"I wasn’t interested before, it’s true, but now I’ve changed my mind."

As Fang Shuwen spoke, he tucked the Seven-String Ancient Chapter into his robes and turned to look at Ye Feihua.

"However, there is one thing I don’t understand. I heard from Bai Liuxian and the others that Wu Lingxiao made a deal with Jinghua Pavilion, requesting that they send a physician to Flying Snow City to heal his injuries.

"So why did the life-saving physician suddenly become a life-taking assassin?"

"Hahahaha."

Before Ye Feihua could speak, Wu Changzai, who was standing nearby, suddenly burst out laughing.

"And what business is it of yours?"

"Just curious."

Fang Shuwen was truly curious.

By now, he had a pretty good grasp of the situation’s general outline; it was just a few key points that were still unclear.

Since the people involved were right in front of him, he might as well ask and get a straight answer.

"So, ’just curious,’ eh..."

Wu Changzai’s lips curled into a smirk.

"But surely you’ve heard the saying?"

"What saying?"

Fang Shuwen asked, looking curious.

"Curiosity killed the cat!!"

The words had barely left his mouth when he prepared to make his move, only to feel a fierce wind rush toward his face. He froze for a second, then became beside himself with fury.

Fang Shuwen had actually preempted him, his palm already at his face!?

’This isn’t how the script is supposed to go!’

’Normally, shouldn’t I be the one to lash out in anger and teach him the price of curiosity?’

’Even if the guy’s Martial Arts are formidable, shouldn’t he at least have to take a palm strike from me first?’

’How did this brat beat me to the punch?’

Fortunately, he had already been gathering his True Qi, intending to strike. Since Fang Shuwen had preempted him, he had no choice but to meet the attack head-on with a skyward palm, clashing directly with Fang Shuwen’s Vajra Tower Throwing!

BOOM!!!

A muffled bang instantly erupted within the stone chamber.

Wu Changzai felt a terrifying force bear down on him from above. The massive stone slabs paving the floor beneath his feet cracked and shattered with a series of CRACKS.

His eyes widened in shock. He felt the man’s Palm Power was immeasurably profound and utterly irresistible.

’Just now, not even Murong Qingchen put me under this much pressure. Could this person’s Palm Power be even greater than Murong Qingchen’s?’

’Who on earth is this man?’

However, Wu Changzai was by no means an ordinary person.

He was, after all, the former City Lord of Flying Snow City.

Although among the city’s three most recent generations of leaders, he was always spoken of as a cautionary tale, he had weathered many storms in his life, and his foundation was far from ordinary.

Thus, he didn’t crumble on impact. On the surface, at least, they seemed to be locked in a stalemate. Wu Changzai took this opportunity to shout:

"Ye Feihua, aren’t you going to make a move!?"

To his surprise, Ye Feihua just rolled her eyes.

"For one Seven-String Ancient Chapter, how many times do you expect me to fight for you?

"Murong Qingchen was one thing, but this one... Forget one—even if you had another Seven-String Ancient Chapter, it wouldn’t be enough to make me fight him."

Wu Changzai froze, utterly shocked that Ye Feihua would bail on him at such a critical moment.

What he didn’t know was that Ye Feihua had been following Fang Shuwen all this way and had personally witnessed his Martial Arts.

Especially his fight with Cao Jiuyin...

Although Cao Jiuyin had been previously wounded by a blade from a Jinghua Pavilion expert and hadn’t fully recovered, his Martial Arts were not the least bit impaired.

And yet, when he faced Fang Shuwen, it took no more than two palm strikes to kill the Flesh King—one of the Four Great Ghost Kings of the Hundred Ghosts Hall—right then and there.

It wasn’t that Ye Feihua was afraid of such an expert, but she didn’t want to needlessly make an enemy of him.

Especially since she had already offended Murong Qingchen.

Besides, from what she had observed of him along the way, she found Fang Shuwen to be a very interesting person.

He had unparalleled Martial Arts and a slightly eccentric personality, but he was a man of his word. He didn’t seek fame in the Jianghu; instead, he seemed to enjoy working as a guard.

In the Jianghu, everyone eventually finds themselves in a tough spot.

Ye Feihua had a feeling that if she ever found herself in a desperate situation, a man like Fang Shuwen could be a surprisingly sturdy lifeline. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

So, no matter how tempting the Seven-String Ancient Chapter was, she had no intention of making a move against Fang Shuwen.

Wu Changzai didn’t understand the crucial details. He only felt that Fang Shuwen’s True Qi was bottomless, and the pressure bearing down on him grew heavier and heavier.

He clenched his jaw so tightly that blood started to trickle from the corners of his mouth.

Just as he thought he was surely going to die, he heard Fang Shuwen speak.

"As I thought, you’ve got some skill. You’re no weaker than that Shangguan Ying at the entrance."

"..."

Wu Changzai was momentarily bewildered. In a clash of this intensity, his own shout had been a risky move. What was Fang Shuwen doing now?

’Is he trying to make small talk with me while we’re in the middle of a contest of Inner Strength?’

Just as he was thinking this, he saw Fang Shuwen’s palm push forward slightly. The bluestone slabs on the floor, already failing under the terrifying force, were instantly pulverized, revealing the dirt beneath.

The thick stone slabs shattered because Fang Shuwen’s power was channeled straight through Wu Changzai’s body and into the ground, "helping" him break them.

Then, the others watched as Wu Changzai was pressed into the ground, bit by bit.

First his feet, then his shins, slowly sinking past his knees, and finally to his waist... Only after pressing Wu Changzai more than halfway into the ground in one smooth motion did Fang Shuwen withdraw his palm.

He left a bewildered Wu Changzai to look around at his current predicament.

Beyond his simmering rage, he was utterly baffled.

’Why would he plant me here?’

Fang Shuwen, meanwhile, crouched down, observed him for a moment, and chuckled.

"I’m a very curious person by nature. So, care to explain the real reason for all this?"

After this whole ordeal, Wu Changzai was still reeling.