Chapter 20: Longevity Ii (1/2)
”Immortal? What's wrong?” Emperor Qin asked urgently.
Was he really treating me like an immortal?
Heh heh...
He looks about thirty or forty… already in his later years.
I remembered that the emperor died just over the age of fifty, which was already considered a long life.
People must have fallen into a terrible state due to the pursuit of immortality.
Wait a minute.
My mind spun rapidly.
An exaggerated expression appeared on my face.
”Oh no, oh no,” I despaired.
”What happened?” Emperor Qin raised his brows in question.
”The immortality drugs' have all been burnt,” I informed him dully, looking at the Emperor out of the corner of my eyes.
Five seconds...
Ten seconds...
Dead silence.
”Immortality drug? The human would be able to live forever after eating it?” The corner of the Emperor's mouth curled up.
”Aye, do you know how old I am?” I asked.
”No.”
”2069 years,” I lied smoothly.
”2000 years? Really?” The emperor was in shock.
”My name is Xu Fu, an immortal of Penglai Island. Because of the explosion, I hid in the rock but I was ejected. Actually, this immortality drug isn't that powerful. It only extends your life and slows the aging process. Why else do you think my hair has turned white?” I told him.
”Long life? So there's such a drug in Penglai?” Emperor Qin asked nervously.
”No more. There's nothing left due to the fire,” I answered, clenching my fists tightly.
I was about to succeed.
”You're an immortal. Don't you have any solution?”
”I do but I'll need a lot of things.”
”A lot of things? I'm the Emperor. I can give you anything. Speak.”
”3,000 virgin males and females, a hundred carpenters, scholars, officials, boatmen, and doctors.”
The island state may be gone but I can still disguise myself as Xu Fu and get the virgin males and females to rebuild it.
”Wise Emperor, this isn't right. Why harm the country?” the advisor warned.
I knew it wasn't going to be this simple.
”Why do you need the virgins?” Emperor Qin questioned.
”I need their spiritual influence, but of course, the mysteries of heaven mustn't be revealed.”
”Let me consider. It's not a small number after all.”
”You won't believe this, but I can use a tenth of the resources to create a small pill for you first. The real pill can guarantee 500 additional years of life but a small one can only guarantee 50 additional years.”
”So that's 300 virgin males and females, 10 carpenters, scholars, officials, boatmen and doctors for a small immortality pill?” the Emperor smiled.
”How does that sound?” I enticed.
”Alright, but you cannot leave the palace, and I'll only give you a hundred days to complete it,” the Emperor stated.
I nodded.
Inside the side chamber, I drew a picture of a cannabis leaf with a writing brush.
Yup, cannabis.
Breathing it would make them happy, develop hallucinations and also make time move slower.
Chewing it would be less effective but still feasible.
I looked at the ancient map and made a guess as to where Yunnan should've been positioned at that time. ”Here.”
A scholar elaborated, ”A nation with a hundred rivers and little land.”
”Bring the children there to search for this.” I folded the portrait and stuffed it into the official's hand.
I stayed in the palace for 63 days, each day pa.s.sing like a year.
When the scholar returned to open the pouch, I saw all kinds of herbs.
He cried out, ”Thirty kids died for these.”
I categorized the herbs, leaving only the real cannabis.
I smashed them into powder to create twenty pills.
I consumed one. Bitter.
The result wasn't obvious but I did feel light-headed and my world started to slow down.