Chapter 1

In 1981, deep within the Wugong Mountains of Jiangxi. In front of a cave hidden in a blood-red forest, a man in white, who looked to be in his twenties but had a head full of white hair, glanced sideways at the fat man opposite him, who was grinning. With a tone that was sharp and slow, he said, "It's quite an achievement to find this place, but I'm really curious where your confidence comes from that I will definitely follow you to that public opinion bureau. Just because you call yourself Gao Liang? You're not my son, so why should I worry about you?"

"A title is just a title. As long as you come back with me, you can call me anything. Even if you want to call me Wu Liang, which shares your surname, I'm fine with it. We can even recognize each other as godfather and godson," Gao Liang said with a smile, then pulled out a bulging brown paper bag from his pocket and respectfully handed it to the white-haired man. After the white-haired man took it, Gao Liang continued, "Do you recognize this item? To find it, my small public opinion bureau hasn't done anything else for the past two years..."

The white-haired man knew what was inside the paper bag as soon as he touched it. After a moment of contemplation, he took out a fist-sized, almost transparent jade human face. The small jade statue was intricately carved, resembling the young man's appearance. The white-haired man's gaze on the jade face seemed to be lost in thought, as if long-suppressed memories had suddenly resurfaced.

The white-haired young man's reaction was within Gao Liang's expectations. He didn't say anything, just smiled and stared at the man in front of him. When the white-haired man finally came to his senses, Gao Liang scratched his head and said, "Mr. Wu Mian, I've heard that there's a legend about this ice jade statue. It says that whoever can deliver it to you, you will grant them one wish. I wonder if it's true..."

"Stop talking nonsense. I recognize this," Wu Mian interrupted Gao Liang before he could finish, then glanced at the fat man in front of him and continued, "If your wish is for me to go to that public opinion bureau, then your wish is granted. But I must warn you, this vow only applies to you. If you're gone one day, the vow will automatically be nullified. Even if your public opinion bureau collapses in front of me, I won't waste a second."

"As long as you don't do it yourself, I'll try to live a few more years. Mr. Wu Mian, what do you think..." Seeing Wu Mian loosen up, Gao Liang secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Before he could finish his sentence, the young man named Wu Mian interrupted him, "Don't be so polite. I plan to re-emerge in this world. Since you want me to re-enter the world, we need to make a clean break first."

At this point, Wu Mian paused and turned to take a last look at the cave he had lived in for so long. Then he casually waved his hand towards the cave. As Wu Mian's arm fell, the cave in front of him suddenly collapsed with a "boom."

Gao Liang, who was startled, came to his senses, and Wu Mian turned to him, looking at the fat man with a blank expression and said slowly, "From now on, Wu Mian has vanished along with this cave. Since you've brought me back into the world, it's like a new beginning for me. You can even give me a new name for this life."

Even though Gao Liang was shrewd, he was taken aback by this outrageous suggestion. He blinked his eyes and said with a smile, "I haven't eaten much meat lately, so my ears are a bit inflamed. I thought you were asking me to give you a name. Isn't that funny..."

"Your ears aren't deaf," Wu Mian said in his unique, world-defying tone, "Of course, if you don't want to give me a name, you can just call me 'Hey.'"

After confirming that Wu Mian wanted him to give him a new name, Gao Liang laughed bitterly and blurted out, "Hey..."

"Are you calling me?" Wu Mian gave Gao Liang a cold look, and as he spoke, a layer of white frost instantly covered the blood-red trees around him. Gao Liang shivered and quickly changed his tone, smiling, "Hey... what... You don't need to say more, I understand. But I can't change both your surname and name. How about this, your surname and title remain the same, and I'll change the name to Renyi... it doesn't sound good, so how about De Gui... that's not the right meaning, so how about Pei Fu, but someone already uses that name..."

Although Gao Liang was clever, he hadn't thought about giving the white-haired man a new name and had no preparation. Moreover, due to the limitations of his time, he hadn't read much and couldn't think of any names with special meanings.

Gao Liang could only list the popular names from his hometown, but they didn't match the white-haired man's surname, and Wu Mian's expression grew increasingly grim. By the end, Gao Liang himself felt he couldn't continue. At this moment, Wu Mian said coldly, "I'm almost impressed by my own patience to listen to your nonsense. But if you want to test my limits, be careful. You might say your last words in this life."

These words were spoken slowly, but they made the fat man, who weighed about 300 pounds, break out in a cold sweat. Finally, he gritted his teeth and said to the white-haired man, "Wu Ren Di, does this sound appropriate? Even as a nickname, it sounds smooth..."

However, when Wu Mian heard "Wu Ren Di," it had a different meaning to him: "Wu Ren Di... Fine, this can be a name. This time, you've saved yourself..."

