Chapter 711 - 14: Illusory Dream
"I don’t know!! I know nothing!!!"
Tang Language clutched Chen Lusi’s clothes, hiding behind him, and said in a trembling voice, "Ask Chen Lusi, ask Chen Lusi for everything..."
"...Just as I said before, more than two thousand years have passed, and many things are different."
Chen Lusi stood in front of Tang Language, organized his words, and then replied softly, "I don’t know what the Qingqiu Nine-tailed symbolized in your era, but now they are merely... just ordinary people, though a bit special.
As for the era we live in, in some ways, it should be similar to the Qin Dynasty, using law as a guide to direct the people.
It’s just that in this era, the laws are far less harsh than the Qin Law, and it’s far more prosperous than the Qin Dynasty, and there is no Emperor anymore..."
Chen Lusi briefly introduced the current era to this Emperor who had been dead for over two thousand years.
And on the throne.
Emperor Shi remained calm throughout.
Even when Chen Lusi mentioned the harshness of the Qin Law, he showed no expression.
He just listened quietly.
After Chen Lusi’s brief introduction, he hesitated for a moment and suddenly asked, "Can I ask you a question?"
The Emperor glanced at Chen Lusi and said directly, "Ask."
Chen Lusi took a deep breath, looking at the Emperor who seemed to have understood something and had calmed down, he straightforwardly asked, "What exactly are you now? Awakened after a long sleep or...?"
"The Qingqiu Nine-tailed behind you can be considered long-lived, but as far as I know, even the strongest Qingqiu Nine-tailed cannot resist time.
I can’t either, no matter how I transcend, I cannot resist time."
Emperor Shi’s eyes were dark and calm: "I once thought about striving for more time for my descendants, but the more Sinful Gods I killed, the less ambition I had. Perhaps leaving the Divine Land would be better; as long as there is pure enough faith, I might have a longer life, but the Residual Veins and time won’t wait for me, Xu Shi ultimately did not return."
"..."
Si Yujie gasped upon hearing this.
Chen Lusi’s heart also beat a bit faster. After digesting it for a while, he continued to ask, "Then what exactly are you? And what exactly are the Residual Veins?"
"No wonder those scholars say... ’In the universe, life is but a fleeting moment, sudden and brief.’
Emperor Shi heard this question, leaned back a little, paused for a moment, and said, "After more than two thousand years, indeed no one remembers being from Chu, Qi, Zhao, Yan, Wei, or Han, not even the Residual Veins are remembered. What would the Changping Monarch, who desperately tried to restore Chu’s Residual Veins until death, think?"
Speaking of this.
He shook his head, then put away the expression of either sarcasm or lamentation on his face, looked at Chen Lusi again, and replied, "What are the Residual Veins? Before me, the Divine Land was divided for hundreds of years, since the Emperor of Zhou lost prestige and became a puppet, and the Vassal States called themselves kings.
When I was born, every piece of land had already accumulated hundreds of years of memories, emotions, and culture.
Zhou? What Zhou? There were only Vassal States, only The Division of Jin, only the Seven Kingdoms Struggle.
Only Yue, Ba, Shu, Song, Zhongshan, Lu and other countries.
The Yellow Springs Mainstream, born of Zhou Rituals, continuously dispersed, thinning away, the Vassal States waged war against each other, wars were constant, the Hundred Schools of Thought debated with each other, and Sinful Gods frequently appeared.
And I annexed the Six Kingdoms, severed the veins of Chu, Qi, Zhao, Yan, Wei, Han, cut off their roots, making everyone revere the Qin Vein, driving the Qin Vein to annex the mainstream.
Except for the Qin Stream, all else I abandoned, all becoming Residual Veins."
Chen Lusi: "..."
Si Yujie: "..."
"I unified the script, trampling the scholars’ pride underfoot, letting them accept the Qin Stream, I unified the axle track, moved the empire’s wealthy to Xianyang, making all wealthy people of the Six Kingdoms follow the Qin Kingdom’s pace, I unified the measures, organized national rituals, so commands could be smoothly implemented, making all people change habits and customs.
I abolished the feudal system, drove out the Xiongnu and Alien Race from the borders that might harbor Residual Veins, destroyed the Six Kingdoms’ weapons, achieving complete unity under heaven, making the Residual Veins lose their last refuge, re-integrating the entire Divine Land as one, leaving the people of Chu, Qi, Zhao, Yan, Wei, Han no time to recall their former countries."
Emperor Shi continued coldly and calmly: "But even so, the Residual Veins of the Six Kingdoms have not disappeared, hundreds of years were truly too long, the Changping Monarch who wanted to restore Chu’s Residual Veins till death was certainly not the last one who thought so.
I constantly patrolled, constantly slaughtered those Celestial Gods, Earth Deity, Human Ghosts born from the Residual Veins.
But no matter how many I killed, they kept coming back.
They are still resisting me, many still want to be Chu people, Zhao people.
Those scholars once told me, like the passage of time, rivers flow day and night... it only takes waiting, the people from the Six Kingdoms will eventually acknowledge themselves as Qin people.
But I know, it’s impossible, once I die, the Six Kingdoms will restore their countries one after another, they have never given up.
And by that time, the Residual Veins will never disappear, chaos will rise again.
I cannot stop, nor slow down."
Speaking of this.
The Emperor rose, holding the Jade Seal and Tai’e Sword, walked down from the throne, calmly saying, "Due to the continuously appearing Sinful Gods, my time is running short, if that’s the case, then the Residual Veins... shall accompany me into the grave.
I divided the Residual Veins in two, exiling most to Baiyue, far away from the Central Plains.
Guiding some into the tomb.
I became the soul of Chu, Qi, Zhao, Yan, Wei, Han, I became the Residual Veins, just waiting for the day... when those wishing to restore the country dig open my tomb, wishing for the Residual Veins to become whole again."