This incident made her unable to sit still any longer, and she rushed to find Danma.
Danma replied that since the Holy Land wanted Su Wan alive, the giant eagle would naturally not kill her, so there was no need to worry. However, the grand competition was about to begin, with tribes from all sides gathering in Xijing City—definitely the most exciting event in recent years.
The response was rather indifferent, which disappointed her.
For the past three days since the start of the competition, she had almost no interest in watching the games, her mind preoccupied only with Su Wan's whereabouts. She secretly sent people into the territory of the Great Jin Dynasty to gather information and see if they had found her. However, every scout's report came back that they had not found her.
She bent down, grabbed a handful of grass, clenched it into a ball in her hand, and, still not satisfied, tore it into several pieces and threw them into the wind.
"Princess, are you unhappy?" Danma's voice sounded behind her.
Chu Mingyao said without turning her head, "Why are you here? Aren't you going to watch the game?"
Danma smiled and put her hand on her shoulder, saying, "My princess is unhappy, how can I watch the game alone?"
Chu Mingyao turned around and said, "I'm worried about my sister. I don't know where she's been taken. She must be so lonely and desperate. No one is with her..."
Danma said, "What difference does it make where she is? Even if she were in the capital, she would still die. The reason the Holy Land of Divine Healers captured her is probably to prevent any accidents from happening to her and to ensure that she can live well until November..."
Chu Mingyao shoved Danma's chest hard with both hands: "How can you be so cold-blooded? Have you completely forgotten the kindness she showed us?"
Danma took a step back, first looking surprised, then said, "Princess, didn't I say that we saved them at Xiping Pass and have already repaid this kindness?"
Chu Mingyao wiped her eyes and said, "Your Highness, I've made up my mind. I can't just wait like this. I need to go back to Southern Chu and find the family of divine physicians."
Danma said, "Are you going to beg them to let Su Wan go?"
Chu Mingyao nodded. She had spent the last few days in a state of indecision, but now she had made up her mind. She was willing to bear the infamy of offending her ancestors to find a way to save Su Wan. Su Wan's life was dwindling day by day; there was no time to hesitate any longer.
Danma laughed and said, "Princess, have you finally decided to go against your ancestors?"
Chu Mingyao replied without hesitation, “Yes. I didn’t see what the founding emperor of Southern Chu did, I only know that he wanted to take my sister’s life. And my sister, when the floodwaters rushed over the Guijiang River, she gave me her life jacket. She blocked the Guijiang River and saved millions of people in Southern Chu. She told me that she wanted to save as many patients as possible while she was still alive… I would rather have a sister like that living in this world than an ancestor who should have died five hundred years ago.”
Danma said, "Hmm, do you think you can persuade that creator?"
Chu Mingyao said, "Doing my best is better than doing nothing."
She knew in her heart that Zhang Ying would never agree. That person had waited in this world for five hundred years, and now that success was within reach, how could she possibly compromise?
As she was about to leave, Danma stopped her, saying, "Princess, don't be so naive. Let's discuss this further..."
Chu Mingyao, unusually, shook off Danma's hand: "There's no time, don't stop me."
Danma said, "Princess, don't rush. I'll show you something. You can leave after you've seen it."
Chu Mingyao was half-pushed and half-pulled onto the horse by him, and Danma also got on a horse. They pulled the reins and galloped all the way to a camp.
It was a very large open-air camp. Even before they got close, Chu Mingyao could see thick smoke rising into the sky, and the wind carried the clanging of blacksmiths, with a pungent smell.
As she approached, she realized it was a massive forging camp, guarded by Western Rong soldiers. Bundles of metal rods were piled up inside. Over a hundred men were hammering away at the anvils in front of the furnaces, forging red-hot iron bars, their sweat pouring down their faces. Others were using clamps to cool the forged iron bars in oil, causing them to hiss and emit white smoke.
“What is this place?” she asked. “I don’t know there is such a place.”
Danma summoned one of the supervisors and asked, "Are the crossbows ready?"
The person in charge said, "Your Highness, it has been completed and is powerful enough to pierce black armor. Your Highness and Princess, please observe a test firing."
Upon hearing the words "black armor," Chu Mingyao was both surprised and delighted, and turned to look in the direction the man was pointing.
In the open field, several Western Rong soldiers adjusted a huge crossbow, aiming its sharp iron arrows at a set of black armor standing in the distance. A soldier beside them waved a red flag, and the iron arrow shot out, easily piercing through the black armor.
Chu Mingyao jumped off her horse and ran to examine the black armor. She realized that this iron arrow couldn't really be called an arrow; perhaps "iron spear" would be more appropriate. The shaft was thicker than her arm and longer than her. The powerful strike was so strong that even the black armor of a family of divine healers couldn't withstand it; it was pierced straight through.
“Princess, the family of divine healers will never agree to your request,” Danma came to her side. “To save the goddess, we can only use force to make them submit.”
Chu Mingyao walked around to the back of the black armor and touched the dark arrowhead that had pierced through it: "This crossbow bolt is so powerful?"
The black armor was forged by blacksmiths from a family of renowned healers using secret medicines; it was incredibly sturdy, yet this crossbow bolt managed to pierce it.
“Princess, these are arrowheads made from cold iron we specially collected from the seabed of the North Sea,” the person in charge explained. “Arrowheads forged from this type of iron are exceptionally sharp and tough, and are called armor-piercing cones.”
Chu Mingyao looked at Danma and said, "So you were preparing in secret all along. You even got your hands on the black armor?"
Danma said, "This involves going against the princess's ancestors, so I didn't dare to tell the princess directly. Now that the princess has overcome this hurdle, I can be frank with her. We, the Western Rong, are located in the north, and we are separated from the Great Jin by the border. If we don't prepare early, how can we help the goddess? With the armor-piercing spikes, we can deal with those guys who have been injected with secret drugs."
Chu Mingyao was overjoyed and reached out to hug Danma's neck, saying, "Does Father know?"
“I know, I know,” Danma said with a smile, pulling her hand down. “Otherwise, what do you think Father King’s purpose was in holding the Wolf Territory Tournament? This time, he’s gathering the strongest warriors from our Western Rong to go to Southern Chu… The rest of the communication with the Jin Emperor and the Chu Emperor will be left to you, Princess.”
Chu Mingyao was overjoyed and said, "Leave it to me. With this weapon, we can fight against the monster army."
Danma rubbed her hair: "At first, my father and I were hesitant to get involved in this matter, after all, fighting monsters... it's really terrifying. But we're all like potatoes planted by the goddess, and we can't bear to see her die like this. Let's ask the Emperor of Southern Chu to talk to her first, and if that doesn't work, we'll resort to force."
After saying that, he saddled his horse and said, "Alright, let's hurry to the competition venue. Father should have already started gathering the soldiers and preparing for the expedition."
Chu Mingyao also leaped onto her horse and glanced at the capital.
“Sister, you once saved me, saved my father, my prince, and saved the people of my homeland. This time, let us save you.”
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