That joyful cry instantly drew everyone's eyes toward Fang Shuwen.
Mo Beidou, in particular, stared wide-eyed...
The main reason was that the person calling out to Fang Shuwen was a woman.
And an exceptionally beautiful one at that.
In terms of sheer looks, she even surpassed their own Young Chief Escort...
Just what was this girl's relationship with his Sixteenth Junior Brother? Could Sixteenth Junior Brother have secretly found himself a woman without his Eldest Senior Brother knowing? No wonder he had refused to let Mo Beidou play matchmaker between him and the Young Chief Escort!
In that split second, Mo Beidou's mind worked faster than it ever had before, one thought tumbling after another, his fierce eyes alight with unbridled curiosity for gossip.
Fang Shuwen was equally surprised. "Miss Zhou?
"Senior Zuo?
"What are you two doing here?"
The people inside the dilapidated kiln were none other than Zuo Qingshuang and Zhou Qingmei of Zhujige Pavilion.
He had only recently bid them farewell at Zhujige Pavilion, yet in the blink of an eye, they had crossed paths again inside a ruined kiln in an unnamed village. Even Fang Shuwen could not help marveling at how small the world truly was.
Since they knew one another, Fang Shuwen naturally took it upon himself to make introductions.
Upon hearing Zuo Qingshuang's name, Lu Guiyan was immediately struck with deep respect. Cupping her fists, she said, "So it is the Pristine Moon Fairy herself. Junior Lu Guiyan of the Lu'an Escort Agency pays her respects to Senior Zuo."
Fang Shuwen blinked in confusion. Pristine Moon Fairy? A moniker?
Seeing his expression, Zhou Qingmei found it somewhat amusing and lowered her voice to explain, "My master is very beautiful, so when she roamed the jianghu in her younger days, people naturally gave her plenty of nicknames... Somehow, 'Pristine Moon Fairy' caught on and spread everywhere. Even though my master never cared for it, she couldn't stop them."
Understanding dawned on Fang Shuwen. So that was it.
Thinking about it, people in the jianghu were truly not the masters of their own fates... Even their own nicknames were beyond their control. Right now, he was a nobody with no reputation to speak of. He wondered what kind of moniker people would saddle him with once he made a name for himself in the future.
With those thoughts in mind, he introduced Zhou Qingmei as well.
The escort agency members naturally knew of the Eldest Young Miss of the Zhou clan, and knew she was a true disciple of Zhujige Pavilion. When they heard Zuo Qingshuang's identity earlier, they had already guessed who Zhou Qingmei was, and the introduction confirmed it. Lu Guiyan could not help looking closely at Zhou Qingmei's features, silently sighing in admiration. She was indeed worthy of being called the greatest beauty of Julu City.
Although both hailed from Julu City and held prominent standings there, and theoretically should have crossed paths, Zhou Qingmei had been crowned the city's foremost beauty at age sixteen and spent most of her time training at Zhujige Pavilion, while Lu Guiyan roamed the jianghu year-round. As a result, this was the very first time the two women had met.
After marveling at Zhou Qingmei's beauty, Lu Guiyan felt a stir of surprise: how was the Eldest Young Miss Zhou so familiar with Fang Shuwen?
Then she recalled Fang Shuwen mentioning in his chat with Elder Shixian that he had slain the Ghost Scholar at Zhujige Pavilion. Presumably, his familiarity with Zuo Qingshuang and Zhou Qingmei stemmed from that affair. Since it was Fang Shuwen's private business, however, she had no reason to pry.
Mo Beidou, on the other hand, let his jaw drop open upon learning Zhou Qingmei's identity.
He knew Fang Shuwen had some history with the Zhou estate, though Fang Shuwen had never gone into detail. But it was Mo Beidou who had cashed in a favor with Wang Tao back then to secure Fang Shuwen—penniless at the time—a position as a guard martial instructor at the Zhou estate.
