Unruly Phoenix Xiaoyao

Ning Xiaoyao carried Big Yellow and ran deep into the forest. From a distance, they saw a figure in black. The black figure also saw Ning Xiaoyao. He turned around and fled.

Ning Xiaoyao hauled up a big shrub beside her and flung it forward. She refused to let the assassin escape this round!

The figure in black had already run approximately a kilometer away but was unable to outrun the flying shrub. He was struck directly on the head and fell to the ground without a sound.

In his lifetime, Big Yellow had fought countless wars. However, it wasn’t until now that he got to witness instant kill. As the reigning dog king of south city walls, Big Yellow was completely stunned. “Is he dead?”

“No, he’s not.” As if she had wind beneath her feet, Ning Xiaoyao sped forward to where the figure in black had fallen. As long as the person was still breathing, she had no problem sustaining his life.

The pool that Big Yellow had mentioned was actually in a concave part of the forest. After the rain, a lot of water had accumulated in the sunken area. Due to repeated rainfalls on a frequent basis, the rain water could no longer absorb into the earth fast enough. As a result, the large buildup of water eventually became a huge water pond and animals of the forest treated it as a water source. 

Ning Xiaoyao carried Big Yellow and directly jumped over the large pond, giving the dog a huge fright. Before Big Yellow could come back to his senses, they were already in front of the figure in black.

The man looked slightly wretched. His whole body was buried beneath the earth and a forsythia plant sat on his head.

“He got buried ah!” Ning Xiaoyao was surprised. Big Yellow jumped onto the ground and rolled his eyes at Ning Xiaoyao. You don’t know what you’ve done? This ninny has way too much strength. Earlier, she flung over a wall and now she flung such a tall shrub! (Author: Why are you also calling her a ninny?)

Ning Xiaoyao ran forward and put the forsythia plant aside. Then, she brushed off the earth on his head and flipped the body over. Next, she removed the scarf that was covering his face. 

Ning Xiaoyao stared at the face in a daze. This person had curly hair and deep facial features.  He did not look like a Yongning citizen.

“He is a Northern Hu citizen.” Compared to Ning Xiaoyao, Big Yellow was far more knowledgeable. After all, Xiaoyao was an outsider from another world.  

“That’s right!” Ning Xiaoyao knocked her fists together. She has seen Northern Hu citizens before. This person definitely looks like one!  (Author: Then why couldn’t you identify him just now? (￢_￢)）

“Is this person dead?” To Big Yellow, that was the bigger concern. 

“Not dead, he’s fine.” Ning Xiaoyao patted the man’s face and hollered, “Don’t pretend anymore. Open your eyes and let’s have a chat!”

The figure in black refused to open his eyes. “What the f**k…” Ning Xiaoyao looked like she was about to rage.

Big Yellow opened his mouth and bit the man’s nose. The figure in black could no longer play dead. He yelped out in pain and opened his eyes. 

Ning Xiaoyao and Big Yellow squatted down on either side and closely examined the man.  “Are you a Northern Hu spy?”

The figure in black continued to keep his mouth shut. “I haven’t even gone to look for your leader Modou, but you guys already decided to come kill me first?” Ning Xiaoyao exclaimed, “Do the Northern Hu people consider me an easy target?”

The man remained tight-lipped. “Fifth Young Miss of the Xie Clan is staying at the Buddhist nunnery. You guys had set up a trap there in hopes of burning me to death. As expected, Grand Preceptor Xie is in cahoots with your leader. From the looks of it, Modou must be a moron. Look at Grand Preceptor’s character! How can he be a good partner in crime? What an idiot!” 

The man remained silent. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to speak. In fact, he could tell Ning Xiaoyao was insulting their Wolf King. However, he could not comprehend the specifics. So, he didn’t know how to retort back. What exactly is an idiot?

Big Yellow yelled at Ning Xiaoyao, “What should we do now? Has the Northern Hu army already conquered their way here?”

