Wayfarer

Chapter 644: The Demon Child

Days later, in the Palace of the Moon, while Xiao Nanfeng and Zhang Lingjun were resting, a Heaven disciple called out, "Division Leader, someone's making a fuss at your manor!"

Xiao Nanfeng frowned. He shot Zhang Lingjun a look.

"How strange. Who would do that?" Xiao Nanfeng wondered.

"Who would dare?" Zhang Lingjun added, curious.

"It's a pity. I was going to help you break through to the Golden Immortal realm, but I suppose that'll have to wait," Xiao Nanfeng said.

Zhang Lingjun bit her lip as she made herself presentable and walked out.

She picked up the praying mat in the pavilion, then walked toward the Heaven disciple with Xiao Nanfeng beside her.

"Let's head there as we talk. What's the situation?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"We've all been working hard on our spiritual cultivation these last few days, and Ao Zhou has been supervising us. Today, however, a little child, perhaps seven or eight years old, appeared by the manor out of nowhere. He was particularly arrogant and demanded to meet with the division leader. We said that the division leader wasn't around, so he insisted that we find you. Ao Zhou was annoyed enough to start criticizing the boy, and they've been fighting since."

"A seven- or eight-year-old child, fighting against Ao Zhou? Ao Zhou's a late-stage True Immortal!" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

"That boy's really strong, and he has some incredible relics. He took the lead from the start."

Xiao Nanfeng and Zhang Lingjun gaped at each other. How could this be? Ao Zhou, with his ancestral dragon's inheritance, losing to a young boy?

"Could it be some True Immortal who fixed his appearance as that of a child? Surely not—what True Immortal would do something like that?" Zhang Lingjun frowned.

"It really is strange. Who would dare challenge a Martial Aspect in the Sieve of Heaven. He must have some important backer," Xiao Nanfeng said.

"Let's hurry!" Zhang Lingjun exclaimed.

The trio of cultivators flew out of the Palace of the Moon. From afar, they saw the fighting that was occurring outside Martial Aspect Xiao's manor.

They weren't the only cultivators heading there. Other onlookers had gathered to watch the commotion.

A black dragon roared in the air, a fearsome aura emanating from its body. Somehow, the dragon's body had been bound by a red sash, rendering him immobile and struggling to move.

Atop the dragon's back was a small child dressed in red, surrounded by flames, smiling in excitement. He held a golden hoop with one hand and the dragon's body with the other, then smashed down with the golden hoop.

Booms resounded from the impact between hoop and dragon.

"Die, you little bastard!" Ao Zhou roared.

Black rays of light shot out from Ao Zhou's body, causing the red sash to shake violently. Even so, Ao Zhou wasn't able to free himself from the relic and the boy.

The boy continued to hold onto Ao Zhou's scales as he smashed the hoop down onto Ao Zhou's body. "You're nothing but a little loach! You dare challenge me? I'm here for Xiao Nanfeng—it's none of your business. You've made me mad, so I'm going to skin you, strip you of your tendons, and make a soup out of you!"

"Scram!" Ao Zhou roared back. "Get rid of this red sash and I'll swallow you up!"

"You'd even lie to a child! I've already gotten you under my control. Why should I free you? Dream on!" the boy cried out.

He smashed the golden hoop against Ao Zhou's head, causing it to loll in dizziness.

Ao Zhou roared in outrage, but the child was no easy opponent.

Countless cultivators were watching the fight unfold. No one jumped in.

"The Taiqing red sash and demon-subduing golden hoop! These are important treasures lost to the Taiqing Immortal Sect. How could this boy be in possession of them?" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

"That's the Taiqing red sash? Nanfeng, the Taiqing Grandmaster sent me a mental transmission. He hopes you'll be able to reclaim the sash," Zhang Lingjun said.

Xiao Nanfeng frowned. What did the Taiqing Grandmaster mean? Was he to snatch the relic from the boy?

Now that he was here, however, he naturally had to step in.

"Ao Zhou, what's going on?" Xiao Nanfeng demanded.

The dragon and boy fighting in the distance quickly looked over.

"Xiao Nanfeng, come help me! I thought he was a mere boy and nothing to be concerned about, but he launched a sneak attack on me and bound me with this red sash! I can't use my ultimate techniques!" Ao Zhou shouted.

Xiao Nanfeng winced. Ultimate techniques? The fact that Ao Zhou had been defeated by a mere boy didn't seem to curb his bragging.

The boy's eyes lit up as he saw Xiao Nanfeng. "Ha! You must be Xiao Nanfeng, then. I've taken down this black dragon. If you want to ransom him back, you'll have to give me something in exchange."

Xiao Nanfeng gave the boy an odd look. Was he playing at being a bandit?

"And who are you to cause such a ruckus in the Sieve of Heaven? Do you know that you've been dealing with a Martial Aspect?" Xiao Nanfeng demanded.

"I do, but it's disappointing, isn't it? Look at the sorry state of this so-called Martial Aspect. I thought they were supposed to be strong!" The boy seemed disdainful.

"Insolence! How dare you criticize a Martial Aspect of the Imperial Court?" Xiao Nanfeng shouted, flying over.

