Chapter 51: Keep It Up, Brother-in-Law 28

The collection went quite smoothly. There was no need for Yeyu and the Chibi Dragon to step in; Xining just had to say the word, and the Fire Dragon would lie down right at the doorway. With its massive body, golden eyes brimming with arrogance, and a deeply murderous disdain, its imposing aura was simply breathtaking.

Everyone paid their overdue rent obediently. As they forked over the coins, their hands practically trembled, though it was impossible to tell whether it was out of fear or the agony of parting with their money. Furthermore, they all promised to pay their rent on time from then on.

Accompanied by her "tax collection squad," Xining traveled back and forth constantly, managing to collect all the land rent in just three days.

No wonder Maria had been so generous; if she hadn't started collecting rent, she wouldn't even have been able to afford the king's taxes much longer. In that case, the tax collectors would have come to seal her property and confiscate the land to cover the debt.

After hurriedly paying the king's taxes, the remaining copper, silver, and gold coins were enough to stuff three large, medium, and small chests to the brim.

Xining immediately ordered thirty whole roasted sheep, which were piled high across five or six ox carts and hauled over. Seeing them stacked together was quite a magnificent sight.

The Fire Dragon stood on ceremony for no one. Lying on its side in front of the mountain of roasted sheep, it narrowed its eyes and tossed them into its mouth one by one, swallowing a whole sheep in a single gulp.

When it finished, it snapped off a small tree, stripped the branches, and used one as a toothpick.

Lying sideways with one claw propping up its jaw, a toothpick dangling from its mouth, and squinting at people, the Fire Dragon gave off an aura that easily rivaled a mafia boss. It definitely did not look like a proper, respectable dragon.

With money in hand, they even hired a tailor to custom-make a pink dragon body pillow taller than a person. The Chibi Dragon went to sleep happily hugging it at night, resting atop several large gems, and snoring softly.

The Fire Dragon’s golden eyes softened. Extending a claw with its long, sharp nails, it carefully pinched the corner of the pink quilt and tucked it in around the Chibi Dragon before finally lying down to sleep.

The snores of this large and small dragon sounded like rolling thunder, shaking the house with every blast, and their exhaled breath felt like a typhoon. Fortunately, having spent the past few days running around collecting rent, Xining fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow, though she had still prepared a pair of earplugs to stuff in her ears before bed.

Next up was collecting the rent for the shops in the city.

"What? We have to go to the city too?!" The Fire Dragon roared right into Xining’s face. "It's one thing that you use my daughter as a mount and drag her along to collect rent, but now you want to go to the city!"

Xining had already grown accustomed to the Fire Dragon's explosive temper, as it roared at her over the slightest thing. However, roar as it might, the Fire Dragon never actually breathed fire at her.

The Chibi Dragon had signed a master-servant contract with her; if Xining kicked the bucket, the Chibi Dragon would go down with her.

Prepared in advance, Xining pinched her nose with her fingers. Once the massive gust of wind subsided, she calmly explained, "The rent nearby has all been collected, and the plumpest sheep have already been eaten by you. The whole roasted sheep in the city supposedly taste even better, and they also have whole roasted oxen and roasted magical beasts."

Whole roasted sheep, smelling so fragrant... The Fire Dragon fell for it once more and immediately agreed to go to the city.

Of course, it wasn't for the whole roasted sheep, oxen, or magical beasts—it was for its precious daughter, lest she get bullied by other young dragons.

There were many rules that neither Xining nor her host body knew. Fortunately, Yeyu knew them and provided a crash course on the city's regulations.

The moment Yeyu started explaining—such as how no dragons were allowed to fly overhead except for those of the Royal Guard—the Fire Dragon cut him off instantly.

"So annoying!" The Fire Dragon swallowed impatiently, its mind fixed on the roast meat feast. "What kind of ridiculous rules are these? Humans have far too many rules. I'll fly wherever I damn well please!"

