Reborn As The Short-Lived White Moonlight of the Tragic, Powerful Male Lead - Chapter 25

Chapter 25

I Didn’t Expect You to Be This Kind of Immortal Lord

Ge Wen searched his memories for a moment. “According to records, the Merman King loved luxury. He built coral palaces using exotic seabed stones, gold, silver, and pearls, where he frequently hosted grand banquets.”

The details were specific—details neither Xie Lanting nor Gu Yunqi had come across in their reading—so they listened quietly as Ge Wen continued.

“There is a saying: ‘When the bells and drums chime, the feast begins.'”

“Bells and drums…”

Xie Lanting murmured, his ears twitching… wait, ears?

He reached up and touched them, finding that his human ears were gone. Previously, only his tail had changed; now, his ears had transformed into two fins as thin as cicada wings. Chen Zhushu was the same.

Simultaneously, a distant sound of bells and drums echoed in his mind. Xie Lanting looked up toward the source: “Do you hear that?”

Chen Zhushu: “I hear it! It’s coming from over there!”

Gu Yunqi and Ge Wen shook their heads. Xie Lanting understood: “It seems only those with merman traits can hear it. The sound is a guide, likely leading to the Coral Palace.”

Chen Zhushu had fully adapted to his fish body, his eyes sparkling with excitement. “Then let’s go! Let’s see what’s there.”

The temporary alliance of four moved through the secret realm, led by Xie Lanting and Chen Zhushu’s directional hearing.

If only those transformed can hear the sound, were the ones with legs disqualified from the start?

Not necessarily. In fact, the trial had already begun.

The “fish” certainly had an advantage, but others in the secret realm would soon realize this. To find the Coral Palace, those without tails would have to find a way to follow those with them.

Cooperation was the ideal path, but in a realm filled with treasures, the spark of conflict often ended in a bloodbath.

Gu Yunqi and Ge Wen understood this. They stuck close to Xie Lanting and Chen Zhushu, remaining highly alert. As they passed a certain clearing, they saw several corpses lying on the ground; the fighting had already started.

Arriving at the Coral Palace by the hour of Mao (5–7 AM) was likely the first test. And those conspicuous fish tails? They were now walking targets.

Whether you were a merman or a human, getting to the palace was going to take some effort.

Since everyone was heading to the same destination, the closer they got, the more crowded it would become. Xie Lanting spoke up: “There are only four of us. If we run into a large group blocking the way, I have a proposal to avoid unnecessary exhaustion.”

Gu Yunqi, playing the role of a Foundation Establishment disciple, couldn’t reveal his power unless it was a life-or-death moment. He agreed unconditionally. Chen Zhushu raised both hands in support. Only Ge Wen fell into a stunned silence.

Xie Lanting asked kindly, “Does Daoist Ge have a different view? Feel free to share so we can discuss.”

Ge Wen: “…No, no. Your proposal is quite… good.”

He just hadn’t expected Xie Lanting to be this kind of Immortal Lord.

It seemed he, too, had been “poisoned” by Chen Zhushu’s romance novels. He had subconsciously expected a cold, aloof, and noble figure. Now it seemed Xie Lanting was… well, the complete opposite.

After their discussion, the group moved forward until they finally hit trouble: five humans were surrounding a single mermaid.

That merman was in the early Golden Core stage and stubborn to the bone. Xie Lanting and his group only heard a roar before feeling a massive surge of spiritual energy—the merman had chosen to self-destruct rather than surrender!

Fortunately, they weren’t close enough to be caught in the blast and retreated in time.

The five attackers scattered, cursing. When they turned around, they saw new targets: a silver merman and a red one—Xie Lanting and Chen Zhushu.

They immediately blocked the path of the four-man team.

Of the five, three were at the Golden Core stage. A fight would be risky; even if they won, they couldn’t guarantee they’d emerge unscathed, and there were unknown dangers ahead. Risking everything here wasn’t worth it. Following the plan, Xie Lanting spoke.

“Wait a moment, everyone. I have a suggestion. We can settle this peacefully.”

