Chapter 184: Chapter 121: Celestial Water Palace’s Little Princess

Upon seeing this, the pupils of the man wearing the Iron Gloves contracted sharply.

Without a second thought, he yanked his fingers back, trying to pull the masked person, who was already in front of Fang Shuwen, back to him.

"Hm?"

Fang Shuwen was instantly perplexed.

With a backhand motion, he grabbed the masked person by the shoulder. The person’s frame was incredibly small and short, their shoulder bones exceptionally slender—like a child’s...

But that wasn’t what he found strange.

It was the actions of the man wearing the Iron Gloves.

Fang Shuwen had already figured it out. The Martial Arts this person used was actually somewhat similar to Elder Shixian’s methods—using a Secret Technique to bind others to his will.

When blocking Dongfang Wujiu earlier, this masked person had been completely useless, sent flying by a single sweep of a spear.

Given this, it seemed Iron Gloves didn’t actually care much for the masked person.

But the moment he killed that burly man, Iron Gloves’ expression had changed drastically, and he suddenly seemed very concerned about the masked person.

This discrepancy immediately made Fang Shuwen suspicious.

And sure enough, when he grabbed the masked person, Iron Gloves’ expression changed. He yanked his fingers back sharply, and the masked person in front of Fang Shuwen immediately let out a muffled grunt, seemingly in extreme pain.

Fang Shuwen frowned slightly and tapped his foot.

A hissing sound followed as a surge of Inner Strength shot across the ground, heading straight for Iron Gloves.

Iron Gloves’ expression changed drastically. He wanted to make a last-ditch effort, but he couldn’t wrest the masked person from Fang Shuwen’s grasp no matter what, and was forced to give up.

By the time he tried to retreat and dodge, it was already too late.

The surge of Inner Strength erupted directly beneath his feet, launching his entire body into the air!

Fang Shuwen casually released the masked person and reached out. As if drawn by an unseen force, Iron Gloves flew right into Fang Shuwen’s five-fingered grasp.

Fang Shuwen immediately slammed him into the ground.

CRUNCH!!

Both of his legs smashed onto the bluestone pavement, sinking deep into the stone in the blink of an eye. The price was steep: both of his leg bones shattered completely, and blood soaked the flagstones.

Fang Shuwen first tapped a few points on his body, sealing his acupoints.

Then he looked at the green-robed man:

"What was that you said about an antidote?"

As he spoke, he flicked his foot, sending the corpse on the ground flying into the air.

The body shot upwards, and Fang Shuwen caught it with a follow-up kick. It was already lifeless as it sailed backward.

The green-robed man was terrified. ’This young man kills without batting an eye. If I don’t give him the antidote, I’m dead for sure. But if I do... will he let me live?’

He was overcome with indecision, not knowing what to do.

But in that moment of hesitation, Fang Shuwen lost his patience. With a sharp CRACK, he snapped the man’s neck.

The green-robed man never would have dreamed that this person wouldn’t even give him a moment to think.

It was an incredibly frustrating way to die.

Fang Shuwen tossed the corpse aside and suddenly remembered something:

’Oops, I forgot...’

He looked at his hands, and seeing nothing unusual, he nodded.

’That old bastard was a poison user, and I grabbed him with my bare hands. Good thing... there was probably no poison on his neck.

’I can’t be this careless next time.

’Sigh, I’ve killed so many people lately, I’m getting a little cocky. I absolutely can’t let my guard down in the future.’

Muttering to himself, Fang Shuwen took out the Deer Hide Gloves that Zhou Qingmei had given him. Only then did he begin to search the green-robed man’s body.

He quickly found a large collection of bottles and jars.

Fang Shuwen examined them but couldn’t tell which was the antidote. He decided to pack them all up and toss them to the Town Chief’s Mansion later, letting them figure it out.

Just then, the sound of approaching footsteps announced the arrival of soldiers from the Town Chief’s Mansion.

Fang Shuwen told them to quickly organize firefighting efforts, then gave the bottles and jars from the green-robed man to their leader, telling them to find the antidote themselves.

Their leader was also a woman. After a brief conversation, he learned that they were all disciples of Yuqing Pavilion, which meant they weren’t strangers.

Although the chaos in the city had yet to be fully quelled, things were gradually stabilizing.

Hearing this, Fang Shuwen breathed a sigh of relief, then looked over at the masked person.

After a moment of contemplation, he lifted the mask.

A tear-streaked, beautiful face appeared before him.

’Just as I thought, a girl... And she looks young, maybe eight or nine? Ten at the most?’

’She really is just a child.’

Her eyes were filled with terror. Her mouth opened and closed, but not a single word came out. Tears and snot streamed down her face, which was also stained with blood at the corner of her mouth. She was a pitiful sight.

Fang Shuwen rubbed his chin, then suddenly kicked Iron Gloves, releasing the pressure points he had sealed.

"Release her."

Iron Gloves glared at Fang Shuwen.

"You’ve crippled me. My life is ruined... And you think I’ll listen to you?"

Fang Shuwen’s eyes lit up.

"Excellent. Just excellent. I like your attitude."

Iron Gloves froze. ’What does that mean?’

Fang Shuwen extended two fingers, and a thread of energy suddenly materialized between them. He then pressed it to Iron Gloves’ Baihui Acupoint.

Instantly, Iron Gloves’ expression contorted. His features twitched uncontrollably, drool leaked from the corner of his mouth, and blood began to trickle from his ears and eyes.

"?"

Seeing this, Fang Shuwen quickly retracted the thread of energy.

Only then did Iron Gloves begin to gasp desperately for air, like a man granted a last-minute pardon, having just crawled back from the Ghost Gate.

Fang Shuwen looked at his fingers, then back at Iron Gloves, a thoughtful expression on his face.

’Iron Gloves’ violent reaction must have something to do with the Baihui Acupoint.

’That acupoint is right over the brain. So, in that instant, did his brain suffer a massive shock?

’I wonder if it affected his intelligence?

’But I’ve heard the brain itself doesn’t feel pain. What on earth did he experience just now?’

At this thought, he cleared his throat and repeated his two-word command:

"Release her."

Iron Gloves looked up at Fang Shuwen, his pupils shrinking to pinpricks. With a flick of his ten fingers, a series of soft HISSES came from the little girl’s body.

It was ten Silver Needles.

The ten Silver Needles were strung together with Celestial Concealing Silk, which was completely invisible to the naked eye.

It could, however, transmit Inner Strength to stimulate her acupoints, forcing the little girl to perform various actions.

Now that they were suddenly removed, the little girl collapsed limply to the ground and immediately burst into tears with a loud WAIL.

Fang Shuwen was taken aback, genuinely flustered for a moment.

He didn’t even know how to comfort a grown woman, let alone a little girl.

In the end, he could only scowl and snap:

"Quiet!"

The little girl shuddered in fear and, sure enough, stopped crying.

"I’m asking you a question. Who are you?"

Fang Shuwen asked casually, not really hoping to get any useful answer.

However, what the little girl said when she opened her mouth stunned him:

"My name is... My name is Shui Qianrou.

"I am the youngest daughter of the Celestial Water Palace’s Palace Master."

"Celestial Water Palace?"

Fang Shuwen thought hard. He had heard about all the noteworthy sects and factions in the Eastern Domain from Chen Yan, but he had definitely never heard of this Celestial Water Palace.

He glanced again at the trembling Shui Qianrou and narrowed his eyes. ’She wouldn’t dare lie to me.’

’Could this little girl be from outside the Eastern Domain?’

After considering for a moment, he asked softly:

"Then tell me, where is this Celestial Water Palace?"