Although the notion of soaring through the skies was undeniably thrilling, leaping from the edge of a sheer cliff was still a bit too terrifying.
After a moment of hesitation, Yun Chuhuan finally gave in to fear. With a reluctant nod, he stepped back.
"Very well. I shall observe from the side for now. Once it's certain there is no great danger, I shall consider it."
Whew...
Thankfully, this ancestral troublemaker was not insisting on flying himself.
The Great General Wei Yuan exhaled heavily, immensely relieved. He feared that this pair of siblings might suddenly change their minds and truly attempt to fly themselves. Wasting no time, he ordered his men to bring forth four death-row prisoners from the Tian Prison. Together, the group set off toward another cliff within the borders of Yongzhou, one not too far from their current location.
During the journey, Yun Shu had already explained, with great care and detail, all the essential precautions for operating an unpowered glider to the thirty elite soldiers selected by the Great General Wei Yuan. These were men who might later be trained to handle such equipment.
Once they arrived atop the cliff, the original plan was for these elite soldiers to instruct the four condemned men in the glider's use.
But before any proper instruction could begin, all four prisoners suddenly dropped to their knees with loud thuds, wailing and begging for mercy.
"Please, noble generals, have mercy on us! If we are beheaded, at least our corpses may be claimed and buried. But if we jump and fall, nothing will remain but shattered bones!"
"I was wrong! I know I was wrong! I should not have forced that girl, and I certainly should not have killed her afterward... I beg you, have mercy… If I leap and my body is torn apart, devoured by wild wolves, I fear I may never reincarnate!"
"Please, noble sirs..."
"All of you, shut your damned mouths!"
General Wei Yuan had little patience for their pitiful howling. With a swift kick, he knocked the loudest one to the ground, his voice thunderous and cold.
"For the sins you lot have committed, even death by a thousand cuts would be too lenient!
Today, This General grants you a rare opportunity to atone. You will test the gliders created by Her Highness the Crown Princess.
Should you survive the flight..."
He paused briefly, then lied without the slightest shame.
"This General will personally grant you exemption from execution."
Exemption from death?
The four death-row inmates could not help but feel a flicker of hope.
But soon enough, reality sank in. Who could survive a jump like that?
"What? Has your time in prison made you deaf? Have you not heard Her Highness the Crown Princess's name?"
Seeing the hesitation written plainly across their faces, General Wei Yuan had no choice but to temper his temper, speaking further to ease their fears—for the sake of the glider's success.
"When did you commit your crimes? During the New Year festival, Her Highness gifted His Majesty a Divine Carriage. No horses were needed, yet it ran faster than any steed. Had you not heard?
Even if not that, surely you've heard of cement roads and the spinning loom? You must have seen these marvels at some point.
Are they not all wondrous inventions the likes of which you had never seen before?
This glider is also her creation. If Her Highness claims it can fly, then it most certainly can.
Were it not for the safety of the two Highnesses, do you think the likes of you would be granted the chance to touch such a sacred device?
You should be rejoicing at this opportunity, yet here you are cowering like mice.
If you're so eager to die, This General will have you executed right now and fetch two replacements!"
...
After that fierce scolding, and considering Yun Shu's widespread renown these past few years—bolstered by both the Capital Weekly and her astonishing inventions—the four condemned men finally quieted down and began to take the glider lessons seriously.
It took over half an hour before the techniques were firmly imprinted in their minds.
To ensure the test flight proceeded without mishap, General Wei Yuan deliberately selected two of the more physically capable and mentally stable prisoners, assigning them to the same glider for the first flight.
All preparations went smoothly. Even the initial sprint toward the cliff's edge was executed without a hitch.
But just as they were about to launch into the open air, disaster struck.
The man who had been condemned for seizing and murdering a village girl lost his nerve at the last moment. Instead of leaping forward, he tried to stop abruptly.
With two men strapped to the same glider, and the device charging full speed toward the precipice, one man suddenly attempting to halt was a recipe for disaster.
He could not stop in time, and the glider, deprived of necessary momentum, failed to catch the air.
They tumbled over the edge.
The glider had no chance to rise. It plummeted.
Even General Wei Yuan, seasoned warrior though he was, could not react in time. All he could do was watch, eyes wide, as the glider collided with an outcropping halfway down and shattered midair.
Bang.
Of the fifteen gliders available, one had been destroyed before even completing a single flight.
Furious and heartbroken, General Wei Yuan turned and slammed his fist against a nearby tree, cursing violently.
When he turned back, he saw the remaining two prisoners pale-faced and shaken. Clearly, they had been deeply rattled by what they had just witnessed.
His roar split the air.
"You two, listen well! Have you already forgotten everything you were taught?
How many times were you told? Once you reach the edge, you must leap without hesitation! Only then will the glider lift!
You saw what happened to those two. That is the price of cowardice.
I don't care what thoughts you harbor, but heed this warning. If you make the same mistake and destroy another glider, I shall treat it as deliberate sabotage of a military asset.
And do not think I will spare your families."
Though that last threat was little more than angry bluster meant to drive fear into their hearts, it proved effective.
The remaining two—who were clearly less robust than the first pair—managed to summon desperate courage under the crushing weight of the threat. Without turning back, they sprinted toward the edge and leapt, the glider carrying them out into the void.
From the cliff top, the observers watched in awe as the bulky glider spread its wings like a great bird. By some miracle, it truly took flight, soaring through the air with its passengers toward the distant forest.
"It worked!"
"By the heavens, it actually flies!"