Chapter 71: Black Dragon Coin

Heikou (Black Dragon Mouth)

Heicheng (Black Dragon City)

Censorate (Supervisory Court)

Yuling City (Jade City)

Jingui Town (Golden Turtle Town)

Xuanwu City (Black tortoise City)

...

Pa Rou Rou led her father and Lie Tu to the square, where many demon citizens had already gathered, and bonfires were being lit one after another.

Nearly all the demon citizens of Black Dragon City were here, familiar faces and strangers alike exchanging a few words.

Yin Ji Xue and Lou Zhao, meanwhile, were inside the Supervision Bureau building. They would only join the bonfire party after it began.

Lou Zhao stood by the corridor window: "They seem to be getting along well."

The Supervision Bureau was the first building in Black Dragon City to have glass windows installed throughout—even the royal palace hadn't fully replaced all its windows yet.

Yin Ji Xue recalled her initial plans:

"To develop quickly, we must unite all demon citizens and work together. Otherwise, future problems will be even harder to solve."

Issues like wealth disparity or social status gaps, for example. By eliminating barriers while everyone was still equally poor, future development would inevitably lead to shared prosperity.

Even if complete equality couldn't be achieved, at least every demon citizen's status could be equal. This was her heartfelt aspiration.

Lou Zhao glanced at her sidelong. Every time he spoke with the Queen, he felt a pang of regret—she seemed too extraordinary for this world. Her intellect and courage could rival that of the Phoenix Empress of the Qingluan tribe.

But her becoming the Queen of the Black Dragon tribe was his fortune, as well as Black Dragon City's.

The bonfire party concluded successfully. During the event, the hunting team received personal praise from the King, and their captain, Lie Tu, was honored with the title "Black Dragon City's First Warrior."

Many strong demon citizens who had passed military training were thrilled. They, too, wanted to join the hunting team and earn the King's recognition. The hunting team took the opportunity to recruit dozens more robust demon citizens.

Initially, Yin Ji Xue had worried that job shifts might upset the workers. However, upon learning about the future diversity of professions, many local demon citizens began forming their plans.

Some applied to start businesses, others to engage in farming or animal husbandry. In any case, Black Dragon City's economic development had officially begun.

...

The first spring rain arrived unexpectedly in the dead of night, though daytime temperatures still hovered between -10°C and -15°C.

Yin Ji Xue sat up in the middle of the night, hearing the faint patter of rain.

This was her first time experiencing rain in Black Dragon City.

Lou Zhao, who didn't need to sleep every night, stirred at her movement.

The night pearl was covered, and the palace had no lamps, leaving the room dimly lit—perfect for sleeping.

Yin Ji Xue sat on the bed, spotting the Demon King's silhouette as he sat up: "It's raining outside."

Lou Zhao: "Mm, the spring rain came early this year—a month ahead of schedule."

Yin Ji Xue suddenly remembered: "Are you about to leave soon?"

Lou Zhao's annual stay in Black Dragon City typically lasted from year-end to early spring.

With spring arriving early this year, he would soon depart to distribute seeds and grain to the Black Dragon tribe's various territories and conduct inspections.

"Originally, it was next month. But now, it seems I'll have to go earlier."

Silence fell between them. Their relationship had finally progressed recently. Though no confessions had been made, the occasional hand-holding and the palpable chemistry between them spoke volumes.

Just as their romance was heating up, her boyfriend was about to leave on a long trip.

After a long pause, Lou Zhao finally spoke: "This time, it's just to deliver seeds. I'll return quickly."

Indeed, in previous years, the Demon King had gone to exchange for grain. This time, he was bringing food and sweet potato seeds to the other cities.

Yin Ji Xue had a sudden idea: "If you encounter demon citizens living in the wild along the way, could you bring them back?"

After surveying the demon citizens' career shift intentions, there was now a shortage of miners.

Most of the current miners were from Black Dragon Mouth. Once Black Dragon Mouth developed, they would likely return to help build it.

Thus, labor was urgently needed, and relying on population growth alone wouldn't suffice.

Lou Zhao, who had been hoping for a few sweet words from his Queen: "..."

So many tender words in daily life, yet not a single one at parting.

Grumpily, Lou Zhao agreed. They chatted a bit longer before Yin Ji Xue succumbed to sleepiness and dozed off.

The next day, the post-rain air was crisp and fresh. Yin Ji Xue finally understood why some people yearned for a reclusive life in the mountains.

She received a report from the soldiers:

A crowd of demon citizens had gathered at the palace gates. The seeds they'd planted had sprouted—little green shoots—and they'd come to thank Her Majesty the Queen.

Yin Ji Xue: "..."

So… had no one been watering the seeds all this time?

