Shenjun Mo Zhao lay face down, his severed long hair scattered messily on the ground, crimson blood stains spreading across his moon-white celestial robe.
Xuan Yi said in a low voice: “…Is he dead?”
Fucang looked her up and down, seemingly checking if she was injured, then said: “Mortals are called ‘dead,’ but the divine race only has ‘annihilation.'”
Is this really the time to discuss such things? Xuan Yi was even more bewildered. She rarely found herself unable to react properly. Wait, let her sort out this situation: Fucang had been performing a sword dance earlier, she had been abducted by Shenjun Mo Zhao and his group to the Immortal Plum Forest, Fucang appeared in the Immortal Plum Forest, and Shenjun Mo Zhao was dead.
She suddenly laughed in shock—this guy actually dared to kill a divine being in Zhuxuan Yuyang Manor! She reached out to touch Fucang’s forehead. Had he lost his mind?
Fucang tilted his head to avoid her hand, picked up Chun Jun, and wiped the blood clean on Shenjun Mo Zhao’s clothes, saying indifferently: “Just giving them a small lesson.”
Turning his head, he saw Xuan Yi summoning Zhuyin White Snow, apparently planning to bury these several Shenjun. The belly full of evil fire he had just swallowed down surged back to the top of his head: “What are you doing?”
“Eliminating evidence.” Xuan Yi deliberately pushed the buried Shenjun toward the ordinary snow in the Immortal Plum Forest to prevent them from being discovered by anyone with ill intentions.
If she eliminated evidence like this, even if they weren’t annihilated, they would be! The veins on Fucang’s forehead throbbed wildly as he pulled these several pitiful Shenjun back out from Zhuyin White Snow, completely forgetting the fact that he was the one who had knocked them unconscious.
“Don’t move again.” He picked up this inexplicable dragon princess in one swift motion and turned to leave.
Xuan Yi raised her neck high and stared steadily at him. His chin was like beautiful jade, and his thin lips were slightly pursed with lingering anger. Seemingly sensing her gaze, he lowered his head, his dark eyes coldly meeting hers.
She blinked: “Has Fucang Shixiong finished his sword dance?”
His voice was extremely flat: “Mm.”
She said in a soft, sweet voice: “Coming to save me as soon as you finished—Fucang Shixiong really cares about me.”
Fucang acted as if he hadn’t heard. The dragon princess’s half-joking, half-sarcastic remark seemed to suddenly strike one of his weak points. Countless malicious thoughts lurking in his heart unreasonably drilled out. He was eager to strike back, but found he had nothing to say.
As they stepped out of the Immortal Plum Forest, they suddenly heard a series of clear crimson-gold bell sounds in the distance. Xuan Yi turned her head and indeed saw Feilian Shenjun with his jingling head ornaments and Wangshu Shennu walking toward them.
Upon seeing them, Feilian and Wangshu didn’t seem surprised at all. Feilian Shenjun even sneered coldly as he looked Xuan Yi over, his gaze lingering particularly long on her right leg.
Xuan Yi said with a smile: “The Shenjun’s hair now looks very smooth and soft—I’m relieved.”
Feilian Shenjun’s face immediately darkened: “Audacious little brat! I still have unsettled accounts with you! Today you’ve fallen into my hands yourself, so I’ll cripple one of your arms! And break one of his legs! Let’s see if you dare to be so arrogant in the future!”
Wangshu Shennu behind him suddenly spoke: “Divine Envoy Feilian, please don’t be impulsive. We came here today for other important matters.”
Feilian Shenjun said coldly: “Shennu, this little bastard is extremely cunning and vicious! That day she thoroughly toyed with me! Then her damned father subjected me to all kinds of humiliation and torture—how can I swallow this grievance!”
“I hope the Divine Envoy will, for the sake of my fellow student relationship with the Zhuyin Clan’s princess, not dwell on this resentment.”
With these words, Feilian Shenjun instantly became peaceful and nodded: “If the Shennu says so, I won’t be angry.”
