Undying Life

Chapter 1016: The Gift Hall

The Left Pushe's face flushed with a mix of shame and anger. On the Sacred King's joyous day, he found himself in an awkward position—on one hand, he had to meticulously uphold the etiquette of Great Qin, and on the other, he couldn't afford to tarnish the prestige of the empire. Therefore, whenever anyone entered the Noble Guest House, the Left Pushe had to be extremely cautious. But today's situation left him thoroughly humiliated.

A person trying to sneak in with a fake invitation?

And not just any fake invitation, but one so poorly done that even the color was wrong, and the handwriting didn't match that of Prime Minister Li Si or any of the Ministry of Rites officials. If they were going to fake it, could they not at least make it convincing?

"Do you think this place is somewhere you can just mess around? Great Qin is not a place for you to act recklessly!" the Left Pushe shouted in anger.

Hearing his outburst, Nangong Sheng and the others frowned. They had come with good intentions to celebrate Ying's grand birthday, yet this was the attitude they received from Ying's subordinates?

Meanwhile, the Dragon Princes of the Four Seas looked on with a hint of disdain. They had expected more from Zhong Shan's group, but this situation was beyond their expectations.

"Left Pushe, calm down. The head of the house instructed us that no matter what happens, we must not lose our temper. Until the Sacred King's birthday celebrations are over, we must not cause any disturbances," the Right Pushe quickly interjected, trying to soothe the situation.

Zhong Shan nodded slightly. The officials of Great Qin were indeed well-trained. Zhong Shan wasn't angry because he understood the situation. The head of the guest house wasn't present, so the invitation couldn't be verified, and these two had clearly never seen such an invitation before, leading to this major misunderstanding.

Despite this, neither official had resorted to violence. One was angry, but the other was trying to de-escalate the situation. It was admirable—had this been any other imperial court, they would have likely summoned soldiers to arrest those suspected of forgery.

"I'm not angry, but you can see how they're behaving..." the Left Pushe grumbled, still feeling frustrated.

"Alright, alright. Why don't you take a break? I'll handle this," the Right Pushe suggested.

"Hmph! If it weren't for the Sacred King's birthday, I wouldn't let you off so easily!" the Left Pushe huffed, shooting a cold glare at Zhong Shan's group before stepping aside.

The Four Seas Dragon Princes subtly edged away, as if embarrassed to be associated with Zhong Shan and his companions.

The Right Pushe turned to Zhong Shan, "It's best if you all leave. The Sacred King's birthday is a time of celebration across the world—please don't make things difficult for me."

"The invitation is genuine. The fact that you can't recognize it..." Zhong Shan began.

"You're still talking? Do you think we're fools?" the Left Pushe, who had just sat down, jumped up again in frustration.

Zhong Shan ignored him and looked directly at the Right Pushe.

The Right Pushe's patience was clearly wearing thin. He had already been courteous, yet this group remained obstinate.

"Let's do this—I'll ask something slightly out of bounds: have you brought gifts for the celebration?" the Right Pushe inquired.

"Of course," Zhong Shan nodded.

Seeing Zhong Shan nod, the Right Pushe let out a small sigh of relief. He nodded back, "All those who come to celebrate the Sacred King are esteemed guests of Great Qin. However, Xianyang is overcrowded right now, so we've had to impose certain restrictions. Since you've come with gifts, why not head to the Gift Hall on the west side? I will personally issue you a document, allowing you to bypass the queue and meet with officials from the Ministry of Rites directly."

The Right Pushe's suggestion was considerate—since they wouldn't accept the invitation here, if the group had gifts substantial enough for the Gift Hall, they could still gain entry. Moreover, he was willing to issue a document to help them skip the line.

As he spoke, the Right Pushe quickly instructed a subordinate to prepare the document.

Zhong Shan couldn't help but smile at the Right Pushe's resourcefulness. He truly was a capable official.

The official document was quickly prepared, and the Right Pushe handed it to Zhong Shan with respectful politeness.

"Honored guests, once you leave the Noble Guest House, turn right. The blue hall is the Gift Hall," the Right Pushe explained earnestly.

Zhong Shan smiled and replied, "Very well."

Meanwhile, the Left Pushe was still rolling his eyes, clearly disapproving of the Right Pushe's "courtesy." To him, this group was clearly here to cause trouble.

"Return my invitation," Zhong Shan said, glancing at the Left Pushe, who still held the black-gold invitation in his hand.

"Huh?" Both Pushe officials were taken aback.

The Left Pushe nearly erupted in anger again—how could they still be pretending after he had already exposed their fake invitation?

The Right Pushe, however, furrowed his brow in thought.

"Here," the Left Pushe said impatiently, handing the invitation back to Zhong Shan.

Zhong Shan accepted it with a smile, saying nothing further.

He carefully put away the black-gold invitation, took the official document, and led his group out of the Noble Guest House.

Once outside, Hao Meili, still feeling indignant, said, "Why did you even bother with them? We could just force our way in and see what Ying would do about it!"

"Let it go. We're in Great Qin, so we should follow their rules. They weren't intentionally rude, and they were actually quite polite, even giving us this document," Zhong Shan replied, shaking his head with a smile.

As someone who was used to being an emperor, Zhong Shan found the situation somewhat novel and amusing.

However, the Four Seas Dragon Princes had a different perspective. They were still convinced that the invitation was fake, but they were surprised that they could still obtain an official document. The politeness of Great Qin's officials left them in awe.

"Let's go to the Gift Hall. We can just offer some gifts and enter!" the East Sea Dragon Prince suggested eagerly.

