Chapter 206: The Imperial Banquet
Translator: StackThatCoin Editor: Hitesh
"Hold on, you little rascal! So, you really can recognize that treasure! No wonder you straightaway swallowed the Innate Earth Element Energy that day, not giving me any chance to do anything!" cried Zhang Yi as he looked at Wu Qi irritatingly. He gave a cold laugh and continued, "Fine, fine! Fortunately, His Majesty had prepared for this. Before I left, His Majesty had ordered me to kill you and seize back the Black Dragon Spirit Ring whenever the situation permitted. But if I am unable to do so, then he gave me this precious treasure in exchange for the Queen's remains."
While laughing coldly, Zhang Yi flipped his palm. Suddenly, an eight colored stream of bright light burst out from his palm and landed right in the center of the house.
A hazy glow enveloped the entire house. It was a chariot drawn by eight gallant horses, its shape magnificent and ancient, made from some unknown material which was neither gold, jade, iron, nor rock, yet glinting brilliantly. It was emanating myriad glows of the sun, moon, and stars, and was slowly emerging amidst the hazy glow.
The eight gallant horses only stood three feet tall. They were lively fashioned, like eight real horses that were running wildly, mighty and formidable.
The design of the chariot itself was ancient and delicate, measuring about six feet in both width and length. There was a large umbrella mounted above the chariot, with strings of jade and pearls hanging down from the edge. Unknown layers of hazy glow had enshrouded the entire chariot, whirling slowly and ceaselessly, containing countless defensive mechanisms. Upon looking at them, defensive mechanisms as thick as huckleberries could be seen flashing and dimming like shooting stars. It made Wu Qi's eyes hurt on looking at them, and he could not find out exactly how many layers of defensive mechanisms were there.
A vast, endless, ancient, and majestic aura came caressing everyone's face, as if there was a lofty and mighty King of Gods standing before them, waiting to be worshiped. Vaguely, cheering of people sounded like the crumbling of mountains and draining of oceans, as if there were millions upon millions of people worshiping and cheering towards the chariot. A tremendous force of belief was winding around it, so enormous that it simply struck awe into the mind of those looking at it. Wu Qi sent out his divine will and lightly touched the force of belief, but it immediately gave him a feeling that his soul was about to be crushed into pieces.
"Zhang Yi, what are you doing? What is this thing?" cried Su Qin as he nearly jumped right out of his skin.
This chariot was extraordinarily amazing. Judging from its ancient design, its vast and unparalleled aura, the countless defensive mechanisms amidst the hazy glow and the enormous force of will, along with the vague cheering of people, it was an Item of Virtue that once belonged to a great emperor. Only an emperor who possessed an incredible overall strength and had achieved an immeasurable virtue could own such an Item of Virtue.
Zhang Yi let out a cold laugh, turned looking at Wu Qi and said, "This is the Chariot of Eight Horses of King Mu[1]. Of course, I'm sure if you know who King Mu is, the Son of Heaven, and have no idea what kind of extraordinary treasure this chariot is. All in all, this is an Item of Virtue that His Majesty considered valuable and collected appropriately. It has a vast power and could travel really fast. There is rarely any man or thing under the heaven that can catch up with its speed. I'm now using this extraordinary treasure in exchange for the Queen's remains. Will you accept it or not?"
"To be honest with you, the flying sword of Snow Glaze is just a tool to fool you. If you could be fooled, that would great, and if not, I would use this Chariot of Eight Horses to exchange with you. Since you are fairly knowledgeable, then you should know about the Item of Virtue used by ancient kings and emperors. Haha, compared to it, the lower-grade Spirit Item is just rubbish! Hahaha!" said Zhang Yi while staring coldly at Wu Qi.
Wu Qi rested his eyes on the chariot greedily. How could he not know about King Mu of Zhou, the Son of Heaven? How could he not know about the eight gallant horses of King Mu?
According to the legend, he was the Son of Heaven, who once traveled 90,000 kilometers to the west and visited the Kunlun Mountains, having a meeting with the Queen Mother of the West, an ancient deity. The chariot he rode during the journey was drawn by eight gallant Heavenly Horses, each having a different name.
Juedi, who galloped without touching the ground.
Fanyu, who ran faster than birds.
Benxiao, who went especially fast at night.
Chaoying, who went as fast as the shadow of the sun.
Yuhui, who was especially well-groomed with a splendid mane.
