Man on the ark, forced to become king

"I've been having some free time lately, so I watched a few TV dramas. The heroes in them all stand like this, so I thought I'd try to imitate them. There's nothing special about it."

Qing Lei Bo waved his hand casually, thought for a moment, and deliberately lowered his voice to explain softly: "The matter of the Sui Beast fragments is naturally of great importance, but at this moment, they are not important."

"Then what's important?"

Watching the four figures disappear into the distance, Shen Lou's doubts deepened.

What could be more important than a fragment of the Year Beast?

Haven’t you heard of it?

"Did you see that young man walking with them?"

Qing Lei Bo pointed, and Shen Lou looked closely and nodded.

“I see it, but it seems… nothing special? Forgive my poor eyesight, Lord Qing Lei, please speak frankly.”

"Not special? That's good then, phew~"

A flash of lightning ignited the old potter's pipe, which he had somehow produced. Qing Lei Bo took a puff and tapped the ashes on the roof, startling Yu Shi Shen Lou, who quickly summoned a cloud of water mist to extinguish the embers.

"Oh dear, please be careful. This is the roof of the government office, not your pottery kiln. What if it catches fire? What, do the heroes in TV dramas like to flick cigarette ash on the roof of the government office?"

"No, that's my own creation. A great hero doesn't smoke."

Qing Lei Bo waved his hand dismissively and laughed, "As the saying goes, the greatest hermit lives in the city. Sometimes, the more ordinary a person seems, the more special they are. Take that person for example, how could someone who can mingle with two fragments of the Year Beast be ordinary?"

"If they were just ordinary people, they wouldn't even look at them!"

“That gentleman, whose surname is Lin and given name is Lu, is a very important person. You have misjudged him.”

"Mr. Lin Lulin? A big shot? How big?"

The figure in the distance grew smaller and smaller. Shen Lou looked left and right until it completely disappeared at the end of the street, but he couldn't figure it out. So he had to ask Qing Lei Bo beside him.

"It's even bigger than the three fragments of the Year Beast combined. My senior brother sent me a letter some time ago, in which he said that with that Mr. Lin around, our Great Yan could be relieved of its urgent crisis. Would you say such a person is big or not?"

"That's certainly a big deal. So, today's events were all due to Mr. Lin's influence?"

Shen Lou thought and thought about Lin Lu, but he had no recollection of her whatsoever.

Who would have thought that after living in seclusion in Shangshu for so many years, such a figure would emerge from the Yan Kingdom?

"That's right. Otherwise, if the three fragments of the Year Beast were gathered in Shangshu, and even the slightest hint of it got out, wouldn't those young people from the Year Sitai flock over like cats smelling fish?"

"The fragments of the Year Beast entered the city so openly and without any concealment. Do you think the Imperial Household Department and the Ministry of Rites are blind?"

“They know perfectly well what's going on, but they all pretend to be deaf and dumb and keep quiet. That's fine, it saves me a lot of trouble.”

"If I am not mistaken, the Grand Tutor should already be on his way to Shangshu."

"Wow, the Grand Tutor himself is really something. Mr. Lin is quite something."

Upon hearing the news that the Grand Tutor was about to arrive in Shangshu, Shenlou gasped and was immediately filled with awe.

Grand Tutor, what kind of person is that?

The current Grand Secretary, ranked among the Three Dukes, the Emperor's tutor, the pillar of the Yan Kingdom, the golden beam that spans the sea—even he had to make a special trip to Shangshu to see Mr. Lin. This level of respect is truly boundless.

"Let me tell you, don't spread rumors. Before, in Longmen, Mr. Lin had a sparring match with my senior brother. It was said that they were evenly matched, but in reality, my senior brother lost."

Qing Lei Bo chuckled, looked around, and then mysteriously leaned close to Shen Lou's ear and whispered something, startling Shen Lou into widening his eyes.

"And also—never mind, I'm hungry. I should go home and find something to eat."

"Hey? You, the mighty Qing Lei Bo of the Great Yan Dynasty, such a high-ranking official, how come you've picked up this habit of only saying half of what you mean?"

Shen Lou frowned, stamped his foot, and although he wanted to ignore it, he couldn't suppress his curiosity any longer. He gritted his teeth and said, "Drunken Immortal Pavilion, it's on me. Are you satisfied now?"

"Okay, okay—no, why are you stomping your feet? Why aren't you running away?"

Qing Lei Bo clapped his hands and laughed, then his expression changed and his figure vanished instantly.

Yu Shi Shen Lou was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening, and with a leap, he ran after him.

pat--!

Below, Liang Xun, the prefect of Shangshu, who had been busy all day, came out of the house with a cup of midday tea, only to see several tiles slide down from the roof and shatter on the ground. His hand holding the teacup froze in mid-air.

He looked up and saw only a small, fleeting image of a straw raincoat. After a moment's thought, a well-shaped mark appeared in his mind.

