Chapter 173: Consort Yu: I Have Found My Path
On the seventh day after the Great Monarch entered Great Qin, a vast palace complex finally rose on the mountain range behind Xianyang.
Its dome spread like the wings of a dark Xuanbird, catching sunlight and throwing it back in hard, brilliant sheets. Stone pillars and beams stood like a forest of monuments. From a distance, the entire structure carried a solemn, elevated sanctity that made the mountain itself feel like an altar.
This would be the Monarch's human residence.
It would also become the place where Great Qin would offer sacrifices to the Heavens, a station set above the Four Emperors Qin had revered until now.
Qin, descended from Shang, had always treated sacrifice as statecraft. With Ying Zheng's decree, the establishment of the Heavens as the primary god of the state and the seasons quickly became common knowledge.
Of course, since it was the god of the state, only the official government could offer sacrifice. The palace remained quiet. No one was permitted to enter.
Yet belief is not a gate you can lock.
Even if common people could not step into the East Flower Palace, they could still invite the divine name into their homes.
Incense smoke rose.
In the short time the palace was being built, the title of the Heavens had already spread across Great Qin's territory, from Guanzhong to Shu.
And during that same span, Rowe remained inside the rear hall, digesting the power of his newly forged path after fully merging with Chaos.
"Chaos," Consort Yu murmured, voice low and thoughtful. "It feels similar to those things."
Rowe opened his eyes slightly, the echo of her words still ringing, and saw her leaning in close.
No one else could set foot in the East Flower Palace. Consort Yu had returned to her original attire without hesitation.
Black fabric wrapped her body in deliberate angles, leaving her waist exposed on both sides and revealing the curve of her hips. Her legs crossed faintly as she bent forward to study him, as if trying to confirm what had changed.
She did not seem to care that the angle made her outline obvious.
She trusted him completely.
At first it had been instinct, an unconscious closeness that appeared in her heart like gravity. After months of traveling together, that closeness had hardened into something simpler and more dangerous.
Family.
Then she realized how close she was and froze for a fraction of a second. A faint flush touched her cheeks.
Rowe spoke as if nothing had happened.
"Merging with Chaos is, in a sense, the route some ancestral gods attempted after Xia. They tried to transcend by leaning on the Old Gods, the chaotic side of the universe's rules."
His gaze shifted.
"What about Xu Fu?"
Consort Yu leaned back and sat beside him, yawning. Her chest rose and fell with lazy calm.
"That girl is devoted to managing this palace. Recently she is obsessed with making dolls."
She frowned, as if offended by the concept.
"She made a cursed puppet called Siming, joined Great Qin, and became Great Qin's imperial advisor. She has made a lot of strange things."
"To promote belief in the Great Monarch," she added, chin resting on her hands, cheeks sinking slightly. "How boring."
Rowe glanced at her, eyes traveling over the exposed skin and the calm way she wore it, then he chuckled.
"Is that not fine? Everyone can have their own pursuits."
Consort Yu did not respond.
Her guard never dropped around Xu Fu. Not for a moment.
After a pause, Rowe spoke again, almost casually.
"It feels like we have been together a long time."
Consort Yu blinked.
"Long? Really?"
"For you, it probably still does not feel long enough."
Her eyes narrowed.
"Are you calling me old?"
"I am older," Rowe said without hesitation, then laughed. "Little girl."
For some reason, that made her more annoyed.
Not angry.
Annoyed in the way a cat is annoyed when you touch its tail and it hates that it liked it.
Yet when she actually thought about it, months had passed since Fusang.
For humans, that was a long time.
For a celestial spirit who had existed for ages, it should have been no more than a blink.
But remembering it now, she felt as if far more time had passed than the calendar allowed.
Because every memory had weight.
Because she was no longer alone.
Because there was someone she could speak to, argue with, and remain silent beside without the silence becoming a prison.
Because there was Rowe.
A companion she could call family.
It only made her more irritated at him.
"So annoying," she muttered, eyes half lidded. "An old stubborn man who only knows how to bully me because he is strong."
Rowe's expression did not change.
"Otherwise?"
Guilt was not an emotion Rowe entertained. He never put on airs because of status. Harmonious and free. If life had a doctrine, it was that the living should at least enjoy being alive.
Consort Yu huffed, not truly furious.
Then she lifted her face.
"Then I will bully you too."
