12 Chapter 11 - The Purple Azaleas (Part 1)

The sun was barely out when Meng Yu stepped out of her room. A familiar figure was standing in front of her courtyard. Meng Yu's eyes grew cold as she walked towards him without hesitation. In the blink of an eye, her hand cut toward his neck, but it stopped less than an inch away. Hiding beneath her long sleeve was a simple silver hairpin. The sharp tip was caressing the flesh of his neck yet the person in front of her did not even flinch. Under such dangerous circumstances, he did not lose his calm. Instead, he watched her with a pair of tranquil eyes.

"Who are you?" Meng Yu asked icily.

He smiled at her, "I am just a normal physician."

Meng Yu sneered, and purposely pressed the hairpin forward. The sharp tip grazed the surface of his flesh and droplets of blood slowly oozed out from his neck. However, Qing Yao was unperturbed, as his unwavering gaze never left her face.

"Aren't you afraid of dying?"

"I do, but if you really wanted to kill me, then there is nothing that I can do."

Meng Yu's brow lifted slightly, and her eyes gleamed with interest. Previously she had tested him a few times secretly, and knew he had no martial art base. Indeed, if she were to strike, a person like him would have no chance to retaliate. Surprisingly, he can still remain so composed during his life and death moment. It seemed that he had seen through her intention of merely testing him in the first place. What happened today gave her a new light of understanding toward this man. From the first time she saw him, she thought he had a very gentle temperament, but beneath those compassionate countenance was actually hiding a complicated yet intelligent man.

After yesterday's incident with Jin Di and Shui Yang, he should at least have a grasp of her skills and ruthless nature, yet he dared to come and confront her alone. It seemed that he had extremely high confidence of himself. At first, she was wary that he might have figure out her true identity, but after testing him, it did not seem to be the case. If he had known that she was the ruthless Scarlet Emperor, then he would have never confronted her by himself.

After careful consideration, Meng Yu retracted the hairpin. Her eyes were emotionless as she asked in a detached manner, "Let us not play games anymore. What do you want from me?"

Qing Yao frowned disapprovingly upon hearing her question. He did not understand why she kept misunderstanding and putting up walls against him. Yesterday's events were not pleasant indeed, and he was feeling regretful to have involved her in his complicated world, but that did not make him such an untrustworthy person with ill intentions. He exhaled disappointingly, and explained, "I am sorry for what happened yesterday, and indeed, I cannot explain everything to you. Things are a little bit complicated, but it will never happen again. However, what I said before is true. I just wanted to help you and I am not asking anything from you."

Meng Yu carefully studied him as he spoke, but she could not detect any deception from his expression. She would have believed him if she were just an ordinary person, but she who had lived through hell would never believe in such naive words. Nevertheless, after considering her current situation, Meng Yu decided that she should at least pretend to believe him. Even if she could not figure out his real motive, he had indeed saved her life in the first place. Since things had come to this, she decided to make a trade to secure her own safety.

"Fine, I believe you, but I do not like to owe people. In return, I will grant you a wish. As long as it is within my capability, I will fulfill it."

Qing Yao did not even hesitate as he repeated his words, "I do not need anything from you."

"Take it as my token of gratitude. You might not need anything now, but some day, some day in the future, you will definitely want something from me."

She spoke with such determination that Qing Yao knew he could not refute further. He understood her intention. She was trying to make a deal with him. A deal that would make herself useful to him, and as long as she felt that she was useful to him, then her safety will be secured. An unpleasant emotion rose in his heart as he realized she never intended to believe anything he said, but he knew she was too stubborn in her own way. Without any choices left, he agreed to her terms.

The passing days were as mundane as it could be, and no one ever brought up those incidents again. Meng Yu external injuries were mostly healed, but she knew it would take time before she could make full recoveries due to her severe injuries. She could not deny Qing Yao was very meticulous and attentive during these periods, but she remained guarded and cautious against him.

Under Xiao Yun's incessant begging, Meng Yu finally agreed to go out to the town with her to run an errand. The capital city was bustling with people. Xiao Yun kept pulling Meng Yu along as they strolled down the main streets. Playful like a child, Xiao Yun's excitement could not be suppressed as she kept stopping at every stall to browse the merchandises. There were two other girls with them, as they came out together under Mu Yin's instruction. They had just finished their errands and were on their way back when they caught sight of a roadside stall selling beautiful accessories.

