Chapter 180: Chapter 178: Threatening the Emperor

Qin Li’s control over his aura was masterful. He directed it only at the people inside the palace; even the Guards outside felt nothing out of the ordinary.

Zhao Qianqian threw herself into Qin Li’s arms, weeping silently. She didn’t dare to cry out loud, afraid of arousing the suspicion of the Guards training outside, but the sheer emotion welling up inside her made it difficult to control herself.

’This girl, who was still just a child in his eyes, had borne far too much,’ Qin Li thought. ’To have held on until now without breaking down already showed she had extraordinary courage!’

Qin Li gently patted Zhao Qianqian’s back, then smiled at Min’Er, who had come to her senses. He said softly, "Don’t worry, I won’t leave you behind."

"Marquis, you’re finally here!" Min’Er cried, covering her face as tears streamed through her fingers.

The others, under Qin Li’s oppressive aura, couldn’t even make a sound. Their hearts and eyes were filled with nothing but terror!

Qin Li sneered. He released Zhao Qianqian, his body moving like a wisp of smoke as he sealed everyone’s acupoints. He then said to Zhao Qianqian, "Qianqian, come on. Get on my back. I’ll carry you all out of here!"

As he spoke, Qin Li found a brush and paper in the palace. His brush flew across the paper as he wrote a line of text with swift, elegant strokes. Then, he took the fine brush and gently slammed its tip into the table. The soft bristles pierced deep into the thousand-year-old Zitan wood table like a sharp blade! It stood there, perfectly still.

Zhao Qianqian’s face flushed red, but she didn’t hesitate. She knew how much risk Qin Li had taken to come here. Qin Li walked over to Min’Er and said, "Pardon the intrusion!" He tucked Min’Er under one arm, grabbed the Empress with the other, and leaped silently up through the hole in the ceiling.

The Celestial Level Martial Artists outside had no idea that something like this had just happened right under their noses.

It wasn’t until the eunuch who had been sent out returned with a group of concubines that they discovered the people in the palace were frozen like wooden statues, their eyes filled with terror. The Empress, the princess from the Cyan Dragon Kingdom, and her handmaiden were all gone!

And high above, there was a massive hole in the palace ceiling!

Instantly, the entire rear palace of the Imperial City was thrown into chaos.

The Emperor, Cui Qi, his heart filled with immense terror, rushed directly to the Empress’s chambers under the protection of a dozen or so Celestial Shattering Realm Martial Artists. At first, the Martial Artists were helpless against the sealed acupoints of the frozen people. But then they saw the writing brush embedded in the hard wooden table, and every one of their faces changed dramatically.

With their level of power, they knew that even if they could accomplish such a feat, the brush would surely be destroyed. Yet, when the Emperor personally pulled it out, the bristles were like new, and the ink was still rich and wet, as if it had just been dipped!

Cui Qi glanced at the large, flamboyantly written characters on the paper. With a face full of fury, he crumpled it into a ball and slammed it to the ground.

But several people had already seen the sentence written on it—just a single line of text: "Emperor of the New Qin Kingdom, if you want your Empress stripped naked and thrown into a brothel to bring you glory, then send your men after me! If you behave, you can see your beloved Empress tomorrow evening!"

Cui Qi’s face was ashen, his chest heaving violently. As someone from the Mysterious Land, he couldn’t care less about the life or death of some worldly woman, but he had to care about his own reputation!

If his Empress were found in a brothel, available to any man, the entire New Qin Kingdom’s honor would be utterly destroyed!

"Qin Li, there is no room for both of us in this world!" Cui Qi’s eyes burned with intense fury as he spoke through gritted teeth, "Send the order! In three days, the grand army will march out and attack the Five Nations to the east!"

"Your Majesty, should we...?" one of the Celestial Shattering Realm Martial Artists asked in a low voice, feeling they had all lost face.

"No need!" Cui Qi raised a hand, cutting him off. He said angrily, "That kid is a madman, a goddamn reckless fool! Haven’t you heard that the Emperor of the Cyan Dragon Kingdom died at his hands? Damn it... He even dares to kill an emperor. Is there anything he won’t do? Son... Son of a bitch!"

To be able to force the Monarch of a great nation to curse out loud—Qin Li’s achievement was truly a rare one in all of history.

Two martial brothers, both surnamed Wu, who had returned from the Cyan Dragon Kingdom, glanced at the extremely grim-faced elder surnamed Huang and snorted in unison. Though they didn’t speak, the ridicule and sarcasm contained in that snort were clear for anyone to hear.

Never mind just snorting; even if the two had mocked him to his face, the elder surnamed Huang would have had to swallow his pride and endure it. The perpetrator had not only rescued his target but had also abducted an Empress right under the noses of a group of Celestial Shattering Realm Martial Artists. If word of this got out, the New Qin Kingdom’s reputation would be completely ruined!

Cui Qi said with a dark expression, "No one is to speak of this! If anyone dares, I will execute their entire clan!" With that, he flicked his sleeves and stormed away in a rage.

