Brass Dragons in the Dragon World

Ander was somewhat surprised by the meticulousness that Angers showed in certain aspects. Looking at the German on the packaging, he guessed that Angers had bought it in Germany and brought it all the way to China.

Madame Lou accepted Angers' gift but had no desire to continue the conversation. She had already experienced enough today and needed time to recover.

"It's getting late, everyone please go back. From now on, Uncle will represent the Lu family in handling matters related to the Dragon Vein."

The last sentence was addressed to Ander. Destroying the dragon vein was Lu Shanyan's wish, and the Lu family couldn't possibly not be involved in such a matter. However, the last bloodline of the Lu family had not yet grown up, so they could only rely on Ander, an outsider, to put on a show.

Ms. Lu plans to pack her things and take her child to hide elsewhere in a couple of days. The Lu family owns a lot of properties in Minzhou, enough for the mother and child to hide without being discovered.

The group left the Lu family's house and walked once again on that muddy dirt road. The Lu family's house was not far from Minzhou City, and the group could easily return to Minzhou City on foot.

"How exactly did the Lu family rise to prominence?"

Seeing that everyone was in low spirits, Ander decided to start a conversation.

"Senior, you may not know this, but the Lu family hid in the mountains of Minzhou in their early years and were not harmed by the Tartars. Later, they made their living by fishing, relying on their strong physique to start a business, and then went into business, leaving behind a considerable family fortune."

Chu Hao knew the Lu family quite well and explained the Lu family's history of rise to power to Ander in detail.

Ander looked at Chu Hao, who had a poker face, and then asked:

"How much money do you think the Lu family has?"

"Most of the expenses for the Dragon Vein Project were covered by Brother Lu's money."

"You sold over six hundred antiques, you must have made quite a bit of money, right?"

"That's quite a lot; foreigners are really willing to pay."

Ander clapped his hands and said:

"So your Dragon Vein Project has no manpower, no resources, and where did all the money go?"

Chu Hao lowered his head and did some calculations. In fact, he didn't know where the money went. He was just a wanderer in the martial arts world. Although he had the abilities of a mixed-race person, he hadn't received much education. Lu Shanyan had been in charge of these things before.

"Uncle De, please don't make things difficult for my brother. He's a great fighter, but he's not so good at managing accounts."

Ander looked at Chu Jie, who had transformed into a gaunt man, and asked curiously:

"So you know where that money went?"

Chu Jie smiled and nodded. Although she didn't have a high status in the Heaven and Earth Society, she still knew where some of the money went because of her brother's connections.

“I heard from others that the money was used to buy ships, explosives, and to open up several different routes so that it could be used to send supplies to various places right under the noses of the Tartars.”

Chu Hao actually knew all this, but he knew that the money from the Lu family and selling antiques was more than enough to cover these expenses, so he didn't answer Ander's question and instead slowly calculated it in his mind.

"Let me tell you something my brother doesn't know: most of that money was actually used to fight against the Tartars. Behind those heroes of the uprising, there were people from our side supporting them."

Ander then realized that most of the money had been used for rebellion. In this day and age, you can't just rely on swords and arrows to start a rebellion; you need American rifles and German cannons to defeat the Qing.

Furthermore, these modern weapons are more complex to operate, so the Heaven and Earth Society probably spends most of its money on training personnel.

"I'm not blind, I knew they took the money, I just didn't expect it to be so much."

Chu Hao argued that the ordinary people of the Heaven and Earth Society were very envious of the money Lu Shanyan sent, and often found various reasons to take a portion of it.

Ander, however, had no desire to hear how the Heaven and Earth Society members were skimming off every penny they caught; such a topic involving the loss of wealth made him, as a dragon, feel very uncomfortable.

When will the other families arrive in Minzhou?

The Heaven and Earth Society planned to gather in Minzhou, and the group would travel north by boat, then enter Qinzhou by land, and finally arrive at Tongwan City.

"Both the Su and Ye families are in Guangzhou, so they should be here quickly."

When the remaining mixed-blood families were mentioned, Ander became interested. According to Chu Hao's introduction, among the five mixed-blood families in the Heaven and Earth Society, the Su family and the Ye family were skilled in throwing knives and hidden weapons, and the Ye family was skilled in reconnaissance. Although their combat ability was not strong, their auxiliary role should not be underestimated.

"And what about the Chen family? I heard they ran away?"

The Chen family is the most enigmatic of the five families. According to Chu Hao, they are experts in breaking and entering, theft, and fraud, and also have the best sense of danger.

"Yes, the Chen family left China several years ago without a trace."

"Did they really run away out of fear?"

"No, senior, it's said that the immortal gave them a prophecy, telling them to run to Europe..."

It's that half-breed with precognitive abilities again; what a troublesome character.

"The Chen family still owes me an alchemical weapon. I'll have to find a way to make them pay it back."

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Su and Ye

Ander and his group are currently staying at a stronghold of the Heaven and Earth Society in Minzhou, which, unsurprisingly, is another teahouse.

"I say, doesn't your Heaven and Earth Society have any shady businesses?"

Chu Hao looked blank, clearly unaware of what "gray market business" meant.

"Senior, what kind of 'gray market' are you referring to?"

