Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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This request was so bizarre that the leaders present, who all expected it to demand some kind of special treatment, couldn’t help but look at each other in bewilderment.
The Azure Dragon finally made the request, and it was secretly overjoyed. The main reason was the deep psychological trauma Wei Xi had inflicted on it; simply because Wei Xi was inferior to the wild boar in status, it had unhesitatingly suppressed and threatened to eat it. The Azure Dragon was now over a thousand years old. Before becoming a dragon, it lived in a feudal society where the concept of protected animals didn’t exist. Later, by chance, it began cultivating, spending its days submerged in the water, oblivious to the world. When it emerged, it encountered the Reform and Opening Up era. Illiterate, it had no idea what protected animals were like in the new society. But judging from Wei Xi’s appearance, it knew they were something extraordinary, not something everyone could possess.
Seeing the leaders remain silent, its smug laughter ceased, and a rare hint of unease flickered in its cold eyes: “…What, is this difficult to handle?”
The old leader, who had initially been taken aback by his question about whether it could get involved in politics, paused for a moment, coughed, and inexplicably felt embarrassed by the various unfounded suspicions that had been running through his mind: “…No, no, I will definitely process it for you as soon as possible.”
His promise was so firm that Qinglong immediately felt relieved. He glanced at Wei Xi secretly and nodded approvingly at his old leader, saying, “You really came with sincerity.”
The leaders: “………………”
The leaders, receiving such praise, nodded with great difficulty: “…That’s beyond doubt.”
After Qinglong finished stating his most pressing request, he suddenly remembered the mineral water bottle that had prevented him from going to sea. He then added angrily, “Oh, and one more thing. Keep an eye on that marine pollution situation and make sure it’s resolved properly. These people are polluting and dumping garbage— it’s utterly unethical. I made a note of those factories in Ruhai City that are secretly polluting before I came to Beijing; I’ll have Xiao Tuan give you their names in a bit. Fine them! Arrest their owners— don’t let a single one get away with it!”
The leaders hadn’t expected to receive such a complaint from the public. The local government’s oversight of factories secretly discharging pollutants was inadequate, leaving them with nowhere to investigate. Qinglong’s words seemed less like a request and more like a favor. So they all nodded in agreement: “Definitely, definitely. The plan to control marine pollution has actually been on the agenda for a long time. We will definitely increase our efforts in supervision and oversight in the future.”
Azure Dragon: “Hmm.”
There was a moment of silence between the two sides. Then the leaders looked at each other, hesitant, and asked, “…Then…what about the others?”
The Azure Dragon, who had already begun grooming its whiskers, looked at them with a puzzled expression: “Huh? What else?”
The leaders: “…”
The leaders: “…Are these all the requirements? Nothing else?”
The Azure Dragon frowned, its mind racing, starting to get annoyed. What was wrong with these people? They kept asking it for things. It was a proletarian, poor as a pittance for over a thousand years; how would it know what to ask for? The inheritance told it of a golden dragon palace at the bottom of the sea, but it couldn’t go back to the sea now. Besides, it was currently in a zoo, with ministers, a place to live, and the environment was so luxurious— far better than when it was in the riverbed. It was quite satisfied with its current living conditions.
The Azure Dragon then impatiently flicked its tail: “That’s all, that’s all. I can’t think of anything else for now. Just get these things done first.”
As soon as it finished speaking, fearing that these humans would just brush it off, it added threateningly, “Remember, you’ve already promised me about trending topics and animal protection. No matter how difficult it is, you should know what the consequences will be if you don’t keep your promise to the gods, right?”
Are you serious? Even faced with such a threat, the leaders showed absolutely no sign of nervousness: “…We know.”
Regardless of the consequences, there’s absolutely no need to back out on these strange conditions.
Qinglong, certain they weren’t lying, finally nodded in satisfaction, swung his hips back to his previous size, and climbed onto the Prime Minister’s back: “Very good, then I’ll go back to rehearse the show.”
Now that he was the king of the aquatic race, he naturally had to prioritize his career and didn’t have much time to chatter with these ordinary humans.
The leaders: “…”
That’s…that’s it?!
