Chapter 86: This Is All Fate

The Demon Master, frustrated, said: “Whose fault is this? Before the Demon Court collapsed, I warned you all—humanity would be the next masters of heaven and earth.

The Demon Race should have parasitized humanity, feeding off their fortune like a leech!

Just as the Saints do now.

Instead, within just a few hundred years, you’ve wiped out every human seed I specially relocated to the Northern Wilderness.

I told you to nurture them to sustain our demonic fortune—not to raise them as livestock to eat!

Had the ‘human seed’ in the Northern Wilderness grown into a mighty empire, it wouldn’t have been impossible for them to turn southward and seize the heartland of Zhonghua—even without Qin’s invasion.

If the ‘human empire’ nurtured by the Demon Race had become the supreme ruler of the world, even birthing a Human Emperor, how much fortune could the Demon Race hiding behind the scenes have claimed?

How could we possibly have sunk to this state—repeatedly serving as vanguards for kings, growing weaker year after year!”

Peng San mumbled: “In recent years, we’ve reflected and tried to support a ‘human empire,’ but we’ve suffered repeated defeats.”

The Demon Master coldly said: “What was the world like twenty million years ago? What is it like now?

The world changes every single day.

Twenty million years ago, the Demon Race still had some heavenly favor, the foundation to play the game.

Now, the Saints have fully seized control of the Heavenly Dao; heaven and earth have taken their shape.

The Three Sovereigns sit firm in the Fire Cloud Grotto, stabilizing humanity’s fortune.

And you still dare to parasitize humanity, stealing its fortune?

Hmph—the ‘Heaven’ itself won’t allow it, because today’s ‘Heavenly Lord’ is none other than them!”

When he secretly selected the ‘human seeds,’ the Demon Court had not yet collapsed, and the Demon Emperor had not yet passed away.

The Three Pure Ones, Nüwa, and other Saints had just attained their Saintly status; the Three Sovereigns of humanity had yet to be born, so the Demon Race had a chance to secretly scheme and steal fortune unnoticed.

But times have changed. Now, even without the Saints or the Heavenly Court lifting a finger, the Demon Race cannot even pass the single test of the earthly Human Emperor.

“Then what should we do now?” Peng San frowned.

“What should we do? I’ve told you all before—stop meddling. Preserve what’s left of the Demon Race’s vital essence, and wait for heaven and earth to change again. But you never listen… Fine. If you want to die, I can’t stop you, and I’m too tired to care.

Go. Remember to carry out what I’ve instructed.” The Demon Master snapped impatiently.

Peng San asked finally: “Does ‘all Kunpeng descendants’ include those of mixed blood?”

The Demon Master thought a moment, then said: “The standard is whether they awaken the Kunpeng divine arts—mixed blood doesn’t matter.

Before me, every Kunpeng born after the fact is mixed blood.”

Sunlight warmed her face, bright and dazzling. Xiao Yu’s eyelids fluttered slightly, then slowly opened. Before her stood a young girl, eyebrows furrowed into an inverted “V,” her phoenix eyes wide, gaze sharp and brilliant.

“Who are you? Why are you staring at me?” Her throat was dry; she wanted water.

“You’re awake. How do you feel?”

Seeing Xiao Yu awaken, the girl showed no surprise or delight, but her eyebrows slowly relaxed.

“You’re Tian Feng… sister?” Xiao Yu ventured.

The girl before her was about the same age—eleven or twelve—with peach-blossom skin, bright eyes, and white teeth.

Her hair was tied in a single ponytail, her eyes sharp and alert, like a martial artist.

She carried an air of noble elegance.

Then Xiao Yu remembered the “sister” she had never met.

“I’m not your sister, nor Tian Feng. My name is Dou Gengyan,” the girl said coolly.

“Dou Gengyan?”

Xiao Yu propped herself up, leaning on the pillow, glancing left and right.

The room was bright; both windows were opened from inside.

It seemed to be a pavilion—she was at least on the second floor; the branches visible through the window were high, and the floor was wooden.

Roughly fifteen square meters, with a plain wooden bed, table, cabinet, two chairs, all showing signs of chipped paint.

The bedding wasn’t new but was clean, with no odor.

Two paintings hung on the wall.

Far from the boudoir she’d expected of Lady Guan.

Was she still in an inn?

“Dou Gengyan—your name’s not bad. Are you my maid?” Xiao Yu asked.

Dou Gengyan’s sword-like eyebrows folded again into an inverted “V,” her gaze sharp as blades, her face icy as frost: “Sha Man Yu, you still don’t understand your situation!

This is the Jiaosi Fang in Tianmen Town. Do you even know what a Jiaosi Fang is?”

