Chapter Fifty-Eight: Black Technology

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The next day, after court, Jiang Yuyan sought out Zhu Yu, saying that Little Fish had come up with something especially amusing and wanted to show it to him.

Zhu Yu immediately understood this was merely a pretext, but his curiosity was piqued. He wondered how Little Fish would attempt to persuade him, and whether it would unfold as he had imagined. With that, he accompanied Jiang Yuyan to find Little Fish.

Upon arrival, Little Fish, after bowing, walked over to a human-sized object draped in black cloth. He was about to unveil it, intending to introduce the contraption and amuse the Emperor first, hoping to put him in a good mood before discussing the matter at hand.

Yet just as Little Fish raised his hand to lift the cloth, Zhu Yu interrupted him.

"Wait. Let's discuss business first. If this thing truly delights, and we fail to achieve our purpose, my mood will sour all the more. But if things go poorly, perhaps I will need this to cheer me up," Zhu Yu remarked, his gaze meaningful.

Little Fish had not anticipated his plan would be disrupted at the very first step. He shot a glance at Jiang Yuyan standing beside Zhu Yu.

But the glance was so obvious, it was as if Zhu Yu were blind—he saw everything, lines darkening his brow. He turned to Jiang Yuyan and said, "You are not allowed to speak today."

At that moment, Jiang Yuyan felt herself most unjustly accused—she had done nothing, so why was she forbidden to speak?

Seeing the look of distress on Jiang Yuyan's face, Zhu Yu laughed heartily and turned back to Little Fish. "Go on," he said.

Little Fish, noticing Jiang Yuyan’s expression, couldn’t help but smile; he had done it on purpose. Despite their thorough discussion the previous day, while waiting earlier, it occurred to him that Jiang Yuyan was closest to the Emperor. What if she betrayed their confidence? Thus, just in case, Little Fish wanted Zhu Yu to distrust anything Jiang Yuyan said—at least for today.

"Your Majesty, you once said that a grandmaster could be of value to you. I am not yet a martial grandmaster, but Hua Wuque is. Might you exchange one year of tribute from the Kunlun Tribe for him?"

Although Zhu Yu heard exactly what he wished, his expression remained inscrutable. "You speak for Hua Wuque?"

"Rest assured, Your Majesty. I discussed this thoroughly with old Hua yesterday—I am fully authorized to represent him."

"Why does he not speak to me himself?"

"Your Majesty knows well that old Hua is never one for words, and he is currently entrusting matters to Princess Taka. Now that this affair is settled, he will not return to the Kunlun Tribe. Regardless, he still holds the title of Prince Consort and has many matters to attend to."

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On hearing this, Zhu Yu nodded in agreement, but then his tone shifted. "Ordinarily, gaining a grandmaster’s aid would be a great advantage. But this is a matter of state. It is not enough."

Zhu Yu’s words did not elicit the panic he had anticipated. Instead, Little Fish looked supremely confident and bowed. "Your Majesty, there is one more matter to report."

"Speak."

"Yesterday, during our conversation, we learned that though the Kunlun Tribe suffers drought, old Hua and Princess Taka did not come empty-handed—they brought sixty percent of last year’s tribute. However, on the way, they were ambushed by bandits, who were numerous and highly skilled. Old Hua risked his life to save Princess Taka..."

As Little Fish solemnly spun his tale, Zhu Yu could not help but marvel at the man's cleverness. He wondered whether Little Fish had understood his intentions or had foreseen them from the start.

Was Zhu Yu truly angered by the loss of a mere tribute from the Kunlun Tribe? Of course not—it was a matter of pride.

In fact, Zhu Yu simply wished to make things difficult for Princess Taka, a signal to the world that the Jing nation could not be slighted. Ultimately, he would still exempt the Kunlun Tribe from that year's tribute.

What else could he do? At most, he could execute Princess Taka to vent his anger, though with Hua Wuque present, even that would be troublesome.

As for Zhu Yu’s threat to send troops against the Kunlun Tribe, it was nothing more than a verbal warning.

Though Jing was at peace, powerful foes surrounded the nation. Any military movement would plunge the world into chaos. The consequences could not be offset by a mere year’s tribute from the Kunlun Tribe.

As for Hua Wuque, his recruitment was a bonus. With the man standing alive before him, it would be a pity not to attempt to win him over—just as he was doing now.

Of course, even if Hua Wuque submitted, the Palace of Shifting Flowers would still have to be destroyed. Whatever Hua Wuque’s reaction, they would deal with that in time. If need be, he would simply sacrifice himself for the country.

Considering Hua Wuque’s current hatred for the Palace of Shifting Flowers, its destruction would hardly elicit much reaction from him.

Though Zhu Yu pondered all this, only a few breaths had passed in reality.

He returned to himself, and saw Little Fish awaiting his answer with eager eyes. Zhu Yu, in irritation, said, "Very well, you’ve passed. Have Princess Taka attend court tomorrow."

Hearing this, Little Fish's face lit up with joy and he thanked Zhu Yu repeatedly, until the Emperor grew impatient with the endless gratitude.

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"Enough. Now let's see what you’ve prepared for me."

At this, Little Fish hurried forward and revealed the mystery beneath the cloth.

It was a wooden man.

But that wasn’t the most important part. The real marvel happened when Little Fish fiddled with something behind the wooden man—suddenly, it moved! The wooden man moved on its own!

Zhu Yu’s mind was momentarily upended, but he recovered quickly, for he had experience with such things.

What gave him that experience was the celestial Thunderfire weapon that Zhuge Zhengwo had used in his youth.

The first time Zhu Yu obtained it, he was startled by its menacing appearance and massive size.

But, after all, Zhu Yu was a modern man. However bizarre the design, it was nothing more than a pistol.

Yet, after experiencing the destructive power of explosives in this world, Zhu Yu had lost all hope for firearms. He kept it only as a trump card for self-preservation, especially when he had to subdue Blackstone.

When retrieving the weapon from the palace armory, the guard on duty had especially warned him—the Thunderfire was immensely powerful and had to be used with great caution. The guard also claimed that if the Thunderfire struck anyone below the grandmaster level, death was certain.

Even a grandmaster would be grievously injured if hit.

At that time, Zhu Yu scoffed, thinking the ancients were merely ignorant, exaggerating the power of any firearm.

But after testing the Thunderfire in the palace, he realized he was wrong.

This thing wasn’t a pistol at all. To call it a hand cannon would be an understatement.