Chapter 49: The Imperious Elder
Two days later, in the morning, Xiao Nanfeng sat alone in his room as he meditated, focusing on restoring the spiritual power he had consumed. With the help of Yu'er's flute and the Body of Yin, his spiritual power had recovered in just two days.
Just then, a huge crash came from the outside.
"Help!"
"Inform the lords immediately! Tell them to run!"
A huge crash resounded amidst a number of loud yells, as though a house had just collapsed. Xiao Nanfeng could no longer meditate in peace; he stepped out of the room.
A group of Taiqing disciples were rushing out of the manor in excitement.
"Come quick, Nanfeng! The elder is here. She's going mad because of our treatment at the marquis' manor three days ago—there'll be a good show now!" Without waiting for a response, Yu'er rushed outside.
Another crash resounded, and large plumes of dust filled the air.
"Is the elder so temperamental...?" Xiao Nanfeng was somewhat surprised.
He had expected the elder would head to the marquis' manor and demand an explanation for the disrespect they had been shown, but not that there would be such a big fuss.
Xiao Nanfeng stepped outside the manor, only to find that the wall of an opposite mansion seemed to have been demolished with great force. Within a plume of dust were two black-armored warriors, bloody all over, moaning and groaning in pain on the ground. Yu'er was nowhere to be found.
"What happened?" Xiao Nanfeng asked the nominal disciples hovering by the entrance to the manor.
"The elder was speaking with a few senior disciples and discovered that we were being spied on from the neighboring mansion. In her anger, she struck the mansion—causing all this destruction with nothing but her sword sheath! She's truly amazing!" a nominal disciple replied.
It seemed as though this elder was surely one who wouldn't take things lying down. Was she planning on bringing this fight all the way toward the marquis' manor?
Xiao Nanfeng looked down the road to see a trail of destruction, clouds of dust mushrooming up from collapsed buildings and Taiwu guards and black-armored warriors strewn across the ground. The elder struck down every subordinate of Marquis Wu she saw.
All the Taiqing disciples had followed the trail to watch the show unfold. This elder was truly unafraid of any retribution!
Xiao Nanfeng couldn't help but wonder just who she was. With her around, Marquis Wu's subordinates surely wouldn't dare take them lightly.
Xiao Nanfeng rushed toward the ongoing destruction. Along the way, he heard the cries and groans of Marquis Wu's subordinates, along with plumes of dust that roiled through the air.
Just then, an old man in red stepped through the air and hovered above the dust, glancing down at the pandemonium below.
"Elder of the Taiqing Sect, please calm down! Everything was a misunderstanding!" the red-robed elder advised, frowning.
"A misunderstanding?!" a domineering voice called out from amidst the smoke. "You were the chief eunuch during Emperor Taiwu's reign, weren't you? Despite his death, are you still completely loyal to the Xiang clan? I'm furious at what the Xiang clan did while I wasn't here—if you know what's good for you, you'd hand the three Xiang siblings over!"
Clearly, the elder wasn't about to spare the marquis. This was a show of power; she would take down the three Xiang siblings that very day.
Upon seeing how recalcitrant the female elder was, the red-robed eunuch frowned. "Insolence!"
The elder snorted back, sending a sword slash straight at him. A huge crash resounded in the distance. A few buildings nearby exploded, sending rubble and dust flying into the air, and blinding the onlookers from what was going on afar.
A series of booms followed quickly after, and then loud screams.
"The manor's entrance has been smashed to pieces!"
"Lords, please leave! She's coming!"
"The chief eunuch can't hold out any longer!"
The disciples of the Taiqing sect watched the ruckus with mounting excitement, and even Xiao Nanfeng felt a sense of satisfaction.
He anticipated that the elder wasn't in a hurry to catch the Xiang siblings; rather, she wanted to make a big show of playing around with them like a cat with mice.
By then, Xiao Nanfeng had run up to the entrance of the marquis' manor.
The walls had caved in from blunt force, and black-armored guards were strewn all across the manor grounds, which had been turned to ruins.
Xiao Nanfeng's eyes brightened as he dashed into the manor.
