The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

“Liszt, look, I’ve planted ten acres of black tulips!”

Greater Elf Xiangxiang, flying amidst the sea of tulips, with rows of yet-to-blossom tulips trailing behind her. Under the glaring sun, the rows of tulips looked somewhat droopy.

In the middle of the day, it’s not just people who feel lethargic, plants do, too.

Only the elves remained so effortlessly spirited and lively.

“Woo wah!”

“Woo wah!”

Two Little Minor Elves followed behind Xiangxiang, uttering some nonsensical noises. Elves are not social creatures, but elves of the same kind can play together and even share knowledge about different plant species with each other. These two Tulip Lesser Spirits were Xiangxiang’s entourage.

Tulip Castle always hoped that these two Little Minor Elves could break through their constraints and evolve into new Greater Elves.

“Planted at the end of June, and it hasn’t even been two months, they’ve already formed buds,” Liszt strolled between the rows, looking at the buds of black tulips about to bloom, feeling excited, roughly in another month, these tulips would turn into one Gold Coin after another, flowing into his pocket.

Xiangxiang held her pretty head high, proudly saying, “Of course, these are the tulips I planted. Every single seed has sprouted under my care.”

That expression clearly said, “Hurry up and praise me.”

Liszt smiled and praised, “Xiangxiang is incredible.”

“Hehe, I am incredible!”

Xiangxiang rolled twice in the air.

“Woo wah!”

“Woo wah!”

The two Little Minor Elves mimicked Xiangxiang’s movements and also did somersaults in the air.

“Liszt, these black tulips are growing very well, filled with abundant magic power, and they have no obvious attribute distinctions. They are more outstanding than the two magic potions controlled by Tulip Castle. Magicians have already come to place orders,” Frank, the family tutor of Levis, accompanied Liszt.

“They will become the new cornerstone of Tulip Castle, further strengthening the family, and brother will rely on them to continue father’s legacy and become a Sky Knight.”

“I completely agree with you, Levis has exceptional talent, and there is no doubt he will become a Sky Knight.”

By that time, Xiangxiang had been causing a ruckus for a while, flying up to Liszt and saying with a grin, “I will help Levis break through, and when that time comes, I want to carry him flying, just like I did with you when you were little!” When Liszt and the others were children, Xiangxiang loved to grab them and fly up into the sky.

Watching the little tykes scream in fright.

But once they got used to the high altitude and stopped crying, Xiangxiang lost interest in flying with them.

A sprite with a rather wicked sense of humor.

Liszt recalled these scenes and felt a warm fondness; Xiangxiang loved to play and cause trouble but never intended to harm them. Because of the contract, she had become very close to the bloodline of the Tulip Family.

“Memories are deep-seated, it’d be best if you could scare Levis into crying again.”

Xiangxiang said with regret, “Ah, now I can’t scare Levis into crying anymore, and once he becomes a Sky Knight, it will be even harder to make him cry. By then, he would be able to conquer the skies.”

The reason they are called Sky Knights is that they have mastered Advanced Dou Qi. When they release their Dou Qi, they can briefly soar into the air. Even though they can’t fly as freely as birds, a short leap ensures they can quickly strike anything or anyone within several hundred meters.

After touring the black tulip fields, Levis had already seen most of the nobles off.

Those who remained were those with a good relationship with him.

Liszt was also getting ready to leave; he did not plan to stay overnight at Tulip Castle, so he directly called Levis to the study to discuss matters.

“Liszt, is there something that can’t wait until evening to discuss? There are still many people in the living room that I need to entertain.”

“Brother, I don’t plan to stay here overnight. After discussing matters with you, I’ll head back.”

“So urgent?”

“There’s a lot going on in the town that’s waiting for me to handle.”

“Alright, what did you want to talk to me about? You’ve already visited the Black Tulip plantation with Teacher Frank. As for the slave ships, we’ll have to wait at least another month before they return.”

