Chapter 118: Chapter 117: Night Raid (Congratulations in Silver!)_1 Chapter 118: Chapter 117: Night Raid (Congratulations in Silver!)_1 A month later.
Fang Xi practiced his daily exercises and then went out for some fresh air.
Generally speaking, a round of inspections around the Spiritual Field counted as having been out for the day.
Just as he was pondering whether to go back to refining pills or studying arrays, Widow Wang returned, cursing and complaining.
“What happened?”
Fang Xi stopped Widow Wang and casually asked.
“It’s a disaster, such a disaster!”
Widow Wang looked quite upset: “Today, the Mo Family came to collect the land… The Mu Family suffered terribly, the Head of Mu Family knelt down to no avail, and several Elders died right in the Spiritual Field, their blood splattering on the spot…”
“Oh? Only the Mo Family?”
Fang Xi was somewhat puzzled.
“It’s said that the Head of Mo Family made a deal with the Head of Feng Family, seizing control of all the debt. I think it was a long-term plot; they’ve had their eyes on this land…” Widow Wang said indignantly.
As a tenant farmer, she was quite averse to such cunning acts of land grabbing by landlords.
“Ah, I see!”
Fang Xi quickly understood, a piece of Spirit Land was not enough for two families to share. Moreover, it was just the lackluster spiritual energy environment of Gemini East Peak. It wasn’t impossible for the Mo Family to pay some extra Spirit Stones or another price to get some of the debts from the Feng Family.
And the Head of Mo Family was in the late stages of Qi Refining!
With such a person taking action, and Ruan Xingling not being around, Mu Wen was truly powerless.
“The Mu Family… is finished!” Widow Wang lamented: “Although I don’t like that Head of Mu Family, the people of Mu Family are innocent… Back then, the Mu clan was so prosperous, and now, in just a decade or so…”
Back then, when Mu Xiu established the foundation of the family, it was a matter of envy for many Individual Cultivators around.
Even Widow Wang had heard people talk about it many times, with evident envy in their tone.
Just a few years?
As for the future of the Mu Family, Fang Xi didn’t care.
He had already mentioned to Ruan Xingling, saving Mu Zhong as a branch of the family was kind enough.
As for Mu Wen? He could go to hell for all Fang Xi cared!
What Fang Xi didn’t expect was that in the afternoon, another person came to visit—it was Mu Zhong!
The man was old and decrepit, with white hair but spirited eyes. Carrying a jar of Spirit Wine, he knelt down as soon as he saw Fang Xi: “Nephew greets Great Uncle!”
“Quickly stand up. What brings you here today?”
Fang Xi invited him to sit under the Peach Blossom Tree and had Widow Wang serve some Spiritual Tea.
“I don’t feel like drinking tea today, I want to drink wine!”
Mu Zhong smiled, showing his yellowed teeth, poured out the Spiritual Tea, and filled a large bowl with Spirit Wine.
Fang Xi took a whiff of the drink; it was strong, much like the ‘Red Blood Wine’ he had sold before.
“Gulp gulp!”
Mu Zhong gulped down a bowl, his voice starting to choke up: “The main family is undone… All the branches have lost their place and have come to seek my shelter, but with only two mu of land and a large family to feed, how many can I save?”
“I went to see the land collection today… The second branch’s old uncle, he died by smashing his head into the ridges of the field!”
“Our ancestor struggled through trials and hardships to secure our family’s inherited land, and now it’s been lost. How are we to face our ancestor when we pass away, woo woo woo…”
At last, the old man seemed drunk, starting to babble nonsensically.
“Back then, the ancestor praised you highly… saying that Mu Wen had grown arrogant and was unfit to be head of the family, and had thoughts of replacing him. It was the Elders who persuaded him against it, including the second branch’s uncle. Yet today, such is his fate. My heart aches…”
Fang Xi remained silent, just quietly listening.
At last, Mu Zhong, perhaps tired, leaned against the Peach Blossom Tree, looking towards Gemini East Peak and muttering to himself, eventually falling asleep…
Several hours later.
Fang Xi approached and checked Mu Zhong’s breathing, relieved to find the man still alive.
After all, Mu Zhong was quite old and nearing the end. Coupled with today’s shock, if he were to die right there, it would be a bit of a hassle.
‘Could it be that he felt his end was near and deliberately came to die here, just to cause me trouble?’
‘No, that can’t be it… It must have been emotional venting, and since he can’t talk to anyone else, he certainly couldn’t go to West Peak to trouble those widows and orphans…’
He rubbed his forehead, sighed, and went out to call Hai Dagui, asking him to carry Mu Zhong back to his home.
…
“Mother…”
In less than half an hour, Hai Dagui returned, looking as if he had been chased: “It was terrifying, just terrifying…”
“Yo, Dagui, what happened? Did you run into a Silver Armored Demon?”
Widow Wang, leaning against the door, couldn’t help but laugh at the scene.
“You didn’t see it, Mu Zhong’s house was crammed with so many people… As soon as I laid him down, someone grabbed my clothes and asked if the Master here was taking on more tenants… How could I discuss that with outsiders? Then a few women pulled on me, asking if I wanted a wife…”
As Hai Dagui spoke, a hint of red flushed across his face.
“Yo, never thought you’d catch someone’s eye. Back in the day, all the Mu Family women were so haughty, but hey, wait a minute…”
Widow Wang laughed so hard she doubled over, but suddenly something felt off: “Aren’t you just in need of a wife, Dagui? Why didn’t you bring one back? Are you afraid of the Master’s blame, and you hid her somewhere else? No worries, just bring her in openly. I’ll talk to the Master for you…”
“The girls from the Mu Family, I wouldn’t dare take!”
