Zu An was surprised. He did not expect his words to frighten the other party so much. He made use of this opportunity to ask, “What’s your crime?”

A tremor ran across the black mist that served as Zhang Han’s face, as if tears were streaming down it. “Even though I was able to hold on for a moment, the empire’s elite forces were still wiped out under my leadership. I was the one who ruined the final hope of the empire, letting it be destroyed by the remnants of the Six Eastern Countries[1].”

This history was indeed no different from what Zu An remembered. Afraid that he would agitate Zhang Han, he chose not to probe any further. Instead, he heaved a deep sigh and lamented, “Such is life. There is little that a man can do in the face of heaven’s will.”

Zhang Han was taken aback. The emperor he remembered was a strong-willed and strict figure, so the other party’s warmth and gentleness caught him off guard.

Zu An turned to gaze at the lake and asked, “What is sealed in there that makes you so frightened?”

This was what caused him the most anxiety. He wasn’t too worried about giving himself away with this question, since Zhang Han was mostly active while Qin Ershi was in power. It was only normal for the real Qin Shihuang to not know of his affairs.

“They are the dead spirits of the hundreds of thousands of rebels from the Six Countries. We used the Soul Suppression Seal to seal them in the lake thus far, but I didn’t expect Your Majesty to…”

“Then we have to make sure to seal it well. The armies of the Six Countries bear a huge grudge against our Great Qin Dynasty. My empress will be alarmed if they are let out.”

Those words made the blue flames in Zhang Han’s eye sockets flicker a little, but he didn’t say a word.

“My subordinate, is there no other way to suppress these dead spirits?” Zu An gestured toward Chu Chuyan. “She’s a friend I’ve made in this time period. Spare her.”

“Your Majesty, these dead spirits have been sealed for thousands of years only by using the Evanescent Lotus as the formation core. Now that the formation core has been removed, the collapse of the Soul Suppression Formation is imminent. We have to use her flesh to appease the raging dead spirits before she fully assimilates the medicinal properties of the Evanescent Lotus. That will buy us more time to think of another way to reinforce the seal!

“The fate of the empire must take priority! Your Majesty, please rethink your decision!”

Zu An was frustrated that Zhang Han kept insisting on using Chu Chuyan’s blood as a tribute. He was, after all, not Qin Shihuang, and there was a huge disparity in their strength. There was nothing he could do if the other party insisted on not listening to him.

Zhang Han pulled Qiao Xueying over and pushed her down onto the ground in front of Zu An “However, we can release this woman and have her serve Your Majesty.” 

Qiao Xueying struggled with all her might, but there was no way for her to overpower Zhang Han.

Looking at the indignant woman kneeling before him, Zu An was a little amused. “Why don’t you try calling me master?”

“Pui!” Qiao Xueying spat at Zu An, but Zhang Han blocked her volley of saliva.

“How dare you offend Your Majesty? Die!” Zhang Han roared coldly, his black aura flaring.

“Forget it, I’ll spare her life,” Zu An said hurriedly. “She’s a friend of mine, sort of.”

“Friend?” There was a hint of disdain in Zhang Han’s voice.

Zu An’s heart skipped a beat. He could sense that the general’s tone wasn’t as respectful as it was before. Could he be sounding me out? What the hell! Are zombies supposed to be that intelligent?

All of a sudden, the sound of effervescence came from within the lake. The surface of the water was bubbling furiously, threatening to push through the layer of black mist on the surface. Numerous blue figures appeared to be struggling free of the lake.

These blue figures were armored, and wielded sharp sabers. They looked like elite soldiers.

Zhang Han grew alarmed. He leaped onto his black steed, which had silently manifested beside him, and rushed toward the lake.

At the same time, the terracotta soldiers also raised their weapons and charged toward the lake.

In just a few moments, over a hundred translucent blue soldiers had burst out from the lake. Unlike the zombie soldiers, they didn’t have corporeal bodies, and looked more like just souls.

When they saw Zhang Han and his warriors, they began howling furiously. Even though it was hard to discern any words, the intensity of their howls were more than enough to reveal the deep-seated hatred that bore for the general.

They swiftly got into formation before charging toward Zhang Han.

“Am I seeing things?” Zu An rubbed his eyes in confusion. He felt that the formations that both armies had adopted looked oddly similar.

However, he knew that this was not the time for his thoughts to be wandering. He quickly rushed toward the stone table at the center of the platform, intending to use this opportunity to save Chu Chuyan and flee.

Qiao Xueying bit her lip and ran beside him, clearly hoping to save Chu Chuyan as well.

“You saved me earlier on, and I’ve returned the favor now. Let’s call it even,” said Zu An.

“Thanks,” replied Qiao Xueying softly. However, she suddenly snorted. “But I saved you twice previously, if we’re really keeping count, so you still owe me one.”

Zu An’s mouth fell open.

This woman sure doesn’t give in!

Knowing that this wasn’t the time to bicker, he turned his attention to undoing the black rope that was tying Chu Chuyan down to the stone table. To his astonishment, even though the black rope didn’t appear very solid, it was more resilient than any other material he had come by.

He even tried using Poisonous Prick on it, but to no avail.

“Step aside!” Qiao Xueying formed a seal with her hands, and countless green leaves began revolving around her body. With dagger-like sharpness, they darted toward the black rope.

Unfortunately, as soon as the crisp, green leaves came into contact with the black rope, they quickly began to wither. Qiao Xueying tried it a few more times, but the black rope simply wouldn’t be cut. Instead, she only ended up depleting half of the ki that she had just barely regained.

“This rope is made out of the zombie general’s death aura. There’s too big of a difference between your cultivation ranks, so you won’t be able to sever it,” said Chu Chuyan. “You should run away, quickly. There’s no need to bother with me.”

However, Zu An shook his head and said, “You’re my wife! How can I abandon you? Besides, I even fed you the Evanescent Lotus! If I don’t save you, it would be a huge loss to me!”

Chu Chuyan was left speechless. She had been pretty moved just a moment ago, but the next instant, Zu An reverted to being Zu An again.

“Didn’t that fellow kneel before you earlier? Hurry up and order him to free the young miss!” exclaimed Qiao Xueying.

Zu An rolled his eyes. “Are you blind? Didn’t you see me ordering him to free her earlier?”

Qiao Xueying turned to look at the lake, where Zhang Han was fighting against the blue warrior spirits, and bit her lip in anxiety. “What do we do then? By the time he finishes dealing with those dead spirits, he will surely return to activate the blood tribute!”

Zu An found himself in a tight spot. The difference in power between him and the general left him with very little room to maneuver.

“I’ll adopt a more forceful attitude later on. Hopefully, he’ll be intimidated and back down.” Given the circumstances, he could only use his assumed identity as Qin Shihuang to bluff his way through.

“Hmph, childish!” a feminine voice suddenly sounded in his mind.

“You’re finally back!” Zu An gritted his teeth in fury. Ultimately, all this trouble stemmed from this woman.

“Who are you talking to?” Qiao Xueying and Chu Chuyan asked in bewilderment.

Zu An was taken aback by their words. Can’t the two of them hear this woman’s voice?

“Did you think that Zhang Han really believes that you’re Ying Zheng? Once he’s done dealing with those dead spirits, not only will that woman die, you won’t fare any better either!” stated the feminine voice coldly.