chapter 17 : everyone with their own plan

The sea of yellow gold primeval essence, surged and ebbed, Its tides rose and fell, moving steadily as it was guided by an invincible force.

This force directed the flow of the sea towards the watery barrier of the apretur, refining it bit by bit as it hit the liquid membrane.

After half an hour, Jia Fu opened his eyes, his meditation interrupted by the sound of commotion outside his tent.

He had been sitting cross-legged, but now he stood up, drawn by the noise.

Exiting his tent, he moved swiftly in the direction of this disturbance, the sounds were distant but still clear to his ears.

Without wasting time, he activated his gu worms to boost his speed, quickly arriving at the scene were the sounds came from.

Before him was a bunch of people, forming a semi-circle around two people that were in a heated argument, watching them.

The spectators seemed to favor one of them, backing him and badmouthing the other one.

"Tch, this young man is too vicious, too cunning."

"His name is Jia Jin Sheng, right? The surname Jia… It makes sense now. He's Jia Fu's brother, no wonder he dare to act arrogantly here on Qing Mao Mountain."

"Jia Jing sheng and jia Fu, I heard they're only half-brothers, with same father and different mothers. But even then, with his low rank one cultivation, he can use this blood connection to get away with everything he do."

Jia Fu listened to the gossip with a growing smirk as he thought "Ah, my ignorant little brother, you fell into yet another trap." His grin widened as he realized everything was just going according to his plans.

He strolled casually toward the crowd, wanting to pretend like just another curious bystander who had heard the commotion and wanted to check it out.

But then, something unexpected caught his attention, causing him to stop and raise an eyebrow.

"What do you think you're doing?" A loud voice came as a young man emerged from the crowd, pushing his way to the center of the 'circle'.

The young man wore a white robe, his hair a little long but still neat and tidy, having just a plain, average and unremarkable face, Nothing about him particulary stood out—except for his eyes. They gleamed with a bright and intense light, it was almost like having two sun in those pair of eyes.

His face was serious and solemn, as he walked with heavy footsteps.

"Who is this boy?" the crowd collectively asked, wondered and curious about this new face that entered the scene.

"You've come into our village, and you dare to scam our clansmen, and now, instead of apologizing, you're threatening him?" the young man in white robe said, his voice filled with righteous anger.

Jia Jin Sheng, smirking, shamelessly replied "So what ? What can you do about it ? Do you even have the guts to stop me? You have enough courage ? Or you are just a coward like others here."

The crowd of spectators bursted with anger and fury at jia Jing sheng arrogance, but as Jia Jin Sheng said, what could they do? He was the brother of a powerful rank four gu master, Who among them would dare lay a hand on him?

Suddenly, the young man in white robe laughed mockingly, talking with sharp and mocking tone "Courage? How rich Coming from someone who himself hides behind his older brother's name? A little kid that can't do anything just by himself."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Jia Jin Sheng shouted, his face twisting with rage.

The boy with white robe met his fury with cold disdain "Did I lie? You're nothing more than a coward hiding behind your big brother's reputation. Without him, you're just a nobody, not able to accomplish anything."

At this moment after hearing the young man's bold words, the crowd erupted with praise and cheers for him, calling Jia Jing Sheng a coward in unison.

Hidden in the shadows, Jia Fu observed the situation. he was a rank 4 gu master, At his level, anyone below rank 4 would be unable to detect him if he don't want them to.

He watched the young man in white robe with interested eyes. With just a few well placed a words, he had completely shifted the mood of the scene, It was truly impressive.

Jia Jing Sheng, however, wasn't in a good mood right now. His face flushed redder with every shout of "coward" from the crowd.

Enraged, he suddenly tried to attack the young man, attempting to activate his gu worm. But before he could, the young man struck first with swift kicks and punches.

Being caught off guard, Jia Jing Sheng found himself unable to activate his gu worm, forced to engage into a direct physical confrontation with the young man.

They traded blows, but it quickly became clear that Jia Jing Sheng was at a disadvantage.

This outcome was expected.

Jia Jing sheng had neglected his training for years. He was once praised as a genius, at that time he was really caring about training, he was a hardworking young man, but Jia Jing Sheng's fate took a cruel turn and during the awakening ceremony he was discovered to have a D grade talent.

