"What exactly happened?" Chu Feng asked the Supreme Elder of the Nangong Imperial Clan while simultaneously trying to comfort Jiang Wushang, lifting his gaze toward the old man.
At that moment, Chu Feng's eyes were sharp — even piercing — filled with a cold aura, like a blade glinting with frost.
Chu Feng's fierce demeanor wasn't because he believed Jiang Wushang's suffering had anything to do with this Supreme Elder.
Rather, it was because this Supreme Elder had once tried to kill him. Even though they had since reconciled, Chu Feng's impression of the man remained exceedingly poor. And with his mood already sour at this moment, his attitude naturally came out harsh.
"Young friend Chu Feng, don't look at me like that — I truly don't know what happened. This young friend Jiang Wushang came to our Nangong Imperial Clan saying he wanted to find you."
"But I had no idea where you were, so I could only bring him to find Long Jian. I figured Long Jian might know your whereabouts."
"But Long Jian has many places where he goes into seclusion. I searched all over before finally finding him here. I didn't expect you to be here too — that certainly saved us some trouble."
"However… as for what actually happened, young friend Jiang Wushang refused to say, so… I… I really don't know."
"So you… you should ask young friend Jiang Wushang directly."
Seeing the fierce light in Chu Feng's eyes, the Supreme Elder actually shuddered, trembling from head to toe in fear.
Back when he had stood high above others, he had been imperious and untouchable. Yet now, before Chu Feng, he was utterly terrified — even his voice came out timid and wavering, laced with quavering tremors.
"Brother Chu Feng, this elder truly doesn't know anything. Please don't press him — let me tell you instead." Jiang Wushang wiped the tears from his face with force, then began to recount everything that had happened to Chu Feng.
Though his heart was heavy with grief, he knew this was no time to show weakness. He had to stay strong.
Through Jiang Wushang's account, Chu Feng and the others learned the truth of what had occurred.
After the battle against the four great imperial clans that day, Duan Jidao had been gravely wounded. He, along with Yin Gongfu and the others from the Hidden World Valley, including Jiang Wushang, had hurried back ahead of the group.
However, before they could reach the Hidden World Valley, they were ambushed by members of the Dark Hall. Duan Jidao and Yin Gongfu were captured, and everyone else from the Hidden World Valley who had traveled with them was killed. Only Jiang Wushang managed to escape with his life.
Thinking about it now, the enemy had very likely let Jiang Wushang go on purpose. After all, given Jiang Wushang's level of cultivation, how could he possibly have gotten away otherwise?
Jiang Wushang had completely lost his composure at the time. His only thought was to find Chu Feng, because besides Chu Feng, he had no idea who else could help him.
And because he had previously witnessed the Nangong Imperial Clan going out of their way to invite Chu Feng as a guest — and because Nangong Long Jian was a member of the Nangong Imperial Clan and had been traveling with Chu Feng — he figured that Chu Feng might be at the Nangong Imperial Clan. Left with no other options, he went there to seek help.
Truth be told, he had known that going to the Nangong Imperial Clan might end in disaster. The great battle had only just concluded, and showing up there could very well have been walking into his own death.
But in his state of mind at the time, he had already cast life and death aside. All he wanted was to find Chu Feng as quickly as possible.
Fortunately, the Nangong Imperial Clan genuinely wished to reconcile with Chu Feng these days. So after Jiang Wushang arrived at their gates, not only did they not give him a hard time, but a Supreme Elder personally escorted him here.
"Elder, thank you for bringing Wushang here. I apologize for my poor attitude toward you earlier." Chu Feng bowed deeply to the Supreme Elder.
Chu Feng was a man of reason who drew clear lines between gratitude and grudges. Though he had enmity with this Supreme Elder, the man had brought Jiang Wushang to him — an act of kindness. The grudge and the kindness balanced each other out and could be considered settled. And since Chu Feng had been rude earlier, an apology was only proper.
This gesture of his may have seemed like nothing, but the Compass Immortal observed it and noted it: to settle debts fairly, to weigh gratitude and grudges with such clarity — that was the mark of a true man.
"Young friend Chu Feng, you're far too polite. We may have had our differences in the past, but that's all water under the bridge. From now on, we're all one family."