The Hegemon King of Western Chu

The man quietly sat there, holding a wine cup, his eyes fixed in the direction where Chu Lian lay, without making any movements.

"Just like before, when you get happy, you easily forget yourself and do things you usually wouldn't. Seeing that your appearance hasn't changed over the years brings me some peace of mind. If it weren't for the situation I set up back then, causing you to lose to that young man in white, how would you and your Xiang family have been forced to change names and wander until today?" The cup was raised to his lips, but he did not drink. Instead, he quietly reminisced about that era with a slight bitter smile.

"The history books now speak of you as the Overlord of Western Chu, Xiang Yu, with the strength to lift mountains and unparalleled dominance, lifting nine tripods to conquer the world. But who knows that you were merely a peerless beauty in fiery red? Tsk tsk, back then, that brat Liu Bang couldn't force you to surrender and marry him at the Wu River. Instead, you and Yu Ji took your lives together. Truly, one could say he missed the one person he shouldn't have missed."

"Haha, had you married into his Liu family, it would have been the fortune of a hundred lifetimes for him. But whether he could have controlled you is uncertain. Perhaps in a few years, the world would know only Xiang Yu and not Liu Bang. However, considering how obsessed he was with you, maybe he would have had the courage to try. Alas, he didn't have the fortune."

He knew that once Chu Lian was drunk, she wouldn't wake up unless her life was in danger. So he had no qualms about speaking his mind. Of course, even if she could hear, he wasn't afraid of her hearing it, nor of any consequences from saying it.

To do what one wants, say what one wants—this is him, known as the First Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, Ying Zheng. Still alive in this world, he is also the reason why the state never dared to disturb the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang. With him here, even just one person, no one dares to underestimate him, or they will become another stepping stone beneath his throne.

"Liu Bang, Liu Bang, you calculated everything, almost broke my setup in the end, yet you still failed. Can you be content? Xiang Yu, Xiang Yu, haha, such a play on names. You portrayed Xiang Yu as a man, does that mean you feared her strength in your heart, so you used cunning to defeat her?"

"To not win her was your destiny. Xiang Yu wanted someone who could defeat her in direct combat, not someone who schemed against her behind her back. If she hadn't seen through that no man in the world could rival her, why would she have chosen to be with the woman Yu Ji?" Ying Zheng wore a faintly mocking smile. Though he whispered, it felt as if he was speaking to someone.

"This reincarnation has completely freed her from the past. What I see now is merely an extraordinarily endearing young girl. In the outside world, beautiful girls of this age are often called 'lolis.' It's quite a fitting name." Standing up, he walked to Chu Lian's side, reaching out to touch her cheek.

However, his hand stopped halfway, pausing in mid-air. After a long while, he sighed, "Forget it, forget it. If I really touched her, when this child wakes up, she might see me as an absolute enemy. I can feel the devastation in your heart, and the fear and disgust you feel toward men approaching and pursuing you. Perhaps there are past events you don't want to recall or mention, but they are certainly taboo."

"I owe you too much, something I can hardly repay. If I provoke your animosity again, I fear I'll never see you in this life again." He stood there silently, looking at Chu Lian for a long time.

With a silent wave, Chu Lian's drunken body floated slowly into the air. Ying Zheng gently placed her body onto a bench behind the beaded curtain, then returned to his table to savor his wine.

Perhaps an hour passed, perhaps two, before the drunken Chu Lian slowly opened her eyes. Her vision blurred, she looked at the objects before her until the fragmented images merged into one. Only then did she gradually understand where she was.

She tightened her clothes, touched various parts of her body, and found nothing amiss before sighing in relief, "Seems like nothing happened."

"Could it be that I am so unworthy in your eyes?" Ying Zheng's voice came from outside the curtain, perceiving that Chu Lian had awakened.

"Hmph, who knows if you're that kind of person. Let me say, Qin Shi Huang is definitely one of the biggest perverts in Chinese history. If I weren't on guard, you might have already taken advantage of me, forcing me to be part of your harem." Chu Lian was direct, not sparing him any face.

"Haha, if I were truly that kind of person, you would have already become my newest concubine, not a hair on your body untouched, still a virgin," Ying Zheng was not annoyed, having understood Chu Lian's nature—typical of someone who responds better to softness than hardness. To befriend her, one must lower themselves, and winning her over is the victory.

Were it someone else, Ying Zheng might not have bothered and, further, might have executed them directly. But this person was Chu Lian, the one he owed the most.

In truth, if not for his affection for Xiang Yu and having carried it to the present, transformed into protection for Chu Lian, he wouldn't have lowered his stance so much.

