“I have never feared anything in my life, not even the heavens!” declared Chen Wei proudly.

Zu An was impressed by how that fellow was able to speak so confidently despite being in such a dire situation. His mental fortitude was truly extraordinary.

“Very well. I want you to plead guilty and admit to having inscribed those words,” said Zu An.

Qiao Xueying had been intrigued as to what sort of idea Zu An was going to propose, but when she heard these words, she stiffened. Wait a minute. Isn’t that as good as pushing him right into hell?!

“Hahaha!” Chen Wei also let out a derisive snort of laughter. “I assume you haven’t been able to determine the real culprit either, and so you want to persuade me to be the scapegoat. Is that right?”

“I thought that you were a smart man, but it seems I was mistaken. I should have described you as ‘short-sighted’ instead.” Zu An shook his head.

“You!!” Chen Wei’s rage boiled over. No one in the world would have been happy at being described as short-sighted.

You have successfully trolled Chen Wei for 256 Rage points!

“Think it through properly. Even if no one admits to this crime, you’re already doomed to die. However, if you admit to it, you’ll be the only one who needs to die. Is that logic hard for you to comprehend?”

Chen Wei was enraged. “But this is a grievous crime that warrants the eradication of nine generations of my clan! How can I possibly admit to it lightly?”

“Nine generations? Based on what I know, your mother died in your younger years, and you have been living alone with your father all of these years. Now that your father has just died, who else would be affected by this punishment?”

Chen Wei was stunned. At that moment, he realized that he was the only one left in his family.

After a moment of contemplation, he shook his head and said, “That won’t do. There are plenty of villagers who are at loggerheads with me, and conflicts frequently spring up. I can’t bear the notion of dying for those bastards. Why should I sacrifice myself for their happiness? I’d rather all of us die together!” 

This really put Zu An in a spot of bother. He had believed that Chen Wei was the righteous sort who would be more than willing to sacrifice themselves for the rest of the village. However, it seemed his evaluation was completely wrong.

“I don’t fear death, but I’m not content with dying in such a humbling manner. A true warrior should go down in a blaze of glory! If we villagers are destined to die, I’d rather inform the rest about their fate, and have them raise their arms in rebellion! The world has suffered under the Qin dynasty’s tyranny for too long. I trust that many would heed my rallying cry!

“You seem to be a righteous person as well. Why don’t we join forces and do something great together? If we succeed, you can become whatever you want, be it a king, a duke, or a marquess. You won’t be restricted to being just a humble censor!”

Chen Wei’s words were so passionate that they made Zu An’s heart race. 

It seems some people are born with the charisma of a leader. Their words naturally rouse the emotions of others, and Chen Wei is one such person. If not for the fact that I don’t belong to this world, I might just be persuaded by him.

“How dare you spout such disrespectful words in front of an official of the imperial court? You must be tired of living!” sneered Zu An.

Despite this, Chen Wei looked far from intimidated. He puffed his chest up and said, “I reckon that you’re dissatisfied with the Qin Emperor’s tyrannical rule as well, considering how you’ve bothered to say so much to me. If that’s the case, why don’t you take a leap of faith and try for the huge one? Are kings and nobles granted their high status at birth?”

Zu An was momentarily at a loss for words.

Hearing that famous, several thousand-year-old quote, Zu An suddenly felt his mouth drying up a little. “By any chance, is it possible that you go by another name, Chen Sheng[1]?”

“Chen Sheng?” Chen Wei fell into deep thought. “That’s a good name. I’ve been wanting to change my name for some time now. Very well, from this day onward, I shall be known as Chen Sheng!”

Yet again, Zu An found it difficult to respond.

H-hold on a moment, what’s going on here? How in the world did Chen Sheng pop out here?!

Zu An felt his mind plunging into disarray. 

If this fellow was really Chen Sheng, and he ended up being executed with the other villagers, wouldn’t the ‘Uprising of the Poles’ be no more[2]?

If so, the Qin Dynasty wouldn’t have fallen so quickly, which means that… history is changing?

Zu An was stunned. The most important rule of anyone transmigrating back in time was not to change history, in order to prevent any wild changes to the timeline of reality.

It looks like I can’t allow Chen Wei—ah, it should be Chen Sheng now—to die!

