Heilong-kou (Black Dragon-Mouth/Pass)
Heilong-cheng (Black Dragon-City)
Censorate (Supervisory Court)
Yuling City (Jade City)
Jingui Town (Golden Turtle Town)
Xuanwu City (Black tortoise City)
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Hua Ma Gua was shocked. "That can't be right. Isn't your Queen just a human princess? Why do all of you follow her orders?"
He kept emphasizing the Queen's human background — a not-so-subtle sign of contempt.
The envoy receiving them immediately dropped his smile when the Queen was mentioned. "The Queen saved all of Black Dragon City. You wouldn't understand. I suggest you speak with caution."
Xuan Yi's voice was cold: "Apologize to Her Majesty. Now."
Hua Ma Gua was stunned. His big brother was scolding him that harshly?
He could see that his brother was upset. Though reluctant, he had no choice but to sincerely apologize.
Only then did the envoy's expression ease.
"I won't be seeing you out. You know the way."
With that, the envoy turned and left. Gua Pi Mao huffed angrily. "What's with that demon woman? Her attitude changed the moment we mentioned the Queen. She was smiling just a second ago! Demon women are so weird."
Xuan Yi shot a sharp look at his brothers. "Watch your mouths. You don't need me to teach you what not to say on someone else's turf, do you? We're the ones begging them to sell to us."
Scarface spoke up to smooth things over. "Big bro, Second and Third didn't mean anything by it. It's just… we always looked down on Black Dragon City, and now suddenly we're not even worthy. It's a lot to adjust to."
In the past, they were the ones generously throwing scraps to Black Dragon City. Now the tables had turned — Black Dragon City had the final say, and they were the ones scrambling to curry favor.
Sigh, three thousand years east of the river, three thousand years west of the river…
Xuan Yi pulled back his aura and gave them a serious reminder: "Even if it's hard to adjust, you better hold it in. This is their territory. We got in early, which gives us an advantage. But if we don't build the right relationships now, we might not get a piece of the pie later."
Though his brothers still weren't fully convinced, none of them dared to argue when Xuan Yi got serious.
"Got it. We won't say anything foolish again."
They pedaled their bikes back down the street to their inn — and sure enough, there were more "shops" popping up along the way.
Well, calling them shops was a bit of a stretch. Most only had a signboard propped up at the door, not even installed yet. Still, progress was moving fast.
Inside, there were no goods for sale, not even counters — just empty rooms and workers hauling in sample items.
They stood at the door peeking inside. The shop owner didn't stop them — everything was for sale anyway.
"What's this thing?" Gua Pi Mao pointed at a child's scooter.
"That's a scooter for children."
Even though it was just a sample, it was fully functional — meant to demonstrate the product to customers.
Scooters were simple in design and easier to use than bicycles — just one leg pushing off the ground.
The shop owner demonstrated with a quick loop on the scooter.
Gua Pi Mao was instantly tempted. Just then, another item was carried in by the workers.
"Why is this bicycle so small?" he asked. "And why does it have two extra wheels?"
"That's a toy bike for kids. The side wheels are training wheels," the owner explained smoothly. He knew all his merchandise by heart — in fact, nearly everyone in Black Dragon City did.
After all, the city didn't have many entertainment options. Just chatting around town gave you all the gossip and product info you needed.
Hua Ma Gua asked, "Then why not add training wheels to regular bikes?"
The shopkeeper gave him a withering look. "Adults don't need training wheels."
Technically, even though it was a kid's bike, adults could ride it too if they bent their legs a little. Gua Pi Mao and Hua Ma Gua, thick-skinned as they were, shamelessly took turns riding the children's bikes.
After a fun little round on the toy bike, Gua Pi Mao was still reluctant to get off. "Big bro, I like this one."
He hadn't managed to learn how to ride a proper bike over the past few days, but he could ride the kids' version just fine.
Hua Ma Gua nodded in agreement. "Yeah, big bro. The Winged Tiger Tribe has tons of cubs. We could sell these over there."
Xuan Yi was tempted to try it himself but couldn't bring himself to lose face.
He replied coolly, "We'll discuss it later. Have you contacted Xuan Fifteen yet? Tell him to get the goods ready. I have a feeling Black Dragon City's going to strip us clean this time."
But in return, they were going to make a lot of money.