Everyone feared being watched, everyone feared becoming the next target of robbery.
Watching this scene, the last trace of luck in Fang Yuan's heart vanished completely.
"There's no doubt that if the bandits strike, with my family's conspicuous recent behavior—selling wild boars and buying large quantities of grain and supplies—
—we'll definitely be put on the fat-sheep list by those traitorous insiders and be the first to bear the brunt!"
The crisis was no longer a possibility, but an inevitability! Perhaps there was only one day left, or even less!
Fang Yuan quickened his pace toward his courtyard gate.
When he was still several dozen steps from home, he suddenly noticed a figure lingering not far outside his courtyard wall.
The man appeared casual, but his eyes kept darting into the courtyard.
Fang Yuan's expression darkened sharply. His gaze instantly turned cold and keen, and his hand unconsciously pressed against the handle of the chopping knife at his waist.
"Who's this fool who dares to spy around at a time like this? A scout for the bandits? Or some village rat with evil intentions?"
His blood and qi stirred faintly within him as he prepared to strike at any moment.
Yet the man seemed to sense his approach and vigilance. Rather than panicking and fleeing or showing hostility,
he turned around of his own accord and cupped his hands toward Fang Yuan.
There was even a faint, somewhat scholarly but composed smile on his face as he called out, "Is that Brother Fang Yuan approaching?"
Fang Yuan slowed to a stop and studied the newcomer carefully.
The other man looked a little over twenty. He wore a faded blue scholar's robe, neither new nor old. Though dressed like a scholar, he was not clad in fine garments.
His features were