Chapter 104: Adulthood Is Full of Deceit (Bonus chapter for舵主 "A Tiny Little Bookworm"!)

Crimson true energy swirled around Fang Mu. Behind him, a ferocious tiger head manifested, its eyes gleaming with malice, glaring straight at Zhao Wuquan as if it intended to tear him to shreds.

Fang Mu walked over to Zhao Wuquan, squatted down, patted his cheek, and said mockingly, "Who was it? Just who exactly sent you to mess with me? I am truly curious."

Blood dripped from the corner of Zhao Wuquan's mouth as he gave a bitter smile. "I really just forgot to mention it, no one is trying to set you up. Don't go making wild accusations without proof, I... ah!"

Before he could finish his sentence, his left hand was severed, and blood sprayed out in a torrent.

Fang Mu’s gaze was cold and detached, like an emotionless beast. "Next time, I’ll take your right hand. After that, your left leg, then your right. Finally, it will be the head on your shoulders. You still have a few chances left."

"You! You!" Zhao Wuquan was in unbearable pain. At that moment, he realized that Fang Mu would truly kill him.

"You are truly stupid," Fang Mu said with disdain. "I’ve been reading a book for the past two days, and I’m quite clear on the standards of the Sky-Watching Division. It turns out there is a Dispatch Office outside the five main tiers. Do you know what it means that everyone in your Dispatch Office is a reject?"

Zhao Wuquan did not understand. He had no idea why Fang Mu was telling him this; he felt only fear, the deepest fear from the bottom of his heart.

Fang Mu sneered, "A temp doing the work for the official staff, only to be the scapegoat in the end—what do you think you become after taking the fall? A pawn? No, no, you are nothing more than a discarded piece."

Zhao Wuquan fell silent, as if he had forgotten his pain. He suddenly felt that what Fang Mu said was quite right.

Fang Mu continued, "You know who I am. If I kill you now, with no one else around, I can frame you for a crime at any time. Do you understand?"

Zhao Wuquan nodded, a look of struggle on his face. He gritted his teeth and said, "It was Zhang Liu. Inspector Zhang Liu of the Sky-Watching Division. He is jealous of you—jealous that you were taken in as a disciple by Division Chief Wu."

"And the objective?" Fang Mu frowned. "What was his goal in having you do this?"

Sweat poured down Zhao Wuquan’s forehead; he had clearly reached his limit in enduring the pain. "You just became Chief Wu's disciple. If this mission failed immediately, it would be a slap in the face to Chief Wu."

Hearing Zhao Wuquan’s explanation, Fang Mu understood everything. Jealousy could make a person unrecognizable, and this man named Zhang Liu was a full-blown inspector.

Zhao Wuquan looked at his empty left arm and smiled bitterly. "I’ve told you everything. Can you let me treat my wounds now? If I keep bleeding like this, I might die. You... what are you doing!"

Fang Mu raised his butcher’s knife and said calmly, "Nothing much, just killing you."

"You said you would let me go!" Zhao Wuquan cried out in panic. "How can you go back on your word? Besides, I only reported false information."

How could this man be so untrustworthy?

"We aren't three-year-old children anymore," Fang Mu’s eyes turned playful. "The adult world is full of deception. Don't you understand that? Oh, right, I almost forgot to pin a crime on you—you attempted to assassinate the Chief’s disciple and were killed in self-defense by him. Perfect."

Since you stood on the wrong side, then go to your death. Remember to pick the right person in your next life, and you won't end up so miserable.

The butcher’s knife swept across. In Zhao Wuquan’s terrified eyes, his head flew into the air and rolled to the side.

Fang Mu turned around, looked at Wang Chi behind him, and said flatly, "Now, let’s talk."

Wang Chi pressed his palms together. "Donor, can you wait until I find a successor to carry on the Cold Void Temple before you kill me?"

Wang Chi had witnessed the scene just now and felt that Fang Mu was a truly ruthless man.

Fang Mu laughed. "I won’t kill you. As long as you help me find Maeve, I will let you go."

The corner of Wang Chi’s mouth twitched. "But you just said the adult world is full of deception."

Fang Mu patted Wang Chi’s shoulder. "It’s fine. I am the only adult who doesn't lie."

Wang Chi: "..." I don’t believe a word of it, you are truly wicked.

...

Killing Zhao Wuquan was like a trivial matter; Fang Mu quickly refocused on finding Maeve. If there was one place with the most comprehensive information, it had to be the Sky-Watching Division.

Even if one hasn't eaten pork, one has certainly seen pigs run. Having seen the head of the Dongfeng County Dispatch Office look for records before, Fang Mu navigated his way to the inner room with ease. After a while, he found a massive row of bookshelves.

Looking at the dense shelves, Fang Mu felt a headache coming on. Search it was—what else could he do?

Fang Mu, Wang Chi, and even Abai joined in the search. Abai couldn't read, but that didn't matter; Fang Mu specifically showed him the characters for "Maeve" and told him to look for anything related. The whole process left Abai confused: I’m just a Gluttonous Spirit Beast that eats and sleeps, why do I have to learn to read?

Wang Chi’s search was similar to Abai’s, but Fang Mu was looking for something else. He wasn't looking for data on Maeve, but rather information related to Xu Yang and Xu Luo. Hearing Wang Chi’s side of the story wasn't enough; since he knew from Zhao Wuquan that the Sky-Watching Division had records, checking them again from the perspective of the Dispatch Office might reveal something new.

Time slipped away unnoticed, and in the blink of an eye, it was daylight. A rooster crowed, and accompanying the sound, Fang Mu’s voice came from the room: "Found it."

Wang Chi heard him and walked over. Fang Mu looked at the contents, his brows slightly furrowed.

[Xu Yang and Xu Luo fought on a cliff; Xu Luo perished.]

[Xu Yang intended to bring Maeve back to the Cold Void Temple, but Maeve refused, stabbing Xu Yang with a dagger in her hand and jumping off the cliff, disappearing without a trace.]

[Xu Yang returned to the Cold Void Temple and passed away from an unknown illness several months later.]

Fang Mu put the record down and chewed on the information carefully. This woman named Maeve was no simple character!

What was Xu Yang? Not only was he a Profound Practitioner, but he was also a Spirit Practitioner who entered via the Profound path. Yet, Maeve had been able to wound him—how could an ordinary person manage such a feat?

Connecting this to the handkerchief he had found on the spirit entity, Fang Mu reached a conclusion: Maeve might be a Profound Practitioner or a Spirit Practitioner herself. However, there was still the issue of why there were two different spirits. One was that old woman, and the other was the spirit that had harmed the night watchman. He had found different items on them—a Buddhist scripture on one, and a handkerchief on the other.

If one were to speculate on a larger scale, what if these two spirits were being controlled by two different Spirit Practitioners? Fang Mu felt it was entirely possible.

"It really was her," Wang Chi sighed. "I said that the wound on Master’s chest when he returned didn't look right. So it really was Maeve who did it."

Fang Mu ignored him and asked, "What is the meaning of the blank Buddhist scripture?"

He had forgotten the purpose of the blank scripture, but now that it suddenly came to mind, he asked. Wang Chi was stunned for a moment, then proceeded to explain the reason behind the blank scripture...