41 RI
Shang Yan Fei's thoughts stirred and immediately disappeared from within the darkness.
When he reappeared, he was already at the outer area of Shang clan city.
All kinds of noise entered his ears. There were various stalls located on both sides of the street. The people in the surrounding only saw a flash of bloody flame, then a black robed, crimson haired handsome man appeared in their midst.
"Whoa, scared the soul out of me!"
"Who is this man? He actually dares to use his Gu in Shang clan city?"
Many people cast bewildered gazes, only few recognized Shang Yan Fei but they were not sure.
Shang Yan Fei ignored these gazes and followed the bloodline reaction; his sharp senses landed on Shang Xin Ci.
Two girls stopped in front of a stall.
"Missy, this hairpin is really beautiful!" Xiao Die picked up a jade hairpin from the stall and matched it with Shang Xin Ci's beautiful hair.
Shang Xin Ci forced out a smile, her mood had been down since parting with Fang Yuan.
Xiao Die was instead lively, fascinated by the flourishing scene in the city.
Suddenly, Shang Xin Ci felt something in her heart and turned around. Her gaze immediately landed on Shang Yan Fei.
The black robed, crimson haired Shang Yan Fei was very conspicuous in the crowd, like a crane in a flock of chickens.
However, what attracted Shang Xin Ci was not his appearance but rather a mysterious familial connection and calling from her bloodline.
Without any word being said, the moment Shang Xin Ci saw Shang Yan Fei, she knew this middle-aged man's identity.
He was her father!
Father... to Shang Xin Ci, this word was mysterious and distant, containing sorrow and sadness.
Since young, she had asked her mother countless times about her father, but her mother always remained silent. And now, she finally met her father.
"So this was the reason mother told me to go to Shang clan city before her death!" Realization dawned upon her and tears uncontrollably fell down her eyes.
The moment Shang Yan Fei saw Shang Xin Ci, he connected it to her mother and realized her identity.
Similar, they were really similar!
This child's gentle appearance was no different from hers!
Shang Yan Fei suddenly felt pain in his heart, he was vaguely able to see her again.
In that distant afternoon when spring rain was drizzling down, when willow trees were carefreely swaying beside the lotus pool; under a shabby hut, Shang clan's young master Shang Yan Fei met the young lady of Zhang Clan who was running from rain.
A meeting of a scholar and beauty. It was love at first sight, they poured their hearts out to each other and pledged to be married...
However, one could only be helpless in the affairs of the world. Power and beauty was just like fish and bear paw, who could have both?
The young Shang Yan Fei was someone with blazing fire in his heart, this fire was the natural ambition of men towards power and influence.
Ambition or love, duty or freedom, oppressing his enemies or his promise to the beauty; Shang Yan Fei chose the former in the end and abandoned the latter.
He later defeated his brothers and sisters, ascended to the position of Shang clan leader and sat on the glorious throne. He became a rank five Gu Master, married countless beauties and now had many sons and daughters. And because Zhang Clan and Shang Clan had been enemies for generations, he could no longer look for her.
One cannot control everything in the world.
Clan leader's identity became his symbol of success but also the shackles that binds him.
The king's every movement could bring about upheavals and was closely watched by everyone. As the clan leader of Shang clan, how could he let his love affair affect the clan?
All these years, he tried hard to convince himself and hide his guilt and worries deep within by using the reasons of righteousness and duty. He thought he had forgotten it all, but now when he saw Shang Xin Ci, those warm memories hidden deep within him instantly enveloped his soul like the sound of spring rain.
Right now, waves were surging in his heart!
The blood of kinship that is thicker than water had turned into a river; now, his guilt overflowed into this river and became a sea, instantly submerging him.
He took a light step and disappeared, reappearing in front of Shang Xin Ci the next moment.
Xiao Die gasped, the surrounding people all looked astonished and shocked.
But the two people involved did not sense anything.
"You... what is your name?" Shang Yan Fei opened his mouth with great effort, his voice carried a magnetic quality and was filled with strong warmth.
Shang Xin Ci did not reply.
Tears streamed down from her beautiful eyes.
She took a step back and tightly pursed her lips, she then firmly looked at Shang Yan Fei, her gaze carrying stubbornness...
It was this man who hurt her mother's heart.
It was this man who caused her to suffer discrimination and bullying since young.
It was this man who enchanted her mother, making her think about him even at death.
It was this man and yet he... he is... my father.
Her mood surged and raged, countless feelings mixed together to form a berserk whirlpool, threatening to swallow her mind.
She fainted.
"Missy!" Xiao Die who had been absorbed in Shang Yan Fei's aura, regained her senses and screamed.
However, Shang Yan Fei was a step faster and held Shang Xin Ci on his hands.
"Who dares to openly violate the city rules and use Gu, do you want to end up in prison?" A group of city guards sensed the abnormal change and came over, swearing.
"Ah, Lord clan leader!" Their expressions instantly changed the moment they saw Shang Yan Fei, and all of them kneeled down.
The whole street was in commotion.
"You... you are... Shang clan's..." Xiao Die stammered, and was speechless.
Shang Yan Fei grabbed Xiao Die's arm; a blood colored flame burst forth and the three disappeared.
...
"Line up in a queue, enter one by one. Everyone needs to pay ten primeval stones as the toll to enter the city. Once you enter the city, you are not allowed to misuse your Gu, the violators will be sent to prison for at least seven days!" The guards at the city gate shouted loudly.
There were many arrest warrants posted on the city walls. Some had already yellowed from age and was covered by other warrants, revealing only a corner of them; and some were completely new posted carelessly on the walls.
Fang Yuan and Bai Ning Bing moved with the queue and slowly neared the city gate. Sure enough, they saw an arrest warrant for them from Bai Clan.
"Bai Clan..." Fang Yuan inwardly snorted.
"Two sirs, please stop." The gate guards approached Fang and Bai.
The two were wearing common clothings and looked just like ordinary people. Bai Ning Bing lowered her straw hat further down.
"Here is twenty primeval stones." Fang Yuan was not nervous, he simply handed over a bag.
The guards confirmed the amount, and immediately let them pass.
Despite there being arrest warrants packed all over the city walls beside him which he could easily look at, he didn't give them a single glance from start to end.
These arrest warrants were nothing more than superficial show.
Shang clan prioritized profits, as long as one handed over primeval stones, they could enter the city. Everyday, numerous demonic Gu Masters passed under the eyes of these guards; both sides had reached a tacit mutual understanding.
Demonic Gu Masters would sell their loots in Shang clan city, and they would also need to replenish any lacking Gu worms; Shang clan city was the best option for them.
One could even say, one of the huge pillars for Shang clan city's development was the demonic Gu Masters.
Of course, the demonic Gu Masters couldn't enter the city too brazenly and aggressively. After all, Shang clan city represented righteous path and they would also need to consider some consequences of their actions.
A wide street appeared in front of the two after they walked through the city gates. @@novelbin@@
There were people moving to and fro on the street. Large tall trees were planted on both sides of the street and under its shade were all kinds of stalls; some sold food like sesame breads, soft bean curd, meat and vegetable dishes; while others sold jewellery and all kinds of other stuff.
The two walked past the stalls, then they saw buildings; tall bamboo buildings, mud buildings and white-grey tiled houses.
Shops, hotels, inns, smithies and so on appeared one after another.
"This brother, do you need a room? Our price is very cheap, just half a primeval stone for a night." A middle-aged woman approached Fang and Bai with a smile on her face.
Fang Yuan glared at her and left without saying a word.
His appearance was really terrifying and gave the middle-aged woman a great shock; she did not dare to bother him anymore, instead changing her target to Bai Ning Bing who was behind him.