By then, the interior of the manor was a mess. Huge numbers of crow troops had been summoned from all over, but they remained incapable of holding back the female elder. Furthermore, they had been commanded by their captains not to shoot at the elder.
The female elder's sword was deliberately sheathed; she injured, but did not kill, others. She was simply venting her frustrations—but if anyone dared to shoot her, that would be a different story altogether.
The crow troops were in pain. All they could do was passively defend against the elder's attacks as the three Xiang siblings fled.
The only cultivator who was able to put up a fight against the female elder was the red-robed eunuch, but even at full strength, he was unable to suppress her. The aftermath of their fight destroyed countless buildings all around.
Xiao Nanfeng glanced at the chaos all around the manor. Rather than watch the show like his seniors, he headed straight for a large lake within the manor grounds.
The manor was in disarray and covered by clouds of dust. No one noticed Xiao Nanfeng as he dove into the lake and swam toward its northeastern corner.
Zheng Qian had told him where he had hidden the gold in Marquis Wu's treasury—it had been right under the marquis' nose the entire time. Very quickly, Xiao Nanfeng found a number of large, locked chests. With shining eyes, he pulled them all into his storage ring. There were fifty large chests in all, containing innumerable wealth. After ensuring that there was nothing else in the lake, he swam back to the lakeshore.
"This elder has been tremendously helpful!" Xiao Nanfeng murmured. As he circulated pure yang energy throughout his body, it heated up like a furnace, causing the water vapor sticking to him to evaporate. His clothes dried quickly.
Xiao Nanfeng didn't dare tarry for long. He headed straight for the other disciples.
The marquis' manor was occluded with smoke, but he could easily identify the source of the commotion with his ears. By the time Xiao Nanfeng arrived at a plaza, the fight was over.
A group of Taiqing disciples had gathered there. Xiao Nanfeng squeezed into the crowd and finally caught sight of the female elder.
Her back was to Xiao Nanfeng, and he couldn't see her face. She was tall and statuesque, dressed in blue with a sheathed sword in one hand. She pointed at a group of people before her imperiously.
Opposite the elder were countless warriors of the crow troops, now collapsed on the ground, groaning and clutching their wounds. The red-robed eunuch who had been fighting against the female elder likewise clutched his chest as he spat out blood.
Despite the eunuch's severe injury, he continued to guard the three Xiang siblings, Xiang Kun, Xiang Wei, and Xiang Zhirou behind him. Blood trickled from the three siblings' lips, and they were disheveled and dirty. Clearly, the elder had already taught them a lesson.
The only one who was standing upright was a middle-aged man of large stature, but who seemed to be suffering from a severe illness. Clad in a fur coat, he shook and trembled. He covered his mouth with a handkerchief as he coughed incessantly.
"My wayward children have already been punished, honored cultivator. Please calm down! Ahem, ahem!" The middle-aged man seemed particularly weak. He bowed toward the elder as he coughed.
This was none other than Marquis Wu.
Xiao Nanfeng narrowed his eyes. Was Marquis Wu really wounded, or just pretending?
"I feel much better. Are all of you satisfied?" The female elder turned toward the Taiqing disciples.
"Yes!" the Taiqing disciples chorused.
Only Xiao Nanfeng suddenly stiffened, having seen the female elder's appearance.
Back when Xiao Nanfeng was chased into the Arclight Villa by Ma Shan and the others, he had met a woman in blue playing the erhu. Xiao Nanfeng had thought her deaf and criticized her erhu performance; then used her teacup, saying that he didn't mind; and even assumed that her cultivation was weak, addressing her as a junior sister...
Xiao Nanfeng was so shocked that he felt as though he were about to suffocate. He hurriedly consoled himself, "She had been playing the erhu while blindfolded. Surely she can't recognize me?" Xiao Nanfeng prayed silently.
The Lady Arclight's gaze swept across the gathered disciples. When she saw Xiao Nanfeng, her eyes suddenly turned chilly, but she didn't pause on him. Finally, she turned toward Marquis Wu.
Xiao Nanfeng, thinking that the Lady Arclight hadn't recognized him, exhaled in relief.
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