She knew this was her fault. She'd distributed seeds without proper instructions, and the "little green grass" they'd brought was baby bok choy.

The second literacy class needed to start ASAP.

With Black Dragon City now harvesting sweet potatoes, Yin Ji Xue could use the time to compile teaching materials.

This time, the curriculum was extensive, covering everything from farming to animal husbandry and textiles.

As for metallurgy, she could only transcribe the methods she'd compiled and ask Old Demon if he could serve as a teacher for the steel mill workers.

Now, she was immensely grateful for the first literacy class held in winter, ensuring the entire city wasn't illiterate.

Though there were good and bad students, a 60% graduation rate was enough.

When writing about animal husbandry, Yin Ji Xue emphasized castrating male pigs kept for breeding and postpartum care for sows. Of course, the tusked boars had already been renamed "Black Dragon City's signature wild boars."

The Black Dragon tribe's forests were the tusked boars' birthplace.

Since they roamed the mountains and endured harsh winters, their meat was firm and their fat thick. Without high-level demon beasts around, their explosive strength made them kings of the mountain—even level-four demon beasts avoided them. Calling them "little wild boars" was fitting.

But in the city, the story took a different turn.

Rumors spread that the Queen missed a creature called "wild boar" from her homeland, hence the renaming of the similar-looking tusked boar to "Black Dragon City's wild boar."

The citizens, unwilling to let the Queen long for her homeland, quickly adopted the new name, hoping she'd see Black Dragon City as her new home.

Thus, within a week, the tusked boar was stripped of its demon beast status.

The demon citizens in charge of animal husbandry renamed the tusked boar farm to the "Little Wild Boar Farm."

Next door, the long-haired rabbit farm pondered deeply before requesting an audience with the Queen.

Yin Ji Xue was both amused and exasperated—they wanted her to give the long-haired rabbits a name from the human world.

She truthfully described the rabbits: they looked like human-world rabbits but had wool-like fur.

The demon citizens' eyes lit up: "Then how about 'Rabbit-Sheep Beast'? What do you think?"

Yin Ji Xue: If you like it, sure.

Thus, after the little wild boars, the long-haired rabbits lost their "long-haired" status and were renamed "Rabbit-Sheep Beasts."

It seemed everyone had too much free time and lacked intellectual stimulation, Yin Ji Xue mused.

Soon, the second literacy class began, with demon citizens from Black Dragon Mouth also joining.

This time, the most popular names were "Little Wild Boar."

Yes, to make the Queen feel at home in Black Dragon City, these adorable demon citizens eagerly named themselves after little wild boars and rabbit-sheep beasts.

By the time Yin Ji Xue found out, some had already legally changed their names to "Little Wild Boar" and "Rabbit-Sheep." There were even clever ones named "Big Wild Boar" and "Sheep-Rabbit."

"Why were these names approved?" It wasn't that they couldn't use them, but if they became too common, how would outsiders view Black Dragon City?

Oh, so all your demon citizens are named Little Wild Boar?

Just imagining a classroom full of "Zi Xuan," "Zi Xuan," and "Zi Xuan" (homophones with different characters), she shuddered at the thought.

Yin Ji Xue rubbed her temples after skimming the list of pig-themed names. She said earnestly, "From now on, encourage demon citizens to choose normal or meaningful names. A name stays with them for life. Add a rule: names can only be changed three times."

Lin Zhong's ears turned red with embarrassment.

Yin Ji Xue softened her tone: "I'm not blaming you. This isn't a mistake. It's just that too many duplicates make it hard to distinguish. Also, little wild boars are food—they end up eaten. It's not a good omen." That was as tactful as she could be.

There was nothing wrong with pigs—except they were on the menu.

"I understand. If they still want to use animals or plants from your homeland, should we refuse?"

Yin Ji Xue chuckled: "No need. My homeland has many plants and animals with good symbolism. Even vegetables can be named. The seeds I distributed are from my homeland—if names repeat, they can use homophones."

As long as the entire population wasn't named "Little Wild Boar," she didn't mind "Little Cabbage" or "Big Cabbage."

After Lin Zhong left the study, Lou Zhao suddenly appeared.

"You two seemed to be having a great time."

Yin Ji Xue glanced at him curiously—was this jealousy?

She handed him the list: "I just thought of something funny. Look at these names."

Lou Zhao's literacy level was now almost on par with Yin Ji Xue's. He learned too quickly—she couldn't teach him much, so she'd given him her textbooks to self-study.

He skimmed the page: "Why are they all the same? Can you tell who's who?"

"Of course not. That's why the Supervision Bureau reported it as soon as duplicates appeared."

Lou Zhao pulled out a chair and sat across from her, lazily resting his head on the desk: "You were laughing and chatting with him earlier."