“It’s not about those things; I have something else to discuss with you.” Liszt wanted to talk about seafood, but he felt that saying it outright wouldn’t have much impact.

He needed to lay the groundwork first, to whet Levis’s appetite before discussing the seafood investment.

After some thought, he began, “I’ve come up with a new magic potion.”

“What?” Levis exclaimed in surprise, “You have a new Tulip magic potion?”

“Not Tulips, mushrooms. Flame Mushrooms, a kind of magic potion mushroom.” Liszt was very pleased with Levis’s expression. “How about a partnership, dear brother?”

“Partnership! We’re blood brothers, the best partners, aren’t we?”

“Of course.”

“So how do you propose we partner up, the same way as with the Black Tulip? A personal partnership with me?”

“I don’t like the idea of allowing Lady Marie and that kid Lidun to have all the benefits, so it’s still a partnership with you, brother. However, this time, I only plan to sell the finished Flame Mushrooms to you. You’ll be the Flame Mushroom vendor, not involved in their cultivation.” Liszt laid out the planned partnership.

Flame Mushrooms, he intended to turn them into a specialty of Fresh Flower Town, not directly selling the cultivation technique.

“That’s not right, how many Flame Mushrooms can Fresh Flower Town produce? You should sell me the cultivation technique, and I’ll handle the production. Wouldn’t it be great to share the sales profits?”

“I’m in desperate need of Gold Coins to buy serfs; otherwise, I’d be open to profit sharing. If you can give me five thousand Gold Coins right away, I could even sell you the cultivation technique for Flame Mushrooms outright, without any subsequent profit sharing. You would only need to help sell the Flame Mushrooms I produce in the future.”

“Five thousand Gold Coins?” Levis sighed, “I can’t even come up with a thousand right now, let’s stick to selling the finished product.”

Without much haggling, the partnership was thus agreed upon.

Liszt then asked, “Brother, have you found the Saltpeter Mine yet?”

“No, I’ve searched every city, and no one has discovered such a mineral. You really are a lucky guy… Why do all the good things happen to you?”

“Maybe it’s because good people get good rewards.”

“Haha.”

“By the way, brother, I have another business proposition I want to partner with you on.”

Levis’s eyes sparkled: “What kind of business?” His suddenly matured younger brother had already brought him many surprises. Just the Black Tulip and Flame Mushrooms alone had increased his chances of becoming a Sky Knight by twenty percent, filling him with confidence in becoming a potion maker.

“The seafood business. I’ve prepared to set up caravans in every city on Coral Island to sell seafood. But fishing isn’t a skillful job, sooner or later someone would compete for that hard-earned money. So, I’m planning to give you a twenty percent stake, and you help me get an exclusive seafood selling ordinance on Coral Island.”

He planned to monopolize the seafood business and legalize it, directly cutting off the possibility for others to compete.

“The seafood market is not small, I’ve heard you’re making quite a few Gold Coins a day?” Levis said casually.

“I don’t know where you heard that, but I’m not even making one Gold Coin a day right now. Perhaps when all the cities start selling, I could make two Gold Coins a day?” Liszt played poor and then threatened, “If you don’t help me, I’ll have to ask Father for help. I just want to earn some hard-earned cash to buy white bread to eat, brother.”

Perhaps the Earl really didn’t hold Liszt in high regard.

But if Liszt truly pleaded, the Earl would probably not refuse, after all, it was a business Liszt had developed.

“Fine, but I want a thirty percent stake. The ordinance can come out tomorrow. Father left me in charge of all of Coral Island’s affairs while he’s away,” Levis said with a smile, drawing on his cigar.

Greed!

Liszt inwardly despised him but said aloud, “Alright, thirty percent it is.”

As he spoke, he took a handkerchief out of his pocket, unfolded it, and gently placed the fist-sized Black Pearl that was wrapped inside it on the table: “Brother, take a look at what this is.”