The Dragon

When Familiar Faces Return

The person turned around, and upon seeing the face of the Azure Phoenix, said, “It’s you.”

When Gu Fuyou entered the house, she had taken off her mask and was holding it in her hand. She was so astonished that she froze, not thinking of putting the mask back on until the thought suddenly snapped back into her mind, as if it had taken a long detour in the sky to return to her. She quickly put the mask back on her face and said, “It’s not me!”

Scholar Zhai: “.…..”

Gu Fuyou: “.…..” If it were possible to turn back time, she wished she hadn’t done such a foolish thing.

She silently took off the mask and forced a smile, saying, “What a coincidence…”

Inside, she thought that even if she summoned her again, Zhong Michu wouldn’t necessarily recognize her. Yet standing there, she still felt as if there were thorns in her back, a sense of unease in her heart.

Zhong Michu had not realized she had been summoned, just as she hadn’t when she was on Jingdu Mountain, filled with confusion. This time, no one had quickly sealed a contract with her by placing a drop of blood on her forehead, so she gradually came to her senses, glanced around, and her gaze finally settled back on the Azure Phoenix, realizing she had been summoned.

Many words flashed through Gu Fuyou’s mind to cover the current embarrassment and she thought of many excuses to explain this summoning. She was ready to play dumb, to say she didn’t understand why she would summon her; she could also take the initiative to ask why Zhong Michu appeared in her summoning formnation; or she could say that the summoning formation was initiated by Scholar Zhai.

These thoughts rushed to her, she opened her mouth but nothing came out, the words dying inside her, as she saw Zhong Michu staring steadily at her, those eyes like the dawn breaking through the oppressive darkness, the sun rising at the horizon, its light full and so bright it hurt her heart.

The person staggered a step, her lips quivering, seemingly choked up, and for a moment she didn’t speak. Her whole body seemed to soften, her brow relaxed, her eyes reddening.

She walked over. Gu Fuyou stepped back involuntarily, her hands reaching behind her to grasp something.

Zhong Michu said in a hoarse voice, “It’s you.”

Gu Fuyou shivered, as if struck by electricity.

She knew and understood what Zhong Michu’s words meant. The earlier ‘It’s you’ was Zhong Michu recognizing her as the Azure Phoenix who had attacked her at Lihen Tian. The current ‘It’s you’ indicated that she had discovered her identity; however, Gu Fuyou felt it was more of a suspicion.

Zhong Michu said, “It’s you, right?” Her voice was trembling slightly, her expression so sad, as fragile as she had been on that rainy night, ready to shatter like a bubble.

Gu Fuyou had intended to deny it, but the words wouldn’t come.

Zhong Michu called out, “Ah Man…”

Gu Fuyou’s breath caught, and she could no longer think, blankly saying, “I’m not…”

But Zhong Michu suddenly fell forward. Gu Fuyou’s heart tightened, and before she could think, her body reacted, reaching out to catch her. They were so close, Gu Fuyou could smell the blood, noticing a patch of blood seeping through on Zhong Michu’s chest.

“Zhong Michu!!!” she exclaimed.

Zhong Michu had fainted in her arms, her weight pressing down on her. Gu Fuyou, whether out of panic or something else, didn’t stand firm while holding her and kneeled down, trying to lift her, but her arms went soft, and she couldn’t lift her at all.

“Scholar Zhai!”

Gu Fuyou gently patted Zhong Michu’s face, noticing her pale complexion, limp against her arm. Gu Fuyou felt chills seeping into her bones. Scholar Zhai quickly approached. Gu Fuyou, with one arm around Zhong Michu’s neck and the other around her knees, with Scholar Zhai’s help, lifted Zhong Michu up.

They carried Zhong Michu to the nearest chamber, and Gu Fuyou gently placed her on the bed, then said to Scholar Zhai, “Scholar Zhai, go call Si Miao back from the Wanyao Pavilion.”

“Okay.”

“Tell her to bring more pills, and, and tell her that Zhong Michu is here, injured. She’ll know what to do…”

Scholar Zhai said, “Alright, I know, don’t panic.”