In the night sky, Qin Li’s figure was like a great roc, gliding swiftly over one rooftop after another. He could cover a hundred meters in a single breath before lightly tapping a roof to launch himself again. Carrying three women who weren’t particularly heavy had no effect on his Lightweight Skill. Still, he chose not to fly, conserving his energy to deal with any dangers that might suddenly appear.

Qin Li didn’t stop until he was more than thirty li outside the city. Standing on the road, he first set Min’Er down, then said to Zhao Qianqian, who had fallen asleep on his back, "Qianqian, wake up."

Zhao Qianqian groggily opened her eyes. Lying on Qin Li’s back had felt so incredibly safe that, in her extreme mental exhaustion, she had actually fallen asleep. Sticking out her tongue in slight embarrassment, Zhao Qianqian climbed off his back. The moment she saw the Empress, whom Qin Li had tossed to the side, all her sleepiness vanished.

"Qin Li, can you leave this bitch to me?" Zhao Qianqian’s icy voice reached the Empress’s ears, filling her with even greater terror.

"You can," Qin Li said, casually unsealing the Empress’s acupoints.

The Empress, realizing she could speak again, immediately began to tremble and beg for her life. "Don’t kill me! Please, don’t kill me! I’ll give you anything you want, just don’t kill me..."

Looking at the Empress of a powerful nation, now a quivering ball of fear, a deep sneer formed on Zhao Qianqian’s lips. "I told you, a wild chicken will always be a wild chicken! It can never become a Phoenix! With your pathetic character, I can’t even be bothered to kill you! Min’Er, what was it she wanted to do to you just now? Whatever revenge you want to take, take it. This princess and Marquis Qin have your back!"

"I’m a wild chicken! I’m a slut! Princess Qianqian, you are magnanimous, please overlook my transgressions! Miss Min’Er, I was wrong! I shouldn’t have treated you that way! Please spare my life!"

Under the immense pressure, the Empress’s spirit completely shattered. She knelt there, snot and tears streaming down her face as she begged. Even Min’Er, who had been determined to kill her, found it shameful. She walked over, gave her a hard slap across the face, and cursed, "You bitch! Slap yourself!"

"I’ll slap myself, I’ll do it! I’m a bitch... SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! SLAP!"

Watching the gorgeously dressed yet terrified Empress kneel there and viciously slap her own face, Qin Li could only shake his head speechlessly. ’Zhao Qianqian was right,’ he thought. ’Some people, even if born commoners, possess unyielding integrity and would rather die than submit, like that Miss Li Qin I saved. And then there are others who, despite possessing immense wealth and power, are nothing but weak, timid, spineless cowards once you strip away their facade.’

"Let’s go."

Qin Li said to Zhao Qianqian and Min’Er, who also found the scene hard to watch.

Zhao Qianqian obediently got back on Qin Li’s back. This time, Min’Er was in front, carried in his arms. As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Qin Li spoke to the Empress, who was glaring at them with a venomous expression. "Give up any thought of revenge! Don’t even think about getting back at us someday. First of all, you’re not worthy. Besides, believe me... after tonight, the New Qin Kingdom will have a new Empress. You should pray for your own good fortune!"

With that, Qin Li shot into the air and sped away.

The Empress, her cheeks swollen from her own slaps, collapsed to the ground and began to wail.

...

「A little over two months later.」

The three had returned to the Cyan Dragon Kingdom and were now on their way to Yellow Sand City.

Autumn was in full swing. Time flew, and in the blink of an eye, it had been over three years since Qin Li arrived in this world. He was now fifteen years old, and another new year was fast approaching.

Zhao Qianqian had no desire to return to the Imperial City. She wanted to completely forget the past and all its unhappiness. She was afraid that the moment she returned to the imperial palace, all the old memories would come flooding back.

She especially didn’t know how she should feel about her own brother, Zhao Xinghe. He had caused the death of her beloved and most revered father, the former Emperor, yet he had died at the hands of the man she adored. Her second brother, to whom she had once been close, was now the Emperor. With her beloved father gone and her doting mother-empress no longer there, what reason was there for her to go back?

So, Zhao Qianqian sent a letter to her second brother, telling him that she was going with Qin Li and that he shouldn’t worry...

In truth, Zhao Qianqian’s feelings for Qin Li were also very complicated. It was impossible to say she didn’t like him; the fourteen-year-old girl had poured almost all of her affection onto him. But Qin Li had, after all, personally killed her older brother. That man deserved to die, but the fact that he died by Qin Li’s hand still affected her to some degree.

Untangling this knot was something only time could slowly heal.

The trio traveled at a leisurely pace. With Zhao Xinghai’s ascension to the throne and the start of war preparations, a tense atmosphere filled the Cyan Dragon Kingdom. None of this had much to do with Qin Li, however. He remained confident that Zhao Xinghai would be able to contact the ancestors of the Qin Family.

Besides, the New Qin Kingdom’s actions had surely provoked the dissatisfaction of many. Qin Li had no interest in battles between nations.

Gazing at the grand and imposing walls of Yellow Sand City before him, Qin Li recited in his heart, ’Yellow Sand City, I, Qin Li, have returned!’ (To be continued. If you wish to know what happens next, please log on to www.qidian.com for more Chapters and to support the author and legitimate reading!)