I have the best bloodline

Fortunately, what happened to me wasn't something involving deep-seated hatred, so I wouldn't have to stand by and watch myself fall into the hands of my enemies and be slaughtered.

"It's just a matter of two or three inches. At worst, I can ask the Moon Rabbit or the Fairy Healer to attach a bamboo shoot to it," Su Yan thought to himself, making a self-deprecating remark.

"Alright! Now that we've eaten, let's go cultivate while we still have some things to do!"

After finishing the loquat, Su Yan got up from the pavilion seat and walked to the lawn in the courtyard, preparing to start cultivating the Dragon Ball Condensation Method and the "There is a Perfect Method in the World" taught to him by the Fairy Sister.

Since the ability to control water may not be usable for a while, let's find a way to turn it from a trump card into a commonly used technique!

The Dragon Clan's method of condensation belongs to the category of supernatural techniques, and it is also a cultivation and breathing method that is extremely characteristic of the Dragon Clan.

The key is to use immense force to make bricks fly, and to temper the dragon pearl and physical body by applying pressure with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth through the Golden Elixir.

"Brother Su, have you changed your ways today? You're practicing your breathing techniques so diligently. I was just thinking, how about we go fishing by the lake this morning?"

When Zhou You saw Su Yan strolling off to cultivate, he glanced at the sky before dawn and said with a hint of regret.

The Flower Bureau is different now than before. With everyone's collective wisdom and the support of the Red King, the Bureau has divided, won over, and suppressed the local clans, and its power has grown increasingly stronger.

When it's time to go to work, I have to handle official business. I can't go around playing like I did when I first came to the flower area.

"Going fishing again? Aren't you afraid some old mudfish in the river will drag you into the river for a wedding ceremony in one go?" Feng Shiqi glanced at Zhou You and said.

"So I switched to fishing in the lake! I heard there are giant tuna and minnows in the lake, so I thought..."

"No, you don't want to. Today you're on duty and you're to sit obediently in the government office and adjudicate cases."

Princess Luanming chuckled and spoke.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 336 Demon Clouds

The sky gradually brightened.

Today was the day off for Princess Luanming. Without the slightest hesitation, she tossed her official seal and record book to Zhou You, who was on duty, and then dragged Feng Shiqi to the street to go shopping, planning to have a good time at the brothel run by the government office at noon.

The situation is quite different now. In the past, when he was destitute and couldn't even afford a cup of wine, the government's treasury now contains over 40,000 catties of spirit stones, over 10,000 taels of gold, and countless silver and unrealized jewels, not counting taxes and public funds.

In less than a month, the government went from living frugally to being extremely wealthy and powerful, and it revoked the operating rights of brothels and gambling dens. Anyone who wanted to open a brothel or gambling den in Flower City now needed to apply for permission.

Su Yan would patronize any gambling dens that dared to operate illegally, and they would disappear on their own after he patronized them so often.

Operating legally and compliantly is the right way; those that are illegal, non-compliant, and do not pay taxes should naturally be shut down.

"Hey! Master, go and call Brother Su over. He has some business to attend to."

Zhou You, looking completely relaxed, propped his feet up on the magistrate's long table, polishing the article in his hand. He glanced outside the door and saw some wealthy old men. He then turned to the spirit monkey squatting on the long table, grinding ink, and said...

"squeak--"

The monkey, known as the advisor, responded and then turned and ran to the backyard to summon Su Yan, who was actually cultivating.

The number of monkeys inside the government office has increased significantly, from the initial five given by my aunt to twenty-five.

Fifteen monkeys were in charge of clerical work, staying in the study to manage the accounts and tax calculations of the flower market, while three clever monkeys were in charge of front desk recording work, such as finding the corresponding Xia Yu laws and local laws when judging cases, and recording the written records of the case-judging process.

The remaining seven are responsible for daily life, such as washing clothes and folding blankets.

"Is there anything wrong so early in the morning?"

Su Yan straightened his collar and walked into the back room, looking at some unfamiliar and familiar faces, and asked.

"Haha, it's nothing serious. Two of my friends would like to invite Master Su for tea. I wonder if Master Su has time to come to the brothel next door for a short chat."

Old Dai, who had previously been sentenced to be paraded through the streets by Su Yan, has been released from prison after paying 300 catties of bail in spirit stones. After his release, Old Dai turned over a new leaf and became a broker for the flower and plant administration.

