Wayfarer

Chapter 656: Ordered to Elope

Two days later, within a hall at the foot of Chiyang Peak stood two cultivators, Long Si and Sage Green Lotus.

"How are your injuries?" Sage Green Lotus asked.

"I've more or less recovered by now," Long Si said.

"What happened within those red clouds? How could Xiao Nanfeng have beheaded you? You're a Golden Immortal!" Sage Green Lotus exclaimed.

Long Si fell silent for a moment. "I was caught in his scheme. I didn't expect Xiao Nanfeng to possess so many Golden Immortal relics."

"Oh?"

"All of you thought that he simply sliced through my neck with his sword; in truth, he laid an ambush for me involving four Golden Immortal relics: a kasaya to bind me, a coil of red rope to sap my strength, a hat to release death chants into my soul, and finally the Immortal sword that beheaded me. Not only that, he lured me into the trap with a red orb." Long Si scowled in annoyance.

"Four Golden Immortal relics? Just how much treasure did he acquire from taking down Dayin?" Sage Green Lotus exclaimed.

"Despite all his relics, he's only a True Immortal. All he can do is launch sneak attacks on me. If I were on guard, he would hardly be an opponent—and those four Golden Immortal relics would be mine." Long Si's eyes shone with greed.

"You're eyeing his treasure now? Focus on your role as suitor! Xia Xingchen has more than sufficient excuse to reject your proposal now," Sage Green Lotus said.

Long Si frowned. "Before I came, I promised my eldest brother that I would return with Xia Yu'er's hand in marriage. If the proposal were to be rejected..."

"Have your eldest brother ask for her hand in marriage himself," Sage Green Lotus said.

Long Si shook his head. "He's not free."

"This should have been a straightforward affair, but you ruined it. There's no choice but to have your brother show himself now. Otherwise, Xiao Nanfeng's going to claim her first."

Long Si's eyes widened. "Others might not be aware of the situation in the Southeastern Aquatic Palace, but you are. My eldest brother has to guard the treasure, and he won't be able to come himself. What about my second or third brothers?"

"That won't do. Unless your eldest brother personally shows up to ask for Yu'er's hand in marriage, Xia Xingchen is likely to reject them outright."

"There's another approach..." Long Si murmured.

"Oh?"

"If I were to have sex with Xia Yu'er, Xia Xingchen would have to allow me to marry her for the sake of her reputation," Long Si murmured quietly.

Sage Green Lotus frowned. "Do you think Xia Xingchen is a fool? You would dare assault Xia Yu'er? Xia Xingchen might not have done much of importance these last few years, but I assure you, he's no easygoing fool. He has plenty of strength in reserve. If you try something like that, you'd be dead meat."

"No, I don't intend to make a move within the Yuqing holy land. I'll kidnap her and bring her out before doing so," Long Si said.

"Indeed? And how will you do that?"

"It'll be Xia Xingchen's millennium celebration in a few days' time. He'll have to greet all manner of guests, as will his wives. That will be when the situation is the most chaotic, and the best time to strike. I might not be able to manage anything alone, but you'll help me, won't you?" Long Si asked expectantly.

Sage Green Lotus frowned again. He furrowed his brows and considered the idea.

"You'll do me this small favor, won't you?" Long Si pressed.

"She's a holy maiden of the Yuqing holy land. I'd be violating sect orders by doing so."

"As if you haven't done plenty of that! What's more, once Xia Yu'er and I end up together, I'll tame her into an obedient wife. Everyone will be satisfied—who'd pin the blame on me? Are you doubting my womanizing abilities? My women are loyal only to me when I'm done with them," Long Si bragged, smirking.

This plan was starting to tempt Sage Green Lotus.

Three days later, at the foot of Chiyang Peak, where Xiao Nanfeng had been staying, Xiao Nanfeng found himself surrounded by a group of Yuqing disciples.

"As for you, Junior Brother, you're putting too much strength into your punches. Save some of your energy so that you can respond flexibly to your opponent. Watch this," Xiao Nanfeng said.

He replicated the disciple's techniques, but with far more strength than before. The gathered Yuqing disciples glanced at each other in amazement.

"So that's how it is! No wonder I haven't been able to draw out its true strength."

"Thank you for your pointers, Senior Brother Xiao."

"Incredible..."

The Yuqing disciples were amazed by what Xiao Nanfeng had revealed.

"It's no problem at all. The Taiqing Immortal Sect and Yuqing holy land might as well be sister sects. I'm more than happy to provide a few pointers," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Xiao!"

After Xiao Nanfeng's fight that day in the mountain valley, several Yuqing disciples had grown interested enough in him to reach out. Xiao Nanfeng's affable personality and willingness to give them pointers quickly made him popular among the disciples.

Once word spread, plenty of Yuqing disciples headed his way for advice. Xiao Nanfeng worked with all of them patiently, gathering popular support among the disciples.

Xia Lan flew over, a strange look on his face.

He too was a senior of Chiyang Peak, but the disciples had never treated him with such respect. On the other hand, they exclusively addressed Xiao Nanfeng as Senior Brother Xiao, as if he had been their senior all this time.

