Chapter 59 - Yuling Spirit City

Heikou (Black Dragon Mouth)

Heicheng (Black Dragon City)

Censorate (Supervisory Court)

Yuling City (Jade City)

Jingui Town (Golden Turtle Town)

...

The Tusked Tapir was divided and eaten. With a wave of her hand, Yin Jixue declared that any live Tusked Tapir could have their sharp tusks removed and be castrated for breeding.

However, they couldn't start breeding them just yet. For now, the Tusked Tapir was simply added to the menu.

The next day, the Supervisory Court held a meeting. As the initiator, Yin Jixue naturally attended, along with the two teachers from the school.

The rectangular meeting table had twenty seats, with Yin Jixue sitting at the head.

"This is an internal meeting. Feel free to speak your mind. Any useful suggestions will be considered."

She started with the topic of employment: "As everyone knows, our current system is based on centralized distribution. However, as Black Dragon City develops, foreign traders will inevitably come. Therefore, we need to establish our commercial system in advance. Does anyone have suggestions?"

Meng Qiu, a staunch supporter of the Queen, spoke first: "I believe some of the demons who have completed their work hours can transition to new roles. This won't be mandatory, but for those willing to change jobs, we will provide support."

Yin Jixue looked at Teacher Zhong Shang.

"I have no objections, but what will they do? How will they do it? Will they receive guidance? After all, Black Dragon City doesn't even have a circulating currency."

Yin Jixue replied: "Regarding currency, I've discussed it with the King. Our future currency will be the Black Dragon Coin, but we haven't found suitable materials yet."

Zhong Shang nodded in satisfaction: "Since we already have the concept of currency, I support the development of trade in Black Dragon City."

The discussion then turned to how to divide responsibilities, set tax rates, and allocate sales rights for various factories to different shops.

By the time the meeting ended in the evening, they had only outlined the framework. Implementation would take about a month.

With Black Dragon City's trade system taking its first steps, Yin Jixue breathed a sigh of relief. Now, they just needed to refine it, hoping to avoid too many detours.

Meanwhile, the demons who had chosen to farm discovered that the seeds they had been given had sprouted into lush green weeds.

Yin Jixue looked at the small vegetables presented to her and sighed. These didn't look like weeds at all.

Since the vegetables had sprouted, she decided to have them cooked into soup.

Yesterday, she had enjoyed pork for the first time in a long while, and today, she had vegetable soup. The future looked promising!

Yin Jixue wasn't picky about food, a habit formed from surviving in the post-apocalyptic world where having anything to eat was a blessing. There was a time when she would frown at the sight of carrots, but later, she would fight over a few carrots.

So, even though the demons' food was bland and tasteless, she had no room to complain. If she were picky, she'd starve.

Now that conditions had slightly improved, the wild boar meat had completely awakened her taste buds. The only downside was that the lettuce hadn't sprouted yet.

The green onions, ginger, and garlic she had planted in the palace were already sprouting. The green onions were growing well enough to be used in tofu dishes, though tofu didn't exist yet. Ginger could be ruled out—she hoped to stay healthy and avoid ginger soup. Garlic, however, was a good thing. Once it matured, she could enjoy garlic shoots.

Although she didn't particularly like garlic shoots, stir-fried garlic shoots with meat sounded delicious.

As she fantasized about home-cooked meals, she finished her vegetable soup.

Her cooking skills were limited, so she left the culinary tasks to the palace chefs, who never disappointed her.

*Munch munch.* She was getting hungry again. If the Demon King were here, catching a group of Tusked Tapirs wouldn't be a problem.

She missed the Demon King. She wondered how things were going on his end.

...

Lou Zhao swaggered into the city with his entourage. The soldiers of the Xuanwu Clan looked at him as if they'd seen a ghost.

As soon as Lou Zhao entered the city, the soldiers immediately informed the city lord.

"What?! What is the Demon King doing in our city? He knows how poor we are!"

Cities were ranked by status. The Xuanwu Clan's main city, named after the Xuanwu, was wealthy, but the surrounding cities, while richer than Black Dragon City, were considered poor by their standards.

Yuling Spirit City was the poorest city in the Xuanwu Clan, less prosperous than even Golden Turtle Town.

This fearsome figure usually caused trouble in the main city. Why had he set his sights on their humble territory?

"You said he brought his men?" the city lord asked again.

Rumors said the Demon King of Black Dragon City always acted alone. If he had brought his men this time, it must be a trick. Perhaps it was an imposter.

"Keep an eye on them... No, I'd better go see for myself." The city lord adjusted his fur hat.

If it was an imposter, that would be one thing. But if it was the Demon King of Black Dragon City, his underlings wouldn't stand a chance.

Before he even got close, just approaching the place where they were staying, the city lord confirmed it was indeed the Demon King.

He straightened his hat: "Wait here. I'll go in alone."

He wasn't afraid of being harmed. The Demon King never killed innocents, especially those who were weak. They weren't even worth his attention.

"Someone's knocking," Da Fu said nervously.

He and his brother, Da Gui, had been assigned to the Demon King because they looked ordinary and forgettable.

Lou Zhao lazily replied: "Open the door and see who it is. Don't let anyone in if they don't have money."

Da Gui grimaced. How was he supposed to tell if someone had money or not?

He opened the door to find a middle-aged man with a face full of wrinkles from smiling: "I am Xuan Tie, the city lord of Yuling Spirit City. I heard the Demon King of Black Dragon City has arrived, so I've come to pay my respects."

Da Gui's face stiffened. How had he been recognized?

"Let him in," Lou Zhao's voice came from inside.

His little queen's idea had been good, but she had forgotten one thing: his identity as the Demon King. As long as he had this face, he would always attract attention wherever he went.

Entering the city was practically an announcement that Lou Zhao had arrived (to cause trouble).

Xuan Tie bowed as he entered, catching a glimpse of Lou Zhao. Just as the rumors said, the Demon King's looks were unmatched, but so was his strength. Anyone who dared to flirt with him had been severely punished.

He quickly lowered his head, afraid of offending him.

While the Demon King didn't kill innocents, what if he took a dislike to him?

Fortunately, Lou Zhao didn't seem bothered by his appearance. He was born this way and couldn't very well hide it.

A cold voice came from behind the curtain:

"I'm not here to cause trouble this time. I'm here to make a deal with you."

Xuan Tie's face scrunched up. Whether he was willing or not, what could Black Dragon City possibly have to offer?

It would be less painful if the Demon King just beat him up and raided their granary.

"Do you not agree?" Lou Zhao's tone was devoid of emotion as if he might flip the table and leave at any moment.

Xuan Tie quickly apologized: "Of course not! I was just wondering what Yuling Spirit City could have to offer in a trade with you." He already knew it would be food and animal hides. If Black Dragon City solved their food problem, the rest would be easy.

Sure enough, he heard the answer that made his vision darken: "I want food and high-quality animal hides."

High-quality animal hides... Where would they get so many high-quality hides? Couldn't the Demon King just hunt high-level beasts and skin them himself?

Of course, he didn't dare say that out loud. Instead, he looked troubled:

"High-quality hides... Yuling Spirit City hasn't received any this year."

Each city was evaluated based on its performance. During the annual assessment by the main city, they were ranked according to their contributions. Yuling Spirit City had been at the bottom for several years.