The Legend of Futian

Ye Futian clearly understood what Emperor Xia meant.

That old guy actually had thoughts like that.

Well, not that it didn’t sound exciting or anything, though.

But then again, just thoughts, nothing more. He wasn’t that type of person, after all.

Ye Futian’s actions were more benign than what was going on in his head. He bowed right away after hearing Emperor Xia’s Words and said, “Your Majesty, I dare not harbor such thoughts.”

“Dare not?” Emperor Xia smirked coldly at him and asked, “Is there anything you dare not do?”

That kid is the Princess’s valet in name, but since when did he ever give any face to Qingyuan, eh? Emperor Xia thought.

One hell of an *ssole; that’s what he is, the Emperor thought.

Emperor Xia dared not subject his precious daughter to any degree of grievances, however slight it might have been. Yet, for a long time, what his daughter had been occupied with was little more than what was going on with Ye Futian.

The kid is full of sh*t.

Ye Futian had no idea where the resentment that Emperor Xia harbored came from. Xia Qingyuan and Yao Xi?

But then again, he thought it was best for him to shut up at that moment. He then lowered his head obediently and said nothing.

The very reason he dared do whatever he did in Emperor Xia’s Realm, be it going up to Lihen Heaven all those years ago, or the more recent act of throwing his weight around at the Xiao clan’s manor, was standing right before him, after all.

To put it more bluntly, it was because he served Emperor Xia.

There were a lot of people in Emperor Xia’s Realm who saw what it was like between him and Xia Qingyuan, but he knew better than anyone that Emperor Xia, who was the one who kept him around after the Sacred War of the Nine States. He was the one who truly backed Ye Futian up.

The old guy who stood before him at that moment was the greatest boss in Emperor Xia’s Realm, one that he could not afford to offend.

He could have offended anyone—anyone but Emperor Xia.

Emperor Xia glared at him after seeing Ye Futian playing possum and asked, “You’ve been to Dali. How was it?”

“The Dali Dynasty rules over both the Upper and Lower Worlds and was very cohesive, but there were also shortcomings. The royal members and extended families were very powerful and rather xenophobic, so much so that they did not like the imperial advisor all that much. Dali Dynasty would be stronger otherwise,” Ye Futian answered.

“All of that is but Emperor Li’s maneuvers for balancing power.” Emperor quipped casually, “But then again, the imperial advisor of Dali is truly someone indeed. If he has taken a liking to you so much, when will you ask him to come over and serve Emperor Xia’s Realm? The realm here has no royalty or extended families to be concerned about. He would absolutely have a better time here than in Emperor Li’s Realm.”

“…” Ye Futian was speechless. It was the first time he came to see Emperor Xia. Everything he knew about the old man crumbled.

Emperor Xia appeared carefree and laidback, nothing like the imposing, almighty impression that Ye Futian had of him. That was probably something borne out of the projections of Emperor Xia from when Ye Futian was still in the Lower Worlds.

Is the Emperor actually telling me to get the imperial advisor to betray his own country? Ye Futian wondered.

“Your Majesty, Emperor Li is good to the imperial advisor of Dali and holds him in very high regard. It is utterly impossible to have the imperial advisor betray Emperor Li’s Realm under such circumstances,” Ye Futian replied. It had a lot to do with a person’s character. If a person were being very trusted and valued by one’s sovereign, and said person betray their sovereign without reason, or worse, for their own interests, then there would be little character of such a person in the first place.

The imperial advisor was willing to escort him back to Emperor Xia’s Realm due to having taken a liking to him. Still, the imperial advisor would never betray Emperor Li.

That was, unless Emperor Li was a trash person. Yet, if Emperor Li had been one such person, the imperial advisor would not have taken his position of imperial advisor in the first place.

“There is nothing absolute in this world. Time is capable of changing many things. Perhaps, you might become the lord of a realm someday, or even rule over the realms. There might no longer be Emperor Xia’s Realm or Emperor Li’s Realm.” Emperor Xia turned around and walked up the steps, his back facing Ye Futian. “As a person who trains and seeks the great path, one shall always be unfettered and free. However, there is still a need to be wary of boundaries.”

