Chapter 52

“Hou Hou doesn’t eat Ying Long…” Hou Cub weakly defended itself, its small rabbit ears drooping as it hid in the east wing, concealing its presence. Afraid that Hou Cub’s self-esteem might be hurt, Ye Chen lavishly praised it, saying it was soft and cute, even more effusively than he had praised Shen Mofeng. Hou Cub was eventually coaxed into a good mood, its round face glowing with pride.

Meanwhile, Zhou Buchu was coaxing Ying Long, who had shut himself in the main house. After much persuasion, he finally got the door open. The previously energetic and destructive old dragon now cowered like a scared child, looking like a disgraceful grandson who had failed his final exams. His face was full of wrinkles that seemed to spell out “timid.”

“Is that little rabbit brat gone?” Ying Long stretched his neck, looking around nervously.

“Gone, gone,” Ye Chen quickly reassured him. “Don’t worry, he won’t hurt you.”

Ying Long’s wrinkles smoothed out.

Zhou Buchu coolly added, “Unless you misbehave.”

Ying Long’s wrinkles scrunched up again.

“…” Ye Chen added, “Our family’s Hou is still very young, only recovered for a few months. He’s just a baby and can’t beat you.”

Ying Long immediately tried to put on airs.

Zhou Buchu maliciously noted, “But kids grow fast, changing every day.”

Ying Long instantly became as timid as a child.

“Uncle Zhou,” Ye Chen couldn’t bear it, “is it really okay to scare him like this?”

“It’s perfect,” Zhou Buchu replied with a world-weary look, leaning in to whisper to Ye Chen. “That rotten old man is hard to deal with, always making trouble and hitting people with his cane if things don’t go his way. I need something to keep him in line. Next time he misbehaves, I’ll scare him by saying I’ll call the big white rabbit to take him away. Don’t undermine me.”

Hou Cub had unwittingly become the big bad wolf in this scenario!

Ye Chen could only silently close his mouth.

Frightened into submission, Ying Long followed Ye Chen into the Mountain and Sea Realm. They arrived at a large open space that needed snow. Trembling, Ying Long dropped his cane, and with Zhou Buchu’s help, he took off his clothes and transformed into his dragon form.

A dragon’s roar echoed through the skies, clear and far-reaching, its resonant sound spreading endlessly.

Like an otherworldly dream, a gigantic dragon, over forty meters long, suddenly soared into the sky right before Ye Chen. The dragon’s thick body, which would take five people to encircle, was barely ten centimeters from Ye Chen’s nose. The gale created by its massive body blew Ye Chen off his feet, landing him on his backside. But he didn’t bother getting up. Instead, he craned his neck, grinning like a child, and looked up at the colossal dragon with a mix of awe and excitement.

Ying Long’s entire body was covered in light steel-blue scales, smooth as mirrors, each one reflecting the sky. As the dragon moved, the light played across its scales, creating a mesmerizing effect, making the scene extraordinarily magical.

“Wow—” Ye Chen couldn’t help but exclaim, his eyes sparkling, reflecting the dragon in the clouds.

Although he had been raising divine beasts for months and had seen their true forms, they had all been cute little cubs. None had ever given him such an intense sense of awe. As for Zhou Buchu… Zhou Buchu had never transformed in front of him, nor had Ye Chen ever asked him to.

“So beautiful, so magnificent…” Ye Chen muttered to himself.

Contrary to expectation he, this Duke ^[1]公 – Duke; honorable gentleman Ye, really liked dragons

Just when Ye Chen thought Ying Long was about to start making it snow, the dragon instead floated over to the tree-planting area. With one claw, Ying Long covered one of the Mi Gu trees that Ye Chen had planted early on. Then, with a sudden movement of his five claws, he uprooted the tree!

Ye Chen’s face turned pale, and he shouted, “Grandpa Dragon, don’t pull out my tree!”

“It’s fine, he’s just making a cane, he won’t pull out too many,” Zhou Buchu reassured Ye Chen with a pat on the shoulder.

“A cane?” Ye Chen asked in surprise.

