Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Martial abilities?” Like a fly that was hard to swat away, Zhong Yi leaned in again, beaming as he said in a secretive tone, “Everyone under the Heavens knows that Fufeng has the most wondrous objects. Xuanji is the closest to Fufeng and has quite a bit of good stuff as well, but they’re all kept in the imperial palace under the watch of the royal family. Many of these items have the ability to raise one’s skill level.”
At this point, Meng Fuyao suddenly remembered the white pill that Zong Yue had given to her; he had mentioned before that he had tried using other ingredients to replace the herb that grew only in the Changqing Shrine, and after multiple failures he had finally managed to cultivate the pill that could improve one’s basic abilities and increase her martial skills without having a significant impact on her Emotion Lock. However, Zong Yue had also mentioned that the effects of the pill were extremely powerful and a period of meditation to assimilate the pill into her body. She was now troubled with a new predicament; to eat or not to eat?
Her brows knitted together in frustration as Zhangsun Wuji cast a questioning gaze at her. After explaining her predicament in a few quick sentences, Zhangsun Wuji replied, “Give it to me.”
Taking the pill, he rotated a hand over it to reveal a smooth, grey pearl. Zhangsun Wuji scrutinized it carefully under the moonlight, and after a moment, he announced, “Now you can ingest this.”
Meng Fuyao instantly recognized it as the partially-cultivated essence that Moon Soul left behind. At the time, Zong Yue had kept half of it, saying that she should only take it after she became strong enough to withstand it. After that, it was taken away by Zhangsun Wuji, and Meng Fuyao soon forgot about it. However, now that it was in front of her, she knew it was no longer the same as the half she had taken previously. The pill was covered with an even brighter sheen and looked exquisite. Meng Fuyao poked at it with her finger, and the moon-colored sheen flashed directly through her heart. After a moment, she said, “You have been cultivating this with your own inner energy for a long time, haven’t you?”
Zhangsun Wuji smiled, not replying, and Meng Fuyao fell into deep thought. “I know that your martial skills have not progressed ever since you met me. At first, I didn’t understand, but now I know. How many people can withstand constantly giving away energy for an extended period of time? Now that I’m aware, I don’t want you to do this anymore. This pill is no longer the one that Moon Soul gave me, at least half of its essence is yours, so take it back,” she said finally as she pushed it back to him.
However, Zhangsun Wuji merely smiled and changed the topic. “Do you know what I’m afraid of the most?”
Meng Fuyao stared at him suspiciously.
“I’m afraid of being unable to save you when you’re in danger,” Zhangsun Wuji stared at the fire and said mildly, “You’re too good at causing trouble, and you’re too independent and self-driven. I’m terrified that something might happen anytime that you can’t deal with and I’m not there by your side. So the best idea is to let you become strong enough to handle it on your own. You becoming stronger is more important than me becoming stronger.”
He raised a hand and blocked Meng Fuyao’s airway, forcing her to open her mouth to breathe and then popping the pearl-like pill into her mouth. Afraid that she might vomit it out, he pressed a finger against her throat and forced her to swallow it into her stomach.
Zhangsun Wuji chuckled and patted her head. Then, he lay down, neither sleeping nor speaking. Meng Fuyao sighed and sat down on the grass mat. The fire was almost out, and the air was filled with the faint smell of spring. In the darkness, the two figures remained unmoving, yet their eyes were wide open, unable to sleep.
The next day, true to his word, Zhong Yi took on the role as a guide and caretaker. Along the way, he diligently searched for rest houses and even checked to see if Meng Fuyao’s chopsticks had been boiled or not to whether her horse had been fed. Of course, he did not care about anything else; staying by Meng Fuyao’s side like a little smiling flower. Meng Fuyao continued to be on her guard against him and treated him coldly, yet in the face of Zhong Yi’s persistence, her icy exterior crumbled slightly, and she began to joke with him.
Zhangsun Wuji remained sullen and quiet, looking especially sour when he saw Meng Fuyao and Zhong Yi chatting with each other. It was also apparent that he had been trying to recover his inner energy these few days. The martial arts he practiced was very mysterious, and on some mornings, his face looked transparent, yet in the evening, it seemed to have taken on a jade-like quality. He and his pet seemed not to care about anything else, only during mealtimes did Lord Yuan Bao insist on sitting between Meng Fuyao and Zhangsun Wuji, and Zhong Yi could only sit opposite them despite his attempt to sit beside Meng Fuyao.
As they progressed further, Meng Fuyao noticed that the route that Zhong Yi was taking was not the wilderness, neither was it the main road. He seemed to be extremely familiar with the route, familiar to the point where he could lead others along. Occasionally as they passed through a certain village or town where there seemed to only be one road, he could actually uncover a small road behind random families’ courtyards that went through the entire town. It was obvious that very few people would know about this road, it was covered with grass and looked untrodden.
As for why this rich-looking rascal would be so familiar with such routes, Meng Fuyao simply didn’t bother asking. Zhong Yi’s origin was unknown, and it wasn’t clear whether he was a friend or foe, but before she could find a solution if he was useful, why not use him?
Today, they had arrived at Guanyuan County’s Donglan Town. This was already more than halfway to Xuanji’s borders, meaning that they had already left Feng Jingrui’s sphere of influence several days ahead of their original plan.
