Free Web NovelChapter 317: Chapter 166: Scheming
A living person’s gaze is vibrant.
It might be curiosity or nervousness, but even in moments of calm, there’s always a glimmer of light.
But this woman’s eyes held only a dead stillness.
More chilling than a winter in the Northern Domain.
’Who is she?’
’What in the world is happening at this villa right now?’
Fang Shuwen was curious, but he was certain of one thing: this villa was likely not dangerous for him and Long Qingzhi.
The danger was for the others.
The two men locked in combat fought with increasing ferocity.
These two were also highly skilled in Martial Arts.
No wonder they spoke as if they didn’t even have Ye Wufeng in their sights.
Fang Shuwen watched them trade blows. Their techniques were vicious and cunning; every move carried the air of a grandmaster.
Unfortunately, Fang Shuwen knew too little of the Northern Domain to recognize who Wang Baisheng and Feng Qiuzi were. Still, he figured they couldn’t be nobodies.
As time went on, they seemed to be worried about something, causing their moves to grow increasingly vicious.
Just as a victor was about to be decided, Fang Shuwen suddenly noticed that the woman who had been watching the spectacle with him had turned and walked away.
After a moment’s thought, Fang Shuwen followed her.
Her Lightweight Technique was eerie.
She wasn’t particularly fast, but she was silent and traceless. If Fang Shuwen hadn’t locked onto her beforehand, he might have lost her with a single turn.
Following her, he soon saw her arrive at the quarters of the remaining three people.
She used a dart to pierce a piece of paper, then flicked her wrist.
With a THUD, the dart landed inside one of the rooms.
An angry shout immediately came from within:
"Who’s there?"
As the voice faded, the woman’s figure vanished into the shadows, but she didn’t flee.
Instead, she hid herself in the darkness.
She seemed certain that even if the person gave chase, they wouldn’t be able to find her.
As it turned out, her assumption was correct.
The person who rushed out of the room failed to find her. Instead, his attention was drawn by the commotion from the fight in the distance.
The next moment, he leaped into the air and sped toward the battle.
And just a moment after he left, the occupants of the other two rooms also emerged.
Seeing this, Fang Shuwen formed a basic theory about what was happening at the villa.
’The "two peaches to kill three warriors" stratagem... No, wait, is it one "Ten Years of the Great Dream" to kill five people?’
Fang Shuwen was shocked.
This was no easy feat. Although he didn’t know what "Ten Years of the Great Dream" was, he knew no one would fight to the death with others knowing it was a mutually assured destruction scenario.
The most likely outcome was that the five of them would stop fighting.
They might even turn on this woman.
The woman, however, simply continued to stare in the direction the three had gone, her eyes devoid of any normal human emotion.
Fang Shuwen guessed her gaze wasn’t something she was born with.
Rather, it was something she had deliberately cultivated.
Human perception is a strange thing, especially for martial artists, whose senses are extremely sharp.
Never mind a gaze filled with killing intent or malice; even simple, ordinary observation could draw attention.
But this woman’s gaze wouldn’t.
Her eyes were completely dead. No matter how long she stared at you, you would never sense it.
Of course, if you were to suddenly turn and meet her gaze, you would be terrified by her eyes in that instant, regardless of whether she was beautiful or not.
The woman didn’t follow the three of them. It was as if she was already certain of the outcome over there.
She changed direction and headed toward another building.
Elder Nong was standing at the entrance, holding a single lantern and waiting quietly.
"Go keep an eye on them. If they die, come back and let me know. If they don’t... bring them here."
She spoke softly. Her voice was ethereal, and Fang Shuwen’s assessment remained the same: it didn’t sound human.
Elder Nong acknowledged her and turned to leave.
Seeing no one around, Fang Shuwen slipped quietly into the building.
Candlelight and incense smoke intertwined before rows of memorial tablets that stood at the front.
This was an ancestral hall!
Fang Shuwen’s gaze immediately fell upon the largest tablet at the very front, and his pupils contracted sharply.
Inscribed on that tablet were the words: The Spirit Tablet of Yellow Dragon Dao of Divine Pill Valley!
’Divine Pill Valley... "Ten Years of the Great Dream"... the "Ten-Year Dust-Breaking Pill"!!’
Fang Shuwen felt as if his mind had just exploded. This was a situation he had never anticipated.
’This villa is actually connected to Divine Pill Valley, which was destroyed by the Jianghu people all those years ago?’
’Are they the descendants?’
’Did Divine Pill Valley’s legacy not get completely wiped out back then?’
Fang Shuwen didn’t know much about Divine Pill Valley. He had only heard the story of what happened from Zuo Qingshuang.
But even Fang Shuwen couldn’t help but feel a yearning for the various Divine Elixir Secret Medicines of Divine Pill Valley.
If "Ten Years of the Great Dream" was truly related to Divine Pill Valley’s Elixir Pills, then it was no wonder those people were acting so desperately.
The woman knelt on a prayer cushion, holding incense in both hands as she kowtowed, her forehead touching the ground.
Standing behind her, Fang Shuwen felt that his viewing angle was rather ungentlemanly and immediately averted his gaze.
An indescribable feeling welled up in his heart.
What happened to Divine Pill Valley back then was an even greater injustice than what Jinghua Pavilion suffered.
’Those honest people,’ he thought, ’probably never imagined it was all a vicious plot against them, from beginning to end.’
’Right up until the moment the Divine Pill Valley’s Valley Master died, he was probably still trying to figure out how to prove to everyone that his valley wasn’t responsible.’
However, if this was a grudge between the descendants of Divine Pill Valley and others, Fang Shuwen felt there was no need for him to keep watching.
