma Ji, having the dragon attend the celebration is a good omen, because the saying that adding luck can really be done in this world.

But the one offering congratulations would definitely not be this dragon that was supposedly struck by lightning several times. The thing that could make the Thunder God fall from the sky and be unable to fly was actually filth from the mortal world. Being tainted by these things would make his body extremely heavy, causing him to fall directly to the ground.

Therefore, the lightning damage on this dragon was entirely deserved. Furthermore, dragons are not particularly gifted at controlling lightning, which increases the difficulty of learning lightning magic. As the Third Prince commented, it's like trying to learn something you don't have the talent for.

"My dragon race has many blood relatives, and there are countless examples of intermarriage with various races. It is normal for some anomalies to emerge from a species, and not many people care."

Or perhaps the elders tried to manage these outcasts, but later realized they hadn't really managed them, so they just let them grow up without any care. After all, they had so many children, so the loss of raising one bad one wouldn't be a big deal.

The marriage between the Dragon Girl and Ma Ji can be considered an interracial marriage, but there are many examples of Dragon Girls marrying human men. Aside from a shorter lifespan, there are no major drawbacks to marrying a mortal prince.

Even the remaining issue of lifespan can be resolved through certain elixirs, rare and precious herbs, or by directly cultivating by opening up the Ren and Du meridians. Of course, the prerequisite is that Ma Ji and the Dragon Girl's relationship can reach this point.

Liu Qingyuan, who was familiar with the original work, knew that the two of them would not go that far. When they came to the Dragon Palace last time, everyone had met the most favored youngest daughter of the East Sea Dragon King and learned about her conditions for choosing a husband. Liu Qingyuan always had the illusion that what she wanted was not a husband, but a pet.

They rejected sea creatures and other dragon kings' sons and relatives, thus eliminating most of the long-lived candidates who could stay with the dragon girl forever.

Upon closer examination, one might feel that the various conditions the Dragon Girl sets for choosing a husband are all aimed at Ma Ji, or rather, a scholar like Ma Ji. It's unclear whether this is the Dragon Girl's preference or a secret arrangement of fate.

After ensuring that the dragon would not encounter any accidents while staying on the sea, the two followed the Third Prince into the sea. Along the way, they saw many different groups of people, all of whom had come to the Dragon Palace to offer their congratulations.

Ma Ji gained the Dragon King's favor through his literary talent. It was quite a rare occurrence in the East Sea for a young mortal to be valued by the Dragon King for his knowledge and to have his favorite daughter married to him.

Before going to the Dragon Palace, Liu Qingyuan took the time to talk to the Third Prince about the Snake Cave. He said there was no need to make special arrangements; all that was needed was to send a true dragon with Jian Feidao to Changqing.

Among the indigenous people they knew, there were two groups that had close ties with dragons and could command other dragons. One group was the Dragon Shepherd King stationed at Tianchi Lake in Changbai Mountain. He was in charge of young dragons. Putting aside his deterrent effect on other species, these unruly young dragons were not allowed to leave Tianchi Lake.

The other option is the Dragon Palace of the East Sea. This is much simpler. The East Sea is vast and home to many different kinds of dragons. By using the Dragon Palace as a connection, you can find a dragon to confront the giant serpent. The whole process is very simple.

In fact, given their appearance and status, if they went out and talked to any dragon, whether it was to build goodwill or something else, the other party would be very willing to go with them. They just felt that coming to the East Sea was more "official".

Searching from the Dragon Palace at least guarantees that the dragons brought back won't cause trouble. If they search on their own, they're bound to encounter some rogues, like that Chi dragon on the sea that may or may not have woken up yet.

"Please wait, you two."

Hearing someone call from behind, neither Liu Qingyuan nor Jian Feidao realized that they were being called, because apart from a few people in the Dragon Palace, neither of them knew the gods and monsters who had come to offer their congratulations. With so many people around, no one could be sure that they were being called.

"Two white-haired immortals ahead, please wait!"

This sounds like it's being called. There are others with white hair nearby, but they mostly look like elderly people with white hair, so there's no need to specifically point out the white hair feature.

Only Liu Qingyuan and Jian Feidao had youthful faces but white hair, especially Jian Feidao.

When they stopped to look, they saw that the person who had called them was a scholar, dressed in neat cloth clothes, with a refined and easygoing demeanor. Although his clothes were simple, he did not look out of place walking in the magnificent Dragon Palace.

The only odd thing was that they didn't know the scholar. It seemed that, since when, it was no longer the other way around—they noticed something unusual about someone and stopped them, but rather strangers would come up to them and call out to them.

From a certain point onward, Liu Qingyuan and his group became famous.

……

When Qingyangzi and Jingtaojun returned to the White Lotus Sect's base, they witnessed a very strange scene: Xiao Er and Ding Zimo were hiding on the same large paper kite, hovering in mid-air, while Zhao Wang below was glaring and holding something that looked like a magic weapon. It was still unknown which of the paper kites he was going to attack.

