Chapter 204: Forgetful River

Zu'an felt a thrill imagining the noble and majestic Mi Li calling him "master." Mi Li had always been aloof and imperious; how could anyone dare to make such an outrageous demand of her?

[Anger value from Mi Li +888!]

Seeing the anger value appear, Zu'an's heart sank. He suddenly remembered that the "flag" for his previous lottery draws was still active. The first three draws were guaranteed to yield nothing. It wasn't that he'd forgotten; he simply hadn't found an opportunity to draw. Ever since breaking free from the seal, he'd either been in brutal combat with Mi Li—though he was mostly on the receiving end—or he'd been busy purifying 200,000 undead souls. He hadn't had a moment of peace, let alone time to conduct a draw. Thus, every point of anger value he received felt like a financial loss.

"Say that again?" Mi Li demanded, her teeth clenched as she stared at him.

"Shouldn't you call me 'master' from now on?" Zu'an quickly added, "You're the one who told me to say it. I'm merely following your instructions."

Mi Li was speechless. In her era, anyone who dared to speak to her in such a manner would have been ordered to be torn limb from limb by chariots.

When the Tai'e Sword hummed softly and pointed its tip directly at him, Zu'an flinched. "Our destinies are intertwined now," he quickly asserted, "You can't kill me."

"I cannot kill you, but severing your tongue or ears to vent my frustrations would be quite satisfying," Mi Li stated, her phoenix eyes glinting with frost.

"That's also unacceptable. If I suffer any physical harm, I'll... I'll commit suicide immediately!" Zu'an scoffed. "We'll just die together, then."

Mi Li was speechless. In that instant, she felt utterly exhausted. This man was impervious to reason, base, and shameless, completely disregarding all rules. She had no idea how to deal with him.

Zu'an seized the chance to press his point. "Furthermore, you cannot kill them. If I can't even protect my own women, what purpose do I have left in this world?"

"Your women?" Mi Li sneered. "The one named Chu is one thing, but is this girl with the braids also yours?"

"Not yet, but she will be eventually. She was already betrothed to me," Zu'an muttered, adding silently, *Perhaps you will be too, one day.*

"What did you say?" Mi Li's phoenix eyes flared with menace, and the Tai'e Sword immediately flew up again.

"I was saying, Empress Sister, you shouldn't get angry so often. It's not good for your skin," Zu'an explained with a cheerful grin, gently nudging the sword tip away with his finger.

"Does this Queen need you to teach her how to conduct herself?" Mi Li's voice was laced with dissatisfaction.

"I'm just showing concern for you," Zu'an replied with a placating smile. "Things aren't like they used to be. Back then, you had countless maids and palace girls, so you naturally didn't need to worry about such matters. But now that you're alone, you certainly need to pay attention."

"Hmph, this Queen possesses natural beauty; why would I need such trivialities?" Mi Li scoffed, then abruptly changed her tone. "However, what you said isn't entirely without merit. I do lack a few palace maids to serve me now. These two girls look quite decent. Perhaps I should extract their souls to serve as my handmaidens; they would make good company."

Zu'an was startled. He hadn't expected the conversation to circle back to their deaths. He decided to be direct. "No, absolutely not! If you kill them, I will turn against you!"

This time, Mi Li didn't get angry. Instead, she watched him quietly, then let out a long sigh after a considerable silence. "You are still too young. You haven't witnessed the ugliness of human nature, nor have you endured betrayal from your closest kin. You will undoubtedly regret this in the future."

Zu'an shook his head. "I'm not some overly trusting fool, nor do I easily believe others. But I've interacted with them, and I understand their character. They would never betray me. If they ever did, it would surely be due to some unavoidable, dire circumstance."

Chu Chuyan was, of course, beyond question. Even Qiao Xueying, who had been his adversary before, had proven herself during their recent battles; he now knew her to be sharp-tongued but kind-hearted. Furthermore, she had sacrificed half her life to save him. How could he not trust such a person?

Mi Li snorted. "You, sometimes you're as cunning as an old fox, and other times as foolish as a complete idiot. Very well, for your sake, I won't kill them, but this memory must be sealed."

"Seal their memories?" Zu'an blinked, surprised.

"Exactly. The secrets you carry are too dangerous. Even if they wouldn't betray you, they have close friends and family, and could accidentally let something slip. If word gets out, with your current cultivation, you're as good as dead. Besides, I don't want anyone else to know of my existence," Mi Li quickly added. "There's no negotiating this. Either their memories are sealed, or I kill them. The choice is yours."

"A cheesy amnesia plotline, too?" Zu'an shook his head vigorously. In his previous life, he'd found amnesia tropes in TV dramas the most frustrating, always leading to unnecessary complications.

"I know what's on your mind," Mi Li said with a sarcastic expression. "Don't worry, they'll remember everything they're supposed to. I'm merely sealing away certain secrets pertaining to you and me."

With his thoughts exposed, Zu'an offered an awkward smile. Still, he was more than satisfied with this outcome. He couldn't always prioritize Chu and Qiao; he also had to consider Mi Li, as this was already a significant concession on her part.

"By the way, how do you seal their memories? Will it cause any harm to their bodies?" Zu'an asked, still feeling uneasy.

