With Yuqing Pavilion taking the lead and Zhujige Pavilion's Zuo Qingshuang lending firm support, the other sects nodded one after another, expressing their willingness to serve as witnesses.
After all, no matter how one argued it, Shi Meng was in the wrong.
Fang Shuwen's only fault lay in being a bit too ruthless with his hands... but what he said was not without reason.
Had his martial arts not been formidable today, would Shi Meng not have beaten him to death?
When that happened, where would a dead man go to seek justice?
Granted, they would not have stood by and watched Shi Meng do so, and certainly would have stepped in to stop him... but what if they had failed to intervene in time?
What if Shi Meng had truly killed him?
The crux of the matter was that Shi Meng had provoked trouble without cause, started a fight, and even harbored murderous intent, only to be struck down in the end... he truly brought it upon himself.
Naturally, not everyone could accept this reasoning.
At least Shi Meng's disciple did not agree.
Ashen-faced, he walked over to Shi Meng's corpse, unable to believe that his master had died just like that.
Then he turned back and glared furiously at Fang Shuwen.
"You..."
The words rose to his lips, only to be swallowed back down.
Gritting his teeth, he said, "Seniors, is my master's life to be written off just like this?
"Wentian Mansion came here to purge evil... Yet before the villains are even eliminated, he has met his end, while you... you side with this murderer! Just where do you hold Wentian Mansion in your esteem?!"
"Are you his disciple?"
Fang Shuwen took a step forward.
The young man's face turned stark white at once, and the others hurried to speak up:
"Young Hero Fang, please show mercy!"
Fang Shuwen shook his head. "I am not an unreasonable man like Shi Meng. Why would I strike and kill without cause?
"Would that not make me part of the demonic path?
"I merely asked... Brother, are you Shi Meng's disciple?"
"And what if I am?"
The young man gritted his teeth and looked up, finding this Fang Shuwen utterly detestable.
Those words just now had once again branded his master as demonic...
Fang Shuwen nodded. "Good if you are. Take your master's body back to Wentian Mansion and tell your sect master what transpired from beginning to end.
"Then pass along a message for me: tell him I will soon visit Wentian Mansion to demand an explanation."
"How dare you... be so insolent?!"
The young man's face turned livid. Fang Shuwen had said something like that earlier, but back then it could still be dismissed as posturing.
Now, specifically having him carry that message back was practically stomping on Wentian Mansion's face.
He nodded fiercely. "Fine! I'll be waiting for you at Wentian Mansion!!"
With that, he gathered Shi Meng's corpse into his arms, called to the other Wentian Mansion disciples, and swept away.
Fang Shuwen watched his retreating back, eyes narrowing slightly.
By his usual nature, having formed an enmity, he should have silenced all the Wentian Mansion disciples right here to prevent future trouble.
However, the experts of the other sects would surely not tolerate that.
He still intended to keep working as an escort and earn system rewards.
He could not afford to end up making enemies of the entire world.
As things stood, reason was on his side. The jianghu respected reason; even if reason rested upon the foundation of fist power, on the surface, no fault could be found with him.
Even if his response had been a bit harsh, it was excusable.
The reason the other sects—aside from Zhujige Pavilion—sided with him was twofold: not only was Shi Meng arrogant, irritable, and unpopular, and Zhujige Pavilion was firmly backing Fang Shuwen, but most importantly, they could tell that Fang Shuwen's martial arts were unfathomable.
None wished to rashly incur the hostility of someone like him over a reckless hothead like Shi Meng.
Furthermore, although the Seven Great Sects had always acted in unison, Shi Meng alone did not necessarily represent all of Wentian Mansion.
How Wentian Mansion would handle the matter remained unknown.
In their view, there was still plenty of room for mediation.
However, if Fang Shuwen had truly slaughtered every person from Wentian Mansion today, that would have been pushing his advantage without mercy, revealing too heavy a murderous nature and giving people cause to condemn him—hardly a wise move.
Therefore, Fang Shuwen suppressed his killing intent and allowed the people from Wentian Mansion to leave.
Just as he turned to head back inside, his eyes caught sight of a familiar figure.
Dressed in black, arms cradling a sword, leaning against a great tree, looking calmly on at the spectacle.
Heavenly Qilin Sword... Chen Qi?!
He was here too?
Chen Qi seemed to sense Fang Shuwen's gaze and glanced in his direction.
Their eyes met. Chen Qi gave a slight nod, turned, and walked away.
Fang Shuwen chuckled softly and returned to the mountain god temple.
Though Shi Meng was gone, Fang Shuwen's martial arts were far superior to Shi Meng's, so no one present saw any problem.
After going over their original plan once more, they prepared to act accordingly.
However, after Fang Shuwen, Lu Guiyan, and the others stepped outside the mountain god temple, Zuo Qingshuang detained the leaders of the Seven Sects.
Earlier, Fang Shuwen had told her something.
While they were discussing tonight's plan, someone had actually been hiding on the roof of the temple.
This matter was extraordinary and could not be made public, which was why Fang Shuwen had asked her to lean in close.
After all, profound as his internal skill was, he did not know secret techniques like sound transmission.
And the reason Fang Shuwen had not dragged the person down from the roof was that, given the current situation, it was not impossible to turn it to their advantage.
Thus, after the others left the temple, Zuo Qingshuang turned back, kept the leaders of the Seven Sects behind, and disclosed the matter.
Had Fang Shuwen not caused that confrontation earlier, the others might not have taken Zuo Qingshuang's words seriously.
Now, however, they had no choice but to give it weight.
Immediately, working under the premise that the enemy already knew their plan, they devised a new strategy.
Fang Shuwen, having set things in motion, paid no further mind to the matter.
Soon enough, Zuo Qingshuang sought him out.
The two huddled together, exchanged a few words, and then Zuo Qingshuang took her leave to prepare for the night's operation with the rest of the Seven Sects.
Zhou Qingmei, on the other hand, stayed by Fang Shuwen's side.
Time slipped past, and before long, night had fallen quietly.
Led by the three masters of Nianhua Zen Courtyard—Liaoyuan, Liao'an, and Liaoxing—along with the Seven Sects' leaders, the Righteous Alliance departed under cover of night toward Autumn Moon Nunnery.
The clearing around the mountain god temple emptied out all at once.
Only Fang Shuwen, Lu Guiyan, and their party remained, settling inside the temple to rest.
Fang Shuwen sat on the steps before the temple's main doors. Zhou Qingmei clutched the Windshock Sword, sitting beside him.
Neither spoke.
Through the gloom of night, faint footsteps approached. Fang Shuwen looked up and saw Chen Qi cradling his sword, walking toward the mountain god temple.
When their eyes met, Chen Qi raised an eyebrow slightly.
"You didn't go?"
Fang Shuwen smiled. "I'm waiting for someone here."
"Waiting for whom?"
The words had barely left Chen Qi's mouth when he seemed to sense something and whipped his head around.
From the darkness, rustling footsteps had already drawn close.
Several bizarrely dressed men and women, clearly up to no good, emerged into the firelight. Looking around, doubt showed in their eyes:
"Where are all the people?"
Chapter 68