Journey to the West: Demon Emperor: Beginning as a Little Toad

Chapter 612 New Master and Old Master
As the saying goes:
"When disaster strikes, everyone flies away; the coldness and indifference of human nature are revealed."

With the death of the old Dragon King Ao Yuan, the once majestic Dragon Palace, surrounded by shrimp soldiers and crab generals, vanished like a dream.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the many shrimp soldiers and crab generals scattered like birds and beasts, each fleeing for their lives.

The once magnificent and dazzling Dragon Palace is now a scene of devastation, littered with ruins.

Coral pieces collapsed and pearls scattered inside the hall.

The magnificent curtains were roughly torn down.

The ground was littered with odds and ends left behind by the shrimp soldiers and crab generals as they fled in panic.

"Don't panic! Don't panic!"

The Turtle Prime Minister has lived in this water palace for many years and has witnessed the entire process of Dragon King Ao Yuan's rise and fall.

Now, faced with this chaotic situation, even though he wanted to turn the tide, he felt powerless to do anything about it and could only shout in vain, trying to stabilize the chaotic situation.

The little dragon Ao Tuojie was currently kneeling on the cold ground, tightly embracing the still warm but lifeless head of his father, the Jinghe Dragon King Ao Yuan.

The head in his arms, with its wide-open dragon eyes, seemed to still be silently conveying its final words—"Live on."

"Father……"

The little dragon wept bitterly, not only for the grief of losing his father, but also for the deep remorse he felt for his past arrogance and ignorance that had led to such a terrible mistake.

"Your Highness... Your Highness, please accept my condolences... The Empress Dowager..."

The elderly Turtle Prime Minister approached with heavy steps, his voice hoarse and choked with emotion.

He tried to help the little alligator up, his cloudy old eyes filled with sorrow and helplessness.

Looking at the severed head of the Jing River Dragon King and then at the dilapidated state of the palace, the Turtle Prime Minister couldn't help but shed tears, and lamented:

"The Dragon Palace... the Dragon Palace cannot be without a master for even a day... the Dragon King's funeral arrangements, and the Dragon Queen's..."

I heard the news that my mother had fainted.

"Mother!"

The little alligator dragon was suddenly awakened from its immense grief.

He staggered a few steps and rushed to his unconscious mother's side. Together with the flustered maid, they carefully helped the Jinghe Dragon Queen up.

"Quickly! Help my mother back to her palace to rest! Use the finest ambergris to calm her nerves! Stay by her side every step of the way!"

The little alligator dragon gave the order in a stern voice.

"Yes, Your Highness."

With tears in their eyes, the maids agreed and hurriedly carried the Jinghe Dragon Queen towards the inner palace.

The Turtle Prime Minister, suppressing his grief, staggered to the little alligator dragon's side. Gazing at the horrifying dragon head in his arms, his voice was hoarse and trembling:

"Young Master... Dragon Lord... Dragon Lord's funeral arrangements... how should they be handled? Please... give us your guidance."

The little alligator dragon held the head of its father, Jinghe Dragon King Ao Yuan.

Dragon's blood stained his hands and front of his shirt, a glaring red.

He slowly raised his head, his face streaked with tears and blood, looking disheveled and pitiful.

However, those eyes, once filled with arrogance and rage, now had lost most of their confusion, leaving only a cold, resolute determination forcibly matured by intense pain and reality.

The little alligator dragon glanced at the chaotic and messy water mansion, its voice low yet exceptionally clear and articulate:
“My father died in my place, thus taking the blame for my sins.”

“My father was condemned as a sinner by the Heavenly Court, and I am the son of a sinner, and have been stripped of my divine office…”

The little alligator dragon paused, pondered for a moment, and then continued:

"This Jinghe Water Palace... is probably no longer a place to stay for long."

"Although the Heavenly Court has not yet issued a decree to punish us, this place... will soon have a 'new master' taking over the Jinghe Water Palace."

"A new emperor brings a new court; a new dragon king brings a new navy."

"My mother and I... have nowhere left to stand in this Chang'an and Bahe region."

He looked at his father's dragon head, its eyes still open in death, and continued in a low but clear voice:

"Father's funeral...should not be held in a grand manner."