"Someone, fix the roof and send the bill to the dock!"

-------------------------------------

"It's been quite a while since I last visited Shangshu. This place seems to have remained unchanged at all?"

The streets were bustling with pedestrians. Ling led Nian and Xi along the road, with Lin Lu following beside them.

After walking for a while, Nian's restless nature couldn't be contained. He started looking around and even dared to speak.

"Times have passed, and the old people and events have long since changed color, but Shang Shu remains Shang Shu."

Ling walked in front, answered casually, looked around as if he had seen something, suddenly stopped, turned around, and walked into a restaurant.

"Shopkeeper, the usual, fill it up, and then..."

She walked confidently to the counter, put down her wine gourd, took out a small purse, opened it to look inside, and then continued speaking.

"Let's get a private room, a few of our signature dishes, two jugs of good wine, hmm... let's have four dishes, no soup."

"Sister Ling, don't be so stingy. Four dishes aren't enough. We've been starving for most of the day."

Nian peeked out from behind her and whispered, "You only brought this little money with you? How about we buy two jugs of wine and go to your mountain to find some wild game to make a hot pot?"

"Shut up, you're not allowed to eat! You've already eaten enough!"

Hearing what Nian said made him feel a little embarrassed.

She has always been carefree and unrestrained, intoxicated by the hustle and bustle of the world, seeking only a carefree life.

But this carefree life also costs money. You can't just drink other people's wine and use their paper and ink for free, can you?

Even immortals have to pay their bills properly when they eat.

Unfortunately, she lived in the mountains and had nothing of value, practically penniless. She usually earned money for wine by writing a few lines of poetry, which was enough to support her.

These days, when it comes to treating guests to a meal, that little spare money doesn't seem like much.

Shangshu is a picturesque city with many tourists, which also means that prices are not low.

Being able to book a private room, order a few dishes and two pots of fine wine was all the savings she had left. This silly girl, can't she see that she's short of money? Why does she have to point it out here?

If it were just a few sisters, it would be fine; they could simply be sent to the mountains to starve. But now that there are outsiders present, and they're saying these things about her, how can she save face?

Those two silly kids are always causing her trouble!

Standing to the side, Lin Lu scratched her head, feeling that this older woman seemed a little different from what she had imagined.

Why does it seem like these fragments of the Year Beast are living rather ordinary lives?

Xi is a shut-in who even draws her own clothes. Sometimes she even draws things to eat to comfort herself.

Needless to say, in 2010, none of the terrible films he made could be sold, resulting in losses, and he is still owed a lot of money.

How come this lady is also so... uh... strapped for cash?

However, Nian was right about one thing on the way: the two of them are now Lin’s people. They came to Shangshu to find their relatives and visit their elder sister. How could they let their elder sister spend money?

Moreover, this woman is already living in such dire straits, so we must not make her already impoverished life even worse.

Although he had just scrapped a valuable custom-made armored off-road vehicle from Raytheon Industries, Lin didn't care about the cost of a meal.

Snapped!

A bright orange gold bar was placed on the counter, relieving Ling from his awkward situation.

Lin Lu coughed lightly and said, "Ahem, innkeeper, I want the best private room. Bring out all the fine wine and food you like. If that's not enough, come find me again."

"Oh dear, that's too much, that's enough! Please come upstairs, gentlemen. Just a moment, we'll bring you the best wine and food!"

Holding the gold bar in his hand, which felt quite heavy, the shopkeeper immediately beamed with joy and greeted him repeatedly, personally coming out from behind the counter to lead the way.

"How can this be so embarrassing..."

Holding her small purse in her hand, she felt even more awkward.

In fact, she had a way to resolve this matter. In Shangshu City, not many people knew her identity, but she still had some influence, so asking for a meal and drinks was no big deal for her.

However, at this moment, she was not quite sure about the young man's identity. He seemed to be just an ordinary person, and it was not appropriate for him to reveal some of his methods. Otherwise, he would not have been hosting a dinner party in a local restaurant.

"It's nothing, it's a small matter."

Lin Lu smiled and waved her hand, giving a wink. Nian's eyes lit up, and she immediately pushed Ling forward, going upstairs and sitting in the private room.

"Sister Ling, Lin Lu knows our identities, so you don't need to hide them from him."

Once inside the private room, Nian casually leaned back in his chair and pointed out something that Ling had been concerned about.

This is easy to understand.

In the past, they wouldn't have dared to reveal their status in front of ordinary people. Even the eldest sister, who was always carefree, had many concerns about this. It seems that she treated Lin Lu as an ordinary person, which is why she invited her to dinner.

If it were someone who knew their true identities, Sister Ling would never be so polite; she would never invite them to dinner.

To be honest, it was the first time your sister had ever treated us to a meal; it was truly unprecedented, something even she had never seen before.

Why is it that in the past thousand years, these fragments of their lives have never had any close interaction with mortals?