A Tale of Two Phoenixes Chapter 52

The thunderous cacophony rang out from afar. It sounded like a mix of singing, screaming and crying.

To describe the scene in four words: A load of chaos.

Chu Yu frowned, distractedly unfolding her sleeves to rest an arm on the nearby wall. A moment's decision later, she stood up and started walking outside. "Yue Jiefei, follow me. Let's see what's going on."

In one leap, Yue Jiefei bounded from the roof to the gates and started following Chu Yu on light, agile feet. "Princess, I would advise against going. Even I find it difficult restraining that madman. Should anything happen, I fear I won't be able to protect your highness in the nick of time. Besides, he is just making a fuss, which isn't worth the trouble."

Chu Yu did not halt her footsteps.

She could infer two specifics from Yue Jiefei's words.

Firstly, the opponent was strong. Yue Jiefei himself had admitted the difficulty in fighting against such an opponent. This was despite the a.s.sa.s.sination attempt on the cliffs. From what Chu Yu had understood from Liu Sang, the three a.s.sa.s.sins had been top-notch in skill. Being able to face them one versus three and even four, only proved how amazing of a swordsman Yue Jiefei was.

The second fact she deduced was a lack of threat in the current situation. From Yue Jiefei's tone, it sounded like this was not the first time it had happened. There was a likelihood of it having occurred often in the past, and Princess Shanyin probably knew of it.

But Chu Yu did not know.

She really wanted to find out what was happening.

Briskly exiting Xiu Yuan House, she spied a bunch of people approaching in the distance. Even more eye-catching, was a brilliant red figure before them.

Chu Yu observed the red shadow closely before realizing the figure belonged to someone she had seen once - Hua Cuo.

This present Hua Cuo was largely different from memory. His cheeks were flushed red, brows uplifted, and his eyes misted over in a daze, lending a bold allure to his otherwise slightly average features. Sword in one hand, wine jar in the other, he walked half-staggering, half-dragging his feet along. He sang as he walked, looking like he could care less about anyone in his path. Meanwhile, the palace guards encircled him carefully, not a single one daring to get too near. Every time Hua Cuo took a step forward, the entire group would follow along.

Recognizing Hua Cuo, Chu Yu roughly understood what was going on. Beside her, Yue Jiefei piped up. "Princess, please don't move any closer. Hua Cuo, that crazy drunkard, he won't recognize anyone when he gets drunk. Also, whenever he drinks, his swordsmanship increases greatly, till even I have trouble facing him."

Chu Yu merely smiled and looked for a corner to hide in. Together with Yue Jiefei, she carried on spectating Hua Cuo in all his unbridled drunken buffoonery.

Hua Cuo continued his raucous singing, slowly lumbering along until he neared Chu Yu's whereabouts. He was about to cross Chu Yu's path when, in a split second's warning, his wine jar fell with a thud onto the stony pavement, causing him to stop his footsteps. All around him, everyone froze as if dreading some colossal enemy. Yue Jiefei dashed forwards in a heroic bid to shield Chu Yu, one hand resting on his sword handle as he stood, gravely waiting.

Unable to view the show as she was blocked, Chu Yu c.o.c.ked her head to one side and stealthily shuffled behind Yue Jiefei. Once she had a clear line of vision again, she continued watching the swordsman's drunken antics.

Hua Cuo's carefree, exaggerated manner contrasted sharply with the severe aura surrounding him. Colored by his drunken flush, his features seemed to almost drip with allure like a blossoming Multiflora Rose. A faint reddish light glinted off the slender sword in his hand as he slowly raised it higher. Word had it, his sword had turned red after being dyed in the blood of its many victims.

c.o.c.king an eyebrow, Hua Cuo looked left and right. Wherever his gaze fell, its recipient would unconsciously back away a step. This carried on, until Hua Cuo's gaze continued to sweep over the entire group, only to land on Yue Jiefei.

Yue Jiefei bemoaned his fate miserably. "Why is it me again?"

