Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Zhan Beiye had arrived.
The old man raised his brows, flicking his free hand to summon wind blades that shot out in all directions. After a few whizzes, strands of Zhan Beiye’s hair were chopped and sent flying everywhere. Countless holes appeared on his black robe but he never once dodged. Allowing the holes on his clothes to turn to bloody wounds on his skin he charged forward with unreduced power.
The old man frowned a little, evidently surprised. He made a few more flicks, each landing on Zhan Beiye’s body like a huge wooden block. Despite three consecutive slams the force he exerted remained consistent. He laughed maniacally while raising his halberd behind him, where the sound of wild wind rose.
“I’ll smash you to death!”
The surprise on the old man’s face intensified. “Are juniors these days all this ignorant and disrespectful?” The old man laughed, reaching his hand out.
Zong Yue, who had been kneeling before him, raised his head suddenly. “Yes!”
He extended his fingers, between which a plump-looking black pearl was positioned. Since he was kneeling close to the old man, he aimed the pearl right into the latter’s widely opened mouth.
The old man shut his mouth instinctively. The black pearl exploded in midair and disintegrated into smoke and powder, some of which settled on his clothes and in his nostrils.
“What is this… Achoo!” The old man sneezed and in the process loosened his hand.
A purple figure floated by.
It was a very faint figure, almost nonhuman, which resembled the shallow light emitted by the oil lamp on the wall. However, upon its emergence, all light was covered. With fingers like jade, seemingly grasping a flower, the figure reached for the old man’s forehead.
Just a simple touch was enough to send clouds covering the moon. The figure was everywhere yet faintly discernible. In an instant, the whole space seemed to be taken over by the vague but glaringly bright hand gesture.
The old man’s eyes finally changed.
Zong Yue was threatening him with poison, and he couldn’t open his mouth to spit gale swords. Zhan Beiye’s scepter was sturdy, and he needed to free a hand to deal with. Now, the light purple figure, whose power was beyond those two before. To make things worse, that figure was aiming for his only Achille’s heel.
He had no choice but to release the hand on Meng Fuyao’s head.
The moment he released it, the three men’s eyes lit up. Zong Yue got back on his feet and continuously flicked black pearls, while Zhan Beiye brandished his scepter and advanced toward the old man amid the light screen produced. As for Zhangsun Wuji, the move he had executed was a feint, and he had already picked Meng Fuyao up in a flash.
Sensing that he had been fooled, the old man turned to flick his finger. Then, the cracking sound of a bone was heard.
Meng Fuyao whipped her head back as Zhangsun Wuji floated out as if sensing nothing. He even lowered his head to smile. “Troublemaker.”
Meng Fuyao wanted to laugh, but bitterness showed through, albeit in a comical way.
She dropped her body backward, and Zhangsun Wuji remarked, anger surging in his eyes, “Why, Senior, are you making things difficult for juniors like us?
“You are pretty capable but are all juniors in the Five Region Continent this arrogant nowadays?” The old man retorted. “I haven’t stepped foot out of here for many years, and things sure have changed.”
He looked at the few individuals with a tinge of admiration and surprise in his eyes. At their age, he wasn’t of their standard. Coldness filled his heart from deep within, but what he did not realize was that these figures were the cream of the crop and no ordinary kids.
“You’re a prominent figure, Senior Gale. Before you, there’s no room for us to speak,” Zhangsun Wuji continued respectfully. “But why must a life be sacrificed if there is a better solution?”
‘Gale!’
Meng Fuyao stared at the old man in shock. She had mistakenly identified him as the Starlight Sage.
“What is the better solution?” Gale smirked. “I’m about to die. Am I to bring the pact between Holy Spirit and I into the grave? I have never once beaten him. Am I to continue losing? No way, you see.”
“Whoever dies first loses, is that right? And having a disciple to impart your skills counts as a continuation of life. Sir Holy Spirit already has his, but you haven’t been able to find a suitable one, which I assume is the reason why you’re channeling all of your inner energy into ‘Undead Body’?”
“How do you know all these? How do you know about my plan?” Gale questioned, his hair all messed from the wind.
With a smile, Zhangsun Wuji answered, “Undead Body cultivates an unmatchably tough body, but in exchange, it ruins a person’s mind. This is an extreme method and must not be used.”
“I just care about winning,” Gale snickered. “Unless Holy Spirit is willing to use it on his disciple, I’m sure to win.”
“You have no chance,” Zhangsun Wuji informed, his smile never fading. Unhurriedly fiddling with his sleeve, he added, “You had about half an hour of life left, but even that is almost up since we have spent so much time on talking. It’s hardly an issue for the three of us to hinder you.”
