With the matter at Autumn Moon Nunnery brought to a close, the experts of the Seven Sects took their leave one after another.
Members of Yuqing Pavilion and Cangwu Sword Sect escorted Zuo Qingshuang back toward Zhujige Pavilion, as she was injured and temporarily unable to fight.
Zhou Qingmei also came over to bid Fang Wen farewell.
Their meeting had been a coincidence to begin with. Had Zuo Qingshuang been hale and hearty, Zhou Qingmei might have wished to travel and see the world alongside Fang Wen a while longer. But now that her master was injured, it fell to the disciple to attend to her needs, so Zhou Qingmei naturally could not leave her side.
She could only bid Fang Wen farewell once more, though she parted with evident reluctance.
Watching her figure recede into the distance, Fang Wen heard Mo Beidou's voice chime in beside his ear: "Eldest Young Miss Zhou has taken a fancy to you, hasn't she?"
"Huh?"
Fang Wen glanced back at Mo Beidou. "Eldest Senior Brother, don't talk nonsense... That harms a young lady's reputation."
Mo Beidou gave Fang Wen an amused, exasperated look. "Drop the useless pretenses. There are no outsiders here. Tell your senior brother, what do you think of Eldest Young Miss Zhou?"
"I look at her with my eyes open... I certainly can't see her with them closed, can I?"
Fang Wen looked up at the sky. "Besides, I'm still young. I haven't thought about that sort of thing."
"...More nonsense. Take a word of advice from your senior brother. Eldest Young Miss Zhou is fine in both looks and family background. I don't know what's going through that head of yours, but as an outsider looking on, I can see that she holds you in her eyes."
Mo Beidou rubbed the dark stubble on his chin and added, "As the saying goes... as the saying goes..."
He wanted to quote something scholarly, but his mind drew a blank.
After hemming and hawing for quite a while, he finally blurted out, "Anyway, when a flower blooms, you have to pluck it, lest you miss your chance later!"
"...Isn't that 'Pluck the flower while it blooms; do not wait until the branch is bare to break an empty twig'?"
Fang Wen rolled his eyes at him.
Mo Beidou's weathered face flushed red. "Your eldest senior brother never went to school. Stop laughing at me."
"...I never went to school either."
Fang Wen lied through his teeth, yet no one could possibly call him out on it.
After all, studying had been in his previous life. In this life, he had been a beggar, an odd-job laborer, and a guard, but he had indeed never sat in a village schoolroom as a pupil.
Dropping the subject, the two returned to Lu Guiyan, only to find the atmosphere rather strange.
Fang Wen knew the reason: Lu Guiyan was still brooding over the matter of the two physicians.
Yet things had already come this far; how could they abandon a nine-tiered mound on the verge of completion?
He said to Lu Guiyan, "Young Chief Escort, it's time to set out."
Lu Guiyan looked at Fang Wen, her expression softening slightly as she nodded. "All right. Pack up, everyone. We depart."
She was the one who had accepted this escort job, and these were the people she had chosen to protect; she could blame no one else.
Fang Wen had spared no effort along the way to bring their group this far. Now that even Fang Wen had not given up, she had no reason to quit halfway.
Even so, this incident served as an immense lesson for Lu Guiyan, one she would remember for the rest of her life.
The party set off once more, continuing northward. Before long, they passed Wangbei Pass.
By this point, Lu Guiyan felt considerably more relaxed.
Fang Wen approached her to inquire about Feixue City.
Though Lu Guiyan's martial arts were modest, she hailed from an escort agency family and was well versed in the affairs of the jianghu.
According to her, Feixue City had been passed down for only three generations.
The first-generation city lord possessed profound cultivation and unfathomable martial arts, laying the foundation for Feixue City's standing in the jianghu.
The second generation had been merely passable; Feixue City had declined considerably under his rule, nearly sinking to third-rate status...
