"I've trained hard in basic martial arts for seven consecutive days, but to think I only managed to endure 2 strikes from Fang Yuan and lost consciousness afterwards. Shame, unforgivable shame!" Gu Yue Mo Bei exclaimed, full of anguish and regret.
In the family garden, he faced the wooden puppet, unleashing punches and kicks that were resulting in resounding echoes.
Suddenly, he heard a laughing voice. "Little brother, do you have a deep hatred for the puppet? Why the great resentment?"
Upon hearing this familiar voice, Gu Yue Mo Bei relaxed and stopped his attacks. He turned his head. "Sister, you're back!"
"Uh-huh, the family council sent me out for an investigation mission which lasted more than ten days…" Gu Yue Mo Yan laughingly replied. She was Mo Bei's blood-related sister, a Rank two middle stage Gu Master.
But soon, her face turned grim, her eyes sharply gazing at Mo Bei. "Brother, what's the matter with those bruises on your face? Who bullied you?"
"Ah, it's nothing. I accidentally tripped and fell." A hint of panic flashed across Mo Bei's face as he came up with an excuse. He did not wish for his sister to know of such an embarrassing event. The truth of the Mo family's future heir and the family head, Gu Yue Mo Chen's beloved grandson, consecutively knocked out twice in combat. But the fortunate thing was that he wasn't the only unlucky one.
The others had suffered as well.
"Oh, you have to be more careful in that case. As for your combat training, this won't do. You do not have a Gu that enhances your defense right now, so use thick towels to cover yourself. This will protect your limbs from getting hurt." Gu Yue Mo Yan instructed before leaving.
"Hello, young lady!"
"Good morning, young lady!"
"Young Miss is back! Your servant greets you, Miss!"
Gu Yue Mo Yan hastily walked with a cold demeanor, and the servants she met on the way bowed and paid respects to her without fail.
She walked to the study room. Without any warning, Mo Yan pushed the door and entered through. Inside the room, Gu Yue Mo Chen was practicing his calligraphy art with his back facing her.
"You're back?" Gu Yue Mo Chen asked directly without turning his body. "After investigating for half a month, what is the situation with the wolves' den?"
"How did you know it's me, grandfather?" Mo Yan gasped, slightly taken aback.
"Hmph, in the entire family, you're the only person that dares to enter my room without even knocking the door once. Who else can it be besides you, my beloved granddaughter," Gu Yue Mo Chen reprimanded, although his face showed traces of concern and warmth, and he looked at Mo Yan with a smile.
Mo Yan pouted. "When it comes to doting, you actually adore little brother more. However since he's the future family head, you are more strict on him so others cannot sense your concern for him."
After a while, she asked: "Grandfather, little brother was beaten up! I asked him and he lied about the situation, so I had no choice but to ask you."
Gu Yue Mo Chen's face turned serious. "You have not answered my question." He put down his brush and sat down.
Mo Yan reluctantly reported, "The wolves' den is almost full, so according to the current rate of breeding speed, although there won't be an outbreak this year, there will definitely be a wolf tide next year at our mountain village."
Gu Yue Mo Chen enquired again, "Generally there's an outbreak every three years, so this is no surprise. However, within that hoard, how many Thunder Crown Wolves are there?"
"Around three."
Gu Yue Mo Chen nodded, feeling assured. The Thunder Crown Wolves were the head of the pack, and were the most troublesome to deal with during an outbreak.
Three wasn't a large number since Qing Mao Mountain had three clan villages. Each village could handle one wolf, and the pressure of the outbreak would be greatly reduced.
"Grandfather, you have not told me about my little brother's matter yet!" Mo Yan pursued again.
"I suppose there's no matter telling you, but he was beaten up. The first time was seven days ago, and the second time happened today. It happened in front of the school gates, and he was beaten until he sprawled on the ground and fainted on both occasions." Gu Yue Mo Chen laughingly replied.
"Who has the guts to knock out my little brother?" Mo Yan stared, wide-eyed.
"He's a classmate of Mo Bei called Fang Yuan. He fights really well…" Gu Yue Mo Chen sniggered.
Gu Yue Mo Yan's eyes grew larger, and she was perplexed as she replied, "Grandfather, what are you saying? He is your own blood-related grandson!"
