Legend of Fu Yao

Yan Jingchen was panting slightly, staring erratically at Yun Hen, his expression somewhat agitated.

Sitting atop the wall, Meng Fuyao suddenly realized that while Yun Hen and Yan Jingchen were encountered separately, it was extremely difficult to link the two together. However, now that they were facing each other, she was able to see some similarities in their features. Both of them were lean and long-limbed, as well as so white that their skin had a translucent quality and their veins could be seen faintly against their skin. They were also tall and upright with exceptionally sharp noses. She wasn’t able to notice these things before. The only thing was that their personalities differed too greatly.

Yun Hen seemed unwilling to accept Yan Jingchen’s contemplating gaze and suddenly turned away as though he did not notice the blade against his neck. Shocked motionless, Yan Jingchen had forgotten to retract his sword and just like that, Yun Hen was cut by the blade, and a thin red line appeared on his neck. Horrified, Yan Jingchen quickly pulled back his sword, but Yun Hen was already walking away, ignoring the blood dripping from his neck as he picked up Ya Lanzhu, who was slumped against the wall still singing and mumbling, and left.

Yan Jingchen returned his sword to its scabbard and gave chase hastily, grabbing Yun Hen’s sleeve, “Yun Hen! Are you Aunt An’s child?”

Yun Hen’s shoulder trembled, and from her angle, Meng Fuyao could see a flash of anger cross his face as he jerked his hand away and said, “Get lost!”

Yan Jingchen met his gaze and was so surprised his hand trembled. He was about to let go, but Yun Hen had already firmly pushed his hand away and said coldly, “I’m warning you, don’t ever mention that name or the Yan Clan, they’re not fit to be mentioned!”

“Yun Hen!” Yan Jingchen rushed forward, “I’m not too sure about what happened back then, I only heard the whispers around… but… but… could there have been a misunderstanding somewhere? Come back with me, we’ll get to the bottom of this.”

“Go back? Go back where?” Yun Hen turned to the side coldly, his handsome features like an ice sculpture, so cold that even his gaze was icy. “Clan Leader Yan, please get it clear, you are a vassal king of Taiyuan, I am a servant of Taiyuan. My father’s name is Yun Chi, your father’s name is Yan Chi. Why should I go back with you?”

Refusing to give up, Yan Jingchen tried persuading him once again. Yun Hen’s expression hardened, and he swung his sword sideways, aiming straight for the jade ash container. This time, Yan Jingchen was startled and flinched. When he recovered, Yun Hen was already swiftly striding away. After several steps, he turned around slightly, and not looking at Yan Jingchen but instead at the dark corner of the wall, he said, “Clan Leader Yan, if you ever mention what happened today to anyone, or try to claim relations again, don’t blame my sword for being disrespectful!”

His figure quickly disappeared into the darkness of the other end of the alley, leaving only Yan Jingchen who was still standing there in shock as he watched Yun Hen disappear with an uncertain and frustrated gaze.

Afraid that Yun Hen would feel awkward, Meng Fuyao waited until he exited the alley and leaped off the wall. She walked broodingly into the courtyard, then to her room, then to her bed only to realize that someone had also instinctively followed her in. Snapping back to reality, she pushed him out of the house and snapped. “Get out, get out, only one man can sleep on my bed!”

“Oh?” Zhangsun Wuji asked in amusement.

Lord Yuan Bao ignorantly poked its head out and looked at its master with wide eyes as it pointed at its own nose. ‘That man is the devastatingly handsome yours truly.’

His smile unfaltering, Zhangsun Wuji suddenly said, “Should I drown you?”

Lord Yuan Bao immediately gestured respectfully with its paws, as though conceding. ‘The only man that can sleep on her bed is none other than the unparalleled and amazing talent that is you, my master, heh.’

Meng Fuyao immediately flicked Lord Yuan Bao out of the room with her fingers and berated, “Rascal, from now on, you can forget about sleeping on my bed anymore!”

“Fuyao, I didn’t intend to sleep on your bed,” said Zhangsun Wuji calmly, dispelling a certain someone’s self-entitled thoughts. He continued, “I just wanted to borrow the remaining half of the Moon Soul training tool from you.”

Without waiting for her reply, he located the half and pocketed it before drifting out the door. Before leaving, he turned around and smiled, saying, “I definitely have no interest in sharing a bed with a hamster, especially when the other person is an alcoholic.”

“Oh… who’s an alcoholic? Isn’t it clear that there are only one person and a rodent here?” retorted Meng Fuyao.

At that moment, she saw Yun Hen dragging Ya Lanzhu hurriedly, and she remembered that Princess Ya was drunk. Who else could shoulder the heavy responsibility of taking care of the drunkard besides her?

Sure enough, taking care of a drunk was not a job fit for humans. Meng Fuyao remained busy throughout the night, listening to “Big Brother, walk forward bravely…” the entire night. At dawn, Ya Lanzhu suddenly turned around and hugged her, mumbling incoherently, “Let us never be like Meng Fuyao and Feng Jingfan.”

She was not conscious at all when she said it, but Meng Fuyao immediately understood. The hand that was gently patting Ya Lanzhu paused, and she gently pushed away the strands of hair plastered on Ya Lanzhu’s face as she said softly, “Fine, let’s never be like Meng Fuyao and Feng Jingfan.”

Subsequently, she fell asleep, still holding onto a towel. When she awoke, the sky was already brightly lit. Ya Lanzhu was lying on her stomach, and Lord Yuan Bao was lying on Ya Lanzhu’s stomach. A monotonous voice was announcing something outside—Zhan Nancheng was inviting her to go hunting at the imperial grounds.

