Well Then, What's the Price? / Consort Yu: What's With These Two Shameless Teacher-and-Student Types?...

Talent activated in the name of Brando.

Petty as you were, you had no intention of letting that old dog Chunyu Yue live comfortably, and Zhao Gao happened to share that sentiment.

You sent a message to Phoenix Fire. Phoenix Fire swooped down from the sky and breathed flames at Chunyu Yue, carefully tracing his outline.

Zhao Gao seized the chance to advise that an inauspicious omen displeased Chunyu Yue, which would likely bring disaster upon the realm and the state. He ought to retire to his hometown.

The Confucian scholars and court academics were horrified and immediately pleaded for mercy. The First Emperor warned the scholars not to offend again, then demoted Chunyu Yue as punishment.

Phoenix Fire let out a cry, soared into the sky, and flew away into the distance.

Chunyu Yue bore a grudge against you and Zhao Gao, but you did not care in the slightest. After all, you were not merely dealing with Chunyu Yue. You were going to deal with Zhao Gao as well.

The group descended from the shaded slope. At the foot of Mount Tai stood a small hill called Mount Liangfu, where a square altar had been built to repay the earth's merits. The jade disc bearing the Fengshan inscriptions was buried underground as a memorial. This was the "Shan" portion of the Fengshan ceremony.

The Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai ended. On the journey back, the sky darkened, and then it began to rain.

The disregarded Confucian scholars were delighted when they heard of it. Some claimed this was the consequence of failing to follow their rules. Some claimed the First Emperor had lost his virtue and Heaven was weeping. Others imitated Confucius and mocked the First Emperor, though their mockery missed the point entirely and was merely a clumsy imitation.

The words spread quickly. The First Emperor said nothing upon hearing them, but the Confucian court academics holding official posts could no longer keep calm.

The many Confucian court academics hurriedly tried to smooth things over. "Fire before water—this rain is an auspicious sign. It accords with Great Qin's Water Virtue and His Majesty's heavenly majesty."

Consort Yu found it immensely amusing. She treated the trip to Mount Tai as little more than an outing, with the added benefit of watching some sort of theatrical troupe.

So, What Is the Price?

The First Emperor continued traveling with the civil and military officials to tour the coast.

Along the way, they offered sacrifices to famous mountains, great rivers, and the Eight Gods, praying to immortals such as Xianmen for blessings and protection.

"What are the Eight Gods?"

Consort Yu, who had rarely interacted with human society, could not help asking after accidentally overhearing those Confucian scholars mention the concept of the "Eight Gods."

Bai Ming explained, "The Eight Gods have existed in name since ancient times. One account says they were established by Duke Tai of Qi, Jiang Taigong. First is the Lord of Heaven, worshipped at Tianqi, where there is the deep water of Tianqi. Second is the Lord of Earth, who naturally favors yin and is worshipped at Mount Liangfu beneath Mount Tai—the place where the Fengshan jade disc was buried earlier. The earth naturally favors yang, so it must be worshipped on a round mound in a low-lying area. That is why the round altar was used on the sunny slope during the Fengshan ceremony, while the square altar was used below the shaded slope.

"Third is the Lord of War, worshipped through Chiyou. Fourth is the Lord of Yin, worshipped at Mount Shen. Fifth is the Lord of Yang, worshipped at Mount Zhifu. Sixth is the Lord of the Moon, worshipped at Mount Lai. Seventh is the Lord of the Sun, worshipped at Mount Cheng. Eighth is the Lord of the Four Seasons, worshipped at Mount Langya. If you want to see them, one yellow talisman from me would force them to come meet me."

Consort Yu knew Bai Ming had that ability, so she said nothing further. She merely rejected his notion of hauling over the so-called Eight Gods at the slightest word. "I was only asking. I have no particular thoughts on the matter."

Nothing strange happened during the rest of the tour, and you returned to Xianyang Palace without incident.

Fusu was finally able to break free from the prison of serving as regent.

Aristocratic clans had emerged during the Shang and Zhou dynasties and reached their height from the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties onward. Yet due to your interference, Fusu's governance bore something of the mark of Joscelin Brando.

He won over some aristocratic clans, divided some, suppressed some, and exterminated some, bringing the aristocratic houses entirely to heel.

Quite a few aristocratic clans redirected their resentment toward Fusu onto you, his teacher. They believed that without you, Fusu would surely have been turned by those rotten Confucians into a puppet for Confucian prosperity.

