Legend of Fu Yao

In a low voice, Zhangsun Wuji said, “Fuyao, I’m not letting go.”

In response, she sighed a long and dejected sigh—what else could she say? How could she convince him? Just as he could never convince her, she had no way of being a hypocrite to try to convince him either.

Yet, Zhangsun Wuji suddenly began laughing and said, “I believe that my sincerity can be felt by the heavens and the earth, and I believe that even though all beings on earth have a destiny above one’s will, there will eventually be a way to break it.”

He gently held onto Meng Fuyao, saying, “You should sleep, you’ve had a tiring day. Some things, when you think too much, will hurt others. On the other hand, it would be better if you forget about it.” Not waiting for Meng Fuyao’s retort, he lifted a finger and habitually tapped her vital sleep points.

Seeing Meng Fuyao fall asleep while having a bitter expression on her face, Zhangsun Wuji reached out and placed a hand on her back. Closing his eyes, he sent inner energy flowing, going one round through her meridians swiftly.

After a while, he let go, quietly watching Meng Fuyao sleeping features. He brushed his finger past her slightly swollen lips as he murmured, “Since it was fated to be so, I will let you fly even higher, and instead of watching you struggle painfully and obsessively for a lifetime, I will help you overcome all obstacles.”

After that day, Meng Fuyao returned to Zhan Beiye’s secret manor to nurse her wounds. She had no interest in listening to the rumors spreading outside about the True Martial Arts champion. Instead, she spent every day desperately training and nursing her wounds. She had already reached the sixth layer of Cleaving Nine Heavens and had successfully combined the inner energies of Gale and Moon Soul together with Cleaving Nine Heavens. Yet, though she had managed to do that, it was still as that old priest had said, only during the moment of critical danger between life and death would she be able to unleash her power with great speed beyond what she was capable of reaching under normal circumstances. According to the old priest, he had attained the sixth layer when he was 24, but nobody before him had ever attained it and deemed it a miracle. Now, it could still be considered that there were no predecessors, and the future generation wouldn’t be able to receive any guidance from him anymore.

When Meng Fuyao thought about the old priest admitting defeat, her mood lifted greatly. Although she managed to attain it successfully, she had suffered serious injuries. The combined inner energies were also unstable, sometimes appearing and sometimes disappearing. It would require a long period of recovery and meditation, and now that her target was set, she could only follow through with her training without any distraction and not run off impulsively to Qiongcang before she attained all layers of Cleaving Nine Heavens. She only had one chance — once she went to Qiongcang, there was simply no room for failure!

Hence, Meng Fuyao should stick to the plans in order to do what she wanted to do, and raise some trouble in Tiansha during this period of recovery.

Zhangsun Wuji had ‘returned home’, and Zhan Beiheng had personally sent Zhangsun Wuji out of Pandu, gifting him a horse carriage filled with jewelry and gifts that the noble ladies in Tiansha had implored him to pass on. Zhangsun Wuji laughed goodnaturedly and really took the horse carriage and left.

However, this was just what was know on the surface, but in actual fact… Meng Fuyao sighed again—that person had put on a disguise and was still by her side. According to what he had said himself, his father’s condition had improved recently and was able to attend to matters, or else it would have been difficult for him to rush to Tiansha. Since Zhangsun Wuji had traveled from afar, he should rest a little longer before leaving.

Meng Fuyao didn’t think that there was a need to rest, but since he did look a little unwell, and thinking that chasing him away after he had traveled thousands of miles was utterly shameless, she remained silent.

Xuanyuan Yun had also left as well. That was real; not daring to not follow her father when he returned home, she had tearfully requested to see Zong Yue again before she left. That day, Meng Fuyao returned in a semi-conscious state after the battle at the golden palace and did not know how the conversation between the two was going. Thinking that the other party was already aware, she had taken the initiative to let her in only for Xuanyuan Yun to be chased back out of the herb garden by a swarm of venomous bees that Zong Yue had been breeding recently. That evening, Meng Fuyao’s medicine resembled human excrement, smelly beyond comprehension.

Zong Yue had returned to his old self, apart from his eyes prickling slightly upon hearing her voice call out, “Big Brother A-Yue”, he acted as though he was not affected at all. His sentiment was like the glow from a lamp in a faraway village, warm yet distant.

After recuperating for several days, Meng Fuyao received a banquet invitation from Zhan Nancheng, and before she left for the banquet Zhangsun Wuji had reminded her, “Zhan Nancheng is indeed sincerely inviting you, present the military tactics that I’ve taught you well, but don’t be too proficient in matters of the court. Zhan Nancheng needs a courageous but easy to control and of average wisdom general, not an all-rounded genius who is both skilled and intelligent, so don’t overdo it.” After finishing his sentence, he had stuffed something into her hands, continuing, “If something happens and you find yourself extremely angry yet unable to retaliate, then open this.”

‘What kind of genius kit strategy is he trying?’ Meng Fuyao scrounged her nose. “Do you think I’ve ever encountered such a situation in my life where I was unable to retaliate?” Despite what she said, Meng Fuyao still agreed, and clutching the invitation, she left to attend the banquet with Ya Lanzhu. The guards behind them were investigating a bag horse carriage, and Tiansha guards flanked both sides of the carriage. When the carriage went past her, it stopped, and a pale, frail-looking youth poked his head out to greet her, “I see it’s General Meng, are you here to attend the banquet?”

Meng Fuyao raised her head and met Fourth Prince Feng’s smile. Zhangsun Wuji had already ‘left’, why had these siblings not left yet? Looking at his scrawny appearance, was he still not aware of her cursing the rotten lotus? And where was the rotten lotus? Had she been hiding in her room and crying these few days?

