"It was Xu Fu! Xu Fu stole the treasures from the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum—he was acting under the First Emperor's orders!!"
After subjecting the fox to numerous cruel methods, she finally broke under the agony, screaming wretchedly as she revealed the answer Roy sought.
Roy wasn't being needlessly cruel—this fox simply didn't deserve any sympathy. Her very existence was a form of "evil," though not the "Evil of Humanity." The Evil of Humanity was born from excessive love, an extreme form of human affection. But this fox was different—her malice toward humanity was pure and unadulterated. One could even say that as long as she existed, she would bring misfortune upon mankind.
Though she was breathtakingly beautiful, that was all she had to offer. If one were to overlook her atrocities simply because she was a beautiful woman, they would be nothing more than a lust-driven fool. How many men, for instance, would accept a wife who had been a prostitute, no matter how stunning she might be? Few sane men would tolerate such a thing.
Moreover, given the fox's nature, anyone who genuinely cared for her would only find themselves manipulated and toyed with.
History was littered with fallen dynasties that served as cautionary tales.
"Xu Fu? The First Emperor? So the First Emperor really isn't dead."
Roy nodded slightly, unsurprised by this revelation. It was one of the possibilities he had long considered—that the First Emperor had not died, thereby creating a turning point in human history.
However, after roaming the late Qin period for so long, even witnessing the death of the Second Emperor and the fall of the Qin Dynasty itself, Roy had yet to see any sign of the First Emperor rising from his coffin. He had nearly abandoned this theory and begun exploring other possibilities—until now, when the fox's words confirmed that the First Emperor was indeed alive.
Su Daji's face was streaked with dried tears, as striking and pitiful as withered poppies. Her expression was weak, her delicate features twisted in terror as she stared at Roy, her usual malice toward humans significantly diminished.
Indeed, the more ruthless one was toward this fox, the more fear she would feel, eventually leading to submission. But the kinder one treated her, the more sincere the affection, the more she would exploit that love, toying with their lives without remorse.
"The First Emperor is dead, but he has prepared for his resurrection! He once summoned all the mystics and skilled individuals across the land. Using the immortal techniques he obtained from Kunlun and Penglai, under the leadership of Xu Fu, he constructed his mausoleum. But in truth, it is a massive bounded field—one that allows him to deceive the Counter Force and fulfill his deepest desires!"
Su Daji spoke rapidly, as if afraid that slowing down even a single word would invite Roy's torture once more.
Roy listened in silence to Su Daji's words, his heart filled with awe.
The First Emperor 'ruled by law,' but the laws of the Qin Dynasty were excessively harsh. The slightest mistake would turn one into a prisoner. He had conscripted millions of convicts for massive construction projects, treating them almost as if they were all death-row inmates. Yet, given the population of the land at the time, how could there have been so many condemned prisoners?
Though his achievements did advance transportation infrastructure, it was also an undeniable fact that the First Emperor imposed heavy taxes and levies to build the Epang Palace and his own mausoleum.
In this world of the Moon, the First Emperor's conscription of so many prisoners had another layer of meaning—he had mobilized the entire nation's resources to construct a bounded field capable of deceiving the Counter Force.
If Roy didn't know that the First Emperor wasn't a later-era magus, he might have suspected him of trying to reach the Root.
But since the First Emperor had hundreds of thousands of people build such a mausoleum for him and sought to evade the Counter Force, it was clear his ambitions were vast. Otherwise, if resurrection alone was his goal, he wouldn't have needed to go to such lengths.
If he merely wanted to revive, the Counter Force would never have stopped him.
'Good thing I learned of this in advance—I can neutralize the crisis before it even forms. If I missed this opportunity, it would have been too late.'
Roy didn't know the specifics of the First Emperor's plans, but given the scale of his scheme, once everything was in place, Roy would likely be left powerless to stop him.
Moreover, if the First Emperor were to rise from his coffin after the Han Dynasty was established and start conquering the land again, history would truly be thrown into chaos.
This period, before the Han Dynasty's founding, was likely the best opportunity to resolve the issue. Roy had already decided to hammer a few more nails into the First Emperor's coffin—to press down the lid and ensure he stayed dead.
Still, Roy didn't entirely trust this fox.
Smiling, he gazed at Su Daji, then crouched before her under her fearful stare. When he reached out to lift her chin, she pressed her hands against the ground and scrambled backward, trembling uncontrollably...
"Seems I left quite an impression on you."
Roy scoffed, but to Su Daji, his smile was the most terrifying thing imaginable.
Su Daji shrank back. "...I once disguised myself as a mystic and infiltrated the mausoleum construction team. After completing his tomb, the First Emperor buried all the mystics alive inside. But I... I escaped because of my unique abilities."
"...While the First Emperor was still alive, he once sent men to the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum, searching for something. But the foxes there stopped him."
Su Daji pointed at Tamamo-no-Mae.
Tamamo-no-Mae nodded and said, "...At that time, someone did come to the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum wanting to enter, but I drove them away."
"Because you didn't want anyone taking things from the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum, you ended up helping Xu Fu steal the items from inside instead?"
Roy said thoughtfully.
"That's right! Whatever she hates, I'll do the opposite!"
Daji glared fiercely at Tamamo-no-Mae as she spoke—it was truly something to see one's self loathing manifested like this.
Tamamo-no-Mae glared back at her with equal fury.
Su Daji took a deep breath and explained in meticulous detail, "...The First Emperor sending Xu Fu to sea in search of the elixir of immortality was all a ruse. In truth, the First Emperor had already discovered the secret to eternal life at Penglai and Kunlun. He dispatched Xu Fu overseas to deceive the world—because once Xu Fu never returned, people would believe Xu Fu had tricked the Emperor, that immortality was a lie. When the Emperor eventually died, no one would pay him any mind."
"...The alchemists and laborers who built his mausoleum were all buried alive by him. No one knows the true state of the tomb. Once the Qin state placed his corpse inside, he could begin his plan, while Xu Fu would secretly act to assist the First Emperor in completing it."
"Alright, I've told you everything you wanted to know. Now, will you let me go?"
Su Daji wore a fearful expression, curling up as she pleaded in a trembling voice.
Roy studied her deeply before suddenly saying, "...It seems your words aren't entirely truthful."