"A major event?"
Zhou Qingmei frowned slightly.
"What major event could the Black Death Sect have? And killing me would prevent it from going wrong? I had no idea I was so important."
"And the one who wants to kill me is their Young Sect Leader? Could it be that the pervert in Guangning City that day was this so-called Young Sect Leader?"
"What was so special about that night?"
Fang Shuwen glanced at her but said nothing.
After a few moments of contemplation, he gently shook his head.
"Maybe we can find clues in Guangning City. Don't think about it for now."
"Fine."
Zhou Qingmei looked at the rain outside.
"You should rest a while longer. I'll keep watch."
"It's about time to switch. You go get some sleep."
Fang Shuwen stood up, walked to the mouth of the cave, and sat down cross-legged.
"I'll just meditate here."
Zhou Qingmei didn't insist. After the exhausting journey, she was truly tired. She had intended to follow Fang Shuwen's example and meditate, but her head kept nodding until her body slumped to the side and she curled up, fast asleep.
The night passed peacefully. By the next morning, the heavy rain had stopped.
When Zhou Qingmei opened her eyes, she saw no trace of Fang Shuwen.
Her heart skipped a beat. She immediately sprang up, grabbed her sword, and rushed out of the tree hollow.
But as soon as she was outside, she saw Fang Shuwen walking toward her, his arms full of wild fruits.
Their eyes met, and Fang Shuwen grinned.
"Don't tell me… you're in a rush to pee?"
Zhou Qingmei's face flushed red. She was about to call him out for his nonsense—she was clearly worried about his safety, so how did that turn into needing to pee?
But she had just woken up, and after all the food and drink from yesterday, she hadn't relieved herself all night. She really did have to go.
She shot him a fierce glare.
"I'll be right back…"
"Don't go too far! If anything happens, just shout, and I'll be there right away."
Fang Shuwen's advice reached her ears, making Zhou Qingmei's face turn an even deeper shade of red as she ran off even faster.
When Zhou Qingmei returned after taking care of her business, she found Fang Shuwen eating the fruits.
Seeing her, he tossed a few to her.
"They're really sweet."
She took a skeptical bite, and her eyes lit up slightly.
"They really are sweet! Where did you pick them?"
"There's a whole patch of them in the woods over there."
Fang Shuwen pointed casually.
"We can have a quick bite for breakfast. Later on, if we come across a village, we can pay some silver for a hot meal."
Zhou Qingmei nodded. Although she was the young miss of the Zhou Family, accustomed to a life of luxury since childhood, she had traveled the Jianghu for some time and wasn't some delicate flower who couldn't endure hardship.
Once they had eaten their fill, they set off on their journey again.
The path they chose wasn't a path at all, to be precise. The entire way was through remote, rugged mountains where few people ever ventured.
The advantage, of course, was the peace and quiet. Not even mountain bandits would frequent such a place.
When they occasionally encountered fierce beasts in the forest, their Martial Arts were more than enough to handle them. Far from being a problem, it gave them a chance to add some meat to their diet.
Paired with the wild fruits from the forest, their meals were a balanced mix of meat and vegetables, and quite nutritious.
The downside was that they were constantly exposed to the elements, with no roof over their heads for the entire journey.
Fortunately, their Inner Strength was profound, which kept insects at bay. Otherwise, resting at night would have been a truly torturous experience.
As they traveled, Zhou Qingmei began teaching Fang Shuwen the Palm Technique, just as they had agreed.
This Palm Technique was called the Great Black Heaven God Palm.
Judging by the name alone, Fang Shuwen had assumed the Palm Technique had something to do with darkness or evil. With the Black Death Sect lurking, it didn't sound like a righteous art.
But once he started practicing, he realized the entire Martial Arts technique could be summed up in four words: brute force conquers all!
There weren't many moves—only eight palms in total.
However, unlike the Four Seas Dragon Fist, these moves contained infinite variations within them.
Although it was all about brute force, from the first move, Vajra Tower Throwing, to the eighth move, Mighty Virtue Demon Subduing, every strike was deceptively simple yet immensely powerful.
Fang Shuwen asked Zhou Qingmei about it and learned that the "Great Black Heaven" in the name didn't refer to a colloquialism for a dark day, but to the Great Black Heaven God.
It referred to the wrathful Dharma Aspect of Vairocana Buddha in Esoteric Buddhism.
So, the Great Black Heaven God Palm was actually a Palm Technique from Esoteric Buddhism.
It was just that Esoteric Buddhism was practiced in the far north, and its followers were rarely seen in the Jianghu.
It was a mystery why a set of this Palm Technique had been left behind in that cave.
Zhou Qingmei told him not to worry about creating a grudge with Esoteric Buddhism by practicing this technique. For one, no disciples of Esoteric Buddhism had appeared in the Jianghu for decades. As long as Fang Shuwen didn't go knocking on their door and use the Great Black Heaven God Palm to desecrate a Dharma Aspect of Vairocana Buddha, the sect wouldn't target him.
Secondly, many things had originated from Esoteric Buddhism.
Some of the most common Martial Arts in the Jianghu had intricate ties to Buddhist and Daoist sects.
If they were to investigate every single case, they would probably have to kill off more than half the Jianghu.
So, those sects were generally open-minded about such matters.
Hearing her explanation, Fang Shuwen finally put his worries to rest and began to study it diligently along the way.
His progress, in turn, was a real eye-opener for Zhou Qingmei.
She discovered that Fang Shuwen's comprehension was surprisingly good, and his natural Talent and constitution were far beyond that of an ordinary person.
When she had learned this Palm Technique, it was purely through rote memorization, and she hadn't studied it afterward.
Fang Shuwen, however, memorized it all after hearing it just once. In just three to five days, he could already perform the entire set of palm strikes without a single mistake.
This might sound unremarkable, but it was actually extremely difficult.
For an ordinary person to practice such a Palm Technique, they might not reach this level even after three to five months, let alone three to five days.
It was a testament to Fang Shuwen's high Talent and comprehension. It was no wonder he had such profound Inner Strength at such a young age.
What Zhou Qingmei didn't know was that Fang Shuwen was basically cheating.
On one hand, his comprehension was naturally good. On the other, the shortcomings of his constitution had been compensated for by the Muscle Strengthening Scripture Divine Technique.
With the added bonus of a twofold boost to his Talent and comprehension, he naturally learned everything quickly.
A few more days passed, and Fang Shuwen was already beginning to demonstrate the power of this Palm Technique.
While traveling, he casually struck out with his palm. A large tree thirty feet away exploded with a BOOM, leaving behind a palm print three inches deep.
When a brown bear blocked their path, Fang Shuwen had already slapped it with his palm before Zhou Qingmei even had a chance to draw her treasured sword.
The foolish bear tried to match his Palm Power. To his great sorrow, Fang Shuwen ended up with a bear paw.
Finally, just as he had achieved some initial mastery of the Great Black Heaven God Palm, they emerged from the vast, ancient forest.
After walking for another half a day, they came across an inhabited house just before dusk.
They looked at each other, both feeling a sense of relief, as if they had survived a great ordeal.
They hurried forward and knocked. With a CREAK, the door opened. A boy of about sixteen or seventeen stood there, his eyes sparkling with excitement as he looked at Fang Shuwen and Zhou Qingmei.
"Dad! Dad! We have guests!!"