"It seems you've gotten yourself entangled in even bigger trouble this time..."
Zhou Qingmei had arrived at Fang Shuwen's side before he even realized it.
The Windshock Sword was already back in its scabbard, and those wicked heterodox fiends had all been dealt with.
Lu Guiyan stood on the other side, her expression grim; she had clearly heard Bai Liuxian's words as well.
Fang Shuwen chuckled and shook his head. If it weren't troublesome, the system quest wouldn't have been triggered.
Still, judging from what Bai Liuxian had disclosed, a rather intricate web was already spreading out before them.
From the very moment the Lu'an Escort Agency accepted this client escort, they had been caught in the web.
And right at its center, no less.
Yet compared to the web as a whole, the role they played was not all that large.
What was truly terrifying were the other entities circling this web.
King Cao of the Hundred Ghosts Hall might not have had any direct connection to the affair.
He only needed those two people because of his injuries... and that information had been stolen from Jinghua Pavilion.
The person behind the Fierce Tiger Gang was the real key.
That person wanted Wu Lingxiao dead.
Yet the fact that the formidable Lord of Feixue City had actually been wounded by someone was genuinely unexpected.
And did King Cao know even more?
At this thought, he glanced at the two figures still locked in combat nearby.
Hua Meiniang was now wholly intent on escaping; Fang Shuwen had terrified her out of her wits... Though Fang Shuwen had no intention of teaming up with Chen Qi, it was plain as day that once Chen Qi was defeated, she would certainly face death.
Yet while she wanted to flee, Chen Qi refused to let her.
The man's swordplay was superb. Although defeating Hua Meiniang wouldn't be easy, slipping away from him was hardly a simple matter either.
In fact, because she had lost her stomach for battle, she had given Chen Qi numerous openings.
Now she bore sword wounds on her shoulder and the back of her knee.
Seeing Fang Shuwen interrogating Bai Liuxian and occupied for the moment, she knew that once he extracted everything he wanted to know, how could she possibly survive?
At this thought, Hua Meiniang could no longer afford to hold back.
With a sharp cry, she jerked her arms, and with a series of ripping sounds, she tore the clothes right off her own body.
Skin as fair as snow was instantly revealed before everyone's eyes.
"Shameless!"
Zhou Qingmei could not help but curse. Then she glanced at Fang Shuwen. Seeing him looking attentively, her face darkened.
"What's there to look at?!"
"Her martial arts... really are pushed to the limit."
Fang Shuwen's gaze was crystal clear, without the slightest trace of lust.
Moreover, upon closer inspection, Hua Meiniang wasn't completely naked; her vital areas were still covered.
Yet because of this, as her figure shifted and twisted, her charms appeared in tantalizing glimpses. Combined with the internal mental arts of the Huayue Sect, the mind-beguiling nature of her art was unleashed to the utmost.
Steadfast though Chen Qi's resolve was, at this moment, his sword strikes involuntarily slowed by a fraction.
Seeing this, Hua Meiniang seized the moment and thrust out a palm strike.
Sensing the perilous gust of wind, Chen Qi hastily brought his sword across to block. When the force of the palm slammed into his blade, he felt a tightness in his chest and could not help staggering back three paces.
Having landed her blow, Hua Meiniang didn't linger for a second. She turned and bolted.
Just then, Fang Shuwen's cold laugh rang out:
"Where are you going, elder sister? Weren't you going to speak of wind and moon with me?"
Had she heard those words when they first met, Hua Meiniang would likely have been overjoyed beyond measure. At this moment, however, they sounded like a demonic summons to the underworld.
Her internal breath surged as she pushed her lightness skill, not daring to pause for even an instant.
Yet right then, an overwhelming suction suddenly seized her from behind.
Even with all her might, she could not resist this force, and she couldn't help letting out a despairing cry:
"No... don't..."
Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined those words would come from her own mouth.
In the past, it was always those exhausted, helpless men who pleaded like that... and when they did, they were never far from death.
She had never expected that today, she would be the one saying it!
Smack!
Her head was caught firmly in a broad palm.
She was facing upward now, looking directly into Fang Shuwen's face.
His face was still handsome.
The first moment Hua Meiniang had laid eyes on him, she had taken an interest.
She had wanted to drain every ounce of blood essence and internal force from this young master, only to kill him at his moment of utter despair.
Now, however, not a shred of lust remained in her heart. The despair she had envisioned was still present, only it was blooming in her own chest.
"No... don't kill me... please..."
The Beiming Divine Art paid no heed to her tears, and Fang Shuwen paid even less.
In the blink of an eye, her internal skill was drained completely dry.
With a twist of Fang Shuwen's fingers, a crisp crack echoed as her reasonably pretty face was turned a full three hundred and sixty degrees.
By the time her face returned to looking upward, the breath of life had completely left her.
With a thud, the corpse hit the ground.
Bai Liuxian instinctively hitched his body backward...
Fang Shuwen glanced back at him. Huge beads of sweat dripped from Bai Liuxian's forehead.
"Don't... don't kill me..."
Fang Shuwen tilted his head, looking thoroughly perplexed.
"Why would you say such a thing?
"I am of the righteous jianghu path, while you are a heterodox fiend.
"As the saying goes, the righteous and evil cannot coexist. If I don't kill you, am I supposed to let you keep harming loyal and righteous people?"
Looking at the corpses scattered around them, Bai Liuxian thought to himself: What member of the so-called righteous path is as ruthless and vicious as you?
Yet he dared not utter a single word of that aloud...
Fang Shuwen asked again, "Think carefully. Is there any other information you haven't told me?"
"If I tell you... will you, will you spare me?"
A glimmer of hope flickered in Bai Liuxian's eyes.
Fang Shuwen nodded.
"It's not entirely out of the question."
"...King Cao's martial arts are extraordinarily high, far above ours.
"If two sect leaders of the Seven Sects were present at Autumn Moon Nunnery today, a complete victory would be guaranteed.
"However, Feng Lixiao said... those who came from the various sects this time aren't their top figures.
"Even if they join forces, the outcome remains uncertain.
"Even if they win... there are bound to be heavy casualties..."
Fang Shuwen raised an eyebrow and pressed down with a single palm. Bai Liuxian's pupils shrank violently; he opened his mouth to say something, but before a single word could escape, he died a gruesome death on the spot.
Fang Shuwen then caught hold of Zhou Qingmei, who was about to rush toward Autumn Moon Nunnery.
Zhou Qingmei looked back at him, her eyes filled with anxiety.
"My master..."
Fang Shuwen nodded.
"You, Chief Escort Lu, and my senior brothers stay together. I'll take the two client escorts and go on ahead."
Just as he finished speaking, Chen Qi walked over with his sword in hand.
He wore an odd expression.
"Didn't you say you'd consider sparing his life?"
"I considered it."
With a pivot of the Blue Cloud Steps beneath his feet, Fang Shuwen shot straight toward the Mountain God Temple. Before the master and servant inside could even react, he had already grabbed them by their shoulders.
Leaping away, he tossed back one last sentence as he passed Chen Qi:
"The result of my consideration is... to eradicate evil thoroughly."
Chapter 72