<h4>Chapter 169: Hanging Together</h4>
A dozen or so more nightster, Nn Feng nced toward the Isle of Xiao from the Isle of Nn, his face dark.
"Your Highness, arge group of Mortal disciples have been entering the Isle of Nn over thest two weeks. The situation isn''t looking good," one of his subordinates reported.
"I know. Xiao Nanfeng''s trying to win their gratitude and amass power for Ye Dafu and Ye Sanshui."
"Xiao Nanfeng''s extending his reach to Mortal disciples. Won''t you do anything about it, Your Highness?" Nn Feng''s subordinate asked.
"What''s there to worry about? He''s about to die," Nn Feng replied disdainfully.
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Are you certain that someone will attack the Isle of Xiao tonight?"
"Don''t worry, Your Highness. News that Xiao Nanfeng is Xiao Hongye''s son has spread throughout the Eastern Sea. It might take a while for action to germinate as a result, but there will surely be those here to seek revenge from him. I''ve received word from a reliable source that the third-in-charge of the Bloodkill bandits will be spearheading a raid on the ind tonight."
"The Bloodkill bandits?" Nn Feng asked.
"The Bloodkill bandits are renegade disciples from the major sects, who have been plundering and looting all over the Eastern Sea before they were ughtered by Xiao Hongye. Only a few stragglers made it out alive, and they''ve been hiding from Xiao Hongye ever since. After learning that he''s vanished and that his son has appeared, they''ve been raring to seek revenge."
"A group of pirates?" Nn Feng frowned.
"Don''t underestimate these pirates, Your Highness. The Bloodkill bandits boast two Spiritsong-realm cultivators, and their third-in-charge is at the peak of Ascension. They''re all very strong, and even if Xiao Nanfeng doesn''t die, he''ll surely suffer a heavy blow. Ah, they''re here! Look over there, Your Highness!"
Under the moonlight, a ship slowly appeared under cover of fog, difficult to spot in the darkness. If Nn Feng and his subordinate hadn''t been waiting attentively, they wouldn''t have noticed that the ship was approaching the Isle of Xiao.
"Only the third-in-charge? Are they aware that the Isle of Xiao is guarded by a protective formation?" Nn Feng frowned.
"Don''t worry, Your Highness. This third-in-charge used to be a disciple skilled with formations, and he should be able to break through."
"Then I await their sess."
Nn Feng and his subordinates waited patiently all the way until the next morning, at which point they saw the Bloodkill bandits'' ship being dragged away.
"What''s going on? Where are the Bloodkill bandits? Xiao Nanfeng''s subordinates are iming their ship! Why isn''t anyone stopping them?!"
"They''re—right there!" Nn Feng''s eyes narrowed.
His subordinates sucked in deep breaths. Illuminated by the dawn light were fifty lengths of red rope hanging from the heavens, each looping around the neck of a pirate. The pirates swung in the air, dead.
"Who are these people? Committing suicide on someone else''s doorstep in the middle of the night—what are they thinking?!"
The Taiqing disciples who had sailed to the Isle of Xiao early in the morning were the first to notice the fifty hanging pirates.
"These are all... Bloodkill bandits?"
"These piratesmit all manner of evil deeds in the Eastern Sea, and they even tried to raid one of our ships once. Good riddance!"
"I heard that Elder Xiao Hongye almost wiped out the Bloodkill bandits in the past. Could they havee here to seek revenge from Senior Brother Xiao?"
All the Taiqing disciples could talk about were the pirates. They nced askance at the protective formation around the ind, which had apparently killed them all.
In the end, it was Zheng Qian who exined that the formation had been constructed with the help of the red rope that Nn Feng had given to Xiao Nanfeng aspensation. The Taiqing disciples ahhed in understanding even as theyughed at Nn Feng for giving Xiao Nanfeng such a treasure.
In a certain valley on the ind, the ancient turtle looked toward the hanging pirates and turned to Xiao Nanfeng. "Are you certain that these people are rted to Nn Feng?"
"Didn''t we catch and interrogate one of the piratesst night? You were present too," Xiao Nanfeng replied, smiling.
"They received an anonymous tip to seek revenge on you. How did you judge that this was rted to Nn Feng?"
"I guessed." Xiao Nanfeng smiled.
The turtle: ...
"Elder, don''t you need to recuperate from your wounds? Why do you care about the enmity between me and Nn Feng?" Xiao Nanfeng asked curiously.
"I simply feel upset on your behalf. You know who''s targeting you, but you can''t do anything about it on ount of yourck of evidence. It''s a pity, isn''t it? Are you just going to let Nn Feng walk all over you like that?"
"Others aren''t fools. Just because I don''t say anything doesn''t mean that they won''t guess what''s going on. No matter how covertly Nn Feng does things, the Taiqing disciples will figure it out sooner orter. Nn Feng''s reputation will fall, and mine will rise." Xiao Nanfeng smiled.
"But Nn Feng''s targeting you, isn''t he? Don''t you want revenge? I could help you," the ancient turtle advised.
