Chapter 46: Bell's Chime
Xiang Wei's shout caused the Taiqing disciples to frown. Not allowing them to leave? Did they intend to turn this into a physical confrontation?
"Brother, apologize to the honored cultivators!" Xiang Kun immediately rebuked.
"Brother, our sister has sustained a terrible spiritual injury! All her spiritual power was consumed, and her soul almost dissolved—she almost died!" Xiang Wei roared in rage.
"Lord Xiang," Xiao Nanfeng began coldly. "When Xiang Zhirou attempted to seize my senior sister's life, you watched on, relaxed, as you drank your fill of alcohol. Only when your sister was injured do you make such a fuss—don't you see the hypocrisy of your actions? Do you intend to seek retribution for what was done? Call the crow troops in from outside, then, and let's see if we Taiqing cultivators can fight our way out!"
Xiao Nanfeng gave the marquis' children an ultimatum. If not for his assistance, Yu'er would have suffered Xiang Zhirou's fate. This banquet had been a farce.
"Stop us if you dare!" Ye Sanshui called out.
The Taiqing disciples all drew their weapons.
"Please, honored cultivators, don't take offense. We mean no malice. My brother is simply distraught at our sister's injury." Xiang Kun immediately got up and began to smooth things over. "The marquis' manor will always be open to you, honored cultivators, and our goal was only to provide a warm reception after your long travels. My sister acted on her own accord and embarrassed herself in front of everyone; be assured that I will instruct her on proper etiquette. My brother has also grown pampered and spoiled. On behalf of them both, I apologize once more."
Xiang Kun's attitude did cause Ye Sanshui and the others to relax. If nothing else, there would be no bloodshed that night.
"Brother, I can't accept this! I demand a match with him to avenge our sister!" Xiang Wei pointed at Xiao Nanfeng, refusing to back down.
"Nanfeng?" A group of Taiqing disciples looked curiously at Xiao Nanfeng. Isn't this Yu'er's victory? Why is Xiang Wei targeting Nanfeng?
"Brother, don't cause a fuss!" Xiang Kun commanded.
Xiang Kun deftly rebuked only Xiang Wei's manner and presentation, not the challenge itself. He too seemed to want to probe Xiao Nanfeng.
"Junior Brother Nanfeng, ignore them. Let's go! If anyone dares stop you, my sword shall cut them down!" Ye Sanshui shouted, standing by Xiao Nanfeng's side.
Yu'er screwed up her face in anger as she took Nanfeng's other arm, sandwiching him protectively.
Xiang Wei, unrelenting, blocked their path.
Xiao Nanfeng looked at Xiang Kun and then at Xiang Wei as they performed their good cop, bad cop routine seamlessly.
"Very well. I accept your challenge," Xiao Nanfeng replied with a smile.
"Nanfeng?" Yu'er began to worry.
Ye Sanshui and the others likewise seemed anxious.
Xiang Kun's eyes lit up. Xiao Nanfeng was being far more cooperative than he had expected! He continued to feign a smile. "My brother is thoughtless and ignorant. I apologize for his behavior, and I hope you'll not take him seriously."
Xiang Wei waved a hand, motioning for a servant to bring him a guqin.
"We begin, then! What stringed instrument do you play?" Xiang Wei asked Xiao Nanfeng.
Xiao Nanfeng glanced at the two brothers as he smiled coldly. They're trying to probe my spiritual power, then?
"I'm not familiar with the guqin. I'll use a bell," Xiao Nanfeng proposed.
"A bell?" Everyone gasped.
Xiao Nanfeng picked up a small mallet used to ring a set of chimes.
"The bell is truly a beautiful instrument. I hope you'll appreciate it—this is the first time I've ever played the bell for others," Xiao Nanfeng continued. [1]
Xiang Kun and Xiang Wei's faces froze stiff. Xiao Nanfeng was cursing them, they were sure of it!
"As you will," Xiang Wei granted. He called out, "Get ready. I'm starting now!"
He plucked at the guqin.
As a series of notes rang out, spiritual power surged around the hall. A huge black snake manifested, twice the size of the largest that Xiang Zhirou had been able to summon. Sound waves were given physical form in reality. Xiang Wei was also at the Heavenly Spring stage, and superior even to his sister.
"I, I can see a transparent snake!" Ye Dafu cried out.
Xiang Wei played the guqin at an accelerating clip. As the snake manifested in reality, its tail shot out straight at Xiao Nanfeng.
A bell tolled, forming ripples of sound that disrupted the movements of Xiang Wei's snake.
The bell didn't resonate exceptionally strongly, but it had been played at exactly the right time to disrupt the rhythm of Xiang Wei's music and cut apart the tether between Xiang Wei's spiritual power and the snake he had summoned.
The snake had been controlled by Xiang Wei, but now that the tether was cut, he had lost control. Xiang Wei blanched.
"No!" He found that he could no longer control the snake.
"Be careful!" Xiang Kun cried out.
The serpent dematerialized in a sudden explosion, forming sound waves that could be heard even in reality. Many of the disciples clutched their ears in shock.
At the same time, as Xiang Wei suffered the backlash of the preemptively disrupted summons, his face turned pale, and he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. He seemed to wilt.