Rowe opened his mouth, ready with a dry reply.
He did not get the chance.
Consort Yu turned her head and brushed past his ear, her soft red lips pressing against his cheek.
Brief. Deliberate.
"I want to leave my scent on you," she said, voice stubborn.
Rowe stared at the ceiling for a beat.
Are you a kitten or a puppy?
He did not say it aloud.
Consort Yu pulled away quickly. Her face was faintly red, but her crimson eyes remained defiant, as if daring him to laugh.
Then she spoke, quiet and direct.
"You are leaving soon, right?"
"Yes. There are things I have to do," Rowe replied.
After days of stillness and recalibration, he could already sense the timing. Qin's front lines were moving. The moment for him to step into the conquest and drag the Heavens Ancient Ghosts into the open was nearly here.
"This time you are finally leaving me behind."
"Not exactly," Rowe said. "You have already helped me a lot."
The conversation felt strange. He could feel the tension in it like a thread pulled too tight.
But he still answered honestly.
This time he needed to go alone.
Just as with the Eastern Taiyi Emperor before, Consort Yu could not participate in a battle of that level.
Was she unable to help again
Was she holding him back again
Consort Yu smiled, slow and sharp.
"The bastard who stole my home and dragged me here without permission," she said lightly. "It is not that easy to leave me behind."
She leaned in again.
This time she did not aim for his cheek.
Her lips met his.
Pressed.
Then parted.
She invaded with sudden intent and hugged him tightly, and in the contact, information slid into Rowe's mind like a blade into a sheath.
Six Heavens Ancient Ghosts
Wei has the King in Yellow
Zhao has Di Jun
Consort Yu used herself as a medium to transmit it.
The information did not come from her.
It came from the planet itself.
For the planet, the Chaos rooted into its surface was something that needed to be eliminated and purified. Instinct demanded it.
So it delivered the map through a being who could bear it.
Consort Yu, the primordial star spirit.
Rowe could have avoided the kiss.
He did not.
The information was precisely what he needed.
So he paused, and Consort Yu seized that pause and succeeded, brazen as a thief and smug as a victor.
She pulled back, lips curving, crimson eyes narrowing.
"I said I would bully you too."
She could not name what she felt for Rowe.
But for her, there was no joy more direct than leaving a mark.
Perhaps it was not mortal love.
Perhaps it was something older, a bond rooted in kinship, deeper than romance and less polite than devotion.
Whatever it was, she was grateful for the companionship of these months.
Grateful for the fact that she could feel alive without having to pretend.
Whether it was love or not, she liked him.
The wind in the rear hall went still. Layers of gauze light fell from the canopy and blurred the space.
A moment later, after farewells that did not sound like farewells, Rowe left.
Consort Yu sat alone in the hall and stared at the place he had been.
He was going to the front lines.
With the planet's information, he was going to fulfill the duty he had chosen.
As for Consort Yu
"You are strong," she said softly, almost to the empty air. "But I will not stop here."
She licked her lips.
Her black robes surged as a fierce airflow rolled outward.
In the mountains behind Qin, the earth trembled.
Darkness surged.
Chaos twisted into form and erupted as white light that speared into the sky.
Light and shadow, both warped.
This was also a Six Heavens Ancient Ghost.
Bai Zhaoju, the chaotic aspect left behind by the White Emperor Shaohao, the primary god Qin had once revered.
Every state carried such stains.
Qin would not be an exception.
In the information Consort Yu had given Rowe, this one had not appeared.
Because she never intended to let Rowe kill it.
This was hers.
The mountains shook harder. Earth veins and star power surged, erupting from the land like a buried heartbeat forcing itself into motion.
Consort Yu, as the purest spirit born of the planet, received the planet's aid.
She stepped out of the East Flower Palace and stood on the highest point of the mountain, staring at the twisted white light and shadow in the distance.
Black robes gathered around her.
A blade formed in her palm.
For the planet, the Six Heavens Ancient Ghosts were entities that had to be removed. Anyone who fought them could receive the planet's support.
That was her confidence.
If she fought Chaos with her own strength, she would lose.
With the stars behind her, it changed.
Because she was a star spirit.
A star spirit who could bear the planet's power without breaking.
A scheme held for a long time surfaced now. Consort Yu had often appeared innocent and pure, but that had never meant she lacked intelligence.
She was clever.
She simply had not cared enough to use it.
