National Guardian's Gone and We're Done

Qin Shi Huang’s heart, already filled to the brim with power and glory, was deeply stirred by the temptation of eternal life.

His desire to become an Immortal grew ever stronger, like a raging fire burning in his heart, impossible to extinguish.

In a short time, all manner of charlatans and opportunists,

such as Lu Sheng, Han Zhong, Xu Fu, and Hou Sheng, flocked to the Qin Dynasty, drawn by his reputation.

These men all claimed to be masters of Immortal Techniques and to know the secrets of long life.

Their arrival made the flames of hope in Qin Shi Huang’s heart burn even brighter.

「One day,」

Lu Sheng,

a man whom Qin Shi Huang viewed as quite a mysterious figure, came for an audience.

He advised Qin Shi Huang with a silver tongue, ”Your Majesty,

we have painstakingly searched for Reishi Mushrooms, miraculous medicines, and traces of Immortals,

but we have consistently found nothing. There must be some mysterious power at work, obstructing us and clashing with our quest.

I believe Your Majesty should secretly travel from time to time

in order to exorcise the evil spirits that cause this trouble.

Only when the evil spirits are scattered will the true Immortals descend to the mortal world and show favor to Your Majesty.

Furthermore, if Your Majesty’s whereabouts are known to your subjects, I fear it will hinder your communion with the Immortals.

Therefore, I implore Your Majesty to keep your residences secret and not let others know of them.

In this way, perhaps the Potion of Immortality might finally be within your grasp.”

Qin Shi Huang heard this and deeply agreed. He then announced to the public, ”I admire the Immortals. From this day forward, I shall call myself ’the True Man’ and no longer use the royal ’We’.”

Not only that, but Qin Shi Huang also decreed

that the two hundred and seventy palaces and temples within two hundred li of Xianyang

were all to be connected by Celestial Bridges and covered walkways.

He ordered exquisite curtains, magnificent bells and drums, and countless women of devastating beauty

to be placed within these palaces and temples.

Furthermore, he strictly commanded that all items must be placed in their registered locations and not moved in the slightest.

He also issued a ruthless decree: wherever the Emperor went, anyone who dared to reveal his location would be sentenced to death without mercy.

Xu Fu and his men received their orders and set out to sea,

embarking on the long journey to find the immortal medicine.

They drifted on the vast ocean for a long time,

spending a great deal of time and money, yet still finding nothing.

Xu Fu’s heart was filled with terror, for he knew well Qin Shi Huang’s cruelty and harshness and feared severe punishment.

Thus, he devised a plan and deceived Qin Shi Huang, saying, ”Your Majesty, there are three divine mountains in the sea, and the immortal medicine is indeed upon them.

However, we are often troubled by great sharks,

which prevents us from approaching the divine mountains.

I hope Your Majesty will dispatch skilled archers to accompany us. If we encounter a great shark, we can use repeating crossbows to shoot and kill it.”

「As luck would have it, right at that moment,」

Qin Shi Huang dreamed of battling the Sea God, and in the dream, the Sea God had a human-like form.

After hearing of this dream, the dream-interpreting Doctor said with great gravity, ”The water god is formless and untraceable,

often using great fish and flood dragons as its eyes and ears to secretly spy on the world.

Your Majesty’s sacrifices have been thorough and respectful, yet you still encounter such an evil deity.

Only by eliminating it can you hope to see a truly benevolent deity and find the immortal medicine.”

Qin Shi Huang believed these words without a shred of doubt.

He immediately ordered the men going to sea to carry tools for catching large fish,

and he personally took up a crossbow and set out on a ship.

After some searching, he finally found and shot a great fish.

After this, Qin Shi Huang dispatched Xu Fu to lead three thousand young boys and girls

aboard tall, magnificent tower ships, sailing into the great ocean in a vast procession to seek the legendary Immortal Mountains.

However, Xu Fu’s departure was like a stone sinking into the sea; there was never any news of him again.

Some speculated that they might have met with disaster at sea and perished at the bottom of the ocean.

Others believed they might have drifted to some island and settled there.

But among the common folk, a rumor circulated that Xu Fu had reached the White-Red Empire.

At first, everyone thought this was just baseless talk,

but now, it seemed it was not a groundless rumor after all.

Because in the White-Red Empire, they had actually discovered... treasure left behind by Xu Fu!

Xia Yunya’s expression was grave as he slowly said, ”This matter is of great importance. We cannot afford to be careless.”

He already had a premonition that a great crisis was hidden behind this, silently closing in on them.

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