Among all of his father's childs, he had been the son most similar to his father in terms of look, being specially favored from young. His father was a powerful rank 5 gu master, and expectations of him were high, But the reality shattered him.

From that day, he abandoned his training, sinking into a miserable state drowning himself into alcohol and womems, trying to relieve the pain he felt in his heart.

So despite being the son of a rank 5 gu master and possessing a formidable set of gu worms, he was no match for the quick and relentless attacks of the young man in white robe, who gave him no time to activate any of his gu.

It wasn't long before Jia Jing Sheng was defeated.

He was lying on the ground with anger burning in his eyes "you-you won't get away with thi—" he began to scream at the boy with white robe but before he could finish what he was saying, the young man silenced him with a sharp kick to his stomach, leaving him gasping in pain.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?" Suddenly Jia Fu shouted as he rushed forward, yelling and demanding answers.

The other villagers present there, were instantly terrified at the sight of the furious rank 4 gu master. In the gu world, rank 4 was akin to a clan leader—an upper force in the mortal realm. These were not people to be trifled with.

But the boy in the white robe remained unmoved, standing firm without a trace of fear.

He cupped his hands and spoke respectfully "You must be sir Jia Fu, the great hero everyone speaks of. Seeing you in person, I realize the rumors don't do justice to sir-"

But before the young man could finish his sentence, Jia Fu interrupted him "I demanded to know why my brother is in this state. And Who even are you?

From the crowd, whispers rose.

"Oh no, this guy is done for" one person murmured.

"He must've know better, it isn't good to provoke a rank 4 gu master. The youngsters nowadays... So reckless" an elderly man sighed, shaking his head in dismay.

Yet the young man stood resolute "who I am ? I am Fang Zheng, a proud Gu Yue clansman. I've come to seek justice for one of my fellow clan members." He paused for a moment and pointed at Jia Jing Sheng, who was still laying on the ground then Continued "This devious merchant here, tried to swindle one of my clansmen, and when we confronted him, instead of apologizing, he threatened us and attacked me. I'm here on behalf of many in my clansman to demand justice."

The crowd was stunned for a moment and fell in Silence, before they begin to react.

"Wait, is this guy serious?"someone asked, disbelief obvious in their voice.

"Fang Zheng... Fang Zheng... isn't he the A grade talent from our village?" another voice asked, recognizing the young man.

"Ah, this young man... he has some guts" an old man muttered, shaking his head in admiration.

Though the crowd's reactions differed, their support for Fang Zheng grew, especially now that his identity as the village's only A grade talent was revealed.

Jia Fu's frown deepened as he gazed at the young man before him. On the surface, his expression seemed full of anger, but beneath it, he was calm and calculative.

"So this is Fang Zheng, the only A grade talent from Gu Yue village in recent years" Jia Fu thought, inwardly smirking "haha Even better. This gives me all the more reason to uphold 'justice' in here and probably be 'forced' to punish my little brother"

Though Jia Jing Sheng's foolish attack hadn't been part of his plan, still everything had unfolded in his favor. His goal from the start had been to suppress Jia Jing Sheng while showcasing his own righteousness to the Gu Yue villagers and increase his reputation.

But For now, he needed to continue acting.

Jia Fu outwardly maintained a stern expression, his brows furrowed as he fixed his sharp gaze on Fang Zheng. His voice, heavy, full with authority of a rank 4 gu master "Young man, this is quite a serious accusation you're making here, But..." He paused for a moment, softening his tone before continuing, "I'm not an unreasonable man. If what you say is true, then as a man of righteousness, I will ensure justice is served and compensate you accordingly."

The crowd, hearing this, erupted in cheers.

"Lord Jia Fu is a righteous man!"

"He's nothing like that deceitful younger brother of his!"

Fang Zheng's eyes gleamed with a mysterious light, as he broke into a cheerful smile "Haha, Lord Jia Fu is truly a dragon among men, a role model of the righteous path, Everyone must learn from sir jia Fu." Fang Zheng showered jia Fu with praises, his words almost overwhelming Jia Fu, who seemed slightly numb from all of fang Zheng's sudden flattery.

