Chapter 205: Chapter 128: Jianghu’s First Lesson, Part 3

"His wild laughter echoed for a hundred li, startling flocks of birds into flight and shaking the very heavens."

"Truly... a brute descends upon the world, no man of letters! His blood stains the sky, the Demon Evil God!!"

As the final word fell, the storyteller’s gavel slammed down, bringing the segment to a close.

The entire teahouse erupted in cheers:

"Bravo!"

"Encore!"

Fang Shuwen cracked a wry smile.

’They’ve changed the script again.’

As they traveled over the past several days, they would occasionally hear news about Fang Shuwen.

The rumors passed by word of mouth among Jianghu people were one thing; they were usually still somewhat close to the truth.

But in the mouths of the storytellers, the tales became as exaggerated as possible.

This was most apparent in the number of enemies and descriptions of Fang Shuwen’s physique...

That group from Dragon Emperor Hall originally numbered around six hundred, but the storytellers turned that into twelve hundred. With each retelling, the number grew, and now it had swelled to eight thousand.

At this rate, the story of him fighting ten thousand men single-handedly wasn’t far off.

Fang Shuwen’s height also grew more and more exaggerated. He went from being an eight-foot-tall brute to a twelve-foot giant, and later, even thirty feet tall wasn’t enough for the storytellers.

He wasn’t a man at all, but a monster.

And now, to top it all off, he had supposedly started eating human flesh and drinking human blood...

They’d even come up with a verse for him.

It was getting more and more ridiculous.

Fortunately, everyone knew the storytellers were just for entertainment. No one actually believed Fang Shuwen was thirty feet tall or that he ate flesh and drank blood.

Fang Shuwen himself had gradually calmed down from his initial fury. After a few internal crises, he had grown numb to it all. He just let them say what they wanted. Sometimes, he even found himself applauding and cheering along with the other patrons.

But this bunch of storytellers had an impact beyond just their fabrications.

Many people now had differing opinions on Fang Shuwen’s title.

Some insisted on ’Demon Evil God,’ while others simply called him ’Evil Gods and Demons.’

Either way, his reputation had nothing to do with the righteous path anymore.

By comparison, the titles of the Bone King and Flesh King from the Hundred Ghosts Hall sounded downright righteous.

The only small comfort for Fang Shuwen was that even though his titles made him sound like a villain, everyone knew he wasn’t part of the Demon Dao.

He had killed Flesh King Cao Jiuyin with two palm strikes at Qiuyue Nunnery, and he had also distinguished himself in the battle at Yuqing Pavilion when he heard it was being besieged by the Hundred Ghosts Hall and Dragon Emperor Hall.

Fighting the Bone King was one thing, but he had even managed to kill the Hundred Ghosts Hall Master.

So, even if he was a Demon Evil God, he was a *good* Demon Evil God...

In the end, the storyteller didn’t give them an ’encore.’ The tale of the Demon Evil God’s battle with the Red-clothed Guest outside Flying Snow City had to be split into dozens of installments. By telling one segment a day, he could guarantee an audience for weeks.

That way, he could rake in more silver.

So, naturally, he couldn’t tell too much at once. He changed the subject and began to tell another story.

Seeing this, Fang Shuwen led Shui Qianrou and Fang Lingxin inside to find a table. While they drank tea and listened to the stories, his main goal was to gather any useful information.

The crowd wasn’t very interested in the next story the storyteller began to tell.

As a result, idle chatter filled the room. Fang Shuwen listened for a while and found that most of it was old news.

For instance, there was talk of the assassination attempt on the Wine Immortal, Dong Wangyou; a red-clothed figure spotted in Pojun City, suspected to be an expert from Dragon Emperor Hall; and even a Demon Dao practitioner appearing at Yuqing Pavilion...

This was all news they had already heard from time to time on their journey.

Dong Wangyou had already named his upcoming gathering the Flower-Picking Conference.

And ever since the announcement, news of assassination attempts against him had spread frequently.

Someone had kept a tally: so far, Dong Wangyou had survived thirteen assassination attempts.

Of course, as the Wine Immortal, he wasn’t so easy to kill.

However, the assassins’ identities could never be determined, so they were eventually attributed to Jinghua Pavilion.

As for the appearance of a red-clothed figure in Pojun City, that news was directly related to Fang Shuwen.