As long as she had a goal, the intelligence sharpened.
As long as she had a reason to move forward, she became frightening.
The ground trembled. The sky distorted. Across the Qin pass lands, countless people looked up in fear. They saw the heavens twist and stretch into vast light and shadow, yet they saw nothing they could name.
The Records of the Grand Historian would later write that in the late Spring and Autumn period, a strange aurora appeared over Qin.
A divine maiden appeared.
Named the Western Monarch.
Consort Yu intended to accommodate Chaos within herself here, then use the planet's power in reverse to free herself from the planet's constraints.
She was the first Heavenly Immortal.
Her age was older than many celestial beings.
She had not failed to advance because she lacked ability.
She had failed because she lacked purpose.
She had not known why she existed.
Now she did.
"I have found my path forward," she whispered, eyes closing. "So I must become stronger too."
Because only by taking one step forward
Could she truly stand beside Rowe
She raised her sword and moved into the Chaos.
Black robes billowed. Ancient attire rose with the wind. The girl's bearing was pure and peerless, a contradiction that looked like destiny.
Rumble.
Rumble.
Rumble.
The mountains answered with thunder like echoes.
Far away, Rowe stopped mid stride.
He looked back once and saw her figure suppressing the White Emperor's Chaos, and he smiled.
A strand of sword intent hung high above Qin, meant to support her if needed.
It did not move.
It did not need to.
"More capable than I thought," Rowe murmured, then turned away, doubts finally erased.
He had always known her intention.
Consort Yu could not hide anything from him.
He had simply chosen not to stop her.
He respected the determination in her persistence.
Everyone could have their own goal.
That was the best choice.
Rowe adjusted the clothing at his head, then stepped forward again.
Each step covered ten li.
Ahead, morning light washed the land.
A scout on horseback passed through Hangu Pass and rode straight into Xianyang, delivering urgent news to the King of Qin.
"Front line emergency. The enemy has the help of ancient gods and has warped the earth."
"Urgent report. Wang Jian's army cannot hold and requests reinforcements."
In the palace hall, Ying Zheng stared at the silk report, his pearl curtain crown swaying faintly.
The ministers had already fallen into disorder.
Gods directly intervening in human war was rare even in the Age of Gods. No wonder their minds shook.
"My king, please decide swiftly," Chancellor Li Si said, stepping forward with a deep bow. "We can offer sacrifice to the Heavens and request the Monarch's action."
Li Si looked to the side of the hall, where a veiled and ethereal figure stood.
Great Qin's newly appointed imperial advisor.
A puppet made by Xu Fu.
If there were sacrifices, it would be her hands that performed them.
At that moment, the imperial advisor did not speak, but the ministers' hearts steadied at once.
Right
There was still the Emperor
Those states had gods aiding them.
Great Qin also had one.
And one far higher, far stronger, an orthodox god who existed in the present world.
"Your Majesty, offer sacrifice to the Heavens and ask the Heavens to protect Great Qin."
"Your Majesty, offer sacrifice to the Heavens."
"Your Majesty."
The ministers prostrated in a wave, voices echoing through Xianyang.
Their answer was Ying Zheng crumpling the silk report and tossing it into a brazier.
He laughed, loud and sharp.
"Gather the troops in Xianyang. I will personally lead an expedition against the Six States."
The ministers stared at one another, stunned.
Then an official in charge of celestial observation trembled and spoke.
"The Heavens have already left Hangu Pass."
The Heavens had already left Hangu Pass.
A shower of stars drifted down.
He still followed the Wei River, returning along the same path by which he entered the pass.
Downstream.
Demon slaying sword in hand.
Bringing peace to the world.
Somewhere, inside a magnificent hall, Tamamo no Mae gazed down at the vast land below her.
"Qin's expansion east," she murmured. "Sweeping the states. This chaotic world has finally begun."
Her voice sharpened into hatred as she spoke the name she had sworn to curse.
"Monarch. I will definitely avenge your death."
She tried to laugh lightly, tried to lift a sleeve to cover her mouth with elegance.
But the moment her lips parted, something in her memory reacted faster than her pride.
Her mouth betrayed her.
"Migu"
The strange cry slipped out, sharp and humiliating.
Tamamo no Mae froze.
Then her eyes narrowed, furious.
Some shadows, once formed, refused to fade.
And her resolve to seek revenge only grew heavier.
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