Thus, encouraged by a few remnants of the Six States, many aristocratic clans and even powerful local families prepared to join forces and kill you.

Yet you did not care at all. After all, Laozi had said, "In affairs, be skilled in ability; in action, be skilled in timing." When doing things, one must not only make good use of one's abilities, but also learn to seize the right moment.

Talent activated in the name of Brando.

Craving peace of mind, you had no intention of sparing a single one of them. Their nine clans had all been marked by you.

You began investigating their personal connections, while Consort Yu was learning some of your methods.

Once you finished marking them, you had someone act as an assassin and attempt to kill you. You then slaughtered the nine clans of one aristocratic family first. The First Emperor wanted to say something, since nine clans was excessive and five would have been enough.

After the First Emperor exterminated an aristocratic family he had long wanted dead on the charge of treason, the other aristocratic clans all praised him as a benevolent ruler and hoped he would kill the arrogant Bai Ming.

Fusu responded before the First Emperor could make his second move.

Your disciple Qiaosongzi—or rather, Prince Fusu—was exceptionally gifted. He had created an immortal art of his own, called the Celestial Killing Technique: Three-Clan Severance.

Using bloodline as the bond, it directly caused the three clans of a target to die suddenly. There was neither pain nor discomfort; they died peacefully.

The surviving children of the aristocratic families whose three clans had been exterminated all praised Crown Prince Fusu as incomparably righteous and a ruler of great benevolence.

The aristocratic clans' and powerful families' campaign against you thus collapsed.

The First Emperor seemed as though he wanted to speak, but in the end said nothing. At the very least, Fusu was no longer that rebellious son who snapped back at him every other day.

Xu Fu and the other Confucian scholars and alchemists returned from the sea, bringing back some rare treasures, but there was no sign of the immortality medicine they had promised the First Emperor.

After returning, Xu Fu and the others learned that Bai Ming had killed nine clans, the First Emperor had killed five clans, and Prince Fusu had killed three clans. Every one of them was terrified.

After meeting the First Emperor, Xu Fu went to find Bai Ming and dropped to her knees before him with a thud.

"C-Chief, those Three Immortal Mountains at sea... I really couldn't find them... Do the Three Immortal Mountains truly exist?"

Xu Fu knew Bai Ming was a genuine immortal, unlike an alchemist pretending to be one like her. She desperately hoped he could save her life.

Bai Ming pretended not to understand and said, "If you could not find them, then you could not find them. Why tell me?"

"Chief! You can't just stand by and watch me die, Chief!"

Xu Fu was nearly crying. "Lady Yu, please put in a good word for me too!"

Consort Yu remained silent. Pleading for mercy was absolutely impossible. She even found Xu Fu embarrassing.

"Since you said it yourself and made the promise yourself, then even if the price is your life, you ought to fulfill it—" Bai Ming deliberately drew out the last words. "Besides, most things in this world have a price. If you want me to help you, you must first be able to pay the price."

Xu Fu looked at Bai Ming in slight surprise, several traces of humiliation and resentment appearing on her naturally gloomy face.

"Confucius said: 'Without trustworthiness, a person cannot stand.' This has three interpretations. First, without integrity, one cannot establish oneself in society. Second, if others do not trust me, I beat them until they cannot stand. Third, if others break faith with me, I break their legs."

Bai Ming rose and walked toward Xu Fu. Seeing the tall, valiant man approach step by step, Xu Fu panicked and retreated one step at a time. "Chief! I can serve tea and pour water!"

"I have hands and feet. I have no need for you to serve tea and pour water."

Bai Ming said, "First, let us settle the matter of your reckless words and careless promises. I need to cure you of this habit of making promises at random."

"N-No! I don't want my legs broken, and I don't want to die!"

Xu Fu turned and ran, but after only a few steps, she felt both feet leave the ground. She turned back in terror and discovered that Bai Ming was forming a hand seal with one hand, while the surrounding wind had tightly bound her steps.

"I can let you run, but after you leave, every Confucian scholar and alchemist will suffer. I guarantee they will die painfully."

Bai Ming lowered Xu Fu and gestured for her to leave. "Go on, coward. All you can do is talk tough."

Xu Fu did not believe you would really let her leave like that. After taking a few steps, she turned around, rushed back, and knelt before you again. She muttered something about "If you make a mistake, accept punishment; if you get beaten, stand at attention," then asked you to punish her.

Looking at Bai Ming's expressionless face, Xu Fu grew more and more uneasy.

She always felt that Bai Ming resembled someone who had once been a king. Whenever he silently oppressed others with his presence, he bore some resemblance to the First Emperor.

