Qin Luming recalled the last time he had seen Zhou Nan. Her Majesty had worn black armor with a cape. Aside from lacking a helmet and not having a particularly imposing build, she had looked more like a heavily armored warrior.
Today, Zhou Nan had changed her attire. She wore what appeared to be a standard-issue military uniform of an exceptionally high rank... As Qin Luming had walked here, he had seen similar uniforms on the statues along the Steel Bridge.
Zhou Nan was the Empress. Those statues wearing uniforms of the same rank must have been emperors from Zhou history, or figures of immense historical influence.
The young girl wore a solemn, standard-style military uniform, her long hair flowing down her back. A golden wheat-ear aiguillette hung from her left shoulder. A hammer-shaped medal, perhaps symbolizing her imperial status, was set with dazzling gemstones and rested against her gently rising chest. She was no longer holding that enormous hammer that looked unbelievably heavy. Instead, she held a broad-bladed greatsword in one hand, its tip planted in a crack in the stone.
Apparently, she had not arrived in the real world empty-handed. She probably had some kind of personal storage space. Her daily necessities, as well as the equipment needed to set up spell formations, were likely all stored inside.
Qin Luming was very interested in such personal storage spaces, but this was not the time to focus on that.
"My name is Qin Luming. As Ma Shilong said, I do write novels. But please see clearly, Your Majesty: Ma Shilong is an established writer with more than ten years of experience. When he started writing, I could barely recognize all the characters... Even now, I only have two or three hundred thousand words' worth of writing experience. My work barely earned a little recognition, and only recently have people begun paying attention to it." Qin Luming knew that this was exactly when he needed to stay calm.
He focused his mind, refusing to let his anger toward Ma Shilong disrupt his thoughts, and continued trying to explain matters in an orderly fashion.
"Ma Shilong's work, 'My Wife Is the Empress of Zhou,' was written more than ten years ago. Even back then, his writing had already won the recognition of many readers. After all these years of refinement, his prose has become increasingly polished and evocative. I have considered something: the emotional impact, creativity, writing skill, imagination in constructing worlds, and ability of expression that we often speak of when writing—could those be the keys to summoning characters from fictional worlds into reality?" Qin Luming gave Ma Shilong a blank look. "If just any novelist had the ability to turn the stories he created into reality, wouldn't this world have fallen into chaos long ago?"
"I truly hope I possess the ability to help Your Majesty, but the person who tied the knot should be the one to untie it. Your Majesty, please push this lazy pig hard. He is the talent best suited to write your biography."
After speaking, Qin Luming once again looked earnestly at Zhou Nan. "Your Majesty, please consider this carefully."
Zhou Nan lightly tapped her fingers against the hilt of her greatsword. Her slender fingers made it seem difficult to imagine her lifting that massive blade and wielding it in battle.
"Your Majesty, just let him try. He's already here, anyway," Ma Shilong hurriedly said.
"Your Majesty, such a test would be meaningless... You should know that he is the most suitable candidate. His brazen, lazy attitude is merely taking advantage of your kindness. We have a saying: hang your hair from the beam and stab your thigh with an awl. With that kind of diligence, how could he fail to write? Besides, there was an official in Western Han history who offended the emperor, was imprisoned, and castrated. While in prison, he wrote the magnificent historical epic, 'Records of the Grand Historian.' You might as well demand the same rigor from Ma Shilong. Let's see whether he can write or not." Qin Luming had no selfish motives. He was simply offering Zhou Nan advice, not that he wanted Ma Shilong castrated... Besides, he was already a pig. Wasn't castrating male pigs standard practice in pig farming?
Ma Shilong's face changed drastically. He hurriedly dropped to his knees before Zhou Nan. "Your Majesty, don't listen to his nonsense! I really can't write it! It's a novel from more than ten years ago. I simply don't have the same mood or feeling anymore. If I continue it now, the writing feels extremely awkward. Your Majesty has seen it too. Very little of it can produce a harmonious resonance with the world of Zhou."