After the two left on a kite, they didn't return until the next day. It's still unknown what they said to Ding Zimo's father at the Ding family. All that's known is that Xiao Er and the Ding family arranged the marriage between the two families without Zhao Wang's knowledge, bypassing him.

It's not uncommon for a young couple to secretly pledge their lives to each other, but it is indeed unusual for a daughter to go directly to the man's house, bypassing the matchmaker and her own parents, and get engaged to the man's family on the other side, especially since her parents are still alive.

As soon as the two returned, Zhao Wang grabbed his weapon and was about to fight, but the father and daughter were both learning magic in the White Lotus Sect. The daughter's magic was even stronger and more powerful. She pulled Ding Zimo onto a paper kite and took off, leaving Zhao Wang, who couldn't fly, out of reach.

It was too noisy to hear exactly what Zhao Wang cursed, but the gist of it was that he was angry that Xiao Er had gone to the Ding family without permission, since he, as her father, hadn't even given his consent yet, and his daughter had already returned with someone to get engaged.

Qingyangzi and Jingtaojun bypassed the conflict between father-in-law and son-in-law, father and daughter, and continued to deal with the monsters. The two were very efficient, and now there were only one or two small monsters left in each region.

Once they released the demons and the people in the camp left, the base camp was completely gone. The local prefect was unexpectedly close to the fox demon and was willing to cooperate with everyone's wishes to deal with the White Lotus Sect.

This time it wasn't about marrying a fox wife. It's said that when the prefect was a young student, there were several foxes in the house he rented who also loved reading. At that time, the prefect was just an ordinary poor scholar, but because of the friendship he had with his classmates over the years, the fox spirits helped him predict his future and eventually helped him climb to the position of prefect.

Because of this favor, the prefect was closer to the demons than to others. There were still foxes living in his house. As for how to deal with the White Lotus Sect, it was the foxes in the prefect's house who gave him ideas and made him cooperate.

"The next one is the Qiantang River."

"There are Dragon Kings guarding the major rivers and lakes. When monsters in the vicinity are captured, the city gods and local deities do not receive the news. It can be said that there is a time gap between the Yin and Yang realms, and between the surface and the underground. The Dragon King has the responsibility to guard the waters under his jurisdiction, but he does not care about it."

Jingtao Jun took a quick look and found that the location was not only in the Qiantang River basin, but the types of monsters were also mostly aquatic, indicating that these were caught from the river, which shows they were quite capable.

"The Dragon King of the Qiantang River lives deep at the bottom of the river and basically doesn't pay attention to outside affairs. He won't show himself unless provoked. There are two man-eating fish demons near the riverbank. The people in the sect are cooperating with them to capture these lesser demons."

Zhao Changchun had no magical powers, so he couldn't stop his father or keep up with his sister. His future brother-in-law, Ding Ziming, was a close classmate of his. He couldn't please either side, and it didn't feel right to try to please either side, so he simply came along to help.

His previous job at the church was managing supplies, so he had some understanding of how the captured monsters came to be.

"What can you do by cooperating with the fish spirit?"

It's hard to imagine that something good could come from a collaboration between evil and demonic forces.

"Uh...it's said that they performed a ritual to deceive the people along the river, making them believe that the man-eating monster had left."

There is a man-eating monster causing trouble in the river, which will affect fishing and boating. If you are unlucky, you may be swallowed by the fish one day. Such a dangerous factor cannot be left for long, so it is necessary to ask someone to perform a ritual to exorcise the monster.

If a truly capable person were invited, the fish spirit would certainly not be as carefree as before. Fortunately, the White Lotus Sect has arrived. Since they are all sorcerers with magical powers, rather than being killed by a demon-slaying Taoist with a wooden sword, it would be better to cooperate with these members of the White Lotus Sect, capture some of the minor monsters in the river, and let them take them to fulfill their duty. In the meantime, we can also help the fish spirit deceive the local people.

After the elaborate ritual ended, the people on the riverbank assumed there were no more man-eating fish spirits in the river, and they went into the water without a care in the world, only to become food for the fish spirits.

In order to get the reward, these people will use any means necessary. Some want to turn living people into livestock to make them look real, while others cooperate with evil demons to deceive the people. They are really good at deceiving their superiors and subordinates.

According to the White Lotus Sect's intention to demonstrate divine power and win popular support, they should have captured those two harmful giant fish spirits. Just like the giant turtle that was killed, the value of the two giant fish spirits was far greater than that of a large group of small fish and shrimp. If they could really capture the fish spirits and bring them back, the reward they could get would be much greater than that of a group of small monsters.

Unfortunately, the people below didn't understand. Most of the cultists who went out to catch demons were just thinking about getting by. Yi Yang needed materials to set up the formation at the time, and the two fish spirits that had lived for countless years and had swallowed countless lives were exactly what he needed. As a result, he missed the opportunity.

