Zu An was too stunned to speak.

His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. 

What’s going on? They just pledged their loyalty to you barely a moment ago, but you’ve killed them right after! What about my army of terracotta soldiers? I haven’t managed to show them off yet!

As if sensing Zu An’s doubts, Mi Li glanced at Chu Chuyan and Qiao Xueying and remarked, “I only spared them on your account. If not, they would have suffered the same fate as those terracotta soldiers.”

“Why did you kill them? They already pledged their loyalty to you!” exclaimed Zu An.

“Loyalty?” sneered Mi Li. “That’s just a pretty word that people spout for the sake of it. If you don’t want to be betrayed by your subordinates, you need to offer them something that they can’t resist. It’s a pity I can’t ensure that in my current state, and I can’t bring them along with me either. Since that’s the case, I might as well just kill them and be done with them, lest they reveal my secrets in the future.”

Zu An was horrified. “You killed all of them over that? They can’t even speak! How could they reveal your secrets?”

“They witnessed everything that happened here. So what if they were incapable of speech? There’s no way I could allow them to continue their existence,” remarked Mi Li. “I would rather be the one to betray others than to be betrayed.”

Zu An was stunned into silence.

Sis, why in the world would you bring out Cao Cao’s famed words as well?

Despite this, this incident made him realize that he and Mi Li lived in completely different worlds. He had transmigrated from the modern world, and while he was a little greedy, lustful, and handsome, he was still a good person overall. Unless someone threatened his life, he would never go to the extent of taking a person’s life. 

However, the world of cultivation was a cruel place, where not everyone was born equal. Those who were born into noble clans or possessed an exceptional talent for cultivation were far more privileged than their peers, and because of the positions of superiority they occupied, they looked down on those beneath them. 

Mi Li was one example of this. She used to be the lofty empress of a dynasty, and no one had dared to cross her. This caused her to have an egocentric view of the world.

Mi Li noticed Zu An’s ugly expression and snorted. “Are you a man, or not? From the way you fought earlier, I assumed you were a decisive person, but it seems you’re far more of a wuss than I thought.”

Zu An shook his head bitterly. “How can the two things be considered equal? It’s only normal to go all out in a fight against an enemy, but I can’t bring myself to act so viciously towards those who have never shown me hostility before.”

“You’re naive!” Mi Li replied, clearly evaluating him. “Countless famous young generals shared the same thought as you. They were able to conquer the battlefield, but they were backstabbed by those who envied them, and lost their lives. I wouldn’t have given any thought towards your foolishness, but our fates are now tied together. I won’t allow you to walk in their footsteps like an utter imbecile.”

Zu An fell silent. He knew that Mi Li’s words held a nugget of truth, but he still couldn’t accept her world view.

Mi Li wasn’t interested in preaching philosophy to Zu An, and she swiftly changed the topic. “The two of them are about to awaken. You should know better than anyone else what you should and shouldn’t say in front of them. My soul has suffered a significant amount of damage today, and it seems like the poison from the ‘Red Tears of Lady Xiang’ is still affecting me. I’ll need to enter a long period of hibernation in order to recuperate. Don’t disturb me unless there’s something important.”

After saying those words, she returned to the Tai’e Sword. A moment later, her worried voice echoed in his ears once more. “Brat, make sure that you don’t suffer a careless death. You should know that you carry two lives on you right now!”

Zu An was momentarily speechless.

Her use of this phrase… 

“Don’t worry,” he finally managed. “I might have many flaws, but I do have one strength, and that’s the fear of death.”

Zu An was probably the only one in the world who could openly boast about his fear of death. He waited for a while, but he didn’t hear any response from Mi Li.

“At least say something. It’s rude not to reply.”

Despite his retorts, he had no intention of really knocking on the Tai’e Sword to demand a sentimental goodbye message from Mi Li. Instead, he moved quickly to check on Chu Chuyan and Qiao Xueying.

The two of them gradually regained consciousness, and both let out slight groans.

“How are you feeling?” Zu An asked, looking anxiously at the two of them.

Even though Mi Li had guaranteed him time and time again that they were fine, he found it hard to trust her, especially after seeing how vicious she could be.

As soon as Chu Chuyan opened her eyes, she saw that she was lying in the arms of a man, and immediately stiffened. She instinctively pushed him away before darting aside. Despite her frantic movements, the way her hair and her robe fluttered emphasized her incredible beauty.

As expected of my wife. She looks gorgeous no matter what she does. But while I admit that you’re beautiful, you can’t just turn your back on me like that!

Chu Chuyan belatedly realized that it was Zu An, and immediately regretted her overreaction. Her face reddened in embarrassment. “Pardon me… I didn’t know it was you.”

Her words smoothed out Zu An’s ruffled feelings. “It’s fine. Do you still remember what happened earlier?”

Chu Chuyan’s face reddened further as she turned her head away and muttered, “D-did anything happen?”

Zu An was utterly stupefied.

Mi Li fooled me!

“Can the two of you spare some thought for the severely injured patient lying beside you?” grumbled Qiao Xueying.

