Thus Yuan orders that the inventor shall be executed because, while his flying machine may be a beautiful creation, the emperor sees the devastating potential for those who "have an evil face and an evil heart" and will seek to use it for purposes other than the enjoyment of flight, namely flying over the Great Wall of China and destroying it. For this reason, the inventor is executed, the flying machine is burned, and all who saw it are silenced.
The emperor decides that the inventor must be killed because of concerns about the potential misuse of his flying machine, which he believes could lead to catastrophic consequences, including destruction of the Great Wall of China. The inventor's creation is subsequently destroyed, and all witnesses are muzzled.