Wayfarer

Chapter 659: Disfigured

The next day, during Xia Xingchen's millennium celebration, the festivities began early. In the morning, the disciples of all twelve peaks of the Yuqing holy land arrived to congratulate him and help out—there would be plenty of guests affiliated with the Yuqing holy land streaming in throughout the day.

Xia Xingchen greeted the most important guests himself, accompanied by several of the twelve Mountain Lords.

His three wives were particularly busy themselves. After all, those guests had come with their families in tow, and the women were largely responsible for greeting and accommodating them. Fortunately, they could split up the work among the three of them.

Xia Lan was likewise assigned to greet ordinary guests, but he had plenty of senior and junior brothers to help him out, and he wasn't too busy. He glanced at Xiao Nanfeng, who was hovering close by.

Over the last few days, Xiao Nanfeng had gained significant popularity within the Yuqing holy land. The moment he showed up, he was swarmed with a large group of Yuqing disciples.

"Senior Brother Xiao, the method you taught me was really effective! My spiritual cultivation is a lot faster now."

"Same, same! My older brother always beat me when it came to our fist techniques, but I was able to beat him after your pointers!"

"Senior Brother Xiao, thank you for guiding us!"

The Yuqing disciples bowed in gratitude.

"Hardly, Senior Brothers, Junior Brothers. We've all benefited from each other's expertise. That said, today's Mountain Lord Xia's millennial celebration, so let's focus on celebrating him rather than talking about cultivation," Xiao Nanfeng said, smiling.

The Yuqing disciples nodded fervently.

Xiao Nanfeng shot Xia Lan a glance. Xia Lan stiffened, but was forced to act. He had already cast his lot with Xiao Nanfeng, after all.

Xia Lan walked toward a throng of people, including Long Si, who had just arrived.

Long Si's delegation had just flown toward Chiyang Peak and was in search of Sage Green Lotus when Xia Lan approached them.

"I greet you, Lord Si," Xia Lan said, bowing.

"Greetings, Young Master Xia," Long Si replied.

"My father is engaged in conversation with his honored guests, and I've been entrusted with leading the most esteemed guests toward him. Please follow me, Lord Si." Xia Lan gestured.

Long Si nodded with a smile. "Very well."

His delegation scattered and began to mingle with the other guests while he followed Xia Lan through a patch of white fog. He suddenly frowned. Why was there fog around here?

Just then, within the fog, a sword thrust toward him from the back in a burst of killing intent.

"Who's there? Die!" Long Si's eyes flashed with rage as he swiped at his back with a hand.

The white fog exploded around him as Xia Lan was sent flying from a shockwave of energy. A black figure was sent flying back. Blood splattered all over.

The disturbance immediately drew everyone's attention.

"What's going on? Who's fighting here?!" someone exclaimed.

Golden Immortals were hardly known for their subtlety, after all.

Xia Xingchen's three wives, and even Xia Xingchen himself, hurriedly rushed toward the source of the commotion, only to see a black figure strike the ground.

That black figure was none other than Zhao Yuanjiao. He spat out a mouthful of blood, a crystal sculpture falling from his hands and shattering as it struck the ground.

"Senior Brother, are you alright? How did you end up fighting?!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted, rushing forward.

"I don't know myself. I was preparing my gift for Mountain Lord Xia when Long Si suddenly attacked me." Zhao Yuanjiao choked on a mouthful of blood, clearly badly injured.

His face was a mess of blood; it seemed that he had been struck by Long Si's attack, then hurt by the crystal sculpture shattering by his face.

"Long Si, how dare you? I know you bear me a grudge after the fight that day, but how could you attack my senior brother instead of me? Do you want to die?!" Xiao Nanfeng thundered.

Long Si glared. "He tried to strike me with a sword first!"

"A sword? What sword? That's clearly an excuse for you to beat him up!" Xiao Nanfeng retorted.

He was about to step forward when Xia Xingchen called out, "Hold it!"

Xia Xingchen stepped toward the two cultivators.

"What's going on?"

Everyone was drawn to the commotion.

Xiao Nanfeng immediately stepped forward. "Mountain Lord Xia, Long Si suddenly beat up my senior brother! I don't want to cause trouble for you during your millennial celebration. Instead, please permit me to duel Long Si to the death outside the Yuqing holy land."