By the time he said this, it was already dark. The newly named Wu Ren Di looked up at the sky in the west, where a patch of clouds resembling a phoenix was burning. He muttered, "Time flies, I almost forgot what it was like before I re-emerged..."

In the tenth year of the Qin Dynasty (210 BC), Emperor Qin Shi Huang, in his quest for the elixir of immortality, ordered the great alchemist Xu Fu to lead three thousand boys and girls to the immortal mountain of Penglai. To ensure success, Xu Fu fasted and prayed for a hundred days. On the last day of the prayer, Emperor Qin Shi Huang sent the Prime Minister Li Si to Xu Fu's camp by the Bohai Sea, bestowing him with the imperial sword, jade talisman, and bronze mirror as auspicious items for the quest.

When Li Si arrived at the Bohai Sea, it was already evening. The prayer ceremony had ended, and although the Prime Minister's arrival on behalf of the emperor was known, the great alchemist Xu Fu did not come out to greet him personally. Instead, he sent his senior disciple Guang Ren to welcome Li Si. Guang Ren was a peculiar figure, looking no more than thirty but with a head full of white hair. His loose clothing made him appear even more aged. Led by Guang Ren, Li Si and his entourage slowly entered Xu Fu's lecture hall.

At this time, the evening session in the lecture hall had concluded. The great alchemist Xu Fu was seated in the center, holding a bamboo scroll and reading it by the dim light of the oil lamp. Behind him stood three people, two men and one woman, whose ages were indiscernible, but they all had white hair like Guang Ren. On both sides of Xu Fu, about twenty to thirty close disciples stood with their hands hanging at their sides. Despite the large number of people, the lecture hall was silent, with no sound at all.

In front of Xu Fu, a white-robed alchemist with a high hat sat respectfully. Li Si recognized this person, who was the chief alchemist responsible for Emperor Qin Shi Huang's consumption of elixirs. According to custom, he was there to report the progress of the emperor's elixir consumption and the physical reactions after taking the elixirs.

Sure enough, Xu Fu closed the bamboo scroll and looked at the chief alchemist, asking, "After the emperor took the elixir, did he show any signs of blood in his urine?" The chief alchemist was taken aback and then smiled, saying, "Yes, on the day the great alchemist left Xianyang, Emperor Qin Shi Huang showed signs of blood in his urine. However, Lord Zhao Gao said it was a side effect of the elixir, just expelling the false fire, and there was no need to disturb the great alchemist."

Before the chief alchemist finished speaking, Xu Fu's face had already turned grim. With a "slap," he threw the bamboo scroll to the ground, "What is Zhao Gao? A eunuch, and now he's an alchemist? Side effect... he can't even tell the difference between a deer and a horse, let alone what a side effect is?" Xu Fu paused, his eyes fixed on the chief alchemist, and his tone became even more sinister, "Do you think I don't know that you changed my elixir formula and altered the emperor's symptoms record?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the air in the lecture hall became tense. The chief alchemist's face turned white with fear, and he prostrated himself on the ground, repeatedly kowtowing to Xu Fu and saying, "Great alchemist, please be merciful. This was all Lord Zhao Gao's idea. I am a low-ranking official and dared not disobey. Great alchemist, please be merciful, great alchemist."

At this moment, Li Si had been watching from the entrance for a long time. He did not let Guang Ren go in to announce his arrival but just stood there with a cold smile, watching the scene unfold. When the chief alchemist was thoroughly frightened, Li Si finally smiled coldly, walked into the lecture hall with his hands behind his back, and said directly to Xu Fu, "Is this how the great alchemist treats guests? I, Li Si, though not talented, represent Emperor Qin Shi Huang. There's no need to use Zhao Gao to intimidate me."

The sudden appearance of another person made almost everyone in the lecture hall look at Li Si. Xu Fu smiled slightly, bowed slightly towards Li Si, and said, "I have been negligent in welcoming the Prime Minister. I should have gone out to greet you, but I dared not leave the prayer site after a hundred days of fasting. Please forgive me." He then gestured to the mat in front of him, "Please, Prime Minister, take a seat." The chief alchemist, who had been prostrating on the mat, moved back a few steps to make room.

Seeing Li Si sit down reluctantly, Xu Fu smiled and took a clay pot from beside him, saying, "This place is not like Xianyang, and there's nothing much to offer. This sweet wine with honey is the best I can offer. Please, Prime Minister, enjoy it." As he spoke, Xu Fu raised the clay pot. The great alchemist personally pouring wine was unprecedented. Even when drinking with the emperor, Xu Fu had never been known to pour the wine himself. Li Si, though a Prime Minister, quickly placed his wine cup under the clay pot.

