Zuo Qingshuang’s words completely shattered the last shred of hope in Lu Guiyan’s heart.

Before his death, Qi Wuwang had said he would take those two to Qiuyue Nunnery.

And Qiuyue Nunnery just so happened to be a place they had to pass through to get to Flying Snow City.

So, one way or another, they couldn’t avoid it.

Of course, they could change their route immediately. But that would multiply their travel time severalfold, perhaps even tenfold. Worse, the entire new route would be within the Fierce Tiger Gang’s territory.

The number of potential complications was simply too great.

Lu Guiyan could not, and dared not, make such a decision.

Therefore, the challenge of Qiuyue Nunnery was one they had to face, no matter what.

"But it’s not all bad news."

Seeing Lu Guiyan’s expression, Fang Shuwen said with a smile,

"The Seven Great Sects have arranged to meet at Qiuyue Nunnery. We can tag along and see what’s happening.

"I imagine with the Seven Great Sects joining forces, even if there’s some old Demon with three heads and six arms at Qiuyue Nunnery, they won’t be able to stir up much trouble."

The name "Seven Great Sects of the Eastern Domain" carried immense weight.

They represented the very pinnacle of power in the entire Eastern Domain Martial World and were by no means a force to be trifled with.

Lu Guiyan nodded lightly. For now, this was indeed their best option.

Hearing their exchange, Zuo Qingshuang grew curious about what had happened. After all, Fang Shuwen still hadn’t explained how he’d ended up here.

Fang Shuwen briefly recounted their side of the story, keeping it as concise as possible.

Zhou Qingmei’s gaze grew even more peculiar... ’He’s a master of martial arts, yet he runs around working as a guard. What on earth goes through his head all day?’

Though Zuo Qingshuang was also a bit surprised, her brow quickly furrowed.

"Qin Si?

"I’ve had a few dealings with him. The Fierce Tiger Gang and my Zhuji Pavilion are practically neighbors. But I never thought they’d have the guts to move against people from Flying Snow City.

"There must be something fishy about this..."

Fang Shuwen nodded. He thought so, too.

But right now, it was all shrouded in mystery. Whatever the true reason was, they had no answers yet.

Tong Tianba was a brute, while Qi Wuwang was a man who only worked for money. Neither of them had possessed any valuable information.

If they wanted a breakthrough, they’d most likely have to go straight to Qin Hu himself.

But the Fierce Tiger Gang Headquarters wasn’t a place one could just barge into.

Although Fang Shuwen was confident he could come and go as he pleased, Lu Guiyan dared not take such a risk lightly.

"Actually, Young Hero Fang could present the Jade Pearl Order."

Zuo Qingshuang said with a smile,

"After all, my Zhuji Pavilion has some prestige in the Jianghu. I imagine the Fierce Tiger Gang wouldn’t dare to disrespect us."

This was pure humility. As one of the Seven Sects, Zhuji Pavilion was on a completely different level from the Fierce Tiger Gang.

Lu Guiyan froze, turning to look at Fang Shuwen.

The Jade Pearl Order could, to some extent, represent the will of Zhuji Pavilion. ’Fang Shuwen has something that valuable?’

Fang Shuwen casually took out the Jade Pearl Order.

"Is this thing really that useful?"

Zuo Qingshuang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

"Of course. This Token represents my Zhuji Pavilion. Unless the Fierce Tiger Gang wants to declare war on Zhuji Pavilion, they wouldn’t dare ignore it.

"Of course, given Young Hero Fang’s martial arts, it’s not as if he’d be afraid of the Fierce Tiger Gang in the first place."

Fang Shuwen clicked his tongue. He had really underestimated this thank-you gift from Zhuji Pavilion.

Lu Guiyan, however, felt a tremor in her heart.

She knew, of course, how formidable Fang Shuwen was. But the Fierce Tiger Gang was no pushover. Qin Hu himself was a powerful martial artist, and his four... no, his three remaining Hall Masters were all experts with unique skills. And that wasn’t even counting the many other eccentrics and masters in their ranks.

