Chapter 291 - Zhu Danfeng (1/2)
“What do you mean?”
The two youngsters were startled to be stopped by Xiao Chen. For a second, they stared at him wordlessly before one of them said to the other, as if woken up from a dream, “Let’s go, Senior. This man’s most likely mad.”
But before they could leave, Xiao Chen’s face darkened. “I repeat once more,” he growled, “Where is this Spirited Lingzhi you’ve spoken of!”
“What Lingzhi? You must have heard us wrongly.”
His face now blackened with rage, Xiao Chen hissed like a snake boring down on its prey, “So I’ll need to wring the truth out of you, I see…”
The pair of apprentices felt themselves trembling as Xiao Chen’s dark persona slowly took over. There was no way they would win against him in a fight. “YOU! WHO ARE YOU! ARE YOU INSANE!?” One of the boys screamed with fright.
But the commotion attracted some people who crowded around them. Realizing this, the other boy yelled at the top of his voice for the benefit of everyone listening, “Be careful now, the League has imposed a decree to ban all aggression and hostilities!”
The attempts of the two youngsters to draw in more people prevailed as the crowd grew larger and noisier that Xiao Chen immediately sensed two squads of Constables of the League turning around the corner and coming their way. Realizing that there was no way to interrogate them, he quietly left a magical mark on them that would allow him to track them.
“WHAT IS ALL THIS RUCKUS!”
One of the Constables boomed imperiously when they arrived. The two youngsters heaved sighs of relief. One of them jerked a finger at Xiao Chen. “This man is holding us from leaving for no reason. He’s no right to stop us!”
The captain of the squads of Constables was a surly man unhappy to be sent out on an errand on a cold and snowy day, and his day was no less sweet to have been faced with a matter so messy yet so trivial. With an irate scowl, he barked, “All right, all right! End of the show! Off with all of you or I’ll have you in jail for causing trouble! Disperse at once!”
“Heh heh heh, of course, dear Sirs! Of course! We’ll be on our way!” The two youngsters eyed Xiao Chen with contempt and walked to the end of the streets where they vanished into the mass of thronging passers-by.
“WAIT! YOU THERE, HALT!”
Another captain yelled at Xiao Chen just when he was leaving.
Xiao Chen spun around to face him. “Is there anything else?”
The captain studied him briefly, his fingers fishing for a notebook from his back pocket. “Your name and identification please!” He barked boorishly.
“Li Si, of the Tiancheng Sect,” Xiao Chen replied gruffly with a fake name.
The captain scribbled into his notebook while keeping his eyes still on Xiao Chen. After a heartbeat of staring quietly at him, he remarked coldly, “Very well. But be careful, you. Or I’ll have you locked up three months for causing trouble here!”
Xiao Chen merely responded with a curt nod and he trotted off into another alley. The trail of the magical mark he had left on the youngsters was still fresh, but they would not be for long and he had to catch up quickly.
With the trace of his magical mark growing weak, Xiao Chen pressed on his pursuit with as much speed as he could muster. But he slowed his pace to a walk whenever he encountered any patrolling Constables so that they would not grow suspicious of him.
The trail of the magical mark led him to a quiet and tranquil estate, which he finally arrived after almost a half hour’s journey.
The estate was far from the main arteries of the city, so the patrols rarely ventured this far. But Xiao Chen was certain that there was more than meets the eye with this residence, for he felt the emanating powers of many conjurers inside and even some with powers nearing the Nascent Soul Realm.
“WHO ARE YOU, SKULKING ABOUT HERE!”
A few other youngsters in red saw Xiao Chen when he was mulling on ways to infiltrate the estate. Before long, another trope of seven to eight men came out from inside, having heard the clamor outside.
The men immediately surrounded Xiao Chen, and he saw the same fiery insignia on their sleeves. “Where have I seen this emblem before,” Xiao Chen wondered and he remembered: Wan Gufeng. The old but strong conjurer of the Nascent Soul Realm whom he had encountered in the Forest of Illusory Moon was also from this school which the emblem belonged: the Order of the Divine Fire.
“I’m speaking to you!” One of them shouted at Xiao Chen, “Who are you and what are you snooping around here for!” They regarded Xiao Chen with unfriendly stares and gruff voices, as more and more disciples poured out through the door and surrounded him.
“What in the name of Heaven is happening out here! Why the noises!” An ancient voice boomed from inside.
An old man, dressed in flowing mottled-green robes stepped out of the entrance of the estate and Xiao Chen was quick to notice the four-leafed insignia on his garb that denoted his rank as a Tier Four Elixir King.
A flash of recognition flashed in his eyes when he saw Xiao Chen. “Ah? So it’s Young Xiao. How can I help you?” he asked politely, albeit with ice in his voice.
There was no way he would not be able to identify Xiao Chen following what happened in the Forest of Illusory Moon. He was none other than Zhu Danfeng, an Elixir King in service of the Order of the Divine Fire and the junior of Wan Gufeng.
But Xiao Chen did not answer him. He looked into the estate and saw an unconscious Zhiluan lying motionless on a table through an opened window. But this did not go unnoticed by Zhu Danfeng, who flailed his long, wide sleeves and magically commanded the windows to slam shut. “How can I help you, Young Xiao?” He repeated.
The awkward silence outside the estate was broken by the sounds of Xiao Chen cracking his knuckles. His eyes shone with a burning anger as he growled, “Release my friend.”