Chapter 425: Your Fortune Is Abnormal

Chapter 425: Your Fortune Is Abnormal

Vermillion Bird had originally come to say goodbye.

The necessary exchanges had been made, the battle insights gained, and the information she sought had been extracted. She wasn’t here to work for Tang Wanzhuang for nothing; each took what they needed, and that was enough.

Watching her little man right in front of her, unable to have him, and having to endure his flirtatious glances with Tang Wanzhuang—who would want to stay here? If not for a final farewell to her little man, she would have left long ago.

But when she came to say goodbye, she got viciously subjected to a “Sparrow’s Gaze”… both infuriated and twistedly gratified.

Because seeing Tang Wanzhuang with her hairpin askew and her hair disheveled, eyes dazed… if she just imagined this as Tang Wanzhuang being toyed with by the Four Symbols Sect’s Fire Pig, then the flavor…

Yet she knew this feeling was self-deception, and the awkwardness in her heart was indescribable.

Vermillion Bird, who had always prided herself on decisiveness and ruthless action, found she couldn’t tell whether she wanted to see this scene or not. So she simply turned a blind eye and truly took her leave.

I’ll deal with you all later under a different identity; being Vermillion Bird is too disadvantageous!

Seeing her flustered and distracted, Third Lady also seized the chance to slip away.

Are you kidding? Did she really think she’d stay here waiting for her man to ask how to forge iron? She came for amusement, not to be the amusement. The fun was over, and she could leave satisfied.

But this time, Third Lady at least remembered a bit more business than Vermillion Bird. Before leaving, she took off her mask, changed her hairstyle, changed her clothes, and adjusted her perfume, then scampered off to find Ying Wu.

Ying Wu was having breakfast. Seeing Third Lady, who had transformed into a completely different person, run up to him, he was both amused and exasperated, asking knowingly: “Aren’t you at Yellow Sand Market? How did you end up in Jiangnan?”

“What, can’t a native of Jiangnan come home for a visit?” Third Lady put on a full performance, her voice even slightly different from when she wore the Turtle Mask—mainly three parts more languid and seductive.

When wearing the mask, she was the dignified Xuanwu Venerable, who had to maintain her air. A single punch with thirty years of cultivation—even Ying Wu wouldn’t dare take it head-on.

Suddenly, she understood Vermillion Bird.

And she understood why Zhao Changhe couldn’t recognize her—they really did look like two different people. Especially with a woman’s hairstyle change, the difference was huge.

“Sit, have some porridge?” Ying Wu sipped his porridge slowly. “How’s the situation in the north? Spring’s over—any movement on the grasslands?”

Third Lady helped herself to the porridge without ceremony: “Tiemuer has managed to pull through… but he hasn’t fully recovered from his previous injuries, so for now, he’s not provoking Batu. Batu is also resting and recuperating, and he’s afraid of Tiemuer’s strength as the third in the world, so he doesn’t dare push too hard. Both sides are restrained, so there’s nothing much to say about the north these past few months. I just came back to have a look.”

Ying Wu said: “You’ve been away from Jiangnan for so long. Do you still remember the local customs? Does it feel a bit unfamiliar coming back?”

Third Lady was lost in thought for a moment, then sighed: “It’s okay, I haven’t forgotten everything. As for unfamiliarity, it’s more that Maitreya’s rampage left everything desolate… Before coming here, I passed through Hangzhou—it’s in such a state, worse than Yellow Sand Market… Hard to believe this is Jiangnan.”

Ying Wu said slowly: “So you’re very angry? In all these years, I’ve rarely seen you so furious.”

“Hey.” Third Lady put down her porridge bowl. “I’ve just arrived, travel-worn. When did you see me angry?”

Ying Wu smiled.

You, who always slack off and laze about, it’s not easy to provoke you into unleashing such a fierce punch, bleeding from the corner of your mouth. When have I ever seen you fight so hard?

Forget it, if she wants to act, let her act. Why expose her?

Ying Wu shook his head and laughed: “What did you come to see me about?”

“Have you heard of Night Drifting Sand?” Third Lady asked with some anticipation.

Ying Wu frowned, a bit exasperated.

He had always thought he was nearly omniscient when it came to ancient matters, but lately, more and more things were popping up that he hadn’t heard of. Not long ago, there was that Cloud Sun Leaf—the organization had ransacked the archives for a whole month and only found a few clues about Cloud Sun Mountain, and there might not even be Cloud Sun Leaves in the mountain; it could just be a coincidence of names.

And now, Night Drifting Sand… Ying Wu didn’t need to think to know it was something related to Zhao Changhe again.

It was really strange. He had spent his whole life dealing with such things, but he had never encountered so many rare and unheard-of items so frequently. Only a few months after meeting that guy, and they kept coming.

One could say it was a kind of fortune, or karma, but Ying Wu still felt that Zhao Changhe’s luck was a bit abnormal, not right.

It felt like there was some kind of arrangement… He wondered if Zhao Changhe himself realized it.