He then turned and shot a warning look at Ye Futian, who, having just lifted his head before, lowered it right away, feeling rather speechless.

What about trust between people, then?

“Your Majesty, I have something that I would like to seek your guidance with,” Ye Futian, who was hanging his head low, said at that moment.

“Speak,” Emperor Xia looked at him and said.

“I have heard from the Princess that my wife might not have perished. There was an empress in the 3,000 realms whose methods are capable of communicating with the heavens, and her will is capable of transcending the 3,000 realms. Could that be possible?” Ye Futian asked.

Having broken into Saint Plane, he was not able to venture further away.

“Yes.” Emperor Xia nodded. “It might be possible. But the chance is slim, and it’s best not to keep your hopes up too high.”

Ye Futian clenched his fists slightly and felt somewhat tense. So long as there was still hope, he wanted to see for himself.

“Your Majesty, who might that empress be, and where would I be able to find her?” Ye Futian asked.

“You want to go out and look for her despite having just become a saint?” Emperor Xia glanced at Ye Futian plainly and continued, “You’re quite in a hurry. That empress is the at the top among all within the 3,000 realms. She reigns supreme. Even if I were to go out and look for her, she might not have even bothered taking a good look at me. Your current level of training might not even be worth mentioning.”

“I would only want to look for my wife, and I have no intention of becoming the empress’s enemy.” Ye Futian then pressed on, “Please tell me, Your Majesty.”

“I will inform Qingyuan, and when you’re ready to go, you may ask her,” Emperor Xia replied, and Ye Futian nodded. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“Is there anything else you need of me, Your Majesty?” Ye Futian asked again.

“Yeah, right. Get lost!” Emperor Xia waved his hand dismissively at Ye Futian and said. I didn’t even bother settling the score with him, and he is already in a hurry to get out? the Emperor thought.

The kid is indeed full of sh*t.

Ye Futian felt rather speechless at Emperor Xia’s attitude and said, “I shall take my leave then.”

He then turned around and left, still feeling rather speechless. Emperor Xia was indeed totally different from how Ye Futian had expected him to be.

But of course, Emperor Xia indeed felt more approachable that way, due to the lack of distance stemming from the lack of that high and mighty attitude.

High and mighty, that was how he felt Emperor Li was like. Even when he was telling Ye Futian that he intended to marry his daughter to the young man, the Emperor still seemed so distant, looking down at the living beings from the clouds above.

Ye Futian returned to the Cottage Villa right after he left the palace instead of getting snorted at in the Princess’ residence. Xia Qingyuan found him to be incredibly irksome at the moment, and it was best that he did not go anywhere near her.

…

The news of Yao Xi being made a princess spread throughout Emperor Xia’s Realm several days later.

On that day, a group of people arrived at Emperor Xia’s Palace, serving as escorts to Yao Xi.

It was a happening that caught the attention of everyone in Emperor Xia’s Palace. There would be two princesses of Emperor Xia after the Emperor made Yao Xi a princess. Everyone wondered how Emperor Xia would treat a princess who had been out there for so many years.

However, during the Yaotai Divine Feast that day, Emperor Xia had sent Xia Lun before sending someone with Xia Qingyuan. That meant that the Emperor was still concerned about Yao Xi, nonetheless, or he would not have been paying so much attention to her.

Yao Xi came straight to the Emperor Xia’s Palace high in the clouds and was able to see the biological father that she had always wanted to see for all those years; the man who stood at the very pinnacle of Emperor Xia’s Realm.

Both of them looked at each other and said nothing. The scene in the fleeting clouds was unusually quiet.

Emperor Xia finally sighed after some time, breaking the silence. He said, “Do you hate me?”

“I dare not hate you, father,” Yao Xi said.

Emperor Xia was able to hear the distance between the two of them from the tone that she had taken. It was something that had never been there when he was talking to Xia Qingyuan.

