You Curse All You Want

"Hmm?" Mo Yan's brow furrowed, anger flashing across her face. She finally realized she had been played by Fang Yuan.

"Heh, you've got some nerve, trying to fool your own auntie!" she said, reaching out her right hand to grab Fang Yuan.

Fang Yuan didn't retreat a step, throwing his head back and laughing, "Mo Yan, you better think clearly!"

Mo Yan's movement stopped. She remained outside the door, her outstretched right hand hovering in mid-air, a flicker of hesitation and annoyance crossing her face.

There were explicit rules within the clan. Students were protected within the academy; no one was allowed to trespass into dormitories and apprehend students. Mo Yan only wanted to teach Fang Yuan a small lesson today, to let him taste some hardship. She absolutely did not want to risk violating the clan rules.

If I alone violated the clan rules, it would be one thing. But I fear implicating my family, dragging my grandfather into it. With this thought, Mo Yan resentfully withdrew her hand.

She looked at Fang Yuan inside the room, her eyes wide. If the anger in her gaze could turn into flames, it would have incinerated Fang Yuan in an instant.

"I never lied to you. I said I'd take you to find Fang Yuan, and now you've found him. It seems you have something to say to me." Fang Yuan clasped his hands behind his back, a slight smile on his face, showing no fear of the Rank 2 Gu Master's might. He met Mo Yan's angry gaze unflinchingly.

He was only one step away from Mo Yan. One person was inside, the other outside.

But this distance felt as vast as a chasm.

"Hehehe, Fang Yuan, Fang Yuan, you've certainly studied the clan rules thoroughly." Mo Yan suppressed her anger, her face a mask of cold smiles. "It's a shame you can only delay me for now by relying on the clan rules. You can't possibly avoid leaving your dormitory forever. I'd like to see how long you can hide!"

Fang Yuan let out a hearty laugh, looking at Mo Yan dismissively. "Then I'm even more eager to see how long you can block me. Ah, it's already night. You have a bed to sleep in, but what about me? If I'm not in class tomorrow, and the Academy Elder investigates, what do you think I'll say?"

"You!" Mo Yan roared in anger, pointing a finger at Fang Yuan, her body tensing. "Do you really think I wouldn't dare come in and grab you?"

Creak.

Fang Yuan opened the dormitory door completely. The corners of his mouth curved into a smile, his eyes as deep and serene as a pool. His tone was filled with the certainty of someone in control of the situation, speaking to Mo Yan with a mix of provocation and candidness, "Then go ahead and make your move."

"Hehehe..." Mo Yan, however, calmed down. She narrowed her eyes and looked at Fang Yuan. "You think I'll fall for your taunts?"

Fang Yuan shrugged. He had long seen through Mo Yan's nature.

If he had closed the door, or left it half-open, Mo Yan would have had at least a fifty percent chance of forcing her way in. But by deliberately opening the door wide, he instead made Mo Yan calm down, become more cautious, and the possibility of her forcing her way in became minuscule.

His five hundred years of experience had long allowed him to discern the weaknesses of human nature.

He turned around brazenly, exposing his back completely to Mo Yan. If Mo Yan were to grab him now, she would almost certainly succeed in one strike. But Mo Yan remained standing outside the door, unmoving, as if an invisible mountain blocked her path.

Mo Yan stared angrily, grinding her teeth, never making a move, until Fang Yuan sat down on his bed.

"This is the tragedy of humanity," Fang Yuan thought to himself, sitting cross-legged and looking at Mo Yan standing foolishly outside the door. "Sometimes, what prevents people from acting isn't material difficulties, but the shackles on their minds."

In terms of cultivation, Fang Yuan was no match for Mo Yan at this moment. Yet, despite possessing Rank 2 cultivation, she could only watch Fang Yuan helplessly, afraid to make a move.

She was only a few steps away from Fang Yuan, the door wide open with no obstruction. What truly tied her hands were her own inhibitions.

"Humans study painstakingly in myriad ways to understand the world and its rules, precisely to utilize those rules. To be bound by the rules, and to be restricted by one's own knowledge, that is the true tragedy." Fang Yuan cast one last glance at Mo Yan, then slowly closed his eyes, sinking his consciousness into his primeval sea.

"This Fang Yuan is actually cultivating right in front of me! He's showing me absolutely no respect!!" Seeing this, Mo Yan was so enraged that her chest felt tight, and she almost spat blood.

She wished she could rush forward and punch Fang Yuan a few times immediately!

But she knew she couldn't.

