Legend of Fu Yao

All the manor’s gates opened uniformly, and big groups of soldiers swarmed out like bees, swiftly heading to the designated area. The sound of galloping and the heavy footsteps woke up the sleeping city as noise penetrated the silence.

The fire torches lit up the manor’s surroundings. Noticing that something was wrong, the assassins tried to escape. But a black figure flashed by and pulled the lightly injured Ya Lanzhu away with one hand, and choked somebody to death with another.

In an instant, the well-trained soldiers and guards had blocked all escape routes and completely surrounded the men in grey. The fire from the torches illuminated the hopeless faces on the assassins as well as the eyes of the bloody, unkempt man who leaned against the wall.

That unkempt man lifted his tattered sleeves. Under the flickering light source, he saw Dahan’s emperor flash by with his soldiers following closely behind him. With countless of people under him, he quickly walked over with a straightened back, with his eyes filled with a murderous aura.

He finally saw that man. As he blinked, a teardrop escaped from his eyes, streaming down his bloody face.

He mumbled, “… Yu Chu… You didn’t die in vain… I finally met the Emperor of Han alive…”

Meng Fuyao strutted over and noticed the breathless Ya Lanzhu; her hair was tousled, and she had a patch of blood on her shoulder. Fury sparked in her instantly, and she abruptly swerved back, glaring at the group of people who no longer dared to attack Ya Lanzhu.

That group of people, in turn, watched her in terror. This delicate, slim youth was that King of Han notorious for her ferocious, shameless and cruel acts?

Apparently, King of Han was a female? And she was the new top ten martial artists, “Nine Heavens”!

The leader’s expression became a bleak one. When he had taken on this mission, his commander had repeatedly ordered him to kill the person that was seeking for help without alarming the King of Han, regardless. This group of elites had crossed borders just to kill this person for that sweet reward. It was no one’s desire to provoke a strong opponent. Unfortunately for them, their plans could not keep up with the changes, leading them to the situation they were in now.

But he strongly believed that once he announced his clan’s name and pleaded with her nicely, this King of Han would not be that unreasonable so as to massacre them and offend the powerful force of another country.

Regarding the losses on his side, he could only admit that lady luck wasn’t on his side. But where there’s life, there’s hope!

Decided on his plan, he forced out a smile and bowed. “If I may ask this is the King of Han?”

‘Being so courteous with me, it couldn’t be that you still think you have a chance to escape?’ Meng Fuyao looked at him, amused. Plastering on a fake smile, she replied, “That would be me.”

“It is my greatest honor to meet you at last.” The man in grey bowed once more.

Meng Fuyao was pretty intrigued by this civility that this assassin displayed. ‘It seems like we won’t be wasting time on interrogation,’ she thought slyly. Lazily and slowly, she asked, “The pleasure is mine. Now, may I know what is your intention behind trespassing my manor and injuring my friend?”

The man in grey frowned. ‘You’ve assigned the blame too quickly to us, isn’t it? There are at least four streets before one will reach your manor. Also, the person we are after isn’t even your friend!’ the assassin thought, aggrieved.

Even so, he put on a sorrowful face as he hastily stepped forward and explained, “Your Highness, please do not misunderstand. We are after the traitor of our sect and have accidentally entered Your Highness’ territory. Please forgive us this time for the sake that we too belong to a martial arts sect.”

“Oh? Martial arts? What sect do you belong to?” Meng Fuyao questioned.

That man in grey puffed up his chest. Despite retaining his humble tone and expression, he was certain that Meng Fuyao’s attitude would change after hearing his sect’s name. “I belong to the Eternal Sky Clan!” He peered over at Meng Fuyao and continued, “If the King of Han would be willing to drop this matter and not pursue us, when I catch the traitor, the entire clan will definitely be grateful to Your Highness! While we might not be as powerful and honorable as Your Highness, we do still have a meager force that will definitely be of use to Your Highness in the future!”

Meng Fuyao tilted her head, and the well-informed Yao Xun beside her leaned in and whispered, “The biggest sect in Xuanji, the strongest force in Xiao Ao Green Forest.”

Meng Fuyao gave a casual ‘mhm’ and turned to look at the man in grey with a smile. “Eternal Sky Clan ah… Nice to meet you.”

Looking at her expression, the man in grey was now relieved, certain that he was able to get out of this mess relatively unscathed.

Meng Fuyao glanced at him. “Not pursuing responsibilities, huh… Taking him away… it isn’t impossible.”

The man in grey was elated and quickly said, “As long as Your Highness agrees, our sect leader will definitely thank Your Highness for your kindness!”

“Welcome welcome. We are all from the martial arts world, after all.” Meng Fuyao waved her hand. She turned back and saw that the person who was being chased was now being supported by the guards.

Xuanji Chen An’s Count, Wang Huayan.