"I''m not in a rush, elder, and I don''t intend to strike at the moment."
Xiao Nanfeng did want to deal with Nn Feng, but after seeing how stridently the elders defended Nn Feng during their confrontation, he understood that it would be pointless to try to do so directly.
The fact that the ancient turtle before him was repeatedly attempting to fan the mes of conflict made Xiao Nanfeng wary. It couldn''t be plotting anything good.
In the next dozen or so days, more and more people attempted to raid the Isle of Xiao, but they were all found hanging in the air the next morning. One among them was a Spiritsong-realm pirate, whose death drew the attention of arge group of Taiqing disciples.
Everything on the ind proper remained functioning as per normal; the residents'' lifestyles were unaffected.
Xiao Nanfeng spent the morning imparting fist techniques to a group of Taiqing disciples, then proposed avenues for further study.
"Let''s stop here. Make sure to practice what you''ve learned well. If you don''t make a breakthrough, don''te back," Xiao Nanfeng joked.
"Thank you, Senior Brother Xiao!" everyone chorused.
Finally, one Ascended disciple couldn''t help but speak up. "Senior Brother Xiao, we caught a few Bloodkill bandits today at sea. They were all nning to sneak onto the Isle of Xiao to kill you, but they were too slow! When they saw their second-in-charge hung up, they were so frightened that they tried to escape. They said that, more than a month ago, someone secretly sent word to their hideout that you were Xiao Hongye''s son and that the Isle of Xiao boasts tremendous wealth and treasure, inducing them to attempt to assassinate you!"
"That''s right. We calcted when this could have happened. For them to have received word of your identity that early, someone from the Taiqing sect had to have leaked the information."
"Senior Brother Xiao, I suspect that this was Nn Feng''s doing. How could he be so malicious?"
The Taiqing disciples conversed with each other, causing the few Mortal disciples to nce around awkwardly.
"There''s no proof. You''d better not speak of this, lest trouble find you, too," Xiao Nanfeng warned.
"But..." The disciples seemed discontent to leave matters be.
"I appreciate your thoughts, but these assassins have failed to harm me so far. Furthermore, my father''s enemies would havee to seek me out sooner orter. Don''t worry about this matter, and don''t disturb the peace. It doesn''t have anything to do with you, and I wouldn''t want all of you to be dragged into my personal business," Xiao Nanfeng warned.
Even so, the disciples were still upset. They were tremendously grateful to have received Xiao Nanfeng''s personal tutge—but now, he was now being targeted by an obvious culprit and could do nothing other than to grit his teeth and bear it! Not only that, he was still careful not to involve them in the matter. They were infuriated by Nn Feng''s actions and spoke out against his qualifications as the seniormost Mortal disciple. Even the Mortal disciples present weren''t shameless enough to defend him.
A month passed in this fashion, and more and more people came to hang themselves in the Isle of Xiao. The affair had caused a considerablemotion throughout the sect, but Xiao Nanfeng chose not to investigate. As such, no elders stepped in, though rumors abounded; the matter became a hot topic for small talk and idle gossip.
One day, as Nn Feng and several of his subordinates disembarked on Taiqing Ind and headed toward the Vault of Scriptures, he suddenly found themselves avoided by the disciples around him. Some Mortal disciples even made expressions of disgust as he crossed their sight.
"These disciples usually fawn over you in order to get into your good graces, Your Highness. What''s going on today?" one of his subordinates asked.
Nn Feng watched the crowd of disciples avoid him as if he had been struck by the gue. His feet stilled as he came to a realization.
"What''s the matter, Your Highness?" His subordinates quickly stepped forward.
"I''ve fallen into one of Xiao Nanfeng''s schemes again." Nn Feng nched.
"What?"
"Over thesest two months, Xiao Nanfeng has never once criticized me. He has focused solely on teaching fist techniques to disciples of all divisions, not only acquiring their gratitude but also their pity as he feigns weakness and fosters hatred against me." Nn Feng narrowed his eyes.
"I heard some rumors too, but without any evidence, what could he do?" one subordinate asked.
"You don''t know anything. He''s trying to buy their hearts. Don''t you see?" Nn Feng replied coldly.
"What could that achieve?"
"He knows that many elders within the sect favor me and are willing to shield me. If he targets me, they''ll surely pressure him. He has no allies among the elders and would only make a fool of himself—but things are different now. He has the hearts of the majority of the Taiqing disciples, and he''s surely poised to strike at me!"
"What? How could that be? He wouldn''t dare!" one subordinate replied in disbelief.
Back on the Isle of Xiao, Xiao Nanfeng and Zheng Qian were having tea at a pavilion.
"Can we strike now, Benefactor?" Zheng Qian asked.
"It''s almost time. We''ll give Nn Feng a lesson he won''t forget anytime soon. I have no interest in allowing him to continue scheming against me," Xiao Nanfeng replied coldly, having a sip of his tea.
"Now that the majority of disciples support you, few would me you even if you were to do something beyond the pale," Zheng Qian agreed, smiling.