Zhong Shan nodded, not overly concerned. He had come to celebrate the birthday and to enjoy the experience—there was no pressure at all.

As they walked away from the Noble Guest House, the two Pushe officials continued their conversation inside.

"Why did you give them an official document? They were clearly here to make trouble!" the Left Pushe grumbled, still displeased.

"It's the Sacred King's birthday celebration. Better to avoid unnecessary conflicts," the Right Pushe replied.

"But you've created more trouble by doing so! Now they might think Great Qin is easy to fool!" the Left Pushe retorted angrily.

"No, something feels off," the Right Pushe said, shaking his head thoughtfully.

"What do you mean, off?"

"The head of the house isn't here, so we can't be certain that the black-gold invitation is fake. Yes, forgeries exist, but no one would use black-gold to make a fake invitation. A small fragment of black-gold added to a magical artifact would enhance its quality. But them?" The Right Pushe shook his head again.

"Maybe some people are just wealthy and don't care about the cost?" the Left Pushe suggested dismissively.

"No, something still doesn't feel right. At the end, that man insisted on getting the black-gold invitation back. His attitude—he acted like the invitation was genuine!" the Right Pushe persisted, shaking his head in doubt.

"Impossible! If it were genuine, wouldn't he have refuted my accusations?" the Left Pushe replied, still unconvinced.

Shaking his head, the Right Pushe said, "I don't think he didn't refute you because it wasn't genuine. I think he didn't want to make things difficult for us. It felt as if he truly had a deep connection with Great Qin. Perhaps we just made a grave mistake by turning away an honored guest of Great Qin."

A hint of anxiety flashed in the Right Pushe's eyes as he considered the possibility.

"An honored guest? Impossible! Even if they were, they've been turned away. What more could you want?" the Left Pushe scoffed, still refusing to believe it.

"The head of the house may not be here, but we cannot afford to be careless about this. I need to relay this information immediately—one report to the head of the house and another directly to Xianyang. We need to verify if there are indeed guests with black-gold invitations. If there aren't, that's one thing, but if there are, then we've really made a mess of things!" the Right Pushe said, growing increasingly anxious.

"I don't care. If you want to report it, go ahead!" the Left Pushe retorted, still in a foul mood.

"Someone, come here!" The Right Pushe, decisive and efficient, immediately summoned someone to carry out the orders.

Meanwhile, Zhong Shan and his group, holding the official document from the Noble Guest House, made their way leisurely toward the Gift Hall on the west side.

The area around the Gift Hall was bustling with people, most of whom were flaunting their treasures. While these gifts might not seem impressive to Zhong Shan, to some lower-tier families, they were extraordinary. Offering a gift to the Sacred King could enhance their family's reputation, and if they were lucky enough to catch the Sacred King's attention, the rewards could be immeasurable.

It was much like a mortal family suddenly gaining the privilege to attend a grand gathering of celestial beings—they would naturally try to win the favor of the deities.

Great figures have their own ways of dealing with the world, while smaller figures have theirs.

"Penglai Zhao Clan presents five hundred luminous pearls, a hundred-foot purple coral, and a pair of Earthfire Ginseng!" a ceremonial officer announced.

As the gifts were reported, the crowd began to buzz with conversation.

"Is that enough?"

"Those gifts are worth at most eight thousand immortal stones. The minimum standard here is twenty thousand immortal stones!"

"Maybe, but that Earthfire Ginseng is quite rare. There might be a chance!"

"Perhaps, let's see what the ceremonial officer says..."

As Zhong Shan's group approached the entrance, it seemed as though an invisible force parted the crowd before them.

"What's going on here? You can't cut in line to offer gifts; everyone must wait their turn!" one of the ceremonial officers maintaining order said sternly.

"We have an official document from the Noble Guest House, which grants us priority!" the East Sea Dragon Prince immediately exclaimed.

The ceremonial officer took the document, reviewed it, and finally nodded. "Follow me."

To the surprise of everyone around them, Zhong Shan and his group were escorted to the front of the line.

At the front, there was a large jade table where eight officials from the Ministry of Rites were seated.

In front of them were people presenting their treasures—luminous pearls, purple coral, and Earthfire Ginseng. A man in a white robe was nervously waiting for the officials' decision.

The eight officials examined the items carefully and then conferred among themselves.

Finally, one of them spoke up.

"Normally, these items alone would not qualify you for entry, but the pair of Earthfire Ginseng is indeed a rare treasure. Very well, leave the items, and we will grant you three entry passes," the official announced.

"Thank you, my lord! Thank you, my lord!" The white-robed man expressed his gratitude profusely, clearly relieved and excited.

With a wave of the official's hand, the white-robed man respectfully took his leave, taking his now-approved entry passes with him.

"This is daylight robbery!" Hao Meili remarked with a look of astonishment.

"Alright, it's our turn now," said a man in a purple robe who stepped forward next. "I am from the Penglai Qian Clan, and I bring five pounds of dragon saliva incense, a thousand luminous pearls, a hundred stalks of immortal grass, ten Thousand-Autumn Fruits, and a hundred-foot purple jade heart!"

His tone was far more confident than that of the Zhao Clan representative earlier, likely because his gifts were significantly more valuable.

When he finished, the crowd erupted in gasps of admiration.

"The Penglai Qian Clan has such immense wealth!"

"Another gift worth a hundred thousand immortal stones!"

"They'll definitely gain entry to Xianyang!"

As the crowd continued to murmur, the official who had just spoken accepted the document from Zhong Shan's group.

The official examined the document and nodded.

"Penglai Qian Clan, please wait a moment."

To read the manga version, please click the YouTube link https://youtu.be/GnU613H6xm8