But, he was able to understand.

As speculated by all, if Emperor Xia did not care about Yao Xi, he would not have concerned himself with the Yaotai Divine Feast. She was still his daughter, after all.

“I had sent Xia Lun to stop you in hopes of preventing you from punishing yourself for what happened all those years ago. What happened between your mother and me was our own choice, and we respected each other’s choices. You could hate me, but there is no reason for you to hurt yourself.”

Emperor Xia walked up and looked at Yao Xi, saying, “You thought I’ve never been concerned with you, but in truth, I’ve been to Yaotai Divine Palace quite a number of times to see you. You didn’t know it, nor did your mother.”

Yao Xi looked up at Emperor Xia. If the Emperor was willing, it was naturally possible for him to go and see her without anyone else knowing.

“I’m not telling you all this because I want your forgiveness. I don’t want to see my daughter live with hate and resentment. As a descendant of Renhuang, you should be living freely instead,” Emperor Xia looked at her eyes and said.

Yao Xi lowered her head a little, and her eyes were somewhat reddened.

She was unable to understand how the man she had hated for decades was standing right in front of her eyes, yet she was unable to bring herself to hate him.

She was his daughter—a daughter of a Renhuang, a princess of extremely high prestige in all of Emperor Xia’s Realm.

“I have tried letting it go, but perhaps I still need time,” Yao Xi sighed and said.

“I will give you time.” Emperor Xia nodded and continued, “Do you have any other wishes?”

“If I do, would you grant them?” Yao Xi asked.

“So long as it is something within my capacity to grant,” Emperor Xia said.

“Of course,” Yao Xi said with a smile.

“Speak.”

“I want a valet,” Yao Xi looked at Emperor Xia and said.

Emperor Xia was dumbfounded. His brows twitched slightly as he looked at Yao Xi and asked, “Ye Futian?”

“Would you be able to grant that?” Yao Xi looked at him and asked.

Emperor Xia was unable to come up with an answer. It was apparent that Yao Xi had not been able to let it all slide.

Ye Futian was the valet of his other daughter.

“Ye Futian might be a valet, but he is not required to fulfill any of a valet’s duties. He is a valet in name only. While he might be Qingyuan’s valet, he never stayed in Qingyuan’s place or acted as a valet. If you want him to be your valet, you’ll only need his approval.”

Emperor Xia knew that Yao Xi was very sensitive at the moment. If he were to tell her that Ye Futian belonged to Xia Qingyuan, it would have incited her instead.

Every word he said right there was the truth. He had not lied to Yao Xi.

“Thank you, father. I shall try.” Yao Xi smiled and nodded. Both of them chatted for a while after that.

That day, Yao Xi moved into her new place. To the people of Emperor Xia’s Palace, it was not a small matter.

Furthermore, the first thing she did after moving in was send people to the Cottage Villa to summon Ye Futian.

Xia Qingyuan sent someone over to the Cottage Villa and summoned Ye Futian as well as soon as she found what was going on.

As such, Ye Futian, who was playing his guqin on the plains at the mountains, received summons from both Xia Qingyuan and Yao Xi.

He took a look at Qin Zhuang, who was there to deliver the news and said, “Tell the envoys that I’m now training in isolation. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Understood.” Qin Zhuang left to relay the message.

Both groups of people left and sighed deep down after hearing his reply. Ye Futian was probably the only person in all of Emperor Xia’s Realm who dared to behave in such an abrasive, cocky manner.

Two princesses asked to see him, and he was seeing none of them.

Trouble was brewing in Emperor Xia’s Palace.

Ye Futian continued to play his tune or train. He was not the only one doing so, as everyone in the Cottage Villa was training diligently as well.

Among the ones from the Cottage Villa at the moment, only Ye Futian and the Sword Saint had made it to Saint Plane.

Yu Sheng, Gu Dongliu, Ye Wuchen, and the others were naturally doing their best in hopes of attaining sainthood.