Chapter Ninety-One: Marshal Tianpeng

Yuan Wuji muttered to himself, “I wonder whether the little fairy has been waiting in a hurry.”

He had just finished this round of secluded cultivation. Though only a single day had passed, knowing the little fairy as he did, he truly could not say what might have happened in the meantime.

After tidying himself up, Yuan Wuji cast an invisibility spell and slipped carefully out of the room. If any servant saw him, there was no guarantee the matter would not reach the Heavenly Emperor’s ears.

“That way.”

Inside the little fairy’s residence, Yuan Wuji did not detect her aura at all. Instead, he sensed her presence due east, and not hers alone, but the aura of other immortals as well.

Having learned her whereabouts, Yuan Wuji flew off at full speed.

When he finally saw the little fairy, she was accompanied by a middle-aged man of immense stature, fair all over, with smooth skin, and behind him followed many celestial soldiers.

“Seventh Princess, why on earth would Lord Taibai think to summon a monkey demon from the mortal world to the heavens and give him an office?” the middle-aged man asked, his face full of puzzlement.

Yet with that round head of his, he had an oddly comical air about him. At the very least, Yuan Wuji’s first impression of him was rather good.

“Marshal Tianpeng, why do you care about this? You did not come looking for me just because of that, did you?”

Yuan Wuji had already reached the little fairy’s side; he simply remained invisible and had not been discovered. Hearing her words, he could not help but look at the middle-aged man a few more times. So this was the legendary Marshal Tianpeng?

The way the little fairy and Marshal Tianpeng spoke made it clear their relationship was quite decent.

“Heh heh,” Marshal Tianpeng said with a sheepish laugh.

“Really, if you want to know, ask Sister Chang’e yourself. Don’t keep asking me. I don’t know either,” the little fairy replied helplessly. Because of Chang’e, this Marshal Tianpeng had already offended quite a few people in the Heavenly Court.

Perhaps the only one who did not hold it against him was the little fairy.

“I won’t talk to you anymore. I’m going back.”

The little fairy did not even give Marshal Tianpeng time to react. She fled away at great speed.

While the little fairy was chatting with Marshal Tianpeng, Yuan Wuji had already sent her a signal that he had arrived, which was why she left so quickly.

Returning to the residence once more, Yuan Wuji kept himself invisible the entire way, and no one noticed there was someone following beside the little fairy.

“General, your injuries are healed?” the little fairy asked with concern.

Back in the residence, Yuan Wuji dispelled his invisibility spell and appeared once again before the little fairy.

“Completely healed.”

That at least was enough to cover the lie, but Yuan Wuji quickly moved past the topic.

“Little fairy, the monkey demon you were discussing with Marshal Tianpeng just now—who was that?”

“You want to ask about that? During the morning court, the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea and the King of Hell came to the hall to report to Father, saying that in the mortal world a monkey king had stolen their sea-quelling divine needle and destroyed their Book of Life and Death, and they asked Father to uphold justice for them.”

“Strange as it may be, the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea is one thing, but the King of Hell actually came to the Heavenly Court. With the foundations of the underworld, who would dare to乱 the underworld and tear up the Book of Life and Death?”

As she spoke, the little fairy wore an expression of disbelief, yet she still told Yuan Wuji everything.

“And then?”

“After that, Lord Taibai stepped forward and said a great many things. With Father’s approval, he took the imperial edict down to the mortal world to pacify the monkey demon.”

“And later, Lord Taibai brought that monkey up to heaven. His cultivation was rather ordinary; I don’t know how he managed to break into the underworld. In the end, they even bestowed upon him an official post.”

What the little fairy said was pretty much the same as Yuan Wuji’s conjecture. However, it seemed the Heavenly Emperor had not told the Seven Fairies about the Journey to the West; otherwise, how could the little fairy look down on Sun Wukong’s cultivation so easily?

Still, the Heavenly Emperor should have made some arrangements, after all. The Journey to the West involved far too much karma.

“What office was granted?”

“It seems to have been the Keeper of the Imperial Stables. I have never even heard of such a title,” the little fairy said, shaking her head.

Of course you have not. You are the Heavenly Emperor’s daughter; how would you know of such a horse-tending post?

“General, why are you so concerned about that monkey demon?”

The little fairy suddenly asked.

Yuan Wuji had asked too many questions; it was impossible not to draw her attention.

“I heard that demon immortals conferred with official rank in the mortal realm are very rare, so I could not help asking a few more questions.” This was not exactly a lie to the little fairy; the situation in the Heavenly Court really was like this at present.

“That does seem to be the case. Leaving aside demon immortals, there are not many human immortals either. The only one I really remember is General Feipeng.”

The little fairy’s earlier words perhaps did not particularly interest Yuan Wuji, but her final sentence sent a great wave surging through his heart.

“General Feipeng?”

“General, you have heard of General Feipeng too? That makes sense. General Feipeng’s strength is among the best in the heavens. Let me tell you a secret, but you must not tell anyone.”

The little fairy looked extremely mysterious. She insisted Yuan Wuji make a promise before she would speak. Under her anxious gaze, Yuan Wuji made the promise, and only then did she lean close to his ear, fidgeting with nervous excitement.

“My third sister likes General Feipeng.”

After saying this, the little fairy hurriedly covered her little mouth, afraid someone else might hear.

Hearing the little fairy’s secret, Yuan Wuji was also taken aback. He had thought it was some earth-shattering affair, but it turned out to be a small secret between sisters, and she was actually willing to share it with him.

Still, to be able to captivate the Heavenly Emperor’s daughter, Feipeng must surely possess extraordinary qualities.

“And not only that—my father is actually preparing to have General Feipeng guard the South Heavenly Gate.”

Yuan Wuji had already known Feipeng would be assigned to guard the South Heavenly Gate, but what he could not understand was where the Four Heavenly Kings would go.

“If General Feipeng is to guard the South Heavenly Gate, what about the Four Heavenly Kings?” Yuan Wuji asked the little fairy. As the Heavenly Emperor’s own daughter, she would surely know far more than he did.

“I don’t know, but Father will not treat them badly.” The little fairy kept shaking her head, though she clearly approved of the Four Heavenly Kings’ standing as well.

The little fairy was the most innocent girl Yuan Wuji had ever met. Being with her was the most relaxing time for him.

“The Third Princess likes Feipeng, the Sixth Princess likes Yang Jian—who do you like, little fairy?” Yuan Wuji suddenly blurted out.

The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted them. It was far too private a question. He already had Xiaoyu; how could he interfere with the little fairy’s life?

“I... I’m not telling you,” the little fairy said, her face flushed.

Yet her gaze kept drifting toward Yuan Wuji from time to time, which only made him regret his earlier words.

If I take the little fairy for myself, Xiaoyu probably would not mind, would she? She probably would not, right?

“If you can defeat Yang Jian, I can consider you.”

The little fairy’s words sent Yuan Wuji’s heart plunging into a bottomless glacier, cold through and through. Why had he spoken such nonsense for no reason?