Chapter 64: Chapter 64: Lu Mingfei Hidden in the Dragon’s Eyes
Louis said, "Mr. Long, do you find this fun?"
Male dragon: "Fun!"
Louis continued, "I’ve heard that sapphire dragons often produce military experts. How do you view our Go game?"
The male dragon marveled, "Inexhaustibly profound!"
Louis nodded and said, "Before the emperor ascended the throne, the Duke of Argyle’s son was ordered to the Imperial Palace for an audience."
"In spare moments, he was invited by the young emperor, and they played chess together."
"Both being of noble lineage, they were well-acquainted with chess culture, and were equals in their exchanges."
"Additionally, the Duke of Argyle wielded considerable power, with signs of rebellion, and naturally, his son showed little reverence to the emperor, his tone somewhat frivolous."
"Do you know how the emperor handled this matter back then?"
Seeing the gaze of the two ancient dragons turned to him, along with the cloaked men and Royal Guard behind him looking curious.
Louis calmly said, "Though the emperor was young, he was full of vigor and could not bear provocation. He practiced the nine swords from a young age, no less than adults."
"Enraged, the emperor simply stopped playing and smashed the chessboard onto the head of Argyle’s son, with royal chessboards being especially heavy."
"And just like that, Argyle’s son fell into a pool of blood, silent forevermore."
Louis said calmly, "In Go, there are proper moves, brilliant moves, and vulgar moves. If anyone defames the empire’s dignity, we’ll upend the board and show them what it means to ’play dirty’."
The two dragons were both shocked and angered, while the female dragon next to them growled lowly.
The blood of dragons bestowed them great power and glory, even extending their lifespan, yet upon hearing Louis’s declaration, it was as if they heard the footsteps of the Death God.
This wasn’t a story about the emperor; it clearly conveyed the Ense Empire’s attitude on this matter to the two dragons.
More alarming still, at this moment, the two cloaked men behind Louis removed their hoods.
One, with a face of white beard, was the White Robe Mage Gandalf, who had previously interacted with Louis.
The other, clad in armor, just stood there solemn, like a moving city wall.
Louis looked towards Gandalf, somewhat speechlessly, at the heavy sword he carried and said:
"Lord Gandalf, I mentioned ’having a sword and not using it is different from not having one,’ but I didn’t suggest you arm yourself with a heavy sword right away."
Gandalf stroked his beard, complacently saying, "All sorts of strength-enhancing magic on me, a mage in close combat is no less than others."
William hesitated, looked towards the fully-armored knight, and whispered, "Grandpa?"
Louis: ???
Well, well, William, do you have such a family background?
However, Louis had serious matters to attend to.
He looked intensely at the two dragons, realizing they were already holding their tails, seeming ready to flee at the first sign of trouble.
Seeing that his nice-before-nasty approach was effective, he stopped the intimidation and leisurely said:
"Don’t be nervous. As long as you don’t act recklessly, we in Ense are open to good exchanges."
"Playing Go and whatnot is too highbrow. Let’s honestly play Gomoku instead."
— Implying, let’s talk simply and avoid unnecessary complexity. If you want the corpse, what can you offer?
The two dragons exchanged glances, and finally, the female dragon sighed:
"Rightly said. If we need to retrieve our kin’s remains, what price must we pay?"
Louis smiled.
After all this, isn’t the core goal to seize the initiative?
Dragons are very proud creatures.
Don’t be fooled by their current ’so weak’ appearance; they were just scared out of their wits by the emperor back then.
If you really thought these two dragons had no temper, you’d be foolish.
Intuition told Louis, the emperor couldn’t act rashly now.
Otherwise, Beatrice wouldn’t be overseeing the kingdom.
Therefore, unable to guarantee an overwhelming victory against the two dragons, Louis preferred avoiding a real fight.
— Yet at the same time, he couldn’t allow them to seize the initiative.
If they want the remains back, they must pay a price.
As for what price?
We’ll decide!
This is the purpose of the nice-before-nasty approach.
Clearly, now that the two dragons realized humans had no intention of backing down, they finally opted to yield a step.
This time, the eyes of the two dragons no longer held that of lions but contained Lu Mingfei instead.
The thin anger in the male dragon’s eyes eventually turned into deep helplessness:
"Alright, what do you need us to do? But please, not too excessive."
Louis nodded.
Everything went smoothly; next, it would be up to Beatrice to discuss specifics with the dragons.
Huh?
Wait! It’s not entirely her business either.
Louis’s gaze sharpened, scrutinizing the two dragons, making their scalps tingle before he said:
"Mr. Long, Ms. Long, is Go fun?"
The two dragons nodded repeatedly.
Even after being intimidated, their love for Go wasn’t hindered.
For them, this new toy was like a fisherman’s prized catch, a wizard’s favorite card, Yasuo players’ dream combo—
Simply irresistible!
Louis chuckled and said, "I want to give my fiancée a gift. If you don’t mind, I could use some National Master’s game records to exchange for something with you."
He gestured towards the dragon horn on the female dragon, "What would it cost for your dragon horn?"
The two dragons looked at each other.
Turning away, they communicated with their spiritual power.
Male dragon: "Is he trying to intimidate us?"
Female dragon: "Could it be the emperor’s desire?"
Male dragon: "I find it hard to believe; I’ve never heard of the youthful deeds he spoke of from the Dragon Empire."
Female dragon: "Doesn’t it seem like something the emperor would do?"
Male dragon: "... Well, indeed, others doing it might make me doubt, but the emperor is the quintessential strong man."
Female dragon: "That’s settled then. Whether he’s nudging us or genuinely wants a gift, one dragon horn, I’ll give it to him."
Male dragon: "Sorry to trouble you, sigh, it’s all because the king was so reckless back then, making us suffer here."
After some discussion, they turned back to look at Louis and nodded.
The female dragon, with a resolute look in her eyes, directly broke off her horn and handed it to Louis.
Louis gazed intently at the dragon horn, revealing a hint of longing, but ultimately suppressing it.
This was a gift he wanted to give to Beatrice.
...
After arranging to discuss further with the dragons another day, Louis and his companions left the Burning Smoke Mountain Range.
On the way back, the atmosphere among the group lightened considerably.
William, riding nearby, approached Louis out of curiosity and asked:
"Your Highness, was what you said about the emperor true?"
Louis solemnly responded, "Of course..."
William maintained a serious gaze.
"... It couldn’t possibly be true!"
It was just a story he adapted from the tale of Emperor Jing of Han, the Great Han Chess Saint.
Louis rolled his eyes, "I’ve got permission from above to add this spin to the emperor’s tale."
William nodded, believing Louis’s words.
However, Louis didn’t notice that behind him, two elderly men on horseback were whispering to each other.
"How does he know about the old story of the emperor killing Argyle’s son? Wasn’t that hushed up?"
"You’re asking me, how should I know, I’m just an Iron Guard."
"So did the emperor really play Go back then?"
"Who knows? I don’t follow their daily entertainments."
Above, dragons soared high in the sky.
On the ground, the figures of travelers merged with the blood-red sunset.