He wasn't letting this go.

She reached out, pinching his cheeks and gently tugging: "We're in a superior-subordinate relationship. He's the deputy director of the Supervision Bureau, directly under my management. Should I give him the cold shoulder?"

Lou Zhao didn't resist her touch: "Then after I leave, you can't smile at him."

Finally getting to touch the face she'd been dreaming of, Yin Ji Xue's thoughts wandered: "That might be hard. I smile at everyone. Lin Zhong only sees Director Meng Qiu as an elder brother figure—he's polite but distant from others. Don't overthink it."

Their bond was forged through hardship—closer than blood. Yin Ji Xue valued their loyalty and competence. If they ever fell out, she'd have to reconsider their roles.

Lou Zhao's eyes flickered: "I'm leaving soon. Will you miss me?"

What he wanted to ask was: Will you miss me like Lin Zhong misses Meng Qiu? But he was too shy to say it outright.

Yin Ji Xue leaned in, their noses almost touching, their breaths mingling: "Of course. I hope one day I can travel with you."

For once, Lou Zhao didn't pull away. He nearly blurted out an invitation for this trip but stopped himself, thinking of the harsh conditions in the other cities.

"Next time, I'll take you with me."

Yin Ji Xue smiled: "Promise? You'll take me someday."

That settled it. She still regretted not mustering the courage to kiss him. If only there were alcohol, she thought, I'd have an excuse.

The day before Lou Zhao's departure, the Supervision Bureau held a major meeting—the first time Lou Zhao officially attended.

After all, this was the Queen's administrative department, overseeing civil affairs and city governance.

His presence was a tacit endorsement of the Bureau's legitimacy, a show of support for Yin Ji Xue.

Of course, no one in Black Dragon City would dare disrespect the Queen.

This meeting finalized the issuance of Black Dragon Coins.

The coins were made from Black Dragon City's unique scorched earth blended with smelted iron and a trace of demon crystal powder. The highest denomination resembled a knife coin, with an intricately carved dragon as its anti-counterfeit feature.

Smaller denominations were copper coins modeled after the Yin Dynasty's currency.

Even if traded outside Black Dragon City, the faint demon crystal aura would make them desirable.

Of course, outsiders wouldn't know the demon crystal content was only one part in ten thousand.

Old Demon made a final suggestion: "I propose holding off on the first batch. After the King returns, he can breathe his dragon's breath onto them—that will make them true Black Dragon tribe currency."

For once, he wasn't being contrarian. When it came to the tribe's development, no one wished for its prosperity more than he did.

Yin Ji Xue agreed. Everyone looked at Lou Zhao.

"No objections." So what if I have to revert to my true form? By then, I'll have grown bigger anyway.

As mentioned earlier, Lou Zhao was still a juvenile dragon. Young dragons were smaller than adults—an adult could blot out the sky for miles, while a juvenile only caused localized cloudiness.

This was why Lou Zhao avoided transforming. Despite being the strongest in the demon realm, his smaller form might draw ridicule.

Only Old Demon had seen his juvenile form.

But this was official business—he wouldn't refuse. He could always dismiss the mint workers, breathe his dragon's breath, and then recall them.

But… he stole a glance at Yin Ji Xue, who was blissfully unaware. How do I keep her away when the time comes?

The next day, Lou Zhao set off with several hundred pounds of sweet potatoes. Since Da Fu and Da Gui had proven useful, he took them along.

The brothers were from outside the city, with negligible combat skills and plain looks, but sharp eyes and good judgment.

They'd located most of the materials Yin Ji Xue needed last time.

Lou Zhao found them handy for negotiations when he didn't feel like talking.

Thrilled by the King's favor, the brothers were overjoyed. They hadn't expected their service to the Queen to earn the King's attention.

So, when Yin Ji Xue wasn't looking, they knelt and knocked their heads three times—thud, thud, thud.

Yin Ji Xue winced at the sound: "Get up. You earned this with your abilities."

Demons didn't usually kowtow—doing so was akin to pledging their lives.

Yin Ji Xue had lost count of how many demons had forced kowtows on her. There was no escaping it.

Da Fu: "It's only because the Queen trusted us that we get to accompany the King."

Da Gui: "We pledge our lives to the Queen!"

Here we go again, Yin Ji Xue sighed.

To the brothers, if not for the Queen assigning them to the King, they might never have had the chance to travel and broaden their horizons.

Lou Zhao was pleased with their attitude. As long as they respected his Queen, he was happy.

Yin Ji Xue smoothed Lou Zhao's fur collar: "Take care of yourselves out there. The King has much to handle—don't cause him trouble, understand?"

The brothers chorused: "We won't trouble the King!"