In the depths of the forest, shadows flickered, and a few human figures appeared.
The first to step forward was Young Qing, who had exhausted all her valuables in front of Fang Yuan. She wore a green dress and carried a sword at her waist. She looked even more stunning than she did the other day, but her piercing voice did much to mar her beauty.
There were other young men and women around her, and Fang Yuan recognised one of the ladies in a yellow dress.
It was more than just recognition. He was familiar with her, and they even had a marriage agreement previously!
"Sister Leiyue!"
Young Qing tugged Lin Leiyue's sleeves and said, "That's him…he's the evil person who robbed me! You have to avenge me!"
"How dare you steal from our Junior Qing!"
Lin Leiyue gazed at Fang Yuan, stunned. The people with her had already unsheathed their swords and were surrounding Fang Yuan menacingly.
This was because Young Qing had looked them up before, and they had searched the whole Qingye County and the Four Seas Court for this 'Young Martial God Wu Ming' to no avail. Of course they were angry.
"Wait!"
Lin Leiyue suddenly held up a hand, and slowly stepped forward. She was unsure and looked at Fang Yuan with hesitation.
"You are...Brother Fang?"
"Hehe…"
Fang Yuan rubbed his nose and said, "To think that you still remember me!"
He was also surprised to see that the young lass in his memory had gone through a complete makeover. She now had the airs of a big sister.
"Wait!"
Young Qing looked at Lin Leiyue, then at Fang Yuan. She was confused.
"Isn't Wu his surname? How did it become Fang?"
"Qing!"
Lin Leiyue wiped her brow embarrassedly and asked, "Are you really sure that it's this person?"
"That's right, I'll recognise him even if he was reduced to ashes. Big Sister, you know him?"
Young Qing's heart began to beat faster.
After all, it was against the rules of the martial world to tail Fang Yuan in the first place.
"Fang Yuan? Fang Yuan! I remember! Isn't he the person you were once betrothed to?"
One of the onlooking young disciples, most probably one of Lin Leiyue's many admirers, glared at Fang Yuan with a look that could kill.
"So it's him!"
Immediately, Fang Yuan became aware that all the males present hated on him more than ever. He was beleaguered by many pairs of flashing eyes that seemed to will him into burning up in flames.
"Crap, did I kill their fathers or steal their wives? Is this hatred even justified?"
Fang Yuan was speechless.
In truth, Lin Leiyue was one of the most beautiful women in the Spirit Returning Sect. Coupled with her talent and gentle demeanour, as well as her high status, she was adored by many. Thus, when the admirers found out that Fang Yuan had a former rightful claim to her, they all saw it as an intense rivalry.
"Ah haha!"
Fang Yuan felt slightly awkward dealing with Miss Qing. But this was not the case with Lin Leiyue.
After all, he had watched her grow up and they had no bad blood. Therefore, there was nothing to be guilty about.
"So it's you, Sister Leiyue. It seems like you are living well in the Spirit Returning Sect. This is a cause for celebration indeed!"
"I'm sorry for what happened before!"
Lin Leiyue had turned slightly red, and she bowed apologetically.
She was unsure about her feelings towards her former fiancé.
But after this outing, she had at least understood that the world was vast and that she did not want to limit her opportunities in any way.
"Qing, Brother Fang is a friend of mine. This whole thing must be a joke. Let us drop this matter, shall we?"
Leiyue gave Qing's hand a squeeze.
After all, it would hurt their reputation if word got out about how the Four Seas Court mistreated a visitor. It was widely rumoured that the Four Seas Court was working for the Spirit Returning Sect, and to have this matter escalate might confirm these rumours. Lin Leiyue did not want that.
"Fine!"
Qing felt like crying. Her secret savings were all gone.
"But...you have to return the hairpin to me! It...it was given to me for my birthday by my grandfather!"
In fact, Qing had made it all up. It was just the most expensive piece of jewellery out of the rest.
"Oh, I'm sorry!"
Fang Yuan laughed and took out the hairpin.
"If I had offended you, Miss Qing, I hope that you won't hold it against me!"
"This is more like it!"
Qing's eyes gleamed, and she grabbed the hairpin from Fang Yuan greedily. She then thought to herself regretfully, 'If I had known that this lad was going to be this obliging, I would've asked him for more jewellery pieces...boohoo…'
The more she thought about it, the more she cursed inwardly.
"Alright, alright!"
Lin Leiyue could not help but whisper into Qing's ear.
"Really?"
Whatever she had heard must have delighted her, for Qing immediately jumped up and nodded vigorously.
"Yes yes yes!"
She then turned to Fang Yuan and said, "Let bygones be bygones. I won't pursue the matter anymore. Brother Fang, you are welcome to rob me again. After all, someone's going to pay me back doubly...hoho!"
As the words left her, Qing immediately knew that she had made a mistake, and quickly covered her mouth.
"Who would have known that this lass would be so money-grubbing and miserly…"
The crowd had realised what was going on and did not know what to say to Qing.
"Brother Fang, are you here for the Song Zhong issue? If I remember correctly, you don't know martial arts…"
Lin Leiyue smiled demurely and changed the subject deftly as if nothing had happened.
"Ah I've been practising a little, and I want to see the bustling city for myself!"
