Chapter 28: Intense Jealousy
Two days later, in the Vault of Scriptures: "Senior Brother Nanfeng, here are ten scriptures about qi of pure yang. Elder Ku requested that they be handed to you as punishment." One disciple who worked in the Vault of Scriptures handed Xiao Nanfeng a thick bundle of scrolls.
Xiao Nanfeng took the proffered bundle with care. "May I choose a few more scrolls to memorize at the Cliff of Meditation?"
The disciple: ???
Moments later, he replied, "There are no rules against it, but you must perfectly recite all additional scrolls that you read. Furthermore, if the total number of scrolls reaches thrice that from your original punishment, you'll only have to recite each scroll once."
"Very well. Please pick out another twenty scrolls for me." Xiao Nanfeng nodded happily.
"Are you certain?" The disciple was stupefied. Had he misheard?
"What's the matter? Is there a problem?" Xiao Nanfeng asked in confusion.
"No, Senior Brother. You truly are a role model!" The disciple's face spasmed as he gave Xiao Nanfeng a strange look. He hadn't ever met someone else like Xiao Nanfeng before! Wasn't he just making life harder for himself? Was he addled?
"Thank you!" Xiao Nanfeng possessed the exceptional treasure of a superior yin pearl in his soulspace, and was essentially able to recall a scroll's contents fully after just one comprehensive read. Not only that, he would even gain a full understanding of its contents. To him, these Taoist scriptures were the easiest way to grow stronger.
He walked straight to the Cliff of Meditation, but his experience today seemed to differ significantly from those on other days.
"Good morning, Senior Brother Nanfeng!"
"Good morning, Junior Brother Nanfeng!"
Countless disciples greeted Xiao Nanfeng along the way, their tones polite and respectful.
Xiao Nanfeng seemed rather confused, but he still nodded politely to each one.
"Aren't you curious why they're treating you so well?" Yu'er suddenly appeared by his side, close-fitting black robes accentuating her voluptuous figure.
Xiao Nanfeng's eyes lit up. "Senior Sister Yu'er, you're here too! Please, elucidate matters for me."
"Everyone's heard about the fact that you embarrassed Zhao Yuanjiao," Yu'er replied, smiling.
"So what?" Xiao Nanfeng was still confused.
"Zhao Yuanjiao is the most senior disciple of the Ascended division, with the responsibility of imposing stringent discipline on us all. He's very strict, and even the smallest mistake can lead to a stint at the Cliff of Meditation. He can distribute such punishments without the say-so of the division leader, and almost all disciples from all four divisions have gotten on his bad side in the past. Many even fear him, but they don't dare resist him outright. You did what none of them could dream of doing, so they're naturally positively inclined toward you," Yu'er explained.
"But what's wrong with reciting Taoist scriptures?"
Yu'er's smile froze on her face.
"Senior Sister, I do also have to thank you for standing up for me that day," Xiao Nanfeng continued.
"Of course! I'm Ji Shiyu from the Taiqing Immortal Sect. I was taught better than to leave my peers behind in their time of need! As for you, you promised to help advise Elder Ku to take me as a disciple. Have you done anything on that front?"
"Don't worry. I'll do my best, with full effort," Xiao Nanfeng replied seriously.
Yu'er's eyes brightened. "In that case, let me thank you in advance!"
The two of them reached the Cliff of Meditation as they chatted.
Xiao Nanfeng and Yu'er were deep in conversation when Xiao Nanfeng suddenly felt a murderous, grudging aura drifting straight toward him.
Xiao Nanfeng turned to see eleven familiar faces not too far away.
"Ye Dafu? What are you doing here?" Xiao Nanfeng cried out.
Ye Dafu and his clique were gathered at the Cliff of Meditation, shooting murderous glances at him.
Ye Dafu snorted, then turned around and ignored Xiao Nanfeng. His clique behaved in the same fashion.
"What's going on with all of you?" Xiao Nanfeng wondered.
"Didn't you say yesterday that Ye Dafu and the others knew that you spent money to buy a boarding token? Zhao Yuanjiao confirmed the matter with them yesterday, but they didn't tell the truth. Their lies annoyed Zhao Yuanjiao, so he punished them with reciting scrolls, haha!"
Xiao Nanfeng: …
No wonder Zhao Yuanjiao was hated by one and all—a senior disciple of the Ascended division was disciplining new recruits from the Earth division! It would have been hugely embarrassing and shameful to Earthly disciples.
"Ye Dafu, just what did you tell Zhao Yuanjiao?" Xiao Nanfeng couldn't help but ask.
Ye Dafu snorted and turned away, as though in great anger.