Naturally, young girls of their age could not resist the colorful jewelries displayed in front of them. As they were busy browsing the merchandises, the uninterested Meng Yu caught sight of a small painting store hidden in the valley. Seeing that the girls were going to take some time before they were done, Meng Yu decided to go ahead to check out the store.

Various beautiful landscape painting was hanging outside of the store, but Meng Yu was particularly attracted to one of the painting hanging inside the store. She walked in and admired the painting of a beautiful garden of purple azaleas for a long time.

"Lady, you have an exceptionally good eyesight! This is a particularly good piece! I am not sure if you have heard of the infamous painter, Yun Shang Xing Yu, but this is one of his finest works!"

Meng Yu turned her head and saw a young man with intelligent eyes smiling gleefully at her, while he rubbed the palm of his hands together. He was obviously the shopkeeper of this painting store.

"This is truly an exceptionally good painting. Meticulous workmanship with intricate details. The flowers look very much alive." Meng Yu paused a little as her gaze fell upon the painter's signature at the corner of the painting.

"I know a little bit of art, and collected a few paintings myself, but as far as I know, Yun Shang Xing Yu has never painted a piece like this before." she continued.

The storekeeper laughed happily as he sensed a business deal was coming and quickly said, "Yes, yes! This is an exceedingly rare piece that came upon me unexpectedly. Not many people know about this painting because Yun Shang Xing Yu has never released it to the public before. I see that young miss and the painting have fate, so I will give you a special discount! How about 3000 taels?"

Meng Yu scoffed in disbelief at the greedy storekeeper. "Are you trying to rip me off?"

"Oh, how can you say that? This price is considered cheap already! Yun Shang Xing Yu is an incredibly famous painter, and his painting can sell for at least 10,000 taels per piece! The price was even higher ever since his disappearance! I am giving you such a good offer because I felt that you know how to appreciate good painting!" the storekeeper retorted angrily.

"If you are not interested, then please leave!"

He grabbed her by her arms and tried to drag her out of the shop. Meng Yu deftly grabbed his wrist back with force and twisted it behind him. The storekeeper screamed in pain. "Ah, ah, ah! What are you doing?!"

Meng Yu smiled deviously as she kicked his knees and forced him to kneel down while locking his right wrist behind his back. "3000 taels indeed is a bargain for Yun Shang Xing Yu's infamous Purple Heaven piece, but that is under the premise that it is the original painting. This one is obviously a knock off." She increased the force on his wrist, and the man inevitably screamed in pain.

"Ah, ah, ah! My lady, please have mercy! I am just trying to earn a living here! Please have mercy!"

Meng Yu released him, and he fell onto the ground with a thud. "What is your name?" Meng Yu asked coldly. The storekeeper whimpered in pain as he held his injured wrist.

"Liu Fu..."

Meng Yu pointed at the painting and asked, "You painted this yourself?"

Liu Fu eyes dilated in shock. "How did you figure it out? It was already ninety percent similar to the original one..."

"You have good skills, but too bad you wasted it on painting fake work. However...." Meng Yu's voice trailed off as she circled him with a look of deep contemplation.

"However...?" Liu Fu cowered in fear as his eyes followed Meng Yu.

Her eyes were cold and cruel, and Liu Fu could not tell what she was thinking. Meng Yu bent down and spoke in a low emotionless voice. "However, this piece is a private collection. Only a few people had seen it before, so how did you know about its existence to have copied it?"

Before he could react to her words, Meng Yu grabbed his neck with her right hand and started choking him mercilessly. A blazing murderous intent flashed through her eyes. Liu Fu struggled to breath as he tried to speak, "Help! Help.... Have mercy.... young lady.... I, I.... The truth is I....have seen the real piece before... That is why I manage to copy it..."

Meng Yu brows raised imperceptibly as she released her grip and threw him onto the floor. Liu Fu coughed as he tried to catch his breath.

"Where? Where did you see it?"

"In… in... The black market." He stammered breathlessly.

Meng Yu's expression darkened.

This is one of my private collections! I thought it was destroyed in the fire but how come it is in the capital city?