Chapter 231: I Usually Don't Laugh

Zu An: "..."

Even with his thick skin, he couldn't help but blush at this moment.

However, noticing Mi Li's slightly flushed cheeks, he calmed down. "Empress Sister," he said, "I'm a bit curious. Since you're in a spirit form, I can understand you conjuring clothes and such, but why would you blush?"

Mi Li suddenly turned around and glared at him. "Are you very pleased with yourself, you rascal?" she snapped. "If I chop off that harmful thing of yours, let's see how pleased you'll be then!"

As she spoke, she gestured with her hand, and the Tai'a sword flew directly towards him, poised to strike between his legs.

This terrified Zu An, making his soul almost leap out of his body. He instantly scrambled back onto the bed, pulling the brocade quilt around himself in multiple layers. "Empress Sister, don't be impulsive, don't be impulsive," he pleaded. "This concerns your happiness for the rest of your life."

"Hmm?" Mi Li's willow-like eyebrows shot up, and the Tai'a sword instantly lowered by a fraction.

Zu An quickly explained, "I mean, if a lecher like me couldn't be a man anymore, I'd certainly feel life has no meaning. I might just end it all, and that wouldn't be good for you, Empress Sister, would it?"

"A lecher?" Mi Li scoffed. "You certainly know yourself well, don't you, fellow?"

Seeing her put away the sword, Zu An finally breathed a sigh of relief. He secretly grumbled to himself, wondering if the sword was even his anymore, or why it seemed to obey her completely now.

"Put on your clothes. I have something to tell you," Mi Li said, standing with her hands clasped behind her back, no longer looking at him.

Hearing the seriousness in her tone, Zu An set aside his playful mood and quickly put on his clothes. As he dressed, he saw the crimson stain on the bedsheet, and a gentle smile unconsciously appeared on his face.

Once dressed, he quickly asked, "Empress Sister, what is it?"

Mi Li turned around. Seeing him neatly dressed, her expression softened slightly. "What I want to talk about is your movement technique," she said. "When I saw you fighting Zhang Han and the others earlier, your movements were incredibly elusive and mystical. But when you fought me, your technique seemed to become much more sluggish. And last night, when that Shi Lezhi character was chasing you, the same thing happened again. What exactly is the problem?"

After all, such a wondrous movement technique was a life-saving skill, and she hoped Zu An would master more of these abilities.

Zu An's face clouded with melancholy when he heard this. "It's a long, tearful story," he sighed. "This set of movement techniques seems to have been specifically designed for eunuchs."

"Eunuchs?" Mi Li paused, then instinctively glanced at his legs, wondering how he could possibly be related to eunuchs.

Zu An's face flushed. "Um, I'm telling you, you're not allowed to laugh!" he stammered.

Mi Li gave a haughty sniff. "I have witnessed countless upheavals," she said. "How could I possibly laugh at a casual remark from you?"

It was unthinkable. A queen's training began from childhood, and maintaining a poker face was fundamental. Otherwise, facing her ministers and suddenly breaking into laughter would be a disgrace to the royal family.

Zu An secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He then recounted the matter of the "Sunflower Phantasm" and also informed her about his earlier sealed condition.

Mi Li listened, her red lips slightly parted, her gaze sweeping oddly between his face and his legs before she finally burst out laughing.

Zu An's face darkened. "You said you absolutely wouldn't laugh!" he protested.

Seeing him look like a sulking child, Mi Li's smile grew wider and wider, eventually making her shake with laughter.

Zu An: "..."

Mi Li tried to suppress her laughter. "Sorry," she managed. "Usually, I don't laugh, unless I can't help it..."

Before she could finish, she burst into laughter again.

Zu An, mortified, exclaimed, "Laugh, laugh, just keep laughing, laugh yourself to death!"

After a long while, Mi Li finally caught her breath. "I truly didn't expect it," she said. "You actually have such a tragic past, you fellow."

Zu An turned his head away. "I don't want to talk to you anymore," he mumbled.

Mi Li, however, leaned closer. "Don't be so petty," she coaxed. "Tell me what's bothering you. It'll relieve your pent-up feelings, and it'll make me happy. It's a win-win, isn't it?"

Zu An: "???"

This woman certainly knew how to kick someone when they were down. If he weren't afraid of losing a fight to her, he would have surely pinned her down and spanked her by now.

"No wonder those people reacted that way when they learned you gave the Traceless Phantasm Lotus to Chu Chuyan," Mi Li mused. "So that was the medicine you used to unseal yourself." She extended a slender finger, its nail appearing as if stained with balsam juice, and gently hooked his chin. "You truly go all out for women, don't you, fellow?"

Feeling a soft touch on his chin, Zu An was startled. "Aren't you a spirit form?" he asked. "Why do you have a sense of touch?"

