Guangning City was laid out in the shape of the character tian. Its central cross served as the main thoroughfare, paved throughout with blue flagstones; though hardly smooth, it was exceptionally wide, easily allowing two horse-drawn carriages to pass each other side by side.
Yet within the surrounding quadrants, the buildings formed a chaotic jumble.
The alleys were narrow, twisting, and frequently encroached upon by drainage ditches, to the point where two people could barely walk abreast in some stretches.
Anyone unfamiliar with the terrain who ventured inside could lose their sense of direction with the slightest slip, hopelessly adrift within the maze of disordered lanes.
At that moment, Mo Beidou was sprinting through these alleys, his expression grim. Unfamiliar with the layout, he had plunged in headlong and now had no idea where he actually was.
Rounding a corner and taking only a few paces forward, he ran into another dead-end wall.
Just as he followed the path toward the next narrow lane, a sharp sense of crisis flared. With no time to think, he hastily threw up his arm to block, yet he was still a step too slow.
A fist grazed his forearm and slammed heavily into his chest.
With a dull thud, Mo Beidou was sent staggering backward, the contents of his shirt spilling across the ground.
They were wrapped packets of medicinal herbs.
Ignoring the sharp pain in his chest, Mo Beidou reached out to gather them, but in the next instant he was forced to snatch his hand back and leap away.
A gust of wind sliced through the air as a descending boot stomped down onto the packets, crushing them to powder.
Mo Beidou's face darkened. Not daring to linger, he spun on his heel to flee, only to find another man in black already barring his path.
"For a petty escort leader, you're sharp on your feet."
The second man in black stepped forward at an unhurried pace, speaking as he walked: "Speak up. Where is Lu Guiyan right now?"
Mo Beidou twitched the corner of his mouth, attempting a sneer, but the force of that earlier blow—though half-parried by his arm—was still more than he could bear. Before a laugh could leave his throat, a fit of coughing overtook him.
Once he caught his breath, he rasped, "You won't get a word about the Young Chief Escort's whereabouts out of me."
"Why bother?" The other man in black sighed. "How much silver does the Lu'an Escort Agency pay you in a month? Tell us what we want to know, and you can walk away. Rest assured, Lu Guiyan won't survive the night. No one will ever know you sold them out. Is this really worth throwing your life away for?"
Hearing that, Mo Beidou finally let out a hearty laugh. "I may be a nobody, but I still know the meaning of loyalty! Enough drivel. If you've got the skill, bring it on. If I back down half a step, I'm no man!"
The two men in black exchanged glances and chuckled in unison. One said, "Fine. Since you refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit, don't blame us for being ruthless!"
"Want to die? It won't be that simple... We have plenty of ways to break you!"
Just as the two were about to strike, a set of footsteps suddenly echoed from the entrance of the alley.
The two men in black frowned slightly, wondering what blind fool would happen past at a time like this.
The man with his back to the alleyway turned his head to look, only to see a simply dressed young man turning into the lane at that very moment.
Mo Beidou had originally intended to seize the distraction of the thug looking away to launch a sneak attack.
Yet the moment he looked up, he froze in utter disbelief!
The newcomer gave a wide grin. "Busy, fellas?"
Taken aback by the question, the thug's brow furrowed tightly. "The Fierce Tiger Gang is handling business here! Unrelated bastards can piss off!"
"No rush," the newcomer said with a smile. "I'm just looking for someone. I'll leave as soon as I find him."
The thug was completely baffled. Had the Fierce Tiger Gang's name lost all its weight? Or was this fool truly blind and bent on throwing his life away?
He asked instinctively, "Who are you looking for?"
"Already found him."
Fang Shuwen tilted his head, peering past the man in black toward Mo Beidou. "Eldest Senior Brother, have you been well?"
Only then did Mo Beidou snap out of his daze. He shouted in a panic, "Little Sixteen, run! They're with the Fierce Tiger Gang—you're no match for them!"
Zheng Sihai had accepted seventeen disciples in all, and Fang Shuwen was the sixteenth.
Mo Beidou had always called him Little Sixteen.
His impression of Fang Shuwen was still stuck at the first layer of the Jade Stillness Art. How could his junior brother possibly face two Fierce Tiger Gang disciples that even Mo Beidou himself could not defeat?
He had also heard about what happened at the Zhou estate and had assumed Fang Shuwen had perished in that blaze long ago.
For a long time, he had drowned his sorrows in wine, weeping bitterly whenever he recalled it, convinced he had brought about his sixteenth junior brother's death.
He never dreamed they would cross paths in Guangning City today.
Yet right now, he felt no joy in their reunion, only terror that his junior brother would be dragged down with him.
When the two Fierce Tiger Gang thugs heard his shout, however, they were overjoyed.
A cruel sneer spread across the face of the man closest to Fang Shuwen. "So you're his junior brother... That couldn't be better."
Mo Beidou instantly realized his intent and roared in fury, "Don't you dare!"
Leaping forward, he unleashed the Four Seas Dragon Fist with a resounding blast.
Yet the man in black had already stepped forward, closing the distance to Fang Shuwen. His fingers hooked like talons, striking straight for the throat. "Boy, your luck has run out!"
Mo Beidou could not reach him in time. He could only watch in horror as the man lunged, five fingers poised to clamp around Fang Shuwen's neck—when Fang Shuwen suddenly waved a hand.
In the next instant, Mo Beidou could not even clearly see what had transpired before a tremendous boom rang out.
The man in black was slammed against the wall.
With one hand pinning the man's head to the masonry, Fang Shuwen turned to Mo Beidou and smiled. "Don't worry, Eldest Senior Brother. He can't hurt me."
With that, he released his grip.
The thug's body instantly slumped, sliding down the brickwork into the adjacent drainage ditch, completely devoid of breath.
Mo Beidou happened to rush up to Fang Shuwen right at that moment. As their gazes met, his eyes were filled with utter bewilderment.
He stared at Fang Shuwen, then down at the corpse in the ditch.
His thoughts were a complete muddle, entirely unable to make sense of what had happened.
Mo Beidou could afford to be bewildered, could afford to stand dazed, because he was Fang Shuwen's eldest senior brother.
Yet the remaining Fierce Tiger Gang thug could not afford to freeze, nor did he dare hesitate. The moment he realized his companion had been swatted dead by Fang Shuwen as casually as a fly, he turned and fled without a second thought!
Fang Shuwen's eyes narrowed slightly.
"You bullied my eldest senior brother, and now you want to run?"
He extended a hand, his five fingers curling into a loose claw. The fleeing thug was already leaping into the air, but before he could complete the jump, a tremendous pulling force seized him, dragging him backward through the air toward Fang Shuwen against his will.
In an instant, his head fell firmly into Fang Shuwen's grasp.
Gone was his earlier composure when confronting Mo Beidou. His face was pale with sheer terror, and he stammered in a trembling voice, "G-Great Hero, sp—"
Before he could finish the sentence, a jolt of palm force surged through him. Blood erupted from all seven orifices, and he dropped dead on the spot!
Chapter 48