Huh? This violent Feilian Shenjun listens so well to Wangshu Shennu? Xuan Yi couldn’t help but give him another look.
Wangshu Shennu gracefully walked to Xuan Yi’s side. That invisible gaze once again wrapped around her face, carrying a hint of scrutiny. Xuan Yi didn’t know what she truly meant, so she simply said nothing and shrank into Fucang’s arms, tilting her head and smiling at her.
Fucang suddenly spoke: “Wangshu Shennu, thank you for your trouble. I wonder where the Shennu wishes to cast her spell?”
Wangshu said: “I just searched the entire Zhuxuan Yuyang Manor with Divine Envoy Feilian. The place with the most abundant pure energy is precisely this Immortal Plum Forest. I must trouble the Shenjun and the Princess to move into the forest.”
Oh dear, those pieces of evidence are still lying in the Immortal Plum Forest… Xuan Yi was carried inside silently. Sure enough, Feilian Shenjun saw several Shenjun lying unconscious on the ground and began sneering coldly again: “Two ruthless little demons!”
He spread out moon sand to capture them and asked: “Shennu, what should we do with these few?”
“They kidnapped the Princess and must be disciplined. I’ll trouble the Divine Envoy to make a trip and send them back to Lizhu Dijun—they are his disciples.”
Feilian turned Mo Zhao Shenjun over. His left ear had been cut open, and all the long hair on his head had been completely severed, revealing his shiny scalp, which looked rather comical.
Has that little brat called Fucang’s sword dao improved again? Feilian Shenjun muttered to himself inwardly, using moon sand to drag those several Shenjun away from the Immortal Plum Forest.
“Fucang Shenjun, may I examine the Princess’s injury?” With a light flick of Wangshu Shennu’s fingertip, a crystal table suddenly appeared in the empty Immortal Plum Forest, along with three crystal chairs. Xuan Yi was surprised in her heart—she could do this trick too?
Fucang placed her on a crystal chair, lifted her skirt to roll up her undergarment, and unwrapped the white cloth: “Please trouble yourself, Shennu.”
Wangshu Shennu gently touched the nearly healed wound. Seeing that Xuan Yi’s gaze kept falling on the crystal table, she said softly: “Princess Xuan Yi, I am originally a dragon god descendant from Taiyin Mountain, and the Taiyin Mountain lineage was subordinate to the Zhuyin Clan in ancient times. Naturally, I can turn water into ice as well.”
Oh, so that’s how it is… Xuan Yi smiled casually.
But who knew Wangshu would suddenly say: “When the Princess reaches fifty thousand years of age, would you be willing to take over my position as Wangshu?”
Of all the calculations Xuan Yi had made, she never calculated that this Shennu would open her mouth to invite her to become the Moon Goddess Wangshu. She was immediately stunned.
“The Taiyin Mountain lineage has long withered, and I am no longer young. I have no thoughts of marriage or childbearing. The position of Wangshu requires someone with cold yin divine power. After much thought, only Princess Xuan Yi is most suitable. Moreover, the Zhuyin Clan is naturally powerful—if the Princess were to become this Wangshu, you would surely be much stronger than me. Please consider it, Princess.”
These compliments were piled one after another, making Xuan Yi somewhat dizzy. She was stunned for a long time before asking strangely: “Did the Shennu come all the way to Zhuxuan Yuyang Manor specifically to invite me to become Wangshu in the future?”
Wangshu said slowly: “To be frank, I greatly dislike the Zhuyin Clan’s usual way of conducting affairs. However, a Dijun who has shown me kindness enlightened me—compared to these private grudges, the rules of heaven and earth are more important. The position of Wangshu is neither particularly important nor particularly light, but it still requires the most suitable person to undertake it. The Princess need not rush to give me an answer today. I hope today’s auspicious encounter can give the Princess one more choice when you reach fifty thousand years of age.”
She took out a blue silk pouch from her bosom. Inside, a ghostly cold radiance glowed—it was full of essence of moonlight pearls. Xuan Yi watched wide-eyed as she poured them onto her right leg. A wave of clear, soothing sensation instantly spread. These teardrop-like essence of moonlight pearls actually penetrated the wound and entered the Zhuyin Clan’s body without any obstruction.
