"Taken to Wa?"
This was a development Emperor Xuanwu had not anticipated. He frowned deeply.
"The people of Wa disguise themselves as pirates to harass our Tian Sheng, seeking only to steal supplies. Why would they capture people? Especially this travelogue's author… was he not a man?"
"Replying to Father Emperor, he is indeed a man. His name is Pang Zhongfei."
Not to mention she had set the story in a time many decades, even centuries ago.
Even in this relatively peaceful era, a lone woman venturing across the land would still be unthinkable. How could it be safe?
Danger lurked in desolate places, and there were no eyes to witness what happened there.
Yun Shu nodded solemnly.
"According to his account, quite a few others were captured and taken to Wa with him. Men, women, children, and the elderly alike.
They were brought over on Wa's sea ship, then locked inside a cave under horrific conditions. Every few days, someone would be taken away, never to return.
Pang Zhongfei was terrified. All he wanted was to escape.
By sheer luck, one day the guards outside the cave seemed to have left to receive a new group of captives. He slipped out unnoticed.
He thought he had found freedom, only to realize they were trapped beneath an enormous mountain.
The cave where he had been held was just one among many hidden within the mountain's belly.
Twisting passageways stretched in every direction, each one leading into darkness. Since he had been blindfolded when brought in, he had no idea which path would lead out. All he could do was pick a direction and hope for the best.
What he stumbled upon instead was a scene that would haunt him for the rest of his life."
Yun Shu's expression grew heavier with each word, her tone lowering as she continued.
"He saw the pregnant woman who had been taken that morning. She lay lifeless on a cold stone slab, her belly split open. The child, not yet full term, had been taken out and tossed aside.
An old man who had spoken to him the day before had been gutted, his organs removed.
And then... there was a young man, half-flayed, still twitching on the ground."
She had read something similar once, during her time in the modern era, from a display at a historical site.
Yun Shu's hands, hanging at her sides, trembled slightly.
She closed her eyes, no longer describing the rest in detail. Her voice softened.
"There were many such horrors. Pang Zhongfei nearly fainted from the sight. Perhaps it was truly fortune that favored him. Or perhaps even Heaven could not bear the atrocities committed by the people of Wa, and thus offered him a sliver of mercy.
One way or another, he managed to escape with his life.
He fled back to Tian Sheng, desperate and half-mad, waking from nightmares night after night.
He wrote everything down, unwilling to let the memories consume him.
But he feared that if the account ever spread, it would shatter the fragile peace he had clawed back. So he hid the travelogue, saying only that it would be for future generations, if fate allowed them to read it."
"…"
Yet another tale like this.
What Xiao Wu had described earlier matched almost perfectly what he had seen in the Simulation Life Selection System—another world, another future.
Was it truly that the Wa people had always been so depraved? Or… did Xiao Wu perhaps know something more?
Emperor Xuanwu could not say for certain. Nor did he have the heart to ponder it now.
The fury he had only just managed to suppress now surged forth once more, ignited anew by Yun Shu's report.
Even his tone toward her grew noticeably colder.
"If such things are true, why did you never mention them before?"
"Because when Your Daughter first read that travelogue, she was still young and foolish. I did not understand the gravity of it.
That very night I had nightmares, and the next day I told Ting Xue to burn the book.
Time passed. Children forget easily. I never thought of it again.
It was only today, when Your Majesty brought up the matter of how to deal with the Wa people, that those old memories returned to me."
As she spoke, Yun Shu watched Emperor Xuanwu's expression carefully, then added with a hint of caution.
"Your Daughter does not know if what was written in that travelogue is entirely true.
But I still remember some details. If Father Emperor does not believe it, you might inquire with Great General Weihai, who is currently stationed in Wa.
Ask him—are there many mountains in Wa?
And are there cherry blossoms? And—"
"Enough. We shall send someone to investigate."
Emperor Xuanwu cut her off sharply.
Still, he could not deny that Yun Shu had given him a valuable reminder.
Whether the travelogue truly existed, whether its contents were fact or fabrication, mattered little in the end.
So long as this matter could be made official, then as Emperor of Tian Sheng, he would have every right to act in fury and reduce Wa to ashes.
And in doing so, no historian could accuse him of cruelty or bloodlust.
He would not be remembered as a tyrant, but as a ruler who rose in righteous anger to protect his people.
…
As for what to do with the Wa captives after the mining was finished, Emperor Xuanwu never brought it up again.
Yun Shu tried asking once, but he avoided the question. Realizing it was a matter he did not wish to discuss, she turned her attention elsewhere.
For instance…
The distillation equipment she had requested was not overly complex. Once Yun Shu retrieved the replica of a modern medical book from the villa space, the Ministry of Works promptly completed the apparatus according to her design and delivered it to the Imperial Medical Bureau.
The imperial physicians used it to refine highly concentrated liquor and tested it as a disinfectant for wounds. The results were outstanding.
Immediately, the medical faculty of Tian Sheng Academy began promoting the new knowledge. They even submitted a memorial requesting that strong alcohol be mass-produced for military use.
Great General Wei Yuan and the other military commanders, upon hearing of it, were thrilled.
As soon as court was dismissed, they marched over to the Imperial Medical Bureau… hoping to sample the liquor themselves.
The physicians, already lamenting the limited quantity they had, naturally refused.
What began as a polite request soon turned into a minor scuffle—until the matter was dragged all the way to Yun Shu, the Crown Princess.
Yun Shu blinked. "…??"
Was she the Crown Princess, or a kindergarten teacher?
She could understand state affairs. But this?
Why did even these trivial disputes land on her desk?
Was she really that free?
Why not go bother Imperial Father instead?
And what did they mean by asking her Tian Waitian Restaurant to produce a few extra jars of strong liquor?