Dragon Tamer

Chapter 539: Chapter 541: Oblivious to Kindness
 

“Then I’ll have to trouble Brother Zheng Yu to make a few more trips, for those people in Runyu City are all trustworthy,” Zhu Minglang said.

Runyu City is truly wealthy.

Just on the way here, someone from Runyu City had sent a message stating that they had converted some of this year’s earnings into gold and silver, and that it would be transferred to the money house under the name of City Lord Zhu Minglang in a few days.

With four million jin, he could just cover the large amount of money he had recently spent.

As for the funds borrowed from Zhu Gate, Zhu Minglang had no plans to repay them.

After all, he had preserved the Serene Fire Liquid for Zhu Gate. What’s wrong with using a bit of his own money?

Although the face of the junior elder who handed over the money was exceedingly unpleasant…

“By next year, I guarantee the profits will be fivefold, and we can even raise a Dragon General army to subdue several nearby restless countries, so as not to interfere with trade routes. The countries of the Tea-colored Ground are incredibly ignorant and conservative, their people suffering untold hardships, while their rulers still indulge in lavish construction and impose heavy taxes and conscription,” Zheng Yu said.

“Mm-hmm, I’ll leave it to you. When it comes to governance, I trust only you, Zheng Yu,” Zhu Minglang nodded vigorously.

Looking at Zhu Minglang askance, Zheng Yu finally said, “Brother Zhu, from the sound of it, do you intend to be an absentee landlord? The Female Monarch expands her territory as if she’s pruning her own backyard. I’ve just returned from Runyu City, and the grassland city-states to the west of Rui Country are now all under our domain on the map. As National Aid, if I don’t look at the map for three days, I can hardly make out the boundaries of our own kingdom!”

“One must labor more who can. With your kind of wisdom, Brother Zheng, not governing a vast expanse of stars and the myriad worlds would be a waste of talent!” Zhu Minglang said.

“Ah, maybe it is indeed my fault for being too narrow-minded to keep up with you and the Female Monarch. By the way, Brother Zhu, did you urgently seek me out for something important?” Zheng Yu heaved a sigh, a resigned expression on his face.

Zhu Minglang handed a piece of paper with information about the Void Crystal to Zheng Yu.

Zheng Yu read it once and then recalled.

“It seems there really is such an item, like a small beehive. We encountered some attacks from Veins of the Earth Demonic Beasts while clearing this earth vein passage; turns out they were guarding this so-called Void Crystal,” Zheng Yu remarked.

“This item is very important to me,” Zhu Minglang revealed with a smile.

“It should be in Wutu. If you’re in a hurry, Brother Zhu, let’s head there together,” Zheng Yu offered.

“You go ahead and rest for a bit first; there’s no rush,” Zhu Minglang replied.

…

Though he said rest, Zheng Yu still organized the documents from the Imperial Dynasty’s court sessions and the inspection report from Runyu City, presenting them to Li Yunzi.

The next morning, Zhu Minglang set out with Zheng Yu towards Wutu.

In the past, traveling from Ancestral Dragon City to Wutu would take at least one or two days, but now with the Heavenly Slaughter Dragon, it was just a matter of a mealtime, and that’s with the Heavenly Slaughter Dragon flying leisurely.

Having passed through Rising Sun City, Wutu had drastically changed from its initial state.

In the process of continuous mining, Wutu not only became increasingly prosperous but also, influenced by the World Dragon Gate’s Time Wave, its land turned lush and verdant—a stark contrast to its previously barren appearance. Nowadays, many no longer deliberately distinguished between Li Chuan and Wutu. The former Eastern Rising Sun City Fortress had become nothing more than a city for people to stop over in.

With the citizens living and working in peace and contentment, having experienced poverty and disaster, the people of Wutu were more diligent than those from other regions. After becoming rich in resources, every city, town, and village was constructed more exquisitely than some small countries on the Supreme Court Courtyard Continent.

All nine cities of Wutu were now of city-state caliber. Along the way, one could see many caravans transporting ores. Of course, with the influence of the Time Wave, it was also common to see the figures of cultivators from the Supreme Court Courtyard Continent.

“It should be in that Scorpio Mine area. If I remember correctly, it’s used as an object to repel demonic beasts,” said Zheng Yu.

Upon reaching a Purple Ore Mountain range about two hundred miles from Eternal City—and incidentally, even closer to Sang Town where Zhu Minglang used to live—

Zhu Minglang had some recollections of these mountains. During winters when it was difficult to raise silkworms, Zhu Minglang had explored the mountains with the townspeople. However, they were not discerning enough to recognize the value of the purple ore, which was on par with gold.

The value of purple ore was very high. When smelted into Purple Rock, it was one of the favorite indoor paving tiles among rich officials and nobles. As for purple iron and purple silver, they were perfect materials for forging weapons and armor, while purple crystals were even more valuable and rare spiritual resources, beloved collectibles of some Dragon Kings and Dragon Kings!

“Haha, indeed it’s here. It seems we common mortals truly lack foresight, to have treasured such a gem simply as a decorative item,” laughed Zheng Yu, walking towards a piece of Void Crystal.

“Don’t touch! We’ve purchased this item, and we’ve already offered a high price to the mine owner. The carriage carrying the gold will be here shortly,” said a man dressed in a black long shirt, speaking in a very unfriendly tone.

“What mine owner? Since when is there a mine owner here?” asked Zheng Yu with a puzzled face.

“Wang Bo, there’s no need to be so harsh with others. Just send them off with a bag of gold,” said a man holding a black fan, walking over at that moment.

Although this young man with the black fan spoke in a much softer tone, his words weren’t particularly pleasant.

Following that, the servant called Wang Bo reluctantly approached and threw a small bag of gold onto the ground, implying that if they wanted it, they would have to stoop to pick it up.

Zheng Yu, of course, wouldn’t stoop to pick it up. However, the actions of these two men really didn’t seem to regard him as an outsider. After all, this purple ore vein belonged to Wutu. Every stone on this mountain was private property of the Li Chuan Kingdom. When did it become their place to command and dictate?

“May I ask who you gentlemen are?” Zheng Yu was still comparatively mild-mannered as he asked.

“We are from the Rock Concealing Sect,” replied the servant known as Wang Bo. As he said this, he noticed Zhu Minglang, who had somehow approached the Void Crystal and was nonchalantly removing it to place inside his own box.

This behavior infuriated the servant of the Wang family, who roared ominously, “Boy, don’t be ignorant of what’s good for you. We’ve already told you that this item now belongs to us. Must I really break your limbs to make you understand!”

With that said, the Wang Bo servant beckoned, and several figures clad in black long shirts appeared around him. Their cultivation bases were not low, no wonder they acted so arrogantly and ruthlessly in these Wutu Purple Mines.

“Gentlemen, this territory belongs to the Female Monarch, and this ore vein is also under the Female Monarch’s domain. If you insist on causing trouble here, don’t blame us for not being courteous!” Zheng Yu said gravely.

With a wave of his hand, the Wutu Land Military Guards stationed at the mine quickly gathered around.