“A ghost, I guess. A human shouldn’t be able to live for that long,” replied Zu An after a moment of contemplation.

“Is that so?” remarked ‘Chu Chuyan’ as she prepared to sink her sharp fingernails into his heart.

“But I think that she’s quite a pitiful person too. She was sealed all alone in this forlorn underground palace for several millennia, without even a person to talk to,” Zu An suddenly added.

“Pitiful?” ‘Chu Chuyan’s’ movements came to a halt.

“Indeed, honey. I’ll promise you that I’ll never treat her the way that Ying Zheng treated you,” vowed Zu An.

“What’s the use of promises? As soon as our interests diverge, you’ll surely turn your back on me,” sneered ‘Chu Chuyan’.

Zu An sensed that there was something weird with how Chu Chuyan was speaking, such that he had a feeling that he was talking to another woman cloaked in Chu Chuyan’s skin. However, this thought was swiftly driven out of his mind. He thought that it was only normal for Chu Chuyan to act differently after what she had just been through.

He couldn’t help but scorn himself.

How could I think of other women while I’m with her? That’s too greedy!

“Don’t worry, I’m not that kind of person.” Zu An thought that Chu Chuyan was just feeling insecure after having lost her first time, so he chose to console her. “Besides, how could our interests diverge. We’re a couple; everything of mine is yours. There’s nothing to nitpick between us.”

“I guess so.” ‘Chu Chuyan’ chuckled softly. “You sure have a glib tongue.”

“Can we not talk about other matters now and focus on what we’re doing instead,” said Zu An as he leaned in closer to kiss her.

‘Chu Chuyan’ tilted her head sideward, dodging his kiss. Sensing the current condition of her body, she couldn’t help but frown in displeasure. I thought that this body has already fully recovered, but isn’t she far too slow?! How could she not heal her ki meridians up even after so long? Just what in the world has she been doing all this while?

Left with no choice, she could only tolerate the man ramming at her as she continued her recovery.

She was the empress of the Qin Dynasty after all, so she wasn’t foreign to such happenings. Back then, her ancestor, Empress Xuan Mi Bazi, in order to resolve a threat plaguing the northwest borders of the Qin Country, went to the extent of offering her body up to the King of Yiqu and bore two sons for him.

After the Qin Country finally bulked up, she found an opportune moment to kill the King of Yiqu, thus resolving the threat of the Yiqu once and for all.

This set a precedent for the women of the Qin Dynasty’s imperial family. They viewed their bodies to be no more than tools for a greater goal. It was not to say that Mi Li had ever used it with that intent before, but she wasn’t as resistant to it.

Besides, she had no qualms about betraying Ying Zheng at all. In fact, she would love more than anything for him to witness this sight with his own eyes and hopefully flip over in his grave.

Meanwhile, Zu An was a little surprised by Chu Chuyan’s reaction. He didn't know that she would reject his kiss, and for a moment there, she had an extremely unfamiliar expression on her face.

Fearing that he would see through her disguise, ‘Chu Chuyan’ chose to divert the topic elsewhere and ask, “Hey, who do you think is more beautiful, me or Mi Li?”

“Of course it’s you!” replied Zu An unhesitatingly.

“…” ‘Chu Chuyan.

“Is that so?” ‘Chu Chuyan’ sneered coldly as her fingernails began stretching outward once more.

Zu An paused for a moment before adding, “To be honest, I was just saying those words to flatter you. Mi Li’s beauty doesn’t lose to yours; the two of you have different styles. You have a cool, refreshing disposition whereas she’s noble and majestic. It’s hard to compare the two of you against one another…”

‘Chu Chuyan’s’ lips finally curled upward, satisfied with his response. However, she soon noticed something and asked with a frown, “Why did your body suddenly become so agitated when I start talking about her?”

“…” Zu An.

He had never thought that ‘Chu Chuyan’ would be so sensitive as to detect minor changes in his body, which made him incredibly awkward. He didn’t know how to explain this since it would be disastrous of him to explain to his own wife how he ended up thinking about another woman while getting hot and steamy with her.

Fortunately, ‘Chu Chuyan’ didn’t continue probing on. She stretched her hand forward and wrapped them around his waist.

Zu An was more than delighted by her invitation. All this while, she had been silently accepting whatever he was doing to her, putting him at a loss as to what her true thoughts were. However, her show of proactiveness put down the boulder of unease weighing on his heart, and he finally let go of his restraint and went all out.

‘Chu Chuyan’ found herself getting overwhelmed by Zu An’s furious assault. She rolled her eyes in fury. Isn’t this woman far too weak? She can’t even deal with this much!

You have successfully trolled Mi Li for +233 Rage!

Zu An was stunned.

Mi Li? Hasn’t she already left the area? Is she secretly eavesdropping in the area?

Alarmed, he quickly searched the area, but Mi Li was nowhere to be seen.

“What are you doing?” asked ‘Chu Chuyan’.

“Say, is it possible that Mi Li is hiding in the area, secretly watching the two of us?” asked Zu An with a frown.

‘Chu Chuyan’s’ heart skipped a beat. “I don’t think so. Didn’t she leave earlier? What made you think that she’s still in the area?”

