Chapter 1: The Return of the Soul (01)

In the fourth year of the Jian Yuan era, during the winter solstice.

This is the day when the emperor performs the ancestral rites at the ancestral temple.

At the third watch, the sky was pitch black. Emperor Liu Che stood alone before the ancestral spirits of his forebears.

All the ministers knelt outside the Great Ancestral Temple, and the rest of the Liu family could only prostrate from a distance behind him. At this moment, the distinction between sovereign and subjects seemed as vast as the heavens.

“Commanded by Heaven, may you live long and prosper.”

Liu Che could not fathom the feelings of Emperor Qin Shi Huang when he carved these eight characters on the imperial seal, but standing in this position, performing these mysterious rituals, it was easy to imagine himself as a god detached from the mortal world.

Everything was proceeding smoothly. This was the fourth year of Liu Che’s reign, and he was performing the ancestral rites for the fourth time. There could be no mistake.

But then, an unexpected event occurred.

As Liu Che stood before the spirit of Emperor Gao Liu Bang, a sudden wind arose.

What was strange was that the wind came from within the Great Ancestral Temple.

Outside the temple, there was not a breath of wind, yet inside the temple, the wind howled like fury. Cups, plates, and ritual vessels were thrown to the ground, and the soul banners hanging from the beams and columns were blown to the floor, their crashing sounds filling the air.

Liu Che immediately thought of four words: an ominous sign!

The ancient belief in spirits still held sway in Western Han, and both the court and the people were deeply superstitious. This strange wind could easily be interpreted as a sign of imperial misdeeds and divine punishment from the ancestors.

Liu Che tightly gripped the incense herbs used for the ritual and gritted his teeth, continuing to walk toward the ancestral spirits.

He could not allow himself to bear such a crime!

Behind him, cries of guilt and apology from the Liu family echoed, but Liu Che knew he could not stop. If he stopped now, it would truly be the end.

A censer was lifted by the wind and struck Liu Che on the forehead.

Liu Che was knocked senseless for a moment, but he could not afford to feel the pain. Instead, five words immediately appeared in his mind: a great omen of misfortune!

He had shed blood during the ancestral ritual, a fatal misfortune that could topple him from the throne!

Yet, this ritual had to continue. He could not stop. As long as he kept going, there was still a glimmer of hope.

Blood from his forehead clouded his vision, but Liu Che clutched the incense and moved forward—

At this moment, the hope he longed for appeared.

His eyes were clouded with blood, and everything before him appeared blood-red and blurry. Thus, he could not clearly see the face of the person suddenly standing before him.

At first, he only heard the person’s voice, young yet authoritative: “Are you the current Emperor of Han, Liu Che, the fourth-generation descendant of Emperor Gao?”

A commotion broke out among the kneeling royal family members behind him. Someone was saying, “Who is this madman who dares to enter the Great Ancestral Temple?”

Another voice, smaller, said, “This madman’s face… looks exactly like the portrait of Emperor Gao!”

Liu Che’s heart suddenly began to beat violently. He remembered that he was standing before the spirit of Emperor Gao in the ancestral temple, and an unbelievable possibility flashed in his mind.

He suddenly rubbed his eyes and looked up at the person who had suddenly appeared in front of him.

This person was dressed in royal emperor’s attire, and his young face looked exactly like the image of the great emperor hanging behind him!

The Great Ancestor, the founding emperor of the Han dynasty, Liu Bang!

Liu Che decisively took the incense that was meant to be offered before the spirit tablet and stuffed it into the man’s hands. He then knelt on both knees, performed a grand bow, and said, “The fourth-generation grandson of the Great Ancestor Emperor, Liu Che, pays his respects to the Great Ancestor Emperor! The Great Ancestor Emperor has descended, showing divine grace—this is a great omen! May Heaven bless the Han Dynasty, and may the Han family’s reign last forever!”