Fang Yuan replied carelessly.
"Song Zhong is fierce and stubborn and is a highly skilled pugilist. He's still a great threat even though he might be injured. Please be careful!"
Lin Leiyue had no idea about Fang Yuan's background and warned him out of concern.
"Okay!"
Fang Yuan nodded and turned to leave.
"Stop!"
At this point, one of the onlooking young men stepped in front of Fang Yuan, blocking his passage.
"Have you not heard Sister Lin? This is not a place you can stay in for an extended period of time. Don't think that you can go on a rampage with your half-assed skills. Leave while you can!"
A bunch of young male disciples, regardless of their near-zero chances with Lin Leiyue, were worried that sparks would fly between Fang Yuan and Lin Leiyue. They all had the same goal in mind, to eliminate this competitor!
"Ah, Brother Zhao, that's where you are wrong!"
A male disciple with a freckled face laughed coldly and stepped forward.
"Since this Young Master Fang was able to bully our Sister Qing, it must mean that he is very highly-skilled. Although I am untalented, I challenge you to a fight. Do have mercy on me!"
"How can you leave me out of this?"
"Let me! Let me!"
The male disciples were worked up into a frenzy, eyes gleaming with bloodlust.
This was their best chance to prove themselves in front of Lin Leiyue!
"Qing, tell me honestly. What's your progress in the Qingluo Technique that Master taught you?"
As she observed the going-ons around her, Lin Leiyue pulled Young Qing towards her and whispered the question into her ear.
"Grade 5!"
Qing stuck out her tongue.
"Ssss…"
Lin Leiyue sucked in a breath of cold air.
Young Qing was a crazy lass. She was a lady and had the backing of powerful figures in the Sect. None of the male disciples dared to go all out when sparring with her. As a result, not many people were aware of Qing's true abilities.
But this Fang Yuan, hasn't he only been practising martial arts for a short while? How could he have defeated a martial artist of the 5th Gate?
Lin Leiyue observed Fang Yuan a while more and realised for the first time that this young lad from the valley was indeed mysterious. She had wanted to defuse the situation but was at a loss for words now.
"This…"
Fang Yuan quickly scanned his immediate surroundings and deduced that these were basically martial artists who were either at the 4th or 5th Gates in martial art cultivation. They were no match for him, especially after he had consumed so much spiritual food.
"This...is the effect of magical energy?"
Fang Yuan was suddenly enlightened. Magical energy led to alertness and willpower! If he had more magical energy than normal, he would be able to gauge the skill level of his opponents through detailed observations. He would also be able to conceal his own abilities. Of course, the prerequisite was that he could not be too far behind in martial arts cultivation than these adversaries.
Right now, after Fang Yuan had made some adjustments, none of his foes could tell that he was actually a master in his own right, having broken through the 5th Gate. On the other hand, their skills and abilities were all obvious to Fang Yuan.
"I can't gauge Lin Leiyue's abilities though. She has a clear and bright aura emanating from her body. That is not normal!"
Fang Yuan increased his alertness but displayed a cornered look outwardly.
"This...probably isn't a good idea! I'm a country bumpkin with no self-restraint. What if I hurt you all too badly?"
"What?!"
The crowd of male disciples were enraged by Fang Yuan's taunt, and the freckled disciple shouted, "If I am killed by you, it can only be said that I was unlucky. No one shall avenge me. Everyone here, be my witness!"
"Come on!"
Under the gaze of Lin Leiyue and a few female juniors, he was eager to show off and jumped right into the fray.
"The humble Sun Tieshu, looking forward to being schooled by you!"
'Idiot!'
At this, Fang Yuan silently rolled his eyes.
If the crowd had ganged up on Fang Yuan, he would have been on the losing end no matter how skilled he was.
But this bunch of jokers actually intended to take turns to fight him individually. They must be tired of living!
It was just as well that his Eagle Claw Iron Skin Technique required more practice to increase proficiency points. This battle was a good opportunity.
However, just as Fang Yuan prepared to fight, his body hairs suddenly stood on end.
This feeling reminded him of a chilling encounter back when he was four or five years old. He was taking a stroll in the forest then and was eyed by a wolf hiding in the shadows.
'Is this…an ambush?'
Fang Yuan glided back by several steps and glanced at Lin Leiyue. Then he was struck by a realisation!
"It's Song Zhong!"
"To think that he would be this headstrong. Even as he is wanted from all sides by his enemies, he chooses to retaliate instead of hiding!"
"Lin Leiyue is the direct disciple of the sect leader and has a very important status. She will be a good hostage!"
"But isn't there word out there that Song Zhong is gravely injured? Are the stories untrue?"
...
His mind whirring, Fang Yuan distanced himself from Lin Leiyue.
She was the epicentre of trouble and it was best to get away from her.
"Punk, you're running away?"
When Sun Tieshu saw that Fang Yuan was retreating, he paused.
"Trying to be funny huh? Are you going to be a piece of trash now?"
"Ah...yes, I'm physically weak. How can I ever hope to match you people? I have been a laughing stock! I'll take my leave!"
Fang Yuan spouted a load of nonsense and withdrew to the sidelines.
It was at this moment that everything changed!
JTJTY97 JTJTY97
Comments