The Legend of the Underwater Palace and the Sea Dragon Prince

7. The underwater seal, and Hua Cheng strips off for His Highness

Some days later, Hua Cheng met the crown prince at the royal library, going through the scrolls he had given him a few days before: the ones used to reach the underwater palace. His Highness was beyond curious about what information on XianLe could possibly be circulating on the Mortal Realm.

"Ah, San Lang", he greeted him, not taking his eyes off the parchment, "This is intriguing! There are so many fantastic tales all over, how could you discern a grain of truth here?"

Hua Cheng smiled, "You have to read them all carefully, comparing with different sources, say government reports, and rule the inconsistencies off. Then what remains will naturally be the truth".

"There are people beyond people, and Heavens beyond the Heavens, you're a clever one!", the prince said, full of admiration, getting up from his desk and smiling.

He was wearing a multi-layered body chain linked between his arm rings and a wide golden chocker, and a battle skirt, white with golden thread woven in the fabric. For some reason Hua Cheng remembered the hunt, and His Highness scantily dressed and drenched in blood, and that reaction he had, and felt his face burning.

As if reading his mind, the crown prince said, "Why did you disappear after the whale hunt? I sent for you, but you were nowhere to be found – ", he trailed off, and, looking at Hua Cheng's face, he continued, "Oh I know. I know. I'm sorry San Lang, it was all my fault..."

What, Hua Cheng thought panicky, did anyone tell him anything, did He Xuan run off his mouth?!

"It was all that blood wasn't it?", he said, all concerned, "It made you feel uncomfortable. I'm sorry San Lang, but don't worry, that wasn't actually blood – "

Hua Cheng thought of the many times he came across a government fleet, and some stupid provincial commander tried to engage in battle, leaving a sea of blood much worse than that.

"Yes, that was it", he replied with a little smile, and added, "But Gege was amazing! I could hardly take my eyes off your, ahem, underwater martial arts, fighting with that harpoon – "

The crown prince smiled brightly, "We could go on a hunt someday – please don't feel uncomfortable again", he hurriedly added, "In the sea as in the jungle, prey and predator are the norm, and all creatures are part of the cycle of death and rebirth. Such is the Heavenly Dao".

Hua Cheng naturally didn't feel uncomfortable about hunting at all, but still made a serious face, then replied, "But, Gege, XianLe's magical air lock only works on our ships and in the city: if I went to swim in the open sea, I'd be courting death".

"Well of course", the prince laughed, "The air lock is for XianLe visitors, I can't go air locking the whole of the southern seas. I can easily give you an underwater seal though, as easy as lifting a hand".

"If Gege wants to go swimming with me, who am I to decline his invitation?", Hua Cheng said with a teasing smile.

The crown prince laughed heartily, and, beyond excited, took Hua Cheng's hand, dragging him to the hunting chambers at the back of the palace, where they found harpoons, nets, ropes, as well as traps and cages. He made himself ready, unclasping his body chain and looking somewhat shy at baring his chest. He then looked at Hua Cheng hesitantly.

The aquatic demons, Hua Cheng realised, when in their human bodies, liked to expose as much skin as they could: that's why XianLe's fashion style was rather revealing, with bare torsos and skirts or loose trousers. Hua Cheng and the pirates were always fully-robbed, so the crown prince was probably thinking it'd be too impolite for him to ask Hua Cheng to strip off.

With a smile, Hua Cheng took off his boots, outer and inner robes, keeping only his tight trousers on: his skin was as white as jade and unblemished, and he had a slender but muscular body, with a wide chest and powerful shoulder and arm muscles. His abdomen was well-defined and one could see his lower body was also strong and well-proportioned.

He felt the crown prince's golden eyes on him unblinkingly, and smiled to himself, thinking, if he likes what he sees, that's twice the results for half the effort! Smiling broadly, he confidently picked up a harpoon and stood to attention to His Highness, who would be the leader on this hunt.

He approached, and firmly placed a smooth as silk hand on Hua Cheng's chest, saying, "This will allow you to breathe and swim in the open sea".

Hua Cheng widened his eyes and felt a tingling, and looking down, saw a shimmering gold seal on his skin, which disappeared after a moment. Nodding silently, probably feeling a little embarrassed, His Highness gestured for him to follow to a door leading to the outside.

The prince effortlessly swam out and swirled around, then paused, waiting for him; Hua Cheng threw himself out like diving, using his arms to steer himself and his legs for propulsion. He immediately felt something different on his body: apart from the obvious breathing underwater, he could glide swiftly and fluidly as if he had invisible fins all over.

"Whoa, Gege give me some tips on how to control – "

But His Highness laughed and looked at his clumsy swimming tenderly, as if seeing a bird learning to fly. He really didn't know what to say: he was a sea dragon, coming into existence swimming in the deep open sea, how could he explain something he did as part of his very nature? It was like asking someone how to breathe...

He swam around Hua Cheng, cheering him on, "You're doing good, San Lang", he said, spiralling closer, "Now try not to kick with your legs, but rather use them as a, hum, a rudder, and letting your magical fins do the swishing..."

Starting to realise how the magical fins worked, Hua Cheng swam spiralling around the crown prince as well, and, getting right behind him, put both hands lightly on his waist, asking teasingly, "Do I move my hips too?" by his ear. The prince's body was just too irresistible, he had to get close...

He heard a little gasp, and His Highness turned around quickly; chest to chest, he seemed to gather himself and replied, "Your whole body, make your whole body water", with lips slightly apart and his golden eyes looking at Hua Cheng intently, burning down on his soul.

They kept swimming together, spiralling around each other: getting close, too close, skin on skin and their breaths intermingling, then slightly apart, then closer again. It was as if they couldn't get enough of each other, and Hua Cheng felt strangely hot, beyond feverish, and had a feeling the prince kept being drawn to his body heat.

He asked with a low voice, "Gege, your sea dragon body... Can I...can I see it?"

Thank you for reading, this was chapter 7 of The Legend of the Underwater Palace and the Sea Dragon Prince! Now, things are getting hot around here... 🔥🔥🔥

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