A few moments later, Fang Zheng and the students who had been "scammed" stepped forward to recount what had happened.

Fang Zheng began to talk, his tone heavy with a little disappointment in it "It all started when this younger brother of mine borrowed money from me. He claimed he had found a rare White Boar Gu and just needed a few primeval stones to purchase it..." Fang Zheng sighed and continued, "But who would've thought that, he actually didn't had any primeval stones, and planned to use all the primeval stones that he took from me to buy the gu, If I did know from the start, I would quickly realized it was a scam, but unfortunately this little brother of mine decided not to tell me anything."

The teenager who had been duped, lowered his head in shame, clearly embarrassed of what happened because of his own greed.

As Fang Zheng narrated the story, it became clear that the student had fallen victim to his own desires, getting lured into the trap. The crowd couldn't help but notice how foolish and greedy the teenager actually was.

Jia Fu sighed deeply "While your friend was a bit reckless and greedy, that doesn't change what happened. My little brother was still in the wrong for trying to scam him..." Jia Fu continued "so I decided, as compensation, I'll give you five hundred primeval stones."

The crowd fell into a wave of murmurs, stunned by Jia Fu's "generosity" and Fang Zheng's unexpected luck.

But to everyone's surprise, Fang Zheng shook his head, politely declining Jia Fu's offer "Thank you sir, but I can't accept this. The amount we lost wasn't even a tenth of that sum. I can't take that much from you, Lord Jia Fu."

His words caused a stir in the crowd. Some called him foolish, while others admired his integrity.

For a brief moment, Jia Fu's eyes turned cold as he looked at Fang Zheng, But just as quickly, he broke into a wide grin "Haha Little brother Fang Zheng, you truly are an upright man. But please, for the sake of my conscience, you must accept this. If you don't, how could I sleep tonight?"

"But..." Fang Zheng hesitated, 'clearly' still unsure.

Jia Fu chuckled and pressed "What's there to hesitate about? How about this, at least come to my tent as my guest. That's the least I can do to make up for what's happened, and there we can talk about it."

Fang Zheng blinked in surprise, his eyes widening at the unexpected offer "Ah, this..."

"Please, don't refuse. I insist," Jia Fu added with a broad smile, cutting off any chance for Fang Zheng to decline.

Realizing there was no way out, Fang Zheng nodded "okay" he said, as if left with no other choice. He was "forced" into accepting Jia Fu's invitation and couldn't turn him down.

Together, they headed toward Jia Fu's tent, leaving behind the crowd that was still buzzing with shock, and Jia Jing Sheng, who lay humiliated on the ground.

Jia Jing Sheng's face was in a deep shade of red, not just from physical pain, but from the seething anger boiling inside him. He now understood fully that he had been played by his older brother yet again, used by Jia Fu to boost his own reputation.

A servant hurried over to help Jia Jing Sheng, but he angrily shoved the servant aside, struggling and trying stand on his own.

In the distance, Fang Yuan observed everything intently. His gaze was fixed on the pitiful Jia Jing Sheng. The events of tonight didn't matter to him and he didn't think a lot about all of it—his mind was already racing with new ideas, plotting out a variety of possibilities and schemes as he watched Jia Jing Sheng's pitiful state.

....

Fang Zheng followed behind Jia Fu, his face composed and serious, though internally, he felt none of the anxiety he outwardly showed.

"I didn't expect things to go this far..." he mused, laughing silently to himself.

He had actually planned for this moment, thinking through every detail days before, ever since he remembered about the time that merchant caravan would arrive at the village, he started to plan for this, to steal someone else's opportunity, just what someone with future knowledge must do.

A few days ago, Fang Zheng had recalled about a incident that happen tonight, where a random villager scammed by Jia Jing Sheng. The villager had been scammed into buying a fake White Boar Gu from Jia Jing Sheng, driven by his greed. Fang Zheng saw this as the opportunity and set out to replicate the event, and replace the said person.

Initially, he had considered handling the plan himself. But he remembered that in the novel, Fang Yuan was present during this incident too, and the last thing Fang Zheng wanted was to do something that would raise fang yuan's suspicion, especially after Fang Yuan had killed the family servant of mo family.

Out of caution, he decided to "hire" someone to do the work for him—and it really worked very well.