"Lord Xiang, I hope you weren't disappointed," Xiao Nanfeng said, smiling.
"You, you—" Xiang Wei pointed at Xiao Nanfeng in disbelief.
"Thank you for showing clemency, honored cultivator!" Xiang Kun rushed up and supported his brother.
Xiao Nanfeng glared coldly at the two disingenuous siblings. He hadn't shown any clemency; the reason he chose not to use the guqin was because he couldn't play it. Causing a bell to toll was far simpler, and all he had to do was infuse spiritual power into his mallet as he struck with it. He had managed to take Xiang Wei down in a single blow not because of his mastery over music, but because of the immense disparity in spiritual power, which allowed him to identify the crucial notes in Xiang Wei's guqin that afforded him control over his summons.
"Senior Brothers, Senior Sisters, it's past time that we depart!" Xiao Nanfeng called out, tossing aside the mallet.
At this point, no one bothered with pleasantries. They turned to leave, following Xiao Nanfeng out the hall and ignoring the black-armored warriors who were gripping their weapons in tension.
Within the hall, Xiang Kun helped Xiang Wei up. He ultimately chose not to command the black-armored warriors to strike. Both of them shot baleful looks at the departing disciples.
"Brother, that lad's spiritual power is immense! I'm sure he must have extreme sensitivity to music as well, to be able to identify the flaw in my music so quickly!" Xiang Wei gasped, spitting out another mouthful of blood.
Xiang Kun looked at his brother, then at his unconscious sister. His face turned dark and stern, but he consoled, "Don't worry about it. You might have embarrassed yourself, but it's not a problem. Our sister's test has demonstrated that these cultivators have sufficient spiritual power for our needs—that's enough. Furthermore, they're in the heart of Taiwu now. They won't be able to escape."
"Yes, Brother!" Even so, Xiang Wei still seemed exceptionally vexed.
Outside the marquis' manor, all the disciples relaxed imperceptibly as they stepped past the threshold and into the city proper. No one had expected that the banquet would have ended up so tense; neither did Ye Sanshui realize that Nanfeng boasted such skill. He no longer bore him any ill will for having competed against him for leadership.
"Senior Brother Ye, I believe Marquis Wu to have had ulterior motives in inviting us to Taiwu. Shall we leave the city first? I'm afraid that there will be schemes against us as we embark on our mission—or perhaps we might forget the matter altogether. Three million taels of gold is too little to be worth such risk," Xiao Nanfeng analyzed, looking toward Ye Sanshui.
Xiao Nanfeng was cautious by nature and upbringing, and there was surely something deeply wrong at play.
"Leave? I'm afraid not. The sect could afford to discard three million taels of gold, but sect decisions are difficult to overrule once made, and an elder will be coming to guide our way. When the elder arrives, we'll have the power to contend against the marquis," Ye Sanshui replied.
Xiao Nanfeng had initially wanted to urge everyone to leave, but he chose not to speak up. The skies were darkening, and it was likely that there were spies all throughout the city. Slipping away in the dark of night might be right what the marquis and his children had anticipated, and it would put them in greater danger.
"Let's wait for the elder's arrival, then," Xiao Nanfeng sighed.
A few nominal disciples served as their guide toward a large mansion furnished with necessities.
At night, the disciples bathed and arranged for guard duty before going to sleep.
Yu'er pushed her way into Xiao Nanfeng's room.
"What are you doing here, Yu'er?" Xiao Nanfeng gasped.
"Nanfeng, you lied to me! Your spiritual power is immense!" Yu'er called out.
"When did I lie to you? I never said that I didn't have spiritual power!" Xiao Nanfeng defended himself.
"Didn't you?" Yu'er hesitated, then thought back to her conversations with him. She had made that assumption; he had never corrected her.
"At any rate, you've tricked me for so long! I'm angry!" Yu'er pinched Xiao Nanfeng's flesh.
"Ouch! Alright, alright, I'll apologize. Will that do?" Xiao Nanfeng begged, playing along.
"That's more like it!" Yu'er smiled happily. She didn't ask just how strong Xiao Nanfeng's spiritual power was, nor what technique he cultivated. She was simply happy that he had spiritual power at his disposal.
"Did you come to me so late at night just to ask me this?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.
"Of course not! You used up a great deal of your spiritual power today to help me, and I came here to thank you," Yu'er replied seriously.
"There's no need," Xiao Nanfeng replied, laughing.
"No, that won't do! I'm already here, so please let me help you restore your spirit!" Yu'er urged.
"Help me? How?" Xiao Nanfeng asked curiously.
"Didn't I tell you? I'm very practiced with the flute!" Yu'er replied.
"Ah?" Xiao Nanfeng swallowed nervously.
He was suddenly at a loss for words... [2]
Then, Yu'er reached for her waistband and pulled out a long flute of purple bamboo, plain and unadorned.
"Start meditating. I'll play my flute for you to excite the aether and help you replenish your reserves! Are you ready? I'm starting now," Yu'er urged.
Xiao Nanfeng: ...
1. This is a pun that doesn't translate well into English. The raw text is 送钟, 'playing the bell', and is homophonic to 送终, 'paying last respects', referring to the practice of maintaining a vigil by a loved one's side before their death. ☜
2. This is sexual innuendo. ☜
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