Fan Li's eyelid kept twitching!
If Qing Qiu heard this, wouldn't she draw her sword and kill to silence them?
"Don't spout nonsense, little San. Qing Qiu Sage Ruler and I are completely innocent and pure!" Fan Li said righteously, but Fan Chun seemed to not hear him at all.
He continued muttering: "Although Qing Qiu Sage Ruler's cultivation is profound, she seems to be single. She's even living in the same camp as Eldest Brother. Who knows, she might have secretly promised her heart to Eldest Brother already. Eldest Brother, you have to be more proactive. You're already an old bachelor, you can't keep letting the family worry abou...Eldest Brother, why are you drawing your sword?"
'I want your dog life!' Fan Li cursed in his heart.
At this moment, muffled footsteps suddenly echoed from within the Qin Emperor's Mausoleum. Everyone could clearly feel that something seemed to be walking out from the underground palace. When Fan Li looked over, he was stunned.
"It's actually the twelve gold men!?"
The overbearing Twelve Gold Men had already left a deep impression during the earlier great battle outside Epang Palace.
"Lord Jin, be careful! Guards, stand ready!"
Cao Cao, Liu Bei and Sun Quan could be said to be seasoned veterans against the Twelve Gold Men. They immediately shielded Fan Li.
"Uh... I'm fine. Why don't you guys move aside." Fan Li said.
Before they understood what he meant, they saw Fan Li raise the Sword of the Qin Emperor high.
"Kneel down!" Fan Li shouted loudly.
Everyone was even more baffled.
What was Lord Jin doing?
Who was he telling to kneel?
Them?
It looked like a fight was about to break out, who had time to kneel at a time like this?
Boom Boom Boom!
At the sound, the twelve gold men knelt down, leaving everyone dumbfounded.
"Lord Jin, what is going on?" Cao Cao couldn't help asking.
Fan Li thought to himself that he was about to give away the Sword of the Qin Emperor anyway, so he might as well reveal this little secret. Thus, he explained the connection between the twelve gold men and the Sword of the Qin Emperor.
"So it was actually this kind of matter!"
Cao Cao, Liu Bei and Sun Quan were greatly astonished, but surprisingly didn't reveal any joy on their faces. Whoever possessed the Sword of the Qin Emperor could command the twelve gold men!
Even with the gold men's pitiful intellects, unable to grasp secret arts and treasures, their combat strength was still equivalent to twelve Unity Realm experts!
How could that be looked down upon?
Fan Li smiled. "When the three sirs bring the Sword of the Qin Emperor back to the Han court, His Majesty will gain twelve utterly loyal Unity Realm dead men. By then, the traitor Dong Zhuo won't even be worth mentioning anymore. This is truly a joyous occasion worth celebrating!"
"Uh... Hahaha, Lord Jin speaks rightly, that's indeed the case. Truly joyous and worth celebrating." Cao Cao was stunned for a few seconds before forcing out laughter.
Liu Bei and Sun Quan also laughed, but their facial expressions still showed a hint of conflict for a moment. Not noticing these subtle details, Fan Li only wanted to quickly return to Peng Cheng.
"It was dangerous yet fruitful this time. Only a pity the system mission wasn't completed." Fan Li muttered to himself.
System Mission: [Wreak Havoc in the Inner Palace.]
Mission Reward: Two Substitute Dolls.
Fan Li wasn't interested in causing trouble in the rear palace. After all, Emperor Xiang only had one Empress and one Imperial Noble Consort. He really couldn't bear to make a move. But the mission reward... smelled so good!
"If I can get two substitute dolls, I'll have four perfect split bodies. What was that about one energy turning into the Three Pure Ones in Investiture of the Gods? I can transform into the Four Pure Ones! With Epang Palace as a safe house, my four split souls can remain in seclusion and cultivate. My rate of progress will be four times normal..."
Fan Li thought more and more about it, unable to resist taking a peek at Princess Chang Le...
Hmm, forget it. Just fantasizing is enough, no need to actually go through with it.
"Honored three sirs, I'll hand over the Sword of the Qin Emperor to you. As for the twelve gold men, I'll leave them to you as well."
