Legend of Fu Yao

It was a sweet, childish voice with a playful tone.

Meng Fuyao immediately braked!

In that instant, she kept her dagger, relaxed her shoulders, suppressed her inner energy.

How precarious!

She almost revealed her abilities!

Taking a deep breath, Meng Fuyao turned around and looked at the “Doraemon” Noble Consort resignedly. With a frown, she sighed.”Ah Guang, why didn’t you notify the guards before entering. You are getting more and more lawless.”

Tang Yiguang smiled innocently as her honest hand reached for the desserts on the table. “I’m craving for the walnuts here,” she admitted.

Meng Fuyao sighed and pulled her over. From the drawer, she retrieved a box and handed it over to her. “The ones on the table are not fresh. Have this instead.”

Tang Yiguang was happy as long as there was food. She took over the box with much glee. It was only then that she remembered to greet Meng Fuyao.

Meng Fuyao stopped her, thoroughly amused. “The next time you want to enter my palace, you must notify the guards. Got it?”

That child replied with an ‘mhm.’ Meng Fuyao always had low resistance to such adorable creatures and would never, in whatever case, decide to kill someone with the intelligence of a four-year-old child. She personally helped her open up the walnuts. Watching that child eat in glee, she remembered Xuanyuan Min telling her about that child falling off the horse. She couldn’t help but ask, “Ah Guang, you were only four then. Why did you go horse riding? Did your father teach you?”

Chomping down on a mouth full of food, Tang Yiguang garbled, “… Bwother taught me.”

Meng Fuyao did not manage to catch the name of the brother and did not bother with it either. Once Tang Yiguang was done with her food, Meng Fuyao sent her out. After returning, she stood in the middle of the room and thought about the plans she had. All of a sudden, she felt the doors behind her open and listening to the light and odd footsteps, she could tell that it was Shadow Blade. Without turning back, Meng Fuyao asked casually, “Have the wounds from the poisonous snake healed?”

Shadow Blade responded with a quiet “mhm” and gently walked to her side, placing his hand on her shoulder.

Meng Fuyao subconsciously avoided his hand. But Shadow Blade insisted. “Let me ease your bones. It will be beneficial for you, given that your power has made it into your joints.”

Meng Fuyao hesitated before replying, “No, that’s fine.”

He sighed softly. “Are you going to make me owe you for my entire life, till the day I die?”

Meng Fuyao froze. She turned back and said, “It’s not as serious as you put it. Friends don’t sweat such details.”

Upon hearing her words, he felt no joy. Instead, his melancholy intensified. But eventually, he put up a soft, sad smile as he asked, “Then, can I at least help you relax your bones?”

With his insistence, she climbed onto the couch and laid down comfortably. “If I fall asleep, please don’t look. The way I look asleep is just a little bit better than Lord Yuan Bao.”

Lord Yuan Bao squatted by her pillow and glared at her with despise. ‘At least I don’t drool!’

Meng Fuyao laid down on her stomach as she thought about her next plans. Just as her brain buzzed with thoughts, she suddenly felt something on her back—Shadow Blade had already placed his fingers on her back.

His long slender fingers gently danced on her back. With every touch, a fuzzy sense of warmth entered her limbs. As those beautiful hands applied pressure, Meng Fuyao could hear the sound of her joints cracking, producing a crisp sound. At the same time, she could feel a power wave cleansing out the tension in her body, easing every part of her body. It felt so comfortable that a moan almost escaped from her lips—she quickly bit down on her pillow, stopping the moan.

Behind her, the man calmly commented, “Fuyao, you are too nervous. Your entire body is tensed.”

‘Because I can’t tell if you are a gentleman,’ she thought with apprehension.

Shadow Blade smiled and changed the topic. “Are you willing to stay in Xuanyuan forever?” he asked.

Meng Fuyao was caught by surprise. This was the topic she had been most afraid of. Remain in Xuanyuan? No, in this life, she was never meant to stay for anyone. Both her heart and footsteps were destined to move forward; even if she had to go against her heart, she had no choice but to continue her journey—Taiyuan, Wuji, Dahan, Xuanyuan… Her destination was forever in front.

She stayed quiet. The fingertips on her back stopped. Shadow Blade’s scent wafted up to her nose as he bent over. Meng Fuyao had that intention to avoid him, but she was lying on a narrow couch with enough space for one. That meant that she could either roll into his embrace or turn over to face him, which would have been awkward either way. As she weighed her options, Shadow Blade stopped beside her ear. His hand gently caressed her earlobes.

His fingers were soft and warm. The icy cold from back in the days had dissipated, bringing about a gentle touch. This contact made the two tremble slightly. Meng Fuyao turned her head, but Shadow Blade had already let go as he quietly muttered, “… In the end, you can’t stay, huh…? But the days are still long. Fuyao, look, for someone who refused to make any markings on your body, you broke your rules and pierced your ears for me… I hope that one day you can break more rules for me.”

