Seeing the system prompt appear before him, Fang Shuwen understood. This put the initiative in his hands.
He had received the first escort mission by default because he had already become a Zhou Family guard.
Did that mean he would have to find his own missions from now on?
At that thought, he looked at Zhou Feixiong:
"Master Zhou, may I ask if you know where tonight's enemies came from?"
Zhou Feixiong gave a bitter laugh at the question:
"To be honest, young hero, I know no more than you do.
"But rest assured, young hero. My daughter is a disciple of the Pearl Pavilion, after all. As long as we get through tonight safely and report this to her sect, I expect it can be resolved, whoever the other party may be."
Fang Shuwen hesitated inwardly.
These people were skilled martial artists, and there was no telling whether they had other powerful fighters.
He was somewhat reluctant to get caught up in this trouble.
But looking at the mission before him and thinking of the [Muscle Tendon Change] he had just received as a reward, he was also unwilling to give it up so easily.
Zhou Feixiong was right. The Pearl Pavilion was no ordinary place.
It had everything: power, experts, and wealth.
As a true disciple of the Pearl Pavilion, Zhou Qingmei could call on them to intervene. Presumably, this storm would soon vanish without a trace.
In any case, it would not take longer than three months.
He looked at the banknotes in his hand and considered whether it was feasible.
In the end, Fang Shuwen nodded and agreed to take the job.
If things truly became impossible, he could simply withdraw.
After weighing the matter from several angles, he chose [Accept mission].
[Mission accepted!]
[Current escort mission: Protect Zhou Qingmei until the danger has passed.]
[Ding! Congratulations, host. For the duration of the mission, your aptitude and comprehension will be doubled. This benefit will automatically end if you abandon or complete the mission.]
"Oh?"
Fang Shuwen was slightly taken aback. He had not expected that, after the beginner's reward, accepting a mission would also boost his aptitude and comprehension.
Although doubling them could not compare to the fivefold beginner's reward, it was better than nothing.
He glanced at Zhou Feixiong:
"All right, I'll take this job."
"Good, good, good!!"
Zhou Feixiong hurriedly pulled a token from his waist and handed it to Fang Shuwen:
"This is my waist token. Follow this secret passage all the way, young hero, and you can leave the Zhou Family grounds.
"Once outside, use the token to leave the city, then head north for three li. You'll see Lakeheart Cottage.
"I leave everything in your hands, young hero."
Fang Shuwen took the token, gave it a cursory glance, and put it away. Then he cupped his fists at Zhou Feixiong:
"There's no time to lose. I'll set out now."
Zhou Feixiong nodded repeatedly and showed Fang Shuwen the way.
After entering the secret passage, Fang Shuwen took out a firestarter for light and followed the passage forward. Before long, he reached the end.
He climbed out of the exit and looked around. He was in an alley in Julu City.
He had struggled to make his way in Julu City for more than ten years and knew the city extremely well.
After getting his bearings, he hurried toward the north gate.
The token proved effective. The guards at the gate took one look at it and immediately opened the gate to let him through.
He immediately raced north.
Clang, clang, clang! Clang, clang, clang!!
Above Lakeheart Cottage, two figures darted and dodged. As sparks and blood flew, the clash of weapons rang out in an unbroken torrent, like rain beating against banana leaves.
Suddenly, their internal breaths collided, and a boom rang out.
The two figures sprang apart to the left and right, each landing on a rooftop.
Zhou Qingmei wore a moon-white martial outfit. Her brows and features were like a painting, her eyes like stars; she truly was breathtakingly beautiful.
But her sharply angled brows lent her an added touch of coldness.
Her sword hand trembled slightly, and she glanced into the distance without thinking.
Flames soared into the sky there, in the direction of the Zhou Family.
"You want to go back? Too bad. You won't make it back today.
"But don't worry. Your family will be there to keep you company on the road to the Yellow Springs."
The speaker stood on the opposite rooftop.
He wore a black robe and held a folding fan. Its open surface was pitch-black, gleaming with a metallic luster under the starlight.
"Who exactly are you people?"
Zhou Qingmei's features had a cold beauty to them, and her voice was colder still, like ice.
"Once you get down there, ask the King of Hell!!"
With those words, the man wasted no more breath. He pushed off, shattering the roof tiles beneath his foot, and shot straight at Zhou Qingmei like a meteor.
The folding fan in his hand swept out with a clack, slashing diagonally like a saber.
His skill with the fan was extraordinary, a style all its own. Open, it was a saber that chopped and swept; closed, it was a sword that jabbed and flicked upward.
Hidden within its moves were the acupoint-striking methods of the judge's brush, sinister and treacherous, vicious beyond compare.
Zhou Qingmei was a true disciple of the Pearl Pavilion. The sword moves of the [Thousand-Character Sword Technique] combined grandeur with lightness and agility. When launched, they were like a dragon soaring through the heavens, yet they could also reveal their full sharpness within the space of a hand.
Unfortunately, after several exchanges, Zhou Qingmei had long since realized that her internal cultivation was a notch below her opponent's.
That was why she had been unable to break through his blockade and reach the Zhou Family.
Now, as they fought again, the feeling grew ever clearer. There was another mystery to his martial arts: every clash of their weapons made her blade tremble slightly, as though it were slipping out of her control.
And as time passed, the sensation grew stronger, as though it might suddenly erupt at any moment.
Just before their weapons clashed again, Zhou Qingmei suddenly gritted her teeth. Rather than passively wait for his hidden move to erupt, she would take the initiative and strike.
She immediately circulated her internal breath, and a clang rang out.
The sword in her hand suddenly snapped in the middle.
The severed tip flew out with a whoosh.
It also caused the blow that should have landed on her blade to sweep through empty air.
The black-robed man's expression froze. Though Zhou Qingmei had lost half her sword, she seemed to have broken free of her confines. She pressed down with the blade, flicked it upward, and thrust straight at his heart.
She had launched the strike just as the black-robed man committed to his move, before he could withdraw it.
Even an immortal would not have had time to defend himself.
The half-length sword reached the black-clad man's chest, right over his heart.
But just then, Zhou Qingmei's expression suddenly changed, and a clang rang out.
The black-robed man had concealed something like a heart-guard beneath his clothes.
The thrust jolted his entire body, but it failed to pierce him. Instead, it roused the black-robed man's savagery.
He raised his left hand high and shouted furiously:
"You're courting death!!!!"
The palm strike came crashing down. Zhou Qingmei had no time to think of anything else and raised her palm to meet it.
The instant their palms met, Zhou Qingmei's body shuddered. She spat out a mouthful of blood and flew backward.
She flew back seven or eight zhang before twisting around and landing on one knee. Bracing her right hand against the ground, she raised her head, but before she could speak, another mouthful of blood burst from her lips.
The black-robed man had already closed in, his folding fan held shut like a sword as he drove it straight at the spot between Zhou Qingmei's brows.
Gravely injured, Zhou Qingmei wanted to raise her sword to defend herself, but she could not muster a breath.
As death loomed before her, a whistling sound and a shout rang out at the same time:
"Villain, face my sword!!"
Buzz!
Something came cutting through the wind. Zhou Qingmei and the black-robed man turned their heads at the same time.
One look was enough. What sword?
The thing hurtling toward them was clearly a saber!