Legend of Fu Yao

Zhan Nancheng suddenly tensed and jumped up from his bed, reaching a height of half a meter, before falling heavily on the bed again. There was a moment of spasm, panting and struggling, and before long, thin streaks of blood started flowing out from his eyes and nostrils.

As he wriggled painfully in bed, he resembled a dying fish or a hysterical prawn in the ocean. The silk bed sheet was continuously stained with spots of blood, which looked as striking as a radiant rosa rubus.

Meanwhile, the slaves froze in their spots – their natural instincts had been destroyed ever since they were at a young age. The only order they received was: if anyone tried to near the Emperor and attack him, kill them!

And at that moment, Meng Fuyao stood far away, and she was merely pouring alcohol.

Calmly, she poured the contents from the bottle into the cup, and vice versa, forming a continuous routine.

As such, Zhan Nancheng’s suffering was also endless.

He screamed as he rolled in bed. “Don’t… don’t-”

Meng Fuyao stopped and asked, “Where’s the tiger tally?”

Zhan Nancheng looked up at her. He was so weak that he no longer had the strength to activate the trap mechanism. Perspiration from his head mixed with the blood at the corner of his lips and dripped down, and his expression was as resentful as it could possibly be. He looked like a starved ghost that crawled out from the gates of Hell, ready to munch on humans.

Meng Fuyao stayed nonchalant. If someone once witnessed his comrade getting eaten down to their bones by ants and being burnt to death, there wouldn’t be a scene that he could not face.

Those who harmed others could be harmed by anyone else. It was as simple as that.

Sensing no reply, Meng Fuyao took out a burner from her robes and brought it near the bottle of alcohol.

Immediately, Zhan Nancheng’s expression changed. He stared at the burner in horror, as though he had just witnessed ten thousand venomous snakes appearing in his bedsheet.

“Don’t-” His voice cracked as he whimpered.

Meng Fuyao opened her palm to him.

As Zhan Nancheng shivered and refused to speak, Meng Fuyao tossed the burner in her hand. “Death isn’t scary. What’s scary is going through immense suffering before death. Your Majesty, which method do you like?”

Zhan Nancheng closed his eyes, and he was completely drained of his energy to think or to hate others. In his sub-consciousness, he felt that he had committed an unrectifiable mistake ever since he gave orders to chase Zhan Beiye in the Changhan mountain range. Then, he had unknowingly fallen into a well-planned trap, the True Martial Arts Meet… the teenage champion… the foolish Captain who was depressed about being a male lover in Wuji… Beiheng being killed… his illness being triggered earlier than expected… Right from the start, he had already tumbled into a calculated plan.

He wasn’t able to kill Zhan Beiye, and hence, he would have to die.

But he… who was he? Amongst him and Zhan Beiye, one brought an army to invade his nation, while the other became an official to murder him. With combined internal and external forces at play, he had no chance at all. He lost so tragically to them!

Opposite him, the teenage lad smiled. His eyes were crystal-clear, as simple as snow and as striking as a black butterfly that landed on an iceberg.

Zhan Nancheng was struck with realization – he had been the most foolish one. How could he believe a wordless interaction between him and the Wuji Crown Prince? How could such radiant and striking eyes belong to a male lover who had gone through suffering?

Finally, he closed his eyes. Extending the finger which had a missing nail because he broke it off in pain, he pointed towards the ceiling.

Looking towards the direction he was pointing to, Meng Fuyao saw that in two hidden corners of the ceiling, there were golden statues of beasts. Each had a slightly agape mouth, and they shone in the light.

Meng Fuyao laughed and gauged the position of the beasts. Making up her mind to tackle the one on the left, she flicked her fingers, and a golden glimmer fell off.

With the token and decree in her hand, she started to head out. Suddenly, there was the movement of wind behind her, and her hand shot back to grab the source of the sound. However, that thing slipped away from her palm. Meng Fuyao immediately wielded her knife and sliced behind her, creating a gust of wind that made the thick curtains flutter. Yet that thing still slid away from the tip of her knife.

Meng Fuyao’s heart skipped a beat, and she quickly bolted away. That thing chased after her relentlessly and tried to pounce on her, traveling at the speed of sound or light; it was so fast that one wouldn’t realize until it neared.

In her hurry, Meng Fuyao turned back with her knife in hand, ready to counter the attack. But she was greeted with a rancid smell, and a pair of dark purple eyes shot towards her face. With a blink of the eyes, a stream of purple liquid splashed in all directions!

Almost simultaneously, Meng Fuyao threw ger knife forward, which was in time to cause the liquid to split in other directions. Majority of it was blocked by Meng Fuyao’s inner energy, but there was a string of it – as thin as an eyelash – that was right in front of her forehead.

Meng Fuyao felt her blood turn cold. In her joy, she had underestimated the attack!

“Chi-”

Suddenly, a sword swerved in from the side.

The thin and long sword was covered with a shimmery silver luminescence, and in an instant, there was an arc of light in the darkness like a shooting star. The sword headed straight for Meng Fuyao’s face at a speed even faster than that of light or sound, causing her to be so stunned that her hair stood on its ends, and her eyes closed in the face of the strong, icy gleam.

Then, the sword stopped almost instantly, narrowly brushing past her eyebrows.

It came quickly but stopped even quicker.

The silver luminescence glowed continually. The sword was so close to Meng Fuyao that a slight mistake could have caused her eyes to go blind, or her forehead to be stabbed through. Yet, even Meng Fuyao’s longest eyelash remained intact.

Correctly positioned in front of her eyelashes, just for the purple liquid to be splattered on it.

A dark room without light! A booby trap that was so close to her! A poisonous liquid as thin as silk.