As his voice fell, an eerie silence enveloped the entire ancestral hall.

After three breaths, the descendants of the Liu family, startled by the strong wind, knelt and performed the grand bow, singing in unison, “We pay our respects to the Great Ancestor Emperor! Heaven bless the Han Dynasty, and may the Han family’s reign last forever!”

“Liu Che has offered me a bundle of incense.” Lin Jiu stood beside Liu Bang, holding the bloody incense in her hand.

The system sighed tiredly, unwilling to speak.

————————

The story begins three days ago.

Three days ago, Lin Jiu died and was bound to a costume system after her death.

This system took her to the Western Han Dynasty, promising her boundless beauty, eternal youth, and endless luxury clothing.

The condition was that she would need to exchange her feelings for Emperor Wu of Han.

Lin Jiu agreed—the system felt she had no choice but to accept.

The system then asked, “How is your knowledge of history?”

Lin Jiu replied, “It’s terrible.”

The system was delighted, “Great!”

“You don’t need to know history; you just need to be firm in one belief: you must—by any means necessary—cling to the thigh of the Emperor of Han!”

“To gain affection points, first, you need to find a way to make contact with Liu Che.”

The system began providing Lin Jiu with crucial information.

It was now the fourth year of the Jianyuan era, the fourth year of Emperor Wu of Han’s reign.

Three days ago, his closest companion, Han Yan, passed away.

The system said, “We can use this incident as a starting point.”

Lin Jiu listened quietly.

The system continued, “You’re in luck, your initial outfit randomly gave you the SSR [Soul’s Return].”

“This outfit carries a one-time active skill, [Summon Soul], which can perform a summoning of a deceased soul in front of Liu Che.”

“Liu Che believes in divine matters, so he will surely be interested.”

“Han Yan was of low status, and after her death, only her residual soul remains. The difficulty of summoning her is low, perfect for a novice like you.”

“I understand,” Lin Jiu said.

She lifted her long skirt and activated the [Summon Soul] skill.

The wind suddenly grew stronger, and there were faint sorrowful sounds in the breeze.

“Soul, return—” Lin Jiu chanted.

Han Yan, Han Yan, Han Yan! The system chanted in its mind.

“Return—” Lin Jiu continued.

Han Yan, Han Yan, Han Yan! The system nearly shouted aloud.

“Liu Bang—” Lin Jiu finally chanted.

System:?

Liu, Liu Bang?

What “Bang”? Liu what “Bang”?

The wind grew even stronger, and the ghostly cries howled into the sky. The dry branches and withered grass were instantly broken.

The system was dumbfounded as a translucent figure appeared before them. It was faintly visible in black robes with a crown—clearly, it was Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty.

The system shocked asked Lin Jiu, “Where’s the summoning of Han Yan?”

Lin Jiu was even more shocked, “Wasn’t it supposed to be the Emperor of Han? Han Yan isn’t the Emperor of Han!”

The system went crazy, “What Emperor of Han? How could the Emperor of Han be summoned by such a minor skill—”

At this point, the system realized it nearly let something slip, and immediately changed the subject, “But how do we approach Liu Che without Han Yan? Even if Liu Bang can be summoned, Liu Che didn’t see this summoning process.”

The system became more and more dejected, looking at the fully materialized Liu Bang.

Liu Bang, having returned from the dead through [Summon Soul], had a youthful face. The twelve patterns on his clothing swayed in the wind.

At first, he appeared somewhat confused—after all, anyone resurrected would be confused.

However, this fragile look lasted only a short moment. Soon after, he raised his hand to straighten his clothes and crown, and his expression became stern and dignified. His posture was as imposing as Mount Tai, despite standing in the wilderness surrounded by wild grass. He appeared as though he was standing at the top of the imperial court, surrounded by throngs of people.

Lin Jiu said in a tone of surprise, “This is the founding emperor Liu Bang.”

