Meaning, the two asuras could wipe the floor with everyone present.
“So, Mr. Short, Thin, and Soft, and the Lich King—since the two of you have graced us with your presence, this year’s Flower Festival is clearly not going to be peaceful.”
After their idle chatter, Shu Fu plopped back down in her chair and slapped a soundproof talisman onto the window frame, lest the walls have ears.
Especially when, across the street, Ling Xiyue had ears of her own.
“Of course.”
Wu Yao gave a derisive snort, brazenly dipped his snake head into Shu Fu’s teacup, and gulped down two mouthfuls. “Lately, you’ve thrown the Ghost Market into complete chaos and caused them massive losses. He Xiuwen is about to lose his patience. The Flower Festival’s grand immortal market will gather countless rare treasures. With his insatiable greed, there’s no way he’ll miss an opportunity like this.”
“Really?”
Shu Fu’s eyes lit up at once. She immediately rubbed her hands together in anticipation. “You mean I can browse the stalls at the Flower Festival while chopping off that bastard’s head?”
“...More or less. You little brat—mere Foundation Establishment cultivator that you are, and you’re already talking about killing a Nascent Soul patriarch. You certainly have a big mouth.”
Wu Yao answered irritably.
Over the years, his true body had been recuperating inside the Purple Jade Gourd. Yet Jiang Xuesheng would occasionally drag out his consciousness and stuff it into all manner of strange bodies, making him run himself ragged for Shaking Light Peak.
Wu Yao was unwilling a thousand times over and inwardly screaming obscenities, but because of a certain unspeakable relationship between himself and Jiang Xuesheng, he simply could not refuse any request from Shaking Light Peak. Otherwise, he would have bitten off Liu Ruyi’s pheasant head long ago. Why would he be here playing Little Qing?
Wu Yao had originally felt rather fond of Shu Fu, this fearless young girl. But who would have thought that she had inherited the finest traditions of Jiang Xuesheng and Liu Ruyi, becoming more infuriating by the day? Every single time, she could make his blood pressure spike and his body tie itself into knots.
If he were not injured and powerless to fight at present, he would truly have liked to snatch this girl away—anything to stop her from being further poisoned by Shaking Light Peak’s bizarre culture and marching ever farther down a road of no return.
“But since we already know the demonic cultivators are coming, why hasn’t Master come in person? No matter how useless He Xiuwen may be, he is still one of the ‘Seven Demons.’”
Though Shu Fu said this, there was no sign of fear or unease in her eyes. Clearly, she was not counting on Jiang Xuesheng.
To that, Jiang Xuesheng gave only a single-word reply:
“Yes.”
“...That’s what I thought.”
A mere He Xiuwen was not worthy of his attention.
Over these past years, Liu Ruyi had broken through to the Nascent Soul stage in one fell swoop, becoming the foremost pillar of Nine Splendors Sect beneath the elders. Zhao Yun and Si Fei had successively advanced to late Golden Core stage, while Shu Fu—who had started latest of all—had begun attempting Core Formation. She often fought enemies above her level as well; her Solitary Light Sword had swept across the land, leaving countless demons and monsters with lasting psychological scars.
With a lineup like that, even if they encountered a Demon Lord stronger than He Xiuwen, they would still have the strength to fight.
For that reason, most of Shaking Light Peak’s campaigns against evil no longer required Jiang Xuesheng to appear in person, unlike the old Qiongqi incident.
As a result, he himself had grown increasingly idle and increasingly like a carefree little sprite—eventually pulling Wu Yao into performing *The Legend of the White Snake* with him.
Shu Fu: “Master’s so laid-back because his disciples have spoiled him rotten.”
Fortunately, Wu Yao was a snake with a conscience. Though his face was twisted into a scowl, he still offered an explanation: “He Xiuwen alone is no trouble for Wei City and the cultivators gathered here to handle. White-Cut Chicken will be arriving later, too. Jiang Tan’s job is to deal with the others who might take advantage of the chaos.”
Shu Fu caught on. “Oh, you mean the other six demonic cultivator big brothers?”
“Don’t call them big brothers. Watch your language.”
Wu Yao shot her a glare and slowly coiled himself into a circle on the tabletop. “There are reports that Zhao Jiuge and Nan Gongming have been making moves lately. He Xiuwen is a useless nobody, no threat at all. But if those two use this opportunity to stir up trouble elsewhere…” He gave a cold snort. “That would be a much bigger problem. Apart from Jiang Tan, who else could hold them in check single-handedly?”
