Chapter 15: Brother Takes You Dragon Hunting

  Xia Ya got angry.

  He slapped him with a backhand, and Bidaldo let out a miserable cry as two teeth flew out of his mouth. Xia Ya angrily said: "Do you think I'm easy to fool? Treasure? Do you take me for a three-year-old child? The legend of the treasure on Wildfire Prairie has been circulating for at least 8,000 years, and I've heard it for over a decade. This kind of talk is almost suitable for little kids. In the taverns of Wildfire Town, you can buy eighteen different versions of the treasure map for just one copper coin! Moreover, I heard you guys from the tree earlier, you're actually here to hunt the Lion Beast, aren't you?!"

  Bidaldo covered his mouth, silently cursing the ancestors of Xia Ya for eighteen generations. His face didn't dare to show a hint of anger, and he begged: "Everything I said is true... Your Excellency Thief, this... actually we are from the Imperial City, my companions are all young masters of noble families. Usually they don't go out much, in a group of young nobles who shut themselves indoors to cultivate their skills, but in reality, what real abilities do they have..."

  "Hey? You're actually a sensible person, you know your companions are all useless." Xia Ya said with some curiosity.

  Bidaldo covered his face and smiled bitterly: "I naturally know. They are nobles, can be ignorant of the world, casually practice a few martial skills, and naturally have family servants flattering them, after a long time, they really think they are masters. I am a magician, a certified mage recognized by the church, although only first-level. I naturally know my own weight."

  After a pause, seeing Xia Ya's impatience, Bidaldo didn't dare to waste any more words and quickly said: "This time, it was I who instigated them to leave. I told them that since we are the four great masters, we should formally travel the world and spread our fame as the four great masters to the distant lands of the continent. This is what truly means shaking the heavens." The magician's face turned red with a bitter smile: "I did this for a reason, of course. I am a low-level magician, in the imperial capital, there are many high-level magicians, who would look down on me? I can only rely on deceiving these few young nobles to make some money to get by. But a few days ago, I received a message from the Magician's Guild... The source of the message is absolutely reliable!

  My strength may be weak, but my magic teacher is a true mid-level magician. He's also very famous in the royal city. That day I heard my senior brother say that our teacher was going to leave for a while, and it was said that he would go on a long journey with several famous magicians from the royal city. After beating around the bush for a long time, my senior brother told me when he got drunk that our teacher and other magicians had all come to Ye Huo Yuan.

  Bidaldo's eyes sparkled with excitement: "I heard that there was a major discovery on the Wildfire Plains! The teacher and several mages from the royal city came together to investigate!"

  Xia Ya was very impatient: "You've been talking and talking, what does this have to do with the secret of getting rich?!"

  Just as Xia Ya's palm was about to rise again, Bidal immediately covered his face: "Don't! Don't hit! Don't be in a hurry, it's almost said, it's almost said..."

  He felt extremely wronged in his heart, a first-class magician is also a magician...

  He swallowed his saliva and continued hastily: "Getting rich is of course true... because, that major discovery on the Wildfire Prairie was actually..."

  He couldn't help but pause for a moment, looking at Xia Ya with a triumphant gaze before slowly speaking out the answer:

  "It's a dragon!"

  Dragon?

  Even Xia Ya's face turned solemn!

  Dragon? Is it really a dragon?

  Although he had never seen a dragon... Of course, most people have never seen a dragon, and even if they did, they would basically become dead men.

  On the mainland, dragons are a kind of super yet powerful existence. Xia Ya has heard all sorts of legendary stories in the taverns of Wildfire Town, and basically every story that describes how those legendary heroes opened up the sky and earth would inevitably include a clichéd segment about how the hero fought a decisive battle against a powerful evil dragon. In each story, dragons are always portrayed as the ultimate big BOSS.

  But these legends are just legends after all.

  The reality is that the dragon tribe does exist on the mainland, it's just that their habitat is in the far north of the unknown region. It's still necessary to cross the Oding Empire and continue further north... In any case, there are absolutely no such things as dragons within the Byzantine Empire.

  Thinking of this, Xia Ya couldn't help but feel a little skeptical - at least he still knew common sense, the Byzantine Empire didn't have dragons, neither did Ye Huo Yuan, and the Odin Empire probably didn't either...

  "I'm telling the truth!" Bidaldo lowered his voice: "Thief, sir, think about it, I'm very clear about my own weakness, and I'm not one of those ignorant noble brats on the side. Without a special reason, why would I run to a dangerous place like Wildfire Plains?"

  This reason convinced Xia Ya.

  Indeed, with these few guys' skills, running to Ye Huo Yuan is just like a hen entering a den of foxes.

  They were surprisingly not taken advantage of in Wildfire Town, probably because their equipment was quite intimidating.

  "There really is a dragon on the Wildfire Prairie! I got this news from my teacher! And my teacher, for this reason, joined forces with several powerful magicians to come to the Wildfire Prairie, their goal is... to hunt down that dragon!"

  Slaying the dragon?

  Xia Ya's spirits lifted, as if she had returned to the old days of listening to stories in the tavern.

  "The dragon's power is not to be underestimated, and if it were in its normal state, my teacher, a mid-level magician who is well-known in the royal city, would still be no match for it. That's why he has joined forces with several other magicians to come here. But there's another important reason... I've heard that this dragon hiding in the Wildfire Plains is currently in an extremely weakened state due to some special reasons, making it the perfect time to strike!

