Dawn broke.
The beam of light that had illuminated the night vanished.
In the forest, a thick, sweet, and suffocating smell of blood lingered, impossible to dispel.
Meng Tian’s face showed no joy of victory.
Only frost.
Every Qin elite soldier behind him wore the same expression.
A great humiliation.
They had almost been thrown into chaos by a group of beast-skin-wearing monkeys.
“Kill.”
Meng Tian said only one word.
Thousands of Qin elite soldiers stepped forward.
Beneath their feet was a thick layer of flesh and mud.
Each step made a wet squelch.
Expressionless, they crossed this hell on earth and advanced toward the lonely temple on the mountain peak, surrounding it.
……
Inside the Heavenly King Hall.
Xu Fu’s face was ashen.
He looked at the tribal nobles kneeling outside the hall.
“Hold them! Hold the palace!”
He screamed at the top of his lungs.
“The Qin people are demons! They will kill all of you!”
“Hold here and wait for divine punishment from the Goddess Amaterasu!”
One tribal leader stood up.
It was the same one who had previously been slapped senseless by Xu Fu.
He pointed at the blood-soaked forest below and let out an angry roar in his native tongue.
The tribal nobles outside became restless.
They looked at Xu Fu.
Their eyes no longer held reverence.
Only hatred and fear.
“What are you doing?”
Xu Fu sensed something was wrong.
“I am the divine envoy!”
“You dare—”
Before he could finish.
The tribal leader suddenly lunged forward and knocked him to the ground.
“Tie him up!”
At the command, more than ten tribal nobles rushed forward.
They used rough hemp ropes to bind their so-called “Heavenly King” like a dumpling.
Xu Fu struggled wildly.
Cursing incoherently.
“You ungrateful monkeys!”
“I brought you civilization! I brought you fire!”
The leader kicked him in the mouth.
Knocking out two of his teeth.
“It was YOU!”
“You brought those demons to this island!”
……
On the mountain road.
Meng Tian’s vanguard army stopped.
They looked at the ridiculous scene before them.
A group of tribesmen were kneeling on the ground.
Leading them were several people dragging a bound figure toward them.
The man wore luxurious silk robes, now covered in dirt.
It was Xu Fu.
The tribesmen threw Xu Fu in front of the Qin army like a dead dog.
Then everyone prostrated themselves.
They kowtowed frantically toward the heavily armored Qin soldiers.
Mouths issuing muffled, desperate pleas.
Meng Tian didn’t even look at them.
He simply walked up to Xu Fu and tapped his face with the scabbard.
“Run.”
“Why aren’t you running anymore?”
Xu Fu trembled violently, unable to say a single word.
At that moment—
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
Heavy hoofbeats came from below the mountain.
The crowd automatically parted.
Ying Zheng rode up slowly on his divine steed Wuzhui.
He was not wearing a dragon robe.
In black martial attire, he looked even more imposing and upright.
Behind him rode a child on a small pony.
Ying Ziye.
Ying Zheng stopped in front of Xu Fu.
He did not dismount.
He merely looked down from above at the trembling figure on the ground.
That gaze was as if he were looking at a lump of rotten mud by the roadside.
Xu Fu was grabbed by two soldiers and forced to lift his head.
He saw it.
He clearly saw the man on horseback.
Sword-like brows, tightly pressed lips.
This was not the emperor who had been hollowed out by pills in his forties.
This was the Qin Shi Huang at twenty—like a tiger swallowing the world!
“Aah…”
Xu Fu’s throat let out a wheezing gasp, like a broken bellows.
The last trace of hope in his heart completely shattered.
Rejuvenation.
It was real.
He had spent his entire life deceiving Qin Shi Huang about immortality.
And in the end, Qin Shi Huang found it himself.
“Your… Your Majesty… spare me!”
Xu Fu writhed on the ground like a worm, desperately kowtowing.
“Spare my life!”
Qin Shi Huang ignored his wailing.
He spoke.
His voice was calm.
“Where is my elixir?”
Those four words felt like four mountains pressing down on Xu Fu’s heart.
His mind went blank.
Only instinct remained—keep lying.
“I—I’m still refining it, Your Majesty!”
He pointed toward the temple behind him.
“This… this is Mount Penglai!”
“This minister is refining the true elixir of immortality for Your Majesty!”
“It will be done soon! Very soon!”
“Oh?”
A soft, childish voice came from the side.
Ying Ziye jumped down from his pony and walked up to Xu Fu.
All eyes turned to this eight-year-old child.
Ying Ziye didn’t even look at Xu Fu.
He whistled.
A yellow stray dog ran over wagging its tail.
Ziye reached into his robes and pulled out a shiny pill.
He squatted down and held it in front of the dog’s mouth.
“Good boy.”
He patted its head.
“Eat this immortality pill. It’s yours.”
The dog licked it up and chewed “crunch, crunch,” then swallowed it.
It happily circled around Ziye again, full of energy.
Dead silence fell over the mountain peak.
Everyone looked at the dog.
Then at Xu Fu.
Xu Fu also stared at the dog.
His expression froze.
The so-called lifelong pursuit.
The so-called immortal elixir.
Was no more than a sugar candy casually fed to a dog by a child.
“Pfft.”
Xu Fu couldn’t take it anymore.
His body went limp, as if all his bones had been pulled out.
Then—
“Waaah——!”
He burst into loud, uncontrollable sobbing.
He cried like a three-hundred-jin child.
Tears, snot, saliva—mixing together.
“I was wrong… Your Majesty, I was wrong!”
He cried and screamed incoherently.
“There is no Penglai! No immortals!”
“It’s all fake! I made it all up to deceive you!”
“I don’t want to die… I just didn’t want to be executed by you!”
“I was wrong!!”
All his crimes, all his schemes, were spilled out.
Like dumping a pile of rotten trash.
Qin Shi Huang’s face remained completely unchanged.
He listened silently.
Until Xu Fu ran out of strength and could only sob weakly.
Then Qin Shi Huang moved.
“Clang.”
The Tai’a Sword slid from its sheath.
Its cold blade pressed against Xu Fu’s throat.
The stench of urine spread again.
Qin Shi Huang’s wrist tightened—about to strike.
“Father.”
Ying Ziye’s voice rang out again.
He stepped forward and placed his hand on Qin Shi Huang’s sword arm.
Qin Shi Huang looked at him.
Ying Ziye grinned, revealing a row of small white teeth.
“Killing him is too easy.”
He turned to Xu Fu, who was frozen in terror.
Then pointed toward the massive ship in the sea—the Zulong.
“Doesn’t he like being a god?”
“Doesn’t he like bringing light to this dark island?”
Ying Ziye’s tone carried a kind of innocent cruelty.
“Father, tie him under that big eye on the bow.”
“Make him the wick.”
“Let him keep bringing light here—forever.”
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