Chapter 80: The Immortal Empire of Great Qin

“Your Majesty, the Empress is much better now.”

Beside the Jade Pool behind the Lingxiao Palace in the Mirror Immortal Realm, Zhao Gao served with utmost care.

“I went to the Heaven of Heartache in the Thirty-Three Heavens and found some elixirs in the Palace of Dou Shua. All of these were refined by Xu Fu in days past. Please, Your Majesty, administer them to the Empress.”

Zhao Gao then handed over a purple-gold gourd.

“You have served well. I am very pleased,” Fan Li replied perfunctorily.

Princess Changle's cheeks were flushed, her energy and blood revitalized. Though still unconscious, she seemed merely immersed in a sweet dream—she was indeed much better.

Fan Li waited for her to awaken, so they could plan their next steps. At present, he was still wary that Zhao Gao might suddenly lose his sanity and cease to recognize him as the so-called Emperor of Qin.

“Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty. I am willing to serve you for all lifetimes!” Zhao Gao knelt down, bowing to Fan Li with extreme devotion.

But after the kowtow, Zhao Gao lingered, unwilling to withdraw.

“Is there something else?” Fan Li asked helplessly.

“Yes… Your servant… Your servant wishes to request a reward from Your Majesty…”

As he spoke, Zhao Gao reached into the tattered sleeve of his robe.

Fan Li felt a headache brewing—whatever Zhao Gao produced, this counterfeit Emperor of Qin would find it hard to handle.

“What is this?”

When Fan Li saw what Zhao Gao held, he was utterly astonished.

It was an imperial decree!

Ancient and aged, the silk was visibly worn, but the dragon pattern and auspicious clouds were still vivid.

“Your Majesty, in the past, I committed an unforgivable crime and was punished by the First Emperor to guard the mausoleum, forbidden to reincarnate for all eternity… I dare to ask Your Majesty to amend the decree, so I may be allowed to reincarnate.”

So that was the reason?

No wonder Zhao Gao appeared neither human nor ghost, confined within the bounds of the imperial tomb.

Yet Fan Li did not accept the decree; he worried that any slip would expose him.

Zhao Gao, seeing Fan Li hesitate, found it only natural.

“Your Majesty, I understand. You are of the First Emperor’s bloodline, so naturally you would not wish to alter your ancestor’s decree. But please, just look at it—if fate had not granted me this chance, I would not dare trouble Your Majesty.”

With the conversation thus, Fan Li knew refusal was no longer an option.

He braced himself and took the decree from Zhao Gao. Fortunately, the artifact left by the First Emperor did not react abnormally.

He unfurled the decree, and a passage in ancient seal script appeared before him.

“Zhao Gao, Director of the Imperial Chariot Bureau, named a deer a horse, deceived the sovereign, abused power, and harmed my descendants, his crimes are immeasurable. I hereby issue this decree: sever his immortal path and bar his reincarnation, imprison him among mortals, to guard the Great Qin tomb for countless years…”

Toward the end, the ink on the decree grew increasingly faint.

Especially the phrase ‘countless years’—only the last character for ‘years’ remained clear.

Fan Li drew in a sharp breath!

“What is this?”

“The First Emperor’s decree mentions Zhao Gao naming a deer a horse and harming the heirs?”

“And ‘sever his immortal path, bar his reincarnation’—what divine technique is this?”

Fan Li wanted to press for details, but feared revealing his ignorance.

Fortunately, Zhao Gao volunteered an explanation.

“The First Emperor was a sovereign unmatched through the ages. In those years, he led the nation in ascending to the Immortal Realm, achieving the great enterprise of the Heavenly Emperor. The human world’s Great Qin was merely the legacy left behind by the First Emperor.”

A few simple words, yet they resolved much of Fan Li’s confusion.

He had long heard tales of ancient sovereigns who unified the world and founded millennia-spanning dynasties, and of their legendary ascensions.

Among contemporary emperors, the Jiajing Emperor also aspired to lead his nation in ascension!

