Wayfarer

Chapter 280: Hong Lie's Death

To celebrate the reclamation of the Xiao lands, there was a huge banquet in every city within. The banquet in the Xiao manor was bustling with excitement.

Xiao Nanfeng had even invited Hong Lie for a private banquet; only the two of them were present. They drank and reminisced about the past in a secluded dining hall.

"Where's your wife, Nanfeng? I haven't seen her today," Hong Lie said, giving him a sly smile.

"I haven't gotten to that point with Yu'er yet, Senior Uncle," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

"Haha, but you do intend to, then?" Hong Lie teased.

Xiao Nanfeng dipped his head as he smiled. He could sense that, despite initial appearances, Hong Lie did treat him sincerely and intimately. His jokes reflected that sentiment.

"Yu'er's in secluded cultivation. She's preparing for her ascension into an Immortal," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

Hong Lie gave Xiao Nanfeng a look, then sighed. "You really are audacious to have raided six Immortal sects. You were lucky. If you had failed—if they had been even a little wary—you wouldn't even have been able to get through their defensive formations."

"I knew they would be relaxed at the time, so I rushed over to their territory while they were distracted. Fortunately, I succeeded. I hope they'll learn their lesson and think twice before attacking me in the future," Xiao Nanfeng joked.

"And what about your territory? You're not particularly stringent on security in and out of Yongding, are you? It'd be easy for them to sneak inside. What if they emulate you?" Hong Lie asked.

"Security? What for? I don't even activate the defensive formation around Yongding unless absolutely necessary," Xiao Nanfeng replied, smiling. "Unlike the Immortal sects, who are afraid of cultivators attacking them, I fully welcome any attacks. I'll kill all enemy cultivators and claim their sects' draconic veins as compensation."

Hong Lie gave Xiao Nanfeng a weird look. "You really are as audacious as your father. Aren't you afraid that the six Immortal sects you attacked will gang up against you?"

"I'm still young, after all, and it's only normal that I'd be rash and impudent. As for those six Immortal sects, they're nothing major," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

Hong Lie didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. "Don't go around saying that, now, or you might anger the sect masters and elders of those sects to death!"

"With you around to protect me, Senior Uncle, they wouldn't dare try anything," Xiao Nanfeng replied jokingly.

Hong Lie laughed. "Don't try to flatter me. I don't have much time to help clean up your messes, so if they ally with each other and I'm not by your side, you'll have to deal with a six-pronged assault on your own."

"I won't," Xiao Nanfeng promised. "I'll delay until you can come rescue me."

Hong Lie rolled his eyes at him.

"Senior Uncle, there's no need to worry. I wouldn't be afraid of facing them all at once," Xiao Nanfeng continued confidently.

Hong Lie blinked. "Are there other cultivators in your orbit who have reached the peak of Wingform?"

"Croak and Warble are at the cusp of a breakthrough, and they're both in secluded cultivation right now. They'll become Immortals in their own right in no time," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

Hong Lie shook his head. "The Immortal ascension is hardly as straightforward as you think. Mortality is a fundamental concept, and subverting it is no trivial task. If not for the opportunity I obtained in the Spirit Emperor's hidden realm, I wouldn't have succeeded."

"With effort, one can achieve anything," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

"You don't believe me? Try it, then!" Hong Lie laughed, then sighed. "You might have offended six Immortal sects, but you've also added dozens of elders to the ranks of the Taiqing Immortal Sect, four of whom are now at Wingform. It's a huge improvement in the overall strength of the sect, and you've truly contributed a great deal. Ku Jiang would surely be very pleased to learn of the news."

"Then I'll surprise him when he returns from the hidden realm," Xiao Nanfeng replied, smiling.

"Why didn't you come find me when you first arrived at the Taiqing Immortal Sect? I would have quickly claimed you for myself instead of allowing Ku Jiang to obtain such a bargain," Hong Lie joked.

"Senior Uncle, you're bosom friends with my father, and there's already a strong connection between us. I didn't think it would be necessary to affirm or deepen the connection as master and disciple. It's all thanks to you that everything in my lands has proceeded as planned. I know that you've recruited plenty of subordinates in Marquis Wu's lands, Senior Uncle, but you'll have to expend significant effort to investigate their backgrounds, and it'll be difficult to assign any task of importance to them for the time being. I've had Ye Sanshui and Ye Dafu reorganize the army anew and asked Mr. Zheng to spare what officials we can. Within the next few days, they'll head toward Marquis Wu's lands and be under your command," Xiao Nanfeng said.

"Very well. Since matters in your lands are all but settled, I won't stand on courtesy. Marquis Wu's lands really are a mess, and I'll be glad to have trusted subordinates under my employ," Hong Lie replied.

"Senior Uncle, I've had some reports that Immortals from the Xiang clan have appeared in various places, but none of them are personally participating in the battle to re-establish their empire. Furthermore, I've heard that they've brought back more than one crow Immortal from the Spirit Emperor's hidden realm, and the majority of the crow spirits have gone missing. Do you know what's going on?"

"If I'm not mistaken, they're trying to find something to deal with the shadow cursed effigies," Hong Lie analyzed.

"Oh?"

"Re-establishing their empire isn't a priority for the Xiang clan. Rather, they want to seize every opportunity they can from the Spirit Emperor's hidden realm, and these opportunities are guarded by huge numbers of shadows. If they want to be able to claim them, they'll have to find some means of dealing with the shadows."