Among the five, the remaining two were only at the Foundation Establishment stage and had been slightly injured in the previous fight. The leader, a Golden Core cultivator, asked, “What? You’re willing to let us follow you?”

Xie Lanting nodded. “We can.”

The group was suspicious. That easy?

Xie Lanting added: “For the price of four high-grade Spirit Stones.”

The stranger shouted in anger, “You’re dreaming!”

Xie Lanting remained unhurried. “Look, you have one mid-level Golden Core, two early Golden Cores, and two injured Foundation Establishment disciples.” He pointed back at his own team. “We have two mid-level Golden Cores, one early Golden Core, and one perfectly healthy Foundation Establishment disciple.”

The “mid-levels” were himself and Ge Wen; the “early” was Chen Zhushu; plus the hidden powerhouse, Gu Yunqi.

Xie Lanting’s gaze swept over the two injured humans. “If we fight, we can definitely take those two out first. You wouldn’t just abandon your teammates, would you?”

They were wearing different disciple uniforms, meaning they were a temporary team. They were ripe for manipulation.

The three Golden Cores remained silent. Their silence spoke volumes. The two Foundation Establishment disciples felt a chill in their hearts at that silence. Already injured, they looked at each other, gritted their teeth, and stepped forward. One pulled out two Spirit Stones. “We agree!”

Xie Lanting clapped. “A pleasure doing business with you.”

He tucked the stones away with a smile and then looked at the three Golden Cores. “Now it’s six against three. Are you joining, or are we fighting?”

The situation had flipped. If they had a chance to snatch one merman before, they had none now. The three struggled for a moment before finally conceding. As they grumpily tried to join the line, Xie Lanting raised a hand. “Wait, where are your Spirit Stones?”

The leader was outraged. “Didn’t they just pay?”

“They had a falling out with you, so they don’t count toward your bill,” Xie Lanting explained. “If you don’t believe me, ask them. Are they willing to pay for you?”

The two Foundation Establishment disciples, naturally, said nothing. The three leaders were fuming; their hatred for their former teammates now surpassed their annoyance with Xie Lanting. They glared at them, reluctantly coughed up four Spirit Stones, and shoved them into Xie Lanting’s hand.

Xie Lanting didn’t mind their attitude as long as he had the goods. “Thank you for your patronage.”

He divided the stones among his four companions. This way, even if they found no treasure in the realm, they wouldn’t leave empty-handed. Xie Lanting looked at his growing squad. “Nine people. If we run into more robbers, should we raise the price?”

A business genius.

One of the new Golden Cores grumbled, “If it’s just one or two people, we should just kill them. Why bring so many?”

Naturally, they wanted as little competition as possible.

Xie Lanting looked at him wisely. “You don’t get it. What if the Coral Palace is full of traps at the entrance? Wouldn’t it be better to have people to scout the way? We ‘fish’ might be useful later, so you can’t treat us like pawns—and our original companions are off-limits too. If you touch them, we won’t help you.”

…That made sense.

The part about not touching his friends could be ignored, but the “scouts” part was very practical.

Xie Lanting smiled, playing their psychology perfectly. “Look, you got in for just a few stones. It’s a bargain. If the people coming later have to pay more, doesn’t that make you feel like you got a better deal? Doesn’t it make you happy to see others bleed for a spot?”

…That made too much sense!

The five were completely sold. To people with “blackened” hearts like them, the best way to feel better about being extorted was to watch others get extorted even worse!

“Fine,” the leader said. “When we see others, you set the price—set it high. If they don’t like it, we’ll take them down together!”

Chen Zhushu was stunned. He opened his mouth, his eyes filled with adoration. “Aaaaah, the Immortal Lord is so amazing!”

Gu Yunqi nodded calmly. “Of course.”

Ge Wen: “…”

He often felt like he was the only normal person in a group of lunatics.

But Ge Wen looked down at the Spirit Stone in his hand, thought about the potential future income, and silently swallowed his criticism. He stood quietly with them.

“I noticed something,” Xie Lanting whispered to his three friends via mental transmission. “The fish transformation might be randomly selected among Golden Core cultivators.”

