Heilong-kou (Black Dragon-Mouth/Pass)
Heilong-cheng (Black Dragon-City)
Censorate (Supervisory Court)
Yuling City (Jade City)
Jingui Town (Golden Turtle Town)
Xuanwu City (Black tortoise City)
Qinglong (Azure Dragron)
…
Today marked the grand opening of Black Dragon Tower, and the elder brought several youths along with the clan's merchants to check it out.
The tower had been built in just a few days. Thanks to the use of special materials, there were no concerns about formaldehyde—because none had been used at all.
At the entrance, they learned that the tower even had a basement level.
The basement was a supermarket, offering not just fruits and vegetables, but also daily necessities.
Items like toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, water cups, washbasins, and bath tubs were all available there.
While the supermarket was relatively small by modern standards, it was fully stocked. Even the shampoos came in a variety of scents, each labeled with the name of its designer.
So, if you liked a particular scent, you could just remember the designer's name instead of trying to recall some flashy product title.
Most traveling merchants didn't head for the supermarket right away—locals did.
That was because Black Dragon Tower offered far too many tempting items. Things they normally hesitated to splurge on were now on discount: spend five Black Dragon Coins and get a 5% discount. Even scraps of meat were still meat!
Meanwhile, the merchants were pooling funds to buy a freight truck.
Once the roads between Heilong City and the other cities were completed, they could start their own trade and transport operations.
Though they couldn't compete with Black Dragon Express on speed, they could win with volume!
Black Dragon Express had resumed its standard pricing: two coins per shipment, with one coin refunded if the recipient didn't return a package.
But one Black Dragon Coin could buy several items in Heilong City.
By running their trucks, they could charge less and haul more.
Although they'd struggled at first to adapt to using Black Dragon Coins, now they found it incredibly convenient.
They no longer had to bring carts of goods to barter. With fixed prices, trades were straightforward—far better than the awkwardness of being undercut in bartering.
And Black Dragon Coins carried traces of magic crystals and dragon aura—they could even be used as protective charms.
The first floor featured displays of all kinds of cars and beautiful trucks—models never before seen in the city.
It was rumored that the factory had held back these vehicles just for this day.
Merchants couldn't help but silently curse—if only they had arrived one day earlier, they might've missed nothing.
There were also gliders, said to be toys rather than practical transportation. They couldn't fly far, and their landing direction was hard to control—unless you could communicate with the wind.
Gliders were well-suited for the mountainous terrain of the Winged Tiger Clan's territory. But really, they were perfect for the Qingluan Clan. That said, Qingluan nobles already had wings and didn't need gliders, and those who couldn't afford wings wouldn't buy one either.
Still, some Qingluan merchants were obsessed with them—and had already dreamed up a way to profit: shared gliders, just like Heilong City's shared bikes!
The second floor housed clothing shops and bedding stores.
By bedding, they meant four-piece sheet sets. Anyone who'd stayed at the Lucky Inn knew how heavenly they felt—like sleeping on clouds.
Clothing stores didn't just sell traditional ethnic styles. Most featured a mix of ancient robes and modern underwear.
For example, the spring and summer lines were ancient-style robes, mirroring human-world fashion. But the fabric unmistakably came from the demon realm.
Fall and winter clothes included sweaters, thermal underwear, warm layers, and even down jackets.
Demonkind had a free approach to fashion. Long sleeves and pants were seen as simple, practical—great for working, and totally acceptable.
Still, despite the freedom, Yin Jixue hadn't introduced modern streetwear styles yet.
That said, some shops did specialize in elaborate designs tailored to each clan's aesthetics.
For example:
Xuanwu Clan clothes often featured marine elements. Their early garments were woven from seaweed, but now they had upscale sea-themed pieces—like scaly mermaid-tail gowns that looked like formal evening wear.
Qingluan Clan clothing often incorporated feathers. The factory used synthetic feathers—uniform in size and structure—for their designs. One shop even offered a limited edition, iridescent peacock-feather cloak.
Winged Tiger Clan preferred furry outfits. Again, the fur was synthetic, making these clothes affordable and accessible. Their styles included pelts, cloaks, capes, and modern fuzzy jackets.
Synthetic materials were used not just for aesthetics but to avoid social backlash. In demon society, a kind of hierarchy existed:
For the powerful, wearing real high-grade beast fur was a status symbol.
But for ordinary folks, wearing beast fur might invite trouble—seen as an overstepping or provoking disaster.
Still, who didn't want to dress like their idol?
For instance, many demon women in town wanted to replicate Yin Jixue's dresses. But even when they tried, the results never looked quite right—sometimes even drawing ridicule on the street. In the end, those women were recruited into the clothing factory and became Heilong City's first generation of fashion designers.
The first floor was beyond their means, but when the boys reached the second, they simply couldn't move on.
"Clothes! So many pretty clothes!"
The elder couldn't stop them. These kids were like tigers off their leash—he could only watch helplessly as they charged into the clothing store.
"Sigh, let's just go see," said Wang Hu, resigned.
The Wang brothers followed. Just being able to walk with the elder was already a huge honor for their family.
And these boys? They were all direct relatives of the Tiger King—technically royalty.
"I like this one!" one youth shouted, pulling a fluffy rabbit onesie from the rack.
"Then I want this one!" another declared, choosing a brown bear hoodie.
The shortest kid chose a green crocodile coat. "This one looks so cool!"
The others all shook their heads. "That color makes you look like you're from the Qingluan Clan."
The short kid clutched the coat tightly. "But I like it! Look—it has teeth and a tail on the back!"
Luckily, the fuzzy coat was part of the spring-autumn line, so it was perfectly fine to wear in Heilong City's current season.
The boys squeezed into the changing rooms and came out in full costume.
Just as the elder arrived—he saw them all dressed in what looked like beast pelts—and nearly fainted on the spot.
"You… Take those off immediately!"
The boys had no intention of returning the clothes.
"Elder, they look so good! Why would we take them off?"
A female demon working as a shop assistant greeted the elder with a bright smile.
"They look adorable in them!"
The elder pointed angrily. "This is outrageous! You're wearing beast hides—how can that be acceptable?!"
The salesgirl finally realized the elder had misunderstood and rushed to explain.
"You're mistaken, sir. These are artificial fur products. These animals only exist in the Queen's homeland and have nothing to do with magical beasts."
The boys looked pleadingly at the elder—See? Not real fur! Let us keep the fuzziness!