Chapter 558 (2/2)

“It’s an honor to kneel before you, Your Majesty, Your Highness!” said the prince, getting on his knees and kowtowing .

Ling Zhang once again felt his eyes stinging, but he had to maintain a straight face and incline his head . What with his tears that had oozed out due to the glare, he blinked his eyes . Such visual stimuli were unduly intense .

“What do you think? My son is very like me, right? Handsome and charming . He’s a young version of me,” said the king .

The others nodded embarra.s.sedly . The prince was slender and well-featured, but his father was so fat his features were barely distinguishable . There was a sharp contrast between the two of them . What made the king think he and his son looked alike?

And this guy dared make pretence to being handsome and charming . Had he no shame?

“My little gentlemen, this is my son . You three should be of similar age . I think you’ll enjoy each other’s company . ” The king wasted no time recommending his son to Ling Maomao and Ji Xiaocong .

The prince was very enthusiastic and seemed to have a knack for striking up friends.h.i.+ps with others . “It’s really nice to meet you guys . I’m Hu Qian . I’m seventeen years and two months old . I’ve just had my rite of pa.s.sage . What are your names, please?”

Ling Maomao, ” … ”

“Ling Maomao . I’m eighteen . ”

With that, as though fearing that Ji Xiaocong would say something, he hastily added, “This is Childe Ji . He’s fourteen . ”

“I see . Brother Ling and Brother Ji have amazing temperament, and I’m really impressed . I had no peers to talk with during the journey, and now I finally got myself some company,” said the prince .

Ji Xiaocong couldn’t help but chuckle, “Just call me Cong . ”

“I think I’d better do as you ask instead of standing on ceremony, Cong,” said the prince immediately .

Ling Maomao, ” … ”

He imperceptibly edged sideways in an effort to hide Ji Xiaocong more safely .

The prince, as though not having perceived it, happily started to discuss this island with Ling Maomao and Ji Xiaocong .

Having seen what the king and the prince were like, Ling Zhang finally came to understand why Wei Dong had comported himself that way . That guy was a perfect ill.u.s.tration of the saying “A crooked stick will have a crooked shadow”!

“We can dispense with the formalities . Wei Dong said you arrived here a day earlier than us, so I think it’s safe to say you know more about this island than we do . I’d appreciate it if you shared your knowledge of this place with us, King of the South Ocean,” Yuwen Tong said to the king who seemed to have inclination to continue exchanging usual pleasantries .

“If there’s anything Your Majesty want to know, all you have to do is ask . I promise I’ll answer your every question with utmost honesty . But I haven’t found the time to have my men search this city either . You might not know about this – we encountered some cannibals and a band of pirates halfway to this place, and the night before last we lost a lot of men in a fight with those maniacs . We haven’t made any progress yet, but my men are already exhausted,” said the king, his face crumpling up .

On the surface he seemed frank, but in fact he was keeping something back .

The others were rendered speechless at the sight of the king’s facial expression, feeling that this guy was pretty cunning, that his answer was much less honest than the one given by Wei Dong the night before .

However, Yuwen Tong was no pushover . The King of the South Ocean wouldn’t be able to palm him off with such excuses .

“I heard that you brought an astrologist with you . He’s helped you figure out what kind of good stuff is hidden in this city, I suppose?” said Yuwen Tong .

The king smiled, “Your Majesty are as well-informed as always . May I present my astrologist?”

He turned his head and summoned the astrologist who then stepped out of the crowd . All the others, slightly scarred by the two previous experiences, subconsciously narrowed their eyes for fear of having their eyes blinded once again .

But the next moment, they saw that out of the crowd walked a geriatric wearing sumptuous, wide-sleeved robes . He was dressed entirely in white . Not only his robes but also his hair and beard were white . He was squinting, presumably because of his poor eyesight .

All the others, ” … ”

“It’s an honor to kneel before you, Your Majesty, Your Highness . ” The astrologist came forward and paid his respects to the imperial couple . He was a little tremulous when dropping to his knees, which indicated that he was indeed of advanced years .

Yuwen Jin on the side walked up to him and supported him to his feet . “Oh, so you’re that astrologist, old man . I heard you know how to interpret the patterns formed by stars, that you helped the fleet navigate out of the fog bank, cracking that spooky misdirection Formation, which was fairly impressive . Can you really read the signs of the sky? How did you see the stars in that dense mist?”

Yuwen Jin finished these words in one breath . Though his tone was a little presumptuous, he asked all the questions that the others had about this astrologist .

The astrologist quietly listened as he spoke . It was after Yuwen Jin stopped talking that he beamed, “You’re of great presence and imposing mien, General . I am indeed an astrologist, but my eyesight is not much better than that of a blind person . I couldn’t even see stars clearly when the visibility is excellent, not to mention in fog . Reading the signs of the sky is a task far beyond my capabilities now . That day I just looked up into the sky with my eyes barely open and then randomly pointed in a direction, which later turned out to be a lucky guess . ”

“You’re not telling the truth . ” Yuwen Jin did not believe him .

“Ha ha . I am, General . I really did nothing more than toss a casual glance at the sky . If you don’t believe me, you may ask … ” The old man turned his head around with the intention to have the king testify for him, and his narrowed eyes searched the crowd for the King of the South Ocean . As he caught sight of Ji Yanlai standing beside Ling Zhang, his glazed eyes abruptly widened and became piercing . “You–You’re … ”

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