Legend of Fu Yao

Dressed in robes as white as snow, this man had a calm disposition while he used his one-of-a-kind teacup and unique tea leaves. Not even a fly dared to be within three feet of him.

Zong Yue.

Upon seeing him, Meng Fuyao instinctively wanted to leave. Just as she turned around, the sharp-tongued man spoke, “We haven’t met for some time, and General Meng’s ability to seduce men has become better than before; you never lack their company.”

Hearing that, Yun Hen’s eyebrows twitched, and anger flashed in his eyes. Meng Fuyao tugged his sleeve and whispered, “He’s just like that, ignore him. At least he’s useful as a doctor.” Then, she turned back and smiled. “Yes, look, you’re here to add on to the count as well.”

Zong Yue sipped on his tea and said, “At least I’m useful as a doctor.”

Meng Fuyao laughed sheepishly and paced up and down around him, showing her teeth. At first, Zong Yue pretended to not see her and calmly drank his tea. It was only until moments later that he let out a gasp, as though he had just noticed her. “Eh? You have a new makeup style? How outstanding, a celestial aura that belongs to immortals,” he exclaimed.

Meng Fuyao caressed her broken tooth and sighed. “His personality is just shaped in this way…”

When Doctor Zong Yue had finally finished his obnoxious remarks, he pulled Meng Fuyao into the inner room, inspected her teeth, and asked his men to prepare some materials. Filling teeth was also a skill even in ancient times, but to Zong Yue, who had nimble hands since birth, it was merely a piece of cake. He used a mixture of amalgam made from tin, silver, and foil to make fake teeth. Afraid that the silver tooth would affect the appearance, he specially crafted a very small cover.

Meng Fuyao held the tooth in her hands and could not stop remarking at how real it looked, as she did not know how it could have been made.

Then, Zong Yue pulled her to another room. Half a tooth was hard to install, so he might as well pluck her entire tooth. So, Ya Lanzhu, Yun Hen and the guinea pig soon heard screams that seemed to belong to a slaughtered pig ringing in their ears — it was rounds after rounds of “Ouch- painful- ouch -“.

Ya Lanzhu asked Yun Hen in a daze, “She didn’t even frown when she was so badly injured before. What’s with her screams now that it’s only extracting a tooth?”

Yun Hen also could not understand Meng Fuyao’s mannerism, and he threw a confused look towards the guinea pig, which had been with Meng Fuyao for the longest time.

The guinea pig gnawed at his fruit and could not bother to answer such a dumb question – when she was fighting with her life, no one would bother even if she cried in pain so what was the point of shouting? Now that someone was paying attention to her, naturally, she would howl in pain.

Indeed, Meng Fuyao requested for a scrumptious fee as a treat for her injured tooth, but Zong Yue coldly said, “Your tooth has not yet solidified. Porridge is the only option.”

Meng Fuyao furrowed her brows and could not stop sighing. But she was conveniently ignored by Zong Yue, who was counting the herbs in his medical pouch. Suddenly, he let out a soft sigh.

Meng Fuyao curiously asked, “Why?”

Zong Yue answered, “We are still short of one herb for the antidote.”

“Really?” Meng Fuyao remarked in joy, but that happiness was only short-lived. He added, “I heard that this last herb can only be found in the Changqing Shrine in Qiongcang, and I cannot enter it.”

Meng Fuyao’s eyes turned lifeless, and she accidentally drank the porridge through her nose. Moments later, she sighed grudgingly.

It seemed that she had a tangled affinity with the Changqing Shrine in her previous life. No matter what she wanted to do, it all boiled down to that fateful spot.

Remembering the bead that Moon Soul gifted, she took it out for Zong Yue to see. Zong Yue’s expression changed, and after hearing the whole story from Meng Fuyao, he exhaled. “Seems that it really is true that good people don’t live long, but bad people have better luck,” he commented.

Meng Fuyao was oblivious to the first part of his comment. She asked in surprise, “It’s good stuff?”