The sounds around them gradually faded until only everyone's breathing could be heard.

Xu Fu gritted her teeth, planning to break her own legs herself. At that moment, Bai Ming spoke. "Immortality medicine is impossible, but I can give you a pill that will remove the Hydra poison from the First Emperor's body."

So... what was the price?

Xu Fu looked at her own legs. The price of her reckless words was that the Chief would later care enough to break her legs. Then what would the price of this pill be?

Consort Yu: What Is With These Two Flashy Bastards, Master and Disciple?

Xu Fu took the pill from you and respectfully presented it to the First Emperor. Then, by accident, she broke both legs and began a long period of recuperation.

It was not as if Xu Fu had never attempted healing magecraft, but when healing magecraft landed on her legs, it not only proved useless but magnified her pain severalfold. Xu Fu nearly healed herself to death.

"So this is the price he mentioned earlier..."

Xu Fu lay in her room, able only to ask a few maids to bring her food and tend to her daily needs. When her gaze fell upon her legs, another thought arose in her heart. Breaking my legs was likely the Chief's doing, but perhaps he also meant to teach me something. If I can fully study this Taoist art that forbids healing, I may be able to advance further.

Xu Fu searched through the Thought Key Patterns. Once she confirmed that her access level was insufficient to look anything up, she gave up on using the Thought Key Patterns to decipher the Taoist art Bai Ming had placed on her.

Xu Fu began studying the principles of the Taoist art you had cast on her and became engrossed in it.

Her progress was slow. On one hand, your Taoist art was exceedingly obscure and difficult for her to understand. On the other, the issue lay with Xu Fu's own aptitude.

Xu Fu's talents all lay in village construction, crafting magecraft artifacts for immortality, setting up barriers, and exorcising evil spirits. In terms of external Taoist arts alone, Xu Fu was undoubtedly skilled at external alchemy. If she became a Servant, her external alchemy would reach A-rank—but no higher.

Taoist arts were a kind of Thought Magecraft, yet their connection to the Thought Disk was limited to a certain scope. They were not like you, who could freely use any field within the Thought Disk. Thus, while studying the Taoist art you had casually created, Xu Fu often felt as though she had burned herself out, but you did not care at all.

Your work related to Kuaiji Zero had also reached a temporary stopping point. After the First Emperor took the pill, the remaining diluted Hydra poison in his body was completely removed. However, before that, the First Emperor's body had already been pushed to the brink of ruin by the Hydra poison.

With nothing much to do, aside from teaching Fusu how to strengthen his body, follow Heaven's timing and earthly advantages, and seek immortality and transcendence, you merely watched the silent Consort Yu.

Consort Yu did not care about your gaze, at least from your perspective.

Time slowly passed. During this period, you began frantically cultivating your arts, while Xu Fu gave up researching your Taoist art. She knew she could not learn it, so she simply stopped trying.

Zhao Gao was extremely obedient and well-behaved during this time—so obedient and well-behaved that you could not find an excuse to act against him.

You paid no attention to Zhao Gao's movements, merely focusing on cultivation, teaching your student, and watching Consort Yu. At first, Consort Yu did not care much, but later, whenever you watched her, she would deliberately sit down and stare back at you.

One day, the two of you stared at each other for an entire day.

You opened the furnace to refine artifacts. The Analects had twenty books and four hundred ninety-two chapters, so you refined twenty Iron Bamboo Scrolls for Fusu as his Dharma artifacts, each covered in all four hundred ninety-two passages of the Analects.

You opened the furnace again and refined a full set of equipment for Fusu. Fusu bowed three times, then began refining his Dharma artifacts with peace of mind.

Prince Fusu wore a Cloud-Piercing White Jade Crown upon his head, a Glacial Silk Robe on his body, and Five-Colored Flying Cloud Boots on his feet. His gentle jade-like face became even more radiant beneath this attire.

"Master, you made all this for me, but I see you wearing nothing but these plain robes all day..."

A teacher for a day was a father for life. Even if Bai Ming had given Fusu nothing and merely taught him his skills, Fusu would still have deeply respected him. But seeing his master seemingly own nothing and give everything to him, kind-hearted Fusu's eyes filled with tears.

"I simply like plain robes. But if we are talking about armor and finery..."

