"No! Father King..."
"Alright, it's getting late. Everyone go back and rest early." Ming Li calmly interrupted the Thirteenth Prince, stood up, patted his shoulder, and said, "The situation is settled, don't struggle anymore, it's useless. It's late, hurry back and wash up to sleep."
With that, the young girl's figure flashed and disappeared from the spot.
Thirteenth Prince, "..."
Seeing Ming Li leave, the Thirteenth Prince looked at the old King with a wronged expression, "Father King..."
Meeting his foolish son's pleading gaze, the old King quickly waved his hand, sighed, and said with a world-weary tone, "Alas... Father King is old! I can't stay up anymore! Thirteenth, it's getting late, hurry back and rest."
The weak, helpless, pitiful Thirteenth Prince with no right to speak, "..."
Seeing the Thirteenth Prince about to leave, the old King, suddenly remembering something, called out to him and said, "By the way, Thirteenth, since you are now my heir to the throne, you should complete the tasks in that little booklet you have. Otherwise, there will be a lot of trouble at the succession ceremony a year from now."
Hearing this, the Thirteenth Prince's eyes lit up. He quickly took out the little booklet and threw it on the table, saying, "Father King, I won't do it."
The old King calmly glanced at the booklet on the table and said in a flat tone, "Oh, then I'll tell your eldest sister."
Thirteenth Prince, "..."
In the end, the Thirteenth Prince resignedly took the booklet and left.
Seeing this, the old King smiled, sat back in his chair, and happily started eating again...
Meanwhile, back in his sleeping quarters, the Thirteenth Prince, with a numb expression, found a place to sit down, opened the little booklet in his hand, and began to look at the tasks.
One: Find the King's lost ring;
Two: Obtain a feather from a Golden Bird;
Three: Obtain a Golden Bird's egg;
Four: Obtain a Golden Apple;
Five: Obtain a Snow Lotus from the Cold Ridge of the Forest;
Six: Obtain a cup of spring water from the Fountain of Eternal Life;
Seven: Find a singing bird;
Eight: Obtain a scale from a mermaid;
Nine: Obtain a mermaid's tear;
Ten: Obtain three Life Leaves from the Tree of Eternal Life;
Eleven: Obtain a fairy's feather cloak;
Twelve: Obtain the sword of the southern witch.
After reading the tasks, the Thirteenth Prince, "..."
Does the Golden Bird really exist in this world?
What the heck is the Fountain of Eternal Life?
A singing bird?
Mermaids? Do they eat people?
What does the Tree of Eternal Life look like?
What is a fairy's feather cloak?
I heard that the southern witch is notoriously ill-tempered. If I take her sword, won't she just kill me out of anger...
Thinking about it, the Thirteenth Prince subconsciously swallowed, clutching the booklet in his hand, feeling the urge to cry.
Despite his thousandfold reluctance, the Thirteenth Prince set off the next day.
He rode the deer borrowed from Ming Li and embarked on his quest.
Before he left, the old King gave him a hint that his ring was lost in the river to the east.
Thirteenth Prince, "..."
Soon, the Thirteenth Prince arrived at the river the old King had mentioned.
Looking at the river, which was over thirty meters wide, the Thirteenth Prince fell into thought. At this moment, he really wanted to grab his father King's shoulders and shake him violently, asking him why he was so stupid as to lose his ring in the river.
Just as the Thirteenth Prince was feeling despair, the previously calm river surface suddenly stirred.
Looking towards it, he saw a whirlpool appear in the center of the river, and from the center of the whirlpool, a green thing slowly rose...
Thirteenth Prince, "..." Where did this water ghost come from?
Hearing this, the 'River God' who had just emerged twitched his mouth, "How dare you! I am the River God! How dare you disrespect me!" Wait! Hasn't he said this line before? Why does it feel strangely familiar??
Thinking, the 'River God' inadvertently caught sight of the deer drinking water beside him, startling him so much that he stumbled, almost falling headfirst into the river.
"This horse... this horse..." Have I seen it somewhere before?!
The memories he had deliberately forgotten began to gradually clear up in his mind.
After a while, the 'River God' lifted the water plants from his forehead and looked seriously at the youth in front of him. Upon seeing the somewhat familiar face, the 'River God' let out a startled cry and plunged into the river, only his upper half of his head showing, and asked, "You, you! What is your relationship with that female demon? Why do you look so much like her?!"
Thirteenth Prince, "???"