The leaders stared in disbelief as the other’s figure disappeared into the water. Even Tuan Tuanyi, who had been giving it a crash course in business, was bewildered. After a long while, he finally realized the key point and sighed to his master, “Alas, this is the consequence of being uncultured and too aloof. Master, our company’s experience and philosophy are indeed correct. We must provide cultural education to employees who have become intelligent as soon as they join the company. Otherwise, they would all be like this dragon.”
This dragon is clearly the kind that stays indoors all the time for cultivation, and is arrogant and unwilling to make friends. If it weren’t so illiterate and had a little more knowledge of modern things, it wouldn’t be so easy to deal with. If it were him, such a precious species, he would at least ask the government for some policy subsidies and tax breaks.
This showed how important literacy education was in the socialist era. Not to mention this dragon, the few stray demons recruited in Xin’an were also tricked by shady agents into doing hard labor on illegal construction sites because they were too uneducated.
Wei Xi was a little annoyed: “What makes it so special that it was made a protected animal so easily?”
What’s wrong with the government? Is animal protection so lax? If it treats animals like this, won’t he be unable to eat them anymore?
Although Tuan Tuanyi didn’t quite understand what his master was upset about, he still patiently persuaded him, “Forget it, Master. The dragon race only has this one left. This number is enough to qualify it as an endangered species. It is qualified to be a protected animal.”
Wei Xi listened thoughtfully, and the leaders beside him finally snapped out of their surreal state. Although it was hard to believe that the Azure Dragon was so easily dealt with, the ending was still a happy one. The Azure Dragon, such an elusive and deadly weapon, was stabilized without disturbing ordinary people, without using force, or even expending too much social resources.
And judging from the appearance of the weapon, it seems unlikely that they will want to cause trouble anytime soon.
The crisis dissipated so easily, almost unreally. The leaders, recalling the information mentioned in Qinglong’s words, couldn’t help but glance at the master and disciple from Taicang Sect. The senior leader hesitated for a moment before stepping forward to shake hands with Wei Xi: “Thank you, Master Wei and his disciple, for your help in calming this Qinglong.”
It sounds like the Azure Dragon’s thinking was distorted by this viewpoint.
Wei Xi was bewildered by the praise: “I helped?”
Xia Shouren, who was standing to the side, could no longer contain himself: “You did!”
Wei Xi seemed to understand but not quite. So he shook hands with the old leader, who calmly continued, “I heard that Master Wei made a great contribution to preventing this Azure Dragon from entering the sea. Xiao Gu gave me a brief report on the phone. I greatly admire Master Wei for risking his life for the safety of the people and the stability of the country. The country will not forget this sacrifice.”
Wei Xi was even more confused. Was that true?
It seems he just went to eat something.
Xia Shouren: “…”
But the old leader got emotional as he said this: “I hope that in the future, Master Wei can have more contact with us.”
Wei Xi understood this sentence and nodded, saying, “Our sect has a lot of dealings with Mr. Gu.”
“Really?” the old leader laughed. “Xiao Gu is a promising talent we are focusing on developing. The ‘Believe in Science’ program he is in charge of has played a significant role in dispelling feudal superstitions among the people. He also has considerable influence in the new cultural media industry. Master Wei must have already collaborated with him, right?”
Wei Xi nodded: “Besides this one, there’s another advertisement we’ll be collaborating on later.”
The leader was taken aback when he heard this: “Advertisement?”
Mr. Gu, who was questioning the world because of the Azure Dragon, was also suddenly awakened and looked at him in horror.
Yes, he almost forgot about the guillotine of this career!
Wei Xi replied, “Consider it payment for this collaboration.”
The old leader gave an “oh,” not quite understanding. Advertising was a very small part of their department’s business, and he didn’t usually need to oversee it. However, he didn’t think much of it; it was just a collaboration, and the reward for such a large and dangerous operation as dragon hunting. Hearing this, he smiled at Wei Xi as if to make a promise: “Don’t worry, Master Wei. You risk your lives for the country. I’ll definitely make sure he handles this matter well when I get back. If he doesn’t do it well, just come and complain to me!”
He then turned to his subordinate and said with a smile, “Did you hear that, Xiao Gu?”
Then he saw his subordinate looking at him with the eyes of someone who had grasped at a straw, an expression of relief at having escaped a desperate situation: “I heard you, I heard you, you said it, boss!”
Former boss: “???”
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