The Sacred Ruins

People couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

The woman in black was lanky. She was well over one seventy-five centimetres tall. This woman seemed like a swinging lotus, slender yet soft and graceful. Her figure set her apart from all the others. She was even taller than some of the men here.

Her black hair was smooth and soft; her charming eyes were shaped like the eyes of a phoenix. The only fault that one could say about her was that she seemed rather unapproachable. Her cold elegance made her seem all the more akin to a noble queen.

She held up her goblet then clinked glasses with Chu Feng. When the sparkling glass of the goblet met the fiery red lips of the woman, besides the cold elegance, there was also something bewitching about the scene.

However, the woman didn’t stay here for long. After giving Chu Feng another look, she went straight towards a vacant table in the corner on the far side of the room. She sat on the chair and placed the goblet on the table. She was then in a trance, looking as if she had been thinking back to something that had happened in the past.

Chu Feng had not said anything to the woman in black throughout that brief interaction between them; however, deep inside him, Chu Feng was having a surge of emotion.

"She is the Immortal Phoenix King! We’ve met in Vatican City!"

When the bloody massacre first started, ninety-nine percent of the kings had been killed. Only those with six severed shackled had managed to escape, but most of them were still subsequently killed in the pursuit.

The Silver Moon Wolf King, for example, had once dubbed himself the invincible king of the northern grassland, but he was still brutally murdered by Schiller.

When the Immortal Phoenix King escaped, the black dragon was assigned to pursue her. When everyone thought that the phoenix was dead, she then somehow appeared at a blind-date party in Shuntian.

The silver fruit from the martial sacred tree brutally injured her back in the Vatican City; her life was in the precipice of death. How did she manage to survive after that?

Chu Feng gazed at the woman in black. There were many questions he wanted to ask. He then noticed that there was something wrong with the Immortal Phoenix King. She was lacking the imposing manner that a king with six severed shackles should have.

She looked lost in thought and absent-minded. What made her become like this?

"Maybe she’s still recovering from her injury?" Chu Feng guessed.

"Or did she try to reach the state of nirvana in order to be reborn and stay alive, but something critical went wrong in the process that caused her to, perhaps, lose her memory? That’s quite possible!" Chu Feng murmured to himself.

The Immortal Phoenix King was a legendary species. In fables and legends, the phoenix could stand shoulder to shoulder with gods. When they were at the crucial moment of life and death, legendary beings like the Immortal Phoenix King could bathe herself in the immortal flame in order to be reborn.

At this moment, a lot of men were having a strange look on their faces because they noticed that Chu Feng still seemed somewhat unmoved by what just happened. He seemed to have no interest in striking up a conversation with the woman in black.

The man dressed in green suit thumbed up for Chu Feng. He whispered in Chu Feng’s ear, "Mate, you’re a legend! I know for now, you’re trying to allow her more latitude so that later on, you can keep a tighter ‘rein’ on her. Am I right? But in my humble opinion, I think you’ve overdone it a little bit."

Chu Feng was speechless. The woman in black was a bird king with six severed shackles. Who in their right mind would dare to "rein" her? "This beast could single-handedly tear everyone in this building into pieces if she wanted!" Chu Feng thought to himself.

Chu Feng was still surrounded by quite a number of onlookers who were mostly females. One could tell from their expression that these women were shocked. The way they looked at Chu Feng had changed as well, especially those who had just interacted with him.

Chu Feng drew himself from the center of the attention as he quietly walked away.

He settled himself by another vacant table at an empty corner. There, he saw a man with a white tiger mask. He was the same tall and bulky man Chu Feng ran into before. This time, Chu Feng looked surprised because there was someone who looked very familiar standing beside the man. It was a girl in a suit of white.

The girl was talking to the man. Chu Feng overheard the conversation, and he almost laughed out loud. That young girl was mentoring the big and bulky man on how to pursue girls and how to strike up a conversation with them.

This young girl was wearing a very cartoonish mask. The mask really stood out from the crowd, but she didn’t seem to be too bothered by that. She looked youthful and vigorous. Her neatly combed hair hung loosely by her neck, and her eyes were bright and piercing. At the moment, there was a charming smile on her lips. Her pearl-like teeth and her cherry-red lips made her look both sweet and charming.