There are some things that county magistrates find difficult to say directly, so they need brokers like Lao Dai to speak up and explain the future strategy of the flower-growing region, so that the brokers can bring in enough funds and merchants for the government.

Su Yan smiled and accepted everyone's invitation. She moved to the brothel across the street from the government office, where Old Dai immediately ordered the talented women inside to prepare the most tedious tea-grinding process.

Mocha, also known as matcha, is made by picking tender buds of spring tea and processing them into tea powder. The brewing process is complex and it was often used by literati to compete in tea brewing skills.

Besides grinding tea, the brothels also offered other common tea-making methods such as simmering tea and brewing tea.

Old Dai directly orders ground tea, which, besides being expensive, is actually a secret code.

He was revealing to Su Yan that these strangers in front of him were all wealthy people who had been waiting for good things to happen, and that by slowly working their way up, they could extract more tribute money to give to the government.

Ordering simmered tea indicates that the visitor has something to ask for but does not necessarily require government intervention.

Making tea is just a normal conversation; there's not much to discuss, it's more about building relationships.

Once the broker reveals the details to the client, the client will know how to negotiate with the visitors.

"Ahem. Magistrate Su, I heard from Old Dai that our government office is currently planning the development of the Southern Xinjiang region."

Shortly after they sat down in the private room, one of the new guests immediately stated his purpose, wanting to ask Su Yan about the matter in the Southern Xinjiang region.

He had actually heard about the Southern Xinjiang region's plan from Lao Dai long ago, and he knew the details very well. He was also planning to invest some spirit stones in it, but what Lao Dai said and what Su Yan personally guaranteed could not be confused.

He wanted to get some kind of guarantee from Su Yan.

“Unlike our flower plains, the southern Xinjiang region is mostly mountainous and forested, and the fields are mostly terraced, which are not very suitable for large-scale planting,” Su Yan said calmly.

"Then you should have heard from Lao Dai that the business we do is all one-off deals. We go there to buy up assets at rock-bottom prices while the Southern Xinjiang region is in turmoil, betting that the industrial value of the Southern Xinjiang region will rise after it is incorporated into the Xia Yu region."

People talk about what they are, and the stranger Old Dai brought in was clearly a merchant from the flower market or the Red King's Mansion.

What they wanted was a tangible return, not some long-term benefit. Therefore, after discerning the stranger's intentions, Su Yan did not discuss business or workshop matters with him, but simply told him the truth about how he could earn money from them.

He also explained the risks of the investment and where the potential profits would lie. Whether or not to pay the boarding fee was up to them, and Su Yan didn't force them.

With the support of the Hua clan and the demon race, Su Yan has now begun infiltrating the southern border.

Once the merchants have been sufficiently exploited, a report can be submitted to the Red King's Palace. In any case, Grand Tutor Jin has agreed to his plan. He should first go to various places in the Southern Xinjiang region to seize a round of low-priced land, some of which will be used for the future layout of sugar factories, and the rest will be sold off when the Red King announces the stabilization of the situation, allowing the later Xia Yu merchants to take over and recoup their funds.

If there is land suitable for large-scale planting, Su Yan will introduce it to the landlords and wealthy people, who prefer the stable feeling of a steady stream of income to quick money.

"Feel."

The stranger looked thoughtful, unsure about the business matters Su Yan had mentioned. He turned to look at Lao Dai with a troubled expression, signaling for him to speak.

"Master Su, it's like this, this brother of mine and I are birds of a feather, we both like a peaceful life. Don't you have anything good to recommend to him? This good brother of mine used to risk his life."

Old Dai, with a smile on his face, declined the business that Su Yan had offered, acting as a middleman to facilitate communication between the two parties. In return, the new customer would need to pay further tribute to the government in order to obtain some guarantees from Su Yan.

“Stable businesses do exist, of course, but those businesses require tying up a large amount of cash, and not every business can afford to tie up such a large amount of cash.”

Su Yan smiled slightly, preparing to boast about the good things he had invested in over the long term.

However, a gust of demonic wind that swept in from outside the window, and the sudden darkening of the sky, interrupted Su Yan's speech, causing him to turn around. The surging demonic energy and oppressive aura spread throughout the city.

Su Yan immediately stopped speaking and ran to the window to look out at the scenery.

A dark, bluish-black cloud of demonic energy is drifting northward from the direction of the Southern Xinjiang region toward the Flower Region.

The appearance of a cloud of demonic energy only occurs when a large number of demons gather together. The number of demons present in that dark cloud is far more than just one or two hundred.

