One is better than the other six combined
The next day, Nan Gongming did not come to invite Shu Fu again.
For a down-to-earth straight man who had long been steeped in overbearing CEO tropes, both the stepmother romance trope and the incest romance trope took quite some time to get used to.
To this, Shu Fu could only think: Let him have some quiet time to mull over his demon life.
Demon cultivators are influenced by demonic qi, so most of them have violent, cruel temperaments, and their cultivation methods are extremely bloody and frenzied.
Out of thousands upon thousands of demon cultivators, Nan Gongming was probably the only odd one out, where all his "frenzy" was directed entirely at his views on love and relationships.
Shu Fu had no idea if this trick would snap him back to his senses, and truth be told, she did not really care much.
After all, if he went mad for love just like he did in the original novel, and declared war on the entire cultivation world recklessly, to her it would just be "one more demonic lord to cut down".
On the flip side, if Nan Gongming did not have that breakdown, and stayed focused on his career path, going head to head with Zhao Jiuge in an intense fight, that would be a wonderful thing.
— More than wonderful, it would be so unbelievably perfect that it is beyond description!
From what Shu Fu had seen during her time here, the entire Demon Realm was nothing but scorched, barren land piled high with bones, as if she was walking through a living scroll of the eighteen layers of hell.
Yet, amid all that, Nan Gongming's territory was a sea of blooming flowers, with crops growing abundantly. Watermelons that were huge, sweet and full of juice rolled across the fields, and clusters of red, white and purple grapes hung heavy on the vines, looking as if the entire place had been lifted straight out of a farming life novel.
The hundreds of years he had spent in the Demon Realm seemed to be nothing more than tending his fields at home, bickering and fighting with other demon cultivators when he went out, and casually searching for his fated soulmate.
That was all.
... This is what a world looks like when it is not tangled up in a tortured romance plot?
Shu Fu had been left in awe more than once by this turn of events that was completely different from the original novel.
Awestruck as she was, she still kept her basic guard up against Nan Gongming, and would secretly check in on his movements every now and then.
Then she witnessed it with her own eyes—
This almighty, unrivaled demonic lord was sitting slump-shouldered under the eave, staring blankly up at the overcast, rain-threatening sky. His face was set in that usual cool, domineering overbearing look, but his hands were mindlessly plucking petals off a rose, and he mumbled to himself:
"I can find my fated soulmate... I can... I can't, I can, I can't... Can I not find them?"
With every line he said, he plucked a petal off and tossed it listlessly on the ground at his feet.
"Father, Mother... The perfect true love I saw in the two of you... Wasn't that real? What should I do to find a love of my own?"
Shu Fu: "............"
— Oh no, I went way too hard, I broke the overbearing president!
The power of core values is way too terrifying!
"What are you looking at?"
Wu Yao walked up behind her and stopped, his eyes landing on Nan Gongming's dejected back. "I thought who it was, it's just Nan Gongming."
"Hmph, no wonder he's like this. Nan Gongming is ridiculously stupid. Before you, no one ever seriously criticized his idea of 'love'. It goes without saying that all the other women he met just went along with him half-heartedly, and left when they could not put up with it anymore. This time he was refuted by you, and finally realized how foolish he was. He must be really hit hard by the setback."
Wu Yao smirked with a mocking, condescending air as he commented like a seasoned old-timer, "Look at him, he looks downright pitiful."
Shu Fu: "Your Lich King, do you even have the right to say that?"
"Why wouldn't I?"
Wu Yao gave her a cold sideways glance, and said with full justification, "I have had three Dao companions in my life. Even if one died halfway, and another hid murderous intentions behind her smile, I am still far better than Nan Gongming no matter what."
Shu Fu: "Really? Nan Gongming just lost some money when he got heartbroken, but you almost lost your life when you got dumped?"
Wu Yao acted like he did not hear a word: "Besides, I am nothing like Nan Gongming. The reason I have stayed single for so many years is because I have high standards and I will not settle for less, not because I can't get a partner."
Shu Fu: "............"
There it is! The mysterious confidence of straight men! The classic line that goes "I'm single not because of any problem with me"!
She decided to ignore the countless flaws in that statement, and tried to fish for information again:
"So, your current Dao companion..."
"Little girl, you are trying to trick information out of me again."
But this time, Wu Yao saw through her plan first. He lifted his chin proudly and said, "I'm telling you, you won't get a single word out of me."
Shu Fu did not expect him to catch on so quickly. She quickly changed her strategy, turning her head away with a face full of feigned sadness, and whispered softly:
"I knew it. The Lich King has never treated me as one of his own. I suppose he would never tell me something this important."
Wu Yao: "???"
— This line that reeks of princess syndrome... Why does it feel so familiar???
