Chapter 295
Chapter 295
The Qiang King’s eyes narrowed, his gaze as sharp as sword intent, as if it could pierce a man.
“So you admit it. Good. Then I can keep my promise to the Snow-Clad Divine Maiden. I won't kill you, but you must make a choice!”
At the Qiang King’s gesture, two men were dragged forward. One was Huang Feng, the other Shen Shisan—both were Shen Lang’s personal guards.
“You have infuriated me, but I promised the Snow-Clad Divine Maiden I would not kill you! However, if I don't kill someone, I cannot vent the hatred in my heart. Choose which of your two subordinates will live. I will have the other one flayed, his tendons pulled, minced into pieces, and fed to the dogs!”
The Qiang King’s words were filled with absolute resolve. If he said he would kill, he would kill. At that moment, Shen Shisan and Huang Feng spoke in unison.
“Kill me! Kill me!”
It was clear these two were a perfect match. Shen Shisan said,
“Master, kill me and let Huang Feng live! It has been my honor to serve you loyally for half a year. I will die a glorious death!”
Huang Feng also said,
“Kill me. I never wanted to stay by your side anyway. Tell the Qiang King to kill me and feed me to the dogs. I want to rest.”
These two truly cared for each other.
The Qiang King said coldly, “Choose one, quickly. Or I’ll kill them both and feed them to the dogs. Three, two, one!”
The Qiang King began a swift countdown. Shen Lang replied,
“I choose not to kill either of them!”
Hearing this, the Qiang King burst into laughter.
“Then I’ll kill them both! Men, take Shen Lang’s two dogs, kill them, chop them into fine pieces, and feed them to some real dogs!”
Shen Shisan and Huang Feng were about to be dragged away to be flayed and have their tendons pulled. Just then, Shen Lang shouted,
“Your Majesty, I wish to offer a treasure in exchange for the lives of my two subordinates.”
The Qiang King said dismissively, “What treasure does my Qiang Kingdom lack? Do you think I would even glance at your trinkets?”
This was no lie. The Qiang Kingdom was extremely poor, but thanks to the Qiang King’s plundering and extortion, he had amassed a considerable collection of treasures. Moreover, the Su Clan constantly pandered to him, presenting him with any new treasure they acquired. As a result, King Arogan of Qiang had developed a discerning eye and paid no mind to ordinary treasures.
“Big Dummy, bring it in.”
At Shen Lang's command, Big Dummy entered carrying a large box. From the way he held it, it seemed quite heavy. The Qiang King was thoroughly unimpressed.
‘Even if that box were filled with gold, I wouldn't be interested.’
“Your Majesty, please take a look.”
As if performing a ritual, Shen Lang pulled back the cloth covering. The Qiang King was slightly taken aback.
‘It is indeed a precious treasure. To think there is jadeite this large. And is this not water-grade jadeite?’
Jadeite was a natural gemstone, and the highest grade was glass-grade. But since the word ‘glass’ did not exist in this world, it too was called water-grade. It was a grade higher than ice-grade. Typically, a piece of glass-grade jadeite the size of a fist was considered a great treasure. While jadeite wasn't considered particularly valuable in ancient times, in later generations, it was regarded as the king of jades. Thus, whether in ancient China or the Great Yan Dynasty, jadeite was a rare and precious stone.
The Qiang King’s treasury contained dozens of jadeite ornaments, most of them top-quality. Yet the large piece of jadeite Shen Lang presented stood a meter tall, flawlessly transparent, and could be considered the highest quality water-grade jadeite. The value of this piece was immeasurable. The Qiang King had never seen such a large piece of jadeite in his life. Most importantly, it was carved in his own likeness—majestic and domineering. While not a perfect resemblance, it vividly captured his commanding presence, making it a truly rare treasure.
Where could he have found such a massive piece of jadeite? Of course, Shen Lang hadn't found it. That was because... it was glass. If not for the craftsman's limited skill, he could have even produced a two-meter-tall glass statue.
The Qiang King was genuinely moved. To have himself carved from such a large piece of jadeite—it was a rare and precious treasure indeed. Feigning indifference, the Qiang King said,
“Your treasure is decent enough. But it can only save one life. Choose who lives. The other will be minced and fed to the dogs.”
Damn, he was no better than a common ruffian. Compared to the Qiang King, King Ning Yuanxian was a humble gentleman. This man was barbaric and unreasonable. He truly acted on his whims, treating others as less than human with an attitude of, ‘As long as I’m happy, what do I care about you worthless dogs?’
Shen Lang said, “Your Majesty, there is more to this treasure than meets the eye. Please, look at it again in a dark place.”
Following his words, Big Dummy moved the giant glass statue into a darkened room. In that instant, the Qiang King was completely captivated. The statue emitted a brilliant light, drawing the eye even in the darkness. Luminous pearls had been exceedingly rare treasures since ancient times, and the Qiang King had several in his treasury. But even the largest luminous pearl was no bigger than a child’s fist.
Yet this three-foot-tall jadeite statue actually glowed. It was truly astonishing. This was an incredibly valuable treasure of immense worth. It was so rare that it could be considered the finest among all the precious items in his treasury. The Qiang King was overjoyed.
“Very well. I will not kill the two of them.”
