"I trained my basic fists and kicks bitterly for seven days. Who would have thought I could only last two moves against Fang Yuan before he knocked me unconscious again? Humiliation—what humiliation!" Gu Yue Mo Bei's heart was filled with shame, indignation, and fury.
In the courtyard at home, he continually punched and kicked a wooden dummy, striking it with resounding thuds.
Just then, a soft laugh came from nearby. "Little brother, do you have a deep grudge against that wooden dummy? Why do you hate it so much?"
Hearing this familiar voice, Gu Yue Mo Bei's expression relaxed. He stopped attacking and turned around. "Sister, you're back!"
"Mm. The Lineage assigned me a scouting mission, so I was away for more than ten days..." Gu Yue Mo Yan replied with a smile. She was Mo Bei's elder sister and already a middle-stage Rank 2 Gu Master.
But her expression quickly changed, and a sharp glint appeared in her eyes. "Little brother, what happened to the injuries on your face? Who bullied you?"
"Ah, it's nothing. I accidentally fell while walking and bumped into something." A hint of panic flashed across Mo Bei's face as he hastily made up an excuse. He did not want his sister to learn of something so embarrassing. The future ruler of the Mo Family Branch, the own grandson of Gu Yue Mo Chen, had actually been knocked unconscious twice in a row.
Fortunately, he was not the only unlucky one. Everyone else had gotten their share of it too.
"Oh, so that's how it is. Then you must be more careful. Right, if you want to train your fists and kicks, this will not do. Since you don't have a Gu that increases defense, you need to wrap thick strips of cloth around yourself. That way, you can protect your hands and feet from injury." Gu Yue Mo Yan gave him a few instructions before leaving.
"Greetings, young lady."
"Greetings, young lady."
"The young lady has returned! This servant pays his respects to the young lady."
Gu Yue Mo Yan's face was cool and aloof as she strode swiftly onward. Every household servant she encountered along the way bowed and saluted her.
When she reached the study, she did not announce herself and simply pushed the door open.
Inside the study, Gu Yue Mo Chen stood with his back to her, practicing calligraphy before his desk.
"You're back?" Gu Yue Mo Chen did not turn around, instead asking directly, "You scouted outside for over half a month. How is the situation at that Wolf Den?"
"Grandfather, how did you know it was me?" Mo Yan froze for a moment.
"Hmph, among everyone in the household, other than you, who can rely on my favor to disregard the rules and enter without even knocking? Who else could it be?" Gu Yue Mo Chen spoke reproachfully, but when he turned around, his expression was gentle, and his eyes carried a smile as he looked at Mo Yan.
Mo Yan curled her lips. "If we are talking about favor, Grandfather actually favors little brother more. It is only because he will hold power in the future that Grandfather is strict with him. Others simply cannot understand this kind of favor."
After a pause, she asked again, "Grandfather, how did little brother get beaten? I asked him just now, but he lied. It would not be appropriate for me to force him, so I came to ask you instead."
Gu Yue Mo Chen's expression turned stern. "You still haven't answered my question."
He set down his brush, pulled over a chair, and slowly sat down.
Mo Yan could only report, "The Wolf Den is almost full. At this rate of reproduction, there may not be a wolf tide this year, but next year, a wolf tide will certainly strike our village."
Gu Yue Mo Chen asked again, "There is basically a wolf tide every three years. That is nothing unusual. But how many Thunder Crown Wolves are there in that pack?"
"About three," Mo Yan answered.
Gu Yue Mo Chen nodded, putting his mind at ease. Thunder Crown Wolves were the leaders of wolf packs and the most troublesome existence when a wolf tide struck a village.
Three Thunder Crown Wolves were not too many, because Qing Mao Mountain had three villages. With each village taking one, the pressure from the wolf tide would be greatly reduced.
"Grandfather, you still haven't told me about little brother," Mo Yan asked unwillingly.
"There is no harm in telling you. Mo Bei was indeed beaten—once seven days ago, and a second time today. He was knocked to the ground outside the academy gates, and both times he fainted on the spot," Gu Yue Mo Chen said with a smile.
"Who dared to act so outrageously and knock little brother unconscious?" Mo Yan stared.
"It was one of his classmates, called Fang Yuan. He did well to beat him..." Gu Yue Mo Chen chuckled.
Mo Yan's eyes widened even further as she asked in confusion, "Grandfather, what are you saying? Mo Bei is your own grandson!"
Gu Yue Mo Chen looked deeply at his granddaughter and said earnestly, "Mo Yan, you are a girl, so perhaps you do not understand. Failure and humiliation make people improve. Without failure, one cannot temper a mature man."
