You're Strong But Now You're Mine-Chapter 55 Knock at the Door

"I originally thought you just had a defect in common sense, but it turns out your real issue is a deficiency in intelligence."

In the basement of "Teeth, Hemorrhoids, Iron Bar," Yinyin Yin pulled up Leyu’s clothes and carefully examined his chest, remarking as he looked, "Didn’t it cross your mind, the item the Governor’s Mansion is so desperate to transport in secret, and you, a top student who completed a full military academy education, have never even heard of it? Even if you used your ass to think, you’d realize these kinds of items fall under military secrets... yet you actually dared to ask Lan Yan?"

"He seemed pretty easy to talk to at the time..."

"A gift from someone above, the price has already been marked in secret. If you go outside now, nobody’s going to praise your Qian Yuliu style of never bowing to the nobility. All they’ll hear is Lan Yan’s reputation for caring about his subordinates and dominating the Ding Family with swagger."

Yinyin Yin pulled his clothing back down and said, "The Medical Bureau handled your case pretty well, maybe even a bit over the top. Originally, with your injuries, you’d have needed three days resting at home. Now you just need to go home, sleep it off, and you’ll be able to clock in again tomorrow."

"Isn’t that great?" Leyu said, "Maybe it’s just a Statistical Department perk?"

"You lost three days in recovery now, so you lose thirty days of your life down the line," Yinyin Yin said calmly, "Of course, if you keep up these high-intensity fights and injuries every day, you might outpace me after all, maybe even die of old age in peace."

The medical technology in Huiyao was almost omnipotent. As long as you had money to hire a Medical Officer, living dead, flesh growing over bones, reattaching lost limbs—it was all doable. Scarless healing, cosmetic tweaks, even gender conversion, none of it was impossible. If you were still breathing, you’d definitely get rescued.

Such an all-powerful technology obviously wasn’t without price. The essence of Light Energy healing could be summed up in one word: "regeneration." It was like replacing broken parts on a model with fresh, new ones. Light Energy healing did the same, removing all the damaged tissues or organs, so the patient’s stem cells kept proliferating and regenerating nonstop, compressing days or even weeks of normal healing into a short span. The result? The patient went in on a stretcher, hopped out the next day.

The cost of rapid cellular division and regeneration was, unsurprisingly, the patient’s lifespan. Yinyin Yin’s bit about trading thirty days in the future for three today was no exaggeration—and people in Huiyao honestly weren’t ignorant of that fact.

But the future was always the future. The pleasure of the present was what felt real. "Everybody knows staying up late is bad, but who can resist scrolling on their phone? Besides, ’resisting lying in the hospital’ is way harder than ’resisting your phone.’"

If Leyu kept up his recent three-days-in-the-ward, five-days-in-the-ER pace, he might actually manage to race Yinyin Yin to an early grave. Huiyao’s history was full of generals—fearless in battle in their twenties, always first to charge—who, more often than not, started "dropping dead at night," "sudden deaths," or "succumbing to diarrhea on the toilet" by thirty.

But "dropping dead suddenly" could actually be considered a decent outcome. Most never made it to the moment when the medics arrived. So, Leyu didn’t take Yinyin Yin’s warning too seriously—after all, he didn’t really believe his Qian Yuliu identity would last all the way to a natural death anyway.

"So then, do you actually know what the Extreme Divine Weapons and the Saint’s Relic are?" Leyu asked.

Yinyin Yin pulled a notebook from his jacket, flipped through a few pages, and asked, "It’s pretty straightforward from the wording, honestly. Divine Weapons: weapons used by gods, or... weapons humanity created to approach the gods."

"Ultimate Divine Weapons, surpassing fantasy, conquering desperation. That phrase spells out the three ranks of Divine Weapon: the limits of human craftsmanship, Extreme Divine Weapons; creations beyond imagination, Illusion Divine Weapons; artifacts that conquer hopelessness, Absolute Divine Weapons."

"But every single Divine Weapon is something that can let its user turn the tables—one person as an army. The Saint’s Relic? That’s one of the Extreme Divine Weapons."

"Wait, wait, wait..." Leyu rubbed his temples and said, "I always thought this world, even with its Spiritual Power and Light Energy manipulation, was still a pretty scientific place... How come all of a sudden there’s this Divine Weapon thing that’s so out of left field?"

Yinyin Yin seemed to understand Leyu’s babbling, "It’s a totally normal reaction to be incredulous. When I first got intel about Divine Weapons, I ended up doubting my own common sense, just like you..."

"You should have doubted it! Your common sense never..."

