Chapter 173 Qin

There's a saying among mortals:

When God closes a door, He opens a window.

Well, right now, it’s as if God has closed the door, sealed the window, and then grabbed an axe to sink you and your house into the Huangpu River.

Xu Shi's body stiffened.

The First Emperor sat by the window on the second floor, overlooking the river, his eyes indifferent and calm as he gazed down at Xu Shi.

In that instant, Xu Shi unexpectedly calmed down.

It was as if time had flowed backward.

He saw the emperor as he was in his youth once more.

As if he were once again watching the nobles of the six kingdoms prostrate themselves at his feet.

There was no hatred or anger of over two thousand years in those eyes, only calmness. It was this calmness that made Xu Shi feel extremely pained and angry. He would have preferred the emperor to respond with anger, hatred, or unwillingness, rather than such indifferent eyes and attitude.

It made him feel as though he had been nothing more than a pathetic clown in the eyes of the First Emperor for the past two thousand years.

His grief, schemes, arrogance, and fear were all laid bare under the gaze of those calm, indifferent eyes.

None of it mattered to him.

The First Emperor spoke in a casual, indifferent tone, nodding slightly, "So, it is Xu Shi."

"You have come from afar. Have you come to pay your respects?"

His eyes looked down.

The calmness in Xu Shi's heart shattered.

Fear engulfed his heart.

He instinctively bent over, almost prostrating himself on the ground, his voice trembling slightly as he said, "Yes, your subject Xu Shi pays his respects..."

He couldn't finish his sentence. The struggle of over two thousand years ignited like a flame, supporting him. His voice faltered, the muscles in his face twitching, making his expression distorted, even a little crazed.

I am no longer just a mere sorcerer!

I am the god of a nation!

You cannot treat me like this!

You cannot!

His body reacted. This was a scene Xu Shi had imagined countless times in the past two thousand years. When he faced the First Emperor again, he would turn the past around. He suddenly leaped up, his sorcery gathering into a sword of extremely dense death energy, and slashed towards the First Emperor.

There wasn't a ripple in the emperor's eyes.

Qin terracotta soldiers emerged from the void, the Twelve Metal Colossi.

Interlocking formations, changes imperceptible to others, instantly suppressed Xu Shi.

Only when the First Emperor was present could the Qin Twelve Metal Colossi unleash their true power.

Having left Sakura Island and lost his divine authority, Xu Shi was, at best, a cultivator who hadn't fought as a sorcerer in two thousand years. To break through to close quarters was nothing short of a fool's dream, just as Daoyan's eight-word prophecy said—

One wrong thought, and all is lost.

The expression on Xu Shi's face froze.

When the madness born of fear was suppressed,

The fear would erupt tenfold, a hundredfold.

It was nothing more than a caged beast's struggle, the madness of one unwilling to believe reality.

His thoughts turned in an instant—

The failure at this moment was because he had lost his divinity. As long as he retrieved it, no one could do anything to him, no one! Not even the First Emperor! Panic and fear consumed the Xu Shi who had just been clear-headed, causing him to choose to turn and flee at this moment.

The First Emperor's expression was indifferent and merciless.

He slightly spread his fingers, and an ancient war bow appeared in his hand.

Black silk threads were entwined on the bow.

He drew the bow.

Nocked an arrow.

A stream of light arrived before it was launched, instantly piercing Xu Shi's arm. The latter's expression froze, the ecstasy on his face at having avoided the First Emperor's attack instantly solidified because he suddenly realized that the target of this arrow was not him, but a more distant, higher existence.

The arrow transformed into golden light, almost instantly disappearing into the East Sea.

The First Emperor had consumed a pill made from half of Sakura Island's divinity...

Xu Shi seemed to understand something, and suddenly let out a shrill scream: "No!!!"

He frantically fled towards the East Sea.

The fear in his heart grew wildly.

The First Emperor was still as he had been in the past. Beneath the majesty was an icy ruthlessness that froze the blood, just as he had once agreed to Qi Wang's request, willing to grant him a title, only for the surrendered Qi Wang to be starved to death in the forest. The First Emperor's assessment was that as a king, he had abandoned his country, and the one qualified to become a Marquis of Qin was Qi Wang Jian, who possessed the state of Qi.

When there was no state of Qi, the Qi Wang was no longer qualified.

The First Emperor was still the emperor who ruthlessly deprived everything.

In his panic and mental shock, Xu Shi felt the world spinning and darkening, looming in and out of focus, as if he heard the Qin soldiers shouting:

By order of the First Emperor—

Deprive the sinful subject of his divinity.

He shall be executed!

He shall be executed!

Fear consumed Xu Shi.

…………………………

Above the East Sea.

Fang Feng was lazily sunbathing.

