“I have never feared anything in my life, not even the heavens!” declared Chen Wei proudly.
Zu An was impressed by how that fellow was able to speak so confidently despite being in a bad situation himself. His mental fortitude indeed far surpassed that of normal people.
“Very well. I want you to plead guilty and admit to having inscribed those words,” said Zu An.
Qiao Xueying was still intrigued as to what kind of idea Zu An might have when she froze up upon hearing those words. Wait a moment, isn’t that as good as pushing him right into hell?!
“Hahaha!” Chen Wei also snorted in laughter. “I reckon that you were unable to find the real culprit either, so you want to coax me into being the scapegoat here?”
“I thought that you are a smart man, but it seems like I was mistaken. I should have described you as ‘short-sighted’ instead.” Zu An shook his head.
“You!!” Chen Wei flew into a state of anger. There was no one who would be happy at being described as short-sighted.
You have successfully trolled Chen Wei for +256 Rage!
“Think it through properly. Even if no one admits to this crime, you’re already doomed for death. However, if you admit to it, the only one who needs to die here is you. Is that logic hard for you to comprehend?”
Chen Wei was enraged. “But that’s a grievous crime that warrants nine familial exterminations! How can I possibly admit to it lightly?”
“Nine familial exterminations? Based on what I know, your mother died in your younger years, and you have been living alone with your father all of these years. Your father has just died, so who else would be implicated by the nine familial exterminations?”
Chen Wei was stunned. It was at this moment that he realized that he was the only one left in his family.
After a moment of contemplation, he shook his head and said, “That won’t do. There are plenty of villagers who are at loggerheads with us here, and we frequently have conflicts with one another. I can’t bear the notion of dying for those bastards. Why should I sacrifice myself for their happiness? I’d rather all of us die together!”
This really put Zu An in a spot. He thought that Chen Wei was the type of righteous person who would be more than willing to sacrifice himself for the rest of the village, but it turned out that his evaluation was completely off.
“I don’t fear death, but I’m not content with dying in such a humbling manner. A true warrior should go down with a bang! If our villagers are destined to die, I’d rather inform them about the implications of this matter and have them raise their arms in rebellion! The world has been suffering under Qin’s tyranny for some time now. I trust that many would heed my rally!
“You seem to be a righteous person as well. Why don’t we join forces and do something great together? By then, you can become whatever you want, be it a king, a duke, or a marquess. You won’t be tied down to being just a humble censor!”
Chen Wei’s words were so passionate that they made Zu An’s heart race.
It seems like some people are born with the charisma of a leader. Their words naturally rouse the emotions of others, and Chen Wei is one such person. If not for the fact that I don’t belong to this world, I might just be persuaded by him.
“How dare you spout such disrespectful words before an official of the imperial court? You must be tired of living!” sneered Zu An.
However, Chen Wei didn’t look intimidated at all. He puffed his chest up and said, “I reckon that you’re dissatisfied with the Qin Emperor’s tyrannical rule as well, considering how you bothered saying so much to me. Since that’s the case, why don’t you take a leap of faith and try for the huge one? Are kings and nobles given their high status at birth?”
“…” Zu An.
Hearing that famous quote coming from several thousand years ago, Zu An suddenly felt his mouth drying up a little. “By any chance, is it possible that you go by another name, Chen Sheng[1]?”
“Chen Sheng?” Chen Wei fell into deep thoughts. “That’s a good name. I’ve been wanting to change my name for some time now. Very well, I shall be known as Chen Sheng from this day onward!”
“…” Zu An.
H-hold on a moment, what’s going on here? How in the world did Chen Sheng pop out here?!
Zu An felt his mind being plunged into disarray.
If this fellow was really Chen Sheng and he ended up getting killed together with the other villagers, wouldn’t there be no more ‘Uprising of the Poles’[2]?
If so, the Qin Dynasty wouldn’t have fallen so quickly, which means that… history is changing?
Zu An was stunned. The most important rule of anyone transmigrating back in time was to not change history, or else it could lead to all sorts of bizarre changes in the plotline!
It looks like I can’t allow Chen Wei—ah, it should be Chen Sheng now—to die!
Cold sweat began trickling down Zu An’s back as he finally understood how devious the Heaven Seal was. Most people wouldn’t be able to find the culprit who inscribed the words and end up dead. Those who were more vicious would attempt to kill all of the villagers to silence them, but Chen Sheng’s death would inadvertently change the trajectory of history and stir to a series of unpredictable changes that was unlikely to lead to anything good.
To put it in simpler terms, there were two requirements he would have to fulfill here in order to clear the Heaven Seal: He would have to punish the culprit and remain accountable to the imperial court while ensuring Chen Sheng’s survival.
Now that he thought about it, the record on the ‘Antares Occupying the Heart’ incident might not be fully accurate. It was indeed stated that everyone in the village had been killed, but it was possible for some of them to escape, most notably, Chen Sheng.
If I had blindly trusted the historical records, I would have been done in just like that!
Now that he thought about it, Snow was really his star of fortune. If not for her insisting on it, he probably wouldn’t have been as determined to save the villagers. Once Chen Sheng died, it would become impossible to overcome the Heaven Seal, and he would end up dropping dead somehow.
Zu An quickly sorted out his thoughts and replied, “I’ll pass on that. You shouldn’t bother trying to rally the villagers on your side either. All of them have families to take care of, so how could they possibly throw in their lot with you and risk facing nine familial exterminations? Besides, you also mentioned that some of them bear grudges toward you, so there’s a possibility that they might stab you in the back after refusing your offer. Now is not a good time for you to make a move yet.”
Chen Sheng’s face darkened. He was overcome by passion earlier that he failed to think things through carefully. Zu An’s analysis brought him back to his senses, and he remarked in frustration, “What should I do then? Am I to wait for death here?”
“If you trust me, you should admit to inscribing the words, and we can conclude the case like that. I’ll find a way to save you afterward, and by then, you’ll be free to do whatever you want,” replied Zu An.
Cheng Sheng didn’t respond right away. He stared at Zu An intently for a moment before asking, “Why are you helping me?”
Zu An knew that Chen Sheng wasn’t the type to trust others easily. He took a while to consider the matter before answering, “To be frank with you, I wasn’t intending to get involved in this matter at the start. Things would have been much simpler for me if I simply killed all of you. However, my little sister pleaded on your behalf, and I’m not too fond of killing the innocent either. That’s why I’m taking this risk to help you all.”
Qiao Xueying nodded in agreement. “Indeed! Chen Sheng, you can trust him. He might have a suspicious-looking face, but he’s not a bad person at heart.”
Zu An clicked his tongue. Are you praising or insulting me here?
Seeing that Chen Sheng still wasn’t saying a word at all, Zu An decided to give it one last hard push. “If you aren’t going to agree with it, I’ll kill you right away. I’m not going to risk you revealing the content of our conversation to anyone else.”
Those words made Chen Sheng heave a sigh of relief instead. “Alright, I’ll accept your request.”
The few of them continued to sort out the details before Zu An finally brought Lord Wang over.
“He has already confessed to the matter. He was the one who secretly inscribed those words on the meteor.”
Lord Wang was overjoyed to hear that. “I never thought that Lord Censor would actually have a way to deal with this. I’m impressed!”
He beckoned his subordinates over and ordered, “Men, execute that miscreant right now!”
“Wait a moment!” Zu An hurriedly stopped Lord Wang before pulling him over to one side. “Are you intending to kill that suspect just like that?”
“What else do we do if not execute a man who has committed such grievous crimes?” asked Lord Wang in bewilderment.