"Mo Bei was beaten; that was his own failure. The moment he regained consciousness, he began asking the guards for instruction in fist and kick techniques. That is progress. And Fang Yuan brought about that progress—he beat him awake. As his elder sister, if you truly want to care for him, do not interfere with his growth. Fang Yuan is merely a poor boy with C-grade aptitude, while Mo Bei has B-grade Aptitude and us behind him. Sooner or later, he will trample Fang Yuan beneath his feet."
"Leave this opponent to Mo Bei. In a woman's life, she needs family, friends, and a lover. But in a man's life, family, friends, and a lover may be dispensable—yet he alone must never lack an opponent. Do not go looking for trouble with Fang Yuan, understand? This is a matter for the younger generation. If you involve yourself, it will be the strong bullying the weak. If we break the rules and conventions, others will also look down on our Mo family."
Mo Yan opened her mouth several times, wanting to speak, but under Gu Yue Mo Chen's gaze, she ultimately lowered her head and answered, "Yes, Grandfather. Your granddaughter understands."
She left the study with her head lowered. Even Gu Yue Mo Bei never noticed that a different kind of light had been flashing in her eyes all along.
Grandfather, this is how you favor your grandson. But I, Mo Yan, also have my own way of protecting my little brother!
Several tables in the inn's dining hall were occupied by people eating, making the place somewhat lively.
One or two attendants carried dishes through the tables with ease, weaving back and forth.
Fang Yuan sat at a table near the window. He had ordered several dishes and ate as he gazed into the distance through the window.
At the edge of the sky, the evening clouds burned like fire in quiet stillness.
The sun had already set more than halfway. It gazed at the earth one last time with lingering attachment, and its afterglow was its reluctant backward glance.
The distant mountains had already been concealed by twilight. On the nearby streets were crowds returning home. Some were barefoot farmers covered in mud, some were herb gatherers carrying medicinal baskets, some were hunters shouldering pheasants, wild boars, and other prey, while others were Gu Masters. They usually wore neat, capable blue martial uniforms, headbands tied around their heads and wide belts fastened around their waists.
These belts were highly particular. A Rank 1 Gu Master wore a cyan belt, with a copper plate set into the front bearing the character "one."
A Rank 2 Gu Master's belt was crimson, with an iron plate embedded in the center and the character "two" carved upon it.
Sitting by the window, Fang Yuan observed for a while and saw six or seven Rank 1 Gu Masters, most of them young people. There was also one Rank 2 Gu Master, a middle-aged man.
As for Rank 3 Gu Masters, they were usually already clan elders. Rank 4 meant clan leader, the master of a village.
Rank 5 Gu Masters were rarely seen. In the history of the Gu Yue Clan, there had only been the first-generation clan leader and the fourth-generation clan leader.
Actually, judging a clan's strength is simple. All one needs to do is find a place to sit in the village, carefully observe the pedestrians for an hour or so, and see how many Rank 1 and Rank 2 Gu Masters there are. Then one can tell the clan's foundations and strength. Drawing upon five hundred years of experience, Fang Yuan summed up this lesson in his heart.
In Gu Yue village, for every twenty pedestrians on the streets, there would be six Gu Masters. Among those six Gu Masters, there was a fifty percent chance that one would be a Rank 2 Gu Master.
The Gu Yue village relied on such strength and foundations to occupy one of Qing Mao Mountain's best resource points. It could be called one of Qing Mao Mountain's overlords.
But Qing Mao Mountain was merely a tiny corner of the vast Southern Border. In the entirety of Southern Border, Gu Yue village could only be considered a lower-middle clan.
I have only just begun cultivating. With merely Rank 1 initial-stage cultivation, I do not even have the qualifications to roam Southern Border alone. At the very least, I need Rank 3 strength before I can travel far. Fang Yuan took a bite of food and sighed faintly in his heart.
Qing Mao Mountain was too small to contain his ambitions. He was destined to leave.
"Haha, Gu Yue Fang Yuan, I finally found you." At that moment, a middle-aged man approached with a sinister grin.
"Hmm?" Fang Yuan turned his head slightly. The other man had a sallow face and slanted eyebrows, yet he was tall and powerfully built, with well-developed muscles. He strode over, crossing his arms before his chest as he looked down at the seated Fang Yuan. A hint of cold light flashed in his narrow eyes.
"Fang Yuan, do you know disaster is upon you? Hehehe, you actually dared to beat our Mo family's young master. Now young lady Mo Yan is looking everywhere for you to settle the score." The middle-aged man sneered incessantly. His gaze sized Fang Yuan up and down, faintly radiating an imposing aura.
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