“I’m not panicking.”

Scholar Zhai glanced at her, said no more, and left.

Gu Fuyou sat by the bed, probing her body, only to feel turbulent spiritual energy. She reached to untie Zhong Michu’s belt, to check for external injuries, but the belt was stubborn and wouldn’t come undone. Frustrated, she summoned her spiritual power and ripped the belt apart.

Gu Fuyou: “……”

She closed her eyes, took two deep breaths to calm her heart, then opened her eyes and half-undressed Zhong Michu’s chest area, revealing the skin around her heart. The skin was white around the edges but marred by a fan-shaped, flesh-colored scar in the center. Now, that scar was overlaid with several claw marks, raw and bleeding.

Seeing the scar, Gu Fuyou hesitated, her fingers touching the raised edge. She felt its slight elevation, her gaze flickered, and she withdrew her hand, trembling as she inhaled sharply.

It then occurred to her that she had some external injury medicine that Si Miao had left. She fetched a porcelain box from her storage bag, opened it, and found a green, paste-like medicine inside. She applied a bit of it to Zhong Michu’s wounds with her pinky. This medicine was highly effective at healing wounds; as long as the injury was not poisoned or deep to the bone, it would rapidly scab over and grow new flesh.

Zhong Michu’s wounds, while frightening, were not fatal. Once the medicine was applied, the cuts visibly started to heal. However, the rapid healing and new flesh growth made the wounds itch unbearably.

Zhong Michu, still unconscious, frowned and groaned, her hands instinctively moving to scratch at the wounds. Gu Fuyou held her wrists and instructed firmly, “You can’t scratch.”

Zhong Michu struggled briefly but then stopped resisting. Gu Fuyou, holding her wrists to the side, leaned close, propping herself above her. She raised her eyes to see Zhong Michu’s lips, now a pale cherry color from blood loss, visibly tender. Gu Fuyou averted her gaze, which drifted to her shoulder where the half-removed clothes revealed a butterfly-like shoulder bone. The cloud dragon beast pattern that once curled there had vanished, leaving skin as flawless as tender jade.

A faint smile appeared on Gu Fuyou’s face, a mix of relief and resignation.

Zhong Michu mumbled something indistinct. Gu Fuyou, coming back to her senses, adjusted her clothes properly. Zhong Michu kept murmuring, and curious, Gu Fuyou leaned closer to listen. She heard her call out, “Ah Man.”

It felt like a stab to Gu Fuyou’s heart. She sat upright, her face souring as she looked at Zhong Michu.

She didn’t realize how long she had been sitting there when she heard some noise outside. Scholar Zhai had returned with someone.

The person was slim, draped in a wide, bright red silk robe with a hood casting a shadow over half of their face. Only part of the face was visible, a thin wrist extending from the sleeve, adorned with a silver, jade-embedded bloodvine bracelet. A blood-red, three-legged crow perched on her shoulder, its sharp voice calling out, “Ah Man, Ah Man,” in a voice like a parrot.

Gu Fuyou stepped out and called, “Si Miao.”

Si Miao removed her hood, revealing a pale, rigid face as if it were that of a corpse. She touched the edge of her cheek and peeled off a thin wooden mask, revealing a beautiful face, though her eyes remained dull.

The three-legged crow on her shoulder asked, “Where’s senior sister?”

Gu Fuyou replied, “Inside.”

As Si Miao moved to enter, Gu Fuyou said, “I’ll go check on Gu Huaiyou.”

Si Miao nodded and went inside. Gu Fuyou turned to Scholar Zhai and instructed, “Scholar Zhai, help me watch over Zhong Michu here. When she wakes up… if she asks, tell her you summoned her.”

“That will never fool her,” Scholar Zhai retorted.

“You’re skilled at persuasion, just give it a try.” Gu Fuyou countered.

“……”

Gu Fuyou headed towards the eastern garden. She had only been there a few times but knew the way well because the garden was designed like Gu Huaiyou’s former residence. She reached a doorway, disabled the protective formation, and pushed the door open to enter.

