Chapter 42: Wiped Out
Deep in the forested mountains, the members of the Taiqing sect were out in full force, searching every nook and cranny.
"Nanfeng's only an Acquisition-realm disciple, while that golden crow has already congealed an inner core! We've searched all night long, but we still haven't found a trace of him. I'm afraid... you had better prepare yourself, Yu'er," Ye Sanshui sighed.
"Nonsense! If anything happens to Nanfeng, Ye Sanshui, I'm blaming it all on you!" Yu'er howled, her eyes red.
"I—I urged against not involving ourselves in this affair, but Junior Brother Nanfeng insisted that we fight! If there's anyone to blame, it's him for being so meddlesome," Ye Sanshui replied, frowning uncomfortably.
"Ye Sanshui, how could you! Junior Brother Nanfeng's simply following the sect motto. How could that be considered meddlesome?!"
"That's right! When we return to the sect, I'll be reporting to my division leader that you claimed the sect motto to be meddlesome!"
"Count me in!"
A group of junior disciples glared angrily at Ye Sanshui, who stiffened. I'm the leader of this expedition—you all should remember that! Show me the respect I deserve!
Just then, bright fireworks were sent into the air from afar. Everyone stilled.
"That's our signal. Did someone find Nanfeng?!" Ye Sanshui cried out.
"Has he been found? We need to head there immediately!" Yu'er galloped off on her horse.
The fireworks were a clear indication that news about Nanfeng had been found, but who knew whether he was dead or alive?
Tears filled the village of Dawangzhuang. A number of villagers were crying their hearts out as they beheld the bodies of their newly deceased kin.
Yu'er, Ye Sanshui, and others headed to the front of the crowd.
"Senior Sister, this is Dawangzhuang. Junior Brother Nanfeng stayed in his home overnight." One junior disciple pointed toward Old Wang.
"Is Nanfeng still alive?" Yu'er asked expectantly.
"The golden crow spiritbeast had already congealed an inner core, whereas Nanfeng's only an Acquisition-realm cultivator! How in the world did he manage to escape...?" Ye Sanshui seemed very perplexed.
"Where is he? Where's Nanfeng now?!" Yu'er asked, desperately clutching onto Old Wang's clothes.
"I'm afraid we've endangered him greatly. This morning..." Old Wang recounted what had happened earlier in the day.
"The crow troops?!" Ye Sanshui blanched.
"Even the worst cultivator among the crow troops is at the peak of Acquisition! And they've all gone chasing after Nanfeng?!" Yu'er cried.
"Yes, in that direction!" Old Wang pointed up the mountain.
Yu'er screwed up her eyes in worry. She called out, "Quick, everyone, we have to rescue Nanfeng!"
"Let's go!" A veritable horde of Taiqing disciples charged up the mountain with their weapons in hand.
By then, it was noon. The spring rains had stopped, and a bright sun hung in the air. Much of the mist had dissipated. Not long after Yu'er and her group entered the mountain, they saw cracked and broken branches, along with a few corpses on the ground. Clearly, a fierce fight had broken out earlier in the day.
"Nanfeng? We're here! Where are you?!" Yu'er cried out urgently.
Everyone's hearts sank. After all, Xiao Nanfeng's opponent was the crow troops, whereas he was only an Acquisition-realm cultivator…
"Senior Sister Yu'er! I'm over here!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted from a nearby copse.
"What?" The disciples turned toward the source of the voice in shock, only to see a figure walk out from amidst the dense foliage.
"Nanfeng, you're still alive?!" Yu'er rushed toward him in delight.
"Junior Brother Nanfeng, you're unhurt! Thank goodness!" a group of senior disciples surrounded him.
Nanfeng, however, was in a sorry state. He was covered with blood, and his robes were tattered and grimy.
"What are all of you doing here?" Xiao Nanfeng seemed rather surprised.
"Senior Sister Yu'er had us search for you all night long," a senior disciple said.
Xiao Nanfeng looked toward Yu'er, who blushed a little. She then asked, "There's blood all over your body! Are you hurt?"
"I'm alright, just a little exhausted," Xiao Nanfeng replied, smiling.
"You're alright...?" The disciples glanced skeptically at the blood spattered all over Xiao Nanfeng's robes.
"I'm out of energy. Could you help me fetch Zheng Qian, hidden atop that tree?" Xiao Nanfeng pointed at a nearby tree.
Only then did the disciples discover that a man coughing blood was hidden in it.
"He's Zheng Qian?" One of the senior disciples carefully climbed up and brought him down.
"Zheng Qian? Nanfeng almost died trying to save you!" Yu'er shouted, glaring at the bloody Zheng Qian.
Zheng Qian gave Yu'er a strange look. He wanted to say something, but stopped short.
"What are you looking at? It's all because of you. You hid up in a tree and seem perfectly fine, but look at Nanfeng's sorry state! Aren't you ashamed of yourself?!" Yu'er continued her tirade.
Zheng Qian: ...My qi circulation has been ruined, my collarbone pierced through, my breastbone cracked, and I'm bleeding all over! How is he worse off than I am? Furthermore, all the blood on his body's from the crow troops! They're the ones who have been suffering this entire morning—this valley might as well be hell on earth for them! If any of them were still alive, they'd flee at the sight of Xiao Nanfeng!
