When Lin Wuyue smiled, Feng Wu's eyes lit up. The little girl was so cute and adorable, he wanted to rub her head… and sure enough, he did.
"When we finish our mission and return to the sect, I'll tell the master to accept you as a disciple. Even if I have to beg him on my knees, this elder brother won't leave you alone," he said with pride and genuine happiness.
Lin Wuyue smiled.
'Yes, that's what I was getting at. I not only listened to their mother, but I also overheard them talking about the territory of the poisonous worms. Those creatures are extremely dangerous, but their venom can be used to create medicine. They'll definitely get it for some alchemist; I have no doubt about that. I suppose they're not completely idiots… they knew that going directly there would be dangerous for me, and if I were in danger, it would be very difficult to save me. That's why they decided to take the path through White Fish Lake. By going around the forest that way, the dangers will lessen, and they can arrive safely. They just need to watch out for the gray wolves.'
Lin Wuyue smiled and said to Feng Wu,
"Big Brother Wu, I'll go wherever you go."
If they took that path, they would encounter countless weeds along the way. She had weighed the pros and cons and nodded to herself. Gray wolves were easy to handle, even for a girl like her, though the danger lay in their always traveling in large packs.
Feng Wu was moved and said firmly,
"You won't be in any danger. You must stay close to me at all times, so I can protect you."
Lin Wuyue looked at him innocently and nodded.
Of course she would stay close to him… otherwise, she would definitely die.
By then, Linyuan was finishing preparing dinner.
"The food is almost ready," she said seriously. "Sit down, we'll rest here. We have a long journey tomorrow. We don't know what dangers await us, so we need our energy. Especially you, Lin Wuyue, you're the weakest of the three. If the situation gets out of hand, you'll have to run."
She was quite serious. If they couldn't save her, she had to escape. They would catch up with her later, no matter what.
Lin Wuyue nodded. She was aware of the dangers of the forest; she had studied it many times in her previous life.
"There's no need to be afraid, let's eat!" Feng Wu said with a broad smile. He looked at the beautiful girl and thought that she would undoubtedly be a beauty when she grew up. He vowed that when that happened, he would protect her.
Lin Wuyue readily agreed and sat down next to Linyuan; Feng Wu settled in on her other side. The little girl was sandwiched between the two teenagers.
"Big brother Wu," Lin Wuyue said curiously, "I really like your name. It means 'the phoenix that rises above the earth,' doesn't it? Who gave it to you? Was it your father?"
Feng Wu was surprised that he knew the meaning of his name. He scratched his head and smiled.
"That's right. I'm surprised you know. And yes, it was my father who gave it to me."
The Feng Clan… a powerful family in my time, Lin Wuyue thought. At least they didn't replace me with a nobody. Even when I was emperor, the Feng Clan was renowned. Geniuses came from their ranks; they were known as the Phoenix Clan. There was a man from that clan who inherited the divine blood of the phoenix: a red dot between his eyebrows. I remember that before becoming emperor, he broke his mortal shackles, ascending to a high-level demigod… the same rank I held before I died.
After freeing himself from his deadly shackles, he vanished like smoke. He was the most capable man of his generation, winning countless battles and never losing one. He left a disciple under his wing… to this day, no one knows who that disciple was.
Feng Wu noticed the girl was lost in thought and was about to say something, but Linyuan spoke first. He gently touched her shoulder.
"Stop thinking so much, and eat your food."
When he handed her the plate, Lin Wuyue stopped daydreaming. She took a big bite of the juicy meat in front of her. It was so delicious she almost wanted to cry.
Linyuan smiled at her reaction.
"Is it very tasty?"
"It's delicious, very tasty!" she replied enthusiastically.
Linyuan chuckled softly.
"In the future, I'll cook for you."
Lin Wuyue nodded happily. If she could eat like this every day, she would be completely blissful.
Then she remembered something and looked intently at Linyuan.
"Big brother, you said your mother was a concubine… whose concubine was she? Your father's?"
She asked the question with feigned innocence, though she knew it was a sensitive subject. Sure enough, both siblings' expressions darkened.
I was going to tell them not to answer, but Linyuan spoke up:
"My mother was a concubine to an emperor in the Ninth Heaven. That man was a playboy… he liked beautiful women. He seduced my mother into joining his harem."
she gritted her teeth before continuing. "He was a selfish man; he didn't care about his women's lives, he only wanted to use them. But my mother was different. She was always a vibrant beauty, as lovely as a flower. He showered her with luxuries and jewels."
Her voice turned more bitter.
"He told her he loved her, that he would never abandon her, but he never gave her a child. Other women harassed her for being the emperor's favorite, but she was also the laughingstock of them all: despite her position, he never made her empress."
Linyuan took a deep breath, revealing the sadness in his eyes.
"When the emperor died at the hands of his own servant, my mother was left alone. She was thrown out of the castle and allowed to leave with only a single piece of clothing. She wandered for months… until she met my father, who saved her."
Upon hearing his concubine's story, Lin Wuyue was speechless. He hadn't known what had become of her after his death; he thought she had simply forgotten him and run off with another man. But now he understood. If he were in her place, he too would have preferred to survive. A touch of sadness crossed his face.
Seeing the little girl's melancholic expression, Linyuan thought she was saddened by her mother's grief and smiled at her tenderly.
"Don't worry, it's over now. Finish eating so you can sleep."
Lin Wuyue nodded and ate quickly. She wanted to sleep; she needed to recover more memories from her previous life.
She lay down on the floor and, within minutes, fell asleep. Linyuan and Feng Wu stared at her in surprise: the little girl had collapsed as soon as her feet touched the ground.
"Why did you tell Xiao Yue about her mother?" Feng Wu asked softly.
"I don't know. For some reason, I wanted to. She's just a child… she'll forget."
Feng Wu nodded, and they both settled down to sleep. What they didn't know was that they had told the story to the very emperor who had died, leaving the woman he loved so much all alone.