Fang Yuan turned towards Wei Yang with a gracious smile on his face.
"Thank you for getting rid of him. Otherwise, who knows what kind of violent behavior he might have engaged in," Fang Yuan said.
"Lord Fang Yuan, that's not a problem for one of our most esteemed guests," Wei Yang said, smiling and cupping his hands. "However, I just wanted to ask you one thing... how do you happen to know this Liu Nan person?"
"I don't know him," Fang Yuan said. His expression of confusion seemed quite genuine. Despite that, neither Wei Yang nor Bai Ning Bing could take that at face value. He had certainly not gotten to this level without mastering the art of subterfuge and would be accomplished in political intrigue.
"For that matter, I didn't even know who he was until he had wandered into the city and confronted me within that gambling den," Fang Yuan said.
"Truly? Is that so?" Wei Yang asked, perplexed. "Because with the ferocity with which he has been looking for you, is it possible that the two of you have some relation which you are unaware of?"
Fang Yuan considered it for a moment and shook his head. "I cannot think so. I do not know of a Liu Clan, at least certainly not near my own Qing Mao Mountain or Bei Gu Mountain, where I've been. I cannot think of anything I've done to him or anyone close to him to warrant this kind of a response."
Wei Yang still looked slightly skeptical.
"Surely, you believe me, Brother Wei Yang?"
"Well, certainly, Lord Fang Yuan," Wei Yang said, quickly changing his expression. "Of course, I believe you. It's just very odd to see someone so militant against you and hunting for you for seemingly no reason. I just felt it would be prudent to let you know that he had been waiting for you ever since you had left to return to your home village."
"Oh, is that so?" Fang Yuan asked. "It's quite curious indeed that he would go to such lengths when I don't even know who this guy is."
"Quite curious indeed," Wei Yang agreed. "Well, if there's any further trouble, do not hesitate to let me know. I do not want a fight to break out in the middle of Shang Clan City, after all. Nor would I want some of our most esteemed guests to get into trouble."
Wei Yang then disappeared in a flash of light. Bai Ning Bing shot a skeptical look after Fang Yuan. As he turned to go back to trying to refine Scouting Hive Gu, she asked, "Do you really not know who that person is?"
"Of course not!" Fang Yuan said, snorting. "You've been with me for most of the time since Qing Mao Mountain. When would I have possibly had the chance to? And if I had really pissed off a Rank 5 Gu Master, don't you think you would have known by now? Why would he have waited instead of striking earlier?" Right now, he had Rank 5 Middle Stage strength, but just a while back, he had only been at Rank Four. He wouldn't have been able to do anything against this Liu Nan during that time if he had struck, forget that, he couldn't have done anything if he had struck before they got to Shang Clan City.
Bing Bing knew what kind of person Fang Yuan was like, and so could never fully trust his words. However, what could she do other than go back to drinking her tea?
"And you have no intention of taking him up on the fight?" She knew Fang Yuan's nature. He was extraordinarily greedy for benefits. There was no way he would let a Purple Crystal Gu out of his hands. It was quite strange that he had refused. 'Could he simply be scared of fighting?' Bing Bing dismissed that concept entirely.
"There are insufficient benefits to fighting him," Fang Yuan said, stretching his arms. "As it is, he has likely had quite a bit of time to get a full set of Rank Five gu worms. I have not had that luxury. I'd be fighting at a great disadvantage. Who would take that kind of battle?"
***
Wei Yang had left the pavilion and gone to where Shang Yan Fei was waiting for him. The news of what happened in the gambling den had already reached Shang Yan Fei's ears, but the information regarding the courtyard was new to him.
"Just who is this guy?" Shang Yan Fei said to himself, stroking his chin. He had managed to find out enough information about Fang Yuan through his sources, and from whatever he could tell, Fang Yuan had not done anything that would warrant a demonic accusation. If it were so, there would be an arrest warrant for him or something on those lines. 'Had he managed to do so covertly?' Not an impossibility, but given the short time interval between many of his actions, he couldn't see how it was possible.
Also, the thing was that Liu Nan had not said anything that was specific regarding what Fang Yuan had done, simply accusing him as being demonic.
"Unfortunately, I have not been able to find any further information regarding this Liu Nan," Wei Yang said, bowing his head.
"No information whatsoever?"
"Yes, this servant apologizes. We have been keeping a close eye on him, but he does little other than meditate within his room, rarely venturing out for anything."
"Has he bought any food which could give a clue regarding the Gu worms he uses?" Shang Yan Fei asked.
"No," Wei Yang said. That was not in itself odd. Liu Nan could have carried the food with him in a storage-type gu when he traveled to Shang Clan City. Or, he might simply not need to feed his gu worms right now. Rank Five Gu worms only needed to be fed about once a year, after all.
That said, it was strange that they had no information on him. The Shang Clan spies were famous. It was said they could steal the web out from beneath a spider without it noticing. Not only were they masters of subterfuge and intelligence gathering, but the fact that they had legitimate merchants everywhere also meant that they had eyes and ears nearly everywhere as well. Despite this wide network, and even reaching out to contacts within the Tie and the Wu Clans, nothing could be unearthed regarding who Liu Nan was.
'How is it possible that a Rank Five Peak Stage Gu Master has absolutely no history behind him? How is it that we have no idea where or what the Liu Clan is?' Even if it was a fake name, someone must have seen a description of his face somewhere, but no, it looked from all accounts that he had simply sprung out of the earth before he came to Shang Clan City.
There were two possibilities. One was that he was a Gu Master from a different region who had arrived near Shang Clan City. Even if that were the case, it would be hard to get information on him, but they would still find some kind of traces of a prior existence.
The other possibility was one that Shang Yan Fei could only consider after ruling out everything else first.
Ordinary Gu Masters had no idea regarding Immortals, but Shang Yan Fei was the head of the Shang Clan. How could he not possibly know about Grotto-Heavens and Blessed Lands? It was a possibility that Liu Nan had grown up within the Blessed Land or Grotto-Heaven of an Immortal and had come to Shang Clan City in order to deal with Fang Yuan. But that only made the issue even murkier. If he had come from a Blessed Land or Grotto-Heaven, why on earth was he trying to find trouble with Fang Yuan? The two of them would have never had an opportunity to meet in such a case.