Chapter 20: The King's Request

"Yo, here we are." Chen Hao said, "Mm, here we are." Feng Yan replied, "This game has just begun; how could I let him end it easily?"

They were still there, in the inn.

Let's go, let's stroll through their city and see if there's anything new here. So they went out together, walking along, Feng Yan looked at the identical houses, everyone had a pleased expression, dressed plainly, they worked every day, sharing happy things with everyone; looking here, it's so wonderful, the so-called paradise on earth must be this place, they continued forward and saw a very luxurious house, that house under the sunlight appeared extremely glaring, forming a stark contrast with the surrounding shabby houses; if the former represented commoners, then this one must truly be the rich. "Hey, Feng Yan, do you see this place, isn't it quite ostentatious?" Chen Hao asked, "Mm, yeah, it's all a golden house." Feng Yan answered.

Golden house? Feng Yan zoned out. Looking at the house glittering with gold in the sunlight, Feng Yan laughed: "Is this wealth? This is something everyone has, in roughly the same amount; he merely laid all his possessions before him!" "Why? Why would you say that?" Chen Hao wondered, but seeing the owner of the house before him, he understood: the so-called owner had a sallow complexion, lacking healthy color, the whole person emaciated to the point of distortion, eyes deeply sunken, "This is, that so-called bankrupt, right? They have what others envy, but they've already been pressed down! Using their future's strength to see if they can make use of the future!" Feng Yan said. "Also right, we should also be going, back to the Wanggong, to find what we need and carry out our game." Chen Hao said.

They were about to leave when the person before them collapsed directly; after a moment, a crowd gathered around, "What's going on?" "He's dead." "How did he die?" "He thought he was confident, that he could possess these things, casting all his wealth into a house, but because he couldn't exchange with others, plus he thought he could." Feng Yan, as they discussed, they knew only this person was out of place here; Feng Yan rushed in, hoisted him onto his shoulder, the crowd dispersed, each going about their own business. Feng Yan carried this so-called rich man into the palace. Feng Yan asked the King: "Are we all human? Everyone has the same wealth, yet why would someone starve to death?" "Everyone has the same wealth? Then wouldn't there be no comparisons? This answer, now you haven't figured it out?" The King said, he furrowed his brows tightly, gazing at the palace ceiling, continuing: "Earlier, the Ju Ren Guo lost too many in war; we are skilled at using our strength, but correspondingly, our strength is too great, we began to see ourselves as righteous allies, receiving aid and then helping; we thought so, but in fact we also did so. At first, those countries, those people, all were good, undoubtedly grateful to us, but later, as the continent gradually split, countries drifted farther apart, some drew closer, we are no longer like that."

Feng Yan didn't understand; he didn't grasp what the King said, the King remained as before, head raised, eyes closed, seeming to recall those things he didn't want to recall. "Perhaps those are the things that make people sad." Feng Yan thought. "We, we should do what we need to do. Here we are merely adventurers; their affairs are just stories, nothing but stories." Chen Hao said. The two were about to leave when the King waved his hand, soldiers stopped them, saying: "Please stay a few more days; our Princess is preparing to choose her beloved." "Oh, that's your business, what does it have to do with me?" Chen Hao said, the King sighed, saying: "She was picked up on the battlefield; after picking her up, the subsequent battles went smoothly, so after the war ended I took her in, letting her stay as Princess in this country; now she is of marriageable age, but how could the Ju Ren Guo possibly come to marry her? After all, their height difference is too great." "So, what does the King mean?" Feng Yan asked.

"I hope that as adventurers you can help me, or help this child." The King sighed, saying. "Prince Consort?" Chen Hao laughed, turning to Feng Yan, saying: "I have a fun idea." Feng Yan pulled Chen Hao aside, smiling at the King, quietly asking Chen Hao. He said: "You're not thinking of some bad idea, are you? This is the Princess; if we mess up, do we still want the Ju Ren Guo's treasure?" "Hey, don't be afraid, doing it this way, with our two identities, who wouldn't give us face?" Chen Hao laughed, saying, then walked straight toward the King, first approaching the King and saying: "Since it's the Princess's lifelong matter, as foreigners from afar we originally shouldn't interfere, but since the King has a request and we also have a request of the King, then we'll go all out to give a marriage that satisfies both the King and the Princess. How about that?"