As if to demonstrate its use, the dragon, who had just been soaring through the sky, now held the Mi Gu tree ^[2]A tree in the South Mountain[Nanshan] in the Mountain and Sea Realm Classics that was said to have a similar shape to the paper mulberry, with black branches and and it looked like it was radiating … Continue reading by its crown with its front claw, pushing it forward a few meters and planting it firmly in the ground. Then, the middle and rear claws plodded forward a few meters. Once they caught up, the dragon repeated the process, moving forward by pushing the tree as a cane.

It was fortunate that the Mi Gu tree had a resilient trunk, able to withstand being used as a dragon’s walking stick.

Ye Chen: “…”

Zhou Buchu explained, “He gets tired flying and also tired crawling. His body is too weak and so heavy.”

Ye Chen mechanically responded, “Then just now…”

Zhou Buchu replied, “Can’t a guy show off a little?”

Ye Chen: “Sure, sure.”

A few seconds later, Ye Chen weakly said, “Uncle Zhou, could you help me pick the fruits off that Mi Gu tree? Otherwise, he’s going to crush them all.”

“…Alright.” Zhou Buchu slung a basket over his shoulder and went to pick the fruits from under the dragon’s claw.

The principle of dragon rainmaking involves gathering the water vapor within a hundred-mile radius using the spiritual power contained in the dragon’s breath, condensing it into tiny water droplets or ice crystals. A dragon in peak condition can make it rain on fields miles away, but the old and feeble Ying Long no longer has this ability. He can only manage it square meter by square meter, personally. Leaning on his cane, Ying Long carefully directed his two enormous nostrils, each the size of a washbasin, toward the ground and exhaled. The breath he released was a frosty, hazy white mist, which slowly settled on the ground as a thin layer of snow. After a couple more breaths, the snow layer thickened slightly.

A minute later, the old dragon had successfully created snow over a two-square-meter area…

Ye Chen: “…”

Although this was far from the snowfall Ye Chen had envisioned, the speed was still sufficient. Too much snow at once wouldn’t be necessary anyway. Ye Chen took out the Winter Velvet Grass seeds and called the divine beast cubs to help plant them together.

…

An afternoon passed, and the more than twenty thousand Winter Velvet Grass seeds collected by the divine beast cubs were all planted. Once these new grasses matured, Ye Chen could produce about 160 to 170 pillows per month, with a net monthly profit of nearly nine thousand. This would not only lift him out of poverty but also provide substantial help to many people suffering from insomnia. It was both profitable and benevolent, a win-win situation.

Ying Long managed to cover an area of over two hundred square meters with snow in an afternoon. He exhausted the spiritual power he had accumulated over the past month and could no longer fly. Hou Cub hadn’t appeared, and with his severe memory loss, Ying Long completely forgot about it. He only remembered that he had once again helped a mortal with his rainmaking abilities and couldn’t help but feel proud and smug.

In ancient times, when the common people petitioned Ying Long for rain, it often involved elaborate rituals with offerings of pigs and sheep, continuous music and drumming, and the supplicants prostrating themselves on the ground in dense clusters, reciting incantations and kowtowing. Nowadays, with socialism discouraging such practices, the old dragon increasingly felt that this generation of mortals was failing. He glared at Ye Chen, his whiskers bristling, contemplating whether to give him a beating.

Zhou Buchu, having served Ying Long for many years, was all too familiar with the old man’s malicious demeanor. He quickly nudged Ye Chen and pointed at the dragon. “Release your Hou. He’s about to mess with you.”

Ye Chen, who was simmering a spiritual chicken to reward the dragon, was stunned. “What did I do to deserve this?!”

“Who can predict the whims of senile dementia?” Zhou Buchu tutted and shook his head. “He just suddenly finds you unpleasant.”

Ye Chen hurriedly fetched Hou Cub from the east wing, handed him a piece of candy, and held him up.

Hou Cub, delighted with the candy in his mouth, waved at the maliciously glaring dragon and said sweetly, “Grandpa Dragon, don’t be afraid.”

At this, Ying Long quickly looked down and scampered off faster than a grandson.

Hou Cub: “Pfft.”