Zhao Jiuge and Nan Gongming were the names of the number one and number three villains among the “Seven Demons.”
The former was the original novel’s main villain; the latter, the domineering male supporting character who would eventually unite the Demonic Realm. In terms of standing, they certainly outranked He Xiuwen, a mere black-market proprietor.
For all his sharp tongue, Wu Yao had no qualms about acknowledging Jiang Xuesheng’s strength.
And Jiang Xuesheng, in response to the praise, simply accepted it without a trace of modesty. “Fair enough. You’re only stating the truth, so there’s no need to thank you.”
Wu Yao: “…”
How infuriating! He was going to make a snake’s blood boil!
Meanwhile, Ji Shaoguang had been listening respectfully with his head bowed. He was a polite, well-mannered student, and even though these two old snakes had none of the dignity one expected from their elders, he still bowed to them with utmost respect. “With two seniors here to keep watch, this year’s Flower Festival in Wei City should pass without incident.”
Before Jiang Xuesheng could answer, Wu Yao gave him a chilly sidelong glance and said mockingly, “Young man, don’t think I can’t tell what you’re up to. You need the Flower Festival to go smoothly so you can trick this little girl into helping you win the flower of affinity, then use it to woo my niece. Am I right?”
Wu Yao and the Jade Demon King—Zhao Yun’s father—were on good terms. Great demons of their generation treated one another as equals, so he casually called her his niece.
Ji Shaoguang gave a rueful smile. “I did have that in mind. Tianyan Sect disciples excel at formations and artifact crafting, but very few are good fighters. That’s why I had to resort to this. Otherwise, I never would have bothered Shu Fu.”
“Speaking of which, why not just buy the flower of affinity? Why insist on winning it yourself?” Shu Fu asked curiously. “That disciple of yours surnamed Zhou seems to be planning to do just that, though I have no idea who he intends to confess to. Shaoguang, you’ve always been talented at artifact crafting. Surely you can afford it?”
Ji Shaoguang shook his head. “You know what Zhao Yun is like. If I told her I’d bought it, she’d pay me back without a second thought. She wouldn’t accept something for nothing.”
“You know her well, then.”
Jiang Xuesheng spoke in an even tone. There was no reproach in his words, though a faint, hard-to-place distance lingered beneath them. “You’re free to come and go from Yaoguang Peak. If you’ve taken an interest in Zhao Yun, I won’t stand in your way. You’ll have to win her over on your own merits. Only…”
Ji Shaoguang hurriedly said, “Only what? Please, Senior, tell me. Whatever you ask of me, I’ll do my utmost to carry it out.”
Jiang Xuesheng said, “You’re too weak. You’ll only hold Fuer back. If she fails to take first place because she’s exhausted from carrying you, I’ll be very unhappy.”
Ji Shaoguang: “...”
Shu Fu: “...”
…It was true, but wasn’t the old gentleman being a little too blunt?
It was true, though.
Ji Shaoguang was nearly knocked flat by that merciless straight shot. The gentle, refined smile he usually wore almost slipped from his face. “Well… I know my abilities are lacking, which is precisely why I sought Shu Fu’s help…”
Jiang Xuesheng said, “You know your abilities are lacking, yet you still want to drag Fuer down and embarrass yourselves together?”
Ji Shaoguang: “…………”
“Sir, that’s enough. Look, Shaoguang is practically about to cry. Poor thing.”
Shu Fu could not help interjecting.
“No, I…”
Ji Shaoguang had not intended to cry, but after hearing her say that, he really did feel like crying. “Senior, your reprimand is deserved. These past few years, I have devoted myself to artifact forging and neglected my cultivation. From now on, I will certainly work harder to improve. Still, I have some knowledge of formations as well, and I may be able to offer Shu Fu some assistance…”
The Samoyed sitting beside his legs let out two soft “awoo”s, attesting that its master was not lying.
He was not merely trying to save face. Ji Shaoguang was mild-tempered, the sort of player suited to daily life and support roles, and he was also accomplished in the art of formations. Though he could not compare with the former Kunlun elder and was not skilled at fighting alone, his performance in team battles was more than respectable.
Otherwise, Shu Fu would not have agreed so readily.
“I know that.”
Jiang Xuesheng did not press him further. Instead, he abruptly asked, “Do you know who will be participating in this year’s Flower Festival?”
“…This junior does not. I ask that you enlighten me, Senior.”
“Hearsay is unreliable; seeing is believing. Since you do not know, why not take a casual walk around the city? You will understand soon enough.”
