The explosion turned several miles around into a scorched wasteland, the once flourishing fairyland completely unrecognizable.
Countless peach branches snapped, remaining leaves burned away, and even the pond’s water had evaporated entirely, leaving behind a massive crater.
Within the pit, purple lightning crackled continuously, the whole area in utter chaos, making it impossible to discern what remained of the debris.
The guards hurried forward to handle the aftermath, their faces pale with shock and horror.
What kind of demon could possibly force the Great Fairy to unleash such terrifying power?
Yuelun Yuan stood aside, his gaze complicated as he looked at Su Fu, who had now become the “Great Fairy.”
Even now, his heart pounded fiercely; the scene moments ago was simply too overwhelming.
Su Fu had ridden the eastern wind to directly defeat the Great Fairy, then replaced her by plucking the largest peach in the entire place.
Her every move flowed smoothly—who wouldn’t praise such brilliance?
Just as he was about to say something, a fiery light suddenly streaked through the sky from afar and instantly appeared before them all.
“General Tuohuo!” The guards halted their work and saluted in unison.
Tuohuo nodded slightly, his brows furrowed tightly as he surveyed the chaotic scene.
The commotion earlier had been so loud he feared something terrible had happened, rushing over to investigate.
But upon seeing two familiar figures, he froze for a moment and asked, “Great Fairy, Gu Yanfeng, what are you two doing here? What exactly happened?”
His gaze then shifted suspiciously to Chu Mingyuan standing beside them.
“And you—why are you here too?”
Why would his guards be mingling with these people?
Chu Mingyuan immediately broke into a sweat, hastily stepping forward to salute and think on his feet: “General, demons suddenly invaded Yaochi. I happened to encounter the Great Fairy and General of the Celestial River fighting them. The situation was urgent, so I lent a hand.”
‘Demons? You helped out?’
Is he stupid?
He was probably just trying to get some credit.
Tuohuo’s eyes swept the scene again, his expression growing even grimmer, brow tightening further.
‘What kind of demons cause battles this fierce?’
He could clearly feel residual divine energy from Gu Yanfeng’s attack, confirming Gu had indeed fought.
This brutal battlefield certainly wasn’t caused by Gu alone—if he had that power, Tuohuo himself would have been done for already, unable to stand here calmly.
So…
Was this all the Great Fairy’s doing?
General Tuohuo looked at the Great Fairy with suspicion, an intense sense of unease rising in his heart.
Since when did the Great Fairy possess such devastating destructive power, hiding it so deeply?
Yuelun Yuan noticed Tuohuo’s odd behavior and felt his own heartbeat quicken.
This is bad—could Tuohuo be sensing something wrong here?
His expression darkened slightly.
It was all Su Fu’s fault for causing such a ruckus without leaving time for cleanup.
If Tuohuo found any clues, they would all be exposed.
Damn Su Fu, always riding the coattails without considering the aftermath.
At that moment, Yuelun Yuan saw Su Fu smile faintly and calmly say, “This little commotion? It can’t compare to the massive blaze at the Treasure Pavilion.
“General Tuohuo, don’t you agree?”
Hearing this, Tuohuo stiffened ever so slightly, his expression uneasy.
He coughed twice and forced a dry laugh, “Great Fairy, you’re joking. That fire was purely accidental…”
“Oh no, I mean the fire was indeed huge.”
Yuelun Yuan: “…..”
‘What’s going on? Why does it sound like you set that fire yourself?’
He glanced at Su Fu, impressed.
She was deftly turning defense into offense with just a sentence, redirecting Tuohuo’s attention.
Su Fu remained silent as Tuohuo explained, smiling faintly at him, sending chills down one’s spine.
Tuohuo’s gaze flickered nervously, avoiding the Great Fairy’s eyes, maintaining a facade of calm while only one thought echoed in his mind:
Could the Great Fairy have discovered he set that fire and secretly stolen the Three-Thousand-Year Immortal Peach?