But if an entire nation ascended, why did their dynasties perish afterward?

For example, the Former Qin’s last ruler was Ziying.

After the fall of Qin, came the division of the realm among Chu, Han, and Ming.

“So the Former Qin recorded in ancient texts isn’t the true Great Qin, but merely a branch of the legacy left by the First Emperor?”

Fan Li felt his blood surge, an inexplicable excitement rising within him!

Even as just a branch of the lineage, the Former Qin left behind tales of ‘Mighty Qin’ in the mortal world.

What then of the true Great Qin—how grand and magnificent must it have been?

How many such examples of ancient unified dynasties, like Great Qin, might there be?

Fan Li could not help raising his gaze to the heavens. In what mortals imagined to be the carefree Immortal Realm, could there be countless celestial kingdoms and dynastic empires?

Could a host of supreme founding emperors coexist peacefully in the Immortal Realm?

“In those days, the First Emperor ascended with his nation, but left me behind in the mortal world to continue assisting the Second Emperor of Qin.”

“Unable to attain immortality, I grew resentful and lost my loyalty.”

“Later, my misdeeds multiplied, never expecting the First Emperor, now in the Immortal Realm, would discover them! In his wrath, he issued a decree from the Immortal Realm, transforming me into this hideous form…”

Fan Li was deeply shocked.

Those who had ascended to the Immortal Realm could still influence the mortal world?

The original Fan Li was well-read and learned, yet had never encountered such records.

“Can immortals freely traverse between the immortal and mortal realms?” Fan Li asked.

Zhao Gao shook his head. “Normally, they cannot. But the First Emperor’s divine power is unfathomable, beyond my understanding. As far as I know, issuing a decree from the Immortal Realm has never happened before in all history.”

Fan Li considered this and found it plausible.

If the First Emperor could freely descend to the mortal world, why would the Qin he left behind perish?

Zhao Gao knelt, utterly reverent. “The decree of the First Emperor—the ink has faded with time, leaving only blank spaces. If Your Majesty would rewrite the decree, with slight adjustment to its intent, you could grant me release…”

So this was what Zhao Gao truly desired?

Fan Li’s gaze lingered on the spot where ‘countless years’ was written—the ink for the first part had nearly vanished, making it ripe for revision.

“The decree of the First Emperor—are you certain that if I add to it, it will be effective?”

“Yes! Absolutely!” Zhao Gao exclaimed.

“Your Majesty, you possess the destiny of the Son of Heaven, and hold the Imperial Seal of the First Emperor. Your writing becomes decree! Once you revise the decree and affix the seal, the First Emperor’s will shall be amended, and I will be able to reincarnate and live again!”

Zhao Gao was overwhelmed, his voice trembling as if on the verge of tears.

Alas, he was but a dried corpse—otherwise, his eyes would surely have been filled with tears.

“But to alter the First Emperor’s decree…” Fan Li feigned hesitation.

He was reluctant to attempt it—if he failed, Zhao Gao would certainly turn on him.

Zhao Gao, thinking Fan Li feared defying his ancestor, kowtowed repeatedly, making the immortal palace floor thrum with the sound.

“Your Majesty, I have long since repented, and vow to serve the house of Ying and the Great Qin for all eternity, never again daring to cause unrest.”

“I only wish to become human once more. After reincarnation, I will remain loyal to Great Qin!”

“I beg Your Majesty for mercy—let me enter the cycle of rebirth…”

Fan Li stood silent, imperial decree in one hand and the Imperial Seal in the other.

Suddenly.

From the waters of the Jade Pool, Princess Changle sat up.

She leaned on Fan Li’s shoulder, and he turned to her in astonishment.

“Your Majesty, I too believe this servant can be forgiven.”

Princess Changle, as if an empress, nestled close to Fan Li.

“Let him accomplish a few more tasks—as an opportunity for him to redeem himself. Then permit him to reincarnate… Don’t worry, you can do it.”

Her final words were whispered into Fan Li’s ear, so softly that only the two of them could hear.