Legend of Fu Yao

Moon Soul released his hand, allowing the silver net around their bodies to hang from the cliff as it casually swayed them from side to side. Hugging her tightly, he rubbed his chin carefully and affectionately against her forehead. When he spoke his voice was gentle, like the moonlight half-hidden behind the mist and mountain, and his usual charming tone was replaced by one of solemness and sadness.

“My dear Cloud, I have been waiting for you to call me this way for 38 years,” he said.

Cloud Soul understood what happened the moment she fell into his arms. She was about to struggle, but her heart wrenched at the sadness in his tone. Leaning in his arms, she realized that she had not been in contact with this familiar yet foreign masculine scent in 38 years.

The moonlight was calm and chilly, illuminating the pair of lovers hidden amongst the velvety white mist in the depths of the dark mountain.

A wave of feelings – shyness, joy, and heartache – swept pass Cloud Soul as she stayed in Moon Soul’s hug. For a moment, she forgot where she was, only vaguely hearing Moon Soul say, “So this appearance can ruin things too…” Then, there was the sound of shuffling.

She did not know what Moon Soul was doing, but she was reluctant to leave his warmth, so she stayed still and kept quiet.

The moon illuminated the actions of the magnificent man. As he gently sucked in his breath and blew out a speck of light, his silvery-white hair darkened to a shade of grayish-white, which looked even more withered than Cloud Soul’s hair.

Similarly, fine wrinkles started to emerge on his beautiful and youthful appearance. Those creases on the corners of his eyes and lips immediately made him look 20 years older.

He smiled, leaping upwards and gently landing on the cliff. The whole time, he did not let go of Cloud Soul and hugged her tightly while she, who was overwhelmed with shyness, turned away from him awkwardly.

Suddenly, there was a cry from Meng Fuyao, who pointed towards Moon Soul’s aged appearance and white hair. “You… you…” she uttered in shock.

Moon Soul beamed and waved his sleeve. A silvery object flew from his palms towards her.

“This is a one-of-a-kind treasure from my sect. The inner energy stored here can only be rivaled by an expert wielder, who must have trained for more than 50 years and has extremely pure inner energy. My eternal youth was all thanks to this, and since I have no use for it anymore, I’ll just pass it to you.”

Meng Fuyao held the small round object in her palms, and without the silvery light, it looked translucent like a sarira. She hesitated as she glanced at the object…’This gift, seems to be a bit too much?’

Meanwhile, Cloud Soul looked up. Upon seeing Moon Soul’s face, she let out a cry and tears filled her face.

She was left speechless and tear-stricken, and could only stare at his face, his still charming smile, and magnificent aura. That night, he had given up on his appearance that never aged in 38 years, just for her.

Once he understood her inferiority complex, he was willing to downgrade any trait that made her feel uncomfortable.

“Senior, it’s hard to find someone who loves you,” Meng Fuyao suddenly spoke, as she glanced at the couple on the cliff. “Senior Moon Soul has proven to you that nothing is more important than you. So please, in the future, give up on your so-called inferiority complex and learn to trust him.”

Cloud Soul looked briefly at Meng Fuyao. A while later, she laughed. “Should I thank you or scold you?”

“As long as you don’t kill me.” Meng Fuyao shrugged.

“I will still bring away Zhan Nancheng as I have taken a vow before. Afterward, I will quit my commitment towards the Heaven Demon royalty and never interfere in the matters of the Zhan family again,” said Cloud Soul as her fingers flicked, revealing a small box. “I think that I still need to thank you. This is a small object that I have been holding on to for decades, but have never figured out its utility. If you can find out, count yourself lucky.”

Meng Fuyao grinned like a Cheshire cat. Though she suffered quite a bit that day, it was a worthy experience.

Moon Soul smiled as he flew away with Cloud Soul and Zhan Nancheng in his hands, disappearing into the stars and clouds. As his figure faded away, Meng Fuyao thought back of his smile that was peaceful and satisfying, and that beam seemed even more beautiful than the one he wore when she was first shocked by his appearance.

She turned back, looking at the shaky Zhan Beiye, the arousing Yun Hen, the blood-coated Little Seven, and the gluttonous guinea pig. The sky above her was clear and windy as the clouds had vanished, and she felt satisfied.

‘Every cloud has a silver lining.’

After leaving the Mount Luo Feng, Meng Fuyao, Zhan Beiye, and Yun Hen were immediately directed to a residence in the western side of Pandu City to recuperate. Externally, the residence looked like a normal one that anyone would possess, but its inner structure was shockingly wide and complicated. From the booby traps to the secret tunnels, Meng Fuyao witnessed the plans of the farsighted “ultimate turncoat official,” the Old Grand Preceptor Zhou – during the messy days of the Jin dynasty, he had protected a huge group of talented officials. When the Jin dynasty had already been destined to fall, he had been willing to shoulder the reprimands and humiliation by future generations and had led the surrender of the city. He had used his entire life to build and maintain his connections and accumulated indescribable wealth and power for his descendant.

This wise man had fully been aware that someone was plotting against him, but he had still pleaded for Zhan Beiye to be a titled Prince and suggested that his territory to be the rural Geya Desert – that was because a knowledgeable scholar had told him that the Desert used to be a land of riches, but it was later buried by sand. Deep in the grounds of the ruined nation, there were countless treasures left behind by the prosperous dynasty, and these treasures soon became one of the sources of Black Wind Horse’s superior equipment.

