Chapter 135: Quick, Take a Photo with the Divine Dragon!

After hearing what the bishops had to say, Louis wore a rather strange expression. The culture of this Land of Clouds seemed somewhat similar to his homeland. But he was no citizen of the Land of Clouds; he was from the Celestial Empire.

"This... what if I can't trigger the twelve auspicious signs?"

Crowley and Yingling quickly shot Louis a look—why on earth were you so blunt?

The two bishops chuckled, clearly implying "don't worry"—you will definitely trigger an auspicious sign! The bribes had already been paid, after all!

"What happens today stays between us—rest easy, young friend. There are records to verify; the Land of Clouds has hundreds of thousands of people with royal blood. One more or one less doesn't matter."

"Don't worry, young friend. Later, Mr. Li Ming will summon the divine dragon and use the 'art of physiognomy' to confirm your lineage—if anything seems off, he will fix it for you."

No sooner had they finished speaking than the two bishops were proven wrong. Mr. Li Ming, having eaten and drunk his fill, had closed his eyes and begun to meditate. A priest hurried over from Li Ming’s side and whispered to the bishops, "Mr. Li Ming says the time is not right. He asks us to come back in the afternoon."

This left the two bishops feeling quite awkward.

[Clearly, the person deciding whether your prince profile is authentic does not think you are a student from the Land of Clouds. You decide that perhaps you should...]

[a. Li Ming is a native of the Land of Clouds. Since studying abroad in England, he has had trouble adjusting. If you are his friend 'Li Hua,' offer a brief comforting remark to help him find the feeling of studying foreign languages back home (within 100 characters).]
[Completion reward: Land of Clouds Passport*1, Photo with the Divine Dragon*1, Random Attribute +1, EXP +100]

[b. The money the bishops paid might not be enough, and Mr. Li Ming is somewhat dissatisfied. Take out some more and quietly slip it to him so he can get you a good zodiac sign.]
[Completion reward: Land of Clouds Passport*1, Empty Money Pouch*1]

Looking at the narration before him, Louis fell into deep thought.
A zodiac sign... this was definitely the Chinese Zodiac, right?! And that 'a'—that was a reading comprehension test, wasn't it? It was a reading comprehension test, right?!

[You seem to have misunderstood something. Please do not mess around.]

Louis walked forward, stood before Li Ming with a grave expression, and performed a very formal British aristocratic bow. Li Ming was stunned for a moment, then returned the gesture with an equally formal British bow. The two stared at each other for a long time.

Suddenly, Louis spoke a line of Solundian common tongue with a heavy ancient Nanjing accent.
Louis waved and feigned a smile: "How are you, sah?"
Li Ming waved and feigned a smile: "Fine, I'm fine, thank you very much. And you?"
Louis waved and feigned a smile: "Fine, thank you."

After finishing, the two stared at each other, stunned for a long time.
Li Ming waved and feigned a smile: "Nice to meet you."
Louis waved and feigned a smile: "Nice to meet you too."

[Agility +1]
[EXP +100]

Apparently, people from the Land of Clouds in this world learned foreign languages.

After Louis finished, the panda monk, Li Ming, sat up solemnly. He picked up a small bamboo stick, walked over to the small blackboard, and while glancing at Louis, began to write in a mystical, rambling fashion.

The two bishops couldn't help but gape at Louis—was he actually a student from the Land of Clouds?
Louis also gapped slightly, because he saw the panda monk looking at him while writing a line of crooked seal script on the blackboard used for the passport photo:
*You, are, royal, descendant, of, the, dragon...*

Louis was dumbfounded. Was this not a little too sloppy? This was way too sloppy, wasn't it?!
"You guys dragged me here today just to mess with me, didn't you?!"
"Can this passport even be used?!"

"Oh~ this is Mr. Li Ming’s unique art of physiognomy—it can reveal what kind of auspicious creature you are." The Cardinal explained with a smile: "What he wrote are the ancient secret scripts of the Land of Clouds—these scripts change according to a person's physiognomy and bloodline. Very mysterious."

Are you trying to fool a fool? Are you trying to trick a foreigner?!
Big brother, look! He even wrote typos! This is clearly Li Ming making things up to swindle money, right?!

Halfway through, Mr. Li Ming seemed to have forgotten the characters. He scratched his rear, glanced back at the illiterate crowd, and scribbled a few messy strokes to replace the characters. He couldn't even be bothered to write the typos correctly!

Before Louis could say anything, Li Ming suddenly tossed the chalk into the air and began to dance around like a shaman on the ground. Suddenly, Louis felt a surge of powerful magical fluctuations erupt from Li Ming, and his entire body began to glow.

Louis’s pupils constricted: "This, this... what is he doing?"
"Summoning the divine dragon!" the various bishops and priests whispered mysteriously.
"???"
"Rest easy, young friend," Bishop John said with a smile, as if to say—this is a legitimate passport issued by the Lunar Court; could it be a farce? Just stay calm and watch!
Bishop Alwin was also all smiles: "Young friend, Mr. Li Ming is very effective—look, the divine dragon is appearing. You will be taking a photo with it shortly."

Louis looked over in shock and suspicion, seeing the panda monk sneakily turning his back to the crowd, pulling a talisman from his robes, and tossing it into the sky. The talisman turned into a small paper dragon and began to fly in the air. The bishops, priests, Yingling, and Crowley all looked on in amazement.

