Chapter 4 An Encounter with Wuzui
In a bamboo forest, leaves rustled, a bubbling brook tinkled, and several large boulders weighed down a shiny piece of jade. Qingfu could hardly breathe. Her face reddened as she tried to fly again, and then suddenly, the weight lifted.
She thought her training had finally paid off and was about to celebrate when a familiar voice came to her. Instantly, her body froze and she wished she was a regular rock and had never known that person.
"Hey, how did you get all these rocks on top of you? You should thank me for saving your life!"
What the . . . ?
Qingfu reverted to human form and turned around. A bright flash of red appeared in her vision.
The red came first, followed by the fragrant scent of wine as the goblet was held high and wine poured slowly into Wuzui"s throat. Qingfu was very rarely impressed by beauty, probably because she had known Wuzui since childhood. When such a beautiful man influenced one"s aesthetic, one became harder to impress . . .
Wuzui"s almond-shaped eyes were half-closed and a little moist; the pupils, as bright as stars, stared at the wine. The smooth as jade skin looked flush in his red gown. His tall nose looked more delicate than a woman"s, yet not without angles; more bad boy than feminine. He was stunningly beautiful, but still a masculine, like flowers fallen in the wind, tender but pa.s.sionate.
The wine flowed along his throat into his gown.
It was indeed Wuzui, the fox spirit and her master. Qingfu stared at him. "Who said I needed saving?"
"You were almost crushed by those rocks, and this is how you thank me for saving you?" Wuzui looked playful.
Qingfu gritted her teeth. "I was practicing to fly with a heavy weight. Even if I was dying, I"d not need help from you!"
He shrugged. "I just missed you for a while, and now you"re in the heavenly realm. You"re not worried about heavenly guards making a stool out of you?"
Qingfu"s brows rose with pride. "Remember my dream?"
"Your dream?" Wuzui frowned and thought for a second before realizing what she meant. "You mean being Tianhan"s ride?"
Qingfu nodded with self-satisfaction. "I"m now Fairy Lord Tianhan"s ride, and next . . . I"ll invite you to the wedding, a.s.suming you"re not gonna mess up my plans."
"Wait . . ." Wuzui frowned, his eyes showing a dangerous glint. "You"re saying you were . . . ridden already?"
Qingfu nodded.
Isn"t this how it"s supposed to be?
Wuzui"s expression grew stormy as his face darkened. "d.a.m.n it. You"re saying the jade rock I used as a pillow is now someone"s ride?"
"My precious head used to be on something used for a seat?"
.......
Qingfu regretted ever talking to him.
Why would she ever believe Wuzui would act normal?
Qingfu rolled her eyes. "It"s better this way. You won"t torture me by putting your heavy head on my body again, and act like I was taking advantage of you."
"You"re the one taking advantage!" Wuzui gritted his teeth. "Why won"t you admit it? It"s an honor to touch my head!"
Qingfu turned to leave.
Before she took two steps, her body felt lighter and lifted halfway into the air; she was flabbergasted. She turned and asked, "What are you doing?"
Wuzui wore a slight smile. "I"m taking you back to the elf realm. How could my jade be someone"s ride, being humiliated like this?"
Qingfu remained silent.
She was no stranger to Wuzui"s narcissism. She didn"t have problems dealing with him; plus, he could afford to act this way. He may just be a fox spirit, but he was well liked by the fairy king.
Qingfu"s staying alive for this many years in the fairy realm in spite of her personality was mostly thanks to Wuzui"s credentials.
But to leave this opportunity and go back was not possible. Qingfu shook her head resolutely. "I"m not going back. I"m staying here."
Wuzui"s eyes squinted, a glimmer of threat within.
Qingfu was a bit wary but insisted. "I"ll self-destruct if you make me go back."
Wuzui seemed to have a different tactic. "It"s okay to not go back."
What? What is he plotting?
Qingfu was sure he had some difficult but not impossible conditions attached to this compromise. He had always been like this.
Indeed.
