Dragon Tamer

Upon entering the foundry, Zhu Minglang saw the old master who wore only a soft leather vest even in the deep winter. His skin was like cured meat, and his muscles were like those of a fierce bear. If he were to charge with a shield, he would probably cripple an entire troop of soldiers.

“Master Zhao Long, good morning,” Zhu Minglang greeted.

“Ah, Zhu, you’re also here so early today. Sigh, you are a fine apprentice, determined and perseverant, unlike those lazy dogs I’ve been teaching. Heaven knows how long they’ll have to muck about here before they can graduate,” Zhao Long said as he threaded a needle, mending a piece of torn armor.

To be honest, every time Zhu Minglang thought that Master Zhao Long should go to the adjacent foundry workshop, where forging, hammering, and sharpening would suit his image better. He couldn’t comprehend how those rough large palms of his handled such tiny needles and threads, and yet his craftsmanship was exceptionally good.

“Master Zhao, when I said I have a family trade, I wasn’t talking about some minor apprenticeship. Just you wait, I’ll show you the armor I finished a few days ago—it’s really something!” Zhu Minglang declared.

“Hahaha, I believe you, of course I believe you. Your technique is different from others, too bad we can’t learn it. Otherwise, you could teach us smiths who only know how to follow the routine… Oh right, someone delivered something heavy and very valuable the other day, said it was for you,” Zhao Long said. “Is that so? Then I’ve got work to get busy with, I won’t chat with you for now!”

“Good, good… Strange, where’s my scissors? Which foolish apprentice used my tools and didn’t put them back properly, sigh… Forget it…” As he spoke, Zhao Long opened his mouth and bit down on the thread he pulled out, severing the highly flexible thread with his fine teeth.

Zhu Minglang shook his head with a smile.

The professional aura he had just displayed completely dissipated with that thread-biting act!

If someone sent something to the foundry, it was almost certain it was the gift Zheng Yu had sent for him.

Azure silver ore!

This ore wasn’t common, nor was it exceptionally rare; if one was intent on collecting it, quite a bit could indeed be gathered. However, Zhu Minglang had learned that in the casting arts of Ancestral Dragon City, azure silver wasn’t used as a material.

Instead, azure silver was found in ornaments like hairpins, earrings, and decorative chains, used purely for their aesthetic appeal.

Zhu Minglang needed azure silver because it possessed certain magical attributes. If he could activate the energy contained within, it could directly transform onto his dragon pet.

Dragon armor!

Now with the materials and the money, plus the continuous practice he had put in recently, he could officially start crafting the Heavy Dragon Armor! “Master Zhao, I need a private casting room. Here’s the money,” Zhu Minglang said to Zhao Long.

“What money? Just use it, no one will disturb you,” Zhao Long replied.

“Thank you, Master Zhao.”

Crafting dragon armor was a discreet affair, and Zhu Minglang did not want others to know about it. It was apparent that within Ancestral Dragon City, very few people had this skill, and even fewer in other city-states.

To avoid unnecessary troubles, it was better for Zhu Minglang to keep a low profile.

Buried in armor forging, time would pass surprisingly quickly; sometimes he had only entered the private casting room and smelted a few key pieces of azure silver before it was time to eat, and the sky had already darkened.

But research was a pleasure in itself.

Gathering ingredients, taming dragon pets, and refining armor—it had been a long time since he felt as fulfilled as he did now, finding there was never enough time every single day.

Of course, no matter how busy he was, Zhu Minglang still remembered to visit the little dragon, his Third Spirit Pact Dragon. He hoped it would recover soon.

Snow, white as it fell on the silvery-grey tones of Ancestral Dragon City, first touched the high State Wall, the tips of the towers, welcoming these holy winter spirits.

The first snow fell like white butterflies, gracefully flitting, and only someone as diligent as Zhu Minglang could perfectly witness their dance before dawn in Ancestral Dragon City. By the time the day was fully bright, the snow butterflies had already melted in the radiant sunshine, leaving the vast city in a holy, majestic silver-white!

The procedures for crafting the armor had recently been laid out clearly, so Zhu Minglang, trudging through the snow, still entered the foundry at the usual time.

In every setting, there’s always someone who is more diligent than you are, arriving earlier. While you’re psyching yourself up to push on through the day, that person is already deeply engrossed in their work.

That person was Master Zhao Long.

On several occasions, Zhu Minglang tried to arrive a few minutes earlier just to see if Master Zhao Long slept there, but he never uncovered the secret of how Master Zhao Long was always the first on the scene.

“Master Zhao, good morning,” Zhu Minglang greeted again.