It was not until Wu Lingxiao's formidable rise that Feixue City flourished once more.
Fang Wen asked whether Wu Lingxiao had any brothers or sisters.
Lu Guiyan knew what he was suspecting, but she shook her head nonetheless. "For all three generations, Feixue City has only ever had a single heir per generation..."
Fang Wen nodded at her words. "With no brothers or sisters, there is no internal feud over the succession. Yet that only makes this entire affair stranger."
"Let's hear your thoughts, Brother Fang."
Fang Wen pondered for a moment before speaking: "Bai Liuxian said Wu Lingxiao was wounded by someone and needed those two to save his life.
"They carry Feixue City's Lingxiao Token. The one who sought their aid must be someone from Feixue City... or Wu Lingxiao himself.
"However, Wu Lingxiao being gravely wounded is a matter of tremendous consequence.
"Rising through the jianghu, Feixue City cannot possibly be without enemies. If those foes caught wind of this news, it would spell disaster for Feixue City.
"Therefore, they could only handle this in secrecy.
"Jinghua Pavilion dispatched those two to treat Wu Lingxiao without daring to draw attention, likely for the exact same reason.
"From every angle, this matter was kept thoroughly concealed, known to almost no one.
"In that case, how did the person seeking Wu Lingxiao's life obtain this information?"
Cao Jiuyin had learned of it by stealing the intelligence from Jinghua Pavilion.
Jinghua Pavilion, in turn, had most likely heard it directly from Wu Lingxiao, as he was the one pleading for help.
Yet for anyone outside these parties to know about it seemed decidedly bizarre.
Fang Wen continued, "The person who wounded Wu Lingxiao certainly knew.
"Yet regarding the outcome of that battle, we only know that Wu Lingxiao suffered severe injuries; how the person who struck him fared remains unknown.
"Had that attacker also been critically wounded, they likely could not have walked out of Feixue City alive.
"Conversely, if that person had managed to escape unscathed and intended to spread the word, Wu Lingxiao would have had no need to be so cautious.
"What's more, had the attacker truly possessed such overwhelming skill, Wu Lingxiao would probably not even have kept his life.
"Thus, it is unlikely the leak came from the assailant's mouth.
"I suspect the person trying to kill those physicians might very well be an insider within Feixue City.
"They knew the ins and outs of the situation and were aware of Jinghua Pavilion's movements, which was why they could strike with such surgical precision."
Hearing this, Lu Guiyan let out a sudden sigh. "I'm starting to feel some regret now."
"Regret taking this escort job?"
"No,"
Lu Guiyan replied. "I regret not agreeing when you proposed heading straight for the Fierce Tiger Gang's headquarters...
"Looking back, if I had agreed to your suggestion then, we might have already learned a great deal from Qin Hu's mouth."
Fang Wen smiled. "It's actually not too late now."
"What?" Lu Guiyan was taken aback. "Are we going to turn back?"
"No need,"
Fang Wen said. "After passing Wangbei Pass, there is still some distance before reaching Zhaobei City, right?
"Has the Young Chief Escort not noticed that our surroundings are far too quiet?"
Lu Guiyan froze. Her attention had been entirely on Fang Wen just now, and only upon hearing his words did she realize with a jolt that the surroundings were indeed unnervingly silent.
Suddenly, a burst of laughter rang out: "With someone like you guarding Lu'an Escort Agency, Tong Tianba... did not die in vain."
As the voice trailed off, Mo Beidou barked a shout. Every escort master and escort attendant drew tight together, forming a perimeter to shield the two physicians in their midst.
Just as they completed their formation, a scholar in white robes holding a folding fan stepped forward at a measured pace into view.
He cupped his fists slightly and projected his voice: "Tang Linfeng, Master of the West Hall of the Fierce Tiger Gang, greets our friends of Lu'an Escort Agency.
"Our gang leader requests your presence, and hopes you will do him the honor of a meeting."
Chapter 77