36: Chapter 36 You...must watch over me

"Prime Minister, I sent my subordinates to search the entire continent, but we didn't find what you needed..." Huang Ying stood before Zhuge Jinyu, dejected, like a child who had done something wrong.

Zhuge Jinyu's face turned pale in an instant. Her slender, jade-like fingers unconsciously toyed with the peach blossom hairpin in her hand.

"Is there really no other way..." "Sir..."

"Prime Minister, forgive me for overstepping." "The ability to bring the dead back to life and regrow flesh on bones is too much of a violation of the Heavenly Dao..."

"The National Teacher only has a wisp of a remnant soul left; even if an immortal descended to the mortal realm, I fear they would be unable to restore him to the appearance of a normal person."

"Snap." The Young Prime Minister pinned the hairpin into her white hair, her face expressionless.

"Heh... the Heavenly Dao!" "Everything is the Heavenly Dao's doing!" "This Prime Minister wants to see just how powerful this Heavenly Dao really is, to be able to ruin everything I want to accomplish!"

"Huang Ying, regarding the construction of the shrine I mentioned earlier..." "Prime Minister, the Great Qian treasury is truly empty, and the Northern Expedition and the reconstruction of the imperial palace are too costly..."

"Then take it from the Zhuge Family's treasury!" Her voice was decisive, without a hint of hesitation.

"The Zhuge Family... already exists in name only; I fear that money is useless now." Zhuge Jinyu couldn't help but lower her eyes.

She was the last direct descendant of the Zhuge Family still alive. But she didn't have many years left to live either. Even Sir was now leaving her.

They say one is lonely at the top. Zhuge Jinyu was not the Emperor, but she had already climbed to the highest peak of power, ruling over the court. What a... lonely... person.

Thinking of this, she suddenly felt a sweetness in her throat, and her delicate body went limp. A dignified expert at the late Spirit Transformation Realm had actually collapsed to the ground just like that.

Huang Ying hurriedly helped the Female Prime Minister up, her hand pressing against Zhuge Jinyu's chest. "Prime Minister, your heart meridian..."

"Cough, cough, cough... it is of no consequence!" "Once This Prime Minister breaks through to the Integration Realm, it will be time for our Great Qian's Northern Expedition!"

... Su Chen's consciousness drifted upward. Struggling free from the shackles of the deep sea, he continued to rise. Then, he opened his eyes.

Even from his perspective, he could see that the mist on the mirror had faded a little more. However, this time, what he saw was not the familiar ceiling of the Imperial Study. Instead, it was a magnificent yet solemn, golden dome.

Beneath the dome, smoke swirled. Outside the swirling smoke, goose-feather snowflakes drifted like mist. "Is it snowing..."

"When I last awoke, the maple leaves hadn't turned yellow yet; it seems I slept for at least three months this time..." The capital of Great Qian was located in a basin in the southwestern part of the continent. It was extremely rare to encounter such heavy snow.

Beneath the dome, countless eternal lamps burned quietly, illuminating a tall jade statue in the center. The statue wore a green robe, its face blurred, standing with hands behind its back, clothes fluttering. It looked somewhat like him when he transformed into a Sword Immortal.

Below the statue, a sea of figures knelt. At the head was Zhuge Jinyu. She was not wearing military armor, nor was she wearing her Prime Minister's robes. Instead, she was dressed in extremely elegant, moon-white deep robes.

Her wide sleeves trailed on the ground, making her figure appear even more fragile. Her snow-white hair was not tied up with a hairpin, but loosely tied with a simple plain ribbon, draped over her back. A few strands of hair slid down, covering part of her pale face.

She was holding three sticks of incense, bowing gracefully toward the statue. Her posture was respectful, even pious, no different from a pilgrim praying for longevity. Behind her were the Emperor Liu Dou, the civil and military officials, and countless citizens who had come to pay their respects of their own accord.

"Sir..." Zhuge Jinyu's voice traveled through the incense smoke into the mirror, exceptionally calm. However, she seemed to have sensed something; as she spoke the last few words, the corners of her mouth curled into a barely perceptible arc.