"Firstly, I fear I might anger the Heavenly Court again; secondly... I previously flooded Chang'an, causing harm to the common people, and their resentment has not yet subsided."

“If we publicize the funeral arrangements at this time, it will be like adding fuel to the fire, which may incite a popular uprising and bring about even greater disaster.”

He paused, his gaze slowly sweeping across the direction of the treasury, as if making a final decision in his mind, before saying in a deep voice:
“Use…use the precious golden nanmu wood from the manor’s collection to build a coffin for Father…to enshrine his dragon head.”

"Then, on the banks of the Jing River, we found a secluded and quiet spot by the water... and secretly built an inconspicuous dragon tomb for my father."

“Let him…be closer to the Jing River. The Jing River is the place that my father protected all his life. It can be considered as…returning to his roots, his soul returning to his homeland.”

"In this way, Father can rest in peace."

"There is no need to inscribe the father's name and honorific title on the tombstone."

"My father's life was filled with glory, but now he has offended the Heavenly Court. If we were to inscribe his name or honorific title, it would likely invite the world's scorn and malicious slander, preventing my father from finding peace even in death..."

“Father… doesn’t care about those empty titles anymore, he just wants my mother and me to survive.”

"Only...only..." is engraved on the tombstone.

At this point, the little alligator choked up, as if a thousand words were stuck in its chest, difficult to utter.

A long time passed.

Little Dragon Fang said:
"It is enough to carve the four characters 'Father's grace is as great as a mountain'."

"Bury your father discreetly, so as not to attract attention."

"We are now in a predicament, walking on thin ice. If we are not careful, we will be doomed. We cannot afford to cause any more trouble and invite unnecessary disaster."

Gui Cheng nodded repeatedly, and said in a sorrowful voice:
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty understands! Your Majesty will take care of it immediately!"

"But...should we urgently summon back the Dragon Princes who are serving in the Heavenly Court and Mount Ling?"

"As sons of the dragon, they should return to mourn their father after he suffered such a calamity and fulfill their filial duty."

Thinking of his older brothers, a bitter and worried look flashed in the little alligator's eyes:

“My brothers are now serving in Heaven and on Mount Ling... Father has been convicted and beheaded... I fear this has jeopardized their future.”

"I'm afraid they're in a difficult situation now... They can't even protect themselves right now."

“Summoning them back now will only make things more difficult for them in their respective positions, and they may even be framed by someone with ulterior motives, leading to their deaths. At that time, none of us brothers will be able to protect ourselves.”

“If Father is watching from heaven, he would never want to see... to see us brothers suffer misfortune again because of him. He would definitely want us brothers to be safe and sound.”

"No need...no need to rush them back for the funeral."

"If the elder brothers still have filial piety in their hearts, they will find an opportunity to quietly return after the storm has subsided and offer a quiet sacrifice at their father's tomb to fulfill their filial duty."

The last glimmer of light in the little alligator's eyes became exceptionally firm, as if it had made up its mind to shoulder everything alone.

He said in a deep voice:

"Once my father's coffin is laid to rest... and the mourning period is over, I will immediately... take my mother and set off westward!"

"Heading to the Western Sea...to seek refuge with my maternal uncle, the Dragon King of the Western Sea!"

“The Dragon King of the West Sea is my maternal uncle. He will surely take care of our family ties and take in my mother and me.”

"There... one might find temporary refuge there, away from the troubles of Chang'an."

Looking at the young master before him, who seemed to have shed all his childishness and arrogance overnight, becoming calm, organized, and even somewhat cold, Prime Minister Turtle's cloudy old eyes were filled with shock and indescribable complex emotions.

In the end, all of this turned into a sigh filled with emotion and sorrow:
“Old turtle, I’ve watched you grow up… from when you first learned to speak to now, I’ve seen it all.”

"Young master...you...you've really...grown up."

Upon hearing this, the little alligator clenched its teeth, puffed out its cheeks, tightened its jaw like iron, and its throat bobbed a few times, as if it had a thousand words to say, but in the end it did not utter another word.

But the hands that held her father's head clenched even tighter.

"Grown up..."

Yes, I've grown up.

As long as parents are alive, life still has a source, and there is a home.

With his parents around, the little alligator dragon was the unruly young master of the Jing River, who had a home to return to and could do whatever he wanted in the water palace, enjoying his parents' love and protection without having to worry about the storms of the outside world.

