"Pan Bai? What's he doing here?" Fang Qianyuan asked in puzzlement.
But after a moment's thought, he nodded slightly. "He's come to seize an opportunity. He certainly reacted quickly!"
Fang Lian asked, "Young Master Fang, is this Pan Bai the man in charge of the Ten Thousand Poisons Valley? Will you see him?"
"Of course. Why wouldn't I?" Fang Qianyuan said. "Now that Dongfang Zhi is dead, he's the one who actually controls the Ten Thousand Poisons Valley. Let's hear what he has to say first."
At that, Fang Lian told her subordinates, "Bring him in."
Pan Bai entered the cabin's main hall with some trepidation. The interior was brightly lit, and Fang Qianyuan, dressed in a Gold-Woven Cloud-Patterned Dharma Robe, lounged sideways in a broad chair. Beside him, Immortal Maiden Qingmeng, Fang Lian, sat with dignified poise, a measure of scrutiny in her clear, bright eyes.
Pan Bai hunched his back and hurriedly bowed, an ingratiating smile on his face. "I am Pan Bai, Deputy Valley Master of the Ten Thousand Poisons Valley. I pay my respects to Grand Elder Fang. May Grand Elder Fang enjoy immortal blessings forever..."
Fang Qianyuan looked at him with a half-smile and interrupted, "Enough, Deputy Valley Master Pan. There's no need for all that. I killed your Valley Master, Dongfang Zhi, throwing your valley into turmoil and robbing it of peaceful days. I imagine you'd like nothing better than to cut me into a thousand pieces. Why talk of immortal blessings forever?"
Pan Bai shuddered and hurriedly said, "Grand Elder Fang, you go too far. How... how could we?"
"Oh?" Fang Qianyuan asked. "Does the Ten Thousand Poisons Valley have no intention of avenging Dongfang Zhi?"
Pan Bai hastily replied, "Dongfang Zhi was brutal and inhumane. He used poison to force us to