The light yellow wine slowly poured into the cup. As the cup filled, Xu Fu showed no sign of stopping. Li Si raised his eyes and gave the great alchemist a cold look but did not stop him, waiting to see what would happen when the cup overflowed.

To Li Si's great surprise, even when the cup was full, Xu Fu did not stop. As he tilted the pot, the sweet wine continued to pour into Li Si's cup. The wine in the cup was already more than twice the height of the cup, yet not a drop spilled out. Li Si was shocked, but having been a Prime Minister for many years, he had learned to remain calm in any situation. Despite his shock, he did not show it on his face.

Xu Fu continued to pour the wine as if he did not see it overflowing. In a moment, the wine was several times the height of the cup, forming a precarious tower that seemed ready to topple at any moment. Li Si, in his shock, began to tremble, but not a drop of wine spilled out.

Only when half the pot of sweet wine had been poured into Li Si's cup did Xu Fu stop, looking at Li Si with a smile and saying, "This sweet wine is best drunk in one gulp. Please, Prime Minister, enjoy it."

After the shock, Li Si was filled with rage. He forgot his dignity as a Prime Minister and suddenly stood up from the mat, staring at Xu Fu and saying, "Li Si, though not talented, is a disciple of Master Xun and a follower of the sage. Why does the great alchemist need to test me with such a minor trick?" He then raised the wine cup high and smashed it to the ground. The cup shattered with a "crack."

Xu Fu and Li Si stared at each other, neither speaking. For a moment, no one in the lecture hall dared to speak, and the atmosphere became tense. After a while, Xu Fu smiled and said to the Prime Minister of the Qin Dynasty, "Prime Minister, do you think this was an illusion?" Li Si laughed coldly and said, "Yes! The wise do not speak of strange and supernatural things. But if the great alchemist deceives me with illusions, I will report the truth to the emperor and let him decide."

After Li Si finished speaking, Xu Fu laughed and said, "If you think that was an illusion, then look at this." As he spoke the last word, Xu Fu waved his hands, and a fire snake as thick as a bowl sprang from his hands, circling in the air before rushing towards Li Si's face with its fangs bared.

In his terror, Li Si quickly raised his hands to protect his head. Just as the Prime Minister was about to be devoured by the fire snake, Xu Fu silently changed his gesture, and the fire snake, just before touching Li Si's face, turned into a shower of sparks and disappeared. However, the Prime Minister's forehead hair was slightly singed, and the lecture hall was filled with the smell of burnt hair.

Seeing Li Si's disheveled state, Xu Fu smiled and said, "Prime Minister, do you still think this is an illusion?" Li Si stared at Xu Fu, and after a moment, he gritted his teeth and said, "Even if you can make the sun and moon reverse and the stars lose their light, it's just an illusion to deceive the world! Unfortunately, I am not a foolish commoner. The great alchemist has chosen the wrong target this time!"

With that, Li Si abruptly threw his robe and turned to leave. But as he turned, Xu Fu was already behind him. Li Si was stunned; he couldn't understand how Xu Fu could appear behind him in an instant. As the Prime Minister was still in shock, Xu Fu raised his hand and, with a gesture like a knife, thrust it into Li Si's chest.

Li Si was completely unprepared for this. He watched helplessly as Xu Fu's right hand pierced into his chest, and strangely, not a drop of blood flowed from his wound. Li Si could even feel the hand moving inside his body, as if searching for something. He tried to back away and break free from Xu Fu's control, but his limbs were stiff and unresponsive, as if they were no longer under his control.

After a moment, Xu Fu withdrew his hand from Li Si's chest, and in his palm was a bloody heart. The heart was still beating in Xu Fu's hand. At this moment, Li Si also felt something missing from his chest, a sense of oppression overwhelming him. He stared at the heart in Xu Fu's hand, trying to speak, but only managed to make a "gagging" sound.

Xu Fu's gaze shifted from the heart in his hand to Li Si's face, and he said with a grin, "Prime Minister, is this also an illusion?" As he spoke the last word, Xu Fu suddenly clenched the heart. The beating heart stopped, and Li Si felt a sudden tightening in his chest. His body shrank into a ball, and he tried to reach for the heart, but before he could, he collapsed on the ground, convulsing uncontrollably.

Xu Fu coldly watched Li Si, repeating, "Prime Minister, do you still think this is an illusion?" Li Si tried to speak but could not, and finally, with all his strength, he managed to shake his head slightly.

Xu Fu then smiled and squeezed the heart in his hand. With the external force, the heart, which had stopped beating, began to beat again. Xu Fu squatted in front of Li Si and returned the heart to his chest. After this ordeal, Li Si was drenched in sweat, soaking through several layers of clothing, as if he had been drenched in a heavy rain.

Wu Mian, the friend of women, wishes all women a happy International Women's Day.

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