While his mind was in turmoil, Fang Shuwen walked up to him.

He stepped on his chest.

"You..."

Weng Zhenliu had been the Vice Valley Master for over a decade. In all those years, no one had dared to treat him this way.

Yet, looking at the young man’s icy gaze, an inexplicable fear took root in his heart.

He subconsciously swallowed the rest of his words.

Then, Fang Shuwen spoke softly.

"Now, can we have a proper conversation?"

"...Fine."

"Remove the silver needle from Miss He’s body."

Fang Shuwen said slowly.

Weng Zhenliu nodded and looked toward a man of about fifty a short distance away.

The man shakily got to his feet. Fang Shuwen had, after all, shown mercy with his palm strike. He couldn’t very well kill an expert from the Southern Domain right here in Yuqing Pavilion.

He had to, at the very least, consider the feelings of his hosts.

Fang Shuwen considered himself a humble and proper gentleman. ’My name is Shuwen, after all,’ he mused. ’With characters for both "book" and "culture," how could I be so tactless?’

His gaze, however, fell upon the man.

His stare seemed to carry an immense weight. The man couldn’t help but stoop slightly under its pressure.

’It’s no use. We can’t win. We really can’t... The five of us together couldn’t even stop one of his palm strikes. There’s no way I can act tough now.’

He took a box from his sleeve.

Inside was a stone.

He hurried over to He Yuting, checked her pulse, and then instructed the beautiful woman holding her to channel Inner Strength into her. Following his guidance, she was to force the silver needle toward the Danzhong Acupoint on He Yuting’s chest.

The beautiful woman hesitated, but then Fang Shuwen spoke.

"Don’t worry. If anything goes wrong, the lives of these men from Setting Sun Valley should be more than enough to pay for it."

The man’s face went white at his words, and he quickly explained,

"I would never dare to deceive you, Young Hero... To be perfectly honest, this is the ’Hidden Vein Needle.’ Once it enters the body, it travels along the blood vessels and meridians."

"If it isn’t removed in time, it will enter the heart’s meridians within three days at most. By then, she will be beyond saving."

"But she hasn’t been afflicted for long. It can be completely extracted with this piece of Primordial Magnetic Divine Iron."

The expressions of the Yuqing Pavilion members grew even uglier as they listened.

They had used such a despicable trick right in front of everyone, yet the women of Yuqing Pavilion had watched on, and not a single one had noticed.

The stealth of the technique and the horror of its consequences were truly terrifying.

The beautiful woman dared not delay. Following the man’s instructions, she began to circulate her Inner Strength. As expected, she detected a foreign object within the meridians and immediately used her True Qi to force it along.

After some time, she finally forced it to the Danzhong Acupoint on the chest.

The man seized the opportunity and brought the Primordial Magnetic Divine Iron close. He Yuting let out a muffled groan. A silver needle, as fine as a hair, began to emerge from the fabric on her chest. It moved slowly at first, but once the tip was out, it flew out with a WHOOSH and stuck fast to the Primordial Magnetic Divine Iron.

Fang Shuwen stroked his chin. ’This Primordial Magnetic Divine Iron probably isn’t just a simple magnet.’

’Otherwise, how could a magnet attract a silver needle?’

After finishing his task, the man put away the Primordial Magnetic Divine Iron and said to Fang Shuwen,

"Can you release the Vice Valley Master now?"

Fang Shuwen pointed to He Yuanzhou and then to the Primordial Magnetic Divine Iron in the man’s hand.

"Leave that man and the object in your hand behind. The rest of you can go."

"No."

Weng Zhenliu said through gritted teeth,

"He Yuanzhou... is a disciple of our Setting Sun Valley. We can’t possibly... leave him with you..."

"Is that so?"

Fang Shuwen said coldly,

"A disciple of Setting Sun Valley who uses despicable means to win a duel."

"Then, after being defeated, he launches a sneak attack from behind."

"This kind of degenerate... deserves to die!"

"No matter how many things he’s done wrong, he should be dealt with by our Setting Sun Valley personally!"

Weng Zhenliu, still pinned by Fang Shuwen’s foot, gritted his teeth and tried to reason with him.

Fang Shuwen, however, just smiled.

"Fine. I’ll let you handle him. But if I’m not satisfied with the outcome, then none of you are leaving."

Weng Zhenliu’s eyes widened instantly.

’I wanted to take him away, and then it would be up to us to decide his punishment, wouldn’t it?’

’But Fang Shuwen’s words have turned the tables on me. How can I possibly punish He Yuanzhou in front of him? Besides, what punishment would he even consider appropriate?’

’It’s even possible that I could beat He Yuanzhou to death right here in front of everyone, and Fang Shuwen would still say he’s not satisfied... What would I do then?’

In that instant, Weng Zhenliu began to regret his insistence.

"It seems you need some time to think."

Fang Shuwen glanced around.

"May I ask who is in charge here at Yuqing Pavilion?"

The beautiful woman who had been holding He Yuting stood up.

"I am Zhai Xing of Yuqing Pavilion. Greetings, Young Hero Fang."

"Ah, so it is Senior Zhai Xing. Forgive my earlier lack of respect."

Fang Shuwen cupped his fist in his palm.

"Since these gentlemen haven’t made up their minds yet, why don’t we lock them up for the time being?"

"We can decide what to do after they’ve had time to think. How does that sound?"

"I just don’t know if Yuqing Pavilion has a place to hold them."

"Yuqing Pavilion is comprised entirely of women; we cannot have men staying for long..."

Zhai Xing looked troubled.

"However, holding them for a few days shouldn’t be a problem. Afterward, I will send a carrier pigeon and ask our allies from Taixu Dao or Nianhua Zen Temple to come and take them into custody."

Fang Shuwen raised an eyebrow.

"Then please ask the masters from Nianhua Zen Temple to pay a visit. I hear their Buddhist Teachings are profound, and they are especially fond of enlightening living beings."