Seeing Wei Tong made Fang Qingyuan's heart tremble. It was simply because the man's fearsome aura was still vivid in his mind, even after several months had passed.
'But why would a Golden Core Ancestor be here? And he even seems to be getting along splendidly with Huo Hu.'
When Huo Hu saw Fang Qingyuan return, he called him over and said:
"Brother Wei and I hit it off right away. We've even planned to venture deeper into the forest together. If you have nothing else, you can head back to the sect on your own."
Hearing this, Fang Qingyuan secretly glanced at Wei Tong beside them and persuaded in a low voice:
"Dean Le is still waiting for you to return, Uncle. You've been out for over ten days now. The Dean must be getting anxious."
Huo Hu's smile stiffened. He had been gone for many days and had gotten much tanner. A faint dark aura clung to his face; it seemed the Wilderness Forest wasn't exactly a pleasant place.
He scratched his head and glanced at Wei Tong.
As Huo Hu's gaze fell on him, Wei Tong remained unruffled. He said with a broad smile:
"I'll smooth things over with Dean Le. It's no trouble. I doubt he'd refuse me this small courtesy."
...
"Courtesy, my ass! That old scoundrel Wei Tong has gone too far! Giving him the Spiritual Flood Dragon wasn't enough, and now he's got his eyes on Huo Hu."
On the summit of Tianshan Villa, inside the Dean's residence, the new Dean, Lechuan, was in a thunderous rage.
Below him, Fang Qingyuan stood silently, trying his best to be invisible.
That day, Fang Qingyuan had done his best to persuade Huo Hu to return with him. But with Wei Tong there to give his assurance, there was no way Huo Hu would willingly return to what he saw as a cage.
Fang Qingyuan had wanted to say more, but upon seeing Wei Tong's faint, unreadable smile, he immediately lost his nerve.
Unable to persuade the man, Fang Qingyuan could only dejectedly take the Flying Boat, traveling for another five days before finally returning to Tianshan Villa.
He had just arrived at the villa and hadn't even had a chance to check on his Camel-Skate when he was summoned by Lechuan.
At first, Lechuan's expression was relatively calm, but when Fang Qingyuan mentioned that Huo Hu was with Wei Tong, Lechuan instantly flew into a rage.
He was now pacing back and forth relentlessly, showing no signs of stopping.
Seeing this, Fang Qingyuan didn't dare make a sound. He couldn't understand why Lechuan was so agitated, or why he even seemed a little afraid.
Lechuan paced for a moment longer before his gaze hardened. His expression turned vicious as he snarled:
"Wei Tong, you've made a huge mistake targeting Huo Hu. Just you wait. You'll regret this."
After speaking, he finally noticed Fang Qingyuan was still there, awaiting his orders. Lechuan waved a dismissive hand.
"You're dismissed. And remember, don't tell a soul that Wei Tong and Huo Hu are together."
Fang Qingyuan immediately bobbed his head like a chicken pecking at rice. Then, mustering his courage, he asked:
"Uncle Huo said my mission for promotion to Inner Sect Disciple was complete... Does that still count?"
Lechuan glared.
"If he says it counts, it counts. Huo Hu is still the head of Precepts Peak, after all. This isn't your fault. Now, get out of here."
When Fang Qingyuan heard Lechuan say this, a great weight was lifted from his heart. 'He didn't care about the secrets between Huo Hu, Wei Tong, and Lechuan. It wasn't his business anyway. All that mattered was what he personally gained.'
As he left the Dean's residence, Fang Qingyuan felt like he was walking on air. 'I'm an Inner Sect Disciple now.'
However, once Fang Qingyuan was gone, Lechuan's expression crumbled. After a moment of hesitation, he leaped onto a Spirit Beast and flew off in the direction of Beast Taming Mountain's main headquarters.
...
Unaware that his Dean had flown off, Fang Qingyuan cheerfully walked into his small courtyard.