But soon, she became somewhat frustrated. Her eyes widened as her cheeks puffed out. She glared at her brother, frustrated by his ineptitude in social interaction, especially when it came to interacting with a girl.

Chu Feng sniggered, "A grown a** man bringing his sister to a blind-date to give him advices on how to pick up girls?"

But suddenly, he realized who they were. They were Lu Shiyuan and her brother, White Tiger!

It was back when everything had only just started. Chu Feng met this girl at his house in Taihang Mountains. This vigorous and youthful girl was looking for a shelter but was ambushed by Yellow Ox. Yellow Ox knocked the lights out of her and left her lying on Chu Feng’s bed.

The room was dark when Chu Feng came back. He didn’t know that someone was put in his bed, so he lay on top of this beautiful young girl. In the end, he redeemed himself by offering the young girl some midnight snack.

However, the skewered lamb had expired!

Chu Feng gave the girl a box of gastrolyte.

Although Chu Feng was not sure about the details of what happened to this girl later that night, he was sure that things must have been hellish for her; because when they later met at the mountain of White Snake for the second time, she seemed very unimpressed by what Chu Feng had done to her!

"So, this man must have been White Tiger then!" Chu Feng murmured to himself.

Chu Feng had heard that White Tiger was serving for the Void Jade Temple, but he had never seen him before. Chu Feng knew that Lu Shiyun was White Tiger’s sister.

"Hey, brother, I’m giving you advice and suggestions here. Are you even listening to me right now?" Lu Shiyun seemed frustrated. She noticed that her brother always let his attention wander off.

"Yes, yes, I am listening, but the things you’ve asked me to say are just too much for my taste. Alright, I don’t need your advice anymore. I’ll just go in there by myself. Oh, and if you run into someone that’s to your liking, let me know so I can help you to make sure that he’s a good man." White Tiger then walked away.

It was more accurate to say that White Tiger was just trying to get away from his sister. It was quite shameful, after all, for a man to bring his sister to a blind date so that she could give some advice to him.

White Tiger was ashamed of this, but luckily, no-one here seemed to have recognized him. Otherwise, it would be too embarrassing for him to bear.

White Tiger looked over his shoulder and caught sight of Chu Feng. Chu Feng was smiling at him, but White Tiger thought that this young man was laughing at him for having overheard their conversation. White Tiger’s face quickly reddened. He was somewhat overcome by embarrassment.

He walked straight towards Chu Feng with big strides. He glared at him without saying anything. White Tiger’s big and bulky build alone was enough to scare a person out of his wits. This was his warning.

Chu Feng was speechless. He really wanted to say, "brother, we’re friends!", but he couldn’t say that on occasions like this.

White Tiger thought that this cheeky young lad must have been overpowered by his domineering stance because Chu Feng didn’t even utter a sound when White Tiger walked past him. White Tiger was quite happy about the result, so he walked away without causing Chu Feng any more troubles. He went into the ballroom and started trying to pick up girls.

"Over here!" Lu Shiyun waved at Chu Feng after her brother disappeared in the crowd. Her smile was sweet and dazzling. She looked just as youthful and pretty as about a year ago.

But this made Chu Feng feel uneasy. "Has she recognized me? Oh god damn it!" Chu Feng cursed under his breath. Minutes ago, he was making fun of White Tiger; minutes later, he was recognized by an old acquaintance. This was karma at its finest.

However, Chu Feng was still hoping that she might have mistakenly recognized him for someone else, as luck would have it. "Oh my truly ol’ mask, make me invisible!" Chu Feng mumbled to himself.

However, Chu Feng soon realized that his cover might have been completely blown. Lu Shiyun was all smiles while waving at him. Her eyes curved like a crescent moon, and a visceral smile hung on her cherry-red lips. She looked very happy.

Chu Feng knew that Lu Shiyuan must have recognized him a long time ago, and that she must have thought that this time, she had got something on him that she could capitalize on. This was why she was so happy.

Chu Feng pretended to be very calm and collected. He looked stern and modest when he approached Lu Shiyun. "Not in a million years would I have ever imagined that someone like you would come to a blind-date. I’m sure this will be worthy of weeks of headline if someone reported your attendance here today to a news outlet," Chu Feng poked fun at Lu Shiyun before she could utter a word.

