Fang Shuwen ignored the clamor outside.

He pushed open the door and entered the room on the left.

The room was small, with just a table and a couch. A woman was lying on the couch.

She was the Young Chief of the Lu’an Escort Agency, Lu Guiyan.

Lu Guiyan was fair-featured, but her face had a bluish tint.

’She’s definitely been poisoned.’

Fang Shuwen walked over, reached out, and lifted the quilt for a look. The wound was on her arm and had already been bandaged.

A foul, fishy stench emanated from beneath the fine cloth, and the blood was dark and clotted.

He checked her pulse. It was faint, almost nonexistent.

Fang Shuwen shook his head gently:

’She’s on the verge of death, and they’re still worried about taking responsibility.’

’They’re either stupid or malicious.’

He first reached out and unwrapped the bandage on her wound. It was a mess of poisoned blood; leaving it to flow freely was better than keeping it covered.

Then, he helped Lu Guiyan sit up and, channeling his energy, slowly pressed a single palm against her back.

As his Inner Strength entered her body, Lu Guiyan’s frame trembled slightly.

The Muscle Strengthening Scripture itself possessed the ability to cure poisons. While not making one immune to all toxins, its power was certainly not to be underestimated.

Compared to the mismatched medicinal herbs Mo Beidou had bought, using Inner Strength to treat the poison was far more reliable.

Moreover, the poison affecting Lu Guiyan was clearly not as potent as the Life-Ending Powder that Li Nanchen had used on the people from Zhuji Pavilion. That Life-Ending Powder had lain dormant in the body, and Fang Shuwen hadn’t even been able to detect a trace of it.

But he was quickly able to identify the poison currently in Lu Guiyan.

Using his Inner Strength, he forced the toxins to a single point, then sent them back the way they came.

As a clear result, streams of black blood began to flow slowly from the wound on Lu Guiyan’s arm.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the blood flowing out was no longer black, but a fresh red.

Only then did Fang Shuwen slowly withdraw his palm.

He glanced beside the couch and saw a small knife, which must have been used to treat her wound earlier.

But without neutralizing the poison, treating the wound was useless. Now, Fang Shuwen picked it up and used it to cut away the necrotic flesh from Lu Guiyan’s wound.

This was naturally painful. Lu Guiyan let out a muffled groan and her eyes fluttered open.

Her gaze first swept across the room before finally landing on Fang Shuwen, her eyes filled with a mixture of surprise and alarm.

"Who are you?"

Fang Shuwen glanced up to meet her eyes, then looked back down and continued his work.

"Fang Shuwen of the Four Seas Martial Arts Hall."

"You’re Darts Leader Mo’s junior brother?"

It wasn’t that Mo Beidou had mentioned him to her, but since Mo Beidou was the senior-most brother of the Four Seas Martial Arts Hall, Fang Shuwen’s age made it certain he was a junior brother.

Fang Shuwen nodded, then frowned.

"Don’t move. If the dead flesh isn’t removed, it will fester and cause a high fever."

"The slightest mistake, and you’ll really lose your life."

In simpler terms, the wound would get infected and cause a high fever.

Lu Guiyan was no ordinary woman. She naturally understood this and endured the pain, letting Fang Shuwen continue his work.

After a while, when he felt it was enough, Fang Shuwen finally took out the Golden Wound Medicine from his robes.

This medicine could stop bleeding, promote muscle growth, and reduce inflammation—the top choice for blade-related injuries.

The bottle Fang Shuwen held was one he had "liberated" from Zhou Qingmei’s Lake Heart Cottage, carrying it with him for emergencies.

He hadn’t expected to use it here.

He applied the Golden Wound Medicine for her, found a clean strip of fine cloth, and re-bandaged the wound.

During the process, Lu Guiyan felt that all the discomfort caused by the poison had completely vanished.

Now, all that remained was weakness and the pain from her wound.

She looked at Fang Shuwen in surprise:

"The poison in my body?"

"I forced it out."