"But in fact!" Yinyin Yin cut off Leyu’s rant, "Even if Divine Weapons are information out of reach for regular folks, the Huiyao Imperial Court has never tried to hide the fact that they control the most powerful Absolute Divine Weapon, and have even written it right there in official history—generation after generation it’s been passed down through the Imperial Family. They wrote down the true power of the Absolute Divine Weapon, yet commoners just don’t believe it."

"No way, really?"

"Have you never heard of the Huiyao Imperial Family’s symbol of their inheritance?"

Leyu was startled, "You mean... the Holy Sword Huiyao?"

Expressionless, Yinyin Yin recited, "’Once, Emperor Shenzong brandished the Holy Sword Huiyao, left Yanjing, braved the rebel Han army alone, the heavens and earth changed color, daylight vanished, and won a great victory.’"

"’Yi and the fire-bandit army besieged Yanjing for 150 days; supplies and ammo inside ran out. That night, the third prince died, Emperor Renzong ascended, wielded the Holy Sword Huiyao. Its light illuminated ten thousand miles, night turned to day, and the bandit army surrendered.’"

"There are actually a lot of records like that," Yinyin Yin shrugged, "About every three hundred years or so, Huiyao gets thrown into chaos again. Once the rebels take over the world and surround Yanjing, the emperor pulls out the Holy Sword Huiyao and cleans house..."

Leyu said, "I always thought that was some kind of metaphor, like the Imperial Family had a super-elite special forces unit named ’Huiyao’ or something..."

"I used to think the same as you, but turns out, the history books are all true," Yinyin Yin replied, "You can probably guess what kind of ability the Holy Sword Huiyao has, right?"

"It glows? Super bright?"

"You’re close. To be accurate, the Holy Sword Huiyao can release a sacred light covering over a hundred li in every direction. The sacred light ignores all spatial distance and can only be manipulated by its wielder; all other light in the area becomes sacred light, and while it’s active, manipulating the sacred light consumes no Spirit."

Leyu blinked.

Spell range expanded to 50 kilometers, every spell became an AOE, mana cost zero, and all enemies in the area banned from casting? "How the fuck do you even fight that?!"

"Exactly. So whenever you see the phrase ’wield the Holy Sword Huiyao’ in the history books, what follows is always the emperor sweeping the land like autumn leaves—retaking everything in sight."

Leyu immediately realized the key: "So does the Huiyao Imperial Family still have the Holy Sword Huiyao?"

"Of course they do."

"So why the hell are we rebelling?" Leyu was stunned, "Why not just surrender and hug Yanjing’s thigh already?"

"They own it, but they can’t use it," Yinyin Yin said, "Over these many years, the Holy Sword Huiyao has been studied inside and out, even seized by traitorous officials at one point. Its limitations aren’t secret anymore."

"There are three constraints on the Holy Sword Huiyao: ① Only the Emperor, who has Imperial blood, can wield it; ② Every use costs a chunk of the user’s lifespan; ③ If the previous emperor dies without naming a successor and leaves no offspring, the Holy Sword Huiyao will seal itself automatically."

"In the sealed state, the Holy Sword Huiyao becomes immovable, stuck in one place, with a locked period of twenty years. Only the ruler with the highest public support and Imperial bloodline can release it from seal by touching it."

Yinyin Yin paused, "The last Huiyao Emperor? Dropped dead without a will, no offspring. Which means, for the next twenty years at least, we don’t need to worry about the Holy Sword Huiyao being a threat."

"Why’s that?" Leyu asked, confused, "The first two I get, but that third restriction has to be man-made, right? Why leave such a big loophole?"

"Think about it, when an emperor dies without a will or an heir, what’s the most likely scenario?" Before Leyu could answer, Yinyin Yin continued, "Palace intrigue. A usurper from within the government."

"No matter how it happens, it all means the emperor has lost control over the Imperial Court. Which further implies the government’s rotten to the core, the people are suffering, and the nobility are all plotting behind the scenes." Yinyin Yin’s lips curled up slightly. "And in fact, that’s exactly how it always was."

"Rather than watch the new government eke out a miserable existence, the Grand Ancestor who forged the Holy Sword Huiyao chose a different path: ’Let the strong rule.’ He encouraged other members of the Royal Family to overthrow the court, purge the rot, and renew Huiyao."

"Sometimes, the Grand Ancestor’s plan worked—like when the Lie Sect rose from the southwest and swept over the empire. And sometimes the court managed to prevail—the loyalists held Yanjing for twenty years, then finally drew the Holy Sword and took down every last rebel."

After Yinyin Yin’s explanation, Leyu couldn’t help but get fired up, picturing himself wielding the Holy Sword Huiyao and commanding the world—"I can’t believe this world actually has a plot-device weapon that’s basically a cheat code!"

