Thousand Illusions was both a school of Martial Arts and the moniker of this couple.

Relying on this bizarre technique, they had roamed the Jianghu their entire lives. Although they’d faced powerful foes on more than one occasion, their enemies were invariably deceived by the illusory and deceptive nature of their methods.

Even if they couldn’t achieve victory, escaping was never difficult.

They never expected, however, that today they would fall at the hands of Fang Shuwen.

Feeling their True Qi surging out of their bodies, the two struggled with all their might, trying to pull their palms from Fang Shuwen’s back.

But it was impossible.

Their bodies were no longer their own to command.

And with Fang Shuwen’s current level of Martial Arts, it took almost no time at all for him to absorb their Inner Strength.

Within the space of a few breaths, their Inner Strength was completely drained.

Immediately after, two loud THUDS were heard.

Two figures were sent flying...

This was not like his courteous handling of Sun Qian back in Guangning City. Without True Qi to protect them, the immense force of the blow killed them both before they even hit the ground.

He turned, his gaze sweeping the area.

Men from Flying Star Hall lay in ambush, while Lu Guiyan and Zhou Qingmei guarded the entrance.

Most of the vile fiends who had deludedly tried to rush into the Mountain God Temple were now corpses. The few survivors couldn’t stir up any trouble, steadily driven back by Zhou Qingmei’s Thousand Character Sword Technique and Lu Guiyan’s Nine-Breath Red Phoenix Saber.

The men from Flying Star Hall provided support from the flanks, wielding Hidden Weapons. Every so often, their Flying Star Darts would fly out, claiming another life.

Fang Shuwen then turned his attention to Chen Qi and Huamei Niang.

Frankly, Fang Shuwen was a little surprised that Chen Qi hadn’t gone with the main group to Qiuyue Nunnery.

From their brief, chance meeting at the teahouse, the man had left a rather deep impression on him.

His Swordsmanship was truly exquisite, but Huamei Niang’s Inner Strength was far superior. Thus, in their clash, Chen Qi had adopted a hit-and-run strategy.

He struck and immediately retreated, never lingering. The intricate and profound momentum of his sword—at times composed, at times nimble—was an endless nuisance to Huamei Niang.

She grew vicious, trying to unleash a fatal blow, but he thwarted her at every turn.

After watching for a moment, Fang Shuwen said softly,

"Need a hand?"

After saying this, he paid no mind to either Chen Qi or Huamei Niang, walking directly over to Bai Liuxian.

Those words from Fang Shuwen were help enough.

He killed so quickly that Huamei Niang hadn’t even noticed what was happening on his side. Pinned down by the pressure of Chen Qi’s sword, she couldn’t spare a moment to look even when she heard the commotion, assuming it was one of her own comrades.

It wasn’t until his words reached her ears that she managed to steal a glance, and her heart instantly sank with terror.

’She’d only been fighting Chen Qi for a dozen or so exchanges, and in that time, everyone who came with her was already dead?’

No, one was still left—Bai Liuxian.

But Fang Shuwen was already at his side, looking down at the pale, faintly breathing Bai Liuxian. Fang Shuwen chuckled.

"Why haven’t you taken the antidote?"

Bai Liuxian’s expression darkened. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

He had...

But his own snake venom was too potent; even with the antidote, he would still need time to recover.

But there was no reason for him to explain any of this to Fang Shuwen.

Of course, Fang Shuwen had only been asking casually.

He squatted down.

"Same question as before. Who exactly is King Cao?

"And what does he want with those two people?"

’Don’t talk, and you die!’

Recalling how the monk had been decapitated just for saying the word "no," Bai Liuxian finally lost the nerve to hold out.

"King Cao... King Cao is one of the Four Great Ghost Kings of the Hundred Ghosts Hall.

"We don’t know his real name. We can only refer to him as King Cao.

"The two people... in the Mountain God Temple behind you... they’re being taken to Flying Snow City to save the life of its City Lord, Wu Lingxiao.

"They’re... they’re... physicians... sent by... Jinghua Pavilion..."

Fang Shuwen’s head snapped up. He looked at Bai Liuxian, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"What did you say?"

The two of them had remained tight-lipped about their identities and their connection to Flying Snow City.

Lu Guiyan couldn’t very well torture a confession out of them. As frustrating as it was, he had accepted the escort job, so he had to tolerate it.

Fang Shuwen had been curious about their identities as well. He had considered all sorts of possibilities, but he never imagined they were physicians.

’And they were on their way to Flying Snow City to save Wu Lingxiao’s life?’

’Wu Lingxiao, the "One City Madman" of the Three Immortals, Two Kings, and One City Madman... what could have possibly happened to him that he would need his life saved?’

Fang Shuwen’s mind raced.

"And how do you know they’re needed to save Wu Lingxiao? What happened to him?"

"King Cao... King Cao learned of this through Jinghua Pavilion.

"But he never told us the details..."

Having started talking, Bai Liuxian held nothing back.

Fang Shuwen raised an eyebrow.

"So, King Cao wants Wu Lingxiao to die, which is why he’s so insistent on taking these two?

"No... that’s not right!

"If that were truly his goal, he would have just had these two killed."

Just like the Fierce Tiger Gang!

Qi Wuwang was commissioned by the Golden Bell Tower to take the two to Qiuyue Nunnery.

Not to kill them.

The ones who wanted to kill them were the Fierce Tiger Gang... The reason they weren’t afraid of Wu Lingxiao’s retaliation was because if they succeeded, Wu Lingxiao would be beyond saving.

The problem was, the Fierce Tiger Gang and Flying Snow City were completely unrelated.

What did Wu Lingxiao’s life or death have to do with Qin Hu?

The only possibility was that the Fierce Tiger Gang was merely a tool, a blade to be wielded.

The one controlling that blade was the one who truly wanted Wu Lingxiao dead.

Does that mean the person who posted the commission at the Golden Bell Tower was this King Cao from the Hundred Ghosts Hall?

Fang Shuwen’s gaze fell back upon Bai Liuxian.

"This King Cao... he wouldn’t happen to be injured, would he?"

Bai Liuxian gave a bitter smile.

"He was... injured... by people from Jinghua Pavilion..."

Fang Shuwen drew a sharp breath through his teeth.

The situation behind all this was proving to be incredibly complex.

Jinghua Pavilion had sent physicians to heal Wu Lingxiao, the City Lord of Feixue City, and King Cao had gotten wind of this from Jinghua Pavilion’s side. Fang Shuwen had assumed there must be some connection between the Hundred Ghosts Hall and Jinghua Pavilion.

But as it turned out, King Cao had also been injured by people from Jinghua Pavilion.

’So if they have any relationship at all, it’s an adversarial one?’

This would, however, explain why Jinghua Pavilion didn’t escort the two physicians themselves...

Jinghua Pavilion must have its own share of enemies. A direct escort would have likely faced even greater resistance.

That must be why they entrusted the Lu’an Escort Agency with the task.

The two physicians had remained calm throughout the ordeal. Jinghua Pavilion had likely left some other safeguards in place with the Lu’an Escort Agency to ensure their safety.

With that, everything seemed to fall into place.

Still, Bai Liuxian’s words contained a staggering amount of information.

Hundred Ghosts Hall, Jinghua Pavilion... Fang Shuwen had never even heard of these two organizations.

’What does Jinghua Pavilion do?’

’Where did the Hundred Ghosts Hall come from?’

’How was Wu Lingxiao injured?’

’And who was the person standing behind the Fierce Tiger Gang, wielding them like a blade in their hand?’