The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

For the monkeys at the Fruit Thief Monkey Training Ground, this year’s first snowfall came along with new members. The monkeys ordered by Lord Landlord hadn’t been delivered yet, but the three pregnant female monkeys had already given birth in succession, producing a total of four infants, one of which was twins.

Perhaps Fresh Flower Town really is a place blessed with the glory of knights, for all four baby monkeys survived.

They could just see Fresh Flower Town’s first snow, mixed with the howling north wind.

“Squeak, squeak!”

“Squeak, squeak!”

The troop of monkeys celebrated the arrival of the flying snow in their own language. When the snow fell, the Fragrant Coconut Trees would stop growing, and the Fragrant Coconut Fruits would no longer ripen—they knew this very well, as they stole the Fragrant Coconut Fruits all year round. No more ripening of the fruits meant that they wouldn’t have to work this winter.

What a pity.

Such a thought was laughable. Early in the morning, Jiggs, the steward of the training ground, took out fake Fragrant Coconut Fruits and began the day-to-day training.

“Lord Landlord will buy more monkeys, and when they arrive, this group of Fruit Thief Monkeys will serve as a model for the new ones. So, everyone, you must train well and make the Fruit Thief Monkeys exemplary!” Jiggs shouted loudly, enjoying his leadership and authority at the training ground.

The other fruit farmers had to listen to him.

“The female monkey I train can’t be trained today; she needs to feed her children.”

“Then you’ll clear the snow.”

“Why clear the snow? Every year we don’t clear it and just stay inside where it’s better,” one of the fruit farmers said dismissively.

Jiggs immediately snapped, “Straighten up your attitude! Consultant Gao Ertai has already decreed across the town that all farms and workshops must clear the snow in front of their doors and work areas, and after that, clear the accumulated snow on the nearby roads! You fool, do you dare to disobey even the orders of Consultant Gao Ertai?”

The fruit farmer certainly didn’t dare disobey, but he complained about Jiggs, “Why didn’t you say so earlier? If you had, I wouldn’t have let the snow accumulate in the training grounds!”

Complaints aside, he honestly took the broom he had made at the farm and started sweeping the snow.

It was only a night’s snow, so it wasn’t too thick, and could be swept away with a broom.

Just like at the Fruit Thief Monkey Training Ground, as soon as dawn broke, all of Fresh Flower Town began a massive campaign of snow clearing. Patrol Members knocked gongs and drums, going from house to house urging the serfs to wake up and clear the snow—the roads had to be cleared first to avoid delaying the carriages and postponing the construction projects of the domain.

This winter was destined to be anything but peaceful.

In the Castle and the administrative offices, there had already been several meetings to plan the construction projects for the winter.

…

“Ah!”

Stretching, Liszt felt a bit reluctant to leave his warm bed.

It had started snowing the night before, and the temperature had dropped to the point where thick clothes were needed, so he had already covered himself with a quilt—although an Earth Knight is somewhat resistant to heat and cold, no one would foolishly endure the cold when they could have a warm bed instead.

But still, he managed to resist the allure of his cozy bed with his strong will, got up, and opened the door.

Outside, the male and female servants were already waiting early.

Servant Thomas was there to help him dress, while the maid was responsible for cleaning the room.

“Good morning, my lord,” Thomas said, holding the armor and bowing.

Little Lily, carrying a bucket and holding a duster and mop, also bowed to Liszt, “Good morning, my lord.”

“`

“Good morning,”

Liszt had already gotten used to having someone help him get dressed, and after carefully grooming himself in the mirror, he hurried out of the bedroom to walk his dog.

Before he even left the house, he heard the “woo woo” sounds of Thorn Minor Elf Jela, who had flown out from the Worm Room and followed him out the door.

Liszt smiled and patted Jela’s tiny head, “Jela, I’ll take you to see the snow.”

“Woo woo!” Jela’s large eyes shimmered with curiosity, for it had never seen snow before. This was the first time it had witnessed snow since its birth.

As soon as they exited the castle gates, it flew around excitedly, occasionally playing with the snow accumulated on the ground, trees, and windows.

“Woof woof!”

Douson stood at the entrance of his doghouse, equally excited, barking away. It was also his first encounter with snow. However, he must have had enough of it last night; probably it was because he saw Liszt that he knew he could run around and play, which made him excited.

He unleashed Douson.

The Intermediate Magical Beast raised as a guard dog darted off in a flash, wagging its tail and playing crazily in the snow.

Thump!

A small snowball hit Douson’s head, with Jela mimicking Liszt and throwing a snowball. But its hands were too small, and the snowball even smaller, hitting Douson without him feeling a thing.

Seeing Douson ignoring him, Jela was immediately furious, ready to scatter seeds.

But Liszt, connected through mind connection, sensed its emotions and immediately stopped its actions, “Jela, play with the snow, don’t scatter seeds everywhere.”

If it had the energy to be naughty, he might as well take it to Thorn Ridge to plant trees.

Then he himself made an extra-large snowball and hurled it, hitting Douson squarely on the forehead. The hit left Douson stunned, looking around, not knowing who had struck him. A few seconds later, his attention drifted and he began to roll in the snow again.

The snow was thin, so when he pressed his body onto it, the snow melted away, revealing the alfalfa underneath.

He said he was rolling in the snow, but he was actually rolling in the grass.

A childish behavior, but considering he wasn’t even a year old, it was quite normal for him to be immature.

Leaving Douson and Jela to play in the snow, Liszt started his daily Dou Qi cultivation routine. A day’s planning is in the morning, and a lifetime’s planning is in diligence; refining Dou Qi is a meticulous process. To become a flying Sky Knight and achieve sainthood through the sword, he needed to sweat diligently.

After completing the Dou Qi cultivation session, he returned to the castle for a bath and changed into his formal noble clothes.

He asked the servants to move the dining table next to the window, leisurely eating breakfast while enjoying the view of the servants shoveling snow. This tranquility, only found in the countryside, was something he couldn’t enjoy before crossing through, of course, the bustling charm of modern civilization was also something this backward world couldn’t compare with.

Sometimes he would introspect and ask himself, if given the choice now, would he prefer to return to his original life or stay and be a noble.

In the first two months after arriving in Fresh Flower Town, he would have chosen to return.

Now, he would unhesitatingly choose to stay and continue the unfinished business of dragon riding.

“It’s just that I kind of miss the soy milk and fried dough sticks, as well as the rice porridge and steamed buns… Wait, why don’t I ask Mrs. Abbie and Reynard from the bakery to ‘invent’ steamed buns?”

Both are wheat flour-based food, after all, wheat flour doesn’t just make bread.

Steamed buns, dumplings, flower rolls, potstickers, wontons, noodles, pancakes, fried dough sticks, sweet rice balls, siu mai, ramen – these are all common wheat flour foods. Although Liszt was originally from the south and didn’t eat much wheat-based food, compared to having bread every day, dumplings and steamed buns were definitely more to his taste.

Having realized this, he couldn’t help but recall a classic quote from Sister Xianglin.

“I am so foolish, truly…”