Chapter 540: The Sky Has No End

"Brave men, could you take this hemp sack off my head? It's stifling in here."

The hemp sack blocked his sight, but the fading light and the hard brick beneath his feet told Xu Shi they were probably in a dungeon.

He had no idea how many times he'd pleaded by now. He remembered being abducted on the road from Langya Commandery city to the dock at Langya Terrace.

Those attackers were fully armed, yet swift and ruthless — they killed Xu Shi's men without a moment's hesitation, sparing only his life. They'd also forced a drugged potion down his throat, one that kept him unconscious for days on end in that cramped space, and now that he was awake, he had no idea what time it was.

No matter what, Xu Shi understood one thing: he was never going to make the meeting at Chengshan Cape.

Xu Shi, courtesy name Fu, was a man of Langya. From his father Xu Ping's generation onward, their family had been fangshi. The fangshi circle was actually quite small — Xu Ping had once served Lord Pingyuan of Zhao, Lord Chang'an, and others; Lu Ao had been Xu Ping's disciple, and had in turn taught Xu Shi.

Xu Shi, however, was different from the average fangshi — he truly made his living on the sea, and his skill at reading the stars to determine position was second to none, not even the most seasoned fishermen of Qi. After all, the search for immortals could not always hug the shore; once they left the coast, judging direction fell to a star-gazer like him.

This was precisely why Lu Ao had so strongly recommended him to Qin Shi Huang. The fangshi had even prepared a grand entrance routine for Xu Shi, just as they had once staged Anqi Sheng's appearance: from the vast, misty sea off Chengshan Cape, Xu Shi would come riding wind and waves in a tiny skiff, drift ashore with an ethereal air, and kneel in reverence before the sovereign...

What a splendid beginning it would have been! But Lu Sheng and the others never imagined that before Xu Shi could even board a boat, someone would snatch him away!

At first, Xu Shi had rebuked them in his capacity as a guest of the Langya Commandery Governor, then probed using the customary underworld cant, and finally resorted to pleading, offering to pay a ransom.

But the men who had seized him never uttered a single word. Silent as one icy sword after another, they merely shoved him along, marching him into this prison, dumping him onto a pile of straw, and clamping shackles onto his hands.

Amid rustling whispers, a figure came to a stop before Xu Shi, patted him, and said with a laugh, "Master Xu, my apologies for the offense."

"Who are you people?" Xu Shi raised his head and asked.

"Who?"

The middle-aged man burst out laughing. "Sea bandits, of course! Lord Canghai, Yongmen Sima, Tian Du — we specialize in killing Qin-collaborating Qi men like you. Surely you've heard of us?"

"Sea bandits?"

Xu Shi laughed too. The leaders of those so-called "sea bandits" were old acquaintances of his. This whole scheme of the fangshi petitioning the Qin First Emperor to seek immortals overseas was, in fact, inextricably tied to Lord Canghai and his associates.

But these secrets could not be spoken aloud. Xu Shi could only voice his most basic deduction...

"In Langya, in Jiaodong — where would you find sea bandits speaking with a Nan Commandery accent? If I'm not mistaken, you gentlemen must be retainers of the Jiaodong Commandery Governor!"

After a moment of silence, Gong Ao, his identity exposed, burst into hearty laughter.

"Master Xu is truly formidable. At this point, there's no harm in you knowing — my commandery governor has had his eye on you for half a year now (see Chapter 498), having men watch you with care. Your every move, the governor has followed with great interest! And now he has specially dispatched me to seize you."

"Given the Jiaodong Commandery Governor's standing, if he sends his men disguised as officials on official business, they'd naturally carry tallies and passes — no checkpoint or bridge would dare stop or search them. If I'm not mistaken, I'm already in Jiaodong by now, am I not? In Jimo?"

Xu Shi shook his head as he spoke. "No, it wouldn't be that fast, nor worth the risk of bringing me all the way to Jimo. I've heard that the Jiaodong Commandery Governor is building a small town at Buxiang Village, between Langya and Jimo, intending to establish a fishing port. I've likely been brought there, haven't I?"

"Master Xu is truly clever."

Gong Ao applauded, and with one motion pulled the hemp sack off Xu Shi's head, letting him gulp down great breaths of air — though in this dim dungeon, Gong Ao's face remained impossible to make out.

That was the full extent of Gong Ao's mercy. The heavy cell door slammed shut, and as Xu Shi struggled to rise, all he caught was Gong Ao's fading voice, drifting through the crack in the door:

"Noon has come, but today, you're going nowhere!"

