Chapter 822
Chapter 822
“Chunhua, I have to go.”
When Shen Lang went to see Zhang Chunhua and told her this, she asked in surprise.
“So soon?”
“The situation is more urgent than I thought. Will you come with me?”
“Follow you? And leave Her Majesty the Queen?”
“Yes.”
“What would I do if I followed you? Become your bed warmer?”
“Become my well of wisdom, my chief steward.”
Zhang Chunhua hesitated for a moment. Shen Lang didn’t tell her that the queen only had a year left to live, nor that the queen had placed her hopes in him.
“Shen Lang, are you going to invade the Great Yan Empire later?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll follow you. But let me make one thing clear. I am not some plaything to simply tumble with in your bed.”
“Then you’ll have to work until you’re so exhausted you spit blood.”
“Will I be spitting blood from both ends?”
‘Ugh. What?’
“Miss Zhang Chunhua, you are the daughter of a loyal duke. In our Eastern dynasties, you are the precious daughter of a scholar-official. In a land beyond the sea, your every word and deed represents the honor of our people and nation. So, shouldn’t you watch your tone and be mindful of your image? Moreover, the man standing before you might become one of the three great emperors of the world, so you must maintain your dignity. Besides, your statement wasn't even accurate. The correct way to put it would be vomiting from above and having diarrhea from below.”
“I’ve been so tormented, running around these past few years. I can only hope I still have any blood left to shed from down below.”
‘No, I can’t take it. This woman is too corrupted.’
“Chunhua, are the scholars from the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion who were captured with you trustworthy?”
“No. Even at the ends of the earth, they would still remain loyal to the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion.”
“I need intelligent people. In the future, we will research various new weapons together, secret weapons. I need a corps I can absolutely trust. Could you perhaps select a few people for me?”
“There is no one who is absolutely trustworthy. But if you were to grant them an honor that surpasses that of the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion, I might be able to persuade some. That is how you can change the perceptions of the young scholars. I could find you thirty or forty such people.”
At the time, Queen Medusa had captured several hundred of them, yet Shen Lang could take so few. What was truly astonishing was that even though they had toiled here for years, tens of thousands of miles from the Eastern world, the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion still exerted such a powerful brainwashing effect on them.
* * *
Yoyo was overjoyed. It was because both her father and mother were now by her side. Until now, Yoyo had spent most of her time in a deep sleep, and even when she awoke, her mother was not there. Shen Lang held the child’s soft, small body and told her a fairy tale. Yoyo listened with intense seriousness, as if engraving every word Shen Lang spoke into her mind. When the fairy tale ended, Yoyo grew a little tired. It was time for her to sleep. Her body was so frail that to do otherwise would harm it. Shen Lang held his child a little tighter.
‘You truly are Daddy’s Snow White.’
“This is a toy Daddy made for you. Of course, it’s probably too simple for our Yoyo.”
Shen Lang spoke in a soft voice and placed the toy in Yoyo’s hands. It was a cube. A very special cube that Shen Lang had stayed up all night making. Of its six faces, the first was her father Shen Lang’s, the second her mother Medusa’s, the third Yoyo’s, the fourth Shen Mi’s, the fifth Shen Ye’s, and the sixth Shen Li’s. Shen Lang had drawn them in such fine detail that every portrait was incredibly lifelike. When the cube was completely scrambled, all the faces were jumbled. Only by solving it could one see the complete faces again.
“Go on, sweetie. Try it.”
Yoyo took the cube and glanced at the jumbled faces. Then, the child began to turn it, and in just thirty seconds, the cube was solved, all six faces complete. Shen Lang was once again astonished by Yoyo’s brilliance.
‘This is my daughter? Sweetie, you’re so much smarter than Daddy.’
He hadn’t taught her any formulas or tricks, yet the child had figured it all out with a single glance. This was beyond what could be described as mere genius. Shen Lang gave her a thumbs-up and said.
“My baby is so smart. The smartest and prettiest little princess in the whole world. I can’t imagine how much your younger siblings will adore you when they meet you.”
Yoyo looked a little triumphant, yet also a little shy, and hid in her father’s embrace. Her large eyes shone with unparalleled happiness. It was a moment as sweet as honey. Shen Lang spoke gently to Yoyo.
“Sweetie, Daddy will come back to get you within a year. And then, Yoyo will never have to be apart from Daddy again. How does that sound?”
Yoyo looked at Shen Lang with her large eyes and, without crying, nodded with a serious expression. The child’s body was incredibly frail, but she possessed a will of steel. Shen Lang held her in his arms again, forcing back the tears that threatened to fall.
“Sweetie, Daddy will absolutely keep his promise to you. Within a year, even if I have to crawl, I will appear before you again. I, Shen Lang, have failed many people, but I will never, ever fail my precious Yoyo.”
Shen Lang repeated the vow in his heart several times, then whispered affectionately.
“There now. Go to sleep, sweetie.”
Yoyo obediently closed her eyes and soon drifted into a sweet sleep, but as if reluctant to part with it, she never loosened her grip on the cube. Shen Lang held her for a long time, and it was only in the middle of the night that he was finally able to lay her on the bed.
“Sweetie, Daddy is leaving now. But I’ll be back to get you soon.”