Mo Yan suddenly felt a pang of regret. Standing outside the door, she felt an awkward predicament, like riding a tiger and unable to dismount.

She was unwilling to give up just like that, but her pride wouldn't allow it. She had gone to great lengths to teach Fang Yuan a lesson, only to end up looking foolish.

Especially with a family servant watching her.

"Damn it! That brat Fang Yuan is so uncooperative, so cunning!" Mo Yan thought resentfully, and began to shout and curse outside the door, trying to provoke Fang Yuan out.

"Fang Yuan, you little brat, come out if you dare!"

"Fang Yuan, as a man, you should stand by your actions. Now you're acting like a coward, it's truly despicable!"

"Don't pretend to be something you're not, just get out here if you know what's good for you."

"You coward, you useless waste!!"

Fang Yuan remained deaf to her words, offering no response whatsoever.

After cursing for a while, Mo Yan felt no usual satisfaction from scolding someone. Instead, she felt increasingly stifled.

She felt more and more like a clown, or a shrew. Her actions of blocking the doorway were truly undignified.

"Arghhh, this is infuriating!" Mo Yan was driven to distraction and finally gave up on the provocation.

"Fang Yuan, you can dodge the first day, but not the fifteenth." She stomped her foot resentfully and left, unwilling to accept defeat. Before leaving, she threw out an order, "Gao Wan, you stand here and watch him like a hawk! I refuse to believe he won't come out."

"Your humble servant obeys!" The burly servant Gao Wan quickly agreed, his gaze following Mo Yan as she left. In his heart, however, he lamented. The mountain nights were damp and cold, and he had to stand guard all night. A single mistake could lead to catching a chill. This was truly a thankless task.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

The primeval sea churned, waves rising and falling.

Bronze-colored true essence gathered like water, forming waves that, under Fang Yuan's mental command, continuously surged and washed against the surrounding aperture walls.

The aperture walls of a Rank 1 initial stage Gu Master were a white membrane. Now, under the impact of the bronze true essence, they displayed colorful light and shadow, emitting an indescribable profound charm.

Time trickled by, and the water level of the bronze primeval sea slowly receded.

From the original forty-four percent, it dropped to twelve percent.

"For a Gu Master to advance their realm, they must continuously consume true essence to nurture their apertures. The aperture walls of initial stage Gu Masters are membranes of light, mid-stage Gu Masters have membranes of water, and high-stage Gu Masters have membranes of stone. If I want to advance from initial stage to mid-stage, I must wash and nurture the light membrane aperture walls into water membrane aperture walls."

His five hundred years of memories from his past life allowed Fang Yuan to grasp the cultivation at this stage with absolute clarity, as if seeing through a fire.

He slowly opened his eyes.

He saw that it was already late at night.

A crescent moon hung high in the night sky, casting down moonlight as pure as water.

The door was ajar, and moonlight streamed in, reminding Fang Yuan of a famous poem from Earth: "Before my bed, the bright moon shines, I thought there was frost on the ground."

The night breeze stirred, bringing a chill.

Fang Yuan didn't have any Gu worms with a warming function, and relying on his fifteen-year-old body, he couldn't help but shiver.

The mountain nights were still quite cold.

"Brat, you finally opened your eyes. When are you going to stop cultivating?! Hurry up and come out. Whether you stick your head out or pull it back, it's still one cut. You hit our Young Master Mo Bei, and it's only a matter of time before our young lady teaches you a lesson." Seeing Fang Yuan finally stir, the burly servant Gao Wan, who had been standing by the door, immediately perked up.

Fang Yuan narrowed his eyes. Judging by the situation, had that Rank 2 female Gu Master already left?

"Brat, did you hear me? Get out here quickly. You have a room to live in and a bed to sleep on, but I have to stand out in this courtyard. If you don't come out soon, do you believe I'll just barge in?!" Seeing Fang Yuan unresponsive, Gao Wan threatened.

Fang Yuan remained unmoved.

"You damn brat, get out here and surrender. You've offended our Mo Family branch, and you won't have good days ahead. Hurry up and kowtow to the young lady to apologize, and there might still be a chance for her to forgive you." Gao Wan continued to curse.

Fang Yuan turned a deaf ear. He leisurely took a primeval stone from his money pouch and held it in his palm. Then, he slowly closed his eyes again.

Seeing that Fang Yuan intended to continue cultivating, Gao Wan became anxious and began to curse loudly, "With your C-grade aptitude, you're at best a Rank 2 Gu Master. What's so great about cultivating? How can you possibly contend against our entire Mo Family branch by yourself? Kid, are you deaf? Did you hear what this old man said?!"