Cold sweat began trickling down Zu An’s back as he finally understood how devious the Heaven Seal was. Most people would be unable to find the culprit who inscribed the words, and would have wound up dead. Those who were more vicious would attempt to kill all the villagers to silence them, but Chen Sheng’s death would inadvertently change the trajectory of history. This could further result in a series of unpredictable changes, none of which were likely to be anything good.

To put it in simpler terms, there were two requirements he would have to fulfill in order to clear the Heaven Seal—he would have to punish the culprit and remain accountable to the imperial court, while ensuring Chen Sheng’s survival.

Now that he thought about it, the record on the ‘Antares Occupying the Heart’ incident might not be fully accurate. It was indeed stated that everyone in the village had been killed, but it was possible that some of them might have escaped, most notably Chen Sheng.

If I had blindly trusted the historical records, I would have been done in just like that!

Now that he thought about it, Snow was really the star that led him to fortune. If not for her insistence, he probably wouldn’t have been as determined to save the villagers. Once Chen Sheng died, it would have been impossible to overcome the Heaven Seal, and he would have wound up dead, one way or another.

Zu An quickly sorted out his thoughts and replied, “I’ll pass on that. You shouldn’t bother trying to rally these villagers on your side either. All of them have families to take care of, so how could they possibly throw in their lot with you and risk nine generations of eradication for their clan? Besides, you also mentioned that some of them bear grudges toward you, so there’s a possibility that they might stab you in the back after refusing your offer. Now is not a good time for you to make a move yet.”

Chen Sheng’s face darkened. He had been overcome by passion earlier on, and had failed to think things through carefully. Zu An’s analysis brought him back to his senses, and he remarked in frustration, “What should I do then? Am I to wait around for death?”

“If you trust me, you should admit to inscribing the words, and we can conclude the case. I’ll find a way to rescue you afterwards, and after that, you’ll be free to do whatever you want,” replied Zu An.

Cheng Sheng didn’t respond right away. He stared at Zu An intently for a moment before asking, “Why are you helping me?”

Zu An knew that Chen Sheng wasn’t the type to trust others easily. He took a while to consider the matter before answering, “To be frank with you, I wasn’t intending to get involved in this matter at all. Things would have been much simpler for me if I simply killed all of you. However, my little sister pleaded on your behalf, and I’m not too fond of killing innocents either. That’s why I’m taking this risk to help you all.”

Qiao Xueying nodded in agreement. “Indeed! Chen Sheng, you can trust him. He might have a suspicious-looking face, but his heart is in the right place.”

Zu An clicked his tongue. Are you praising or insulting me here?

Seeing that Chen Sheng was still silent, Zu An decided to give him one final hard push. “If you aren’t going to agree, I’ll kill you right away. I’m not going to risk you revealing the contents of our conversation to anyone else.”

Oddly enough, these words made Chen Sheng heave a sigh of relief. “All right. I accept your request.”

The three of them finalized the details of their plan, before Zu An brought Lord Wang over.

“He has already confessed to the matter. He was the one who secretly inscribed those words on the meteor.”

Lord Wang was overjoyed. “Lord Censor, I never believed that you would be able to deal with this matter. I’m impressed!”

He beckoned his subordinates over and ordered, “Men, execute that miscreant right away!”

“Wait a moment!” Zu An hurriedly stopped Lord Wang before pulling him over to one side. “Are you intending to kill the suspect just like that?”

“What else would we do if not execute the man who has committed such grievous crimes?” asked Lord Wang in bewilderment.

“You should send him to Xianyang[3] and have His Majesty judge him personally. Perhaps, His Majesty might be delighted by your merits and reward you handsomely,” said Zu An.

“This is wise indeed!” Lord Wang’s eyes twinkled in delight. “Men, tie that man up and place him inside the cage! I shall personally escort him back to the capital! Lord Censor, do you wish to come along with us?”

Zu An turned him down with a shake of his head. “I still have other matters to attend to, so I’ll have to reject the offer.” 

Lord Wang was perfectly happy with that. “Lord Censor, I’m truly grateful for your guidance. I’ll never forget the grace you’ve shown to me today.”

“Lord Wang, you’re too humble,” replied Zu An. I’ll be more than thankful if you don’t hate me for this.

When the villagers found out that it was Chen Wei who had inscribed those words on the meteor, even those who were usually close to him began pointing fingers at him, criticizing him for his actions. Everyone had just been taken on a trip to the gates of hell, so all of them were incredibly irate. They naturally took their anger out on the culprit who had nearly cost them their lives.

