Chapter 52: Midnight Lake Cruise (3)

The Prince of Han looked at the calm and unflustered old Daoist priest in front of him, feeling as though he were punching a marshmallow—all his strength found no purchase, completely unable to be unleashed.

"Old Daoist Zhang, do you have any idea why Yanche had you and me summoned here?" The Prince of Han hesitated for a moment, deciding to question the old Daoist; perhaps he could pry something out of him.

"To go boating, of course! Did Lord Yanche not mention it to Your Highness?" The old Daoist was extremely astute. How could he not perceive what the Prince of Han wanted to ask? He immediately and leisurely replied.

"I... I當然 know it's for boating!" The Prince of Han knitted his brows in exasperation, staring speechlessly at the old Daoist, truly feeling as though he had strength with nowhere to apply it.

"Knowing is enough. That's what Yanche told me as well." The old Daoist remained unruffled, though the grip on his horsetail whisk tightened, betraying his inner excitement.

"You..." The Prince of Han turned red with fury. Then, second-guessing himself, he thought, *Why should I argue with a nearly eighty-year-old man? It would beneath the dignity of the Prince of Han.* With a haughty huff, he turned his head away and ignored the old Daoist altogether.

"Rumble, rumble..." The carriage continued rolling forward. The road along the way was unusually quiet, devoid even of the chirping of insects and birds.

...

"Your Highness, Immortal Master, we have arrived." Just as the atmosphere inside the carriage was thick with awkwardness, Little Xi, who was driving the carriage outside, suddenly spoke up.

The Prince of Han let out a long sigh, stepped out of the carriage first, and gazed at the pitch-black night sky with a frown.

"Immeasurable Heavenly尊" Just as the Prince of Han was frowning unhappily, a voice suddenly sounded from behind, giving him a start.

Turning his head, he saw that the old Daoist Zhang Zhengheng had also alighted from the carriage and was blankly staring at the moon in the sky, looking quite at a loss. However, the moonlight casting down upon the lake made the night sky look as exquisite as if strewn with silver sand.

"Little Xi, where have we arrived? Where is the Heir?" Although the Prince of Han thought the scenery of the moonlight shimmering on the lake was rather nice, he was still somewhat puzzled as to why his son was nowhere to be seen.

"Reporting to Your Highness, the Heir Apparent is already waiting for Your Highness on the small island in the center of the lake. Now, please, Your Highness and the Immortal Master, follow me to the Heart-of-the-Lake Island." Little Xi walked over carrying a bundle from somewhere and holding a lantern, bowing respectfully to the Prince of Han.

"Very well, let's go quickly. Once it's over, we can go back to sleep." The Prince of Han looked helplessly toward the distance, feeling a bit chilled inside as he complained that his son was actually dragging him out to go boating—what a complete lack of romance!

"Please move forward, Your Highness and Immortal Master." Little Xi walked ahead to lead the way, quickly arriving at a place resembling a ferry dock.

"Little Xi, since when was a ferry dock built here? How come I had no idea? There aren't even any handrails? And there are no boats either, how are we supposed to get across?" Soon, the group of three reached the edge of the dock.

The Prince of Han looked at the dock before him with utter confusion. This dock was built rather strangely, varying in width; the widest part was about six or seven feet across, and the narrowest was three or four feet. But the problem was that near the water's edge, there were no handrails at all—weren't they afraid someone would fall in?

And furthermore, why was the dock paved with a thick layer of red cloth? Was there some special meaning behind this?

The crucial point was that there wasn't even a boat! How were they supposed to reach the center of the lake?

"Your Highness and the Immortal Master will understand once you step onto the dock." Little Xi looked extremely excited, yet still spoke respectfully to the Prince of Han and the old Daoist Zhang Zhengheng.

"Step on it and boats will appear? Why don't you go first, Daoist Master?" The Prince of Han cast a skeptical glance over his shoulder at the silent old Daoist, deciding to let him go first to scout the path!

"Please follow me, Your Highness and Immortal Master." Little Xi walked in the very front, holding the lantern.

He strode onto the small path of the dock with great excitement, practically walking with a spring in his step. After stepping onto the red-cloth-paved dock, he immediately pulled out three soft cushions from the small bundle in his arms and laid them out in a straight line one after another.

"Your Highness, Immortal Master, please." After placing the soft cushions, Little Xi bowed respectfully, gesturing toward the Prince of Han and the old Daoist who were still standing behind in a daze.

This little stunt by Little Xi directly dumbfounded both the Prince of Han and the old Daoist Zhang Zhengheng. Both of them began mentally grumbling to themselves.

The Prince of Han thought: *What is the meaning of this? Laying soft cushions on a small path—is my son making me wait for him here? Or is the surprise supposed to be viewed from right here?*

The old Daoist thought: *What kind of trick is Yanche playing? This place feels thoroughly abnormal; there isn't even the sound of an insect or a bird, only the rushing sound of water. It's eerily quiet.*

Still, the old Daoist had years of mental cultivation and kept his composure. He took a large stride and stepped onto the dock path.

The moment he stepped on it, the old Daoist felt that the path was strange—uneven and hard on the feet, and it didn't feel right, not like a normal road at all. However, he didn't think too much of it, walking straight to the middle soft cushion and sitting down cross-legged. Instantly, it felt much better. Anyway, his strategy was to counter all changes with steadfast stillness!

Seeing that the old Daoist had gone up, the Prince of Han felt he couldn't lose face either. Gritting his teeth, he stepped up as well.

Similarly, once the Prince of Han walked up, he also felt that something was amiss. He seemed to have tripped over some protruding object and almost stumbled. But being a practitioner of martial arts for many years, he reacted quickly, stabilizing his posture in no time and settling directly onto the rearmost soft cushion.

Once seated, the Prince of Han looked blankly into the distance at Little Xi, who was inexplicably excited, stopping just short of asking aloud what they were supposed to do next.

"Since Your Highness and the Immortal Master are both seated, we are ready to set off. Please ensure neither of you moves around randomly!" Little Xi sat down on the foremost soft cushion and said with an excited expression.

*What do you mean don't move around randomly? What are you talking about?* Little Xi's words left both the Prince of Han and the old Daoist Zhang Zhengheng completely bewildered, desperately wanting to ask.

Yet in the next second, their words were choked back in their throats—or rather, they were rendered speechless altogether.

The Prince of Han and the old Daoist only heard the trailing echo of Little Xi's words when suddenly, they felt as though they were moving! Or rather, the dock path beneath them was moving!

It was swimming!

It was rapidly swimming toward the nearby island in the center of the lake!

"What is this...?" the Prince of Han asked in sheer terror, but no one answered him, because the old Daoist was currently trapped in an infinite abyss of incomprehension as well.

In a daze, the Prince of Han followed the direction of the old Daoist's gaze and looked back. To his shock, ripples were echoing across the previously calm surface of the lake right where they had passed. It looked as though something was swimming through the water!

"Something is pushing us along?!" the Prince of Han said in astonishment. He wanted to stand up and take a closer look, but he was grabbed and shoved back down by the old Daoist, who shook his head to signal him not to move around, then pointed toward the ripples behind them.

Puzzled, the Prince of Han continued to look backward, narrowing his eyes to concentrate for a moment.

Beneath the silvery-white moonlight, the water behind them revealed a creature covered in scales! Two protruding dorsal fins cut through the surface, and a thick, powerful tail undulated through the lake water!

A dragon!

The absurd word suddenly flashed into the mind of the Prince of Han.