Yan Mu hurriedly explained, “It’s not exactly his fault. Everyone at Zhu Qiao’er’s tavern went insane that day, except for him and Zhu Qiao’er.  0

“Zhu Qiao’er was fine because Elder Zhu had gifted her a protective talisman; that’s easily explained. But Fang Jianlong escaping unscathed? That raised too many eyebrows.  0

“After some heavy pressure, he couldn’t hide it anymore and blurted out that it might have something to do with a pouch he’d received from the Blood Blade Patriarch. He took it out, opened it up, but all that remained inside was a broken copper plate.0

“I acted quickly and told everyone it was a protective charm I’d given you. As for where I originally got it, I said I’d stumbled across it by pure chance in the Central Plains…”0

“Everyone’s got their own lucky breaks,” Yan Mu continued. “They wouldn’t really bother investigating where I got mine. So, I vouched that you had absolutely nothing to do with the undying husks, and the matter was dropped.”0

Li Yuan closed his eyes in thought, then...4