Mi Li withdrew her hand. "Hmph," she scoffed. "My current state should be called a semi-spirit form, between illusory and corporeal. Of course I can have a sense of touch, if I wish."

Zu An paused, then thought: *Doesn't that mean we can do... things?*

*Smack!*

With a crisp sound, the Tai'a sword trembled slightly.

Zu An, clutching his palm, gasped. "What was that for?"

"Who told you to have such dirty thoughts?" Mi Li snorted.

Zu An instantly jumped up, pointing at her and exclaiming, "And you said you couldn't read my mind!"

Mi Li shot him a sidelong glance. "I've eaten more salt than you've eaten rice," she retorted. "What kind of cunning could a young man like you possibly have? I can see through your thoughts with a single glance."

Zu An asked, puzzled, "Then why can you speak to me directly in my mind?"

Mi Li replied calmly, "That's simply because the Life-and-Death Pact has established a mysterious connection between our souls. Our souls can communicate freely at a unique frequency."

"You even know words like 'frequency'," Zu An said, his eyes wide.

"I already told you our souls are closely linked," Mi Li explained. "Many of the words I speak are automatically converted into a form that's familiar and easy for you to understand."

"Is that so?" Zu An said, half-believing, half-doubting.

Mi Li clearly had no desire to argue further and got straight to the point. "Though your cultivation is low, your insight is extraordinary," she began. "You were actually able to accurately determine that your Sunflower Phantasm is only suitable for eunuchs. Logically speaking, even an eighth-rank master, let alone someone of your cultivation, might not have been able to find the reason. Are you truly a legendary genius?"

"Of course," Zu An said with a proud look, "who do you think I am?" In his heart, however, he was incessantly thanking the various masters like Dongfang Bubai, Yue Buqun, and Lin Pingzhi.

"Describe the energy circulation route of the Sunflower Phantasm to me in detail," Mi Li said after a moment's thought. "Don't miss a single thing."

Zu An nodded without hesitation and directly revealed everything about the "Sunflower Phantasm."

After listening, Mi Li fell into deep thought. After a long while, she parted her crimson lips. "This movement technique is indeed wondrous," she said, "but some parts seem to have gone astray. I'll revise it for you, incorporating some features of my own lightness skill. When you circulate your vital energy, and coordinate the various acupoints, it should be like this..."

As she spoke, she began to demonstrate, her form dancing gracefully like a startled swan. It was truly a 'Lingbo' subtle step, dust rising from her silk stockings, seemingly like a light cloud obscuring the moon, or a whirling wind returning with snow.

Zu An watched, mesmerized. He thought to himself, *That First Emperor truly was ruthless, to seal away a fairy-like woman like this for thousands of years.*

"Were you paying attention and learning?" Mi Li asked after finishing her demonstration, suddenly noticing his somewhat dazed gaze. She couldn't help but feel a little displeased.

"Of course I was learning seriously," Zu An immediately replied.

"Then how much do you remember?"

"I remember almost all of it."

"Is that so?" Mi Li scoffed, a cold smile playing on her lips. "Then demonstrate it for me." She thought, *This fellow was just staring at me the whole time. How could he have been concentrating on learning? This is a good chance to teach him a lesson.*

"Alright!" After hearing this, Zu An recalled the instructions in his mind, then suddenly opened his eyes and took a step forward. Suddenly, two of his figures materialized in the room, each with an aura identical to his own. He almost couldn't distinguish himself from them.

However, as he took his second step, his energy suddenly became chaotic, and he stumbled, falling directly to the ground.

Zu An's face was flushed with embarrassment. "Just a small mistake," he said. "Shall I try again?"

Mi Li, however, was dumbfounded. "You've learned this before?"

"Yes, I have," Zu An replied. "Aren't these based on the Sunflower Phantasm? It's just that before, it didn't have this shadow-clone-like effect." Zu An recalled the recent situation, realizing that the power of this movement technique was now immeasurably greater than before.

He knew that the previous Sunflower Phantasm excelled in speed and elusive movements, appearing and disappearing without warning. But now, this set of techniques had the added benefit of a powerful illusionary effect.

Imagine this: suddenly, two identical figures of himself appear before an enemy on the battlefield, not mere afterimages, but presences with an aura identical to his true body. In such a situation, the enemy wouldn't know which figure to attack. It was truly like gaining an extra life.

Mi Li stared at him. "No," she said. "I'm talking about the incantations I just taught you."

"No," Zu An replied. "You just taught me once. Is it difficult?" A strange look suddenly appeared on Zu An's face. "Empress Sister, how long did it take you to learn this back then?"

Mi Li immediately turned her face away and said with a haughty expression, "When I first learned this, I could conjure four figures. Your mere two figures are only barely passable."

Although she said this, she was secretly blushing intensely. Back then, it had taken her a full month to even produce two figures!