"I heard that Ye Dafu and his clique spoke all sorts of nonsense and embellishments about you. Zhao Yuanjiao was very excited at first when he learned all about your failings, only to realize that Ye Dafu was lying through his teeth! That was what resulted in such a punishment," Yu'er explained.
Xiao Nanfeng: …Ye Dafu had brought all this upon himself!
"Right, I'll be heading into the Vault of Scriptures. Have fun memorizing your scriptures, and don't forget about what you promised me!"
Yu'er chatted with Xiao Nanfeng for a while longer before leaving with a bounce in her step.
"Senior Brother Nanfeng, I'm responsible for keeping an eye on the disciples serving their punishment here. Are these the thirty scrolls that you have to memorize?" A nominal disciple stepped forward.
"That's right. I'll let you know when I'm finished."
"Very good, Senior Brother." The disciple moved away.
"Thirty scriptures? That's even worse than us, Boss!" one of Ye Dafu's lackeys whispered.
Ye Dafu and his clique all turned toward Xiao Nanfeng's basket of scrolls.
"Thirty scriptures, really? And here I thought he was having a far easier time than we did! Zhao Yuanjiao only punished us with a single scroll each, but he needs to memorize thirty! How long will that take him?" Ye Dafu suddenly found that his mood was much improved.
"Right? It relaxes me to see him being punished!" one of Ye Dafu's lackeys murmured.
Xiao Nanfeng: ...Are all of you crazy? Are you aware that I enjoy this sort of thing?
Xiao Nanfeng shook his head and ignored Ye Dafu and the others. He pulled out a Taoist scripture and began reading through it.
Ye Dafu and the others continued whispering to each other for a while before finally starting their memorization. Although they only had to memorize a single scripture, that was torturous enough.
"Junior Brother, I've finished this scroll! I'd like to recite it, please." Xiao Nanfeng beckoned the nominal disciple responsible for overseeing the punishments over.
"Ah? Senior Brother Nanfeng, you're ready to recite it from memory after just reading through it once?" The nominal disciple seemed very shocked.
"Hmm?" Ye Dafu and his clique all peered over.
"That's ridiculous. We haven't even managed to memorize a single page, so how could he already be done with a whole scroll?" one lackey cried out indignantly.
Not far away, Xiao Nanfeng began to recite the contents of the scripture.
Xiao Nanfeng's voice was loud and stentorian. The overseeing disciple glanced at the scripture as he followed along with Xiao Nanfeng's recitation. He gaped. Was Xiao Nanfeng really able to commit things to memory after seeing them just once, getting not a single character wrong in the process?
"This has to be fake. How could he have finished so quickly?"
"But the overseeing disciple hasn't stopped him..."
Ye Dafu and his clique were so jealous that their faces were turning dark.
Not long after, Xiao Nanfeng finished his recitation.
"Perfect, Senior Brother Nanfeng. You haven't gotten a single character wrong. Have you read this novel in the past?
Xiao Nanfeng smiled without revealing anything. He began his second scroll.
"He must have memorized all these scriptures before, he has to be!" Ye Dafu quickly found an excuse against his pronouncement.
"You're absolutely right, Boss. He got lucky back then—he still has 29 scriptures left," one lackey consoled himself.
Preoccupied, Ye Dafu's group continued to memorize the scripture they had each chosen.
Less than an hour later, Xiao Nanfeng beckoned the overseeing disciple again. "Junior Brother, I've finished this scroll! I'd like to recite it."
The overseeing disciple stepped forward with a strange look on his face.
Ye Dafu and his clique turned to face him again. Surely he hadn't memorized this second scripture beforehand!
After hearing Xiao Nanfeng recite the contents of the second scroll without any mistakes whatsoever, however, Ye Dafu and his clique all scowled.
They no longer had the presence of mind to keep memorizing scriptures. Instead, they turned straight toward Xiao Nanfeng.
After Xiao Nanfeng finished his second scroll, he closed his eyes and thought about the matter for a few breaths before he began work on his third.
The crowd, openmouthed: ...This had to be fake! It had to be an illusion!
While Ye Dafu and his clique stubbornly rejected reality, the morning passed by.
By then, Xiao Nanfeng had memorized a full five scriptures, getting not a single character wrong in the process. Yes, not five pages, but five scriptures! Ye Dafu and the others had been staring at Xiao Nanfeng all day, not even having finished a single color of their respective scriptures. By then, a number of disciples had gathered all around, staring at Xiao Nanfeng with reverence.
"What's so exceptional? He's simply good at rote memorization. It's not as though he actually understands what he's memorizing. What's there to flex?" A bout of intense jealousy emanated from Ye Dafu and his clique, so intense that others around them were glancing askance at them.
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