Volume Five: Fallen and Forsaken Gazing Northward at the Cloud Stele Chapter Fifteen: The Sovereign Descends

Yan Muyu was gravely wounded, his chest rising and falling violently as he struggled to catch his breath. Cuts and bruises marred his brow and forehead, blood mingling with the traces of makeup on his face, forming eerie streaks.

“Where did you hide those stones? And where did you hide old Su’s body?” Zhuo Hua glared fiercely at the suspended Yan Muyu, demanding again with venom in his voice.

But Yan Muyu gave no sign of answering. His eyes remained tightly shut, his body motionless.

Zhuo Hua frowned, his right hand shifting from palm to claw, gripping hard. Yan Muyu’s entire body shuddered, emitting a heart-wrenching scream.

“You don’t have the heart to kill me!” Despite multiple broken bones and a grimace of agony, a sinister smile crept upon Yan Muyu’s lips.

“If you kill me, you’ll never bring old Su back to life.” That wicked smile deepened, his fierce expression twisted into something hauntingly strange.

“Brother, what is he talking about? What resurrection?” Su Mengling asked Zhuo Hua.

“He wants to use the Moonlight Stone to create the Azure Moon Pearl, which supposedly can revive the dead. Let me tell you, Zhuo Hua, I have plenty of Moonlight Stones, not only that, but two Azure Moon Pearls of the mortal ninth rank. But you will never get them. I want you to feel this helplessness—just like when I clawed my way out from a pile of corpses in the neighboring realm.” Yan Muyu’s eyes opened wide, fixed intently on Zhuo Hua’s, his laughter growing louder, his face more ferocious. He roared, “Kill me! Just kill me! I was nothing to begin with, living this long was already a gift. Kill me now! Ha ha ha!”

Suddenly, a knife plunged into Yan Muyu’s chest. His sinister grin froze instantly. Lowering his head, he looked at the small blade embedded in his flesh, then slowly lifted his gaze to see hands trembling as they gripped the knife’s handle.

Su Mengling, caught between fear and resolve, parted her lips slightly, panting hard, trembling all over, yet her tender hands clung tightly to the knife.

“You drove my father to death and now you want to defile his honor? How can the Su family allow you to live in this world?” With those words, the girl summoned all her strength and pulled the knife free.

A gush of bright red blood sprayed from the wound, the blade piercing squarely through the heart.

Yan Muyu’s head drooped slowly like a heavy, ripe stalk of rice bending in the autumn field, stained completely with blood.

“Meng’er, I haven’t asked where your father’s body is. Don’t you want to bring him back?” Zhuo Hua loosened his grip and laid Yan Muyu’s corpse aside.

“My father chose to end his life because he no longer wished to live in this world. He valued his honor above all else. Once that honor was shattered, to keep his broken body alive would be worse than death.” Su Mengling, just now emerging from the storm of emotions after the killing—fear, sorrow, loneliness, helplessness—felt them all surge into her once innocent and pure heart.

She collapsed, sobbing bitterly, wiping the blood from her white skirt. But the more she wiped, the more the stains spread, and the deeper her grief grew.

“Father, this time Mengling has made the decision for you. I hope you won’t blame me.”

Zhuo Hua sighed, sitting beside her, shoulder to shoulder.

“Meng’er, if time could turn back, you must never have anything to do with me again. Don’t give me those two pale-faced brats.”

“Brother! This is not your fault! That old thief Yan Muyu coveted my father’s wealth for a long time. Even if it wasn’t because of you, he would have plotted against my father for something else. It’s just that... my father died so tragically.” Su Mengling’s voice cracked as tears overwhelmed her again. She turned and threw herself into Zhuo Hua’s arms.

Zhuo Hua spread his hands awkwardly, unsure where to place them, and finally rested them gently on her shoulders.

After a short incense stick’s time, the crying subsided.

Su Mengling lifted her tear-streaked face and said, “Brother, will you take me to wash and change? Then we’ll go find Father. I don’t want him to see me in such a sorry state; it would break his heart.”

Zhuo Hua nodded and helped her to her feet. He listened carefully and heard the sound of flowing water from the back hall. Together, they made their way there.

Mist swirled, water trickled gently—it was a hot spring bath.

“Yan Muyu sure knew how to indulge himself, diverting mountain spring water outside the city here. I wonder how much of the common people’s hard-earned wealth was spent on this.”

Su Mengling sat by the pool, dipping her delicate hand into the warm water, swirling it gently. Satisfied with the temperature, she pulled her hand back and asked Zhuo Hua, “Brother, could you find me a change of clothes?”

Zhuo Hua, gazing at Su Mengling through the mist, blinked, then nodded quickly. “Getting clothes isn’t a problem, but I’m afraid if I leave, some villain might take the chance to attack you.”

