I became an immortal in the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 268 Water Lord's Feast
Jiang She looked around the Wei River with great interest; it was the first time he had ever examined the underwater palace in detail.

Given that Ao Bai is a dragon, referring to the Dragon Palace would be appropriate.

The underwater world is vast and bright.

A thousand rays of light flowed within, making it as bright as day.

When Jiang She, Mao'er, and Zhang Guolao first entered the water, they could still see the reflections of boats coming and going on the water's surface.

As you continue downstream along the waterway, schools of fish and shrimp give way and bow respectfully.

Passing through them, one can see the distant palaces shining brightly, their precious light swirling around them.

Wherever the Water God goes, all living beings retreat and fall silent.

The pavilions and towers face each other, with countless doors and windows, and all kinds of rare plants and precious trees are found.

The cat was initially splashed with water and quite nervous, but upon seeing the fish and coral beads swimming in the water, it unconsciously let go of the ears that had been hiding behind it.

With its round, bright eyes, it stared intently, then stretched out its paws, trying to scoop up the water plants that were gently swaying in the water.

Upon seeing this, Ao Bai burst into laughter.

At that moment, Jiang She seemed to hear some voices, but he smiled and pretended not to hear them.

Ao Bai glanced into the distance.

A water demon approached with a bow, and a hint of barely concealed joy could be seen on his normally ferocious fish face. He shouted loudly:

"Suicune is back!"

Then he looked at the two guests next to Ao Bai.

Yaksha thought to himself, "Since Suijun personally welcomed him back, he must be an honored guest. Could it be that Suijun left in such a hurry just now because of this?" Yaksha quickly put on a terrifying smile and bowed deeply.

"Are these two... distinguished guests?"

Ao Bai glanced at him and nodded casually.

He then turned to Jiang She and Zhang Guo and smiled:
"I have drunk your wine twice before, and now that you are here, it is finally my turn to host the banquet."

"This is the Wei River Water Palace. Please come inside and have a look."

Jiang She surveyed the water palace, his gaze falling upon a dazzling array of jewels and precious stones. The entire palace seemed to have been sculpted from water spirits, and coral, prized in the human world, was merely an embellishment here.

Pearls and silk were treated as ordinary decorations.

No wonder this dragon was so generous.

As you venture deeper in, you'll find fish, shrimp, crabs, and clams.

Some of them transform into human form, but it's still easy to tell they're monsters from their faces. They might have extra gills, webbed hands, or two extra whiskers on their faces.

Upon seeing Suijun and the guests pass by, they all bowed in greeting.

His demeanor and bearing were somewhat like those of an ordinary person paying homage to a king.

Jiang She was quite interested and took a few more glances.

The Wei River is located north of Chang'an. Since the Zhou Dynasty, many dynasties have established their capitals here.

The emperor's residence was nearby, and decrees from the palace were continuously sent to the entire country. Chang'an not only housed the emperor and palaces, but also civil and military officials, as well as various attendants, guards, and palace maids.

I don’t know…

It is said that when ordinary people sincerely prayed during sacrifices, they glimpsed a part or two of the water palace in their dreams, and thus imitated this ritual.
Or perhaps the water deities and spirits, having become accustomed to human phenomena, have imitated and learned a bit from them?
Perhaps hundreds or thousands of years ago.

Even the water god longs for the mortal realm?

Thinking about it that way, it really is interesting.

Ao Bai was still introducing his water mansion when he sensed that the person next to him was somewhat distracted, so he stopped talking.

"gentlemen?"

Jiang She came to his senses and laughed, "Truly luxurious and magnificent, extraordinary indeed."

He then asked:

How many years has this water palace been built?

A slightly uncomfortable expression appeared on Ao Bai's face. He coughed lightly and said:
“These palaces were built when I was a child. Back then, I was young and always liked things that were dazzling and colorful.”

Jiang She did the math.

"That must be two or three hundred years ago."

Ao Bai nodded in agreement.

That was when he was young, his mind was not yet settled, he was playful and restless, and he often sneaked into Chang'an City to try all the taverns.

At that time, he loved the prosperity of the world and could not stand the barrenness of the underwater world, so his people built these palaces for him and even assembled a set of "civil and military officials" in a proper manner.

