Chapter 165: Compensating Xiao Nanfeng

In the plaza of the Hall of Immortal Recruitment, within the illusory realm in which Xiao Nanfeng was trapped, Madam Rouge headed straight for the red rope.

The red rope roared and shot forward, but Madam Rouge punched it and caused it to explode into ten lengths of red rope. The fragments tried to recombine, but Madam Rouge sucked up half of them in one breath.

"What? How could this be?!" the remaining five strands of red rope cried out, trying to flee, but Madam Rouge appeared before them and punched at them again.

The lengths of red rope fragmented further. Madam Rouge sucked them up and absorbed them whole.

"No!" the red rope shrieked in despair.

"Madam Rouge's going to grow much stronger again..." Xiao Nanfeng sighed.

By the time Madam Rouge finished her meal and looked toward Xiao Nanfeng again, he was already escaping through a hole he had made with superior yin frost.

"Madam Rouge, if there's more cursed spiritual power in the future, I'll let you know. We're growing rather familiar with each other now, aren't we? You don't have to see me out." Xiao Nanfeng fled faster than a rabbit, darting into the hole and vanishing from the illusory realm.

Madam Rouge: ...

"Senior Brother Xiao, wait! Take me with you, please!" Senior Brother Qi cried out.

Before he could say anything more, Madam Rouge killed him with a swipe of her claws, then absorbed him whole in a fit of rage.

Back in reality, countless Taiqing disciples saw Xiao Nanfeng being raised into the air by the red rope's cursed spiritual avatar.

Suddenly, the red rope quivered. Then, as though having lost all its strength, it fell limp to the ground, Xiao Nanfeng falling with it.

As he landed, Xiao Nanfeng woke up. His eyes gleamed brightly as they opened.

"The seniormost disciple's awake!" someone shouted in excitement.

"Congratulations, Senior Brother Xiao!" Countless Ascended disciples cheered Xiao Nanfeng's victory.

As Xiao Nanfeng tossed aside the red rope around his neck, Zhao Yuanjiao sighed in relief. Meanwhile, Zhao Tianheng raised an eyebrow at Nalan Feng, as though asking him why his cursed effigy was so weak.

"How could he be awake?!" Nalan Feng cried out.

He knew how potent the red rope was—even a cultivator at late-stage Stellar Lake would be no match for it. How could Xiao Nanfeng be completely unaffected?

On the other hand, Junior Brother Qi's body shook as he sprayed out a mouthful of blood and fell paralyzed to the ground.

"What's the matter, Senior Brother Qi?!" Some disciples familiar with him rushed forward and inspected his body, only to cry out in surprise, "Elders, Senior Brother Qi is dead!"

"What?" Cries rang out from all around them.

"Qi Zhong is dead?" Zhao Tianheng frowned gravely as he rushed forward. He inspected Junior Brother Qi's body and found that all signs of life had left him. He was well and truly dead.

"What happened? How did he die?" Zhao Tianheng suddenly glared at Xiao Nanfeng.

"Uncle, you must be mistaken. Xiao Nanfeng was never in contact with Qi Zhong; how could his death be related to Xiao Nanfeng? It was clearly that cursed effigy, that red rope, which killed him. Shouldn't you be interrogating Nalan Feng instead?" Zhao Yuanjiao stated. Then, he turned to Nalan Feng. "Nalan Feng, how could you do this? All Xiao Nanfeng wanted from you was an apology. Even if you refused to apologize, how could you be so malicious as to try to kill him with a cursed effigy?"

"I never did so," Nalan Feng replied stonily. "I simply lent a treasure to Junior Brother Qi, and I don't know what happened within the illusory realm myself."

"Do you think all of us are blind? Only a cursed effigy could kill someone within an illusory realm. If your red rope didn't cause Junior Brother Qi's death, what could have?" Zhao Yuanjiao asked coldly.

All the Taiqing disciples gathered at the plaza looked toward Nalan Feng doubtfully.

"I'm not sure myself," Nalan Feng replied.

Zhao Yuanjiao was about to continue interrogating him when Zhao Tianheng interrupted, "That's enough. We need a clear understanding of the facts to determine who the culprit is. Xiao Nanfeng, show me that red rope."

Zhao Yuanjiao pursed his lips angrily.

Xiao Nanfeng handed the red rope to Zhao Tianheng, who carefully analyzed the red rope in conjunction with the gathered elders.

"Xiao Nanfeng, what happened within the illusory realm?" Zhao Tianheng asked.

"Within the illusion, I saw the red rope grow to about sixty meters in size, like a giant python. It was tremendously strong and attacked both me and Junior Brother Qi. We split up and ran, and I was fortunate enough to escape," Xiao Nanfeng explained.

"How did you escape? Why didn't you take Qi Zhong with you?" Zhao Tianheng demanded.

"My escape was facilitated by a technique my father taught me, and it would only have been able to bring me out of the illusion. I regret that I cannot divulge more information regarding this private technique," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

"Uncle, shouldn't you be concerned about the murder enacted by the cursed effigy? Xiao Nanfeng can hardly be expected to share his secrets!" Zhao Yuanjiao added helpfully.

"The spiritual avatar of this cursed effigy has vanished. Isn't it natural that I would ask about the events in the illusory realm?" Zhao Tianheng retorted coldly.

Zhao Yuanjiao frowned, but didn't speak further.

"Xiao Nanfeng, do you know why the red rope's cursed spiritual avatar has vanished?" Zhao Tianheng asked.