"This technique is called 'Forgetfulness River.' It's not a soul-damaging spell, so it won't affect their bodies," Mi Li explained. Her ethereal form raised her hands, clasped them before her chest, and swiftly wove several intricate hand seals.

Zu'an had to admit, the woman's hands were truly beautiful: long, slender, and fair, with the faint rouge on her fingernails shimmering with a dangerous yet alluring luster.

In that brief moment of distraction, Mi Li had completed the seals. He vaguely perceived a river flowing from her hands, upon which a large character, "Forget" (忘), drifted. It then glided over Chu Chuyan and Qiao Xueying's bodies before slowly vanishing.

Zu'an watched the two women intently, fearing any sign of abnormality. Yet, from start to finish, both women's expressions remained calm, showing no unusual signs.

A moment later, Mi Li slowly lowered her hands. "There. When they awaken, they will have forgotten everything about me, as well as all the secrets you carry."

Zu'an couldn't help but ask, "Empress Sister, are you a Rune Master?" Her serious yet beautiful figure as she performed the seals lingered vividly in his mind. Since arriving in this world, he had heard that Rune Masters represented another branch of cultivation—powerful, mysterious, and often capable of feats beyond the reach of ordinary cultivators. Unfortunately, he'd never had the chance to meet a true Rune Master. The Chu family had one, but their role was limited to carving runes on weapons to add auxiliary functions, which wasn't considered powerful.

"Of course, I am the most powerful Rune Master of Great Qin!" Mi Li declared proudly. Her sheer aura commanded Zu'an's admiration; some individuals simply had an overwhelming presence just by standing there, without needing to do anything. In contrast, he still had to actively try to project an imposing image, a truly long and challenging path.

"The 'Life and Death Vow' and 'Rebirth Incantation' you just taught me are also Rune Master techniques, aren't they?" Zu'an asked.

"Precisely!" Mi Li's chest seemed to puff out even further.

"Hmm?" Zu'an mused. "Since you're the most powerful Rune Master, you should be well-versed in formations and such. Why, then, were you sealed here?"

Mi Li was speechless. Could they even have a proper conversation? This man always provoked her so easily, making her want to strike him.

[Anger value from Mi Li +233!]

Noticing her expression, Zu'an wisely switched the topic. "By the way, why didn't you establish the 'Life and Death Vow' with Ying Zheng back then? That way, he wouldn't have been able to ambush you, right?"

Mi Li scoffed. "Someone like him, who believed his achievements eclipsed those of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors and yearned for immortality, how could he ever allow another to be his equal? To say nothing of binding their lives together."

"Oh," Zu'an said. "So it seems you wanted to form the vow, but he refused you."

Mi Li was speechless. "Nonsense! The 'Life and Death Vow' is a solemn oath typically sworn by two deeply enamored individuals at the height of their passion. He and I were in a political marriage; how could I possibly have desired such a vow with him?"

[Anger value from Mi Li +567!]

Seeing more anger value credited, Zu'an's face twitched in pain. It was simply too agonizing.

"Just a moment!" Zu'an told Mi Li, then immediately initiated the lottery draw. He'd previously tested it in class; even Wei Suo couldn't see his keyboard system then. Speaking of Wei Suo, Zu'an felt a pang of longing. He wondered if the guy had secretly checked what kind of stockings Principal Jiang was wearing these days. He shook his head, quickly dispelling those chaotic thoughts. Now that he'd finally found a moment of leisure, he felt uneasy not quickly clearing the "flag" he'd set earlier.

He quickly accessed his keyboard and was startled by the sheer amount of anger value accumulated; it was a substantial amount! This was the first time he resented his own proficiency at accumulating anger value. The losses were immense. *Damn you, Xue'er! Do you have any idea how much I've sacrificed? If you don't bear me ten or eight children in the future, your conscience will surely trouble you.*

He quickly checked and found that the two largest inflows of anger value came from the undead army. His only consolation was that merely the outer thousand undead in the pool had witnessed his shamelessness and contributed their points. Otherwise, if all 200,000 undead had each contributed six or nine points, that would amount to millions in anger value—a loss so staggering he'd truly want to kill himself. *Aha!* He suddenly realized a business opportunity for earning anger value. In the future, whenever he went to a battlefield, he absolutely had to bring a loudspeaker. That way, he could make everyone on the field contribute anger value simultaneously.

He had enough anger value for 345 draws in total. As Zu'an made the draws, his heart bled. *Such a colossal loss! An absolute disaster!* As expected, every draw still resulted in "Thank you for participating." If he'd harbored any doubt about the "flag's" existence before, it was now unequivocally confirmed. Not a single thing was drawn from start to finish!

"What are you doing?" Mi Li asked, her face full of suspicion, as she watched him flail his arms like a shaman one moment, then grit his teeth the next.

"Nothing, let's continue our conversation. Where were we? Oh, I remember," Zu'an said, blinking as he scrutinized the regal Mi Li. "You just mentioned that the 'Life and Death Vow' is typically exchanged between deeply enamored lovers. So, if you used it on me, does that mean you've unwittingly fallen in love with me?"

Mi Li was speechless.