Chapter 159: Shizun, I’m Most Afraid of Tianwen

Nangong Liu was outwardly calm, but a sheen of sweat had appeared on his forehead. As he assessed this stranger's abilities, Nangong Liu realized the man wasn't bluffing. His panic grew. In an attempt to salvage the dignity of the world's foremost cultivation sect, he put on a brave front. "Who are you, sir? What do you want, charging into Rufeng

 Sect after nightfall?"

 "I told you. I'm here to remind you not to let your son marry a

 woman he oughtn't."

 At these words, the guests exchanged furtive glances. Rumors of an

 affair between Rufeng Sect's Ye Wangxi and Song Qiutong had spread

 through the streets and alleyways; everyone had heard them. The only

 people still in the dark were probably Nangong Si himself and, it seemed,

 Nangong Liu.

 But the wedding invitations had been sent, and the marriage contract

 drawn up. If they backed out now, where would that leave Rufeng Sect's

 reputation? Nangong Liu's lips quivered, and he let out a snort. "As long as

 my son likes the person he marries, it's no one else's business."

 The black-clad man laughed. "Sect Leader is so generous. Perhaps

 you don't care whether Song Qiutong's heart belongs to the Nangong

 family or the Ye family after all."

 Song Qiutong was terrified. Face deathly pale and lovely eyes wide,

 she cried, "You slander me!"

"Do I? Shouldn't you of all people know just what sorts of naughty

 things you and Ye Wangxi have been up to?"

 Ye Wangxi hadn't expected to hear his own name. Startled, it took

 him a long beat to appreciate what the man in black was implying. Rather

 than get angry, his first reaction was to burst out laughing. "What nonsense

 is this?"

 "It's not nonsense. Every word is the truth. I've seen it with my own

 eyes." The black-clad man continued in a measured tone. "You spared no

 expense to save Song Qiutong at Xuanyuan Pavilion—the entire cultivation

 world knows this. One wonders—what was your intention spending so

 much money to bring a beauty home, Ye-gongzi?"

 "I found her in terrible circumstances. Was I to stand by and do

 nothing?"

 "All right, you couldn't do nothing, so you saved her. Couldn't you

 just set her free? Why keep her at your side, even taking her back to Rufeng

 Sect to be your handmaiden?"

 "That Miss Song is a Butterfly-Boned Beauty Feast is known to all. If

 I had simply released her, unscrupulous actors would've targeted her at

 once. I brought her back to Rufeng Sect so she could have a safe place to

 stay."

 "So you gave her somewhere to stay. Ye-gongzi must truly be a

 virtuous ascetic, to spend so much time with a beautiful woman without

 crossing a single line."

 The man's words dripped ridicule, but Ye Wangxi didn't look

 ashamed in the least. "My conscience is clear," he stated.

But how would anyone believe him? People always judged the

 intentions of others by the measure of their own experiences. Most of those

 present were from the upper cultivation world. Had they obtained a

 Butterfly-Boned Beauty Feast for themselves, they would have endured

 being beaten black and blue in order to shield the prize in their arms for use

 in dual cultivation or direct consumption. No one believed Ye Wangxi could

 be innocent. The crowd exchanged glances, faces filled with scorn. The

 originally tense atmosphere shifted, now permeated with a gleeful curiosity.

 "Sir, I think you're looking for trouble and trying to defame Rufeng

 Sect." Nangong Si's voice was dark. "Whom I marry has got nothing to do

 with you. Enough. Piss off back to wherever you came from."

 "I'm trying to do you a favor here, Nangong-gongzi." The man in

 black paced around the hall, coming to a stop near Song Qiutong. He

 laughed at her and said, "Miss Song, your husband trusts you blindly. No

 wonder you can stand here without a touch of unease and fancy yourself the

 young mistress of Rufeng Sect."

 Song Qiutong wasn't nearly as calm as the other two. "How dare you

 impugn my virtue!" she cried nervously.

 "Between you and Ye-gongzi, what virtue is there to speak of?" the

 black-garbed man asked brazenly. "You willingly waited upon him after he

 saved you. You thought no one noticed the private affair between you—

 how could you know that I was watching from the shadows? If you didn't

 want anyone to find out, then you shouldn't have…"

 Song Qiutong cut him off with a sharp cry. "You're lying!"

 "If I'm lying, why are you shaking so hard?"

"I-I'm being bullied… I…" She looked at Nangong Si anxiously.

 "Gongzi…"

 Nangong Si crossed the hall to Song Qiutong and stood before her,

 shielding her. Eyes wolfish, he leveled a dark and chilling stare at the man

 in black. "I'm warning you to stop making false accusations."

 "You'll know whether my accusations are false after I finish

 speaking." The man laughed. "Nangong-gongzi, your beautiful Miss Song

 has a red birthmark on her left thigh, isn't that so?"

 Nangong Si blinked in astonishment. "You…"

 "About the size of a grain of rice, scarlet, not dark red—the color of

 blood. If I didn't see her and Ye-gongzi doing the deed with my own eyes,

 how would I know such a specific detail?"

 "This…"

 "Gongzi!" Song Qiutong cried out in panic. She tugged on Nangong

 Si's sleeve and said tearfully, "It's not true, it's not true, he's making it up…

 He must have spied on me when I was bathing…"

 "Why would I care to watch you bathe?" the man cut in, sounding

 annoyed. "I'd rather go to Sisheng Peak to see Yuheng Elder."

