A Gu Master jumped down from a treetop.
"You both cannot leave, tell me what happened here. All of it." This Gu Master that just jumped down was wearing a deep blue uniform, and there was a scarlet belt with a metal plate in the middle. There was a huge 'Two' word carved onto the metal plate.
"This commoner greets lord Jiang He!" The two young men had just got up with the intention to leave, but once they saw this Gu Master they instantly knelt down again, prostrating themselves in admiration while greeting.
This Gu Master was someone they knew — it was the Gu Master stationed at the village.
Every year to reinforce their control in their surroundings, the Gu Yue Village would dispatch Gu Master down into the little villages and hamlets, stationing Gu Masters there. This would also prevent the other powers from infiltrating and at the same time strengthen their defences on their borders.
This Gu Master named Jiang He did not bother with the two hunters kneeling on the ground, instead looking straight at Fang Yuan, asking in a cold tone, "I am the Gu Master Jiang He of the Gu Yue clan who has been stationed here, you are?"
Fang Yuan laughed lightly and stretched his right palm out, where the Moonlight Gu was giving out a ball of moonlight in the middle of his palm. In his mind he thought "Here he is"
When the Gu Master Jiang He saw the moonlight in Fang Yuan's hand, his gaze softened considerably — the Moonlight Gu was the sign of the Gu Yue clan, this was something that could not be forged.
"This matter is simple actually. Old man Wang's second son offended me, so I killed the entire family off in anger. Those two can be my witness." Fang Yuan straightforwardly admitted with a bold and confident manner, pointing at the two hunters kneeling down at the same time.
Jiang He stared blankly for a moment before he started laughing loudly, "You killed well! Just a bunch of measly peasant servants, to actually dare to offend their masters, they deserved to be killed!!"
But he quickly added with a change in tone, full of emotion and deep meaning, "However young junior, what you've done has also brought problems to me. Although Old man Wang resides far away from the masses and stayed here alone with his family, they are still villagers that I am in charge of. I was sent out from the clan and stationed here in this village, this means I'm supposed to protect the villagers and be on the alert as defence. Now that you've killed these few people, the number of villagers will have lessened. During the examination at the end of the year the clan's assessment towards me will drop."
Fang Yuan expression did not change as he has expected this, therefore he laughed and said out, "This isn't so difficult. Senior you just have to report the truth back. Just say that this entire family was killed by me, and it has nothing to do with senior whatsoever."
When Jiang He heard this his eyelids twitched, anger rising in his heart towards Fang Yuan who did not know how to appreciate favors. His manner of speaking became extremely solemn, "Then I will have to conduct business impartially here. Junior, if you are not afraid of the clan's investigation then report your name, I will record it in detail as how things really are on paper."
"Then senior shall report as how it should be. Ah right, my surname is Gu Yue, and my name is Fang Yuan." Fang Yuan said instantly.
"So you're actually Fang Yuan!" Jiang He's face evidently showed astonishment for a while, "I have been hearing about you all the time from my little brother recently. You thoroughly beat up all your classmates, extorting in front of everyone, getting sixty pieces of primeval stones each time. Every time my little brother speaks of it he's always jealous of how you can earn money so easily. Not to mention that time when you gambled out a Liquor worm and a Mudskin Toad consecutively. This sort of luck sure makes people jealous. Oh right, my little brother is Jiang Ya, you both should have met each other long ago."
Fang Yuan nodded and admitted, "Yes, every time when I buy Moon orchid petals, I would buy them in Jiang Ya's shop."
"Hahaha, since this is the case then we both are acquaintances. Oh well let's forget about it, this matter I'll handle it!" When he said this, Jiang He clapped his chest with his hands, putting out the appearance of one with the spirit of loyalty and self-sacrifice.
He was simply taking advantage of the situation — there was no real intention to report anything.
Even if he did file a report, the clan's evaluation of him would decline regardless.
So he might as well do a favor for Fang Yuan.
As for the deaths of Old Man Wang and his family, he could easily claim they were attacked by wild beasts.
It was Old Man Wang's own fault for stubbornly choosing to live outside the village, building a wooden house in such a remote area!
Jiang He wasn't concerned about anyone exposing the truth — after all, they were just a few lowly peasants.
Their lives were as worthless as weeds.
Who would care if they died?
Even if the clan learned of the cover-up, they likely wouldn't pay attention to something so insignificant.
"But junior, you have yet to graduate from the academy and do not have the Gu Master uniform like I am wearing now. If that Wang Er saw this outfit he'd know about your status as Gu Master and wouldn't offend you. Junior you are a smart person, don't you think so, hehe," said Jiang He again.
Jiang He's words had implicit meaning, and was actually a warning — do not run out of the academy and wander around for no reason, and you better not come to the area under my jurisdiction here after today to cause trouble and kill people again.
"In that case thank you very much for your advice, senior." Fang Yuan cupped his fists in greeting, bidding farewell to Jiang He, immediately taking his leave from here.
"Now with the beast skin map in my hand and the Wang family hunters dead, I can use the boar traps to feed my White Boar Gu. This will lessen my burden a bit and save some time." As Fang Yuan walked out of the village, he immediately headed toward one of the traps.
Time flies, and with the blink of an eye, it was already the middle of June.
The summer night was serene, with the golden crescent moon hanging high, casting its gentle glow over the lush green mountains.
A breeze rustled through the trees, making the leaves sway under the moonlight. The rhythmic chorus of cicadas and bullfrogs echoed in unison, occasionally interrupted by the distant howl of a wolf, reverberating through the hills.
By a riverbank, a shallow stream flowed over a smooth cliff rock. Near this spot, a fierce struggle was unfolding.
A wild mountain boar, its body covered in deep, bleeding gashes, charged at Fang Yuan once again. Blood streamed from its wounds, tracing a vivid red trail along its path.
Fang Yuan wrestled with it, showing no signs of panic.
As time passed, the wild boar's attacks gradually slowed down.
Huff!
Fang Yuan growled as his face was puffed red, his arms stretching out and raising the wild boar high above his head.
The wild boar feebly struggled.
With a boom, the wild boar was thrown onto a large rock by the river bank. It cried pitifully as sounds of its bones breaking could be heard.
It fell down from the large rock, blood oozing out from its ears, nose and mouth.
It struggled a few times before drawing its final breath.
The surroundings regained its peace.
"My strength is already far beyond that of a fully grown boar. In just a few more days, I'll reach the Rank One Upper Stage as well," Fang Yuan thought as he examined his body.
"The first person that achieves upper stage will get a reward of thirty primeval stones. This reward I can contest for it." Fang Yuan decided.
"The academy offers all sorts of rewards, but they're merely carrots to pique the students' interest. More importantly, they're part of the clan's system. Fighting over these minor rewards isn't something a wise person would do—unless it's as easy as taking candy from a child."