Soon, the blackened essence of moonlight pearls seeped out from her right leg one by one. Wangshu Shennu grasped at the air, and the soft thorns within were pulled out—a mass of black energy the size of a fist, densely packed with strands as fine as ox hair, slowly rotating in her palm.
“One hundred thousand demon poison soft thorns—they’re all here.”
With a light flick of Wangshu Shennu’s fingertip, the ox-hair-like soft thorns instantly turned into ice fragments that shattered inch by inch, leaving not a single trace behind.
Xuan Yi said thoughtfully: “Wangshu Shennu, thank you. That Dijun who showed you kindness—I wonder which one it is? I should pay a visit to express my thanks.”
Wangshu Shennu put the essence of moonlight back into the silk pouch, but didn’t answer her question. She only stood up and bowed to Fucang once more: “This matter is concluded. I trouble Fucang Shenjun to convey to Qing Di His Majesty that although the previous debt has been repaid, I now owe the Dijun another debt for his enlightening kindness.”
Having said this, she turned and floated away gracefully, not dragging things out in the slightest.
Fucang bent down to grasp her ankle and rewrapped it with white cloth, smoothing down her skirt. The dragon princess across from him was unusually quiet, not making a sound.
He raised his head and glanced at her. She was also looking down at him from beneath lowered lashes. Through the black veil, her expression was serene and peaceful. This gaze actually reminded him of their first meeting at Huahuang Immortal Island—beneath her elegant exterior lay deep alienation.
Fucang avoided her gaze and picked her up horizontally once more. Unexpectedly, she spoke, her voice soft: “So it was Qing Di His Majesty who intervened. Fucang Shixiong…”
The malicious thoughts he had just suppressed were stirring restlessly. Right now, he didn’t want to hear her speak at all.
“Shut up.” He strode quickly toward the outside of the Immortal Plum Forest.
Xuan Yi paid him no mind: “It was all because of Fucang Shixiong that I was injured. This apology—I accept it.”
An apology? Fucang took a breath, his footsteps suddenly stopping.
When he asked his father to seek out Wangshu Shennu, his intentions were very simple. After all, Xuan Yi’s injury was related to him—in both sentiment and reason, he couldn’t just ignore it. Deep in his bones, he was still a member of the ceremonious and peaceful Huaxu Clan. If this could dissolve their inexplicable conflict, that would be best.
He hadn’t thought about her reaction. In fact, when he sought out Wangshu to heal her injury, didn’t he also harbor the thought of severing this karmic connection and becoming strangers from then on?
But the response she was now giving made all the thorns on his body begin to grow wildly.
An apology? Him? Apologizing to her?
Fucang laughed coldly, raising his hand to roughly push her head back when she had turned it to look at him, causing her to cry out in pain. The surging hostility made his tone sinister and sharp: “Apologize to you? Dream on!”
At the Azure Jade Platform, singing and dancing continued in peace, a lively scene. Xuan Yi’s brief disappearance apparently went unnoticed by the disciples. However, Gu Ting saw Fucang bring her back and couldn’t help but ask curiously: “Eh, where did you hide just now? You didn’t even see Fucang’s sword dance.”
Xuan Yi kept a straight face and forcefully broke free from Fucang’s restraint, settling onto the floating soft chair. Only then did she speak resentfully: “I’m not interested!”
How did these two start quarreling again? Gu Ting was too lazy to invite trouble and just laughed: “Fucang, why did you only perform half of that sword dance?”
Fucang poured himself a cup of wine and drank it all in one gulp: “I practice the sword, not to perform sword dances for entertainment.”
Oh no, by the looks of it, their quarrel this time is serious—Fucang is actually this angry.
Gu Ting simply stopped trying to make conversation. He poured a cup of wine to toast Zhi Xi, but Zhi Xi, who had been there just a moment ago, had somehow disappeared. Gu Ting was thoroughly puzzled—why were they all appearing and disappearing today? What were they up to?