After a while, she replied, “My compromises are always, and will only be, in the boundaries I can accept.”

“I know.” Shadow Blade gave a sad smile, filled with much desolation, like the cold winter air. “If there would never be another compromise again, at least, this once is better than nothing.”

He stood up and handed her a tiny box. He walked away and just as he was about to leave the room, he stood by the door without turning back and muttered softly under his breath, “Fuyao… I really hope you won’t let the earholes close…”

Meng Fuyao pressed her lips together as she opened the small box. The box opened to reveal a snow-white pill that was the size of a thumb, emitting a pleasant scent. While Meng Fuyao was not able to decipher the contents of the pill, she was certain that this was extremely valuable. She turned to the direction Shadow Blade had left, touching her earlobes as she stared into the sky, dazed. After a long time, a soft sigh escaped from her lips.

Xuanyuan, Zhaoning era, December 21st. Winter was bitter and harsh, rendering even the smallest drop of moisture into ice. The mountains along the borders of Xuanyuan and Dahan were covered in snow. Silence remained the wall between the strict, stringent borders of the two countries.

Somehow, this winter was exceptionally cold. The heavy snowfall last night raised the white ground, drowning whatever is left of summer. Every household closed their doors as they huddled up near a fire source, allowing the wilful snow to flatten the ground.

In the early morning, the nascent rays hit the earth’s white canvas, painting soft shade of reds, whites, and silvers.

A few muddy footsteps were added onto the canvas as the snow crunched noisily under their feet like sugar cubes. The tranquil silence was abruptly broken by their chatters.

“My gosh, can’t believe I have to get out of the house to guard the gates in this weather!”

“They are just afraid that the Dahan army might attack us. But it’s just false bravado, their emperor is still here.”

“Well, with this hellish weather, even the enemies are snuggled up in their tents with their fireplace burning. Battle? How?”

“I swear the army doesn’t treat us as people!”

This chaotic commentary of theirs destroyed the idyllic wintry morning. A platoon from Xuanyuan dragged themselves across the snow sluggishly as their swords rattled boisterously. Today, they were in charge of patrolling the border.

The platoon that was well accustomed to warmth could not take the cold weather. They all were wrapped in thick winter clothes to fend off the cold, but this outfit of theirs, stuffed full of cotton, made their arms stick out straight like a carrot. Forget about drawing their swords, it was even a challenge trying to reach their own butt.

The leader of the platoon climbed up a small hill lazily. He glanced across the gloomy, sober army camp on the other side of the river as he announced with a huff, “Only a ghost would come out in this weather! Not even a single movement! Let’s go back!”

They all turned back happily. But suddenly, the last soldier asked, “Hm, what’s that sound?”

He turned back and came face to face with a group in red armor across the river, galloping on their horses.

That group of soldiers “galloped” in the thick snow with bows in hand. With such a scene displayed in front of him, that soldier laughed heartily and remarked, “Haha, look at that idiot hunting in this weather!”

The rest laughed along. Suddenly, the keen leader pointed out, “Eh, which army is this? Dahan’s soldiers wear black armor.”

“Who cares which army he’s from. It has nothing to do with us.” The platoon turned back and suddenly saw one of the soldiers in red draw his bow. In front of his horse, a rabbit was frantically running for its life, running across the surface of the icy river, towards this platoon.

The leader laughed excitedly. “What a fat rabbit! Since it’s made its way here, let’s make it into a good meal!”

He drew his bow, shooting right through the rabbit’s heart. As the rest of his soldiers applauded his remarkable skills, the leader declared proudly, “This is but a rabbit. During the battle at…”

He suddenly went silent.

The laughter stopped immediately.

With widened eyes, the soldiers’ eyes focused on a red arrow now through the leader’s chest.

The leader slowly looked down as he saw the arrow in his chest tremble ever so slightly. As the cruel winter wind blew on, that arrow was icy cold. His blood was boiling hot. But that warmth was the last signs of life. Very soon, he would be as cold as the snow on the floor.

He collapsed, with his eyes opened. His crimson red blood-spattered onto white canvas, giving the painting a new shade of red.

At the corner of his eye, before he collapsed, he saw the man who shot him. With his cold calm eyes, he had shot him with one hand; the other hand remained paralyzed under his sleeve.

He enunciated each word clearly:

“You. Killed. King Han’s. Rabbit.”

“You killed King Han’s rabbit.”

The most ridiculous reason to start a battle in the entire history of the Five Regions Continent.

This declaration spread like wildfire in the Five Region Continent, bringing back the already popular King Han as the topic of every conversation once more.

Even many years after that, many still used this declaration as a synonym for a challenge—I want to punch you! Why? You killed my rabbit!