Ye Chen: “…”

While most people play with their grandchildren, Hou Cub was playing with his grandpa…

There were many people dining at home that night, and since they were celebrating the hero’s work, several dishes needed to be prepared. The kitchen was bustling, with all the stoves in use, and the courtyard was brightly lit. But Ye Chen wasn’t worried about the electricity usage at all. He picked out a small fruit from the basket of Mi Gu fruits Zhou Buchu had salvaged that afternoon, plugged the induction cooker into the fruit, and with a “ding,” the cooker started operating.

According to the “Classic of Mountains and Seas,” the Mi Gu tree “looks like millet with black veins, its flowers shine in four directions, and wearing its branches prevents getting lost,” which means the Mi Gu tree glows at night, and wearing its branches helps one avoid getting lost. In reality, the Mi Gu tree doesn’t act as a compass; it just emits light. Its fruit resembles a lightbulb, with a transparent, brittle, yet hard peel through which the core can be seen. The core is a cluster of bright, dazzling flames suspended in the center of the fruit. Although the space between the core and the peel seems empty, filled only with air, Ye Chen knew that it was actually packed with electricity…

Each Mi Gu fruit contains 1 to 2 kilowatt-hours of electricity, with the exact amount varying depending on the size of the fruit. To use the electricity, you can simply insert a wire or plug directly into a fruit. Alternatively, the fruit can be hung on the wall as a lightbulb. Since the second batch of Mi Gu trees began bearing fruit, Ye Chen restored power and heating in the courtyard, no longer worrying about electricity usage.

Fruit-powered electricity: safe and environmentally friendly!

…

Ye Chen was busy in the kitchen with a few divine beast cubs helping out when Zhou Buchu suddenly poked his head in and reported, “Your family’s Hundun brat has opened a sea in the yard.”

“Mm,” Ye Chen responded calmly, “I asked him to do that.”

Previously, the Hundun Cub had created a small Chaos Mark on the floor of the rear house, large enough for one person to pass through, connecting the room to the Ligurian Sea for Ye Chen to do indoor sea fishing. However, after researching sea fishing techniques on various fishing forums, Ye Chen found that fishing with a rod was too inefficient and decided to use a specialized ocean fishing net. The Chaos Mark was too small to spread the net, so Hundun Cub erased the mark on the floor and created a much larger one in the courtyard, occupying half of it.

Splash…

The sound of waves crashing against the walls.

Beep beep beep, beep—

The alarm of the courtyard’s small tricycle, triggered by the waves.

“The yard is about to flood,” Zhou Buchu said.

Ye Chen put down the spatula and ran into the yard.

Under the sparse moonlight of the capital, the Ligurian Sea was rising in the courtyard, its waters carrying sand and shells as they overflowed from the Chaos Mark. Ye Chen quickly rolled up his pants, took off his shoes, grabbed them in his hand, and jumped on the small tricycle to prevent it from being swept into the sea. He raised his voice and shouted, “Dun Dun, quickly set up a barrier!”

“Gudun!” Hundun Cub responded, desperately flapping its small wings as it flew back and forth over the sea. With each flap, glowing powder fell into the water, and the surging tide gradually receded. Hundun could set rules for the Chaos Mark, forbidding materials or creatures from crossing it, and naturally, it could also prevent seawater from flooding in. However, this was the first time Hundun Cub had drawn such a large Chaos Mark and hadn’t yet set up the barrier. Its spiritual power was already running low, and it had to rest briefly, during which the sea started causing trouble.

As the restriction took effect, the seawater gradually subsided under the transparent mark, with surging waves below but unable to cross the boundary by a hair’s breadth. Ye Chen returned to House, changed into slippers, and brought out a washing basin from the kitchen, diligently picking up the shells left on the courtyard floor.

“Enough to stir-fry a small dish,” Ye Chen smiled simply.

Zhou Buchu looked pleased, “The young will be redoubtable in the years to come ^[3]后生可畏 – the younger generation will surpass us in due time…the young will be redoubtable in the years to come. They’re all going to freeload in Italy.”