  The magician grew more and more excited as he spoke: "You see, a dragon is a treasure trove for magicians! Dragon skin, scales, bones, teeth, even its saliva are all top-grade magical materials! And if we can obtain the dragon's crystal core, we can refine the power of the dragon's soul... it would be enough to instantly boost a magician's abilities by several levels!"

  Xia Ya heard this and coldly smiled at Bidaldo: "So you've also had ideas, running here to hunt dragons? Relying on your transformation into a rabbit magic?"

  Bidaldo's face turned red: "I... I naturally won't be foolish enough to go dragon-slaying. Even if I went crazy, I'd know I don't have that kind of skill, not even in a hundred years. So, I'm here for the money."

  Money?

  Dragons, by nature, love shiny things, so they collect all sorts of treasures. Any dragon's lair is like a huge treasure trove, filled with the gems, crystals and gold that the dragon has collected. These things pile up like mountains!

  Bidaldo took a deep breath: "These treasures are naturally tempting to ordinary people, but to magicians, they are just mundane objects. A truly formidable magician would not be moved by wealth. My teacher and the other great mages who went with him to find the dragon probably wouldn't be tempted either. Their goal is to slay the dragon; as for the dragon's treasure, if nothing unexpected happens, perhaps after they succeed, they'll just casually discard it somewhere..."

  Xia Ya understood, and sneered coldly: "So, you want to secretly follow them, wait for your teacher and his companions to kill that dragon, and after they leave, you'll go pick up the treasures they don't want?"

  “…Yes.” Bidal nodded: “I am a humble magician, and my talent is not good either. I have no hope of becoming a truly powerful wizard in my life. So, for me, money is very meaningful, otherwise I wouldn’t be mixed with these few noble brats. It’s just that…I’m very poor, and I don’t even have the fare from the royal city to Ye Huo Yuan, so I can only…”

  "So, you made up a lie and deceived these few naive noble kids to come with you, pretending to say that it's to deceive them into traveling the continent together?" Xia Ya shook her head, then glared at this guy: "Then don't waste words, quickly speak, where are the places where those mages slaughter dragons? You must know the location since you ran here!"

  Bidaldo sighed and reluctantly pulled out a piece of sheepskin paper from his bosom, along with a charcoal stick, and drew a map on it.

  "From here go west, cross two more mountains, and then there's a swamp, and you'll arrive."

  Xia Ya took a look at this map and then smiled: "How can I believe you didn't draw a fake map for me?"

  "I don't dare! My life is now in your hands... Wealth may be tempting, but one must have a life to enjoy it. I'm very timid and don't dare to play with my own life."

  Xia Ya looked at him deeply, then smiled and pulled him up, pointing with one hand: "Alright, you're considered to have spoken well. Now you can go, and roll away with your companions."

  Bidaldo got up, limping and staggering to the side of his three companions, chattering and muttering about something, but how this cunning guy fooled those three fools was no longer Xia Ya's concern.

  As expected, the other three people of Wang Chengxiu looked at Xia Ya in horror, quickly got up, supported each other, and fled away hastily.

  Xia Ya stood under the tree, watching the four guys walk away, before raising her head to smile and shout at the top of the tree: "Hey, poor worm, jump down!"

  The poor worm's legs on the tree had already gone numb, but it didn't dare to jump. Xia Ya glared at it: "You jump down and I'll naturally catch you! If you don't jump, I'll cut down the tree!"

  The poor worm was frightened out of its wits - this fearsome fellow had the strength to uproot a large tree, and he was also coarse and cruel. Since he said so, he must be able to do it.

  Could only helplessly close his eyes and take a leap of faith.

  Xia Ya was still quite kind, lent a helping hand to the poor worm and threw it onto the ground.

  "Did you hear everything from up in the tree just now?" Xia Ya rubbed his chin and looked at Keliang Chong.

  "...... Listen, I heard it." The poor worm nodded, but suddenly let out a sharp cry, looking at Xia Ya in terror: "Hey! You, you won't be thinking of killing me to silence me, will you!! I, I have no interest in that dragon's treasure!!"

  "I'm not particularly interested in killing." Xia Ya shook her head: "Do you think what that magician said was true?"

  The poor insect hesitated for a moment: "I think... it's somewhat believable, but..."

  He sat on the ground, looking at Xia Ya: "Are you going to find that dragon's treasure?"

  "Of course, gold and silver mountains, who doesn't like them?" Xia Ya hummed twice.

  "What am I supposed to do?"

  "I'll give you two choices, either you walk back to Wildfire Town by yourself from here. Or... you can only follow me, and when we find the treasure, you can help me carry the gold." Xia Ya smiled slyly.

  From here one person walks back to Wildfire Town?

  With this kind of ability to get lost even when walking in the wilderness... If it weren't for this turtle leading the way, I'm afraid I would have charged head-on into the dwarf's cave!

  "Do I have a choice!" The poor worm replied indignantly.

  "That's good, found treasure, I'll give you one-third." Xia Ya was very happy: "I won't hurt you, you're not a threat to me at all."

  "I... I feel like you're up to no good - why did you agree to take me so easily?" The poor guy looked at Xia Ya with vigilance.

  "Alright, I'll tell you the truth." Xia Ya's expression was very calm, with a very innocent look: "A wise man doesn't do things in secret! If we rush over there, those few mages won't be able to kill the dragon, and instead will get killed by the dragon... In that case, I can only run away." He paused for a moment, then explained: "When I was little, I would go up the mountain to chop firewood, and always bring a live rabbit. I'd break the rabbit's legs first, so if I encountered a wolf, I could throw down the rabbit to distract the wolf and escape myself. So, taking you there is for the same reason."

  Poor insect: "......% % ...... ※% × ※"

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