Chapter 188: Chapter 123: Fang Shuwen’s Spirit Tablet?

Once they had chosen a spot to camp for the night, Fang Shuwen and Shui Qianrou got busy.

Shui Qianrou busied herself gathering firewood while Fang Shuwen started the fire. Soon, flames flickered to life, making Shui Qianrou’s eyes sparkle. She clapped repeatedly.

"Big Brother, you’re amazing!!"

Seeing that her spirits were still high, Fang Shuwen began to ask what had happened to her after she was captured.

Shui Qianrou didn’t hide anything and told him everything she knew.

"They tied me up, and a few of those horrible guys wanted to touch me...

"But the one in the red clothes stopped them.

"He said he was afraid they wouldn’t be able to control themselves. He also said I couldn’t be harmed in any way, or else my mother and the others would discover something was wrong.

"After that, I was locked in a small, dark room with no sunlight. Someone brought me food every day.

"A while later, the man wearing the Iron Gloves came.

"He stuck ten Silver Needles into my body... It hurt so much.

"After that, I couldn’t control my own body. I could only follow behind him.

"And then, I met you..."

As she recounted her experience, confusion and fear flickered across Shui Qianrou’s face.

Finally, she added indignantly:

"Those people don’t keep their word at all! They said I couldn’t be harmed, but they still stabbed me with Silver Needles. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"They’re liars! A bunch of big villains!!"

Looking at her puffed-up cheeks, Fang Shuwen couldn’t help but chuckle. Things were starting to make sense.

’No wonder the little girl’s spirits seem fine. Turns out she only suffered a little.’

’Still, I shouldn’t overestimate the humanity of those Demon Dao people from the Flower Moon Sect and the Joyful Zen Temple. If they hadn’t been plotting something, even a child of eight or nine would have likely met a cruel fate.’

’But if those Demon Dao members had truly done something so depraved, they probably wouldn’t have been able to explain it away.’

’After all, the Celestial Water Palace would only need to make a few inquiries to learn that the Yuqing Pavilion is a sect composed entirely of women.’

’Frankly, the little girl was lucky. If those fiends had chosen to frame one of the other Seven Great Sects, she might not have escaped their clutches.’

But as he thought this, something still puzzled him.

’Why did it have to be the Yuqing Pavilion?’

This was something Fang Shuwen didn’t know.

In his eyes, the people of Yuqing Pavilion were all very amicable. What he didn’t realize was that for a sect comprised entirely of women, amicability alone wasn’t enough to survive in the Jianghu.

In fact, among the Seven Great Sects, the Yuqing Pavilion was the most hot-tempered and ruthless.

Had the Demon Dao group chosen to frame any other sect, there might have been some wrangling, delaying, and investigation into the specifics of the situation.

But the Yuqing Pavilion would not...

Even if they knew Shui Qianrou was the little princess of the Celestial Water Palace, the fact that she dared to enter a town under Yuqing Pavilion’s influence with a band of thieves and killers meant she would have to pay the price.

As for the possibility of a misunderstanding?

Zhai Xing wouldn’t entertain such a thought. Lan Yue might, but with the facts laid bare, it would be up to the Celestial Water Palace to step forward and prove their little princess’s innocence, not for the Yuqing Pavilion to produce evidence of some misunderstanding.

If the other side wanted to make a move, it would prove the old saying: the Yuqing Pavilion never shies away from a fight!

Fang Shuwen couldn’t see this aspect of them because his relationship with the Yuqing Pavilion was so good.

But for the members of the Demon Dao, this was indeed the option with the highest chance of success.

It was clear from their methods that they wanted the Yuqing Pavilion to kill Shui Qianrou, all without knowing her true identity.

The raid on the town last night was the trigger.

Unfortunately for them, they ran into Fang Shuwen and Dongfang Wujiu.

The fire crackled and popped. The two of them continued to chat around the flames.

Fang Shuwen wanted to learn more about the Celestial Water Palace and Shui Qianrou’s brother.

Shui Qianrou couldn’t say where the Celestial Water Palace was located.

Although she had grown up in the Celestial Water Palace, she had never left before. Outside was nothing but a vast, boundless ocean. Everywhere looked the same, and even if she wanted to, she wouldn’t be able to find her way back.

The only way for her to get home was to find her brother, Shui Qianliu.

According to her, Shui Qianliu was a Martial Arts prodigy who had had an extraordinary encounter. Aside from the Celestial Water Palace’s ultimate esoteric art, the Celestial Water Unification Technique, he knew every other form of Martial Arts in the palace.

His incredible ability was related to a fortuitous encounter.

When he was sixteen, he went out to sea with an aunt from the palace named Shui Man. They were caught in a storm, and he lost his footing and fell into the sea.

Not only did he not die, but he was also washed ashore on a deserted island.

On that island was a spring, and in its clear water lived a strange type of fish. They looked frightening, but their meat was delicious.

Eating them had the effect of a Yijing Marrow Transformation.

There was also a type of red fruit that grew on the island, and eating it could increase one’s Inner Strength.

Although the increase wasn’t much each time, after eating many of them, his accumulated Inner Strength grew deeper and deeper.

Afterward, Shui Qianliu used materials from the island to build a wooden boat. Riding the wind and waves, he somehow managed to find his way back to the Celestial Water Palace.

From then on, he learned any Martial Arts with incredible speed.

A Martial Arts technique that would take others ten years to learn, he could master to the level of Great Perfection in a matter of months.

But as she said this, a hint of sadness appeared in Shui Qianrou’s eyes.

"I just don’t know why, but ever since he came back, it seems like my brother doesn’t like me very much anymore."