Bai Ming shook himself once, and in an instant, the Seven-Star Jade Crown, Azure Dragon Embroidered Robe, Thunder-Phoenix Armor, and Coiled Dragon Jade Belt Hook all appeared. Then a Phoenix Dance Crimson Feather Cape extended from the Thunder-Phoenix Armor. Water mist and cloud lightning endlessly swirled around Bai Ming, radiating boundless brilliance.

Bai Ming turned in a circle and casually lifted a hand. The water mist, cloud lightning, and endless radiance all vanished. At that moment, Consort Yu, who had entered the main hall thinking, What the hell is going on in there?, happened to see the master and disciple dressed in imposing, unbelievably flashy scholar-general attire.

Her beautiful eyes blinked. Then she turned and walked out, only to return a moment later.

Seeing that the two were still wearing their flashy outfits, Consort Yu confirmed that Bai Ming was up to something again and coldly asked, "What are you doing?"

Bai Ming said without caring, "Fusu wanted to see the toys my master gave me. Naturally, I followed my master's example and refined a few toys for Fusu."

Master! Give me back my gratitude! I thought they were something amazing!

Fusu dearly wanted to shout that, but he knew this was probably not the right time to make a joke.

Consort Yu reached out and touched Bai Ming's outfit, then examined Fusu's attire for a long time. Finally, she asked with some hesitation, "You call things that people would fight to the death over toys?"

Fusu knew that he understood nothing, but the immortal Lady Yu was not someone who understood nothing. The "toys" his master mentioned might truly be peerless divine artifacts. It was simply that before leaving his sect, his master had been spoiled too much, so he had no clear understanding of the value of many things.

In other words, those twenty-some Iron Bamboo Scrolls his master had thrown to him earlier and called toys—were they actually peerless divine weapons? He had been planning to enshrine Supreme Master of Taiji, so were they actually weapons meant for him?

"If they are not toys, what are they?"

Bai Ming spread his hands. Consort Yu said helplessly, "Enough already."

Although Consort Yu had given Bai Ming the courtesy name Bai Qing, and calling him Bai Qing directly would not have been a problem, she still was not accustomed to using names. She usually addressed Bai Ming as "Hey," "Oi," or "You." Occasionally, she would throw in "Bai Ming," "Bai Qing," "Xiang Yu," or "Xiang Ji," but that usually only happened when she was in an exceptionally good mood.

The atmosphere between these two is so strange... Should I just run first?

Seeing the subtle relationship between you and Consort Yu, Fusu decided to leave first.

While Xu Fu was recovering from her leg injury, the Confucian scholars and alchemists split into three factions under your deliberate indulgence.

The self-improvement faction led by you, which began doing practical work and improving themselves; the immortality faction led by Xu Fu, which attempted to refine an immortality medicine; and the immortal-seeking, medicine-searching faction led by Lu Sheng and Hou Sheng.

The First Emperor did not bring many people on his later eastern and western tours. Before his next eastern tour, Xu Fu's legs healed, and she set out to sea in separate groups with Hou Sheng, Lu Sheng, and the others. Fusu served as regent, while you dragged the unwilling Consort Yu around Xianyang City for several days before resuming your advancement in Taoist arts.

Taoism possessed Six Supernormal Abilities: sight, hearing, smell, speech, body, and mind.

You awakened the ability of sight. Those with sight could see through all things, behold the Three Venerables, remain undisturbed by the five colors, know neither yin nor yang, neither small nor great, and see everything.

Put simply, you gained a skill: Clairvoyance [EX], which could comprehend the past, present, and future, and could be turned off at will.

Through Clairvoyance, you exchanged a glance across time with King Solomon, who also possessed Clairvoyance. King Solomon gave you an approving thumbs-up.

Peach Garden Oath of Brotherhood, Activate!

King Solomon was surprised that someone could awaken Clairvoyance through their own efforts.

But you had no intention of paying King Solomon any attention. You only planned to kick Roman's ass hard once the simulation ended. That thumbs-up was clearly meant to push the responsibility of succeeding the Grand Caster onto you. Before Merlin, Roman, and Gilgamesh had completely vanished from existence, you had absolutely no intention of touching such a miserable job.

You began teaching Fusu formations—how to control twenty Iron Bamboo Scrolls at once to form arrays, kill enemies, defend himself, and even flee.

Fusu learned quickly, but he also voiced a few doubts.

"Master, I see those alchemists constantly refining pills and reciting scriptures. Why do you not recite them?"

"Why recite that nonsense? Recite what is useful and forget what is useless. When it comes down to it, you are the one who has to fight first. If you cannot win, call your elders. Or do you think chanting some nonsense scripture for an hour or two will protect you in battle?"