The truth behind Mount Hua's decline

Hua Zhenzhen's passions had stirred.

As her breathing grew heavier, Fang Yunhua once again took a long, intent look at this senior sister he knew so well.

Her face was innocent yet breathtakingly beautiful, her shoulders rounded and smooth, her waist slender and supple. Her legs were long and straight, rounded and firm, their graceful contours unmarred by a single flaw.

Her exquisite beauty was like that of a plum-blossom sprite.

She seemed to drift toward him like a white cloud, her eyes as bright as the most dazzling stars, so clear they could not hold a single grain of sand; then she seemed to arrive like a leisurely spring breeze, her body soft as a willow, so delicate it could not withstand the slightest wind or rain.

Fang Yunhua knew what he ought to do now.

He had ample experience in such matters.

"Senior Sister..."

The growing tenderness in Fang Yunhua's eyes made Hua Zhenzhen tremble in body and soul. She pressed her lips together, and as she slowly closed her eyes, she had already offered her invitation for what would follow.

But just then, an urgent voice came from outside the door.

"Senior Brother! Senior Brother! It's here!"

In that instant, the lovely atmosphere was torn to shreds. Fang Yunhua rubbed his nose with a wry smile, only belatedly realizing how very Chu Liuxiang that gesture was. The senior sister before him seemed to have been jolted awake as well.

Her cheeks were scarlet, and she shrank into herself like a little quail.

With a sigh, Fang Yunhua rose and went outside. His foolish junior brother stood there in high spirits, holding a brocade box and looking eager to claim credit.

"Thanks for the effort. You did well."

After Fang Yunhua took the brocade box, those words made his foolish junior brother happily lift his head again.

Then, after bidding his senior brother farewell, he skipped away.

That single word of praise would probably keep him happy all day.

When Fang Yunhua returned to the room, he found Hua Zhenzhen already perfectly composed, studying the map in detail.

Still, when he noticed that her earlobes remained pink, Fang Yunhua knew she was merely putting on a calm front.

But he did not press his advantage again. There would always be another time, when the water would flow naturally into its channel.

He was not a lustful man. His luck in romance simply was not bad, and he often found himself in similarly wonderful atmospheres. When that happened, he naturally did not wish to let down the beauty before him and all the affection she offered.

Besides, he was sincere every time. At most-at the very most-his heart could freely divide, break apart, and rearrange itself, but even one fragment could provide enough room to hold everything belonging to one person.

"Senior Sister, for this plan, I need someone to remain at Mount Hua and oversee everything. This also concerns our great undertaking to restore Mount Hua, so as far as I'm concerned, you're the best person for the job."

"Can... can I really do it?" Hua Zhenzhen took a deep breath, but still seemed somewhat unsure of herself.

Originally, she had thought her junior brother would entrust her with tasks that, while difficult, would not trouble her too much. But after hearing his detailed explanation, Hua Zhenzhen understood that this was an extremely important strategic course, one that could determine whether Mount Hua would surpass even its former peak.

When she raised her bright eyes to look at Fang Yunhua again, she met a gaze full of trust and encouragement.

At that moment, Fang Yunhua no longer needed to say anything. The hesitation on Hua Zhenzhen's face gave way to firmer resolve.

"I'll explain some of the situation to Master and the others later. But we need to conceal the part about Stone Guanyin as appropriate. We only need to say that the Beggar Gang is stirring up trouble behind the scenes."

Hua Zhenzhen looked at Fang Yunhua in puzzlement.

Fang Yunhua sighed.

"More than twenty years ago, I hadn't been born yet, and neither had you. Why do you think Stone Guanyin spared Mount Hua? We wiped out the Huangshan Family. By rights, her revenge should have been to tear us out by the roots."

Hua Zhenzhen shook her head.

Only Withered Plum, as sect leader, could consult this humiliating chapter of Mount Hua's history, and she had completely sealed away its records. Especially now, with Mount Hua developing well, it was even less appropriate to let its disciples learn the details for the time being.