Ning Xiaoyao replied, “Highly unlikely. I did not hear any news about Black Frost City being taken over by the Northern Hu ah.”

“Xiaoyao, I heard that those wild dogs beyond the Great Wall are very ferocious.”

Ning Xiaoyao’s mouth twitched. Modou has already brought an army to fight against her. There’s also an army of dogs that came with him? Can this ever get better?

Big Yellow barked at the man a few times and informed Ning Xiaoyao, “I want to go back and prepare.”

“Huh?” Ning Xiaoyao was curious, “What kind of preparations, ah?”

Big Yellow said with foresightedness, “Xiaoyao, you have to be careful. I can smell the scent of these country bumpkins from beyond the Great Wall. The Northern Hu must have already conquered their way here. I am going to gather my brothers and hide our puppies. We have to prepare to defend our territory!”

After Big Yellow finished talking, he bared his teeth and growled at the man twice. Then, he turned around and bolted. From how fast he was running, it really appeared that he intended to go back for war preparation.

Ning Xiaoyao was in deep thoughts.  The Northern Hu have already arrived at the capital? That can’t be, right? Based on her calculations, Supreme Commander should still be on his way to Anyuan. Could the Northern Hu have already taken down Black Frost City while Supreme Commander was on his way back?

The figure in black still haven’t spoken. He wasn’t shocked when he heard Ning Xiaoyao rambling to a dog. Instead, he suspected that the Yongning Emperor was a madman.

“Speak,” Ning Xiaoyao turned to the man with a wooden expression, “What are the Northern Hu’s intentions?”

How could this man reveal such matters to the Yongning Emperor?

“If you speak now, I won’t beat you up,” Ning Xiaoyao glared at him, “But if you decide to remain silent then be ready to be beaten to death.”

The man opened his mouth. At once, Ning Xiaoyao recalled the mouth poison incident. The prisoner had hidden poison in his mouth then bitten his tongue to commit suicide. So, His Majesty reached out and broke the man’s jaw as quick as lightning. She growled, “I won’t let you seek death! Humph!”

The man: ... he was not trying to commit suicide.

At this time, Shadowrain arrived with a team of Dragon Guards. They were relieved to see that Ning Xiaoyao was alright. Then, they started to size up the figure in black. The man was currently buried beneath the earth. Shadowrain and the rest couldn’t understand how His Majesty was able to bury a person in such a short amount of time. 

“He is from Northern Hu.” Ning Xiaoyao pointed at the man and informed Shadowrain. Shadowrain replied, “Your Majesty, there is a total of five assassins from the earlier encounter. They are all from Northern Hu.”

“Six Northern Hu men,” Ning Xiaoyao stroked her chin, “His own men were useless, so Grand Preceptor decided to use people of the Northern Hu.”

Shadowrain wanted to kick the figure in black, but right now only the man’s head was exposed; the rest of his body was buried under the earth. Hence, Shadowrain was unable to find a place to kick him, leaving him no choice but to put his foot down. “Where is Xie Wenyuan?” he roared at the man.

Ning Xiaoyao replied, “He can’t talk. I was worried he might commit suicide so I broke his jaw. Send him to the Hall of Punishments and let Second Young Master Pei interrogate him. In terms of viciousness and fierceness, nobody can beat Second Young Master Pei!”

Shadowrain and the rest of the Dragon Guards: …Are you praising Your Excellency Pei?

Several Dragon Guards dug the man out from the ground and tied him up. Then, the party walked out of the forest.

Since Ning Xiaoyao threw a wall, and the Dragon Guards made such a huge commotion seizing the assassins, everyone in the nunnery knew what was going on. By the time Ning Xiaoyao and her group came out of the forest, Elder Nun Jingwen and her disciples were anxiously waiting outside by the nunnery entrance.

Ning Xiaoyao looked at the people in front of the entrance and turned to ask Shadowrain, “Why don’t I see Windy?”

Shadowrain instantly turned pale. There was such a big commotion outside the temple. Yet, his big brother did not come out to check. Could his big brother be under siege by the vicious Northern Hu men?