"Every time I try to continue it, my whole body stiffens, my thoughts clog up, and even breathing feels incredibly heavy. Every word I type feels dull and repulsive. Reading it is like chewing wax. How am I supposed to keep writing?" Ma Shilong was nearly in tears. Qin Luming really had a silver tongue; Ma Shilong had never expected this. He could only play the pity card.
Writing that could produce some harmonious resonance with another world? Qin Luming was slightly inspired by those words, but this was obviously not the time to ask further.
"Fine. Then the two of you will write together. Whoever fails to write well, I will castrate. Go to prison and write now... Someone else could write 'Records of the Grand Historian'; why can't you?" Zhou Nan frowned slightly and swept out a hand. "Imperial Decree: Heavenly Prison Summon!"
The moment her words fell, a slowly opening gate appeared before Qin Luming and Ma Shilong. Beyond it stood prison guards three meters tall, holding long spears. Behind them lay layer upon layer of barred gates. Countless cells hung in the air from heavy chains, while flights of stairs descended deep underground. Ghostly flames flickered faintly below, and the sound of rippling water drifted from the utmost depths. Waves of wailing seemed to be swept up by the wind, shredded apart, then drilled into their ears, pressing against their eardrums with resentment and a yearning to drag everyone down into the torments of hell.
"Qin Luming! I'll fuck your mother!" Ma Shilong saw the prison gates connected to what looked like hell itself and began trembling all over in terror. This had been part of his own setting too. That prison hid monsters that gnawed bones and devoured souls, inspired by the Dementors from "Harry Potter."
Qin Luming was startled as well. Just as he had previously suspected, an emperor's heart was impossible to fathom... Zhou Nan was like a tiger that had eaten its fill. A little lamb could wander around in front of her, and she might not eat it, but whether the lamb lived or died was not for the lamb itself to decide.
Qin Luming still felt he had been too naive. Zhou Nan was young and had yet to personally govern the empire, but she already held imperial power in her hands. Accustomed to deciding life and death at will, why would she care who was the more suitable candidate? Choose one and let the other go? Impossible. She wanted them both!
At that moment, Ma Shilong suddenly sprang up. His fat body leaped several meters into the air and transformed into a Big Black Pig. His limbs stretched out, his two huge ears lifted, and they swelled in the wind until they spread wide like an eagle's wings. His short pig tail began to spin like a propeller. With one flap of his enormous ears, driven by the spiraling of his pig tail, his body shot away with a whoosh.
"Heh..." Zhou Nan sneered. At some point, a whip had appeared in her hand. She casually lashed it out, and the whip lengthened in the wind as well, reaching Ma Shilong in an instant. Its tip wrapped around his pig hoof. With a flick of her wrist, Zhou Nan snapped the whip and dragged Ma Shilong back, tossing him directly into the Heavenly Prison.
Hearing Ma Shilong's scream, Qin Luming turned and ran toward the bridge. He knew that his current location was likely some kind of "domain," and within such a domain, Zhou Nan held every advantage. He was probably no match for her, but he could not simply wait to die.
Zhou Nan sneered again and lashed her whip out once more.
Qin Luming sensed it and turned, raising his left hand to seize the whip Zhou Nan had flung at him.
An immense force surged through him. Qin Luming felt as though he were about to be dragged into the sky. He hurriedly ran a few steps with the force, then exerted his left hand and fiercely yanked the whip.
"I knew not every creature in this world could be as stupid, clumsy, and weak as Ma Shilong." Zhou Nan was somewhat surprised. There was no anger on her exquisite face, only a slight curve at the corner of her lips as she watched Qin Luming resist her.
Qin Luming pulled hard, then flung the whip away. The long whip was knocked aside, but it shot toward him again through the air like a slithering snake.
Qin Luming rolled aside, but another whip that seemed to fly in from nowhere struck his right leg.
Qin Luming fell. In that instant, countless whips came lashing down from all directions. Before they even struck him, he could already feel himself being flayed open. Cold sweat broke out across his body. After scrambling and rolling around while taking several lashes, he pressed his left hand against the ground and launched himself like an anti-aircraft shell, evading the countless whips that followed.