He smiled. "Let me use a trapping spell on you, and you can go anywhere you want."
"Trapping spell?" Qingfu frowned, a bit confused. "What"s it for?"
To Qingfu, a trapping spell was rather useless, as it didn"t really attack enough nor was it defensive. She had always thought whoever invented the spell must have been drunk at the time.
If she was allowed to stay by submitting to a pointless spell, it"d be no big deal. She closed her eyes and spread out her hands, her pose one of defeat.
Qingfu had no idea what Wuzui did on her body while her eyes were closed. When she heard he had finished with the spell, she opened her eyes to see someone familiar rushing over, and got ready to watch the show.
Wuzui grew leery when he noticed her new expression. He turned to see Jiuxiang stop in front of him, who lowered her head and acted as shy as a newly-in-love young woman. Her cheeks were red as she said, "Wuzui, long time, no see."
Wuzui could feel a headache coming on. He fake a smile. "It"s been a long time."
"Are you here because you miss me?"
......
Well, when it came to narcissism, Jiuxiang and Wuzui were a perfect match.
Wuzui was speechless. ". . . I"m just here on Elf King"s orders."
"Elf King?" Qingfu questioned. "Why would he ask you to come here? When do you need to leave?"
"Why are making Wuzui leave? He just got here!" Jiuxiang disagreed.
Forgetting friends with a boyfriend, Qingfu felt disdain for Jiuxiang"s att.i.tude.
Wuzui didn"t care. He smiled and answered, "When do I go back? Well . . . in a while, I guess."
Seeing Qingfu"s stunned expression, he continued. "Elf King asked me to check on the various fairies here, prevent any unrest, and improve the relationship between the heavenly and Elf realms. So, before my mission"s done, I"ll be staying here."
"What?" Qingfu was riled up. She looked at Wuzui in shock. "You"re staying here?"
She thought she would be rid of Wuzui after the spell, but if this was true . . . "Why did you say you were making me go back to the Elf realm?"
"I"ll come back after I send you back." Wuzui watched Qinfu as if she was slow-witted.
Qingfu turned around and stayed silent. She knew she couldn"t out-talk Wuzui. Let Jiuxiang deal with him . . .
Qingfu coughed and snuck away. She needed to keep practicing flying with a heavy object.
As soon as she pa.s.sed the bamboo forest and reached the water"s edge, she saw a most familiar shape. All of her bad mood disappeared.
Tianhan wore a white gown today, adding a gentle air to his chiseled face, taking away some of the sharpness he showed in war. His attention seemed out of this world, with his gaze fixated somewhere else.
Qingfu took a deep breath and stopped herself from hugging him as she ran over to him. Instead, she quietly called out, "Fairy Lord Tianhan."
His attention seemed to refocus as he turned to talk to her. "How did your practice go?"
Embarra.s.sed, Qingfu scratched her head and looked everywhere but at him. "It"s . . . it"s going well."
It was obvious she hadn"t improved much, but Tianhan didn"t comment, just nodded without any expression. "Keep practicing."
"Yes!" Qingfu nodded. "Are you busy today?"
Tianhan seemed to answer another question. "There"re so many rides these days, there will be a test soon. Even though I only teach you, you shouldn"t skip the test. You should work harder so you don"t get eliminated."
"A test?"
Tianhan nodded as Qingfu watched him in shock.
A test?
How could she keep wasting her time? Qingfu sounded like she was in tears when she spoke. "I should have worked harder then . . ."
Wait, she couldn"t say that . . .
She covered her mouth in mortification.
Tianhan seemed to smile with his eyes, saying calmly but also a little teasingly, "Worked harder?"
Qingfu tried to recover. "That is, hm . . . I was working very hard, but if I knew there was a test, I could have skipped eating and sleeping and worked even more."
It was a good save, right? No one could skip eating or sleeping, Qingfu rationalized.
Tianhan nodded seriously. "That is true; you should practice non-stop from today forward."
......
Tianhan was not how I imagined . . . Qingfu thought with disappointment.