Chen Sheng was infuriated to see the way they berated him, despite having saved their lives. He was just about to retaliate when Zu An walked over to his side and communicated with him discreetly via ki transmission, “Commoners tend to be ignorant, so don’t hold it against them. Think about it optimistically. They rallied against you easily today, but this also means that you can also easily rally them in the future to help you fulfill your ambitions.”

A glint flashed across Chen Sheng’s eyes as he nodded discreetly. He lowered his head silently and obediently followed the guards into the cage.

Both Zu An and Qiao Xueying exchanged glances before quickly leaving in another direction. Once they were out of everyone’s sight, they made a huge detour and lay in wait in a place where they knew the convoy would have to pass through on the way to the capital, Xianyang.

In the end, they managed to save Chen Sheng without too much hassle. In the first place, the guards weren’t too strong, and Lord Wang had been so anxious to claim his reward that he’d barely brought anyone along with him. He never would have believed that anyone would be so brazen as to attempt to rescue a criminal of the imperial court.

“Lord Wang, what do we do now?” 

The subordinates were overwhelmed, and quickly gathered around Lord Wang, anxiously demanding a response. It would be the death penalty for them for letting such an important criminal escape under their watch!

“How am I to know what to do?!” Lord Wang was incredibly vexed as well. Not only had he lost his chance at a promotion, but at this rate, it seemed like his head was going to be lopped off too.

“Why don’t we return to the Chen Village and kill everyone? We can claim that no one had confessed to inscribing those words, so…” one of the subordinates suggested.

“You fool!” Lord Wang smacked the subordinate’s head. “I’ve already reported the matter to the royal court! I would be bringing trouble on my own head if I suddenly changed my statement!”

Another subordinate spoke up. “What if we claim that Chen Wei tried to break free and ended up harming some of our brothers, so we killed him on the spot as punishment?”

Lord Wang nodded in approval. “That’s a good idea. But what about his corpse, then?” 

“One of the prisoners died in the yamen yesterday, and we haven’t yet reported it up the chain of command. We could use his corpse in place of Chen Wei’s. The people in the imperial court won’t recognize him anyway,” replied the subordinate.

Lord Wang’s eyes lit up. “That’s a good idea. Quick, let’s get to work! We’re all in the same boat right now, so you all had better make sure to keep your mouth shut! Understood?”

The others nodded in agreement.

… 

Meanwhile, Zu An and Qiao Xueying brought Chen Sheng to a remote place. “You won’t be able to return to the Chen Village anymore,” they told him. “What are your plans now?”

“What about my father’s corpse? I can’t just leave him there…” Chen Sheng frowned.

“Don’t worry, I’ve already ordered some of the men to bury your father,” replied Zu An. “Of course, it won’t be a glorious burial. It can’t be helped, since you’re a fugitive right now.”

“Thank you, benefactor. I’m grateful for your help.” Chen Sheng bowed deeply to Zu An before saying, “Please do not worry. I shall change my name from this day onward, so as to not implicate you. As I said before, I shall be known as Chen Sheng from this day onward. I’m thinking of heading over to Yangxia City to seek refuge with one of my good friends.”

“By any chance, is your friend named Wu Guang?” asked Zu An.

Chen Sheng was stunned. “How do you know that?”

“It was just a random guess. Well, I wish you all the best for the future,” replied Zu An sheepishly.

Chen Sheng clasped his fist and said, “I’ll surely repay the grace you’ve shown me today. Farewell!”

With that, he bade the two of them farewell before taking his leave. For some reason, his departing silhouette looked rather stalwart.

As Qiao Xueying watched Cheng Sheng’s receding figure, she couldn’t help but ask, “Are you hiding something from me?”

---

Chen Sheng and Wu Guang were the first ones to revolt against Qin Shihuang. Their insurrection was unsuccessful since they were defeated by Zhang Han in the end, but their actions set a precedent for Xiang Yu (the Hegemon-King of Western Chu) and Liu Bang (the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty) to follow. 

The story starts with Chen Sheng and Wu Guang being tasked to lead a band of commoner soldiers to defend the Yuyang Commandery. However, they ended up obstructed by a sudden flash flood, resulting in severe delays. Under the law of the Qin Dynasty, those who were late in carrying out official duties were to be punished by death. They figured that they would rather fight for their freedom than face execution, and thus rallied the commoner soldiers to rebel against the government, beginning the insurrection.