The shovel probably wasn't very good, and the ground in the woods wasn't easy to dig.
Every so often, a massive rock got in the way.
The old woman possessed tremendous strength. Whenever that happened, she cursed and tossed the shovel aside, then squatted down, lifted the rock out, and casually flung it away.
After a while, the pile of earth beside her was actually smaller than the pile of rocks.
Zhou Qingmei watched with a heavy heart. She was about to wait and see what happened when she felt the space beside her empty. Looking up again, she saw that Fang Shuwen was already walking toward the old woman.
Startled, she hurried after him.
By then, the old woman had jumped into the pit. Fang Shuwen came to its edge and squatted down to watch her.
The old woman noticed him and looked up.
Her hair was soaked by the rain, plastered against her deeply wrinkled skin. Her gaze was venomous and cold.
But after a single glance at Fang Shuwen, she went back to digging.
Fang Shuwen suddenly spoke:
"Do you need a hand?"
Zhou Qingmei, following behind Fang Shuwen, nearly stumbled and fell.
She had thought Fang Shuwen would say something astonishing, but now he was actually planning to help?
The old woman had appeared out of nowhere, and no normal person would be digging a pit in a forest like this in the middle of a downpour.
Under these circumstances, what person in their right mind would think to offer help?
Recalling their conversation in the Zhou Family's secret chamber, Zhou Qingmei wore a strange expression:
Could there really be something wrong with this guy's head?
The old woman, however, shook her head.
"No."
Her voice was as dry and grating as a door hinge that hadn't been repaired in years.
Fang Shuwen had no intention of forcing her, so he stayed where he was, squatting and watching her dig.
Zhou Qingmei stood beside him, looking at the old woman in the pit, then at Fang Shuwen. Finally, she nudged his calf lightly with her foot.
"What is she digging?"
"A grave."
Fang Shuwen answered in a low voice.
He could tell even that?
The old woman's unsettling laughter rang out.
"Young man, you have a good eye."
"Not bad. When I was young, I did all sorts of odd jobs, and I helped people dig graves too.
"Your pit is about six feet deep, over seven feet long, and around three and a half feet wide. It's just right for burying someone."
Fang Shuwen smiled as he spoke.
The old woman suddenly looked up at Fang Shuwen and asked in a sinister, piercing voice:
"Then do you know who I intend to bury?"
Fang Shuwen nodded at once.
"I do, I do. At your age, ma'am, you're probably close to death.
"Digging a pit in advance like this, you're clearly digging your own grave.
"But you didn't pick a very good spot. The trees grow thick and deep, as though forming a trap. The feng shui is far too ordinary.
"As the saying goes, a place should shelter from the wind and receive water.
"This place neither shelters from the wind nor has any water... what a pity.
"You're not dead yet anyway, so why not dig somewhere else?"
The old woman's fingers trembled slightly, and she seemed to snort through her nose.
"You understand feng shui too, young man?"
Fang Shuwen laughed.
"Of the ten apertures of feng shui under heaven, I alone have mastered nine!"
The old woman was taken aback. When she looked at Fang Shuwen again, there was a hint of respect in her eyes.
Leaving everything else aside, his confidence alone was far beyond that of ordinary people.
Zhou Qingmei looked incredulous too.
"You're a great feng shui expert too? What about the remaining aperture?"
Fang Shuwen waved a hand.
"I haven't the slightest grasp of that one."
It took Zhou Qingmei a moment to understand, and then she burst out laughing.
Although she too had been soaked in the rain for quite a while, she was naturally beautiful and extraordinary.
Otherwise, she couldn't have been called the number one beauty of Julu City.
Her smile swept away the gloom in the forest.
Only the old woman in the pit looked increasingly grim. She said coldly:
"What a bold young pup, making sport of me here?"
Fang Shuwen smiled.
"Don't be angry, ma'am. You're a dying woman. Anger is bad for your health; it'll only make you die sooner."
"Sharp-tongued."
By the time the old woman finished speaking, she had finished digging the pit.
She examined it and nodded in considerable satisfaction.
"What do you two think of the grave I've dug?"
After saying that, she paused, as though she felt something was wrong with her words.
Fang Shuwen hurriedly said:
"Wonderful. It's a perfect match for you."
"What a pity."
The old woman turned back and looked at Fang Shuwen and Zhou Qingmei with a sinister expression.
"This grave was dug for the two of you!"
As she spoke, a sinister black vapor had already gathered all around her.
Fang Shuwen had seen this black vapor before. Whether it was the black-robed man who had fought Zhou Qingmei or the middle-aged man who had led the killing at the Zhou Family, black vapor had risen from them when they channeled their internal force.
Only, it had been faint around the middle-aged man and somewhat denser around the black-robed man.
But even the two of them put together hadn't had half as much as this old woman.
Zhou Qingmei's pupils suddenly contracted.
"Could that be the [Black Sha Demonic Art]? Are you a remnant of the Black Sha Cult?"
"What is the [Black Sha Demonic Art]?"
Fang Shuwen seized the chance to broaden his knowledge.
"The [Black Sha Demonic Art] is the Black Sha Cult's exclusive martial art. It can only be cultivated using women's blood as a catalyst, and women born in a yin year, yin month, yin day, and yin hour are the best of all.
"They call them top-grade!
"The internal force of this art is insidious and destructive, and unfailingly damages people's foundations and cultivation.
"Back then, the Black Sha Cult relied on this demonic art to poison the jianghu and slaughtered countless people.
"But that demonic cult was wiped out thirty years ago by my Pearl Pavilion and the righteous people of the various sects working together.
"How could any fish have slipped through the net?"
As Zhou Qingmei spoke, she had already gripped her sword hilt, her vigilance at its peak.
Judging by the black vapor around the old woman, her [Black Sha Demonic Art] had reached an extremely terrifying realm, far beyond anything Zhou Qingmei could contend with. Tonight, she feared she would have to fight to the death.
But in that case, she feared she would drag Fang Shuwen into it.
She spoke in a low voice.
"She's after me. Go, quickly."
Before Fang Shuwen could speak, the old woman laughed sinisterly.
"The grave is already dug. Where do you think you're going?
"Once you've offended the Black Sha Cult, there can be no end until one side is dead. This place will be where you two leave your bones!!"
As her words fell, black light blazed around her. An icy chill permeated the curtain of rain, and faint white mist appeared with every breath.
Faint, indistinct wailing echoed from every direction, like demonic sounds chasing souls and throwing minds into chaos.
Zhou Qingmei gave a muffled groan. It felt as though steel needles were raining into her mind, causing unbearable pain. The True Qi inside her fell into disarray in an instant, failing to replenish itself.
Just then, the old woman sprang up from the pit. She reached out in midair, clawing at the two of them amid a boundless cloud of black mist.
Zhou Qingmei's pupils contracted sharply. Only then did she come to her senses, but it was already too late to strike back.
The old woman was upon them in a flash, when a muffled bang rang out!
The force of a fist shot forth like a spear, surging like a dragon.
In an instant, it pierced the black vapor around the old woman and struck her, making her body shudder violently. With disbelief written all over her face, she fell straight into the grave she had dug, landing with a thud.
"I've seen plenty of people dig graves, but this is the first time I've seen someone dig their own."
Fang Shuwen's voice reached her ears.
"Traveling the jianghu really broadens your horizons."