Zong Yue took the bead from her and carefully split it into two halves. After soaking them in snow lotus and alcohol, he placed them in a cool place and instructed, “Take it during midnight and operate three cycles of your inner energy. In the future, if you keep training during the brightest time of the night, I’ll guarantee that your martial arts skills will rise by a level, and you will enjoy endless benefits.”

Meng Fuyao stared pettily at the small half left and questioned, “What about the other half?”

“You can’t use so much now, keep the other half,” replied Zong Yue. “Use it after you progress two more levels and the effect will be extraordinary.”

After contemplating for a moment, Meng Fuyao took out the box that Cloud Soul gave her and said, “Mongolian doctor, you cured so many of my diseases, but I’ve never paid you for it. I will gift you with this box.”

“So you do remember that you owe me consultation fees,” mocked Zong Yue, out of instinct. As he looked at the box, he could not find anything special and said, “Maybe I can melt a hole on this box. I’ll keep it first and return it to you if it’s hard to open.”

Waving her hands and yawning continuously, Meng Fuyao showed how sleepy she was. Meanwhile, Zong Yue sat down and did not want to leave. When the shadow of the willow tree was projected on his face, a strange smile disappeared, and he suddenly spoke, “When I passed by the Xuanji borders, I coincidentally met the team of people from Xuanji Nation that went to welcome back Princess Lotus.”

Meng Fuyao’s heart skipped a bit. Narrowing her eyes, she asked, “So what?”

Zong Yue’s gaze glittered. A grin appeared at the corner of his lips as he said, “So you have met her. If not, you would have directly asked who Princess Lotus is.”

Knowing that it was a slip of the tongue, Meng Fuyao tried to cover it up by giving a large yawn. She responded, “It was just a coincidence. This Princess has a unique personality and has vastly different morals and worldviews from normal people. I wouldn’t dare to have an interest in her.”

“It’s no use even if you’re interested,” said Zong Yue casually. “According to news, when Princess Lotus went back, she suddenly received instructions from Gods and Buddhas that a sacred disciple of Buddhism was going to appear in Heaven Demon. As the famous and pious saint in the Five Regions Continent that was born with a lotus within her mouth, she has said that she must personally see the sacred disciple and meet that person.”

Meng Fuyao gulped and remarked, “What a pitiful Buddha. When will she stop using the Buddha as the ultimate shield?”

Zong Yue gave her a long look and said, “Since you aren’t interested in this information, I’m leaving.”

He strolled away, leaving behind Meng Fuyao who was lying in a daze on the bed. A short while later, she whispered to the guinea pig, which was on the small bed beside her, “Hey, rat, when we were in the Changhan mountain range, what was it that you wanted to tell me?”

The guinea pig laid in relaxation, propping up his leg and shaking it nonstop, choosing to ignore Meng Fuyao.

‘Who told you not to hear me out and make me lose four strands of hair! Now you want to listen, but I’m not going to tell you.’

‘Anyway, it’s coming so you two can fight it out face to face.’ He laughed evilly to himself.

The guinea pig satisfied that he got his revenge, went back to sleep. Someone was left squatting on the bed as her pair of eyes shone brightly in the darkness, resembling two torchlights.

The next day, Meng Fuyao headed to the Department of Martial Arts to register for the True Martial Arts Meet, which was a requirement for all participants. Meng Fuyao wrote down her name, and the scribe stared at it for so long that Meng Fuyao wondered if her identity was exposed. However, the scribe asked, “Meng Fuyao? General Meng Fuyao of Wuji nation?”

Hearing him, all the officials flooded out of the department and scrutinized Meng Fuyao as if she was a novel object. Many voices sounded.

“You’re that legendary Wuji General Meng Fuyao?”

“You’re the Meng Fuyao who barged into the enemy camp alone, and killed seven generals?”

“I heard that you defended Yaocheng to the best of your abilities, but was almost forced to commit suicide at the city gates?”