"Jinyu departs for the Northern Expedition today and has come especially to the shrine to inform you, Sir." "May you, Sir, bless our Great Qian with victory."

Su Chen: ??? What does "came especially to the shrine to inform" mean? What does "bless our Great Qian" mean? He couldn't help but feel a mix of amusement and frustration. Could he have slept for too long, and Xiao Yu thinks he has already passed away?

How long had he even been "asleep," and why was he already being memorialized? Then again... Su Chen could sense wisps of weak yet pure power slowly flowing from the kneeling figures below into the statue. Then, through some mysterious connection, it nourished his soul.

To be honest, it wasn't very useful. It was just enough to keep him awake for a few more days this time. "Is this... the power of incense and faith?" Su Chen had heard urban legends on Blue Star about building shrines, gathering faith, and repairing souls.

"Where did this girl hear of such a method?" And how much effort had she expended to build this rather large "National Teacher Shrine" during the three months he was asleep? Su Chen felt a complex mix of emotions.

The memorial ceremony was approaching its end. Zhuge Jinyu inserted the incense into the giant censer in front of the statue. She stood quietly for a moment longer before turning around. She said indifferently to the crowd.

"Go prepare for departure; the expedition begins tomorrow." "Yes, Prime Minister!" The crowd, including Huang Ying, responded respectfully and withdrew one by one.

In the large shrine, soon only Zhuge Jinyu remained. Only then did Zhuge Jinyu slowly walk to the stone platform where the statue was enshrined. Her jade hand, thin enough to see the bone, trembled slightly. She gently touched the base of the statue.

Then, she took the mirror from her bosom. "Sir." She held the mirror before her eyes, her cheek gently pressing against the cold mirror surface.

"You are awake, aren't you?" Her voice was very soft, carrying a cautious confirmation. As if she were afraid of disturbing a fragile dream.

"Yeah, I'm awake." Su Chen couldn't help but laugh and scold, trying to liven up the somewhat cold and quiet atmosphere. "Xiao Yu, did you... build a shrine for me?" "And 'came especially to the shrine to inform you, Sir'—are you cursing me?"

His tone was relaxed, just as it always was. Zhuge Jinyu remained unmoved, her shoulders just trembling slightly, she did not look up. After a long time, she said in a low voice, laughing as if with a hint of tears.

"What else?" The Young Prime Minister looked at the figure in the mirror after most of the mist had dissipated. "Sir, aren't you just a male ghost anyway?" "A soul in the mirror... whose sleeping time is far longer than the time spent awake."

"I heard... that gathering the power of wishes from all living beings might nourish a soul." "I don't know if it's useful, but... this is the only thing I can do for you right now."

"Thank you, Xiao Yu. Xiao Yu has already done a great job." Su Chen looked at her face and smiled.

After three months of not seeing her, she had lost so much weight. At twenty-two, she was at the most beautiful age of a woman's life. Her once somewhat rounded, youthful, pretty face was now slightly sunken, her complexion pale, and even the color of her lips was extremely faint, yet she was still breathtakingly beautiful.

Only those fox-like eyes appeared larger due to her emaciation. At this moment, they were filled with tears, yet she still stubbornly gazed at him.

"You reached the Integration Realm?" As soon as Su Chen said this, he froze. The young girl's aura, though powerful, seemed withered. It was like a candle burning at its brightest, having burned down to the foundation, about to wither away.

"Your body...?" "It's fine." Zhuge Jinyu quickly interrupted him, wiping away tears with her sleeve, struggling to force a smile.

"It's just that cultivation was a bit rushed, there's some wear and tear; breaking through to the Integration Realm always requires paying some price." "Look, am I not doing very well right now?"

She stood up and spun around, her moon-white deep robes swaying in a lonely arc. Her delicate body under the white gauze robes was faintly visible, still as full as before.

"Sir, I am going on the Northern Expedition." "This time, I will definitely take Qishan." "That is the former territory of our Great Qian, and also a place you once said was the first stop of the Northern Expedition and held great strategic importance."

"You... must watch me."