"This brother, being away from home is not easy. Our inn is quite good, there will even be a pretty girl at night. It won't be cheap for you to visit the red-light street. Mortals like us who travel outside to sell goods are using our lives to earn money, yet spending our hard earned money on those places would not even cause a ripple. Our inn's girls are still the best, extremely cheap too! We have mature girls and even fresh, cute and adorable ones. What is your pick, brother?"
The middle-aged woman said in a soft voice, with a vague expression. She misunderstood Fang Yuan and Bai Ning Bing as mortals from their clothings.
A dark frown appeared on Bai Ning Bing's face.
"Get lost." She coldly snorted, her tone bone-chilling.
The middle-aged woman's face rapidly changed, her whole body stiffened as she remained stunned on the spot.
"So she was a female."
"Hahaha, Big Sister Zhang you made an error this time..."
The nearby workers who were of the same profession and were soliciting customers, roared with laughter and ridiculed the middle-aged woman.
Along the way, Bai Ning Bing had made great progress in disguising as a man, so even the experienced brokers made an error.
Four Seasons Restaurant.
One hour later, Fang Yuan stopped in front of a five storey tall building.
The building was made of white-black tiles, with vermillion gate and huge pillars. There was an aroma of wine and fragrance of dishes floating around the place. It was a famous restaurant in Shang clan city.
"Sirs, please come in." A smart waiter saw Fang and Bai, and quickly came out to invite them.
The two had walked for a long while and the journey had been tough, they were also hungry, so they stepped into the restaurant.
"Sirs, please take a seat here." The waiter showed the way.
Fang Yuan slightly frowned: "This hall is too noisy, we will go upstairs."
The waiter immediately revealed an awkward expression: "I won't keep it from sirs, we indeed have private rooms upstairs, but they are only opened to Gu Masters."
Fang Yuan snorted and revealed a portion of snow-silver primeval essence.
The waiter quickly bent down: "I had failed to recognize Mount Tai, please come upstairs!"
When they reached the stairs, the waiter stopped, a young and sweet looking girl walked over and spoke softly: "Lords, could I ask which floor you want to go? Four Seasons Restaurant has five floors, first floor hall is for mortals; second floor provides for rank one Gu Masters; third floor provides for rank two Gu Masters, there is a twenty percent discount for them; fourth floor provides for rank three Gu Masters and has fifty percent discount; fifth floor provides for rank four Gu Masters and the services are free of charge."
Fang Yuan laughed: "Fourth floor then."
The girl's expression immediately became a bit more respectful. She bowed in greeting: "Please demonstrate your primeval essence."
-x-X-x-
Steamed lamb, braised duck, steamed eight treasure pork, glutinous rice stuffed duck, stir-fried carp, assorted stuffed intestines, spicy oil crispy roll, honey yam, sliced fresh peach, eight treasure ding, steamed bamboo shoots, ape lips, camel humps, antlers, bear paws, three fresh osmanthus soup, beeswax pork trotters, fresh sharks' fin soup...
A moment later, Fang Yuan and Bai Ning Bing sat at elegant seats on the fourth floor, as a spread of delicacies were presented before them, each possessing visual appeal, fragrant smell, and flavor.
Fang Yuan picked up a pair of bamboo chopsticks, and casually ate a few mouthful, he first tried the steamed bamboo shoots, they tasted refreshing, raising one's concentration. He next took a piece of the fresh peach, its sweetness was perfection. Next he took the bear paw, it was plump and tender, just like the steamed lamb, tasting divine with just a bit of flavoring.
Bai Ning Bing drank a mouthful of the three fresh osmanthus soup, flavor spreading in her mouth as fragrance remained on her lips and teeth, causing her appetite to awaken.
"After spending so much time with you, this is the first time you are so generous." As she ate, she did not forget her sarcastic comments to Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan laughed, not giving a reply, he knew Bai Ning Bing's suspicion and impatience.
He got closer to Shang Xin Ci, using all his effort to protect her laboriously. And yet at their destination, he purposely split away from them; this action was something Bai Ning Bing could not comprehend.
Fang Yuan was now rank two peak stage, only a step away from rank three. The agreement he set with Bai Ning Bing back then regarding rank three, was approaching its end too.
But Fang Yuan would definitely not keep his word! In his eyes, such a thing like integrity, was only a compromise made out of necessity, or a beautiful cover-up, like a convincing mask.
Fang Yuan knew this, so did Bai Ning Bing.
Thus, she was starting to feel hasty.
Because she had already sensed that Fang Yuan would break his word. Yet, there was nothing she could do to Fang Yuan, the Yang Gu was in his possession, her hands were tied.
Right now, without Bai clan's hunting, and without beast hordes, Fang and Bai ate at the same table, giving off a sense of amiability, but their relationship was extremely tense, if they progressed one more step, they would fall apart and turn against one another.
And this step, is Fang Yuan advancing to rank three.
Once he advances, he and Bai Ning Bing would no longer had any hopes of reconciling, the two would have to face each other directly.
How to deal with Bai Ning Bing?
Throughout the meal, Fang Yuan considered this.
His cultivation could not stay stagnant, one day, the conflict will escalate.
The situation now was very delicate.
Fang Yuan had the upper hand because he controlled the Yang Gu, but in fact, Bai Ning Bing also held Fang Yuan's handle.
She travelled along with Fang Yuan, experiencing Bai Gu mountain's inheritance herself, while also saw how Fang Yuan attracted all those beast hordes to attack the caravan.
She knew too much.
Compared to the potential threat Ding Hao was, Bai Ning Bing's threat towards Fang Yuan was far greater.
"If I finish off Bai Ning Bing, I will not have to worry about Shang Xin Ci, but because my cultivation is insufficient, I missed the best chance to kill off Bai Ning Bing during the caravan journey. Back then I needed her strength to ensure my survival. Moreover, with Shang Xin Ci nearby, I could not strike easily. This Bai Ning Bing had always been wary of me secretly, and she has the ice muscles jade bones to defend her, I cannot finish her in one hit. Furthermore, her battle instinct is outstanding, with her recently gained experience, she is even harder to deal with now..."
Fang Yuan considered all possibilities as his thoughts flowed, but at the same time Bai Ning Bing was also deeply considering her situation.
"Since leaving Qing Mao mountain, there's finally a time to rest and recover. I have to take back the Yang Gu and regain my male body! I have little chance of succeeding if I directly snatch it, unless I can kill Fang Yuan in an instant. But this scoundrel, even though he is rank two, his fighting strength is much greater than that, such a weirdo, with extremely experienced fighting techniques. Together with that scheming devious mind of his, capable of commiting all heinous crimes, no morals can restraint him, he is somebody who can truly commit any sin."
"Most importantly, I have not discovered his true trump card yet. But I have my advantages, his current cultivation is still dependant on me, and I know too many secrets, maybe I can use these things to force him to compromise. Using the poison vow Gu, and make an agreement with him that cannot be broken, other than that, I can use plunder Gu, seize Gu, petty thief Gu and others to steal the Yang Gu..."
Bai Ning Bing was not stupid, she had been observing along the way, and considering her options.
As the two ate on the same table, not even three steps away from each other, they looked like good friends, but were scheming against each other in their minds.
The disappearance of external pressure caused their internal conflicts to surface. In this relatively safe environment in Shang clan city, they had the time to consider such problems.
But the more they thought about it, the more troublesome they felt the other party was!
Fang Yuan did things without restraints, but Bai Ning Bing was just the same. In her ideology, as long as life is exciting, anything goes. Morals and principles? What are that?
