Chapter 175: The True Dragon

Qingzhou, the capital.

In one corner of this bustling city, close to the docks, the two sides were lined with stalls displaying all manner of goods, common or bizarre.

"Hey, shopkeeper, how much for this one?"

"Oh, this one? Let me—"

Suddenly a frivolous voice rang out, catching the slightly plump man, who had been hunched over tallying his accounts, off guard; he instinctively began to answer.

Halfway through, he caught himself and straightened up helplessly. Without even looking, he rolled his eyes in exasperation and said, "Wang Gaowen, how many years have you been pulling this trick? Isn't it getting old?"

Hearing this, the owner of that frivolous voice didn't mind at all. He chuckled, waved his hand, and without any ceremony, as if it were his own home, casually found a spot in the shop to sit down and crossed his legs. "Hey, didn't I still trick you, Old Wu?"

The slightly plump man, Wu Ming, didn't pay it much mind either. Though he complained with his mouth, his hands moved with practiced ease as he took out a complete tea set from the side.

Then he took out a cup, filled it with tea, and gently handed it over, before looking at his helpless friend with a touch of resignation.

Looking at him, Wu Ming's gaze grew a little distant. Who could have imagined that the most famous sworn enemies back in Tiandu would one day become true bosom friends?

At this moment, he too seemed to drift into reminiscence.

Back then, on the eve of Lord True Dragon's sudden descent upon Tiandu, they were still sworn enemies, and he was being bullied by Wang Gaowen and his retinue right before his eyes.

Who could have thought that in less than a few quarters of an hour, everything would change. The True Dragon that Wang Gaowen refused to believe in suddenly descended, and then proceeded to destroy the entire Tiandu Neicheng.

And their lord at the time, being a member of the Great Zhou court—if not for the fortune of holding a low-ranking post that kept him from getting close to the Zhou Tianzi, they would likely have been buried alongside Great Zhou.

Even so, their past glory and wealth vanished like smoke with the fall of Great Zhou.

If not for the fact that, before fleeing with his entire household, he had brought along some property, and then encountered the Wang family in distress along the way.

And if not for his moment of soft-heartedness, when he pleaded with his lord, who doted on him, to help the Wang family, after which the two families cast aside old grudges and supported each other, they probably would never have escaped the vast Tiandu.

But precisely because of this, they had now transformed from former sworn enemies who couldn't stand the sight of each other into bosom friends.

One had to admit, sometimes fate is a truly wondrous thing. Of course, it was also at this point that he realized Wang Gaowen was actually such a shameless rascal.

Misfortune in choosing friends! Misfortune in choosing friends!

Thinking this, a faint smile tugged at his lips. Speaking of which, this rascal had recently had a fair and tender little daughter, so it seemed it was time for him to arrange a childhood betrothal with his own boy.

"Old Wu, Old Wu!"

"What is it now?"

Just then, the rogue's startled shout rang out by his ear again. He came back to himself helplessly, only to find that the rogue had actually run to the shop entrance and was now making a great fuss over nothing.

"Old Wu, hurry out, the sky's changing!"

His friend's right hand waving and gesturing nonstop made Wu Ming a little puzzled. He set down the accounts in his hand, stood up, and walked outside.

And only then did he notice that a large crowd had already come out, the air filled with all manner of chattering and discussion.

These were people who had come out from the neighboring shops—either shopkeepers like himself, or customers who happened to be browsing nearby.

And the root of all this was that the distant horizon had turned a sheet of crimson, a strange sight as if the clouds had been scorched by flames.

If it were only this, it would at most be an ordinary case of glowing clouds.

But right now it was the afternoon of the day, the sun was just past due south leaning west, and that endless stretch of crimson sky was in the east!

Far away from the sun.

Therefore, this was definitely not an ordinary case of glowing clouds caused by the sun!

Looking at this peculiar sight, his heart gave an instant lurch.

A premonition rose in his mind, and he slowly turned his head toward his friend beside him. His face too was grave, clearly the two of them had arrived at the same thought.

He then swept his gaze around the people nearby, finding some puzzled, some shocked, but some, like himself, wearing a grave expression, clearly having thought of the same thing.

And these people, needless to say, were all old-timers who had personally witnessed that scene back then. After all, it had only been about ten years since that incident, not long enough for everyone to have died of old age.

At this moment, these people all shared the same thought—

The True Dragon, which had vanished for nearly ten-odd years without a single stir, was perhaps about to appear once more!

This was not wild speculation on their part.

Rather, it was deduced from the fact that the great mountain in Great Qin where the True Dragon had once dwelled had shown no movement in this regard for many years, combined with some information circulating among the populace and the court's vague suppression of news on this matter.

And thus inferred.

Sigh, who knows whether this time it bodes well or ill…

Every time the True Dragon descends, it is either a blessing or a disaster.

For a moment, some were optimistic and kept discussing, while others wore grave expressions, frowning as they hurried back, seemingly intending to pack their things so they could flee at the first sign of trouble.

But the one thing that never changed was that everyone began to fix their attention on that strange sight in the distance, their hearts eagerly straining to see.

Given the current situation, it wouldn't be long before everything became clear.

At the same time, within the imperial palace.

"Report—!"

Accompanied by a hurried voice from outside the palace, Zhang Rang, who was in the midst of reviewing memorials, replied without even raising his head.

He had his attendant beside him go fetch the message—this was an information channel he had specially set up to guard against special circumstances.

As the attendant brought back the sealed dispatch, he took it directly and began reading it at once.

However, upon reading it, the composure he had cultivated over so many years completely crumbled, and for the first time in over a decade his face drained of color in shock.

At this moment he couldn't even be bothered with the memorials he was reviewing. With a "clatter" he stood up at once, his face grave, and walked out without a word.

Now he was muttering to himself—Is It about to appear again?

All these years It chose not to appear, neither early nor late, yet insists on waiting until my Great Qin enters its age of prosperity to appear—why is this?!

Thinking of the present storm-tossed land, which had finally stabilized under his diligent governance and the herbivorous dragons that roamed everywhere, with the common folk about to live and work in peace and contentment, in an era of songs and dances.

At this very moment, he had once again received news that the True Dragon was about to appear. Recalling the pact he had made with It back then, his heart grew heavy.

Because at present, his Great Qin feared no remaining rebels or remnants, and no longer needed the True Dragon's prestige.

Yet he still had to supply It with food without compensation. If It had a request, he naturally wouldn't mind, but now…

If that one once again eats with that astonishing appetite from before, his Great Qin's granaries will probably have to be halved once more, and combined with those increasingly cunning and hard-to-catch herbivorous dragons, this year might be a tough one to endure!

With his thoughts turning over a hundred possibilities, he walked straight out of the palace.

As he came outside the hall, the blazing, fiery clouds on the distant horizon were directly reflected in his eyes.

At this moment, the scene over there became even more strikingly clear against the sunlight.

But just then, the distant clouds moved!

Those red clouds moved for no apparent reason, like a flowing ocean of fire-red, gradually spreading over toward this side.

And right at the very center of this sea of fire-clouds, a tiny, minuscule dot appeared…

(End of this chapter)