Upon hearing Ying Zheng's words, Lu Li froze on the spot.
He didn't know how to answer Ying Zheng. Should he tell Ying Zheng that he might be immortal?
Seeing that Lu Li did not speak, Ying Zheng became even more certain of his guess.
"Sir, are you an immortal?"
Ying Zheng stated it directly and bluntly, without any euphemism.
Lu Li sighed, then slowly said, "Your Majesty, I don't really know what state I'm in right now."
Ying Zheng's eyes revealed a look of great envy. He looked straight at Lu Li and said, "Sir, it has been more than 30 years since I met you, and your appearance has never changed."
"Isn't this an immortal? Immortality! How enviable!"
Lu Li gave a bitter laugh and murmured, "Immortality? Is it really a good thing?"
"Why is immortality bad? If I were to live forever, the Great Qin Dynasty would surely endure for thousands of years!"
But Lu Li shook his head and said bitterly, "But you will lose your family, your friends, and your love!"
But Ying Zheng didn't care at all; even when he was still the King of Qin, he was already all alone.
As an emperor, he could abandon family ties and love, but even in friendship, he only had Lu Li as both a teacher and a friend.
And Lu Li is an immortal!
"Sir, I desire immortality! I wish for the Qin Dynasty to be eternally prosperous, and for all under the sun and moon to be the territory of my Qin Dynasty!"
Lu Li was at a loss for words when it came to answering Ying Zheng. His original purpose was to stop Ying Zheng from sending Xu Fu on his eastern tour.
But he was too late. Xu Fu's search for the elixir of immortality had exhausted too much of the Qin Dynasty's national strength.
But this is only the first time, and there is still a chance to salvage the situation.
"Your Majesty, Xu Fu was just a wandering alchemist. Even if there really is an elixir of immortality in this world, it is not something he could find."
But Ying Zheng shook his head; he had already witnessed Xu Fu's abilities.
The fact that he knew Lu Li was an immortal was enough to prove his strength.
"Sir, do you know that Xu Fu could have avoided traveling east to find the elixir of immortality?"
"He had a very simple solution, but I refused it!"
Ying Zheng became more and more excited as he spoke, but when Lu Li asked him what his method was, Ying Zheng fell silent.
"Sir, please do not ask any more questions. I desire immortality, I desire it!"
Ying Zheng was almost insane at this point; his obsession with immortality even frightened Lu Li.
Historical records show that Qin Shi Huang, Ying Zheng, spared no expense in expending enormous human and national resources in his pursuit of immortality, even more than the construction of the Great Wall.
This indirectly led to the rapid decline of the Qin Dynasty, giving the rebels an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.
Otherwise, even Xiang Yu and Liu Bang would have had no way to destroy Qin.
"Your Majesty! You're confused!" Lu Li said urgently.
"If Xu Fu had not found the elixir of immortality, the cost your actions would have been unprecedentedly high for the country! Have you ever considered the future rulers?"
Lu Li's words were powerful and resounding, striking a chord with Ying Zheng!
After a moment of contemplation, Ying Zheng slowly said, "Sir, I... only wish to find an elixir of immortality."
Lu Li was immediately speechless. He slowly closed his eyes, unsure of how to persuade him any further.
Can immortality truly make people lose all their reason?
In Lu Li's heart, Ying Zheng was someone he had watched grow up since childhood. Every decision he made was extremely wise, and he deserved the title of the First Emperor.
But now, in his quest for immortality, he has gone completely mad.
"Ying Zheng! If you continue to be so stubborn, the Qin Dynasty will perish after only two generations!"
When he said those words, it was like a bolt from the blue!
Suddenly chaos erupted outside. Ying Zheng and Lu Li rushed out to investigate, only to find that all the guards outside Ying Zheng's palace had been struck dead by lightning.
Their bodies were charred black, and even the ground was shattered; it was a truly horrific scene.
Lu Li stared wide-eyed at what was happening before him. Was this lightning... meant to strike him?
He was extremely anxious and had a strange premonition that if he continued talking, lightning would strike him.
"What's going on?" Ying Zheng immediately asked, frowning.
"Your Majesty, lightning is falling from the sky! It's terrifying! It's terrifying!"
The surviving guards were terrified; when had they ever seen anything like this?
Is this divine punishment?
Lu Li suddenly had a flash of inspiration and quickly cupped his hands, saying, "Your Majesty! Can you see that even the heavens can't stand it anymore? You can't continue like this!"
Unexpectedly, after hearing Lu Li's words, Ying Zheng immediately drew the Qin King's sword from his waist and pointed it at the sky.
"I am the First Emperor of the Great Qin Dynasty! My achievements surpass those of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. Even if Heaven does not agree, I will still live forever!"
"No one can stop me! Not even the heavens!!!"
Ying Zheng exuded a very powerful aura, but in Lu Li's eyes, he had become obsessed with immortality.
"Your Majesty, why are you doing this to yourself?"
Ying Zheng looked at Lu Li with sharp eyes, and then slowly said, "Sir, you are an immortal. You can live as long as heaven and earth, and you can remain forever young."
"But look at me, my hair is already gray!"
"I returned to Qin at the age of nine, succeeded to the throne as King of Qin at the age of twelve, and assumed personal rule at the age of twenty-four. It only took me ten years to sweep across the six states and unify the world!"
"I, the Emperor, will build the Great Wall! I will standardize the written language, the currency, and the weights and measures!"
"I dare not say there will be no one like him in the future, but he is certainly unprecedented, isn't he?"
"Now, all I want is an elixir of immortality, so why... why do you, sir, have to criticize me?"
"His Majesty......"
Lu Li felt a lump in his throat, unable to utter a single word he wanted to say.
The next second, he suddenly knelt down on the ground with a thud!
This is the second time he has knelt since he traveled back to the Warring States period! The first time was to his master, Guiguzi.
"Your Majesty, for the sake of the common people of Qin! Please stop making this mistake!"
Ying Zheng was stunned. Lu Li had actually knelt down before him?
Since they met, whether he was the King of Qin or the First Emperor, Lu Li has never knelt down!
Now, because he was prevented from finding the elixir of immortality, Lu Li knelt down!
"Sir...why? Why!"
"I have always believed that no one in this world understands me, not even my own son, except you, sir..."
"But...why, why!"
Ying Zheng choked up. He couldn't understand why even the person he trusted most was criticizing him when all he wanted was an elixir of immortality.
Ying Zheng slowly lowered the Qin King's sword from his hand, walked back to the palace in a daze, and then turned around and slowly closed the door.
The two men exchanged a glance through the crack in the door, and Lu Li knew that Ying Zheng was no longer the Ying Zheng he knew.
The closing of this door also signifies Ying Zheng's disappointment with Lu Li.
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