Donglan Town was not a large town, but because the town was next to the huge Guanyuan County, there was a population of about two thousand and it was considered a rather busy town. The roads were arranged neatly and in the distance, the sound of gongs and drums, as well as the fragrance of food drifted by.
The sky was darkening, and dusk soon fell upon them. Meng Fuyao parked her horse by the entrance of the village. Cupping her eyes with her hands, she glanced at the sky and commented, “What ghastly-looking weather, there’s an eight out of ten chance of a thunderstorm.”
“I meant to walk along the mountains behind the town,” Zhong Yi said. “I heard that Noble Consort’s daughter, the Eldest Imperial Princess’ ‘Amethyst Cape Knights’ are within the vicinity. Although we’re not afraid of them, we don’t have to encounter these mongrels and create unnecessary trouble. The only thing is that there isn’t much shelter available in the mountains to hide from the rain, so it might be rather uncomfortable.”
Meng Fuyao turned around and glanced at Zhangsun Wuji. She knew that Zhangsun Wuji had already re-established contact with his hidden guard ever since they left the river. Once entering the mountains, they wouldn’t have a place to avoid the rain, but the ones who would suffer would be Zhangsun Wuji’s hidden guards, who were stationed outside. Zhangsun Wuji naturally knew what she was thinking and said, “Safety first.”
However, Meng Fuyao raised an eyebrow and said, “What is this, forcing me to hide around? Do I have to camp outside even in the storm? I’m not doing that!”
She pointed towards the town at a brightly decorated black and white brick house. “It looks like a wedding is happening there? Regardless of how arrogant the Amethyst Cape Knights are, they wouldn’t ruin a wedding for no reason, right? Let’s go over and ask for a cup of wine!”
Meng Fuyao cracked her whip and headed towards the house. When she arrived at the door, she bowed to the beaming old man decked in red and said, “Congratulations to you!”
“Thank you, thank you—” The old man habitually bowed. When he raised his head and saw several unfamiliar faces, he froze for a second. The town was only that big, and everyone knew each other. The old man could tell instantly that these were outsiders and quickly bowed again, saying, “Forgive me, but you are…”
“Just passing through, here to celebrate with your family,” Meng Fuyao replied. Tie Cheng immediately brought forward a bag of gold.
Meng Fuyao rolled her eyes at him and thought, ‘This poor fool, is he trying to create trouble for me?’ She reached into the bag and pulled out a gold leaf. Offering it to the old man, she smiled and said, “Just a small gift, hope you don’t mind.”
“Aiya, I’m not worthy!” To Meng Fuyao’s surprise, upon seeing the gold leaf, the old man quickly pushed it back to her and said, “If you don’t mind the lack of hospitality, your presence at my son’s wedding is already a great honor. How could I accept your gift, I’m not worthy, really not worthy.”
Meng Fuyao was stunned. This gold leaf was likely equivalent to three years’ worth of expenditure for a regular farmer’s family, yet this old man did not covet it. What a rare moment, this town indeed brought about several pleasant surprises.
Meng Fuyao stowed the gold leaf away and said, “Then we’ll have to bother you.”
“Did you miss the resthouse?” The old man said courteously, “After having some wine, come here to rest, we don’t have much, but we do have a few clean rooms.”
Meng Fuyao thanked the old man again as he called a rough-looking boy to take them in. Their appearance was greatly different from the guests and attracted several stares as they walked, and several ladies started giggling when they noticed Zhangsun Wuji and Zhong Yi.
Meng Fuyao mumbled, “Superficial!”
Zhong Yi smiled and said, “When will you also smile at me like this—” Meng Fuyao promptly slapped him away.
After exchanging a few lines with the rough-looking boy, she found out that this was the Li family, and that they were an honest and respectable scholar’s family. Their ancestors had been officials, and they had retreated into the countryside due to their dissatisfaction with the imperial court, buying several plots of land and settling down. Now that the family’s only son was having a wedding, all the neighbors in the town were invited. They were not calculative over wedding gifts and welcomed everyone even if they came with just an empty red packet. They simply wanted to share their happiness.
The boy brought them through three courtyards and straight into the main hall. There were only three banquet tables in the main hall, and a fat man with big ears was sitting at the head of one of them. The boy introduced the man as Magistrate Xian, and on both sides were the important figures of the town. As he spoke, he gestured for them to sit together with Magistrate Xian.
Meng Fuyao pulled Zhangsun Wuji and took the seat—she was used to sitting in high places, and during normal circumstances, others had to see if she was satisfied with the seat.
However, once she sat down, voices started to buzz around her—”Several common travelers, apart from being good-looking there was nothing impressive about them, how could Old Li invite them to sit at the main table! This is merely an act of courtesy from the Li Family, and if these people were perceptive enough, they would already refuse, yet they decided to just sit down like that!”
Meng Fuyao ignored the buzz of voices and stares and began to eat and drink heartily with Zhong Yi. However, Zhangsun Wuji did not drink any wine, and he looked somewhat exhausted. Meng Fuyao glanced at him worriedly, wondering if he had trained too hard.
After three rounds of wine, the bride came out to greet the guests. The bride was slender and graceful, and Meng Fuyao beamed at her approvingly. As a woman, she was appreciating another woman, and the guests that were already looking at her distastefully twisted their faces disapprovingly—this rascal, how flagrant!
