Fang Shuwen wasn’t falling for it. He chuckled and said,

"We’ve only just met. Why should I help you?"

"It won’t be for free!"

Shui Qianrou said hurriedly,

"My brother has silver, lots and lots of silver.

"If you’re willing to take me to my brother, I’ll have him give you all his silver!!"

Fang Shuwen said with a sigh of resignation,

"You’re asking a lot of me. The Eastern Domain is huge; finding one person is like looking for a needle in a haystack."

"I know where my brother is,"

Shui Qianrou said quickly.

"He should be in Flying Snow City right now!"

"Flying Snow City?"

Fang Shuwen was slightly taken aback.

"Why are you so sure?"

"When my brother left the Celestial Water Palace, he told me he was coming to Flying Snow City in the Eastern Domain to find something."

"He never lies to me, so he must be in Flying Snow City,"

Shui Qianrou said earnestly.

Fang Shuwen became pensive.

"What is your brother looking for?"

"I think it’s called... the Seven... Seven-something Chapter? I don’t remember..."

Her voice trailed off, her tone a little dejected.

"The Seven-String Ancient Chapter?"

As soon as Fang Shuwen said this, the little girl’s head shot up.

"Yes, that’s it!!

"Big Brother, you know about it too?"

Fang Shuwen’s expression turned a little strange. ’What a coincidence.’

’But if her brother is searching for the Seven-String Ancient Chapter, then he’s definitely not in Flying Snow City right now. He’d be in... Pojun City?’

Seeing Fang Shuwen remain silent, Shui Qianrou came to his side, grabbed his sleeve, and gave it a little shake.

"Big Brother, please? I’m begging you."

"Your Martial Arts are so amazing... you’re so capable... you can definitely help me find my brother.

"As soon as I see my brother, I’ll have him give you all his silver!!"

[DING! New escort mission detected!]

[Take Shui Qianrou to Pojun City and deliver her to her brother!]

[Accept?]

Fang Shuwen was speechless for a moment. ’Is the system trying to cause trouble now, too?’

But after a moment of silence, Fang Shuwen stroked his chin and smiled.

"Alright, I’ll help you."

As he spoke, he accepted the mission.

[Mission accepted!]

[Current Escort Mission: Take Shui Qianrou to Pojun City and deliver her to her brother!]

[DING! Congratulations, Host. For the duration of this mission, you will receive a threefold boost to your Talent. This effect will be automatically canceled if the mission is abandoned or completed.]

Fang Shuwen looked at the new notification, feeling a little confused.

’Helping Shui Qianrou find her brother gives a threefold Talent boost.’ 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

’But helping Xu Shuxin find his aunt... that only gave a twofold boost.’

’How is the multiplier calculated?’

’The Xu Shuxin affair involved the Hundred Ghosts Hall Master and those people from the Dragon Emperor Hall.’

’No matter how you look at it, that was no less troublesome than Shui Qianrou’s situation...’

’No, that’s not right... It wasn’t actually that hard to find Xu Wenwan. She was right there in the Yuqing Pavilion.’

’And after completing the mission, I could have just turned around and left.’

’The only reason I ran into the Hundred Ghosts Hall Master and the others was because I had no intention of letting them go...’

’So, in that sense, that mission was actually quite simple.’

Thinking this, Fang Shuwen felt he was starting to understand the system’s multiplier conditions. It was, as he suspected, determined by the mission’s difficulty.

When Shui Qianrou heard that Fang Shuwen was willing to help her, her face lit up with joy, and she thanked him profusely.

Fang Shuwen glanced at her, a little surprised.

Yesterday, although she had been subdued, that spear strike from Dongfang Wujiu had landed squarely on her.

’After just one night, she’s already so full of life, as if nothing ever happened?’

The disciple from Yuqing Pavilion heard them reach an agreement and breathed a sigh of relief.

She didn’t know what kind of power the Celestial Water Palace was, but if even those demonic factions saw it as a potential ally they could use to disrupt the Eastern Domain Martial World, then it certainly couldn’t be underestimated.

Therefore, Shui Qianrou’s safety was paramount.

They couldn’t guarantee her absolute safety on their own, but if she was with Fang Shuwen, there would surely be no problem.

Fang Shuwen’s reputation had also been spreading lately.

Many things couldn’t be kept secret even if one tried... especially the matter of him killing Cao Jiuyin with two palm strikes at Qiuyue Nunnery. The few Sects involved at the time had no intention of hiding it.

And the story of the battle outside Flying Snow City had also begun to circulate.

The tale of his exploits, in particular, was gradually causing a sensation: how he, like a god of war, single-handedly fought and killed hundreds of masters, so ruthless and merciless that he left not a single person alive.

The Yuqing Pavilion disciple also knew a few things that others didn’t yet.

For example, that Fang Shuwen had killed the Hundred Ghosts Hall Master and the Vermilion Bird Hall Master of Dragon Emperor Hall.

All of this gave the people of Yuqing Pavilion immense faith in Fang Shuwen.

With him protecting Shui Qianrou, even if all those demonic factions attacked at once, they would be unlikely to gain any advantage.

After thanking Fang Shuwen, she immediately took her leave.

In the end, only Fang Shuwen and Shui Qianrou were left, staring at each other.

Fang Shuwen had no choice but to order breakfast for one more person.

After they finished eating, Fang Shuwen prepared to set out with the little girl. As they were leaving the inn, he didn’t see Dongfang Wujiu.

He didn’t pay him a formal visit either. ’They were just two travelers who happened to cross paths in the Jianghu; there was no need to get too involved.’

’Besides, no matter what Dongfang Wujiu thought, the relationship between Fang Shuwen and Wentian Mansion was still rather awkward.’

’Parting ways like this wasn’t a bad thing.’

Outside, Fang Shuwen asked Shui Qianrou if she could ride a horse. The little girl decisively shook her head.

Fang Shuwen hesitated for a moment. ’The child is too young,’ he thought, ’no need to worry about the propriety between men and women.’

’She could just ride with him.’

They set off from the small town. After getting over her initial nervousness on the bumpy ride, Shui Qianrou quickly grew excited.

But after a full day, her thighs were inevitably sore from the chafing.

Fang Shuwen paid it no mind, merely gazing at the desolate wilderness and frowning slightly... they had missed the last inn, which meant they would have to find a place to make do for the night out here.

Sleeping in the open was no bother; Fang Shuwen was used to it.

There was just one thing... every time he camped in the wild with someone, they tended to run into strange occurrences.

’I wonder if tonight can be a little more peaceful?’