"What is going on? I hear someone asking for help!" A group of school hostel guards came to check.
"It's… it's the Mo Family's young Miss, Mo Yan's servant. Dead!"The guards who arrived stopped in their tracks upon seeing the scene.
"Murder!!!"
"Fang Yuan killed someone!"
The guards could not help but scream out. They had witnessed Fang Yuan with a pair of bloody hands and the lifeless body of Gao Wan. They felt a sense of extreme trepidation and terror rushing all over their body.
Fang Yuan was just a weak 15 year old teenager, but he expressionlessly murdered a strong adult. This was the power of a Gu Master!
The victory had been set. Fang Yuan got up and headed towards the guards. His face was calm, as if he had done nothing out of the ordinary. This expression further sent a shiver down the guards' spines as they moved out of Fang Yuan way.
But a guard was brave enough when to Fang Yuan and politely spoke. "Young master Fang Yuan, you can leave this to us."
Fang Yuan silently looked at the guards, and they all held their breaths, looking down.
"Give me the sabre," he stretched out his hand and lightly said.
With authority in his speech, he emitted undeniable pressure.
The guard closest to him uncontrollably handed him the sabre on his waist.
Fang Yuan took the sabre over and continued walking, leaving behind a dozen stunned guards staring after his back.
The sun rose from the east, and the first ray of light shone over the mountain peak, lighting up the school hostel.
15 year old Fang Yuan, with the scrawny body of a teenager, a pale look upon his skin.
Under the sunrise, he casually walked.
In his left hand was a shiny sabre.
In his right hand, a corpse bleeding from his empty eyesocket.
His path left behind a trail of bright red blood traces dragged out on the road.
The guards were flabbergasted, their bodies stiff due to the frightening scene.
Even as the sunlight shone on them, they could not feel a sense of warmth and light.
Gulp.
Someone among them swallowed their saliva loudly.
The news spread to the classroom
"Did you guys hear? Fang Yuan killed someone!" A student whispered to his classmate beside him.
"I heard it too, he really killed somebody." The classmate clenched his chest with a pale face.
"There were many guards described him as someone with a pair of bloody hands and the lifeless body of Gao Wan!"
"That's not all. After killing him, Fang Yuan didn't even spare his headless corpse. He dragged it back to the hostel and chopped it into a meat paste."
"Are you for real?"
"I'm serious beyond belief. I came early this morning and I could still see the bloodstains left on the floor."
"Oh man, why would I lie to you? Earlier, the Academy Elder called Fang Yuan over for this matter."
The youths in the Academy did not pay attention to class as they held their little conversations.
To this group of 15 year olds, the concept of killing was too foreign and too scary.
They had been under the protection of the clan since a young age and had at most experienced organized sparring or simply killing chickens and dogs.
As for killing a person, it was still beyond them.
"Who did Fang Yuan kill?"
"I heard it was a family servant of the Mo branch family."
"Yup, I'm the clearest about this matter. Yesterday, I personally saw the Mo Family's Mo Yan bring a bunch of family servants to find trouble with Fang Yuan."
"The Mo family, that's not good. Mo Bei is in trouble now."
A number of the youths turned to look at Gu Yue Mo Bei.
Mo Bei sat on his seat with a pale face – he had only heard about the news of Fang Yuan killing someone this morning. Additionally, it was the Gao Wan that Mo Bei was familiar with. As one of the more energetic family servants, Gao Wan was good at boot licking and had also put effort into his fighting skills. He was an able lackey.
A long while ago, Gao Wan had even sparred with Mo Bei for a bit. To think that he was simply killed by Fang Yuan!
It was precisely because of this that Mo Bei felt astonished. He was full of disbelief and felt twice the shock compared to the others. However, compared to his shock, he felt a greater sense of worry and fear.
Facing a murderer like Fang Yuan, it would be a lie if Mo Bei said that he was not afraid. Actually, it was not just him – the other youngsters were afraid too. When Fang Yuan had robbed them twice previously, all of them had gotten physical with him.
"I actually fought with such a ruthless murderer? To think that I'm actually still alive." Many of them patted their chest, feeling a lingering fear.
Fang Yuan killing someone was still somewhat acceptable but the crux was that he even dissected the corpse and chopped the body into meat paste.
