Chapter 22: Method

They opened their eyes and lay in the inn.

The guards came over and said, "Gentlemen, the king summons you."

The two arrived in the main hall, and the king dismissed everyone except the guards, then asked, "Do you have a good plan? To pick a suitable prince consort for the princess?" "It's simple; just gather all the princes from the various countries," Chen Hao replied. "Well..." the king fell silent, and after a long while he slowly said, "This is a difficult matter; with the countries split into continents drifting apart, how could we possibly gather them?" Feng Yan pulled Chen Hao aside and whispered, "Hey, you're not going to use that, are you?" "Yeah, what's wrong?" "You really want to use it? That's incredibly hard to come by, and you actually have it!" Feng Yan tried to lower his voice but still spoke rather loudly, "Alas, you can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a child; if you don't settle this, how will you ask others for their nations' treasures? And now that you have it, you're not in a hurry, but I am—I have no treasure, and while I can still tangle with treasure-less adventurers, running into those who have treasure would be disastrous. Besides, that thing can be crafted, though it's a bit troublesome, but the raw materials can still be found here." Chen Hao said.

Chen Hao stepped before the king and said, "I won't undertake anything I'm not sure of; if I say I can do it, then I absolutely can! Please believe me." "Then how should I believe you? Empty words have no proof, and this is a major affair concerning the princess—it certainly isn't something to trifle with!" The king's voice was full of authority. Chen Hao took out the Adventurers' Book he carried, the guard approached him, took it, and handed it to the king. After seeing it, the king nodded, understanding something, and first signaled the guards to withdraw, leaving only the king, Feng Yan, and Chen Hao in the hall.

"Well then, tell me your plan," the king said. "It's simple: first gather the princes of these countries. When you see the Adventurers' Book, you should believe it can fulfill most wishes, unless it exceeds this world's comprehension." Chen Hao said. "So you mean you gather the princes of these countries, then—" "Exactly," Chen Hao said. "The remaining organization and supervision can be left to us two." "Well then, what else do I need to do?" "Let me think... Ah! Do you have a river, a forest, and horses here?" Chen Hao asked. "As for the river, when you all came to Ju Ren Guo, didn't you arrive by boat on that river? Just use its waters. For the forest, you can use Deng Lin. As for horses, we still have some, but I fear the Ju Ren Guo horses won't work for us, given our large stature." "Hmm, I now understand the details. In that case, please order a small detachment of guards to be lent to me so we can go there to make the necessary preparations," Chen Hao said to the king. "All right," the king replied, turning to the nearby guard and saying, "Detail a small contingent to accompany the two adventurers." "Yes," the soldier said, and immediately went to deliver the order.

"Then let's go inspect the site," Chen Hao said. "Please do," the king said. Feng Yan and Chen Hao left the palace; outside the palace gate, a pair of soldiers stood respectfully. The guard approached the two and said, "By the king's order, here is your detachment!" "Wow!" they both exclaimed almost simultaneously. The detachment numbered only eight, standing in a row. Feng Yan and Chen Hao looked at them—their tall, sturdy builds reminded them of the mythical Kuafu. "Well then, let's go," Feng Yan said. They followed behind Feng Yan and Chen Hao, slowly arriving at Deng Lin.

In Deng Lin, Feng Yan and Chen Hao gazed at the scenery while reflecting, "I and Feng Yan have suffered plenty in this forest." "You mean being tied up by a vine and nearly getting game over?" Feng Yan laughed; Chen Hao, without a word, kicked out, "You still have the nerve to say that! It wasn't you letting me draw the aggro? Hey, why is no movement here?" This was a giant speaking. He said, "You may not know, this is the staff of our legendary ancestor transformed; the vines inside naturally won't attack us, perhaps because we are descendants of the ancestor. In our previous battle with the Quan State, we used these vines to make armor, thus reducing many unnecessary casualties in our troops." "Oh, I see—so the reason they aren't attacking us now is because you're leading the way?" Chen Hao asked. "Yes," the giant replied.

"All right, let's start here," Chen Hao said. Feng Yan looked ahead and saw a small stream, "Are you sure? Playing here?" Feng Yan asked Chen Hao. "Yeah, right here, what's up?" Chen Hao was puzzled; Feng Yan pulled him aside and said, "What are you playing at? Where is this? Deng Lin! Ahead are those steel vines, and over there is that sinister stream! Aren't you afraid you'll kill them?" "Eh, it's fine; you still have the Adventurers' Book, don't you? We can just revive them. Besides, if they announce they're forfeiting the match, we can rescue them." "You saying that makes sense," Feng Yan understood.