They were very similar, looking at the world with disdain, and were strong willed individuals, with an extremely thirst for power, only trusting themselves.
From others' perspectives, they were accursed demons, scum that harmed society, their death would benefit the world.
But because they were so similar, the two could feel each other's danger.
The most difficult enemy to deal with, was often oneself.
Most importantly, they held each other's weaknesses. If they could not win in one strike, and allowed the other party to escape and recover, then both of them would go down in flames!
The two got a headache the more they thought about it.
"This Bai Ning Bing is not easy to deal with." Fang Yuan gritted his teeth, he had too little resources to manipulate.
"This Fang Yuan has almost no weaknesses..." Bai Ning Bing squinted, her eyes shining with cold light. @@novelbin@@
The two could not think of anything, thus looking up at the same time, staring at each other.
Their gaze met for an instant, before turning away.
The delicacy before them, although delicious, had barely any flavor to the two who were deep in thoughts.
Even though there was a fifty percent discount, Fang Yuan still paid fifteen primeval stones.
Shang clan city indeed, commodities were expensive here.
The two filled their stomachs, and left the restaurant.
On the streets, Fang Yuan heard people discussing.
"Do you know? At the southern gate, Shang clan leader appeared!"
"How is this possible?"
"It's true, he came and left like a flash, the entire street was thrown into chaos...'
"Bullshit! What kind of person is the Shang clan leader, why would he appear on the streets for no reason?"
Rumors spread as some claimed it was Shang Yan Fei, while others denied it.
Fang Yuan chose to enter from the eastern gate, while Shang Xin Ci came in from the south. By the time the rumors got to the eastern gate, the truth had already been distorted beyond recognition.
Bai Ning Bing heard this, and thought of it as just a passing rumor, not paying attention to it. Soon, people started a new conversation.
But to Fang Yuan, it was a clear indication of events.
He laughed secretly, it seems that Shang Xin Ci's situation did not exceed what he had expected from his memories.
Next, he would wait for the fruits to mature, and land on himself.
"Quickly look, its the flying blue whale, Yi clan's caravan is here!" Suddenly, someone pointed to the sky, shouting in shock.
At once, people on the streets stopped, and looked up in the sky.
A giant shadow engulfed everyone.
In the sky, a giant blue whale slowly emerged.
Well, compared to "flying", one might as well say they are "swimming".
Flying blue whale, was a huge beast capable of moving freely in the air.
They lived above the nine heavens of the eastern seas, having a peaceful and mild temperament. Often Gu Masters used the whale enslavement Gu to control them and used them in the caravan.
Flying blue whale was huge, like a small mountain, and the entire caravan hid within its body, as it flew in the sky. Compared to the caravan moving through the forests, the danger was much less and the speed was much faster.
But the flying blue whale consumed up to five hundred kilograms of food a day, only a large-sized clan could afford to feed them.
In the entire southern border, only Yi clan owned flying blue whales.
Yi clan is one of the overlords of the southern border, almost the same status as Shang clan, and had a close relationship with the forces in the eastern seas.
"What a grand sight." Bai Ning Bing sighed.
She thought about the former Bai clan village, this blue whale just had to land on Bai clan village, and the entire village would be in ruins.
The huge figure moved towards Shang Liang mountain, as the flying blue whale gradually landed on one of the mountain peak.
Fang Yuan could see from afar, it opened its huge mouth and a large number of black dots emerged from its mouth.
These dots were the Yi clan caravan members, but because of the distance, they could not be seen clearly.
"Yi clan caravan is here, the market is going to fluctuate again."
"I heard Yi clan brought a rank five Gu this time to auction on Shang Liang mountain."
"Yi clan and the eastern seas have a deep connection, they definitely brought many specialties from the eastern seas this time, there is value in purchasing them."
The topic quickly shifted to the Yi clan caravan.
Fang Yuan and Bai Ning Bing walked up the path together.
Gu Yue clan village was only a portion of Qing Mao mountain, but Shang clan city covered the entire Shang Liang mountain.
In the southern borders, even the number one clan Wu clan, did not have such a massive mountain city.
The entire Shang clan city had all sorts of buildings; bamboo buildings, dried mud houses, brick houses, shacks, treehouses, and even mushroom houses, caves, towers, castles, and much more.
These structures blended together, covering Shang Liang mountain in a beautiful garb with assorted colors.
As the trading hub of the entire southern border, Shang clan city occupied the most space among all forces.
But if one thinks this is all Shang clan city has to offer, then they cannot be more wrong.
This is only the outer city of Shang clan city.
Fang Yuan and Bai Ning Bing came to a huge cave.
"Would both guests like to enter the inner city? It will be a hundred primeval stones per person." The guarding Gu Master requested.
"Just entering requires a hundred?" Bai Ning Bing expressed her shock.
"The inner city has a smaller space, this is to prevent irrelevant people from entering, and also to maintain social order." The Gu Master replied respectfully.
Shang Liang mountain had been modelled by Shang clan for thousands of years, not only did they use up the surface of the mountain, but even deeper into the mountain's interior, they built an inner city.
-x-X-x-
Fang Yuan paid two hundred primeval stones, and entered the inner city with Bai Ning Bing.
Inner city, although built in the mountain, had wide walking paths that could accommodate ten horse carts travelling in a line.
Once they entered, the crowds became much smaller, less than half of the outer city.
But Gu Masters became littered everywhere, rank ones were all over the place, rank two mixed in among them, and occasionally one or two rank threes.
There were few to no mortals, after all, a hundred primeval stones were needed to enter. Most Gu Master had servants to attend to them, but did not want to waste their money like this.
The illumination of the inner city was through a type of charcoal.
The charcoal stone could burn for a long time, and did not produce smoke. Every hundred steps, Fang and Bai would see a hole dug in the walls, as a bunch of charcoal stones burnt within.
Even though the charcoal stone did not emit much heat, with so many of them burning at once, it still caused the inner city's temperature to be higher than outside, and the air to be much dryer.
Unlike outer city, which had all sorts of buildings, being a complete mix, the buildings here were all of one structure, and looked the same, made through a heat-resistant red lava stone.
All sorts of paths extended out from the main street.
At the same time, every five hundred steps, a huge round pillar would appear.
There was a spiral stone stairs on the surface of the pillar, as it extended upwards, with railings along the stone stairs.
Through the stone pillars, people could go up one floor, or get to the street one floor lower.
The inner city was not flat, but was more spherical. From up to down, numerous paths and buildings existed, linking together and allowing one to travel anywhere they wanted easily.
Fang Yuan and Bai Ning Bing moved towards the deeper part of the mountain, this was still not their destination.
At a certain location, a sentry appeared.
The Gu Master at work had higher cultivation, as the security of the place was heightened.
"Do both of you have a token?" The guard stopped Fang and Bai.
Shang clan gave tokens of varied authority to people of different statuses.
"This is our first visit." Fang Yuan said.
Obviously, he had no such thing.
"In that case, it will be two hundred primeval stones per person." The guard said.
Fang Yuan paid the primeval stones, and the guard let them through.
The two arrived at the fourth inner city as a result.
Shang Liang mountain had been through a few thousand years of development by Shang clan, the entire mountain was remodelled by Shang clan, digging paths and constructing new buildings, classifying the place into regions.
Thus, the inner city was huge, from inner to outer, there was five regions.
The first inner city was called the central inner city, the political heart of Shang clan, and also their military base.
The second inner city was also known as the clan city, only Shang clansmen could stay here.
The third inner city had an elegant environment, with clean and fresh air, it was the high-class zone.
Fourth inner city was the middle-class zone. Fifth inner city was the low-class zone.
