“What kind of deal?” asked Zu An as he gazed upon the undead army in horror. He hadn’t even resolved the crisis with Mi Li, and now, another disaster was falling upon him.

It looks like I’m really doomed now.

“I’m sure you’re aware that everyone here will die once those vengeful evil spirits rush out,” said Mi Li.

Intrigued, Zu An asked, “Weren’t they soldiers of the Qin Dynasty before they died? It’s one thing for them to hate Zhang Han, but surely, as the empress of the Qin Dynasty, you should be able to command them, no?”

Mi Li shook her head and replied, “It’s true that they were soldiers of the Qin Dynasty, but they died with their hearts filled with hatred, and they were sealed away for a millennia after that. Their hatred has eroded their sentience, turning them into nothing but vengeful spirits. All that’s left in them is viciousness and bloodlust, and it’s in their instinct to eliminate all living creatures they come across. None of us will survive once they fully escape from the confines of that lake.”

“What kind of deal are you proposing, then?” asked Zu An.

He was only able to joke around with Mi Li because she was pretty. There was no way he would bother entertaining these evil spirits.

“Instead of wasting your purification ability on me, use it to deal with those vengeful spirits. This will be beneficial to both of us!” replied Mi Li.

Zu An was delighted. It seems like this woman really thinks that I’m able to purify her, and is afraid of that possibility.

Realizing this, he hardened himself and said, “Why should I? You nearly caused my wife’s death. I have no reason to let you off so easily!”

Mi Li’s face darkened as she struggled to come to a decision internally. She glanced over at the lake and saw that the terracotta soldiers were gradually being pushed back. It was only a matter of time before the vengeful spirits overwhelmed them.

After all, there was a huge difference between the two forces. There were over two hundred thousand evil spirits, but only around several thousand terracotta soldiers. If not for the fact that the evil spirits weren’t able to escape the seal all at once, the battle would have ended in an instant.

“Fine! I’ll leave your wife’s body, but you mustn’t use your purification ability against me. On top of that, you must gather resources for me so that I can reconstruct my body,” replied Mi Li grimly.

Zu An was delighted. This was the best outcome he could hope for. It seemed like she was really frightened of the so-called purification. “Very well, I’ll agree to your deal. Hurry up and get out of Chuyan’s body right now!”

“Do you take me for a fool? What if you renege on your promise afterwards?” sneered Mi Li.

“What do you want me to do, then? Should we bind ourselves with another contract?” asked Zu An.

Mi Li immediately rejected the idea. “That won’t do. There are far too many loopholes when it comes to contracts, and you seem to be quite a despicable man. Who knows what kind of verbal traps you have prepared for me!”

Zu An couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Big sis empress, I recall that you were the one who tampered with the contract and reneged on our promise earlier on. How in the world do you have the cheek to raise this objection?” 

Damn it, just thinking about it angers me so much!

“Ah Zu, you mustn’t accept her deal! That woman is crafty. She’s definitely up to something!” exclaimed Chu Chuyan.

Qiao Xueying nodded in agreement as well. “Indeed, this woman is vile. We can’t trust her!”

“Foolish women. All is fair in war! I don’t know any of you, so it’s only normal for me to pull tricks on you. You should blame yourselves for being foolish enough to fall for them. However, things are different now that we’re in the same boat!” Mi Li said with an angry huff.

Mi Li’s shamelessness left Zu An speechless. Somehow, he felt a little offended by her words. However, he knew that he had no choice but to go along with Mi Li’s demands, since he was just putting on an act right now.

“What do you want to do, then?”

Mi Li had already thought things through properly. “There are simply far too many plausible loopholes in the contract. Let’s simplify matters and go with a ‘Life-and-Death Contract’ instead. This way, none of us can pull any tricks on the other.”

“Life-and-Death Contract? What’s that?” asked Zu An in confusion.