Ever since word of the battle outside Flying Snow City got out, this group of red-clothed people had been marked.

On top of that, Yu Yaoguang had recently sent a message to the Seven Sects, warning them about the Dragon Emperor Hall and telling them to prepare accordingly.

The news that the Hundred Ghosts Hall and Dragon Emperor Hall had besieged Yuqing Pavilion had already spread far and wide.

Thus, the three words ’Dragon Emperor Hall’ were no longer a secret in the Eastern Domain Martial World.

Some had discovered their members lurking in Pojun City with unknown motives, and others were wondering if Fang Shuwen, their sworn enemy, would also make his way there.

If so, they might get to witness the martial arts of the Demon Evil God firsthand.

As for the news of a Demon Dao practitioner appearing at Yuqing Pavilion, that had happened during the Yuqing Banquet.

Fang Shuwen didn’t know the full details, only that someone from the Demon Dao had infiltrated the Yuqing Banquet. They were quickly discovered, and just as the experts from the various sects were about to kill them, a masked figure suddenly appeared and saved them.

The story spread quickly, but to this day, no one knew the identity of the Demon Dao practitioner or the masked savior.

However, compared to all that, Fang Shuwen was more interested in two new pieces of information.

The first was a rumor about a guest from across the sea appearing in Pojun City.

No one knew this person’s name or origin yet.

Fang Shuwen’s first thought was naturally of Shui Qianliu, but he wouldn’t know for sure until he reached Pojun City.

The second piece of news was far more significant to many.

The Seven Great Sects of the Eastern Domain had suddenly issued an extermination order against the Flower Moon Sect, the Joyful Zen Temple, and other such Demon Dao factions.

The specific reason was unknown.

But it sent massive waves through the Jianghu.

In truth, from a political standpoint, the Seven Great Sects of the Eastern Domain and factions like the Flower Moon Sect and the Joyful Zen Temple were already mortal enemies, as incompatible as fire and water.

While they had never issued a formal extermination order before,

they would still kill each other on sight without hesitation.

But in the past, such encounters were random. This time, it was a joint purge by the Seven Sects, who seemed determined not to rest until every last Demon Dao faction was wiped out.

Some suspected that the Demon Dao practitioner who appeared at the Yuqing Banquet had done something to provoke the wrath of the Seven Great Sects.

But the reason wasn’t important. No one cared if these Demon Dao members lived or died.

What truly concerned them was that members of the Seven Great Sects were already on their way to Pojun City...

Pojun City was certainly no Seven Sects Forbidden Land, but their sudden appearance at this critical juncture made everyone wonder if their true purpose was simply to hunt down the Demon Dao.

This news didn’t just concern Fang Shuwen; the Jianghu people in the teahouse were buzzing with discussion.

Some were filled with righteous indignation, while others were cynical and sarcastic.

Fang Lingxin treated all this as just more interesting tales from the Jianghu and didn’t pay it much mind. She simply asked Fang Shuwen out of curiosity:

"Master, do you think the Seven Great Sects of the Eastern Domain are putting up a false front?"

"Maybe we should ask them when we see them?"

Fang Shuwen said with a smile.

"The Seven Great Sects of the Eastern Domain? They’re so high and mighty. If we saw them, we’d be lucky just to stay out of their way. Who would dare to ask them anything?"

Fang Lingxin stuck out her tongue playfully.

Seeing this, Fang Shuwen nodded in satisfaction.

"’It’s good to have a healthy dose of fear. It’ll keep you from getting arrogant, not knowing your own limits.’"

"Master, you’re starting to sound like my dad."

Fang Lingxin mumbled under her breath.

But Fang Shuwen’s hearing was exceptionally sharp, and he heard her crystal clear. He almost spat out his mouthful of tea.

’What nonsense.’

Having heard enough, Fang Shuwen put down some money for the tea and left the teahouse with Fang Lingxin and Shui Qianrou.

Back at the inn, Fang Lingxin and Shui Qianrou shared one room, while Fang Shuwen took another for himself.

The two rooms were adjacent. If there was any trouble in the night, Fang Shuwen wouldn’t even need to use the window—he could shatter the wall with a single palm strike and be there in an instant.

So, there was no need to worry too much about their safety.

The night grew deep...

In the dead silence of the night, Fang Shuwen’s eyes suddenly snapped open.

’They really dare to come here to die?’

...

...

ps: A new month has begun~~