Yuelun Yuan saw this and breathed a silent sigh of relief.
It seemed Tuohuo was too preoccupied with the peach to worry about any demon invasion.
Su Fu’s reverse attack worked perfectly.
Right now, what troubled Tuohuo most was the peach—not any demon invasion.
He was likely feeling guilty.
But the problem was, with the peach stolen, could the Peach Banquet still go on?
Their original plan was to use the banquet to gather those key suspects all at once and trap them.
But if the banquet was canceled…
He instinctively looked to Su Fu to see what she would do, but found she wasn’t looking at Tuohuo or anyone present.
Instead, her gaze was fixed on a distant patch of peach orchard.
Just then, she cleared her throat and called out, “General Yuan Yang—how much longer do you plan to stay there?”
Su Fu had long tracked him through the flying bird’s vision.
That sly old fox was hiding, secretly watching the situation unfold.
In fact, he had arrived almost simultaneously with Tuohuo, both drawn by the explosion’s noise, but instead of revealing himself, Yuan Yang was sneaking around to observe.
Hearing this, both Yuelun Yuan and Tuohuo were startled, ‘What? Yuan Yang was here too? And hiding?’
Neither understood why he wouldn’t come out and instead chose to eavesdrop in secret.
Just as everyone’s eyes turned to the peach orchard, a dry chuckle came from within, followed by a familiar figure stepping out.
He was unashamed, smiling warmly as he complimented, “Truly worthy of the Great Fairy, such keen perception.”
He added with a cough, “Actually, I just arrived too and heard the commotion. Figured I’d come see if I could help. Didn’t expect the Great Fairy had already dealt with everything.”
“Much respect.”
Tuohuo wasn’t foolish—he immediately recognized Yuan Yang’s eavesdropping and felt a surge of suspicion.
Wait, doesn’t this scene look familiar?
Just like that shameless third party hiding during his fight with Gu Yanfeng, waiting to reap the rewards.
His expression changed drastically, ‘No way—could it really be that sly old fox?’
Su Fu smiled slightly, “Rizhi Divine General Yuan Yang, you flatter me.”
If anyone here was most likely to discover her and Yuelun Yuan’s true identities, it was this sly old fox.
He loved lurking in the shadows, watching others, as cunning as one wouldn’t expect from someone of the Sun God Palace.
Since that was the case…
She smiled wryly, “Oh, you just arrived?”
Her tone held a hint of mockery as she laughed, “I thought Rizhi Divine General Yuan Yang was about to pull his usual trick, playing the two sides against each other and catching the spoils.”
Yuan Yang: “……”
‘Is she calling me out?’
His expression shifted; could it be the Great Fairy saw something?
But how?
Was she observing him all along through some means?
“The Great Fairy jokes,” Yuan Yang forced calm, stubbornly denying, “I really just arrived.”
Tuohuo’s eyes flicked back and forth between them, suddenly realizing something.
Playing the two sides against each other to gain advantage?
That was exactly the real role of the hidden third party in his fight with Gu Yanfeng.
So it was Yuan Yang all along—the sly old fox behind the scenes!
Just as he was about to accuse him, the Great Fairy shifted tone and asked, “Then, three generals why aren’t you at the Peach Banquet relaxing? What are you searching for by running around? For what purpose?”
Tuohuo & Yuan Yang: “!!!”
The Great Fairy clapped her hands, feigning sudden realization.
“Could it be… to steal that Nine-Thousand-Year Peach?”
“Absolutely impossible!” Tuohuo was the first to deny.
“I, Tuohuo, have always acted with honor. How could I steal?”
Yuan Yang hurriedly waved off the accusation, “The Great Fairy jokes. I, Yuan Yang, a high-ranking official of the Heavenly Court, would never commit such a disgraceful act.”
Yuelun Yuan, carefully maintaining his assumed identity, chimed in, “Indeed. Stealing a peach is a grave crime. Who would dare risk it?”