Meng Fuyao had only seen him twice, the first time was at the True Martial Arts Meet. He was Yun Hen’s opponent and had left Meng Fuyao a deep impression due to his vast inner energy. The second time was during the crowning of Xuanji’s empress where he and his wife, Xuanji’s princess Feng Yu Chu, were sent to Xuanji to congratulate them. It was there and then that she knew that they were kicked out of the fight for the throne.

But wasn’t he too pitiful? To the point where he could not even stay in his own country, and the assassins still wouldn’t even let him off even when he had escaped his country.

Meng Fuyao had a decent impression of him. She remembered during Yun Hen’s battle, this prince had given his all in the fight, but when he lost, he lost with honor, displaying true sportsmanship—a worthy opponent for Yun Hen indeed.

Her gaze landed on Hua Yan. From his eyes, she could see his anxiety and desperation, yet there was no ounce of fear. Satisfied with what she saw, she turned back. “But, it doesn’t seem that reasonable just to let you guys go like this…”

The man in grey panicked as he frantically tried to convince her. “King of Han…”

“This is not your Eternal Sky Clan’s traitor.” Meng Fuyao eyed him coldly. “If your traitor is the Prince of Xuanji, Eternal Sky Clan would be building a country right now! Lies. How dare you lie in front of me?!”

The man in grey turned pale as beads of cold sweat started forming on his forehead. After some hesitation, he asked carefully, “What would Your Highness like me to do so that you will let us off?”

“Easy.” Meng Fuyao gestured. “I am, after all, still the ruler of Chang Han. The safety of the civilians here are my responsibility. You guys are here, on my territory, to kill someone. If I let you guys off without a plausible reason, wouldn’t it be too humiliating for me?”

The man in grey hung his head down as he contemplated. Meng Fuyao craned her head back and looked at the sky with her hands behind her back while Zhangsun Wuji, Zhan Beiye, and Ya Lanzhu remained silent. They were used to Meng Fuyao handling her own affairs; Afterall, Meng Fuyao had been enlightened from the best of the best—learning how to be black-hearted from Zhangsun Wuji, ferocious from Zhan Beiye and acting like a ruffian from Ya Lanzhu. And of course, the trio was more than happy to save themselves from the trouble.

The man in grey searched for ways to get out of this quickly. He knew that if he did not give any reason, it would be impossible for him to leave. The truth was that any of the leaders would have dealt with it the same way she did; Meng Fuyao was already being very polite about it. It turned out that she wasn’t as unreasonable as the rumors made her out to be and were someone who knew to change with circumstances.

‘We would have to deal with this figure of authority sooner or later, so I guess it’s fine to do her a favor,’ he thought naively.

And so, this person, who failed both at being an assassin and a politician, inched closer to Meng Fuyao. In a hushed voice, he whispered, “Your Highness, please keep this a secret… This is someone that the Eleventh Prince is after… He wants to see him, dead or alive!”

Xuanji’s Eleventh Prince, Feng Xuan’s favorite son and the empress’ first son.

Meng Fuyao’s mind traveled back to the content that Zhangsun Wuji had tossed at her that day. She smiled and asked, “Oh… I see, but why does the Eleventh Prince want to kill him?”

The man in grey looked at her doubtfully, unable to comprehend why this politician that rose through the ranks in such a short time would ask such a childish question. But even so, he carefully replied, “I only vaguely heard that this Prince has something important with him, and that needs to be taken back…”

Meng Fuyao replied with a ‘mhm’ and smiled. Stretching herself, she muttered, “Ah… Wasted a good’s night sleep… Well, this is enough.”

She nodded in the direction of the man in grey and revealed a bright smile.

Caught by surprise, the man in grey frantically returned a polite smile, showing off his eye that was dug out, sending shivers down the spines of those who saw it.

Meng Fuyao continued to smile sweetly and then, turned with her hands behind her back. Without saying another word, she calmly walked away.

The man in grey watched her back in bewilderment, not understanding what she meant. Then, suddenly, a low, raspy voice emanating with a murderous aura ordered:

“Kill!”

The voice was swift like a blade, and then, before the man in grey could regain his senses, fireworks of blood bloomed in front of him, spurting out of the necks and bodies of those who he knew.

In the midst of the chaos, he saw the lady’s back slowly disappear. From the beginning to the end, she never once turned back.

His eyes slowly drooped down, seeing the new big hole being created in his chest. Through that hole, he miraculously saw his own brothers collapsing into their own blood, and their corpses were being trampled over.

And then, he collapsed too.

The last thought of his life was:

‘She didn’t seem to have promised to let us off…”

Meng Fuyao made her way towards Hua Yan’s side as though she could not hear the anguished screams of those behind her. She glanced at him and ordered the guards to send him to the manor. Then she turned back towards Ya Lanzhu and asked, “Zhu Zhu, are you okay?”

“Nah, it’s just some small wounds.” But then, guilt hit her as she quietly said, “Fuyao, I’ve caused you trouble again…”

“What do you mean ’caused me trouble’?” Meng Fuyao laughed heartily. “It’s me. I’m a natural trouble receptor. And putting all matters aside, bullying my friend on my territory and he still expects me to let him off? Dream on!”