“I heard that the plans of the Wuji traitor, King De, were foiled because you were a spy in the military camp?”

“I heard that you killed King De?”

“I heard that King De shouted, “I hate to be born at the same time as Meng Fuyao” before he died. Is that true?”

“I heard that the Wuji Crown Prince adores you and personally arranged a banquet for you in Top Sun Palace?”

The rumors became more and more ridiculous. Meng Fuyao listened with her mouth agape and muttered, “Sh*t, who’s this amazing person? That’s not me, right?”

She was used to being a small figure and could not get accustomed to the feeling of shooting to fame overnight. The curious glances of the people surrounding her and the envious yet jealous looks of the participants behind her were like arrows shooting towards her back. Unable to bear the attention, she resolutely walked away.

Unfortunately, she only managed to take a few steps when someone came out of the inner room located behind her and said coldly, “Just a peasant who got wealthy by sucking up to the royals. All of you are officials of our Heaven Demon nation, yet you are all boosting outsiders’ morale and diminishing your own authority!”

The voice sounded familiar, so Meng Fuyao turned back to take a look. Once she saw the figure, her pupils narrowed to the thickness of a sharp needle tip.

It was Gu Lingfeng, the head of the Gold of Heaven Demon.

The scene of the thunderstorm in the Changhan mountain range flashed by her eyes. It was as though she could hear the deafening raindrops and smell the rancid odor of the arrows. It was precisely that night that Gu Linfeng led the Gold of Heaven Demon to chase and surround them. Because of them, she and Zhan Beiye were forced to escape into the Changhan mountain range and experience the near-death test, which subsequently triggered a whole series of events.

This cold-blooded guy – who flipped out of the trap by stepping on his subordinates’ bodies – was still alive?

It seemed as though he was also going to participate in the True Martial Arts Meet?

Meng Fuyao smiled widely, with the corners of her lips touching her ears. As she beamed, Meng Fuyao slightly bowed towards Gu Lingfeng and said, “Commander Gu? Nice to meet you, I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Gu Lingfeng glanced at her from the corner of his eye. “You know me too?” he asked.

‘I know that you are about to die…’ she thought, but she answered, “Of course, I have long heard of your reputation as a decisive and resolute man who accomplished many feats.”

“At least you know your own position,” said Gu Lingfeng, giving her a sideway look. “I will spare your life during the competition.”

“Thank you, thank you,” Meng Fuyao said, and she bowed… She truly should thank him. She didn’t even consider keeping him alive, but he was still thinking of sparing her life. What noble character.

While Meng Fuyao kept her back hunched, she walked out of the room. She was bowing so low in such a servile manner that she accidentally bumped into someone. That person stepped aside, slightly stabilized her and said, “Be careful.”

A calm voice and appropriate manners.

Meng Fuyao stiffened her body, but she soon relinquished and smiled. “You be careful too,” she said in a low voice.

From the corner of her eye, she spotted red robes embroidered with soaring mythical birds, and it looked gorgeous and magnificent. The color was already very eye-catching, but as if that was not enough, golden tassels hung from the belt. There was no end as to how dramatic it looked.

Meng Fuyao’s eyes quickly darted across a dark red scarf, and immediately shifted her gaze away in satisfaction.

Beside her, people were greeting in a somewhat flattery and competitive tone. “Sect Master Yan and his wife are here? There’s going to be lots of drama in this year’s True Martial Arts Meet,” they commented.

Some spoke sadly, “Yes, Sect Master Yan has been really powerful in recent years, overpowering all of the 18 Sects in Shangyuan. Is he coming to snatch the champion title too?”

Others remarked, “Heaven Demon’s Commander Gu, Wuji’s General Meng, Xuanyuan’s Sir Yun, Fufeng’s Princess Ya, Taiyuan’s Scarless Sword, Xuanji’s Junior Prince Hua… and the rising Yan couple. There’ll be an interesting show to watch as they compete for the highest title.”