Chapter 101: Soft Skin, Weak Bones, Fated Enemy.

Chapter 101: Soft Skin, Weak Bones, Fated Enemy.

Word came that the Divine Court Saintess wanted to meet with the Divine Shaman.

Fu Yu felt like she'd been given a break.

She tried to yank her arm out of Zhao Xiulong's calloused grip—no dice.

This woman had a grip like she'd cast a Mountain Lift Incantation.

Fu Yu said, stiff-faced, "Let me take care of the important stuff first, then I'll come back and help you."

Zhao Xiulong glared at her. "Oh, you little Taoist, what's with all this 'you' and 'me'? So young and no manners! Call me Auntie!"

"Hiss—"

The messenger from the Great Dao Sect winced, sucking air through his teeth.

This old hag dared to disrespect the Divine Shaman like that!

He was about to step in, but saw the Divine Shaman nod obediently and call out, real meek, "Auntie."

Her voice was a little raspy, and she barely whispered "Auntie."

Zhao Xiulong wasn't too happy. She reached up and gave Fu Yu a light smack on the head.

The messenger: "Hiss!"

His eyes went wide, head spinning.

This woman had no clue!

He looked at the Divine Shaman, who still wasn't mad. Her head tilted slightly to the side, her cold face a little stiff, her expression weird and unreadable.

Fu Yu said, cool as a cucumber, "So, I'll head out now?"

"Go where?" Zhao Xiulong pointed at a big bamboo basket by the slope. "Get a move on! Come give me a hand with this!"

Without waiting for an answer, she yanked hard, almost pulling Fu Yu off her feet.

Zhao Xiulong clicked her tongue in disgust. "Soft skin, weak bones, like a bamboo pole! Frail as can be! Can't even take care of yourself, and you're trying to cultivate? Might as well quit!"

The messenger: "……"

Totally speechless, he tried to step in, but Fu Yu slowly turned her head, staring at him like a little ghost, and said quietly, "You go first. I'll come later."

The message was clear—Divine Court Saintess? Not important. Not one bit.

The messenger's pupils trembled. "…Understood."

Who was this old lady, more important than the Divine Court Saintess?

The messenger stumbled off in a daze.

Fu Yu followed Zhao Xiulong over to the bamboo slope.

A big basket was half-full of freshly dug bamboo shoots, still caked in warm yellow mud.

Zhao Xiulong's hands and clothes were covered in the same mud.

Fu Yu looked down a beat late and saw a big yellow handprint on the arm Zhao Xiulong had grabbed.

"……"

Zhao Xiulong said, "Don't just stand there! Haul it to the kitchen, we're fixing dinner tonight! Tsk, you monks eat worse than pig feed!"

Fu Yu: "…I'm not a monk."

Zhao Xiulong didn't care if she was a monk or not. She kept on rambling, "These shoots are good. Stir-fry 'em with some dried chili—crisp, tender, and tasty!"

Fu Yu blinked slowly. "Sure."

The two of them lifted the big basket, one on each side.

Zhao Xiulong clicked her tongue. "You're weak as a kitten compared to me. A Feng said you cultivators could move mountains and drain seas with a flick of your hand—I knew she was full of it!"

Fu Yu: "Mm."

Her palm gripping the basket handle felt a little warm.

Zhao Xiulong gave her a feeling even more familiar than Zhao Xiufeng did.

It was a weird feeling—a deep, bone-deep, fateful itch, like tiny bites chewing at her marrow.

Was it blood?

Zhao Xiulong suddenly turned to stare at her. "That young fella earlier, what'd he call you? Divine Shaman?"

Fu Yu: "…Yeah."

Fu Yu was stumped: how was she supposed to explain to a mortal how powerful a Divine Shaman was?

Zhao Xiulong said, "Oh my! Superstition—bad news!"

Fu Yu: "?"

Zhao Xiulong sighed in disappointment. "A nice girl like you, don't go learning to be some shaman or fortune-teller and conning people, you hear!"