In fact, things had gone even better than he expected.

Of course Jia Jing Sheng's weak mind and quick temper that lead to him, attacking fang Zheng, wasn't part of fang Zheng's own plan, but he still kinda expected this, after all jia Jing sheng didn't have any good reputation to begin with.

In the end, this unexpected event, turned to be a good thing, after all For a mere investment of a few dozen primeval stones, not only Fang Zheng granted to get five hundred primeval stones in compensation, but if he played his cards right, he might even achieve Jia Fu's friendship.

Suddenly, Jia Fu's voice pulled him from his thoughts "Please, sit wherever you like" he said with a warm smile.

Without realizing it, they had already reached Jia Fu's tent. Fang Zheng noticed the kind smile on Jia Fu's face as he said to fang Zheng to sit down.

Of course fang Zheng, wanting to be polite, waited until Jia Fu was seated before taking a seat across from him.

"So little brother, your name was fang Zheng, right ?" Jia Fu asked after a brief silence, with a smile on his face.

"Y-yes, yes," Fang Zheng replied, intentionally stammering to show he was "nervous" and "uneasy".

As Fang Zheng anticipated, Jia Fu noticed his "obvious anxiety".

Seeing the young man's fidgety demeanor, Jia Fu's eyes flashed with a mysterious glint, but he didn't pursue the matter, instead continuing with the casual conversation.

"Actually Out there, I didn't quite understand the story of what happened fully. I understand my younger brother was in the wrong, but could you explain it again in more detail ?" Jia Fu asked, with his bright and friendly smile on his face.

"Ah, y-y-yes..." Fang Zheng stammered again, purposely acting as though he were flustered in front of someone as powerful as Jia Fu.

Fang Zheng then retold the story, this time adding more details than he had earlier, though he deliberately stammered through much of it, showing the picture of a nervous young man and his anxious delivery resulted in the story to be even less accurate than before even though he was trying to tell more about details, but jia Fu didn't actually cared, he did know what happened, asking fang Zheng to recount what happened again was just testing fang Zhen—gauging his personality

But from outside it just seemed Jia Fu was just listening calmly, his expression not changing even once.

When Fang Zheng finally finished, he let out a deep sigh.

"I'm truly sorry you had such a bad experience in my caravan. Rest assured, my little brother will be punished for his wrong behavior tonight..." Jia Fu spoke firmly,

But after pausing a moment his voice shifted into a calmer tone "Now that I've heard your story in detail, I feel foolish for offering only just five hundred primeval stones as compensation..."

Before Jia Fu could finish what he was saying, Fang Zheng stood up hastily, cutting him off "No, no, sir! You are a dragon among men! How could the word 'foolish' ever be applied to someone like you?"

Seeing fang Zheng's action, Jia Fu's smile widened even further, clearly amused by Fang Zheng's exaggerated flattery. The more he interacted with him, the more he found the young man to be more pleasant to the eyes.

"Haha, little brother Fang Zheng, you're flattering me. Please, sit down, sit down," Jia Fu laughed, gesturing for Fang Zheng to take his seat once more.

Realizing his 'overreaction' Fang Zheng blushed slightly, sitting back down, as if embarrassed by his action now.

"As I was saying... I want to compensate you properly. Five hundred primeval stones just don't seems like enough, how about I give you eight hundred primeval stones instead ?"

At this moment, Fang Zheng was genuinely shocked at jia fu's offer, the shock on his face wasn't acting, it was genuine, breaking the "mask" he was wearing.

Jia Fu, however, interpreted Fang Zheng's expression as completely normal, In his mind, it made sense that anyone around Fang Zheng's age would be stunned by such a high amount of primeval stones.

"But sir... what I've lost was just only a few dozen primeval stones, and you're offering me eight hundred primeval stone in compensation ? That's far too much for me" Fang Zheng hurriedly said. He wanted those primeval stones and wanted to accept jia fu's offer really badly but he knew he had to keep up his act, to even achieve more than that.

Jia Fu's smile widened as he observed Fang Zheng's reaction. This display of humility pleased him, affirming the kind of person he believed Fang Zheng was.

