Chapter 309: The Third Consciousness

"Your Majesty, a letter from the Capital City."

Yang Jun offered the letter with the utmost respect.

He was a veteran guard who had served the Empress for years and had long since learned to remain calm and composed. Since he often acted as the Empress’s chief steward, he was always smiling, earning him the nickname "the smiling Confucian General."

But for the past few days, he had been in a state of high excitement, his usual false smile replaced by a genuine solemnity.

No one could remain unfazed after witnessing the Empress laugh in the face of a terrifying thunderstorm.

’I’m just a common man in the mortal world. To serve a wise ruler was already the fortune of three lifetimes, but now I know the Emperor is a being comparable to a god. How could my blood not boil with excitement and my very soul not tremble?’

Worshipping the strong is an instinct carved into the human soul.

He wasn’t the only one; Rong Qing and the other officials felt the same. If the Emperor ordered them to die right now, they would accept the decree with a smile and take their own lives.

Xiao Li naturally sensed the countless fervent gazes and the strange atmosphere around her. She knew she would shock them, but ’the after-effects are a bit much.’

The letter was from Song Junzhan. This time, it didn’t open with court affairs. The very first line read, "My thoughts of you are like the full moon, its pure light shining on my dreams. As I parted, I thought of nothing, my only regret the sorrow of our farewell."

He was saying he missed her, that his longing was like a full moon, overflowing with light.

That on the brink of death, he thought of nothing but the regret of being separated from the Empress.

Song Junzhan was a man of restraint and subtlety, like lingering snow in the spring or the clear light of the moon’s reflection.

In all the letters he had written, he always tucked his personal regards behind matters of state, afraid that showing too much would make the Empress think he was indulging in personal desires and neglecting his duties.

Perhaps because he had almost died this time, the fear of being parted by death had made him cast aside all restraint. This letter was filled with affection, no longer hiding anything, screaming, ’I miss you, I miss you, I really miss you.’

Only after Xiao Li finished Song Junzhan’s letter did she read the other message from the Capital City: Cen An has administered the Ghost Needle, forcibly recalling the spirit. The Prime Minister has awakened.

Song Junzhan must have written to her the moment he woke up. He had used the fastest Hai Dongqing, and it had arrived even before the official report.

Xiao Li had not given in to the threat to save Song Junzhan, but she didn’t feel she was unworthy of his deep affection.

She was the Emperor, a towering tree. Only by being strong could she protect the living creatures that took shelter with her.

Take this time, for instance. If she had compromised, she would have proven that she could be threatened. Song Junzhan wouldn’t have lived a peaceful life because of her compromise. On the contrary, because he was the first person used to successfully threaten her, he would be exploited again and again, ultimately being destroyed in the endless games that would follow.

A single, decisive blow prevents a hundred more from coming.

Only if she was powerful enough would the wind and rain yield to her.

After reading, Xiao Li didn’t reply immediately. Instead, she rose and walked to the door. Gazing at the brilliant sunset, she asked, "That day... it wasn’t my dream. His soul came to me, didn’t it?"

She could feel it. It hadn’t been a dream.

A black shadow emerged from the darkness. It did not fear the light; it was the ultimate darkness, capable of devouring any brilliance.

It glanced at Xiao Li and, after a long moment, replied, "Yes. That was his soul."

To make the Empress more unwilling to let go, to add more weight to its threat, the golden consciousness had brought the soul of the dying Song Junzhan.

Because it was real, it felt "real." The soul was real, the emotions were real—only then could it stir the Empress’s heart and make her reluctant to part with him.

As it turned out, the Empress was indeed moved, but her rationality operated independently of her love. In fact, the more she was threatened when her emotions were in turmoil, the more ruthless and insane she became.

Its red eyes stared at her, seemingly calm but filled with complex bewilderment.

It was a consciousness. It had witnessed all manner of human emotions and desires and believed it understood the species well, but Xiao Li had completely shattered its understanding.

Supremely good and yet supremely evil, cold-blooded yet benevolent, rational yet mad. She feared death and courted it, but neither stopped her from living her life to the fullest.

It looked up at the sky. Ever since that terrifying thunderbolt had struck, the clouds had parted, the mist had scattered, and the sky had filled with rosy light. The golden one had retreated.

Looking again at Xiao Li, deep within her soul, a tiny golden speck of light had cracked open like a seed and was slowly extending its roots.

Because of their threats, because of that thunderbolt, a third consciousness had appeared in this world.

A soul from another world had earned the recognition of this land.

The golden consciousness had lied to Xiao Li before. It, too, had once been an invader of this world. It had obviously succeeded, but by breaking the world’s "eggshell" to get in, it had also created an opening for others to exploit.

One gold, one black—light and darkness. They had fought here for countless ages, with neither able to defeat the other.

But Xiao Li, though a soul from another world, had given birth to the world’s power within a human body—a mortal Emperor, one who gathered the great fortune of heaven and earth.

Before, they hadn’t dared to kill Xiao Li for fear of attracting the consciousnesses of other worlds. Now, it wasn’t that they didn’t dare—it was that they couldn’t.

And the most incredible part was that Xiao Li was completely unaware of this change in herself, yet she remained fearless all the same.

"I’ve grown tired of the scenery in Yanping State. It’s time to go back."

Xiao Li looked at the black consciousness, her smile radiant and seemingly full of gratitude.

"Xiao Hei, thank you for your help this time."

She was clear about who to thank and who to blame. The black consciousness had also wanted her to compromise, but it wasn’t the one who had harmed Song Junzhan. In fact, it was the one who had saved his life.

The black consciousness: ...was not pleased by her thanks.

It didn’t understand why the golden consciousness had threatened Xiao Li, yet it was the one who ended up losing power to save the man.

’Was I the only one who was being threatened from the very beginning?’

"My name is Ying Zhong."

It was not human, but it knew that Xiao Hei wasn’t a good name. In this world, there were thirty thousand dogs and ten thousand black cats with the same name.

Xiao Li feigned surprise. "Wow, Xiao Hei is such a lovely name!"

The black consciousness: "..." ’As expected, like repels like. I want to kill her even more now.’

"You’re going back?"

Xiao Li: "Of course."

Noticing its confusion, Xiao Li raised an eyebrow. "Yanping State is dirt-poor, and the traveling palace is just a Prince Mansion. How could it possibly be as comfortable as the Imperial Palace? Besides, my Prime Minister is back at court."

Ying Zhong: "Then why were you willing to die rather than go back before?"

You were going back anyway, so why did you have to fight so stubbornly?

Xiao Li found this black consciousness to be surprisingly naive, with the kind of adorable stupidity of someone who helps count the money after being cheated. Perhaps for a world consciousness, things were simply black and white, not complex like the human heart.

Xiao Li felt not a shred of guilt for bullying a world consciousness. She grinned wickedly. "Because it was fun."

She wanted to go back on her own terms, but she refused to be forced back with a knife to her throat.

Ultimately, it wasn’t about going back or not, but about the difference between choosing to and being forced to.

But she couldn’t be bothered to explain it to this single-celled organism.

Xiao Li didn’t need to manage the disaster relief. The Six Ministry Vice Ministers were all dispatched to serve as governors for the six major states of Yue Country.

Yanping State would continue to be developed as the economic hub of the Southern region.

As for Xiao Li, she prepared to return to court. Having heard that the scenery in Beicang was exceptionally beautiful at this time of year, she deliberately chose a detour that passed near it, all for the sake of admiring the view.

Beicang, upon learning of the Empress’s route: "..."