“Indeed, that’s a formula that I happened to stumble upon. By circulating her ki according to the formula, she fully opened up her heart and body, resulting in the weakening of her will. That made it much easier for me to enter her body.” 

Even though the body was Chu Chuyan’s, she was speaking with the same tone and attitude as Mi Li.

“Why did you possess her body? You already have your own, and you’re not inferior to her in terms of beauty or cultivation…” A thought suddenly arose in Zu An’s mind then, and he exclaimed, “Wait a moment. Could it be because of the poison that Zhang Han used on you earlier?”

‘Chu Chuyan’ nodded in response. “The Red Tears of Lady Xiang were far more potent than I thought. Even with my cultivation, I was unable to resist the terrifying lethality of the poison. It took just a few moments for the poison to fully scourge my body. I only just managed to escape with my soul using a secret art I learned of by chance, but even so, a hint of the poison has also afflicted my soul. I’m in a far weaker state than before.”

She paused for a brief moment before adding, “Of course, my current strength is more than enough to deal with you.”

“Is that why you chose to take Chu Chuyan’s body for your own?” Zu An couldn’t believe how that dastardly Zhang Han still continued to haunt him even after his death! His mind swiftly whirred into action as he tried to figure out a solution.

“Indeed,” replied ‘Chu Chuyan’ with a sneer. “I told you that we would meet again very soon, but you didn’t believe me.”

Zu An finally understood why Mi Li would say those words earlier on, and why she had even emphasized that their reunion might be less than pleasant.

“Big sis empress, we formed a good partnership with one another earlier on, didn’t we? There’s no need for us to turn against each other. Why don’t I find another host for you to possess instead?” said Zu An.

‘Chu Chuyan’ shook her head and said, “I’m satisfied with the body I have now; I don’t want to switch into anyone else’s. Besides, do you think it’s that easy to assimilate a soul into another body? My soul has already sustained some damage; if I were to switch into another person’s body, it would cause my soul irreparable damage, and it may even dissipate. Why should I take such a risk?”

The obvious lack of a win-win solution made Zu An’s heart sink. He let his voice turn cold as well. “You signed a contract with me earlier on. You can’t hurt us. Aren’t you afraid of divine retribution?”

‘Chu Chuyan’ burst into laughter, suffusing her cold exterior with a hint of seductiveness. “But I’ve already saved her, in accordance with our promise. Besides, Mi Li is already dead. Even if there’s divine retribution, it should all be over by now.”

“Did you think that your deeds can be concealed from the eyes of heaven?” Zu An figured that, if even the Keyboard was able to sense that she was Mi Li, then surely heaven, whatever it was, would be able to as well.

Heaven was a very abstract concept to him, but this world seemed to believe in its existence. He was only worried that the divine retribution would accidentally come down on Chu Chuyan and harm her as well.

‘Chu Chuyan’ could see through his thoughts right away. “Are you trying to stall for time to see if the consequences of me violating the contract would come about? You need not bother. The contract we signed was void from the start.”

“Void?” Zu An was stunned.

‘Chu Chuyan’ sneered coldly. “Did you think that I would shackle myself so easily? I wasn’t the one who personally placed my thumbprint on the contract; you took my finger and pressed it against the contract. Since the contract wasn’t sealed of my own accord, it goes without saying that it isn’t binding.”

Zu An was utterly stupefied.

Wait a moment, there’s such a rule to it as well? What the hell! 

Zu An felt deeply remorseful. Now that he thought about it, it did seem to make a lot of sense.

‘Chu Chuyan’ raised the sword up high and said, “I’ve only explained everything to you out of gratitude for freeing me from my seal. It should all come to an end now.”

“Wait a moment!” Zu An suddenly shouted out. “I have a suggestion!”

“What is it?” Perhaps her long isolation had enhanced her desire for human contact, causing ‘Chu Chuyan’ to actually decide to listen to him. In the past, she would never have bothered exchanging so many words with a mere ant.

Zu An pushed aside his enraged expression and said, “Well, big sis empress, why don’t you continue living on as Chu Chuyan? Chu Chuyan and I are just a couple in name anyway. As long as you’re willing, I’ll get a real wife, and you’ll get someone to conceal your identity. You’ve been alone for several thousand years now; the lonely nights must have been hard for you to bear. We happen to get along just fine anyway, so why don’t we just make do with one another?”

Mi Li was at a loss for words.

Chu Chuyan couldn’t believe what she was hearing either.

You have successfully trolled Mi Li for 666 Rage points!

You have successfully trolled Chu Chuyan for 666 Rage points!

Upon seeing Chu Chuyan’s name in the system, Zu An heaved a sigh of relief. He had intentionally said those words in order to see if the real Chu Chuyan was still conscious within her body. It seems like her soul is still around. There’s still hope.

However, Mi Li was unaware of Zu An’s real intention. She never expected that such a shameless man could exist in the world. She was still touched by the deep feelings that the couple had harbored for one another a moment ago. However, it seemed that as soon as danger reared its head, he had immediately abandoned his wife without a second thought!

Pui! Men are all the same!