"Little brother Fang Zheng, please, accept it. If I don't compensate you properly, I won't be able to rest easy tonight" Jia Fu said warmly.

"But sir—" Fang Zheng wanted to say something, still wanting to continue acting and rejecting jia Fu's offer but Jia Fu interrupted him, not allowing him to refuse again.

"Little brother, if I want to give you something, you must take it. Otherwise, you'll be disrespecting me, not giving me any face." Jia Fu said with a more serious tone, releasing the full aura of his rank four cultivation.

The pressure of a rank four Gu Master's aura made sweat bead on Fang Zheng's forehead. Under such pressure, he could just "reluctantly" agree, accepting jia fu's compensation.

"Uh, thank you, sir..." Fang Zheng mumbled, his voice low, as if he was still under the mighty pressure of jia fu's rank four aura, still a little scared.

"Hahaha, no problem, little brother fang Zheng And..... please don't call me 'sir' anymore. Just call me Brother Jia Fu" Jia Fu said with a heartly laugh.

"But...how could I dare to call sir jia like that ?" Fang Zheng replied quickly, waving both hands in polite refusal.

"Tch, little brother, you're too formal. Loosen up a bit, be more comfortable" Jia Fu urged.

"But still, I can't..." Fang Zheng insisted.

"Alright, alright, whatever makes you comfortable." Jia Fu finally "gave up" though inwardly he was even more pleased. He was just testing Fang Zheng once again, judging his reactions and probing his true character.

If Fang Zheng had immediately started addressing him informally, that would have raised suspicions in Jia Fu's mind.

maybe Fang Zheng was just putting on an act, it was what he would have thought if fang Zheng done that. Although it was unlikely for someone so young to have the such acting skills to deceive him, Jia Fu knew the world of Gu Masters was vast, full of hidden talents.

"Hahaha, little brother Fang Zheng, please sit down. You're my guest, and it's only right that I take care of you properly" Jia Fu said, still smiling as he called for his servants.

A few minutes later, the servants began entering the tent, carrying not only a few heavy bags of primeval stones—but also bringing trays of delicious food and fine wine.

"Hahaha, please, eat and drink, little brother."

Fang Zheng, sensing it was time to stop being overly polite, started eating the food.

The food was very delicious, he could confidently say it was the best thing that he had eaten since transmigrating into the gu world, but more than the food, he particularly liked the wine, it was strong and of high quality—However, he made sure not to eat or drink too much, even though he really wanted.

Not drinking too much, because he couldn't afford to get drunk and risk letting any mistake to happen, ruining the facade he had worked so hard to maintain.

As for not eating much food, he had two reason for this. One was to stay in character and the other was to avoid drawing suspicions because he was just eating the food and avoided the wine.

Such a behavior might seems normal to some people, as there is a lot of people in the world that don't like wine and avoid drinking, but Fang Zheng didn't want to take any risk, scared that it maybe raise some suspicions, because fang Zheng liked wine and some times would go to taverns for drinking wine and if jia Fu investigate about him, he could find this piece of information, and then it could be a slim chance that jia Fu might suspect fang Zheng if he behaved like that.

After about half an hour of 'taking care' of fang Zheng, Jia Fu, with a

"reluctant" expression, finally allowed him to leave.

Fang Zheng stood up, cupping his hand, saying goodbye and leaving the tent.

Tonight, fang Zheng couldn't only get eight hundred primeval stones but also managed to avoid raising Jia Fu's suspicions and even get his friendship, His plan this time truly was a huge success.

"This Fang Zheng... he can be used" Jia Fu muttered to himself after Fang Zheng left the tent.

His original plan tonight was simply to boost his reputation and suppress his younger brother. But things had taken an unexpected turn, the appearance of Fang Zheng and his idiot brother actually attempt to attack him had caught Jia Fu completely off guard.

After all, who was Fang Zheng ? He was the rising star of the Gu Yue Village, their only A grade talent in recent years, their hope to rise again.

And they ? They were just a merchant Carvan, and they were still within Gu Yue Village's territory, and an attack on Fang Zheng could easily lead to a war with gu yue clan. The consequences could have been disastrous.

Yet, as if heaven was in jia fu's side, Fang Zheng actually was skilled enough to easily handl the situation and beat his younger brother, and fortunately nothing bad happened for him.

