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Chapter 4: and translation of title, then ===GLOSSARY=== with list of named entities appearing in these lines

~7 min read 1,385 words

Yang Xin! It's actually him! Feng Yan couldn't believe his ears; he wanted to ask them but was afraid it was true. He left all his homework on the desk and went to find the homeroom teacher to ask for leave. Feng Yan arrived at the office, saw the teacher busy, cautiously entered, and told the homeroom teacher he wasn't feeling well, requesting to return to the dormitory. The homeroom teacher gave him a leave slip, saying, "Work hard!" Feng Yan lowered his head and slowly walked out of the office, and thus he went back to the dormitory.

After Feng Yan arrived at the dormitory, he put down his backpack and, from that net pocket, saw the item for entering the game. He looked at it—this is, Chen Hao had just walked out of the restroom and asked, "How about it, continue the game?" He said. "Mm," Feng Yan replied. Chen Hao continued, "How about we do it together then? I also asked the teacher for leave."

After they put on the items, Feng Yan, although preoccupied, still fell asleep shortly. Together they returned to that grassland, discovering the National Teacher had already vanished. They continued forward and saw the Wanggong ahead. Upon seeing the Wanggong, Feng Yan's heart was greatly shocked; it formed a stark contrast with the preceding dilapidated residential area. The entire palace exuded luxury and grandeur, especially dazzling under the sun. Feng Yan said to Chen Hao, "What a beautiful and luxurious palace!" Chen Hao replied, "I see this as a naked lie, the true Lilliputian Kingdom!" They continued to examine the palace from outside: its roof made of gold, its walls of silver; the guards' armor, though old, still showed signs of careful maintenance. Feng Yan and Chen Hao stepped onto the palace's steps, entering the interior step by step. Upon reaching the outer gate of the main hall, they were stopped by the guards, who said, "No idle persons allowed inside the main hall." Upon hearing this, Feng Yan clenched his fists, but Chen Hao grabbed him. Seeing Chen Hao's smiling face, he produced the Adventurers' badge and said to the guard, "Please make it convenient for us; we are invited by your National Teacher to come to the palace to seek an audience with the King." Hearing these words and seeing the badge, the soldier let Feng Yan and Chen Hao enter, guiding them into the palace, all the while apologizing and asking for their forgiveness. Feng Yan grew impatient and said to the soldier, "Get lost!" The soldier swiftly vanished from before their eyes. Chen Hao observed Feng Yan's action, coming from outside the hall into the hall, found it strange, and asked Feng Yan, "What's wrong with you? Today you seem as if you've taken gunpowder." Feng Yan came to his senses and told him, "Nothing, it's just that many things have happened recently, and I can't take it all in at once."

The two continued walking inside the main hall when they heard a voice scolding someone. Following the sound, they saw the National Teacher kneeling on the ground, while the King kept rebuking the National Teacher: "I sent you to invite the Adventurers, but you lost them, and you tell me they vanished into thin air—can you possibly be speaking nonsense?" The King casually picked up a bamboo slip from the table and hurled it at the National Teacher's head, but at that moment a hand seized the slip and directly shouted at the King: "You tyrant of mankind, you scold without knowing the facts; as your subject, I'm afraid you've brought eight generations of misfortune!" The ministers' faces turned ashen; they had never dared to scold the King like that. They stared at each other, then turned their gazes to the two strangers in the hall—Feng Yan and Chen Hao! The King, astonished, asked, "Who are you?" Feng Yan flung the Adventurers' badge onto the King's table, saying, "The Adventurers invited by the National Teacher." The King looked at the badge, instantly understood, said nothing, slowly descended, and personally handed the badge back to Feng Yan. Facing Feng Yan, the latter finally made out the King's appearance: an irregular face, a bulky nose, deep-set eyes; though old, he still appeared vigorous. As Feng Yan observed him, the King suddenly knelt, and all the ministers followed suit. Together the King and ministers proclaimed, "Please lead our Lilliputian Kingdom to the pinnacle of the world!" Feng Yan gave a faint mocking smile and continued, "The pinnacle of the world? Don't joke with me—just this little country? Lies everywhere, petty people running rampant, national strength weakened—what do you have to conquer the world with? Lies?" The King and ministers' plea meant nothing to Feng Yan, even seemed a joke; he said, "Get up; we will use other methods, for governing a state is not our forte." Chen Hao said. The King and ministers rose awkwardly; some ministers shot venomous glances at Feng Yan and Chen Hao, making Chen Hao a little fearful. Chen Hao turned back and saw Feng Yan tilting his head to gaze at the palace ceiling, thinking, "Why am I in such pain? Perhaps this is just part of human experience." Feng Yan strove to maintain a haughty demeanor so as not to lose face before these so-called people. Chen Hao felt the atmosphere odd, so he said to the King, "My friend has just arrived from elsewhere; he cannot let go of life and death, his words are a bit extreme—could you prepare a guest room for us?" "Sure, sure, please have the guards lead you there," the King hastily replied, then added, "Adventurers are the supreme beings of the continent; if possible, I hope you stay here. You need not call me King; you may address me by name—I am Liu Che Ming." "No need, still call me King," Chen Hao answered, and they followed the guards away.

Although they had left, the main hall buzzed with discussion. At once some said Feng Yan and Chen Hao looked down on everyone, ignoring the King's presence, while others claimed it damaged the dignity of a sovereign. The King shouted, "Enough, stop! Didn't that Adventurer just state the true state of our nation from the hall? Is my country really that wretched, or are you all just a bunch of good-for-nothings who only fight among yourselves?" Upon hearing the King's rebuke, the ministers fell silent instantly. The King waved his hand, and the ministers withdrew one after another. The National Teacher was heading toward the hall's exit when several ministers intercepted him. Seeing that they were the Grand Commandant, the Censor-in-Chief, and the Lilliputian Kingdom's General, the National Teacher asked, "Gentlemen, what business do you have with me?" The ministers exchanged glances, then the Grand Commandant stepped forward and said, "This is not the place to talk; please come to my residence, and we can discuss matters slowly with you, Sir National Teacher." The National Teacher wondered why these men, who were usually at odds with him, would do so, but feeling puzzled, he went along with them.

At that moment, Feng Yan and Chen Hao were resting in the inn when suddenly a knocking sounded. He opened the door; the guard at the gate delivered a letter into his hand, saying, "My lord requests your presence at his residence tomorrow for a discussion." Feng Yan was about to ask something when the guard left. Feng Yan opened the envelope; inside was a map. Chen Hao asked Feng Yan, "What's wrong?" "A map was sent," Feng Yan replied, "delivered by the Grand Commandant; I don't know what it means, but he wants us to go there tomorrow."

At the Grand Commandant's residence, "What! You're sending them to look for the Lilliputian Kingdom's treasure! That's the nation's wealth—why?" the National Teacher questioned the Grand Commandant. The Grand Commandant sipped his tea and said, "Let them look for it; they are Adventurers, after all, and I have arranged to meet them tomorrow." "No way—why should we let them take our own country's treasure?" the National Teacher flicked his sleeves and departed. The Grand Commandant continued sipping tea, smiling, took another sip, and said, "Fine tea, fine affair—at last the eyesore can be cleared away."

◈

End of Chapter

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