In fact, the original Fang Yunhua had also been puzzled by Mount Hua's sudden decline.

Even if successive sect leaders had been overly strict in their standards for accepting disciples, it should not have left the sect practically crippled by Withered Plum's generation. He had asked his master about it, too, and she had attributed the cause to the Rakshasa Gang, which had once attempted to absorb Mount Hua.

But in that battle with the Rakshasa Gang, Withered Plum had settled matters through a wager, plunging her left hand into boiling oil and letting her entire left arm burn down to charred bone. That act had spread the Iron Fairy's fearsome reputation throughout the martial world.

According to what he had originally learned, Mount Hua had already barely halted its downward plunge at that time. Yet afterward, just as it began to flourish again, it suffered another decline. Only after awakening his memories had Fang Yunhua connected this to Stone Guanyin's revenge.

By the time he was accepted into Mount Hua, there really were only two or three cats left, big and small.

And the fact that even those few cats remained was only thanks to Stone Guanyin not slaughtering them to the last.

But could someone like Stone Guanyin truly fail to understand that when cutting weeds, one had to pull out the roots?

"Junior Brother, why was that?"

"Because of the sacrifice of Senior Uncle Huangfu Gao, the foremost of the Huashan Seven Sons. Whenever Stone Guanyin saw a man who moved her heart, she wanted to conquer him completely, possess him, and make him offer even his soul to her.

"It just so happened that she took a fancy to Senior Uncle Huangfu back then.

"And what remained of Mount Hua became the leverage Stone Guanyin used to keep him in her grasp."

Hua Zhenzhen was utterly stunned.

At last, she understood why Withered Plum had sealed away this part of their history, and why even her own line of overseers had chosen to respect Withered Plum's decision.

For this truly was a history of humiliation that could shatter Mount Hua's proudly upright backbone.

"Then... what happened to Senior Uncle Huangfu?"

Fang Yunhua shook his head.

He knew where the man was. As the only man who had not submitted to Stone Guanyin, he had been bound beneath the blazing sun until it ruined his face and blinded his eyes, then made to turn a mill like a mule, never permitted even a moment's rest.

That had continued until Chu Liuxiang's friend, Ji Bingyan, rescued him.

Now living under the alias Stone Camel, he could be said to enjoy some small measure of peace.

And after awakening the memories of his past life, Fang Yunhua naturally would not let his senior uncle continue drifting about outside the sect.

This also concerned the Great Desert storyline that followed Blood Sea Fragrance.

There was also Liu Yanfei, who had searched for Huangfu Gao for years and had once been known as the Little Swordsman of the Divine Dragon. Another outstanding figure of the previous generation besides the Huashan Seven Swords, he too needed to be brought back into the fold when the time was right.

In fact, they could already begin looking into his whereabouts.

After digesting what Fang Yunhua had told her, Hua Zhenzhen also understood why it was inappropriate to tell Withered Plum about the matters involving Stone Guanyin.

Having lived through it all herself, Withered Plum would certainly throw caution to the winds and seek revenge. She might even choose to leave Mount Hua first. Her earlier forbearance had only been because, without it, Mount Hua would have vanished from the martial world altogether.

But now, thanks to Fang Yunhua's outstanding performance, his succession as sect leader was already nailed firmly into place. With nothing left to worry about, Withered Plum might very well shoulder her sword and kill Stone Guanyin's two little brats first.

At the same time, she thought of how her junior brother might one day face that venom-hearted bitch, Stone Guanyin.

That made Hua Zhenzhen even more worried.

What if she takes a fancy to Junior Brother?

Damn that Stone Guanyin!

Meanwhile, Fang Yunhua, who was considering how to make use of the second storyline, suddenly shivered. He looked at Hua Zhenzhen in surprise. This was the first time he had ever felt such bone-piercing killing intent from her.

But in the next instant, Hua Zhenzhen returned to her usual delicate demeanor, as though she had been molded from soft dough. Noticing Fang Yunhua's gaze, she even gave him a sweet smile.