Zu An shook his head and said, “Well, I hope that I’m thinking too much into it too.”

‘Chu Chuyan’ replied with an ‘Mm’ before actively wrapping her limbs around the man on top of her, spurring the heat dominating Zu An’s mind. With such a beautiful woman seducing him, it didn’t take long for all other miscellaneous thoughts to be swiftly expelled from his head.

She secretly placed her hand on Zu An’s waist and pressed her slender fingers down softly, causing Zu An’s body to shudder from delight. He soon succumbed, causing his yang energy to be swiftly pumped into her body, amalgamating with her yin energy.

‘Chu Chuyan’ had no qualms with using her body as a tool—not to mention that this wasn’t her body either—but this body was simply too weak to endure the tempering of the primordial ki.

She disliked the feeling of her life being grasped in the hands of another person, not to mention that Zu An was no more than an ant in her eyes. Her pride didn’t allow her to be dominated by a man of his caliber. She felt that a mere tool ought to remain as no more than a tool.

Thus, she used her secret art to prematurely unleash his yang energy before pushing him away to quietly assimilate his blood essence and primordial ki.

Zu An was still intending to continue getting steamy with her, but the abrupt rejection left his heart feeling a little empty. However, looking at the situation from another perspective, it could be due to Chu Chuyan not knowing how to face him.

This thought made the situation far more acceptable to him.

It was then that he noticed that Chu Chuyan had turned her attention back to cultivation. He felt a burst of respect for her. As expected of a true prodigy. She really doesn’t let go of any opportunity to cultivate.

Perhaps it was due to the accumulated fatigue from going through battle after battle, Zu An suddenly felt a little drowsy. Before he knew it, he had already dozed off.

‘Chu Chuyan’ opened her eyes to glance at him. She hesitated for a moment before sitting back down to focus on repairing her ki meridians. I’ll decide what to do next after fully harmonizing my soul with this body.

Some time later, Zu An suddenly felt a chilling sensation on his throat. He immediately opened his eyes, only to see that Chu Chuyan had put her clothes back on, reverting back to her usual cold self. She was standing before the altar with a sword pressed against his neck. Her expression looked a little unusual, as if she was conflicted over something.

Zu An was immediately jolted awake from his daze. He dared not to move carelessly, fearing that any sudden movements would agitate the other party into ending his life. So, he asked carefully, “Honey, what are you doing?”

‘Chu Chuyan’ sneered coldly and said, “I can’t allow a man who has taken my body to continue existing in this world.”

“…” Zu An.

The hell! Are you serious?

“I went through so much difficulties in order to save you, but you’re going to kill me for that? Don’t you think that you’re being too ungrateful here?” exclaimed Zu An.

‘Chu Chuyan’s’ face reddened as she snapped furiously, “Was that even ‘difficult’ for you?”

Zu An also felt that he had, to some extent, taken advantage of the situation earlier, so he scratched his head sheepishly and said, “Putting that aside, everything else that I’ve done before should mean something, right? I mean, I almost died several times trying to save you here!”

‘Chu Chuyan’ harrumphed coldly and said, “You need not feel too wronged about this. You’ve just enjoyed something which many men never would in their entire lifetime. You should be able to die in peace with that knowledge.”

Zu An shook his head and said. “That wouldn’t do. I’m not the kind of man to give up an entire forest for a tree. You mentioned yourself that you don’t mind me looking for another woman. If you no longer want to be with me, we can just split up and live our own lives. Is there a need for you to be so callous with me?”

‘Chu Chuyan’ was stunned. She never thought that the two of them would have such a bizarre promise between them, though what infuriated her more was Zu An’s attitude toward this matter.

Why are you acting all so self-righteous when talking about cheating on your own wife?

You have successfully trolled Mi Li for +404 Rage!

The sudden influx of Rage points from Mi Li shocked Zu An once more. He stared at Chu Chuyan intently with a contemplative look on his face.

“A man like you is only going to scourge the world. For the sake of all womankind, I shall eliminate you here!” ‘Chu Chuyan’s’ sword darted straight toward Zu An’s neck. She knew that there was no way that Zu An would be able to dodge this sword with his strength.

But to her astonishment, her attack actually landed empty.

She glared at Zu An coldly and said, “You anticipated my attack and dodged it in advance?”

How could he know that I would really make a move on him? Even before I moved my sword, he had already moved sideward to dodge!

Zu An felt cold sweat dripping down his back as he murmured fearfully, “Big sis empress, it’s actually you!”

‘Chu Chuyan’ was stunned. “How did you know it’s me?”

With her standing and cultivation rank, she couldn’t even be bothered to cook up lies before Zu An to deceive him. She was confident that she was in control of the situation here, and that Zu An couldn’t possibly hope to turn things around on her anymore.

Hearing her admittance, Zu An felt his heart sinking. “What did you do to Chuyan?”

“Chuyan? Needless to say, she’s dead.” ‘Chu Chuyan’ raised her hands to look at her own slender hands. “I have to admit that her body is really not bad. She might be weak at the moment, but her aptitude is decent. She barely meets the mark for my new body.”

Upon hearing that Chu Chuyan was dead, Zu An felt his body turning stone-cold. “You were already harboring such intentions right from the start when you imparted that formula to her!”