"Good, good! I'd like to see just how strong you are, Martial Aspect Xiao. You've been the talk of the world!" the boy shouted in excitement. "Demon-subduing golden hoop, go!"

The golden hoop radiated blinding golden light as it shot toward Xiao Nanfeng, moving so quickly and shining with such energy that it almost seemed like a miniature sun.

Xiao Nanfeng frowned. He struck with his divine undying blade.

"Break!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted.

The divine undying blade clashed against the hoop in an explosion of fire and wind. The resulting shockwaves caused the spectators to gasp.

Zhang Lingjun watched Xiao Nanfeng take on the boy.

The demon-subduing golden hoop was sent crashing back.

The boy exclaimed, "Well done!"

Xiao Nanfeng didn't stop there. He shot over to the boy and struck at him with his blade.

"I think not!" the boy shouted, defending with the golden hoop.

The blade and hoop clashed against each other once more in another humongous explosion. Just then, Xiao Nanfeng curled his other hand into a fist.

"Hegemon's Fist!"

Countless fists shot toward the small boy.

"Please have mercy, Martial Aspect Xiao!" someone cried from afar.

However, it was too late. Xiao Nanfeng had no intention to relent at that point.

The fists struck the little boy, smashing him into the ground. He fell like a meteor; the earth shook as he landed. The demon-subduing golden hoop rushed down to protect its master.

Xiao Nanfeng tore at the Taiqing red sash around the black dragon's body, freeing him.

The black dragon roared in outrage. "Die, you bastard!"

He swooped down toward the huge pit in the ground.

A man in black flew toward the little boy. Upon seeing the black dragon approaching, he blanched and called out, "Martial Aspect Xiao, Martial Aspect Ao Zhou, please calm down! It was all a misunderstanding!"

"A misunderstanding?! After the beating he gave me, you expect me to drop things just because it's 'a misunderstanding'? I think not. It's my turn!" Ao Zhou shot forward, glaring at the boy.

The man in black sighed in exasperation. He transformed into a black dog spirit hundreds of meters tall, bracing for impact from the black dragon into which Ao Zhou had transformed.

The dog and dragon clashed in mid-air, causing a fiery explosion all around them. Both cultivators were forced back, neither having gained the upper hand.

"Martial Aspects, please calm down. I serve the Southern Aspect, Yang Chuan. I ask for this courtesy in his name," the black dog spirit said anxiously.

The black dragon growled and was about to charge forward regardless until Xiao Nanfeng blocked his path. "Hold it, Ao Zhou."

"Damn it, you weren't the one he beat up! I've lost all my reputation. You want me to stop now?!" the black dragon fumed.

"Look at that boy again," Xiao Nanfeng said.

The boy's cheeks were swollen after having been hit by Xiao Nanfeng's Hegemon's Fist. He was bawling out loud, without any care for his reputation.

"He's crying? He's some ancient spirit pretending to be a child, isn't he? To think he would act things out to this degree..." the black dragon murmured.

"Let's ask about the situation first. The demon-subduing golden hoop he holds is a lost relic of the Taiqing Immortal Sect," Xiao Nanfeng said.

The black dragon sniffed in exasperation, but relented. He transformed back into human form.

The black dog spirit sighed in relief, transforming into a thin man as well.

"I am Black Dog. Thank you for relenting, Martial Aspects," the thin man said.

Xiao Nanfeng, Zhang Lingjun, and Ao Zhou glanced at each other. This man's name was particularly... apt.

"You're a subordinate of the Southern Aspect Yang Chuan? Where is he?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"On His Majesty's orders, he's investigating the situation in the Southern Sea. He isn't in the Imperial Court at the moment," Black Dog replied.

Xiao Nanfeng nodded. He had been present when the Heavenly Emperor had assigned the Southern Aspect to check on the monster of black fog.

"What's with this child?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"This is a holy child of the Yuqing holy land known as the Demon Child. He's a junior brother of the Southern Aspect, and is residing in the Sieve of Heaven temporarily. He's unfamiliar with the rules of the Imperial Court, and I beg your forgiveness for the ruckus he created," Black Dog said.

"The Demon Child, a holy child of the Yuqing holy land?" Xiao Nanfeng repeated.

He hadn't known that the Southern Aspect hailed from the Yuqing holy land.

He was intimately familiar with the Yuqing holy land. Yu'er's father was a member of its upper echelons. Two centuries ago, when a calamity befell the Taiqing Immortal Sect and the sect was almost obliterated by a traitor, the Yuqing holy land had stepped in to save the sect. In other words, the sect owed the Yuqing holy land a large favor.

"Very well. I'll drop this matter on account of Southern Aspect Yang and the Yuqing holy land," Xiao Nanfeng said.

Black Dog relaxed. "Thank you, Martial Aspect Xiao."

After all, for an outsider to offend a Martial Aspect was a serious crime, especially within the Sieve of Heaven. If the Martial Aspects in question chose to pursue the matter, the Demon Child would surely suffer.

"Xiao Nanfeng, how dare you hit me! I'm going to tell my senior brother. He'll take revenge for me and give you a spanking!" The Demon Child climbed out of the pit and continued to cry.

Xiao Nanfeng: ...

Black Dog: ...