Without parents, there is no home.

He, the youngest son of the Jinghe Dragon King, who was most doted on, was no longer the wicked dragon boy who could act recklessly and had his father to protect him.

The youthful spirit was ultimately crushed by cruel reality. That carefree, reckless dragon boy had died along with his father's fallen head.

Perhaps... the price of growing up is this heart-wrenching pain, forcing people to shed their naivety and learn to grow up amidst suffering and hardship.

Perhaps, young men in this world must always lose something in order to gain something in return.

……

After observing seven days of mourning for his father, the Jinghe Dragon King Ao Yuan, the little alligator dragon took the remaining belongings of the Jinghe Dragon Palace, along with Turtle Prime Minister Gui Liujia and a group of remnants of the Jinghe Water Palace, and headed for the Western Sea.

……

However, Ao Yuan, the old dragon king of the Jing River, is dead.

The position of the Jinghe Dragon King was thus left vacant.

A country cannot be without a ruler for a day, nor can a water palace be without a master for a day.

The rain in Chang'an still needs to be brought down by the Dragon King of the Eight Rivers of Chang'an.

but.

At present, the position of Jinghe Dragon King is a hot potato. Although he holds a high position and great power, the death of Jinghe Dragon King Ao Yuan is full of strange things.

The death of the Jing River Dragon King was truly mysterious!

Ao Yuan, the Dragon King of the Jing River, a dignified rain god of the Heavenly Court and the chief administrator of the eight rivers, sent the wrong rain?

Therefore, most of the dragon kings of the lakes, rivers, and streams of the Southern Continent avoid this position as much as possible, regarding it as a hot potato, fearing that getting involved would bring trouble upon themselves.

The Dragon King of the Ji River is one of the four dragon gods of the river.

Without power, how could the Dragon King of Dongting Lake bring his daughter Ao Qiongzhi home?

As stated in the blood-written letter from the Dragon Girl of Dongting Lake:
"The unfilial daughter Qiongzhi weeps blood and bows a hundred times before her father and mother."

"Your son has deeply failed your kindness, now wandering in a foreign land, trapped and treated like a straw dog!"

"Shatter the dragon pearl, seal the magic power, strip the rainbow-colored clothes, and banish the son to herd rams!"

"To further humiliate my loyal maidservant of Dongting, I will extract her dragon marrow, extinguish her intelligence, and transform her into sheep, scattered among the wilderness, feeding on mortal grass, forever condemning her to the animal realm!"

"My body is like a drifting tumbleweed, my heart is ashen, I only wish that my parents would take pity on me and send troops to rescue me!"

……

To save her daughter from this misery.

When Dongting Dragon King Ao Ting learned that Jinghe Dragon King Ao Yuan had been executed, the Jinghe Water Palace was without a master, and no one dared to take on this hot potato for the time being, a glint of light flashed in his eyes.

After all, how exactly did Ao Yuan, the Dragon King of the Jing River, die?

He was aware of the oddities involved.

Ao Ting, the Dragon King of Dongting Lake, went to great lengths to retrieve various rare treasures from the Dongting Dragon Palace, including the "Nine-Aperture Exquisite Stone" and the "Ten-Thousand-Year Water Spirit Pearl," and used them to bribe the Heavenly Water Department.

……

Among the three realms.

In the underworld, money can make the devil turn the millstone; it can ensure that you are reborn into a good family in your next life and enjoy worldly riches.

In Lingshan, having money can make the Buddha come to your home to chant sutras, pray for your well-being, ward off disasters, and ensure your lifelong peace.

In the human world, money can buy official positions and lead to wealth and glory.

Therefore, the poor get poorer and the rich get richer.

In Heaven, it's the same: once the money is in place, everything is easy.

Through the efforts of Dongting Dragon King Ao Ting, and with the help of these generous gifts and the influence of the Dongting Dragon Clan, Dongting Dragon King Ao Ting finally succeeded in concurrently assuming the position of Jinghe Dragon King.

Since then.

Ao Ting, the former Dragon King of Dongting Lake, who was in charge of the water veins of Dongting Lake and also held the important responsibility of "Dragon King of the Eight Rivers of Chang'an", became the "new" Dragon King of the Jing River.

