The two of them had a conversation, discussing various things.
What Bai Zihan needed right now was information to come up with the best possible plan.
First, he needed to know about his enemies and asked about the most powerful and influential people on the other side.
The first was Minister Duan, who controlled the military.
That explained the reluctance to mobilize the army even as the outer districts burned—he was saving soldiers for himself, not the people.
Minister Ren held the treasury.
That meant every ration, every bit of funding for weapons, repairs, and medical supplies—all filtered through him.
Without his approval, the city would starve or rot.
The Elder Council? Useless.
Old men clinging to prestige, offering advice no one asked for, demanding respect they no longer deserved.
They probably hadn’t drawn a blade in decades.
With Minister Duan and Ren promising to keep their power intact, they also fully support every decision of the ministers.
And the merchants… they were even worse. Kings without crowns, letting coins dictate life and death.
They’d sell the city brick by brick if they thought they could profit off the ashes.
Despite the state of the city, they were busy hoarding money without a care in the world.
With all the bribes they had given to ministers—and vice versa—they were one of the reasons the ministers had gained so much power.
Then Bai Zihan asked about the people on Princess Feilian’s side.
Princess Feilian just gave a self-pitying smile, which gave all the answers one needed.
No loyal ministers. No hidden supporters. Just her.
A single girl standing against all the most powerful people of Ironmist.
All she had was the title left behind by her late parents—and nothing else.
But even if it was just a title with no actual power, she still felt that it was her responsibility to take care of Ironmist, which her parents gave their lives for.
She ’knew’ that if she didn’t do anything, Ironmist—already one-third destroyed—would be completely ruined, either by the demonic beasts or by those seeking power from within.
That’s why she was ready to take the risk of meeting Bai Zihan and seeing the weapon for herself—because she thought that perhaps he could help her.
And he didn’t disappoint.
With a weapon never seen before—one that could easily overturn their situation with the demonic beasts—his attitude that even Minister Duan couldn’t counter, and finally, his agreement to their alliance…
Her gamble had paid off.
Of course, it was just one single positive thing compared to all the other negative ones.
But she believed that one single thing might be enough to overturn everything else.
Although she didn’t know whether she could trust Bai Zihan, that was all that she could do.
If Bai Zihan chose to betray her, the outcome would be no different from what it was before their meeting.
Bai Zihan thought for a while.
The situation for Princess Feilian was almost hopeless, but it was her fate that she met him—the one who could easily change her situation.
“What you need is public support.”
Bai Zihan said after thinking for a while.
She didn’t have any support, nor was she likely to get any from the people who stood at the top.
With their close relationships with the ministers and the benefits they enjoyed, their support for her was unlikely.
So their target should be the group that made up the largest population: the general public.
As far as he could tell, the ministers didn’t bother to gain the people’s support.
Moreover, they didn’t treat them well—more like peasants than citizens.
So, Bai Zihan decided that Princess Feilian should gain the trust and support of the general people, especially the soldiers.
At the very least, it seemed she was well-loved by most—likely thanks to her parents, who had always treated the citizens well.
But there were also those who blamed Feilian for the destruction of the city and her failure to save the Outer and Middle City.
To earn their trust, the first step was proving that Princess Feilian wasn’t just a figurehead clinging to a dead legacy.
She had to do something. Something visible. Tangible. Something to regain the trust ’of’ the people.
And Bai Zihan already had the perfect plan for that.
To earn the trust of ’the’ people was easy considering the situation that they were in.
As long as Princess Feilian managed to show them ’hope’ and save them from the Demonic Beasts, getting people’s support was easy.
And lucky for her, he already ’had created’ the perfect weapon for it.
***
In the lavish, incense-filled chamber of the Ministerial Hall, the city’s power brokers sat around a crescent-shaped table of blackened ironwood.
Gold-threaded banners hung from the high ceiling, bearing the symbols of Ironmist’s various ministries—symbols that meant nothing to the common folk now struggling to survive outside.
But here, politics thrived like mold in darkness.
Minister Duan explained everything that he ’had’ gone through in the Middle City.