Ning Xiaoyao clearly had the same thoughts running through her mind. The two of them immediately ran towards the nunnery.

Elder Nun Jingwen saw two shadows flashed by her like lightning. She wasn’t able to identify the two, but when faced with gleaming weapons of the Dragon Guards, she did not dare to make a sound.

“Windy?” The moment Ning Xiaoyao entered the nunnery, she began to yell. 

The nunnery was completely quiet. In fact, it was so silent that they were able to hear the harsh wind blowing through the forest.

“Big brother?” Shadowrain also called out. Ning Xiaoyao tilted her ear to listen to the movements in the nunnery. From the breathing sounds and heart beats, she could tell there were at least ten people inside. But which of these ten was Windy?

Standing above her was a jujube tree. The branches and leaves of the jujube tree swayed with the wind. Their shadows on the ground moved like bared fangs and brandishing claws. Looking at them, Ning Xiaoyao felt goosebumps. She had a bad premonition. Something bad is about to happen, ah!

The nunnery was small. In total, there were only four rooms. It only took Shadowrain less than two minutes to search through all the rooms. He fearfully ran to Ning Xiaoyao, “I d-didn’t see my big brother.”

“What about Fifth Young Miss?” Ning Xiaoyao quickly asked. Shadowrain looked at Ning Xiaoyao with a victimized expression. Your Majesty, my big brother is already missing, why are you still concerned about the Xie Clan’s daughter?

“No,” Ning Xiaoyao hurriedly rushed, “Windy must be with Fifth Young Miss!”

Shadowrain turned around to search through the nunnery again. Just now, he was only focused on looking for his big brother. He did not take note if Xie Duoying was around or not!

Ning Xiaoyao silently dug her fingers into her palms. Looking up at a branch of the jujube tree, she asked, “Big Bro Cicada, have you seen my Windy?”

Cicada Azhi & family on the branch: …They didn’t even make a sound. How did this little Majesty discover them?

“Please help, Big Bro Cicada.” Ning Xiaoyao requested and flew up the tree. The tree branch shook a few times. Azhi was frightened to death by Ning Xiaoyao’s sudden appearance.  

Ning Xiaoyao took out her box of sugar beans. “Do you eat sugar beans?”

Azhi and his family were silent. They only eat leaves and drink tree sap. Can they eat sugar beans?

“Did you see my Windy?” Ning Xiaoyao pushed forward the box of sugar beans. “Is he in trouble?”

Azhi looked at Ning Xiaoyao.  “The tall one and the little beauty were both captured and taken away. The tall one was injured, I believe quite badly. If you don’t go and save him soon, he will surely die.”

Ning Xiaoyao pressed against her temples, feeling a headache rising up. “Big Bro Cicada….”

“My name is Azhi.”

“Big Bro Azhi,” Ning Xiaoyao immediately changed the way she addressed him. “Which direction did they go?”

“I saw them heading north.”

“Was it the Northern Hu?” Ning Xiaoyao continued to ask.

“Do not know ah, you humans all look the same.” Azhi shook his feelers. “Anyway, they were all male.”

“Thank you, Big Bro Azhi. I will leave the sugar beans for your family to eat. In future if you have any matters, just come find me at the imperial palace. My name is Ning Xiaoyao.” Ning Xiaoyao speedily replied and hopped off tree to head north. 

“I know you are Xiaoyao!” Azhi shouted from his branch on the tree.

By the time Shadowrain reached the jujube tree, all he could hear were the chirp of cicadas. Ning Xiaoyao was nowhere to be seen. Head Commander immediately hollered, “Your Majesty?”

“Head north!” Ning Xiaoyao shouted back. “Windy has been captured. Third Rain, send someone back to ask for more rescue troops!”

Shadowrain was so furious that his face turned slightly purple. What had he been saying all this time? Xie Douying is a cursed woman! Sooner or later, this woman will be the death of his big brother!