Any further and we get to the outer city, having high traffic flow, and all sorts of goods transportation. Compared to the inner city, it was much more chaotic.
This construction structure, was somewhat like a termite hill on Earth.
Termite hills were four to ten meters long, with the termites living within, in small interconnected tunnels, complex and exquisite.
Once the two entered the fourth inner city, they could feel more moisture in the air as the temperature dropped slightly.
Compared to fifth inner city, fourth inner city was a grade higher, not only was the entrance fee twice as high, it also had much better facilities.
Firstly, light was not provided by charcoal, but by a large number of a specific rank one grass Gu.
The name is — Moonlight crawling mountain tiger.
This was a type of vine, growing on the walls of both sides of the street, as it spread out, it could be seen everywhere.
The roots were deep blue, and the leaves were wide and large, emitting a small blue moonlight. Just one segment of the path had thousands of leaves, as the gentle blue light merged into one.
Because of the large numbers of leaves, the air is more humid and water vapor filled the air. Near the ground, there was mist from the condensed vapor.
The moonlight refracted in the mist, turning into an aurora. As one walked on the streets, they had a feeling of walking in a spiritual realm.
The buildings here were mostly full of carvings and decorations. Some residents created grass fields, and placed flower vats, while others made artificial mountains, and pavilions.
There was even less people on the streets here.
Rank two Gu Masters were now the common group, after all, two hundred primeval stones was a huge sum to rank one Gu Masters.
Most evidently, the streets were still noisy in fifth inner city, but here, it was much more quiet.
The two continued deeper, and got to the city gate.
"Without a token, to enter the third inner city, both of you would need to pay six hundred primeval stones." The guard's cultivation was already rank three. @@novelbin@@
Fang Yuan gave the primeval stones, and arrived at the third area.
This place was different from fourth inner city yet again.
All infrastructure were made using star stones.
This type of rock, was a widely used material in Gu refinement, able to emit starlight in the darkness.
The entire third inner city used star stones. Not only buildings, but even the walking paths were made of star stones.
At one glance, starlight filled the air as vision is clear, without any mist as obstruction.
The air was fresh and clear. Looking around, there were pavilions, red walls and green bricks, and even transplanted bamboo forests, famous trees, making an artificial mountain, with spring water flowing as well.
The streets had little people, quiet and serene, like a star palace.
"Truly rich and extravagant..." Bai Ning Bing slightly assessed, just the cost of the buildings she could see, was an astronomical figure.
As the most wealthy clan in the southern border, even Shang clan's leg hair was thicker than normal people's waists . Although an exaggeration, the rumors were not baseless.
Shang clan's wealth was like a mountain, in fact, the entire Shang clan city was a literal mountain. Shang clan mainly traded and that involved the entire southern border.
Shang clan's true wealth and asset, no one could make clear of it.
But Fang Yuan knew, just this third inner city's construction, could match with tens of Gu Yue clan's total wealth.
At this place, even rank two Gu Masters became rare.
Once in a while, they saw Gu Masters, but there were almost all rank three.
This was Fang Yuan's destination.
Any deeper, and it is the second inner city.
But to enter, it is no longer a problem of primeval stones, Shang clan city's token is required. And this token's authority has to reach a certain level.
"Tong Ou shop." Fang Yuan looked at the plaque before walking in.
This was a shop that sold Gu worms.
"Two esteemed guests, please enter." The attendant was a young girl, walking over and spoke in a soft volume.
Her aura was not concealed, showing off her rank one Gu Master cultivation.
Although Fang and Bai wore mortal clothing, one was ugly while the other was down and out, this Gu Master girl still showed a respectful attitude, displaying her superior service attitude.
Fang Yuan and Bai Ning Bing were brought into an elegant room.
This is a private room, with wooden tables and chairs, with sculptures and paintings hanging on the white walls. The brush strokes resembled dragons and phoenixes dancing as the strokes were written with precise strength.
Through the window lattice, the garden could be seen; green trees and red flowers along with the chirping of birds.
The Gu Master young girl brought over two cups of fragrant tea and left.
Just as she left, an elderly man entered.
"May I inquire if our two esteemed guests are here to buy or sell?" The elderly was a rank two Gu Master, smiling as he cupped his fists and asked.
"Both buying, and also selling." Fang Yuan raised his cup as he answered.
The elderly laughed, and two flashes of light flew out of his body, floating in front of Fang Yuan and Bai Ning Bing.
It was two bookworms.
Bookworm was a rank one Gu worm, but was precious, as rare as the liquor worm.
Once one appears on the market, it would be sold instantly, there was often demand but no supply for it.
It was like a silkworm, although it had a head, body and stomach, three distinct parts, its body looked like a cocoon overall, round and cute.
Its body was white, but the surface had a layer of enamel, giving off an oily glow.
Holding it in one's hand, it was round and smooth, like a high grade porcelain vase.
The bookworm was a storage type Gu, similar to the tusita flower.
The difference was, tusita flower stored physical items, while bookworm stored knowledge and information. Even if it was destroyed, it would only explode into a flash of harmless white light.
"Please browse through." The elderly Gu Master said.
The two bookworms were refined by him, thus he could easily lend them to Fang Yuan and Bai Ning Bing.
Fang and Bai both used a trace of snow silver primeval essence, and injected it into the bookworm.
The bookworms turned into a flash of white light, entering the two's forehead, in between their eyebrows.
Suddenly, Fang Yuan and Bai Ning Bing gained a wave of information in their heads.
The information was like content they memorised, deeply entrenched in their minds.
Bai Ning Bing bit her tongue secretly, Tong Ou shop sold almost tens of thousands of Gu worms! Gu worms of all kinds, causing one to get dizzy from observing the selection alone.
Among them, there was bookworm, liquor worm, all sorts of precious Gu worms, from low to high, rank one to five.
Of course, there was definitely no rank six Gu.
Each Gu worm had their specialized introduction to state their uses. There was even accurate prices, some were priced highly, while rare and precious Gu worms even had all sorts of token requirements.
This means, only Gu Masters with specific Shang clan tokens had the qualifications to buy these Gu worms.
Fang Yuan needed to purchase large numbers of Gu worms, after browsing through casually, he came back to reality and returned the bookworm to the elderly.
Although he had over ten thousand primeval stones now, to purchase all the Gu worms he needed, there was still some way to go.
Money was not the problem, because some of the Gu worms had token requirements.
"Esteemed guest, what are you interested in? If you purchase in bulk, we can give an appropriate discount." The elderly smiled and said.
Seeing Fang Yuan and Bai Ning Bing's snow silver primeval essence, his tone became even more respectful.
Fang Yuan waved his hand: "No rush, I have Gu worms to sell."
Saying so, he summoned a bone spear Gu.
The elderly was not surprised, there was many who came to Tong Ou shop to buy, but also many who came to sell.
He held the bone spear Gu, took a look, and showed a trace of surprise on his face.
He had never seen the bone spear Gu.
Of course he has not.
This was a special Gu worms made by Grey Bone Scholar, it had never entered the market.
"Please enlighten me, esteemed guest." The elderly showed a solemn expression as he cupped his fists.
Fang Yuan nodded, drinking some tea: "Of course. This is the bone spear Gu, a specific lineage of Gu worms. I'll lend it to you now, you'll know when you try it."
The elderly wielded it at once, remarking: "This Gu, although rank one, is not easy to raise. But its attack power is high and is rather unique, it is worth this price."
The elderly stretched out his palm, showing a number.
-x-X-x-
Three hundred ten?
Seeing the amount shown by the elderly, Fang Yuan raised his eyebrows.