Speaking of the devil, the curtains of the horse carriage suddenly whipped open as Princess Lotus’s face peeked through from behind the carriage, laughing as she said, “General Meng, what a coincidence.”

Her laugh was as pure and light as ever, her tone harmonious. She even gave off a vibe that resembled Zhangsun Wuji’s noble elegance.

Meng Fuyao glared at her, hissing coldly.

She was laughing? She was actually laughing? She was actually laughing at her?

‘Damnit!’ Meng Fuyao had never been truly angry at any woman before in her life, but now she was truly pissed off at Feng Jingfan!

Despite having been cursed to such extent by someone, this woman still was not angered, even being able to laugh at the person who had cursed at her. It was truly incredible, did she curse the wrong person that day because her injuries were too severe? Or was it because a rotten lotus had contracted a kind of selective amnesia?

Nonetheless, the rotten lotus’s next words completely dispelled her thoughts, and she felt as though her vision turned black after hearing those words—how could anyone be this powerful in the world…

Princess Lotus laughed softly. “General Meng, how are your wounds? Jingfan was thinking that during that day, Jingfan had indeed been rude, insisting on inviting General Meng to the banquet despite knowing General Meng was injured. May General Meng forgive me.”

Fourth Prince Feng laughed. “How could General Meng hold a grudge against little sister over such a small misunderstanding? Later during the banquet, just offer an extra toast to General Meng, and all will be fine. General Meng’s reputation is known throughout the world and is a true hero, he is worth of Lotus’s toast.”

‘Worthy? Worthy? You probably think Lotus toasting me is doing me an honor, but I’m actually afraid that if I drink it, my stomach will rot…’

Meng Fuyao raised her sleeves over her lips and coughed, saying, “My wounds have yet to recover, I wouldn’t dare to receive such an honor, many thanks, many thanks.”

The two still attentively offered, “The horse carriage is spacious, what do you say of sharing the carriage for the rest of the journey? Since General’s wounds have yet to heal, I’m afraid that riding a horse would be exhausting for you.”

“I was born with a thug’s bones, I can’t stand to sit in a luxurious carriage. Once I sit down, I will feel uneasy and spew smoke from all seven holes…” Still covering her mouth, Meng Fuyao gestured with one hand. “Please, please.”

The two then bowed courteously and went ahead. Meng Fuyao put down her hand and straightened her neck. She turned to Ya Lanzhu, who was beside her, and said, “Zhu Zhu, pinch me, quick, check if I’m still alive?”

Ya Lanzhu stared ahead fixedly ahead as she said in a hazy tone, “I’m still waiting for you to pinch me, my soul has not yet returned.”

The two of them turned to each other and exchanged glances, muttering, “What a talent, what a talent indeed… Meng Fuyao, you are not fit to even lift her shoes.”

Meng Fuyao said smugly, “Zhu Zhu, that’s what you call a princess, compared to her, you’re like a petty auntie picked up from the vegetable market.”

“Indeed,” Ya Lanzhu sounded indignant, “What an elegant and flawless princess, whose face is as thick as the castle walls, I truly cannot stand at the same level as her…”

“The difference in level is indeed not just one or two levels… No, I’ll probably commit suicide if I sit with her.” Meng Fuyao stopped moving forward, and turning the horse around, she said, “Zhu Zhu, sorry to bother you but, could you tell Zhan Nancheng that I have diarrhea and that I’ve gone back to slowly relieve myself?”

“I want to have diarrhea too, if I don’t relieve myself now then when I see her I’ll definitely not be able to control myself, so let’s go back together.” Following suit, Ya Lanzhu too turned her horse around.

Alas, it was too late.

Two rows of people had come to welcome them, with the ministry officials coming to greet them themselves. They had already spotted Meng Fuyao and Ya Lanzhu much earlier, and when they noticed them turning their horses around, they immediately rushed forward to stop them and tried placating them, saying that they were taking orders, and if Meng Fuyao insisted on leaving she would make things difficult for them. Helpless, Meng Fuyao could only follow them in.

She sat with her legs dangling on the horse as she consoled Ya Lanzhu, “Zhu Zhu, just pretend that someone had accidentally left a bucket of feces at the banquet later, don’t see anything and don’t hear anything and you’ll be fine.”

Ya Lanzhu sighed, replying, “If I’d known earlier, I’d have relieved myself before coming…”

When Meng Fuyao entered the banquet hall of Wude palace, the Tiansha royal family, generals, as well as the various royal families and sects had already gathered in the hall and greeted her warmly when she entered.

Princess Lotus was sitting at the third seat on the right of the throne, and upon seeing Meng Fuyao enter, she raised her head and smiled. Looking at her, Meng Fuyao sucked in a breath and returned a smile.

‘Since you are unable to feel shame since it’s impossible to curse you to death, then let’s change tactics.’

The officials guided Meng Fuyao with low voices into the inner palace, saying that His Majesty would like to meet General Meng in the inner palace for a short while. Meng Fuyao turned to look at the official, knowing that the main question had arrived, and quickly followed him in. Sure enough, Zhan Nancheng was there, but strangely enough, Zhan Beiheng was absent. Meng Fuyao bowed and exchanged several courtesy phrases with Zhan Nancheng before he finally asked, “General Meng is highly ranked in Wuji Palace, and your reputation precedes you throughout the seven nations despite your youth. It is truly admirable.”

Meng Fuyao held onto the teacup and steadied herself, allowing a bitter smile to grace her lips before wiping it from her face and saying, “Your Majesty is too kind. It is but an empty title, it’s not worth much.”

Zhan Nancheng’s eyes flashed as he smiled. “Even if you say it is an empty title, it is not something that can be attained by ordinary humans.”

“Indeed, indeed.” Still holding the teacup, Meng Fuyao agreed perfunctorily.