Chapter 338: Golden Dragon Protection
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Two huge bed crossbows were quietly placed on the open ground, with over two hundred strong men standing in line beside them. There were also two exceptionally tall men holding giant axes standing by the trigger. When Mingzhu and the others approached, everyone knelt down in unison to pay their respects. Yuwen Chu stood with one hand behind his back and the other slightly raised, saying, “Rise. Proceed as usual.” His expression was calm and imposing, without anger but with authority.
Mingzhu watched with envy. This was another side of Yuwen Chu.
Ban Jian climbed up to a temporary platform nearby and handed a small flag to Yuwen Chu. Seeing that the bed crossbow operators and the winch operators were all in position, he said, “Your Highness, everything is ready, waiting for your command.”
Yuwen Chu raised the flag and waved it vigorously. The man holding the giant axe let out a loud roar, swung the axe to operate the trigger, and with a loud whoosh, the giant arrows shot out like meteors towards the distance. Not long after, a loud rumbling sound came, and the cliff used for the experiment collapsed, raising a cloud of dust into the air.
Yuwen Chu watched the flying dust in the distance for a long time without saying a word. Mingzhu clenched her fists. It was this thing that caused the Fu family so much misery. Now, it was finally in their hands!
“Your Highness, I personally inspected it just now. The range is indeed up to a thousand steps!” Jing Song walked up with a serious expression to report, unable to hide his joy and satisfaction in his tone. “Congratulations, Your Highness, on obtaining this divine weapon!”
Yuwen Chu finally showed a faint smile. “Everyone has worked hard. Butcher sheep and slaughter pigs, with enough meat and rice to eat. No one is allowed to drink alcohol. Anyone who violates this order will be executed!”
Jing Song happily went down to give orders, and Yuwen Chu turned to look at Mingzhu and Fu Mingzheng standing nearby. “Do you want to go see the other side of the earthen wall?”
Mingzhu couldn’t be happier. “Of course. After spending so much effort and money, we should take a careful look.”
Yuwen Chu glanced at her and said nothing more, instead making a gesture of invitation towards Fu Mingzheng. “Fourth Brother-in-law, please.”
Fu Mingzheng, unusually solemn and serious, also returned the gesture with a bow. “Your Highness, please go ahead.”
Mingzhu watched on the side, wondering when these two who were accustomed to speaking with double meanings would finally stop being so polite to each other. Unexpectedly, Yuwen Chu didn’t insist on being humble anymore. He nodded to Fu Mingzheng and directly walked up to her, taking her hand and leading her down to the platform.
The towering cliff, shaken by the tremor, collapsed with a large pile of rocks and soil, interspersed with many bushes and weeds. Yuwen Chu stopped them about fifteen feet away from it and forbade them from going any further. Ban Jian explained on the side, “We conducted experiments here twice before, plus this time makes three times in total. The mountain has already loosened, it’s not safe to go further, otherwise, a sudden collapse would be fatal.”
Yuwen Chu asked, “Did you have this much collapse of soil and rocks when you first fired?”
Ban Jian knew he was suspecting that the power of this bed crossbow wasn’t as great, so he quickly said, “Certainly not the first time, but it was still frightening. Your Highness, please look at the color of this soil layer, divided into three layers of dryness and wetness, the bottom layer is from the first time.”
Yuwen Chu then looked at Fu Mingzheng. “Fourth Brother-in-law, are you willing to go with me to check? After all, this matter concerns the lives of millions on the battlefield, we can’t be careless.”
Fu Mingzheng showed a hint of pride, smiling faintly. “If Your Highness, with your invincible body, has no fear, how could I?” With that, he took the lead and strode forward.
Yuwen Chu smiled and followed suit, walking briskly.
Why didn’t anyone ask her opinion? Mingzhu couldn’t help but shout, “Are you all idiots? Don’t you know that the soil and rocks there are loose and could collapse at any moment?”
Fu Mingzheng ignored her, lips tightly pursed, eyes determined as he moved forward boldly. Yuwen Chu, on the other hand, stopped and waved at her with a smile before turning back and continuing forward.
Mingzhu stomped her foot in frustration, wanting to move forward but also afraid to. She wished she could grab those two foolish men back. She couldn’t understand what these two were trying to prove. Were they competing to see who was braver, or who was more foolish? So she could only shout, “Hurry up and come back!”
Ban Jian didn’t dare to go forward either, squatting next to her and saying softly, “Wangye is a good man, and Fourth Master is also a good man. You see, everyone thinks they’re real heroes, admiring them so much.”
She didn’t understand the world of men. Mingzhu worried about the safety of those two men and said impatiently, “If you want to be a hero, I won’t stop you.”
“Are you kidding? How can a genius like me risk his life recklessly? I’m not like Your Highness. He has the protection of the Golden Dragon, and ordinary injuries can’t harm him. Nor am I as clever as Fourth Master, agile in body and mind…” Ban Jian prattled on, “This place is really boring, birds don’t lay eggs, and there are no people to be seen, but the most annoying thing is there’s no alcohol. Oh, right, did you bring me some good alcohol?”
Mingzhu listened attentively and immediately seized the keyword “Golden Dragon Protection.” She said immediately, “Of course! I’ll have someone bring it to you later. But first, tell me, why did you say that His Highness has the protection of the Golden Dragon and is impervious to ordinary injuries?”
Ban Jian looked at her strangely. “Don’t you know? You actually don’t know?”
Mingzhu kicked him lightly. “Why would I definitely know? Just tell me!”
“You’re his wife, you should know better than anyone else.” Ban Jian wanted to continue, but Mingzhu kicked him in the ankle, so he had to point to the group of strong bed crossbowmen in the distance. “Well, they said that, privately, they all say that Ying Wang has nine golden dragons protecting him. Ordinary poisons and weapons can’t harm him… And they all respect Ying Wang privately. That day, someone in our mansion accidentally said the wrong thing. He didn’t mean it, but it sounded like a joke about Ying Wang, and he was almost killed. Luckily, the leader was clever and managed to suppress the matter, so it ended peacefully.”
Mingzhu shivered. Nine golden dragons protecting him, impervious to ordinary poisons and weapons… This sounded ominous. Even if those who could participate in building and testing the crossbow were trustworthy loyalists and confidants, this was too much. This Yuwen Chu was becoming more and more different from the one she thought he was.
Mingzhu looked worriedly into the distance, where Yuwen Chu and Fu Mingzheng had already reached the foot of the mountain. The two of them were enthusiastically inspecting and discussing, exchanging a few words before turning back. They were laughing and chatting all the way, and Yuwen Chu even affectionately patted Fu Mingzheng on the shoulder. Even from that far away, she could see the triumphant and spirited expression on Yuwen Chu’s face, and Fu Mingzheng was also quite pleased.
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