Shu Fu went on: "Of course, you are a descendant of the ancient divine dragon, one of the four famous great Monster Kings, a powerful figure who has shaken the whole cultivation world. Even my master and the sect leader would show you extra courtesy. But me... I am just a no-name little disciple from Yaoguang Peak, there is a world of difference between us."
Wu Yao: "No, that's not—"
Shu Fu: "I have no right to ask about your private matters, I overstepped my bounds."
After saying that, she pretended to lift her sleeve to cover her face, moving her hand just slow enough to let a single tear roll perfectly down her cheek, falling right into Wu Yao's line of sight.
For a moment, the air within a ten-mile radius was thick with the scent of green tea and white lotus, a fragrance that would make any passerby feel refreshed, but made Wu Yao's heart pound with alarm.
Wu Yao: "??????"
— Wait, why are you crying all of a sudden?
— I have never seen this kind of scene before! What kind of person are you!!!
"Wait, hold on. Don't cry first."
Faced with a situation he had never encountered before, Wu Yao's nervousness and panic were obvious to see. "Little girl, that's not what I meant..."
"I'm fine, Lich King, please don't worry about me."
Shu Fu hid her whole face behind her wide sleeve, perfectly covering the upward curve of her mouth. "I just never thought that after knowing each other for more than twenty years, the Lich King would still keep me at such a distance. I just feel a little sad, that's all."
Wu Yao: "I'm not keeping you at a distance—"
Shu Fu: "After all, getting a Dao companion is such a big thing, you wouldn't even tell me, so that I could wish you my congratulations."
Wish you my congratulations.
Congratulations.
...tions.
Wu Yao: "..."
After a long silence, he finally gave in helplessly, having run out of tricks. He confessed: "Fine, stop being sad. I didn't tell anyone, not because I don't trust you guys."
"It's just... Even I myself haven't really processed it. I'm still a little dazed up to now. That's why I didn't stay with her, and came out alone to clear my head."
— Only to be conscripted into help by Jiang Xuesheng.
"So, who exactly is this 'her'..."
"Uncle Wu!"
Just as Shu Fu was about to press for more details, a figure darted over lightly. She had peach-blossom cheeks and apricot eyes, dressed in a flowing silk skirt— it was the moon dragon girl they had rescued the other day.
After all this time of rest and recovery, not only was her complexion much better, her personality had also become much livelier, and she had slowly regained the brightness a young girl should have.
The young moon-jiao girl introduced herself as "Mulan". The moment she laid eyes on Wu Yao, she greeted him with a bright, smiling face.
"Uncle Wu Yao, there you are."
No one could tell why, even after getting a sharp, scolding dressing-down from Wu Yao earlier, she did not hold any grudge against him after learning his identity. Instead, she acted extremely close to him.
It was almost as if...
She had known from the very start that Wu Yao was someone worth trusting.
"..."
Shu Fu vaguely remembered that back in Wei City, the daughter of the city lord Wei Tianjiao, Wei Zhi, who was a disciple of Fairy Lingbo from the Xuanyu Palace, had also treated Wu Yao with great reverence. She had once openly stated:
"Master told me that when I'm out and about, I must listen to you, respect you, be deferential to you, and never talk back to you."
What had Wu Yao replied back then?
"Oh, oh... No wonder you're Lingbo's disciple. You know your place well. That Lingbo, really, going on about such things to a kid, making me sound like such a hard person to please."
"..."
A faint stir ran through Shu Fu's mind. A bold speculation began to take shape in her thoughts, much like scattered pearls rolling across the ground being strung together into a single line.
"Uncle Wu Yao, I want to hear you tell stories about the outside world."
Mulan did not stand on ceremony at all, pestering Wu Yao nonstop. "You know, us moon-jiao can hardly ever leave the East China Sea. It's only natural that we come off as a bit old-fashioned and stuck in our ways. If only you could stay at Xuanyu Palace for good, so we could learn about all the different sights across the world..."
"I—"
Wu Yao cut himself off, turning his face away with a hint of irritation. "You should know full well that the moon-jiao clan doesn't welcome me. To them, even a single word spoken to me would dirty their spotless, ice-white scales."
"But that was all in the past!" Mulan blinked her innocent, clear eyes. "Ever since my aunt became the clan leader, everything at Xuanyu Palace and among the moon-jiao has changed. All these years, she's been thinking of you constantly."
"I know that, you don't need to remind me." Wu Yao interrupted her hastily, his gaze darting about, his tone growing increasingly stiff and flustered. "No, that's not right either—actually, I only found out recently. I always thought Lingbo was just looking out for her own kin, and treated me, a cloud-jiao, as a brother, which was why she showed me such special care..."
"..."