To deliver such an accurate wield that was beyond describable, how shockingly good should a person’s wrist strength and eyesight be?

There was the sound of sizzling, and the purple liquid instantly expanded, making the clear surface of the blade turn dark. As for the spot that the liquid landed on, a hole gradually appeared in that area due to the erosion of the blade… what a powerful poison!

Meng Fuyao heaved a sigh of relief and gave Yun Hen a thankful look. ‘You saved me again!’

She quickly took out her knife to slaughter the purple beast. As Yun Hen kept his sword, he felt difficulty in using his strength, as his wrist seemed to have been dislocated after he overexerted himself to control the strength of his wield. He broke out in cold sweat, and his inner robe stuck closely to his body like an entangled rope.

That wield… was the best one he ever did in his entire life.

In that split second, he had realized that something was wrong and when he swatted the curtains away, the poisonous liquid was the very first thing he saw.

Without hesitation, he had wielded his sword. However, now that he thought back, he realized that he had not made clear sense of the situation at that moment.

With his skills, such a rushed wield could likely have resulted in him stabbing a hole in Meng Fuyao, so how did he do it? Then, how did he execute such perfect control? What forces were at play to accumulate into such a miraculous sight?

Yun Hen heaved a deep breath and closed his eyes as he thanked the Heavens.

Meanwhile, Meng Fuyao walked up to him. As she cleaned the blood off the blade, she said, “I didn’t expect that a domino trap would be activated at the last step of retrieving the tiger tally, and this weird monster would be hidden in the right beast.” Looking down at the gory mess of blood, meat and purple liquid, she added, “Yun Hen, you sword skills have improved yet again. I can’t even execute what you did.”

Yun Heng merely smiled. On the other hand, Meng Fuyao’s jaws dropped at the sight of his face. “What happened to you? Why are you perspiring so much?” She took out a piece of cloth and was about to wipe away his perspiration, but she changed her mind, and she passed it to him as she pursed her lips. “I’m pretty clumsy, heh…”

When Yun Hen took the cloth, he stuffed it in his robes, making Meng Fuyao blush, pretending that she didn’t see that. As Yun Hen gazed at the unconscious Zhan Nancheng on the bed, he asked, “Don’t kill him? Sparing his life might give us a headache in the future.”

“This is a favor that I want to ask of you,” Meng Fuyao said. “Zhan Nancheng can’t be killed now. I’m issuing a fake decree to order all officials to be gathered outside the palace, to stall the three Ministers who have the authority to mobilize troops. They’re experienced officials, so they’d barge in once they get anxious, but leaving Zhan Nancheng and his slaves behind could make them believe in us and let us stall for more time. I’m entrusting this place to you to ensure that nothing goes wrong. Guard this place using the identity of my guard. If our plan fails, please kill him. If it succeeds, then I ask of you to… kill him!”

Yun Hen was taken aback, while Meng Fuyao gave a helpless smile. “Zhan Beiye has a soft heart, and he might not be able to kill his brother. But sparing Zhan Nancheng’s life is equivalent to having a tumor… Let him be a clean and morally upright Emperor. The crime of killing his brother shall be committed by me!”

She smiled brightly and laughed. “Anyway, I seem to be on my way of becoming the second Old Grand Preceptor Zhou, Heaven Demon’s ‘ultimate turncoat official’.”

Sensing her bravery to dash past all barriers and shoulder all responsibilities, Yun Hen gave her a long look. Moments later, he looked away and said, “Okay!”

Meng Fuyao grinned from ear to ear. “As the saying goes, hold the feudal overlord, and you control his vessels. A true act of a real man!” Then, she passed the bottle of alcohol to Yun Hen, who received it and asked, “What illness did Zhan Nancheng contract? Why is it so strange that he could not stand the sound of water or be exposed to light?”

“I don’t know either.” Meng Fuyao shrugged. Before Zhan Beiheng died, he told her of Zhan Nancheng’s illness, and she consulted the Mongolian doctor about this. Zong Yue asked her detailedly about Zhan Nancheng’s expressions and level of energy, and even the color of his fingernails. A few days later, he gave her a packet of powder and instructed her to smear it on her sleeves when she was summoned by Zhan Nancheng. Nothing much had to be done, and she only needed to flick her sleeves. Zhan Nancheng usually didn’t allow anyone near him, but when she debated in the palace and proposed her military plans the day before, she made exaggerated gestures, and the unlucky Emperor must have breathed in some. As to what that illness was, she could only say that his symptoms resembled that of rabies, though they were not totally alike since it wasn’t the right season. It was highly likely that Zong Yue made a powder that could aggravate his conditions, and severely injure his nervous system, causing him to hyperventilate.

Sigh… the pitiful Zhan Nancheng. How many traps did he fall into simultaneously?

Reassuring Yun Hen with a smile, Meng Fuyao pushed aside the curtains and revealed a smile to the eunuch-in-charge who was dumbfounded. “Had fun overhearing our conversation?”

The eunuch’s face turned ashen, and he stepped back and dropped to his knees. Continuously kowtowing with all his might, he begged. “Captain Meng spare my life, please spare my life…”

“Why should I kill you?” Meng Fuyao patted his shoulders affectionately and stuck a pill in his mouth. “I’ll give you a sweet… is it sweet? After you finish eating, go and announce the decree.”

The eunuch hesitantly received her fake decree, and his fingers trembled continuously. Meng Fuyao smiled. “Announce the decree properly, and I’ll reward you with another sweet when you’re back.” Suddenly, her face turned ice-cold, and she added sinisterly, “You know best what’s the state of the Emperor and this nation. Do you understand what you have to do?”