Chapter 47: The Aftermath
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Back in the old mansion of Zhou Family.
Ever since the passing of Zhou Tong, the place became like ruins and many beggars came to gather here.
However, when Zhen Wenwu was back, he immediately took the place back under his control and operated it as a base camp.
Zhou Wenwu was wearing a mourning suit and gave his respect to a few tablets that were on the altar with incense. "Father…. don't you worry. I will revive the prestige of the Zhou Family…."
After the ceremony, he opened the door and felt sorrowful as he saw the dilapidated courtyard.
The courtyard looked much more deserted now.
'Minister Lin is an old fox. Even though I'm using the Spirit Returning Sect's name in my favour, he will likely not fall for it. He has stronger backers than me. How about targeting the Zhang and Guo Family? This will not be easy though….'
Zhou Wenwu gazed at the moon with a troubled look.
The Zhang Family did have a strong background and power which they accumulated over the years. Hence, it would not be wise to attack them.
On the other hand, the Guo Family was violent and unruly. One would need assistance to bring them under control.
"Fang Yuan was not willing to lend a helping hand, and a few relatives promised to aid us financially but the fund is still not in yet….ugh, and also my sister! No one knows whether she is dead or alive. This is indeed worrying me…."
Zhou Wenwu sighed and suddenly, his expression changed.
There was a loud and distinct noise coming from the Guo's mansion.
"Something bad happened….to the Guo Family?"
He climbed over the courtyard wall. Lights were shining everywhere and there were many screams and crying. He grew suspicious.
Even though he wanted to find out what was happening, he knew that since the Guo Family was being attacked, they would be on high alert. It was better for him not to bother them right now.
"Or maybe…. This is my chance to…."
Zhou Wenwu gave it a good thought and his eyes glittered. "I'm not sure how is Old Guo now…."
"He is dead!"
A voice was heard from behind, which frightened Zhou Wenwu.
"Are you…. Doctor Fang?"
This voice was very familiar and sounded youthful. Zhou Wenwu was dazed for a moment but was relieved after realising who was it.
However, his expression became serious when he saw Fang Yuan in his night combat outfit.
Fang Yuan was present in the city at this timing and coincidently, something bad happened to the Guo Family. Could it be….
"You don't have to guess. Old Guo and the homeowner Guo Jing are both dead…."
Fang Yuan spoke in a deep voice.
"Aaahh!"
Even though he had guessed that Fang Yuan was behind it, Zhou Wenwu was still surprised and immediately kowtowed to Fang Yuan. "Thank you for helping me. I will do anything you want me to do…."
Fang Yuan waved and said, "You don't need to thank me. I am helping you this time because I will need your help in the future!"
In fact, Fang Yuan ambushed the Guo Family to gather more information and to scare them.
However, he changed his plans as he became furious after hearing some secrets. Hence, he killed the father and the son of the Guo Family to get the most out of the operation.
He could say that he was invited by Zhou Wenwu to assist him in taking down the Guo Family. Who else could reveal the truth? Not only did he benefit without costing him anything, he even managed to reap gratitude from Zhou Wenwu.
Most importantly, he gained a new assistant in the city. Zhou Wenwu could help him out and save him a lot of trouble.
"Old Guo is a 6th Gate Martial artist and is indeed an expert in inner force. Guo Jing is a 5th Gate Martial artist..... Both of them are the most highly skilled in the Guo Family. I have removed them for you. Do you know what to do next?"
Fang Yuan glanced at Zhou Wenwu and instructed him.
"Old Guo is a 6th Gate Martial Artist?!"
When Zhou Wenwu heard what Fang Yuan said, he sighed and was relieved that he did not rashly attack the Guo Family on his own. He then looked into Fang Yuan's eyes with respect.
Even an expert in inner force was defeated by him! How did Fang Yuan train his martial arts to such a state?
"Hmm, the rest of the Guo Family that are still alive are easy to deal with. If you can't even handle such loose ends…."
Fang Yuan said in a deep voice.
"If I fail to handle the loose ends, I would strip myself of my martial arts and I would not even think about reviving the Zhou Family anymore!"
Zhou Wenwu patted his chest and seemed confident. He then added, "What about the Zhang Family?"
"Hmm?"
Fang Yuan turned around and stared at Zhou Wenwu with a serious look.
"I'm thinking too much…."
Zhou Wenwu immediately broke out in cold sweat and started apologising after Fang Yuan stared at him.
"With the current situation of Zhou Family, removing Guo Family will be sufficient. Removing the Zhang Family will be too much!"
Fang Yuan said coldly.
Honestly speaking, the Zhang Family had more situational awareness and hence he had nothing against them.
Furthermore, with the current population of the Zhou Family, it was impossible for the Family to restore its power like before back in Qingye City.
The best outcome was to remove Guo Family for the Zhou Family to take over their assets and coexist with the Zhang and Lin families in a triangulated situation.
Zhou Wenwu should have known these principles but he was too focused on getting revenge and achieving his dream. Now, Fang Yuan reminded him of these principles, which made him admire Fang Yuan even more.
Fang Yuan was not only good in medicine and martial arts but understood the principles behind human relations as well. Was he born smart and talented?
