The shovel probably wasn't much good, and the forest floor wasn't easy to dig.
Large rocks frequently blocked the way.
The old woman was extraordinarily strong. When this happened, she would curse as she tossed the shovel aside, crouch down, lift the rock out, and casually throw it to one side.
Over time, the pile of dirt beside her actually ended up smaller than the pile of rocks.
Zhou Qingmei watched with a heavy heart, just about to observe silently, when she felt an empty space beside her. Looking up again, Fang Shuwen was already walking toward the old woman.
Startled, she hurried to follow.
The old woman had already jumped into the pit. Fang Shuwen came to the edge of the pit, crouched down, and watched her.
The old woman sensed something and looked up at him.
Her hair was soaked by the rain, clinging to her wrinkled skin, her gaze malicious and cold.
But after glancing at Fang Shuwen, she continued digging.
Fang Shuwen suddenly spoke: "Do you need help?"
Zhou Qingmei, following behind Fang Shuwen, nearly tripped and fell.
She had thought Fang Shuwen would say something shocking, but now he actually meant to help?
The old woman's appearance was inexplicable, and no normal person would dig a hole in such woods while it was pouring rain.
And in such a situation, how could anyone in their right mind want to help?
Recalling their conversation in the Zhou estate's secret chamber, Zhou Qingmei's expression turned odd: "This guy, he doesn't actually have something wrong with his head, does he?"
The old woman shook her head: "No need."
Her voice was like a door hinge that hadn't been oiled in years—dry and grating.
Fang Shuwen didn't mean to force the issue, so he crouched there and continued watching her dig.
Zhou Qingmei stood beside him, looking at the old woman in the pit, then at Fang Shuwen, and finally nudged his shin lightly with her foot: "What is she digging?"
"Digging a grave."
Fang Shuwen answered quietly.
"..."
She could tell that?
The old woman's unsettling laughter rang out: "Young man, you have good eyesight."
"Not bad. When I was young, I did all sorts of odd jobs, and I even helped people dig graves."
"Your pit is about six feet deep, over seven feet long, and about three and a half feet wide—perfect for burying a person."
The old woman suddenly looked up and asked harshly: "Then do you know who this old woman intends to bury?"
Fang Shuwen immediately nodded: "I know, I know. Old lady, at your age, you're probably about to die."
"Digging a grave ahead of time is clearly digging your own grave."
"But this place isn't well chosen. The woods are dense, like some kind of trap, and the feng shui is too ordinary."
"As the saying goes, a place that shelters wind and gathers water."
"It neither shelters wind nor gathers water... what a pity."
"Anyway, you're not dead yet. Why not dig somewhere else?"
The old woman's finger twitched slightly, as if she snorted from her nose: "A youngster knows feng shui?"
Fang Shuwen laughed heartily: "Of ten mysteries of feng shui under heaven, I alone understand nine!"
The old woman was stunned by this, and when she looked at Fang Shuwen again, there was a hint of solemn respect.
Not to mention anything else, this confidence was far beyond what others could match.
Zhou Qingmei also looked incredulous: "You're a feng shui expert? Then what about the remaining mystery?"
Fang Shuwen waved his hand: "I don't understand that one."
Zhou Qingmei reacted slightly and couldn't help but laugh.
Though she had been soaked by the rain for half a day, she was still naturally beautiful and extraordinary.
Otherwise, she couldn't be called Julu City's number one beauty.
Her smile at this moment swept away the gloom of the woods.
Only the old woman in the pit grew darker in expression and said coldly: "What a bold youngster, actually making sport of this old woman here?"
Fang Shuwen said with a smile: "Old lady, don't get angry. You're a dying person; getting worked up will only make you die sooner."
"A silver tongue."
By the time the old woman finished saying this, the pit was already dug.
She looked it over, nodded quite satisfied: "What do you think of my grave?"
After saying this, she herself paused, as if sensing something was off about what she said.
Fang Shuwen quickly said: "Excellent, a perfect match for you."
"What a pity."
The old woman turned back sinisterly, looking at Fang Shuwen and Zhou Qingmei: "This grave was dug for the two of you!"
Having said this, the old woman was suffused with black qi all over.
Fang Shuwen had seen this black qi before—whether it was the black-robed man who exchanged blows with Zhou Qingmei or the middle-aged man who led the attack on the Zhou estate, when they circulated their internal force, this black qi would rise.
However, the middle-aged man was weak, and the black-robed man was somewhat stronger.
But even the two of them combined didn't have half the intensity of this old woman.
Zhou Qingmei's pupils suddenly contracted: "Could this be the Black Fiend Demon Skill! Are you a remnant of the Black Fiend Sect?"
"What is the Black Fiend Demon Skill?"
Fang Shuwen seized the opportunity to broaden his knowledge.
"The Black Fiend Demon Skill is the Black Fiend Sect's unique martial art. It requires fresh female blood as a guide to cultivate, and the best are girls born in a yin year, yin month, yin day, and yin hour."
"They call them top-grade!"
"This art's internal force is yin-damaging and harms one's foundation and cultivation without fail."
"Back then, the Black Fiend Sect relied on this demonic art to ravage the jianghu, killing countless people."
"But this demonic sect was eradicated thirty years ago by my Zhujige Pavilion joining forces with the righteous people of various sects."
"How can there still be a fish that slipped through the net?"
As Zhou Qingmei spoke, she had already gripped her sword hilt, her alertness at its highest.
From the black qi on this old woman, one could see that her Black Fiend Demon Skill had been cultivated to an extremely terrifying realm, absolutely not something she could match. Tonight, she feared a fight to the death.
But this would implicate Fang Shuwen.
She said in a low voice: "She's targeting me. You leave quickly."
Fang Shuwen hadn't spoken yet when the old woman laughed sinisterly: "The grave is dug. Where do you think you're going?"
"Offend the Black Fiend Sect, and it's a feud to the death. This place will be your burial ground!!"
As the words fell, black radiance burst from her whole body, yin-cold qi stained the rain curtain, and faint white mist was visible with each breath.
Faint crying and howling echoed from all directions, like demonic voices chasing souls and disturbing the mind.
Zhou Qingmei gave a muffled groan, feeling as if steel needles were shooting into her brain, pain beyond compare. Her true qi inside immediately became chaotic, yin and yang not connecting.
At this moment, the old woman leapt up from the pit, reaching out through the air, wrapping herself in endless black mist as she grabbed at the two of them.
Zhou Qingmei's pupils contracted, and she finally came to her senses, but it was already too late to raise her hand to resist.
Just as the old woman suddenly arrived, there was a dull thud!
Fist force like a spear, moving like a dragon.
In an instant, it pierced through the black qi around the old woman's body, shaking her violently. Then, with a look of utter disbelief, she fell with a thud directly into the grave she had dug.
"I've seen many grave diggers, but this is the first time I've seen someone dig their own grave."
Fang Shuwen's voice reached her ears: "Traveling the jianghu truly broadens one's horizons."
Chapter 10