Chapter 24 - Times Were Bad
T/N: Thank you to Remember and Casey for helping to edit this chapter~
Fu Li didn’t hear the rejection in Zhuang Qing’s voice and thought that he hadn’t heard the amount clearly. “Two hundred thousand.”
Zhuang Qing was silent. He looked at Fu Li like he was watching a preposterous television drama.
“I don’t know many yao. The mallard said he doesn’t have money, while the other is locked inside your bureau,” Fu Li held up the paper cup and drank a mouth of plain water. “You have the most money among the yao I know.”
Zhuang Qing: So, where did you get the false impression that I would lend you money?
“Actually, I’m a yao who doesn’t like borrowing things from others,” Fu Li smiled with embarra.s.sment.
Zhuang Qing picked up his teacup and drank a mouth of tea. Then it’ll be better for you to not force yourself to do something you dislike.
“I got to know a very good human this month,” The smile on Fu Li’s face dimmed. “He pa.s.sed away a few days ago.”
“Humans will always succ.u.mb to death. That is the nature of their life cycle.” The indifference on Zhuang Qing’s face lessened a little. He placed the teacup down and said, “Don’t grieve too much.”
“I’m not sad,” Fu Li raised his head and directed a smile towards him. “Still, thank you.”
Faced with Fu Li’s pitch-black eyes, Zhuang Qing felt an inexpressible discomfort. He shifted his line of sight away from him. “You’re just one yaoguai, what do you want with so much money?” The amount was too little for the purposes of marriage or house-purchasing but was too much for meals or clothing.
“I heard from the cat raised by the human that he once mentioned wanting to be buried with his deceased wife. But later on, he donated his savings to a severely ill child, so there isn’t enough money now for a couples’ grave.” Fu Li pursed his lips and continued speaking, “The relevant department heard of his past deeds and prepared a grave for them. I’ve already taken a look at the grave. If the couple were to be buried there, there would be no chance for them to be husband and wife again in their next life.”
“So you intend to dip into your pockets and buy a grave for them?” Zhuang Qing realized that he didn’t understand this yaoguai. He seemed to occasionally place great importance on money, yet didn’t seem to regard money as important when it came to spending it.
After pondering over it, he could only say that this yaoguai had interacted with too small a number of humans, so he viewed this world too simply and optimistically.
“Mr Fu, it isn’t easy to earn money now either. Our bureau often does overtime, the higher-ups don’t always reimburse us for travel expenses, and there are times when our wages are delayed…”
“Mr Zhuang, I understand what you mean,” Fu Li’s expression was grave.
Zhuang Qing’s expression lightened. It was good if he could understand his tactful rejection.
“I’ll go over to Mr Chu Yu later and retrieve my recruitment form,” Mr Fu sighed. “How could wages be delayed?”
Did this yao understand dragon speech? Was he deliberately feigning stupidity?
Zhuang Qing took a deep breath in his heart. “I meant to say that I didn’t…”
“Boss!” Chu Yu pushed open the door and entered, a hint of anxiety in his voice. “A few azure dragons barged in!”
“Don’t panic.” Zhuang Qing stood up and told Chu Yu, “I’ll go over.”
Zhuang Qing’s legs were very long. He left the office within a few steps.
“Wait,” Fu Li stopped Chu Yu. “Did you say azure dragon?”
Facing the savior of his life, Chu Yu’s att.i.tude couldn’t be any better. “Benefactor, you might not be aware of this, but the dragon race has always been arrogant with their conduct, especially the azure dragon clan. Last year, a few humans went missing around the Northern Lake. They had clearly been devoured as food by the Northern Lake azure dragons, yet the dragon race covered it up, preventing any evidence from being found at the site. Apart from imposing an insignificant punishment on them, we could only let this matter go.”
“This time, the Dragon Lord of the Northern Lake came knocking on impulse, injured our colleagues, and even resisted the penalty. Boss finally has a reason to lock the Dragon Lord of the Northern Lake in the spirit lock formation,” Chu Yu smiled bitterly. “But you’ve seen the situation in reality – the Dragon Lord of the Northern Lake hasn’t even been imprisoned for a month, but the azure dragon clan has already come knocking.”
“Are their actions considered an attack against police?” Fu Li wrinkled his brows.
Chu Yu stared blankly for a moment before nodding. “P-probably?”
“How can they carry out this sort of unlawful behavior?” Fu Li’s wrinkled his brows till they almost formed a knot. “Not only are your wages so low, they’re even delayed now and then. Despite the harsh conditions, all of you still persist in safeguarding the order of the cultivation world. Even then, there are still yao who give all of you trouble. These yao really lack character.”
