Inside the home of Gu Yue Dongtu, Gu Yue Dongtu sat on a bamboo chair, leaning against the backrest while taking small sips of tea. He was the Uncle of Fang Yuan and Fang Zheng; at this moment, his brow was furrowed as if he were deep in thought.
Beside Dongtu, his Aunt appeared incredibly restless, pacing back and forth in front of him. On that face, which was neither delicate nor beautiful, anxiety was written all over, as if a conspiracy had been seen through.
"Can you stop pacing? You're making me dizzy."
Gu Yue Dongtu was already irritable. Seeing his Aunt swaying back and forth before his eyes, a touch of resentment was added to his agitated heart, and he looked at her with dissatisfaction.
"Husband, do you think Fang Yuan might have already found out? Is he intentionally avoiding us now?"
Dongtu shook his head: "I don't know. But if Fang Yuan wants to take back his parents' inheritance, it is perfectly reasonable; besides, he is the Gu Yue Village's number one Genius, we simply cannot stop him."
"Husband, you have a Rank Two Peak cultivation, surely you aren't afraid of a Rank One junior like Fang Yuan?"
Hearing this, Dongtu felt utterly speechless—it seemed this woman hadn't listened to a word he said, and further explanation would be a waste of effort. This wife of his had always seemed a bit slow-witted.
Of course he wanted to rely on his Rank Two Peak strength to let Fang Yuan experience the darkness of society and the perils of the Jianghu in advance. But he didn't dare do so:
He was an Elder; how could an Elder justify laying hands on a junior who hadn't even entered the academy yet?
These were the rules.
Moreover, behind Fang Yuan stood the Gu Yue Clan Chief, Clan Leader—a Rank Four Gu Master possessing Golden True Essence. In front of Clan Leader, Gu Yue Dongtu was nothing more than a dog by the roadside.
Just then, the door to Gu Yue Dongtu's room was pushed open.
Fang Yuan carried a jar of green bamboo wine, stepped over the threshold, and walked straight toward Gu Yue Dongtu in the hall. Behind him, Nanny Shen held another jar of green bamboo wine, her expression complex as if her mind were full of hidden worries.
The moment the Aunt saw Fang Yuan arrive, her originally venomous expression instantly turned from cloudy to clear, beaming with joy as she put on a loving facade. That seemingly kind expression looked as though it could embrace all manner of sins.
"Little Shen, go quickly and call Young Master Fang Zheng over."
Shen Cui heard this, bowed, and withdrew.
At this moment, Yuan Fang couldn't help but recall a story from "the legends of ren zu":
Legend says that Ren Zu used the Rule and Regulation Gu to exchange for all the Gu in the world, gaining power but losing wisdom.
At that time, three Gu remained by his side, one of which was the attitude gu, held in Ren Zu's hand.
"Gu, how can I use you?" Ren Zu asked.
"Human, you only need to wear me on your face to borrow my power," the attitude gu replied. This Gu had a unique and exquisite appearance, shaped like a mask.
Hearing this, Ren Zu tried to put the mask-like attitude gu on his face, but strangely, the moment the attitude gu touched his face, it slid off.
Ren Zu tried several times, but still couldn't wear it.
Unwilling to give up, he tied the attitude gu to his face, but the attitude gu still fell off as before, unable to be worn at all. Surprised and suspicious, Ren Zu pressed for the reason:
"Gu, what is going on?"
"Human, attitude is the mask of the heart. You have already given your heart to the hope gu; how can a heartless person wear the mask of attitude?"
Only then did Ren Zu realize—to escape his Dilemma earlier, he had already given his heart to the hope gu, and had long since become a heartless person.
"Attitude is the mask of the heart... Right now, Uncle and Aunt are wearing gentle masks, but beneath these masks, what are they planning to plot?"
Yuan Fang's face remained expressionless as he stepped into the central hall.
Just then, Fang Zheng and Shen Cui also entered the central hall.
The moment Fang Zheng saw Fang Yuan, he immediately stepped forward and spoke to his brother in a reproachful tone:
"Brother! How could you do this?"
"Oh? My younger brother, what have I done?" Yuan Fang asked back with a faint smile.
"I... it's just, it's just..." Fang Zheng looked into Fang Yuan's eyes, and the courage he had just mustered instantly deflated. Seeing this, Yuan Fang smiled and cupped his hands in a polite greeting:
"Greetings, Uncle and Aunt."
"Fang Yuan, Fang Zheng, come sit! Sigh, ten years have passed in the blink of an eye. You were only five years old when we adopted you."
"Now that you have both grown into adults and even become Gu Masters, your Uncle and Aunt are proud of you from the bottom of our hearts!"
The Aunt was full of amiability, and even the usually stern Uncle, Gu Yue Dongtu, was grinning. The mustache between his nose and mouth was curled high, and his expression was exceptionally festive, much like a certain Colonel in an anti-Japanese drama using delicious candy to coax a little hero—it was quite exaggerated.
Hearing the Aunt's words, Fang Zheng was deeply moved and said with full gratitude:
"Uncle and Aunt, you have raised us for many years, it has been hard on you."
Hearing this, Yuan Fang thought to himself: "Truly naive." He even heard Fang Yuan sigh in his heart: "My foolish brother is getting stupider and stupider."