But it doesn't matter. The White Lotus Sect missed the fish demon, but Qingyangzi and Jingtaojun won't miss it. While they're releasing the little monster, they can go and kill those two man-eating fish in the river as well, just to rid the people of a scourge.

"Aren't you going to try and persuade your father?"

Even now, Zhao Wang's angry curses can still be heard outside. He grabbed his weapon mainly to hit Ding Ziming, but Xiao Er knew that Zhao Wang's target after getting angry was Ding Ziming, so he pulled him to hide on the kite and refused to come down.

Seeing his daughter siding with outsiders, Zhao Wang was furious, but in terms of magical power, he couldn't outlast Xiao Er. She could carry people on paper kites and fly hundreds of miles without getting tired, which alone made her superior to many others.

Especially now, unless a person with innate abilities present takes action, no one can defeat Xiao Er in a battle of magic.

“When my younger sister was studying with me, Brother Ding was the closest to her. He was one of the few who could recite poems with her without being at a disadvantage, and even if he lost to her repeatedly, he would not become distant.”

Xiao Er followed her brother to study at a private school where scholars studied. However, she was the only girl there and was younger than most of the students. Her knowledge was no match for that of a young girl, which embarrassed the other students, so they naturally did not want to associate with her.

Zhao Changchun thought it would be a good idea to have Ding Ziming as his brother-in-law. Although the Ding family was not extremely wealthy, they were still quite well-off. As a young scholar, Ding Ziming had a long career ahead of him and a promising future.

Besides, Xiao Er is naturally bold and active, and her education from childhood is different from that of ordinary girls. Now she has learned a lot of White Lotus Sect magic. How can we expect such an extraordinary girl to marry into an ordinary family and obediently be a wife and mother?

Not to mention Xiao Er's disagreement, those men who can't compare to him in poetry and literature, or even in magic, wouldn't be willing to marry him either. If his exceptionally talented sister insists on getting married, then it should be Ding Zi Mo. At least the fathers of the Ding and Zhao families are good friends, and the two families are close, so it's easier to resolve any problems that may arise.

Moreover, judging from the current situation, Xiao Er is really protecting Ding Zimo, and Ding Zimo is also happy to follow Xiao Er's arrangements. If this trend continues, his little sister will probably not be able to bear any grievances in the future.

"My younger sister is a bit unruly, and now she has learned some amazing skills by some twist of fate. It's already difficult for her to get married normally, so it would be better to marry Brother Ding according to her preferences."

Judging from Xiao Er's current behavior, it's really uncertain who will marry whom between Xiao Er and Ding Zimo. In any case, Zhao Changchun can tell that his sister will definitely not be able to bear any grievances if she marries Ding Zimo, and that's enough.

What about Zhao Wang's opinion as the head of the family? Never mind, it's not important. Everyone in the Zhao family except Zhao Wang thinks this marriage is acceptable. It's a bold move to bring the whole family into the White Lotus Sect, and the family members won't listen to him completely anymore.

Zhao Changchun appears to be the most traditional eldest son, following the established path of studying, taking exams, and starting a family, and doing daily affairs according to his father's opinions. But if you think about it carefully, his younger sister is so unique, so what kind of traditional and rigid older brother would he be if he took his younger sister to school from a young age?

He was not as lively as Xiao Er, firstly because he was older and a father, so he could not act on a whim like he did when he was young, and secondly because the magical talents in their family were extremely unevenly distributed. Only Zhao Wang and Xiao Er had the talent to cultivate magic, and both were exceptionally gifted, while the rest were mortals.

If Zhao Changchun had the same magical talent as his sister, he would have taken his wife and children for a five or six trips to the heavens long ago. Neither of Zhao Wang's children is truly easy to deal with. Oh, right, Zhao Wang himself isn't either; it's just that he inherited it perfectly.

"You brat, get down here!"

Even after Qingyangzi and Jingtaojun confirmed the next location and left, Xiao Er and Ding Zimo still hadn't landed.

"I can go, but Brother Ding has to stay."

"No, Ding boy, come down with me too."

"How can that be? You've already pointed your peach wood sword at him. If he goes down there, you'll poke a hole in him! Father, this is your son-in-law. If he's damaged, he's gone!"

"Well, I..."

"Don't speak yet."

Sitting in the back, Ding Ziming wanted to say that he wasn't that fragile and wouldn't be easily killed by a wooden sword. But before he could finish speaking, the waiter interrupted him.

"My dad's wooden sword is for fighting monsters. Getting hit by it will make you feel terrible."

"How about I go down and talk to Uncle Zhao..."

"Absolutely not! My father's magic is a mess. If he loses control and cripples you, I haven't learned any magic to bring the dead back to life. If I can't heal you, I'll be without a husband!"

"But……"

But now, it seems like he's the one being protected, the little wife, Ding Ziming thought to herself.