Fang Shuwen and Zuo Qingshuang whispering to each other did not escape the notice of the others present.
Most did not care, though the attractive woman looked at Fang Shuwen with a flicker of surprise, but that was all.
Only the clamorous burly man from earlier suddenly snorted.
"Sister Qingshuang, where did this kid come from?
"What is the relationship between the two of you?"
Zuo Qingshuang was taken aback for a moment. Once she processed his words, her face darkened with fury.
"Shi Meng, what do you mean by that?"
Shi Meng's face flushed crimson at her question, but in the end he merely sneered.
"You know very well what I mean."
"You bastard!"
His vague, suggestive words stoked Zuo Qingshuang's rage to a boiling point. Fang Shuwen had just shared something of the utmost importance with her, yet Shi Meng's words were utterly malicious. In her fury, her right hand formed a sword gesture, and her longsword slid from its scabbard with a sharp clang.
She took the hilt firmly in hand, pointing the tip directly at Shi Meng from afar.
"If you do not explain yourself clearly today, this will not end between us!"
Shi Meng's face filled with disbelief.
"You're actually drawing your sword against me over this boy?"
Looking at Fang Shuwen again, he became even more convinced that this kid was up to no good.
Seeing that a brawl was about to break out, the others hurriedly stepped forward to smooth things over.
Some urged Shi Meng to apologize, while others tried to persuade Zuo Qingshuang to cool her anger.
Fang Shuwen glanced twice at Shi Meng, then looked back at Zuo Qingshuang, realizing what was going on.
Although Zuo Qingshuang was Zhou Qingmei's master, she had maintained herself well. Her face bore not the slightest trace of aging, and her beauty was truly first-rate. Otherwise, back in the day, meddlesome busybodies would never have dubbed her the Pristine Moon Fairy.
Shi Meng most likely harbored an affection for her, which was why seeing Fang Shuwen whispering in her ear had shattered his composure.
Fang Shuwen shook his head slightly, finding the whole matter not only tedious, but utterly bizarre.
He and Zuo Qingshuang were separated not only by years, but by an entire generational divide in martial hierarchy.
Shi Meng's head was truly filled with mush.
Yet unexpectedly, Shi Meng was not merely muddle-headed—he was stubborn as a mule.
The more everyone tried to mediate, the more justified he felt.
He simply pointed straight at Fang Shuwen and snarled, "Did I say anything wrong? This kid clearly isn't up to any good—some creature of unknown origin!
"Who knows what tricks he used to make Zuo Qingshuang trust him so completely, going so far as to draw her sword against her own people!
"Could it be that the two of you have already—"
"Shi Meng, that is enough!"
Zuo Qingshuang bellowed furiously, "Young Hero Fang has done Zhujige Pavilion a great service! By insulting him like this, are you declaring war on Zhujige Pavilion?"
The moment she uttered those words, the matter instantly turned grave.
The mountain god temple fell completely silent.
The Seven Great Sects of the Eastern Domain had always marched in lockstep, uniting to fend off common foes.
No one could have imagined that over Fang Shuwen, Zuo Qingshuang would actually speak of waging war against Wentian Mansion.
A recitation of the Buddha's name rang out, and an old monk with a full white beard spoke in a deep voice: "Benefactor Shi, this matter was indeed your fault from the start. You should apologize."
The attractive woman also said, "You truly stirred up trouble out of nowhere, with no rhyme or reason... And by saying such things, are you deliberately trying to ruin Junior Sister Zuo's reputation?"
One person after another chimed in, making the veins on Shi Meng's forehead throb violently.
Glancing at Fang Shuwen standing beside Zuo Qingshuang, looking completely unconcerned as if none of this had anything to do with him, Shi Meng's fury erupted from the depths of his heart.
"You bastard, I'll beat you to death!"
With a flick of his wrist, his purple-gold hammer spun around, and he took a sudden stride forward. A booming crash echoed as he charged forward like a colossal beast. Several experts of the Seven Sects who stood in his path had never expected this brute to actually attack. The Ten-Thousand-Jun Strategy possessed immense, violent force, and caught unprepared, they were blasted aside.