Zhan Beiye roared in laughter. “The so-called ‘better solution’ does not exist. It’s a hoax.”
“You’re asking for it,” Gale growled loudly and sprang to his feet, his originally clumsily heavy body turning light and agile. Inner energy flowed within the room as withered grass danced disorderly. Everyone’s hair and clothes rose like the wind, fluttering wildly.
However, the moment Gale got up he noticed that he had indeed reached his maximum power. While he floated with agility, it was rootless. While he floated with ferocity, it was scattered like clouds. The three juniors, on the other hand, were constrained but bizarrely powerful and mighty. It was a force, when all three combined strength, that he wouldn’t reckon with even at his peak. Meanwhile, Meng Fuyao, who had already consumed a part of his inner energy and had almost died from a stomach full of angst, was charging toward him as well. Gaining the upper hand was no longer an option.
Three moves later Gale stopped.
“What’s the point of killing you, children…” he trailed off, appearing significantly frailer. “It’s about time…” He reached for a manual from his clothes and tossed it near Meng Fuyao’s feet.
“I don’t want your secret manual…” Meng Fuyao yelled righteously, only to be mocked. “You wish. This is a map for when you head over to Fufeng. I dropped some things in E Sea, Luosha Island. Go retrieve them for me.”
“Please, your old ass almost got me killed…”
“No matter what I did, you didn’t die, and your inner energy has grown. Use it well, and your future will be limitless.” Gale sat cross-legged and added, without looking at her, “If you are an ungrateful bastard then feel free to ignore this dying man’s last wish.”
“Where’s the logic. I am a bastard. You wish…” Meng Fuyao cursed before turning toward Gale. She reached forward to check if he was breathing. “Hello? Dead already?”
Her reaction evoked a burst of vague laughter from the three men.
Meng Fuyao’s nose was pointed toward the sky as she declared, “He’s gone.”
The three men remained motionless as she strode away and stopped by the door. She squirmed for some time, as though her whole body was itching, before turning around.
“Aish… might be good stuff. Let me just…” The three men watched as she picked the manual up, mumbling to herself.
She casually tossed it into her clothes, eyes sweeping across the expression on their faces. Instinct had told her to run, but their gaze made her knees weak.
All three of them were injured…
Zong Yue’s face was white as frost, Zhan Beiye had spotted wounds from the gale blades. As for Zhangsun Wuji, his condition was unclear.
‘What was that bone cracking sound from earlier? That was him, right?’
That was the astonishing power involved when it came to the ten strongest figures in the Five Region Continent. Till this day, the three most capable men she knew had to combine forces to barely save her life.
Meng Fuyao looked up in grief, lamenting over her misfortune. Trouble had to follow wherever she went. Extreme trouble at that.
She walked toward them and squatted down.
“What? Waiting for us to carry you?” Zhan Beiye rolled his eyes.
“You’re wrong,” Meng Fuyao answered half-weakly. “I’m about to carry you men out to repay my sin. Rock, paper, scissors to see who goes first.”
“Save it,” Zhan Beiye strode forward and pulled her up before turning to smile at the two men. He reasoned, clearly satisfied, “One has an internal injury, and the other has a broken arm. I’m the only one left to beat her up. Any objections?”
“Go ahead. As you please,” they responded.
A certain night, in a certain mansion, in a certain room, the sound of pigs getting slaughtered seeped through the hazy window paper as a certain someone could be seen being pushed onto the bed…
Do not misunderstand. It was Meng Fuyao treating injuries.
When she was receiving Gale’s power, the internal injury from the times she had slammed onto the railing was also healed. However, the bruises on her face weren’t going to vanish just like that, so Zhan Beiye was the one who had forced her on the bed to apply medication.
Meng Fuyao had hoped it would be Zhangsun Wuji, naturally, since he was the gentlest amongst the three of them. Between the other two, one was too forceful, while the other was too clumsy, and they might very well use the chance to take revenge. It was a pity that Zhangsun Wuji had simply played along by commenting that his arm was still in pain, before rolling around and falling asleep.
As such, Meng Fuyao could only accept the torture Zhan Beiye was inflicting upon her. He did not stop until her face was fully coated with medication. Unfortunately, the toxin in her heart couldn’t be expelled, and thus she made her way to the entrance of the mansion, where Sir Li was kneeling.
Before Meng Fuyao had left the jail she had seen Sir Li leading a bunch of men toward her direction, with whips, buckets, and salt in their hands, as if they had been ready to charge for her.
Seeing him had made her blood boil. If he hadn’t found trouble with her, would she have almost died? Would the trio have gotten injured? Would she have had to be brought back to the house and receive such torturous treatment?