"Don't be ridiculous. Who would attack your senior brother out of nowhere? I was only retaliating because he tried to attack me. Would I be so crazy as to cause trouble during Mountain Lord Xia's celebration? The two of you are scheming against me together, aren't you?!"

Zhao Yuanjiao, drenched in blood, howled back, "I was simply checking on my gift! Why would I have attacked you?!"

"I felt killing intent and the keen edge of a sword. Who else could that have been from but you? Mountain Lord Xia's third son was beside me at the time. He witnessed it with his own eyes!" Long Si retorted.

Everyone turned to Xia Lan.

"Xia Lan, is that true?" Xia Xingchen demanded.

"I didn't notice this sword or the killing intent. When we passed by Senior Brother Zhao, Lord Si suddenly attacked him," Xia Lan reported.

"You didn't notice it? Are you all in cahoots?!" Long Si thundered.

"Long Si, while I am familiar with Senior Brother Zhao, I would hardly stand on his side any more than I would stand on yours. Your altercation with each other is none of my business. I was simply leading your way," Xia Lan said.

Xia Xingchen frowned at Zhao Yuanjiao. He too sensed something amiss. There would be no reason for Long Si to attack Zhao Yuanjiao out of nowhere, so something had to have triggered his alarm.

"Zhao Yuanjiao, before Lord Si made his move, where were you and what were you doing?" Xia Xingchen asked.

"Mountain Lord Xia, you forbade Nanfeng from presenting that Immortal sword as a gift, nor anything precious. Instead, we picked a meaningful, decorative relic to present to you. I was about to hand over the gift and had made it conjure a cloud of white fog when I was suddenly attacked out of nowhere," Zhao Yuanjiao said, spitting out flecks of blood.

"Is that truly all that you were doing?" Xia Xingchen demanded.

"Yes, Mountain Lord Xia. It's a pity that the relic shattered. It took Nanfeng and me forever to find a suitable one. It was called 'Surging Clouds, Crashing Wake', and meant to invoke your future dominion across the world, but..." Zhao Yuanjiao grimaced.

Xiao Nanfeng restored the crystal sculpture with a wave of his hand, revealing a beautiful work of art. The bottom of the sculpture exuded a cloud of white fog, like a sea of clouds, while four giant crystal dragons flew overhead. A man, likewise made of crystal, stood in their center, a longsword in his hand, its tip pointed at the four dragons.

The sculpture was particularly lifelike and engraved with an exquisite formation. Unfortunately, it had been shattered beyond any hope of repair; Xiao Nanfeng was only holding it together with his qi.

"You felt a sword, you say? Do you mean this small sword that the crystal sculpture wields, Long Si?" Xiao Nanfeng demanded.

Everyone began murmuring to one another.

"Long Si? The four dragons? This crystal sculpture is about a man slaying four dragons. Could Long Si have thought it was about him? Is that why he's so upset?" [1]

"Xiao Nanfeng beheaded Long Si once. Upon seeing this gift from Zhao Yuanjiao, he must have acted out of anger and embarrassment!"

"There's no reason for Zhao Yuanjiao to attack Long Si here in the most public of places, let alone set him up."

"Surging Clouds, Crashing Wake—this small relic alone caused Long Si to seek revenge on Zhao Yuanjiao? How narrow-minded he is."

"Those cultivators from the Southeastern Aquatic Palace really are lawless."

The spectators all around were pointing at Long Si.

This was a possible, if not particularly plausible, explanation for the series of events that had unfolded. Xia Xingchen could hardly defend Long Si now.

"Lord Si, don't you think you've been rather ridiculous?" Xia Xingchen demanded.

"Xia Xingchen, your son and Zhao Yuanjiao are colluding to scheme against me!" Long Si thundered.

Beside them, Xiao Nanfeng said coolly, "Long Si, there's no need to prolong this farce. Today marks Mountain Lord Xia's thousandth birthday, and we shouldn't disrupt the festivities any longer. I challenge you to a duel outside the Yuqing holy land."

Long Si grimaced. He was sure this was part of a scheme, but what could he do? How could he leave now? He hadn't managed to kidnap Xia Yu'er yet!

Sage Green Lotus had to step forward. "As I see it, all this is a mere misunderstanding. Considering what a grand occasion it is, why don't we put aside all grudges for the moment?"