A slight smile played on Su Mengling’s lips as she rose and took Zhuo Hua’s hand, pulling him along, her face radiant with happiness.

“You’re not going to bathe?”

“I’ll come with you to get the clothes. You probably wouldn’t know which outfits suit a girl,” she replied, the image of Zhuo Hua sweating as he searched through women’s clothing flickering through her mind, prompting a small smile.

They stepped out of Yan Muyu’s main chamber into a raucous scene outside, filled with clashing weapons and whinnying horses.

“When did this Moonwatch City get troops?” Zhuo Hua asked.

Su Mengling shook her head. “Usually, only a few patrol soldiers, not many. The defense is mostly handled by the Smoke Clan’s General Yan Jing’an. The city lord only commands some constables and clerks.”

Zhuo Hua pondered briefly, suspicion creeping in. But then he thought, even if soldiers had arrived, it didn't matter—he was now strong enough to safely take Su Mengling out of Moonwatch City. Grasping her hand, he led her into a side chamber.

“There should be women’s clothes in here,” Zhuo Hua said confidently.

“Oh? And why do you say that?” Su Mengling asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Before entering, I caught a whiff of rouge. It has to be,” Zhuo Hua answered with certainty.

“Hmph! Brother, you must have had your share of flirtations,” Su Mengling rolled her eyes.

“Me? Not at all! It’s just that sometimes there are confidential matters…” Zhuo Hua began, only to be cut off by Su Mengling’s outstretched hand.

“No need to explain. You’re the Lord of the Cloud Palace, and I’m just a weak girl. You don’t owe me any explanations.” She turned away, stifling a giggle.

They rummaged through cabinet after cabinet until finally, beside a dressing table in the innermost room, they found a complete set of clothing—from undergarments to outer robes and skirts.

Su Mengling gathered the clothes, turning to see Zhuo Hua silently sulking behind her. She raised her hand and placed the bundle into his arms, her eyes wide and sincere as she said, “Brother, I’m sorry for what I said earlier. I know you’re not like that. Please don’t be angry.”

Zhuo Hua opened his mouth, “I’m not angry, I just…” But before he could finish, Su Mengling had already turned and left the room.

They hurried back to the large chamber. Just as Zhuo Hua was about to enter the hot spring room, Su Mengling’s voice stopped him.

“Brother, just leave the clothes on the bench by the door. Thank you.”

Zhuo Hua nodded and said, “I’ll wait outside. If anything happens, call out loud.”

He stepped out, the cold wind instantly sharpening his senses. Reflecting on the past few months—though painful to recall—it had truly opened his eyes to the vastness of the world.

Inside, the sound of Su Mengling washing brought fleeting memories that made him chuckle softly.

Soon, freshly bathed and dressed, Su Mengling stepped out, her body emitting the unique fragrance of a woman just out of the bath, momentarily dazzling Zhuo Hua.

“Brother, let’s go find Father,” she said, her face once again clouded with sorrow.

Zhuo Hua nodded, gathering his energy to fly with her. But using the newly acquired Qi Stabilizing Pearl for the first time, he couldn’t yet unleash strong true energy, so they had to make their way on foot outside the city lord’s mansion.

The expansive courtyard was deserted, not a soul in sight. At the front gate, the main door was firmly shut, but the side gate was slightly ajar.

Su Mengling hurried forward, pushing open the side gate to rush out, only to be yanked back forcefully by Zhuo Hua.

As she looked on in confusion, a volley of arrows pierced through the gate. Zhuo Hua and Su Mengling ducked behind a stone pillar, the sounds of countless arrowheads thudding into the wooden door sending the girl trembling into Zhuo Hua’s arms. She had never witnessed such a scene before.

After a brief moment, the arrow storm ceased. Zhuo Hua motioned for Su Mengling to stay concealed behind the pillar while he stepped out cautiously through the side gate.

With a whistle, a sharp arrow sped directly toward his face.

Without even glancing, Zhuo Hua waved his right hand, and the arrow abruptly changed course, embedding itself with sparks in the nearby brick wall.

“Fire!” a scholarly-looking general outside commanded his soldiers to continue shooting at Zhuo Hua.

Another barrage of arrows came hurtling toward him. Zhuo Hua formed his hands into palms, tracing a circle in front of his chest before thrusting forward with great force. The oncoming arrows were pushed aside violently, clattering to the ground.

“Who are you? Do you have my fourth brother?” the white-robed scholar demanded sternly.

Zhuo Hua shook his sleeves, clasped his hands behind his back, and hovered in the air, declaring loudly, “I am the Primordial Lord of the Cloud Palace. Yan Muyu dared to defy orders and has been executed by me.”