Fang Yuan hardly spoke; this was one of his few moments of lamentation.
At this time, Uncle Gu Yue Dongtu suddenly spoke: "Although we two have been together for many years, we have never been able to have any children, sigh..."
"In fact, over these ten years, your Uncle and Aunt have already regarded you as our own biological children. Why don't you be adopted into our Family, so we can become a real Family."
Fang Zheng was exceptionally proactive. Under the gaze of both Yuan Fang and Fang Yuan, he said to his Uncle and Aunt with a flushed face:
"Actually, ever since our parents passed away, I have always longed for a home. Uncle, Aunt..."
Uncle Gu Yue Dongtu was overjoyed upon hearing this, and the Aunt beside him was also full of happiness, smiling as she said to Fang Zheng:
"Are you still calling us Uncle and Aunt?"
Fang Zheng's not-so-bright brain finally reacted, and he excitedly called out "Father, Mother." As he spoke, tears of emotion even flowed from his eyes.
"Fang Yuan, what about you?" Gu Yue Dongtu suddenly asked.
"I haven't decided yet," Yuan Fang replied in a cold tone.
"In that case, Fang Yuan, you are already fifteen years old, and it is time for you to leave home and live independently. Your Uncle has two hundred primeval stones here; consider it support for you to establish your own household and rebuild a home."
Hearing this, Fang Zheng immediately began to envy Fang Yuan—that was two hundred primeval stones! From childhood until now, he might not have even seen that many primeval stones.
One must know that in the Gu World, primeval stones are the primary currency. A single primeval stone is enough to support a Family of three for a month.
But what shocked Fang Zheng even more was that his brother actually refused directly! Yuan Fang shook his head and said to Gu Yue Dongtu:
"If Uncle has no other business, I shall take my leave first."
After speaking, Yuan Fang did not look back. Carrying his own green bamboo wine and even taking the jar from Nanny Shen's arms, he quickly disappeared from Fang Zheng's perplexed gaze.
"Father, Mother, Brother just hasn't thought it through yet. I'll go try to persuade him."
Fang Zheng said this, but in his heart, he was very dissatisfied with his brother—clearly they both had A-grade aptitude, so why could Fang Yuan be so willful and act so independently?
"There's no need to persuade him; everyone has their own ambitions. Son, having this heart of yours makes your father very happy."
Gu Yue Dongtu's mouth twitched slightly. Having just seen Yuan Fang's reaction, his face instantly darkened.
"But Brother, he..."
"Enough, Little Shen, take Young Master Fang Zheng down and look after him well."
Gu Yue Dongtu forced a fake smile and waved his hand, and only then did Fang Zheng leave dejectedly.
Once Fang Zheng was completely gone, the Aunt's face immediately turned from sunny to gloomy, and she cursed viciously:
"That ungrateful wolf cub! Husband, this Fang Yuan clearly thinks he has us cornered!"
Hearing this, Gu Yue Dongtu did not answer his none-too-bright wife and fell into deep thought... That night, inside the Clan Leaders Manor, the Gu Yue Clan Chief, Clan Leader, was hunched over his desk, buried in handling clan affairs.
He was only in his forties, but his temples were already tinged with white—heavy clan affairs had long since firmly trapped this middle-aged man, leaving him no escape.
"Sometimes, I really want to be a straightforward lone wolf..."
Clan Leader's heart was full of lament. In his hand, he held an Information Path Gu worm called a paper crane gu, shaped like a paper crane, which functioned to transmit messages. Recorded within the insect's body were clan affairs regarding this year's reduction in moon orchid flower production.
"The Internal Affairs Hall has sent a new order to collect rotten mud frozen soil." This was the information recorded on the paper crane gu.
Clan Leader left his decision on the matter within the paper crane gu and then infused it with true essence.
The paper crane gu seemed to be charged with energy, moving according to Clan Leader's will. It gently flapped its small paper wings and flew straight out the window.
Just then, a guard at the door quickly entered the hall, cupped his hands, and reported:
"Lord Clan Leader, there is a Student outside requesting an audience."
At this moment, Clan Leader was feeling quite troubled—the moon orchid flower was a vital economic source for Gu Yue Village, as moon orchid petals were not only a type of Gu material but also the food for Moon Path Gu worms such as the moonlight gu, moonlight gu, and Golden Moon.
And these Moon Path Gu worms were all unique to the Gu Yue Clan and were extremely precious.
"Tell him to go to the Internal Affairs Hall. The Clan Leader is busy with a thousand things and has no time to see him," Clan Leader said impatiently.
"But Lord Clan Leader, that person said he must see the Clan Leader and no one else; he doesn't trust anyone else."
"Oh?" Clan Leader raised an eyebrow and pressed, "Who is that person? Why has he come?"
The guard replied: "That person seems to be the Gu Yue Fang Yuan who wrote poems in his early years. He said this matter concerns the reputation of the Gu Yue Clan and is also related to the Demonic Path Gu Master Flower Wine Walker and our clan's Fourth Generation Clan Leader."
"What!"
Clan Leader was startled. As the Clan Leader, he naturally held the truest history of the Gu Yue Clan. Even the powerful Elders like Gu Yue Red Snake and Gu Yue Mo Bei had no way of knowing that secret past...