……

Within the systems of Heaven and Mount Ling.

Even the strongest individual can sometimes be no match for the most powerful.

Those with strength may dominate the wilderness and mountains, and reign supreme in rivers and lakes, but in the strict and hierarchical system of the Heavenly Court and the Spirit Mountain, they cannot stand alone and do whatever they want.

Unless you have the power to break the rules and regulations of the Heavenly Court and Mount Ling, and to "change the world".

Otherwise, you will have to submit to the power within the system.

Even heroes and great men, with their boundless passion and lofty ambitions, cannot resist the allure of power.

What are heroes and great men in the face of power?

That's just a tool of power.

The instructor of the 800,000 Imperial Guards, known as "Leopard Head Lin Chong," was a formidable fighter with exceptional martial arts skills. He possessed the courage to withstand ten thousand men and was invincible on the battlefield.

But Lin Chong had no power and influence, and couldn't even protect his wife, children, and elderly parents. He could only watch helplessly as they were insulted and bullied, leaving him with nothing but grief and helplessness.

Power is in hand.

Even heroes must bow to power.

Let's look at the story of "Xu Shilin saving his mother Bai Suzhen".

Fahai possessed great supernatural powers and unparalleled magical abilities. He was able to suppress the thousand-year-old snake demon Bai Suzhen, imprisoning her under Leifeng Pagoda and preventing her from being free. He was also able to stop Xu Shilin, making it difficult for him to get even a step closer to his mother.

Xu Shilin was a scholar and had no martial arts skills.

However, when Xu Shilin became the top scholar in the imperial examination and gained power and influence, Fahai had no choice but to bow down and yield to Xu Shilin in the face of power, allowing him to save his mother.

What is power?

This is power!
Fahai can subdue demons and monsters, but he must also bow to those in power.

Otherwise, the incense offerings at Jinshan Temple will be difficult to continue, and they will not be able to establish a foothold in this world again.

If you don't want to become an outlaw like the heroes of Liangshan Marsh, doing business that puts your life on the line, living in constant fear and wandering aimlessly.

If you want to stay within the Heavenly Court and Mount Ling system, you have to follow these rules.

……

The way is:
"Take advantage of his illness to kill him!"

When you have the upper hand, you must act decisively.

After Ao Ting, the former Dragon King of Dongting Lake, also became the Dragon King of Jing River, he rose to become the Dragon King who ruled over "one lake and eight rivers".

Its territory encompasses vast waters and is home to numerous aquatic creatures.

His power and influence increased dramatically.

Ao Ting directly dispatched a large naval force to the Jishui River to demand his daughter, Ao Qiongzhi, return home.

And they prepared many weaknesses that the Dragon King of Jishui, Xiaolilong, had.

When the little dragon, the Dragon King of Jishui, heard that the Dongting Lake soldiers were coming to attack, he was already a little flustered.

He knew he was in the wrong for committing marriage fraud and felt extremely guilty.

Before that, his father, Ao Yuan, the Dragon King of the Jing River, had been executed for his crimes. Not long after his death, he himself was like a rootless duckweed, unable to protect himself.

Furthermore, his own family scandals, such as his homosexuality and embezzlement of tributes from the Heavenly Court, were all in the hands of Ao Ting, the Dragon King of Dongting.

If Ao Ting, the Dragon King of Dongting, were to reveal these matters to the public, he would surely be disgraced and scorned by all aquatic creatures.

then.

Left with no other choice, the Dragon King of Jishui, Xiaolilong, had to obediently write a "letter of divorce" and release the Dongting Dragon Girl, Ao Qiongzhi (the former shepherdess), back to her palace.

Since ancient times, marriage has been easy, but divorce has been difficult.

In ancient times, marriages were mostly arranged by parents and matchmakers. The man and woman often did not know each other before marriage, and only learned about each other's appearance and temperament on their wedding night.

Therefore, it's hard to say what life will be like after marriage.

Divorce is even more difficult.

Since then.

Ao Qiongzhi, the Dragon Girl of Dongting Lake, finally broke free from the shackles of the Jishui Dragon Palace and regained her freedom. She had no further connection with Xiao Lilong, the Dragon King of Jishui.

(End of this chapter)