No one at the Nascent Soul level or above could enter this realm. Below that, Golden Cores were the elite. If every merman was at least a Golden Core, it was impossible for anyone to sneak into the palace without a “fish” unless they had special stealth techniques.

This forced most cultivators to face each other—either to cooperate or to fight.

Xie Lanting concluded with a sigh, “This means our business is going to be very, very good today.”

Not just Gu Yunqi and Chen Zhushu, but even Ge Wen couldn’t help but feel a thrill. After all, who doesn’t like counting money while standing still?

…

Gu An had also grown a tail after passing through the water curtain. The Gu family had sent fifty people, but only ten were left with him, including Gu Jingping. They had picked up a few more on the way, so by the time they reached the Coral Palace, the team was back up to thirty.

You could call them lucky—they had stumbled upon some natural treasures on the way—but the competition was fierce. The Gu family didn’t want to miss out and insisted on fighting for them.

In the end, they didn’t get the treasures, they lost two mermen, and they made enemies with several other families. The journey had been a struggle of constant ambushes.

When the magnificent palace finally appeared before them, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

As the Gu family entered, they found people already gathered, but everyone was sitting quietly. No one was fighting. It was remarkably harmonious.

At the highest seat in the hall sat a merman with an exquisitely beautiful tail. He was draped in pearls, his dark blue hair flowing behind him. His expression was majestic; a single glance from him was enough to make one’s heart tremble.

One look told them: this was the Merman King.

Below the throne stood two beautiful mermaids. Unlike the transformed cultivators, they had soft golden hair and wore translucent veils. Their voices were enchanting: “Welcome, guests. No combat is allowed within the hall, or you will lose your status as a guest.”

That was why everyone was behaving. Everyone hoped to get a legendary merman treasure; no one wanted to be disqualified.

Mermen had been extinct for a millennium; the King and his attendants were clearly creations of the illusion.

The Gu family found a place to sit. The hall was vast and seemed to expand as more people entered.

Gu Jingping rubbed his numbing arm and cursed, “Those poisonous pests from the Qiu family! If I see them again in this realm, I’ll—” He thought about the Qiu family members they had just fought and revised his threat: “If I can’t beat them inside, I’ll make sure they pay once we’re outside!”

If you can’t win a fight, call your parents.

Gu An also took the time to regulate his breathing, looking worried. “We still haven’t found Yunqi. He’s alone and separated from us; I don’t know if he’s okay.”

Gu Jingping snorted, thinking it was better if he were dead—it would save them the trouble of collecting the body.

A moment later, the Qiu family members Gu Jingping was cursing also arrived. Enemies met with glares, but since they couldn’t fight, they were forced to sit down.

More and more people arrived, some with horrific injuries. They used the rare peace of the hall to heal. Gu Yunqi was still nowhere to be seen.

Gu An truly didn’t want Gu Yunqi to die in the realm—that would be a waste—but he thought: Gu Yunqi doesn’t necessarily need to be here. As long as he stays alive, I’ll get the treasure and take care of him once we’re out.

Just as Gu An was thinking this, a massive sound of footsteps came from outside the hall.

The aura approaching was huge—nearly a hundred people arriving at once. Everyone in the hall looked up in confusion. Which power is this? To send a hundred people into a realm and keep them all together? That’s incredible luck!

However, the people entering didn’t belong to a single sect. A massive crowd squeezed through the doors, suddenly making the hall very lively. The two leaders were particularly eye-catching—not just because one was dragging a brilliant silver tail, but because of their posture:

Gu Yunqi was carrying Xie Lanting with one arm. Xie Lanting sat steadily on Gu Yunqi’s forearm, a posture even more convenient than a princess carry. It left Gu Yunqi with one hand free, and aside from requiring a bit of arm strength, it had no drawbacks.

Fortunately, Gu Yunqi was strong enough to carry him the whole way without breaking a sweat.

Xie Lanting surveyed the hall with a relaxed expression, wagging the tip of his tail playfully. “It seems we aren’t late.”