Free Web NovelChapter 243: Hua Zuixian and Dream Butterfly Pass
At the registration hall built around the Myriad Realms Epiphany Pagoda, the queues were always long, especially the queue for outsiders who had no connection to the Sky-Severing Demon Valley or the Thousand Treasure Pavilion. The queue could even be considered the greatest whetstone for anyone wishing to temper their Dao Heart of patience.
One of the cultivators waiting in line yawned as the queue slowly moved forward. Then a beautiful figure caught his eye from the corner of his vision.
The figure was a beautiful woman whose graceful presence resembled that of a goddess descending into the mortal world. She was walking unhurriedly toward the Thousand Treasure Pavilion’s main building.
"Hey, hey! Look, look at that!" He nudged the friend standing in front of him.
"Huh?" His friend looked confused and turned in the direction being pointed out.
The moment he saw the graceful figure, his eyes widened.
"Whoa... She’s gorgeous. But with those clothes... is she from one of the righteous sects?" the friend asked, guessing the goddess-like woman’s identity.
She wore white and blue, the usual colors associated with righteous path cultivators.
Another demonic cultivator nearby chimed in.
"Yeah, this is our territory. If she really is a righteous path cultivator, then heh heh heh heh..."
At that moment, one of the cultivators standing in the insider queue snorted.
"Hmph! If you’re tired of living, then go ahead. She’s Dream Butterfly, Lord Wei’s second wife. I want to see how long you’ll last." The cultivator sneered.
"What!? Lord... Lord Wei? You mean Young Master Wei Chen of the Underworld Palace!?" the first demonic cultivator blurted out.
"Yeah, the one and only." A smirk appeared on the face of the cultivator from the insider queue.
"..."
The first cultivator passed out on the spot.
The second cultivator suddenly found a wet patch spreading across his pants, and a pungent smell immediately assaulted the noses of the people around him.
As for the third cultivator, he immediately stepped out of the queue and ran away.
— Confinement Estate —
At the estate area used to house arrested prisoners, Dream Butterfly’s graceful figure walked past the checkpoint where the Black Blade Guards bowed toward her.
She had come to this courtyard for one reason.
To meet and talk with her Uncle Hua.
She did not want to believe that Uncle Hua would be a traitor.
Within the courtyard, Hua Zuixian was watering a bonsai tree while humming an off-key tune. On the stone table nearby stood a jar of wine, a high-grade product from the Thousand Treasure Pavilion, the newly released Treasure Myriad Fruit Wine.
"Uncle Hua..." Dream Butterfly called out to him.
"Ah! Yu’er, You’ve come to visit me?" Hua Zuixian paused what’s he’s doing, place down the water can and sat down on the stone table.
"Are you well? Uncle Hua." She asks.
"Yes, very great, for a prisoner. I think the reason why that brat Wei Chen din’t beat me up or torture me was because I’m your uncle. Hahahaha" Hua Zuixian said with a casual smile.
"Umm..." Dream Butterfly nodded, she paused for a moment then decided to asks what she wanted to know from Hua Zuixian.
"Uncle Hua, Can I ask you something? Why are you.... trying to harm me?" She aks, her heart beating mixed with uncertainty and curiosity.
Afraid of learning the truth that Uncle Hua might have seen her as nothing more than a pawn, yet equally uncomfortable with the uncertainty of not knowing the answer, Dream Butterfly waited for his response.
Hua Zuixian paused. He did not reach for alcohol as he usually did when speaking with others.
"Do you mean the time when I sent the coordinates of the flying ark to those Zodiac forces pretending to be pirates?"
Dream Butterfly nodded.
"No. I would never try to harm you, even if it meant sacrificing my own life in the process," Hua Zuixian said truthfully.
"Then why...?" Dream Butterfly asked.
"It was because it was part of the contract. The part where I had to cooperate with them." Hua Zuixian paused before continuing.
"Saying this may sound like an excuse, but I was there when those barbarians tried to capture you. I had already prepared myself to intervene... but then Wei Chen came out first after killing the expert who had tangled with him in the kitchen."
