Chapter 42

The group behind the "Good Eye" shop, having revealed their "true forms," were all handsome men and beautiful women—with the exception of the one who lacked a face.

The shopkeeper, "Snowflake," appeared to be about twenty-five or twenty-six years old. She was tall and well-proportioned, her long, silvery-white hair exuding an exotic charm, and her long legs were particularly captivating. According to Earth's artistic standards, she possessed the rare "nine-head" body ratio, making her the perfect model. With a slender waist and ample curves, she was striking even while sitting perfectly still. If she were to walk a lap around Dragon Roar Town in this state, one feared the streets would be filled with a crowd of lechers bumping into walls, along with countless ears and waists left red and swollen from their wives' pinches.

"Frost," responsible for soliciting customers, was Snowflake's younger brother. His true form was a youth of seventeen or eighteen with short, golden hair as brilliant as sunlight. His smile was even brighter than the sun, marking him instantly as a friend to women and an enemy to men. Yet, beneath this radiant and amiable exterior lay a cold, fierce heart—a testament to the folly of judging a book by its cover.

"Sleet," who managed the magic circle, was the youngest of the three siblings. She appeared to be about twelve or thirteen, roughly Palin's age. She had soft, slightly curly golden hair and features as delicate as a doll's, her expression always tinged with innocence and curiosity. To those with poor character and unique tastes, she might even be more charming than her sister, Snowflake.

As for Phil, the shop's diner and muscle, he had no physical body beneath his armor and thus no need to remove it; it was all the same to him regardless.

This quartet were not only the owners and employees of the long-standing "Good Eye" shop in Dragon Roar Town, but also the "Tyrant of Extreme Cold" that struck terror into the Four Northwest Towns—yes, the so-called "Tyrant of Extreme Cold" was not a single dragon, but a group consisting of three dragons and an armored freak.

Among the four, Snowflake was an Ice Dragon who had reached adulthood not long ago. As a rare high-ranking species among dragons, her strength far exceeded that of her peers. She could have made a name for herself even in the most prosperous lands; had it not been for the need to care for her younger siblings, she would have long since ventured into the vast, distant world to pursue the path of greater power.

Frost and Sleet were both common Rock Dragons, belonging to the "average" tier of the dragon race. Their origins were quite arduous; their irresponsible parents had laid their eggs in a cliffside cave and vanished without a trace. It was Snowflake, passing by by chance, who discovered them, hatched them, and raised them.

Among dragons, the bond of upbringing is far more intimate than that of blood. To Frost and Sleet, Snowflake was their mother. When the title of "mother" was violently suppressed by the then-underage Ice Dragon, it became "sister."

The three siblings initially lived on a desolate mountain far from human civilization. Later, Snowflake stumbled upon the ruins of an ancient temple and renovated it into a secure dragon lair, which led to their relocation here.

Ice Dragons are not adept at melee combat, being natural masters of frost magic; Rock Dragons are the exact opposite, possessing mediocre magical aptitude but being born as excellent warriors. The abilities of the three young dragons formed a perfect complement. With the dragon lair built upon a powerful defensive array, and the addition of Phil, a powerful adventurer Snowflake had met by chance, a perfect combination was born.

For the past fifty years, they had operated under the name "Tyrant of Extreme Cold," occupying mountains to collect protection money, while spending their spare time disguised as humans to run a general store within their territory.

Running this store was not for gathering intelligence, but purely out of interest. Snowflake was keen on finding valuable items in piles of junk—what is commonly known as "picking up leaks"—and wanted to spread this joy to others. As for Frost and Sleet... in their eyes, whatever their sister did was right; if there were exceptions, please refer to the previous statement. As for Phil, he never had an opinion on anything.

Snowflake's method of narration was unique. She used magic to condense a tablet in the air, and silvery-white frost danced nimbly across it like chalk, drawing scene after scene to accompany her explanation.

This illustrated approach was concrete, vivid, and highly persuasive, causing Sui Xiong to nod repeatedly. But when he saw the image of "three dragons and a suit of armor suddenly turning into mortals and honestly doing business," he finally couldn't help but protest.

"You call this honestly doing business?" he interrupted Snowflake's narrative. "Is there anyone in this world who does business by ambushing their customers?"

"A deity visiting three young dragons with his followers—was that out of kindness?" Snowflake drew a picture of a giant, vicious jellyfish holding a knife and fork, accompanied by a sinister mage with squinting eyes, launching a fierce attack on a few weak little dragons. "It was nothing more than wanting to collect some 'materials,' right? As for whether the source of those materials was dead or alive, would you even care?"

"If your brother hadn't tried to move against my follower, I wouldn't have even appeared, let alone attacked!" Sui Xiong was furious. "I'm not insane! Fighting three dragons and an armored freak of unknown origin—even if I wouldn't be hurt, it would be a huge danger to my followers! I don't have many followers; I'd have to be crazy to let Palin take such a risk for a pittance of materials!"

