Xu Ziming gripped the sword sheath, silently praying: "Gods and immortals, please bless me! Please, bless me! I really did use all my strength!"
Watching from the side, Qiuqiu pushed a wisp of spiritual energy from her palm to Xu Ziming.
Xu Ziming suddenly felt his whole body filled with power.
Xu Ziming shouted and picked up the sword sheath with one hand.
Everyone stared in astonishment, their mouths agape.
They all witnessed it firsthand: the scabbard was carried in by twenty strong men.
Envoy Zhu was yawning, thinking Xu Ziming couldn't possibly lift it. But to his astonishment! He actually picked it up. And with one hand!
Envoy Zhu: "Impossible! This is impossible! Are you cheating?"
The Emperor smiled, a smile he hadn't shown in a long time, and said, "Envoy Zhu, you are inferior in skill, so why are you slandering others?"
The ministers attending the banquet all criticized Zhu's envoy: "Yes! How can they slander people? It's obvious that the people of their Great Silver Kingdom are physically weak, yet they say that about us. It's truly laughable."
"Exactly. I never imagined the people of the Great Silver Kingdom were so weak. Perhaps next time we go to war, they'll be utterly defeated as soon as our troops are deployed. Hahaha!"
Envoy Zhu finally lost face and kept saying, "How is that possible? Did you change the sword sheaths?"
Xu Ziming: "Envoy Zhu, may I ask how I changed the sword sheath when it was in full view of everyone and hadn't left the spot for a moment?"
Envoy Zhu declared confidently, "Very well! Whether it has been replaced or not, we'll know once we try."
Envoy Zhu glanced at the person next to him.
His men ordered the twenty burly men from before to come forward.
A burly man said, "I can also lift it with one hand!"
Xu Ziming gestured for him to proceed.
[My uncle is such a gentleman. Looks like this burly man is about to make a fool of himself.]
The burly man held the sword sheath with one hand, but the sheath remained completely still.
The ministers around him were all laughing at him.
Envoy Zhu waved his hand again, and two more burly men stepped forward.
As a result, they couldn't lift the scabbard even with all their might.
Left with no other option, Envoy Zhu had to send all twenty strong men to carry it.
They used a lot of effort to lift the scabbard together.
Xu Ziming: "How is it? You didn't change the scabbard, did you?"
Envoy Zhu muttered to himself, "Something must have gone wrong. All of you, try to do the same things he just did, and see if one person can lift it."
The burly men accepted the order and tried to imitate Xu Zimo's movements one by one, then went to fetch the sword sheath, but to no avail.
Envoy Zhu hesitated for a long time before asking Xu Ziming, "To be honest, what were those incantations you just recited? If we recited them correctly, we can definitely be like you!"
Xu Ziming: "You really want to know? Okay, then I'll tell you. What I just read was: The Great Silver Kingdom is about to perish, and the Great Silver Kingdom will return everything it extorted from us!"
Chiu Chiu laughed so hard she bent over backwards.
[I never knew my uncle was so cunning. But that's how you deal with enemies!]
Envoy Zhu felt greatly insulted, and he was no longer as arrogant as when he first arrived.
Envoy Zhu angrily pointed at Xu Ziming and said, "You, you, you dare to insult us!"
Xu Ziming: "Didn't you ask me? And you told me to tell the truth. So I told you the truth as you wished. What, do you still want me to lie to you?"
All the ministers gave Xu Ziming a thumbs up.
Even the emperor felt relieved and extremely satisfied.
Several burly men, unwilling to give up, actually recited Xu Zimo's incantation in a very convincing manner.
In the end, they still couldn't move the scabbard.
Envoy Zhu had no choice but to say, "Fine, General of the Cavalry, is that it? Don't be so smug. I didn't come to you to carry the sword sheath, but to repair it. If it's not repaired properly, your country will have to pay double the compensation!"
The emperor and his ministers were troubled again.
How can they possibly repair a national treasure that even the Great Silver Kingdom couldn't restore?
Envoy Zhu looked at the Emperor triumphantly and said, "What? You're out of options now? Fine, I won't make things difficult for you. Hand over the compensation, and we'll leave tonight!"
The Emperor said, "Who says we have no other choice? I already have someone in mind."
Envoy Zhu: "Oh, really? Who?"
The emperor clapped his hands, and the eunuch led several people into the main hall.
The Emperor said, “These are some skilled craftsmen I have found. They will surely be able to restore the sword sheath to its original state.”
[Sigh! I thought the Emperor was going to choose me. Why wasn't I chosen? I could have been chosen!]
The Emperor thought to himself: "Chirp, don't worry, I believe in your abilities. But this matter cannot be made too obvious. I'll find a few craftsmen to make a show of it first."
After the incident with Xu Ziming, the Emperor had even more faith in Qiuqiu's abilities.
Qiuqiu must be no ordinary person, otherwise Xu Ziming alone could not have accomplished the task that would have required twenty strong men.
While others didn't notice, the Emperor observed it very closely.
Just a second before Xu Ziming exerted his strength to lift it, Qiuqiu had already poured his spiritual power into Xu Ziming's body.
The craftsmen carefully and meticulously repaired the sword sheath.
But no matter how it was repaired, the black spots on the scabbard remained unchanged.
Envoy Zhu reverted to his usual arrogance.
"I told you that no one in the world could repair this treasure. If someone could, my great Silver Kingdom would certainly treat them as an honored guest."
Several craftsmen hurriedly wiped the sweat from their brows.
This sweat isn't just from heat; it's also from anxiety and stress, from being afraid of losing your head.
The emperor, feigning anxiety, asked the craftsmen, "You are all renowned and skilled artisans, is there really no way to solve this?"
The craftsman wiped the sweat from his brow, immediately knelt before the emperor, and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Your Majesty, please forgive us! Your Majesty, spare our lives! We had no other choice!"
Envoy Zhu laughed heartily with a smug look on his face.
Envoy Zhu: "I knew it! You bunch of good-for-nothings could never get this right!"
The ministers were also wiping the sweat from their brows.
Double compensation is no joke.
Even a single-fold compensation would require the combined resources of their entire nation.
Envoy Zhu spread his arms and said, "Hurry up and bring the compensation!"
The Emperor said, "Don't worry. I still have one more person."
Envoy Zhu: "Who?"
The Emperor pointed to a child who was eating heartily and said, "That's her, Chuchu."
Chiu Chiu lifted her face, which was still covered in rice grains.
Seeing that the show was almost over, she quickly ate something to replenish her strength.
The envoy looked at the child covered in rice grains and said, "Your Majesty, you're not joking, are you?"
The Emperor: "I'm not joking at all, it's her."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com