Mo Beidou might be a rough fellow, but he was an experienced man. The look in Zhou Qingmei's eyes when she looked at Fang Shuwen was anything but purely innocent...
Could this rascal have used his guard post to steal the heart of the family's young mistress?
Brilliant lad!
With Fang Shuwen acting as the intermediary, everyone gathered together. Fang Shuwen wondered why Zhou Qingmei and Zuo Qingshuang were not staying safely at Zhujige Pavilion instead of traveling out here.
Zuo Qingshuang's next words caught him off guard: "We came here for the Autumn Moon Nunnery."
Before Qi Wuwang died, he had said he intended to bring the master and servant to Autumn Moon Nunnery. Neither Fang Shuwen nor Lu Guiyan had known what kind of place it was. Yet now, Zuo Qingshuang and Zhou Qingmei were heading for the exact same destination?
"Just what kind of place is Autumn Moon Nunnery?"
While Lu Guiyan was still pondering how to ask, Fang Shuwen blurted it out directly.
Zuo Qingshuang naturally saw no reason to hide anything from Fang Shuwen, and explained, "There was originally nothing strange about Autumn Moon Nunnery. It was just an ordinary nunnery. The Buddhist nuns inside did not even practice martial arts; they were just common folk chanting scriptures and eating vegetarian fare.
"A few months ago, however, everything changed.
"At the foot of Mount Yanyue and across the surrounding villages and towns, young men and women began disappearing frequently.
"Some had seen their parents and family just before going to sleep, only to vanish without a trace by morning.
"At the time, people suspected jianghu outlaws were behind it, so they hired an itinerant swordsman to investigate.
"That man possessed some genuine skill and eventually traced the clues to Autumn Moon Nunnery. He wrote down his suspicions in a notebook, left it at the inn where he was staying, and went to investigate Autumn Moon Nunnery alone. He never returned."
Lu Guiyan's expression turned grave upon hearing this.
Curious, Fang Shuwen asked, "What happened after that?"
"Later, word reached Nianhua Zen Courtyard, one of the seven great sects. At the time, Masters Liaokong and Liaowu were traveling with their disciples. When they caught wind of it, they decided to investigate."
Zuo Qingshuang sighed. "To be safe, they had their disciples wait outside as backup while the two of them went inside Autumn Moon Nunnery.
"To everyone's shock, only Master Liaokong returned.
"And he was grievously wounded.
"He managed to gasp, 'A demon lurks within; let the seven sects purge it together,' before collapsing into a coma. He has yet to awaken.
"The two disciples didn't dare probe further and reported the incident back to Nianhua Zen Courtyard.
"Nianhua Zen Courtyard then issued martial alliance summons, inviting experts from each of the seven sects to lend their aid.
"Who would have thought that Li Nanchen intercepted the letter and hid it away?
"It was only found when his room was cleared out after his death.
"Fortunately, the letter set the meeting for the sixteenth of October. There are still three days left, so there is still time.
"Of my two senior martial brothers, one is in secluded cultivation and the other keeps his doors shut, leaving only me to make the journey. Among the younger generation, the two top disciples are dead, and Xiaoqing's injuries won't heal anytime soon, so I brought Qingmei along to broaden her horizons."
Listening to this, Lu Guiyan could not help feeling perplexed.
Wasn't Li Nanchen the eldest disciple of Zhujige Pavilion's current generation?
How had he died?
There was no time to press for answers, however, so she simply asked, "May I ask where this Autumn Moon Nunnery is located?"
"Oh, you wouldn't know the name Mount Yanyue—that is what the locals call it. Travelers like us usually call it Wangbei Pass. It lies right on the mandatory path heading north along this route."
"..."
Fang Shuwen looked silently at Lu Guiyan.
Lu Guiyan could only offer a bitter smile in return. Qi Wuwang could not possibly have been ignorant that Mount Yanyue was Wangbei Pass; he had clearly concealed it on purpose.
Zhou Qingmei's gaze drifted back and forth between the two of them, her eyes blinking softly.
Chapter 64