As morning light spilled across the land, Guangning City, silent all night, woke from its stillness.
Fragrances drifted through the streets, and vendors of every kind lined both sides.
Carriages traveled down the middle of the road, with pedestrians passing to either side.
The gates on all four sides of the city opened, welcoming arrivals and seeing off departures. The bustle was lively indeed.
A young couple dressed as farmers entered the city with the flow of people.
The woman, however, looked rather cold, and her gaze was far sharper than an ordinary farmwoman's.
There was nothing particularly remarkable about the man. His eyes moved with the crowd, a little wary, and every so often he tugged at the woman, seemingly annoyed at her recklessness.
After stumbling along like this, they reached an inn. The man haggled stingily with the innkeeper for a long time before finally getting a room for half the silver.
Only after entering the room and closing the door did the woman breathe a sigh of relief.
She went to the table and poured a cup of tea:
"Brother Fang, those hawks and falcons in the sky really were their eyes and ears.
"After we killed them, we didn't spot any more Black Sha Cult members along the way."
The farmer, who had seemed deferential to everyone he saw on the way, straightened his back, gently rolled his neck, and said:
"We could have left them alive, actually. We could have let the Black Sha Cult use them to come after us again and again, seeking their own deaths.
"But that would have put us in a somewhat passive position.
"And they would have learned in advance that we had reached Guangning City. We might as well move from the open into the shadows and turn the tables on them."
These two were naturally Fang Shuwen and Zhou Qingmei.
Another seven days had passed since they stayed the night at the Sun Family home.
Wearing clothes borrowed from a farming household, the two had disguised themselves as a married couple and arrived safely in Guangning City.
Fang Shuwen sat down as well, picked up his teacup, and took a sip:
"Young miss, sometimes you need to rein in that sharp gaze of yours.
"What farmwoman has eyes as bright and sharp as knives, like yours? ...Anyone paying attention could easily see through your disguise."
Zhou Qingmei blinked.
"Do I?"
Fang Shuwen nodded earnestly, then waved a hand and said:
"But that doesn't matter.
"Now that we've reached Guangning City, we have two leads.
"Besides the Great Xuan Bank, there's the family where you discovered that lecher.
"Do you still remember where that family lives?"
"Of course."
Zhou Qingmei said:
"They're one of the most prominent wealthy families in Guangning City.
"They share your clan name, Brother Fang. Their surname is Fang too.
"The girl who was taken was the only beloved daughter of the Fang family head, the pearl in his palm.
"So they thanked me profusely."
"Surnamed Fang..."
Fang Shuwen raised his eyebrows slightly, thinking it was quite a coincidence.
His childhood memories were rather hazy, after all. As he recalled, his family had indeed been quite well-off, but he wasn't clear on exactly how well-off.
After all, not long afterward, he had become separated from his family while they were traveling to visit relatives.
Now that nineteen years had passed since they parted, how could he remember so much?
Besides, surely his luck couldn't be so good that he had found them as soon as he returned?
Still, no matter what, they had to pay the Fang family a visit.
After thinking it over, Fang Shuwen said:
"In that case, the two of us will visit the Fang family tonight.
"The Fang family head knows you. Ask him for his eldest daughter's birth date and eight characters.
"We'll see whether she meets the Black Sha Cult's requirements.
"If she doesn't, things should be fine for the time being... but if she does, I'm afraid the Fang family's young miss isn't safe."
Zhou Qingmei nodded at his words.
She and Fang Shuwen had both read [Black Sha Demonic Art] and knew how demanding this martial art's requirements for women were.
They also knew how terrifying an improvement a suitable woman could bring to the martial art.
So if that lecher really had been a member of the Black Sha Cult,
they probably wouldn't give up on the Fang family's young miss.
"As for the Great Xuan Bank, we can wait until your fellow disciple arrives before investigating it."
Fang Shuwen said:
"Speaking of which, when will your fellow disciple arrive?"
Zhou Qingmei said helplessly:
"I don't know either. It takes time for the escort agency to deliver a letter.
"Then there's the journey here from the Pearl Pavilion. There's really no telling exactly when my fellow disciple will arrive."
Fang Shuwen didn't dwell on it.
"All right, we'll leave it at that for now. If your fellow disciple takes too long, we'll investigate the Great Xuan Bank ourselves."
"All right."
Zhou Qingmei nodded.
With their discussion more or less settled, she went to ask the waiter to prepare some hot water.
They had braved wind and slept under the open sky along the way, and even after changing clothes, they hadn't had a proper bath.
While she had the chance, she wanted to wash up.
Fang Shuwen had originally planned to wait outside, but Zhou Qingmei was quite unconcerned.
"You can stay here. There's a screen to shield me, so you won't see anything."
"You really don't see me as a man, do you?"
Fang Shuwen had no desire to stay in the room while a woman bathed. He stood up and said:
"I'll sit in the main hall for a while. If anything happens here, shout for me."
With that, he promptly went out.
The main hall was bustling. Quite a few diners sat in groups of three or five, chatting idly as they drank together.
Fang Shuwen ordered a plate of peanuts and two liang of white liquor.
He sipped his drink while listening to their chatter.
Inns, restaurants, and teahouses were all places where news gathered.
Amid the noisy crowd, Fang Shuwen soon found news that interested him.
He listened closely and heard a man sigh repeatedly:
"...It was truly horrible. She wasn't even sixteen yet. I heard her family had already arranged a marriage for her, and she was to join her husband's household next year.
"Who could have imagined something like this would happen?"
"I heard that damned lecher was utterly vile. When they found the girl, she was covered in blood, ravaged beyond recognition."
"Cases like this began happening from time to time half a year ago. As of today, there have been six in all!"
"If you count the one from the Fang family, that makes seven. The Fang family's young miss was lucky, though—a passing Pearl Pavilion disciple saved her. Otherwise, she would have met the same end."
"Alas, even a rich and powerful family like the Fangs can't avoid such a thing. What are small households like ours to do?"
Hearing this, Fang Shuwen frowned. He waved the waiter over and ordered two more jugs of wine.
Carrying the wine, he went straight to their table.
The people at the table had been chatting animatedly, but when they noticed a stranger approaching, they all looked at him, suspicion in their eyes.
Fang Shuwen put on an honest, guileless smile.
"Greetings, brothers. I was sitting nearby just now and heard you speaking of the Fang family. From what you said, you seem to know them quite well.
"To tell the truth, I came to the city this time to work for the Fang family on my elder brother's recommendation.
"I hear the Fang family is rich and powerful, but I don't know what sort of people they are. That's why I took the liberty of troubling you. I hope you won't take offense."
As he spoke, he set down the wine jugs in his hands.
"Oh, the wine is on me."