Chapter 205: Brain-Damaged People Are Incurable

Mi Li was speechless. This guy seemed utterly deranged; who talks like that?

Rage value from Mi Li: 250!

"You fiend..." Mi Li gritted her teeth, about to unleash her fury, but Zu An interrupted her.

"Wait!"

"What are you doing?" Mi Li frowned, wondering what trick he was up to now.

Zu An said nothing. Instead, he summoned his keyboard and began a new round of draws.

He had lost over 30,000 in the previous round of draws. He couldn't afford to repeat that mistake. As soon as a draw became available, he had to use up the rage value!

He had 84 points left, and now an additional 250, totaling 334 points. This allowed for three draws, with 34 points remaining.

For a moment, he even felt like he had profited.

Sure enough, he still didn't get anything from these three draws.

But his mood was completely different from before; he felt light and relaxed. He had finally removed the self-imposed "flag" from earlier. It seemed he really shouldn't make random vows in the future.

Karma always catches up.

"Alright, Empress Sister, what were you about to say?" Zu An asked cheerfully, a smile gracing his face.

"I was just about to say..." Mi Li started, then suddenly paused. "Huh, what was I going to say? He interrupted me so much that my train of thought is completely gone."

After a long silence, she finally recollected herself. "Hmph, do you really not understand why I'd sign a 'Life-and-Death Covenant' with you? Just thinking about it makes me furious. If you ever flirt or act flippantly with me again, don't blame me for being merciless."

She paused, as if worried he wouldn't be deterred by such an ambiguous threat, then added, "While I can't kill you, breaking one of your legs is certainly within my capabilities. Besides, your cultivation relies on getting beaten, so I'd simply be helping you train."

"Hmm, the more I talk about it, the more I feel like trying it out."

Noticing her gaze repeatedly darting to his legs, Zu An was startled. He quickly said, "I believe you, I believe you, no need to try it. By the way, I have another question: Since Qin Shi Huang clearly had a way to deal with you, why didn't he purify you back then? Why did he opt for such a troublesome method as sealing you instead?"

Mi Li scoffed, "The purification of the *Primordial Chaos Scripture* only works on soul forms. Back then, I had a physical body to protect me, so why would I fear his purification?"

Zu An questioned, "But why didn't he kill you first and then purify your soul? With all due respect, while you are powerful, you shouldn't be a match for Qin Shi Huang, should you? He must have had a way to kill you."

Mi Li had always been vague about this previously. Now, perhaps because their destinies were inextricably linked, she finally began to explain: "He was a proud man, always wanting me to yield and surrender, but how could I grant his wish? Of course, I also admit he probably still held a thread of marital affection and didn't go for the kill..."

"We remained in a stalemate like that, and not long after, Qin Shi Huang died suddenly. Naturally, I remained sealed."

Zu An noticed her expression was strange when she said this, as if reminiscing about the past, or perhaps reflecting on Qin Shi Huang's leniency towards her.

But for some reason, he always felt she was deliberately hiding something.

He knew there was no point in pressing further. He'd wait until they were more familiar with each other in the future to find another opportunity to ask.

"Oh, right," Zu An said, "You mentioned earlier that Zhang Han used the residual power of the Soul-Suppressing Seal to work with Xiang Yu and seal the 200,000 undead army. Since Xiang Yu was here, given his hatred for the Qin royal family, there's no way he would have let you go, right?"

"You know so much about Xiang Yu?" A hint of surprise flashed in Mi Li's eyes. "Indeed, back then, Xiang Yu massacred Qin's surrendered soldiers, burned Epang Palace, and extensively plundered Xianyang. Later, he learned of my existence from Zhang Han and naturally had no intention of sparing me."

At this point, a trace of anger entered her voice. "He had long heard of my beauty and and fame, and coupled with the fact that I was the Qin Empress, his desire for conquest led him to harbor some unspeakable intentions towards me."

"Initially, he merely expressed some admiration within the underground palace, but eventually, he couldn't restrain himself and decided to break the Soul-Suppressing Seal to confront me."

Zu An was startled. "Given Xiang Yu's power, the Soul-Suppressing Seal might not have been able to stop him, right?"

In the history of his previous world, Xiang Yu was widely acknowledged as the mightiest general in terms of combat power. In this mythological version of history, wouldn't Xiang Yu's combat power be even more heaven-defying?

"That's where you're mistaken," Mi Li replied. "Xiang Yu's strength was indeed terrifying. The Human Seal and Earth Seal didn't hinder him in the slightest; his speed in breaking through formations was much faster than yours."

Zu An looked sheepish, thinking it wasn't embarrassing to lose to such a formidable figure.

Mi Li then continued, "However, he failed at the Heaven Seal. No matter how high his cultivation was, he could never contend with the will of heaven. Furthermore, he seemed to encounter some thorny problems outside later on, so he never came back to the underground palace."

"Precisely because of this, I previously thought the Heaven Seal was extremely perilous. After all, even someone with cultivation as high as Xiang Yu couldn't break it, so I held no hope for a mere third-rank fellow like you."

"Who knew this Heaven Seal would be broken by you, of all people? It truly must be the will of heaven."

By the end, Mi Li couldn't help but chuckle softly.

However, the thought that she had finally broken free from the seal only to enter another cage immediately darkened her expression.

Zu An, however, grew smug. "It seems I truly am the chosen one."

Seeing his smug demeanor, Mi Li remained displeased. "Hmph, if Xiang Yu hadn't previously attempted to break the formation, causing further damage to the Tai'a Sword's spirit, who knows how many times harder your breakthrough would have been this time."