Zu An acted as if he was oblivious to Mi Li’s anger as he continued, “Big sis empress, you might be strong, but you’ve been sealed away for over a thousand years. The world has changed greatly since the Qin Dynasty, and it’s only normal for you to be unfamiliar with how things are now. It’ll be hard for you to move around in your current state. If you were to accidentally let it slip that you’re actually a soul forcefully possessing Chu Chuyan’s body, the cultivators of the world would surely take up arms to subdue you. I know that you’re more than strong enough to deal with this, but surely having such flies buzzing around you must be annoying, no?”

A mocking smile crept onto Mi Li’s face. “Your words are indeed persuasive. However, you’re simply too despicable of a person to trust. Even Zhao Gao doesn’t hold a candle to you.”

Zu An’s expression immediately collapsed. “Can you not compare me to a eunuch? It really makes my skin crawl.”

Mi Li’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. Ah, there’s one way in which he isn’t like Zhao Gao. At least he’s not impotent.

That thought barely flashed across his mind for a moment before she quickly snapped out of her daze and said, “Are you done? If so, it’s time for you to be on your way.”

“W-wait! I still have more to say!” exclaimed Zu An. “Big sis empress, won’t you at least consider it? I mean, it’s not your body anyway, so you have nothing to lose. In fact, I’ll make you savor every moment of it… Cough cough, I mean, you can count on me to take good care of you and familiarize you with the new world!”

Mi Li was once again speechless, and Chu Chuyan felt her blood begin to boil.

You have successfully trolled Chu Chuyan for 1024 Rage points!

Zu An was overjoyed to see this. He hoped that he might just be able to provoke Chu Chuyan enough for her to gain sufficient strength, allowing her to wrestle back control over her body.

Mi Li took a deep breath before saying, “You’ve really reached new heights of shamelessness. Since I’ve taken over her body, I’ll do her a favor and help her get rid of the bane of her life.”

Zu An was displeased to hear that. “You were the one who took her place and ruined our love for one another. Yet, you still want to sit on your high horse and criticize me for my actions. If anyone is shameless, it’s clearly you!”

Mi Li exploded with anger. “You’re courting death!”

You have successfully trolled Mi Li for 730 Rage points!

Her sword flashed toward Zu An.

Zu An immediately used the Sunflower Phantasm to dodge her attack, but as soon as he summoned his ki, he suddenly felt an unbearable heat assaulting his abdomen, causing his ki to suddenly fly into disarray, resulting in his ki flow to slow down drastically.

He suddenly remembered how Old Mi had unexpectedly trailed off while talking about the requirements for cultivating this technique, and put it together with all the movies he had seen in his previous life. In an instant, he figured out what was going on. 

Most likely, Sunflower Phantasm was a technique that could only be practiced by eunuchs. He had been able to fulfill this condition previously because ‘little Zu An’ had been sealed, but the release of the seal had turned him into a real man. As a result, he couldn’t use Sunflower Phantasm anymore.

This moment of stupor was just long enough for Mi Li’s sword to rush forth and pierce right into his chest.

“Gah!” 

The powerful force thrust Zu An into the air, pinning him to the other end of the underground hall, just like Zhang Han.

Mi Li shot him one last glance and murmured, “You should learn to quieten down once you get to the underworld.”

After saying her piece, she turned around and was about to leave when she suddenly heard a strained voice coming from behind her. “I count on my face and my words to make a living, so how could I possibly quieten down?”

Mi Li whipped back around. “Y-you… You aren’t dead yet?!” she exclaimed.

She had been able to kill even Zhang Han with a single blow, although a huge part of it was because Zhang Han had lost his will to live. Nevertheless, Zhang Han was still a ninth rank cultivator, whereas Zu An was only at the third rank!

“As the saying goes, ‘a couple for a day, a hundred days of gratitude’. You must have subconsciously gone easy on me out of consideration of the deep bond we shared earlier.” As he spoke, Zu An smiled and pulled out the sword lodged into his chest.

At the same time, he patted his chest, relieved that he had activated the Heiress’ Ball of Delights in advance earlier on, thus preventing the blow from being fatal.

He was worried for a moment there that his wealth might exceed Mi Li’s. After all, he was worth a few hundred thousand taels of silver now. If Mi Li was really poorer than him, not only would he have wasted a precious use of the artifact, but he would also have died!

He had never in his entire life hated himself for being rich. Fortunately, though, everything went well.

Mi Li was the empress of the Qin Dynasty, after all, and a person of great wealth and prestige. The Qin Dynasty might have fallen, but this mausoleum was supposed to belong to her, which meant that everything that was buried in here could be considered her possessions.

Besides, Mi Li was possessing Chu Chuyan’s body, who probably had a fortune of at least a million taels of silver, since she was actively involved in all of the businesses of the Chu clan. Either of them should be richer than him, and the outcome would have been the same, regardless of whether the Heiress’ Ball of Delights was taking Mi Li’s or Chu Chuyan’s wealth into consideration.

Mi Li was completely stunned by this development. 

Did I really fall for him, causing me to subconsciously go easy on him? How could that be possible?!