’Even if Fang Shuwen’s martial arts are unparalleled, could he really be a match for that many people?’

’But from the sound of what Zuo Qingshuang was saying... could Fang Shuwen really take on the entire Fierce Tiger Gang by himself?’

’Have I been underestimating him all this time?’

But Lu Guiyan had no idea what Fang Shuwen had done at Zhuji Pavilion.

If she knew that he had single-handedly wiped out the Black Death Sect—a force that had terrorized the land thirty years ago—with nothing more than his fists and feet, she probably wouldn’t feel so uncertain.

It wasn’t her fault, really. She just couldn’t comprehend the world of someone as ridiculously overpowered as him.

With the chitchat out of the way, the matter was settled. They had to make the trip to Qiuyue Nunnery regardless, and since Zuo Qingshuang didn’t mind traveling with Fang Shuwen’s group, they decided to go together.

Lu Guiyan assigned people to stand watch while the others took out supplies to prepare a hot meal by the fire.

Fang Shuwen, with nothing to do, sat by a crack in the dilapidated kiln, watching the raindrops patter down outside.

With each autumn rain, the air grows colder. The temperature had been dropping rapidly over the past few days.

A fragrant scent drifted over, and Fang Shuwen turned to see Zhou Qingmei sitting down beside him.

He suddenly chuckled.

"You smell so nice, I’m actually not used to it."

Zhou Qingmei shot him an exasperated glare.

"Do you still see me as that wildling who spent half a month trekking through the forest with you?"

Back then, to avoid the eyes and ears of the Black Death Sect, the two of them had lived like wild people in the forest for half a month.

It had been a miserable time. Even a beautiful girl like Zhou Qingmei had been filthy and smelly.

"After you left, my father sent a letter to the sect.

"They are all safe. I’ve already sent a reply, telling them to return to Julu City.

"Oh, right, the silver I owe you has been prepared. When you get back to Julu City, you can go directly to the Zhou Family to get it."

Fang Shuwen chuckled.

"I was never worried Master Zhou would go back on his debt."

...

Zhou Qingmei glanced at him with a disbelieving look, then suddenly noticed the sword he was carrying on his back and asked curiously,

"Where did you get that sword?"

"There was a guy in the Fierce Tiger Gang named Xu Yuqing."

Fang Shuwen took the sword down and handed it to her.

"I killed him. The sword looked decent, so I picked it up. I thought I’d sell it for a good price, but everyone I met was a crook... Two taels of silver for a sword of this quality? I wasn’t about to let them rip me off."

He had taken the sword, hoping to sell it for a good price.

But everyone he met just wanted to take advantage of him. Since Fang Shuwen wasn’t short on money, he refused to take such a loss and simply decided to carry it with him.

Zhou Qingmei took the sword, grasped the hilt, and drew the blade three inches from its sheath. The cold gleam of the blade reflected in her eyes. Near the guard, two words were engraved—Wind Shock.

Her eyes lit up.

"It really is a fine sword."

"Where’s your sword?"

Fang Shuwen noticed that Zhou Qingmei didn’t have a sword on her.

"I left it at Zhuji Pavilion to have a fellow disciple reforge it for me."

"Zhang Fang’s?"

"It was sent to the Sword Nurturing Pool on the back mountain."

Zhou Qingmei said,

"The Still Water Sword was a gift from a senior master to him upon his discipleship, just like my Jade Bamboo Sword."

"So, you don’t have a sword right now?"

Fang Shuwen sighed resignedly.

"In that case, this sword is yours."

"Alright."

Zhou Qingmei immediately nodded.

Fang Shuwen was taken aback. ’Not even a little bit of polite refusal?’

’It wasn’t that he was just making an empty gesture—he genuinely wanted to give it to her—but couldn’t she at least go through the motions of politely refusing?’

But seeing the joyful look on Zhou Qingmei’s face as she admired the Wind Shock Sword, he found himself smiling too. ’This isn’t so bad, either,’ he thought.