Eldest Senior Brother!

The Eldest Young Miss of the Zhou family was as lovely as ever. Fang Shuwen admired her quietly for a moment, then spoke up. "Now that matters here are settled, I should take my leave." The smile on Zhou Qingmei's face melted away like spring snow. Frowning slightly, she said, "Jiuning Mountain has fine scenery. How about... staying a few more days, and I'll show you around?" Fang Shuwen smiled. "If the opportunity arises in the future, I will certainly come for a proper visit. But this time I left in too much of a rush and didn't leave a single word for my Master. I must return to give an account and report my safety." Hearing him say that, Zhou Qingmei could hardly press him further, though a lonely shadow crossed her expression. Zuo Qingshuang's gaze swept over her disciple before settling on Fang Shuwen. "Where is Young Hero Fang's home?" "For the time being, I'm staying in Julu City." "So both you and Qingmei are from Julu City," Zuo Qingshuang said with a smile. "Then you two must visit each other often in the future and keep in touch." Zhou Qingmei's eyes brightened at once, and she looked up at Fang Shuwen. Fang Shuwen nodded. "Naturally." Yet Zhou Qingmei looked at him closely. "Will I really be able to see you in Julu City in the future?" Though some things went unsaid, she couldn't shake the feeling that a small place like Julu City could never hold him. Fang Shuwen fell silent for a moment before replying, "You should be able to." He had to return to Julu City eventually. Before that, however, he wanted to make a trip to Guangning City. He had a lingering suspicion that the Fang family and Master Fang were deliberately hiding something. Since it concerned his own origins, he wanted to investigate as thoroughly as possible. Zhou Qingmei said nothing more, merely nodding quietly. Together with Zuo Qingshuang, she saw Fang Shuwen out through the gates of Zhujige Pavilion. Xu Chongshan did not come to see him off. For one, he hadn't expected Fang Shuwen to leave so soon; for another, having captured Guan Tianyue only yesterday, he was currently venting his fury through torture and had no attention to spare for anything else. As for Lu Xiaoqing... someone with impaired mobility did not need to be disturbed. Along the walk from the Treasure Pavilion to the mountain gate, Zuo Qingshuang explained Zhujige Pavilion's secret contact signals to Fang Shuwen in detail. Should the need arise, he could use them to find sect disciples and command them with the Zhuji Token. Fang Shuwen committed them to memory. As for whether he would ever use them—that could wait. To make a long story short, standing before the mountain gate, Zhou Qingmei and Fang Shuwen waved their goodbyes. With a parting "take care," Fang Shuwen turned and walked away. Zhou Qingmei stood watching quietly, her face devoid of any outward emotion. Zuo Qingshuang said nothing either, her gaze lingering on her precious disciple, at a loss for how to comfort her. Having never experienced such feelings herself, how could she offer any wise words? Just as she was about to sigh, she saw Fang Shuwen suddenly turn on his heel and walk back. Zuo Qingshuang blinked, and Zhou Qingmei's eyes lit up slightly. Fang Shuwen strode briskly up to them. "Right, almost forgot! When you find your father later, remember to tell him to send those silver notes for the two thousand taels of gold to Four Seas Martial Hall. And don't let him forget the reward for protecting you this time!" Zhou Qingmei: "..." Zuo Qingshuang: "..." *** Guangning City. Fang Shuwen opened his eyes in bed at the inn, got up, and poured himself a cup of water at the table. Looking at the sunlight streaming through the window, a look of conflict washed over his face. Half a month had passed since he bid farewell to Zhou Qingmei at the mountain gates of Zhujige Pavilion. He had been in Guangning City for several days now. His original plan was to see if he could find an opportunity to probe into the Fang family's situation here, and perhaps pick up another gig as a guard martial instructor along the way. Yet as it turned out, the Fang family's situation was that there was no situation at all. He had secretly slipped into the Fang residence several times. Whether his lightness skill was too poor and someone had noticed him, or the Fang family was truly an oasis of peace, he hadn't discovered anything unusual whatsoever. As for tasks... he had visited several wealthy households in succession, but none of them triggered a task. That was the main source of his current frustration. "The Fang family matter can be set aside for now. After so many years, there's no rush. But what on earth is going on with the system's tasks?" Fang Shuwen pushed open the window and watched the people beginning their day on the street, his brow furrowing slightly. "It seems my system's tasks aren't triggered at random. "Back then, when the system activated at the Zhou estate, it explicitly set a three-month deadline... and on that day three months later, the Zhou family was besieged and nearly wiped out. Later, when I received the task from Zhou Feixiong to protect Zhou Qingmei, it was because she was being hunted by the Black Fiend Cult. "Putting that together with the present situation, if there isn't some real trouble or danger, my system probably won't trigger a task at all. "Once it triggers... it means something bad is bound to happen?" Truth be told, Fang Shuwen didn't mind that too much. No pain, no gain—it was fair enough. However, that meant his original dream of finding a comfortable spot to idle away a few months and freeload rewards was completely out of the question. Moreover, with so many bustling people in this world, who could tell which one might trigger a task? With this system, tasks were his primary path to growth, which was far too important to neglect. "Forget it. I've stayed in Guangning City long enough. Better to return to Julu City first to see Master and Eldest Senior Brother." He still hadn't gifted the Ten-Year Dust-Shattering Pill he carried on him. As for the Fang family... it wouldn't be too late to return after reporting back to Master and Eldest Senior Brother in Julu City. Just as the thought crossed his mind, his casual glance out the window suddenly froze. A burly man was walking briskly down the street, clutching something bulging and conspicuous to his chest. Every now and then, he stopped to glance behind him, his face etched with grim tension, as though someone were stealthily dogging his footsteps. In fact, someone truly was following him. A single glance showed Fang Shuwen two figures clad in black quietly trailing behind the man. Though their movements were stealthy, the man had clearly sensed them. Steeling his resolve, he suddenly veered into an alleyway off the main thoroughfare. Seeing this, the two men in black realized they had been made. Abandoning all pretense, they sprang out from the shadows and used their lightness skill to give chase. Such a sight was hardly rare in the jianghu, yet Fang Shuwen could not look away. Not because he was naturally chivalrous or eager to play the hero... but because the burly man being pursued by the two men in black was none other than his Eldest Senior Brother, Mo Beidou!