The system became even more dejected, “Yes, this is Liu Bang, who has ruined the [Summon Soul] skill.”

Lin Jiu was even more surprised, “It hasn’t been ruined, Liu Bang is the Emperor of Han, his thigh is thick enough, right?”

“It is thick, but with Liu Bang’s personality, status, and intelligence, it’s hard for us to cling to him. We’ll be doomed.”

Lin Jiu thought for a moment, “Seems like it’s a bit difficult.”

The system was about to speak when she said, “Looks like I’ll have to use your method.”

?

The system was confused, thinking, based on what you said, it seems like I have a method. If I could control Liu Bang, would I have chosen you as a host? How interesting.

Then she said the first words to Liu Bang, “I am the Goddess of Cloud Mountain.”

The system spat out water, “What the heck? What are you?”

Then it remembered that it had said Liu Che believed in divine matters… but what the heck is this? Can this be used like this?

Liu Bang also seemed to want to spit water, but he had no water in his mouth.

Moreover, Lin Jiu was staring at him, her deep black eyes never blinking, and her face showed no emotion, an extreme coldness and composure that didn’t seem human.

Liu Bang unconsciously stared at her face. He could tell she was a young girl, and very beautiful.

But he suddenly realized that he couldn’t describe the beauty of this girl. She seemed innocent, yet also dazzling; she appeared pitiful, yet also full of joy.

Her face seemed to reflect the faces of all the women Liu Bang had ever seen, but she clearly had only one face. She should have only one face!

Liu Bang knew that he was no longer human now, and of course, he didn’t sweat, but he still felt the torment of being drenched in sweat.

He dared not look at the girl’s face anymore. Instead, he bowed deeply. “Liu Bang of the Han Dynasty, pays respects to the Goddess of Yunshan.”

No response came.

He had already bent down, yet he still felt a gaze deeply pressing on his back, a gaze that seemed heavy, heavier than a thousand pounds!

Liu Bang finally dared not treat it lightly anymore and put away the testing thoughts that had arisen earlier.

He said, “I have been neglectful.”

Then, he adjusted his attire, knelt on both knees, and again said, “Liu Bang of the Han Dynasty, pays respects to the Goddess of Yunshan.”

At this moment, his posture was the proper etiquette for an emperor when offering sacrifices to the gods.

Seemingly satisfied with this, the heavy gaze withdrew.

But still, no sound came, and the Goddess did not respond.

Liu Bang felt that he had never been this quick-witted in his life. He immediately said, “I was in a dying kingdom, in a daze day after day, and I was fortunate that the Goddess saved me. This great kindness cannot be repaid. I wish to offer sacrifices to the Goddess with the strength of the entire nation.”

This time, there was finally a response. The invisible pressure disappeared. Liu Bang, as if given a second chance, got up and heard the Goddess say, “The whole nation… for… sacrifices.”

Her voice was as pure and sweet as jade, but her words were clumsy and awkward, as if she didn’t know how to speak the language of humans. Her tone was devoid of any emotional color.

Although her voice was sweet, it carried an eerie sense, as if it was both human and not human.

Upon hearing these words, Liu Bang suddenly remembered the ancient myths of barbaric gods and demons, walking between heaven and earth, with tiger teeth, leopard tails, wild hair, and devouring humans.

The gods and demons suddenly looked at him.

Liu Bang immediately understood. “On the Winter Solstice, the Emperor of Han will go to the ancestral temple to worship his ancestors. I must appear and make him offer sacrifices to the Goddess.”

—–

The system had been watching up until now, from being dumbfounded to becoming numb, like in a dream, “Is this operation even possible?

“Is this person really Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty?”

Please don’t tell me the summoning went wrong!

Lin Jiu asked the system, “What is Liu Bang’s greatest characteristic?”

The system hesitated for a moment, “He’s good at knowing and using people?”

“Wrong,” Lin Jiu said. “He’s good at admitting defeat.”