The Qiang King waved his hand magnanimously as if bestowing a great favor, and Shen Shisan and Huang Feng were released. His attitude was exactly that of a bandit. One moment he was about to capture and kill two men, but the next, upon receiving a hefty sum, he released them, acting as if he were granting a great mercy in the exchange. Of course, such behavior was expected of a criminal, but you were the king of a nation. No wonder neither the Chu nor Yue states wished to have dealings with you. You were a complete scoundrel.
“Men, move this jadeite statue to my treasury. In a few months, I must display my treasures!”
Besides plundering, killing, and sleeping with women, the Qiang King also loved to show off. Thus, whenever he acquired a valuable treasure, he had to gather the chieftains of all the tribes to display it. But how did this glass statue glow? A layer of fluorescent powder had been coated on its surface. Having just absorbed enough sunlight outside, it could now glow in the dark. There was no need to worry about it losing its light once placed in the treasury. The Qiang King's treasury was always brightly lit with lamps, so it could be viewed at any time without issue.
Whenever the Qiang King was bored, he would go into his treasury and gaze at his plunder. Every treasure was a trophy, a testament to his glory. Of course, there were substances that could glow in the dark without absorbing light, but those were radioactive isotopes. Shen Lang couldn't handle such materials and had no intention of touching them. If he knew how, he could have used them to harm the Qiang King in a much more subtle way.
Shen Lang continued, “Your Majesty, I would like to present the second gift.”
“Yes, bring it forth.”
Shen Lang opened a wooden box, revealing a familiar item inside: a cigarette. He first took one out, placed it between his lips, lit it, and took a deep drag.
“Hooo...”
A thick cloud of smoke billowed out. To be honest, it wasn't pleasant at all, but Shen Lang acted as if it were the most satisfying thing in the world. His performance was good enough for a tobacco advertisement. In his past life, Shen Lang had been a chain smoker, but in this life, he hadn't touched a single one, nor was tobacco readily available. This tobacco had been brought from the West by the Sky-Sea Pavilion. At this time, the people of the Western Regions were just learning to smoke, treating tobacco as a type of incense to be burned and smelled. The Qiang King picked up a cigarette, sniffed it, and said dismissively,
“Isn't this Niko-grass? You call this a treasure?”
In the Western Regions at that time, tobacco was called Niko-grass. The Qiang Kingdom also had some Niko-grass plundered from the West, which the Qiang King was quite fond of. Every night, he would burn a basin of it to help him sleep. He seemed to be somewhat addicted. To his already addicted eyes, the sight of Shen Lang inhaling the smoke from the paper-rolled Niko-grass was endlessly fascinating.
Shen Lang had learned of the Qiang King’s fondness for Niko-grass through the Sky-Sea Pavilion and had prepared these cigarettes in advance. Not only that, but a few of the cigarettes contained a very special ingredient. However, the Qiang King was extremely suspicious and would never smoke them until it was proven that the Niko-grass Shen Lang had prepared was not poisoned.
“Your Majesty, this Niko-grass is completely different from the one from the Western Regions. After smoking this, my mind has become clear, and all my ailments have been cured.”
The Qiang King sniffed it and found it more fragrant than the Niko-grass from the West. How could it not be, with all the spices Shen Lang had added? A desire to try it welled up within the Qiang King, but in the end, he refrained.
“Put it away.”
At the Qiang King’s command, his subordinates collected all the large boxes of cigarettes.
Let this be stated clearly. Why had Shen Lang come to the Qiang Kingdom on a diplomatic mission? Was it solely to secure the title of Marquis of Xuanwu for his father-in-law? Of course not. To be precise, it was to destroy the Su Clan. When Shen Lang was in Xuanwu City, the Jin Clan had laid out a strategic plan to escape their immediate crisis and secure long-term stability. The first step was the Gold Mountain Island dispute, the second was the Golden Island's Despair Isle strategy, and the third was the strategy of seizing Raging Tide City to become a king across the sea. All these steps had been successful.
Now, to eliminate the Su Clan, Shen Lang had formulated another four-step strategy. First step: the conspiracy to push the Qiang people to burn the temple. Second step: Shen Lang’s diplomatic mission to the Qiang Kingdom. Third step: to become the standard-bearer for the New Policies in place of Zhang Chong and turn the blade of the New Policies against the Su Clan. Fourth step: a two-pronged attack from the east and west to utterly crush the Su Clan and completely annihilate them. All these steps were interlinked.
It had been repeatedly said that to eliminate the Su Clan, the Qiang Kingdom must be used. So, what was Shen Lang's purpose in coming to the Qiang Kingdom? It was to assassinate the Qiang King. Not immediately, but on a specific day in the future. That was an incredibly difficult task. Assassinating the god-of-war-like Qiang King was already a monumental challenge, let alone setting a specific date for it. But setting that aside, Shen Lang was planning to save the Qiang Kingdom. To become its savior!
* * *
With the gifts presented, all that remained was the main topic. Shen Lang said to him,
“Your Majesty, I am highly skilled in the art of medicine. The smallpox epidemic is currently raging in the Qiang Kingdom, and countless people are dying every day. Heaven holds the virtue of cherishing all life. In honor of that virtue, I wish to offer my humble assistance to Your Majesty and save the people of the Qiang Kingdom from the clutches of the god of death.”