"Fur business, coat business, do you have a casino?"

Chu Hao then understood what Ander meant and waved his hands repeatedly, saying:

"Senior, which places would you like to visit?"

Honest Chu Hao clearly mistook Ander for a seasoned john, assuming he was just looking to relieve himself.

But Ender had no interest in these things. These places were filthy and evil; any detective you threw in would be evil, darker than the nine layers of hell. He would probably be tempted to attack if he went to such a place.

In the previous world, Ender went into those places several times hoping to chat with the girls, but each time he witnessed evil and couldn't help but take action, causing a huge mess.

This approach is very uncharacteristic of brass dragons; they usually hide themselves and solve problems in the shadows.

However, all he does when he goes to those places is chat with girls for one night. This behavior proves that this guy is indeed a purebred brass dragon.

"No, I'm just wondering why we're having a meeting in a teahouse."

Chu Hao was somewhat exasperated by Ander's unconventional thinking. Would it be better to meet in a place like that?

"Senior, the teahouse is a great place to make contact with people coming and going."

"You don't understand. We're all guys, so it's not strange at all that we go to places like that together."

Chu Hao looked helplessly at the excited Ander. This senior was very powerful, but sometimes he would say some strange things.

"Sir, Mr. Angers is a foreigner..."

“Yes, I had completely forgotten about that. It’s all Angers’ fault for ruining my flawless plan.”

"When will those two families arrive? I'm getting impatient."

Ander had been cooped up in the teahouse for several days. Fortunately, there were plenty of people chatting there, and Ander felt right at home. But the conversations were always the same, which really bored Ander.

Now Ander is just waiting for those two families to arrive so he can have some more fun.

"Senior, the Su and Ye families will arrive tomorrow, so please be patient."

The door opened, and Chu Jie, who was not disguised, barged in, holding two wooden swords in his hand.

"Uncle De, practice your sword skills with me!"

After losing to Ander in the previous competition, Chu Jie had been trying to get Ander to practice swordsmanship with her, just to teach Ander a lesson in swordsmanship.

Ander naturally avoided Chu Jie's actions whenever possible. He knew no swordsmanship whatsoever, and being called a sparring partner was really just being a punching bag. No dragon would be willing to do such a losing proposition.

Chu Hao grabbed his sister and dragged her out of the room.

"My younger sister is unruly; please forgive her, senior."

The door slammed shut, and Chu Hao's voice, scolding his sister, could be heard from outside the room.

Ander lay on the bed, closed his eyes, and entered the memory space. The red star was still shining, connecting with an unknown entity in the void.

Browsing through his inherited memories, Ander carefully selected spells that he might need later.

"Dominating humans, seducing humans... these skills are incredibly useful, I definitely need to bring them along."

"Stone Skin Technique, Fire Wall Technique, Disintegration Technique... Offense and defense are both essential."

"Anywhere door, teleportation... you need to max out your escape skills."

Ender browsed through his spells, pondering which useful spells he was missing, when suddenly he remembered a spell he had overlooked:

Third Ring Evocation Spell: Leomon's Hut.

This spell is practically a must-have for camping. It creates a hemispherical area that covers yourself and your teammates, with a pleasant climate and light within the area, while preventing creatures from entering. It's an essential spell to carry with you on any trip.

There is also a variant of this spell, a fifth-circle conjuration spell: Leomon's Hermitage, which allows the color of the protective barrier to blend into the environment.

Thinking of the bumpy journey, Ander did not hesitate to memorize the spell, planning to use it when camping.

As Ander rummaged through his memories, he realized that his ancestral brass dragons never missed an opportunity to lecture another young brass dragon. As a result, Ander's inherited memories contained a great deal of the elders' experience.

For example, how to become a mount for a beautiful female mage;

Or how to escape after falling into the temptation of Zhuoer;

For example, there are techniques for chatting with celestial girls in the heavenly realm.

It has to be said that Ender's predecessors have a wealth of life experience, and every time I see Ender, I want to complain about them:

I am like this because of you guys.

Time has no limits in books. Ander was immersed in the memories of what he was passing on, and before he knew it, it was the next day.

"No matter how many times I watch it, I still have to admire the wealth of life experience these predecessors have, and the hundred ways to use slimes..."

Okay, it seems that Ender isn't entirely focused on learning magic, but a word of caution: slimes are somewhat corrosive, so please use them with care.

It was already high in the sky, but Ander was still lying in bed enjoying the beautiful winter day.

"Senior, the Su and Ye families have arrived."

Ander pushed open the door and saw Chu Jie standing at the door waiting for him.

Without making a sound, Ander used his magic to clean his clothes and followed Chu Hao to a private room in the teahouse.

After Ander entered the private room, Chu Hao closed the door, found a seat, and sat down. Chu Jie stood by the door, arms crossed, guarding the entrance.

Ander then took a closer look at the two extra men in the private room. One of them was wearing a long gown with his braid hanging down his back, looking like a traditional scholar.

The other one is quite interesting. Like Angers, he was wearing a suit, but with an oddly shaped top hat, and he had his braid tucked into the hat, which looked rather comical.

The two were also looking at the top of Ander's short hair. When they saw that Ander had looked at it, they nodded to show their goodwill.