Chapter 199: Life-and-Death Contract
“What kind of deal?” asked Zu An as he gazed upon the undead army in horror. He hadn’t even resolved the crisis with Mi Li when another disaster began falling upon him.
It looks like I’m really doomed now.
“You should also know that everyone here will die once those vengeful evil spirits rush out,” said Mi Li.
The intrigued Zu An asked, “Aren’t they soldiers of the Qin Dynasty before their deaths? It’s one thing for them to hate Zhang Han, but surely you should be able to order them as the empress of the Qin Dynasty?”
Mi Li shook her head and replied, “It’s true that they were soldiers of the Qin Dynasty, but they died with a heart filled with hatred, and they were sealed for a thousand years afterward. Their hatred has eroded their sentience, turning them into vengeful spirits. All that’s left in them is viciousness and bloodlust, and it’s in their instinct to eliminate all living creatures before them. None of us will live once they fully escape from the confines of that lake.”
“What kind of deal are you proposing then?” asked Zu An.
He was only able to joke around with Mi Li because she was pretty, but there was no way he would bother entertaining these evil spirits.
“Instead of wasting your purification on me, use it to deal with those vengeful spirits. This will be beneficial to both of us!” replied Mi Li.
Zu An was delighted. It seems like this woman really thinks that I’m able to purify her and is afraid now.
With such thoughts in mind, his attitude became even harder. “Why should I? You nearly caused my wife’s death. I have no reason to let you off so easily!”
Mi Li’s face darkened as she struggled internally to come to a decision. She took a glance over at the lake and saw that the terracotta soldiers were gradually being pushed back. It was only a matter of time before the vengeful spirits overwhelmed them.
After all, there was a huge difference in terms of forces. There were over 200,000 evil spirits whereas there were only around several thousand terracotta soldiers. If not for the fact that the evil spirits weren’t able to escape the seal all at once, the battle would have ended in an instance.
“Fine! I’ll leave your wife’s body, but you mustn’t use your purification against me. On top of that, you must gather resources for me so that I can reconstruct my body,” replied Mi Li grimly.
Zu An was delighted. This was the best outcome he could hope for. It seemed like she was really frightened of the so-called purification. “Very well, I’ll agree to your deal. Hurry up and get out of Chuyan’s body right now!”
“Do you take me for a fool? What if you renege on your promise afterward?” sneered Mi Li.
“What do you want me to do then? Should we seal another contract then?” asked Zu An.
“That won’t do. There are far too many loopholes with contracts, and you seem to be quite a despicable man. Who knows what kind of verbal traps you have prepared for me!” rejected Mi Li right away.
“…” Zu An.
“Big sis empress, I do recall that you were the one who tampered with the contract and reneged on our promise earlier. How in the world do you have the cheek to raise this matter before me?”
Damn it, it angers me just to think of it!
“Ah Zu, you mustn’t accept her deal! That woman is a crafty one. She’s definitely up to something!” exclaimed Chu Chuyan.
Qiao Xueying nodded in agreement too. “Indeed, this woman is vile. We can’t trust her!”
“Foolish women. All is fair in war! I don’t know any of you, so it’s only normal for me to pull some tricks. You should blame yourselves for being foolish enough to fall into my tricks. However, things are different now that we’re on the same boat!” Mi Li harrumphed.
Zu An was rendered speechless by Mi Li’s shamelessness. Somehow, he felt a little offended by her words. However, he knew that he had no choice to go along with Mi Li’s demands since he was just putting on an act right now.
“What do you want to do then?”
Mi Li had already thought things through properly. “There are simply far too many plausible loopholes in the contract. Let’s just simplify things and go with a ‘Life-and-Death Contract’ instead. This way, none of us can pull anything at all.”
“Life-and-Death Contract? What’s that?” asked Zu An in confusion.
Mi Li quickly explained, “A promise transcending life and death shall be made; two shall age together…”
Qiao Xueying couldn’t help but interject, “How shameless. Aren’t you just using this as an excuse to snatch Miss Chu’s husband?”
Chu Chuyan’s shocked expression showed that she had the same thoughts in mind too.
Mi Li flew into a state of rage, bellowing, “What are you two dumb women thinking about? Who in the world would want to snatch this scum from you? That poem isn’t used to describe romance between a man and a woman back then but the camaraderie shared by those in the military. As the words suggest, it refers to a promise to die together on the battlefield with one’s comrades in times of crisis.”
Qiao Xueying’s face reddened. “I… I mean exactly that!”
Chu Chuyan was also embarrassed by her thoughts that she didn’t notice Qiao Xueying’s anomaly.
“This contract would seal both of our souls together. If you die, I’ll die as well, and vice-versa. This way, we won’t have to worry about each other doing anything contrary to our interests,” replied Mi Li. “This is the only way I’ll feel secure enough to leave your wife’s body. Otherwise, I’ll rather all of us go down together.”
“You want us to die together?” Zu An hesitated upon hearing those words. He didn’t want to entrust his fate into the hands of another person.
Chu Chuyan gritted her teeth and said, “Ah Zu, don’t agree to that. Bring Snow out of here; I’ll stall her for the time being!”
Zu An frowned upon hearing those words. Before he could say anything, Mi Li had already interjected, “You really are a dumb woman. He would have long run away if he’s able to abandon you! He wouldn’t have waited till now, sustaining such severe injuries for you!
“Besides, if anyone is disadvantaged in this contract, it’s me! I haven’t even scorned him yet, and you’re already scorning me? Do you know how powerful I am? There are few in the world who have the ability to hurt me whereas your man is so measly weak. I am the one who should be worried here!”
Qiao Xueying still wasn’t willing to let this matter slide. “Hmph, who’s scorning who? At the very least, he should be able to live till a thousand years old, possibly higher than that once his cultivation rank goes up. It’s his loss for tying his fate with you!”