Most of which were useless complaints, but it still gave everyone the idea that what the scout said was true.
For people, the weapon known as a ’gun’ might be their salvation, but for them, it was the mark of their collapse of control and power.
It would be good if such powerful weapons were to fall into their hands, but if not, then they must do everything that they can to stop the Princess from increasing the number of said weapons.
“You don’t know how much I suffered. That mere peasant dares to insult me time and again. We must take him down!”
Minister Duan rambled on, and his grudge for Bai Zihan was clear, and his desire for revenge couldn’t be ’clearer’.
But for most of them, especially Minister Ren, their top priority was the weapon and the blacksmith who created it.
They didn’t really think much about ’Bai Zihan’, even with Minister Duan clearly showing his aggression against him.
Of course, with Minister Duan being the one who wanted revenge, others had no choice but to help him—not that they took it seriously.
“Just a boy, what can he do here? Minister Duan, don’t worry, we can take care of him any time we want.”
One of the elders said.
“Now that he is in our territory, dealing with him is easy. Minister Duan just be a little patient.”
Another added.
The elders murmured their agreement, wrinkled faces twisted in disdain.
“The Princess has also started to act out of our control. Perhaps,” Minister Ren continued, “it’s time we reminded her who actually runs Ironmist!”
A murmur of approval went around the room.
“Cut off the supplies to her and the people,” said one of the elders, drumming skeletal fingers on the ironwood.
“No food, no medicine. When people starve, they’ll surely blame the princess for it. We will make it seem like it’s her fault!”
“All she has is pity and a title. Let’s see how far that gets her when the bakeries are closed and the sick are left dying in the streets.”
“That’s still too slow!”
Minister Duan snapped, slamming his palm on the table hard enough to shake the ink pots.
How could he wait for all this to happen when he wants revenge right now?
“By the time that happens, who knows how many more of those things he’ll make? That gun—”
He bit off the rest, face twisted in hatred.
Although everyone there understood that Minister Duan was hasty because of how quickly he wanted his revenge, he did raise a good point.
“We can accuse them,” suggested a fat merchant whose rings clinked every time he moved.
“Spread rumors. Maybe she’s working with the Demonic beasts. Maybe this ’weapon’ is a trick. A scheme to weaken Ironmist from within.”
The room buzzed with dark interest.
“Traitorous bloodline!”
One muttered.
“Foreign influence,” another sneered.
“Wasn’t her mother from the Northern Tribes?”
Minister Ren smirked.
“Good. Very good! The people are stupid enough to believe anything if it’s repeated enough times. Let the whispers grow. Add fuel to the fire when times come.”
“But the best option,” said Elder Gao, voice low and hoarse from disuse, “is always the simplest one.”
All eyes turned toward him.
“Kill her!”
The word dropped like a stone in water. Silence, then slow nods.
“But not yet,” he added. “If she dies now, all eyes will turn toward us. The Demonic Beast attacks give us chaos, yes—but not enough for clean hands.”
“Then we wait for the next siege,” Minister Ren said.
“Let the Demonic Beasts break through by ’weakening’ the barrier. Let the people panic. In the chaos, her carriage is destroyed, her guards slaughtered, and her corpse unrecognizable.”
“We’ll blame it on the demons,” Duan said with glee. “A tragic loss… and one we’ll publicly mourn.”
“The people will cry,” said another, “and then they’ll forget. They always do.”
“And if we play our cards right,” Ren added, “we might even turn her death into justification for seizing full control. ’To honor the Princess’s legacy, we must not falter…’”
The merchants chuckled.
The elders raised their cups. Minister Duan’s rage simmered down into cold satisfaction.
But none of them—not a single one—understood what was really coming.
They were used to plots and whispers, to knives in the dark and power bought with coins.
They had no idea that Bai Zihan was the kind of enemy who wouldn’t play their game.
He would flip the table, burn the cards, and shoot the dealer in the head.
And soon, Ironmist would learn that the boy Minister Duan mocked… was a storm wrapped in skin.