Gu Yue Mo Chen stared deeply at his granddaughter and spoke meaningfully, "Mo Yan my dear, you are a girl so you may not understand. Defeat and humiliation only serve as fuel for improvement. Without failure one can never develop and grow into a true, mature man."
"Mo Bei was defeated, and that is his own failure. Once he wakes up, he will ask fighting techniques from the teachers. This is a sort of improvement, and this improvement comes from Fang Yuan, who beat him into realization. As his sister, if you really care and want to protect your brother, you should not interfere with his growth.
Fang Yuan is just a boy with C grade talent while Mo Bei has B grade talent. With us supporting him, he will step over Fang Yuan and drive him into the ground eventually."
"Leave this opponent to Mo Bei. In a woman's life, she needs a family and a lover. But for a man, a family is not a necessity, yet what he cannot lack is a rival. Do not find trouble with Fang Yuan, do you hear me? This is a matter between the youths. If you get involved, this will be perceived as bullying.
Breaking the rules like that will cause our Mo family to be looked down upon."
Mo Yan gasped wordlessly, but under Gu Yue Mo Chen's gaze, she finally lowered her head. "Yes grandfather, your granddaughter understands."
She staggered out of the study room, but even Gu Yue Mo Chen did not notice—her eyes shined ominously.
"Grandfather, this is your way of loving your grandson. And I, Mo Yan, have my own methods." Mo Yan's heart already had different plans.
...
In the inn's dining room, several tables were occupied and people were having dinner, thus the environment was rather lively. One or two waiters served dishes rapidly, traversing between tables.
Fang Yuan sat at the table near the windows. He ordered a few dishes and ate while gazing out of the window.
Looking out, the sunset looked like fire, slowly burning away.
Half of the sun had already set; it longingly gazed at the lands, its afterglow being the sun's reluctance.
Far up the mountains, it was already veiled by the seeping nightfall. The streets nearby were gathered full of people who were going home. Some of them were barefooted, some muddy farmers, some of them herb pickers, some hunters holding mountain pheasants, wild boars and other animals, and some were Gu masters.
They wore a blue uniform, looking clean and spirited, a headband and a waist belt completing their appearance.
The belt had a specific function, for Rank one Gu Masters it was a blue belt. There was a bronze plate at the front, and the number "1" could be seen. For Rank two Gu Masters, their belt was red, and the steel plate in the middle showed the number "2".
Sitting at the side of the window, Fang Yuan observed that there were six to seven Rank one Gu Masters, and they were mostly young men. There was also a Rank two Gu Master, a middle aged man.
As for Rank three Gu Masters, they were the family elders. And fourth rank would be the clan head, the lord of a village.
Rank five Gu Masters were hardly seen, and in the entire history of the Gu Yue clan, there were only the first generation clan head and the fourth generation clan head who had reached this level.
"Actually, finding out a clan's strength is very simple. Just find a spot in the village, settle down and observe the people for a few hours, see how many Rank one and Rank two Gu Masters there are and you'll be able to see the clan's strength and wealth." Fang Yuan came to a conclusion with his accumulated knowledge of 500 years.
Using the Gu Yue village as an example, there were around twenty people walking on the streets, and six were Gu Masters. In these six, there was a 50% chance of having one Rank two Gu Master.
With this strength and capital, the Gu Yue Clan managed to monopolize one of the best resource locations in Qing Mao Mountain. But the mountain was just a small corner in the entire area of the Southern Border. The Gu Yue clan could only be considered as a middle-low tier clan.
"I have only started my cultivation, and with Rank one initial stage, I do not even have the qualification to roam the Southern Border. I need at least Rank three cultivation to be able to further roam the world," Fang Yuan sighed as he consumed his dinner.
Qing Mao Mountain was too small; it could not contain his ambitions, and he was determined to leave.
"Haha, Gu Yue Fang Yuan, I have finally found you!" At this moment, a middle-aged man laughed deviously as he approached.
"Hmm?" Fang Yuan turned slightly to see a man with a yellowish skin tone and hanging brows, but he had a huge body size and developed muscles. He strode several steps to Fang Yuan with his arms folded and proudly stared at the youth who was still consuming his dinner, with a hint of hostility.
"Fang Yuan, you've gotten yourself into huge trouble, do you know that? Heh heh heh, you have dared to hit our young master of the Mo family, and now our young lady is here to settle the score with you." The middle-aged man snickered continuously. He constantly stared and sized up Fang Yuan, faintly emitting a threatening aura.