That was way too cruel!
The truth of such a horrifying crime had a strong impact on all of the youths' pure and innocent minds.
Only the Academy Elder and Fang Yuan remained in the room. The Elder was seated while Fang Yuan stood silently, creating a heavy, tense silence between them.
The Elder studied Fang Yuan with a mix of suspicion and surprise. Earlier that morning, the guards had reported Fang Yuan's murder of Gao Wan, which shocked and troubled him. As a rank three Gu Master in charge of the Academy, he understood the power difference—Fang Yuan, a rank one initial stage, killing Gao Wan was like a weakling defeating a strong warrior.
He had also learned that Mo Yan had attempted to trap Fang Yuan in the Academy the previous night. The Elder had chosen not to intervene. His role was to cultivate Gu Masters, not protect them. Conflicts, even violent ones, were part of growth, and he believed Mo Yan's challenge would benefit Fang Yuan and curb his rising influence.
Fang Yuan had already caused unrest by blocking the Academy gates and robbing other students, so the Elder was keen to suppress his growing power.
Yet, he hadn't anticipated Mo Yan's failure or that her servant, Gao Wan, would be killed by Fang Yuan.
In their world, killing was common for Gu Masters, but a 15-year-old's first kill was extraordinary. The Elder recalled his own first kill at 19—a rank two Gu Master—how it had haunted him with nightmares and anxiety for days. But Fang Yuan showed no sign of distress, his calmness unsettling as if he was untouched by the act of killing.
Even more disturbing was Fang Yuan's fury after the fight: he dragged Gao Wan's body back to the dormitory and ruthlessly dismembered it. Such brutality was terrifying.
The Elder felt conflicted. He admired Fang Yuan's cold determination and natural fighting talent, mastering the Moonlight Gu quickly and already achieving a kill —a feat many gifted youths couldn't match. Fang Yuan was a born fighter whose potential could strike fear into their enemies.
However, the Elder was also deeply worried. Fang Yuan's defiance of clan rules, use of Gu within the Academy, and the killing would only increase his influence, making him harder to control.
Distress was because he did not know how to perfectly resolve this issue. After all, it involved the Mo family's side.
"Fang Yuan, do you know why I called you here to meet me?" The Academy Elder used a solemn and deep voice to break the silence in the room.
"I know." Fang Yuan nodded and replied "This Gao Wan went against his superiors, his intentions were vicious. Last night, not only did he block my room door, he even tried to kill me. In self-defense, I was forced to kill this traitor and not capture him. I suspect that there is a high possibility of him being a spy of the other mountain villages, I implore the elders to investigate this thoroughly!"
The Academy Elder was stunned for a second, he had not expected that Fang Yuan would answer like this.
Now that Gao Wan was dead, Fang Yuan could say whatever he wanted. After all, Gao Wan was just an outsider, not a member of the clan. Even if he was dead, it would not matter to the Academy Elder. However, he was worried about the Mo family's reaction. Gao Wan was their servant and he had died within the academy. The Academy Elder was in charge of the academy and had to give the Mo family an explanation.
Thinking for a bit, the Academy Elder stared at Fang Yuan and questioned, "Then let me ask you. Gao Wan's corpse, how did you deal with it?"
Fang Yuan's lips curled, revealing a cruel smile. "I diced Gao Wan's corpse and put it inside a wooden box. When morning came, I put it at the Mo family's back door."
"What?!" The Academy Elder was stunned beyond words as he almost jumped from his seat.
Not only did Fang Yuan kill their family servant, he had even chopped up the corpse and placed it at the Mo family's back door. This was blatant provocation!
To the Academy Elder who was trying to resolve this peacefully, it was a true nightmare.
Fang Yuan was just a small Rank one Gu Master, how would the large Mo family react?
Thinking of this, the Academy Elder felt a headache as the matter had already developed out of his control. This Fang Yuan was a true troublemaker.
"Sigh, since it has already happened, there's no point in saying anymore. Leave first." The Academy Elder was terribly upset, he did not have any rules to punish Fang Yuan but was force to help clean up Fang Yuan mess. He waved his hand and signaled for Fang Yuan to leave; he needed to think through this calmly to come up with a solution.