"The sky is nearly dark."

Watching the sun sink steadily westward, Qin Shi Huang rose to his feet, his face brimming with fury, and turned to look at the fangshi, who were in utter disarray.

"Where is Xu Shi?"

"Your Majesty, Xu Shi, he..."

Hou Sheng was drenched in sweat. By their arrangement, Xu Shi should have reached the vicinity of Chengshan Cape as early as the day before, waiting only for noon to arrive before sailing into view with dramatic flair. But they had waited and waited, and not a single soul had appeared!

Had Xu Shi's boat capsized halfway? Had Xu Shi suddenly decided not to come? Whatever excuse the fangshi might conjure, it was useless. Qin Shi Huang was an exceedingly proud man — in this world, others waited for him; never had he waited for anyone else.

The only reason he had lingered a few extra shichen today was because Anqi Sheng had claimed, "Xu Shi may have encountered a mirage at sea and entered an immortal mountain."

But did they have any idea how precious the Emperor's time was? Behind the imperial carriage, stack after stack of memorials still awaited His Majesty's lamp-lit review!

A ruined plan, wasted time — in Qin Shi Huang's eyes, even death would be too light a punishment!

The Emperor's face was dark, and he spoke not a word. Seeing this, Chancellor Li Si knew Qin Shi Huang was enraged to the extreme. He immediately swept a cold sneer over the assembled fangshi and said:

"Anqi Sheng claimed there would be a mirage at Chengshan Cape, yet none was seen today. Lu Sheng said Xu Shi would come pay homage at noon, yet Xu Shi is nowhere to be found. Chamberlain for Law Enforcement Ye, according to the statutes, what crime is this?"

Ye Teng replied unhurriedly, "Chancellor, when commoners fail to meet a labor service deadline, it is already a crime — how much more so when Xu Shi has failed to meet a deadline set by the Son of Heaven! He has committed the crime of deceiving the sovereign! This offense is unpardonable! As for Lu Sheng and his ilk, they too are guilty of reckless speech and broken faith, and may be punished by collective liability."

The fangshi turned pale, but Lu Sheng alone refused to give up. His eyes remained fixed on the sea, and only when he saw a small skiff cut across the water, heading toward the Chengshan dock, did he say, "A boat is coming — a Langya boat. Your Majesty, this may be Xu Shi!"

But the man aboard was not Xu Shi. It was a messenger sent by the Langya Commandery Governor, who reported that Xu Shi had been abducted on his way to the Langya dock. By the time the Langya authorities dispatched men to the scene of the crime, he had already vanished without a trace...

"Abducted?" Lu Ao immediately shot a look at Heifu, the Jiaodong Commandery Governor, who stood aloof as if the matter had nothing to do with him — but he dared not accuse him openly.

Heifu, for his part, was perfectly composed. He analyzed, "This is likely the work of sea bandits."

"What makes you say that?" Lu Ao shot back.

"The rebel sea bandits, hearing that Xu Shi intended to seek immortal islands and longevity for His Majesty, would naturally want to kill him as quickly as possible. That Master Xu, I fear, is now in grave danger..." Heifu said, shaking his head with an air of regret.

Lu Ao was eighty percent certain it was not sea bandits but Heifu himself behind this — yet he could only swallow his bitterness. Could he openly reveal that they, too, had dealings with those "sea bandits"? He could only grind his teeth, swallow the blood, and say:

"Your Majesty, this act is a direct assault upon Your Majesty's path to longevity. The authorities must be ordered to pursue and capture the culprits, to search thoroughly for Xu Shi's whereabouts, and to bring the ringleaders to justice..."

"Enough!"

But by now, Qin Shi Huang's mind had long since moved past Xu Shi, and even past the quest for immortality itself. All he felt was that he had spent this entire day here, playing the fool!

Today's events — even if Xu Shi had indeed been abducted — had, taken as a whole, shown him one thing about these fangshi who kept disappointing him: they were utterly unreliable!

Could relying on such people to find immortal mountains and seek longevity truly be trusted?

The more Qin Shi Huang thought, the angrier he grew. Finally, he issued his decree: "Order the authorities to search for Xu Shi's whereabouts — I want him alive or his body dead. Furthermore, We have shown the fangshi excessive favor, causing them to grow arrogant and repeatedly miss their appointed times. Strip them of their previously granted noble ranks! Let them continue their work as commoners!"

"Your Majesty! Your servants..." Lu Sheng and Han Zhong were utterly dumbfounded and moved to argue further, but Qin Shi Huang waved his hand impatiently:

"Dismiss the fangshi. For now, We do not wish to see any of you again!"

