’...Did she just eat until she was stuffed?’

Fang Shuwen had a million sarcastic remarks he wanted to make, but he didn’t know where to begin.

After eating and drinking her fill, the woman didn’t linger. Her figure blurred, and she leaped away.

Fang Shuwen had interacted with the people of Yuqing Pavilion quite a bit recently, so he recognized at a glance that she was using their Lightweight Body Technique.

She was a disciple of Yuqing Pavilion.

Fang Shuwen remained silent and quietly tailed her.

She moved as if she knew the grounds by heart, picking routes through deserted areas and the blind spots of the patrols. She even seemed to have an uncanny and precise grasp of when the patrol disciples changed shifts.

Finally, she slipped past numerous guards and arrived before a building.

Fang Shuwen looked up and saw three words hanging above the building’s main gate: Cold Ice Pavilion!

’Cold Ice Pavilion... Is that where the Cold Ice Pond and Cold Ice Grass are?’

Fang Shuwen had heard Zhai Xing and the others mention it. In the very beginning, there was only the Cold Ice Pond.

After the founding master of Yuqing Pavilion established the sect here, she felt the area around the cold pond looked a bit plain and wanted to add some decoration... and in the process of decorating, she ended up building the entire Cold Ice Pavilion.

Due to the Cold Ice Pond, the temperature inside was extremely low. Disciples without a sufficient mastery of Inner Strength wouldn’t go in, so they all patrolled the exterior.

Even the Elders on duty wouldn’t casually step inside.

The main reason was that there was nothing inside Cold Ice Pavilion. It was lethally cold; even the sect’s Elders had to circulate their Inner Strength just to ward off the chill.

There was really no benefit to going inside.

Only during the few days each year when the Yuqing Fruit was about to ripen would people frequently go in and out to check on its growth.

At other times, going in once a month to confirm the Yuqing Fruit was fine was sufficient.

Watching the woman in black venture deeper inside, Fang Shuwen grew more certain.

Moreover, as he strained his ears, he realized there was indeed someone else within the Cold Ice Pond.

’Only, this person’s condition isn’t right,’ he thought. ’Their breathing is erratic. Are they cultivating their Inner Strength, or are they injured?’

Fang Shuwen followed the woman in black over a wall, and the Cold Ice Pond came into view.

Four White Jade Pillars surrounded the Cold Ice Pond, with gauze curtains drawn between them. Cold mist continuously surged from the pond’s surface, drifting in all directions and making the place look like a fairyland on earth.

Within the Cold Ice Pond, an exotic plant bore three unripe fruits, swaying with the ripples of the water.

He estimated that they would ripen soon.

’Those must be the so-called Yuqing Fruits.’

Next to the Yuqing Fruits, a peerlessly beautiful, completely naked woman was soaking in the water.

The odd breathing Fang Shuwen had heard from outside was coming from her.

The woman in black, unaware of Fang Shuwen’s presence, walked to the pond’s edge. She untied her mask and gazed at the person soaking within, letting out a slow, worried sigh.

"It’s already been four days, Sect Leader. Why haven’t you woken up yet?"

Fang Shuwen’s expression remained neutral. He’d had his suspicions, and her words only served to confirm them.

’This woman... It really is Yu Yaoguang!’

His gaze subconsciously drifted to her face, and he felt that all these masters were unreasonably youthful.

Zuo Qingshuang’s face bore no trace of age, and neither did Lan Yue’s or Zhai Xing’s.

And now this Sect Leader of Yuqing Pavilion, whose fame was frankly terrifying, was even more absurd. Judging by her looks alone, you’d think she was the same age as Zhou Qingmei.

Who would have thought she was the Sect Leader of Yuqing Pavilion, one of the Seven Great Sects of the Eastern Domain?

Just as Fang Shuwen was looking at her, the woman’s eyelashes trembled slightly, and then she opened her eyes.

Fang Shuwen didn’t look away, and their eyes met.

The woman in black by the Cold Ice Pond saw Yu Yaoguang open her eyes and was overcome with joy. But then she noticed the Sect Leader was looking elsewhere. Following her gaze, the woman turned and was startled.

"Who are you?"

Only then did Fang Shuwen get a clear look at the face of the woman in black.

He felt this woman wasn’t as unreasonably youthful as Yu Yaoguang... at least her face showed clear traces of time.

Although she looked younger than an ordinary person, she paled in comparison to Yu Yaoguang.

Fang Shuwen thought for a moment, then suddenly asked:

"Are you... Xu Wenwan?"

His question was so sudden that it startled the woman opposite him.

"How did you know?"

But in the next moment, her gaze toward Fang Shuwen grew wary.

Fang Shuwen waved his hand.

"There’s no need to be so hostile. So you’ve been hiding here all these days. You’ve led me on quite a search.

"Did you know that the Xu Family was completely massacred by Smiling Eagle of the Sang Mountain Seven Face, leaving only your nephew, Xu Shuxin?

"I happened to meet him on the road and brought him to Yuqing Pavilion to find you. I was told you were missing, but I never thought you’d be hiding here."

He briefly explained what happened to avoid a misunderstanding that could lead to a fight.

After Xu Wenwan finished listening, although her eyes were filled with sorrow, she also relaxed considerably.

"So it was you... Fang Shuwen."

"You know of me?"

Fang Shuwen was slightly taken aback.

"People all over the sect have been talking about you these past few days. Of course I know."

’And you still didn’t show yourself?’

Fang Shuwen was momentarily speechless. Still, it was good that he’d found her. He could hand Xu Shuxin over, put the matter to rest, and complete his mission.

His gaze then shifted, landing on Yu Yaoguang.

It wasn’t because she was naked.

After all, her entire body was hidden in the water, and the place was shrouded in cold mist. No matter how good Fang Shuwen’s eyesight was, he couldn’t see anything he shouldn’t.

He was just concerned about Yu Yaoguang’s current state.

"Seniors Zhai Xing and Lan Yue went to visit your seclusion chambers today, only to find you weren’t there.

"I never expected you’d be here... You’re injured. Who did this?"