“Ah Zhu… ah, is that Zhu!” Suddenly, Master Zhao Long exclaimed, dropping what he was working on and staring at Zhu Minglang.

“What’s wrong?” Zhu Minglang was confused.

Wasn’t it just yesterday that he didn’t come because he had classes?

As for having the same face as someone who had been separated from me for

many years!!

“Quick, take a look, look at what’s posted at the door. Is that really you?”

Master Zhao Long hurried Zhu Minglang to the street and urgently said.

Zhu Minglang took a step closer and indeed saw a portrait posted in front of the shop. The material of the paper was very much like the wanted posters for notorious criminals!

What’s going on? What heinous crime had I committed?

But the person in the drawing really did look exactly like me!

Was I actually wanted??

For what reason?

“The whole workshop was abuzz with the news yesterday. They say this man is the same vagrant who was imprisoned with the Valkyrie. Rumor has it, the man used to be a silk farmer from Sang Town, poor and humble, of low birth.

Because he was lazy and gluttonous, he couldn’t even rear silkworms properly. Ending up penniless, he became a beggar in Eternal City. By bad luck, he was thrown into the dungeon, where he was involved in something shameful with the Valkyrie who was deep in the cells at that time,” Zhao Long stooped down and whispered to Zhu Minglang.

“Huh?”

Zhu Minglang listened with a face that wanted to die.

He wanted to correct it, but quickly realized that by correcting it, he might as well admit it.

“You look too much like that vagrant. I advise you to wear a mask in public, especially since it’s winter and many people catch colds. Keeping a mask on is also taking care of your health, ” Zhao Long earnestly told Zhu Minglang.

“It’s not a matter of looking similar or not. How did such a rumor suddenly come about?” Zhu Minglang asked.

“Who knows? Overnight everyone started talking about it, and this portrait of you has been posted all over the city. People from the shops nearby all say it looks a lot like you, let alone the people in our own shop. All the craftsmen, big and small, think it’s you!” Zhao Long said.

“Fine, I’ve been cooped up in the foundry workshop recently anyway,” Zhu Minglang nodded.

He remembered when he parted with Li Yunzi, she had warned him that her enemies would likely use him to create trouble.

It seemed they had already made their move.

Of course, it was also highly likely that it was Luo Xiao’s retaliation. After being expelled and hunted, he no longer dared to move freely in Ancestral Dragon City-State and could only resort to such despicable methods to disgust me.

“You, you… You’re saddled with someone else’s sins without their fate. If it really comes down to it, you might consider going to some old doctors to see if they can change your appearance,” Zhao Long said with a concerned look.

“…” Zhu Minglang didn’t know how to respond for a moment.

Some things were indeed bound to come, and Zhu Minglang had also mentally prepared himself.

Changing one’s appearance was out of the question. It was time to clean up the atmosphere in Ancestral Dragon City. He was sick of hearing stories about how the Valkyrie’s man was a vagrant, a despicable beggar. Enough was enough!

I, Zhu Minglang, will shine bright in this Ancestral Dragon City!

Upright and forthright.

That was Zhu Minglang’s response now.

As expected, by night time, his own name had also begun to spread through the town.

When Zhu Minglang, somewhat fatigued, stepped out of the foundry workshop, the old master Zhao Long and several other apprentices were standing outside, staring at him with a strange gaze.

Master Zhao Long wore an incredulous expression. He had thought that the drawing merely resembled Zhu Minglang, but now that the name had come out, there could be no mistake!

As for those young apprentices.

In truth, they had not refrained from discussing the Valkyrie’s affairs when drinking privately. The tales of the lofty Female Monarch and the little beggar had countless versions among the common people, and had long dominated the best-selling lists of forbidden books. Zhu Minglang had been portrayed in countless ways, short, ugly, fat, thin…

“Little Zhu, you’re not really that… that vagrant from back in Eternal City, are you?” the master finally couldn’t help asking.

Zhu Minglang knew it was pointless to explain.

Whoever spread the rumor was truly vile, to say he was lazy and incapable of rearing silkworms, resulting in begging – when in fact, he had been kidnapped!

Of course, Zhu Minglang also realized that since the rumor detailed his identity as a silk farmer from Sang Town, Luo Xiao himself must have had a hand in spreading it.

Luo Xiao didn’t want him to live a peaceful life in this Ancestral Dragon City-State, saddled with this unbearable and enviable identity. Without the ability to protect himself, it really would be difficult to survive.

“Zhu Minglang, have you actually slept with the Valkyrie?” apprentice Zhou Xin asked in a weird tone.