Chapter 6: Treasure: Unveiling the Lilliputian Kingdom's Past

After that incident, Feng Yan changed completely; he became somewhat introverted, the incident dealt him too great a blow, leaving him unable to climb out of that abyss for a long time.

However, one evening after school, when he was with Chen Hao, Feng Yan said: "Let's go on; we still want to play, otherwise why bother filling it?"

Feng Yan and Chen Hao had put on their gear, only then realizing that here only a single night had passed! They were astonished, yet thought this was more normal, so together they went to visit the Grand Marshal's residence; the Grand Marshal had already prepared everything, just waiting for Feng Yan and Chen Hao to arrive. "Honored adventurers, gracious visit to my humble abode, sorry for the distant welcome; I hope you'll forgive." "Don't waste words with pleasantries, just say what you want us to do," Chen Hao interrupted him. "We're all straightforward folk, then good; I've summoned you two because there's indeed a matter to discuss—have you received a map?" Feng Yan and Chen Hao nodded, replying: "Yes." "That's why I sought you out: every nation has its own treasure and wealth stored against need; the map in your hands is what we delivered to you, so you now surely know what to do, right?" "What if I don't?" Chen Hao asked. The Grand Marshal slowly replied: "You two are carefree sorts, not seeking treasure to rule a country—I doubt either of you would want that." Feng Yan and Chen Hao nodded; indeed, neither wanted to stay in this palace. Feng Yan then asked the Grand Marshal: "Earlier, the National Master, after beating someone, brought us to tour the Lilliputian Kingdom's residential district—the common folk's living conditions are indescribable, so I won't elaborate; I just ask you, in your country there is a madman—what is his name?" Having said that, the Grand Marshal's face turned deathly pale; seeing this, Feng Yan and Chen Hao were about to ask when the Grand Marshal said: "I am unwell, excuse me." Thus Feng Yan told Chen Hao: "This old thing is deceiving us." "No way, it's just a game NPC—how could it have such high intelligence?" Chen Hao asked. "Be careful," Feng Yan said to Chen Hao: "Let's go to the National Master's residence."

The two arrived at the National Master's residence; the National Master was already waiting outside, seemingly aware of their coming. Upon seeing him, Feng Yan and Chen Hao heard him say directly: "I know what you two wish to ask, but this is not the place to talk—please come to the study for a chat." Having said that, he ordered the servants below not to let anyone enter the study, then told Feng Yan and Chen Hao: "Please." They went together into the study, where Feng Yan asked: "Now you should tell me who that madman is, right?" The National Master sighed and said: "He is the most talented person in the present Lilliputian Kingdom, far surpassing both me and the Grand Marshal in ability." "If so, why not let him govern the state? And what is his name?" Feng Yan asked. The National Master answered: "His name is Feng Shuqing; he is a person of extraordinary talent, and it is precisely because of his extraordinary talent that he went mad." Upon hearing this, Feng Yan felt utterly distressed inside; at that moment Chen Hao pulled Feng Yan aside, saying: "Now is not the time to inquire about that madman; we should ask about the treasure." "Right, right, right, the treasure," Feng Yan said.

They returned to the National Master's side, where Chen Hao directly asked: "We have received the Lilliputian Kingdom treasure map given by the Grand Marshal; could you relate the story behind it?"

"Certainly," the National Master said, "this is precisely why I have been waiting for you all this time."

The National Master's account, events of the Lilliputian Kingdom:

The Dream Continent originally was a whole, each nation being part of the continent; later the continent split, gradually dividing into several different countries. Our neighboring Ju Ren Guo, after the continent's rupture, being too close to the Lilliputian Kingdom, sought to invade our territory. The Lilliputian populace fought bravely, but the giants were strong, their bodies extremely sturdy; our Lilliputian weapons inflicted limited harm on them, and our Lilliputian commanders, troubled for a while and also weary of fighting the giants, were finally slain by the giants in a night ambush amidst the chaotic army.

After the general's death, soldiers scattered in retreat, falling back all the way to the capital. Since the capital was strongly fortified, they remained in a stalemate with the giants, who encamped outside, occupying all territory except the capital, intending to starve us into submission within the capital. The giants cut off our provisions; soon the city fell into famine. The king initially released rations, but the palace's food stores were also limited; after a month, the city's supplies were nearly exhausted. Having no alternative, the soldiers, hungry, opened the gates and charged at the soldiers— because the giants had seized most of the country, they held us in contempt, consequently they suffered defeat; the expeditionary forces were the king's elite troops, yet in this battle the elite units were almost annihilated, while simultaneously repelling the external Ju Ren Guo garrison. The king ordered the giants' corpses hauled into the city; soldiers dismembered the giants' bodies for food, thereby alleviating the capital's grain crisis.

"Since they are so strong, how did the king defeat the giants and recover the lost land?" "Don't digress, continue."

