Chapter 519: The bird from a calligraphic scroll
After a while, the prince finished the lunch and left with one million gold coins of initial funding while Yuan Meili ended up leaving in an unconscious state without being able to enquire about Shang Wen's current whereabouts, not that Mark could find it anyway.
After sending them off, Mark went on with his usual weapon creation and filling the storage room, then, checking the accounts, listening to their future plans from Chang Bo, and giving his permission to proceed with it.
Later on, he returned to the palace to meet the King, who wanted to enquire about his marriage date with Song Yue so that they could proceed with his engagement ceremony with the princess.
He doesn't trust Shen Niu as much as he trusts his daughter. Hence, he didn't share his plans of war against the Phoenix Empire and merely asked him to consult the fortune teller to look up the dates for both events.
Mark didn't talk much with him and swiftly escaped the palace in his LNovelFire to meet with Huang Jie, the merchant who dealt with construction materials. It was for the construction of his runways and also the military bases he planned on building in atleast five different locations of the kingdom.
Merchant Huang greatly welcomed Mark at his residence. After a brief tea session and a talk about the progress of acquiring all the required materials, Mark was taken to Huang Ji's private collection.
This private collection was just full of ancient calligraphic works displayed on the walls and paintings displayed on the boards in the space.
With his Eyes of God active, Mark scanned the pieces one after another as Huang Ji was boasting about their historical significance and value. To get into Mark's good books, the merchant even offered him to take away any piece he liked.
At first, Mark thought of taking away some inexpensive pieces as the merchant was insisting, but when he eventually spotted a calligraphy that had profound strokes, he asked about it with a bit of interest.
As Mark finally shows interest in a calligraphic work, the merchant suddenly grows nervous. Still, he explained without hiding anything, "Lord Lu, this is the work of Master Gu…"
After explaining every detail of the calligraphy and also about this Gu Wenchao, the merchant added in the end, "I purchased it for a hundred thousand gold coins during one of the auctions, intending to give it as a birthday present for my son's upcoming 16th birthday."
Mark understood what he was trying to indicate, but he shamelessly asked, "Mr. Huang, if I want this work, would you be kind enough to give it to me?"
Huang Ji was taken aback at once, shocked at how this man still asks for the work. Nevertheless, after hesitating for a bit, he bowed slightly, "Yes, if it pleases Lord Lu."
As the man proceeded to take the calligraphic scroll and fold it up, Mark developed a rare genuine smile on his face as he took out a robot from his inventory, taking the merchant by surprise once again.
Handing him a piece of the scroll, Mark said, "This robot is a battle puppet, strong as a 6-circle realm expert and capable of handling any type of weapon, although like a blank book and needed proper training to use it on the field. I don't know how much it is worth as robots are not for sale. But, I believe it should be atleast worth the same as the calligraphic work.
The scroll I gave you has the guide to control this robot. Give this as a birthday present for your son, although be sure to warn him not to use it to bully the weak."
"This…" Huang Ji's hands shivered as he stared at the robot in shock, "6-circle?" Even his voice quivered as he immediately cupped his fists and bowed, "Lord Lu, you are too generous."
He might be wealthier than most of those adventurers but he lacked the strength to protect himself or his family. Hence, he always has to depend on them, handing out lots of money. It is not just his problem. It is the problem of every wealthy individual.
Getting such a powerful puppet is like a blessing from heaven. At that moment, He felt glad to give up his most prized possession.
"haha" Mark let out a hearty laugh as he took the calligraphic scroll and carefully placed it in the storage ring. "In the upcoming years, I'm going to build a lot of things, Mr. Huang. I will be depending on you more."
"Yes, I will try my best," Huang Ji cupped his fists once again.
Soon after, Mark left the residence in his LMV, leaving an ecstatic merchant.
Little did Huang Ji know that Mark was happier than him.
He was whistling and humming various tunes from his past life as he was driving toward the outskirts of the city.
The vehicle traveled for another hour and reached a remote location with nothing but wild plants around.
He then got down from the vehicle and took out the scroll, placing it on the vehicle's hood and spreading it carefully.
"Man, I hit the jackpot once again…" He observed the scroll's details.
Scroll of Gu family
Grade: N/A
Description: An ancient scroll belonging to the Western Moon's Gu family. Beneath the profound work created by Calligrapher Gu Wenchao, hidden a seal that imprisoned an emperor-grade creature.
"System, Open skills list"
"Activate, Seal Breaker"
As the skill activated, the scroll beneath his palm started burning in flames. Mark retracted his hand in reflex.
The entire scroll was burned to ask, leaving behind a bird with color plumage. It looked ordinary at one glance.
The bird that was sleeping on its side suddenly woke up and looked around. It saw Mark and chirped in happiness.
Mark immediately scanned its details.
Jingwei
Grade: Battle Emperor
Rank: 2 (9-at her peak state)
Age: 16344
Attribute: Fire
Description: Jingwei is the daughter of Yan Di, the Flame Emperor; one of the three sovereigns of the planet that ascended to the immortal realm. After drowning in the sea, her soul was merged with an immortal bird that consumed the fire seed. Determined to fill up the sea so that no one would drown like her, she started throwing twigs and stones for years and years.
After breaking through the supreme realm, Jingwei proceeds to throw mountains into the sea, almost destroying the ecosystem of the planet. The guardian of the oceans and seas, the Kun worked with Emperor Zhuanxu and sealed her because they couldn't kill her.
"Now, that's a long description…" Mark was observing the description written on the holographic screen while the bird was staring at him, thinking that the human was observing her.
The bird flapped its wings and flew toward Mark. He stretched his left hand forward in reflex and the bird landed on his arm.
As it was tilting its head right and left, Mark let out his business smile, "Hello, I'm Lu Zhen. Do you want to follow me?"
In response, the bird let out a lively chirp once again, but then, it followed it with suddenly attacking his arm.
"Ssss"
Mark retracted his arm in reflex once again, but while letting out a painful hiss. However, the bird seemingly attached to his arm, didn't move a bit. It went on consuming his blood.
Upon consuming it, it started glowing brightly.
*Ding! A contract has been formed.
"Wait, what about my consent?" Mark was surprised that it accepted him as its master, just like that. *Ding! The host has already given his consent.
"Ah, I guess so…" Mark remembered asking it to come with him. That's the same as initiating the contract.
But, still, he didn't expect the bird would accept it without the medium of any taming scrolls, taming skill, and most importantly, without putting up any fight. Not to mention, the bird wasn't a newborn and lived long enough to be wiser than him.
As Mark was wondering whether he was lucky, the blinding flash of light over the bird enlarged to atleast three and a half feet in size, and when the glow disappeared, Mark saw a little girl on the ground with fiery flames covering her, in the form of a traditional robe.
*Ding! Jing Wei's condition restored to the peak.
Mark had his mouth opened and eyes widened for a moment, staring at the scene, "what the…"
The final nail hit the coffin when that girl jumped at him and hugged his legs, "ba-bah (father in affectionate form, similar to Papa)."
Mark: "…"