"Leader! You’re awake! Thank the heavens!" The elders immediately rushed to her side after noticing her open eyes.
The leader, a beautiful woman with flowing red hair and sharp facial features, slowly sat up on the bed and turned to look at the group with a puzzled face.
"Where... where am I?"
"You’re back at the Rising Phoenix Clan, mother." Feng Haoyu said, pushing the elders aside so he could see her.
"I see... I made it back..." she muttered in a low voice.
"What happened out there, mother? Why did you come back injured? Who attacked you?"
The leader gritted her teeth and clenched her fists in frustration as she responded, "It was that damn freak, the Fate Maniac!"
"Fate Maniac?" Yuan raised an eyebrow upon hearing this weird nickname.
The leader continued, "That bastard attacked me out of the blue, claiming he was merely following fate’s command! I don’t know what he did to me, but he left after placing some curse on me, and I was barely able to make it back!"
The room fell silent after everyone learned the identity of the attacker.
"The Fate Maniac... what a troublesome individual." The Grand Elder muttered in a stressed tone.
"Who is this Fate Maniac?" Yuan asked.
The Grand Elder explained, "We don’t know the Fate Maniac’s true identity, only that he’s a madman obsessed with fate—constantly proclaiming himself a servant of it. He’s incredibly elusive; you can’t seek him out, only be sought out by him. And on top of that, his strength is unfathomable."
"Servant of fate...?" Yuan raised an eyebrow at the familiar description, his thoughts drifting back to his time in the lower heavens, when he had encountered an unusual man named Jia Chong in the Demons’ Valley.
"Wait a second. Who are you?" The leader suddenly questioned Yuan’s identity as she finally noticed his presence.
"This is—"
"My Young Master." Feng Yuxiang stepped forward and interrupted Feng Haoyu.
The leader’s eyes widened at her familiar face.
"You are... Feng Yuxiang? Why are you here? I thought you’d left. Have you decided to return to us?"
Feng Yuxiang shook her head. "No, I’m still not affiliated with the Rising Phoenix Clan. I’ve returned because my Young Master has business with you."
"Sorry for the late introduction. I am Yuan, a Primordial Phoenix."
"What?! That’s impossible!" the leader exclaimed, abruptly rising from her bed.
Yuan didn’t waste time arguing. Instead, he simply summoned his True Primordial Fire, letting its invisible presence speak for his identity.
"Invisible flames... True Primordial Fire..." The leader fell to her knees in shock.
"It was also the Young Master who removed the curse from you, or you would still be bedridden right now, and your bloodline would’ve continued to decline," said Feng Haoyu.
The leader’s entire body froze at his words. Then, she turned to look at him with stiff movements.
"W-What did you just say?" she asked in a trembling voice.
The elders’ faces turned pale once more, and not one of them could find the words to comfort her.
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