Everyone turned to Sage Green Lotus in surprise. This was a 'mere misunderstanding'?

Xiao Nanfeng took a deep breath. "Very well. I won't cause more trouble on such a festive occasion. Three days later, I'll meet you over the sea 150 miles south of the Yuqing holy land. Do you dare to duel me then?"

"Very well. Three days later, I'll settle this score," Long Si spat out.

He was incensed about having been manipulated to this extent.

"Senior Brother, we'll take revenge in three days' time. Let's treat your injuries now before they end up scarring," Xiao Nanfeng said.

"Very well!" Zhao Yuanjiao nodded.

The commotion ceased in the blink of an eye. Everyone was secretly gesturing at Long Si while simultaneously praising Xiao Nanfeng and Zhao Yuanjiao's magnanimity.

Xia Xingchen frowned as if he were unhappy with Long Si's behavior, but Long Si was a Golden Immortal and a representative of the Southeastern Aquatic Palace beside. He could only suppress his anger for the time being. "Please follow me, Lord Si."

Long Si glanced at Xiao Nanfeng and the others now walking away. He couldn't help but feel as if something were amiss, but he couldn't pinpoint precisely what. He turned and stalked off after Xia Xingchen.

Meanwhile, Han Bingdie headed toward Zhao Yuanjiao. "Yuanjiao, are you alright?"

"Don't worry about me, Senior. It's just a few superficial wounds. I'll be fine once Senior Brother Xia Lan guides me to get myself cleaned up," Zhao Yuanjiao replied.

"Senior, there are too many guests around for you to be worrying about us. We can speak later if necessary. With Senior Brother Xia Lan around, we'll be alright," Xiao Nanfeng added.

"Very well. I'll have my husband deal with Long Si the very next day," Han Bingdie said. She turned toward Xia Lan. "Guard them well. If anything else goes wrong, I won't spare you!"

Xia Lan grimaced. Xiao Nanfeng and Zhao Yuanjiao were the ones who had set everything up; why was he getting blamed?

Xia Lan brought the two cultivators toward a rather secluded yard, where Zhao Yuanjiao finished dealing with the blood on his face. He changed his clothes and put on a bamboo hat to hide his wounded face from public view.

Quite a few disciples had gathered around them by then, grumbling about how unfair it was for Xiao Nanfeng and Zhao Yuanjiao.

"Senior Brother Xia Lan, word of what happened might have already spread to Yu'er. We'll let her know not to worry," Xiao Nanfeng said.

"Very well," Xia Lan replied, an odd look on his face.

The three of them walked up to the hall in which Yu'er was currently located.

The doors to the hall were shut, with a dome-shaped barrier on the outside. A revolving glass ball was located right above the dome—the Eight-Treasure Glass Lock that had attuned to Yu'er.

There were a few Yuqing disciples around them manipulating the formation. Upon learning that the three cultivators were about to visit her, they created an opening to allow them in.

The three cultivators walked into the hall, then let the doors swing shut to reveal Yu'er within.

She was dressed in robes precisely like Zhao Yuanjiao's, with a bamboo hat over her face. She smiled in excitement. "I've been waiting for far too long!"

"We had to manufacture a reason for Senior Brother to hide his face, after all. Senior Brother disfigured himself for you, you know," Xiao Nanfeng murmured.

"Well done, Zhao Yuanjiao. I'll forgive you everything you've done wrong in the past." Yu'er smiled.

Zhao Yuanjiao rolled his eyes. "You brat, you're still keeping track of those past matters? Nanfeng and I flew thousands of kilometers to see you—and you treat me like this? You're heartless, you are."

"I'll thank you properly once I'm free. Have a look at my outfit. Will this do?" Yu'er immediately put on her hat, as did Zhao Yuanjiao. Indeed, the two cultivators looked identical from far. Yu'er had even padded her robes to ensure that her stature looked like Zhao Yuanjiao's.

"Take a few steps and let's see," Xiao Nanfeng said.

Yu'er walked around in a circle.

Xiao Nanfeng frowned instantly. "You walk in too feminine a fashion. You'll have to change things around. We're going to be leaving right away, so make sure no one notices."

1. Long Si (龙四) means dragon-four; hence the fourth lord of the Southeastern (Draconic) Palace. ☜

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