Liquor worm's price was five hundred eighty, bookworm was slightly higher, at six hundred. Black and white boar Gu were also six hundred, but all these Gu worms were rank one rare Gu, with little numbers, thus their price was steep.
Ordinary rank one Gu were around two hundred fifty primeval stones.
One time expenditure Gu like vitality grass were priced at fifty a piece.
Setting the bone spear Gu at three hundred ten was already quite good. This elderly working at Tong Ou shop did not suppress the price purposely.
But even so, Fang Yuan tried to raise the prices as much as he could.
Bargaining was already mastered by him to the limits in his previous life.
In just a few sentences, the elderly had no choice but to raise the price by ten primeval stones.
One bone spear Gu, three hundred and twenty primeval stones.
"Alright, we shall deal at this price." Fang Yuan waved his hand, and a wave of light flew out of his aperture.
Fifty-six bone spear Gu, floated in front of the elderly, causing him to jump from shock.
"So many..." He instantly regretted it. Each raised by ten primeval stones, this is nearly a six hundred primeval stone increment.
The truth is, Fang Yuan took almost two hundred bone spear Gu from Bai Gu mountain.
But as he traded along the way, without sufficient food, most of them had died already, only so little remain.
"Fifty-six Gu, that is seventeen thousand nine hundred and twenty (17920) primeval stones, I will ask the servants to bring over the primeval stones over now." The elderly kept the bone spear Gu into his aperture.
"No rush, look at this." Fang Yuan smiled, taking out a spiral bone spear Gu.
"This rank two Gu resembles the bone spear Gu..." The elderly showed astonishment on his face.
"Indeed, successfully refining the bone spear Gu will create this spiral bone spear Gu. It has a spiral force, thus its penetration ability is very strong." Fang Yuan explained at an appropriate timing.
The elderly tested, and verified what Fang Yuan had mentioned, giving a price of seven hundred eighty primeval stones.
After a few rounds of bargaining, Fang Yuan raised the price to eight hundred per Gu.
These spiral bone spear Gu were well kept by him, there were twenty in his aperture.
This way, he sold them all for sixteen thousand primeval stones.
"Now look at this Gu, seven thousand primeval stones." Fang Yuan gave a price, and took out the bone spike Gu, introducing once again.
The elderly held the bone spike Gu, but did not dare to test it, laughing bitterly: "This Gu is rank three, but it hurts both enemies and user. The pain of bone spikes penetrating the skin must hurt greatly. To use it, a healing Gu has to be used as well, this price is too high, I will consider six thousand five hundred, it is just the right price..."
"Let's not bargain anymore, I'll give in a little, six thousand seven hundred." Fang Yuan said.
After two rounds, the elderly found Fang Yuan extremely hard to deal with, he wiped the sweat off his forehead and gritted his teeth: "Deal."
"Then that is forty thousand six hundred and twenty (40620) primeval stones in total." Fang Yuan's eyeballs moved as he gave an accurate amount.
The elderly suddenly bowed, paying respects to Fang Yuan: "Esteemed guest, these Gu worms that you are selling, I have never seen them in my years of dealing in business. They are all interconnected, with a clear advancement path, they seem to be of one family tree. May I ask you, are these Gu from the same inheritance?"
Fang Yuan nodded: "Any intelligent person can tell, indeed, this was obtained through a lucky opportunity, and I inherited an inheritance, getting these Gu worms. @@novelbin@@
The elderly was joyful: "In that case, you must have the relevant Gu refinement recipe. Esteemed guest's luck truly is amazing, even an outsider would be envious, is it possible to sell these recipes together to my shop?"
Fang Yuan frowned.
Goods were expensive when rare, bone spear Gu, spiral bone spear Gu, bone spike Gu, not only he possessed them, Bai clan had them too. No issue if he sold them.
But the complete refinement recipe, he obtained it from the flesh sac secret room, there was only one in the world. Such a thing could not be easily sold.
"Anything that is below rank six, both Gu and recipes, can have a price. But, how much primeval stones can you offer?" Fang Yuan thought, and asked.
As long as the price is appropriate, this recipe could be sold.
He needed money.
After selling the bone spear Gu and others, the forty thousand primeval stones was insufficient for his plans.
The elderly raised two fingers: "Two hundred thousand!"
After selling so many Gu worms, he only got forty thousand. But the formless recipe, could gain him two hundred thousand.
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
The method to catching fish far surpasses the value of the fish itself.
Because the method implies a continuous source of fish.
To Tong Ou shop, with a recipe, it means they can produce bone spear Gu and the others themselves, endlessly.
That means a long term transaction item, only sold at a single place, thus the white bone recipe is definitely priced much more highly.
But Fang Yuan smirked: "Two hundred thousand. You dare report this price?"
The elderly's face turned red, this price was low indeed, he quickly said: "Three hundred thousand!"
Fang Yuan did not speak, but turned to leave.
The elderly gritted his teeth: "Five hundred thousand!"
"This price is finally looking bearable, I'll sell it for six hundred and eighty thousand." Fang Yuan sipped his tea.
The elderly's face was bitter: "Five hundred thousand is the limit of my authority. Esteemed guest, you sold so many bone spear Gu, we can hire a recipe master to reverse engineer your recipe. It is really not bad to sell it for five hundred thousand already."
Fang Yuan shook his head, his attitude firm: "The recipe in my hands is unique to this world, there is only one in the entire world! At least six hundred and fifty thousand, otherwise I will not sell it. Within this Shang clan city, I'm sure there are other shops, right?"
"You do not know this esteemed guest, Shang clan city has many shops, but most are under the control of my clan's young master. If you cannot sell it here, no other places would buy it either. If you do not sell the recipe, I'm afraid you won't be able to sell these Gu worms too." The elderly cupped his fist, his words being both firm and compromising, with a hint of threat.
"Oh? Then we'll see about that." Fang Yuan kept all these Gu worms, and left.
"Esteemed guests, I am sincerely advising you, please stay and sell it." The elderly gave his last attempt.
Fang Yuan did not pay him any attention, walking out of the room immediately. Bai Ning Bing could only follow closely behind.
"Esteemed guest, you will come here again." The elderly laughed coldly, sending the two off with his gaze.
After Fang and Bai left, the elderly came to the secret room, and activated his primeval essence, summoning a Gu.
This Gu turned into a flash of light and entered a bronze mirror.
Ripples appeared on the mirror surface, as a young man's face showed up.
"This subordinate greets young master." Seeing the young Gu Master, the elderly quickly kneeled on the floor.
"What business do you have?" This young man was one of the young masters of Shang clan, called Shang Ya Zi. He was only eighteen, at the peak of his life, but he was an alcoholic, causing his face to be skinny, and his skin to be pale, and giving off a dazed expression.
The elderly spoke about Fang Yuan's matter.
In Shang Ya Zi's eyes, a devious but excited light shone.
He shouted loudly: "Excellent. Heaven really leaves a path for the desperate. I was worrying about how to keep my young master position, and now heaven sends me this gift. I have to obtain this inheritance, with this deal, I would be able to pass the evaluation this year!"
"This subordinate will do his best, but I am only in charge of Tong Ou shop, as for the others..."
"I will arrange it, hmph, these two wants to sell Gu worms, they can only bow to me!" Shang Ya Zi snorted in disdain.
Ba Bao shop...
"Sorry guests, there are instructions from the higher-ups, if the two of you wants to sell Gu, you should go to Tong Ou shop."
Yuan Fang 1 building...
"So it is the two esteemed guests, if you sell the recipe, all can be discussed."
Bu Dao store...