"That won't do!" The only way to deal with the Fire Dragon was to coax it, so Xining cajoled, "With a body as huge as yours, flying overhead will definitely scare the sheep and cattle half to death. Even if frightened livestock aren't scared to death, after they're slaughtered and roasted, the taste will still be ruined."

For the sake of a good bite to eat, the Fire Dragon endured it. "Fine, I get it. I won't fly. Let's go right now. The sooner we get there, the sooner I get to eat... the sooner we collect the money."

With money, wouldn't it be able to buy whole roasted sheep? These lowly humans were really only good for this one thing.

It would take a few days to reach the city. They hurriedly hired people to renovate the woodshed so it could serve as the Chibi Dragon's exclusive room from then on.

The Fire Dragon no longer mentioned breaking the contract; its mind was entirely consumed by thoughts of whole roasted sheep.

Once everything was properly arranged, two humans and two dragons set off on their journey.

Yeyu flew onto the Fire Dragon's back, causing the beast to instantly blow its top. With a violent shake, it flung Yeyu right off. "What do you think you're doing?"

Luckily, Yeyu knew magic. After being tossed away, he spun in mid-air and flew back, though he dared not land on the Fire Dragon again, hovering beside it instead. "The road to the city is very long. Magic is faster! With a body as massive as yours, I can only transport us together if I'm right on top of you."

"Even so, you have no business standing on my body. I am a noble dragon; how can a lowly human ride on me?" White smoke billowed furiously from the Fire Dragon's nostrils.

"Then let's fly there on foot," Yeyu said, spreading his hands. "It's about three hundred miles from here to the city. Flying would take at least half a day."

"It's just because you're weak—bah, take this for your cultivation." The Fire Dragon spat out several crystal formations that looked just like gemstones, holding its head high and glancing sideways with disdain, radiating an aura of "tremble before me, mortal."

When Yeyu took a look, he was overjoyed. They were magical beast crystal cores! They must have been leftovers from the magical beasts the Fire Dragon usually hunted for food.

These crystal cores were top-tier treasures. They could be used for magic arrays, crafting magical artifacts, or embedded in weapons to increase their power. If an apothecary ground a little powder into a potion, its efficacy would immediately double.

For minor magical beasts, crystal cores were only the size of a grain of rice. A chunk this large proved that the magical beast's level was quite high—at least tier seven or above.

The Chibi Dragon's dad was truly filthy rich! Yeyu happily accepted the gift.

Yeyu and Xining stood on the Chibi Dragon, which pressed close to the Fire Dragon. Yeyu held his staff in one hand and a crystal core in the other, channeling all his magical power into the core to amplify it before executing an instantaneous teleportation.

In a flash, they materialized not far from the city gates. Looking into the distance, they could see a steady stream of people entering and exiting the gate.

"Ugh..." Xining leaned against a tree and retched.

"Ugh..." The Chibi Dragon leaned against a slightly larger tree and retched as well.

Yeyu gently patted Xining's back and comforted her, "You'll get used to it after a few more times."

The Fire Dragon rested a claw gently on the Chibi Dragon's spine and sighed heavily, "How did I end up with such a weak dragon for a child? My lifelong reputation, and the reputation of the entire dragon race..."

Yeyu asked out of curiosity, "Just what kind of magical beast did you mate with?"

The Fire Dragon glared at him. "None of your damn business!"

As the Fire Dragon strode toward the city gates, it instantly caused a commotion.

Good grief, such a massive dragon! The guards at the gate immediately sounded the alarm, and the Dragon Knight guards from the royal palace quickly mounted their dragons and rushed over.

When Xining and her group were still fifty meters away from the gate, they were surrounded by more than twenty Dragon Knights from the guard unit.

Seeing such a gigantic fire dragon, a pink sub-dragon, a young girl wearing the robes of a magical family patriarch, and an extremely young mage holding a grand wizard's staff...

This novel combination had never been seen before, leaving the Dragon Knights utterly bewildered.