Jiang Xuesheng left him with that cryptic remark. He himself slipped lightly down from Si Fei’s shoulder, glided halfway around the tabletop, and naturally coiled around Shu Fu’s wrist. From a distance, he looked like a lustrous jade bracelet.
“Fuer, let’s go.”
“You certainly know how to pick your spot.”
Wu Yao gave a cold snort and tried to imitate him by winding around Shu Fu’s wrist. But the moment he poked out his snake head, Jiang Xuesheng smacked him on the vital spot with his tail.
“Don’t come over here. Go to Si Fei. If Fuer wears two bracelets on one hand, all gaudy and colorful, people will question her taste.”
Wu Yao: “What the hell is wrong with you?!”
…
Since Jiang Xuesheng would not budge, Ji Shaoguang could only leave in disappointment, politely bidding them farewell. Fortunately, he was clever and quick-witted, with no resentment in his heart. He could also guess that Jiang Xuesheng must have had another reason for saying what he did.
Most likely, the competitors at this year’s Flower Festival were far more difficult to handle than he had imagined. Victory would not come easily.
If even Shu Fu could not carry him, then he would have to find another way.
Meanwhile, Shu Fu was questioning Jiang Xuesheng as well.
“Sir, who exactly is coming? From the sound of it, are you saying that even I might not be able to deal with them?”
Wu Yao sneered. “You think rather highly of yourself…”
“If you were paired with Ruyi or Zhao Yun, you would still stand a chance.”
Jiang Xuesheng cut him off calmly. “It is not that I look down on Ji Shaoguang. It is simply that everyone has their own specialty. This time, he cannot help you, and you cannot help him.”
Shu Fu thought, And you call that not looking down on him?
That verbal barrage just now had nearly sprayed the poor kid into depression.
As though he had read her mind, Jiang Xuesheng said slowly, “I spoke that way only to provoke him a little—to make him learn some means of protecting himself, so that he need not rely on others every single time. Zhao Yun is proud and unyielding, fierce and resolute by nature. How could she possibly favor such a mild, soft-spoken man? On the contrary, if he takes this as motivation to strive harder and face adversity head-on, Zhao Yun may come to think more highly of him.”
“...”
Shu Fu paused in surprise. “I never would have guessed it, sir—you’re quite the love guru.”
My apologies, my apologies. So you’re an expert in matters of the heart, too.
Everyone on Yaoguang Peak was single—none of them had even laid an egg—and all these years, she had somehow failed to notice.
“Oh, spare me. Don’t flatter him so much. A lofty, otherworldly figure like Jiang Tan—what would he know about such things? He’s merely lived long enough that he can guess these young lovers’ thoughts with his eyes closed.”
Wu Yao resumed his sarcastic needling. “But then again, he’s lived all these years without ever tasting the true feelings of the mortal world. What a pity…”
Yet when it came to sarcasm, Jiang Xuesheng had never lost to anyone. “The Lich King lost his first wife, wore a green hat in his second marriage, and in his third, was stabbed through the dantian by the person beside his pillow. He even once fell in love at first sight with a male bird. Such remarkable experiences, I have indeed never had the pleasure of enjoying.”
Wu Yao sputtered, “You?! You have the nerve to mock me? At least I’ve had one good marriage! Look at you—what are you even, a vir—”
Before he could finish, Jiang Xuesheng flicked out his tongue in a threatening gesture. Si Fei immediately understood. He grabbed Wu Yao by the tail, lifted him upside down, and shook him violently.
“Lich King, do not be disrespectful to Master.”
“You… Let go?! Let go of me!!”
Caught completely off guard, Wu Yao was shaken until the world spun around him, nearly making him throw up upside down. “Put me down! I won’t say it again! Fine, Jiang Tan—I never thought you’d be so petty. Over one remark, you have a junior humiliate me like this…”
Jiang Xuesheng leisurely recited, “When a dragon finds itself in shallow waters, even fish will mock it; when a phoenix loses its feathers, it is no better than a chicken.”
“You…!!!”
Jiang Xuesheng paid no heed to his fury. Instead, he slipped out from Shu Fu’s sleeve and approached a roadside peach tree in fresh bloom. Gently, he plucked a blossom in his mouth, then coiled back around Shu Fu’s hand and set the flower in her palm.
“The spring day is lovely. Do not let it go to waste.”
His voice was soft and gentle, utterly unlike the tone he had used with Wu Yao. “There is no need to worry over other matters. It is rare that you have come to Wei City—relax and take a good look around. In a few days’ time, there will naturally be matters enough for you to concern yourself with.”