Mi Li quickly explained it. “A promise transcending life and death shall be made; two shall age together…”

Qiao Xueying couldn’t help but cut in. “How shameless. Aren’t you just using this as an excuse to snatch Miss Chu’s husband?”

Chu Chuyan’s shocked expression clearly demonstrated that she’d had the same thoughts in mind as well.

Mi Li flew into a state of rage, bellowing, “What are you two dumb women thinking about? Who in the world would want to snatch this scum away from you? That poem isn’t used to describe romance between a man and a woman! Back then, it was used to describe the camaraderie shared by those in the military. As the words suggest, it refers to a promise to die together on the battlefield with one’s comrades in times of crisis.”

Qiao Xueying’s face reddened. “I… I meant exactly that!”

Chu Chuyan was also embarrassed by her own thoughts, and didn’t notice Qiao Xueying’s odd behavior.

“This contract would seal both of our souls together. If you die, I’ll die as well, and vice-versa. This way, we won’t have to worry about each other doing anything against our combined interests,” replied Mi Li. “This is the only way I’ll feel secure enough to leave your wife’s body. Otherwise, I’d rather all of us go down together.”

“You want us to die together?” Zu An hesitated. He didn’t want to entrust his fate into the hands of another person.

Chu Chuyan gritted her teeth and said, “Ah Zu, don’t agree to that. Take Snow and escape; I’ll stall her!”

Zu An frowned upon hearing those words. Before he could say anything, Mi Li cut in, “You really are a dumb woman. He would have run away a long time ago if he was willing to abandon you! He wouldn’t have waited until now, nor would he have sustained such severe injuries for you!

“Besides, if anyone is at a disadvantage in this contract, it’s me! I haven’t even scorned him yet, and you’re already scorning me? Do you know how powerful I am? There are few in the world who have the ability to hurt me, whereas your man is so miserably weak. I’m the one who should be worried!”

Qiao Xueying still wasn’t willing to let this matter slide. “Hmph, who’s scorning who? At the very least, he should be able to live till a thousand years old, possibly longer than that once his cultivation increases. Tying his fate with yours would be his loss!”

She had granted at least seven to eight hundred years of her own lifespan to him through her Half Life’s Fate, and cultivators usually had a lifespan far longer than those of ordinary mortals. Living a thousand years would be nothing for him.

Besides, now that she had contributed half of her lifespan to Zu An, there was no way she would be content to see Zu An dying together with another woman. What a huge loss it would be for her if that were to happen!

“A thousand years?” Chu Chuyan, who was in the dark, was surprised by Snow’s remarks. Given Zu An’s current cultivation rank, he was still a long way off from living for a thousand years.

On the other hand, Mi Li gave a cold snort and said, “A thousand years? Hmph! Even if he lives for two thousand, I’d still be the one suffering a huge loss!”

Qiao Xueying and Chu Chuyan fell silent. They knew that she was right, especially since she had already lived for an immeasurable period of time in this dark underground cavern.

Zu An couldn’t resist asking, “Big sis empress, how old are you?”

Mi Li rolled her eyes. “Who are you directing this question at? Don’t you know that it’s rude to ask a woman for her age?”

“I won’t doubt it even if you said that you could live for ten thousand years, but I reckon that you should have been sealed down here for several thousand years now,” replied Zu An. “If you’re already nearing your final years, don’t I have much to lose by sealing this Life-and-Death Contract with you?”

Mi Li was stunned speechless.

You have successfully trolled Mi Li for 777 Rage points!

Qiao Xueying burst into laughter. Zu An had driven her mad so many times before, but it was oddly exhilarating to see him do the same to other people.

“You brat! Stop trying my patience!” Mi Li’s eyelids twitched as she forced her words out between gritted teeth.

“Fine, I’ll agree to your request to bind ourselves with a Life-and-Death Contract,” replied Zu An.

Qiao Xueying and Chu Chuyan immediately exclaimed anxiously, “Ah Zu, you mustn’t!”

