Watching the system prompt surface before his eyes, Fang Shuwen understood: it amounted to the initiative being placed in his own hands.
The first guard mission had come to him by default, because by then he had already become a retainer of the Zhou household.
So that meant that from now on, he would have to go find his own missions?
At that thought he turned to look at Zhou Feixiong:
“Master Zhou, may I ask—do you know who these enemies of yours tonight are?”
Zhou Feixiong gave a bitter laugh.
“To be frank with you, what I know is no different from what you know, young hero.
“But rest easy. My daughter is, after all, from Zhujige Pavilion. As long as we get safely through tonight and report this matter to her sect, then no matter who is behind it, I expect it can be settled.”
Fang Shuwen wavered inwardly.
These men’s martial arts were no small thing, and there was no telling whether other experts were yet to come.
He was somewhat unwilling to be dragged into such a mess.
But with the mission now appearing before his eyes, and the Yijin Jing reward he had just come by, he was loath to give it up so easily either.
Zhou Feixiong was right—Zhujige Pavilion was not like other places.
Power, masters, wealth—it had all of it in abundance.
Zhou Qingmei was a true disciple of Zhujige Pavilion. If they stepped in to mediate, this storm would surely dissolve into nothing.
However it went, it would not take more than three months.
He glanced at the silver notes in his hand and weighed the feasibility of it once more.
In the end Fang Shuwen nodded and agreed to the matter.
If it truly came to the point where nothing could be done, he could simply pull himself out and withdraw.
After weighing it from every side, he chose [Accept Mission].
[Mission accepted!]
[Current guard mission: protect Zhou Qingmei until the danger is resolved.]
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. For as long as the mission continues, you gain double the enhancement to aptitude and comprehension. It will be canceled automatically if the mission is abandoned or ends.]
“Oh?”
Fang Shuwen blinked, having not expected that after the Novice reward, taking on a mission would carry its own bonus of heightened aptitude and comprehension.
Two times was no match for the Novice reward’s five times, but having something was better than nothing.
He glanced at Zhou Feixiong:
“Good. I’ll take this job.”
“Good, good, excellent!!”
Zhou Feixiong hastily pulled a token from his belt and handed it to Fang Shuwen:
“This is my waist token. Follow this secret passage straight ahead, young hero, and you can leave the grounds of the Zhou estate.
“Once you are out, use the token to get through the city gate. Go three li north, and you will see the Heart-of-the-Lake Cottage.
“I leave everything to you, young hero.”
Fang Shuwen took the token, gave it a casual glance, and put it away, then cupped his fist to Zhou Feixiong:
“There is no time to lose. I will set out now.”
Zhou Feixiong nodded again and again and pointed him the way.
Once inside the secret passage, Fang Shuwen took out a fire starter for light and followed the tunnel forward. He had not gone far before reaching the end.
Climbing out of the opening, he looked around: this was a small alley within Julu City.
He had scrabbled his way through Julu City for more than ten years and knew the city deeply.
He only had to work out the direction roughly, and then he hurried toward the north gate.
The token indeed worked well. The guard at the gate took one look and immediately opened it to let him through.
At once he ran north at full speed.
…
…
Clang, clang, clang! Clang, clang, clang!!
Above the Heart-of-the-Lake Cottage, two figures wove and leapt, and the clash of weapons—in the instant sparks and blood flew apart—came on unbroken as rain beating on banana leaves.
Then, as their inner breath slammed together, a booming report rang out.
The two figures parted left and right, each coming to stand on a rooftop.
Zhou Qingmei wore a moon-white martial outfit, brows and eyes like a painting, stars in her gaze; she was truly beautiful beyond words.
Only her brow was sharp and keen, lending her a touch of coldness.
The hand holding her sword trembled faintly, and her eyes instinctively went to the distance.
There, flames blazed up to the sky—the direction of the Zhou estate.
“You want to go back? A pity—tonight you cannot.
“But do not worry. On the road to the Yellow Springs, your family will be there to keep you company.”
The speaker was the man standing on the rooftop opposite.
He wore a black robe and held a folding fan; the open face of the fan was pitch black, glinting with a metallic sheen under the starlight.
“Who are you people, really?”
Zhou Qingmei’s features were somewhat cold and aloof, and her voice was colder still, like ice.
“When you get down below, ask the King of Hell!!”
The man flung out those words and wasted no more breath. He tapped a foot down, shattering the tiles, and his body shot straight at Zhou Qingmei like a falling star.
The folding fan in his hand swept out with a sudden flick—snap—slashing on a slant like a blade.
His skill with the fan was extraordinary, a style entirely his own: opened, it was a blade, chopping or sweeping; closed, it was a sword, jabbing or flicking upward.
Hidden within it, too, were the acupoint-striking techniques of the judge’s pen—devious, dangerous, ruthless beyond compare.
Zhou Qingmei was a true disciple of Zhujige Pavilion, and her Thousand-Character Swordplay combined grandeur with a wondrous lightness: it rose like a dragon soaring into the heavens, yet could also bare its edge within a hand’s breadth.
Unfortunately, after several exchanges Zhou Qingmei had long since realized that her internal skill was a notch below her opponent’s.
And for that very reason she had been unable to break through his blockade and race back to the Zhou estate.
Now, as they fought, the feeling grew ever more distinct: there was a hidden trick in the man’s martial arts. Every clash of weapons made her blade edge tremble slightly, as though it were no longer under her control.
And that feeling grew clearer as time went on, as though at some instant it would suddenly burst forth.
Just before the next clash of weapons, Zhou Qingmei clenched her teeth hard. Rather than wait passively for the man’s hidden hand to explode, she would strike first herself.
Her inner breath shifted, and ding—
Her long sword snapped clean in the middle.
The broken-off tip shot away with a whoosh.
And the blow that should have landed on her blade swept through empty air.
The black-robed man’s expression stalled, while Zhou Qingmei, having lost half her sword, seemed to slip free of a cage. She pressed her blade down and flicked it up, stabbing straight at the black-robed man’s chest.
This thrust came suddenly, just as his move was spent and he had no time to recover.
Even an immortal could not have guarded himself in time.
The half-length blade had already landed on the black-clad man’s chest.
But at that moment Zhou Qingmei’s face changed abruptly, and ding—
The black-robed man had something like heart-protecting armor hidden against his chest.
The thrust jolted his whole body, but it did not pierce through; instead it roused the man’s savagery.
His left hand rose high, and he roared in fury:
“You’re asking to die!!!!”
The palm strike came down savagely. Zhou Qingmei had no time to think; she raised her palm and met it.
As the two palms connected, Zhou Qingmei’s body jolted, she spat out a mouthful of blood, and her body flew backward.
She flew back seven or eight zhang in one burst, then turned and dropped to one knee on the ground, bracing herself with her right hand. She lifted her head, and before she could open her mouth, another mouthful of blood burst out.
The black-robed man had already closed in, his folding fan shut like a sword, stabbing straight for Zhou Qingmei’s brow.
Zhou Qingmei was gravely wounded. She wanted to raise her sword to defend herself, but she could not summon up even a breath.
Death was right before her eyes when a whistling sound and a shout came at the same moment:
“Villain, watch my sword!!”
Woom!
Something came cutting through the wind. Zhou Qingmei and the black-robed man both turned at once.
One look—where was there a sword?
What came flying at them was plainly a saber!
Chapter 5