"I don't, Division Leader Zhao."

Zhao Tianheng glared at Xiao Nanfeng, unable to shake the suspicion that Xiao Nanfeng was hiding something from him, but he had no evidence with which to press further.

"Nalan Feng, how do you explain this?" Zhao Tianheng turned to Nalan Feng.

"Division Leader Zhao, my uncle lent me this red rope. He told me that he had subdued the cursed effigy within; I would trust him with my life. There must have been some anomaly that caused the red rope to kill a cultivator," Nalan Feng explained quickly.

"Your uncle?" Zhao Tianheng raised an eyebrow, clearly having heard of him.

"I would be a fool to kill a junior brother in plain sight on such an occasion. How could I, the seniormost Mortal disciple, engage in such an act? I beseech you to investigate the matter carefully, Division Leader Zhao!"

Nalan Feng himself was very upset. He had no evidence to vindicate himself of the suspicion of murder. Regardless of the outcome today, his reputation in the Taiqing sect would drop dramatically.

"Division Leader Zhao, I know you must be upset about the loss of your disciple, but Nalan Feng's right. He would never intentionally kill someone in so public a fashion."

"There must be some reason that the red rope's cursed spiritual avatar has vanished, and we shouldn't blame Nalan Feng for it without understanding what has happened."

"That's right. I'm willing to vouch for Nalan Feng. Qi Zhong's death is unrelated to him."

"I too will vouch for Nalan Feng."

"I too will vouch for Nalan Feng."

A considerable number of elders stepped forward to protect Nalan Feng.

"A Taiqing disciple has died! Do you think your word would be enough to deflect blame?" Zhao Yuanjiao castigated them.

"A cursed effigy killed them, not Nalan Feng. The truth is yet unknown. How do you intend to assign blame?" one elder retorted.

"Indeed. Our word should suffice until more evidence is found," another elder added.

Zhao Yuanjiao fumed. He turned to Zhao Tianheng. The dead disciple was his prized apprentice. Surely he didn't intend on letting Nalan Feng go?

Zhao Tianheng stared at Xiao Nanfeng and Nalan Feng for some time. "It's certain that a cursed effigy was the culprit, but the truth of the matter hasn't been decided. Only by obtaining the cursed spiritual avatar of the red rope will we be able to uncover the truth. I will personally take charge of investigating this matter, and none shall be maligned before the facts are known. I do not intend to penalize either Xiao Nanfeng nor Nalan Feng for the time being."

"Thank you, Division LEader Zhao!" Nalan Feng immediately bowed.

"You speak wisely, Division Leader Zhao." The gathered elders also bowed.

Only Zhao Yuanjiao continued staring at him coldly. He could sense that Zhao Tianheng was deliberately favoring Nalan Feng—and to such an extent that he didn't even seem to care about his own disciple's death.

"Division Leader Zhao, there's a matter I would like to bring up," Xiao Nanfeng suddenly began.

"Yes?" Zhao Tianheng frowned.

"I heard that cursed effigies are particularly vengeful. The moment they fix their sights on someone, they'll relentlessly hound them until their target is dead. I escaped from the red rope, so I assume this applies to me?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

Everyone was stunned.

"Nalan Feng caused me to become the target of that cursed effigy, and I should be compensated accordingly. At the very least, he owes me a treasure that can counter a cursed effigy. Otherwise, am I to simply accept the plague that he has inflicted upon me?" Xiao Nanfeng pressed.

Everyone: ...

Nalan Feng glared at Xiao Nanfeng. Was Xiao Nanfeng attempting to defraud him of a treasure?

"Uncle, cursed effigies do have such properties. Xiao Nanfeng was introduced to latent danger as a result of Nalan Feng's deliberate actions, and Nalan Feng must take responsibility," Zhao Yuanjiao surmised.

Zhao Tianheng gave Xiao Nanfeng a complicated look. Xiao Nanfeng really did intend to press every advantage, didn't he? Zhao Tianheng couldn't get away with being overly partial toward Nalan Feng in the public eye.

"What say you, Nalan Feng?" Zhao Tianheng asked.

"I have no treasure that may counter a cursed effigy, except for that red rope that the division leader now possesses," Nalan Feng replied, suppressing his rising anger.

He had no intention of giving Xiao Nanfeng a treasure.

"In that case, Nalan Feng, why not show me all your treasures? I'll pick a few as compensation," Xiao Nanfeng suggested.

Nalan Feng turned away from Xiao Nanfeng, ignoring his suggestion.

"Division Leader Zhao, why don't you help me persuade Nalan Feng to compromise? After all, he was ultimately responsible for today's affairs, and he could hardly shirk responsibility. An Ascended disciple died because of his actions, and his irreverent attitude is a clear sign of disrespect toward the Ascended division. Division Leader Zhao, owing to your position, I urge that you seek justice on our behalf," Xiao Nanfeng immediately turned to Zhao Tianheng.

Zhao Tianheng: ...

He suddenly discovered that Xiao Nanfeng was both difficult to deal with and rather shameless, at that.

After a prolonged silence, Zhao Tianheng finally took a deep breath. "This length of red rope is the physical manifestation of the cursed effigy. If its cursed spiritual avatar shows up, you may use it to discuss terms with the cursed effigy. Let's leave it at that."

Zhao Tianheng stuffed the length of red rope in Xiao Nanfeng's hands.

Xiao Nanfeng: ... Wasn't Zhao Tianheng being far too partial toward Nalan Feng in the public eye?