Chapter Twenty-Two: The Remains of Rama

As soon as the words fell, the four once again knelt on one knee, fists clasped in salute, awaiting orders.

“All members of Blackstone are to devote themselves fully to searching for the other half of the Rama remains. Whoever finds it will be handsomely rewarded!” This was Zhu Yu’s first command as the leader of Blackstone.

“Yes, we accept your command!” the four, led by Drizzle, replied in unison.

Seeing that business was concluded, Fat Chen’s eyes gleamed as he sidled up, saying, “Your Majesty, when Drizzle deserted Blackstone, the Wheel King ordered a replacement to be found. I’ve already located a suitable candidate. She’s a woman named Ye Zhanqing from Tongzhou in Hebei. She has considerable martial talent and the right temperament for an assassin. In a few days, shall I bring her for you to meet?”

“That sounds fine. And since we’re now all Blackstone people, let’s use ‘Chief’ instead of ‘Your Majesty’—the old title feels out of place,” Zhu Yu replied with a nod.

“In that case, if there’s nothing else, may we take our leave?” Fat Chen ventured.

“Go ahead,” Zhu Yu said carelessly.

“Er, we’d like to, but as unknown outsiders, we probably wouldn’t make it to the palace gates before getting caught,” Drizzle pointed out.

“Ah, my mistake. When you leave, tell the old eunuch outside—just call him Eunuch Wu—to escort you out,” Zhu Yu said, tapping his forehead in apology.

The four nodded, accepting the instruction, and filed out of the imperial study.

Once outside, Lei Bin turned to Fat Chen and said, “Old Fat, you really surprised me today. Facing the one inside, you were so bold and impassioned—I was so scared I nearly killed you myself to save my own skin.”

Hearing this, the Trickster beside them nodded in agreement.

Fat Chen, however, scoffed, “Hmph, you two—one a muscle-head, the other a magician—don’t understand a thing. This is what’s called the wisdom of merchants.”

Back inside, Zhu Yu had already taken his seat. The reason for his recent distraction was that the system, silent for so long, had finally sounded again.

After the others left, Zhu Yu finally had the mind to check it in detail.

The system’s notification had just appeared: “Successfully subdued Blackstone (martial world assassin organization)—reward: 500 Destiny Points.” The system interface had changed as well.

Host: Zhu Yu

Identity: Emperor of Jingguo, Chief of Blackstone

Status: Healthy

Martial Arts: None

Dynastic Destiny Points: 1,450

While checking, Zhu Yu noticed the Destiny Points were now a pale yellow, though he didn’t know what it meant—he hoped it was good.

The only dilemma now was that, though he had accumulated quite a few Destiny Points, he still had no idea how to use them.

Still, Zhu Yu consoled himself: in a nation, the more luck and fortune, the better.

Even if he didn’t know how to use the points, at least he now knew how to earn them. Besides the natural increase through peace and prosperity and the elimination of corrupt officials, subduing martial world factions also earned rewards. By that logic, wiping out such factions should also yield Destiny Points.

As his thoughts wandered, Zhu Yu realized there were quite a few ways to gain Destiny Points. Yet he found himself back where he started—how to actually use them.

...

Five days later, at a Blackstone base within the capital.

Zhu Yu sat at the head of the table, eyeing a package before him. He was now thoroughly impressed with Blackstone’s intelligence and efficiency.

Five days ago, there had been not the slightest clue about the other half of the Rama remains, yet now they sat before him. Zhu Yu couldn’t fathom how it had been accomplished so swiftly.

He felt even more certain that subduing Blackstone was a wise decision.

“Who brought the Rama remains?” Zhu Yu prepared to reward those who had contributed.

“The greatest credit goes to Trickster and Drizzle,” Fat Chen answered nearby.

“Tell me, what reward do you want? You know, of almost all the rewards in this world, I have the power to grant them,” Zhu Yu offered, leaving the choice to them.

Drizzle and Trickster exchanged a look and replied together, “We need no reward. To serve the Chief is our good fortune.”

Zhu Yu smiled, shook his head, and drew a token from his sleeve. “Tomorrow, both of you come to the palace. Drizzle, I hear your Water-Avoiding Sword Technique isn’t complete—I’ll fill in the gaps for you. Trickster, I hear you’ve been suffering from a lingering injury—go to the Imperial Medical Institute tomorrow for treatment, free of charge. You shoul