When Jia Fu stepped in and start to act, his initial goal had been to smooth things over by offering five hundred primeval stones.

This move would send a message to the Gu Yue Village higher ups, assuring them that he had no ill intention, and what happened tonight was just an accident.

But Fang Zheng rejecting his offer was one of things that jia Fu didn't expected as well, but it opened up some new possibilities in Jia Fu's mind too.

That's why he had invited Fang Zheng to his tent—not merely to compensate him, but to test him.

And the results were beyond his expectations, Fang Zheng was the ideal type of person Jia Fu wanted as a subordinate.

In the righteous path, talents were classified into four grades.

The first grade were those who possessed both talent and virtue. These individuals had skill and moral character, making them highly reliable and capable.

The second grade were those with virtue but no real talent. They might lack ability, but their loyalty and willingness to sacrifice made them valuable, obedient and dependable followers.

The third grade was having talent but no virtue. These people were skilled but lacked the moral aspect, making it risky to place them in high positions, it was very hard to trust these kind of people about important matters.

The fourth grade was to having neither talent nor virtue. They were essentially worthless, incapable of being relied upon or be trusted.

From what Jia Fu observed, Fang Zheng clearly was a talent of the first grade. Not only did he have A grade aptitude, but he also seemed to have the moral conduct and humility that made him a virtuous person.

Righteous path leaders especially valued first and second grade talents because of how easy it was to use them. Specially First grade talents, they were like the best chess pieces—loyal, skilled, and able to carry out orders without question.

Fang Zheng was the perfect example of such a talent. And Jia Fu, like many others in the righteous path, desired such people under him, He would've been willing to invest much more than eight hundred primeval stones to take such a person as his subordinate.

But the beautiful thing about fang Zheng was, that jia Fu didn't even have to pay a heavy price to nurture him. Fang Zheng was already set to inherit the role of the clan leader in the Gu Yue Clan in the moment he awakened and A grade apretur.

As the only person with a A grade aptitude, the gu yue clan would undoubtedly invest a lot in nurturing fang Zheng. All Jia Fu had to do was extend a hand and who a little "generosity" here and there, helping Fang Zheng sometimes when he needed to gain his trust and loyalty.

Fang Zheng was still young and Navie, and it was very easy to put a deep impression on him. It was a low cost investment with almost guaranteed profit in the future— it was exactly the kind of deal a merchant like Jia Fu loved the most.

Leaning back on his seat, Jia Fu sipped from his cup of wine, in his mind, he was already planning for the future. Him, encountering fang Zheng could be said to be a gift from heaven and he wouldn't let it to be in vain.

....

Fang Zheng let out a breath of turbid air as Jia Fu's servants finally left.

He was standing outside the Gu Yue Village Academy, watching their figures fade into the distance.

"That was harder than I thought," Fang Zheng muttered, recalling the situation inside Jia Fu's tent.

Jia Fu was a sharp person, and Fang Zheng nearly let his mask slip a few times. Luckily, Jia Fu didn't seem to notice—or at least, that's what Fang Zheng hoped.

As he stood there, he suddenly saw a figure waving their hand at him from a far.

"Oh, it's the guy who bought the fake Gu for me..." Fang Zheng recognized this person, it was the student fang Zheng had promised three primeval stones, to go and buy the fake Gu for him.

He moved toward the boy, walking into a nearby dark alley.

As Fang Zheng walked, he moved his hand, reached into his clothes, retrieving the primeval stones he had prepared to give the young teen.

"A-ah, y-you're here, Fang Yuan..." The teen stammered nervously, his eyes widening in surprise "w-wow, I couldn't believe you were Fang Yuan... if I hadn't known it from the start."

Fang Zheng, now acting like fang yuan, didn't say anything to the boy, just keeping a cold and expressionless face, just like Fang Yuan.

Since fang Zheng and fang yuan were twins, it wasn't difficult for Fang Zheng to disguise himself as Fang Yuan.

After a moment of awkward silence, Fang Zheng finally pulled out the three primeval stones he promised the boy, "Take these. They're your reward as I promised you" he said in a cold tone, perfectly imitating Fang Yuan's demeanor.

