I traveled back to the Qin Dynasty, and the First Emperor begged me to become his empress.

Chapter 200 Discovery of the City

Faced with the Qin army's fierce offensive and overwhelming momentum, the indigenous people, though fearless in their charge, were outnumbered and outmatched by the well-trained and well-equipped Qin troops. Before long, their carefully constructed defenses were easily torn apart like paper, collapsing instantly. As the saying goes, a defeated army collapses like a house of cards; seeing their own heavy casualties, the indigenous chieftain knew the situation was hopeless and immediately shouted for a retreat. Then, groups of indigenous people turned and fled like a tidal wave.

Seeing this, Li Xin was not about to give up. He led his men in hot pursuit. After running for about half an hour, Li Xin's eyes suddenly lit up—a city appeared not far ahead! The city gates were tightly closed, and the city walls were low, but it was indeed a city.

This sudden sight struck Li Xin like a ton of bricks, leaving him speechless and utterly astonished! He stared wide-eyed at the city before him in disbelief, pondering to himself, "How could a city suddenly appear out of nowhere? Could there be some unknown secret hidden beneath this seemingly desolate land?"

Previously, the indigenous people they had encountered all lived in simple thatched huts, leading a primitive and rustic life. Yet now, a city had suddenly appeared before them—this was utterly unbelievable!

Li Xin raced to the city's outskirts, but faced with this mysterious and unpredictable city, he dared not act rashly or venture in. After all, if a city existed here, it was highly likely that it was also equipped with corresponding defensive forces. Moreover, the specific situation inside the city, such as the number of people living there and whether they possessed lethal weapons, was currently completely blank and unknown. Therefore, after careful consideration, Li Xin decisively decided to temporarily halt his advance.

At the same time, he quickly issued orders for his soldiers to capture all the natives who had not yet escaped in the previous fierce battle, and to extract detailed information about the city from them. According to the count, his army had just successfully killed over 200 native enemies and captured more than 100.

Hearing the captured natives babbling incomprehensible words, Li Xin felt a splitting headache. Left with no other choice, he shouted again, "Quickly, find Liu Xiaoxi, the one who understands the native language, and have him thoroughly interrogate him to find out exactly what this city is all about!"

Upon receiving the order, a soldier quickly obeyed and went to fetch Liu Xiaoxi. Liu Xiaoxi was born into an ordinary family in the Qin state, the youngest of three older sisters and two older brothers. Due to their poverty, they couldn't afford his tuition, but this didn't prevent Liu Xiaoxi from displaying extraordinary talent—he possessed a memory beyond that of ordinary people from a young age.

Despite lacking formal education, Liu Xiaoxi always found ways to acquire knowledge. In the village lived a renowned and erudite man who often enjoyed grandstanding and boasting. Liu Xiaoxi would go to listen to this man's "bragging" every day, and over time, through this constant exposure, he accumulated a vast amount of knowledge. Particularly noteworthy was the ability to memorize all the newly promulgated Qin laws after hearing them only once.

Who could have predicted such a strange twist of fate! Liu Xiaoxi had only been in the army for six months when he was assigned to follow General Li Xin on his journey to conquer Baga Island.

During the voyage, many of his fellow passengers suffered from seasickness, but Liu Xiaoxi was completely unaffected. He was deeply captivated by the vast, boundless blue ocean before him, and whenever he gazed at the endless sea, an indescribable sense of comfort welled up within him.

Liu Xiaoxi had a natural love for listening to others. So, whenever he had free time, he would sit quietly to the side, listening attentively to conversations, and secretly pondering which words were false and which were heartfelt truths.

Finally, the ship arrived at its destination, Baga Island. Here, Liu Xiaoxi had his first opportunity to interact with the local indigenous people. The unique, babbling language they spoke instantly piqued his interest. Liu Xiaoxi would always find time to listen to the conversations and exchanges between the indigenous people almost every day.

As the days went by, Liu Xiaoxi's familiarity with these unfamiliar languages ​​deepened. Gradually, he was no longer content with simply listening; instead, he bravely took the first step and began to try to communicate with them in his still somewhat unfamiliar indigenous language.

At first, the communication wasn't smooth sailing. Liu Xiaoxi often made mistakes due to inaccurate pronunciation or inappropriate word choice, but he never got discouraged; instead, he became more determined with each setback. He practiced diligently day after day for three whole months. Hard work pays off, and now Liu Xiaoxi is fluent in most of the indigenous language.

Liu Xiaoxi's exceptional language skills did not escape Li Xin's keen eyes. Soon, Li Xin noticed Liu Xiaoxi's extraordinary talent and greatly admired it. Therefore, from that time on, whenever Li Xin went on a mission, he would always take Liu Xiaoxi with him.

Following Li Xin's instructions, Liu Xiaoxi walked straight towards the terrified natives and loudly asked, "Who among you knows anything about that city?" However, the scene fell into dead silence in response to Liu Xiaoxi's question; no one was willing to answer him.

Seeing this scene, Liu Xiaoxi did not flinch. He raised his voice again and repeated: "Question and answer are the occasion and death. (You must answer the question to survive, otherwise you will die!)" When he said this, his eyes became extremely cold, revealing a chilling intimidation.

Finally, a few timid natives began to waver, exchanging bewildered glances with fear and hesitation in their eyes. But at the same time, some fiercely independent natives remained fearless, even shouting curses: "Bakayaro, omaetachi kokutae!" The scene quickly became tense and chaotic.

Liu Xiaoxi stared expressionlessly at the panicked natives before him, completely unaffected by their commotion. He coldly declared, "I'll count to three. If no one answers my question by then, you can all go and meet your ancestors!"

Upon hearing this, the natives erupted in uproar, shouting and cursing Liu Xiaoxi incessantly. Some seemed to want to say something, but when they looked around, they found that no one dared to step forward. A tense and eerie silence fell over the scene.

Seeing this, Liu Xiaoxi began counting without hesitation: "One...two..." Just as he was about to shout "three," someone finally shouted loudly: "I know!" This sudden shout broke the deadlock, and everyone's eyes were instantly focused on this brave man.

Liu Xiaoxi gestured to his men, ordering them to bring out the person who had been shouting. Seeing someone take the lead, the others, who had been hesitant, seemed to find their anchor and joined in the shouting, indicating they also knew the answer. Watching this, Liu Xiaoxi revealed a barely perceptible smile, clearly very satisfied with the situation.

He nodded slightly and said, "Very well, in that case, let's begin."