Chapter 69: Ownership of the Little Chicken

Xiao An sat back down, looking at Li Xie with a smirk. "Just buy grain from His Majesty! That's all!"

"Damn! That's easier said than done!" Li Xie rolled his eyes at her.

"Humph!" Little An raised her eyebrows. "Just send someone to the capital with a fast horse, tell His Majesty that Chrysanthemum City urgently needs grain, and it needs to be delivered within about a month! As long as His Majesty agrees to sell the grain, it will be delivered to Chrysanthemum City in about a month! Don't ask me why, it's just how it will be!"

"Is that for real?" Li Xie couldn't quite grasp it, but Little An sounded confident, not like she was joking.

"I wouldn't joke about something like this, would I? If you go along with it, it'll work," Little An assured him. "Besides, if you're still worried, you can go to Plum Blossom City to buy grain, and at the same time, have those refugees and slaves cultivate a lot of land. Plant bitter melons. Even if you don't buy grain from His Majesty, you can hold out until next spring. By then, the spring harvest will be near, and the food crisis will be resolved."

"Bitter melons? What are those?" Li Xie asked.

"Bitter melons are a kind of vine plant. They're cold and drought-resistant, with strong vitality. From sprouting to maturity, it only takes forty days to grow fruit. If propagated by cuttings, they can produce fruit in thirty days! Though bitter melons taste bitter and may be hard for nobles to swallow, refugees and slaves don't care about that. Even commoners often eat bitter melons! Planting bitter melons now will solve next month's food problem. Also..." Little An continued, "I'm guessing there's likely a lot of grain powder in the granary. We can collect it and mix it with seasoning to make alcohol. Mix the alcohol lees with some oil, and we can make coarse bread. With alcohol and coarse bread, we can get through the winter!"

Li Xie listened in astonishment, completely baffled, so he turned to Tiel, who was in charge of grain. "What are bitter melons?"

Tiel broke out in a cold sweat on his forehead. Little An snorted, "How would this noble know what bitter melons are? Anyway, just ask a commoner, and you'll find out!"

Li Xie then asked, "And what's grain powder?"

This Tiel knew, and he hurriedly explained, "My lord, when grain is stored for a long time, the lower part of it turns into powder due to temperature and pressure issues. During transportation, most of it is usually scattered in the granary. Over time, a thick layer of grain powder will accumulate below the granary because it includes the husks of the grain. We don't usually use it, but Miss An... Miss An is right, it can work. Moreover, it can produce a large amount of food!"

"Good!" Li Xie finally understood. There was plenty of grain after all! And Little An's ideas seemed reliable, so he couldn't help but burst into laughter. "Come on, Little An, hehe, I'll leave this matter to you! If you handle it well, you'll be handsomely rewarded!"

"Hmph! I don't care about any rewards! But, Xie Ge, if I manage to find a solution, you have to grant me a wish!"

"Okay, you say it!"

"I want the little chicken!"

"Hey!" Li Xie was taken aback. "You..."

The Golden Feather War Chicken was an eighth-order magical beast! It might even become a tenth-order Undead Firebird in the future!

"What's wrong? Xie Ge, are you going back on your word?" Little An seemed a bit unhappy.

"Kidding, I never go back on my word. What I mean is, you're not a master. Why do you want the Golden Feather War Chicken? It's too much of a waste. Why not something else?" Li Xie couldn't let the Golden Feather War Chicken become his familiar. Sending it away was inevitable, but giving it to Little An seemed like a big loss.

Little An shook her head and smiled, "When you give things to your brother, it's different from when I do. My brother has always given me things, and I want to give him something too. I know my brother has always wanted a powerful magical beast, so that's my wish!"

"Well, okay!" Li Xie agreed, but it made nearby Fan Di Se tremble!

His disappointment was written all over his face, and Li Xie noticed it, laughing, "Fan Di, why are you, a grown man, looking so dejected? Rest assured, as long as you follow me, you won't lack magical beasts! Today it's eighth-order, tomorrow I might give you ninth-order! Duke Li promises you, in the future, when there are powerful magical beasts, you have priority!"

"Really?"

"Have I ever lied to you?"

"Thank you, my lord!" Fan Di Se hurriedly bowed, feeling a surge of joy in his heart. Though high-order magical beasts were rare and valuable, Fan Di Se believed that Li Xie would eventually be able to acquire them! This confidence stemmed from what he had seen in the banquet hall of the City Lord's Mansion!

"Alright, Little An, you're in charge of handling the grain matter. Tiel and Fan Desa, you two will accompany Little An more during this time, assisting her. Give it your all, or else, you know the consequences!"

"Yes, sir! We understand! We will follow the lord's orders!" Tiel and Fan Desa both replied quickly. They were now afraid of Li Xie, this lord who killed without hesitation!

Little An made a gesture of respect and said, "Then Little An will go find bitter melon seeds now, and arrange for the cultivation of the land. I'll also tell my brother the good news. Little An will leave now."

