Fang Shuwen understood what Ye Feihua meant.

If she was determined to leave and avoided getting entangled with Wu Lingxiao, he would have a very hard time catching her.

On the other hand, if she coveted the Seven-String Ancient Chapter and got into a fight with Wu Lingxiao, she could forget about ever leaving.

As for the idea of snatching the Seven-String Ancient Chapter and then just running for it... Wu Lingxiao was no fool. If he harbored any ill will, he would never give her such an opportunity.

Therefore, rather than trying to strike a deal with a tiger like Wu Lingxiao, it was better to cooperate with Wu Changzai.

At least if she worked with him, she could escape if things went south.

Even Wu Lingxiao might not be able to stop her, let alone Wu Changzai.

In fact, if Wu Changzai decided to go back on his word, Ye Feihua would have a better chance of winning if a real fight broke out.

In the end, this deal all came down to who had the stronger fist. As for something like integrity, it was built on a foundation of strength.

When you weren’t as strong as the other party, they had far too many ways to exploit the situation.

After hearing her out, Fang Shuwen couldn’t help but sigh. The Jianghu was truly a treacherous place.

’If I were in her shoes and really wanted the Seven-String Ancient Chapter,’ he thought, ’I probably would’ve made the same choice.’ 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

So he asked one final question:

"Is Wu Lingxiao really dead?"

"He’s probably dead."

Ye Feihua’s words didn’t particularly faze Fang Shuwen, but Wu Changzai grew extremely agitated upon hearing them:

"He’s dead! He’s definitely dead!

"I cut the head from his corpse myself! There’s absolutely no way he could be alive!"

Murong Qingchen’s eyes widened.

"Wu Lingxiao is dead, fine, but why couldn’t you even leave his body in peace!?"

"Leave it in peace? Of course I couldn’t!"

Wu Changzai snarled, his teeth clenched:

"I wish I could have drunk his blood, devoured his flesh, and torn him limb from limb!"

This was absolutely not the kind of hatred a father could have for his own son.

Fang Shuwen suddenly had an incredible thought, and he voiced it:

"Wu Lingxiao... he isn’t your son, is he?"

At these words, Wu Changzai’s frenzied agitation came to an abrupt halt.

He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but the words wouldn’t come.

"...Holy shit."

In that moment, even though it had been nearly twenty years since he had transmigrated here, Fang Shuwen couldn’t stop the classic curse from slipping out.

Even Ye Feihua’s eyes widened. She had assumed this was a conflict between father and son—cruel, yes, but not unheard of in the Jianghu.

Who knew there was this much drama involved?

Murong Qingchen was even more incredulous.

Without a word, Chen Yan whipped out his notebook and began to write furiously.

Fang Shuwen felt like he had just unearthed an incredible secret, and for a moment, he wasn’t sure if he should press the matter further.

But then, Wu Changzai burst out laughing.

His laughter was filled with anguish, and the sorrow on his face was bone-deep, but overriding it all was a terrifying madness.

He snarled through clenched teeth:

"You’re right... Wu Lingxiao is not my son!

"He is... he is the bastard spawn that bitch had with another man!"

Footsteps echoed as Xiao Yanyu and her party arrived at the stone chamber.

Fang Shuwen hadn’t killed many people when he first came to the stone chamber, but they had all been masters. With those experts gone, the tables had turned. Xiao Yanyu’s group had pressed their advantage and finally managed to kill off the rest of their opponents.

Even so, it had taken them considerable effort.

Once they were done, they had hurried over.

And they arrived just in time to hear that last sentence.

For a moment, everyone just stared at each other, speechless.

Xiao Yanyu was already calculating how much silver this piece of information would fetch at the Golden Bell Tower.

"Old City Lord... how can you... how can you be spouting such nonsense?"

Grand Commander Liang stepped out from the crowd, his lips trembling as he spoke.

"With these words, are you not even letting the City Lord rest in peace?

"And how is Flying Snow City supposed to maintain its standing in the Jianghu!?"

"I didn’t want to say it either..."

Wu Changzai’s face was a mask of grief.

"But what could I do? This boy saw right through it.

"Did you all think... that this is some dignified matter?

"They say a man must endure an unvirtuous wife or an unfilial son, but... but..."

As Wu Changzai spoke, his jaw was clenched so tight his hands began to tremble.

He was shaking with rage.

Just then, Chen Yan, who was still writing furiously, suddenly shook his head.

"This is all rather vague. It’s hard to believe you without more details."

"Since you’re so certain, why don’t you tell us who Wu Lingxiao’s real father is?"

Fang Shuwen shot him a surprised glance. ’This kid is a real piece of work,’ he thought.

But Wu Changzai had already said so much, there was no point in hiding anything now.

"That bastard’s real father is..."

Before he could finish, a thunderous crash echoed through the chamber.

A section of the stone wall suddenly shattered, and a figure strode out from the dust.

Everyone turned toward the sound. Murong Qingchen squinted again and couldn’t help but ask:

"I can’t see clearly. Who is it?"

"City Lord!"

Grand Commander Liang’s face lit up with joyful surprise.

Fang Shuwen found this amusing. ’Murong Qingchen mistook me for Wu Lingxiao twice, but now that the real one shows up, he can’t even recognize him.’

The expressions on everyone else’s faces shifted, a mixture of shock and uncertainty.

Only Wu Changzai blinked hard, certain he was hallucinating. But after staring at the figure for a few moments, he had no choice but to believe his own eyes.