"Ahem!" Xia Lan coughed.

Upon seeing Xia Lan, Xiao Nanfeng turned to the Yuqing disciples. "Everyone, let's end the session here. Try out what I suggested. I'll be here again tomorrow if you need further advice."

"Thank you, Senior Brother Xiao!" the Yuqing disciples exclaimed.

It was apparent that Xiao Nanfeng had business of his own; they would hardly disturb him now. Over the past few days, they had benefited tremendously from Xiao Nanfeng's experience and wisdom. He seemed to know something about every field of scripture, and he was able to provide inspired and immediately applicable advice to all the cultivation problems they had come across.

After sending the Yuqing disciples away, Xiao Nanfeng, Zhao Yuanjiao, and Xia Lan gathered by a pavilion for tea. Zhao Yuanjiao even sealed the pavilion with a formation to prevent any sound from leaking out.

Xiao Nanfeng said, "Senior Brother Xia Lan, I've been waiting for good news. What do your parents think?"

Xia Lan sighed in exasperation. "You know my father's personality. He refuses to allow Yu'er to leave the peak, not even when she's making a huge fuss. My three mothers have all tried to persuade him, but to no avail."

"Mountain Lord Xia's being rather ridiculous, isn't he? He's unwilling to even let Nanfeng and Yu'er meet each other now! It's almost as if he's worried he'd elope with her." Zhao Yuanjiao frowned.

Xiao Nanfeng furrowed his brows. "Perhaps not. Maybe Mountain Lord Xia is putting on a show for someone."

"Oh?" Zhao Yuanjiao glanced abruptly at him.

"Though Yu'er and I clearly like each other, I'm sure we can be trusted to handle ourselves around each other. With Senior Brother Xia Lan to supervise us, surely we'd at least be allowed to meet." Xiao Nanfeng frowned.

Xia Lan folded his arms. "Who's to say you aren't going to steal my sister away?"

Xiao Nanfeng shook his head. "Senior Brother Xia Lan, please calm down. Will you think about this logically with me? Please don't treat me like a thief. Is this something your father would truly do?"

"And why not?" Xia Lan replied. Even so, he too started to frown.

Xiao Nanfeng's defense was sensible. In the past, despite knowing that Ku Jiang had once pursued Han Bingdie, he had had no problem allowing them to head into the Spirit Emperor's hidden realm together. Xia Xingchen wasn't such a petty man.

In that context, forbidding him and Yu'er from meeting on grounds of suspicion seemed considerably unnatural.

"Senior Brother Xia Lan, did Yu'er mention anything?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"Yu'er..." Xia Lan frowned.

"Senior Brother Xia Lan, you're Yu'er's third brother, and I know you adore and dote on her. You're the only means of communication between her and me now, and I think you can tell that his behavior has been unusual. Perhaps he's struggling with something himself. I may be able to assist Yu'er and even your father," Xiao Nanfeng said.

"My father's the Mountain Lord of Chiyang Peak. What help could he need from you?" Xia Lan exclaimed disdainfully.

"I know I may appear too forward, but the situation is rather strange, isn't it? The three of us should investigate what's doing on carefully. I won't ask that you help us with anything beyond figuring out the truth. Shall we?"

Xia Lan hesitated for a moment. Eventually, having come to the conclusion that his father was indeed behaving strangely, he nodded.

"What did Yu'er say?"

"She threatened Father that she would elope if he continued forbidding the two of you from meeting. In the end, Father was so enraged that he locked her in the manor, and that he would even disown her if she continued behaving in such a fashion. My three mothers have been trying to persuade Father to relent, but he's very upset. None of the Yuqing disciples of Chiyang Peak dare to intercede. Some tried to defend Yu'er, only to receive a stern scolding from Father."

"Oh? Did Madam Han say anything?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"She said that she had had a private conversation with Father, but that he wouldn't reveal anything. Instead, he was praising the Southeastern Aquatic Palace. None of my mothers are even willing to speak with him at the moment, except to intercede on Yu'er's behalf."

"The situation doesn't seem good," Zhao Yuanjiao murmured.

"Xiao Nanfeng, aren't you going to analyze the situation? What's going on, then?" Xia Lan asked. He took a sip of tea and glanced disdainfully at Xiao Nanfeng.

Xiao Nanfeng hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath. "Your father wants me to elope with Yu'er."

Zhao Yuanjiao and Xia Lan sprayed out their mouthfuls of tea simultaneously.

"Xiao Nanfeng, you shameless bastard! When did my father ever say anything like that? Do you want him to beat you to death?!" Xia Lan accused.

Xiao Nanfeng didn't get upset. He glanced at Xia Lan. "You're too young to understand."

"Nonsense! I'm older than you are. Who's too young to understand what? If you continue speaking nonsense, I'll tell Father on you!" Xia Lan exclaimed.

"You're only proving my point. When you encounter a problem, rather than thinking about it, your first instinct is to report to your father. Does that seem mature to you?"

Xia Lan choked on his tea. He pointed a finger at Xiao Nanfeng, but was so outraged he didn't know how to start criticizing him.