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Duck.

As she finished the last stroke, Pei Yuan had also raised her palm. With her blood-red fingers, she thrust her hand towards Meng Fuyao's head!

”… Fuyao!”

Meng Fuyao suddenly looked up!

Almost immediately, she fell to the side.

As she fell, she glided away, causing Pei Yuan's strike to miss, upsetting the latter's balance. Pei Yuan thus fell forward, and in that instant, she crossed Meng Fuyao's body in the perpendicular direction.

In that instant, when they crossed.

A glimmer of black light flashed by.

Blood splattered out like a silky ribbon, before extending to form what seemed like a huge umbrella. It was passionate and fiery, like the flame that swayed on a burning torch.

A torch that burned away one's life.

Pei Yuan let out a very short ”Ah!” from her throat.

That sounded like a murmur produced when one experienced the emptiness after waking up from a dream.

She collapsed gently, like a flower that suddenly withered, or a wisp of cloud that was blown away by winds in the mountain, or even a goose that flew away and never came back.

21 years of age ended at this date. All the gratification, grievances and tangled emotions that resulted because of love broke apart, resembling a silk string placed against a sharp knife.

Maybe, from the moment that Pei Yuan first met him, her life was already destined to fall into a dark abyss.

That was because she fell in love with a man who had no interest in her. Both ladies had crossed paths till then, but Pei Yuan had collapsed halfway, while Meng Fuyao continued to proceed after clearing the blood on her sword.

Life was so wide yet so confined. It could encompass land from seas away, but it could not tolerate the narrow-minded thoughts of calculative or manipulative characters.

As Pei Yuan laid on the ground, she could feel the wind breezing past her. In the extreme heat, she felt a cold chill, just like the one she experienced the first time she met him in winter. Layers of snowflakes landed on her face, and her freezing hands were held by her Teacher. She took a shy look across the foreign courtyard, and that handsome lad who was sweeping the snow in front of the cherry blossom tree turned back and smiled, and spring seemed to have arrived.

He said, ”Morning, Junior Sister.”

That year, she stared at him in a daze and forgot to answer.

Pei Yuan gently beamed… how could she not answer? That was the last chance for her to do so in her lifetime.

She closed her eyes and murmured, ”The wind is strong, and the snow is frosty. Senior Brother… take care.”

The True Martial Arts Meet had come to an end!

An end that happened in the most tragic way.

Zhan Nancheng opened his mouth a few times, but he just couldn't bring himself to congratulate Meng Fuyao. After moments of silence, Zhan Beiheng finally said, ”The winner is Meng Fuyao of Wuji!”

There was an uproar among the spectators as they feigned joy in the face of the blood and corpse. Many came up to congratulate Meng Fuyao, and Zhan Nancheng vaguely spoke about something related to a celebratory feast.

Meng Fuyao almost drowned in the sea of endless conversations and saliva, and she stared at them in a daze, with no idea what they were communicating about. She only knew that they were giving her migraines, and they even stepped on her duck!

Someone squeezed forward to hold her hand - it was Ya Lanzhu who had slightly recovered. She pushed away the crowd, oblivious to their prominent statuses and shouted straightforwardly, ”Clear the path, we want to go home!”

They wanted to go home.

But where was home?

Meng Fuyao was clueless even as Ya Lanzhu dragged her out. She could vaguely feel a warm but pain-filled gaze lingering on her, but she had no strength left to bother with it. All she wanted was to leave that place quickly and sleep, and hopefully, she might be able to relive the earlier moments in her dreams.

The crowd dispersed, and they proceeded to exit the palace. However, someone still chose to block their paths. The pearl-white dress embroidered with exquisite lotuses gently swayed to the breeze, and that person was as demure as a lotus.

Princess Lotus said in a holy manner, ”Congratulations General Meng, I thank you for helping me out the other time. I have arranged for a small feast for you…”

”Can you shut up?”

Princess Lotus quietened in shock. Meng Fuyao raised her head, and though resembling a rabbit with her bloodshot eyes, she looked at Lotus with such annoyance that she seemed like a wolf. Gritting her teeth, she enunciated her words clearly. ”Rotten lotus, please, go act innocent in front of everyone else, but not me, especially now! Did you know that I f*cking want to vomit whenever I see your pretense? I've had enough of vomiting today!”

Princess Lotus seemed as though she was struck by a hammer, and she turned ashen as she staggered back. Supporting herself with the pillar, her voice changed when she spoke, ”You… you…”

”I dislike you, and that's that.” Meng Fuyao brushed past her and added, ”I'm not in a good mood and serves you right for being unlucky. Let me curse for you.”

Meng Fuyao turned her head and approached Princess Lotus. Revealing a ghastly smile, she whispered by her ear, ”Stop fronting, do it and you'll get struck by lightning! Stop acting pure, do it and you'll get raped!”

She chuckled, and a mouthful of blood trickled down her face. Wiping it off, Meng Fuyao stretched her arms wide and strolled away. ”Feels so good!”

No matter how torn and tattered that lotus was as a result of her words, Meng Fuyao walked past the layers of exits without taking a look back. Under the scrutiny of those envious, surprised or jealous, she stepped out of the hell that she had to spill blood for. As the doors opened up one by one, the sunset shone in, creating a belt of light that seemed like a red carpet that stretched far away, allowing Meng Fuyao to tread on it. She had finally reached this day and got what she wanted. Yet, heaven had to send her a joke which seemed to be a surprise that sprung out of a toy box, hitting her where she hurt the most.