"You two are esteemed guests, I am a businesswoman, why would I chase you away, but I am left with no choice either..."
After three shops, Fang Yuan did not manage to sell his Gu worms.
"Haha, to think you would have this day. The old man was not wrong, this is indeed their territory." Bai Ning Bing struck a blow to Fang Yuan relentlessly.
After several rejections, Fang Yuan's face was still calm: "Shang clan leader Shang Yan Fei has many children, but there is only one position for young clan leader, and ten young masters. Every year there would be an evaluation to choose the young clan leader, and remove the worst performing young master to make room for his other children."
A bright light flashed across Bai Ning Bing's brain: "So that's it, that means this Shang clan young master is either vying for the young clan leader position, or to defend his young master title. Otherwise, he would not create such a commotion."
Fang Yuan laughed as he clapped his hands together: "This is Shang clan's third inner city, no fighting is allowed. Even if Bai clan came here, they cannot do anything here. For the Shang clan young masters, their restrictions is even greater. With the impending evaluation, every movement from them will be strictly observed. We are in no hurry, let's find a place to sit down first."
At Shang clan, there is no worry about lack of food.
Let's just stall it out, and wait a few more days with these bone spear Gu, let's see who outlasts the other!
At the same time, in the first inner city.
"Did you investigate clearly?" Shang Yan Fei stood at the window, staring at the garden.
"This lady is indeed your flesh and blood, clan leader. Moreover, her soul is intact, her body had not been taken over by another person. I've already contacted Zhang clan, and clarified her identity. But there is something strange, she was part of a caravan heading towards Shang Liang mountain, but we cannot find anyone who travelled with her in the caravan." The external clan elder Wei Yang lowered his head and reported.
Shang Yan Fei listened quietly, sighing in his heart: "Oh heavens, thank you for giving me a chance to make amendments. I have already let down a girl, I cannot disappoint this daughter of mine anymore!"
...
Shang Xin Ci sat before the table, seeing the hot steam rise from her tea, her eyes were out of focus.
From Xiao Die's words, she knew of Shang Yan Fei's identity.
She did not expect her father to be the Shang clan leader, a man with immense authority, whose every action can impact the entire southern border!
Then why did he not find her mother?
Shang Xin Ci was intelligent after all, quickly understanding the reason why Shang Yan Fei abandoned her mother.
But even on her deathbed, her mother missed him greatly.
Shang Xin Ci felt pain in her heart, but also hatred, but mostly emptiness.
She did not know how to face this father who appeared all of a sudden.
But running away was impossible, outside the door there was knocking: " Ci Er 2 , can I come in?"
Xiao Die instantly became nervous.
It was Shang Yan Fei.
-x-X-x-
Shang Yan Fei showed a sincere smile as he walked into the house.
Xiao Die hurriedly paid respects, while Shang Xin Ci sat beside the table, motionless as she continued to stare at the same spot.
Shang Yan Fei also sat beside the table, speaking in an extremely gentle voice: "Ci Er, how do you feel now?"
Shang Xin Ci had good upbringing after all, she stood up, took a few steps back and bowed: "Lord Shang clan leader does not have to worry, I only fainted because my emotions were too intense, I have recovered now, I can hear and see well, there is no problem."
Shang Yan Fei quickly waved his hand: "Hehehe, as long as you are fine Ci Er, come sit, sit down and talk."
Shang Xin Ci only addressed him as Shang clan leader, purposely using such a distant term, it caused his heart to ache.
Shang Xin Ci sat down once again, as Xiao Die finally reacted and poured tea for Shang Yan Fei.
"Tell me, how were your past few years?" Shang Yan Fei looked at Shang Xin Ci gently.
"It was rather alright." Shang Xin Ci answered curtly, not wishing to converse deeply into it.
But Xiao Die started to grumble: "From young, Missy has been isolated by the clansmen. After Madam passed away, they got even harsher and wanted to snatch our family fortune. They are too evil, Sir, you have to help Missy!"
"Xiao Die, pour your tea." Shang Xin Ci rolled her eyes at Xiao Die.
Xiao Die instantly shut up, not speaking anymore.
Facing this, Shang Yan Fei did not get anxious, instead the pity and pain in his heart grew.
He laughed: "Right, how did you get here? Coming here from Zhang clan, it is a huge distance away."
"Sir, you almost failed to see Missy. We barely made it out alive in this journey. The entire caravan of a thousand was reduced to us four. Luckily we met Lord Hei Tu and Bai Yun and gained their assistance, if not..." Xiao Die could not control herself and blabbered.
"Xiao Die!" Shang Xin Ci glared at Xiao Die.
Xiao Die had to shut up once again.
Shang Yan Fei memorised the two names, "Hei Tu and Bai Yun", as he smiled: "From now on, you two will stay here. It is extremely safe, when you are bored you can take a walk in the garden, or go outside for shopping. You have just arrived here, and are not familiar with the estate yet, it is easy to get lost. I will send a servant over to you, she is familiar with the environment. I shall leave first, take a good rest for now."
Shang Yan Fei could tell Shang Xin Ci still needed time to adjust her mindset.
At this point, he needed to give her time and space to adapt.
"Master is such a good person, although he is the Shang clan leader, he is so amiable. Missy, he is your birth father after all..." Seeing Shang Yan Fei leave, Xiao Die urged.
"I know, I understood mother's intentions when I first saw him. Sigh , she instructed me to come to Shang Liang mountain before she died, yet not telling me the reason. That is because she was not certain if he would acknowledge me as his daughter... Although he has accepted me, I do not feel good about it. This is all too sudden..."
"Missy, no matter what, no matter where you go, I will stay by your side." Xiao Die stood before the table, grabbing Shang Xin Ci's hand and encouraging.
"Mm." Shang Xin Ci was moved and nodded, placing her palm on top of Xiao Die's.
"Of course, if Missy can stay here, that would be the best. You know, this is Shang clan! Oh god, glory and wealth are all within arm's reach. Zhang clan can't even hold a candle to Shang clan, Missy!" Xiao Die made a wry face as she said.
"Oh you." Shang Xin Ci laughing speechlessly, feeling helpless against Xiao Die.
Xiao Die snickered. As her laughter infected Shang Xin Ci, it resolved the remaining grudge in her heart.
Shang Yan Fei walked out of the room, and his smile vanished completely.
He wore a black robe and had blood colored hair; a handsome face with eyes shining with cold light, he habitually tightened his lips together, showing off his determined and decisive personality.
He is Shang Yan Fei, this generation's Shang clan leader!
He was cruel and ruthless. For the clan leader position, he forced two brothers and a sister to commit suicide.
He was resolute in killing, when he first got into power, a far away clan village thought that they were at a safe distance and attacked Shang clan's caravan. He ignored all objections and expended much resources, to murder every single person in that village. He murdered all those who surrendered, and their skulls piled into a mountain, in front of those elders who first objected his decision to retaliate.
He held an iron rule, since he got into power, he consolidated his political strength, and practised nepotism , suppressing his competition. Quickly adding over a dozen external clan elders, he used only three years to transform the entire Shang clan higher up into his personal voice.
He had great vision, and talent for business. During his years in power, Shang clan's caravan grew three times in size. Up to a hundred clans became Shang clan's subordinates, and formed into a great hidden force.
He appointed people based on merits, even for his own children. There was fifteen Shang clan young master positions originally, but after his rule, he reduced it to ten.
What's more rare, is his talent, having A grade aptitude, at the same time as he ruled the clan, his cultivation also rose as quickly, ahead of his peers, causing many to admire, hate and be jealous of him.
This is Shang Yan Fei, the man standing on top of the southern border's mortal realm.
