Dragon Pillow Stone?

After another hour of commotion outside, it was now 11 p. m. The temperature had dropped even further, and Su Ming and Yise stepped out of the attic, both shivering.

With temperatures below -20 degrees Celsius, no one could concentrate on the search, and the two men easily approached the edge of the city.

They originally planned to sneak over the city wall, but Su Ming spotted Rupert. The man was wearing thick clothes, a hat with earmuffs and goggles, and was constantly cursing.

Su Ming stopped to listen carefully. It seemed that the town's security team had been sent out to patrol the outer perimeter of the city walls. The security captain's words revealed extreme dissatisfaction with the old men huddled in their warm houses.

No wonder they're dressed so warmly; the temperature in the wilderness at night is close to minus thirty degrees Celsius.

"That sheriff is slippery and cowardly." Su Ming recalled what he had seen when he killed Bennyfinn. "How about we take him hostage and take him out of town?"

Yise also thought it was a good idea. The local security force was mainly composed of civilians living in the town, and they had always been oppressed by the higher-ups and the territory's direct guard. Besides, the people who died this time were tax collectors, so they should be gloating.

The two approached quietly. Yise placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, and Su Ming drew a short knife. But before they could get close, Rupert turned around alertly, his hand on his weapon.

"I suggest you don't move, or you'll die in vain," Su Ming said in a voice only he could hear. "Of course, if you insist on sacrificing yourself, we will grant your wish."

"No!" Rupert quickly released his weapon, replying in a similarly low voice, "Outsider, please show mercy, considering I just helped you!"

Su Ming remained noncommittal, "Take us out of the city."

Rupert thought for a moment, glanced at the other team members who were also complaining and knew nothing about what was going on, and then made up his mind, "Fine!"

Su Ming gestured for him to raise his hand and tied a cylindrical object around his waist.

"You've seen how powerful this thing is. I can remotely control it and it will explode; if you try to untie the rope, it will explode too. So just behave."

"Don't try anything funny!" Su Ming warned.

Rupert immediately broke out in a cold sweat. Two of the six tax collectors were already dead, and the remaining four were so hoarse from crying that they knew they wouldn't live much longer.

Rupert completely gave up resisting and resolved to get rid of the plague. He went to his team members and sent two of them home under the pretext of being drunk. In temperatures close to minus thirty degrees Celsius, being drunk outdoors could be fatal.

Neither of the two team members had actually drunk much, but they didn't go against their captain's "kindness."

"Boss, we're short-handed. The mayor will definitely yell at us if he finds out," one of the team members who had been assigned to leave the group said worriedly. Although the security team was dangerous and arduous, it was an important source of income for them. If they were blamed, the two of them might be fired, and Rupert would also be implicated.

"I have a way," Rupert said. He had two team members take off their uniform jackets. "I'll get two acquaintances to replace you."

He arranged for the rest of the security team to go out of the city to patrol first, while he took his uniform and retreated to Su Ming's side. Su Ming and Yise quickly changed into their uniforms, then wrapped themselves in cloaks and followed Rupert toward the city gate.

There was a Intermediate Rank magic-based combatant and several tax guards on duty at the entrance. They saw that it was Rupert and let him through without any suspicion.

After walking a short distance out of the city, just as they were about to catch up with the team members who had left earlier, Rupert deliberately raised his voice slightly, "You two patrol back and forth along the main road for two hours, then go back on your own. You'll get plenty of copper coins tomorrow!"

Su Ming immediately agreed.

"I've brought you out. Can this bomb be defused?" Robert asked Su Ming in a low voice.

"Don't be nervous. The spell on the rope only lasts for two hours. After that, untying it won't cause an explosion," Su Ming replied. Although the truth was that it was just a cylindrical piece of iron, keeping the other person in fear was the best way to avoid any unforeseen complications.

But after a slap, there should be a sweet treat. Su Ming tossed a few gold coins to the security captain, "I've offended you tonight, take these and go get some drinks!"

Rupert was relieved; since the other party was willing to pay, they probably weren't trying to silence him. He hid the gold coins in his pocket and said honestly, "I'd have to be crazy to tell anyone about this; I wouldn't get anything out of it and would only get myself into trouble!"

The nobles wouldn't care about his reasons or whether they were excusable. For such a serious crime as letting the enemy escape, they would simply kill him.

After saying this, Rupert wrapped his leather coat tighter around himself, turned and walked toward his men, leading them to begin patrolling the outer perimeter of the city walls.

