Legend of Fu Yao

With a laugh, Meng Fuyao turned back and instructed, “Bring forward my gifts!”

Her guards brought forward a huge basket filled with the gifts that she had accepted over the past few days. When Zhan Beiheng saw the casket, he could not help but laugh. “General Meng, you’ve got the guts to accept my gifts in front of my residence!”

Waving her hand, Meng Fuyao said, “Returning the property to the rightful owner. If I didn’t do so, how would you be willing to meet me?”

Both exchanged a laugh, and Zhan Beiheng summoned for tea to be served. “The world only knows of General Meng’s martial arts skills. Little did they know that you were so smart,” he remarked.

Meng Fuyao beamed and responded, “It’s just to entertain you, Your Highness. You have countless capable men under you. How would ordinary tactics grab your attention? I could only think up of such a shocking method, under such helpless circumstances.”

However, Zhan Beiheng narrowed his eyes until they were as thin as the tip of a needle. Without any hint of a smile, he said, “You’re already a favored person of the Emperor, and rumors have it that you’ll soon become the General of the Flying Leopard Army. I’m just a laid-back Prince who has nothing to offer you. Why would you spare so much thought to forcefully enter my camp?”

“A true General should have the ambition of conquering the world. Naturally, only I would know who is able to offer me a channel to fulfill such an ambition.” Meng Fuyao gulped down her tea and laughed, and she added, “Your Highness, you say that you can’t offer anything, but I feel that you can offer me much more.”

“What high-sounding remarks!” Zhan Beiheng changed his expression, and he stared at her icily. “What else can I give you? What is it that you want?”

“Since when do people demand for things without offering any presents first?” Meng Fuyao laughed nonchalantly under his scrutiny. “It’s still too early to tell you what I want. I’m not that thick-skinned to state my requests without accomplishing something for you. How about this, I will show you my sincerity.”

Leaning forward, she stopped by his ear and smiled.

“Your days are numbered!”

…

“You guys didn’t see how he looked like then,” Meng Fuyao illustrated dramatically, “It was as though a prick suddenly appeared under his bum, and he almost jumped and hit my chin.”

All along, when Meng Fuyao spoke, Zong Yue would always eat his meal on the side. This time round, he casually sipped on his tea and without looking up, he commented, “Meng Fuyao, can you for goodness’ sake be more focused when you bite on bones? If your teeth broke, there’s no way that I’d be able to install a fake one for the second time.”

Grumpily, Meng Fuyao stared at him and said, “Mongolian doctor, can you for goodness’ sake not rub salt on one’s wound?”

“Your entire body is filled with wounds anyway. It doesn’t matter which one I rub salt into.” Suddenly, Zong Yue placed his teacup on the table and asked, “The treasure from Moon Soul that was soaked in snow lotus – where did you move it to?”

Meng Fuyao was momentarily stunned. Then, she recalled that it seemed to have been taken away by Zhangsun Wuji. As to where he shifted it to, she never bothered to ask, since she never cared much about such treasures and Zhangsun Wuji wanted to take it.

Instinctively, she wanted to look towards Zhangsun Wuji, but she stopped herself. Speaking to herself, she said, “Oh, about that. I was scared that rats would eat it, so I shifted it somewhere else.”

“There’s only one rat here.” Zong Yue smirked.

A certain Lord rolled his eyes. ‘I’m not a rat, how many times do I have to repeat that?’

“I took it.” Naturally, it was Zhangsun Wuji who spoke. With a calm composure, he added, “I took it to study its medicinal effects.”

“Study its medicinal effects?”Zong Yue immediately turned around and sniggered. “Wuji’s Crown Prince is multi-talented, but I never knew that he was also the best in the world in leechcraft.”

“You’re the best physician, of course,” replied Zhangsun Wuji and showed no signs of anger. “But being the best in healing others doesn’t mean that you’re the best in using medicine.”

“What do you mean?” Zong Yue straightened his back, and his face was ashen. The usual peaceful and clear demeanor suddenly changed, and his eyes turned as dark as the foggy night sky. “You’re telling me that I used the medicine wrongly, and I’m harming Fuyao?”

Zhangsun Wuji remained silent and continued drinking tea.

At this point, Meng Fuyao was dumbfounded. ‘What did Zhangsun Wuji mean? Why would he say that Zong Yue used the medicine wrongly?’ Over the past two years, she had been injured countless times, and Zong Yue had healed her every time. Some injuries were so serious that any other person’s inner energy would have suffered a great blow, but under Zong Yue, her martial arts foundations were never harmed, and his treatments even strengthened her inner energy. Her “Cleaving Nine Heavens” technique improved at the speed of lightning, and even Gale’s and Moon Soul’s inner energy were successfully incorporated into her own. If there was anything wrong, would she not have already died thousands of times?

Worriedly, she looked at Zong Yue – he appeared calm, but he was actually very prideful. He had long reigned in the realm of leechcraft and was universally respected for his skills. Zhangsun Wuji’s accusation could be counted as a direct and personal attack, and the seriousness of this matter was no less than a mighty and eight-feet tall man not being able to go through sexual intercourse.