However, Zu An stopped them with a wave of his hand and said, “Don’t worry. I don’t have much to lose by signing this contract. We still need to find a way to resolve the situation we’re in, and it wouldn’t do for us to be stuck at an impasse.”

Both Qiao Xueying and Chu Chuyan did not think that it was right for Zu An to sign such a contract with Mi Li, but they knew that what he said was true. Since he had already made up his mind, they decided to accept his decision.

As for Zu An, he knew that he was just taking Mi Li for a ride. He was actually desperate to sign this whatever-the-heck contract she had suggested so as to tie her down. The only thing he was afraid of was that his act would be seen through if he appeared too enthusiastic, which was why he had nonchalantly changed the subject to give the impression that he wasn’t too bothered by it.

Fortunately, his distractions worked out well, and Mi Li didn’t notice a thing at all.

“How do we sign this ‘Life-and-Death Contract?” asked Zu An.

Mi Li raised her hand and said, “Give me a drop of your blood essence.”

“Blood essence?” Zu An scratched his head awkwardly. “Is this really appropriate? I mean, to take off my pants in front of all of you is really a bit…”

Qiao Xueying, Chu Chuyan and Mi Li all groaned together.

“Wash those filthy thoughts out of your mind!” bellowed Mi Li. “Blood essence refers to the origin of your life force. It’s different from ordinary blood, and it definitely isn’t what you’re thinking of!”

You have successfully trolled Mi Li for 517 Rage points!

Zu An laughed sheepishly. It sure was awkward to have misinterpreted her words in such a lewd manner… Though, to be honest, he didn’t think that he was to be blamed for this. After all, he’d used the other type of ‘blood essence’ to repair Chu Chuyan’s ki meridians earlier on.

Mi Li couldn’t be bothered to waste her words on him, so she pressed her forefinger against his forehead and pulled out a droplet of blood essence. It looked far more vibrantly crimson than ordinary blood. 

Chu Chuyan was horrified. She tried to stop her, but Mi Li said, “Relax, I won’t hurt your man.”

Zu An suddenly felt a surge of powerlessness. Fatigue far greater than whatever he had felt before swept across his body. It seemed that losing one’s blood essence really took a huge toll on one’s body.

“Stretch out your finger and draw the same symbols that I do,” instructed Mi Li.

“Be careful, Ah Zu!” warned Qiao Xueying.

“If you sense anything amiss, stab your sword through my heart right away,” added Chu Chuyan.

Zu An assured them both with a smile. “Don’t worry, she isn’t able to kill me.”

He wasn’t frightened of Mi Li as long as the Heiress’ Ball of Delights was still working.

“You’re oddly confident,” remarked Mi Li, displeased by how lightly Zu An was taking her.

However, Zu An didn’t bother saying anything. He raised his hand and touched the tip of Mi Li’s finger. The icy sensation felt incredibly comfortable, and for a moment, he wondered if this sense of comfort was coming from Chu Chuyan or Mi Li.

“Focus!” Mi Li frowned. Zu An’s expression made her feel incredibly uncomfortable. “Slowly move your finger along with mine.”

Zu An replied with a nod. With the tips of their fingers linked together, using the blood essence as ink, they drew out a profound formation in mid-air.

Once the formation was complete, a ray of golden light burst forth, piercing into each of their foreheads before vanishing without a trace.

Zu An blinked rapidly. All of a sudden, Mi Li felt far more intimate to him, and he knew intuitively that she hadn’t been lying to him. This contract was indeed able to make the two of them share fates.

This wasn’t a feeling conveyed through words, but a natural enlightenment arising from the natural laws that governed the world.

Zu An suddenly thought about an incredibly important question, and he asked, “What do you intend to do once you leave my wife’s body?”

He had been so eager for Mi Li to leave Chu Chuyan’s body earlier on that he hadn’t really thought about the aftermath. Now that their fates were linked together, though, he began worrying that Mi Li would suddenly dissipate and die. That would spell his death as well.