Su Ming and Yise quickly left along the main road. After walking for a while, Su Ming said to the girl, "Miss Watcher, I am extremely grateful for tonight's events. Please forgive my previous abruptness."

Yise felt something was off and was thinking about it. But when she saw the alchemist suddenly look at her with eager eyes and move closer, she unconsciously took a step back.

"May I go to Dawn Territory with you?" Su Ming asked in a low voice.

Still relentlessly pursuing her, Yise couldn't help but complain inwardly. She subtly increased the distance between them slightly. "Mr. Graves," she said, "the Dawn Territory full of people and distractions. From a safety perspective, you'd better leave the Northern Lands as soon as possible."

Su Ming showed a struggling expression, but ultimately silently left in another direction. The moment he turned around, a look of relief appeared on his face. He really didn't know how to continue acting; he had only read a few dozen books of "simp" literature and was really not good at it.

He quickly located the hidden snowmobile, and the drone was manually piloted back. He lifted the camouflage cloth covering the snowmobile, cleared away the snow, and then started the engine and sped off. The engine's chugging sound carried far into the night and, unsurprisingly, attracted a lot of attention. Su Ming didn't care anymore and directly accelerated to 60 kilometers per hour.

Anyway, with Zijin as a powerful figure ahead, come and chase after him if you dare!

****

Fifteen minutes later, Su Ming arrived at the approximate location. Upon hearing the sound of the snowmobile, Zijin emerged from her snowdrift, followed by the unicorn.

Zijin huddled in her arms, clearly feeling the cold. The unicorn looked rather listless; her injuries and the day's ordeal had left her exhausted.

However, there were only two seats in the front of the snowmobile, so she transformed into human form and sat back in the snowmobile's cargo bed.

The entire locomotive nearly lifted off the ground, and the tracks sank slightly.

Su Ming started the snowmobile. The vehicle was clearly struggling under the weight and no longer moved as smoothly as before.

"Teach me how to control it," Zijin suggested.

Although the snowmobile was a two-seater, the enclosed space was somewhat cramped. Although Zijin was slender, the two of them were bundled up in thick winter clothes.

Su Ming turned on the heater and took off his coat and scarf. Zijin followed suit and took off her clothes, which made her much more comfortable.

The unicorn in the back, enjoying the breeze, protested, "I want to enjoy the warmth too!"

"If you squeeze to the front too, the bus will overturn!" Su Ming said.

"What if I'm cold?"

"Wouldn't it be warmer to run after getting off?" Su Ming suggested. "At 60 kilometers per hour, you can run really fast, right?"

You still owe me a sled ride!

The unicorn snorted angrily.

The control logic of the snowmobile—accelerator, brake, steering—wasn't complicated, and Zijin quickly grasped it; however, it would take time to improve her proficiency. Fortunately, the speed wasn't high, so Su Ming handed over the driving to her.

Because they were so close together, Zijin's long, loose hair always fell across Su Ming's face. At first, it was just a cold smell, but as the car gradually warmed up, a delicate fragrance began to enter his nostrils.

Gradually, Su Ming tilted his head to the side, and his head began to slip over the line.

Zijin realized that Su Ming was taking advantage of her again, sniffing her neck, which was a very inappropriate act of intimacy for both humans and dragons. She angrily nudged him with her shoulder, only to find that he had already fallen asleep.

With his Magic Power depleted, continuous battles, and courtship underway, Su Ming's day was anything but easy.

Zijin felt the carriage jolt. She turned around and found that Qiluo had reverted to her beast form and was asleep in the back of the carriage. Her four hooves were in the air, and her mane and tail were swaying in the wind.

The scholar sighed; it was time for him to do the hard work again.

****

When Su Ming woke up, it was already the next morning. His coat had been removed, and he was lying in the warm living room of the train car.

It was already eight o'clock in the morning, and the winter dawn was just beginning to break. The train was swaying, and it was clear that while he was away, his companions had already started the Youth Civilization.

He got up and found his water glass next to him. He opened it and found it was filled with warm water.

Su Ming drank the water in one gulp. While drinking, he felt something on his face, touched it, and brought it to his eyes, only to find it was a long, light brown hair.

"I can't believe I've ever had a girl's hair stuck to my head," Su Ming remarked as he put on his clothes. He walked to the dining car, where Qiluo, Zijin, and Younier were already there.

The unicorn was feasting on a bowl, the scholar was eating, and the junior clerk was setting out the dishes.

"How are your injuries?" Su Ming asked the unicorn.

"A transverse fracture of the scapula," Qiluo replied, swallowing the kebab in her mouth. She reached up and touched it. "Hmm, it's healing very well. That priest's cooking was really good!"

