Volume Two: Eventful Autumn Twists and Turns Chapter 137: Shallow Fortune, Fragile Fate, and an Act of Kindness Born from a Good Heart

After Meng Wuyan left, she began slaughtering innocents throughout the pugilistic world, and all the clues she left behind pointed directly to the Thunder Hall of the Opening Heaven Sect. However, Wu Chengfeng, being the hall master, never made a move to kill Meng Wuyan; instead, he simply reported her to the authorities and let the yamen investigate these matters. It was not until one day when Meng Wuyan encountered a certain person that this whole affair finally came to a temporary close.

That person was Fan Qianchou, one of the four cave masters of Fallen Leaf Peak. He was also a supreme weapon master whose martial prowess was so great that even Wu Chengfeng could only look up to him with a sense of utter inadequacy. The Soul-Slaying Broadsword in his hands could execute demons and devour souls, striking fear into the hearts of all who beheld it.

Fan Qianchou was originally on his way back to Fallen Leaf Peak, but Meng Wuyan, whose eyes were bloodshot from a killing frenzy, unexpectedly set her sights on him. Amidst the bamboo grove, she figured that killing one person was no different from killing two, and she could only blame his own bad luck. Without any hesitation, her Falling Flower Blade flashed toward Fan Qianchou's neck.

Yet, to Meng Wuyan's complete astonishment, Fan Qianchou did not even draw his blade; with a swift shift of his body and a single palm strike, he knocked her unconscious and brought her back to Fallen Leaf Peak.

In truth, Fan Qianchou had long since heard rumors that a merciless fiend in this region was framing the Opening Heaven Sect, but he had never expected to encounter her here, let alone that the culprit would turn out to be a woman.

After bringing her back to Fallen Leaf Peak, Meng Wuyan at first adopted an attitude of welcoming death. Since she had fallen into his hands, she told herself, whether he wanted to kill her or dismember her, she would submit entirely—whoever blinked would be a coward's grandson. However, Fan Qianchou cherished talent; he could not bear to let Meng Wuyan's martial arts go to waste, especially since she used weapons just like him.

Fan Qianchou granted her boundless patience and freedom. It was precisely this patience and freedom that slowly allowed Meng Wuyan to find a reason to stay. In Fallen Leaf Peak, which person did not harbor a sea of blood feuds? Which person was not entirely alone in the world? Which person did not have a heart as cold as dead ashes?

Later, under Fan Qianchou's guidance, Meng Wuyan's martial arts advanced by leaps and bounds, and she eventually became one of the six supreme experts of Fallen Leaf Peak.

Over the span of several years, untold numbers of martial artists lost their lives beneath her Falling Flower Blade. Not only pugilistic experts, but even inner disciples of Mount Mao met their ends at her hands, though no one else ever knew.

The Meng Sword Manor had become a scapegoat, crushed to dust long ago while caught between two major sects. Murong Feng had already been hacked into a thousand pieces by her own hand, but Wu Chengfeng's humiliation and the massacre committed by the Profound Heaven Sect left indelible scars deep within Meng Wuyan's heart.

With Fallen Leaf Peak as her backing and sanctuary, whenever an opportunity arose, Meng Wuyan would resolutely assassinate members of the Profound Heaven Sect and the Opening Heaven Sect. Although every attempt was a narrow escape from death, the humiliation and the vengeance of her annihilated clan filled her bones with an undying hatred for both sects.

***

Yang Chengzi had been out and about these past few days, with various strange and evil occurrences awaiting him to resolve every single day. Who could blame him when Yutai Town lacked any other formidable Taoist priests? Just as before, the threshold of his place was still being worn flat by streams of endless visitors seeking his help, yet he took great delight in it—wasn't a Mount Mao Taoist supposed to handle these very matters?

However, his daily outings drove Chen San and the two young maidens nearly out of their minds with anxiety. Were they ever going to leave or not? Running out day after day without giving a single thought to inquiring about the Puxian Temple!

Although Chen San had recovered seven or eight-tenths of his health, that intermittent effeminate demeanor of his was still somewhat unbearable to witness; otherwise, the two girls would have long since sent him out to gather information. Though the two maidens desperately wanted to go out and make inquiries themselves, Yang Chengzi forbade them from wandering about freely, leaving the three of them to fret and fume in helpless frustration.

On the fourth day after resolving Wu Chengzi's soul fusion, a household servant came to invite Yang Chengzi, claiming there was a specter in their estate and begging him to pay a visit. Yang Chengzi naturally agreed, swiftly dispatching the minor ghosts and demons in a few effortless moves. On his way back, near a dilapidated temple, he ran into three people.

A severely injured woman had hidden herself inside the ruined temple, while two men—empty-handed, one of them nursing a bleeding stab wound on his arm—did not look like ordinary people as they tracked her all the way there.

Arriving near the dilapidated temple, they peered inside and irritably demanded of Yang Chengzi whether he had seen that woman. Two men chasing a single woman, and displaying such an arrogant attitude to boot, Yang Chengzi naturally had no inclination to humor them. He casually pointed in a random direction and sent them packing.

Seeing the two men run off into the distance, Yang Chengzi stepped into the ruined temple. It was completely empty inside, with no obvious hiding spots whatsoever. After searching all around, he surprisingly failed to locate the woman. Just as Yang Chengzi was standing there in utter bewilderment—

With a heavy thud, the woman crashed down forcefully from the roof beams.

Yang Chengzi immediately stepped forward to check on her. The woman did not speak a word; she merely cast a single glance at him before fainting dead away. When she finally regained consciousness, she found herself lying comfortably in a bed.

This woman was none other than Meng Wuyan. Those two men were members of the Profound Heaven Sect. Meng Wuyan had originally intended to assassinate one of them, but she was discovered in the act, and her strike only managed to wound his arm. Moreover, that man had used a powerful artifact soul to forcefully block her Falling Flower Blade.