Li Xie nodded and added, "Fan Di, you temporarily follow Little An and remember to protect her safety."

"Yes! My lord!"

Watching Little An leave, the smile on Li Xie's face never faded. Jack was undoubtedly a superb commander, and his sister Little An seemed not so simple either. These two siblings were probably going to be significant assets in the future! Therefore, Little An's safety must be considered. If something happened to Little An, it would definitely affect Jack's dedication!

With the city still in chaos, having Fan Di Se protect Little An should be foolproof. As for Li Xie's own safety, with Zeenaard present, there shouldn't be any problems. If even Zeenaard, the ninth-order dragon, couldn't handle it, having Fan Di Se wouldn't make much of a difference.

"Zeenaard, take me to the rooftop of the hotel."

Zeenaard lifted Li Xie and flew him up, bringing him to the rooftop of the hotel. The two stood on the eaves, overlooking the streets below.

Li Xie had Zeenaard bring him up not out of boredom but because there were things he needed to discuss with Zeenaard.

The cat on Li Xie's head jumped down, looking at the two men. "Meow..."

Zeenaard glanced at the little cat. "I'm not into that kind of thing! He asked me to carry him up!"

The little cat slapped its forehead with a paw, indicating it didn't want to see that and sat in a corner, taking out a bottle from the space ring around its neck and started drinking by itself.

Li Xie shook his head, ignoring the peculiar little cat, and said, "Zeenaard, I promised to help you advance. Once things settle down in Chrysanthemum City, I'll arrange for Duke Avery to come secretly and help you advance!"

"Are you in a hurry?" Zeenaard stared at Li Xie.

Uh...

Being asked back, Li Xie was momentarily stunned, then awkwardly smiled and said, "I'm afraid you're in a hurry."

Zeenaard looked into the distance. "These days, I've also been considering what you said before. You're right. If I truly become powerful enough to threaten the dragon royal family, they will surely personally move to kill me! Now, as a ninth-order dragon, if I advance to become a tenth-order dragon, I'll reach the strength of the Elder Council. With the golden dragon blood flowing through me, my dragon breath will be even stronger than that of the Elder Council. It will be enough to threaten their existence! At that time, I'm afraid it will attract the dragons!"

Li Xie chuckled, "I said it will be a secret advancement. Neither you nor I will talk about it, and Duke Avery will never talk about it either. Let you reach the tenth order first."

"You don't understand," Zeenaard said, "A tenth-order magical beast, like a tenth-order swordsman or magician, is a qualitative breakthrough compared to below the tenth order. Once I advance to the tenth order, at that moment of advancement, my dragon aura will completely erupt. Others may not perceive it, but the Dragon Emperor will definitely sense it! By then, he will probably dispatch dragons to search for me everywhere. Even if I transform into a human form, the dragons will still sense my aura. It's something that can't be concealed, and they will soon find me. And even as a tenth-order dragon, I am no match for the dragons!"

"Then, you have no chance to advance to become a tenth-order dragon?" Li Xie raised his eyebrows.

"Not necessarily. As long as I can get the rest grass growing inside the dragon's tomb and eat it, my dragon aura will disappear. Even if I stand in front of the Dragon Emperor without revealing my dragon form, he won't recognize me!"

"Rest grass..." Li Xie frowned and said, "Where is the dragon's tomb?"

"The dragon's lair is in the Zhoubuzhou Mountains. Only the dragon royal family knows where it is, and only they can open it. It's a sacred place for the dragons!"

"It seems that you won't be able to go to the dragons. Okay, if there's a chance, I will definitely help you get the rest grass. That's a promise as a friend!"

"Friend..." Zeenaard stared at Li Xie intently, not knowing what he was thinking. After a while, he said, "I've been happy these days, unlike before when I only had hatred in my heart and only wanted to advance. Hehe, let's talk about the rest grass another time. But as for you, your secret must never be known to anyone!"

In fact, Li Xie called Zeenaard up there precisely to talk about this matter. About Li Xie's body being able to heal magical beasts, and the thing Zeenaard didn't know yet, that Li Xie's body could help magical beasts advance.

He needed to make sure Zeenaard kept it a secret, after all, Zeenaard was the only one who didn't swear that night!

"I didn't expect you to have guessed my intentions already. Hehe..." Li Xie laughed self-deprecatingly, "I don't know why it's like this, but of course, I also know what kind of crisis I'll face if this secret is known, or even spread. So, I want to ask you to keep it a secret."

"I also have a secret in your hands, don't I?"

"I, Li Xie, am not someone who would betray a friend!"

"I, Zeenaard Jackson, am not either!"

"Good! Haha... Let's have some drinks! Meow Meow, bring two bottles, don't just drink by yourself."

"Meow..." The little cat raised the corner of its mouth on the right side, revealing a tiny fang.

"What did she say?"

"She said she knows all our secrets, so we'd better bribe her, or she'll talk everywhere!"

"Damn it! You annoying cat!"