While in the air, Qin Luming felt a chill down his back. Those whips all struck where he had just fallen, leaving thick, horrifying welts in the ground. If those had landed on him, even if he somehow survived, he would probably be traumatized for life. It would be perfectly normal for him to tremble uncontrollably and wet himself whenever he saw a whip afterward.
Zhou Nan remained where she had been, without moving at all. Yet the whips continued pursuing Qin Luming through the air like living creatures.
Qin Luming landed on the Steel Bridge. He glanced back at the whips, only for one of the bridge's statues to suddenly swing the long saber in its hand down at him.
"My God!" Qin Luming was so shocked his eyes nearly fell out. These statues were dozens of meters tall. The saber held by this statue was truly a forty-meter-long blade!
Let me run thirty-nine meters first! Qin Luming wailed, planting his left hand on the ground and launching himself again like a cannonball.
The saber fell. Qin Luming heard a thunderous boom, and shockwaves rippled outward, as though rings of distorted space were visible in the air. The blade slashed into the Steel Bridge, carving a deep gash into its surface. From the air, Qin Luming could see that the gash had pierced through both layers of the bridge deck, revealing a raging river below.
Huh? Wasn't this supposed to be a shallow riverbed? Qin Luming had come here yesterday and had even seen fish swimming among the aquatic grass.
There was no longer any lush river grass in sight. White spray crashed against the banks, savage waves rolled across the river, and bizarre, cruel, bloodthirsty monsters filled the water. They opened huge mouths covered in fleshy growths and jagged teeth, roaring at Qin Luming.
Qin Luming had originally planned to jump off the bridge, but now he could only abandon that idea and keep sprinting forward. To his surprise, the bridge had become far longer than it had been when he crossed it. The dam should clearly have been just ahead, yet even after running wildly for a long time, he could not reach the end.
What terrified Qin Luming even more was that these statues seemed to have come alive. They spoke decrees aloud. Their words, whether seemingly calm, openly intimidating, or commanding with solemn authority, struck his heart like war drums and nearly made him kneel before the statues to confess his crimes... At that moment, Qin Luming was certain: these statues were emperors from every generation of Zhou. They had long since died, yet their lingering majesty remained, using the presence of sovereigns to help Zhou Nan suppress him.
"You imperialist feudal forces think you can suppress a successor of socialism?" Qin Luming raised his right hand and twisted his wrist. A spherical barrier formed from layers of turtle-shell light shields wrapped around him, and the spiritual pressure brought by the statues' majesty finally vanished.
Yet the whips still moved like a swarm of snakes, pursuing him and gathering densely together to bind him. Qin Luming continued racing down the endless Steel Bridge.
It was bizarre, but Qin Luming knew he could not stop. As he avoided the statues' attacks, he searched for Zhou Nan's figure.
"Where are you going?"
Hearing that voice, Qin Luming's heart tightened. He turned his head, only to smell the warm fragrance of a young girl. Zhou Nan's beautiful cheeks, cold eyes, and moist lips were right before him.
Without hesitation, he raised his left hand and punched Zhou Nan's face at point-blank range. He had never intended to go easy on a woman. He merely needed an opportunity to try. He knew there was an enormous gap in their strength, but giving up the fight was never an option.
Unfortunately, the punch missed. Zhou Nan seemed unwilling to take his fist head-on. She gave Qin Luming's left hand a strange look, then flashed several meters backward.
"There is the aura of a false god on you," Zhou Nan said as she looked at Qin Luming.
Qin Luming did not care about any false god's aura and continued sprinting forward. Yet as Zhou Nan drew closer, the whips stopped pursuing him, and Qin Luming had already reached the dam.
Qin Luming jumped directly from the dam. After falling several dozen meters, he clawed at the dam with his left hand. His fingers carved streaks across its surface, slowing his descent. Repeating this several times, Qin Luming reached the bottom and continued running forward.
