Chapter Fourteen: Once Again Through the Crocodylian's Eyes

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“Arranged by Aunt Xiuer?” Zhu Zhanhe repeated Yun’er’s words in confusion. In truth, even through his somewhat muddled mind, he had already guessed the answer.

What his mother had prepared for him was not some nourishing ginseng tonic at all. The old lady wanted a grandson—and had drugged him for that very purpose! No wonder his father, the Prince of Han, had been watching him so eagerly. He had known all along!

What an utterly unreliable pair of parents, Zhu Zhanhe grumbled inwardly.

At that moment, he felt thoroughly exhausted. Being plotted against by his own parents was truly something else. Worse still, as time passed, the medicine’s effects had grown increasingly potent, and he was beginning to find it difficult to hold out.

“Was it only you?” Zhu Zhanhe continued questioning the little maid, though his hands remained busy.

“There’s Jian’er too. She’s hiding behind the bed.”

Yun’er had never been through anything like this before, and she had already fallen into a daze. Her little head spinning, she immediately betrayed her closest companion.

“Jian’er.”

Zhu Zhanhe called toward the back of the bed. At once, a little maid slowly edged out. Her gauzy garments outlined her lovely figure.

“Young Master, what do you think of the material of my bodice?” Jian’er emerged with her eyes tightly shut, as though she were walking toward an execution ground. She timidly revealed a glimpse of her undergarment and asked Zhu Zhanhe in a voice as soft as a buzzing bee.

Zhu Zhanhe was a vigorous young man, fully equipped in every respect—and he had also been drugged by his own parents. How could he possibly withstand such a sight?

In an instant, he erupted. With a single stride, he rushed forward. Amid Jian’er’s startled cry, he swept her into his arms and turned toward the bed.

For a while, crimson curtains billowed, fragrant candles went out, and even the moon outside shyly hid itself behind the clouds.

Nearly an hour later, everything finally subsided. Zhu Zhanhe’s head had cleared, and he looked at the two little maids beside him. They had both just experienced intimacy for the first time, and now slept with their pretty little faces creased in exhaustion.

Feeling a pang of tenderness, he carefully moved them to one side before sinking into thought.

He could not sleep—not because he had entered some state of spiritual enlightenment, but because he had discovered yet another one of his extraordinary abilities.

He counted them off on his fingers, reviewing the various abilities that had set him apart since his rebirth.

First, he possessed a giant alligator—a true crocodilian monster.

Second, his physical constitution was extraordinarily robust. His strength and speed were both astonishing.

Third, his memory was quite remarkable. He could not claim perfect recall after a single glance, but if he read attentively, he could generally remember most books after going through them only a few times.

Fourth was the ability he had just discovered, which he called effective reproductive control. In essence, he could decide at the critical moment whether or not to release.

Although the struggle just now had been intense, the medicine had merely left him somewhat dazed. Thanks to his powerful constitution, its effects had gradually faded, and he had regained full awareness. After enjoying himself for a while longer, he discovered this astonishing new ability.

Perhaps the medicine was still affecting him, or perhaps it was simply the excitement of his first experience. In any case, he felt not the slightest bit sleepy. The two maids had been worn out and had already fallen asleep, while he himself could only lie sprawled on the bed, counting imaginary sheep.

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Suddenly, he thought of his giant alligator. He had not checked on it in quite some time. Perhaps he should go and take a look.

Thus, in the middle of the night, Zhu Zhanhe decided to visit his alligator. Of course, he did not mean that he would personally go to the seaside. That was impossible. Even now, he had no idea where the creature truly was. All he knew was that it had been following Zheng He’s fleet as it wandered across the sea.

Once he had decided, he acted immediately.

Zhu Zhanhe closed his eyes, settled into a comfortable position, and silently transferred his consciousness into the alligator.

In an instant, he sensed himself floating upon the ocean. A strong, briny odor filled his nostrils. Before his eyes stretched an endless expanse of deep blue water, with no land anywhere in sight. Only a vast and magnificent fleet lay in the distance.

What was more, the sun had not yet set where the alligator was!

Indeed, Zhu Zhanhe could transfer his consciousness into the giant alligator and see everything through its eyes. The creature also obeyed his commands very well.

But that was all.

He possessed no divine, all-seeing perspective and could not look down from the sky upon everything around the beast. He could see only what the alligator itself saw through its eyes, which was why he could not find the way home.