Lu Shiyun eyes widened. She was infuriated by Chu Feng’s shamelessness. He was the one who came here to blind-date with strangers, and yet he became the one who accused her of the same crime he was committing. Furthermore, Lu Shiyun wasn’t even here for the blind-date. She was here to help her brother. She was sure that Chu Feng must have overheard her conversation with her brother, yet he still pretended that he was the one on the high road here.

"Stop it, Demon King Chu! You know I’m not here for the same purpose as you. Furthermore, you can slander me all you want because no-one has ever heard about me. But guess what, if right now right here, I shout, ‘Demon King Chu is here!’, I bet that you’ll find yourself on the headline in the next five minutes!"

Lu Shiyun had a look of smug satisfaction as she threatened Chu Feng.

"Shh... You know I wasn’t serious. I was just playing with you. What’s wrong with two old friends poking some fun at each other when they meet again after a long separation? I was doing exactly that. C’mon, be cool, girl!"

"Ha! Is that so? But why do I think it’s because you’re afraid of being found out that you’re here at a blind-date party, so you tried to divert the attention so that you won’t get laughed at?!" Lu Shiyun rolled her eyes.

"Shh... don’t shout. We’re such old friends who had parted from each other for so long! Let’s sit down and have a heart-to-heart talk." Chu Feng smiled.

Lu Shiyun looked at Chu Feng from the corners of her eyes. She had remembered the things that happened when she first met him. Even for someone who was generally acknowledged as a good-tempered person, she still wanted to beat him up.

"I heard you’ve somehow become a dragon slayer recently. Have you brought a dragon horn for me?" Lu Shiyun asked. She sounded like she was trying to blackmail Chu Feng. This made Chu Feng rather speechless.

Then, he remembered what happened in the battle of Taihang. Lu Shiyun had once saved his life. She carried him in the air and pulled him to safety. Suddenly, Chu Feng became all willing to be blackmailed by her.

He went fumbling for something in his pocket, then he took out a string of beads. "The beads were carved out of dragon horns, here are a string of them. These beads can be worn as a bracelet, and you know what, this is perhaps the most sought-after bracelet in the world right now. People from Deity and Bodhi had even offered me a few apartment buildings in exchange for this bracelet, but I rejected their offer because I was keeping this for you and you only! This bracelet can take care of your skin and preserve your youth. It’s quite magical, really," Chu Feng whispered into Lin Shiyun’s ears.

In the distance, White Tiger looked over his shoulder and caught sight of this scene. His face instantly turned black.

It was the same guy that he tried to threaten minutes ago. "You utterly shameless bastard, what are you doing with my sister?" White Tiger cursed under his breath. He had seen him shamelessly whispering into his sister’s ears before pulling out a string of rubbish to put on her sister’s wrist. "You’re asking for troubles, young man!"

White Tiger thought that Chu Feng must have been trying to avenge himself on his sister. As a brother, how could he let this happen?!

White Tiger walked with big strides straight towards Chu Feng.

Lu Shiyun was very happy as she wrapped the beads around her wrist. This was something that money couldn’t buy. So far, only two dragons were known to exist in this world, and both of them had been slain.

Lu Shiyun, the little White Tiger, smiled a dazzling smile for having successfully blackmailed Chu Feng, but when she looked up, she saw her angry brother standing right in front of her.

"Brother!" she gently greeted.

"Brother Tiger!" Chu Feng greeted as well to show his courtesy.

"Holy crap!" White Tiger’s eyes widened. "How does he know my name? How did he manage to steal that information from my sister? It’s only been minutes since I left!"

"He must be either a playboy or a master hand in swindling innocent girls into doing shady stuff with him. Either way, I’ll need to slap him away from my sister. I won’t let a scoundrel like him harm my sister!" White Tiger made up his mind.

"I warn you, if you dare to make a move on my sister, I’ll tear you into pieces, you hear me?!" White Tiger threatened.

Chu Feng stayed quiet. He was still wearing a smile. He didn’t talk back to White Tiger; instead, he stood firm on his feet, quietly listening to White Tiger’s warnings and threats.

