A man among dragons, building a mysterious ancient church.

Chapter 261 Borrow Your Brother

The aftermath of the battle for the capital city has become increasingly widespread, and the Old Church has sprung up like mushrooms after rain, spreading and expanding in various regions, yet no mixed-race force has dared to step forward to stop it.

Most people just held their noses and let the old church openly proselytize and recruit believers.

Anyway, as time went by, everyone gradually figured it out. The old church, with its expansionist approach, only cared about the believers' faith and didn't involve any other professions.

Some of the wealthiest individuals even distributed supplies for free every day, displaying an inhuman generosity that allowed certain entities involved in aquaculture and fisheries to make a fortune.

If that's the case, why stop it?

It doesn't involve their own core interests, so they can just let the old church absorb some ordinary people as believers.

Of course, there are also some cautious forces who believe that this is just a facade by the old church and that one day they will target the industries they are involved in and take a share of their profits, so they remain vigilant.

As the mastermind behind the old church, Xu Lie did not worry about the expansion of the church at this moment. Instead, he brought Xia Mi to Xiajiawan in the Three Gorges.

The incense here is very strong. To be more precise, the surrounding villages that were threatened by Samson were all the most devout believers of the Heavenly Venerable.

Walking down the street, Xia Mi frequently saw many residents saying, "May the Heavenly Venerable bless you," before parting ways.

Looking at the atmosphere of faith, Xia Mi couldn't help but wonder, could this place be the old headquarters of the church? Or some major stronghold?
Did Xu Lie bring her here because of the old church?

"Follow me." Xu Lie led the way. Unlike big cities, Xiajiawan didn't have coffee shops or Western restaurants everywhere. If you wanted to sit down and chat, you either had to book a hotel room or go to a small bar run by locals.

Xia Mi looked around curiously, wondering why Xu Lie had brought her here. Xu Lie smiled and kept it a secret, only leading the way and soon taking Xia Mi to the tavern.

Because it's just a local tavern, selling homemade farm-brewed wine, the decor isn't fancy.

It could even be described as very simple, just an ordinary tiled house, with the printed wall stickers on the walls showing traces of time, tinged with pale yellow.

Tavern?

Xia Mi glanced at Xu Lie's back with a strange look, her eyes flashing with surprise and doubt. Her nose twitched slightly as she smelled a faint scent of alcohol. Could it be that Xu Lie planned to get her drunk, and then... and then!
Before even taking a sip, Xia Mi's face flushed red, and her steps became unsteady, as if she had already become intoxicated by just a whiff of the wine's aroma.

With her pretty face flushed, anyone who didn't know better would think she had already finished drinking.

With her mind full of worries, Xia Mi followed Xu Lie into the store, thinking to herself that she never expected Xu Lie to be so wicked on the inside, despite his seemingly upright appearance!
No wonder he's a thief; he actually planned to get her drunk and steal her... you know!

But, if we get drunk and do *that* right away, wouldn't that be moving too fast? It's not quite appropriate, isn't it? It's not very romantic.

As she pondered this, Xia Mi realized something was amiss. With her physical condition, how could a little bit of farmhouse liquor possibly knock her out?
"Hehehe, Xu Lie, you're in for a rude awakening. My alcohol tolerance is... very... Norton? What are you doing here?!" Xia Mi's mouth dropped open, unable to believe she could see Norton here.

In the tavern, Old Tang, who was standing up and waving at Xu Lie, was taken aback. Did this pretty young woman know him?

No, it's that he knows a dragon king named Norton?!

And this girl looks strangely familiar. Why do I feel like smiling whenever I see her?

Unlike the bewildered Old Tang, Xia Mi immediately tensed up, stepping forward to shield Xu Lie and staring at Old Tang with extreme vigilance: "Norton, I'm warning you..."

Before he could finish speaking, Xu Lie patted him on the shoulder: "Calm down. I brought you here to find Old Tang. Old Tang has already joined the church. Let's sit down and talk about it slowly."

"Huh?" Xia Mi looked embarrassed. Norton had already joined the Old Church?
No, you, the most hot-tempered King of Bronze and Fire, actually joined the Church of the Old Ones a long time ago?

Xia Mi suddenly felt mentally strained. She had thought that by clinging to the old church in advance, she could get ahead of all her brothers and sisters.

Even if they can't accept the offer, they can still rely on the old church to bully others and take revenge on their brothers and sisters.

Norton joined before her, what kind of nonsense is that!
Old Tang was completely bewildered. He didn't know why this pretty girl was hostile towards him, nor did he know why Brother Huang had brought her here.

"Let me introduce you." Xu Lie took his seat first and gestured to Xia Mi with his right hand: "This is your sister, Xia Mi."

