"What's wrong?"
Seeing Fang Shuwen fall silent after she finished speaking, Zhou Qingmei couldn't help but ask.
Fang Shuwen gave a slight shake of his head.
"It's nothing."
"How were the Flower Thief's Martial Arts?"
"...I couldn't gauge his skill."
Zhou Qingmei said, a bit ashamed.
"We only exchanged a few moves. His Inner Strength should be no less than mine, but he seemed to have no desire to fight seriously."
"The moment I snatched the person back, he fled immediately."
"In that case, this whole affair is truly bizarre!"
"What makes you say that?"
Zhou Qingmei only felt that the Zhou Family's disaster might have stemmed from this incident.
But it was just a suspicion...
She didn't understand what Fang Shuwen found so bizarre about it.
Fang Shuwen shot her a look.
"Miss Zhou, do you not look in the mirror very often?"
"What do you mean?"
Of course Zhou Qingmei looked in the mirror. She was a young woman, after all. Even a Jianghu Heroine cared about her appearance.
Fang Shuwen said with a smile,
"You're devastatingly beautiful, Miss Zhou. Any man would be smitten upon seeing you, let alone a pervert."
"..."
Hearing this, Zhou Qingmei felt her face flush. Remembering that Fang Shuwen was the one who had bandaged her wounds, she couldn't help but ask,
"Last night... how much did you see?"
"What?"
Fang Shuwen was still thinking about the case. Hearing her suddenly ask such a question, he was a bit baffled.
After a glance, he finally understood. Amused by the woman's scattered thoughts, he said casually,
"I saw what I should and what I shouldn't. After all, with injuries like yours… I couldn't have bandaged them without looking."
"Then… did you feel any… covetous desires?"
Zhou Qingmei gritted her teeth.
Fang Shuwen waved his hands.
"Not at all, not at all."
"...I suppose you're a gentleman, then."
Zhou Qingmei crossed her arms and snorted lightly.
But Fang Shuwen just laughed.
"You were covered in blood. I'm not some kind of sicko, so how could I get any ideas like that?"
"Now, if you were all clean… that might be a different story…"
"Shut up!!"
Zhou Qingmei felt he was getting more and more out of line and already regretted asking the question.
'Now I'm completely mortified, and this guy in front of me is getting all smug about it?'
'What does he have to be so smug about?'
'Pah!'
"It's not like I wanted to talk about it… Anyway, let's get back to the topic."
Fang Shuwen's expression changed in an instant.
"Look, a pervert abducts people because he's driven by lust."
"But you are as lovely as a flower, yet he ran the moment he saw you."
"If you said his Martial Arts were weak, that would make sense… But you're telling me his skills aren't weak."
"And if he's not weak, even if he's not your equal, he must be close."
"So what reason would he have not to fight for it? Why would he just run away?"
Although Zhou Qingmei knew she was unusually beautiful, she had never considered things from this angle.
Now, hearing Fang Shuwen's explanation, it was as if the clouds had parted to reveal the sun.
"You're right, this matter is indeed strange."
Zhou Qingmei thought for a moment before speaking.
"For him to be in such a hurry to escape, could it be that he's wary of me?"
"Or perhaps he's wary of the Zhuji Pavilion behind me?"
"But I didn't announce my sect or origins when we fought, so how would he know?"
"Perhaps he recognized a unique skill of your Zhuji Pavilion, or maybe he's seen you before and knows who you are."
"Failing that, maybe he's one of your own people from Zhuji Pavilion."
"That's why he was afraid you'd discover his identity, and that's why he now wants to silence you by killing you,"
Fang Shuwen said casually.
"The first two are possible, but the last one… that should be impossible."
Zhou Qingmei said,
"My Zhuji Pavilion is one of the Renowned and Righteous Sects. How could one of us do something so despicable?"
"Then think carefully. Was there anything familiar about his movements, footwork, or Martial Arts?"
"No."
Zhou Qingmei shook her head firmly.
Fang Shuwen thought for a moment and said,
"From what that black-robed man said last night, this matter is far from over."
"I can protect you for a time, but not forever."
"If we don't find the root of the problem, I'm afraid you'll never have a day of peace."
'The most crucial thing is, if this isn't resolved, my mission won't be complete.'
'And I won't get the reward.'
Fang Shuwen was starting to regret taking this mission. It was a real hot potato.
'My knowledge of the Jianghu is still too shallow.'
Fang Shuwen warned himself that the next time he encountered something like this, he had to consider it more carefully and not be so reckless.
His personality had a stubborn streak. If he'd never accepted the task, that would be one thing. But now that he had, giving up halfway would, on one hand, weigh on his conscience, and on the other, leave him feeling utterly unreconciled.
Unless it was truly impossible, he had no intention of giving up.
"You have a point. Right now, there are two things we need to do."
Zhou Qingmei said,
"First, I will write a letter back to my sect and ask for their assistance in our investigation."
"Second… I must set out for Guangning City."
"If our guess just now was correct, we might find something in Guangning City."
"To Guangning City?"
Fang Shuwen pondered for a moment upon hearing this.
"I'll go with you."
"You really don't have to get involved in this."
Zhou Qingmei's gaze was complicated as she looked at Fang Shuwen.
"The monthly pay for a Family Guard isn't that much. Why risk your life with me?"
"I'm just being loyal to the one who hired me."
Fang Shuwen waved his hand.
"Alright, my mind is made up. Say no more."
Zhou Qingmei cupped her fist in a solemn salute.
"Thank you."
Having reached an agreement, the two wasted no more time.
They left the Zhou Family residence, packed their belongings, and prepared to set off quietly.
Before leaving, Zhou Qingmei wrote a letter and entrusted it to an Escort Agency for delivery to Zhuji Pavilion.
Fang Shuwen didn't go to the Four Seas Martial Arts Hall to find Zheng Sihai, nor did he inform his Senior Brother Mo Beidou.
The waters of this matter ran a little deep, and he didn't want to drag the Four Seas Martial Arts Hall into it.
'I'll just come back and let them know I'm safe after this is all settled.'
Fang Shuwen had originally thought the two of them would have to run all the way, like other great heroes of the Jianghu.
He hadn't expected Zhou Qingmei to lead out two horses from who-knows-where.
Fang Shuwen looked at the animals, feeling a bit troubled. Given his circumstances in life, he'd never been in a position to learn how to ride a horse; he didn't know how at all.
Fortunately, riding a horse wasn't that difficult. Becoming an expert rider in such a short time would be a tall order, but in his current state, learning was quite easy.
His initial caution only lasted for a moment before he was soon galloping wildly.
They rode like this for half a day.
Seeing the sun past its zenith, they dismounted, preparing to eat some dry rations.
But as he turned his head, he saw a corpse propped up in a thicket not far away.