Hu Hai knew nothing of a "white moonlight," only that among his father's many consorts, his favorite was A Fang Nü.
It wasn't just Qin Shi Huang; Hu Hai also liked A Fang Nü a great deal, though not in a romantic sense.
In Hu Hai's memory, A Fang Nü was different from other consorts. She never schemed for power in the palace and was always kind to the princes and princesses.
She enjoyed planting herbs in the palace's small medicinal garden. If she heard a consort was ill, she would personally visit, prescribe medicine, and treat them.
Hu Hai had also been cared for by A Fang Nü during her lifetime, but sadly, later on...
Hu Hai's expression was one of regret. He sighed and said, "Father ordered Xu Fu to bring A Fang Nü back to life. Xu Fu frankly stated that bringing someone back from the dead went against the will of heaven and required a price."
"That price was that A Fang Nü could be resurrected, but she would become a walking corpse, with no memory of her past life."
Yan Shouyi and Lin Zitong exchanged a look. Resurrection turned into a walking corpse, wasn't that basically a zombie?
Good for you, Xu Fu. Outwardly a Daoist immortal, but actually a corpse herder!
However, in the Qin dynasty, corpse herders already existed. Qin Shi Huang should have understood Xu Fu's intentions.
After all, didn't Huo Ban hire a corpse herder to guard the inner city?
Could there be another story behind this?
Hu Hai continued, "Xu Fu's method was to preserve the corpse with mercury and then use his secret technique to revive her. The resurrected A Fang Nü would have no body temperature, her body filled with mercury. She wouldn't need to consume human blood like a zombie, and she could live for a hundred years with an eternal youthful appearance. However, she would forget everything from her previous life and become a mindless walking corpse."
Hearing this, it sounded slightly better than being a zombie.
Xu Fu's actions were likely just preserving A Fang Nü's physical body; as for her soul, he probably couldn't control that.
Two thousand years ago, not only was the technological level backward, but even the abilities of folk sects might not have been as complete as they are now. Perhaps they hadn't fully mastered spirits back then.
Hu Hai said that although Qin Shi Huang regretted not being able to fully revive A Fang Nü, even keeping a body with an eternal youthful appearance was a great comfort, so he agreed to Xu Fu's method.
Xia Qi scoffed upon hearing this, "Why do I feel like your father was lusting after A Fang Nü's body?"
"Xia Qi," Liang Yinqiu called out Xia Qi's name sternly, signaling him not to judge ancient people's actions with modern eyes.
Xia Qi realized his mistake, closed his mouth, and stepped back half a pace, remaining silent.
"What does A Fang Nü have to do with the Imperial City?" Yan Shouyi asked.
"A Fang Nü was Father's favorite consort during his lifetime. She passed away before him. After Father's death, he certainly wished to have A Fang Nü by his side day and night. Therefore, I suggested that Huo Ban send A Fang Nü into the Imperial City."
Hu Hai added, "Besides A Fang Nü, I also sent in an actor whom Father greatly favored during his life to be buried with him. That actor understood the situation and willingly entered the imperial mausoleum as a burial sacrifice."
"At that time, Huo Ban advised me to have A Fang Nü and the actor 'remodelled' to become the strongest force guarding the inner Imperial City."
"I... agreed."
Upon hearing this, Yan Shouyi understood. While the inner city was guarded by four powerful inheritors of folk sects, the Imperial City was not left empty.
Huo Ban had arranged for two even more formidable existences within the Imperial City.
Why would a mere woman like A Fang Nü and an unknown actor be stronger than the four masters guarding the inner city?
It was simple: Huo Ban wouldn't place the strong outside and the weak inside.
The defenses of the imperial mausoleum must have become progressively stronger!
Yan Shouyi, having just dealt with the four masters, rubbed his temples wearily.
Why was it one layer after another, with no end to the fighting?
After the Imperial City, there was the palace. Would there still be people in the palace?
Given Huo Ban's personality, wouldn't each room in the palace house a master?
If that were the case, Yan Shouyi felt it wasn't worth persisting. He might as well find a way to lead everyone out of the mausoleum now, and then return later with a challenge group of hundreds of strong individuals to simply flatten the mausoleum.
As the saying goes,
All fear stems from insufficient firepower!
As long as the firepower is fierce enough and the numbers are sufficient, even the most formidable imperial mausoleum is just a weakling.
However, Yan Shouyi reconsidered; the Imperial City might not be that dangerous. After all, the Ma siblings had already been inside.
The tunnel they dug at the time led directly into the main hall, effectively bypassing all previous checkpoints and going straight for the final boss's treasure chest.
That is, the Ancestral Dragon Sword.
Unfortunately, the tunnel had already been destroyed, and Yan Shouyi was not talented in that area. He could only fight his way from the outer city to the Imperial City.
Seeing Yan Shouyi's solemn expression, Hu Hai asked, "Do you still plan to go in?"
Yan Shouyi gave a wry smile and didn't answer. In truth, he already had an answer in his heart.
What could he do if there was danger?
He had to go in. If he couldn't find the State Preceptor, Lin Zitong's life would be forfeit.
"Tell me truthfully, has your father's imperial mausoleum really been breached by others?" Hu Hai pressed.
This time, Yan Shouyi had no reason to lie. He nodded, "A thousand years after your death, a State Preceptor from a small southwestern country invaded the imperial mausoleum. This is absolutely true."
Hu Hai gritted his teeth, "I cannot tolerate my father's imperial mausoleum being usurped. Since you are not lying, I am willing to lend you a hand. But you must guarantee that you will drive away that small country's State Preceptor for me, and then leave the imperial mausoleum after the deed is done, never to disturb it again!"
Yan Shouyi's eyelids twitched.
The preceding conditions were easy to agree to, but the last one seemed beyond his control.
Previously, the imperial mausoleum was indeed protected by the authorities. But now, with a breach in the mausoleum, experts had to enter to investigate and carry out salvage protection of cultural relics.
At this juncture, trying to persuade these experts to leave and seal the mausoleum – was that even possible?
With things as they were, Yan Shouyi had no other choice but to lie to Hu Hai and make a promise he had absolutely no control over.
Hu Hai was also naive. Seeing Yan Shouyi agree, he no longer doubted.
He stated directly, "A Fang Nü is hidden in the mercury river, and the actor's corpse is in a side hall. When you enter the Imperial City, as long as you make no sound, you will not alarm them. But if you create any disturbance, you will awaken the actor. Once the actor is awake, his voice will spread throughout the entire Imperial City, and then A Fang Nü will awaken. You will have no chance of survival!"
A Fang Nü's combat power was that formidable?
Everyone's backs grew cold, and they couldn't help but imagine that mercury-filled female corpse submerged at the bottom of the mercury river.