Narrowing eyes that glinted under a drunken flush, Hua Cuo aimed his sword straight at Yue Jiefei. Witnessing his newly chosen target, the people around him immediately dispersed, forming a path for him to antagonize Yue Jiefei at his convenience.

Yue Jiefei sighed and instructed the guards to protect Chu Yu. Without waiting for Hua Cuo's next move, he rushed forwards, drawing his blade in a flash.

The duo was once again entangled in battle.

Chu Yu wanted to laugh. In almost every run-in with Hua Cuo, it looked as if he and Yue Jiefei were itching to get in a fight. What had happened previously, had happened again today. It was almost like the two were enemies in a past life that simply had to fight whenever they met.

Apart from Hua Cuo's hoa.r.s.e singing, the sight of the duo fighting was the same as before. Their rampage ranged from far to near, trampling much flora and fauna in its wake, with the only disparity being the red glimmer of Hua Cuo's sword, which shone brighter than usual.

Watching on and on, Chu Yu sensed something amiss. She wondered if her vision had gone blurry, for in the light flashing off the swords, there seemed to be tiny indiscernible flakes falling down their surroundings.

Her distance away from them, coupled with the extreme speed of their movements, made Chu Yu doubt her eyes. However, their swords separated moments later, light flashing off the blades as Chu Yu came to realize the state of Yue Jiefei's clothes - it seemed to have lessened, with him only sporting his white inner shirt, alongside a missing sleeve which revealed one long, sinewy, well-proportioned arm.

Where did the clothes go?

Chu Yu's eyes trailed down to the floor. She could see it clearly now, the bits and pieces of cloth scattered all over it.

Piece by piece, at the mercy of Hua Cuo's blade, the clothes on Yue Jiefei's body were being turned to mere cloth strips.

Slash.

The crisp sound of cloth shredding pierced the air. Tilting up her head, Chu Yu saw Hua Cuo's blade slice open Yue Jiefei's clothes, leaving his upper body almost naked in mid-air, and in the line of everyone's sight.

With the confines of his clothes peeled off, the beautiful lines of Yue Jiefei's powerfully built torso were revealed. Every muscle on his body exuded strength and vigor. It was unlike the exaggerated robustness of a bodybuilder, but instead, a purely natural form of beauty.

Surrounded by a bevy of admiring, envious and scrutinizing stares, Yue Jiefei gritted his teeth as his face started to turn red. "Hua Cuo, that's enough. Every time. Every single time you get drunk, you just have to find me and rip my clothes with your sword. Haven't you done enough already?" To be stripped naked in the middle of a courtyard for everyone's viewing pleasure was definitely not something anyone would be happy with.

He was trained in martial arts, and employed by the royal family.

He was here to sell his trade, not his body.

Hua Cuo did not seem to have heard Yue Jiefei's words. Halting his singing, he narrowed his eyes and c.o.c.ked his head to one side in a calculative stare. In a quick swivel of his sword arm, red shreds from his own clothes dropped to the floor, revealing an equally naked upper torso. Following this, his sword gave a jolt and flew towards Yue Jiefei. This time, its target was Yue Jiefei's lower half.

"Hua Cuo loves drinking, but has no alcohol tolerance." A voice steadily remarked next to Chu Yu. Glancing beside her, she realized it was Rong Zhi. He stood smiling, his arm bandaged in a sling. "When he drinks, he gets drunk. And once he gets drunk, he strips."

Once drunk, Hua Cuo would not recognize anyone, not even if six of his relatives stood before him. He would instead focus on picking out the biggest eyesore he could see, and go on to strip them of their clothes, including his own.

As long as they were not the chosen stripper, the palace residents were more than happy to enjoy the show. After all, the figures of martial artists were indisputably attractive and a sight to admire.

It is natural for people to love beautiful things. And in this era, appreciating male beauty was similarly a trend in itself.

This scene, which happened about once every two to three months, was an inevitable spectacle within the Princess's Palace.

~Managed to finish this earlier, enjoy!~~