Realization dawned on the men after hearing what he said.
They immediately invited him to sit. Fang Shuwen picked up the wine pot, filled each of their cups, and the group finally started to open up.
The long and short of it was that the Fang Family was a good family.
They were the wealthiest in the region, known for their philanthropy, and would even open their granaries from time to time to give food to beggars and the poor who couldn't afford a meal.
They were renowned as a great, charitable house in Guangning City.
Hearing that Fang Shuwen was going to work for the Fang Family, the men all told him not to worry. The Fang Family had always been generous and would never mistreat their people.
Fang Shuwen nodded repeatedly at their words and said with a smile:
"Then I can rest easy. I didn't expect them to truly be such great benefactors.
"The Fang Family's reputation for kindness is widespread. The master of the Fang family must be blessed with many children, right?"
"Well..."
The men glanced at each other and sighed.
"How should I put this? The Fang Family only has one precious daughter. In the future, this vast fortune will most likely fall into the hands of an outsider."
"Who knows which lucky fellow will have such good fortune. I just hope he's worthy of her."
"Speaking of which, have you guys heard... about twenty years ago, the Fang Family did have a son."
"But it seems he was kidnapped later on?"
"Not kidnapped. It seems some accident happened, and the child was lost."
"Lost, was he? I remember my father talking about this... It seemed like the entire Fang Family household went out to search for the child."
"It was a huge commotion in the end. They searched for months but found no news, so the matter was eventually dropped."
"Perhaps the Fang Family is still searching for the child even today. Alas, their only heir..."
"But Master Fang wasn't old back then. If he had put in a little more effort, it wouldn't have been hard to have a few more children. How did they end up with only one daughter?"
"How would we know about that?"
The men grew animated as they discussed this private matter.
Fang Shuwen listened with an unchanging expression. It wasn't as if massive waves were crashing in his heart, but his feelings were certainly complicated.
'I thought that even after reaching Guangning City, finding my birth parents wouldn't be easy.'
'But I never expected it to be this simple.'
'Although I can't be completely certain yet, judging from what they said, it's more than likely the truth.'
After chatting with the men for a little longer, he took his leave. When he returned to their room, Zhou Qingmei had already finished washing up.
She was sitting on the couch, drying her hair. Noticing that Fang Shuwen's expression seemed a bit grim, she asked:
"What happened?"
Fang Shuwen looked at her and shook his head.
"It's nothing. I was just gathering some information downstairs.
"I heard them say there have been six tragic cases in the last six months."
Zhou Qingmei assumed he was upset after hearing about the victims' tragic fates, so she comforted him softly with a few words.
They still had to go out that night, so it was best to use the time to rest well.
After a brief chat, the two went about their own rest.
Fang Shuwen positioned a stool and sat on it to meditate.
Zhou Qingmei's Inner Strength was far inferior to his, so she couldn't substitute meditation for sleep. She lay on the bed and fell into a deep slumber in no time.
When night had completely fallen and Fang Shuwen opened his eyes, Zhou Qingmei happened to turn over and sit up as well.
The two changed their clothes, slipped out of the inn, and hurried toward the Fang Family estate.
Zhou Qingmei was a seasoned veteran and led the way, while Fang Shuwen huffed and puffed as he ran behind her.
Before long, they could see the large Fang Family residence.
But before they could even get close, they heard a clamor of voices from within. Torches danced like a long dragon amidst the chaos, and Fang Shuwen's sharp ears caught someone shouting:
"Oh no, the young miss has been kidnapped by the lecherous thief again!!"
Black lines formed on Fang Shuwen's forehead. 'This guy must be the reincarnation of Monk Sha,' he thought. 'Who shouts like that?'
In the time it took to have that thought, the two of them had already arrived in front of the Fang estate, watching as a crowd of Fang family members rushed out.
Zhou Qingmei quickly asked:
"Which way did they go?"
The leading steward found Zhou Qingmei familiar. After a moment of thought, he recalled that it was this very young woman who had rescued the young miss the last time she was kidnapped.
He immediately pointed a finger in haste:
"That way!"
Zhou Qingmei nodded. Just as she was about to give chase, a loud BOOM erupted beside her. Fang Shuwen's steps were heavy but his speed was incredible. He took a single step, leaving a deep crater in the ground, and shot off in that direction like a bolt of lightning.
Zhou Qingmei was stunned for a moment but quickly followed.
'Fang Shuwen truly has a heroic heart,' she mused.
But she didn't know that Fang Shuwen's state of mind was now completely different than before.
Before, when hearing about the Fang Family's affairs, he could remain a spectator.
But now, if things were really as he suspected, wouldn't this so-called young miss of the Fang Family be his own biological sister?
He'd never had a younger sister in either of his two lives! How could he let someone just snatch her away like this?
'If my Lightweight Technique isn't good enough, I'll make up for it with Inner Strength.'
His stamina was vast and his explosive power was far beyond ordinary. As he sprinted, his speed was like an arrow loosed from a bowstring.
Even with the Zhuji Pavilion's profound Lightweight Technique, Zhou Qingmei couldn't keep up with him for a moment.
After sprinting for less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Fang Shuwen saw a figure ahead. The person flew up the city wall and, with a light and agile Sparrowhawk Flip, vaulted over it and vanished.
Fang Shuwen reached the foot of the wall and thought for a moment. 'I probably can't get over this.'
He was still debating whether he could just smash the wall down when Zhou Qingmei arrived.
She grabbed Fang Shuwen's hand.
"Let's go!"
With a leap, she pushed off the wall with her feet repeatedly to gain height, but halfway up, her stamina began to fail.
Just as she was about to fall, Fang Shuwen instantly sent a surge of Inner Strength into her through the Laogong Acupoint in her palm.
Zhou Qingmei immediately felt as if she'd received divine aid. Her spirits soared, and with a light push of her foot, she shot straight over the top of the wall... The shock of it made her face turn pale.
Her kick should have only given her a little more height. How could she have known that Fang Shuwen's Inner Strength was so profound it was like a bottomless abyss?
Even borrowing a tiny fraction of it was far beyond her imagination.
Thanks to this, however, the two of them easily cleared the wall. After landing, Fang Shuwen decided not to run on his own anymore. 'Isn't it better to have Zhou Qingmei lead the way than to just sprint wildly myself?'
Zhou Qingmei, too, coveted his Inner Strength and was reluctant to let go of his hand.
So, they continued onward, hand in hand.
In just a moment, they heard the sounds of a fight up ahead.
When they got closer, they saw that the black-clad man had been intercepted.
The newcomer's Swordsmanship was superb. Even though the man in black was focusing all his attention, he was still being forced to retreat step by step. The Fang family's young miss had been tossed to the side.
Fang Shuwen went to the Fang family's young miss and helped her up.
He checked her over in the dim moonlight and sighed in relief when he saw she wasn't injured.
But then he heard Zhou Qingmei shout loudly:
"Senior Brother Zhang, spare him!!"