Chapter 884: Betrayal
Xu Fu’s voice became somber, as if he had remembered something extremely painful. “When I wandered the great sea in search of that fleeting sacred mountain, I encountered a large fish monster. Ying Zheng sent powerful reinforcements to help me kill it.”
Zu An thought to himself that Xu Fu was probably talking about the fish bone temple they had encountered on the first sacred mountain.
Xu Fu continued, “But I didn’t expect that fish monster to be the sacred beast of the Mermaid Race. Later on, the Mermaid Race came after me for revenge. After a chain of coincidences, I became acquainted with their empress… After several meetings, we developed positive feelings for each other. We eventually became friends. She was extremely curious about life on land, and one day, she decided to return with me to Qin State.”
“And then you gave her to Ying Zheng?” Mi Li asked coldly. The mural painting in that room told a similar story.
Xu Fu nodded. “Indeed, I gave her to Ying Zheng.”
“No wonder she’s so resentful. You’re complete filth.” Zu An couldn't help but sigh. Did these men have NTR fetishes or something? Why were they always giving away the freaking women they loved?
“That isn’t the reason for her resentment,” Xu Fu replied.
Even Mi Li was now confused. Don’t tell me that that woman also had some weird preferences?
Xu Fu explained, “She knew about my goal of betraying the emperor. She wanted to help me in the depths of my misery, so she was willing to go undercover for my sake and stay by Ying Zheng’s side.”
Bi Linglong said with a sigh, “It sounds like she really did love you.”
A woman who was willing to serve another man for his sake… just how strong did her feelings have to be for her to even be willing to do something like that?
A hint of gentleness appeared on Xu Fu’s face. “She really treated me well.”
Zu An asked with a serious tone, “Then why did she develop so much resentment toward you?”
Xu Fu didn’t answer his question and instead looked toward Mi Li. “I didn’t plan to deviate from my plan. I wanted to gather the five elements, and then find the pure yang and pure yin bodies. After all, you were still the empress, someone with extraordinary status. We couldn't act rashly against you, so that was why we were going to leave you for the final step. But perhaps because of Ying Zheng’s ambitions, he actually sealed you up ahead of time and hid you somewhere we didn’t know about.”
Mi Li’s brows twitched. She was clearly unhappy recalling that segment of her past.
Xu Fu’s voice sped up. “I was alarmed and thought that Ying Zheng saw through my entire scheme. That was why I decided to push my plans up. I contacted Prince Hu Hai, Prime Minister Li Si, and Imperial Attendant Zhao Gao. We collaborated and rose up in revolt during his outing to the sandy hills.”
Zu An was stupefied. He had never expected there to be such a side to that historical event. So it had all been orchestrated by Xu Fu!
Mi Li harrumphed. “You three still wouldn’t have been Ying Zheng’s match even if you worked together.” Even though she had never consummated her marriage with Ying Zheng, they had still been married all those years. She naturally understood Ying Zheng’s cultivation.
Xu Fu chuckled. “Indeed. Back then, we couldn't win against Ying Zheng. However, did your highness forget that there was one more person?”
“That Mermaid Empress?” Mi Li asked, startled.
“Correct. She poisoned Ying Zheng with a sinister poison from the sea, and she also ambushed him, leaving him seriously wounded. That was why we were able to surround and kill him.” A hint of fear flashed across Xu Fu’s face when he remembered the past. “We were already the strongest in the world after him, but he was still too powerful. Even while poisoned, he made our group suffer severe losses as well.
“The Mermaid Empress was seriously injured. Li Si became a cripple and lost his cultivation. Hu Hai’s head was badly hurt, so he became a fool, unable to distinguish between a horse and a donkey. I was also seriously injured, without many years left. The only one whose condition was comparatively better was Zhao Gao.”
Zu An thought to himself, No wonder Zhao Gao was able to easily take out Li Si even though Li Si was the prime minister, while Hu Hai was deliberately misrepresented and turned into a laughingstock. Apart from Xu Fu, the one who had benefited the most from this plan was Zhao Gao.