Chaoguang, who ran so fast that one could see a row of ten images of him. Benwu, who rode on a cloud
Fuyu, who had wings.
They were eight mighty horses who gained their reputation in the history, and their names had become a complete fairy tale.
King Mu of Zhou, the Son of Heaven, was the most mysterious king of all time, and the king who had the closest relationship with deities. All his records and legends were a book of fairy tales, and not a mere historical record. If this Chariot of Eight Horses really belonged to King Mu, then all those myths and legends concerning him should be real.
"I'll accept it! Only an idiot will reject this offer! Look at the size, look at the shape, look at the fine gloss! Tsk! Tsk! Only an idiot would reject this extraordinary treasure!" Wu Qi let out a few wild laughs, then pulled out the black box and casually threw it over to Zhang Yi. After that, he placed the chariot into the Black Dragon Spirit Ring without the slightest hesitation.
Without even thinking twice, only those who possessed the aura of a Human Emperor or had formidable overall strength could have driven an Item of Virtue used by the ancient king. Wu Qi was just an ordinary person. He was vulgar, and possessed an aura of a hooligan and bandit. As for the aura of a Human Emperor? Perhaps he could never have it! Currently, he had not even attained the cultivation base of Heaven Immortal, let alone driving this extraordinary treasure. However, Wu Qi had no worry at all, as he had the Scroll of Stealing, and controlling a mere Item of Virtue was just a piece of cake for him!
If it were some other powerful Innate Magical Treasure or Immortal Item, which required a very strong cultivation base to control, Wu Qi would have become clueless about how to use it. But as it was an Item of Virtue, although it seemed very tough to control, it was instead the easiest treasure to get hold of. After placing the Chariot of Eight Horses into the ring, Wu Qi's face was melting into a smile.
Zhang Yi took over the black box and gave Wu Qi a deep look, nodding his head and said, "Alright now, I've handed you the Chariot of Eight Horses. Take good care of it, and the Black Dragon Spirit Ring as well. When the mighty army of Great Qin treads through the very heart of Ji City, you will have to return these items back to us. As per what His Majesty has said, these treasures are temporarily under your custody. Take care of yourself."
"Junior brother, you have no respect for your senior brother by saying so. Why can't it be the mighty army of Great Yan treading through the heart of Xian Yang?" said Su Qin while sneering.
Zhang Yi gave Su Qin a look, smiled and said, "Senior brother, why don't we have a bet?"
That intrigued Su Qin immediately, as he began rubbing his palms and was about to discuss the bet with Zhang Yi. But suddenly came the cold voice of Wu Qi from the side, "When the mighty army of Great Qin treads through the heart of Ji City, I'll definitely find a remote and deserted drain that located in the depth of a mountain, and throw the Black Dragon Spirit Ring in it, so that it will never see the light of the day again. After that, I'll cut my own throat and enter the reincarnation. Let's see if you are able to find the Chariot of Eight Horses or not."
Both Zhang Yi and Li Xin were stunned by Wu Qi's words, while Su Qin stared blankly at him for some while, before holding his stomach and bursting out into a crazy laughter. "Junior brother, oh junior brother, how could you forget this. The most difficult people to deal with under the heaven are not emperors, ministers, or heroes, but the little hooligans and rascals such as this. Hahaha! I have a sudden feeling, that one day, Ying Zheng will suffer greatly, and meet with a heavy loss because of this little kid. Do you believe me?"
Zhang Yi's lips twitched, spun and rushed out from the house while cursing under his breath. In a blink of an eye, he had disappeared without any trace.
Li Xin became petrified for a brief moment, then he shook his head and gave the pot of dog meat a look, before quickly chasing behind Zhang Yi. He transformed into a sword beam and flew away.
Wu Qi and Su Qin looked at each other and smiled. They cast aside what happened just now and squatted beside the fire pit, fishing out one piece of well-cooked dog meat each and munching away happily. The cold wind was howling outside the house, yet it was steaming hot inside. The fragrance of the meat filled every inch of the air, while a few jugs of fine wine were by their side. That was the joy of life, and nothing could have been better. Both men had totally forgotten their status and age, toasting at each other and cracking jokes like a pair of friends who had known each other for years. In the end, they finished all the meat of one whole black dog to their heart's content. The way Su Qin ate was particularly ugly, as he did not let go of even the last drop of soup in the pot, and nearly stuck out his tongue to lick the bottom of the pot.