“Hey, stop talking…” she tugged on Zhangsun Wuji’s sleeves and whispered, “Erm, let’s go sleep…”

Meng Fuyao bit on her tongue once she said that sentence. “Shucks!” she exclaimed and promptly covered her mouth. Feeling like she was about to cry, she thought, ‘Sh*t, how unlucky, I don’t even know to speak when I’m anxious. What a low-standard sentence…’

Yet, that dude who always capitalized on every possible opportunity immediately looked back and smiled. “Okay, once this is settled, let’s sleep together…”

In the meantime, Zong Yue continued to stand straight on his spot. Solemnly, he spoke, “Crown Prince, you have yet to answer me.”

Zhangsun Wuji looked down, and moments later, he frowned. “Mr. Zong, since we all have no intention of harming Fuyao, let’s not dwell too much into this matter. I’m sleepy, please excuse me,” he replied and stood up, ready to walk away.

Clang!

A glimmer of light flashed, tracing a clean arc in mid-air, and landed coldly in front of Zhangsun Wuji.

Slowly looking down at the knife directed towards his heart, and then at the emotionless wielder, Zhangsun Wuji waved his hand and stopped the dashing motions of both Meng Fuyao and his guards who were in hiding. Gently, he laughed. “Mr. Zong, knives are not meant to be pointed towards friends.”

“I’m not deserving to be the Crown Prince’s friend,” said Zong Yue. “And I have always disliked a particular habit of yours – you always spoken in half sentences, always looked down upon others, and always handed out things out of pity. Those receivers don’t even understand why they have been pitied.”

Silently, Meng Fuyao thought of how Zhangsun Wuji hinted that Zong Yue used his medicine wrongly, but intended to walk away without offering an explanation. That was equivalent to shutting Zong Yue up and not offering him a chance to defend himself. No wonder Zong Yue was angered.

As Meng Fuyao was absorbed in deep thought, her expression must have turned to one of disapproval, and Ya Lanzhu and Yun Hen must have had similar expressions too. Only the guinea pig dashed out and started to chatter and wave his arms in the air. Meng Fuyao grabbed him and stuffed him inside her sleeve. “Don’t create trouble!” she chided.

Suddenly, Zhangsun Wuji gazed at her, but his emotions were a little strange. He seemed to feel helpless and sighed at her.

After staying quiet for a while, he reached out and gently pushed away the knife. Sitting down slowly, he questioned, “Do you really want me to say something, Mr. Zong?”

“Why not?” Zong Yue retorted calmly.

“I’ll only ask you a few questions.” Once Zhangsun Wuji made up his mind, he no longer hesitated. He asked, “When Fuyao was injured at the Fallen Phoenix mountain, her inner energy was severely disrupted by Cloud Soul. Did it show signs of instability?”

“Yes,” Zong Yue agreed straightforwardly. “However, I treated it for her and even used precious herbs to remove the blood clots. What’s wrong with that?”

He spoke with a provocative tone, to which Zhangsun Wuji ignored. He added, “Okay. So, when Fuyao participated in the third round of the True Martial Arts Meet, she forcefully advanced into the next level, and almost erupted and died on the stage. It was only because of Sir Yun’s extremely frosty inner energy that this did not happen. I believe you know that too.”

Nodding, Zong Yue answered, “Yes, I also did not forget to remove that frosty inner energy from Fuyao’s body when I was soothing her blood vessels. What exactly do you want to say?”

“I’ll only ask a question.” Zhangsun Wuji smiled. “How did Fuyao successfully incorporate her own inner energy with Gale’s and Moon Soul’s energies?”

Zong Yue opened his mouth to reply, but realization struck him, and his expression changed.

“During that period, Fuyao continuously got herself injured and did not properly rest at all. Yet, her inner energy improved at a miraculous speed, to the point that it defied norms, for her to be able to combine three gusts of superior inner energy so quickly,” Zhangsun Wuji said speedily, “There’s a limit to one’s energy, and any advantage comes with a flaw. Her inner energy improved quickly, but what about her meridian system? At what time of the day were those lines repaired? They are not like steel trees, which can continue to grow even after they are slashed, not to say that even steel trees can’t abstain from a weakened foundation after continuous damage.”

Zhangsun Wuji added, “So I want to ask Mr. Zong – to accomplish such a miraculous feat, to improve at a pace that defied nature’s laws, how did Fuyao do it?”

Then, he asked, “I want to ask Mr. Zong – have you not heard of the story of plucking the weeds to accelerate growth, which teaches that too much zeal spoils everything?”

Zong Yue fell silent.

His expression changed numerous times, and his already ashen face further paled by a few shades. The gentle light shone and reflected his clear yet misty eyes, which resembled a cup of crystalline but rippling alcohol.

Meng Fuyao was once again dumbfounded.

No wonder she was always surprised by how fast she progressed. The old Taoist priest was known as a genius, but even he entered the sixth level of the “Cleaving Nine Heavens” technique six years after her. No wonder she felt that her inner energy was not stable, and after every round she passed, the time taken to stabilize her energy was more than the duration she used to advance in her skills. No wonder she was always confused as to why she had continuously suffered serious injuries – and while normal people would take days to recover, and suffer setbacks in their skills to protect the meridian system – she seemed to advance even while she recuperated. No wonder!

Zong Yue used medicine to suppress injuries in her meridian system, causing her body to prioritize advancement over the protection of her organs. But that didn’t sound right either. If her meridian system never had time to fully recover, problems should have arisen by now. Why was she still feeling fine?

Furthermore, no matter what, she adamantly refused to believe that Zong Yue would harm her. His intentions were to protect her. If she didn’t advance and incorporate those inner energies before the True Martial Arts Meet, she would have lost long ago, right?