"No wonder." Xiao Nanfeng nodded in understanding.

"Once I deal with the rebellious troops in Marquis Wu's lands, I'll bring you to the Spirit Emperor's hidden realm and fight for those opportunities as well," Hong Lie continued resolutely.

"Doesn't Emperor Tianshu control the entrance into that hidden realm? Will he really let me in?" Xiao Nanfeng asked in concern.

"How could he not? Your father was the one who discovered it first. He wouldn't have been able to gain control over it if not for your father, either," Hong Lie replied, gulping down a cup of wine.

"It might not be easy." Xiao Nanfeng didn't harbor high hopes for the suggestion.

"At worst, I'll give up on whatever merit I might gain for quelling these troops. I promise I'll get you into that hidden realm," Hong Lie replied seriously.

"Thank you, Senior Uncle." Xiao Nanfeng toasted Hong Lie with a cup of wine.

He could sense Hong Lie's warmth and affection toward him; it was clear that his father had made the right decision in establishing close friendship with Hong Lie.

Xiao Nanfeng and Hong Lie drank to their hearts' content as they discussed past and future.

After seeing Hong Lie off, the Xiao lands, now finally at peace, were allowed to develop under Mr. Zheng's masterful hand.

Two months later, in the Xiao manor, Xiao Nanfeng held his father's seal in his hand. The fortune that his father had left him had been completely exhausted to supply progressively deeper insight into fundamental scriptures for his cultivation, and both his spiritual cultivation techniques were showing signs of breaking through. However, he wasn't quite there yet.

Fortunately, after reclaiming the Xiao lands, the citizens' gratitude at proper governance in the manner of the city of Yongding, after so many years of rampant violence and corruption, was already producing a significant amount of fortune for Xiao Nanfeng. All that fortune gathered in his seal, allowing him to continue paying off his debt of karmic consequence. He believed that, in no more than a few months, he would be able to develop a yin body.

Just then, Zheng Qian rushed over.

"King Xiao, we've received battle reports from Marquis Wu's lands. Apparently, Xiang Pojun has returned." Zheng Qian passed him a sealed letter.

"Oh?" Xiao Nanfeng scanned the letter curiously.

"There are a tremendous number of rogue fighters in Marquis Wu's lands. Ye Dafu and Ye Sanshui have been having a hard time with our troops. It's been two months, but we've only had middling results to date, with significant casualties on both sides. To think that Xiang Pojun would challenge Hong Lie now..." Zheng Qian murmured.

"Xiang Pojun? He's lost to Senior Uncle before. Why would he challenge him again? There has to be something amiss." Xiao Nanfeng frowned.

"We don't know the results of that confrontation just yet. I expect we'll hear more by tonight," Zheng Qian said.

Just then, a beam of light shot into Xiao Nanfeng's manor at such great speed that the manor guards quickly massed around the intrusion. When they saw that Ye Dafu was the source of the light, the guards relaxed.

"King Xiao, something's gone very wrong. Division Leader Hong Lie was killed in battle!" Ye Dafu fretted.

"What?!" Zheng Qian exclaimed.

"Repeat yourself. Who perished in battle?" Xiao Nanfeng asked incredulously.

"Hong Lie, division leader of the Mortal division! He perished at Xiang Pojun's hands," Ye Dafu exclaimed. He was at a loss for words.

"Impossible. My senior uncle possesses overwhelming might, and he easily took on Xiang Pojun once before. How could he have died? You must be joking!" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

"It's true! This morning, Xiang Pojun suddenly appeared in the air above our city, claiming to want to challenge Hong Lie in order to wipe clean the shame of his initial defeat. Hong Lie accepted the challenge, and the two Immortals clashed violently in the air, spawning bursts of flame and wind around them. We could barely see what they were doing, and they headed farther and farther afield as they fought. We dispatched a few messengers to send word of the confrontation as several cultivators observed the battle. Late in the afternoon, a huge explosion rang out in the air as two bursts of flame suddenly split apart from one another. Xiang Pojun vomited out blood and was sent flying. We thought that he had lost and were about to cheer when we saw that Hong Lie had also fallen to the ground, vomiting out blood himself," Ye Dafu reported.

"And then?" Xiao Nanfeng pressed.

"Xiang Pojun was rescued by a group of rogue cultivators, while we surrounded Hong Lie protectively. We saw that there was a terrible hole in the back of his head that was bleeding profusely. As we rushed forward, he suddenly slumped over. The light around him winked out; his eyes turned vacant. He was no longer breathing."

"How could that be?"

"Golden light manifested in the form of words in Hong Lie's mindscape, saying, 'Take me back to the sect. Have Xiao Nanfeng return.' Third Uncle and the others are bringing his corpse back to Taiqing Island, and he had me inform you of the disaster," Ye Dafu continued.

Xiao Nanfeng's body turned cold. Two months ago, Hong Lie had been joking around with him right here in Yongding. How could he have died so suddenly, so rapidly?

"Ye Dafu, are you certain? What if it was only a heavy injury?" Zheng Qian asked worriedly.

Ye Dafu shook his head at Zhang Qian, not providing further explanation. It was clear that he believed that Hong Lie was truly dead.

"King Xiao, Hong Lie's body might be dead, but a sliver of his truesoul remains. He wants to see you one final time," Ye Dafu continued.

"Come on, then. We have to get back to the sect!" Xiao Nanfeng cried out.