The three spoke with conviction, trying hard to distance themselves from suspicion, each looking righteous and serious.
“Oh, really?” Su Fu nodded, smiling ambiguously.
“I thought the Treasure Pavilion theft might involve you three.”
She continued leisurely, “For example, a certain fire-controlling general intentionally sets a blaze to create chaos and steal the peach.
“Only to be stopped midway, during a scuffle, a third party seizes the peach.
“Then it disappears without a trace, so the three generals are now searching everywhere…”
Hearing this, their scalps tingled.
How did the Great Fairy know so much?
As if she had witnessed the entire thing firsthand.
But how was that possible?
Without solid proof, they would never admit it.
“Heh, impossible…” Tuohuo gave a forced laugh.
“The Great Fairy overthinks. How could such a thing happen in the Heavenly Court?”
Su Fu kept smiling at them, playing along.
Yuan Yang and Tuohuo exchanged a glance, their hearts pounding in unison.
The same thought crossed their minds: they had definitely underestimated the Great Fairy before.
Looking at this fierce battlefield, she was clearly a hidden powerhouse.
And her insight into the incident… she must have known everything all along!
So that meek act she put on was just playing the fool?
That was way too good an act.
Since it was almost an open secret now, Tuohuo realized an even more serious issue.
His heart sank, and with urgency he asked, “Great Fairy, the Treasure Pavilion was destroyed and the Nine-Thousand-Year Peach stolen. That’s the real priority now. No matter what happened before, with the peach lost, that is the pressing matter.”
But he saw no urgency on Su Fu’s face.
‘Wait…’
Tuohuo suddenly understood, ‘Could the missing peach be related to the demon she just killed?’
Yuan Yang’s heart was even more unsettled.
According to Su Fu’s guess, if she really saw the whole thing, then the peach must have returned to her hands?
His eyes darkened.
After all their bitter struggles, it was all for nothing?
He almost fainted from frustration.
Yuelun Yuan stared at Su Fu, curious what she would do next.
“No need to worry, everyone,” Su Fu said, looking at the three.
“The Peach Banquet will definitely proceed as scheduled. As for that Nine-Thousand-Year Peach…” she paused lightly, “The one in the Treasure Pavilion was fake, merely bait to lure demons’ attention.”
“The real Nine-Thousand-Year Peach has already been arranged at the banquet, waiting for you all to taste.”
She spoke with certainty, leaving the three momentarily unsure—was the Great Fairy telling the truth or lying?
That peach was fake?
Were they truly outsmarted by the Great Fairy?
Their expressions darkened, especially Tuohuo’s, who looked ready to spit blood in fury.
But they couldn’t accuse her—doing so would admit they tried to steal the peach.
It was a lump stuck in their throats.
Though his expression flickered, Tuohuo thought: ‘if the peach wasn’t lost, there was still hope.’
In any case, that Great Fairy was truly detestable.
He cursed inwardly but forced a smile for the sake of the peach. “Truly worthy of the Great Fairy, flawless in strategy! Since that’s so, let’s hurry back to avoid missing the banquet.”
He still wanted to eat, really.
Yuan Yang immediately agreed, “Yes, the banquet is the main event. Whether true or false, we’ll know soon enough. If it’s true, we must return quickly to prevent trouble. If false…” His heart sank.
“Please, after you.” Su Fu smiled faintly, making a beckoning gesture.
The only one truly pleased was Yuelun Yuan, who secretly sighed with relief—finally leaving this mess behind.
He followed Tuohuo and Yuan Yang, looking at Su Fu with a complicated expression.
He had thought the banquet would be canceled due to the stolen peach and plans foiled.
Unexpectedly, the tide turned.
Su Fu even managed the Nine-Thousand-Year Peach—now everyone would be drawn back to the banquet, where the trap could still be sprung.
But that made her all the more terrifying—Su Fu was far too calculating.
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