The purple-gold hammer was hoisted high and came crashing down violently toward Fang Shuwen.
At the sight, the faces of everyone present drained of color.
"Stop!"
"You cannot harm him!"
"Shi Meng, how dare you!"
Zuo Qingshuang was beside herself with rage. Turning her blade, she was about to strike, but Fang Shuwen had already taken a step forward.
Raising a single hand, the heavily falling purple-gold hammer dropped squarely into his palm.
The tremendous force vanished into nothingness the instant it made contact with his hand.
Fang Shuwen did not say a word. He merely tightened his fingers, and with a crisp crack, his five fingertips tore through the surface of the purple-gold hammer, sending fractures racing across the weapon in an instant.
"How is that possible?"
Shi Meng's eyes went wide as saucers.
Then, with a resounding crunch, the entire purple-gold hammer shattered under Fang Shuwen's grip.
Shi Meng was dazed, his head buzzing in disbelief.
This purple-gold hammer possessed an illustrious pedigree, and its materials were extraordinarily rare... To crush such an object, even someone who had cultivated the Ten-Thousand-Jun Strategy to the Great Perfection realm could hardly accomplish the feat.
What kind of monster was this?
In his daze, his throat tightened, and his feet left the ground.
Looking down, he found himself hoisted high into the air by Fang Shuwen.
"You..."
He struggled to speak, only to meet Fang Shuwen's icy, indifferent gaze as the young man spoke softly:
"Do you want to die?"
Relying on his formidable cultivation in the Ten-Thousand-Jun Strategy—where pure strength overcame all technique—Shi Meng had indeed grown arrogant, accustomed to throwing his weight around with brash abandon.
Yet at this very moment, not an ounce of swagger remained in him.
From Fang Shuwen's emotionless eyes, he sensed that if his answer displeased the young man for even an instant, he would truly be killed.
The pigheaded obstinacy and reckless bravado from moments ago vanished without a trace.
A terror he had never felt before flooded his heart.
Yet how could he bear to beg for mercy?
Remembering that Wentian Mansion stood behind him, he gritted his teeth and barked, "You thief, you bewitched Zuo Qingshuang, and now you dare strike back... Wentian Mansion will never let you off!
"And I certainly don't believe you'd dare to kill—"
Before the word "me" could leave his lips, under the stunned gazes of everyone present, a sharp snap rang out.
Fang Shuwen had snapped Shi Meng's neck with a single twist.
With a casual flick of his arm, he flung the corpse straight out of the mountain god temple.
Without so much as a backward glance at Shi Meng's body, Fang Shuwen turned to face the others inside the temple.
"Everyone here can bear witness for me.
"There was no enmity between this man and myself.
"Yet for no reason at all, he tried to take my life...
"Killing without cause—how is such conduct any different from the demonic path?
"If I didn't happen to possess a bit of martial skill to defend myself, the one dead today would have been me.
"My killing him was fair and reasonable. What do you all think?"
The righteous martial artists present looked at one another, at a loss for words.
A strange thought crept into their minds:
If they claimed this wasn't fair and reasonable... was this kid going to slaughter them all, too?
Then Zuo Qingshuang spoke up: "Young Hero Fang speaks the absolute truth. Shi Meng attacked without cause to harm another; he brought about his own destruction, and no one else is to blame."
The attractive woman could not help casting another glance at Zuo Qingshuang before nodding.
"Young Hero Fang, was it?
"Yuqing Pavilion is willing to stand as a witness for you in this matter. Shi Meng indeed attacked first to cause harm, and Young Hero Fang merely defended himself in response."
"So you are a senior from Yuqing Pavilion. My respects."
Fang Shuwen cupped his fists politely, all traces of his overbearing aggression completely gone.
The rest of the crowd stood dumbfounded. How could a person possess two completely different faces?
Chapter 67