The Assassination

"Please, Young Layman, speak freely. My Zhou family will do whatever you ask!"

Hearing Fang Yuan's assurance, Zhou Wenwu immediately agreed, as if a drowning man had grabbed the last straw.

"My method of treatment is rather unusual. While I'm performing it, no outsiders can watch, and it takes a long time. I also can't be interrupted. Otherwise, all my efforts will be wasted, and Old Master Zhou's life will be in immediate danger!"

Fang Yuan said gravely.

"So that's how it is... Even I can't stay and watch?"

Zhou Wenwu frowned.

"No. But I plan to treat Old Master Zhou in the meditation chamber. You can wait outside."

Fang Yuan replied with a faintly amused smile.

Zhou Wenwu's face flushed at once. He knew Fang Yuan had seen through his thoughts.

They were naturally afraid Fang Yuan would make up some excuse, trick them into leaving, and then run off.

"Of course, you can only wait outside the quiet room. If you damage so much as a blade of grass or a tree in my Hidden Valley..."

Fang Yuan's voice carried a veiled threat as he finished.

"We wouldn't dare disturb a single plant in your home, Layman! If anyone damages anything, I'll be the first to deal with him!"

Zhou Wenwu immediately thumped his chest in assurance.

"Good. Come in."

Fang Yuan led them to a stone chamber in the valley.

The chamber was built of massive stones and had no windows. Even its entrance was sealed by a boulder the size of a millstone.

At the time, Fang Yuan hadn't understood why his master had built it. Now he could guess most of the reason: it must have been where the Heart-Questioning Hermit practiced profound inner arts.

Practicing inner arts was nothing like practicing External Energy. Each step carried danger, and at the crucial moments of circulating one's energy, one couldn't be disturbed by the outside world at all.

The Heart-Questioning Hermit had designed this chamber so that once it was sealed, no one outside could get in unless the person inside opened it. Otherwise, they would have to go to great lengths to break through.

"At the earliest, one day. At the latest, three. Your father will have an answer by then!"

Before the Stone Door slowly shut, Fang Yuan promised the Zhou siblings, then turned to Steward Lin.

"Rest assured, Nephew. I'll have the servants leave the Hidden Valley at once. Only the three of us will keep watch here!"

Steward Lin instantly understood what he meant. Though he grumbled inwardly, he still thumped his chest as he spoke.

"Very good!"

Fang Yuan pressed the mechanism. With a thunderous rumble, the Stone Door closed completely.

"I wonder if you're lucky or unlucky."

In the dark, silent chamber, Fang Yuan lit an oil lamp and gazed at Old Master Zhou, who had been carried inside and looked half-dead. A faintly amused expression played across his face.

Lover's Intoxication was exceedingly potent, almost impossible to cure, yet it had a nemesis.

Fang Yuan had once heard the Heart-Questioning Hermit lament that if he'd had a dose of King of Hell's Post back then, the man afflicted by Lover's Intoxication could certainly have been saved.

Unfortunately, Poison Dragon Grass was too rare to find except by chance.

But Fang Yuan now had no shortage of this detoxifying medicine.

Clearly, he was at least much luckier than his master, the Heart-Questioning Hermit.

"It's just that I don't know what kind of person poisoned him. But there's no time to worry about that now..."

Fang Yuan took out a pitch-black pill and poured it straight into Old Master Zhou's mouth.

"Huff..."

Strangely enough, Old Master Zhou's breath and pulse had been so faint that he seemed on the verge of death. After taking the medicine, they steadied at once, and he fell into a long sleep.

The poison had penetrated too deeply. Naturally, it would take more than a day to purge it.

"Now all that's left is to wait... The medicine in King of Hell's Post will keep him asleep for three days and three nights."

Seeing this, Fang Yuan murmured to himself. Then he went to a corner of the room, dug through the earth, found a pull ring, and yanked hard.

Click!

A stone slab lifted, revealing a pitch-black opening.

"Master... Your old arrangements are finally coming in handy for me!"

Murmuring to himself, Fang Yuan entered the passageway. Before long, he emerged from the back of the Hidden Valley.

The Heart-Questioning Hermit had built several secret passages for escaping. One of them was beneath the meditation chamber!

Of course, he'd been lucky enough to live out his days and die a natural death. Now Fang Yuan was reaping where his predecessor had sown, using the passage to make his escape.

"Phew!"

Fang Yuan looked toward the Hidden Valley and whistled.

Whoosh!

In an instant, a white blur appeared before him. It was none other than the Flower Fox Ferret.

"Flower Fox Ferret, listen carefully. Go guard the spiritual tea at once. If anyone discovers it, kill them without mercy..."

The Crimson Jade Rice Grain had already been safely put away. What Fang Yuan was still worried about was his Heart-Questioning Tea Tree.

"Remember!"

He stroked the Flower Fox Ferret's smooth fur, a trace of ruthlessness on his face. "If you're outnumbered, destroy the spiritual plant and escape on your own!"

Of course, that was the worst-case scenario.