"This subordinate greets lord clan leader." A young female Gu Master bowed and paid respects.
"Tian Lan, from today onwards, you will take care of Missy Ci Er to the best of your efforts." Shang Yan Fei said coldly.
"This subordinate understands." The young girl nodded.
"When you are near her, pay great attention, and find out some information. Missy Ci Er might not like to speak, but her servants speaks without thinking, she is your easiest break through point, I want you to find out how exactly did they manage to come to Shang Liang mountain."
"Yes, this subordinates understands."
"Mm, go now."
"This subordinate takes her leave."
Tian Lan was an orphan adopted by Shang Yan Fei, she was loyal and could be trusted to use. Her ability to perform was great too, in just three days, she completed her mission.
"Hei Tu Bai Yun? Demonic Gu Masters..." Shang Yan Fei rubbed his chin: "If this is real, I have to thank the two of them well. But to prevent other possibilities, I have to investigate them more clearly."
Thinking of this, Shang Yan Fei summoned Wei Yang: "Go find these two, one is called Hei Tu, the other Bai Yun, one male and one female, both demonic Gu Masters, their facial features are as such..."
...
In third inner city.
"It has already been three days, have those two stayed in Nan Qiu garden the entire time?"
"Yes young master, from that day on, they stayed deep within. The most they did was to come out and buy some milk. This subordinate thinks those milk are for feeding the Gu worms."
"Damn it..." Shang Ya Zi gritted his teeth, his gaze was like a dagger that wanted to cut those two people into pieces.
The assessment was impending, among the ten young masters, he was at last place, if he does not get any business done, he would definitely be eliminated.
Shang Yan Fei had many children, but there are only ten young master positions.
Comparing ordinary children and young masters, their treatment were a world apart from each other. Young masters gathered attention, and could control one of Shang clan's business, with unlimited glamor and fortune awaiting. Young clan leader was even more outstanding.
But if it were just ordinary children, then their treatment was no different than other clansmen.
Shang Ya Zi had already experienced the authority of a young master, asking him to go back to the ordinary lifestyle of the clansmen is akin to asking him to die!
Thus, he needed that inheritance.
Not just obtaining it, but also getting it at a low price.
Only when the price is low, will his profit be high.
But these two, Fang and Bai, were as stubborn as rocks, refusing to bow to him.
If this was the fourth or fifth inner city, he could use some extreme methods, and force them to submit. But now that they stayed in third inner city, Shang Ya Zi would not even dare to think of using force here.
"This cannot go on, they have time to waste, but I do not. It seems I have to go myself, hmph!"
Shang Ya Zi could not take it anymore, bringing his subordinates and arriving at Nan Qiu garden.
Nan Qiu garden was a residential area for esteemed guests to stay in.
In third inner city, there was no inns, only these small-sized gardens.
Staying here for a day requires thirty primeval stones, that is, three hundred for ten days, and nearly a thousand a month.
Nan Qiu garden's price was still cheap among third inner city estates. Some large-sized gardens require a hundred primeval stones a day. For some special grade gardens, you cannot stay with just primeval stones, you needed the Shang clan token.
In Shang clan city, every acre of land is as valuable as gold, especially in third inner city where commodity prices are sky high.
Shang Ya Zi brought his people over to visit, as Fang and Bai were playing chess beside the lotus pond.
Shang Ya Zi snorted, saying in a taunting tone: "You two sure have great interests, why didn't you go to other shops to ask these days?"
"What's there to ask. Those who want to buy, will find their way here, am I right?" Fang Yuan laughed lightly.
"You!" Shang Ya Zi flew into a rage, Fang Yuan's attitude was angering him.
He gritted his teeth, forcefully suppressing his emotions, raising his head and saying arrogantly: "I'm looking at the fact that you have it tough, I'll make it five hundred thousand, are you happy now?"
"Five hundred thousand primeval stones? No deal. At least six hundred fifty." Fang Yuan glanced at Shang Ya Zi before turning back to the chessboard.
Shang Ya Zi's eyes squinted into a thin line as he took a few steps towards Fang Yuan and threatened: "You two demonic Gu Masters, how dare you pretend! I've checked up on your backgrounds, you snatched this inheritance from Bai clan right? I heard you even killed Bai clan's two young masters? You had better take the chance now and sell it quickly. I'll tell you, these few days, a Tie clan group has already reached Shang Liang mountain, and are looking for your traces. What do you think will happen if I expose your information to them?"
"Oh? Go tell them then." Fang Yuan laughed heartily.
"You!" Shang Ya Zi pointed at Fang Yuan, unable to endure it anymore: "I'll tell you, five hundred thousand is my greatest sincerity, other than selling it to me, what other choices do you have? None! This is my terrority, you had better understand your circumstances."
At this time, a light descended from the sky, and turned into a Gu Master.
This Gu Master looked around, before bowing slightly, saying towards Fang and Bai: "Sir Hei Tu and Lady Bai Yun, I am Wei Yang, as with clan leader's orders, I am inviting both of you to the second inner city for a talk."
"Wh- what? Father wants to meet these two personally?!" Shang Ya Zi felt lightning strike him as his eyes stared widely, expressing his utter fear.
This is really bad!
-x-X-x-
Shang Ya Zi turned pale with fright.
His action of suppressing the price was against the rules. He would receive severe punishment were it to be discovered.
This was an organization.
Once you were in a high position, you needed to comply with the rules. The rules of a system was to ensure the benefits of the higher ups; despite many of the organizations advertising they represented the benefits of the majority, it was, for the most part, just a joke.
So the higher your position is, the more you needed to comply with the rules.
On the contrary, there was more corruption in the low-mid level positions.
After you reached a higher position, individual benefits had already become inseparably linked with the benefits of the organization; often, the benefits the organization received would represent your own benefits.
Shang Ya Zi could only be said to be a temporary higher up, many paid attention to him as one of the young masters of Shang Clan, but his real authority came from his father; he was just like rootless weed. @@novelbin@@
This also signified his punishment would be more harsh when he violated the rules because many people were watching him.
"This is not possible, I have already carefully investigated before I came, I even spent a large amount of primeval stones to buy information on these two from Feng Yu Manor. These two are clearly demonic Gu Masters and are also listed as wanted, they are stray dogs, why would lord father invite them?"
Shang Ya Zi felt this situation was incredibly unbelievable.
It was like the case of a rich person making things difficult for two beggars, when suddenly an imperial edict comes declaring that the emperor wanted to see these two beggars!
Shang Ya Zi was pressuring Fang Yuan because they were lone forces; oppressing them and finishing this affair in secrecy should have been absolutely safe and no one would know.
Naturally, there was bound to be some risks but Shang Ya Zi could only take that risk to protect his position as a young master.
"How could they have any relation to father when they don't have any background? Damn it, has the world gone crazy? What do I do? If they disclose this matter, my young master position is finished! Should I kill them? No, this is just courting my own death. I don't have any chance of doing anything in this third inner city, especially now that they have received father's attention. The main thing is these two bastards, they are at rank three peak stage. How am I supposed to do anything in this situation?"
In a split second, thoughts processed like lightning in Shang Ya Zi's mind, trying to think of countermeasures.
His eyes kept on moving about, and sweat was already starting to seep out of his forehead.
He had played with fire this time!
"Damn it, what do I do, what else is there?!" He was roaring with worry in his mind.
"Shang clan leader wants to see us? What for?" Fang Yuan timely showed his doubt.
Bai Ning Bing was even more puzzled.
What is going on?
She suspected this was Fang Yuan's trick at first, and so glanced at Fang Yuan.