Although the food problem was solved, the giants remained mighty and we could not prevail; when everyone felt despair and believed we could not overcome the strong enemy, a miracle appeared. Our great scholar discovered the giants' fatal weakness— which should be said to be humanity's fatal weakness as well: wounds. When a person is injured, the wound needs to heal; among the giants we killed, some wounds had already become infected, turning into pus, while others could not heal at all. Based on this, we began to extensively use rusted arrowheads, gradually repelling the giants and recovering the lands they had occupied. However, at this point opposition voices arose in the court; he considered this weapon overly cruel and requested its ban and destruction after the war. The ministers fiercely marginalized the official who spoke out, fabricating charges against him; later he was labeled a madman, wandering the country's various places, uttering words no one would understand— perhaps some ministers hearing would feel ashamed, but most of the populace could not comprehend. The king felt sorry for him, gathering news along the way, unwilling to let him die, yet at the same time unable to employ him.

After that incident, the scholar researched a poison and widely applied it in the military; thereafter there was no further opposition at court or among the populace, for they knew the fate of the previous man and all wished to preserve their own lives. Consequently, the weapon once used to defend the nation became a tool for invading other lands— yet Ju Ren Guo proved far stronger than imagined; in the instant of attacking Ju Ren Guo, he realized how weak he was, unable to withstand a single blow. The Ju Ren Guo catapults shattered the nation's vanguard; the scholar who had believed he could smash Ju Ren Guo in one fell swoop was stunned, never expecting that the barbarian nation he deemed primitive possessed such a mighty weapon! Its launch and landing reached distances of several tens of zhang, and even before the vanguard troops reached the city gate they had already lost more than half their number. The scholar gritted his teeth but still ordered a retreat.

The scholar still refused to admit defeat; he devoted himself to research and eventually produced his life's most satisfactory work—the Embroidered Poison Arrow. He had archers carry his written challenge, riding swift horses to beneath the Ju Ren Guo city gate, where they shot the arrows at the gate, and the scholar declared war upon Ju Ren Guo's bravest general! The news spread without delay; he assured his compatriots that he would surely slay their nation's most valiant commander. Meanwhile, the Ju Ren Guo king bestowed upon the general the kingdom's most precious sword from the royal treasury; their great battle was about to begin!

The day was clear, wind brushing the scholar's cheeks, meeting his hair; he lifted his head and saw the Ju Ren Guo general— how chilling! His gaze was like a tiger's, his face weathered by years, appearing somewhat aged, yet his grip revealed immense strength! This made the scholar break into a sweat; as the war drums beat dong-dong, they both understood: "Only one shall live!" They stepped forward together to the center of the arena, exchanged greetings, bowed, clasped fists, and asked: "May we hear your names?" The scholar said: "I am Huang Wu Zhen." The general replied: "Di Fang Jie!" After stating their names, they awaited the referee's gong. Di Fang Jie fixed his stare on Huang Wu Zhen, frightening him into a cold sweat; when the sound rang, Huang Wu Zhen reacted just in time to be struck in the face by Di Fang Jie's flying punch, toppling over heavily and falling flat to the ground. "Good," the crowd below cheered; seeing Huang Wu Zhen rise, he was merely a scholar who had reached his limit; Di Fang Jie saw him stand again, and having not drawn his sword earlier because the enemy was unworthy of staining the kingdom's supreme treasure with blood, he now drew his blade, saying: "The highest respect for an enemy is to let them die without feeling pain— you have already felt pain." Yet his eye caught a flying poison arrow striking his chest; he pulled it out, spat a large mouthful of blood, and taunted Huang Wu Zhen: "No wonder it's Lilliput, no wonder it's a petty person!" Di Fang Jie gripped his sword tight and hurled it at Huang Wu Zhen; the blade pierced his chest, sending Huang Wu Zhen flying backward to slam against the rear wall! Di Fang Jie also expended all his strength, crashing heavily onto the arena's center. The two kings could not remain seated, but were restrained by nearby attendants; the monarchs suppressed their anger, saying: "A splendid match." At that moment, their attendants had already quietly retrieved the weapons from the arena; after the contest ended, each nation took back its own treasure and constructed fortifications, treating them as top state secrets.

Having finished his account, the National Master was understood by Feng Yan, while Chen Hao nodded and said: "So, what do you mean?" They both spoke together. "I hope you two will help find the treasure," the National Master replied. "Why?" "I know you still intend to go to other countries; this sword is Ju Ren Guo's supreme treasure— possessing it brings advantage." "Very well, I'll assist you this once, but we will take nothing else from inside." Having said that, Feng Yan and Chen Hao left the National Master's residence and returned to the relay station.

The National Master watched them depart; the servants asked: "Just let them take it away? That is Ju Ren Guo's supreme treasure!" "One also needs the life to use it," the National Master replied with a sinister smile. The madman continued his crazy wanderings; upon passing the National Master's residence, he unusually spoke normally: "It seems... things have already begun to happen."