Her unhappy tone made Zu An feel slightly apologetic. After all, her injuries had been due to his actions. “My bad. I’ll take you outside right now to see if we can get any restorative medicine from the other students.”

“Hm? If I recall correctly, you were severely injured as well. You look perfectly fine now though… Weird,” remarked Qiao Xueying curiously.

Zu An supposed that this lapse in memory could be due to her forgetting about the Primordial Origin Sutra. “Do you remember how I got injured?” he probed, hoping to determine if his hypothesis was correct.

“Of course I do. You were in the midst of saving me when… Hm?” Qiao Xueying suddenly froze. “Wait a moment. Why can’t I remember who hurt you?”

Chu Chuyan also pressed her fingers against her temples as she sensed that there were some gaps in her memories.

Zu An quickly laughed it off and said, “Hahaha, who else could it be? It was the evil spirits and the terracotta soldiers who hurt me!”

“How did you manage to clear out the evil spirits and the terracotta soldiers?” Chu Chuyan asked in astonishment. After all, there had been two hundred thousand evil spirits, and those terracotta soldiers weren’t pushovers either. “How?”

“So, you want to know? Call me hubby and I’ll tell you.” Zu An couldn’t think of an excuse to clean up the mess Mi Li had left for him, so he sought to deflect her question by changing the topic instead.

Chu Chuyan turned her head away and ignored him.

“Let’s get out of here first. Treating Snow’s injuries is the most important thing right now,” said Zu An as he pulled Qiao Xueying into his arms and carried her.

“Put me down!” Being unceremoniously swept into his arms caused Qiao Xueying’s pale cheeks to redden once more.

“Stop struggling. Your wounds will open up again,” Zu An said, chastising her. “You’ve already given me the most precious thing in your life, so it’s only right for me to help you out.”

“It looks like you still have a conscience.” Qiao Xueying supposed that Zu An’s words made sense. She had used her Half Life’s Fate on him, after all, so it was only right that he do at least this much for her. Besides, back in the Earth Seal, she had been carried in an even more embarrassing manner.

Meanwhile, Zu An lowered his head contemplatively. He had intentionally asked the question in order to determine how much Qiao Xueying remembered, and her answer caused him to heave a sigh of relief.

However, Chu Chuyan was utterly dumbfounded. 

The most precious thing in her life? Isn’t it obvious what would be considered the most precious thing to a woman?

What’s going on between these two? He just barely performed that act with me… Did he suddenly hook up with Snow right after that?

Even though Chu Chuyan had betrothed Qiao Xueying to him back then, she still felt something very uncomfortable about the current situation.

Zu An took the lead, with Qiao Xueying in his arms. “Why are you so light? You should eat a bit more meat. Your body won’t grow properly if you just munch on melon seeds.”

“I don’t like meat. Besides, what’s wrong with melon seeds?” protested Qiao Xueying in displeasure. 

“Ah, I forgot that you’re a tree demoness,” teased Zu An.

“You’re the tree demon! Your whole family is made up of tree demons!” roared Qiao Xueying in response.

… 

Chu Chuyan noticed that even though the two of them were bickering as always, there wasn’t any tension or hostility between them. She chuckled softly as she watched them interact, before suddenly falling into a daze. She noticed that she was unable to take part in their conversation at all.

Why do I feel so awkward watching them?

“How did you manage to clear those evil spirits?” asked Qiao Xueying.

“Well, I enlightened them with my words. They agreed that it wasn’t good for them to continue living in such a manner, so they willingly let themselves dissipate back into the world,” replied Zu An with a smile.

“It’s fine if you don’t want to tell me,” Qiao Xueying said with an angry huff.

Zu An shrugged in response. He wasn’t exactly lying, since the evil spirits had indeed been fooled by Mi Li’s words… 

A white silhouette suddenly flashed past them. Chu Chuyan had run ahead of them. 

Noting their uncertain looks, she replied coldly, “There are still some zombie soldiers lingering ahead. I’ll clear the path.”

Zu An looked at the Tai’e Sword he was carrying on his back and said, “Actually, there’s no need for that. I now carry the aura of kingship. Those zombies will flee when they sense my presence.” 

He recalled Mi Li mention that the Tai’e Sword was able to suppress the terracotta soldiers, and he believed that it should work on the weaker zombie soldiers above as well. 

Chu Chuyan and Qiao Xueying both stared at him in silence.

This fellow just can’t stop bragging, huh?

As the group headed back towards the surface, the zombie soldiers who were roaming in the area swiftly gathered around them, like sharks which had caught the scent of blood. Chu Chuyan swung her sword at them, releasing a burst of frost that turned them into ice sculptures.

Zu An was amazed. “Honey, you’re much stronger than before! What’s your current cultivation rank?”

“I’m at the pinnacle sixth of the rank. It’s thanks to the Evanescent Lotus that you fed me…” A sudden realization struck Chu Chuyan, and a jolt ran through her body. She turned around to look at him curiously, a question lingering on the tip of her tongue, but her face reddened right away, and she found herself unable to pose the question.

Qiao Xueying, on the other hand, was more liberal. She asked directly, “Speaking of which, you should be compromised down there, right? Why are you suddenly ‘abled’ again?”