Shen Lang left Yoyo’s immaculate room. Queen Medusa said to him.
“Even the strongest of people have moments when they melt. That is why humanity is so incredibly fragile.”
“That’s what we call humanity.”
“I, too, have grown weak. So, farewell, future emperor. When you return, I will give Qiu Yao’er back to you.”
After she finished speaking, Queen Medusa turned and walked slowly toward the underground mausoleum of the royal palace. Shen Lang felt a small part of his heart break.
‘Could this be the last time I ever see Queen Medusa from behind? So beautiful and enchanting, it doesn’t seem real. Can only one of them, Qiu Yao’er or Queen Medusa, exist in this world?’
* * *
A couple of hours later, under the cover of darkness, Shen Lang led over two thousand people out of the Queen's City, heading for the eastern sea. A full two days later, the two thousand people arrived at the coast. This region of the sea was extremely remote and filled with reefs. As a result, the fleet of the Seirun Third Empire rarely patrolled these waters. After a three-hour wait, four pirate ships appeared in this dangerous area. Their sailors were masterful, able to navigate the ships past all the reefs.
Shen Lang’s group silently boarded the four pirate ships, then cautiously left the area. They sailed three hundred li due east, then turned south, and finally headed west in the direction of Choseok Island. From beginning to end, Shen Lang made no speeches or grand pronouncements to the assembled people. They simply left the Queen's City in silence, boarded four ships, and set off for an unknown, distant place. Or perhaps, not so distant. The place Shen Lang intended to go was closer than the Great Yan Empire.
As Shen Lang stood on the deck gazing out at the vast ocean, a person stood silently beside him. It was the pirate leader, Black Pearl. Why had she followed Shen Lang?
From Shen Lang’s side, Black Pearl quietly began to speak.
“I am from the Goru-dang pirates. I was still a child when they left. Our Goru-dang pirates roamed the entire world unopposed; everyone bowed before the sharp points of our blades. Dukes and princes alike begged for our protection. Not a day has passed that I haven’t thought of finding them. I want to find my parents, find the Goru-dang. Her Majesty the Queen made me a promise. She said that even if she couldn’t find them herself, she would have someone else do it for me. And then you appeared. Can you find them?”
Black Pearl looked at Shen Lang and asked.
“As long as they are alive, I can find them.”
“Then I will lay down my life for you.”
* * *
“We are the outcasts from the nation of the Amazon Queen. We are their ‘shame.’ We fight with such desperation because we want to prove to the Amazon Queen that a person’s strength lies not just in their body, but in their will.”
The five hundred members of the Roland Knights left with Shen Lang to forge a new city. Their leader’s name was Meng Roland. Meng was her given name, and Roland was her family name. She was an incredibly strong warrior-woman, second in power only to their general. Meng Roland said.
“Queen Medusa saved our clan, so we will obey her every command. No matter where you tell us to go, or who you tell us to fight, we will never back down. However, we have one request for you.”
“Speak.”
“When we die, please scatter our ashes in the sea near the Amazon Queendom. We cannot return to our homeland, in life or in death, but we wish to at least be closer to our ancestors.”
Shen Lang looked at this giant of a woman, then nodded seriously. His heart ached. The Roland clan had been exiled from the Amazon Queendom for not being strong enough, a fact that had left a tremendous scar on their hearts. During the battle with Duke Russell at the Queen's City, Shen Lang had noticed that the bravery of the Roland Knights was abnormal. Like martyrs, they not only did not fear death, but seemed to welcome it. They acted as if only by dying on the battlefield could they prove they were true Amazon warriors who had not disgraced the glory of their ancestors.
* * *
A clever and handsome middle-aged man stood before Shen Lang. He was Lan Feng, leader of the Eastern Knights.
“You have an older brother named Lan Dao, do you not?”
Lan Feng replied in surprise.
“That is correct. But I had a falling out with him some time ago.”
Shen Lang didn’t ask why he had become estranged from Lan Dao. It was likely due to a difference in their ideologies.
“Grandmaster Lan Dao was a dear friend to me, despite our age difference.”
“His ‘bosom friends’ are all over the world. Young Master Shen, do not be deceived by his fervor. He likely has countless ‘dear friends’ just like you.”
Lan Feng’s words were filled with scorn. He had probably left the Great Yan Empire a long time ago and still thought of Lan Dao as the great master with a world-renowned reputation and countless disciples. Shen Lang simply smiled and offered no explanation.
“Young Master Shen, there is something I must tell you. Our Eastern Warrior Corps fled the Great Yan Dynasty a very long time ago. Therefore, our identities must not be revealed. Because we are… the remnants of Prince Jiang Li’s forces. By employing us, you will completely antagonize the Great Yan Empire. Are you certain you wish to use us? Do you have the courage?”
So it was true. After Prince Jiang Li’s sudden death, many of his followers were killed, while some fled. A very small number escaped beyond the sea, and Lan Feng’s Eastern Warrior Corps were all soldiers of the Great Qian Empire. Shen Lang shrugged and said.
“General Lan Feng, you’re telling me this too late. I’m already a man so thoroughly hated by the Great Yan Empire that they want me dead.”
“Then very well. For the rest of my life, I will follow Young Master Shen and work tirelessly. Queen Medusa saved our lives, so her will is the path we shall follow.”