Yin Jixue stepped out with Feng Xiu, while Ruoshui followed anxiously behind them.
After they returned yesterday, Feng Xiu pulled her aside and lectured her on how inappropriate her behavior was. Even if she disliked the lower-ranking demons, she should not have shown her disdain in front of the Queen.
Thinking back, Ruoshui felt a chill of fear. She deeply admired the Queen and was terrified that she would be cast aside because of her mistake.
"Greetings, Your Majesty." Ruoshui bowed respectfully.
Yin Jixue didn't hold any prejudice against Ruoshui just because of her aversion to lower demons. She could tell that Ruoshui and Feng Xiu genuinely respected her from the bottom of their hearts. Biases could be changed over time.
"Ruoshui, do you know what mineral resources our demon race possesses?"
Ruoshui, eager to redeem herself, quickly recounted everything she knew.
"The most important mineral resource in the demon territory is magic crystal. Magic crystals enhance cultivation and also serve as currency on the Cangqiong Continent. Although a demon's innate talent is determined at birth, prolonged use of magic crystals gradually improves one's physique, and their offspring will be stronger."
Yin Jixue nodded. "In that case, which cities currently have magic crystal mines?"
"The only ones I know of are the Xuanwu Clan and the Winged Tiger Clan. The Xuanwu Clan, in particular, rose to power because they had five magic crystal mines in their territory, while the Winged Tiger Clan only had one. However, most of the Xuanwu Clan's mines are nearly depleted."
Yin Jixue sighed inwardly. It was clear how important these mines were. The Xuanwu Clan had developed early, and now, even without mines, they could sustain themselves through trade.
Since marrying into the demon clan, she had been eating nothing but steamed sweet potatoes, coarse rice, and thin porridge. Other than the slight infusion of magic, it was no different from the meals of ordinary human peasants.
The demons in the city looked haggard and despondent, while the lower demons outside the city struggled just to get a meal.
Apart from the imposing grandeur of the Demon King's palace, the rest of the city was in ruins.
The palace's splendour told Yin Jixue one thing—Black Dragon City wasn't just underdeveloped; it was downright poor.
She scanned the map and found a marked location for a magic crystal mine. The symbol looked similar to an iron mine.
"Ruoshui, how does the demon race handle iron ore and other resources?"
"We wish we had iron mines!" Ruoshui sighed. "Iron is essential for forging weapons, but most mineral deposits are in human territories. Human and demon minerals are fundamentally different."
Yin Jixue's mind raced. This meant that the demon lands did contain useful minerals; they just hadn't been mined—or perhaps, they had yet to be discovered.
Now she understood why demons and humans could coexist. Human resources were unusable by demons, so even if the demons conquered human lands, they wouldn't be able to thrive there.
"If I wanted to grow food, where could I get land for farming?"
Feng Xiu hesitated. "Your Majesty, our demon race isn't suited for farming. Only the Winged Tiger Clan has agricultural expertise. All of our food comes from them."
Yin Jixue recalled the scorched, barren land outside the city.
"Is it because of the soil?"
Ruoshui nodded. "Your Majesty may not be aware, but most of our lands are wastelands—completely unsuitable for cultivation. The plants that grow in the scorched soil are bitter and foul-smelling. Only the lower demons dare eat them. They're not poisonous, at least."
Yin Jixue pondered. "No wonder the Winged Tiger Clan is known for farming. So they must have fertile land."
"Fertile land?" Ruoshui tilted her head. "You could say that. The Winged Tiger Clan has special fertilizers that allow crops to grow even in wasteland conditions. However, seeds are limited, so Black Dragon City is only allowed to purchase 2,500 dan of grain each year."
Yin Jixue quickly did the math—2,500 dan equalled approximately 125 tons, enough to feed about 3,500 people for a year.
But just within Black Dragon City alone, there were far more than 3,000 people.
"What about those who can't get food?"
Ruoshui shifted uncomfortably. "Most of the grain is supplied to the Demon Palace. The demons in the city… eat once every five days."
Once every five days?! That was inhumane!
"I found some unidentified crop seeds in the Demon King's palace. I want to try growing them. Find me a piece of land and people to tend it." Yin Jixue planned to use the Demon King as a shield for her plan to grow sweet yams.
Feng Xiu hesitated. "But the wasteland can't sustain crops. Wouldn't it be better to ask the Winged Tiger Clan for help?"
"That won't be necessary. I have plenty of these seeds. Even if it fails, it won't be a loss." Of course, failure wasn't an option.
Feng Xiu and Ruoshui still felt reluctant to waste the seeds, but they had to obey the Queen's orders.
Yin Jixue chose the Demon Palace's garden as her planting site. All the flowers there had been personally transplanted by the Demon King. On the surface, it looked like they were planted in the soil, but in reality, they were in pots. That meant she had no qualms about relocating them.
She simply moved the flower pots outside the garden. Problem solved.
Feng Xiu and Ruoshui nearly cried as they clung to each other. Those were the King's favourite flowers!
Each of the four corners of the palace had a garden, totalling only one mu of land (about 0.16 acres). Yin Jixue had it all planted with sweet yams.
Sweet yams reproduced through their tubers, so she saved the remaining ones as emergency food.
A sense of unease settled in her gut.
Black Dragon City might be on the brink of a food crisis.