Grand Commander Liang recounted the events with a mixture of anger and regret.

Fang Shuwen had no interest in his emotions and simply continued his questioning:

"After this happened, did City Lord Wu ever say anything about this person’s identity?"

Grand Commander Liang shook his head.

"The City Lord refused to speak a word about it. He only told us to lock down the news, saying he needed to enter seclusion to heal."

"However, his healing proved ineffective. We are unaware of anything that happened after that..."

"So you’re saying, you have no idea how Wu Lingxiao contacted Jinghua Pavilion or how he sent out the Lingxiao Order?"

"...That’s right."

Grand Commander Liang sighed.

Fang Shuwen nodded, not pressing the issue further. Instead, he casually asked what had happened after he left Flying Snow City with Lu Guiyan and the others.

Where were Murong Qingchen and his people now?

And the battle from earlier today—did it actually happen or not?

Grand Commander Liang answered truthfully. The battle with Murong Qingchen never broke out. Moreover, Murong Qingchen’s reaction had been strange. After Fang Shuwen and his group left, he stopped mentioning the Seven-String Ancient Chapter entirely, insisting only on bringing those two doctors to treat Wu Lingxiao’s injuries.

Of course, Grand Commander Liang and his men didn’t believe he was being so kind-hearted.

And since the two doctors were of great importance, they dared not be careless.

But with things as they were, their goals were aligned, at least on the surface.

So they still sent the two doctors to Wu Lingxiao’s side.

The two men claimed that Wu Lingxiao’s injuries were extraordinary and that he must not be disturbed. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

They told everyone else to wait outside.

Grand Commander Liang and his men had planned to stand guard there, but the Old City Lord suddenly arrived uninvited. He ordered them not to remain, saying that Flying Snow City was in a precarious state and the city itself was likely unstable. An Assassin had appeared during the day, he reminded them, and they needed to prioritize capturing the culprit.

They thought his words made sense, and it was a direct order from the Old City Lord.

So they left to attend to their own duties, all while waiting for news of Wu Lingxiao’s recovery.

But what they got instead was news of Wu Lingxiao’s death, and the murderers were none other than those two doctors.

Along with this news came large groups of men from unknown origins, who began to attack Flying Snow City.

The four main gates of Flying Snow City were breached at almost the same time.

Although the four Commanders knew something was extremely strange about the situation, they had no choice but to deal with it first.

The City Lord was dead, but the people could not be harmed.

Therefore, they first arranged the defenses in Flying Snow City, and after all the orders were issued, they went to the City Lord’s Mansion.

As for what happened after that, Fang Shuwen already knew.

And as for the current situation with Murong Qingchen and his people, they were also unclear.

As they spoke, the group arrived at the rear courtyard.

But the courtyard was eerily quiet, without so much as a whisper of wind.

Unease appeared on the faces of the Commanders. Without needing Fang Shuwen to ask, they hurried ahead into Wu Lingxiao’s residence.

There were many signs of a struggle, indicating a significant conflict had broken out earlier.

However, not a single person was to be seen.

Fortunately, there were plenty of clues. The trail didn’t lead outside, which suggested that the people involved hadn’t left the residence. They had simply vanished from inside this very room.

Finally, following the trail, the group found a wall.

Grand Commander Liang realized there must be a hidden mechanism in the room. Just as he began to search for it, Fang Shuwen, having no such patience, simply struck the wall with his palm.

With a dull BOOM, the wall instantly shattered into pieces.

A set of winding stairs leading down appeared before them.

Oil lamps hung on the staircase walls, providing a dim, yellow light.

Fang Shuwen walked in, and the others hurriedly followed.

The staircase spiraled downward. The group wound their way down and quickly reached the bottom, where a massive Stone Gate appeared before them.

However, the Stone Gate was currently open, and the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from within.

Fang Shuwen looked up and found himself face-to-face with a person rushing out of the Stone Gate.

The next moment, the person’s expression changed dramatically.

"It’s you!?"

Fang Shuwen waved his hand, signaling for the other person not to overreact.

The person standing opposite him was none other than Gu Yuxian, the very man who had intended to teach Fang Shuwen a lesson on behalf of Zheng Sihai.

But it seemed someone had beaten the old man. His face was badly swollen, his body was covered in bloodstains, and he looked like he had just escaped from something.

Fang Shuwen gave him an amused look.

"What happened to you? Beaten up again? Why’s your face still swollen?"

Gu Yuxian nearly died of anger upon hearing this. ’Why is my face swollen? Don’t you have any damn clue?’

It was true that he was covered in wounds, suffering from both internal and external injuries.

But the injury on his face wasn’t from this recent fight... It was from the massive slap Fang Shuwen had given him earlier.

It was just that right after Fang Shuwen had hit him, there was only a palm print, and it hadn’t started to swell yet.

It wasn’t until after Fang Shuwen left that his face began to swell more and more.

Now, his skin felt stretched taut over the swelling, bringing with it a searing pain. Being ridiculed by Fang Shuwen like this on top of it all made Gu Yuxian furious enough to want to smash his head into the man.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t win in a fight...

This kid had no respect for seniority, only for the power of a fist. Gu Yuxian didn’t even dare to utter a threat to Fang Shuwen.

He mumbled in a low, stuffy voice:

"Move..."

"The people chasing you are coming. Don’t be in such a hurry to leave. Let me see who it is."

As he spoke, Fang Shuwen pressed a hand on Gu Yuxian’s shoulder.

Gu Yuxian’s pupils couldn’t help but contract.