Once home, Fang Qingyuan didn't hurry into his Quiet Chamber. Instead, he surveyed the courtyard, taking in every plant and tree, and began to consider what he should pack for his move the next day.
Inner Sect Disciples could live halfway up the mountain. Although the space up there was a bit smaller, the Spiritual Qi was significantly denser than at the foot of the mountain.
Over the years, cultivating halfway up the mountain could speed up one's progress by ten to twenty percent, assuming the same aptitude.
'Fang Qingyuan used to think his little courtyard was great, but now, before he'd even moved out, he was already starting to think it was nothing special.'
Suppressing the joy in his heart, Fang Qingyuan finished his daily cultivation meditation. Then, with a sweep of his Divine Sense, he entered the Immortal Mansion Space.
During his ten days in Nanlin Square, Fang Qingyuan had spent five Middle-grade Spirit Stones to acquire a large batch of beast hides, which were now piled up here.
Fearing the hides would be absorbed by the black soil in the Immortal Mansion Space, he had chopped down some ordinary trees from outside, built a wooden platform, and placed all the hides on top of it.
Now that Fang Qingyuan was back at Tianshan Villa, based on the market prices he'd observed, these hides could probably be sold for seven Middle-grade Spirit Stones.
He would make a profit of over two hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones from this one trip. In the past, Fang Qingyuan would never have dared to dream of this.
But this business, which looked so easy, wasn't simple to pull off. First, you needed a large storage bag, one with at least twenty cubic meters of space.
You also needed a reliable connection to offload the goods; hundreds of beast hides couldn't be sold in just a week or two.
If you were unlucky, it wasn't out of the question for the stock to be tied up for three to five months.
Finally, you had to be able to afford the fare on a Tier Three Flying Boat.
A single round trip cost almost a whole Middle-grade Spirit Stone. If you didn't want to pay up, you'd have to spend half a month flying there and another half a month flying back on your own.
This time, Fang Qingyuan had hitched a ride on the Tier Three Flying Boat with Huo Hu. Otherwise, given his personality, he would have preferred to slowly ride his Camel-Skate to save the expense.
He couldn't help it. He was just used to being poor.
Inside the Immortal Mansion, besides the platform of hides, a small patch of Spiritual Bamboo was slowly growing.
Fang Qingyuan walked over to where the Spiritual Bamboo was planted and bent down to examine it. He saw that its roots had taken firm hold in the black soil, and its once slightly yellowed leaves had turned a vibrant green.
A look of delight crossed Fang Qingyuan's face. 'It survived!' If the Spiritual Bamboo could live, it meant he could cultivate more Spirit Plants in the Immortal Mansion Space and cut down on his expenses for Spirit Wood.
Fang Qingyuan's mood soared. 'Another expense saved.' He then checked on the Spirit Wood he had buried earlier and discovered that some pieces were almost completely absorbed, while others were only partially so.
'This struck him as strange. Could it be the Immortal Mansion is a picky eater when it comes to Spirit Wood?'
Just as Fang Qingyuan was about to investigate further, his mind suddenly stirred. He sensed someone approaching outside, so he immediately withdrew his Divine Sense and returned to his body.
Opening his eyes, Fang Qingyuan got up, went to the courtyard, and opened the door. He was greeted by the sight of Zhang Yuan, his face beaming with joy. Before Fang Qingyuan could say a word, Zhang Yuan blurted out:
"Senior Brother Fang, I have to congratulate you! The Camel-Skate you asked me to look after started to advance in rank a few days ago!"
'What? That thing is actually advancing?!'
'Thinking of his own Camel-Skate's rowdy nature, Fang Qingyuan couldn't fathom how it could possibly find an opportunity to advance after he'd been gone for only about twenty days.'
'Did I work it too hard? Why else would it be so eager to advance the second it got a break?'
At this thought, Fang Qingyuan felt a wave of mixed emotions. But before he could dwell on whether he had been out of line, Zhang Yuan tugged on his Daoist Robe and pulled him along to see the Camel-Skate.