950 Blackmail (1/2)

Gu Shenwei requested a specific assessment of Pang Jing from the Prime Minister. Zhong Heng took three steps forward, turned around, and retraced his three steps back before saying, ”He's a smart guy.”

”Smart how?”

”The first thing that he did after his inauguration was muddy the water in the pool instead of establishing a good relationship with the 'big fish.' In my opinion, this suggests that he is both very discontented with the current situation and very confident. The Governor of the Western Regions wanted to adjust the balance of power in Jade City, which I figure might be counted as a good thing for the Dragon King.”

Gu Shenwei agreed with the Prime Minister's analysis, but he made no comments on his conclusion. When he walked into the military camp of the Central Plains, followed by a couple of his attendants, he still regarded Pang Jing as someone whose stance was still indeterminate.

The place for the meeting between Pang Jing and the Dragon King was outside the city, which was the result of a private consultation between the two sides. No matter what, it was impossible for the Dragon King to visit him in his Governor's Mansion like Meng Mingshu had, so he could only meet him in the military camp by convention.

Upon seeing the Dragon King, Pang Jing showed that he was no punctilious man. He walked down to the host's seat, hurried to the Dragon King's welcome, and cupped his hands before his chest like a Jianghu kung fu practitioner. ” I've finally met the Dragon King in the flesh. I have traveled thousands of miles in snow to get to Jade City, and it was not in vain. It's a pity that I didn't have the time. Otherwise, I would've galloped to the camp of the Dragon Army and applied to be a soldier of yours, and we wouldn't have had to wait until today to meet each other.”

When someone met Pang Jing for the first time, it was very likely that they would be bewildered by his hospitality. Gu Shenwei had learned this from the intelligence reports, so he had prepared himself for this. ”General Pang is my honored guest from the Central Plains. I've heard of your name before you arrived here. Every paper sent to my desk during the past few days have born the words 'General Pang' on it, so you're not a stranger to me at all.”

Pang Jing burst into laughter, led the Dragon King into the tent arm in arm, and walked him to the guest seat himself. But instead of returning to the host's seat, he stood in front of the Dragon King with a face full of curiosity endemic to young men. If it weren't for the lingering frostbite on his face, he would have looked even younger than the Dragon King.

A couple of generals also performed their duties, inviting the Dragon King's attendants inside.

”It has been only two days that Dragon King has heard my name. When I heard about the Dragon King's legendary deeds over a year ago, I've admired you ever since. So the moment I heard that there was a chance to come to the Western Regions, I volunteered. I don't mean to be presumptuous, but there's a question that I've been meaning to ask you for a long time. Do you really own a living giant roc? Rumor says that it's over dozens of feet tall with a beak as long as a saber, that it's able to blow people a dozen mile away with a single flap of its wings, that it feeds on fresh eyeballs, and that it eats at least a hundred people's eyes during a meal…”

There was an expectant look in Pang Jing's eyes. If the answer was negative, then he would probably would be very disappointed.

Gu Shenwei nodded. ”I do have a giant roc, but it's not over dozens of feet tall. It's just a little taller than a normal human. And it doesn't feed on living people. If it could blow people away with its wings, then it probably wouldn't be able to get any living people to eat.”

”Ha-ha. That's true. Where is it? Can I see it? A glimpse from far away would be enough for me.”

”It's not here, and it's probably not in the Western Regions at all. It comes to me, and I can never call it on command.”

As expected, Pang Jing was very disappointed. He let out a deep sigh. ”I don't have the luck then. If only I could stay with Dragon King, so that sooner or later I would get a chance to see the giant roc.”

Shangguan Fei, who was among the attendants brought here by the Dragon King, emboldened himself into standing up and venturing to interpose with a smile. ”General Pang is interested in the giant roc? A lot of people here once saw it… ”

”You saw it yourself?” Pang Jing twisted his upper body around and asked, as if the Dragon King's description hadn't satisfied his curiosity.

”We all saw it,” Shangguan Fei said as he pointed to Chu Nanping and the other three bodyguards. ”Every time the Dragon King is in danger, that giant roc showed up. It was as if it could communicate with the Dragon King from thousands of mile away via some sort of telepathy.”

”This is not good. With the Dragon King's current strength, who could put him in danger? Won't the giant roc never show up again?”

Shangguan Fei hurriedly corrected himself. ”Not necessarily. The giant roc likes playing too. And it comes to the Dragon King quite often when it has nothing else to do. Right, Little Chu?”

Pang Jing turned to Chu Nanping, sizing up this swordsman who was as pretty as a girl. ”You see the giant roc very often?”

”I used to,” answered Chu Nanping.

”Tell me. What color is it? What does it like? What does its hoot sound like-”

Chu Nanping blandly interrupted Pang Jing. ”The Dragon King is sitting there. I think that he has something more important than the giant roc to say.”

Seeming to have suddenly realized this, Pang Jing bowed to the Dragon King. ”Please pardon me, Dragon King. I was being impertinent.”

”Everybody has their curiosities. The giant roc is divine creature. A lot of people are interested in it.”

”That's true. That's true. Life is short. I mean, how many divine things can we meet in our life? Most people probably won't even hear of any before they die.” Pang Jing still had no intention of going back to the host's seat, as if he was determined to not get down to business. ”Rumor says that the Dragon King has a saber and a sword of divine craftsmanship, and that they shine spontaneously during the night, buzz when enemies approach, and sharpen themselves upon meeting blood. May I ask if I can have the honor of seeing them?”

After hesitating for a brief moment, Gu Shenwei unfastened the Five Peaks Saber and passed it to Pang Jing with both hands. ”This saber was forged by a renowned craftsman in the Western Regions. It's merely sharper than normal sabers. There's nothing special about it.”

But Pang Jing received the Five Peaks Saber with great care, as if it was a rare treasure. Holding the sheath with his left hand, he slowly pulled out the saber with his right hand, moved his eyes close to the blade to carefully appreciate it, and then wielded it. His movement was not bad. Rumors say that he once practiced kung fu. It seemed that that was true.

”It's a good saber.” After quite a while, Pang Jing sheathed the saber and complimented it. Then he returned the weapon to the Dragon King. ”A good saber requires the right owner. This saber is still as sharp as ever. There's not a single sign of it being burnished. Clearly, the Dragon King's been using it in the right way.”

”I'm flattered,” Gu Shenwei responded in a perfunctory manner. This new Governor of the Western Regions admired the Dragon King more than the soldiers did. The better his acting was, the more vigilant the Dragon King became.

”It's said that Dragon King always carries your saber and sword. Where's the sword?”

”I gave it to someone who's better at using a sword than I am.”