She had shared at least 700 to 800 years of her lifespan to him through her Half Life’s Fate, and cultivators usually had a lifespan far longer than ordinary mortals. Living a thousand years was really a walk in the park for him.
After she had contributed half of her lifespan to Zu An, there was no way she would be content to see Zu An dying together with another woman. What a huge loss it would be for her if that were to happen!
“A thousand years?” Chu Chuyan was surprised, not knowing why Snow was saying those words. Given Zu An’s current cultivation rank, he was still a long way off from living a thousand years.
On the other hand, Mi Li harrumphed coldly and said, “A thousand years? Hmph! Even if he lives for two thousand, I’m still the one suffering a huge loss here!”
Qiao Xueying and Chu Chuyan fell into silence. They knew that she was right here, especially since she had already lived for an immeasurable period of time in this dark underground cavern.
Zu An couldn’t resist asking, “Big sis empress, how old are you?”
“Who are you asking this question?” Mi Li rolled her eyes. “Don’t you know that it’s rude to ask a woman for her age?”
Toward that, Zu An replied, “I have no doubt even if you say that you can live for ten thousand years, but I reckon that you should have been sealed down here for several thousand years now. If you’re already nearing your final years, don’t I have much to lose by sealing this Life-and-Death Contract with you?”
“…” Mi Li.
You have successfully trolled Mi Li for +777 Rage!
Qiao Xueying burst into laughter upon hearing those words. There were so many times where Zu An drove her crazy, but it was oddly exhilarating to see him do the same to other people.
“You brat! Stop challenging my patience!” Mi Li’s eyelids twitched as she bellowed with gritted teeth.
“Fine, I’ll agree to your request to get into a Life-and-Death Contract with you,” replied Zu An.
Qiao Xueying and Chu Chuyan immediately exclaimed anxiously, “Ah Zu, you mustn’t!”
However, Zu An stopped them with a wave of his hand and said, “Don’t worry. I don’t have much to lose by signing this contract. We need to resolve the situation before us after all, so it wouldn’t do for us to get stuck at an impasse here.”
Qiao Xueying and Chu Chuyan didn’t think that it was right for Zu An to sign such a contract with Mi Li, but they knew that what he said was true. Since he had already made up his mind, they decided to accept his decision.
As for Zu An, he knew that he was just taking Mi Li for a ride here. He was actually desperate to sign whatever contract she said so as to tie her down, just that he was afraid that his act would be seen through if he appeared too enthusiastic, which was why he nonchalantly changed the subject so as to appear relaxed.
Fortunately, his distractions worked out well, and Mi Li didn’t notice a thing at all.
“How do we sign this ‘Life-and-Death Contract?” asked Zu An.
Mi Li raised her hand and said, “Give me a drop of your blood essence.”
“Blood essence?” Zu An scratched his head awkwardly. “Is this really good? I mean, to take off my pants before all of you is really a bit…”
“…” Qiao Xueying.
“…” Chu Chuyan.
“…” Mi Li.
“Wash those filthy thoughts out of your mind!” bellowed Mi Li. “Blood essence refers to the origin of your life force. It’s different from your normal blood, and it definitely isn’t what you’re thinking of!”
You have successfully trolled Mi Li for +517 Rage!
Zu An laughed sheepishly. It sure was awkward to have misinterpreted her words in a lewd manner… though honestly, he didn’t think that he was to be blamed for this since he did use the other type of ‘blood essence’ to fix up Chu Chuyan’s ki meridians earlier on.
Mi Li couldn’t be bothered to waste her words with him, so she pressed her forefinger on his forehead and pulled out a droplet of blood essence that looked far more vibrantly crimson than ordinary blood.
Chu Chuyan was horrified. She tried to stop her, but Mi Li said, “Relax, I won’t hurt your man.”
Zu An suddenly felt a surge of powerlessness. Fatigue far greater than whatever he had felt before swept across his body. It would seem like losing one’s blood essence really took a huge toll on one’s body.
“Stretch out your finger and draw the same symbols with me,” instructed Mi Li.
“Be careful, Ah Zu!” warned Qiao Xueying.
Chu Chuyan also added, “If you sense anything amiss, stab your sword through my heart right away.”
Zu An assured them with a smile, “Don’t worry, she isn’t able to kill me.”
He wasn’t frightened of Mi Li as long as the Heiress’ Ball of Delight was still working.
“You’re oddly confident,” remarked Mi Li, displeased by how lightly Zu An was taking her.
However, Zu An didn’t bother saying anything. He raised his hand and touched the tip of Mi Li’s finger. The icy sensation felt incredibly comfortable, and for a moment there, he wondered if this comfort was coming from Chu Chuyan or Mi Li.
“Gather your focus!” Mi Li frowned. Zu An’s expression made her feel incredibly uncomfortable. “Slowly draw along with me.”
Zu An replied with a nod. With the tips of their fingers linked together, using the blood essence as ink, they drew out a profound formation in mid-air.
Once the formation was complete, a golden light burst forth and rushed into each of their foreheads before finally vanishing without a trace.
Zu An blinked his eyes blankly. All of a sudden, Mi Li felt far more intimate to him, and he intuitively knew that she hadn’t been lying to him. This contract was indeed able to make the two of them share fates.
This wasn’t a feeling conveyed through words, but a natural enlightenment arising from the rules of the world.
Zu An suddenly thought about an incredibly important question, and he asked, “What do you intend to do once you leave my wife’s body?”
He was eager for Mi Li to leave Chu Chuyan’s body earlier that he hadn’t really thought about the aftermath, but now that their fates were linked together, he began worrying that Mi Li would suddenly dissipate and die off. That would spell his death as well.