"She is also the king of the earth and mountains, Jormungandr. You can just call her Xia Mi."

"Wait, wait a minute." Old Tang was a little slow to react: "When did I get another sister? Shouldn't I only have one brother, Constantine?"

"In the part of my memory that I saw, Jormungandr was completely absent."

"???" Old Tang's words and actions were completely different from the irritable Norton in Xia Mi's memory, which made her wonder what was wrong with Norton now.

What does "partial memory" mean? What does it mean to have no Jormungandr at all? Has the brain developed problems from being a human for so long?

Xu Lie had no choice but to give both sides a brief account of their current situation and also apologize to Lao Tang, explaining that he had lied to him before and that he was not Huang Tao, but Xu Lie.

Old Tang didn't care about these trivial details at all: "Hey, then let's change how we address each other. Brother Xu, don't be so polite, it's nothing."

"Back when I was a bounty hunter, I used all sorts of fake documents and names. You know how it is when you're out on the hunt, brother."

After saying that, he raised his eyebrows smugly, his magnanimous demeanor making Xia Mi feel very awkward.

Although I understand that Ronald Don is just one of Norton's personalities while he was asleep, he is quite different from the hot-tempered Norton I remember.

Thinking of this, Xia Mi couldn't help but feel fortunate that she didn't have any problems in this regard. When she emerged from her cocoon, it was a natural awakening, without losing her memories or forming a new personality.

Xia Mi and Jormungandr are essentially the same person; she is both Xia Mi and Jormungandr.

"As for this one, I'll call you Xia Xia." Old Tang was very outgoing, and even on their first meeting, he could chat away: "You heard it too."

"I don't remember much about the Norton era, and I don't want to think about it. I just want to live a comfortable life. If you can, you can just call me Old Tang."

“Okay, Old Tang.” Xia Mi called out quickly, not annoyed that Norton addressed her as Xia.

Xia Mi even felt a little bit of secret joy. Norton had lost his memory, which meant that she could get revenge.

Thinking back to those ancient times, Norton bullied her quite a bit when her brother wasn't around! Now that she finally had a chance, she had to take advantage of it to get revenge.

She, Xia Mi! She's incredibly vengeful!

Well, you can't say that. Saying it that way makes her seem petty. You should say she's very virtuous, good at keeping track of every expense, and a skilled homemaker.

"Ahem, Lao Tang." Xia Mi was still fantasizing about revenge when Xu Lie had already poured Lao Tang a drink and brought up the serious matter: "I came here this time because there is something I want to ask you."

"Speak!" Old Tang waved his hand, very boldly: "Huang, no, Brother Xu, you've helped me so much, saving me and Constantine at the same time."

"I've never had a chance to repay you. Those alchemical tools and swords I used before were nothing compared to what your church gave me, and you even gave me a potion."

"If there's anything you need, just say so!"

A magic potion? Xia Mi wondered to herself. If that's the case, then everyone is a member of the Old Church, and Old Tang even took the potion before her?
Tsk, now it's not easy to settle personal scores.

Xu Lie was completely unaware of Xia Mi's little scheme, and was just marveling at how easy it was for the old Tang man to get along with: "I want to borrow Constantine for a while."

Just moments ago, Old Tang was incredibly bold, but now he felt like he was sitting on pins and needles, as if there were thorns in the chair, and he began to twist and turn uncomfortably.

Everything else was fine, but when it came to his beloved younger brother, he suddenly felt like backing out.

It's not surprising that Old Tang went back on his word and didn't keep his promise; it's human nature, especially since he's one of the twins on the throne.

Xu Lie could also see Old Tang's reluctance. After all, he was taking someone else's younger brother away, and Xu Lie could understand his feelings. He also knew that he had to give a reasonable explanation: "Don't worry, Old Tang."

After that, Xu Lie repeated the same words he had used to deceive the party members and Xia Mi: "...In short, that's it."

"We need to fake the Black King's Hatchery to find out where the real Hatchery is. To make it realistic enough to stir up waves in the river of fate, we need Constantine's help."

"He doesn't need to do much. Just let him out and let him absorb nutrients normally in the incubation site we have chosen, and wait for him to hatch and break out of his cocoon."

“I will never let Constantine have any safety issues. If you’re really worried, you can come along, Old Tang.”

It was less of an explanation and more of a ploy to trick another laborer. If they could borrow Constantine, it would be like getting one free, and Old Tang would definitely come too.

If we gather the power of the four Dragon Kings, won't we be able to forge a Black King Hatchery?

Hearing that he could also go and take care of the animals, especially for such an important matter, Old Tang's expression immediately relaxed: "You should have said so earlier. You made me overthink things. No problem."

“I will take Constantine with me, and Samson with me, and we will go together.”

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(End of this chapter)