Daoyan was quietly meditating and healing his injuries, closing his eyes and not looking at the 'formation' that Fang Feng had painstakingly arranged with pebbles of various sizes. He was quite peaceful, but at this moment, both of them suddenly opened their eyes and saw the power erupting from Shenzhou. A stream of light crossed the East Sea at a terrifying speed.

Fang Feng's expression solidified. The usual laziness on his face was replaced by a drastic change for the first time. He straightened his body and said:

"It's him?!"

"This... how is this possible?"

Daoyan opened his eyes, curious, and said, "Do you recognize the person who shot this arrow?"

After a long while, Fang Feng came back to his senses, slowly exhaling a breath, and said, "Yes, I do."

He glanced at Daoyan and said, "Back then, it wasn't just me and my friend guarding the East Sea for the Venerable God. There was also a companion who excelled in soul-related abilities. Strictly speaking, that's the origin of the legends of Shenzhou and Sakura Island's Dragon Palace. We weren't on the same path as him, but after all, we were all subjects of the Venerable God, so at most, we just ignored each other."

Daoyan was also a person of longevity, and knew a little about Fang Feng's background, so he didn't care too much.

Everyone has secrets.

And those who live as long as they do have even more secrets, so there is a tacit understanding between them.

Fang Feng was silent for a moment, then said, "In that era, I was just a youth. The Seven Kingdoms of Shenzhou had just been unified. My companion thought the opportunity had come, so he was very excited and wanted to control the emperor of the human world to make Shenzhou convert to the Venerable God, and even open up sea routes to try to awaken the Venerable God. He thought this was very feasible."

"So he entered the dream of that emperor. Heh... For mortals, as long as they don't possess any special treasures, their dreams are usually unconscious. That emperor was the same, but just as he was trying to control this emperor, an accident happened..."

"He ordered the First Emperor in the dream to say, 'Submit to the God!'"

"And the First Emperor drew his sword."

"And said, 'He shall be executed!'"

"He fought with my companion in the dream and killed him in the dream."

"Then, after waking up, the First Emperor personally came to the East Sea and shot my companion to death. He used this bow at that time..."

"At that time, he asked the dream-interpreting officials, and that official also interpreted the First Emperor's dream."

Daoyan said with interest, "Most dreams are actually the subconscious of the dreamer. Moreover, with the First Emperor's hegemony, if the dream-interpreting official's words did not suit his heart, then it would be meaningless, and he would not agree. So, what did that dream-interpreting official say, and what was the First Emperor's thought?"

Fang Feng took a deep breath and slowly said:

"That official said: 'His Majesty prays and sacrifices with utmost sincerity, yet there is such an evil god. He should be removed, and a good god can be brought forth.'"

"Meaning, the First Emperor's attitude towards gods is not a problem. There should be no such evil god appearing."

"So the solution is to kill the evil god, and then the next one will be a good god."

Daoyan was silent for a moment, then said, "If the next one is also not a good god..."

Fang Feng didn't say anything.

But Daoyan understood his meaning—

This sentence was already very clear: anyone who dares to disobey the emperor is an evil god, and all shall be executed.

Once the evil gods are killed, then what remains will naturally be good gods.

It was hard to imagine that an empire of the god-era would hold such an attitude towards gods, destroying mountains and temples, and killing gods in dreams.

Daoyan's heart surged for a moment, and he sighed:

"Amitabha..."

……………………

When Wei Yuan carried the freshly baked snacks to the teahouse, everyone else in the teahouse had already fallen into a silent sleep. The emperor, dressed in modern casual clothes, held a war bow in his hand, his gaze composed and dignified, yet also possessing a domineering aura far beyond that of ordinary people.

"Xu Shi is here," he said.

Wei Yuan's expression changed slightly.

Xu Shi, that was an obsession he had never let go of in the Qin era.

That guy actually dared to come to Shenzhou.

The First Emperor didn't look up. A scroll of white silk with ink-colored borders appeared on the table. He flicked his sleeve and handed the war bow to a Qin terracotta soldier summoned by some unknown means, then picked up a brush and wrote a line of words, casually pressed his seal, and then threw this scroll to Wei Yuan beside him.

Wei Yuan was stunned for a moment.

"Wei Yuan... no, at this time, I should still call you Yuan."

"He runs very fast. I didn't kill him, I just severed that divinity on his body."

The First Emperor's expression changed from majestic and stern to a hint of gentleness, and he said:

"Now, go and personally settle the grievances that belonged to you two thousand years ago."

Wei Yuan's heart surged, and then he slowly cupped his hands and saluted:

"Your subject obeys the decree."

ps: Second update today... 2,800 words.

《Records of the Grand Historian·Volume Six·The Annals of Qin Shi Huang》: The First Emperor dreamed of fighting with the sea god, who was in the form of a man.

He asked the dream interpreter, and the scholar said: "The water god cannot be seen, taking the form of large fish and dragons. Now that His Majesty prays and sacrifices with utmost sincerity, yet there is such an evil god, he should be removed, and a good god can be brought forth!