Chapter 14: The Black Panther

"Because the laws of the Yuan Dynasty have been unjust since the day they were enacted. If a Han person has a dispute with a Mongol and kills them, their entire family—and even their neighbors—are implicated and executed. Yet, when a Mongol kills a Han, they only need to pay a small fine, or at most, endure a few lashes."

"They have categorized people into four classes, with the Han, who make up the vast majority of the population, at the very bottom. It is like a wooden triangle; if you turn it upside down, can it ever stand steadily?"

Zhu Shuang worried the monk might not understand what a pyramid was.

"Do you know what I see when I look at this? The streets of Kaifeng are packed with refugees begging for food. Why is it that among these refugees, there are even more Mongol commoners than Han?"

The great monk rubbed his head and replied, "This humble monk also finds this deeply puzzling."

"Do you know my father, Zhu Yuanzhang?"

"This humble monk knows that he is a hero to your Han people and a mighty sovereign of his generation."

"Heh, my father is more than just a hero to the Han. Ever since Genghis Khan began drafting the populace into the military, the Mongols have been a military household for generations. They must provide their own rations and armor when they go to war. Does that not remind you of the Fubing system of the Sui and Tang dynasties?"

"But they have no land. These Mongol commoners have another identity: tribal herdsmen. They rely on the scraps of bone and meat broth tossed to them by the nobles. To put it kindly, they are 'people'; to put it bluntly, they are slaves to the aristocracy. When they die on the battlefield, even their only possession—an iron pot—is lost, and their wives and children are reduced to slavery. Look at those Mongol commoners in Kaifeng; they would rather sell their own children than fight for the Great Yuan Dynasty."

"My father’s Ming army camp has over a hundred thousand cavalrymen. Guess how many Mongols are among them? The Great Yuan belongs to the Taiji and Noyan nobles. It sustains tens of thousands of aristocrats by sucking the blood of the people of all nations. A dynasty that treats its people so unjustly deserves to perish."

"This humble monk asks: in your heart, which era—the Rule of Wen and Jing, the Reign of Zhenguan, or the Rule of Hongwu—can be considered the greatest age of prosperity?"

"What you speak of sounds magnificent, but those were merely eras of prosperity for emperors, the literati, and the poets. They were not eras of prosperity for the common people."

"This humble monk asks: what, then, is a 'people's prosperity'?"

"A world where everyone has enough to eat, meat at every meal, new clothes every year, a roof over every household, and children who have books to read. Only a world like that can be called a people's prosperity."

"This humble monk has been enlightened. I have one final question. How can we resolve this current era where Yuan and Ming people slaughter one another?"

"The world must be for the public. Establish laws that do not distinguish between ethnic status or class. Let different peoples intermarry, learn the same language and script, respect one another, seek common ground while reserving differences, and unite the nations. That is how it is solved."

The great monk signaled the Kheshig guard beside him to set him down, patted Zhu Shuang on the head three times, and turned to leave.

Zhu Shuang, left with a face full of confusion, shouted at the monk’s retreating figure, "Hey, great monk! You forgot your alms bowl!"

Zhu Shuang picked up the bowl; it was neither gold nor bronze and was covered in Sanskrit. *I'll take it home as a decoration,* he thought. *It must be an antique.*

...

Inside the Yuan military tent, a young novice bowed to Kökö Temür, who was dressed in full armor. "My Prince, the task you entrusted has been completed. My master has passed away."

Kökö Temür was shocked. "Did the State Preceptor Phags-pa leave any final words?"

The novice pressed his palms together and said, "Master said: 'My vows are fulfilled. I have sought true rain for this world.'"

Kökö Temür looked at the scorching sun outside the tent and said blankly, "But this sky does not look like it will rain."

Before he could even reach Minmin's tent, he was captured by Wang Baobao, who was on horseback.

*Does this brother-in-law have a grudge against me from a past life?*

Seeing the thousands of people swarming around him, Zhu Shuang dismissed the idea of giving him a beating.

With his martial arts, he could have seized a horse and fought his way out, but Minmin was still being held captive. *Forget it, consider this paying off the debt I owe her in this life.*

Wang Baobao shouted to his men, "Bind this Southern barbarian’s hands and feet! I intend to drown him."