Mulan lifted her emerald-green, jade-like eyes and stared at him steadily. "Uncle Wu Yao, do you truly believe that? For hundreds of years, you really thought Fairy Lingbo only saw you as a 'brother'?"
"I'm not—wait, no, I am—no, that's not it either. I used to think that way, but not anymore. Ugh, what would a little kid like you know about this?" Wu Yao grew flustered under her gaze, waving his hands about awkwardly. "Alright, go on and get some rest. In two days' time, that ridiculous beast-fighting tournament will begin. You'll have to go up on stage to draw the attention of the rogue cultivators, so we can carry out our plan. That Jiang Tan, actually making a youngster do such a dangerous thing..."
He paused, then turned his head to cough lightly, adding in a classic case of trying to cover up what he really meant: "Don't you worry. With us around, we'll make sure you come to no harm."
"Alright, I understand." Mulan's brows smoothed out into a smile, her pretty face blooming like a dewy flower. "With Uncle Wu Yao here, I have nothing to worry about."
Wu Yao said, "Oh, oh... Rest assured, as long as you don't go causing trouble, I'll make sure to bring you right back to Lingbo safe and sound."
"..."
Perhaps those involved are always the most confused, while onlookers see clearest.
Beneath the girl's pure, bright smile, Shu Fu caught a fleeting glint of calm shrewdness that was completely out of place for her age and status.
...Something just didn't feel right.
Come to think of it, this girl was sharp, bold, and careful, brave enough to put herself forward as bait. Could she really have fallen into the rogue cultivators' hands just on a reckless whim?
If she was truly that rash and unskilled, why would Jiang Xuesheng have been so at ease letting her take the stage in the life-and-death "Divine Beast Fighting Tournament"?
When the safety of their descendants was on the line, could he really be that careless?
And that day, Mulan had been cowering in fear, as skittish as a startled bird, urging Shu Fu to leave the auction house as quickly as possible. The second they stepped outside, the entire auction house blew up into the sky.
...Was all of that just a coincidence?
...
Later, Shu Fu asked Jiang Xuesheng about this.
When it came to the suspicious points surrounding Mulan, Jiang Xuesheng was mostly vague, beating around the bush and keeping things to himself, but he did tell her another story.
A story about Wu Yao and his ties to the East China Sea moon-jiao.
It was then that Shu Fu learned that back when Wu Yao was a teenager, the Wushan cloud-jiao were dwindling in numbers and constantly being persecuted by rogue cultivators. His father had once planned to take him to seek refuge with the moon-jiao.
But at that time, Fairy Lingbo was still a young girl with her hair tied up in two childish buns, and the moon-jiao clan leader—her grandmother—was a stern, unyielding old woman, a literal "extremely strict and unforgiving matriarch".
It went without saying that the moon-jiao clan leader treated Wu Yao and his father no better than the unforgiving matriarch had treated Zhang Wuji.
No matter how the parties involved tried to explain the dual cultivation path, in the eyes of outsiders, it would inevitably be labeled as "promiscuous".
Fairy Lingbo never spoke of what Wu Yao went through back then, but after that incident, Wu Yao only exchanged occasional letters with her, and never set foot in the East China Sea again.
Even after they both became clan leaders, living far apart from each other, even as Wu Yao went through one girlfriend after another, breaking up time and time again, that quiet, platonic friendship never changed.
"Logically speaking, if the cloud-jiao and moon-jiao clans reunite as one dragon lineage, Lingbo should be my successor. After all, she has been carrying out the duties of the 'Dragon Emperor' this whole time, and she was the one who came up with the plan to wake me up." Jiang Xuesheng admitted openly. "But all these years, she's been juggling so many roles, working herself to the bone. It's far too tough on her. If I can, I plan to pass this burden on to Wu Yao. Anyway, he's got the stamina for it."
Shu Fu: "Sir! That last word! That last word! That is absolutely not something a Dragon Emperor should say!!!"
Jiang Xuesheng: "If I can do it, what's there that I can't say? The moon-jiao are stuffy, they avoid the dual cultivation path like the plague, but I'm different from them. In my eyes, among all the dragon descendants, the Wushan cloud-jiao are the ones who truly live free and happy lives."
"But now it seems, sooner or later the two clans will become one. That doesn't matter anymore."
Shu Fu: "..."
—Of course you're different, you're just an old rogue!!!
"...Wait a second, sir.
'Will become one sooner or later'—does that mean what I think it means?"
...
...
Amidst all the chaotic, rambunctious atmosphere occasionally laced with the sweet, sour scent of budding romance, the long-awaited "Divine Beast Fighting Tournament" finally arrived.
As per tradition, this tournament was held at one of He Xiuwen's properties.
To be honest, if he hadn't amassed a huge fortune in his early years and owned so many real estate properties, he never would have been able to put up with all the destruction Shu Fu kept causing.