“Sir, what do you mean by—”
Just as Shu Fu was about to ask, the light before her suddenly dimmed, as though a dark cloud had passed overhead and blotted out the bright spring sunshine. Looking up, she saw a vast black shadow descending from afar, drawing ever closer—straight toward the middle of the bustling avenue.
“Watch out!!”
Just as the dark shadow was about to crush the pedestrians who had failed to get out of the way in time, Shu Fu made a split-second decision. With one hand, she summoned the Poyue Qin into her arms; with the other, she seized four or five strings and gave them a heavy, utterly unmethodical strum.
Poyue: “...”
—Sister, could you play me like a normal person for once?
The sound was more unpleasant than someone beating cotton, but the wave of sound infused with spiritual power was formidable. It sent the pedestrians standing in the shadow’s path flying three zhang away in one sweep, allowing them to narrowly escape the disaster hurtling down upon them.
At the same time, the dark mass landed brazenly in the middle of the road and revealed its true form. Shu Fu looked over to find a magnificent carriage wreathed in rosy light and auspicious vapors, lavishly adorned with gold, silver, pearls, and jewels.
Its body was fashioned from phoenix-perch paulownia, a precious timber renowned throughout the cultivation world; even a small chip of it would be enough to support an ordinary cultivator for ten years. Set around the roof was an entire ring of fist-sized luminous pearls, clustered like stars around a moon beneath a golden phoenix. The phoenix was pure crimson gold and held a branch of coral the color of spring water in its beak. At the carriage door hung a curtain of pearls, every single bead white, plump, and lustrous—undoubtedly the finest East Sea merman pearls.
Even the spirit beast pulling the carriage was no commonplace crane or heavenly horse, but a genuine young kunpeng. It was roughly the size of two-hundred-year-old Liu Ruyi—not merely too large for one pot to stew, but likely too large to fit in a bathhouse.
“...”
Shu Fu could not help sighing. “I thought Little Bai and Master Huaigu were both pretty wealthy. But compared to this, Master Huaigu has only just reached modest prosperity, while Little Bai’s family hasn’t even escaped poverty yet.”
Just then, a hand lifted the priceless pearl curtain, and a youthful face, still bearing a trace of childishness, peered out.
Shu Fu recognized him at once. He wore embroidered robes of gold, his expression arrogant, his brows and eyes blazing with self-assurance. He carried himself with even more splendor and swagger than a crown prince on procession.
Who else could put on such airs but Young Master Ling of Lingxiao City—the most favored third son, younger brother to Ling Xiyue, and the young lord who would force people to change their names at the slightest disagreement: Ling Fengming?
And Young Master Ling did not disappoint Shu Fu in the slightest. Leaning half his body and his head out of the carriage, he lifted his chin at her haughtily.
“You’re quite perceptive. You even knew to clear the roadblocks ahead of time for me. Not bad. I, Ling Fengming, will remember this.”
Shu Fu: “...”
Listen to this unlucky brat. Was that even human speech?
Had he seen so many bootlickers that, in his eyes, everyone under heaven was one—everyone scrambling to curry favor with him?
“I say, young master, you—”
She was just about to mock him when Ling Fengming gave her a thoughtful once-over and turned to the cultivator driving the carriage.
“I like this girl. She’s clever and knows what’s proper, and on closer inspection, she’s rather pretty too. Take her back to the city to serve as my maid.” Then he glanced at Si Fei. “Is she your woman? I’ll take her. I’ll give you a larger reward later—no need to thank me.”
“Whaaaat?!!!”
The Ling family’s young master was a legendary brat in the cultivation world—the infamous culprit who had sent millions of people trembling in fear, to the point that no one dared name their children “Feng.” On his very first carefree journey outside, he arrived in Wei City riding his favorite magnificent carriage, full of swagger.
Three seconds after setting foot in the city, Shu Fu grabbed him by the golden crown atop his head and yanked him headfirst from the carriage.
“W-what, wh-wh-wh…”
Ling Fengming was delicate as glass, unable to withstand either falls or blows. The impact left him completely dazed, tears of reflexive pain welling in his eyes.
“What? What’s going on?!”
“Nothing.”
Shu Fu dusted off her hands and looked down at him with a sweet smile. She appeared every inch the gentle, approachable beauty of an older sister.
“When a child doesn’t speak like a civilized human being, it’s usually because he’s been spoiled. A good beating should fix him right up.”
