"What do you mean... they all died?"

Fang Tian’s voice came out hoarse, almost cracking at the end.

He stood there, blood still staining his robes, face pale yet tense as if barely holding himself together.

Across from him, Qin Shi Huang sat calmly, his expression unreadable as ever.

Fang Tian swallowed, then quickly spoke again, words tumbling out faster than he intended.

"They... they failed to coordinate properly,"

he said, forcing steadiness into his tone. "Those guards were clearly undertrained. Their qi circulation was unstable, and in the end, they panicked."

His fingers curled slightly.

"If they had held formation for even a moment longer, that outcome wouldn’t have happened... They were... incompetent."

Even as he said it, a flicker of unease passed through his eyes.

Because deep down, he knew that wasn’t the real reason.

Qin Shi Huang let out a quiet sigh.

It wasn’t loud, nor heavy, but it carried a weight that pressed down on the entire space.

"Enough."

Just a single word.

Fang Tian immediately fell silent.

"For now," Qin Shi Huang continued, his tone neither harsh nor gentle, "your survival is what matters most."

There was no praise in his voice but no blame either.

That made it worse.

Fang Tian lowered his head slightly. "...Yes, Master."

A brief silence passed before Qin Shi Huang spoke again.

"Your realm surfaced into the higher realm a week ago. Do you not have any intention of entering it?"

"No."

The answer came too quickly.

Qin Shi Huang’s gaze shifted toward him, faintly sharper now.

"You’re still searching for that girl?"

Fang Tian bit down on his lip.

For a moment, hesitation flashed across his face but it vanished just as quickly.

"...Yes, Master."

Qin Shi Huang nodded slowly, as if confirming something to himself.

"Stop that sesrch."

Fang Tian’s head snapped up slightly.

"For the time being," Qin Shi Huang added, his voice calm yet leaving no room for argument, "halt your search."

A subtle tension filled the air.

Fang Tian’s fists tightened at his sides, but he did not dare object.

"...Understood."

Qin Shi Huang rose to his feet.

The faint glow of the spirit lamps stretched his shadow across the stone walls, making it appear vast and imposing.

"I want to show you something. Perhaps this might even help you form your own world law."

As he spoke, his hand moved toward the simple ring hanging from a cord around his neck.

His fingers brushed against it lightly as faint, aura pulsed from within.

Qin Shi Huang’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

"You still haven’t gotten rid of the ring."

——————

Zhao Lusi sat casually atop a jagged rock, one leg swinging lazily in the air as she tilted her head back and drank deeply from her wine pouch.

The wind brushed past her hair, carrying the faint scent of blossoms.

Beside her sat a young girl clad in the crimson robes of the Flying Crane Sect, posture straight, eyes clear yet currently filled with mild confusion.

"Elder Zhao... what is that?" the girl asked, pointing upward.

Zhao Lusi didn’t even look.

"That?" she said brightly, waving her pouch in the air. "That’s the sky."

The girl nodded seriously, as if committing it to memory.

Then she pointed again.

"And that?"

Zhao Lusi squinted this time, following her finger.

A few birds flew across the horizon.

"...Those are birds," she declared confidently. "I don’t know what kind of birds, but take my word for it."

The girl in red nodded again without question.

Silence lingered for a moment and then she opened her mouth once again.

"Elder Zhao," she asked carefully, "did the Sect Leader not instruct us to avoid meddling in mortal affairs?"

"Yes," Zhao Lusi replied immediately. "We cultivators should not interfere with mortals. We should focus on cultivation. Only then can we achieve eternal life as my sister used to say."

She raised the wine pouch again, shaking it upside down and only a single drop fell.

Zhao Lusi stared into the hole and then threw the wine pouch.

"...Ahhhh—this is the best!" she exclaimed in pure bliss, "I want more."

She turned her head, eyes landing on the girl beside her.

"Disciple Leng Yue, pour me more."

Leng Yue nodded obediently, reaching into her storage ring before taking out another wine flask and handing it over.

Zhao Lusi snatched it with satisfaction.

Leng Yue then asked,

"Elder Zhao if we are not supposed to interfere with the mortals, why did you send me to retrieve this wine from the mortals?"

Zhao Lusi blinked.

"Ah... that’s because that’s where the wine was," she said casually. "My disciple told me it belonged to him."

Leng Yue nodded. "When I went to collect it using his name, they handed it over without hesitation."

"Oh?" Zhao Lusi asked in passing, already tilting her head back to chug from the flask. "Did you give them anything in return?"

"Mm... yes." Leng Yue hesitated slightly. "But they looked rather pitiful, so I gave the girl who brought the wine a few spirit stones."

Zhao Lusi paused mid-drink.

Slowly, she lowered the flask and turned to stare at her.

"...How many?"

"I’m not sure," Leng Yue replied honestly. "But... they should have money if they want to make good wine. That’s what you told me last time."

As she spoke, she smoothly took the empty flask from Zhao Lusi’s hand and replaced it with a full one.

"Yes," Zhao Lusi said without a trace of guilt, already uncorking the second flask. "They make good wine."

Leng Yue frowned slightly, clearly trying to reconcile something.

"I see... but didn’t you just say we shouldn’t meddle with mortals?"

Zhao Lusi paused mid-drink, then waved her hand dismissively.

"Ah, that’s different. Those are people my disciple hired to make wine."

Leng Yue went still.

"...Elder Zhao," Leng Yue began slowly, her brows knitting together, "did you not say this disciple was someone you only recently recruited? That he hasn’t even been here for two months?"

Zhao Lusi halts as the wine pouch hovered just a breath away from her lips.

"...Yes?" she answered looking back at her.

Leng Yue’s gaze dropped to the pouch, then lifted again, steady and serious.

"...Then how is this a thousand-year peach blossom brew?"

She paused, as if organizing her thoughts, then added with quiet sincerity, "If he’s only been here for two months... shouldn’t this be a two-month-old peach blossom brew?"

Zhao Lusi slowly lowered the pouch.

"...Huh?"

Her head tilted to the side, eyes narrowing in pure, unfiltered confusion.

"...What are you getting at?"

Leng Yue didn’t respond but instead, she fell into deep thought, her expression turning distant, as though she were chasing some profound logic only she could see.

Zhao Lusi blinked once, then again.

She stared at Leng Yue, trying to decide—was this a joke?

No... she didn’t look like she was joking.

Then... was she serious?

"...What the heck?" Zhao Lusi muttered under her breath, utterly lost now, it was so shocking that she even forgot to take a sip of the wine now.

Silence stretched and Leng Yue remained motionless, lost in her own reasoning.

The air itself seemed to pause with them.

Just when Zhao Lusi sorted her thoughts about Leng Yue, a massive shadow swept overhead, blocking out the sun as a whole.

A colossal flying vessel hovered above, its hull stretching across the heavens like a moving mountain.

From it, a voice boomed across the sky.

"Elder Zhao Lusi of the Flying Crane Sect, today we’ll settle out old grudges."