Chapter 55: Catching a Thief

However, the Blue Dragon, Ao Han, after being tossed aside by his elder sister Ao Qingxue, spent his days thinking about how to get some shiny treasures from her to enhance his reputation.

But reality was harsh. As a Blue Dragon in the early Foundation Establishment stage, he couldn’t even take human form, so how could he possibly get the upper hand over Ao Qingxue? After being hung up three times, Ao Han finally submitted to his sister’s overwhelming power.

Still, after Ao Han’s persistent questioning, he finally learned that the treasures actually came from the land.

“Then I’ll go to the land and ask Li Xian for them,” Ao Han thought. Once this idea took root, it couldn’t be extinguished.

“A mere mortal, if this dragon comes to ask you for something, that’s an honor! You can’t refuse!”

At this moment, Ao Qingxue appeared, “It’s not impossible for you to go to the land. After all, you’re only in the Foundation Establishment stage, so you’re not restricted; and given your status, the people on land wouldn’t dare to harm you.”

“But if you bring something with you, Li Xian might give you even more.”

“I knew you wouldn’t ignore me, sis. Awoo…”

Ao Qingxue smiled lightly, “The 20 million jin of Deep Sea Iron Core from our last deal with Li Xian has been fully collected. Just bring it along with you.”

“Ah…”

Ao Han was dumbfounded. Although dragons can control water, with Ao Han’s current abilities, transporting 20 million jin of ore was simply impossible.

Ao Qingxue chuckled, “Look at how scared you are. Just have the Yaksha help deliver it to the seaside, and you can notify Li Xian afterward.”

“Awoo awoo, sis, you’re the best. I’m sure once Li Xian sees me, he’ll hand over all his treasures. Haha…” Ao Han swam away joyfully, soon disappearing from sight.

Ao Qingxue sighed softly, “My forever childish little brother. Ah, I almost forgot, the Ice Dragon King from the Northern White Sea Bay is still waiting.”

Upon arriving at the front hall, Ao Qingxue saw a robust, imposing, slightly fierce-looking man sitting casually on the seat. When he saw her approach, he roared, “Ao Qingxue, that old geezer from your family sent me to find you. So, stop dodging. Hurry up and hand over those Starlight Iron weapons.”

“100 jin of Starlight Iron weapons, in exchange for one low-grade spirit stone. Or 10 jin of low-grade materials,” Ao Qingxue said, immediately raising the price by more than five times.

However, Ao Qingxue, being very clever, didn’t continue to use the name “stainless steel.” Instead, she chose a better, more deceptive name—Starlight Iron. What a lofty name it is! Deceiving others isn’t exactly the specialty of Young Master Li Xian.

Upon hearing this, the Ice Dragon King became furious, “Girl, why don’t you just steal it?”

Ao Qingxue blinked her beautiful eyes, “Uncle, stealing is so unsafe! It’s not as quick as this.”

“What has that old bastard taught you? How can a good princess be so greedy? You should willingly give it to me.”

Ao Qingxue’s beautiful eyes blinked rapidly, momentarily at a loss for words—aren’t you greedy yourself?

Meanwhile, Ao Han led a group of sea patrolling Yakshas, who manipulated the water flow to transport the 20 million jin of ore. They swiftly approached the seaside. Once they reached shallow waters, the Yakshas dropped off the ore and turned to leave; only Ao Han remained, wagging his tail around the ore—20 million jin of ore, which was a significant amount.

Scratching his chin with one claw, Ao Han let out a proud laugh, “Li Xian, Li Xian, wahaha, the Third Dragon Prince has arrived! But first, I’ll go take a look, sneakily see if Li Xian has hidden any good stuff, heh heh.”

Ao Han stealthily slipped above the ocean surface, performing a water escape to vanish without a trace; only a nearly imperceptible mist of water floated toward Li Xian’s direction with the humid sea breeze.

At that moment, Li Xian and his companions were guarding in front of a cave that hadn’t cooled down yet. The cave remained red hot, and despite everyone using spells to cool it down, the effect was minimal, so they could only wait patiently.

While everyone was keeping watch, Ao Han took advantage of the situation and quietly sneaked into the factory area.

