"Everyone from here has gone to besiege the Qiuyue Nunnery."

Since they had asked, Fang Shuwen was perfectly willing to answer.

Upon hearing this, the group exchanged bewildered glances.

A man with a black snake coiled around his neck asked quizzically:

"Wasn’t it supposed to be a feint? Don’t tell me Fengli Xiao was just blowing hot air. Did he not hear what those hypocrites were plotting at all?"

The woman, wrapped head to toe in black, gave a low, cold laugh:

"In King Cao’s presence, how would he dare lie?"

A monk with a ruddy complexion shook his head gently:

"Doesn’t that make this whole affair rather bizarre?"

"What’s so bizarre about it?"

Standing beside the monk was a stunningly beautiful woman. Her gaze swept over Fang Shuwen before she spoke:

"Could it be that Fengli Xiao fell for a trick?

"His movements were discovered, so those hypocrites decided to play along with our plan... turning their feint into a real attack!

"Were we tricked into splitting our forces, thinking we could raid the righteous faction’s main camp, only to find it empty?"

At her words, the others’ expressions shifted.

The woman suddenly started walking toward Fang Shuwen:

"Young sir, since they’ve all left, why are you still here?"

"There are still people in the Mountain God Temple... Hmm? This girl is gorgeous! You vixen, the pretty boy is yours, but you are not to fight this monk for that girl!"

The ruddy-faced monk’s gaze landed on Zhou Qingmei, his eyes filled with lecherous desire.

Zhou Qingmei narrowed her eyes slightly, the look in them growing sharper and more dangerous.

At some point, Lu Guiyan had already positioned himself before the Mountain God Temple’s entrance, one hand resting on his Yanling Saber. He spoke in a cold voice:

"Young Hero Fang, be careful. If I’m not mistaken, the snake handler should be ’Blood Belly Lang’ Bai Liuxian.

"The monk is likely a lecherous monk from the Joyful Zen Temple...

"But as for these two women, I don’t know their background."

Besides these four, there were two old people who had yet to speak.

An old man and an old woman, both with hunched figures, looking like they might be a married couple.

Breathing stirred restlessly in the shadows... Clearly, this group—led by these six and backed by the men hiding in the darkness—was here to attack the Seven Sects’ temporary base.

Fang Shuwen nodded lightly, then said to the woman:

"I stayed behind to figure a few things out. A lady as beautiful as yourself must surely have a kind heart, so I imagine you’d be willing to enlighten me."

He didn’t notice that after he said this, Zhou Qingmei secretly rolled her eyes at him.

The woman, however, covered her mouth and chuckled:

"That’s right, that’s right. This big sister is indeed as kind as she is beautiful. What do you want to ask?"

"Who is this King Cao you speak of?"

Fang Shuwen’s question was direct.

Among the ’Three Immortals, Two Kings, and One City Madman’, there was no one named King Cao.

The woman’s smile vanished in an instant. She shook her head gently:

"Young sir, King Cao’s identity cannot be revealed.

"Why don’t we talk about more... romantic things?

"Let me tell you, there’s so much this big sister can teach you..."

"Huamei Niang..."

A slightly hoarse, aged voice spoke up. It was the white-haired old woman. She said in a low tone:

"If you want him, capture the boy and take him back to Qiuyue Nunnery. You can do as you please with him there.

"Don’t waste time here, lest unexpected complications arise."

Huamei Niang’s expression darkened at these words, but she seemed quite wary of the old woman and didn’t dare to object, merely nodding:

"Yes."

With that, she looked at Fang Shuwen:

"Young sir, come with this big sister. If you’re a good boy, you can avoid a world of pain."

With that, she reached her hand out toward Fang Shuwen.

"Wait!"

The old man beside the old woman suddenly spoke. He looked up slightly, his gaze falling on Lu Guiyan in front of the Mountain God Temple:

"You there, the kid with the saber. Are you Lu Guiyan of the Lu’an Escort Agency? Since you’re still here, then the ones in the Mountain God Temple... could they be the people King Cao wants?"

At his words, their faces lit up with wild joy.

"To think we came up empty, only to stumble into the grand prize by sheer luck!"

Bai Liuxian leaped into the air and rushed toward the dilapidated temple.

Even Huamei Niang ignored Fang Shuwen, preparing to burst into the Mountain God Temple.

"Huamei Niang, don’t even think about getting there first!"

The Great Monk let out a cry. A golden light pulsed around his body as he shot past Bai Liuxian, rushing forward to seize the initiative.

But just as he took a step, a low BUZZ rang out.

A longsword had already appeared, blocking Huamei Niang’s path. She followed the blade with her eyes and heard Chen Qi speak coolly:

"This path is closed."

"You’re not bad-looking yourself, just a notch below that young sir. Be a good boy and get out of this big sister’s way, and maybe you’ll get a turn for some fun later."

As Huamei Niang spoke, her eyes flowed with charm. With a flick of her five fingers, she tried to knock aside Chen Qi’s sword.

Chen Qi snorted coldly:

"So you’re a demoness from the Flower Moon Sect. A cheap trick like that isn’t enough to hurt me, Chen Qi!"

As he spoke, his sword trembled and then slashed.

Huamei Niang’s expression changed. Pushing off her toes, she hastily retreated.

Just now, the charming look in her eyes wasn’t a simple flirtation but a secret technique of the Flower Moon Sect called ’seductive eyes like silk’. A single glance could enthrall a man’s body and soul, making him lose all track of himself.

She had expected Chen Qi to be frozen by her gaze, but he was completely unmoved. Instead, the sharp edge of his blade forced her to retreat.

Otherwise, she feared she would have died under his sword.

Furious, she dodged the sword and, with another push of her toes, instantly closed the distance with a nimble leap:

"Big talk. Then let this big sister see what you’re really made of."

In the blink of an eye, the two were locked in combat. Seeing this, the monk burst into laughter:

"It is this monk’s destiny to claim this great prize!"

As he spoke, he was already in front of Fang Shuwen, his right hand sweeping out in a strike that was both a fist and a palm:

"Get out of my way!"

As he struck, he was careful to avoid Zhou Qingmei, so as not to harm the girl he had his eye on.

He assumed the young Fang Shuwen would be sent sprawling across the ground by this blow, perhaps even killed on the spot. He had even begun to imagine how Huamei Niang would argue with him after he’d beaten Fang Shuwen to death.

But to his surprise, his right hand stopped, his wrist was seized, and he found himself caught in Fang Shuwen’s grasp.

The shock was immense. He subconsciously channeled his Inner Strength, trying to break free, but no matter how he circulated it, he couldn’t budge an inch.

The Great Monk looked up at Fang Shuwen, his face a mask of horror, as he heard him ask softly:

"Who is King Cao? Why does he want the two people under the Lu’an Escort Agency’s protection?"

The Great Monk shook his head:

"No..."

"Speak or die."

The Great Monk’s pupils contracted violently, but Fang Shuwen had already struck with his palm.

With a THUD, something flew through the air and rolled across the ground.

The others looked toward the ground. The thing that had rolled to a stop was, shockingly, the monk’s large, bald head.

Before anyone could react, with a WHOOSH, the monk’s headless body was already hurtling toward ’Blood Belly Lang’ Bai Liuxian!

Bai Liuxian’s expression changed drastically. Without a second thought, he twisted his body to dodge the corpse.

His opponent’s strength was immeasurable, and the corpse had been thrown with considerable force. He wasn’t an idiot—why would he try to catch it bare-handed?

As Lu Guiyan watched Fang Shuwen kick the corpse away, he heard him say:

"Hold the entrance. I’m going to kill them."