"After that, that brat solved the crisis, and I didn’t need to reveal myself," Hua Zuixian said.
"What kind of contract did you make with the Zodiac?" she asked.
"It was a simple contract. They would help me find you. In return, I would serve them for one hundred years," Hua Zuixian replied.
"But you found me through Lord Husband’s broadcast. Why are you still...?" Dream Butterfly continued to press.
Hua Zuixian shook his head.
"There was a clause. A clause stating that even if they failed to find you, I would still need to complete three tasks for them. The last task just failed, and now I’m here." He explained.
Hearing what Uncle Hua said, Dream Butterfly did not know what she would have done if she were in his position. If Lord Wei were in someone else’s hands, and the only way to guarantee his safety was to obey that person, she might have done things she never wanted to do.
"Is there anything else you want to ask? I’ll answer everything I can," Hua Zuixian said.
"There is... another question," Dream Butterfly replied. "What are you... to my mother? Are you... perhaps... my true father?"
The moment Hua Zuixian heard this, his expression darkened. He looked at Dream Butterfly with tenderness and affection, but also with deep regret and melancholy.
"Haaa... It’s been a long time, and it will take a while for me to tell you everything. Are you sure you want to hear it?" Hua Zuixian asked.
Dream Butterfly nodded firmly.
She did not remember much from her childhood. She only remembered living in a place filled with servants and kind guards who followed her around.
Her mother... even though she could barely remember her face, remained a blurry image in her memories.
She only knew that her face was almost identical to her mother’s. The difference was that her mother had silver hair, while hers was black like her father’s.
That was all she knew.
After that, the matron bought her from the market and gave her everything she needed.
Lodging, food, education, and even... love.
The matron never forced her to receive guests she did not want to entertain. Dream Butterfly had always been the matron’s priority.
That was why she also considered the matron one of her mothers, since she could barely remember her biological mother.
Hua Zuixian studied Dream Butterfly for a moment, searching for hesitation, but found only curiosity and determination.
Then he began telling her everything.
Hua Zuixian was the Third Prince, the last in line to the throne of the Azure Dragon Province, the former name of the Vermilion Bird Province before Lin Zhendong, who had only been a Grand Marshal at the time, rebelled and killed her father. freёweɓnovel.com
Hua Zuixian and her father, the Azure Dragon Emperor, had both loved the same woman, Empress Long, who was Dream Butterfly’s mother.
But like war, love only had one victor.
And that victor was the Emperor.
That outcome was largely due to political reasons. As for feelings, Hua Zuixian admitted he might have been biased, but he believed that Empress Long had also been interested in him.
But it no longer mattered.
Drowning in sorrow and alcohol, Hua Zuixian chose to travel the world in an attempt to forget his unrequited love.
Then the rebellion began shortly after the Emperor and Empress were married.
Most of the generals had already been compromised before the rebellion even started. More than half of them switched sides to Lin Zhendong.
The war raged fiercely, though it was initially confined to the outskirts and border regions. The imperial army successfully held back the rebels. The conflict dragged on for years, and both sides suffered significant losses.
Then Empress Long finally gave birth to a daughter.
That daughter was Dream Butterfly.
Or rather... Princess Long Mengyu.
When Long Mengyu was three years old, Lin Zhendong finally broke through to the Void Refining Realm, and the tide of war changed.
The Imperial forces fell into a perilous situation once again. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
One by one, the generals loyal to the Empire were either killed or defected.
And finally came the downfall of the Azure Dragon Dynasty.
The former Emperor was executed.
And the Empress...
The Empress fell into Lin Zhendong’s hands.
Long Mengyu also got sold into the market by one of Lin Zhendong’s subordinates from the Murong Clan.
Far away in the wilds of the Jiang Hu, Hua Zuixian received the news through rumors spreading across the land.
He immediately rushed back, but...
Everything had already come to an end.
It was too late.
The Vermilion Bird Dynasty had already been established, and Lin Zhendong had fully consolidated his power.
At that time, there was nothing Hua Zuixian could do...
