Fang Shuwen’s expression was no longer as stern as before.

His tone had softened considerably.

But Shui Qianrou only seemed to grow more afraid.

This gave Fang Shuwen a headache. ’This girl is such a handful...’ He couldn’t guess what was going through her mind at all.

Then he heard Shui Qianrou say:

"I... I don’t know where Celestial Water Palace is either."

"..."

The corner of Fang Shuwen’s mouth twitched.

"Are you trying to make a fool of me?"

"I wouldn’t dare..."

Shui Qianrou didn’t dare to cry out loud, but tears were streaming down her face.

"Please, don’t hit me."

Fang Shuwen rubbed his face and forced a smile.

"Alright, I won’t hit you... But you can’t lie to me, either. Just tell me how you got here, okay?

"And tell me about these men. What is their relationship to you?"

Seeing the gentle look Fang Shuwen was trying so hard to put on, Shui Qianrou blinked, then suddenly let out a little snort of laughter.

Dark lines practically materialized on Fang Shuwen’s forehead. ’How can this girl be so moody?’

Shui Qianrou noticed his expression change and quickly covered her mouth, saying in a small voice:

"I snuck away... on a boat... to find my older brother...

"But... I was adrift at sea for a long time, and before I could even make it to shore, I was captured by these wicked men.

"I don’t know who they are, but they said... if they could get the people from... from some ’Pavilion’ to kill me...

"It would definitely... definitely enrage my mother.

"And that would create a conflict with the Eastern Domain Martial World... Then, their opportunity would arrive."

Fang Shuwen stroked his chin, not saying a word.

Shui Qianrou’s words contained a significant amount of information.

’She came by boat, snuck out to find her brother, and was adrift at sea for a long time. This must mean Celestial Water Palace is a power based at sea, or perhaps a Sect?’

The group that captured her was clearly a band of heretics from the Jianghu.

They used Iron Gloves’s Martial Arts to control Shui Qianrou, intending for her to die at the hands of a Yuqing Pavilion disciple.

Their goal was to provoke a conflict between the Eastern Domain Martial World and Celestial Water Palace, which explained why this group suddenly caused trouble tonight.

He had previously turned one of their men into a mist of blood with a single palm strike. Iron Gloves must have worried Shui Qianrou would suffer the same fate—dying without a complete corpse. That would have instantly ruined their entire plan. No wonder he was in such a hurry to drag the little girl back.

However, if this was their plan, then Celestial Water Palace must be a power of considerable strength.

Fang Shuwen thought carefully and realized that Celestial Water Palace was not among the powers mentioned by the Vermilion Bird Hall Master.

Either Dragon Emperor Hall and Celestial Water Palace weren’t in the same stretch of ocean, or... Celestial Water Palace was simply too powerful for Undying Island to have the ability to control it from the shadows.

Thinking of this, Fang Shuwen turned to look at Iron Gloves again.

"Is what she said true?"

Having been tortured by Fang Shuwen’s thread, Iron Gloves began to tremble uncontrollably the moment he heard his voice.

He immediately blurted out:

"Yes... Yes!

"But, this has nothing to do with me! I’m just... I’m just a pawn...

"It was the Flower Moon Sect and the Joyful Zen Temple, working together with a veteran master, who orchestrated this whole affair.

"Young Master, I... I was just following orders. Please, just treat me like a fart and let me go!"

Fang Shuwen thought for a moment, then asked him a few more questions.

But Iron Gloves truly knew nothing. Later, seeing Fang Shuwen’s persistence, he even started trying to make things up.

After Fang Shuwen saw through his lies, he began begging for mercy again.

Seeing this, Fang Shuwen was certain the scoundrel really didn’t know anything else, so he kicked him to death.

’He didn’t act like this when he was out killing people. Now that he’s been captured, he’s crying and begging, and he still expects to leave here alive?’

There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world.

Fang Shuwen didn’t linger. He glanced at Shui Qianrou, found a Yuqing Pavilion disciple, and had them take her away to be settled in.

Whether her words were true or false could be dealt with later.

’But what about that spear-wielding kid? Why has he been gone so long?’

’Could it be that...’

Fang Shuwen hesitated for a moment. He saw that although the situation in the town wasn’t over, the attackers had been temporarily held at bay.

The soldiers’ skills weren’t particularly high, but their armor was tough.

Combined with their superior numbers and the help of many Jianghu Rangers who happened to be staying in town, they had actually gained the upper hand in the fight against the mob.

After all, those attackers were just a disorderly rabble. They weren’t united when they arrived, and their organizers probably never even told them their true objective.

So they probably just intended to do some looting, only to find the soldiers were formidable and hard to kill. On top of that, meddlesome Jianghu Rangers had joined the fray, and many of the attackers had fallen to their blades.

They hadn’t gained any advantage, and now people were dead. Fear began to take root in their hearts.

Some had even begun to flee.

Seeing this, Fang Shuwen was finally able to relax. He set off in the direction Dongfang Wujiu had gone.

His search eventually led him outside the town.

He finally found Dongfang Wujiu beneath a thicket in a dense forest, shirtless and pale.

Hearing a noise, Dongfang Wujiu was instantly on alert.

"Who’s there?"

Fang Shuwen stepped out from the shadows. He didn’t see any trace of Gu Lianhua.

He looked Dongfang Wujiu over again and stroked his chin.

"Are you alright?" 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

When Dongfang Wujiu saw it was Fang Shuwen, he breathed a sigh of relief. But after hearing the question, his expression suddenly became very complicated.

"I...

"I’m fine..."

Those last two words were spoken with considerable weight.

But this only made Fang Shuwen’s expression grow even stranger.