Ever since she became the True Martial Arts champion, Meng Fuyao had moved house. She had no intention of revealing the secret location of Zhan Beiye’s camp to the Tiansha Emperor and besides, she had money. Yao Xun had earned quite a sum while doing business in Wuji, especially that Young Master Li from the Jiangbei magistrate’s manor; both of them were truly born to business, both equally unscrupulous. They had managed to earn quite a large sum from ladies, selling silk fabrics, clothing, shoes, cosmetics and the like. Yao Xun had arrived several days ago to deliver some silver, intending to promote Meng Fuyao’s elegance and talent. Hence, Meng Fuyao’s money pouch was filled to the brim, and even Lord Yuan Bao’s chamber pot was switched to one made of gold.

Meng Fuyao’s new manor was extremely eye-catching. She had bought three entire yards at the same time, totaling seven or eight layers from the outside to the innermost side, each layer more lavish than the previous. Ordinary people could only enter up to the second layer, but in actual fact, she simply wanted to own the nearby plots of land and build a secret underground passage from a room in the courtyard of the sixth layer leading directly to Zhan Beiye’s secret base camp.

Zhan Nancheng’s invite was but another round of investigation of each other. Meng Fuyao quickly switched her outfit and was about to leave only to be blocked by Zong Yue in the garden. The vicious-tongued man glanced at her carefully-prepared outfit and remarked, “Out to cheat people again?”

Meng Fuyao looked up at the sky. ‘When will this human learn to say something nice? Such exemplary disposition is truly wasted on him.’

“Since you’re out to lie, I might as well help you lie even more convincingly.” Zong Yue tossed a little wax capsule. “Open it when you have the chance and sprinkle it on Zhan Nancheng’s sleeves.”

“Got it.” Meng Fuyao caught it, not bothering to ask about its purpose. Out of the blue, she thought of something and asked, “Actually, I really want to know when we can kill Zhan Nancheng so that I don’t have to hold my vomit in and tolerate his interaction. It’s just a pity that ever since that time, he’s even more careful now and nobody can get close to him at all.”

“There’s no use killing him now. Zhan Nancheng has successors and still holds the power to influence the three top officials in the imperial court. If he dies, there’ll be some disturbance, but it might not be enough to cause great upheaval.” Zong Yue dismissed her words and rushed her. “Why are you saying so much anyway, you’re blocking the sun from shining on my herbs!”

In a fit of rage, Meng Fuyao trampled on a clump of evening primroses, knowing that Zong Yue treasured his flowers like they were his life. Before he could murder someone, she sprinted out, remembering to send a signal to Lord Yuan Bao, who was perched on the window ledge watching the show. When Zongyue left Lord Yuan Bao would help her “take good care” of those precious medicinal herbs, using his excrement as fertilizer and whatnot.

The horse carriage that Zhan Nancheng had sent to receive her was waiting outside the door, and when she arrived at the Tiansha Imperial Palace’s Nanyue Mountain Hunting Grounds, she saw that almost half the mountain slope was covered with tents, surrounding the biggest tent in the middle. The tent had a golden roof, and quite a number of people were congregated outside, awaiting orders. Meng Fuyao scanned them closely and beamed as those were all people she knew.

‘That guy, isn’t he the one who had thrown a sword in front of me and demanded me to commit suicide just several days back at the palace hall, Lord something something? And that guy, isn’t he the General something who had told a certain princess who was trying to “commit suicide” to “not take her life lightly” and very kindly saved that certain princess?’

Smiling gleefully, Meng Fuyao headed over, and when the various lords and noblemen saw her, they immediately stopped whatever they were discussing. They hastily stroked their beards and stared at the sky, changing the topic. “Ah, Lord Zhang, the weather today is excellent, truly excellent, indeed, haha…”

“Eh, General Wang, the robe you are wearing today is splendid and full of vigor, hahaha…”

“Ah, Lord Zhang, the weather today truly is excellent, look at the clouds and the dragonflies flying about. Ah, there’s a dragonfly on your headdress, let me get it for you. Ah, no need to be shy, I’ll be done at once—pa!”

Meng Fuyao slapped Lord Zhang’s headdress off his head with a smack of her palm and smoothly stepped on it, crushing it to bits. Finally, she turned to a purple-faced Lord Zhang and smiled. “I’ve finally gotten rid of that damned dragonfly…”

Lord Zhang’s eyebrows slanted downwards, and he looked ready to explode with anger when Meng Fuyao exclaimed again, “Aiya, Lord Zhang’s sword is really exquisite. That day, if you had thrown this sword at me instead, perhaps I might have really fallen for it and used it to commit suicide. Dying by such a magnificent sword, even as a ghost I would be honorable… Can you let me take a look at it? … Aiya, don’t be so petty, just a little look, just one look—cha!”

The “magnificent sword” broke cleanly into two and Meng Fuyao stared innocently at the sword. “It’s actually a fake!”

Pretending to be respectful, she returned the two halves of the sword back in Lord Zhang’s hands and smiled. “I’m sorry, Lord Zhang. You can try wielding it as a double sword.”

By now, Lord Zhang’s veins were popping out with rage, and he desperately wanted to raise his fist, yet Meng Fuyao had just broken his sword like it was nothing.

Meng Fuyao patted his shoulder, laughed loudly and turned around; the lord and noblemen who were congregated in one group earlier had scattered like wild beasts.

Shrugging, Meng Fuyao strode towards the head tent where Zhan Nancheng was standing by the entrance. He had seen everything that had happened clearly but did not react, merely smiling amicable and saying, “General Meng really loves to joke around, but this kind of personality will offend others easily.”

“I am but a ruffian.” Meng Fuyao stroked her chin. “I am the same wherever I go, if those pretentious people can’t get used to it, that’s their problem. If I like it, I like it, if I don’t then I don’t. If they offend me, I’ll beat them up!”