“This place is so big! Where should I start looking?” Ao Han thought, pacing with his claws. He finally made up his mind to start searching from the brightest place.

Naturally, the brightest place was the textile factory. The textile factory was the busiest right now and was also one of Li Xian’s current focuses for development; it operated three shifts, and the machines never rested. Since returning from the imperial capital, Li Xian had completely unleashed his ambitions, ready to vigorously develop the textile industry. In the early stages of industrial rise, textiles were the most profitable industry—everyone needed clothes!

Ao Han floated along with the sea breeze and drifted into the textile branch…

“Wow, so many colorful lights! So beautiful!”

“Wow, what is this? It can weave fabric so quickly?”

“Eh, there’s even a small room (office) here. Wow, the lights in this little room are so pretty; they’re mine now!”

Wu Lili was busy. Since Li Xian returned from the imperial capital, the textile factory had begun operating in three shifts. Remarkably, this allowed for the weaving of about five to six thousand rolls of fabric each day, which put immense pressure on the procurement of raw materials.

To address this, He Lin had already attempted to contact merchants from the northern Cai Kingdom. For now, the merchants from Cai Kingdom were just that—merchants. As long as there was profit to be made, they would naturally be willing to engage in business. At the same time, the factory began to try selling the fabric at a discount of 20% off the market price.

“Dumping?” Wu Lili was earnestly learning and contemplating. Juggling learning with work and thinking with planning had become a necessary challenge for the upper management of the “Brilliant Stars Trading Company.”

The changes were too rapid and intense, and with each of Li Xian’s new plans, ideas, and innovative market strategies, everyone found it hard to keep up.

Just as she was feeling troubled, Wu Lili suddenly noticed with surprise that the colorful lights in front had unexpectedly floated up into the air, seemingly enveloped in a mist of water, as if they were about to drift away.

“Water demon!” Wu Lili exclaimed in shock, but the next moment she calmed down. After all, she was now a senior executive, having encountered quite a number of situations. Instantly, she unleashed an attack from her sixth layer of Qi Refinement, sending a fireball flying toward the target.

“Wow, so hot!” Ao Han shouted. Having lived in the ocean, he had rarely seen flames.

Upon hearing this, Wu Lili immediately yelled, “Catch the thief!”

Her cry startled the guards, who rushed out in droves.

Li Xian had implemented a comprehensive security system, making it the most well-equipped department in the factory. Many of those responsible for security were elite soldiers selected from the injured and disabled, and the head of the security team was none other than a former general: Liu Leigang, who had lost his left hand but was still a skilled practitioner at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment.

So, people immediately rushed out, and under Wu Lili’s guidance, a barrage of spells was unleashed, along with tools like steel wire nets woven from stainless steel flying into the air.

Poor Ao Han was still just a child, lacking any combat experience. Despite possessing immense magical power and a strong body, he found himself wrapped up in steel wire nets, forced to reveal his true form.

“Waa… I’m the Third Prince of Dragons! I came to find Li Xian, and you can’t treat me like this! I demand the best treatment! I want colorful lights, I want mirrors, I want glass balls, I want gold and silver, and I want shiny weapons and armor.

Also, let this prince go! I want the best treatment! I want to bathe in hot springs, eat snacks, and drink the best wine, the very best wine!

If you dare to bully me, I’ll tell my sister, and she’ll send a huge army to attack you.

And, and…” 

Liu Leigang looked at the elegant blue dragon in front of him, listening to its incessant chatter that sounded like that of a petty thug, and felt a headache coming on. They had caught a thief, and it turned out to be a dragon—specifically, the Third Prince of Dragons. It seemed that this little guy was only here to find Li Xian, and the theft was merely incidental.

This was getting a bit serious, and Liu Leigang didn’t dare to make any decisions on his own, so he hurried to find Li Xian. As for the Third Prince of Dragons, he would have to be temporarily restrained with the wire net; he could endure a little discomfort for now.

Li Xian was waiting for the much-anticipated materials when he unexpectedly heard that a dragon had come looking for him. Just as he was about to handle the matter himself, he suddenly remembered that there were capable people nearby. “Mr. Fang, could you please handle this?”

“Haha, of course! I’ll go take a look,” Fang Shijing said, feeling honored to take on the task. A dragon! A dragon, indeed!

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