Hai Dagui shook his head quickly, “Although I’m lacking a wife, I know the dangers involved, I wouldn’t dare…”
“Alright, alright, everyone go back to work.”
Fang Xi had been listening for a while and realized the topic was veering off course; he couldn’t help but intervene reprimandingly, “Go do what you need to… Oh right, where’s Mu Wen?”
“After the Head of the Mu Family had his land taken away, he had no face to stay on Peach Blossom Island and left straight away…”
Hai Dagui relayed everything he knew.
Although the Mu Family people had lost their Spirit Land, they still had some savings. They could rent a Dongfu, and if push came to shove, they could rely on working as Spirit Farmers or servants… With a skill in hand, surviving on Peach Blossom Island wasn’t impossible; it would just be a lot harder, like it is for Individual Cultivators.
But Mu Wen absolutely had no face to stay.
This person might go to Ling Kong Island, but sadly, the Mu Family’s shop on Ling Kong Island had likely been traded to the Feng Family, and whether Ruan Xingling would continue to appoint this person as the head manager was truly hard to say.
Recently, with Ruan Xingling not around and the young Island Master Ruan Dan in charge, judging from her daring to challenge herself and stepping over others to make a name for herself, Fang Xi was sure this woman was the kind who would spare no kin.
…
Half a month later.
Deep into the night.
Tonight was dark and lightless, with clouds covering the moon.
A shadowy figure stealthily ascended Jadeite Cliff, arriving next to the Little Cloud Rain Array. They took out a talisman from their bosom, and it was indeed a first-grade Prohibition-breaking Talisman!
Second-grade Prohibition-breaking Talismans required extremely strict demands in both materials and the skill of the Talisman Master, making them extremely rare. By comparison, first-grade Prohibition-breaking Talismans were much more common.
This figure cast the Prohibition-breaking Talisman and opened a passage within the mist of the Little Cloud Rain Array, entering the interior of the Array.
“Fang Xi… Go die for me!”
The intruder had a fierce look on their face as they held a magic weapon in their right hand and a little black bottle in their left.
The clouds dispersed, and a shaft of moonlight illuminated the person’s face—it was Mu Wen!
He looked towards Widow Wang’s and Hai Dagui’s wooden hut, then turned towards Fang Xi’s residence, letting out a grim laugh as he crept towards the courtyard.
This time, he had made thorough preparations and was sure to…
“Huh?”
The next moment, Mu Wen lost his balance and fell onto the muddy ground, getting a mouthful of mud.
“What the…”
He looked down in astonishment to see that roots of pitch-black trees had at some point wrapped around his ankles.
“What is… this damn thing?”
Mu Wen waved the black dagger magic weapon in his hand, but it barely left any marks on the tree roots, which made him turn pale with shock.
Although the dagger wasn’t as good as the Dazzling Golden Ring, a high-grade magic weapon, it was still a mid-grade magic weapon!
The next moment, before Mu Wen could harden his heart to use a powerful magic spell at the risk of alarming others,
Whoosh!
A strong pulling force came, dragging his entire body into the soil!
On the ground, only a small pit remained, which was quickly covered with dirt by the retracting roots…
…
“Wu wu!”
Mu Wen had no idea what had happened when he fell from the top layer of the cavern and ended up battered and bruised.
Soon, he was bound at the limbs by roots coming from all directions, lifted into the air to form a spread-eagled shape.
He looked ahead, his pupils dilating in shock at the sight of a terrifyingly indescribable giant tree.
And Fang Xi was sitting cross-legged beneath the Monster Tree, connected to it by a Qi Root.
“This… Evil Cultivator? Demon creature?!”
Mu Wen screamed, but found that his Storage Bag, magic weapon, and little black bottle were all being carried by tentacles and brought to Fang Xi’s side.
“Oh, is this not my dear nephew?”
Fang Xi opened his eyes and casually walked over, looking at Mu Wen: “What brings you to your old uncle today? And at night no less?”
“This…”
Large beads of sweat rolled down Mu Wen’s forehead. He tried to mobilize his magic power but found it to be as if it was sealed, which made him even more desperate.
Fang Xi took the black dagger magic weapon and tossed it aside carelessly. He then looked at the little black bottle, having a tentacle hold it far away and open it up, only to see that tentacle start to turn black and decay…
“It must have been hard for you, to even find ‘Hundred Doves Poison’, such a deadly toxin to mid-Qi Refining cultivators…”
Fang Xi used another tentacle to cap the little bottle, though the poison was of no use to him, still, caution was necessary: “But I don’t understand, why have you targeted your old uncle? Just because your old uncle is wealthy? Oh, is it also because Jadeite Cliff is far from Mirror Moon Lake, so any commotion wouldn’t be feared? Or if you targeted the mother and daughter of Gemini West Peak, would there be the danger of too many eyes and ears? Or maybe, are you still resentful because I didn’t lend you Spirit Stones previously?”
Mu Wen looked at Fang Xi in amazement, feeling like the man had read his every thought.
And this cavern, the Demon Tree… this man was definitely an old demon who’d been cultivating for many years, which scared him to the point of tears: “Uncle, spare my life, for the sake of our ancestors… Wu wu…”
The next moment, his mouth was crammed shut by writhing vines, silencing him.
“Don’t be afraid, my dear nephew, your old uncle only needs a small favor from you, then he’ll let you go…”
Fang Xi took out a dusty grey seed and came in front of Mu Wen: “Your old uncle has never received the inheritance of puppet skill, so I had to fumble around and come up with one myself. I’ll need your help to perfect it a bit…”