Zhou Wenwu respected Fang Yuan and said, "Thank you for reminding me. I have understood your point."
"Very well, I have a few tasks for you to complete…."
Fang Yuan chuckled.
...….
The news of the Guo Family spread.
The Guo Family left the city the next day and relocated back to their original village. The family couldn't care less about those who plundered them at that time and were extracting their men from Qingye City. This was like a retreat from a losing party.
Looking at how sensible the Guo Family was in deciding to pull out from the city, Zhou Wenwu was satisfied with the number of valuable things that were left behind by the family as it was sufficient for his own needs. He felt that he could gain a foothold in Qingye City again.
This time, he was clear of the situation and secretly gathered enough men to wipe out the entire Guo Family completely.
The Zhou Family needed to be restored from scratch like the Guo Family, and hence one of the families in the city needed to be targeted in order for another family to take over. Guo Family was the best target in the whole of Qingye City.
The Guo Family also realised that without the two highly skilled martial artists in the Family, they were weakened.
During such times, the Lin and Zhang families were getting closer to the Zhou Family and had no intention of helping the Guo Family.
At the same time, everyone knew what the secluded valley was capable of and would, therefore, think twice before attacking the secluded valley….
Of course, Fang Yuan was not really interested in any of these affairs.
Zhou Wenwu would handle the loose ends on his own.
Fang Yuan was already back home in the secluded valley. After taking a break, he went to the Green Peak with the Flower Fox Ferret.
"Chirp! Chirp!"
A flock of Red-eyed White Birds were flying past and a giant Red-eyed White King Bird was leading the flock.
Fang Yuan hid in the woods and was irritated by their presence.
"These birds are getting more vigilant than before and they are hard to deal with now!"
The presence of these birds was a huge obstacle to his success in claiming this spiritual land. These birds had been giving him huge problems lately.
Notwithstanding anything else, in one instance, when Fang Yuan went to get some spiritual spring water and spiritual fertiliser, he had to be cautious of the Red-eyed White Birds, in case they came out of their nests and attack him. Hence, the amount that he had gotten was not sufficient every time. Sometimes, the Flower Fox Ferret would be surrounded by these birds.
"I will not be able to enjoy collecting the spiritual fertiliser if I don't get rid of them soon….."
Fang Yuan looked at the beach that was beside the Eye's Tear Lake. "Anyway, the longer the spiritual fertiliser is accumulated, the better it is. Also, the storage size of this beach is quite big to store a large amount of the spiritual fertiliser. Maybe I should not get rid of the birds for now first…."
Fang Yuan estimated that the best spiritual fertiliser that could really help in the growth of the spiritual plants would need at least 10 years of accumulation in order to produce such an effect.
With the time, he could make full use of the spiritual land. Wouldn't he be able to grow any kinds of spiritual plants?
"It is just that…..the rest of the Red-eyed White Birds are not a problem but the Red-eyed White King Bird is hard to deal with….."
Of course, he was gaining little from his hunts recently.
At least the number of the Red-eyed White Birds was decreasing and there were fewer eyes to keep watch over the spiritual land. This gave Fang Yuan many opportunities to secretly enter the spiritual land to obtain the spiritual spring water and other precious spiritual plants.
"Whoosh!"
He went to the other side of the cliff and suddenly hid into a nearby bush.
"A normal Red-eyed White Bird will be dead once it sees me. Even a spiritual bird can only last a little longer….."
Fang Yuan reached the One-eyed Spring and filled his bamboo canteen with the spring water to the brim. "This time….maybe I should trek deeper in!"
In his heart, he already treated the whole Green Peak like his own land.
The spring water brought a cooling effect to the body. After Fang Yuan drank till his heart's content, he felt refreshed and continued to explore the inner parts of the secluded valley with the Flower Fox Ferret.
"Hmm, this spiritual land is definitely incredible….."
Even though he did not find any spiritual plants, there were many flowers blooming and the trees were bearing fruits at this unusual time. This scene filled Fang Yuan with emotions as he felt sorry for these plants.
"Wasted! Totally wasted!"
He looked at a piece of land which was fully grown with weed and felt distressed. "If this piece of land was used to grow spiritual plants, the food produced would be enough to last the both of us for an entire year. Damn those Red-eyed White Birds…."
He cursed softly.
After all, if he were to raise his voice, he might disturb the spiritual birds and they would come and surround the both of them. By then, they would be in big trouble.
"Logically speaking, this spiritual land in the mountain should have one or two types of spiritual plants growing…..Why are there none?"
As he went in deeper into the mountain, Fang Yuan frowned. He reached a big pit and squatted down. "The spiritual energy is stronger here as compared to the surroundings. Looks like there might be a spiritual object here before, just that it has been removed….."
He sighed and finally knew where the spiritual plants are.
If he was correct, it should be in the nest of the Red-eyed White King Bird!
As a spiritual beast, it would definitely hide the spiritual plants very well like how humans would hide their precious items.
"Hmm?"
At that moment, Fang Yuan's expression changed and hid behind a bush.
"Chirp!"
A black dot from the sky came nearer and nearer along with a deafening cry.
Translator's Thoughts
JTJTY97 JTJTY97
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