Dragon Palace Property Management

Ao Bing looked at the words "Dragon Palace" on the stick and fell into deep thought. It was an ordinary wooden stick painted with cheap red paint, originally used to support the Dragon Palace's crumbling coral reef walls. Now, it was casually discarded in the corner of the Dragon Palace Property Management office, covered in the fishy smell of seaweed and the dust of time.

He had to face a reality: he was likely to inherit his family's property management company.

Dragon Palace Property Management, which sounded grand, was actually just the manager of a few dilapidated coral reefs and a few dilapidated waterfront properties at the bottom of the East Sea. The Dragon King, his father, had always wanted to get rid of this hot potato and devote himself to studying the latest "海底捞" (Hai Di Lao) hotpot restaurant franchise program.

"Bing'er, it's not that your father is forcing you, but even immortals have to eat these days!" The Dragon King would always say earnestly, never forgetting to slurp his pearl milk tea with a "glug glug" sound. "Look at Prime Minister Turtle next door, he's made a fortune in the seaweed mask business. If we don't transform Dragon Palace Property Management, we'll be eating dirt!"

Ao Bing knew that his father was telling the truth. In recent years, the Dragon Palace's financial situation had deteriorated. As seabed pollution worsened and coral reefs died faster, the price of waterfront properties plummeted. What's worse, the newly arrived Third Prince of the Sea God, relying on his powerful backing, was causing trouble everywhere, not only defaulting on property fees but also threatening to blow up the Dragon Palace.

Thinking of this, Ao Bing couldn't help but sigh. His original dream was to become a great demon slayer, like Nezha, riding on wind-fire wheels, holding a fire-tipped spear, slaying demons and eliminating evil, and upholding justice. But now, he was forced to take over a mess, dealing with all kinds of trivial disputes every day: the upstairs neighbor complaining that his jellyfish were farting too loudly, Old Wang next door complaining that the seahorses were running too slowly and affecting traffic, and those reckless shrimp soldiers and crab generals, gambling in groups all day long, causing endless disturbances.

"Ao Bing, what are you thinking about? We're going to attend the Third Prince of the Sea God's celebration banquet later!" A sharp voice interrupted his thoughts. It was his mother, the Dragon Queen. She was wearing an evening dress inlaid with broken shells, with thick pearl powder on her face, looking like she had just rushed back from an underwater nightclub.

"Mother, I don't want to go," Ao Bing frowned. "That Third Prince of the Sea God, relying on his connections in the Heavenly Court, is rampaging in the East Sea. I really don't want to collude with him."

"Silly child, what do you know?" The Dragon Queen rolled her eyes at him. "You can't argue with power. He was sent down by the Heavenly Court, we can't afford to offend him. Besides, this celebration banquet, I heard that the Jade Emperor will also send a representative. Maybe you can take this opportunity to get an official position."

Ao Bing knew that his mother was saying it for his own good, but he still felt uncomfortable. He always felt that he should do something more meaningful, rather than waste time in such hypocritical occasions.

The celebration banquet was held in the East Sea Crystal Palace. At the banquet, there was a lively atmosphere with clinking glasses, singing, and dancing. The Third Prince of the Sea God stood proudly on the stage, accepting everyone's flattery. He drank three jars of underwater aged wine in one gulp, then staggered to Ao Bing, put his arm around his shoulder, and said loudly, "Brother Ao Bing, we are a family from now on! In the future, the two of us will be in charge of the East Sea!"

Ao Bing forced himself to smile, suppressing his disgust. He secretly glanced at the wooden stick in the corner, and a thought suddenly came to his mind.

As the banquet reached its climax, the Third Prince of the Sea God suggested that everyone play a game: whoever could dance the wooden stick most beautifully would be rewarded with a water-repelling pearl by him.

Many monsters came forward to try, but all failed. This wooden stick looked ordinary, but it actually weighed a thousand pounds. Without some real skills, it was impossible to dance it.

It was Ao Bing's turn. He walked to the stage and picked up the wooden stick. Everyone thought he was just going through the motions, but the next second, they were all stunned.

Ao Bing held the wooden stick, his figure as fast as lightning, the stick shadows flying, like a silver dragon roaming in the Crystal Palace. His movements became faster and faster, more and more fierce, the stick wind whistling, as if to overturn the entire Crystal Palace.

Suddenly, he shouted loudly and smashed the wooden stick hard on the ground. With a loud "bang", the entire Crystal Palace shook.

Everyone took a closer look and saw that the wooden stick had broken into two pieces, revealing the hollow part inside. And in that hollow, densely packed slips of paper were stuffed.

Ao Bing picked up a slip of paper and read aloud: "The Third Prince of the Sea God, embezzling the Dragon Palace's finances, pocketing a thousand water-repelling pearls!"

The Crystal Palace was in an uproar.

It turned out that Ao Bing had secretly investigated the evidence of the Third Prince of the Sea God's crimes and hid these pieces of evidence in the wooden stick. The reason why he attended the celebration banquet was to find an opportunity to expose the true face of the Third Prince of the Sea God.

The Third Prince of the Sea God's face turned livid, and he pointed at Ao Bing and roared: "You dare to frame me! I will kill you!"

Ao Bing was not afraid, stepped forward, and engaged in a fierce battle with the Third Prince of the Sea God.

In the end, Ao Bing, with his extraordinary courage and wisdom, defeated the Third Prince of the Sea God and brought him to justice.

The East Sea returned to peace. Ao Bing did not choose to take over the Dragon Palace Property Management, but continued to pursue his dream and became a true demon slayer.

Many years later, when people asked Ao Bing what his most unforgettable experience was, he would always smile and say, "It was that broken wooden stick."