"After we found their trail, we were going to follow Senior Aunt Lan Yue’s instructions and have two people go back to report.

"But we didn’t expect the man in the mask to have such sharp eyes.

"He spotted us in an instant."

There’s no need to describe the fight that followed.

Fang Shuwen asked,

"Where did the masked man go?"

"We didn’t notice."

The two looked somewhat ashamed.

"Once the fight started, all our attention was on our opponents. We didn’t even notice when that person left."

Fang Shuwen nodded. ’It’s only natural,’ he thought.

Although they were disciples of Yuqing Pavilion, they had no real experience in the Jianghu. They lacked both practical skills and worldly knowledge.

’Who would have thought they’d run into such a disaster before even leaving the sect’s grounds.’

At this thought, Fang Shuwen sighed and cupped his fist toward Zhai Xing.

"I apologize for the trouble, Senior."

Zhai Xing, however, gave a casual wave of her hand.

"That’s not right, Young Hero Fang. Never mind that you saved Lan Yue and killed Cao Jiuyin at Qiuyue Nunnery.

"The simple fact that Sang Mountain Seven Face is now in league with the Hundred Ghosts Hall makes them a public enemy of all righteous sects!

"Even if they hadn’t come knocking on our door, we’d have to go looking for trouble with them!"

Zhai Xing had heard Fang Shuwen mention the Bone King earlier. Now that she thought about it, the martial arts these people used really did match the intelligence on the Hundred Ghosts Hall’s Bone King.

They were probably just some of the Hundred Ghosts Hall’s ghost-spawn.

Fang Shuwen nodded at this and glanced at the old man whose limbs had been severed.

"We can probably get a lot of information out of him."

"Yes. Don’t worry, Young Hero Fang. I’ll be sure to dig the information we want out of his mouth."

Seeing her so certain, Fang Shuwen nodded as well.

’Looks like my thread won’t be needed after all.’

’This is Yuqing Pavilion, after all. It’s best to let the hosts handle their own affairs. No need for me to take the lead on everything.’

As the conflict concluded, Zhai Xing took the old man away. She ordered the disciples to merge their two teams into one and resume the search.

If they encountered a large group of enemies, they were not to confront them directly.

Instead, they were to lead them toward Yuqing Pavilion and fire a signal flare. Other members of the sect would then arrive as reinforcements.

The others collected the bodies of their fallen sect-sisters. As for the old man’s underlings, they were left where they fell.

At this time of year, the wild wolves on the mountain were already ravenous.

These men didn’t deserve a peaceful burial. Being devoured by a pack of wolves was their only fitting end.

Fang Shuwen glanced at the corpses, then led Zhou Qingmei back to Yuqing Pavilion.

The matter, however, had just become more complicated. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

’Originally,’ Fang Shuwen thought, ’I believed the Sang Mountain Seven Face colluded with Li Xiuci to harm Xu Zeyuan and seize the Hundred-Pound Saber.’

’That was until Wind-faced Bear mentioned someone else was pulling the strings.’

’Now, it seems that person is the Hundred Ghosts Hall’s Bone King. Or, to be more precise, the Hundred Ghosts Hall itself is backing the Sang Mountain Seven Face.’

’Judging by tonight’s events, members of the Hundred Ghosts Hall have already reached the area around Yuqing Pavilion.’

’But how many of them are here?’

’How many of the Four Great Ghost Kings have come?’

’And has their mysterious Hall Master... come as well?’

The Hundred Ghosts Hall before him, the Dragon Emperor Hall behind him.

Fang Shuwen stroked his chin, his gaze lifting toward Yuqing Pavilion.

He could feel a storm brewing, silent and unseen... and this storm probably wasn’t about Xu Shuxin. Or at least, not *just* about him.

...

...

The night passed without further incident. By the time Fang Shuwen and Zhou Qingmei returned to their respective rooms, it was nearly dawn.

He had only been meditating cross-legged on his bed for a short while before the sky was bright with daylight.

Before Fang Shuwen could even get out of bed, Zhai Xing and Lan Yue arrived at his door.

Opening the door, he saw Zuo Qingshuang and Zhou Qingmei were there as well.

Fang Shuwen blinked.

"What’s all this?"

"We have news."

Zhai Xing didn’t waste any time.

"That old bastard from last night finally broke. He serves under the Bone King of the Hundred Ghosts Hall.

"The old son of a bitch even dared to threaten me! Said the Hundred Ghosts Hall would be arriving at Yuqing Pavilion any day now and that we’d better hand over the Yuqing Fruit!"

Fang Shuwen’s brow furrowed slightly.

"The Yuqing Fruit?"

Zhai Xing nodded.

"So, Young Hero Fang, you can forget what you said last night.

"They aren’t making trouble over young Xu at all. They’re after the Yuqing Fruit.

"Hmph! A bunch of ghost-spawn who don’t know their own limits, daring to covet something from my Yuqing Pavilion!"

Lan Yue gently tugged on Zhai Xing’s sleeve, silently urging her to be calm.

"The Hundred Ghosts Hall is no trivial matter. We came hoping to ask for your help when the time comes, Young Hero Fang."

"Of course."

Fang Shuwen nodded.

"I’ve met Cao Jiuyin from the Hundred Ghosts Hall. A sect like that has no right to exist in this world."

"Exactly."

Zhai Xing instantly felt like she’d found a kindred spirit. She said to Fang Shuwen,

"But rest assured, Young Hero Fang, we definitely won’t ask you to be on the front lines.

"We plan to go to the Sect Leader’s seclusion retreat today and ask her to come out."

"Oh?"

Fang Shuwen was a little surprised.

"Sect Leader Yu is in seclusion. Disturbing her like this..."

"...They’re already at our doorstep. This isn’t the time to worry about disturbing her."

Zhai Xing rolled her eyes at him.

"Are we supposed to wait for the Hundred Ghosts Hall Master to wipe us all out, then have our Sect Leader come out and found a new Yuqing Pavilion?"

Zuo Qingshuang seemed to understand his hesitation and explained to Fang Shuwen,

"My senior brother’s situation was different from what’s happening at Yuqing Pavilion. Li Nanchen was plotting in secret and had cut off the path to the rear mountain, so we were out of options.

"But this is different. We haven’t even located the members of the Hundred Ghosts Hall yet. Naturally, we should call out Sect Leader Yu to discuss our strategy."

Fang Shuwen nodded in understanding.

Lou Yuxiao’s earlier behavior had given Fang Shuwen the mistaken impression that these Seven Sect Leaders only cared about their seclusion and couldn’t be bothered with the affairs of their own sects.