Mi Li’s expression changed several times. Even someone as powerful as Ying Zheng wouldn’t be able to survive such scheming.
Sure enough, Xu Fu said, “We paid a great price, but we successfully killed Ying Zheng eventually. But in the end, Ying Zheng learned the entire story as well. He destroyed all of his meridians so we wouldn’t have a pure yang body.” His voice carried anger, as everything had fallen through right when the plan was almost complete.
Mi Li sighed. “So the pure yin body you chose was me, while the pure yang body was him. You really are quite bold.”
Zu An thought to himself, No wonder Ying Zheng harbored suspicions. He knew that he was a pure yang body, and when he recalled Mi Li’s yin body, it was easy to guess Xu Fu’s motives. All of his doubts were now cleared up.
He had been extremely confused back then when he first encountered Mi Li. Why would the first emperor go to such ends to seal her? Wouldn’t killing her have saved him a lot of effort?
The reason why Ying Zheng had left her alive was to use her for the Yin Yang Five Elements Formation in the future! Once everything else was successful, Ying Zheng would bring her out and activate the formation, thus obtaining eternal life. If something unexpected happened, then Mi Li would still be hidden, giving him more leverage to work with.
“How can you ever obtain eternal life if you don’t have guts?” Xu Fu laughed. “I was seriously wounded and I didn’t have much longer to live. I couldn't find your highness either. Helpless to do anything else, I could only activate the formation ahead of time. Even though the formation wasn’t complete, it was enough to prolong my lifespan.
“Unfortunately, in order to activate the formation, four elements were needed at the very least. Han Zhong was nowhere to be found, and was only found and locked up here later. I didn’t have any other choice. The formation had Lu Sheng for the metal element, Fu Su for fire, and Meng Tian for earth. I was still missing one, so I could only shift my attention to her.”
Mi Li sneered. “You are a cruel and ruthless person after all. That Mermaid Empress really was a moron. You betrayed your very own ruler, and you were even willing to present the woman you loved to another without any hesitation. Why would you cherish her?” She didn’t pity that Mermaid Empress at all. After all, she was one of the key reasons why their empire had fallen. If not for her, both she and Ying Zheng would still be fine.
Bi Linglong tugged at Zu An’s sleeves and quietly remarked, “You can’t be like him, okay?” She actually sympathized greatly with that Mermaid Empress. She had given up so much in the name of love, and yet this was the result.
Zu An couldn't help but laugh. “Don’t worry, there’s no way I’d be willing to do that to you.”
Bi Linglong blushed, but she didn’t know which girl he was talking about. However, she quickly realized that both of them were probably going to die here. What was the point in thinking about all of that now? She gradually calmed down as well.
Xu Fu said expressionlessly, “That’s right. When I attacked her, she was first shocked, and then she became extremely angry and resentful. It was precisely her endless resentment that I wanted to use to complete the ritual.”
When she heard how emotionless his voice was, Bi Linglong blurted out, “Did you not even feel a twinge of guilt?!”
“Why would I feel guilt?” Xu Fu had a confused look on his face. “Am I not doing this for eternal life? I’ll be reborn into this world in a completely new form, and so a portion of her will live on within me. She’ll be forever remembered by the world as a contributor to the world’s first immortal! Isn’t that a kind of immortality on its own?”
“Absolutely absurd! That’s clearly not what she wanted!” Bi Linglong was so angry her entire body was shaking, as if she had taken the place of that Mermaid Empress.
Xu Fu laughed and didn’t pay her any attention. He instead looked at Mi Li. “My body dissolved into this pool of blood, becoming one with it and entering a dormant state. I waited for the day you would all arrive, because I knew that Ying Zheng definitely had plans. It now looks as though my guesses were right. All of this has been decreed by fate. The heavens have allowed me to become the world’s first immortal.”
Zu An quickly asked Mi Li, “Master, is there any way to deal with him?”
Mi Li shook her head and didn’t say anything. She had been suppressed by this place. Zu An alone couldn't possibly defeat this terrifying monster no matter what they tried.