“Not exactly. No. Not right…” Their management bureau had very good benefits, since when had their wages been delayed? If they were really so miserable, why would there be so many human, yao, and ghost cultivators who came running to s.n.a.t.c.h a position?
What exactly had caused his benefactor to have the misconception that they were dest.i.tute?
The several azure dragons who had arrived were seniors of the azure dragon clan. Their human forms were dignified and upright and their behavior was also a lot more staid. After arriving at the bureau, they didn’t start fighting at the first sign of dispute. However, the fact that they were seated there was already enough to induce feelings of reverence.
The oldest azure dragon among this group was called Qing Yan. He differed from the other few azure dragons, because not only was there a smile on his face, he had also restrained his Dragon Might. Upon seeing Zhuang Qing appear, he placed down the teacup in his hand and stood up, saluting him. “Dragon Lord Zhuang Qing.”
Despite the fact that Zhuang Qing did not control any ocean or lake and was a mixed-blood dragon, he had joined with the nation’s fate, so it was not too much for him to be given the respected t.i.tle of Dragon Lord. However, other than Qing Yan, the other Dragon Lords present all displayed extremely haughty att.i.tudes. Clearly, they didn’t attach any importance to Zhuang Qing, the golden dragon whose bloodline had been tainted with human blood.
“Dragon Lord Qing Yan,” Zhuang Qing returned his salute. His gaze swept calmly across the several azure dragons. “I’m unsure what matters these sirs have for coming to my bureau?”
“Zhuang Qing, I heard you used your authority for personal motives and locked my dragon clan’s younger generation in your bureau?” An old man looked at Zhuang Qing with a dignified look. “I know that there were disagreements between you and the dragon clan in earlier years, but don’t think that you can act as you please just because you’re the head of the bureau.”
“The Dragon Lord of the Northern Lake violated the rules by causing hail to descend. Countless vehicles were damaged, and the humans who were injured at that time are still lying in the hospital today recuperating. The losses to the crops in the suburbs were even greater,” Zhuang Qing’s gaze turned icy. “To your dragon clan, hail might only be a carefree act after the pa.s.sing of anger, but to many farmers, the destroyed crops are worth one year’s income.”
The old man’s expression underwent a subtle change. He immediately responded, “Even then, you shouldn’t imprison him for a hundred and fifty years!”
“According to the regulations of the cultivation world, any yao cultivator who harms the common people will be sentenced to ten to fifty years of imprisonment. If they refuse to accept the punishment and even attack the bureau, they can be imprisoned for a hundred to a thousand years,” Zhuang Qing didn’t back down at all in the face of the old man’s might. “Elder Qing Yuan, this length of time is already a light sentence. If these Sirs are dissatisfied with anything, you may proceed to the Yao Union and file a complaint according to the usual procedures. This Zhuang will not have any objections.”
“You!” Elder Qing Yuan’s expression turned even uglier. The Yao Union wasn’t on good terms with their dragon clan. If they were to seek them out, the Yao Union would definitely be on the bureau’s side.
“Dragon Lord Zhuang Qing, I don’t seem to see any injured people in your bureau, why don’t all of us take a step back?” Qing Yan spoke up with a smile on his face. “The Dragon Lord of the Northern Lake has committed an offence. We will definitely bring him back and educate him well. As for the fine, we are willing to double the compensation for the losses suffered by the humans. Would this be enough for you to release him from the spirit lock formation?”
It was difficult for the dragon clan to have heirs. After adding up all the dragon clans, their numbers didn’t even reach fifty. How could they bear to have a younger generation imprisoned in the spirit lock formation for a hundred and fifty years?
“Dragon Lord Qing Yan, not everything can be resolved with money,” Zhuang Qing didn’t back down. “If everyone could behave without the slightest scruple just because they had money, this world would not have a heavenly law, much less rules.”
The smile on Qing Yan’s face faded. “It looks like Dragon Lord Zhuang Qing is unwilling to give our azure dragon clan this face.”
“My apologies, this Zhuang abides by the management bureau’s rules and regulations,” The hand behind Zhuang Qing’s back curved slightly. Faint dragon scales flashed on his wrist.
The atmosphere in the room immediately heated up.
Bang bang bang.
Knocks sounded on the door. Everyone in the room looked towards the door simultaneously, wanting to know which creature who wasn’t right in the head wanted to deliver themselves to the firing squad at this time.
“Sorry to disturb,” A head stretched in from outside the door. This person had s.h.a.ggy hair, neat brows, and red lips. It was an extremely good-looking human face.
T/N: If you guys haven’t heard, rainbowturtle is holding a fanfiction and fanart event for all their novels translated on CG! Do check out the event details here.