They are nothing more than yakshas, ​​merfolk, shrimp soldiers, and crab generals.

Just consider it playing with the young Suijun.

At that time, he still imitated the emperor in the capital, frequently summoning his ministers to discuss the weather on the Wei River and in Chang'an. Had any ordinary people fallen into the water? Had there been any sacrifices offered? How much rain should fall in a year?
Two or three hundred years have passed, and most of these "civil and military officials" have died of old age, with only a few remaining alive.

Of course, there's no need to tell Mr. Jiang these things.

Despite his respect, Ao Bai didn't want to reveal these embarrassing stories from his youth.

Ao Bai turned to look at the old tortoise and crab general who rushed over and instructed them to prepare a grand feast.

Old turtle and crab general, listen to my command.

Jiang She was also very interested in what the Water Lord's feast would look like, so he sat down with Zhang Guolao to rest and enjoy the underwater dance. The black cat had long since disappeared, looking around with great curiosity.

……

……

Not far away, the old tortoise and the crab general transformed into human form and were discussing something.

Crab General scratched his head.

"Why is Sui-kun back so soon? Who is this guest who would be personally greeted by Sui-kun?"

The old turtle dared not speak loudly.

He was still shaken, and lowered his voice, almost whispering, "They must be a master of this era, whose background I don't know. I almost offended them with a slip of the tongue just now..."

"How should we organize this banquet?"

The crab general pondered for a moment.

“Since the Water Lord said he wanted a ‘feast,’ I think the key point is naturally the word ‘feast.’”

The old tortoise stroked its whiskers. "Then shall we proceed with the highest standards?"

"I think it's feasible."

The two glanced at the guests being personally entertained by the Water Lord, noticing that the Water Lord was paying particular attention to a guest in blue. That person watched the dance with a smile, showing no trace of magical power, appearing completely ordinary. But the more this seemed to be the case, the more uncertain the turtle and crab felt.

True masters don't reveal their abilities; those who reveal their abilities are not true masters.

“That must be…” the old tortoise murmured to himself.

"We should eat delicacies from all over the world and drink fine wines and nectars."

"I present you with coral and lingzhi, a longevity elixir, as a gift."

"Invite guests from all directions, and invite water gods and earth spirits from all directions."

"All the river gods, lake gods, well kings, and the essence of the aquatic creatures who have attained enlightenment are indispensable. We also invite the lords of Yaoshan, Zhongshan, Jiuzongshan, and all the other mountains and rivers."

The old tortoise paused, and he thought about it carefully.

"Who is the City God of Chang'an now? Invite him here as well."

Crab General nodded in agreement, but then he suddenly realized something was amiss, and said:

"For a feast of this scale, let alone preparation, it would take quite some time even for all the gods to come."

"Should we... report to the Water Lord for a decision first?"

They dared not make a decision on their own, knowing that organizing a banquet would take so long.

The old tortoise wholeheartedly agreed.

"Go and tell Shui Jun."

Crab was taken aback when this task fell to him and remained speechless. He stared at the old tortoise with his small eyes. The old man, however, had already retreated into his shell, turned away without a word, and acted as if it were none of his business.

Crab General had nothing to say, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and walk toward Water Lord, who was chatting and laughing with his distinguished guest.

He stepped forward, bowed respectfully, and reported the matter to the Water Lord.

Ao Bai, holding a wine cup, was telling interesting stories about the Water Palace, so that the teacher could listen to his heart's content.

Upon hearing this, he raised his eyebrows.

"It takes seven days to prepare?"

The crab general lowered his head timidly.

He was mentally prepared to accept Suijun's wrath and thunderous might.

Their Water Lord is good-tempered, but with such an important guest sitting right next to him, if the Water Lord feels slighted, he might get angry.

The power of the dragon is so great that even a casual punishment would be enough to kill him several times over, or at the very least, leave him severely injured.

Unexpectedly, Ao Bai was pleased instead of angry.

He put down his wine cup and smiled at Jiang She:
"Sir, it seems you two will have to stay a few more days. Judging from their preparations, it must be quite a large-scale event."

【Ask for monthly ticket】

(End of this chapter)