usatvline Chapter 14 Is there such a thing as immortality?
Chapter 14 Is there such a thing as immortality?
After being captured alive, Jing Ke cursed King Qin: "Ying Zheng, you shameless scoundrel! You claim to be acting for the people, yet you waged war. How many people from the six states have died at your hands? You are nothing but a jackal and a tiger, deserving of everyone's wrath! It doesn't matter that I have lost today; others will surely take your head one day. We, the heroes of the martial world, will uphold justice and fight on, one after another. Can you kill all the people of the six states? As long as one of them remains, your Qin dynasty will surely be overthrown! You tyrant, you will surely die a horrible death!"
Faced with Jing Ke's curses, the King of Qin remained calm and composed. He looked at Jing Ke and said, word by word, "Everyone in the world wants me dead, but I am determined to unify the six kingdoms. Not only do I want to unify the six kingdoms, but I also want to unify the written language, so that everyone in the world will speak the Qin language and read the Qin books. I want the world to be unified, and for Great Qin to last for ten thousand years. I will not kill you, but I will let you witness the might of Great Qin throughout the four seas and its virtue subjugating the nine provinces." After saying this, the King of Qin ordered his guards to take Jing Ke away.
Ying Wuyou looked at the King of Qin with stars in her eyes and said to the system: "System, the First Emperor is so handsome! He's tall and mighty, with a powerful aura and superb martial arts skills. His voice is also so pleasant to hear. What he just said really moved me!"
The system spoke: [Needless to say, the First Emperor was 1.98 meters tall, with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and long legs. He could be considered one of the most handsome emperors in history. And unlike the effeminate beauty of the later Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, the First Emperor practiced martial arts regularly, resulting in an excellent physique. If it weren't for his drug use, he could easily have lived to seventy or eighty. It was only due to excessive drug use that he lived to fifty!]
Hearing Ying Wuyou's conversation with the system, King Qin was initially calm, thinking to himself, "This system and Thirteen have excellent taste; I am naturally incomparably handsome." Then he heard the system mention that he had lived to fifty years old by taking pills. King Qin's mind went blank. "What? I've only lived to fifty? I want Qin to last ten thousand years! How can I only live fifty? If I don't take pills, I can live to seventy. Seventy years is too short! I want to live forever! Is it really impossible to live forever?" King Qin was very unwilling.
The King of Qin stared at Ying Wuyou and asked, "Thirteen, do you think people can live forever?" Hearing the King of Qin's question, Ying Wuyou thought to himself, "My First Emperor, where in the world can one live forever? If one lives forever, wouldn't that make one a monster? You must believe in science!" But he said aloud, "Your Majesty, I do not know."
When Zhao Gao heard the King of Qin suddenly ask an eight-year-old girl if she could live forever, he was completely taken aback. He wondered if the King of Qin had been frightened by Jing Ke. Otherwise, why would he do something so outrageous? But he dared not speak, and could only remain silent, barely daring to breathe, trying his best to hide himself and become invisible.
Hearing Ying Wuyou's inner thoughts, the King of Qin, though ignorant of science, understood that immortality was indeed a pipe dream. Even the Thirteenth Prince, with his systematic knowledge, said it was impossible; so, was it truly impossible for anyone to achieve immortality? This thought filled the King of Qin with sorrow. [My goal has suddenly vanished. What should I do after unifying the six kingdoms? What will happen to Great Qin after my death?]
The news seemed to have drained all the strength from the King of Qin. He slumped wearily onto the dragon throne, no longer sitting upright as before. Qin Wuyou, watching the suddenly listless King of Qin, silently asked the system in his mind: "System, system, what's wrong with the First Emperor? Why is he suddenly asking me about immortality, and looking so utterly hopeless?"
The system replied: [Host, the First Emperor was probably terrified by Jing Ke's assassination attempt. He likely thought that if Jing Ke had succeeded, he would have been dead, hence his lament about the fragility of life. This time, he was hoping to achieve immortality.]
Ying Wuyou said, "What's so good about immortality? First of all, it's impossible for a person to live forever. Even if you did, watching your loved ones leave you one by one, saying goodbye to them time and time again—how painful that would be!"
Upon hearing Ying Wuyou's words, the system also said: [You're right. I didn't expect you, host, to possess such great wisdom!]
Faced with the system's flattery, Ying Wuyou rolled her eyes and said, "[What do you, a cold system, know? I suspect that the First Emperor's pursuit of immortality was because he lost his spiritual goals after unifying the six kingdoms, or perhaps he wanted the Qin Dynasty to last forever, which is why he wanted to achieve immortality. If we could give him a new goal, would he give up the idea of immortality?]"
The system nodded and said, "Host, I suspect your analysis is correct, but how do we set a target for the First Emperor?"
Ying Wuyou said, "System, how can you be so stupid? Of course, you should give the First Emperor a world map! People online often joke that if you give the First Emperor a world map, he'll make English disappear from the world. Just thinking about it is exciting!"
Although King Qin was downcast, he had overheard the entire conversation between Ying Wuyou and the system. Listening to Ying Wuyou's deductions, King Qin sighed, "[Thirteen is truly a good child. He understands me so well; I am very pleased.]" Hearing Ying Wuyou mention setting a goal for himself, King Qin thought, "[This silly child, what goal could be more exhilarating than unifying the six kingdoms?]" Then he heard the words "world map." [What is a world map? Isn't the world just this land? Isn't it more than this land?] Suppressing the urge to ask about a world map, King Qin's fighting spirit returned. "[Once I unify the six kingdoms, then I'll see what this so-called world map of Thirteen really is.]"
Zhao Gao, who was keeping a close eye on the King of Qin, noticed that the king's mood had suddenly improved, which puzzled Zhao Gao even more. The King of Qin had been so unpredictable lately, it was really frightening.
Today, Ying Wuyou served the emperor well, and the King of Qin specially invited him to stay for lunch. Ying Wuyou, full of anticipation, said to the system: "I wonder what the First Emperor eats every day. It can't just be a hodgepodge of stews, can it? I hope not. I wish there were stir-fries, and if there were chili peppers... oh my god, I really want hot pot! Hot pot, beer, barbecue... Waaah, I've missed out on so much!"
Listening to Ying Wuyou rattle off a long list of dishes, the King of Qin thought to himself: [I've never eaten any of these before! What's chili pepper? What's hot pot? And what kind of beer is it? And why does the word "barbecue" sound so strange?]
The system spoke up: [Host, hot pot and barbecue can actually be made. For hot pot, just have someone make a copper pot. As for barbecue, it's even simpler—just skewer some meat and put it on the fire. Even without chili peppers, there are other seasonings!]
Hearing the system's words, Ying Wuyou's eyes lit up. [System, you're so smart! How come I didn't think of that? I'll research hot pot and barbecue another day! Hehe!]
The system rolled its eyes. [You called me stupid before, humph, this system is very powerful!] Then it raised its head high, looking arrogant.
Soon, the King of Qin's lunch was served. There were fresh sunflowers and celery, chicken, beef, venison, lotus root slices, millet soup, and flatbread.
Ying Wuyou sat obediently to the King of Qin's left to eat. The food wasn't particularly delicious, but it was still much better than what she ate in her own palace. Ying Wuyou ate with great satisfaction.
After eating his fill, Ying Wuyou was sent back by the King of Qin.