Chen Jin was secretly marveling at how quickly robbing the rich brought in money. He had scrimped and saved for over two years to accumulate 5,000 points, yet this one haul was worth four years of savings.
As he spoke, he unceremoniously gathered up the entire pile of Shark Silk. With a thought, he stored it in his Personal Mark.
"Of course, of course!" He clapped his hands, his smile growing brighter. "The princess is so sincere. How could I be unreasonable? Once this illusion ends, I'll immediately cancel that slave contract and set her free."
Seeing how readily he accepted the goods, Cen Qing's expression softened a little. She continued, "In that case, thank you, sir. Now, the second matter—"
The light in Cen Qing's eyes suddenly dimmed, and grief surged up from beneath the boundless waves.
Her lips trembled. Her voice was soft and lilting, yet every word was steeped in blood and tears:
"Do you know... that when the First Emperor built the Mount Li Mausoleum, its chambers plunged three hundred zhang underground, its hidden palaces stretched on without end, and its tomb passages formed a maze? All of them needed lamps that would never go out... Yet the oil for the Eternal Lamps he used was refined from the bodies of my Shark Person kin."
She raised her eyes. They glistened with tears, filled with bottomless grief and despair.
"My kin... were hunted down in great numbers, dragged out of the deep sea like livestock and thrown into cauldrons to be boiled alive... A wisp of smoke, a solitary lamp—that was the last trace each of my people left in this world... The Mount Li Mausoleum holds thousands upon thousands of lamps, their brilliance dazzling, but beneath that light lie the bones of my entire people and their hatred, unappeased even in death..."
Her voice grew softer, yet more heartrending. Every word she spoke was wrapped in an inescapable veil of blood.
"Such an irreconcilable blood feud... How could you expect me... not to avenge it?"
"The First Emperor will soon be coming to Langya, leaving the ancestral lands of Mount Li that protect him. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I beg you, sir, help my people! You are a Wandering Knight of the Mohist School, who believes in universal love and opposes aggression, helping the weak and punishing the strong. How can you stand by while such atrocities are committed?!"
Just then, Ren Tu's neither-male-nor-female voice sounded beside him:
[You have triggered a special Yanfu Event: Blood for Blood.] To build the Mount Li Mausoleum, the Qin imperial house hunted down Shark Persons on a vast scale and refined them into oil for the Eternal Lamps. This was a hatred born of genocide. The Shark Person princess, Cen Qing, seeks your help. Cen Qing promises that, once the task is complete, you will command your own Shark Person forces in Human-Bingzi-Twelve. [Optional Quest: Help the Shark Person princess, Cen Qing, demand repayment from Great Qin for this blood debt.] [Accept this quest?]
Chen Jin's fingertips tapped the table unconsciously.
After a moment of silence, he slowly said, "Your Highness, what you've just told me is heartrending. Tyrannical rule, the people abused, their bones boiled down for oil—such deeds outrage both gods and men."
He changed tack slightly, revealing his misgivings. "However, this matter involves far too much and strikes directly at the heart of the empire. It could shake the heavens.
"Though I'm willing to help, I can't rashly agree on the spur of the moment.
"This is no trivial matter. We'll need to take our time and plan carefully.
"Please allow me some time to consider the risks and work out what might be possible."
Before Cen Qing could reply, he continued, "Besides, we've been talking here in this illusion for quite some time. The 'Law Eye' in the sky is ever watchful, seeing all. If staying in the illusion too long draws its attention, it could spell disaster for both of us. Why don't we stop here for today?"
His tone was sincere as he suggested, "Once I've thought everything through, we can find a safer place and a better time to discuss this together. What do you say?"
Cen Qing gazed at him. The illusion's shifting light and shadow played across her flawless face, making her true expression impossible to read.
After a moment, the corners of her lips lifted in a faint, inscrutable smile. "Very well. We'll do as you say."
The moment she finished speaking, the magnificent underwater palace around them, the iridescent corals and pearls, the swaying curtains of seaweed... shattered like a glass mirror, giving a barely audible crack before breaking into countless pieces and vanishing.
Chen Jin's vision blurred, and all the fantastical scenery receded like the tide.
Familiar air, redolent of salt and dust, filled his nostrils.
He looked around. He was still standing where he had been, on solid ground, facing the county magistrate's residence and its imposing, peeling vermilion gates.
Beside him, Squad Leader Wang Wu and two other comrades had just raised their feet, ready to cross the high threshold.
So while the illusion had seemed to stretch through a long negotiation, in reality, barely a few breaths had passed.
Chen Jin's heart tightened. He immediately sent a wisp of awareness into his Personal Mark.
The blunt short sword, Mo Mei, and the Shark Silk lay quietly inside. The power of the Flesh of Vision inheritance within him, now at 69% and containing an extra 17% awakening, was also surging and full, without the slightest trace of instability.
Reality within illusion, illusion within reality. The two beget each other—truly mysterious beyond measure.
Cen Qing's words, too, were probably three parts true and seven parts false, a mixture of truth and lies.
He believed the Shark Person people bore a blood feud against Great Qin. That hatred was likely genuine.
But as for her claimed reason for trying to assassinate him? That was probably an excuse she'd just made up.
This judgment didn't come from reading her microexpressions in the illusion. Trusting facial expressions in an illusion controlled by the other party would be utter foolishness.
As for her fabricated grudge with "Heifu," although he couldn't find any obvious way to disprove it yet...
The reason Chen Jin reached his conclusion was simple and direct:
When he had used Glance of the Startled Swan just now, he'd seen a clear layer of red killing intent enveloping Cen Qing.
She wanted him dead.
Chen Jin sneered inwardly. He'd have to be tired of living to genuinely get involved in some grand scheme plotted by someone who secretly wanted him dead.
But he'd just accepted her generous gifts. The Shark Silk, Mo Mei, and the increase in his awakening were all real benefits. To turn around and refuse her immediately would make him look far too greedy. He didn't want to spit out what he'd already gotten.
I'll string her along for now. The Shark Person princess is plotting something that could shake the heavens, and her enemy is mighty Great Qin. The risks are enormous. Maybe she'll quietly "ascend to heaven" on her own one day, saving me the trouble.
As his thoughts raced, he quickly caught up with Wang Wu and the other two.
In front of the grand gates of the county magistrate's residence stood a man who looked like a steward. He wore a fine silk robe, his chin slightly raised, and his face plainly showed his impatience.
When he saw Wang Wu and the others, he gave a soft snort and spoke haughtily in a shrill voice:
"Hmph, you finally showed up? And this is all the manpower you brought? Never mind, never mind. Listen up—the master's Ink Jade Qilin Dog ran off this morning! It's a treasure the master paid a fortune for and pulled countless strings to obtain. It's precious! The minced meat it eats is finer than the millet you people eat!"
He spoke imperiously. "You lot, hurry up and search every nook and cranny in and out of town! Find it and bring it back in one piece! If it loses a single hair, or you can't find it... Hmph! If you spoil the master's enjoyment, you'll pay for it!"
Wang Wu's expression darkened, but he still cupped his fists and replied gravely, "Understood. We'll do our utmost."
Chen Jin stood to one side, his eyes lowered.
He'd thought the Shark Person princess was hiding right there in the county magistrate's residence, perhaps as a relative or something, which would let her instruct the steward to report the dog missing and lure him over.
But now that he thought about it, that wasn't necessarily the case. She could have stolen the dog to achieve the same goal.
Hmph. Hiding in the shadows—she really did have something up her sleeve.