Sunlight filtered through the window, casting a serene glow on the person lying in bed, whose features were peaceful, eyes closed. If not for their pallid, sickly skin the stillness of their chest, one might have thought they were merely asleep.

Gu Fuyou tiptoed to the bedside, leaned against the bed, and sat on the footboard, grasping Gu Huaiyou’s hand and nestling her cheek in his palm. His hand was ice-cold, devoid of any warmth, and every time she touched it, the chill pierced her heart.

When she found Si Miao, she learned that it was Zhong Michu who had saved her from danger. Si Miao had also retrieved Gu Huaiyou’s body, but sadly, the remains of Gu Shuangqing and the others had been ruined. Si Miao chose not to inter Gu Huaiyou; she treated his body with medicinal herbs to prevent it from deteriorating.

The sight of Gu Huaiyou’s body sent Gu Fuyou into a frenzied joy, but each visit to see him, seeing him like this, drove her further into madness.

“Brother,” Gu Fuyou called out. Gu Huaiyou had always been gentle and soft-spoken. When she bullied him, he would just smile and say nothing , and she would disrespectfully call him by his name. At first, he scolded her, telling her to call him “Brother.” She would deliberately do the opposite; the more he insisted, the less she would call him that. Eventually, Gu Huaiyou let her be.

Now, no matter how much she called, he could not hear.

Gu Fuyou gazed at him and said, “I’ve been to the Thirty-Third Skies. The Zuo family still thrives, untouched by divine justice. Heaven is blind; they haven’t paid the price, but I will make them pay. I will exact revenge a hundredfold, a thousandfold, for what they did to us.”

“Brother, this body I’ve taken over is quite useful. Even Zuo Yuezhi must address me as his elder now. No one can bully me anymore. As for Si Miao, she has risen to the rank of highest alchemist at the Wanyao Pavilion; no one can trouble her now. You don’t have to worry,” Gu Fuyou said with a faint smile. “But knowing your nature, I suspect you’ll worry regardless.”

The door creaked open. Si Miao entered, and Gu Fuyou stood up, asking, “How are her injuries?”

The three-legged crow said, “The external wounds are not serious, she has been medicated.”

Gu Fuyou frowned, “She is a Dragon King, with a cultivation that has reached Soul Splitting stage. Who could have possibly injured her?” Furthermore, the injury was at her chest, where there was no protective heart scale. Even if it wasn’t serious, Gu Fuyou couldn’t be at ease.

Si Miao looked at her, and the three-legged crow squawked, “She’s about to wake up, aren’t you going to check on her?”

Gu Fuyou said, “Let Scholar Zhai handle her.”

The crow squawked again, “Scholar Zhai can’t handle her.”

Gu Fuyou sighed, “I’ll go take a look then.”

She returned to the outside of Zhong Michu’s resting chamber and as soon as she entered, she heard the sound of a porcelain bowl shattering. Approaching, she indeed found the person awake, sitting on the bed. Scholar Zhai was pressing down on her, saying, “Hey, you can’t move around, your injury hasn’t healed.”

Zhong Michu’s voice was cold as she asked, “Where is she?”

Scholar Zhai, sweating profusely, said, “Ouch, I already told you, it was me who summoned you here, why don’t you believe it?”

Zhong Michu, with her hand trembling as she propped herself up, her face a cold fury, restrained herself and said, “Do you think I can’t tell who summoned me?”

Gu Fuyou walked in and called out, “Scholar Zhai.”

Scholar Zhai, seeing her come in, exclaimed in surprise, “Why are you here?” Wasn’t she supposed to cover for her?

Gu Fuyou noticed Zhong Michu’s gaze was locked on her, as if she wanted to devour her. She said, “Scholar Zhai, why don’t you step outside.”

Scholar Zhai, as if pardoned, let out a sigh of relief, “I truly can’t deal with this.” She grabbed her folding fan and scurried out.

Zhong Michu said to Gu Fuyou, “You, come here.”