These words moved Palin to tears, and the shop's quartet exchanged glances, nodding slightly in spite of themselves.

"...It seems it was all just a misunderstanding," Phil concluded in a muffled voice.

"A misunderstanding? Of course, it was just a misunderstanding," Sui Xiong smiled, looking at "Frost."

The origin of this misunderstanding was clearly Frost's overreaction.

"Are you saying we were the ones who provoked this?" Realizing he had become the culprit, Frost couldn't help but say in a low voice. "Is it not normal to be on guard when faced with dragon-slaying magic?"

"We all know that magic doesn't actually pose much of a threat to dragons," Sui Xiong sneered. "It was nothing more than you feeling that the dignity of a superior being had been challenged, and you wanted to reclaim that magic book."

"And shouldn't I have?"

Sui Xiong gave a disdainful snort. "Dragons are superior beings, so what does that make a deity? A dragon's dignity cannot be challenged, but what about a deity's? I don't like to beat around the bush. If you're not convinced, let's fight again!"

He pointed his tentacles at each of the four opponents in turn. "This time we'll go outside and find a place where no one is around to have a proper fight. I will make you, a brat who doesn't know the immensity of heaven and earth, understand that young people shouldn't play the thug—not every dragon is qualified to call themselves—Dragon! Proud! Heaven!"

Seeing both sides at daggers drawn, seemingly about to break into a massive brawl, the shop was once again filled with a creeping chill and murderous intent. Palin couldn't help but break into a cold sweat, hurriedly urging, "It's just a half-finished magic book, is a massive battle really necessary? Actually, I don't have much interest in dragon-slaying magic..."

"This has nothing to do with you," Frost waved a hand, cutting him off. "Putting that magic book in the box was a mistake, and this mistake must be corrected!"

"Teaching a lesson to an ignorant youth who thinks he's a 'Dragon Proud Heaven' is my duty as a veteran of the world," Sui Xiong sneered. "As an elder, imparting some life experience to the younger generation—even if the methods are a bit rough—is perfectly understandable, isn't it?"

"I don't see how a jellyfish counts as an elder. Do you think you're a frog?"

Just as the atmosphere grew tense again, Sleet, who had been silent, spoke up: "Brother, if I remember correctly, the things in that box... you were the one who put them in, right?"

Frost froze for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, for the last few years, I've been responsible for the 'leak-picking' box."

"Then... could my brother, who always thinks he is so clever and capable, tell his young, ignorant sister why you, a dragon, would take out dragon-slaying magic to sell?" Sleet's tone was light and slow, yet it left Frost looking embarrassed, glancing left and right, not knowing what to say.

He had deliberately downplayed the topic just moments ago, trying to gloss over it, but having it specifically brought up by his sister left him truly speechless.

"Oh, right! Frost~ such dangerous things should be destroyed immediately. Why did you take them out to sell?" Snowflake also tilted her head, smiling at Frost with a gentle, kind expression, while the "blackboard" beside her displayed an image of a little dragon working absent-mindedly, throwing all sorts of things around at random.

Consequently, Frost's expression grew even more awkward, his smile nearly frozen on his face.

"I've seen him organize that box. He just takes a pile of unappraised items, too lazy to even sort them, and just dumps them in haphazardly," the muffled armored man delivered the final, fatal blow. "If we checked more carefully, we might even find swords with special effects against dragons in there..."

"Indeed, after all, many of those things came from 'dragon slayers' who sought their own deaths," Snowflake's smile grew even gentler, while Frost's forehead was now covered in cold sweat.

"I... I'll go appraise the things in the box right now!" he said hurriedly.

"Not just the box, the basement too," Sleet added. "That pile of dusty, chaotic junk has caused serious damage to the physical and mental development of your young sister. As a responsible older brother, don't you think you should clean it up thoroughly and return a clean living environment to your sister?"

"You could just not live in the basement..."

Snowflake waved her hand, and a cold light smashed against his forehead like a piece of chalk: "Stop nagging! Go do it!"

Frost sighed helplessly, dragging the large box toward the inner room.

It was easy to imagine that this careless young dragon would have to spend a long time with the junk pile he so detested.

After kicking the brat with the "Dragon Proud Heaven" tendencies off to work in the trash heap, the exchange became much more harmonious.

In reality, neither Sui Xiong, Palin, nor Snowflake, Sleet, and Phil were the type to be aloof or unapproachable. Once the misunderstanding was cleared up, communication was naturally no problem.

After only a short while, the topic of discussion had shifted to how they could cooperate and achieve a win-win situation for everyone.

Thanks to Tencent Literature reviewer "Lava Fire" for the wonderful long review and the red-packet tip, and also thanks to readers: "Always Flying in Dreams" and "My Helpless Passion" for their enthusiastic tips. Everyone's support is the motivation for my updates!