The King listened, nodded, saying: "Sure, but just let me know first what you two want to do." "It's simple: we'll select a Prince Consort for the Princess elsewhere, and we'll organize them to compete." Chen Hao said. "So then the winner would be the Princess's Prince Consort, right?" The King said. "Mm, that's right." Chen Hao said, "Then, as an exchange, I also want a promise from the King." "What promise?" the King asked. "We'll hold a contest to select a Prince Consort for the Princess; in exchange, we want the Ju Ren Guo's treasure." Chen Hao said. The King said: "Ju Ren Guo has no treasure." "Ah!" the two almost shouted in unison; the King looked at them, laughing, saying: "The Ju Ren Guo's treasure has long been in the adventurers' hands." Feng Yan glanced at his sword beside him; the King said: "That sword is our country's treasure." "Chen Hao, come over." Feng Yan said, grabbing Chen Hao and pulling him away, saying: "This old man won't deceive us, will he? But this is indeed their nation's treasure; otherwise we couldn't get past that place." "Gentlemen, what are you doing?" the King approached the two, Feng Yan asked the King: "We took treasure from the Lilliputian Kingdom, which is Ju Ren Guo's, so what is this...?!" "Exactly! It's the Lilliputian Kingdom's stuff!" Chen Hao said, somewhat dejected: "What good stuff could that broken place have? It's a trap."

"Yes, this here is the Lilliputian Kingdom's treasure." Immediately the speech turned somewhat sorrowful, "Also, it's the treasure that killed my father, the general's treasure." "Sorry, but we really need these treasures." Chen Hao said, "We must have these things!" "Say it again, there is no treasure here, the people here are all the same, equally steadfast, brave, simple and kind!" The King said, "Now tell me your plan."

On another note, the Princess stayed in her room; a few days ago, watching the distant adventurers arrive in this country, she wanted to go out and see, to see if everyone everywhere was as simple and as tall as they were, until she saw these two adventurers arrive, she realized, people are all different; the Wanggong adjoins the residential area, looking like merely a house slightly larger than an ordinary person's dwelling, with no overly luxurious decoration; a house, when it has feeling, is called a home, without feeling it's just a box for sleeping. She gazed at the surrounding houses, letting her thoughts wander in her mind; a few days earlier she had proposed to her father to go out and see, but her father disagreed, saying the outside was too dangerous, moreover what about her having such looks? Thus she proposed to recruit a Prince Consort, and now, Feng Yan and Chen Hao with the King are in the Wanggong, discussing the Princess's wedding and the selection of a Prince Consort.

"Princess, what do you need me to do?" the maid asked; the Princess turned her head, her golden curls paired with crystal-blue eyes, making it impossible to look directly, making it impossible to look away from those eyes; the Princess rose, saying: "Let's go out for a walk; I heard someone died on the street, that's a major event for the Ju Ren Guo, how many years has the nation gone without anyone dying directly on the streets?" "Please don't mind, that's just someone who likes to overdraw their future, nothing special." the maid replied. "Really? In our country, this kind of thing is still a first-time occurrence, isn't that quite novel?" the Princess said, "How could we not pay attention to such a thing?" "Indeed." the maid answered.

"In short, just follow my requirements; have the troops ready to welcome the arrival of various princes." Chen Hao said, "But the various countries are basically independent continents; how can we gather them?" The King said, "That's not something easily said." "Then may I ask, what are we?" "Adventurers." the King answered, "Since that's the case, then please trust Chen Hao's words; we have a way to invite the princes of various countries, and you all just need to line up to welcome those who come for the Princess's beauty." Feng Yan told the King; the King, although still somewhat worried, solemnly nodded, saying: "Hope you won't let me down."

"Don't worry, Feng Yan and I still have some grasp on these things." Chen Hao replied, "Then, farewell."

Feng Yan and Chen Hao left the Wanggong; it was already evening, the sun gradually setting westward, the golden light growing fainter, the sky about to darken; Feng Yan and Chen Hao walked to the inn, Chen Hao opened the door and went straight in, Feng Yan stood at the doorway, looking at that golden house, the afterglow of the sunset casting it a glaring light; finally, Feng Yan entered the house, they, woke up.