Chapter 10: The Half-Day Tour of the Qin Dynasty Concludes

In recent years, His Majesty has placed extraordinary importance on those from beyond the mortal realm, showing a particular obsession with the matters of immortals and longevity.

Encountering this situation today, Meng Yi privately hoped not to report it, fearing His Majesty might become hopelessly mired in such pursuits. Yet, to remain silent would be disloyal.

Meng Yi looked up at the ink-black sky, then at the lights still burning within the temporary imperial palace. Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward.

The young eunuch guarding the entrance, spotting the High Minister Meng Yi, hurried forward to greet him.

"High Minister Meng."

Meng Yi spoke in a deep voice, "Announce my arrival."

The eunuch accepted the command and turned to head into the hall. Before long, he returned in haste, bowing to lead Meng Yi inside.

The candlelight in the hall flickered in the cool night breeze. Dozens of oil lamps burned quietly, casting the silhouette of Ying Zheng, hunched over his desk, onto the screen behind him like a statue.

Half his face was hidden in the shadows of the lamps. His slender fingers held a vermilion brush, making annotations on the spread-out bamboo slips. The ink was still wet, yet the strokes were as sharp as a sword; every vermilion mark seemed to carry an unquestionable decisiveness. Occasionally, he would pause and furrow his brow, causing the jade beads hanging from his imperial crown to collide with a faint, crisp sound that rang out with distinct clarity in the silent hall.

Meng Yi clasped his hands before his chest and bowed low. "Your subject, Meng Yi, pays respects to Your Majesty."

Ying Zheng, hunched over his work, slowly raised his head. His gaze, sharp as a hawk’s, swept toward Meng Yi. "Minister Meng, you seek an audience in the dead of night—is there an urgent matter?"

"Answering Your Majesty, the six suspects captured upon entering the city today claimed they came to offer treasures to Your Majesty."

Ying Zheng did not speak, waiting quietly for Meng Yi to continue.

"Your subject carefully examined the items they offered. They are indeed extraordinary; I have never heard of or seen such things."

Ying Zheng finally showed a hint of a reaction, his voice low and indifferent. "Oh?"

Meng Yi withdrew the smartphone and the mineral water bottle from his robes. Without needing a command, Zhao Gao walked to Meng Yi’s side to take the two treasures.

Zhao Gao carefully placed both items onto the desk. Ying Zheng picked up the mineral water bottle, feeling the smoothness of its surface and the patterns etched upon it. "What is this? What is its purpose?"

"Answering Your Majesty, this is a water skin, used for storing water," Meng Yi prompted. "The red cap—twist it to the left to open it, and the opposite to seal it."

Ying Zheng followed Meng Yi’s instructions, twisting the cap to open it with ease, then tightening it again. "A clever bit of craftsmanship."

Setting the bottle aside, he picked up the other treasure.

Without waiting for Ying Zheng to ask, Meng Yi took the initiative to explain, "This object is called a smartphone. It can be used for illumination, requiring no lamp oil, and it can also paint. The portraits it produces are indistinguishable from reality."

"Oh!" Ying Zheng stroked the metallic texture of the phone. "How does one activate it?"

"Let your subject demonstrate for you."

Zhao Gao stepped forward, took the phone, and handed it to Meng Yi.

Meng Yi began with the flashlight. The moment the beam of white light ignited, Ying Zheng’s eyebrows arched, and a glimmer of intrigue appeared in his deep, dark eyes.

"Let Me see."

Meng Yi handed over the phone. Ying Zheng watched the light emanating from the device and clicked his tongue in wonder. "Truly interesting. To provide light without lamp oil—this item is indeed rare."

After observing it for a while and finding no obvious explanation, he handed the phone back to Meng Yi.

"And how does it paint?"

Meng Yi demonstrated again. First, he turned off the flashlight. Then, he opened the camera function, carefully tapped the screen, and aimed it at the bronze lamp tree in the hall, clicking the button.

"Your Majesty, look."

Ying Zheng looked at the image on the screen, then back at the real object. "It is truly indistinguishable from reality."

Meng Yi continued, "It is said that the effect is even better in daylight; it is slightly flawed in the evening."

"Even with flaws, to achieve this is truly miraculous." Ying Zheng looked at the photograph with satisfaction.

He set the phone down and turned his deep gaze toward Meng Yi. "Have you ascertained who those six individuals are?"

Meng Yi suddenly knelt. "Your Majesty, forgive me! This is precisely why I have come."

He paused, then continued, "After learning of this, I went to the prison immediately, only to hear that the six men had vanished."

Ying Zheng’s deep eyes narrowed slightly. "Vanished?"

"Yes! The other prisoners in the cells saw it with their own eyes: after a flash of white light, those six disappeared before them."

"Your subject has carefully inspected the cells, and there are no secret passages to the outside. It is as if those six simply vanished into thin air."

Standing to the side, Zhao Gao listened to the report, his mind racing. This Langya was truly a place for strange people and bizarre events.

Zhao Gao’s eyes darted around. With a fawning tone, he bowed to congratulate Ying Zheng. "Your subject Gao congratulates Your Majesty. The immortals have specifically come to offer treasures to Your Majesty; this is a grand and auspicious sign."

Hearing Zhao Gao’s words, the corners of Meng Yi’s mouth twitched slightly, though he could not help but admire how accurately the man grasped His Majesty’s preferences.

Ying Zheng’s face did not betray any joy at being favored by the divine. His eyes narrowed, and his fingers tapped lightly on the desk. "You old dog, you have finally spoken a word of truth."

Meng Yi felt a shiver, a flash of realization crossing his eyes.

"The remnants of the Six Kingdoms claim I am unworthy of this throne. Let them—let the whole world—come and see for themselves whether I hold the Mandate of Heaven."

Ying Zheng’s sharp gaze swept over Meng Yi and finally landed on Zhao Gao. "You will handle this."

Having received his orders, Zhao Gao happily accepted. "Your subject obeys the decree."

Meng Yi had no objections to this. After all, propaganda—the news of immortals offering treasures to His Majesty—was not his specialty. Such work was well-suited for a man like Zhao Gao. As for how to make the world believe it, one need not worry about the devious schemes of a man like him. Not to mention, this had truly happened; it was not a fabrication.

Because of the intrusion of Jiang Ye and his group, the Qin Dynasty embarked on a different path.

Of this change, Jiang Ye and his companions remained unaware.

At that moment, a white light flashed. When the light faded and the group could once again see their surroundings, they were astonished to find they were still inside the tunnel.

The SUV slowly drove out of the tunnel, and sunlight filtered through the windows into the cabin.

"We’re back." Zhang Tao leaned against the window, looking at the familiar scenery.

"We really went to the Qin Dynasty," Zhang Minghui muttered, unable to contain himself.

Liu Zhendong shouted in surprise, "It’s still daylight?!"

This reminder brought the others back to their senses. They all looked up at the clock on the SUV’s dashboard; it read 8:31 AM.

They had spent twelve hours in the Qin Dynasty, yet in reality, time had remained at the moment of their departure—no, only one minute had passed.

Jiang Ye kept one hand on the steering wheel and used the other to return everyone’s phones.

Upon exiting the space, Zhang Tao’s livestream went back online instantly. To the viewers, it had only been a brief disconnection. They had no idea that in the time they were "offline," their streamers had taken a day trip to the Qin Dynasty.