 The tale of the female disciple peeping at the Yuheng Elder in the

 bath was another anecdote enthusiastically passed around the streets of the

 cultivation world. Hearing it in this context, bolder members of the

 audience peeked over at Chu Wanning in amusement, only to quickly avert

 their gazes at the murderous look on his face.

 The man in black circled Nangong Si and Song Qiutong. He clapped

 his hands and chuckled, as if something had just occurred to him. "That's

 right, I remember now. Back when Ye-gongzi bought Miss Song, Hanlin the

Sage personally placed a dot of chastity cinnabar on her wrist. If Miss Song

 is indeed unsullied and every word out of my mouth filthy slander, then this

 dot of cinnabar must remain on her wrist."

 He paused, then turned to smile at Song Qiutong, who was trembling

 miserably from head to toe. "Miss Song, if you're innocent as you claim, go

 ahead and show everyone that cinnabar dot. How's that sound?"

 With sudden understanding, Nangong Si turned and consoled Song

 Qiutong. "It's okay, just show everyone, you…"

 All the blood had drained from Song Qiutong's lips, and her face was

 paper-white. Shivering, she stared blankly ahead. After a moment, Nangong

 Si asked hesitantly, "What… What's wrong?"

 Song Qiutong released Nangong Si's hand and took a step back.

 Pulling her sleeve over her hand, she tearfully shook her head. "I…

 I can't…"

 Nangong Si's eyes widened with realization, but he couldn't get a

 word out.

 The man in black sneered. "What's wrong? Scared?"

 "No, that's not it… I don't know…" Song Qiutong crumpled to the

 floor, her tears falling like rain. "I'm not sure why, I don't know…" she

 wailed mournfully. "Let me go…I'm begging you…"

 She clasped her sleeve tightly over her hand to hide it from view, but

 her efforts made her predicament only more conspicuous. She might as well

 have said flat out that the chastity mark on her wrist had faded, quite as the

 man had said.

 The young lady had been betrothed as a virgin, but before the

 wedding had been celebrated, the red mark on her wrist had disappeared.

Even if she jumped into the Yellow River, she wouldn't be able to wash her

 reputation clean.

 The man in black had taken a breath to continue when a clear, cold

 voice rang out. In the light of the lanterns, Chu Wanning's figure stood tall

 and undaunted as he said, "This mark was present on Miss Song's wrist a

 few days ago, which contradicts your timeline for this supposed affair.

 Perhaps you're deliberately sabotaging these young people."

 For some reason, the black-clad man's eyes flashed with a wordless

 bafflement. His overbearing manner inexplicably seemed to melt away

 when he turned to face Chu Wanning. After a long silence, he heaved a

 sigh. Some of the onlookers thought—was it their imagination, or was this

 man who'd just been spouting such damning words now speaking in a tone

 that could only be described as indulgent?

 "Chu-zongshi's not wrong. But I didn't say they were already

 involved back then. I only said they'd had an affair. If we were to pinpoint

 the timing, I'd say it was in the past few days."

 "Absurd…" muttered Ye Wangxi.

 Chu Wanning's expression was grave, his manner imposing. "Empty

 words aren't proof. I'll be the judge of whether you speak truth or lies."

 "You…"

 As he spoke, Chu Wanning's fingertips sparked with golden light.

 The man's pupils contracted, and he dodged sideways, barely managing to

 escape the holy weapon Tianwen as it ripped through the air.

 "What does Chu-zongshi mean by this?" the man in black asked, both

 exasperation and amusement in his voice. His martial abilities were

 excellent; even Chu Wanning couldn't immediately ensnare him with the

whip. Yet the man didn't strike back, letting the willow vine pursue him

 around the entire hall. The previously tense atmosphere unexpectedly

 turned comical.

 "Hey—don't hit me, I'm not done talking," the man beseeched,

 almost affectionate.

 "If you have complaints, take your mask off, then talk!" Chu

 Wanning shot back sternly, swordlike brows drawn low.

 "If you want, I'll take it off for you later. I can't right now."

 "Why not!"

 "I'm too ugly. It's so bright in here; everyone will be frightened if

 they see me."

 The man in black continued to flee, side-stepping Tianwen. He saw

 that Chu Wanning's movements were growing increasingly ferocious.

 Sensing things were headed south, he flitted behind a wooden pillar to

 dodge another dazzling golden lash. "Ye Wangxi, are you a gentleman or

 not?" the man shouted. "Today, I'll show everyone your true face! You

 bought a woman for dual cultivation and forced Song Qiutong to serve you.

 You overstepped your station to defile your master's wife! You—you filthy

 brute, you two-faced beast!"

 "Ridiculous," Ye Wangxi retorted furiously. "What garbage are you

 spewing?!"

 "Have I misspoken? Can you possibly not know why Song Qiutong's

 chastity mark is gone?" the black-clad man yelled as he evaded another

 strike. "Just days ago she knelt before you and said she was already

 Nangong Si's betrothed; she begged you to let her go and leave her alone.

 Not only did you refuse to listen, you even said—"

Ye Wangxi's face was white with rage. "What else did I say? Let's

 hear it!" he squeezed out through gritted teeth.

 "Have you forgotten? Need I remind you? You said"—the man in

 black changed his tone to mimic Ye Wangxi's cadence—"Miss Song,

 I staked everything for you, only to become a bystander to your happiness.

 Now that you've earned Nangong-gongzi's favor, you wish to make a clean

 break with me? Keep dreaming." He added a wild laugh to the end,

 sounding like a complete delinquent.

 Ye Wangxi glared at him in speechless silence.