He handed over the stones and turned around to leave, but before he could take more than a few steps out of the alley, the boy's voice stopped him.

"W-wait, Fang Yuan."

Fang Zheng paused, turning slightly to see the boy looking nervous but trying to muster some courage.

"Y-you got five hundred primeval stones, didn't you?" the teen asked, stammering, but there was a hint of confidence in his voice.

"So what?" Fang Zheng replied coldly.

"Heh... don't you think I deserve more than just three primeval stones?" the boy said, stammering less than before as the confident in his voice gree more, "You've got all those primeval stones because of me, and don't forget you pretended to be Fang Zheng there to get those primeval stones. Heh... you wouldn't want me spreading that around, would you? So, I think you owe me a bit mor—"

Before the boy could finish his sentence, an excruciating pain exploded from his stomach. The boy barely had time to process it before another sharp pain came from this left leg, causing him to fall on the ground.

"it hurt it hurt... w-what happened?" he thought, raising his head, only to see "fang yuan's" two black orbs, staring at him.

Fear flooded the boy as he instinctively tried to crawl away and run.

"F-fang Yuan, what you're doing? You don't want to silen—"

But he couldn't finish what he was saying again and yet Another jolt of pain attacked his mind.

"fang yuan" was pressing down with his leg on the young teen's left leg, pressing harder and harder with each moment.

"What do you think ?" Fang Zheng said in a low, icy tone, his face expressionless, staring at the young teens with his two fark orbs.

The pressure on the boy's left leg increased with each Second, making him scream in agony, tears streaming down his face.

Just when the boy thought he would die, the pressure on his left leg eased, allowing him to finally take breath.

"Tch, look at you, You're so greedy. You think I can't do anything to you ? What do you take me for ?" Fang Zheng spat on the boy, his tone filled with disdain as he glared down at him.

The young teenager could feel "fang yuan's", 'intense killing intent' and it terrified him to his core. He could barely hold back from wetting himself.

Tap tap tap~

Suddenly, there was a soft clatter. The boy turned his head and saw a few small stones falling on the ground.

"Wait, stones? No, those are primeval stones!" the boy realized, his eyes filled with greed as he saw those primeval stones.

But the boy didn't dare to move, not with "Fang Yuan" still looking at him.

"What are you waiting for?" Fang Zheng sneered, his voice full of mockery "You wanted more primeval stones, didn't you? Go ahead, take them."

Without hesitation, the boy scrambled and crawled on the ground, greedily snatching the primeval stones on the ground.

"Remember this—if I even hear a word about what happened here tonight again.....

Hmph" Fang Zheng didn't finish his sentence, believing that the young teen understood what he was saying.

And as fang Zheng anticipated, the boy didn't need him to finish the sentence; he understood perfectly. Nodding rapidly, he remained silent, too terrified to speak.

Fang Zheng turned and walked out of the alley, leaving the trembling boy behind, he was still clutching the primeval stones tightly, while his body was still shaking from fear.

....

Fang Zheng gazed up at the moon and let out a deep sigh, admiring and praising the beauty of the clear night sky filled with stars in his heart—a clear sky like this was something very rare in the modern world.

Walking towards the academy gate, he saw two guards standing in front of the gate, He approached them with a friendly smile.

One of the guards, noticing Fang Zheng, smiled back and asked "you Need something, young man?" Though he didn't immediately recognize Fang Zheng, the guard maintained a respectful tone. After all, the academy students were Gu Masters, people with a higher status than ordinary guards like them.

Fang Zheng casually pulled out a primeval stone, holding it up for the guards to see "Ah two big brother, can I ask you two for a little favor?"

The sight of the primeval stone made both guards gulp "Y-yes, of course! What do you need?" they said in unison, eager to assist him with anything he had.

Fang Zheng smiled "Well, it seems my servants mistakenly brought some of my stuff to my dormitory room earlier, instead of bringing them at my own house." he said, pausing for a moment before continuing "I was wondering if the two big brothers here could help me move them to my home?"

He kept his tone light and friendly, but the glint of the primeval stone in his hand made it clear he expected cooperation from those guards. The guards exchanged a quick glance with each other, then nodded eagerly to fang Zheng, ready to assist Fang Zheng with his request.