Chapter 69 - Stay Back, I'm Scared

Heikou (Black Dragon Mouth)

Heicheng (Black Dragon City)

Censorate (Supervisory Court)

Yuling City (Jade City)

Jingui Town (Golden Turtle Town)

... 

Yin Jixue wandered outside for a while before the cold drove her back to the study. The temperature was simply too harsh for an ordinary human like her without a downcoat. 

Lou Zhao followed her inside, waiting in vain for Yin Jixue to return the bicycle. 

"Aren't you giving it back?" 

Yin Jixue played dumb: "Giving what back?" 

Lou Zhao rubbed his nose: "That thing outside. Weren't you sending it back?" 

"No, I'm keeping it for you." 

"But didn't you say it was for the city?" 

Yin Jixue set down her brush: "So, do you want it or not?" 

Lou Zhao answered decisively: "I do." 

He studied Yin Jixue's attire carefully: "Do you not have proper winter clothes?" 

Yin Jixue replied offhandedly: "I do. The demon beast hides you all use are quite warm." 

The problem was, that beast hides were difficult to process. They could be made into fur coats but not insulated pants. 

The smartest solution was to layer a cylindrical hide skirt under her dress—long enough to block the wind, but the downside was that it forced her to walk in tiny steps. 

Normally, Yin Jixue wore the hidden skirt in two separate panels, front and back, fastened with a waistband—like a split skirt. She only wore it under her dress when necessary. 

Inside the palace, she rarely bothered. It restricted movement, and the fabric bunched up awkwardly at the waist when sitting. 

Still, there were always solutions. Once the Demon King was in a good mood, she'd ask him to catch more long-haired rabbits—and maybe some sharp-tusked tapirs too. 

Lou Zhao summoned a bolt of fabric out of thin air: "I brought back quite a few premium fabrics from Qingluan City this time, though not many high-grade beast hides." 

Yin Jixue took the fabric. At a glance, it resembled silk, but the texture felt more like cotton. 

It was also noticeably thicker than the pants she was wearing. 

"This is nice. I didn't expect Qingluan City to already have human-world craftsmanship." The Yin Dynasty had no cotton, but silk existed—though only the wealthy and noble could afford it. 

"If you like it, you can have it all." 

The moment Lou Zhao spoke, a towering pile of fabric materialized in front of Yin Jixue, nearly burying her. 

She pushed aside a few bolts just to see Lou Zhao's face: "How is there so much? Weren't you in the Black Tortoise territory?" 

Lou Zhao didn't see the issue: "Aside from grain, fabric was the most plentiful. It's not as valuable as high-grade beast hides, but Yuling City had run out of those, so they compensated with extra fabric." 

Premium fabrics could be mass-produced, but high-grade hides required hunting advanced demon beasts. In the entire demon realm, only a handful of demons could take down such beasts—with Lou Zhao at the top of the list. 

But because he raided the deep forests for high-level beasts every year, the creatures—who had the intelligence of ten-year-olds—had learned to flee at the mere scent of him. Ironically, Lou Zhao now had the hardest time catching them. 

Seeing her fascination, Lou Zhao offered: "If you like the fabric, I'll trade for more next time." 

"No need to go out of your way. This fabric has a unique texture—different from what I've seen before. Our Black Dragon Clan could develop its textile industry." 

When Lou Zhao looked puzzled, Yin Jixue explained: 

"Those thermal pants you're wearing are a product of Black Dragon City's textile industry. Guess what they're made of?" 

Lou Zhao: "Didn't you make them yourself?" 

Yin Jixue: "Do you have some misconceptions about princesses? I could kill a man with a needle, but asking me to sew clothes is just cruel." 

The few pairs of pants she'd stitched for herself had such crooked seams that Feng Xiu, when laundering them, had mistaken the stitching for intentional embroidery. 

"Is it that hard?" Lou Zhao wasn't doubting her—he was genuinely curious how sewing could be harder than killing his queen. 

"For me, yes. But back to the point—guess the material!" 

Even if the undergarments weren't personally sewn by his queen, he still felt her care in them. Yes, that was it! 

Lou Zhao rested his head gloomily on her desk: "Do I even need to guess? All the long-haired rabbits I gave you were shorn bald." 

Yin Jixue patted his head soothingly: "So, what do you think about breeding them? We could harvest their fur regularly. And if they taste good, they could be dinner after retirement." 

Lou Zhao gave her an indescribable look: 

"If the beasts in the deep forest heard that, they'd probably flee to Black Tortoise territory overnight." 

Even more ruthless than him—truly his queen. 

Yin Jixue called it sustainable development. The demons would gain jobs in husbandry, the textile factories would get raw materials, and the Black Dragon Clan would have warm wool clothing. 

A world where only the long-haired rabbits suffered had been achieved. 

If Yin Jixue wanted it, Lou Zhao would naturally catch more for her. 

He asked: "Where do you plan to raise them? Not in the palace, unless you want rabbits everywhere." 

Mainly because the sight of bald rabbits was just too hideous. 

Long-haired rabbits: 'Cursing and packing their bags to leave the Black Dragon Clan.' 

"I've already chosen demons to handle the breeding. They won't need to mine anymore—just focus on raising the animals." 

The outside-the-city demons had poor health to begin with. While ordinary demons lived around 300 years, these laborers, barely past 100, already resembled humans in their 50s or 60s—a consequence of their harsh past. 

The damp, chilly mines were unsuitable for older demons, but they still needed livelihoods. 

For instance, the breeding industry could be assigned by household. As for whether ordinary demons could handle fierce creatures like sharp-tusked tapirs, Yin Jixue trusted they'd find a way. 

Seeing she had a plan, Lou Zhao asked how many rabbits she wanted. 

Yin Jixue counted on her fingers: "The more long-haired rabbits, the better. Ideally, some breeding does so we can sustain the population. After a few generations, they'll lose their wild instincts. Oh, and can you catch sharp-tusked tapirs too? They're also farmable." 

Lou Zhao: "If you want them, I'll catch them. But tapirs taste terrible—barely edible. Deep forest tree bark is better." 

Yin Jixue caught the key point: "You've eaten it?" 

Lou Zhao hesitated. 

She understood—so he had. 

Poor boyfriend, reduced to eating tree bark. Her heart ached for him. 

She patted his shoulder: "With me here, there'll be more and more food. The menu will keep expanding." 

Lou Zhao awkwardly changed the subject: "Do you still want the tapirs?" 

"Of course—but only the piglets. Adults are too vicious to tame. If you castrate them young and raise them for a while, the meat becomes much tastier." 

Lou Zhao turned his head sharply: "How do you know all this? What's 'castrate'?" 

Yin Jixue blushed slightly: "Because tapirs resemble the wild boars from the human world. I had the maids remove their... male parts, and sure enough, they tasted just like young boar." 

Lou Zhao's heart clenched. He silently retreated, putting distance between them. 

Yin Jixue had expected this reaction—men tended to get nervous at the mention of such things. 

Look how scared he was! She hurried to reassure him: 

"Castrating pigs isn't a big deal—it improves the meat! In the human imperial palace, there's a role called 'eunuchs'—men who serve the royal household after being... neutered..." 

Lou Zhao: 'Don't come near me, I'm scared.'