Chapter 10: Miraculous

Zhang Lingjun, assuming the worst, schooled her features into a mask of rage.

Seeing her response, Xiao Nanfeng was just about to defend his innocence, but it was already too late.

Zhang Lingjun suddenly extended her right hand and seized Xiao Nanfeng's nack. She exhaled qi and sealed Xiao Nanfeng's own. "You'll pay for this!"

As she squeezed Xiao Nanfeng's neck, she swiftly examined the status of her body.

Fortunately, she quickly realized that, although the majority of her clothing was gone, nothing seemed to have happened; she was still virginal.

In shock, Zhang Lingjun looked at the youth in front of her. Xiao Nanfeng was choking, unable to make any noise. His face was slowly turning purple.

"What happened?" Zhang Lingjun asked, her tone frosty.

Xiao Nanfeng pointed at his neck, then his mouth, motioning that he was unable to speak.

Zhang Lingjun's grip relented.

Xiao Nanfeng coughed and wheezed. "I don't know myself. I, I fainted just now, and when I woke up, I saw that everyone was unconscious. I noticed that your clothes were all gone, so I covered you up with my robes. I really don't know anything."

Zhang Lingjun's face clouded over. Was this youth lying? She didn't think so. It was true that he had covered her up with his clothes. Was he really trying to help her, to save her embarrassment?

"Where's Dong Lin, and where's the superior yin pearl?" Zhang Lingjun glared at Xiao Nanfeng, clearly not going to believe him so easily.

"I really don't know. By the time I woke up, all I saw was this," Xiao Nanfeng replied, his face sincere. He had been able to trick even the old and wily elder of the Xiao estate, and it would be overkill against Zhang Lingjun.

Zhang Lingjun glared at Xiao Nanfeng again. "You aren't Dong Lin, are you? Have you possessed this youth with your yin body, intending to trick me?"

"I really am not—" Xiao Nanfeng forced out, sensing that Zhang Lingjun's grip was tightening again.

"How can I believe you? Why is it that no one else has awoken but you? You must be lying!" Zhang Lingjun accused.

Xiao Nanfeng coughed. "Could it be because I've cultivated some spiritual power?"

"Spiritual power? You're still a youth! How could you have spiritual power?"

"It's true. Here, look!"

A thin layer of blue fog emerged from Xiao Nanfeng's soulspace, barely visible, but Zhang Lingjun could easily sense it.

She captured the spiritual power with her other hand and inspected it carefully. With both her hands occupied, Xiao Nanfeng's robes fell off her body, revealing her snowy flesh again,

but Zhang Lingjun didn't much care. The youth before her had already seen her exposed body once, after all.

Zhang Lingjun frowned. "This spiritual power is distinct from Dong Lin's. You aren't him. Did you really manage to develop spiritual power at such a young age?"

Xiao Nanfeng pointed at his neck again as he keened in pain.

Zhang Lingjun frowned and looked toward Xiao Nanfeng with a complicated expression on her face. Had she wrongly accused him? Should she kill him on account of the fact that he had seen her exposed body? No, he was trying to cover her up, to help her...

Zhang Lingjun ultimately let go of Xiao Nanfeng, who slumped paralyzed to the ground as he gasped for air.

With a wave of her hand, Zhang Lingjun covered her body up with a burst of white fog, revealing only her head. She stared coldly at Xiao Nanfeng, complicated emotions flashing past her eyes.

Xiao Nanfeng waited silently for her judgment.

Zhang Lingjun looked all around her, as though to ensure that Dong Lin really was gone, then stared at Xiao Nanfeng for a while longer, as though warring internally.

After a long moment, the harshness faded from Zhang Lingjun's eyes. "Forget all that you saw," she ordered.

Xiao Nanfeng nodded in a frenzy of feigned fear. "I saw nothing, Miss! I remember nothing!"

Zhang Lingjun snorted.

She gathered the remnants of her clothes scattered all across the deck, then flew into the air. She quickly vanished over the horizon.

Only when he could no longer see Zhang Lingjun's figure did Xiao Nanfeng relax and let out a deep breath.

He put on his robes, which Zhang Lingjun had discarded. Although they smelled faintly of a woman's fragrance, Xiao Nanfeng hardly found himself caring. He returned to where he had been and feigned unconsciousness.

As the ship continued to sail across the sea, some disciples finally started waking up.

"Argh, my head hurts! What happened just now?"

"Junior brother, wake up, quick, wake up!"

"Argh, my head!"

Considering the spiritual barrage they had all just overcome, those who awoke found their heads pounding.

"Boss, are you awake? How are you feeling?" Ye Dafu's lackeys asked anxiously.

"I won't die, that's for sure," Ye Dafu replied, kneading his head.

As the other disciples woke up, so too did Xiao Nanfeng. He looked 'blearily' at the others.

"What just happened? What's going on?" The disciples were all panicking.

"Everyone, we were caught up in the battle between two superior cultivators. They both seem to have left. We'd better not stay here any longer in case we encounter any other sources of danger. Sail ahead at full speed!" a Taiqing disciple called out.

"I remember now! The last thing I remember was that mysterious transparent blue figure shouting, and then I fell unconscious..."

"What incredible strength. Are they the legendary Immortals?"

Many of the disciples, traumatized by the attack that had struck at their very soul, traipsed back to their rooms to rest.

Xiao Nanfeng did the same, thinking back to the series of actions he had carried out. Only when he was confident that he hadn't overlooked anything did he relax.

He leaned by the side of his bed, then pulled out another Taoist scripture to peruse.

As he did so, the superior yin pearl in his soulspace suddenly produced a faint gust of cold air.

Though weak, it had the effect of enhancing Xiao Nanfeng's meditation.

He quickly finished the Taoist scripture and was about to pick up a second scroll when he realized something was wrong.

"Surely not?" Customarily, he would spend some time meditating over the contents of a scroll he had finished to ensure that he had understood its principles. What was happening now?

"Could I have understood that scroll completely from my first read? Was it easier to read and comprehend than any of the others? No, it can't be—it didn't seem that different from any of my other scriptures. How could I have understood it so quickly?" Xiao Nanfeng wondered, with growing excitement.

He pulled out another scroll of Taoist scriptures and began reading it.

This time, he quickly sensed what effect the superior yin pearl was having on his mind. It seemed to release a burst of unusual cold air that could sharpen his thoughts and activate his mental faculties. While reading a scripture, his head was simultaneously clearer and more engaged than ever before.

"Is this all because of that superior yin pearl?"

Xiao Nanfeng finally realized just how miraculous the treasure he had obtained was. If it could produce such an effect as an auxiliary benefit, just how potent did its true strength have to be?

Xiao Nanfeng clenched his fist tightly, a look of exuberance flashing through his eyes. This treasure would turn him into a paragon of knowledge! He had to take a few deep breaths to calm down, to pretend as though nothing had happened.

Suddenly, from outside his suite came a thundering roar from Ye Dafu.

"Where are my banknotes? Where's my money? Someone's stole it all!" Ye Dafu cried out.

"Boss, my money's missing too!"

"Impossible! I hid all mine under my pillow, but it's gone now!"

"Quick, we have to report this to the captain immediately. The thief has to be caught at any cost!"