“What?” Xiao Yu’s eyes widened in shock: “Jiaosi Fang? How did I end up here? My adoptive father is Guan Huchen—I’m Guan~Yu~~”

“Hmph. The Guan family has abandoned you. Shu has cast you off too,” Dou Gengyan crossed her arms, sneering. “Serves you right—this is the fate of a dog serving the tyrannical Qin!”

“Tyrannical Qin… Miss, who are you?” Xiao Yu asked, astonished.

“Hongqu, who are you talking to? Has Fengxian awakened?” A middle-aged woman’s voice came from outside.

Dou Gengyan’s eyebrows knotted again, lips pressed tight, clearly displeased.

“Who’s speaking?” Xiao Yu asked.

Dou Gengyan remained silent.

Quick footsteps approached. The door opposite the bed swung open from outside, and a wave of perfume flooded the room.

A middle-aged woman in a lake-green dress entered.

In her thirties or forties, her once plump oval face had grown slightly sunken with age.

Her hair was slicked back with oil, adorned with a golden phoenix hairpin and silver flower earrings; her face dusted with a thin layer of powder—still elegant, though past her prime.

She strode straight to the bed, scrutinizing Xiao Yu from head to toe, then nodded with satisfaction: “Oh my, Fengxian, you look splendid! Your recovery is excellent—can you stand and take a few steps?”

“Fengxian? Me?” Xiao Yu pointed at her own nose.

The green-dressed woman sat beside the bed, taking Xiao Yu’s small hand in hers, speaking gently: “I understand—the fall from Lady Guan to our Hongxiu Fang is a bit steep.

But you’re originally from the Northern Wastelands, a Sha Man.

From the wild, blood-drinking, Lusufengcan sand dunes to our magnificent Hongxiu Fang—ha! It’s a tremendous blessing!”

Xiao Yu rubbed her temples with her free hand. “How long have I been unconscious?”

“A long time, let me think,” the woman tapped her fingers, then said: “You’ve been here at Hongxiu Fang for three days. Before that, you stayed three nights and days at Bao’an Hall.

Master Song brought you to Bao’an Hall, and spent two nights and a day… That’s eight days total!”

“Eight days…” Xiao Yu’s expression twisted. “I felt like I just slept one night.”

The woman quickly summarized the past eight days.

There wasn’t much to say—just one sentence: The Guan family abandoned you; the Shu court, by law, sent you to the Jiaosi Fang as a “criminal woman.”

“Ah, the drop is really steep. I need time to adjust,” Xiao Yu sighed.

The woman nodded toward Dou Gengyan and smiled: “You think that’s bad? Hongqu is the true celestial maiden fallen to earth.”

Dou Gengyan’s lips remained pressed tight, her eyebrows folded like scissors, her eyes shooting daggers.

“Where is Hongqu from?” Xiao Yu asked.

“Hehe, can’t you guess? Her father has some connection with you!”

The woman covered her mouth, giggling, her eyes darting between Xiao Yu and Dou Gengyan with amusement.

“Madam, how should I address you?” Xiao Yu asked, looking at the woman.

“Oh, don’t call me ‘Madam.’ Just call me ‘Aunt Liu.’”

“Is Aunt Liu a Human Immortal?” Xiao Yu asked.

Aunt Liu’s smile froze on her face. “What nonsense are you spouting, just after waking up?”

Xiao Yu glanced at Dou Gengyan and sighed: “Aunt Liu can smile so confidently before me and Hongqu—only a Human Immortal’s strength would be enough for that!”

“Little Fengxian, what do you mean?” Aunt Liu stared at her face.

“It’s not what I mean—it’s what the person who put me and Hongqu in the same room is thinking. Don’t you know, Aunt Liu? Oh, are you the head steward of Hongxiu Fang? If you’re just an ordinary ‘aunt,’ then maybe a fool might get lucky.

But your bearing… if you’re just an ordinary aunt, what kind of celestial goddess must the head steward be?”

“Hehehe…” Aunt Liu seized Xiao Yu’s hand, laughing until her face bloomed like a hibiscus.

“Little Fengxian, you’re far more charming than that wooden-headed Hongqu. I predict—in five years, the top singer of Tianmen Town will be you, not her.”

Dou Gengyan’s face remained tense, her eyes shooting daggers, silent.

Aunt Liu turned back to Xiao Yu, still smiling: “I haven’t even told you her origins yet—you’ve already guessed, haven’t you?”

“Is she the daughter of ‘Jade-Faced Wenchuan’ Dou Yilin?” Xiao Yu said.

Aunt Liu nodded slightly. “She arrived here a few days before you. A few days after the Feixian Ferry battle, my Shu Kingdom’s top divine hunter, Yan Feiying, tracked her and her old servant. They were trying to cross the Liusha River into the Eastern Sands.

But to cross the Liusha River, you must pass through Tianmen Town.

Once you enter Shu territory, you inevitably leave traces.”