Fang Shuwen said nonchalantly:

"No need to thank me. I only acted on my senior brother’s account."

But Lu Guiyan was inwardly startled.

Others might not know, but she knew perfectly well that this poison was no simple matter. Otherwise, she could have forced it out with her own Inner Strength. Why else would she have ended up in such a state?

Something she couldn’t do herself, this young man before her had accomplished so casually... Just what kind of abilities did he possess?

’Since when was the Four Seas Martial Arts Hall so unfathomably profound?’

Shocked, she didn’t dare to be disrespectful and quickly sat up on the couch.

"Regardless, you saved my life. I, Lu Guiyan, am eternally grateful."

"Don’t mention it. Just don’t make my senior brother pay with his life."

Fang Shuwen sneered.

Lu Guiyan froze at his words, instantly realizing that Fang Shuwen must have faced obstruction before he could treat her.

She immediately let out a light breath and got up from the couch.

Fang Shuwen glanced at her.

"You okay?"

"I’m fine!"

Lu Guiyan stood up and felt her True Qi circulating without any obstruction. As her Inner Strength flowed, her originally weak body gradually regained some strength. After taking two steps, she felt even better than when she had been lying in bed.

She heaved a huge sigh of relief in her heart, her estimation of Fang Shuwen rising even higher.

She walked to the door and pushed it open.

In the courtyard, Sun Qian was still in a standoff with Mo Beidou, the tension between them now palpable, like a drawn bow.

Mo Beidou had simply blocked the doorway, refusing to let Sun Qian cross the line.

Now, as the door opened, Mo Beidou instinctively turned his head and was overjoyed.

"Young Chief of the Escort, you’re all right?"

"I took a stroll before Yama Hall. If not for your junior brother’s miraculous Divine Technique snatching me back, I’m afraid I’d have already finished my Meng Po Soup by now."

Mo Beidou roared with laughter at her words.

"That’s also because you’re blessed with great fortune, Young Chief of the Escort! Otherwise, how could I have possibly run into my junior brother here in Guangning City?"

At this, he turned to look at Sun Qian.

"What do you have to say now?"

A strange look flashed in Sun Qian’s eyes, quickly followed by a look of pleasant surprise.

"Wonderful! As long as the Young Chief of the Escort is fine, nothing else matters."

"My earlier actions were just a case of anxiety clouding my judgment. Old Mo... don’t hold it against me."

"I can let it go, but my junior brother can’t be wronged like this!"

Mo Beidou snorted.

"He came here, full of righteous passion, to save a life, only to be blocked by you at every turn. Shouldn’t you apologize to him?"

"Yes, yes, yes."

Sun Qian nodded repeatedly. Just then, Fang Shuwen also walked out of the room. Sun Qian hurriedly bowed all the way to the ground.

"It was I who had eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai. I underestimated you, brother. I beg for your forgiveness."

Fang Shuwen shot him a glance but ignored him, turning instead to Mo Beidou.

"Senior Brother, can you finally tell me what’s going on?"

Mo Beidou scratched his head, glanced at Lu Guiyan, and only spoke after she nodded.

"On this trip, we were protecting the safety of two Escorts. But somehow, we were suddenly ambushed by the Fierce Tiger Gang."

"Those guys are treacherous. They attacked so suddenly, they caught us completely off guard."

"In the chaos, the Young Chief of the Escort was hit by a dart, and we only managed to escape to Guangning City to take shelter... As for what happened after, you already know."

Fang Shuwen nodded and glanced at the two out-of-place people in the courtyard. ’They must be the Escorts Mo Beidou was talking about,’ he thought.

Suddenly, he heard Lu Guiyan speak:

"Brother Fang, since you are Darts Leader Mo’s junior brother, I have a brazen request to make."

"Seeing as your skills are so profound, Brother Fang, I wonder if you might temporarily join us and help us complete this escort mission?"

"After it is done, the Lu’an Escort Agency will be sure to reward you handsomely!"

[Ding! A new guard mission has been detected!]