Chapter 12: Searching for Ni Pusa

Returning to the World Society, Duan Fengyun had barely warmed his seat in his Tianwen Hall when he was summoned by Xiongba to the Martial Arts Hall.

Everyone in the Martial Arts Hall was present except for Nie Feng.

Xiongba looked at Duan Fengyun before him, feeling very puzzled; in just over ten days, Duan Fengyun's cultivation had actually increased by a large margin, which meant he must have encountered some opportunity.

Xiongba looked at Duan Fengyun again and discovered that his disciple, who usually did not use weapons, was actually holding a sword in his hand.

He said to Duan Fengyun, "Yun'er, it seems your opportunity on this trip was not small; not only has your internal energy greatly increased, but you have also obtained a peerless divine weapon."

Duan Fengyun replied, "I will not hide it from you, Master. This disciple did indeed have an opportunity on this trip. While paying respects to my late father in Lingyun Cave, I inadvertently discovered my Duan family's ancestral divine weapon, the Fire Scale Sword, and the ancestral sword technique, the Eclipse Sun Sword Technique."

Seeing that Duan Fengyun only spoke of the sword's origin and did not mention the increase in his internal energy, Xiongba felt displeased in his heart.

Just as the atmosphere became awkward, a servant came to report, "Hall Master Feng has returned."

Upon hearing this, everyone was extremely excited; Nie Feng had not sent any letters during his trip to Wushuang City, and they had all been worried about his safety.

Xiongba hurriedly ordered the servant to call Nie Feng to the Martial Arts Hall.

A dispirited Nie Feng, carrying a heavy object in his hand and a sword on his back, walked slowly into the Martial Arts Hall.

Nie Feng threw the object in his hand to Wen Chouchou, and Xiongba signaled for Wen Chouchou to open it.

Wen Chouchou slowly opened it; wrapped inside the package was none other than the severed head of Dugu Yifang.

Xiongba looked at Dugu Yifang's head, then at Duan Fengyun and Nie Feng; these two disciples were truly one more surprising than the other.

In truth, he had not been certain about Nie Feng going to Wushuang City to take Dugu Yifang's head, but he had not expected Nie Feng to bring it back completely unscathed.

Nie Feng took the sword off his back, informed Xiongba that this was the Wushuang Sword he had requested, and then left.

Everyone knew that something must have happened to Nie Feng in Wushuang City; otherwise, given his usual temperament, how could he be so cold?

Xiongba had originally intended to assign them tasks, but seeing the current situation, he temporarily gave up on the arrangements, waiting for them to rest and recover for a few days before planning further.

The three of them, Duan Fengyun included, left the Lianwu Tang and went straight to the Shenfeng Hall.

At this moment, inside the Shenfeng Hall, Nie Feng was already holding a jar of wine and drinking deeply.

Qin Shuang, as the eldest brother, stepped forward and asked:

"Junior Brother Feng, what happened on your trip to Wushuang City? Why do you seem like a different person?"

Nie Feng replied painfully, "Ming Yue, Ming Yue is gone."

Qin Shuang asked in confusion, "Junior Brother Feng, speak clearly. What is Ming Yue?"

Duan Fengyun stepped forward to pull Qin Shuang back, then said to Nie Feng:

"Brother Feng, do you remember what I said to you when you were about to leave for Wushuang City?"

"If it is destined to be yours, you will eventually have it; if it is not destined to be yours, do not force it."

Nie Feng muttered to himself.

Duan Fengyun said no more, pulling Qin Shuang and Bu Jingyun away, leaving Nie Feng alone there to ponder slowly.

In matters of the heart, Nie Feng could only walk out of it himself; they could not help him.

A few days passed, and Nie Feng remained in the Shenfeng Hall, not stepping out once; the food he ate during these days was all prepared and delivered by Kong Ci.

After a week had passed, Nie Feng finally walked out of the Shenfeng Hall; he had thoroughly comprehended the words Duan Fengyun had given him.

Since things had come to this, he had no choice but to accept his fate, realizing that he and Ming Yue were destined to have no future together.

Seeing that the four had rested and recovered for a few days, Xiongba felt the time was about right and had someone call the four Xiaoqiang to the Martial Arts Hall again.

After the four Xiaoqiang arrived, Xiongba explained the mission:

"I have founded the World Society for over ten years now, and I need Ni Pusa to cast a fortune for the future of the World Society. I now require you to go and find Ni Pusa."

After receiving their orders, the four Xiaoqiang left and returned to their respective halls to assemble their men.

After the four met at the entrance of the World Society, Bu Jingyun said, "This Ni Pusa's whereabouts are mysterious; searching for him aimlessly like this is like looking for a needle in a haystack."

