"The Elixir Pills refined from it can increase one’s Inner Strength limitlessly."
The newcomer explained patiently,
"Friend, the one standing beside you isn’t a person at all.
"She is one of the Treasures of Heaven and Earth... wearing human skin!!"
"You’re lying!"
Long Qingzhi shouted angrily,
"I am human! You killed my entire family, you wiped out my whole clan—you’re the ones who aren’t human!"
The newcomer paid no mind to Long Qingzhi’s words, merely glancing at Fang Shuwen.
"Now that you know about the Glazed Saint Body, do you still intend to protect her?"
Fang Shuwen found this a bit strange.
"You’re telling me all this... Aren’t you afraid I’ll just take Miss Long for myself?"
"I’m not."
"Why?"
"Because I am Dugu Han, the Young Master of Snow Eagle Castle."
The man slowly raised his head, his eyes brimming with powerful confidence.
"Now that I’m here, you’re destined to be a dead man."
Fang Shuwen couldn’t help but laugh.
"I’ve noticed something about you people from the Northern Domain. Forget whether your Martial Arts are any good—your talent for posturing is second to none.
"I thought that Ye Bai fellow from the Sword God Palace was a special case.
"Then I found out Ye Wucheng was the same damn way...
"But that’s a family trait, so it’s understandable.
"But now it looks like this is a tradition in your Northern Domain."
Dugu Han’s expression changed slightly.
"Ye Bai... Ye Wucheng?
"Where did you hear their names?
"What is your relationship to them?"
"No relationship."
Fang Shuwen’s words put Dugu Han slightly at ease, but his next sentence scared the soul right out of him.
"I just killed them, that’s all."
The ice and snow of the Northern Domain had yet to melt, but Dugu Han’s confidence had already melted away like a spring thaw.
Without a second thought, he spun around, pushed off with his feet, and prepared to leap away.
But just then, a powerful force suddenly seized him, pulling him involuntarily toward Fang Shuwen.
Dugu Han was terrified. At this point, he no longer harbored any doubt.
’Whether or not he really killed Ye Bai and Ye Wucheng, killing me certainly won’t be too difficult for him.’
But as the Young Master of Snow Eagle Castle, how could he resign himself to his fate?
He roared, circulating the Cold Ice Force within him, and threw a devastating punch.
Fang Shuwen went, "Oh," and sent out a punch of his own.
In an instant, the two fists collided.
The sounds of CRACK-CRACK-CRACK echoed as flesh tore and bone shattered. Amidst a spray of blood, Dugu Han’s eyes suddenly bulged.
"My hand!"
His entire hand was shattered.
Fang Shuwen’s fist became a claw. He used the Plum Blossom Scattering Hand to grab Dugu Han’s shoulder and, with a sharp downward press—BANG!
A powerful gust of wind erupted, blowing away the surrounding snow.
And just like that, the Young Master of Snow Eagle Castle gracefully dropped to his knees.
"There’s quite a gap between your Martial Arts and your confidence, isn’t there?"
Fang Shuwen sighed softly. He activated the North Nether Divine Technique, and in an instant, all of Dugu Han’s Inner Strength was drained away.
THUMP!
The Palm Power pierced through him. The last spark of life faded from Dugu Han’s eyes, and he died on the spot.
Fang Shuwen casually searched the corpse. He hadn’t expected to find much, but to his surprise, the money pouch was bulging not only with silver but also a considerable amount of silver notes.
In addition, he found a manual for the Cold Ice Force tucked in the man’s robes.
This was a bit of a surprise for Fang Shuwen.
’Murder and robbery... No, that’s not right. More like... justifiable self-defense.’ Finding silver on these Evil Thieves was already a decent haul, but finding a manual was basically like hitting the jackpot.
’Why would someone who has more or less mastered a technique still carry the manual on him?’
’I remember that Granny Hei from the Black Death Sect carried one with her. Later, I realized she was probably thinking of recruiting new blood for the Black Death Sect at a moment’s notice, so carrying the manual made it convenient to teach their Demon Technique.’
’But this Dugu Han... he had silver and a manual.’
As Fang Shuwen thought of this, he looked over at Long Qingzhi.
"This guy, Dugu Han, was he trying to run away from something?"
"Yes..."
Long Qingzhi nodded. Facing Fang Shuwen’s gaze, she subconsciously took a step back before saying,
"They killed my entire family and captured me.
"But they weren’t a monolith. They were all scheming against one another.
"Dugu Han... abducted me when the others weren’t looking. He intended to flee to the Central Domain."
Fang Shuwen nodded.
"That explains it."
"What... what are you going to do with me?"
Long Qingzhi looked at Fang Shuwen, her voice trembling slightly.
Fang Shuwen smiled.
"What do you think I should do with you?
"Keep you captive, feed you well, and bleed you every day?"
Seeing the girl tremble, Fang Shuwen waved his hand dismissively.
"It was just a joke. I’m not interested in your blood.
"You can go."
Long Qingzhi’s eyes shot wide open. She couldn’t help but stare at Fang Shuwen.
"You’re... you’re letting me go?"
"You don’t want to?"
Fang Shuwen was taken aback.
"Of course not..."
Long Qingzhi breathed a sigh of relief, yet she still found it hard to believe.
Ever since her Glazed Saint Body was revealed, everyone had looked at her with greedy eyes, as if they wanted to devour her whole.
This was the first time anyone hadn’t treated her Glazed Saint Body as some grand prize.
"Thank you for saving my life, young hero."
She bowed deeply to Fang Shuwen and turned to leave. But after just two steps, she suddenly stopped.
She looked back at Fang Shuwen and, after a moment of hesitation, asked,
"You... you mentioned before that you also work as a guard?
"Is that true?"