"I'm actually fine, Senior Sister," Xiao Nanfeng volunteered.
"Fine? How could you be fine? The fact that you survived the assault from those crow troops is already a miracle! Right, where are they all now?" Yu'er suddenly asked.
She had been so worried about Xiao Nanfeng that she had overlooked this fundamental question.
"Ah, they're all lying in this valley." Xiao Nanfeng pointed at the valley where they were all located.
"Lying?" Yu'er frowned. Why lying?
A few senior disciples had begun scouting out the valley.
"There's a corpse here!"
"There are some here, too."
Similar shouts came from all over. Yu'er, Ye Dafu, Ye Sanshui, and the others widened their eyes, as though they were thinking about something wholly implausible.
The corpses were all swiftly gathered, 48 of them in all. The Taiqing disciples sucked in a deep breath.
"This can't be true..."
"Junior Brother Nanfeng killed them all alone?!"
"How could this be? Junior Brother Nanfeng's only at Acquisition!"
The disciples all glanced at Xiao Nanfeng in shock. This was impossible!
Ye Dafu scrunched up his face and swallowed a gulp of saliva. He had been searching for an opportunity to launch a sneak attack on him, but how was he to do so now? Had he really killed all the warriors of the crow troop?
"Nanfeng, did you kill all these cultivators?" Yu'er gaped at Xiao Nanfeng.
"Have you all forgotten? I have a purpleveil poison orb. I poisoned quite a few to death," Xiao Nanfeng explained, kicking at a corpse.
Indeed, the man was frothing from the mouth, poison having seeped into his body. He had died in pain and fear.
"So it was all the purpleveil poison's doing! That makes sense," Ye Dafu murmured, relaxing.
Only Yu'er and Ye Sanshui continued to glance at Xiao Nanfeng suspiciously. They were among the rare few people who had noticed that only about a dozen warriors had been poisoned; had Nanfeng killed the rest on his own?
"Nanfeng, you're going to suffer now! You've killed these crow troops that serve right under Marquis Wu, and we're only here on his invitation! Now that you've killed his subordinates, he'll surely hold a grudge for you!" Ye Dafu crowed.
A palm slammed the back of Ye Dafu's head.
"Third Uncle, why did you hit me?!" Ye Dafu shouted, clutching his head.
"Who would dare to report this to Marquis Wu? Who would want to do so? Nanfeng's helping the common people by ridding the world of this gang of evildoers? You?" Ye Sanshui chided Ye Dafu.
"Are you going to tell on Nanfeng? I'll kill you now if so!" Yu'er drew her sword.
"No, no! I-I was just saying..." Ye Dafu replied, swearing.
"Ye Dafu, listen up. If news of Nanfeng killing this gang of demons spreads, you'll be the first one I kill," Yu'er vowed, without giving him a chance to explain himself.
"Right, if Junior Brother Nanfeng suffers for this, you will too!"
"I'll kill you if word spreads!"
"Count me in."
Ye Dafu: ...How did I end up being the target? What if word spreads and I'm not responsible?!
Xiao Nanfeng glanced at Ye Sanshui in surprise. It seemed that he at least understood the big picture well, and wouldn't allow Ye Dafu to do as he pleased. However, he did intend to seize leadership from Ye Sanshui.
"Right, what happened to that village that had been slaughtered?" Xiao Nanfeng suddenly asked.
"The villager we rescued said that that village was called Zhengjiazhuang. Everyone that has survived is in stable condition now," a senior disciple sighed. [1]
"What? What happened to Zhengjiazhuang?!"
"You don't know? It's all your fault. If Nanfeng weren't here, everyone in Dawangzhuang might have perished, too!" Yu'er cried out.
"Hold on, what happened to Zhengjiazhuang?!" Zheng Qian shouted.
Yu'er frowned, but she recounted what had happened before the arrival of the crow spirits.
"H-How? Second Brother, Fourth Brother, what have I done? I didn't expect Marquis Wu would be so vicious, that I would bring ruin on the family. It's all my fault!" Zheng Qian, barely holding on physically, was stunned beyond belief. He began crying in sobs and wails.
"Sixteen children from Zhengjiazhuang and three villagers were saved. As for you—you knew there were enemies after you, so what were you doing looking for friends and relatives?" Yu'er sighed.
"Some are alive? Where are they? No, no, I apologize. Thank you all for your assistance!" Zheng Qian forcibly suppressed his anxiety and kowtowed to the gathered disciples.
Ye Sanshui was about to put on a benevolent act when Yu'er interrupted, "Why are you thanking us all? You should be thanking Nanfeng. If he hadn't persuaded us to help out, we wouldn't have headed to Zhengjiazhuang at all! And if he weren't coincidentally at Dawangzhuang too, everyone here would have been killed by you!" Yu'er pursed her lips.
Ye Sanshui twitched. Yu'er, how am I supposed to accept his thanks now?!
Zheng Qian looked again at Xiao Nanfeng, kowtowing as his tears welled up. "I am ashamed to face you, my benefactor. If not for your assistance, my family and friends would have perished. I have to thank you twice over!"
1. Zhengjiazhuang, literally Zheng family village, with the implication that Zheng Qian's family resides there and holds high status there. ☜
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