Zu An showed no embarrassment whatsoever. "That only proves that I was chosen by fate to save you. Otherwise, why couldn't someone as strong as him break it, but a mere third-rank cultivator like me could?"

Hearing his words, Mi Li paused, muttering to herself, "Chosen by fate, huh..."

After a long while, she came back to her senses. Her crimson lips parted slightly. "You've been asking me questions nonstop. Now it's my turn to ask you."

"Ask away, Sister. I'll tell you everything I know, holding nothing back," Zu An replied with a smile.

Mi Li's breath hitched. Why did she instinctively feel he was about to lie when he said that? "Where did you get the *Phoenix Nirvana Scripture* from?"

"Oh, that? A mysterious old man gave it to me..." Now that Mi Li was bound to him by life and death, there was nothing to hide about this. Even if he didn't say anything, she would surely detect Old Man Mi's presence once they returned to the Chu manor.

Moreover, Old Man Mi always had an unsettling aura about him that made Zu An uneasy, so it was better to mention it in advance for her opinion.

Mi Li frowned. "Is he your father or your grandfather?"

Zu An: "..."

Why did that sound so much like an insult?

"Neither."

Mi Li sneered, "If he's neither kin nor acquaintance, why would he give you such a supreme secret scripture? Anything out of the ordinary is suspicious; he clearly has ulterior motives."

Zu An actually had the same suspicion, but no matter how he thought about it, he couldn't figure out what he possessed at the time that would be worth Old Man Mi's plotting.

"Maybe he thought I was handsome," Zu An said. "Besides, I always feel like I'm the chosen one; it wouldn't be strange for a bunch of powerful people to be clamoring to take me as a disciple, or even insist on marrying their granddaughters to me."

Hearing his words, Mi Li: "..."

She scrutinized him with a strange expression, then couldn't help but ask, "You don't happen to be mentally ill, do you?"

Zu An: "???"

Mi Li scoffed, "If there's truly something wrong with your mind, tell me sooner. While I am a master of runes, I also have considerable expertise in medicine and should be able to cure you. Don't let your condition worsen to an incurable state. You should know that all medical texts explicitly state one thing: 'There is no cure for brain damage.'"

Zu An: "..."

However, he quickly realized, "You're also a healer?"

"Of course," Mi Li said with a proud huff. "When Qin unified the land, all the books from various nations were collected in the imperial palace. In my free time, I would peruse them. I successfully combined runes with medical arts, finding a unique path. My medical skills are... passable overall."

Although she claimed her skills were "passable," her proud demeanor clearly suggested she wanted him to praise and worship her.

"Since you're such a brilliant healer, quickly save Xue'er!"

Mi Li's expression turned cold. "I have no herbs or spiritual elixirs right now. How can I save her?"

"Hmph, I thought you were more impressive." Zu An had originally even wondered who was stronger, her or Divine Physician Ji, but now it seemed there was no comparison.

"There's no need to provoke me," Mi Li said indifferently. "I *can* save her if I truly wanted to, but I'm currently in soul form. My soul suffered severe damage from leaving my body twice, and I only just managed to recover a bit by relying on those undead. Why would I further damage my soul for an unrelated woman?"

"Besides, her life isn't in danger right now. She can fully recover by taking some qi and blood replenishing herbs and spiritual elixirs once we get out."

Zu An realized he was perhaps too anxious, yet he couldn't help but say, "Still, I think your medical skills aren't that great. Otherwise, how could you have been so terribly afflicted by a poison?"

This time, Mi Li was truly enraged. "Ignorant boy, what do you know? 'Xiang Concubine's Red Tears' is not something that should even exist in the mortal realm; it can easily poison an Earth Immortal to death. If I hadn't been proficient in both runes and medicine, and known the method of soul separation, I wouldn't have been able to abandon my body in time to seek survival from death. Otherwise, my body and soul would have long perished."

Rage value from Mi Li: 512!

Zu An was dumbfounded. This poison was incredibly potent! What a pity Zhang Han had just used the last drop. Otherwise, with such a poison, wouldn't he be able to eliminate anyone he wished?

Mi Li found it hard not to get angry talking to this guy. Too lazy to engage him further, she turned directly to the terracotta warriors nearby. "I thank you for your hard work earlier. Had it not been for your valiant fight, which bought us time, we wouldn't have been able to deal with the undead army so easily."

The terracotta warriors each showed excited expressions. Clearly, after silently guarding this underground palace for thousands of years, finally receiving commendation from the Empress of the Empire was an extremely honorable moment for them.

"Now that Zhang Han is dead, and the Qin Dynasty has long fallen, from this day forward, you shall pledge allegiance to me." Mi Li stood with her hands clasped behind her back, her noble and elegant aura as Empress clearly evident.

The terracotta warriors exchanged glances, hesitated for a moment, then one by one knelt on one knee and bowed their heads in salute to her. In the Qin army, this signified an oath of allegiance.

Zu An was secretly delighted, thinking that with such a group of enforcers at his disposal, wouldn't he be able to swagger around freely?

If he disliked someone, he could just ask Mi Li to send out a few terracotta warriors; they could smash people to death.

*Sigh*, it seems I'm truly destined to be a kept man in this life.

As he was lost in thought, a startling change suddenly occurred before his eyes. A flash of killing intent gleamed in Mi Li's phoenix eyes. With a casual wave of her hand, the Tai'a Sword unleashed a massive sword energy, sweeping directly through the formation of terracotta warriors.

The terracotta warriors, in the midst of pledging their allegiance and completely unprepared, were instantly sliced in half!