To her misfortune, the other man was close by; upon hearing the tremendous commotion, he rushed over. With two high-level experts of the Profound Heaven Sect ganging up on a single Meng Wuyan, there was simply no way she could come out unscathed, and managing to escape alive was already a supreme miracle.

When she woke up, Yang Chengzi was not present; only Chen San and the two maidens were in the room. Meng Wuyan was lying on Chen San's bed, extremely weak, while the three of them sat on stools chatting idly.

Seeing that Meng Wuyan had awakened, Chen Xin walked over to the edge of the bed and asked gently, "You're awake. Would you like some water?"

During her battle with those two men, Meng Wuyan's soul had been injured by an artifact soul—much like how Chen San had previously overdrawn his soul power. Her complexion was as pale as paper, her spiritual consciousness illusory, and she lacked even the strength to close her hands into a tight fist.

Sensing that Chen Xin was just a young maiden harboring no malicious intent, Meng Wuyan asked in a soft, faint voice, "Where is this? Who saved me?"

Chen Xin smiled faintly. "This is an inn called the Green Micro Tower. Young Master Yang brought you back. He said your soul was damaged and you suffered severe injuries, so you need complete rest."

"Young Master Yang?"

"Yes, Young Master Yang had to go out on some business, but he should be back very soon. Would you like some water?"

Meng Wuyan gave a weak nod. Seeing her nod, Chen San poured a cup of water and handed it to Chen Xin, looking at Meng Wuyan with a leering expression that carried a hint of effeminacy. The sudden appearance of such an ambiguous creature—neither quite male nor female—gave Meng Wuyan a start.

Chen Xin took the cup, propped Meng Wuyan up against her own body, and fed her the water while explaining, "Don't be afraid. His name is Chen San; he's not a bad person, just a bit... peculiar these days."

Chen San felt rather awkward himself. "Hehe, where is your family? Would you like us to send word to them?"

By this time, Meng Wuyan had exhausted her meager energy. She closed her eyes and shook her head.

Seeing that she had closed her eyes, Chen Xin let her lie back down to continue her recovery. Realizing that Meng Wuyan lacked the spirit for conversation, Chen San stopped talking to her as well. Before long, the inn's waiter delivered their meals, and the group began to eat, even preparing a bowl of porridge for Meng Wuyan, of which she managed to consume about half.

Two days later, Meng Wuyan was finally able to get out of bed.

Over the past few days, she had continuously slept on Chen San's bed. Chen San had naively thought he might be able to squeeze in with Chen Xin, but he soon realized he was thinking far too wishfully—every single night, the only person accompanying him to sleep was Yang Chengzi.

Sharing a single bed between two grown men was cramped and awkward to the extreme, but who could blame Chang Yu for stubbornly refusing to give up her bed? Yang Chengzi had originally wanted Chang Yu to sleep with Chen Xin, but to his surprise, Chang Yu rejected the idea without a second thought, wearing a thoroughly disgruntled and huffy expression.

Being the wooden block that he was, Yang Chengzi naturally had no clue why Chang Yu was angry, nor why she had turned down the suggestion so decisively. With no other choice, he could only cast a helpless glance at Chen San.

Chen San was naturally unwilling either, but when Yang Chengzi glanced sideways at Chen Xin—though Chen Xin hadn't noticed, Chen San caught it loud and clear—he foolishly assumed Yang Chengzi meant for him to trick Chen Xin into sleeping in the same bed with him that night. How could Chen San possibly refuse such a wonderful prospect? Wasn't this a heaven-sent opportunity?

With just that single look, Chen San wore a lecherous grin and eagerly agreed to the arrangement, leaving Meng Wuyan to continue sleeping in his bed.

Little did he know, Yang Chengzi had actually intended for Chen San to persuade Chen Xin to give up her bed so Chang Yu could sleep there, figuring that since it was his own wife, Yang Chengzi himself found it difficult to bring up.

Seeing that Chen San agreed so readily, Yang Chengzi saved himself a lot of trouble; the only one who suffered was poor Chen San, whose reality dealt him one relentless slap after another until all his spirit was crushed, ultimately forcing him to squeeze onto a single narrow bed with Yang Chengzi once again.

Once she was able to walk about, Meng Wuyan ought to have taken her leave—something both Chen San and Chang Yu earnestly prayed for in their hearts.

Yet, astonishingly, Meng Wuyan showed no intention of leaving whatsoever. She shared all three meals with them daily and continued to occupy Chen San's bed at night. What made it even more infuriating was that Yang Chengzi claimed she had not yet fully recovered from her severe injuries and needed to recuperate for a while longer, especially since they weren't planning to leave immediately anyway.

Words were easily spoken, but Chen San and Chang Yu grew increasingly resentful of Meng Wuyan, finding her an absolute eyesore.

If it were just Chang Yu holding a grudge, that would be one thing, but even Chen San despised her with a passion. And why wouldn't he? Every night left his lower back aching and his limbs sore from sleeping on the hard boards, yet he couldn't bear to spend the silver to rent an extra room, leaving him feeling as tormented as if a hundred cats were scratching at his heart over the freeloader who refused to budge.

After staying for five or six full days, Meng Wuyan had practically recovered completely, yet she still refused to depart.

Chang Yu muttered darkly to her own thoughts: Could this shameless creature possibly have set her sights on my husband? Why else would she cling here and refuse to leave? If she's actually taken a fancy to him, won't I have one more troublesome rival on my hands? It's all that wooden block's fault for bringing a woman back for no good reason; he must be tired of living! Once I finally become Madam Yang, I'll make sure to settle all these old accounts properly, humph!