Even by riding the fastest horses day and night, it would have been impossible to reach Jiuning Mountain in a mere five days.
Using Lightweight Technique would consume a massive amount of Inner Strength, and the time spent meditating to recover it would end up taking longer than the journey itself.
If Zhou Qingmei had been alone this time, she truly would have been out of options.
Fortunately, she had Fang Shuwen by her side.
Zhou Qingmei had already experienced the benefits of this once before, back when they were chasing the person who abducted Fang Lingxin.
So this time, she simply did the same thing. Holding Fang Shuwen's hand, she borrowed his Inner Strength to perform her Lightweight Technique. A single leap covered dozens of yards.
She practically walked on the wind, covering vast distances in a flash.
She was finally experiencing the true thrill of traversing the Jianghu with a masterful Lightweight Technique.
Most importantly, Fang Shuwen's Inner Strength seemed boundless. No matter how she used it, no matter how much she borrowed, he showed no sign of depletion.
His Inner Strength was so profound that Zhou Qingmei felt even the Pavilion Master of Zhuji Pavilion couldn't hope to compare.
It was Zhou Qingmei, in fact, who couldn't withstand the mental strain of traveling day and night and needed to stop for a few hours to rest.
The two of them sped onward. Perhaps because Zhang Fang was dead, they faced no further ambushes from the Black Death Sect. Jiuning Mountain, a destination that would have taken at least seven or eight days to reach even on the fastest horses, was already in sight by the evening of the fourth day.
As they raced on, Fang Shuwen's ear suddenly twitched.
"I hear something."
It was now past one in the morning, and they were in the middle of a barren, mountainous wilderness.
Zhou Qingmei scanned her surroundings but saw nothing. Still, she halted.
"What is it?"
Fang Shuwen wore a strange expression.
"Someone's calling for help."
His Inner Strength had reached a state of mastery, granting him hearing far beyond that of an ordinary person. He could clearly hear what was inaudible to Zhou Qingmei.
It was a woman's voice, but it sounded... odd. It was as if she were merely going through the motions, leaving the rest to fate. Even her calls for help were listless and utterly devoid of energy.
Although Zhou Qingmei was anxious to return to Zhuji Pavilion, she decided they should investigate first.
The two of them followed the sound, but before they could find the person crying for help, they stumbled upon numerous bodies.
Zhou Qingmei recognized their uniforms at a glance, her brow tightening.
"These are men from the Yunfei Escort Agency."
In truth, Fang Shuwen had recognized them as well, even before she spoke.
The Yunfei Escort Agency was based in Julu City.
There were three escort agencies in Julu City: Yunfei, Lu'an, and Yuanyang.
Fang Shuwen knew of them because Mo Beidou, his senior brother from the Four Seas Martial Arts Hall, was a Darts Leader at the Lu'an Escort Agency.
Many of Fang Shuwen's senior brothers and sisters from the Four Seas Martial Arts Hall had followed Mo Beidou to the Lu'an Escort Agency.
But the life of an Escort Master was far more dangerous than that of a Family Guard.
Family Guards, after all, mostly dealt with "Dark Hangers"—the Jianghu term for cat burglars.
These thieves specialized in robbing wealthy households.
A Family Guard, in turn, was known as a "Supporting Master." They could communicate using Jianghu cant; if the correct phrases were spoken, the thief might retreat without a fight ever breaking out.
Of course, if the thief "gave face" in this way, the "Supporting Master" was expected to reciprocate. The next day, he would treat the thief to tea or a meal, and they would part as friends.
That "Dark Hanger" would never trouble the household again.
But being an Escort Master was different.
An Escort Master's work also relied on reputation. If others "gave face," then everyone could get along peacefully.
But if they didn't, a fight was inevitable.
And the amount of "face" one was given usually depended on the value of the escorted goods.
There were too many intricacies involved, and the risks of being on the road were simply too great.
Mo Beidou had considered that Fang Shuwen's foundation was damaged and that his progress in Martial Arts had hit a ceiling. A job at an Escort Agency would be far too dangerous. It was better to find him a safe, stable position that would ensure he never had to worry about food or clothing.
That was why he had called in a favor from Wang Tao to recommend him for the position of Family Guard at the Zhou Family estate.
As for the Zhou Family later being attacked at their own home by the Black Death Sect... that was something no one could have ever predicted.
They weren't Dark Hangers; they were after lives, not riches. No amount of negotiation would have worked.
But that was a situation an ordinary family would never encounter.
It could only be described as a tragic twist of fate.
Returning to the matter at hand, this was the very Yunfei Escort Agency that Zhou Qingmei had entrusted with her letter.
It seemed the letter had been intercepted here, and all the agency's Escort Masters and their leader had been killed.
There was no need to ask who had done this.
Zhou Qingmei only needed to inspect the wounds to know they had died by the Thousand Character Sword Technique. She could also see traces of the Black Death Demon Technique on the bodies.
The calls for help, however, were not coming from here. A little further on, past a thicket of trees, they saw a large patch of dead leaves and withered branches piled on the ground, as if to deliberately conceal something.
Fang Shuwen waved his sleeve, and a gust of Inner Strength blew the leaves and branches away, revealing a hole in the ground.
The voice was coming from within.
As they drew closer, Zhou Qingmei could also hear the cries for help. They were faint and listless, as if the person was merely going through the motions:
"Help... sav—ack, PTT, PTT! Where did all this dirt come from..."
When Zhou Qingmei heard the voice clearly, her eyes flew open.
"That voice... Senior Sister Lu?"
She rushed to the edge of the hole and peered in. It was pitch-black, like a bottomless abyss.
Unable to see a thing, she had no choice but to call out:
"Senior Sister Lu? Is that you, Senior Sister Lu?"
"Hm?"
The voice from below was suddenly filled with astonishment, all traces of listlessness and boredom gone in an instant.
"Qingmei!?"
"It's me!!"
Zhou Qingmei was thrilled.
"Senior Sister Lu, it really is you! How did you fall in there?
"Hang on, I'll figure out a way to get you out."
"Don't!"
Senior Sister Lu said quickly,
"Thank heavens it's you. I was knocked down here by Li Nanchen.
"That bastard is connected to the Black Death Sect, which was supposedly wiped out thirty years ago. He killed the men from the Yunfei Escort Agency, and I suspect there are other Black Death Sect fiends within our own ranks.
"You need to return to Zhuji Pavilion at once. Report this to our master, then come back and figure out how to rescue me.
"The opening you see may look small, but it's actually a narrow fissure leading into a large underground cavern. The surrounding earth is unstable. If you aren't careful, you could fall in too."
Zhou Qingmei immediately asked:
"Senior Sister, how badly are you injured?"
"I was struck by Black Death True Qi... I'm not dead yet, but I'm not doing well. I have several broken bones..."
Senior Sister Lu said with a sense of resignation,
"Even if I get out of this alive, I'm afraid my martial arts career is over."
Zhou Qingmei's heart ached. Just then, Fang Shuwen handed her something. She looked down and saw it was a bundle of vines.
"Tie these vines around your waist. I'll hold on while you go down to get her. Then I'll pull you both back up."