Thus Chen Hao approached the giants and said, "Here it is—from the stream to the Ju Ren Guo city gate, this will be the first event, let's call it cross-country. Let's go, we're heading to the Ju Ren Guo city gate."

At the city gate, Chen Hao directly said, "Get your horses ready and have them ride around the city wall once—this is simple, right?" "But can our giant horses be ridden?" the giant asked. "Ah, a snag—what to do? Wait, do you have any young horses, not fully grown?" "Yes." "Well then, that's easy to handle," Chen Hao said. "All right, on to the next spot."

"Hmm? This river? You sure it's not for your bathing?" Feng Yan asked. The giants shook their heads. "Well, all right, we'll make do with it for now," Chen Hao said. "Now listen to me: right away, attach a finish line to each endpoint—basically just a strip of cloth." "Is it really that simple?" "Yes, just that simple. Then, when you're in Deng Lin, be careful not to kill the princes of those nations while you're at it. All right, go prepare; I'll take a break. This afternoon I'll summon them over." "Yes." The giants withdrew.

"Princess, is this really all right?" the maid asked. The princess looked at Feng Yan and at the giant soldiers slowly walking back to the palace, and said, "There's nothing wrong with it; I'm just going out too, and this is the best method." "Princess~" the maid fell silent. They had grown up together; as time passed, she had become a giant, while now the princess before her is a dwarf. The princess sits on her shoulder, appearing exceedingly petite and lovable. If she were in any other country, she would surely have many suitors who would lavish her with wealth, gold, silver, jewels, and every luxury to win her favor. Unfortunately, the princess is not in any other country; she is in Ju Ren Guo, the best state—harmonious and stable, with no hunger or deceit, where the people live in peace and joy each day. Yet it is also the worst state, for the princess is not a Ju Ren Guo native; she is merely a discard from the battlefield, and no one knows which nation she came from. Thus, having reached marriageable age, she cannot be married off. In the giants' eyes, the princess is simply too tiny; full-grown giants stand seven or eight meters tall, and whether it's the princess or an adventurer, to them they look like their own children—except that the adventurer is an honored guest, a traveler of this world.

The maid pondered for a long time, then asked the princess, "Princess, why not consider an adventurer?" "An adventurer? How nice—to be a traveler in this world, though danger lurks nearby; I, however, still want stability." "I see," the maid replied softly.

"Well, good! Everything's ready here—the racetrack, the pool, the woods." Chen Hao said happily. "Wait a minute, what are you up to? I'm getting more and more confused," Feng Yan said with a puzzled expression. Chen Hao looked at Feng Yan, gave a sinister smile, and said, "Hehe, Feng Yan, do you know what you're supposed to do?" "What? What do I have to do?" Feng Yan was pressed by Chen Hao, stepping back repeatedly, then fell to the ground. "You, go and supervise the giants' match," Chen Hao said with a smile. "And you?" Feng Yan pointed at Chen Hao and asked. "Me? I'll stand at the finish line and watch them sprint—their expressions will surely be priceless!" Chen Hao involuntarily let out an "uh" as he imagined the scene, "However," Chen Hao continued, "we ought to invite those princes over."

Chen Hao took out the Adventurers' Book, hurled it into the sky, and the book hovered in midair. At that moment Chen Hao said to the Adventurers' Book, "From now on, open passages connecting all countries, with Ju Ren Guo as the terminus, lasting three days." As soon as he finished speaking, the book shot straight up into the heavens, exploded in high altitude, and with a tremendous boom, the sky filled with white smoke. Suddenly, from that white smoke shot forth beams of white light—at first a single beam, then more and more, initially visible to the eye, but then the beams gradually converged, momentarily making it impossible to keep one's eyes open.

"My eyes! I can't see!" they both shouted. The giants over there witnessed the strange phenomenon in the sky, having no idea what had happened; the blinding light made them shut their eyes, and when they opened them again, the light had vanished. Feng Yan and Chen Hao looked ahead and saw a black vortex, just like when they were suddenly sucked up into the sky.

"Eh, slowly developing a nasty taste, this officialdom," they muttered inwardly, then returned to the inn, closed the door, and both said at once, "Well then, that's it for today."