However, Fang Yuan also showed a puzzled expression which baffled her.
She couldn't help but think: I have been with him all the time, he shouldn't be able to conceal anything from me if he was up to something.
Moreover, what kind of person was Shang clan leader, he was high and above, standing at the peak of the mortals. No matter how proud Bai Ning Bing was, even she acknowledged Shang Yan Fei's authority and power.
"Then why do I feel something amiss, as if I neglected something?"
Wei Yang laughed: "Rest assured, if Shang clan wanted to harm you guys, why would we make it so complicated? This is a friendly invitation, lord clan leader is very interested in you two."
"It is our honor to be able to receive the clan leader's invitation. We will immediately go see him then." Fang Yuan threw the chess piece on his hand and stood up.
Shang Ya Zi felt even more worried and promptly said: "Six hundred fifty thousand primeval stones, let's complete the deal!"
Fang Yuan glanced at him and smiled: "Sorry, I don't intend to sell the secret recipe!"
Shang Ya Zi's face turned deathly pale, his mouth felt parched and his gaze towards Fang Yuan even contained some vague imploring: "I was anxious and behaved rudely, please don't take it to heart, esteemed guests. The price can be discussed, we can properly discuss it after you are back!"
Fang Yuan gave a shallow smile. He didn't reply.
Who would discuss with you? But temporarily stabilizing this man could prevent him from taking desperate actions and reduce some trouble.
As he thought of this, Fang Yuan nodded: "If young master is sincere, then I will look forward to it."
Shang Ya Zi's expression immediately relaxed and showed a grateful expression; it was like a person that was about to fall from a cliff suddenly found a tree to grab on to.
"Okay, I will wait for you." He promptly said.
"Esteemed guests, please." Wei Yang showed the way.
"Lead the way."
Following Wei Yang, Fang and Bai entered second inner city.
Bai Ning Bing had been anticipating the extravagant second inner city, but when she reached there, she was astonished and disappointed.
In the second inner city, buildings were made of stones and were very simple, even the fourth inner city was better than this.
But her expression soon turned grave as she realized the reason.
It is easy for the frugal to become extravagant, but very difficult for the extravagant to become frugal.
Shang clan's riches were as high as a mountain but they scrupulously abided by living in a simple way. This was not because they were miserly, but to maintain the vigor of the clan.
Wei Yang led Fang and Bai to a private residence.
"Esteemed guests, you can have some fruits while you wait. Lord clan leader has just recently come out of closed door cultivation and is handling some matters. He will come here soon. This is clan leader's private residence, please stay here and don't casually move outside. I will take my leave now."
There was no one else in the house, Fang and Bai were left alone after Wei Yang's departure.
The two waited for a whole six hours but did not see even a shadow. Wei Yang said they could eat fruits, but where were the fruits? Not even tea could be found!
During the first two hours, Fang Yuan calmly sat on a wide backed wooden chair.
During the next two hours, he could no longer sit calmly and started mumbling to himself, revealing his impatience.
By the sixth hour, he clearly revealed impatience and unease as he began to move to and fro in the house.
"Hmph, what the hell is this Shang clan leader doing? He wants us to wait for him, but where is he? He is too arrogant." Fang Yuan's tone was angry as he paced around.
"Can you just sit down? My eyes are getting dizzy. Why not just cultivate peacefully?" Bai Ning Bing slightly frowned, this was not like Fang Yuan's usual behavior.
"There is something fishy here, do you think it was really Shang clan leader who invited us?" Fang Yuan's brows were tightly knitted together.
"How would I know? I was going to ask you that!" Bai Ning Bing rolled her eyes and puzzledly said, "Did you do something wrong and offended Shang clan?"
Fang Yuan snorted: "You have been with me all the time and you still can't understand me? There is no one in this private residence, I am not able to be at ease here. Let's go out and take a look at the situation!"
Bai Ning Bing thought for a little while and stood up: "Alright."
Fang and Bai walked out of the house, the courtyard wasn't big and there was also nothing strange.
At the same time, in first inner city.
Inside a study, colorful smoke curled up and rose in front of Shang Yan Fei, showing the real time view of Fang and Bai.
"Wei Yang, what do you think of these two?" Shang Yan Fei asked his trusted aide.
Wei Yang mumbled: "The way I see it, these two are indeed demonic Gu Masters. From the information we collected, they are young but have rank three peak stage cultivation, their innate talents should be extraordinary. Among those two, Hei Tu is rather frank and is kind of rash; Bai Yun seems to have deep thoughts and should be very shrewd. Hei Tu, Bai Yun... these names should be fake."
"Mm, your analysis isn't bad. In that case, you will be in charge of interacting with them for these few days. Test their abilities and closely follow them." Shang Yan Fei finished speaking and put away the colorful smoke.
He was only worried about Shang Xin Ci and showed little interest towards Fang and Bai.
The small test just now gave him a basic understanding towards the temperament of these two. And combining it with the intelligence he received, he more or less had a general impression.
Not all demonic Gu Masters were demented people.
These two guys could be considered decent, and maybe it was because they were young, he could clearly sense their lofty character.
People who had principles were often lofty and unyielding.
First impression was important, Shang Yan Fei honestly felt Fang and Bai were quite good. But he was a prudent person, anyone who could sit stably at a position like his were all prudent.
He was waiting, waiting for the people he sent to investigate the truth to come back and confirm everything, then he could rest easy.
"Alright, handle this properly, you can leave now." Shang Yan Fei waved his hands, then he took out the top document from the tall pile of documents in the study.
He had only been in closed cultivation for half a month, and the work had piled up so much already.
...
Fang Yuan and Bai Ning Bing made a round in the private residence, there really was no one else.
The two were hesitating whether to go out to check the situation when Wei Yang appeared before them.
"Two esteemed guests, lord clan leader is very busy with work and is not able to leave right now. We can only cancel this meeting." He looked like he was sincerely apologizing.
"What? We come and leave according to your whims?" Fang Yuan was indignant.
Bai Ning Bing was silent and expressionless.
Wei Yang smiled: "You two are our esteemed guests, why would Shang clan chase away their esteemed guests? Lord clan leader especially had asked me to attend to you as an apology. I have already arranged for a banquet in Shi Tian restaurant, please give me the honor of hosting."
Fang Yuan and Bai Ning Bing glanced at each other, then Fang Yuan said: "Just in time, we are also hungry, let's go fill our stomachs first."
Shi Tian restaurant was one of the best restaurants in Shang clan city and occupied a great amount of space in the third inner city. The decorations were elegant, and its dishes sumptuous. Its chefs were specialized Gu Masters who used special Gu worms to help in cooking delicacies that couldn't be matched by ordinary methods.
A typical meal here would last over four hours and more; there were over a hundred type of dishes, each with their own characteristics. Their top quality wine also left a rich aftertaste.
Bai Ning Bing didn't eat much and kept on worrying about Shang clan leader's invitation. She tried to get answers from Wei Yang indirectly at the banquet, but Wei Yang was a cautious guy too and kept his mouth closed.
On the contrary, Fang Yuan ate with gusto, with oil marks around his mouth. He also drank heavily and began to kick up a racket, his resentment and indignance from just before seemed to have completely disappeared.
Wei Yang looked at Fang Yuan who was drinking directly from the wine jar and then looked at Bai Ning Bing who was only drinking water; he instantly felt Fang Yuan, this ugly guy, was much more adorable.
After the banquet was over, Wei Yang dropped the two off at Nan Qiu garden.
Wei Yang left his parting words: "Take a good rest tonight, I will come look for you tomorrow and take you sightseeing around the Shang clan city."
-x-X-x-