At first glance, the "fighting arena" had a very familiar architectural style.
It was an open-air, stone-built, circular structure. The spectator stands rose in tiered steps from the bottom up, forming a funnel shape that wrapped around the small open clearing at the center. Standing in the very last row, you had a full bird's-eye view of the entire venue.
In terms of layout, it looked exactly like an ancient Roman colosseum.
The arrogance and cruelty of the demonic cultivators, their wicked nature that treats human lives as worthless, are laid bare for all to see in this fighting arena.
A pragmatic man through and through, Nan Gongming couldn't be bothered to take part in this meaningless carnival for scumbags. But when Shu Fu mentioned he "wanted to see what the fuss was about," Nan Gongming thought it over for a moment and readily agreed. He even bought VIP tickets for Shu Fu's entire family.
"Think of it as a gesture of friendship, to thank you for the books you gave me," he explained earnestly.
His attendant wailed, "Demon Lord!!!!!!"
On that very day, dark clouds roiled like spilled ink, and the air hung heavy with the threat of an impending storm.
Over the hundreds of years, among all the descendants of divine beasts like dragons and phoenixes sold through the black market, some met their deaths, some took their own lives, and many vanished without a trace, their fates almost certainly grim.
Piecing together the scattered records, plus the information from Mulan who had infiltrated the inner circle, there were only eight of these divine beasts left in total. Apart from the jiao dragon and phoenix clans, there were also descendants of qilin, black tortoise, and other divine beasts.
From what Nan Gongming had learned, these divine beasts were almost all mixed-blood, with a higher purity of divine blood than the yuanchu bird in Lingxiao City, roughly comparable to an orange tabby cat with a pair of wings on its back.
Their goal this time was to rescue these divine beasts, to make sure none of them perished in the fighting arena.
By the way, Shu Fu had also shared his speculation about the strange tale of the "Thousand-Year-Old Pure-Hearted Dragon" tying the knot with Liu Ruyi.
In this romantic entanglement, he could be considered half a party involved.
In the sense of being a "stepson," that is.
After all, Fairy Lingbo was his sworn mother.
If the cloud dragon and the moon dragon really did get together, then Liu Ruyi would have to address Wu Yao as "little stepmother" next.
It was precisely because of this absurd, unthinkable speculation that Liu Ruyi kept pestering Mulan with questions right up until the moment Mulan was about to step onto the arena floor.
"I don't believe it, Mulan, you have to explain this clearly to me."
"Little Senior Apprentice said Wu Yao's life partner might be my sworn mother... How could that be possible? If that's the case, wouldn't I have to call him 'godfather'? I refuse to believe it. My sworn mother is such an extraordinary person, how could someone like Wu Yao — who's so sharp-tongued, nitpicky, and always teams up with our master to pluck my feathers — ever win her over? Mulan, tell me my sworn mother isn't..."
"No, she isn't."
At first the young girl said nothing, just smiled without answering. But after Liu Ruyi badgered her for so long that she seemed to have grown tired of it, she glanced up at him with a half-teasing, half-amused look, and said softly with a smile,
"You're right. Fairy Lingbo, Mu Feixing, has never been 'won over' by anyone. Not even Wu Yao. Are you satisfied now?"
"..."
Liu Ruyi froze completely.
The young girl still had the same delicate, pretty face he remembered, but every shift of her expression, every smile and frown, was nothing like the "Mulan" he knew.
The frightened, cowering look she had in the auction house, the bright, naive cheerfulness she showed when talking to Wu Yao — all of that had vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed at all.
Bright and beautiful as peach and plum blossoms, yet as cool and icy as frost.
On the young girl's calm, sharp face, a pair of emerald serpent pupils glinted coldly for a split second, a gaze so commanding that anyone who met it would feel an instinctive urge to fall to their knees and bow.
"That's not right. You're not Mulan," Liu Ruyi's heart jolted with realization, and he blurted out, "You... You are..."
"Right now, I am 'Mulan'," the young girl said, lifting her pointed, pretty chin slightly. She turned on her heel and swept away with a sharp, decisive flick of her sleeve.
"Honestly, with a great enemy right in front of us, how can you still fuss over such trivial matters? Whether Wu Yao ends up being your godfather or your godson, it's not going to make you lose a single ounce of flesh. Ugh, I wonder who raised you to be such a handful, you really are a headache."
"Come on, let's head to the fighting arena. I've waited patiently for so long just for this very moment — to give those demonic cultivators a nice, big surprise."
"Though I'm happy Wu Yao said he wanted to 'protect me'... This time, it's not going to be your turn to steal the spotlight. In less than half a tea's worth of time, I'm going to put an end to this whole farce."
