Fang Shuwen heard this and glanced at Lan Yue. He knew her words were meant for Xu Shuxin.

He figured there was likely more to Xu Wenwan’s situation than met the eye, and a bad premonition began to form.

Even setting Xu Shuxin aside, Fang Shuwen had a quest that required him to meet with Xu Wenwan. Now, that had run into a snag.

’I knew this system quest wouldn’t be so easy to complete.’

He sighed inwardly but didn’t let it show on his face, nor did he expose the true meaning behind Lan Yue’s words.

Xu Shuxin was, naturally, disappointed.

Fang Shuwen offered him a few words of comfort, and Lan Yue had someone arrange a room for Xu Shuxin so he could rest.

By now, most of what needed to be said had been said. The other experts in Yuqing Pavilion rose and departed, leaving space for Fang Shuwen and his companions to catch up.

Lan Yue also arranged a room for Chen Yan. Seeing that Miao Feichan had left as well, he no longer had to constantly worry about Fang Shuwen trying to capture a ’mount’ and left with his mind at ease.

Now, only five people remained in the great hall: Zhai Xing, Lan Yue, Zuo Qingshuang, Zhou Qingmei, and Fang Shuwen.

Seeing this, Fang Shuwen finally asked:

"Elder Lan Yue, where exactly is Elder Xu?"

Lan Yue knew she couldn’t hide it from Fang Shuwen, nor did she intend to.

"Junior Sister Wenwan has gone missing."

Fang Shuwen had already prepared himself mentally, so he wasn’t too surprised to hear this. He simply asked:

"When did this happen?"

"Three days ago."

Lan Yue didn’t hide anything:

"Young Hero Fang, you now know about the Yuqing Fruits. To be honest, these three fruits will be ripe in two months."

"So, the Elders of our sect have been taking turns standing guard. Three days ago, it was Junior Sister Wenwan’s turn to watch over the Yuqing Fruits."

"But in the middle of the night, it seems she discovered someone and went after them."

"She left, and never came back."

"By the time we got word, there was no trace of Junior Sister Wenwan..."

"Actually, at first, we suspected the people from Setting Sun Valley."

Zhai Xing chimed in:

"We’ve seen plenty of scum who are perfectly polite on the surface but are actually despicable and shameless."

"But three days ago, they hadn’t yet arrived at Yuqing Pavilion. Our disciples reported that they were still in Valley Town three days ago."

"So we can basically rule them out as suspects."

"Later, someone found signs of a fight near the back mountain. One of Wenwan’s hairpins was at the scene. We suspect she may have gone deep into the back mountain, but we’ve searched all the way until now without finding a single clue."

"The back mountain..."

Fang Shuwen’s finger tapped lightly on the tabletop.

"Is that in the direction of Cyan Blue Valley?"

Zhou Qingmei was a little surprised.

"You even know about Cyan Blue Valley?"

She knew Fang Shuwen’s background, and having spent so much time with him, she knew the guy was woefully ignorant about many things.

Now he’d not only shown up at Yuqing Pavilion but also knew about Cyan Blue Valley. ’Something must be up.’

Fang Shuwen raised an eyebrow.

"As the saying goes, ’After three days’ absence, one should be seen in a new light!’"

"Yes, yes."

Zhou Qingmei didn’t argue with him.

"Then why do you know about Cyan Blue Valley?"

The implication was that Fang Shuwen would have no reason to know of such a place.

Fang Shuwen rolled his eyes, deciding not to bicker with the young miss.

But he glanced around, a hint of hesitation in his eyes.

Zhai Xing paused.

"Could there be some secret?"

"All personnel, hear my command! Leave the great hall and do not approach within three hundred yards."

Her temperament was different from Lan Yue’s. She was more hot-tempered and decisive.

Fang Shuwen heard the footsteps in the shadows quickly recede before he turned to Zuo Qingshuang.

"Elder Zuo, can we talk about what happened at Zhuji Pavilion?"

Zuo Qingshuang’s expression tightened. She still remembered that day, after they had cleaned up the men from the Black Death Sect. Upon returning, she had heard Fang Shuwen utter the four words: ’Wanli Jing, Sovereign on the Seat.’

It meant there was a hidden story behind the matter.

The abnormal behavior of her senior brother, Lou Yuxiao, in particular, had made her secretly vigilant.

For Fang Shuwen to suddenly bring this up, in this setting, there had to be a reason.

She nodded immediately.

"We can."

Keeping this matter a secret had been a joint decision between her and Xu Chongshan.

Fang Shuwen had single-handedly wiped out the entire upper echelon of the Black Death Sect, and the remaining members had been annihilated by Zhuji Pavilion.

After all, this catastrophe had involved Li Nanchen and Zhang Fang, two of Zhuji Pavilion’s True Disciples.

If word got out rashly, it would be far too humiliating.

That was why they had decided not to speak of it for the time being.

But this wasn’t an unbreakable iron-clad rule. Now that Fang Shuwen was bringing up the past, Zuo Qingshuang didn’t mind airing her sect’s dirty laundry.

Therefore, before Fang Shuwen could even begin, Zuo Qingshuang recounted the entire affair herself.

After listening, Lan Yue finally understood.

’So that’s why it was Zuo Qingshuang who took Zhou Qingmei on the Qiuyue Nunnery campaign!’

She had asked several times along the way, but Zuo Qingshuang had always been evasive, and Zhou Qingmei had simply played dumb, claiming to know nothing.

’So that’s how it was all along!’

’On second thought, if I were in her shoes, I probably wouldn’t have said anything either.’

’To spend so much effort and resources cultivating the next head senior brother, only for him to be the son of the Demon Sect’s Leader...’

’...and for him to bring disaster upon the sect because of it.’

’How could anyone say that out loud... It’s just too embarrassing.’

Then she heard Zuo Qingshuang explain that it was Fang Shuwen who had returned with Zhou Qingmei and Lu Xiaoqing, single-handedly purged the Black Death Sect’s experts, and saved Zhuji Pavilion from the brink of destruction.

No wonder Zuo Qingshuang had been so protective of Fang Shuwen back at the Mountain God Temple.

’But looking at it this way, I must have misunderstood the relationship between Zuo Qingshuang and Fang Shuwen.’