Zhu Shuang could only toss his bowl near a tent. Suddenly, he felt a sting in his chest; it was Minmin's hairpin. He quietly hid the hairpin in his sleeve and allowed the soldiers to bind him.

Wang Baobao brought Zhu Shuang to an open space and ordered his men to start digging a pit. In less than half an hour, thousands of men had dug a pit nearly a hundred meters long and six meters deep. Then, he ordered water to be brought in by carts, barrel by barrel.

Furious, Zhu Shuang cursed, "The crops all over Henan are dying of thirst, and you’re wasting water like this? Are you even human?"

*If it were me, I’d just dig a hole and bury him, much simpler. Why insist on using some ancestral method? Are they brain-dead?*

Wang Baobao wanted to drown him in front of these thousands of Mongol soldiers and herdsmen.

"Someone, tie stones to his body and throw him into the water."

"Kökö Temür, you son of a bitch! Remember this: even if you run to the northern desert, I will capture you alive with my own hands one day!"

"How dare you insult my mother?"

Zhu Shuang thought for a moment—that was his mother-in-law—and decided to let it slide.

Just like that, with twenty pounds of stone pressed against his back, he was kicked into the water by Wang Baobao.

...

Watching Zhu Shuang sink to the bottom and vanish, Wang Baobao turned and mounted his horse.

A moment later, bubbles rose to the surface. Zhu Shuang poked his head out, spat out a stream of water, and yelled, "You idiot, Wang Baobao! Thanks a lot! I guess you noticed I haven't bathed in days, huh?"

In front of ten thousand herdsmen, Zhu Shuang stripped down to his underwear and began swimming like a lively fish—first a dive, then the butterfly stroke, then the breaststroke, and finally a freestyle demonstration.

In the end, he raised his middle finger and shouted, "That so-called 'First Peerless Man in the World' isn't even fit to carry the shoes of the 'First Beautiful Man in the World' like me!"

Humiliated in front of tens of thousands, Wang Baobao turned crimson with rage, his entire body trembling.

"Fire! Shoot him to death!"

*Are you kidding me? You can't play fair?*

Zhu Shuang was shocked. He didn't even bother putting his clothes back on and scrambled to the shore, running as fast as he could toward the crowd of onlookers.

The arrows from a thousand soldiers rained down like a storm toward the far bank where Zhu Shuang was, but they lost their aim before they could reach him and fell harmlessly into the water.

Wang Baobao slapped several men nearby, furious. "Are you all starving? Did you not eat today?"

A Kheshig guard covered his face, aggrieved. "Noyan, the wind is blowing from the south today, and he's on the southern side!"

Wang Baobao roared, "Get on your horses and catch him!"

A man cannot outrun a horse, let alone a thousand of them. Zhu Shuang didn't make it two miles before he was captured again.

Zhu Shuang sighed to himself: *How am I even unluckier than Zhu Qizhen, that 'God of War of Tumu Fortress' who became a student of the Oirats?*

Wang Baobao shouted sternly, "Lock him up with that giant 'Heavenly Dog'!"

Zhu Shuang was startled. *You're locking me in with the Wolf King?*

*My master, Chan Master Mu, could fight tigers. Dealing with a wolf shouldn't be a problem, right?*

"Noyan, that giant Heavenly Dog killed a dozen brothers before we caught it. If we kill it privately and the Prince returns, how will we explain it?" the young Kheshig stammered.

Wang Baobao slapped him and shouted, "You fool, we've already dealt with him twice, what's one more time?"

Zhu Shuang was dragged into a tent. He quietly used the hairpin to saw through the ropes on his hands.

He looked closely: it was a wolf over two meters long, with legs as thick as table legs, black fur, and weighing at least two hundred pounds.

*Is this a Kenai Peninsula wolf?* Zhu Shuang’s eyes welled up. *Isn't this my dream dog?*

"An Alaskan! After traveling through time for hundreds of years, I'm finally reunited with you!"

The Wolf King let out a long howl, circling the man before him with a mocking, toothy grin.

"You beast, you dare bare your fangs at me?"