After the fangshi had withdrawn in utter disgrace, seeing that Qin Shi Huang's anger had still not abated, no one dared bring the matter up again. Only Heifu stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the venture of seeking immortals at sea is not something that can be accomplished overnight. Thus, whether we have Xu Shi or not is, in truth, of no consequence..."

Qin Shi Huang glared at him. "What do you mean by that?"

All eyes turned to Heifu, who spoke to Qin Shi Huang with deep sincerity: "In the past, when Your Majesty was in Longxi, you spoke of seeking the Kingdom of the Queen Mother of the West, but you had no intention of doing as King Mu of Zhou did — leading a retinue into distant, uncharted lands. That, you said, would be an irresponsible act of abandoning the realm. Your Majesty declared that you would never take half a step beyond the borders of Great Qin!"

"And now, if Your Majesty were to follow the fangshi's advice and rashly board a ship into the Eastern Sea to seek elusive, untraceable immortal mountains — how would that differ from King Mu of Zhou abandoning his kingdom to enter the Western Regions all those years ago? Why not proceed as we previously discussed: grant your servant one year's time to first purge the coastal pirates, to quell the vicious waves of Jiaodong. Once this sea has become an inner lake of Great Qin, once the sea routes have been charted — then Your Majesty may once again grace Jiaodong with your presence and dispatch men to pursue the immortal quest. That would not be too late!"

Qin Shi Huang nodded silently, and only after a long while said: "I hear from Commandant of Justice Ye that your wife is with child again, and for this second son's name, you intend to choose 'Subduer of Waves'?"

"Exactly so." Heifu bowed his head deeply.

"For attacking the Xiongnu you chose Breaker of Captives, for pacifying sea bandits you choose Subduer of Waves... truly devoted to your duty." Qin Shi Huang sighed with deep emotion for a long moment, then helped Heifu to his feet.

"Compared to those alchemists who can hardly accomplish great things, you, my minister, are a loyal servant of Great Qin, a pure vassal capable of getting things done!"

Hearing these words, Heifu hurriedly gave thanks. Li Si voiced his agreement. Zhao Gao and his younger brother Zhao Cheng exchanged a glance, their meaning unclear. Ye Teng stroked his beard with a smile. Zhang Cang let out a long sigh of relief.

Qin Shi Huang's mind was made up. He looked once more toward the stone tablet at Chengshan Cape that read "Heaven's End" and asked: "Who erected this?"

The learned Li Si replied: "Your Majesty, it was erected when King Min of Qi toured east and reached this place. King Min of Qi believed that Chengshan Cape was the eastern boundary of Qi's territory, and also the end of the known world."

"Petty. Tian Di was truly petty."

Qin Shi Huang called King Min of Qi by his given name and shook his head: "By common understanding, east of here there is no more land — it is indeed the eastern boundary of Huaxia."

"But they were wrong!"

Amid the crashing waves, Qin Shi Huang proclaimed his sovereignty over the distant sea horizon: "The Odes of Qin say 'in the east there is the Eastern Sea,' not 'in the east we reach the Eastern Sea'!"

He glanced at Li Si and gave the order: "Chancellor, have the words on this stone tablet erased and recarved in Qin seal script."

Li Si acknowledged: "Your Majesty, what words should be carved?"

"Within 'Heaven's End,' add just one character."

Qin Shi Huang declared proudly: "Heaven Has No End!"

"Just as my domain shall not be bounded by the coast — the immortal isles in the sea, the unknown other Nine Regions, all must be explored one by one and made into the territory of Qin! Under Heaven, no land is not the king's land, and Great Qin's heaven has no end!"

The assembled ministers all praised him profusely, saying that although only one character was changed, the breadth of vision was like the difference between heaven and earth...

Heifu had reminded him — back when they spoke of opening the Western Regions and seeking the kingdom of the Queen Mother of the West, Qin Shi Huang had said: strike through!

The east was the same.

Penglai? Yingzhou? Fangzhang? If they truly exist...

"Strike through!"

"Your Majesty's heroic vision and great boldness!" None dared oppose him. Everyone clapped and cheered. Regardless of whether expanding the realm across the sea was realistic, all fawned and flattered.

Only Heifu, amid his congratulations, sighed inwardly.

"After all this circling around, I still haven't escaped this vicious cycle of 'carrying firewood to put out a fire'! The only difference is who will lead this matter — me or the alchemists!"

(End of Chapter)