Moreover, the appearance of demonic clouds requires a powerful demonic beast as a leader. Only when the demons are leading the group on a swift journey will the other lesser demons become excited and unable to control themselves, causing their demonic power to leak out and form demonic clouds.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 337 Ao Renlin Reappears

A dark, bluish-black cloud formation, accompanied by gusts of eerie wind and oppressive force, rapidly moved to the skies above Flower City.

Su Yan, who was originally discussing business in the brothel, seemed to sense something and leaned out of the third-floor window of the brothel, looking at the clouds in the sky with a furrowed brow.

"Something feels off! How could such a large number of demons gather here? This isn't the demons' stronghold in the Eastern Province."

Su Yan had never witnessed a demon cloud in person. He only knew that to gather a demon cloud, at least a demon king-level demon, which is equivalent to a human earth immortal, and thousands of demons would be needed to form such a unique way of moving.

The Demon King led his demon horde on a patrol, allowing them to move quickly without missing a single demon beast.

"Could my dad be in there?"

Shocked by the appearance of the demon cloud, a thought suddenly popped into Su Yan's mind.

Su Yan knew the Southern Prefecture all too well. His hometown was a place where demonic cultivators roamed freely. Even minor demons would get slapped twice if they passed by someone's door. There had never been a large-scale gathering of demons in the Southern Prefecture.

The fact that the demon race can hold their own in the southern states means that they must be incredibly strong.

Or they could be like Su Yan, a member of the demon race who has a powerful demon king as their backer and can enjoy the shade under that tree.

The Southern State does not meet the conditions for the appearance of demon clouds. If we talk about the situation of large-scale gathering of demons, Su Yan naturally thought of what his father, the Black Dragon Father, said in the early morning: his father led a group of Nightmare Town followers to launch a surprise attack on Bai Ze.

In addition to the behind-the-scenes factors of the Dragon Clan's long-cherished wish, Su Yan felt that the Dragon Clan actually also nurtured and supported the Nightmare Town Sect. Therefore, when he saw the Demon Cloud appear, a strange thought naturally popped into Su Yan's mind.

Could my dad be in there too?

"What happened to Master Su?"

When Lao Dai and Sheng Ke saw Su Yan sitting on the windowsill as if deep in thought, coupled with the powerful and gloomy pressure coming from the sky, they both wondered if the shamans from the Southern Xinjiang region had attacked.

"No, nothing's wrong. The Southern Frontier Daoist tradition has been besieged and suppressed by the Crimson King's army. You don't need to worry."

Su Yan watched the dark, bluish-gray clouds gradually recede into the distance and approach the Crimson King's Mansion. He turned around, looked at Old Dai and the three strangers, and said:

"However, compared to the southern Xinjiang region, things in the sky seem to be more troublesome now. You all have some tea and lunch first, and I'll discuss business matters with you later."

After saying that, Su Yan jumped directly from the brothel window onto the street, darted forward, and flashed back into the government office to prepare to grab his weapon. He then followed the demon cloud to the Crimson King's Mansion to investigate the situation and see if his father was currently mixed up with that demon cloud.

So you mean drinking tea?

The stranger looked at Old Dai, then at the other two people who had come to apply for licenses for brothels and gambling dens from the government office. He pondered for a moment and then asked them whether they should run away or go have some tea.

"How about some tea?"

Old Dai glanced at the sky; the demonic cloud had already moved from Flower City to the Crimson King's territory. With a confident expression, he invited the three to sit down at the tea table for a chat, saying:

"The dark clouds in the sky must be calamity clouds. It must be because the Red King has committed too many sins in the past, and the heavens are preparing to punish him!"

"If God takes away the Red King, will the Red King's army in the southern region mutiny and seize the mountains to become kings?"

"What's all the commotion? The death of the Crimson King isn't the passing of our supreme Emperor Wusheng. Everyone, sit down and wait patiently for Master Su to return. Whether we earn money or not depends entirely on Master Su's word. What's the difference between living without earning money and being dead!"

Old Dai chuckled and began to reassure the three of them.

........................

The sudden surge of demonic clouds also caught the attention of the clans in the Flower Region. The three earth immortals—the Flower Clan, the Demon Clan, and the Mountain God—thought for a moment, and then reluctantly and slowly set off from their homes.

The demonic cloud was clearly aimed at the Crimson King or Xia Yu. The three immortals were unwilling to cause trouble unless there was a specific reason, especially since they were going to help the Crimson King resolve the matter. However, given the current situation, they had no choice but to go.