Zhu Shuang trembled with rage. In his past life, no dog had ever dared to bare its teeth at him.

The Wolf King circled behind him and lunged, aiming straight for his throat. Zhu Shuang didn't even turn his head; he simply raised his hand and threw a punch.

The blow hit the Wolf King’s jaw, and the wolf rolled on the ground in pain. It scrambled back up, staring at Zhu Shuang with vicious eyes.

Just as the Wolf King was about to howl, Zhu Shuang lunged, grabbed its muzzle, and pinned it to the ground with his full weight. He raised his right fist and delivered a heavy blow to its stomach.

The Wolf King whimpered, unable to even groan, its body trembling.

Zhu Shuang glared at it fiercely and said, "I don't care if you're a wolf or a dog. If you don't act like a dog for me, I'll slaughter you for meat today. Do you understand?"

The Wolf King blinked, seemingly understanding. Zhu Shuang let go.

The Wolf King flatteringly licked his hand, but as soon as Zhu Shuang turned around, it let out a growl and prepared to jump—only to be sent flying several meters by a roundhouse kick from Zhu Shuang.

"You beast, you really are cunning. Too bad you met me, little Zhu. Even a wolf has to lie down and act like a dog for me."

Zhu Shuang walked out of the tent. Two Kheshig guards were on duty. One reached for his sword, but Zhu Shuang grabbed him, lifted him up with one hand, and snatched the food bag from his waist.

"Stand guard properly, you hear me?"

The two men nodded like chickens pecking at grain. Once Zhu Shuang left, the older one cursed, "Did you see that? The man went in and nothing happened, and you pull your sword on him? Zhang Yu, are you stupid?"

Zhang Yu stammered, "But the Noyan told us to guard it with our lives and not let him leave the tent."

The older man sighed. "Zhang Yu, you really are a blockhead. I don't know what to do with you."

Zhang Yu cursed silently: *You, Qiu Fu, you're only a few months older than me, stop acting like my elder.*

Zhu Shuang walked back into the tent with the food bag. The wolf was lying on the ground licking its wounds. He tossed a piece of dried meat on the floor, and the Wolf King let out a growl and turned its head away.

"Still acting tough, huh?"

Zhu Shuang chewed on a piece of dried meat, clenched his fist, and walked over to give it another beating. The Wolf King howled in agony. It whimpered and went to bite the dried meat on the floor, but before it could reach it, Zhu Shuang kicked it away.

"Did I tell you to eat?"

The Wolf King’s eyes filled with tears. Zhu Shuang kicked the meat back in front of it.

"Eat."

The wolf chewed twice, but before it could swallow, Zhu Shuang slapped it, causing it to spit the meat out.

Zhu Shuang said viciously, "You're eating too slowly."

"Eat what you spat out."

The Wolf King’s eyes welled with tears. If it had known that animal protection laws existed in the future, it would definitely have filed a lawsuit.

Watching the Wolf King eat the meat covered in dust and saliva, Zhu Shuang patted its head with satisfaction. "That's a good dog."

"I'll give you a fierce name. Hmm, let's call you Black Panther."

"Come on, Black Panther, spin around."

The Wolf King tucked its tail and circled where he pointed.

"Come on, Black Panther, shake hands."

"What? You can't even do something as simple as shaking hands?"

Another sound beating followed.

The Wolf King lay in front of him and lifted its paw.

"Right, right, Black Panther is so smart."

"Come on, let's hear you bark."

The wolf just let out a growl and got hit twice more.

Finally, under Zhu Shuang’s 'fatherly' education, the Wolf King raised its head, its vicious expression replaced by a pathetic look, and let out a: "Woof, woof, woof."

Zhu Shuang laughed heartily. "Black Panther is such a good boy."

Three days later, Wang Baobao entered the tent and saw the man and the dog fast asleep. Zhu Shuang was leaning against the Wolf King, tossing and turning.

Wang Baobao kicked the railing in the tent, furious. "Drag this barbarian out! I’m going to throw him into a vat of boiling oil!"

Zhu Shuang’s eyes popped wide open, shocked: *Brother-in-law, you always find new ways to surprise me.*