Fu Yu: "……"

Zhao Xiulong rambled on, "Can fortune-telling tell you when you'll kick the bucket? Can holy water fix a leaky roof? Can drawing lots get you a good man? Oh, and ancestral graves—if they really could bless your kids with money and status, wouldn't everyone dig 'em up? Who can stand seeing their neighbor get ahead!"

Fu Yu: "……"

The High Priest, usually so smooth-talking and silver-tongued, was left speechless.

Way off in the distance.

The Foxtail Grass Spirit, the Monkey, Li Xueke, and Wu He stared at each other, baffled.

The Grass Spirit was nervous. "What's going on? Has the master met her match? Should we go help?"

The Monkey said, "Dummy! Can't you see they're fighting with words? You get that?"

The Foxtail Grass Spirit shook its head honestly. "Nope."

Li Xueke hugged the Paper Effigy Boy, shaking. "This scene! Looks like the Divine Shaman has met her fated enemy!"

Wu He looked gloomily at the sky. "Life and death are fate. Whatever."

While the high-ranking cultivators of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance were scratching their heads over the mysterious invitation from the Divine Court Saintess, Fu Yu was enjoying a plate of tender, crisp stir-fried bamboo shoots with chili peppers.

The first bite nearly made her choke up with tears.

Zhao Xiulong glared at her. "You gonna spit that out?"

Fu Yu silently chewed the bamboo shoots, which tasted so damn familiar.

For a sec, she couldn't tell if it was savory, spicy, salty, or bitter.

It'd been ages since she'd had this taste.

Back then, life was a mess.

Whenever a demon disaster hit and everyone in the city fled, the Old Charlatan, sharp as ever, would stick around with her.

People only grabbed their cash and jewels when running—nobody moved the kitchen.

The Old Charlatan would then show off her skills.

She'd whip up a meal, take it to the master bedroom, wrap up in a warm blanket, and eat it all greasy.

That familiar taste.

Fu Yu bowed her head and took big bites of the bamboo shoots.

Zhao Xiulong smirked, all proud. "Taste that now? Let 'em share this big pot—don't say I came up here just to freeload! Nobody's kicking me out!"

Fu Yu's eyes were red from the heat. "Nobody here's gonna kick you out."

Zhao Xiulong waved her spatula and sneered.

Outside the window, in the forest.

The Foxtail Grass Spirit ground its teeth. "The master's eyes are all red! Are we gonna make a move or what?"

The monkey said, "This old hag's no pushover!"

Li Xueke added, "I feel like I've seen this woman somewhere before..."

The Foxtail Grass Spirit tensed. "So she's an old enemy after all!"

The Paper Effigy Boy had spotted her ages ago.

This woman looked just like the one in Qin Qianzhu's dungeon.

But it kept its mouth shut.

This was about the Divine Shaman's pride, a big deal.

It knew damn well when to zip it.

The Foxtail Grass Spirit got frantic. "Why's the master still eating her food! Is this how you fight a magic duel?"

Li Xueke said, "We suck at word magic, but eating? We can do that!"

The monkey chimed in, "Share the pain, let's go!"

"Go!"

Fu Yu stared in shock as a bunch of weirdos burst into the kitchen, scarfing down all the spicy bamboo shoots in a flash, leaving just an empty plate and pot.

All the mixed feelings—sweet, bitter, spicy, sad—got stuck in Fu Yu's chest.

Her lips twitched. "What the hell are you doing?"

The Foxtail Grass Spirit looked ready to die. "Bring out whatever else you got!"

Li Xueke declared grandly, "That's all? Piece of cake!"

The monkey went, "Hiss, hah, hiss."

Wu He muttered, "...So good."

Fu Yu finally got away from Zhao Xiulong.

The Foxtail Grass Spirit asked nervously, "Master, master, is this chick trouble or what?"

Fu Yu replied, "Yeah. Stay away from her; you can't take her."

The Foxtail Grass Spirit nodded hard, blinking its teary, spice-burned eyes. "Mm-hmm! So, master, did we do a big favor today by saving you?"

Fu Yu smiled. "Yeah, you did."

In the Three Pure Ones Hall, Yu Xiao and two trusted Dao Masters had been waiting forever.