This dessert that was far away from authority and free from intervention also became the perfect location for Zhan Beiye to train his soldiers. In the fertile land, other than the Black Wind Horses, there were also tens of thousands of elite soldiers that Zhan Beiye gathered by capitalizing on loopholes in the recruitment system. His army even consisted of the brave and aggressive Mo Lo soldiers that he spent fortunes trying to recruit.

Furthermore, because of Old Grand Preceptor Zhou’s surrender, many scholars and generals were able to seek protection under his noble status. Though the authority of most of these people was undermined, and some of them switched their loyalties, there was still a portion of them who persevered through the difficulties of the political arena and held substantial power in their positions. These people were silently grateful and were always waiting for an opportunity to repay the kindness of the remarkable man.

When the clouds stir, and the storm arrives, these forces would rise proudly like a dragon, bringing about revolutionary change to the entire continent.

After staying in the secret chambers for a period of time, Zhan Beiye walked out of the darkness on one fine day, and informed the smiling Meng Fuyao, “Fuyao, I’m leaving.”

“Okay,” Meng Fuyao acknowledged as she looked calmly at him. During this period of time, while he was still recuperating, he met batches after batches of people and discussed strategies every day and night with advisors who appeared out of nowhere. As he had almost fully recovered on that day, she knew that he was going to leave.

Zhan Beiye gazed into her bright eyes, and while he was full of ambition, a sense of reluctance rose in his heart. This time round, his trip would be dangerous and violent. When he returned, would everything stay the same? He really wanted to tell her “Fuyao, come with me” but he could not.

He could not be so selfish. He was going to flip over this dynasty and could not continue putting her in a dangerous situation when he had already done so. Her bones that fractured and her tooth that fell were like the blood that would forever bubble in the corner of his heart; it was a painful bruise that was difficult to heal.

Slowly reaching his hand into his robes, he gently caressed the small pouch that contained half a tooth – that night in the inner palace, he secretly picked it up and kept it. If in his entire life, he would never witness the day that they exchange tokens of love, he would at least have this item that he could call his own. He would keep it until he died and burn it together with his ashes.

He spoke, “Fuyao, I have already sent my men to inform Zong Yue to let him treat your injuries. I’ll also leave the Black Wind Horses with you…”

“Don’t,” Meng Fuyao rejected in a crisp tone. “Take them away, I know that the forces you have in the city are no opponents of the royal soldiers stationed there. You need to send your mother back to Geya, then lead your elite soldiers and other prearranged forces to attack into the city. When you return to Geya, you must be escorted, and though I had the intention to, I have other important matters to attend to. Hence, we will settle our own affairs, and no one has to worry about the other person.”

She beamed, her eyes shining with excitement. There were indeed more important things to do – Zhan Nancheng was going to personally grace the True Martial Art Meet, whereby the champion of the competition would be praised in front of him and entitled a portion of Heaven Demon’s military power.

She was going to clinch the champion title, snatch the military power of Heaven Demon, and kill Zhan Nancheng!

She wanted to be the one to personally open the Pandu city gates for Zhan Beiye’s charging army!

Her small face radiated with determination, and it was hard not to be blinded by the brightness of her smile. Zhan Beiye gazed deeply at her and was about to caress her face, but he retracted his hand in mid-air and laughed heartily instead.

“Fuyao, just wait until the day that you and I meet again in the golden palace of Heaven Demon!”

After sending away Zhan Beiye, Meng Fuyao devoted herself to a sleepless period of bitter training as she had many things to do. After the fight with Cloud Soul, her inner energy improved again. She had to combine Gale’s inner energy with hers as soon as possible, find out whether Moon Soul’s gift was compatible with her own inner energy, and investigate the purpose of Cloud Soul’s box – a black object the size of a palm with no edges at all. It seemed impossible to open it, and it was hard to distinguish the material used to make the box. After a long period of fumbling, she gave up and left that box aside, choosing to wait for the so-called fateful moment.

Yun Hen stayed in Pandu – his original intention of coming was to participate in the True Martial Arts Meet. After Taiyuan split into Shangyuan and Taiyuan, the Yun family had been recognized as the new noble family due to their contributions in protecting the Emperor. With his status, it was expected for him to represent Taiyuan and come to Pandu. When Yun Hen met the Black Wind Horses and knew that Zhan Beiye was in danger, he immediately came to support. Now that Zhan Beiye had specially asked him to take care of Meng Fuyao, he would naturally shoulder the responsibility.

Meanwhile, Ya Lanzhu had been dashing over with all her might, yet she arrived the day after Zhan Beiye left. When she realized that she was one step behind, she broke down in tears and was about to chase after him again, but Meng Fuyao pulled her back – if she caused a big commotion while chasing, Zhan Beiye’s whereabouts would be known to everyone. Hence, Meng Fuyao utilized her persuasive skills, praising Ya Lanzhu’s martial arts skills to the point that she was convinced that the True Martial Arts Meet would be a lot more boring without the presence of her as a champion. With that, she stayed to wait for the competition, all ready to clinch the champion title to boast to her parents.