United States, Amnesty Bay.
This is where DC's Aquaman Arthur Curry lived with his father, whose profession was very politically correct.
A Lighthouse Keeper.
A Lighthouse Keeper in the "Lighthouse Nation," how could it not be correct?
Actually, without searching, Fang Yuan had always thought Arthur was Nordic in his past life because his temperament was indeed somewhat similar to Thor's.
Of course, the current Arthur wasn't yet that scruffy giant of the future; he was only twelve or thirteen years old now and had only recently begun his training with Vulko.
Vulko was an advisor to the King of Atlantis and was also fiercely loyal to the previous Queen, Atlanna, so he came privately to teach Arthur and help him develop the Atlantean royal bloodline within him.
The Atlantean royalty was completely different from ordinary Atlanteans; ordinary Atlanteans were aquatic creatures who couldn't breathe on land without specialized equipment, whereas royalty didn't need it, and their physical attributes were many times stronger than those of ordinary undersea people.
However, Fang Yuan tended to think in terms of conspiracy theories.
Was Vulko teaching Arthur truly out of kindness and not because he wanted a coup?
After all, the succession of the previous King of Atlantis had too many plot holes in Fang Yuan's eyes.
"Atlanna was the true ruler, while Orm's father, Okwas, was merely the Prince Consort—they weren't even married at first."
Fang Yuan posed a soul-searching question to Bruce.
"So the Queen fled to escape a political marriage, yet the prospective Prince Consort could forcibly drag her back? Then, after the Queen gave birth to a prince, she was actually exiled? Is this not just a drama where Okwas staged a coup to take power and marry the Queen by force?"
Batman nodded as well: "It clearly seems that way."
Bruce Wayne also felt there were many plot holes; a ruler who could be forced to flee the ocean by a political marriage was clearly one who had lost power.
"So Vulko is likely preparing to use Arthur in a coup to overthrow the current royal family," Fang Yuan said confidently.
"Vulko doesn't know Atlanna is still alive," Bruce disagreed. "Vulko probably wants Arthur to be able to protect himself. If he wanted a coup, he wouldn't just teach Arthur how to develop his abilities; he would be briefing him on the situation in the undersea kingdom."
Fang Yuan suddenly squinted at Bruce: "For a Dark Knight, your thinking is quite naive. An Arthur who knows nothing would be the most 'qualified' king for Vulko, wouldn't he?"
"Power would fall right into Vulko's hands!"
Bruce shook his head; if he didn't know Vulko, he might have actually believed it.
"The Atlantean Council already existed during Atlanna's reign."
But on second thought, he realized Fang Yuan had a point. Because Vulko hadn't expected Atlanna to return, if she hadn't, the power of the Atlantean Council might have indeed fallen into Vulko's hands.
As for Mera?
Mera was only in her teens now; no one would likely have considered her.
So, it was possible that he was romanticizing Vulko because he knew him.
He who touches pitch shall be defiled; Bruce was also being influenced by Fang Yuan.
"Do you plan to just show up at his door?" Bruce asked.
The two had already walked to the coast by the lighthouse. On the distant beach, a man was teaching a young boy how to swim.
Of course, if 300 meters per second could be considered swimming.
"Wait until after Vulko leaves," Fang Yuan replied.
Bruce nodded; he also felt it was better not to let Vulko notice their presence too early.
Batman was naturally inclined toward conspiracy theories, and under Fang Yuan's influence, his gaze toward Vulko became more scrutinizing.
With a face like the Green Goblin's, it was only natural to say he was a bad guy.
After all, the last person who trusted that face was forced into 'With great power comes great responsibility.'
After teaching Arthur for a while, Vulko gave him an assignment and left.
As the King's advisor, it would easily arouse suspicion if he were gone for too long.
Arthur obediently continued practicing because Vulko had promised him that if he studied hard, he would take him to Atlantis to see his mother.
"Liar. Atlanna was sacrificed to the Trench last year," Fang Yuan grumbled.
Hearing Fang Yuan's out-of-the-blue remark, Bruce quickly understood what he was talking about.
Undersea people are people too, and no one can escape Telepathy.
Once Vulko was far away, Fang Yuan jumped into the sea from a distance. Shortly after, the surface of the sea began to churn rapidly, greatly surprising little Arthur on the shore.
He quickly ran behind a rock to hide, feeling very nervous.
"Is Atlantis coming to get me?" he thought in a panic.
Just then, Fang Yuan slowly emerged from the seabed. The seawater churned beneath his feet, lifting him up, and the surrounding sea surface was pressed down several meters by an invisible force, making Fang Yuan's figure stand out prominently, like a sea god descending upon the world.
Arthur was stunned; he had never heard Vulko mention that any undersea person could do something like this.
The seawater extended toward the shore, forming a bridge of water. Fang Yuan stepped onto it and walked before Arthur under his nervous gaze.
"I assume you are Arthur Curry?"
Fang Yuan wore a white lapel suit, looking much like Kaito Kid, but he had replaced the cape with an Ancient Greek-style one, making it look much more classical.
"Ah, yes..."
Little Arthur answered blankly.
Fang Yuan smiled slightly, radiating warm kindness toward him.
"I am Fang Yuan, the Messenger of the Sea God Poseidon. I heard the prayer of King Atlan, saying that a lost mother had appeared by his side."
"Atlanna—do you know her?"
Fang Yuan kept a smile on his face, but he couldn't stop complaining in his heart.
Atlantis... the first king was named Atlan, and the queen thousands of years later is named Atlanna. The naming is so casual; could it be that the Atlantean royal family's surname is 'At'?
There was no need to dwell on why the Messenger of the Sea God Poseidon was ethnically Chinese; after all, Poseidon himself could be Black, and if things kept going, he might even become a Black girl.
And the young, naive Arthur was clearly fooled. His eyes widened instantly because he heard a familiar name—
"Atlanna? That's my mother!"
His voice suddenly became anxious.
"Where is my mother?"
Fang Yuan patted Arthur's head.
"She is trapped at the bottom of the sea, but I happen to be heading there. Perhaps I can help you bring her back." His tone was gentle, but Arthur became very excited upon hearing this.
With his mother as the hook, and being thirteen at most, Arthur easily believed what Fang Yuan said.
"Can I go with you?" he asked, looking up hopefully.
Fang Yuan frowned, looking as if he were in a difficult position, before finally sighing. "Alright, I'll take you with me!"
Arthur immediately cheered and jumped for joy. "Hooray!"
"Hahaha!"
"I'm going to see my mother!"
Not far away, Bruce Wayne sighed and lightly rubbed his forehead.
"Bringing a hostage right to their door... Fang, you're really something else!"
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