Chapter Forty-Seven

“This is absolutely impossible!”

A netizen replied, “A dragon is a treasure trove in itself—how could the state possibly bring out something so precious for commoners like us to see?”

“That’s right… And to put it on display for educational purposes? Dream on. That black dragon was probably already cooked and eaten. In a fantasy world, eating dragon meat and drinking dragon blood is almost everyone’s dream. I don’t believe those officials up there could resist the temptation.”

“Sigh… There are indeed some things about our country lately that are quite disappointing.”

One netizen complained, “Last month, my family needed to turn around some cash flow, so we tried to sell a few pounds of gold. We finally found a suitable buyer, but just as we were about to make the transaction, we were caught red-handed by National Security. Not only was our gold confiscated, but my father was detained for several days.”

“Is that for real? That’s outrageous!”

“It’s true. Our country’s regulation of gold is extremely strict now. The market circulation of gold is completely banned, and even private ownership isn’t allowed. The gold bars we have in the bank can’t be withdrawn anymore—they can only be converted to Xia currency.”

“To be fair, this policy... it’s actually not unreasonable.”

Another netizen replied, “Gold is a highly strategic resource in this world. To prevent it from flowing out of the country, government intervention and macro-control are not only necessary but also absolutely correct.”

“I agree. Ordinary families don’t have much gold anyway. If things were left unchecked, wouldn’t the wealthy just benefit from it? The real loss would be the nation’s interests.”

Someone added, “I heard that just a single pound of gold is enough to resolve our incompatibility with foreign magical laws, allowing us to live freely abroad.”

“That’s actually true!”

A well-informed netizen replied, “The native deities outside our borders are very fond of gold!”

“If you approach a deity and offer your faith along with one pound of gold, they’ll use divine power to transform your body so you can naturally bond with magical elements, just like the native creatures. You’ll be able to live freely out there!”

“With this alone, if the state didn’t strictly control gold, who knows how many rich people would smuggle themselves abroad, trading gold with deities for power and immortality!”

“Is it really that simple to sneak overseas? Just like that?”

A netizen, tempted, was about to reply and ask for more details, only to find the original post had already been deleted.

……

“Ms. Red, fifty pounds of gold for one liter of dragon blood—this price is simply too high. We can’t possibly accept it!”

Outside the southwestern border, on an unremarkable hillside, several people from Xia were locked in yet another round of business negotiation with a woman whose fiery red hair, voluptuous figure, and stunning beauty seemed almost unreal.

Indeed, this Ms. Red was none other than the red dragon willing to sell dragon blood to the people of Xia.

“Whether you accept it or not, you have no choice!” Ms. Red slapped the stone table, her expression fierce. “I’m only negotiating this long out of respect for you people from Xia. Don’t push your luck by testing my patience again and again!”

“Fifty pounds of gold for one liter of dragon blood—this is the price! Whether you buy or not, you’d better hand over the gold today!”

“Ms. Red, it’s not that we don’t respect you, but we simply can’t afford this price,” the leader of the group said with a wry smile. “Our country’s regulation of gold is extremely strict now. Smuggling out even a few hundred pounds is extremely difficult and risky!”

“Surely, you don’t want our dealings to end after just a single transaction, do you?”

“I don’t care—enough with the nonsense! I want gold, and nothing else!” Ms. Red said impatiently. “If you don’t have gold, then have your government officials come and talk to me!”

“You must think I’m stupid. To be able to do business on this scale, you lot must have serious connections—almost certainly with official backing!”

“I’ve figured it out. Rather than wasting words with you small fry, I might as well deal directly with the Xia authorities. Don’t they have tens of thousands of tons of gold reserves?”

“If I play my cards right and become the first dragon to cooperate with the Xia government, they might even pay any price for dragon blood!”

“…”

The group exchanged glances, not expecting Ms. Red to make such a statement. For a moment, silence fell over them.

After a long pause, the leader cautiously said, “But if it comes to that, Ms. Red, aren’t you afraid of being double-crossed?”

“You should know, the credibility of the Xia authorities isn’t very high. If they can restrict their own citizens’ freedom and seize their wealth, what wouldn’t they do?”

“Our reputation as dragons... isn’t so great either, is it? Why aren’t you afraid we’ll double-cross you?” Ms. Red replied with a half smile. “The answer is simple—the potential profit is high enough to make the risk worthwhile!”

“…”

The group from Xia was left speechless, unable to deny the truth in her words.

Were it not for greed and the temptation of power and eternal life, would they really risk their lives getting this close to a powerful red dragon?

Even if this red dragon was somewhat of an oddity among her kind—having apparently lived among humans for a long time, understanding their rules and reasoning—otherwise, she’d never have come up with the bizarre idea of selling her blood to humans.

But precisely because she understood humans so well, this red dragon was not easily fooled. They had exhausted every trick, finally bargaining her down from one hundred pounds of gold per liter to fifty. Any lower, and she simply refused to budge.

According to her, she only made such concessions because they were all followers of Waukeen, the goddess of commerce, and because they were from Xia—otherwise, she wouldn’t give up a single gram.

Indeed, these people from Xia had all smuggled themselves out of the country, yearning for life in the magical world abroad. In order to live freely overseas, they had already offered up their gold and faith to Waukeen and become free citizens outside the country.

“…Ms. Red, if you can provide the formula for the dragon blood elixir, then we’re willing to accept this price,” the group’s leader finally said after a brief discussion.

“Impossible!” Ms. Red shook her head with a sneer. “You want the recipe for the dragon blood elixir from a dragon? What are you thinking?”

“The dragon blood elixir is an ancient potion that can grant humans the power of dragons. It was originally a gift from the dragon god to humanity—and a punishment for dragons themselves. The main ingredient is true dragon’s blood.”

“If I give the formula to you people from Xia, wouldn’t I be encouraging you to hunt other dragons? That would make me a traitor to my kind!”

“I am a dragon with principles. I will never betray my race—unless… you pay more!”