All is fate, the rise and fall of connections, now an unsolvable knot.

"Who knows if you're just setting a long trap to catch a big fish? I'm telling you, I like women, not men, so don't even think about touching me. Even if you are the First Emperor, even if you are Qin Shi Huang, I will never have any good feelings for you." Chu Lian's tone was proud, but Ying Zheng clearly heard her hidden message, so he didn't speak further, just smiled, poured a cup of wine, and drank it slowly.

Barefoot, with her exquisite feet, she walked on the warm floor, observing her surroundings, thoughts traversing a millennium, back to the Qin Dynasty. She stood in Qin Shi Huang's study. He watched worldly affairs while drinking wine, she read bamboo slips beside him, the rain gently pattered outside, the fragrance of books permeated inside—a truly idyllic scene.

"Hey, why are you still alive and not dead? Do you have unfinished business?" She finally couldn't contain her curiosity, asking as she walked to the seat she occupied before she got drunk.

"It's nothing more than to suppress a group of troublemakers here," Ying Zheng seemed pleased by her initiating conversation, slowly revealing what she wanted to know.

"In that year, as recorded in history, 227 BC, an unknown force opened a cave ten zhang wide atop Mount Li, creating a gateway for invaders from another world. They were bizarre and varied, more peculiar than the specters in the mountains. They came in countless forms and possessed powerful abilities. Initially, they appeared in small numbers, but later formed groups, eventually amassing an army of tens of thousands to attack my city."

"At this crucial moment, I decided to lead my army personally, to meet these unknown formidable foes," Ying Zheng's gaze was distant, as if the memories of that time were still vivid. "The first battle ended with my invincible Qin army achieving a great victory. But soon, more and more strange humans appeared, their strength increasing, and eventually, masters who appeared and fought like humans emerged, capable of rivaling Qin's offerings. Had it not been for their scattered forces and the fact that most enemies fought independently, Qin might have been destroyed."

"The war dragged on, and as it extended, I had to mobilize the nation to fight. After seven years, the year history records my death, the war was nearing its end. The enemy's numbers dwindled, but their strength grew."

"In the end, I had to join the battle myself. I remember a woman emerged, someone even I couldn't claim to easily defeat..." At this point, Ying Zheng glanced lightly at Chu Lian, who seemed to be listening intently, missing his look.

So he continued, "For some reason, she only appeared once, after injuring me in a duel and leaving gracefully, never to return. With the loss of most of their strong fighters, the enemy began to collapse. Some strong ones retreated into the cave's world, some fled to the outside world, and some were captured by my army. Most of the weaker ones were either killed or returned to where they came from."

"The war, lasting seven years, ended in Qin's victory. Yet, in seven years, though the enemy suffered a million casualties, Qin also suffered great losses, nearly seventy thousand deaths. This was the most elite batch of Qin soldiers. I intended to lead them west to Europe but they perished here—a regretful event."

"By then, I knew these enemies came from the other world. The cave was their gateway, and without sealing it permanently, the disaster would never cease."

"I was also weary, and seeing the fractured land due to my prolonged wars, I chose to relinquish the world."

"As a result, as you may know or not know, I made a deal with someone, gaining immortality and great power. The cost was eternal confinement, with my invincible army, forever guarding the gate, never to leave within a hundred miles of Mount Li. Thus, those elite Qin soldiers, with me, vanished from the world's eyes, standing watch here, preventing another invasion from the other world."

"Yet no one imagined how many contingencies I left in this world, allowing me to control the situation for decades, gaining precious time to secure the initial, most fragile sealing period."

Hearing this, Chu Lian asked, "So, those terracotta warriors are your army? Why did they turn to clay?"

"I am immortal, but they are not undead. To join me, they voluntarily relinquished their lives, entering the lifeless clay bodies to sleep. With my command, they will awaken from slumber, launching the fiercest assault at my directive. They are my invincible army, eternally with me."

Ying Zheng's tone was full of pride, seemingly unaware of how cruel it was. Perhaps in his view, the world once belonged to him, and the lives of these finest soldiers were rightfully his to command.

Chu Lian lightly frowned at his words, then asked after a pause, "So, who am I?" She didn't remember what Qin Shi Huang said before she got drunk, otherwise, she wouldn't need to ask.

"You are the successor of the Overlord of Western Chu." Ying Zheng seemed to know she would ask this and replied emphatically.

"The successor of the Overlord of Western Chu?" She didn't know if this referred to her or to Chu Lian.