Elena dove into the water, stripping her clothes off and tossing them to me. "Comrade Zhao Qian, is it shameful for a husband to wash his wife's laundry?"

Seeing my hesitation, Longnü took Elena's garments from me. "Sister Nana, let me help you."

Elena clutched her ample chest as she emerged from the lake, snatching back her clothes. "How could this be! You're royalty, not a commoner to do menial work for us. Longnü, don't spoil Zhao Qian too much - I won't hold him accountable when we return home."

My relationship with Longnü had never been mentioned to Elena. She curled up against me every night while feeding in her sleep, entirely unaware of our secret. That's why she rarely brought up anything about us.

Longnü reclaimed the clothes with a decisive hand motion. "What courtesy? I've never washed my own laundry before, but I'm confident in doing this."

Before Elena could object, Longnü really began scrubbing in the water. Elena being openly flirtatious no longer adhered to formalities either - she was washing her seductive body while Longnü laundered by the lake's edge. Sitting there watching this idyllic scene unfold brought me immeasurable joy.

Elena specifically teased me, frequently exposing her full breasts from the water and rubbing them as if cleansing herself. Seeing my flushed face, Longnü gave a quiet giggle. "Dragon Envoy, do you find female bosoms particularly attractive?"

"Certainly," I replied, "All men appreciate that beauty. Do your men not share this preference?"

Longnü shyly answered, "I don't know - I haven't interacted with other men."

I deliberately stared at her chest and asked, "Do you possess the same fullness as Elena there?"

Lowering her head, Longnü whispered almost inaudibly, "Not telling you. You already swore never to gaze or touch these three forbidden points."

I countered, "I meant excluding myself from that rule."

"Why exclude me? I am a man too," she retorted slyly. The dragon maiden had learned how to tease men now - unlike Elena who always submitted to my desires at night without fail. Truthfully, I hadn't even touched her once yet, and this made me intensely desire possession of her body. Males were like that - the more unattainable something was, the more precious it seemed.

"Ahhh! Someone beneath us!" Elena suddenly cried out, then rushed toward us from the lake's depths with clumsy stumbles causing several near falls. Startled, I leapt into the water to catch her in my arms.

Bare-chested, Elena threw herself into my embrace. Her full bosoms had already begun dripping milk after being rubbed clean, quickly soaking through my shirt before I could even switch on my laser sword for a full underwater scan.

Elena trembled with fear, "Someone's hiding below - I stepped onto him!"

I glanced downward while speaking, "How do you know it's human? Could be just fish."

"It definitely is a person! He had legs and arms... even touched me there!" she insisted.

"Another lecherous bastard," I growled, "Go to the shore while I dive down after him."

I tossed Elena onto the bank, shut off my laser sword, then dove deep into the lake. From above water's surface only two vague silhouettes were visible - confirming they weren't merely fish. Who could these be? Mermaids from legend perhaps? I should have asked Longnü about aquatic human hybrids long ago... Maybe the myths of siren creatures were actually true!

Underwater, my vision miraculously sharpened with total clarity as if this domain was intimately familiar and comforting to me. Two naked figures crouched at the lakebed when they saw me dive, immediately fleeing toward deeper waters. My body moved instinctively - I closed distance instantly, seizing both by hand before springing upward from the depths.

Now that danger had passed, I finally noticed their appearances: two seemingly normal humans with unusually smooth skin unlike dark-haired primitives or sickly yellow clones. Most notably, one was female bearing prominent white bosoms completely unashamed of her nakedness beneath our collective gaze.

Elena had wrapped her damp clothes around herself to cover up - far more shy than this underwater woman who proudly displayed her assets without fear. "Why were you hiding below? And who touched me?" the novel demanded from 16k.cn's exclusive first serialization, prohibiting unauthorized distribution or excerpting. Visit www.16k.cn for latest and fastest chapters!

The male figure stood up dramatically, causing Elena to hide in my arms again while he defiantly roared at us with no fear shown. Naturally we couldn't understand his language, but Longnü present here had a surprised expression and began conversing using their dialect. As we remained clueless about the exchange, our attention shifted elsewhere until Longnü returned explaining: "Dragon Envoy, these are descendants of the Bai clan - this man is named 'Bai' while that woman accompanying him is called 'Xue'."

Before I could respond, Elena interjected cynically, "Is there even a concept of marriage in matrilineal societies?"

Longnü explained, "That's my translation. Xue is merely Bai's research assistant, and despite their professional relationship he harbors affection toward her - by your homeland's standards they can be considered husband and wife."

I asked further, "Was the Bai clan one of the ten interstellar arks returning to Earth?"

"Yes," Longnü nodded, "Their ancestors were originally the Water Planet Academy's director overseeing its civilization's highest technologies. After returning home their family dedicated themselves to genetic research for adapting humans to new terrestrial conditions. However after Konghui's rebellion broke out, they became first targets and we lost contact with them."

"This is a significant discovery," I mused, "Why would such an important figure appear in water? Could this suggest plans for oceanic human expansion?"

Longnü shook her head, "They're actually evading the rebels. After their clan was overthrown Bai and Xue were captured at rebel bases continuing genetic experiments against their will. Recently they escaped during a security lapse but now face endless rebel forces everywhere. This lake just happened to be convenient shelter."

"Can they survive underwater without breathing?" I asked curiously.

Longnü explained, "Bai's family achieved breakthroughs after centuries of research - through epidermal respiration similar to fish gills. Oxygen from water passes through their skin filtering into the bloodstream."

"Remarkable!" I exclaimed, "This could enable humanity's ocean colonization, possibly even underwater civilizations!"

"Precisely," Longnü agreed, "I explained this to them and they're willing to accompany us back to Dragon Mountain for continued research. They claim solutions exist soon for humanity's adaptation challenges in current Earth conditions - great news indeed."

"Then what are we waiting for?" I urged everyone to gather quickly.

Just then hoofbeats approached as centaur riders thundered toward us. After listening briefly, Longnü warned me urgently, "Rebels are coming! We must leave immediately!"

Since Xiao Ke and others had remained at the tribal village we passed through earlier, several spare centaurs were still available besides Bai and Xue - enough mounts for all of us to ride. As soon as everyone mounted up we began our frantic escape race.

However even centaurs couldn't sustain constant speed indefinitely, especially not natural beings rather than machines. As our pace slowed gradually, engine noises roared ominously from behind. I initially assumed Konghui had invented some monstrous insect-like machines until I glanced back - tanks!