Although he could command the alligator to perform various actions, he could not directly control its body. He could only instruct it and let the creature carry out the movements on its own. As a result, there were certain actions it could not understand and therefore could not perform properly.

Through the alligator’s enormous eyes, Zhu Zhanhe watched the great fleet flying the banners of the Great Ming in the distance. He then looked eagerly in every direction, hoping to find some familiar landmark that would reveal his position and allow him to bring his giant companion back to the Ming realm as quickly as possible.

Clearly, however, this inspection was no more useful than the previous ones. Apart from the brilliant blue sea and the limitless sky, he could make out nothing at all.

Zhu Zhanhe sighed inwardly, his heart heavy with disappointment.

But then his thoughts shifted. He decided to have his giant alligator dive beneath the waves once more and take him on a tour of the seabed.

He had done this many times before, but every new underwater landscape and every unfamiliar species of fish still thrilled him.

After all, entertainment in the Great Ming was painfully limited. There were no mobile phones, computers, short-video apps, social platforms, or adult films. Life was unbearably dull. As a result, their Zhu Zhanhe often took advantage of his giant alligator’s unique convenience to explore the depths of the sea and seek out new diversions.

He once again issued the alligator an order to dive beneath the waves and hunt.

The enormous beast leaped high out of the water, then lashed its tail like a divine dragon and plunged straight toward the seabed.

All sorts of brightly colored, unfamiliar fish appeared before Zhu Zhanhe.

Giant groupers.

Golden tuna.

Schools of Pacific saury.

Ferocious eels.

A majestic hammerhead shark.

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…

As Zhu Zhanhe’s giant alligator passed through the water, every fish along the way fled in panic as though terrified out of its wits. Even the ocean’s ruler, the great white shark, escaped as if its life depended on it.

The only one left speechless was the alligator Zhu Zhanhe was directing.

So being too powerful could be a mistake after all!

Zhu Zhanhe could not help complaining.

The fish’s frantic flight did nothing to diminish his enthusiasm. He continued swimming around with great interest, as though the Dragon King himself were inspecting his domain.

From time to time, he even ordered the Dragon King to leap from the water for air. It was tremendous fun.

Seen from afar, the entire alligator would burst from the waves before crashing heavily back down, resembling an azure dragon battling the sea. The sight was magnificent and shocking—especially in this ancient feudal age, when it was enough to shake the hearts of all who witnessed it.

At that moment, on the deck of Zheng He’s fleet—

“Grand Eunuch Zheng, the Dragon King has begun patrolling the sea again. It seems this inspection will last quite a while. The fish beneath the waves are scattering in every direction, and some have even slammed into our ships!”

A man dressed in military armor spoke with barely contained excitement. His fists were clenched, and he seemed ready to leap into the air. He stared eagerly toward Zhu Zhanhe’s position, his eyes nearly bulging from their sockets, as he addressed a tall, powerfully built man dressed in eunuch’s robes.

“His Majesty the Dragon King appears to be in excellent spirits. Have you been able to estimate his physical condition?”

Grand Eunuch Zheng was also watching the Crocodilian Dragon King leaping from the water in the distance. His face was filled with undisguised excitement and delight, and his eyes were wide with fascination. Without once looking away from the Dragon King, he questioned the armored officer beside him.

“Grand Eunuch Zheng, after our repeated estimates, the Dragon King should be between five and six zhang in length. Unfortunately, we have no way to measure him precisely.”

The armored man was tremendously excited. His voice trembled, and there was a note of frustration in it as well.

Five zhang, converted into the Ming measure of length, was approximately sixteen and a half meters—just under seventeen.

Six zhang was approximately nineteen and two-thirds meters—just under twenty.

A creature of such size, combined with the fact that crocodiles had been called crocodilian dragons since ancient times, was proof of a genuine divine dragon appearing in the mortal world. To the people of antiquity, the shock would be no less than that of a meteor from outer space crashing into the earth!

“Grand Eunuch Zheng, tell me—if we brought this Dragon King back to the Great Ming, how do you think the Emperor would reward us?”

By then, the deck was surrounded by circle after circle of sailors. Soldiers, cooks, navigators, physicians, and others all gazed excitedly at the Dragon King leaping from the sea in the distance.

“You’re dreaming. That’s the Dragon King you’re talking about. You go bring him back!”

Someone nearby immediately shouted back.

Indeed, this was the fleet of Zheng He, who sailed the Western Seas during the reign of the Yongle Emperor!

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