Back when Xia Longyuan rose to power, there was a similar kind of storm, but Xia Longyuan was prouder and more reckless, leading to the current chaotic situation. Zhao Changhe seemed heroic on the surface, but he was actually quite steady… Who knew how it would all turn out.

Of course, Ying Wu didn’t mind being consulted about such things; it was his own interest and pursuit. The stranger the thing, the more interested he was. With a thought, he chuckled: “Never heard of it. I’ll look for clues when I get back to headquarters, but no guarantees.”

Third Lady scratched her head: “When are you going back to look?”

She only meant to gauge how long she needed to stay, but to Ying Wu’s ears, it sounded like a hint of urgency. So he deliberately teased: “I haven’t wandered around Jiangnan in a long time. Now that Maitreya is pacified and everything is reviving, the scenery is wonderful. I want to stay here and play for a while. We’ll talk about going back later.”

Third Lady grew anxious: “What time is this to be admiring scenery? Pacifying Maitreya is nothing—the situation is about to change more violently, not stabilize!”

Ying Wu couldn’t help but laugh: “What kind of magic does Zhao Changhe have, that even you…”

Third Lady: “?”

No, Night Drifting Sand is for forging the Night Emperor’s sword—it’s a major matter for my sect. What does it have to do with Zhao Changhe?

Ying Wu said with a smile: “What? Isn’t it for him?”

Third Lady opened her mouth, then closed it.

Could she say no? It was indeed for his sword forging…

Seeing her expression, Ying Wu found it even funnier: “Alright, I have some things to say to him too. I’ll go back after I’ve said them, so my niece doesn’t get anxious with me.”

Poor Turtle was slow on the uptake. Third Lady stood there dumbfounded, feeling like some kind of reputation was about to crack.

What made her head ache even more was that she suddenly remembered she couldn’t leave just yet—she still had to teach someone the art of sword forging…

…

When Ying Wu found Zhao Changhe, he was leaning against the bed, drinking medicine.

Tang Wanzhuang sat by the bed feeding him, and Zhao Changhe had a face full of disgust at the bitterness, scrunching up his features.

Ying Wu thought he was seeing things. He instinctively stepped back out, rubbed his eyes, and walked in again—still the same.

“What’s with the bitter face? Acting all coy, you want a slap instead?” Tang Wanzhuang really was sitting by the bed feeding him, not even bothering to avoid outsiders anymore…

Ying Wu smacked his lips and suddenly felt there was nothing particularly special about it. So he knocked on the doorframe: “Am I interrupting you two?”

“Cough.” Zhao Changhe said, “Any instructions, Fifth Master?”

“Who dares give you instructions? Aren’t you the one giving me instructions? Just finished with Cloud Sun Leaf, and now Night Drifting Sand comes along, and you’re too embarrassed to ask yourself…” Ying Wu said, “I just came to ask you—where did you learn the names of these things? Is it convenient to tell?”

Zhao Changhe hesitated for a moment, then shook his head: “Night Drifting Sand comes from a sword-forging manual, Cloud Sun Leaf and Spirit Binding Grass come from a medical text. Their sources are different… It’s just a coincidence.”

He couldn’t exactly reveal the existence of the Blind Man; the consequences would be unpredictable.

Ying Wu stared at him for a long time, clearly knowing he was holding something back, but didn’t press. Instead, he said: “I was thinking earlier that your fortune is a bit strange. You’d better be careful and not take it for granted.”

“Fifth Master came here just for this?”

“Exactly. Did you think I came to feed you medicine? I don’t have any candy, but I’ve got plenty of slaps. Want one?”

Tang Wanzhuang: “…”

Zhao Changhe struggled out of bed and gave a solemn bow: “Thank you.”

Ying Wu looked him over once more, then suddenly smiled: “You’re better than Xia Longyuan.”

With that, he left without even saying goodbye.

Tang Wanzhuang watched his retreating figure and murmured: “A true hero of the wilds.”

Zhao Changhe didn’t reply. He sat back on the bed, staring at the ceiling, lost in thought.

Much of what was called “fortune” was actually due to the Blind Man’s guidance, naturally leading him to encounter things ordinary people wouldn’t. Besides, being a time traveler naturally came with some peculiarities—like the card draw before the crossing, which led to the false prince affair, and so on. All normal, so he never thought much about it.

But aside from that, was there something else?

For instance, this special karmic connection with the Four Symbols Sect—constantly encountering their things, so much that it surprised Huangfu Qing, and even benefited Vermillion Bird and Xuanwu… And his own peculiar Star Intent…

This, logically, should have nothing to do with the blind man.

In fact, the process of obtaining that gold leaf from the first page of the celestial text was not based on the blind man's guidance—it was pure dumb luck.

On the contrary, after obtaining the gold leaf, the blind man began to regard himself with a bit more respect, though I wonder how much of that was due to the beauty serum's effect…

Could these strokes of fortune have something to do with that third card the blind man never explained?

Or is there perhaps some other factor beyond the blind man?