He needed to reach the edge of this region's barrier. He believed a barrier formed by a spell formation could not be boundless. Once he reached its boundary, he could try using Zuozuo's power to shatter it through brute force, or use Caicai's ability to nullify the barrier before escaping.
Beyond the dam was still a valley, but the riverbed was broad and its water clear, completely different from the abyss behind the dam where vicious beasts were bred. Qin Luming felt that he should be near the edge of the barrier.
"You!"
"How dare you..."
"Defy..."
"Her Majesty's... decree..."
The broken phrases rolled down from above the clouds alongside thunder, rumbling endlessly. Qin Luming looked up and saw that the two guard statues over a hundred meters tall that he had once viewed from afar had begun to move.
Their bodies were unimaginably massive and terrifying, like giant elephants raising their feet to crush trembling little beasts. The Sword Bearer raised his blade. The stone sword, which appeared to be buried beneath layer after layer of dust, shed its thick crust of dirt and revealed the radiant splendor beneath. The Sword Bearer's armor did the same. The accumulated earth and dust of history fell away piece by piece. It had become a he. The statue Qin Luming had believed was carved into the mountain itself was actually alive!
He was different from the moving statues on the bridge. His body emitted the bloodthirsty vitality of an ancient beast. The vast power belonging to a superior life-form exerted a rank-based oppression upon all ordinary life.
The other guard, the staff mage, was the same. As layers of dust and earth fell away, the intricate runes embroidered on his beautiful and solemn mage robe began gathering the radiance of heaven and earth. He emanated a mysterious, profound aura, making him seem like the source of all mystical power in this world. The staff he held aloft erupted with blinding light, illuminating the entire space covered by the spell formation as brightly as day and locking onto Qin Luming.
"You... how dare you... defy... Her Majesty's... decree..."
Within the fragmented, repeated voices of these two giants, who were utterly loyal and obedient to the emperors of Zhou, lay boundless fury. It seemed that Qin Luming's refusal to obey Zhou Nan was a capital crime deserving death without pardon.
Only then did Qin Luming truly feel the terror of imperialist feudal forces. This was completely beyond what his individual strength could resist.
At this moment, he could only risk everything. Qin Luming looked at his left and right hands. Would he die unyielding, or be captured by Zhou Nan and thrown into prison to cling miserably to life?
"Imperial Decree: Sword Bearer, enforce the law."
Zhou Nan's cool voice drifted from afar. Qin Luming instantly understood. These two statues were the Emperor's Guardians of Zhou, originally standing on either side of Zhou Nan's sleeping quarters. Because of their existence, there had never been a case in Zhou history where rebels successfully stormed the imperial palace... The novel had described them, but only now, seeing them in reality, did he understand just how powerful they were.
Zhou Nan had actually brought even these things into the real world! Qin Luming stared at the heaven-cleaving giant sword that looked immensely cumbersome yet had locked onto his body so firmly that he could barely move. A thread of despair rose in his heart.
"God... save me."
Qin Luming clenched his fists, preparing to fight to the death. He had no experience with this kind of battle and no confidence at all. Unable to stop himself, he offered a prayer.
"Are you summoning me?"
Qin Luming's eyes widened. Why had the young girl's voice from his dreams sounded at a time like this?
"Yes, I'm summoning you," Qin Luming blurted out involuntarily.
"Alright, I'm coming."
Qin Luming felt the ground beneath his feet tremble. Looking up, he saw that the two Emperor's Guardians before him were shaking violently as well, as though mountains were about to collapse. He looked into the distance and saw that the mountains shrouded in night had become towering, snow-covered peaks. The mountain range stretched all the way to the horizon, endlessly rolling onward.
Qin Luming had seen these snowy mountains before.
In his dreams.
He knew that beyond these snowy mountains lay an abyss.
The abyss led into endless void.
Within the void was a figure.
She had come.
A scorching ray of light seemed to cross countless worlds and descend upon the tip of the Sword Bearer's raised blade, as though a god had arrived.
Before you continue