The Plantation was already well hidden, and the Zhou siblings were unlikely to defy him while their father's life was at stake.

But it was always best to be prepared.

After giving these instructions, Fang Yuan took a deep breath and began sprinting.

He had gone to all this trouble to set everything up for one reason: to give himself a perfect alibi!

And why create an alibi? Naturally, to go kill someone!

"Song Zhigao!"

In the Deep Mountain Old Forest, Fang Yuan raced along, his figure almost reduced to a shadow as he darted through the trees like the wind. His eyes brimmed with murderous intent.

A dog that bites does not bark.

He had never met this man, yet Song Zhigao had repeatedly set his sights on him—and each time, he had threatened the very foundations of Fang Yuan's livelihood!

When someone threatened his most vital interests, there was no way Fang Yuan could simply endure it!

But Song Zhigao was, after all, the Gui Ling Sect's buyer. If Fang Yuan killed him, he had to make sure no one could trace it back to him. Otherwise, he would have nowhere left to stand in Qinghe Commandery.

So this time, though he knew there was a trap in the making, Fang Yuan had played along. He had rescued Old Master Zhou to create the perfect alibi, then planned to strike straight at the heart and snuff out the source!

Qingye City.

Fang Yuan wore a Bamboo Hat, its brim lowered to his brows, leaving his face shrouded in shadow.

He had come to kill someone. There was no way he could do it openly, much less show his face and leave evidence behind.

"Old Man Tian really was despicable this time. Even if he was forced into it, he still acted as a tiger's accomplice..."

Thinking this, Fang Yuan arrived in front of a Medicine Hall.

Something was clearly wrong in its back courtyard. The faint sound of sobbing drifted out, making his heart tighten.

"What happened here?"

He grabbed a passerby and asked.

The man struggled, but found Fang Yuan's arm as hard as cast iron. His expression changed at once. "You may not know, sir, but the owner of this Medicine Hall, Old Man Tian, passed away yesterday..."

'They acted fast!'

Fang Yuan fell silent for a moment. He loosened his grip, and the passerby hurriedly ran off.

He asked himself honestly: if he had come here and found Old Man Tian still alive, he would have given him a good lesson, whether he had been coerced or not.

But Song Zhigao had been quicker—and more merciless.

After using Old Man Tian, he had sent him straight to the afterlife, cutting off every lead.

After all, Old Master Zhou was a Gui Ling Sect Steward, no matter what. If Song Zhigao murdered a fellow sect member and was discovered, even Elder Song wouldn't come forward to protect him.

That was why Old Man Tian had to die—and the sooner, the better.

Watching this, Fang Yuan couldn't help falling silent. Old Man Tian's honest face, with its hint of shrewdness, surfaced naturally in his mind.

"Too clever by half. I wonder if he regretted it before he died—if he wished he'd simply run away when he was first forced into this..."

Fang Yuan sighed softly. He didn't enter the Medicine Hall, but left at once, disappearing into an alley.

Song Mansion.

"By now, the Zhou family should have reached the Hidden Valley, right?"

Song Zhigao held a Zisha Teapot, his face bright with satisfaction. Every so often, he took a small sip of sweet, clear tea, savoring the thought.

"Old Man Tian has already been put to death. No one else knows about my deal with him!"

"This time, even if that brat doesn't die, he'll be skinned alive!"

Song Zhigao glanced toward the inner room, his smile growing ever wider.

This plan had killed two birds with one stone. Even he was immensely pleased with himself, and he was certain it would win the favor of that Noble Person!

Once that man took a liking to him, wouldn't his rise to wealth and power be just around the corner?

"Give the person inside the best care. If you neglect him, I'll have your hides!"

With that thought, Song Zhigao changed his expression and spoke to his steward.

"Don't worry, Master!"

The steward had served him for many years. He smiled ingratiatingly. "We'll make sure everything is done to perfection!"

"Good! Very good!"

For some reason, Song Zhigao had suddenly felt a terrible pang of unease, as if some tremendous danger were on its way. He could hardly sit still.

'Strange... Why am I suddenly so on edge?'

He couldn't sit still any longer. He went out into the garden and pondered. "Could I have been careless in dealing with Old Man Tian? But I've already silenced everyone involved. And the Zhou family, too—with their arrogant tempers, if anything happens to Old Master Zhou, would they really spare that 'quack'?"

"Then why do I still feel uneasy?"

Just as Song Zhigao muttered to himself, a dark figure suddenly shot out from the garden, moving with incredible speed. Like a leopard, it lunged straight at him.

"Who's there?"

Song Zhigao shrieked and stumbled backward. He unleashed the Gui Ling Sect's Five Elements Palm, his hands moving so swiftly that there was not a gap in his defense.

In truth, he was at the third stage of martial arts. He was, more or less, a capable martial artist.

"An assassin?"

Song Zhigao's thoughts raced. 'As long as I can hold out for a moment, I'll be safe!'

But the Hat Person gave him no time to react. Suddenly, both palms shot forward, black as iron and carrying immense force, and slammed into Song Zhigao's arms!