Chapter 180: Chapter 120: Killing Intent at Nightfall (2)

Though his martial arts hadn’t directly improved much, his gains had been enormous.

In fact, not only had Fang Shuwen reaped great rewards, but Yu Yaoguang had also benefited immensely.

However, at this point, Fang Shuwen announced his intention to leave.

Yu Yaoguang did not try to stop him.

"The Yuqing Banquet is about to begin, so I will not see you out.

"However, the Jianghu has been in some turmoil lately. You must be careful when you’re out and about..."

"It’s rare to hear such pleasant words from you."

Fang Shuwen was a little surprised.

Yu Yaoguang shot him a sideways glance.

"If, one day, you can no longer make it in the Jianghu, you can come to Yuqing Pavilion. I can certainly afford to keep a young man like you."

"...Farewell."

This farewell wasn’t just for Yu Yaoguang; he also went to take his leave of Xu Shuxin and her young relative.

As for Miao Feichan, when he went to say goodbye, he learned that the woman with the best Lightweight Technique in the world had already left Yuqing Pavilion long ago.

She hadn’t said where she was going.

It seemed her only reason for staying had been to see Yu Yaoguang. Once she had, she left.

Finally, Zhai Xing, Lan Yue, and the Elders of Yuqing Pavilion escorted Fang Shuwen to the mountain gate. With that, his trip to Yuqing Pavilion came to a close.

...

...

After descending Qingyang Mountain, Fang Shuwen considered his next steps. The path forward was quite simple.

The information from the Vermilion Bird Hall Master was limited. Trying to locate the Dragon Emperor Hall based on his words alone wasn’t impossible... but it would be too much trouble.

Therefore, he still had to find the Young Venerable and see what his deal was.

If he could get news of the Dragon Emperor Hall from him, he would head straight there.

As for this person... Fang Shuwen had his own suspicions.

’The one going around murdering people and ruining Jinghua Pavilion’s reputation is probably him.’

But to the Jianghu people of today, the truth of the matter was completely unimportant.

Forcing Ye Feihua out into the open to seize the Seven-String Ancient Chapter was the only thing that mattered.

Thus, it wasn’t that the Young Venerable’s methods were particularly brilliant; it was simply that many people with ulterior motives were fanning the flames.

Fang Shuwen intended to get in on the action himself. By following the clues, he would very likely uncover a lead on this Young Venerable.

But while it sounded simple, this whole affair was a dangerous whirlpool.

Fortunately, Fang Shuwen was confident he now had the ability to stand firm within this whirlpool. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

The only problem was, he still needed to find a direction.

Currently, everyone in the Jianghu—apart from the Seven Great Sects, who had little interest in the Seven-String Ancient Chapter—was looking for Jinghua Pavilion and Ye Feihua.

But so far, no one had found Jinghua Pavilion, let alone Ye Feihua.

’That brat Chen Yan left too quickly. If he were here, I might be able to use Heaven-Reaching Pavilion’s channels to ask about related news.’

But now, without Chen Yan, Fang Shuwen had to do these things himself.

He let his horse carry him at its own pace toward the nearest town.

The surrounding area was all Yuqing Pavilion’s territory and thus quite safe. He encountered no trouble along the way and soon arrived at a town.

Fang Shuwen found an inn and checked in. He had the young waiter take his horse for some fodder, then sat down in the main hall and ordered some food and drinks.

He poured himself a cup of wine, smacking his lips in appreciation of the pleasant taste.

He’d never been particularly obsessed with wine before, but having a drink with Miao Feichan a couple of days ago had certainly whetted his appetite.

Now, eating by himself, he had ordered a pot.

’A shame there’s no beef...’

It wasn’t that this era lacked laws against eating draft oxen; it was just that the imperial Court’s influence had waned, making it difficult to enforce its will in the localities.

Everyone managed their own affairs, and the rules varied wildly from place to place.

So, eating beef and the like was no longer considered strange.

However, even with the Court’s decline, draft oxen were still inextricably linked to the lives of the common people. They relied on these large animals for farming, so each one was treasured immensely.

They would not be harmed lightly. Even if a wealthy man wanted a taste, he would have to pay a steep price before anyone would be willing to sell.

The only other way was to take one by trickery or by force.

But this land was within Yuqing Pavilion’s sphere of influence. If such things were to happen, the heroic swordswomen from Yuqing Pavilion would genuinely come down the mountain and kill people.

This made beef a scarce commodity. It wasn’t unobtainable, but it was very expensive.

Fang Shuwen had the silver, but old habits died hard. He was used to being frugal and wouldn’t spend his money so extravagantly, even now that he could afford to.

As he ate and drank, he listened to the idle chatter of the other patrons and managed to piece together the latest news.

Ye Feihua still hadn’t appeared, and incidents of impersonators killing in Jinghua Pavilion’s name were becoming less and less frequent.

Yet, this did not quiet the voices of condemnation. On the contrary, the uproar only grew louder.

The entire Jianghu was clamoring for Jinghua Pavilion’s blood, putting them in a state of being against the entire world.

Among all this news, what caught Fang Shuwen’s attention the most was that someone was widely distributing hero invitations, claiming to have found Jinghua Pavilion’s location. They were inviting fellow members of the Jianghu to a conference to discuss a grand plan to deal with ’Hua’.

Nowadays, such news—some true, some false—was everywhere.

The reason this particular invitation caught Fang Shuwen’s attention was because the one who issued it was none other than the ’Wine Immortal,’ Dong Wangyou, one of the ’Three Immortals, Two Kings, and One City Madman.’

Given this man’s status and reputation in the Jianghu, if he was the one saying it, it was unlikely to be false.

The time was set for the twenty-fifth of next month, and the location was Pojun City.