Ye Chen teased, “Inheriting your mantle ^[4]Cassock and alms bowl in Buddhist master that is passed on to the favorite disciples., can’t afford to embarrass you, right?”

Zhou Buchu burst into laughter.

Ye Chen’s expression turned serious, “Actually, Taotie is about to wake up. I’m afraid it will bankrupt me, so I need to think of a solution quickly.”

“Taotie?” Zhou Buchu chuckled, “You don’t need to worry about her ^[5]ZB uses she while YC uses it. I don’t know if it’s a matter of typo since the characters are similar or if it’s intentional so I just left as it is in the raws.. She eats everything, easy to feed. Give her a brick and she’ll treat it like bread; stuff a steel bar in and it’s a hot dog.”

Ye Chen followed up, “Two bricks with a manhole cover in between is a hamburger?”

Zhou Buchu couldn’t stop laughing, “Hahaha, exactly!”

Ye Chen couldn’t help but soften, “Even if it can digest it, that doesn’t sound tasty.”

“You’re soft-hearted,” Zhou Buchu chuckled, “Just give her some sacks of rice and flour, feed her whatever’s cheap.”

“Okay,” Ye Chen nodded, “I’ve planned it out. If there’s nothing else to feed it, I’ll mainly steam mantou and make rice for her. Let it eat enough to be 80% full, and then the remaining 20% it can enjoy tasty food without feeling greedy.”

Zhou Buchu patted his shoulder and praised, “Xiao Laodi ^[6]Affectionate term of address for a male who’s not much younger than you; my boy/old pal, you’re good.” After a pause, he added, “The sea in your house is quite something.”

Ye Chen: …

Zhou Buchu took off his clothes, “Alright then, I’ll go down and check it out, see if there are many fish in this area of the sea.”

Since they were here, it wouldn’t be right not to catch a few fish.

Ye Chen also wanted to try the waters with someone else and said hurriedly, “Then you should go.”

Zhou Buchu put away his clothes and transformed into his original form as a Pixiu.

Pixiu excelled in schemes but not in combat. Its body resembled that of a horse, covered all over with thick, dense golden velvet fur, shining brightly like the sun in the night, as if shaking its fur would scatter golden dust all around…

“Wow,” Ye Chen’s pupils lit up.

Zhou Buchu felt proud and walked in front of Ye Chen, showing off by turning around twice.

At this moment, Qiongqi Cub, who was watching nearby, tiptoed over and grabbed a strand of Zhou Buchu’s fur, swiftly and decisively pulling it!

“Ahhh!” Zhou Buchu screamed out loud.

Because Zhou Buchu enjoyed teasing the young Qiongqi, their relationship had never been very harmonious. Qiongqi Cub had been itching to turn the tables.

“Qi Qi! Oh…” Ye Chen was about to reprimand the mischievous child when he saw the strand of golden Pixiu fur pinched by Qiongqi Cub visibly transform into a thin stack of pink banknotes…

Zhou Buchu let out a howl like he was killing a Pixiu, “Ahhh! Are you robbing me?!”

“Your fur…” Ye Chen stared in disbelief, “Its essence is money?”

“My entire body is money!” Zhou Buchu spread his hooves and ran far away from the troublemaking child, shouting in distress, “Spending my money is like cutting my flesh, draining my blood, and plucking my fur!”

Unlike other flesh-and-blood mythical beasts, a Pixiu’s flesh, bones, and fur were all manifestations of real wealth. Just as people gain flesh from eating meat, Pixiu earned money that grew on its body. Cutting off two pounds of its leg meat could buy a house in the capital.

Ye Chen held his breath, as if he had seen a mobile treasury.

“…,” Ye Chen pondered for a moment and couldn’t help but joke, “With your physique, if you start losing hair, it would be disastrous. Even the bathroom drain would be clogged with banknotes.”

Zhou Buchu shivered, frightened, “My fur is sturdy! He was pulling it with all his might!”

“You can’t predict hair loss,” Ye Chen wiggled his head, “When you get older…”

“Ahhh, stop talking!” Zhou Buchu stopped fishing altogether and anxiously bounced in place, “I can already imagine it!”