Su Ming glanced resentfully at the foot doctor who, despite having the title of saintess, had nearly killed him. The latter remained calm and continued flipping through her book.

On the long table sat a small, transparent plastic bag, its contents vaguely discernible. Su Ming picked it up and held it up to the light, discovering it contained several strands of golden hair, adorned with delicate, soft light.

"Be more careful, you didn't even know you were being tracked." Zijin said sarcastically.

Su Ming recalled carefully that when Yise praised him as a "skilled alchemist," she turned slightly, and the ends of her golden hair inadvertently brushed against his arm.

He was somewhat helpless. If a beautiful girl approached him and struck up a conversation, speaking with reverence—if this happened on Earth, he probably would have immediately posted it on his social media to brag.

"Well done, so this is a high-level game, huh! "Su Ming said resentfully.

****

After breakfast, Younier left the dining car and went to the locomotive cab to relieve Hansite on duty.

Qiluo pulled out her small bag and showed off the spoils she had collected while cleaning up the battlefield yesterday—a considerable amount. She examined them carefully, then pouted in disappointment, "They're all ordinary things, nothing valuable."

"That's not bad, it's worth at least a few hundred gold coins," Hansite said as he walked in. "Ordinary mercenaries wouldn't be worth much."

"Yeah, the only thing that Old Luo has that's expensive is his stuff."

Seeing this, Su Ming took out the necklace and ring he had looted from Bennyfinn from his pocket and threw them on the table.

What about mine?

Zijin glanced at it. "The necklace is just ordinary decorative gemstones, but the ring is magical and exquisitely crafted." She showed a hint of regret. "It's just that the engraving is Beginner Rank spell; it won't fetch a high price."

Hansite picked up the ring and examined it closely. "No. This has ' Hardening Spell ' and ' Endurance Spell on it, worth at least a thousand gold coins!"

"How could that be?" Zijin categorically denied. "A ring engraved with Intermediate Fireball Spell is only worth three or four hundred gold coins."

Su Ming decided not to get involved in the argument, even though he believed Hansite was definitely right.

He went to the workshop, where he found his backpack.

Su Ming took out the small packages he had found on Bennyfinn. They were tightly bound and sealed. Su Ming placed them one by one on the table, making a crisp clinking sound.

Upon hearing the sound, Zijin, who had followed him in, suddenly perked up her ears.

She immediately stepped forward, her fingertips gathering Magic Power as she slashed open the packaging, and instantly, clattering stones scattered across the long table. These stones were multicolored and varied in shape. Some were translucent, while others were incredibly murky, appearing chaotic and disorderly.

Su Ming also opened a package and found that it contained the same items.

"What is this?" Su Ming asked in confusion. He sensed that these stones contained Magic Power, but their quality was far inferior to the magic crystals that Zijin had given her.

"Dragon Pillow Stone!" Zijin scooped up a pile in her hands and held it up to examine it. "You actually found such a treasure!"

"Dragon Pillow Stone?" Su Ming frowned. "This name doesn't mean it's for dragons to use as pillows, does it?"

"Yes, yes!" Zijin nodded. "Give them all to me!"

"But Ailisha's form is human, isn't it?" Su Ming said.

"-Give me the skeletal dragon's body too!"

Su Ming casually picked up a stone and played with it, not figuring out what it was. Suddenly, he opened a hole in the carriage wall and threw the stone out of the carriage. Zijin cried out in surprise and swiftly pounced on it, catching the stone.

Su Ming picked up another stone, weighed it in his hand, and said, "Come on, say what this is again."

Zijin snorted, "Magic Power Crystal Core."

Now Su Ming understood; he did know about Magic Power Crystal Core. Unlike ordinary magic crystals, crystal cores are rare minerals that are naturally present within them. Their Magic Power power is slightly weaker than that of normal magic crystals, but they can slowly absorb Magic Power resources from the air and can be used to set up long-lasting magic arrays. They are the most precious type of magical material.

Due to differences in their intended use, there is no standard way to cut Magic Crystal Core. They are usually stored in their raw form and cut according to specific needs when used.

These colorful and messy stones in front of you are the raw crystal cores.

"Hey, you're human now," Su Ming said, "Aren't you afraid of getting neck problems sleeping with these stones under your head?"

"The pleasant sound of crystal nuclei colliding can heal everything!"

Su Ming put the stone back in his bag, preparing to store it in the warehouse. "Anyway, you're not allowed to sleep with this on your pillow!"