After speaking, Fan Li directly passed over the sword. But Cao Cao, Liu Bei and Sun Quan seemed to have a tacit understanding. None of them rushed forward to receive it.
Only then did Cao Cao take out an early prepared purple sandalwood sword case, asking Fan Li to personally place the Sword of the Qin Emperor inside.
After the sword entered the case. Liu Bei took out a bolt of embroidered silk. The silk was imperial yellow, extremely noble, embroidered with five-clawed golden dragons and auspicious clouds.
Liu Bei wrapped the sword case with the imperial yellow silk bolt, making it look even more precious.
Seeing this, Fan Li expected that Sun Quan would definitely take action too. As expected, Sun Quan astonishingly took out an intricate and complex giant lock and chains!
He used the chains to completely seal the package. But at the other end of the chains, there were three branching chains, each with locks on them!
Cao Cao, Liu Bei and Sun Quan each took one lock and chained it to their own wrists.
Thus, none of them individually possessed the Sword of the Qin Emperor, yet all of them could ensure the sword didn't go missing.
"Please don't take offense, Lord Jin." Cao Cao laughed.
"We shall take our leave to return to the Han court. With great duties upon us, we don't dare to delay." Liu Bei also spoke.
"Much thanks to Lord Jin." Sun Quan said last.
Fan Li cupped his fist in courtesy to bid them farewell. As he watched the three Han ministers leave, he discovered that there were still some Han troops remaining without moving.
"You're not leaving?" Fan Li asked in surprise.
Just as the words left his mouth, an unforgettable scene forever engraved into Fan Li's memory appeared before him!
He only saw that the remaining Han soldiers, regardless if they were originally Cao Cao's Liu Bei's or Sun Quan's subordinates, actually unanimously drew the longswords at their waists.
Without any hesitation, these soldiers, without a single exception, directly stabbed themselves through their own necks, dying on the spot!
Fan Li sucked in a cold gasp. He suddenly understood!
Cao Cao, Liu Bei and Sun Quan obtained the Sword of the Qin Emperor. How the three divided up the treasure sword was a secret that no outsider could be allowed to know.
This was an earth-shaking secret!
"Excellent military law." As a military commander, Fan Chun could only admire Cao, Liu and Sun's strict control over their subordinates upon seeing this.
As for the dead Han soldiers, as long as they died for a worthy cause, there was no need to feel sorrow over them.
"Hehehe, their wives and children will surely be well taken care of..." Princess Chang Le laughed, her smile faintly strange.
Yan Yuan also sighed in praise. "Loyalty, filial piety, integrity and righteousness. These Han soldiers have loyalty as their foremost virtue. They died with merit."
Fan Li remained silent, wordless. He suddenly discovered that he seemed to be the only one who felt that the soldiers' deaths weren't worth it at all. But Princess Chang Le, Fan Chun and Yan Yuan all had that kind of attitude. Fan Li could also only stay silent to avoid being mocked for being softhearted and childish.
The twelve gold men who had originally knelt on the ground now silently stood up. Because Cao Cao, Liu Bei and Sun Quan failed to truly possess the Sword of the Qin Emperor, the treasure sword had no master. This seemed to make the twelve gold men hesitate for a very long time.
Now, the twelve gold men finally came to a decision. Stepping evenly and powerfully, they strode in the direction the Han forces left in.
"Let's... go back to Peng City." Still filled with heaviness, Fan Li spoke.
***
Great Chu, Peng City, the cultivation training chamber in the Fan manor.
One of the two Fan Li split bodies cultivated here abruptly opened its eyes and ceased meditating. Only an extreme crisis to Peng City or Wu Gang could disturb his cultivation.
"What happened?" Fan Li asked.
Since Xiang Ning was last controlled by the Female Virtues booklet, Fan Li had ordered Wu Gang to secretly protect her in the imperial palace. But now, without being summoned, Wu Gang had actually taken the initiative to come find him?
"Empress Xiang was kidnapped." Wu Gang's face was deathly pale, clearly heavily injured but forcibly enduring it.
The split soul Fan Li's eyes widened!
"What's going on?!"
Peng City was tranquil, so when did Wu Gang fight and exchange blows without any movement noticed at all?
Xiang Ning being kidnapped meant Wu Gang was defeated!