Chapter Sixty-Six: Now We Have Money

“Haha! What happened to your hair?” Chu Tian burst out laughing at Reggie’s appearance.

In truth, Reggie was rather handsome, with delicate features, but his current attire did him no justice. He wore a dark noble’s suit that only made his short and stocky frame more obvious, and atop his head was a shock of hair dyed green and red, every strand standing on end. The sight instantly reminded Chu Tian of a creature known as a green-tufted tortoise.

“Hey! This is the most fashionable style in the Imperial Capital this year!” Reggie replied with swagger, pouting and running his hand through his hair. “This look cost me several hundred gold coins!”

“Tsk, tsk! I never would’ve guessed,” Chu Tian clicked his tongue, then threw his arm around Reggie’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s go inside. I have something to discuss with you.” With that, Chu Tian shot a glance at Barbossa and handed him the sleeping Little White from his arms. “Reggie and I need to talk. Take care of my magical beast for me.”

Barbossa smiled knowingly. Even a swinebeast could guess what the boss was up to—he was about to scam some gold from the heir of the richest man in the Empire. As for “taking care” of the magical beast, well, it wasn’t exactly about letting them rest. “Apache, take a few of the boys and surround the boss’s house!” Among magical beasts, strength ruled, so with Little White asleep, Apache was the leader.

“Surround the house? Is that green-haired brat planning to hurt the boss?!” Apache instantly perked up, spreading his wings and readying for battle. “I’ll go take him down right now!”

“Don’t!” Barbossa quickly grabbed the eager Apache, grinning slyly. “I’m just worried that kid will get scared off by the boss!”

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“Wow, boss, you’ve really hit the jackpot this time!” Reggie exclaimed, scratching his green-tufted head as he looked out the window at the throngs of magical beasts pacing outside. “There can’t be many people on the continent with your kind of lineup!”

“Sigh!” Chu Tian joined Reggie at the window, squinting as he heaved a sigh and shook his head. “Brother, don’t be fooled by how many magical beasts I have. I’m nearly bankrupt feeding this crowd!” He shot Reggie a meaningful look—brother, your big bro’s nearly broke. Shouldn’t you show some support?

“Heh heh! I get it!” Reggie grinned obsequiously, pulling a transparent crystal card from his pocket. “A little token—two hundred thousand gold coins to congratulate you on your new title, Duke!”

Chu Tian received it with a beaming smile and slipped it into his ring. He was just about to offer some perfunctory thanks when Reggie fished out a second identical crystal card. “Just a small gesture—another two hundred thousand to congratulate you on your engagement to Princess Selena!”

“Ha, your news travels fast!” Chu Tian grinned as he accepted the second card. But then Reggie suddenly lowered his voice, speaking conspiratorially: “Heh, with your support, we made a killing at Misty Lake last month. Here’s a million gold coins!” As he spoke, he slipped a third card into Chu Tian’s hand.

“Haha, to a successful partnership!” Chu Tian’s grin nearly split his face. “By the way, all the Empire’s high priests are preparing to attend my engagement ceremony soon…”

“Praise be to the boss!” Reggie mimicked Chu Tian’s signature swindler pose, clapping his hands to his green hair in awe. “Next month we’ll be raking it in!”

The two smuggling kingpins burst into wild laughter.

After the laughter died down, Reggie’s frivolous air vanished, replaced by the sly look of a shrewd merchant. Leaning close to Chu Tian’s ear, he whispered, “Boss, I’ve got another deal you might be interested in.”

“What kind of deal?” Chu Tian’s eyes narrowed. The Misty Lake venture had already made him a wealthy man—another deal like that, and he’d never have to worry about money again.

“It’s the magical beast smuggling route through the Dustmud Marsh!” Reggie said, yanking out a handful of green hairs in frustration. “Lately, those high-grade beasts have gotten greedy—they’ve doubled their prices!” He pointed out the window at Apache. “So my father plans to partner with other high-grade beasts and catch them ourselves. We’ve already talked to Kuyata, but his price is too high…”

“Alright! I can lend you the ninth-rank Apache, but what’s my cut?”

“The usual—thirty percent. That’s at least ten million gold a year!” Reggie replied flatly. “That’s my father’s bottom line. Plus, we’ll need to borrow the Lark and the Mammoth Giant as well.”

“Give me twenty magic communication stones right now and we have a deal! But I’m not lending you the Mammoth Giant. You can have the Mad Wolf instead!” Chu Tian was cautious—he hadn’t forgotten how he’d tricked Hummer into his service with a few jars of wine. If he could do it, the Pampas family certainly could too. But with Apache, he had no worries—the beast was hot-tempered but absolutely loyal. As for the Boeing 747, as long as Hummer, whom she treated like a brother, was still with him, she wouldn’t be going anywhere…

“Deal!” Reggie agreed without hesitation, then reverted to his usual playful self. “Heh, after making so much, boss, you’ve got to treat me to a night at the Zeig Grand Hotel, right?”

“Get lost!” Chu Tian rolled his eyes, grabbed a fistful of prickly green hair, and hurled Reggie out of the marquis’s residence!

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In the days that followed, Chu Tian was incredibly busy! Preparing for his engagement to Selena was only a secondary concern—the main thing was to make sure everyone knew: “I can’t use magic anymore!”

At last, thanks to Chu Tian’s relentless publicity, every noble and official in the Empire was well aware of one fact: the pride of the continent’s priesthood, Duke Vladino, had sacrificed all his magical power for the Empire. But the Duke, a genius among men, had mastered the ancient priestly arts from ten thousand years ago! His strength was even greater than before, surpassing the level of an eighth-rank High Priest Mentor. The Empire was about to witness the rise of a second ninth-rank Holy Priest!

Of course, Chu Tian’s campaign wasn’t just for show. As a veterinarian by trade, he couldn’t escape his roots of making a living by treating animals. Before long, every bigwig with a magical beast heard the news: Is your magical beast injured or sick? If so, look no further than Duke Vladino! His fees are fair! Of course, you could go to an ordinary priest, but even if they could cure your beast, what priest would dare steal business from the Kaiser’s Chief Court Priest?

Under Chu Tian’s blend of bribery and intimidation, the House of Duke Vladino gradually transformed into the largest magical beast hospital in the Imperial Capital, soon monopolizing the city’s magical beast healthcare!

Later, as the Pampas family’s caravans traveled the continent, every high-grade magical beast received an advertisement: Sick? Injured? Seek out Vladino, who can even heal the Dragon Emperor!

Years later, in his memoirs, the Tenth-Rank Holy Priest Dio wrote: “After the continent entered the magical beast era, there arose vile beast merchants who lived off the sweat and blood of magical beasts. Yet from that era also emerged my teacher, the great Lord Vladino, a noble priest to magical beasts! Though his medical fees were somewhat… but that should never overshadow his greatness!”

Countless copies of Dio’s memoirs were printed, but in every edition, the passage about medical fees was always blurred and illegible. Thus, the question of exactly how much gold Lord Vladino made from magical beasts puzzled historians for thousands of years—until one day, a certain scholar realized that in Vladino’s era, many once-wealthy high-grade magical beasts, after being treated by Chu Tian, became obsessed with robbery, theft, and fraud—unable to let even a single copper coin slip by!

Of course, after this scholar published his conclusion, he was roundly cursed to death by every intelligent being on the continent. All agreed: Lord Vladino would never do such a thing…