[Clearly, this is the divine dragon. Go get ready for the photo.]
'With your sister!'
'I don't want this! I don't want this goofy thing on my passport photo!'

The priests hurried to pick up the camera, signaling for Louis to stand in position.
"I haven't even dripped my blood yet!" Louis shouted in his heart. 'I'm not doing this! If I take this passport photo out and claim I'm royalty, who would believe it? It’s insulting! Once I drip my blood and no auspicious sign appears, I’ll find an excuse to leave!'

This reminded the priests, and they looked at the panda monk in confusion. The monk paused, realizing he had missed a step.

"Cough." The monk clasped his hands together and said solemnly: "Donor, sincerity leads to miracles, *hic*, there is no need to be so formal—just pick up a handful of yellow soil, throw it into the lake, and bow slightly. The divine dragon will sense your aura, and then it will possess me to verify your identity."

The bishops stroked their beards and looked at each other, agreeing it made sense.
The panda man blinked: [Countryman, don't blow my cover! Hurry up!]
'It really is fake!'

Louis’s mouth twitched. He looked at the lotus flowers in the lake and sighed. He didn't intend to get this damn passport. But looking at the lotus flowers and bamboo, he couldn't help but feel a touch of nostalgia. He decided to bow and then leave. He would consider it a bow to his distant homeland.

After sighing, Louis scooped up some yellow soil, sprinkled it into the lake filled with the "divine dragon's river water," and then straightened his clothes and bowed solemnly. Seeing Louis’s sincerity, the bishops, priests, Yingling, and Crowley were all moved—this was, after all, thousands of miles away from home. The panda monk also clasped his hands, looking somewhat melancholic.

Suddenly, everyone saw a five-clawed golden dragon soar out of the lake.
With a crack of thunder, to everyone’s utter astonishment, the massive golden dragon circled in the sky, transformed into human form, and landed on the ground. It was actually a young dragon girl with dragon horns (antlers) wearing ancient silk robes!

Louis, Yingling, and Crowley all gaped at Li Ming and the bishops—is this real?!
Li Ming and the bishops—we're seeing this for the first time too, okay!
Louis’s eyes—then why did I trigger the divine dragon? I’m a fake!
Li Ming and the bishops—you ask us, who do we ask?!

The dragon girl looked ethereal. After landing, she stood with her hands behind her back and scanned the crowd.

[A strange young dragon girl (human form) who is traveling and stopped by for a look]
[Height: 165cm]
[Weight: 45.5kg]
[Strength: 94]
[Agility: 45]
[Magic: 104]
[Clearly, in human form, her stats differ significantly from her true form—but they are still quite impressive.]

Louis was speechless: 'These measurements... they seem pretty good.'

After looking around, the dragon girl’s gaze fell on Yingling, then she stretched and asked in a tone reminiscent of Jianghuai and Nanjing dialects: "Fox spirit, eh?"
Yingling shook her head blankly.
"Foreigner." The dragon girl shook her head and looked at Louis: "Cloud countryman, eh? Here to see relatives?"
Louis: "Uh..."
"Got it." The dragon girl nodded, picked up a small bamboo stick from the ground, and while looking at Louis’s face, wrote a line of glowing ancient seal script on the board used for the photos.

Louis was stunned. He looked at the panda monk, Li Ming—so this art of physiognomy is actually real?!
Panda man Li Ming rolled his eyes—could it be fake?! This is a passport! Did you think I was just dancing around for fun? But these dragon gods don't usually come abroad; could this guy actually be royalty?

Before anyone could react, the writing was finished—*You, are, royal, descendant, of, the, dragon: Lu Yi, born of the heaven and earth's primordial energy, nephew of the Crooked-Mouthed Dragon King, studied abroad since childhood, has been [several typos] for many years...* (She seemed to have forgotten many characters toward the end and just scribbled a few strokes).

'Same habits as Li Ming! You guys are way too sloppy!'

After writing, the dragon girl clapped her hands, pulled the dazed Louis over to the background board, shoved the sign into his arms, and took a photo together.

The priests hurriedly snapped away with their cameras. The dragon girl stood beside the dazed Louis, making a 'V' sign, then cupping her chin, posing for several shots.

[Photo with the Divine Dragon*12]

Afterward, the dragon girl went to check the photos with the photographer, picked a few good ones, and told them to use those for the passport. The priests nodded nonchalantly and left with the documents to process the paperwork, leaving Louis standing there, still holding the sign, looking completely disheveled.

The dragon girl walked up to Louis with her hands behind her back, looked him over curiously, patted his shoulder, and laughed: "Relative, eh?"
Louis pointed at his own nose: "I, I am... what does 'born of heaven and earth's primordial energy' mean??"
"You ask me, who do I ask?" After saying this, the dragon girl thought: 'Could he have popped out of a rock? Did the great-uncle, who covets merit and guards the Heavenly Tablet all day, strike up a connection?'
'But this kid looks like he has the bloodline; he's a sea king class—so long, so thick, so big!'

After pondering for a moment, the dragon girl suddenly asked: "How is the old Dragon King doing lately?"
Louis looked at the dragon girl blankly, nodded, then shook his head.
The dragon girl frowned: "You're a weirdo."
With that, she transformed into a golden dragon, shot into the sky, and vanished.
Rain began to pour from the sky.

Louis held the sign, staring blankly at the sky, speechless for a long time.
"Do I have a cheap uncle, the Crooked-Mouthed Dragon King, in this world?"