You could hear sighs and groans before even stepping inside.

Fu Yu walked in, sat down, and waved for them to keep going.

She seemed kinda spaced out.

"...Divine Shaman? Hey, Divine Shaman?"

Fu Yu snapped out of it, looked up, and smiled at Qitian Dao Master. "I'm listening."

Qitian Dao Master nodded seriously. "That's the deal."

He frowned and couldn't help but add, "The Demon King's shown up, and the whole Divine Demon Burial Ground's been taken over by evil spirits from another world. At this critical moment, the Divine Court's gathered a ton of troops to fight the demon disaster with us. But first, the Saintess wants to meet the Divine Shaman."

Pingtian Dao Master chuckled and tapped the armrest of her chair.

"The Saintess is the Divine Court's golden banner of great benevolence and righteousness," she said with a smile. "I've received word that renowned masters and scholars from all continents will follow her here—big names with big reputations. I wonder what they're planning."

Fu Yu raised an eyebrow. "Could the Saintess be trying to debate scriptures with me?"

Pingtian Dao Master rolled her eyes skyward. "Maybe. Even if she can't kill you, she'll annoy you to death!"

Fu Yu laughed.

Qitian Dao Master's square face darkened as he said seriously, "Junior sister, don't tease the Divine Shaman! Since they've invited us to the Daoist Sect ruins, they must be planning to bring up old matters. Now that the Divine Court controls public opinion, these famous scholars are their mouthpieces. In a war of words, we can't win."

"Alas!" Yu Xiao sighed. "It's a Hongmen Banquet, alas!"

Qitian Dao Master continued, "I worry they intend to gain the moral high ground, forcing us to agree to an alliance where they lead and we follow—which is essentially disarming ourselves, handing over our forces, and surrendering to the Divine Court."

Pingtian Dao Master chimed in, "Oh, that's possible!"

Yu Xiao shook his head and sighed. "Alas, the same old trick, all pompous and disgusting, alas!"

Qitian Dao Master: "Still, it's hard to figure out."

Fu Yu gave a slight smile.

The two Dao Masters looked at each other: "Divine Shaman, am I wrong?"

Fu Yu sighed wearily: "You've been at this for years, but you still can't assume the worst of them."

The three of them exchanged silent looks.

Fu Yu asked: "What about their main army? What's their move?"

Pingtian Dao Master replied: "They're heading to the Divine Demon Burial Ground, and they'll pass through the north of our Southern Continent soon."

Fu Yu smiled at her, amused: "What if something happens to me then?"

Pingtian Dao Master's arm broke out in goosebumps. She rubbed her arm without thinking, following Fu Yu's calm, sinister gaze as she speculated: "If the Divine Shaman were to be disgraced in front of all the famous scholars, or even die... the Divine Court army would march south and wipe out the rest."

Her eyes widened in shock, and she slumped deeper into her chair.

"They'd totally do that!"

Fu Yu's eyes crinkled with delight: "Right answer—you get an extra goose leg tonight!"

Qitian Dao Master was shocked: "I never even thought of that."

Yu Xiao sighed, dazed: "Who'd have thought, with the demon calamity upon us, they'd still be obsessed with infighting? Sigh."

Pingtian Dao Master gave a bitter laugh: "Then we can't go!"

Fu Yu waved her hand and dropped another bombshell: "When I soul-searched Hang Shouli, I discovered something. All over this world, there are Myriad Demons Array formations. Activating them can instantly drain the life force of anyone nearby who has sold their lifespan."

Yu Xiao, already sensing it, wasn't too shocked.

The two Dao Masters' faces turned pale in an instant.

Fu Yu unhurriedly threw out another thunderbolt: "Beneath the Divine Mountain lies the main array. If their Supreme God activates it... I don't know how many would die."

This time, even Yu Xiao's face went completely white.

Fu Yu stood up.

"Now do you understand why we must win?"

She stepped out the door.

Once outside, she reached back and pulled out the faintly glowing black hairpin.

Jun Bu Du's voice rang out, calm and steady.

"Let loose and kill—I am behind you."