Still, Leyu was left with questions, "So, where did these Divine Weapons come from, anyway? Dug out of some ancient ruins?"

"...Now that’s a unique theory." Yinyin Yin shook his head, "Legend says that in ancient times, a meteor stone—Pyroxene Ore—fell from the sun onto the earth. The Grand Ancestor gathered the finest artisans in the land to forge four Absolute Divine Weapons from the Pyroxene Ore."

"The Emperor Taizong, inspired by his predecessor’s deeds and with new smithing technology available, crafted eight Illusion Divine Weapons from the leftover bits and pyroxene dust and ore fragments scattered across the land."

"Then Emperor Liezong, after he restored Huiyao, was troubled about the Divine Weapons being scattered. So, using shards left from the Illusion Divine Weapons and gathering the highest-grade Pyroxene Ore from across the country, he forged twelve Extreme Divine Weapons."

Leyu listened, bewildered: Absolute Divine Weapons made from a sun rock; Illusion Divine Weapons from Absolute scraps; Extreme Divine Weapons from Illusion scraps... Got it!

"No more Divine Weapons were made after that, since the materials ran out," Yinyin Yin explained. "So you understand now? The Saint’s Relic may not be as wildly powerful as the Holy Sword Huiyao, but it’s still enough to turn the tide in small-scale battles—a true tactical-class weapon."

"But they’re already in the city," Leyu spread his hands, "We couldn’t snatch them even if we tried."

"No," Yinyin Yin shook his head, "In this country, where even firearms require Huiyao ID authentication, you think you could just grab a Divine Weapon and use it? You saw the ice coffin around the Saint’s Relic, right?"

"The Imperial Court always intended to give these Divine Weapons to the generals for expanding their lands, but you think they didn’t leave themselves a failsafe? Every Divine Weapon needs to be re-attuned to its new owner; otherwise, no matter who steals it, they can’t use it. This system used to be a Royal secret—nowadays, it’s basically common knowledge."

"Though it doesn’t really stop much; over the years, tons of Divine Weapons have been lost, stolen, or switched hands, and nobody ever gives them back—like how the Ding Family keeps their Extreme Divine Weapon stashed away. But for us, as long as our timing is right, getting an Extreme Divine Weapon for ourselves is totally possible."

"The attunement mechanism for the Saint’s Relic is this: when in ice coffin status, it absorbs the dissipating Spirit from mass deaths of living beings. Once it’s absorbed enough, the ice coffin melts on its own." Yinyin Yin glanced at the map, "In Xingke County, there aren’t many places that fit this—the most likely spot is—"

Leyu: "Statistical Department Lockup!"

Yinyin Yin: "Slaughterhouse."

Leyu and Yinyin Yin exchanged a look; Yinyin Yin shook his head slightly, "You’re really proud of your workplace, but you clearly don’t get what ’living beings’ means."

Inside, Leyu was speechless—he hadn’t expected Extreme Divine Weapons to be so egalitarian. Killing people and pigs both worked.

"Your next main task is to investigate the location of the Saint’s Relic and its security situation. There’s no need for you elsewhere any more."

Yinyin Yin said it in a way that made Leyu feel like he was being tossed out like a used rag.

"Didn’t we already get the firearms into the city? When does the uprising start?" Leyu asked excitedly.

"It’s an uprising—or a revolution," Yinyin Yin corrected Leyu’s phrasing and said, "Meteor, don’t forget your own status. As a spy inside enemy lines, poking your nose into such sensitive matters will make me start suspecting your loyalty."

"But I haven’t betrayed you!"

"You haven’t, only because the price of betrayal isn’t high enough yet. If the price is right, even I would betray you," Yinyin Yin said calmly, "In our line of work, the one rule is never test human nature—so long as you don’t know the plan, you’ll never have the chance to betray it."

"Tch." Leyu said, "But I still know about your base, right? Even if I don’t know the plan, if I blab about this place, won’t you end up in the Statistical Department’s hands all the same?"

"Don’t forget, this is my turf. Plus, my Hidden Sword Technique is perfect for fighting in the dark," Yinyin Yin tossed a glance at the basement door, "As long as I get out that way, even if the Statistical Department turns Eighteenth Street upside down a dozen times, they’ll never find—"

Thud!

Thud!

From the door Yinyin Yin had just pointed at, there suddenly came the sound of knocking.

PS: The fever’s gone but now diarrhea’s started.

You guys might not understand what having diarrhea seven times in one afternoon feels like. Around here we call that: diarrhea master!

I’m out of it now—managing four thousand words was already pushing it. If I’m better tomorrow, I’ll try to make up for it...