Chapter 18

Just then, a faint five-colored light appeared to the south of the palace, and Li You couldn't help but be greatly alarmed! Ah, could it be that treasure? He quickly called Guan Sheng to accompany him alone!

Arriving at the south of the palace, they followed the direction of the five-colored light into a small courtyard. The light illuminated the well in the center of the courtyard, making it as bright as if there were a fire at the bottom!

This is the place! Li You, who was well-versed in the Three Kingdoms, could easily guess what the treasure at the bottom of the well was. He hurriedly instructed, "General Guan, I will go down the well to retrieve the treasure. You guard the entrance and don't let anyone in!"

"Lord, let me go instead!" Guan Sheng was unwilling to let Li You take such a dangerous task. Without further ado, he leaned his Green Dragon Crescent Blade against the wall, walked around the courtyard, and took out several red silk ribbons from the house, tying them together. After testing the strength of the ribbons, he tied one end to the well's rim, took a torch, and slowly descended.

"General Guan, be extremely careful!" Li You kept an eye on the entrance while occasionally peering down the well. Fortunately, the well had little water, and when Guan Sheng stood up, the water only reached his waist, which made Li You feel a bit more at ease.

"Lord, someone once committed suicide by jumping into this well!" Guan Sheng bent down and felt around in the water, then reported.

"This person must have been loyal and righteous, and should be given a proper burial!" Li You said solemnly. Oh, right, *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* was written at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, so Guan Sheng, who lived in the Song Dynasty, definitely hadn't read it. Moreover, Chen Shou's *Records of the Three Kingdoms: Biography of Sun Jian* does not mention that Sun Jian ever possessed the He Shi Bi, so Guan Sheng didn't know what Li You was looking for.

Guan Sheng thought the same as Li You. He tied the person to the red silk, and the two of them worked together to lift the body out, then pulled Guan Sheng up. Li You then brought the torch close to the body, which turned out to be a woman dressed in palace attire. Although she had been dead for a long time, her body was not decayed and still looked like a living person.

"Her body remains intact, there must be a precious treasure protecting her!" Guan Sheng quickly saw a brocade pouch hanging from her neck, opened it, and found a small vermilion box inside, locked with a golden lock. Guan Sheng didn't dare to open it himself and handed it to Li You with both hands.

"General Guan, do you know what treasure is inside?" Li You took a deep breath and asked. Seeing Guan Sheng shake his head, he reached out and twisted the golden lock with all his might. With his 21 points of strength and the fact that the box had been in the water for a long time, it opened easily, revealing a jade seal, four inches in diameter, with five dragons intertwined, a corner missing, and a gold inlay.

Li You took out the jade seal and showed the seal script to Guan Sheng, "General Guan, can you recognize seal script?"

When Guan Sheng first saw the shape of the jade seal, he was surprised. Upon closer inspection, he recognized the eight large characters inscribed on it: "Received by Heaven, Longevity and Prosperity." He was greatly alarmed! "This... Could this be the Imperial Seal?"

"Yes, in the past, Bian He found a phoenix perched on a stone at the foot of Jing Mountain and presented it to King Wen of Chu. When the stone was cut, a jade was found, which was named the He Shi Bi! The He Shi Bi passed between Chu and Zhao, and eventually ended up with the Qin. In the 26th year of the First Emperor, he had it carved into a seal, and Li Si inscribed these eight characters on it, making it the Imperial Seal. After the fall of the Qin, Zi Ying presented the seal to Emperor Gao of Han. Later, when Wang Mang usurped the throne, Empress Dowager Yuan threw the seal at Wang Xun and Su Xian, breaking a corner, which was then inlaid with gold. Emperor Guangwu obtained this treasure at Yiyang and passed it down to the present day." After recounting the history of the Imperial Seal, Li You looked at the woman, "This person must have been unwilling to let the Imperial Seal fall into Dong Zhuo's hands, so she committed suicide with the treasure."

After finishing, he planned to discuss with Guan Sheng how to transport the woman for a proper burial. Suddenly, the Imperial Seal emitted a brilliant light, and a golden dragon flew out, circling around the two of them, then entered Li You's chest like the light points in the YunTai Pavilion.

Guan Sheng didn't see this, but as a famous general, he was extremely sensitive to changes in aura. He immediately sensed that Li You had undergone a transformation, and the Imperial Seal seemed to have merged with him, giving him an aura that demanded reverence! "Lord, you and the Imperial Seal are so well-matched! Could you be the one chosen by heaven?" Guan Sheng thought to himself.

Unfortunately, this aura quickly dissipated, and Li You returned to his normal appearance, making Guan Sheng wonder if he had been seeing things!

"Let's go!" Li You, now calm, put the Imperial Seal back in the box and tucked it into his clothes. They left the small courtyard and called for people to transport the woman for a proper burial.

By the time they finished, the moon was high in the sky. Li You returned to his quarters, bathed, and dismissed his attendants. He then took out the Imperial Seal and the tiger talisman to study them. When the golden dragon entered his body, he felt the tiger talisman heat up like never before!

Could this thing also be a special item like the portraits of the YunTai 28 Generals, which could bring me benefits? Yes, if the Imperial Seal isn't a special item, what treasure could be? The Nine Tripods?

"Host has obtained a special item symbolizing the imperial succession—the Imperial Seal. The Imperial Seal is a symbol of divine mandate and legitimate authority. Equipping it grants the special title—Chosen by Heaven! Do you wish to equip it?" The panel projected by the tiger talisman showed the first slot in the item section lighting up.

If I agree, the He Shi Bi will probably be placed in this slot, Li You guessed. What does the title 'Chosen by Heaven' mean? Does it mean I have to conquer the world in the main world? But completing tasks in various worlds is already tiring enough. Do I have to continue fighting and killing when I return to the main world? Isn't it better to be a playboy?

After much deliberation, Li You still refused the tiger talisman's suggestion, "Not equipped for now!"

The light faded, and the tiger talisman returned to silence. Li You, however, couldn't sleep, tossing and turning. What should I do with this thing? From what I heard, if I equip the Imperial Seal, it will disappear from this world. Should I take it or leave it for someone else?

But if I leave it for someone else, who should I give it to? Cao Cao or Liu Bei? Or Emperor Xian of Han? But they say treasures have spirits. Since the Han dynasty has already lost the Imperial Seal, if I return it, could it cause more disasters? But that doesn't seem right. Didn't Qin Shi Huang regain the seal after losing it? And after the seal was in the Liu family, it was taken by Wang Mang for a while but eventually returned to Liu Xiu! So returning it isn't impossible. On the other hand, Sun Jian didn't achieve any great power with the seal.

With these thoughts swirling in his mind, Li You gradually fell asleep. The next morning, his personal guard reported that Cao Cao had captured Dong Zhuo and returned to Luoyang.

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