"On purpose?" Ning Xiang looked at Ye Fan in surprise. "Why let him go? What if he goes back to tip someone off and brings helpers? That could be troublesome."
Ye Fan sneered. "I'm afraid he won't."
Ning Xiang grew even more curious.
Tang Yuan explained gravely, "His master, Cang Song, is one of the forces that raided Old Lu's Sword Sect. That Phantom Sword Sect repays kindness with enmity. Old Lu helped them rescue their Chief Disciple Qi Zhao not long ago, yet now they have ambushed him and put a bounty on his head. They are utterly detestable."
Ye Fan raised a hand. "Don't rush to conclusions. When I went to Flower Fairy Valley before, I happened to hear someone mention that the Phantom Sword Sect has not been very peaceful lately. It seems some internal struggle for power has broken out again."
Tang Yuan's expression darkened. "I'll wake that man up and get to the bottom of this."
Ning Xiang was startled again. "There's someone still alive?"
Her gaze swept over the corpses on the ground. Sure enough, one of them had not been struck in the forehead. He had likely only been knocked unconscious by the shock.
Tang Yuan chuckled. "I originally kept a survivor to ask what poison was stored in this wooden box. Now that the box has been opened, it seems there's no need."
Still dazed, Ning Xiang looked at the opened box on the floor. Aside from an iron lump inside, there was nothing else, much less any deadly poison. There truly was no need to ask.
Yet Ye Fan frowned at that moment and pondered, "Perhaps it is not entirely unnecessary. This Iron Scroll in the box seems rather extraordinary. The instant the wooden box was jolted open, I vaguely sensed