Lu Shiyun, however, had become angry out of embarrassment. "Brother! Go away! Go mind your own business, brother! Things are not what you think they are!"

"What do you mean by things are not what I think they are?! I know this guy is a no-good son of a b*tch the moment my eyes landed on him. Just look at him! Look at the way he looks at you. Those eyes are eyes of a canny liar," White Tiger said, "hey, you, come here! Let’s go somewhere quiet so that we can have a nice, heart-to-heart talk, son!" White Tiger turned to Chu Feng.

Lu Shiyun was speechless. "Brother, you do NOT want to have a ‘nice, heart-to-heart talk’ with him once you know who he is!" Lu Shiyun thought to herself.

"Go away, brother. Later, I’ll fill you in on what happened, but right now, it’s not the time. Quickly! Go away! Or I will shout ‘White Tiger is here’!" Lu Shiyun couldn’t bear the thought of letting Chu Feng amuse himself by watching her brother making a fool of himself. She pounded on her brother on his back as she threatened him.

White Tiger was all tears. He couldn’t believe that his sister would stand up for a strange man whom she just met minutes ago. This made him even more hateful. It also consolidated his belief that Chu Feng was a "no-good son of a b*tch".

"Hmm... what is happening over there? It looks interesting," a hefty young man said. He was the black bear king’s grandson, and it was quite a surprise to see him here.

"That woman in white is a very exceptional woman, but apparently, she was trying to drive away one man just so she can have some private space with another man. I don’t know the details. Let’s go have a look!" Hu Sheng was here as well. He was all smiles. His eyes were long and narrow; his golden hair hung loosely by his chest and his back. His looks were unconventional yet no less elegant than any other men in this room.

The two had been staying in Shuntian because they were quite satisfied by the varied and graceful life inside the city wall. They had been taking part in every single aspect of this new-founded urban life without exception. Whenever there was something fun going on, they would always make sure that they were the first to be there.

They had heard that this blind-date party was going to be something unique, something drastically different. They heard that the party was going to be a gathering of diamond bachelors [1] and beautiful gold-diggers. Although they were no diamond bachelors themselves, it still sounded rather fun to them.

"Hey, beautiful, my name is Xiong Kun," Xiong Kun introduced himself. He then went on bombarding Lu Shiyun with a slew of flattery and compliments. Clichés like "your beauty puts the flower to shame and outshines the moon" and "your beauty makes fish sink and wild geese fall because of shame".

"Motherf*cker!" Chu Feng cursed under his breath. He face-palmed himself and looked away.

"How the bloody hell did I run into these two bastards! If one of them sees me, their big mouths are gonna sell me out with no doubt! Before I know it, the entire beast kingdom is gonna learn about this!"

If this happened elsewhere, Chu Feng would have already kicked the wits out of these two.

However, the occasion was special. Violence wasn’t an option. Chu Feng turned his face away from them. Luckily, he was wearing a mask, and he had sealed his bodily air inside his body.

Hu Sheng was a smooth-talker as well. He pretended that he was a casual yet elegant man. He was talking to Lu Shiyun as well. He tried to make himself sound funny and humorous while his face was all smiles.

Only minutes into their conversation, Xiong Kun had already started bragging. "We’re both mutants, but you might not know my name, but that’s okay, because I have a very good brother, and his name is Chu Feng. You must have heard his name before, right? Yes! Chu Feng is my brother!"

Chu Feng was speechless. He was only inches away from the bragging duo. Chu Feng buried his head deep and low, pretending that he did not exist in this room.

"Huh? Did I hear someone mention Chu Feng? And did that man say that he was their brother?" Xia Qianyu was a few inches away from the conversation as well. She had unwittingly heard the conversation. She looked surprised. "Oh c’mon! Seriously? Am I going to run into Demon King Chu at every place I go? My luck can’t be that down, can it? No, I don’t believe it! I don’t believe things could be this coincidental. Let’s go and see who is bluffing over there?!" Xia Qianyu and Jiang Luoshen quickly walked towards the spot where Chu Feng was standing at.

...

[1] (Translator’s thought: diamond bachelor: man who has passed the optimum age for marriage, but who is sought after because he is successful and has social status)