Xiao Yu said: “Before you came in, she kept shouting ‘tyrannical Qin’ and looked at me like a traitor, calling me a ‘dog.’ Combined with her surname and your mention of ‘connection’—

I’m just a barbarian girl fresh from the sand dunes. Aside from Dou Yilin, I can’t imagine any other ‘Dou family’ she could be related to.”

“Oh, and I fought your father—he was pitiful.”

Xiao Yu turned her head, giving Dou Gengyan a look of contempt and a silly grimace.

“You barbarian dog, how dare you insult my father!”

Dou Gengyan sprang forward like an angry cub, claws out, three or four steps away—“whoosh!”

Xiao Yu was surprised: Dou Gengyan’s movements were fierce but utterly unrefined—clearly no martial training at all… She’d mistaken her for a martial artist at first glance.

She raised her right hand, index and middle fingers forming a sword-point—casually, yet precisely tapping Dou Gengyan’s forehead.

At that moment, Dou Gengyan’s flailing hands hadn’t even reached Xiao Yu.

“Ahh~~~”

Dou Gengyan leapt up like a jumping toad, took an arrow straight to the belly midair, flipped over, and crashed flat onto the ground.

“Thud!” It was a solid thump; beside her, Aunt Liu made a dodging motion, yet still winced and cried, “Ow, that hurt!”

“Aren’t you in pain?” Aunt Liu asked, puzzled as Xiao Yu’s expression remained calm.

“Should I be in pain?” Xiao Yu blinked, then shook her arms and nodded. “Actually, a bit sore. My movements are much duller and clumsier than before.”

“Ah, no wonder Master Min is so renowned,” Aunt Liu’s confusion vanished instantly.

A flicker of strange expression passed over Xiao Yu’s face.

Why had Song Changqing destroyed her sword bone?

If he truly meant to harm her, why had he brought her here to Tianmen Town in the dead of night to find that so-called Master Min?

The key was, she couldn’t think of any reason for him to harm her.

And the Gu family’s strange reaction.

Even if her sword bone was destroyed, they shouldn’t have abandoned her so immediately—unless there was truly no room for reconciliation...

Thinking of Song Changqing and the Gu family, Xiao Yu recalled the dark, icy ocean she’d seen in her coma, and how she had transformed into a giant roc in the sky, then plunged into the sea as a giant kun.

What did kun and roc signify? Her body seemed to have undergone noticeable changes...

Xiao Yu closed her eyes, cleared her mind, and after a long while, opened them again to ask, “Auntie, how did I get this name? I actually have a name—Xiao Yu.”

“All girls who enter our Hongxiu Courtyard must first be ranked. The most outstanding are named after flowers—you are ‘Fengxian,’ and she is ‘Hongqu.’”

Aunt Liu pointed at Xiao Yu with one finger and at Dou Gengyan, who was rubbing her forehead as she rose from the ground, and laughed. “Hongqu might have reason to complain, but ‘Gengyan’ is truly a refined, elegant name.”

“Yet you dare complain about ‘Shaman Yu’?!”

Even ‘Guan Yu’—good heavens, who ever heard of a girl named Guan Yu?!

You should be deeply grateful for the name ‘Fengxian’—profoundly, abundantly grateful!”

“Fengxian...” Xiao Yu murmured. “Perhaps this is fate.”

“Auntie, hurry down—the Daddies are here~~”

At that moment, a twelve- or thirteen-year-old maid burst through the door, shouting clearly to Aunt Liu.

“Oh, Ziying, I know. Go tell Sister Jinlian to go down first—I’ll be right there.”

Ziying, with her twin buns, glanced at Xiao Yu, her big eyes blinking with bright curiosity.

“Alright, I’ll go call Sister Jinlian. Auntie, hurry up!”

Though curious, Ziying turned and skipped out happily.

Aunt Liu stood up and said to Xiao Yu, “I must go attend to things. Rest well.”

Xiao Yu asked, puzzled, “Who are these ‘Daddies’?”

“Probably Xu Zhiyan, the ‘Cloud-Soaring Crane,’ and the band of martial heroes he brought. Yesterday, Master Xu sent his steward Zhang to notify us and paid fifty taels as deposit—specifically requesting Jinlian as company.”

Xiao Yu’s eyes flickered. “Why does Ziying call them ‘Daddies’ instead of by name?”

Aunt Liu sighed. “This is the fate of women in our Jiaosifang.”

“Every man who enters our gate is a ‘Daddy’ to the uninitiated ‘daughters’—and at night, he becomes the ‘husband’ of the registered courtesans.”

Beside them, Dou Gengyan’s lips and face were pale, her eyes filled with humiliation and despair, tears glistening at the corners.

Xiao Yu closed her eyes and sighed. “Ah, this is just fate.”

—The ‘Fengxian’ has arrived! The ‘Great Annihilation Dad’ is about to slaughter!

But don’t blame me—this is the fate of every ‘hero’ who enters the Jiaosifang!