"Although that young lad, Li Xin, is not good in fighting a war, and his ability to shoot arrows at someone from behind is the only thing that is worth mentioning, I never expected that he could cook a good pot of dog meat!" After having a good long drink of wine and a hearty meal, Su Qin laid on his back on the hides while disregarding his image, placed his hands on his stomach and kept burping. Wu Qi too was lying on the hides with one leg placed on top of the other, humming a little tune and thinking about the story of Ying Zheng and his Queen.
However, before long, the leisurely moment was rudely distracted by a loud and sonorous ringing of bells that came from Ji City. The banquet that was thrown at the Imperial Palace of Great Yan had begun. Left with no choice, Su Qin and Wu Qi placed their arms around their bloated stomachs and jumped on their flying swords at the backyard, quickly flying towards the city. While on their way, both men took the time to change their clothes. When they finally descended and landed before the front gate of Imperial Palace, they were already in the Imperial Outfit of Great Yan Dynasty.
Numerous influential members and ministers of Great Yan Dynasty were lining up in neat rows of parade and walking into the Imperial City. Su Qin and Wu Qi wormed through the crowd and found their friends respectively. Surprisingly, Su Qin was most intimate with a group of scholars and old misters from the Editorial School of Great Yan. He blended himself into the group of old men and quickly disappeared amidst the crowd. Meanwhile, Wu Qi also found Lu Chengfeng. Both men exchanged a glance, informing each other that everything was fine. After that, they followed the parade and walked into the palace.
During the first time when Wu Qi was attending the Imperial Banquet, he was able to enter the grand hall that hosted the top men of Great Yan Dynasty with the status of Lu Chengfeng's retinue. But today, he was one of the nobles in Great Yan Dynasty who owned the title of Duke, and he got himself a table right next to Lu Chengfeng.
Yan Dan and the other men had not yet arrived. Wu Qi threw his glance over at the far end of the hall, at the three-layered dais. He was surprised to find an extra five luxurious tables on the topmost layer of the dais, each inlaid with gold and jades. Behind these tables were placed large and spacious armchairs made from white jade, and blanketed with a thick layer of demon beast fur. In addition to that, at the position next to Yan Dan's table, another few ancient looking tables were being placed as well.
When there was an Imperial Banquet, for those who attended it, regardless he was the emperor or of any other status, each one of them would sit on their knees behind the table. This was Great Yan's custom. Thus, by having five armchairs behind the tables was a total contradiction to Great Yan's tradition. No one seemed to know for whom were they prepared.
Meanwhile, on the second layer of the dais, where only five tables for Jing Ke and a few other men used to be placed, over thirty beautifully designed tables could be seen now. A group of imperial maids and eunuchs were bustling around these newly added tables. A few stout and strong eunuchs were seen panting and sweating while carrying raw pigs and lambs that were cut into large pieces, placing them carefully on these tables.
Those were raw pigs and lambs, and their fresh blood was dripping endlessly. Wu Qi's eyes went wide as he stared at these large pieces of raw meat. He could not help himself but cry with his face aghast, "Could there be someone who eats animals flesh raw and drinks their blood attending the banquet today? Why is raw meat being served?"
All the other people in the hall had also noticed the unusual situation on the dais, each looking at the raw meat with shock in their eyes. A bizarre atmosphere enveloped the entire hall. Some influential members and ministers were looking around anxiously, especially those ministers who had placed their bet on the drill ground today morning, who chose to stand opposite Jing Ke and Gao Jianli. Their faces were deadly pale, and their bodies were shivering from head to toe.
There were also some ministers whose faces looked pitiful, and kept staring at the Eight Governing Princes, including Prince of Ren, Yan Xianchen, who sat at the foremost of all the ministers.
However, even Yan Xianchen himself was wearing a very unsightly expression. How could he have the mood to pay attention to these companies of his?
The duel of the drill ground, a single bet, had totally exposed the distribution of power in the Imperial Court of Great Yan Dynasty. Many people had a foreboding that a raging storm was approaching.
Wu Qi ran his eyes through the faces of those ministers, then suddenly saw Yu Wende and Yu Qianqian, sitting next to each other behind two tables opposite to him. They were chatting in low voices while wearing strange smiles on their face.
Their smiles made Wu Qi feel really, really strange.
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[1] King Mu - Better known as King Mu of Zhou, the fifth king of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty. The dates of his reign are 976-922 BC or 856-918BC. (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Mu_of_Zhou)