Only by the Qin Sword

Zhang Yi breathed a sigh of relief and added, "This disciple trusts you implicitly, Teacher!"

"Heh, you're trusting me much too early."

Qingnu let out a couple of chuckles, which gave Zhang Yi another fright. He asked, "Teacher, please don't joke with me. Where exactly are we going?"

"The State of Qin."

As Qingnu spoke, she pointed ahead. "That over there is Hangu Pass."

"Hangu Pass?"

Zhang Yi was stunned. He stood up to look into the distance and saw a majestic fortress standing tall between the mountain ridges. Atop the stronghold, banners with the character 'Qin' in white on a black background fluttered in the wind. Beneath the flags, soldiers in black armor stood in rigid, disciplined formations.

Hangu Pass—it really was Hangu Pass!

Zhang Yi gasped in surprise. "Teacher, why have we come to Hangu Pass?"

"To send you to meet your boss, of course!"

Qingnu turned back to look at Zhang Yi, a smile gracing her face. She said, "Well? Am I not a wonderful teacher? I've even prepared your future employment for you. No need to thank me!"

"But... this disciple hasn't learned anything yet!" Zhang Yi said, his heart racing with panic.

If Qingnu simply dumped him in the State of Qin like this, was he going there to display his brilliance or to die? Zhang Yi felt the latter was far more likely.

"Fool! Who said I was the kind of teacher who sends her disciples to their deaths?"

Seeing his distress, Qingnu tossed a book at him. "Take it. Consider it your benefits package."

"The Treatise on the Vertical and Horizontal..."

Zhang Yi stared at the book Qingnu had thrown. He froze as a memory surfaced. "I have heard of a man named Su Qin who travels among the six states, advocating for a 'Vertical Alliance' to resist Qin. He calls himself a Strategist of the Vertical and Horizontal. Is it because of this treatise?"

Qingnu nodded. "Indeed. He is your senior brother!"

Zhang Yi hugged the Treatise on the Vertical and Horizontal tightly. He wanted to bow in gratitude, but he hesitated and asked, "Teacher, could we wait a few years before going to Qin?"

"I'm afraid not. Ghost Valley doesn't support idlers anymore."

"You're just too late."

Qingnu shook her head with a beaming smile and bundled Zhang Yi along with his treatise off to the State of Qin.

Looking utterly miserable, Zhang Yi had no choice but to trudge toward his destination, clutching his book.

After seeing Zhang Yi off, Hongluan tilted its head. "You sent him to Qin, but that Su Qin boy is with the six states. Won't they end up fighting each other in the future?"

"Yes."

Qingnu nodded.

Hongluan complained, "What is it with you? Why do your disciples always end up with the senior brothers fighting the juniors?"

Hearing this, Qingnu shook her head. "How should I know? Perhaps once the name Ghost Valley spread, the grand momentum of this world would no longer allow a mere snake like me to change it. It's not like I haven't tried."

"The eras of Yu of Xia, Tang of Shang, and Ji Fa—I tried in all of them!"

"I even advised Bao Si and Sun Boling."

"And the result? Not a single one listened to me. They all marched toward their respective historical endings. In the midst of it all, I am but a passerby!"

As she spoke, Qingnu grabbed a piece of sacrificial meat from the side, took a bite, and spat it out. "Pah! Disgusting."

"It was boiled in plain water; of course it's disgusting!"

Hongluan watched as Qingnu bit into the unseasoned meat. It knew her current mood was likely troubled by its comment. It consoled her, "Let's not think about those things. Be happy! At least... they made their own choices."

"True. So I've been thinking: if I can't change anything, I might as well stop trying."

Qingnu nodded and said, "From now on, we aren't going back to Ghost Valley!"

"Not going back? Then where are we going?"

Hongluan tilted its head, looking at her in confusion.

They finally had a home, and now she didn't want to return? Then again, in these past few centuries, Qingnu had rarely stayed in one place for so long. Her appearance never aged, and her longevity was boundless. Living in one place for too long made it easy for others to notice her abnormality.

Hongluan knew she would eventually move, but where to?

Over the centuries, they had lived almost everywhere in the world.

Qingnu calculated the time. "Let's go traveling! The world is vast; why must we live in one place? We can decide on a new home in a few decades!"

"I suppose... that works."

Hongluan agreed with her decision.

In truth, Hongluan rarely went against Qingnu. If she wanted to stay, it stayed; if she wanted to go, it followed. The snake lass's life was inherently lonely. Without its company, it didn't know what would become of her.

She had spent two thousand years without it, but for the next three thousand, she had it! It would never let the snake lass be lonely again.

What a kindhearted bird I am!

Qingnu traveled south, eventually landing on the then-undeveloped island of Qiongzhou. The wild game there was abundant! She ate her fill for many years. By the time she returned, that Zhang Yi she had kicked toward the State of Qin had already become the world-renowned Prime Minister of Qin.

He truly was a genius.

Armed only with a copy of the Treatise on the Vertical and Horizontal, he had successfully become the Prime Minister of Qin and realized his ambitions.

Qin was like a tiger or a wolf; its grand momentum to expand eastward was already taking shape.

Su Qin was no longer around.

The Treatise on the Vertical and Horizontal actually contained strategies for both the 'Vertical Alliance' and the 'Horizontal Alliance.' Su Qin had chosen the Vertical, while Zhang Yi took the Horizontal!

Both had chosen what they believed in.

However, a Vertical Alliance used the weak to oppose a strong enemy, which was destined to suffer from internal friction. Six states were not six individual people. Even six people could turn on each other, let alone six nations.

Su Qin, who once wore the Prime Minister seals of all six states, vanished in his later years. No one knew he had returned to Ghost Valley.

But once there, he found no trace of Qingnu.

Watching Su Qin search for days to no avail before finally leaving in disappointment, Hongluan whispered, "You really aren't going out to see him?"

"What would I say? That the person who defeated him was actually his junior brother?"

Qingnu shook her head. "No meeting."

After leaving Ghost Valley, Su Qin vanished completely.

In the years that followed, Zhang Yi became the man of the hour. He became the most brilliant representative of the Strategists, using the power of his tongue to sweep the path clear for Qin! He and King Ying Si shared a perfect bond between ruler and subject for over twenty years, until the Great Mourning of Qin when Ying Si died.

Prince Dang ascended the throne as the new King!

He abolished Zhang Yi's position as Prime Minister and declared grandly that the diplomacy of Great Qin would not rely on tongues, but only by the Qin sword!

Zhang Yi boarded his carriage and passed through Hangu Pass once more. This time, there was no returning.

Outside Hangu Pass, he encountered Qingnu.

Having not seen her for many years, Zhang Yi felt a sense of daze. He hardly dared to recognize the woman in green before him until the Hongluan on her shoulder flapped its wings and asked, "Are you stupid?"

This insult snapped Zhang Yi back to reality. He stepped down from the carriage and bowed to Qingnu.

"This disciple... greets the Teacher."

A light snow began to fall from the sky.

Qingnu looked up at the heavens. A snowflake landed between her brows, and the icy sensation made the snake lass shiver. She muttered to herself, "It's time to hibernate..."

"Can't you focus for once?" Hongluan glanced at her, feeling utterly helpless.

Qingnu gave a light cough and looked at Zhang Yi with a faint smile. "Kid, do you think you've lived a satisfying life this time around?"