But by the Qin Sword Alone

Zhang Yi let out a sigh of relief, then said, "This disciple really does trust you, Master!"

"Heh heh, you're trusting me a little too soon."

Verdant Green Maiden chuckled twice, making Zhang Yi uneasy all over again. He asked, "Master, please stop teasing me. Where exactly are we going?"

"To Qin."

Verdant Green Maiden pointed ahead and said, "That's Hangu Pass."

"Hangu Pass?"

Zhang Yi froze, then got to his feet and looked into the distance. Between the mountains ahead stood a mighty fortress! Above it, a Qin Character Flag, black with white lettering, fluttered in the wind. Beneath it, black-armored soldiers stood in immaculate ranks.

Hangu Pass. This really was Hangu Pass!

Zhang Yi exclaimed, "Master, what are we doing at Hangu Pass?"

"Of course, I'm taking you to meet your boss!"

Verdant Green Maiden turned to look at Zhang Yi, smiling. "Well? Haven't I been a good master? I've even lined up your job for you. No need to thank me!"

"But... I haven't learned anything yet!" Zhang Yi said, a little panicked.

If Verdant Green Maiden dumped him in Qin just like this, was he going there to put his talents to use—or to get himself killed?

Zhang Yi thought the latter was more likely.

"Fool! Who said I was the sort of master who sends disciples off to die?"

Seeing Zhang Yi's panic, Verdant Green Maiden tossed him a book and said, "Here. A little perk for you."

"Zongheng Ce..."

Zhang Yi stared at the book Verdant Green Maiden had tossed him, then froze as something came to mind. "I've heard of a man named Su Qin who traveled among the Six Kingdoms, persuading them to form a Vertical Alliance against Qin. He called himself a strategist of the Vertical and Horizontal Schools. Was that because of this Zongheng Ce?"

Verdant Green Maiden nodded. "That's right. He's your senior brother, too!"

Zhang Yi clutched the Zongheng Ce to his chest and tried to bow in thanks, but then asked, "Master, couldn't we wait a few years before coming to Qin?"

"Nope. Ghost Valley doesn't support idle people."

"You're too late."

Verdant Green Maiden shook her head with a bright smile, bundling Zhang Yi and the Zongheng Ce off to Qin.

Miserable, Zhang Yi could only carry the Zongheng Ce himself and go.

After Zhang Yi left, Hong Luan tilted her head and said, "You sent him to Qin, while that boy Su Qin is over with the Six Kingdoms. Won't they end up fighting each other someday?"

"Yep."

Verdant Green Maiden nodded.

Hong Luan complained, "What is it with you? Why do your disciples always have to make the junior brother fight the senior brother?"

At that, Verdant Green Maiden shook her head. "How should I know what's strange about me? Perhaps once the name Ghost Valley spread, this mighty tide of history would no longer let one little snake change its course. It's not as if I never tried."

"Xia Yu, Shang Tang, Ji Fa—I tried during all their eras!"

"I tried to talk Bao Si out of it, and Sun Boling, too."

"But what came of it? Not one of them listened to me. They all went on to meet the endings history had in store for them. I was just a passerby in all of it!"

As she spoke, Verdant Green Maiden picked up a piece of sacrificial meat and took a bite, then spat it out. "Ptooey! Awful."

"Of course it tastes awful. It was boiled in plain water!"

Hong Luan saw Verdant Green Maiden bite into the sacrificial meat without seasoning it at all. Knowing her words must have struck a nerve, she said, "Let's stop thinking about all that and cheer up! At least... they made their own choices."

"Right! So I thought, if I can't change things, I should stop trying."

Verdant Green Maiden nodded. "From now on, we're not going back to Ghost Valley!"

"If we're not going back to Ghost Valley, where are we going?"

Hong Luan tilted her head and looked at Verdant Green Maiden, puzzled.

They'd finally found a home, and now they weren't going back? But in all these centuries, Verdant Green Maiden had rarely stayed in one place for so long. Her appearance never changed, and she lived forever. If she stayed somewhere too long, people would easily notice something was wrong.

Hong Luan knew Verdant Green Maiden would move on, but where would they go?

They'd nearly lived everywhere under heaven over the past few centuries.

Verdant Green Maiden worked out the date and said, "Let's travel! The world is so vast—why stay in one place? In a few decades, we can decide where we want to live!"

"That... works."

Hong Luan agreed with Verdant Green Maiden's decision.

In truth, Hong Luan rarely went against Verdant Green Maiden. If she wanted to stay, they stayed; if she wanted to leave, Hong Luan went with her!

Snake Girl's life had always been lonely. Without Hong Luan by her side, who knew what she might become?

It had gone without Hong Luan for two thousand years, but for the next three thousand, Hong Luan would be there!

So Hong Luan absolutely couldn't let Snake Girl be lonely again.

What a kind-hearted bird it was!

Verdant Green Maiden went south and landed on Qiongzhou, which had yet to be developed. There was so much wild game there! She ate her fill for many years. By the time she returned, Zhang Yi—the man she'd kicked off to Qin—had become the famous Qin Prime Minister.

He truly was a genius!

With nothing but the Zongheng Ce in hand, he'd managed to become Qin's Prime Minister and realize his ambitions.

Qin was like a tiger or wolf, and its great push east was already taking shape.

Su Qin was gone.

The Zongheng Ce actually contained both the Vertical Alliance and the Horizontal Alliance. Su Qin had chosen the Vertical Alliance; Zhang Yi had chosen the Horizontal Alliance!

Both had chosen what they believed in.

But a weak alliance formed to resist a powerful enemy was bound to suffer more internal strife. The Six Kingdoms weren't six people; even six people could turn against each other, let alone six kingdoms.

In his later years, Su Qin, who had once held the seals of prime minister for the Six Kingdoms, vanished without a trace. No one knew he had returned to Ghost Valley.

But he found no trace of Verdant Green Maiden there.

Watching Su Qin search for days without success, then leave dejectedly, Hong Luan muttered, "You won't even go out and see him once?"

"What would I say when we met? That the one who defeated you was actually your junior brother?"

Verdant Green Maiden shook her head. "I won't see him!"

After leaving Ghost Valley, Su Qin vanished completely.

In the years that followed, Zhang Yi became a man of the hour. He was the most brilliant representative of the Vertical and Horizontal Schools, using the power of his eloquence to clear Qin's path ahead! He and King Ying Si of Qin worked together in harmony for more than twenty years, until Qin suffered a great mourning and Ying Si died.

Crown Prince Dang ascended the throne!

He stripped Zhang Yi of his position as Prime Minister and even declared boldly, "Great Qin's diplomacy won't rely on eloquence. It will rely on the Qin sword alone!"

Zhang Yi rode in his carriage through Hangu Pass once more. This time, he would never return.

Outside Hangu Pass, he encountered Verdant Green Maiden.

It had been so many years since Zhang Yi had last seen her that he could barely believe the green-clad woman before him was the same person. Then the Red Luan on her shoulder flapped its wings and asked, "Are you an idiot?"

That scolding brought Zhang Yi back to his senses. He climbed down from the carriage and bowed to Verdant Green Maiden.

"This disciple... pays his respects to you, Master."

A light snow began to fall.

Verdant Green Maiden looked up at the sky. A snowflake landed between her brows, its icy touch making Snake Girl shiver. She murmured to herself, "Time to hibernate..."

"Could you focus for once?" Hong Luan glanced at Verdant Green Maiden, utterly exasperated.

Verdant Green Maiden gave a light cough, looked at Zhang Yi, and smiled. "Boy, did you live this life to the fullest?"