Duan Fengyun replied, "I heard that because Ni Pusa leaked too many heavenly secrets, his body is covered in sores, and he needs the Fire Monkey to absorb the Fire Poison for him every day. Therefore, we only need to find the Fire Monkey to find Ni Pusa."

Since they had a lead, the four prepared to search separately.

Qin Shuang and Nie Feng were responsible for one team, while Duan Fengyun and Bu Jingyun, accustomed to acting alone, were each responsible for their own team.

Having divided the work, the four led their respective men away.

During the search, Duan Fengyun appeared distracted; he was constantly thinking in his mind.

He thought that if they found Ni Pusa and Ni Pusa gave Xiongba another prophecy, then the four of them would have to start breaking with Xiongba.

But if they did not break with Xiongba, the four of them would only live under Xiongba's shadow.

People like them could only achieve greater progress by constantly hovering between life and death.

However, thinking of Kong Ci, he felt reluctant. He still cherished this younger sister, whom he had grown up with, immensely; he could not bear for Kong Ci to become a pawn for Xiongba to sow discord among them, and even less could he bear for Kong Ci to lose her life because of it.

He spent the whole time thinking about this problem; he did not put his heart into the search at all, his mind constantly occupied with countermeasures.

Just as his thoughts were in turmoil, Qin Shuang and the others sent a carrier pigeon saying they had found traces of Ni Pusa and asked Duan Fengyun and Bu Jingyun to converge on them immediately.

He hurriedly ordered his men to move toward Nie Feng's direction.

When he reached the team of Nie Feng and Qin Shuang, Bu Jingyun also arrived, and the four began to discuss a strategy.

Qin Shuang said, "They discovered the Fire Monkey's tracks in a village here; this village is obscure, which is also suitable for Ni Pusa to live in seclusion."

Bu Jingyun said with murderous intent, "In that case, let's slaughter this village and see if Ni Pusa comes out."

Duan Fengyun looked at Bu Jingyun and said with a look of disdain, "Can you use your brain for once instead of just killing all day? We will capture the Fire Monkey, and Ni Pusa will naturally show himself."

Qin Shuang added, "Junior Brother is right; do not increase the slaughter in vain. We will just go and capture the Fire Monkey to force Ni Pusa to show himself."

The four then split up to search for the Fire Monkey's tracks in the village.

Duan Fengyun walked into a forest and heard a monkey's cry from above; he looked up and saw it was indeed the Fire Monkey they had been searching for for so long.

Duan Fengyun used the Wind God Leg to leap into the tree; the Fire Monkey was startled and began to scurry away, but how could it outrun Duan Fengyun's Wind God Leg? After only a few steps, it was captured by Duan Fengyun.

At this moment, a monk emerged from the forest, claiming to be the Fire Monkey's master, and asked Duan Fengyun to leave the Fire Monkey behind. This monk was quite unreasonable; without waiting for Duan Fengyun to answer, he attacked him.

Duan Fengyun did not hesitate; it just so happened that he had not yet put the Eclipse Sun Sword Technique he had been practicing for several days to a real test, so today he would use this monk to consecrate his sword.

Duan Fengyun held the fire monkey in his left hand, thrust the Fire Scale Sword into the ground with his right, and then slowly drew the sword out.

Duan Fengyun held the sword and attacked the monk directly with the Eclipse Sun Sword Technique; seeing Duan Fengyun's aggressive momentum, the monk hurriedly defended himself, but was repelled within a few moves.

In the early stages of Wind and Cloud, this Eclipse Sun Sword Technique was still quite intimidating.

The monk stopped the fight and asked Duan Fengyun, "Is that the Fire Scale Sword in your hand, and are you using the Eclipse Sun Sword Technique? May I ask for your honorable name?"

Duan Fengyun replied to him, "I am Duan Fengyun. What I hold is indeed the heirloom sword of my Duan family, the Fire Scale Sword, and what I use is indeed the heirloom sword technique of my Duan family. Monk, if you have any last words, leave them quickly; I am responsible for the killing, not the burying."

The monk suddenly realized and said, "No wonder your martial arts are so superb; so you are the son of an old acquaintance. Why have you become a lackey of the Under Heaven Society? Ni Pusa has lived in seclusion for many years; why must you disturb his peace?"

Duan Fengyun did not waste words with him, striking out with a Cloud-Rowing Palm that injured the monk.

Seeing that the monk no longer had the strength to fight back, Duan Fengyun turned and left, saying as he walked, "For the sake of you knowing my father, I will spare your life; get out of here quickly."

Duan Fengyun walked to his squad and had someone fire a signal flare to notify the other three Hall Masters to gather at his location.