Four Heavenly Gates

"Father..."

Outside the Valley, Zhou Wenwu looked back at the Secluded Valley as he walked away, "Giving my sister away as a servant? What will happen to our Zhou Family's reputation once this gets out?"

"You worry too much. It's just an excuse. If you don't say anything, and I don't say anything, who will know it's Wenxin!"

Zhou Tong shook his head, "Your sister is too mischievous. She needs someone to temper her personality. When I'm around, it's fine, but if I'm not, she'll eventually bring trouble to our Zhou Family!"

"But..."

Zhou Wenwu said, "I still don't think it's appropriate. Sister's reputation... Wait, Father, you're not actually thinking of...?"

"Heh heh... The Young Layman isn't that kind of person. Even if he were, if I gain a good son-in-law, what is there to lose?"

Zhou Tong stroked his beard, "Although your sister is mischievous, her nature isn't bad. And with them spending time together daily, even if love doesn't blossom, they'll become more familiar. Perhaps she can even learn a few skills from him, which would be excellent!"

It seems Father holds that Young Layman in high regard!

Zhou Wenwu remained silent. In reality, he could see that Zhou Tong was resolute and had already made up his mind. No matter how much he tried to persuade him, it would be futile.

Moreover, in this world, the views were different. Giving a daughter or sister to a powerful individual was considered an honor if they accepted!

"What's more..."

Zhou Tong suddenly sighed, "Qingye City is like an egg balanced precariously. I have no choice but to find a way out for the Zhou Family. Wenwu, you don't need to return to the city with me. Go directly to Lieyang Commandery and find your third aunt. Stay there for a while!"

Has the situation reached this point?

Zhou Wenwu was startled. This action was akin to entrusting his children's future to someone else. He immediately felt indignant, "When Song Yujie died, you were still recovering from serious injuries, Father. Our family was in the deep mountains and old forests. How dare Song Zhong do this?"

"If it were him before, he wouldn't dare. But now, it's hard to say..."

Zhou Tong shook his head.

People with nothing to lose are the most terrifying. Song Zhong lost his only son in his old age. One truly couldn't predict how his mindset would change.

Furthermore, he was an elder, while Zhou Tong was merely an Outer Sect Steward, and from an opposing faction at that.

If the other party had no will to live and wanted to drag a group of people down with him, Zhou Tong wouldn't be able to escape.

Zhou Tong's expression was as dark as water. He even suspected that the poisoning incident was likely the work of the Song family.

Of course, he didn't need to tell Zhou Wenwu about this.

"Then let's go together, Father. We haven't done anything wrong, so we have nothing to fear!"

Zhou Wenwu shivered. Song Zhong had broken through the Injury Shock Two Gates and was an ultimate expert at the Seventh Gate!

If he truly went mad and massacred Qingye City, there would be no one to stop him. After all, this was not the Gui Ling Sect's mountain gate.

"Go?"

Upon hearing this, a bitter smile appeared on Zhou Tong's face, "You and your sister can go, but your father cannot!"

These were just speculations, the worst-case scenario. Perhaps it wouldn't actually come to this.

If the Zhou Family were to move their entire household at this critical juncture, what would the entire Qingye City think?

If they retreated at such a crucial moment, the Zhou Family would have no place in Qingye City in the future.

Families at this time were like wild beasts, with territorial concepts. Qingye City was undoubtedly the Zhou Family's territory. Once they discovered the Zhou Family couldn't protect it, or if they fled, they would absolutely be abandoned, and other forces would occupy it.

Therefore, the more critical the situation, the more Zhou Tong couldn't leave.

"Don't worry, Song Zhong and I are ultimately from the same sect. With the Lin Family here, he might not dare to act recklessly!"

Zhou Tong was worried in his heart, but he still comforted Zhou Wenwu.

He himself thought so too. Otherwise, if he were absolutely certain it was a death trap, a desperate situation, with his cunning nature, he would never have returned to court death.

"Your father is sending you to me as a maid?"

At the same time, Fang Yuan stared at Zhou Wenxin in front of him, utterly speechless.

"N-no..."

As soon as he said that, Zhou Wenxin, Miss Zhou, was on the verge of tears.

Seeing Fang Yuan approach, she retreated in extreme fear, covering her shoulders with her hands, "What... what do you want? Don't come any closer!"

"Why is it that I seem like the big bad guy?"

Fang Yuan touched his chin, "Let's just say I'm not interested in you. Even if I were prepared to be a beast, if a young master wants a maid, isn't that only natural?"

"Wuwu..."

As soon as this was mentioned, Zhou Wenxin could no longer hold back. Her shoulders shook, and large tears streamed down her face, "You bad person... wuwu... bullying me again..."

"Miss, you are really overthinking things!"

Fang Yuan frowned, "Actually, I'm planning to send you out of the mountain today!"

"What?"

Her sobbing stopped abruptly. Zhou Wenxin looked up, blinking her tear-filled eyes at Fang Yuan.

According to her thoughts, falling into this scoundrel's hands meant she would be severely humiliated. She never expected that Fang Yuan wouldn't even care about her and was planning to send her away immediately!

In an instant, her fear vanished, replaced by a sense of humiliation.

Moments before, she had believed that being a slave or a maidservant was the greatest humiliation in the world, but now she knew there was something worse: wanting to be a slave and being unable to!

"You don't want to?"

Fang Yuan became genuinely interested. "Or would you rather I defile you?"

"I... I..."

Zhou Wenxin gritted her teeth, wishing she could lunge forward and bite the smug young man to death.

But remembering her Father's instructions from last night, the crisis in Qingye City, and especially his stern, final reprimand, she took a sharp breath. "I'm not leaving!"

"Hmm?"

This attitude immediately gave Fang Yuan a sense of something unusual. Is this entrusting her to my care? It seems the impact of Song Yujie's death is more severe than I imagined!

"You can stay in this desolate wilderness for as long as you wish, but I warn you, do not step into the Secluded Valley. Otherwise, you're responsible for your own life and death!"

Fang Yuan decided to go back and think it over, issuing a warning first.

After all, the Flower Fox Ferret wouldn't show any mercy. If this little girl truly tried to probe the secrets of the Secluded Valley, it wouldn't hesitate to act.

By then, this delicate young miss would likely become a pile of fertilizer.

"Cannot enter the valley?"

The young miss Zhou glanced at the surrounding deep mountains and old forests, hearing the faint roars of various beasts. She couldn't help but shiver. Still, she put on a brave face. "If I'm not to enter, then I won't!"

"Very well!"

Fang Yuan turned and left, abandoning Zhou Wenxin right there.

With the tents and other supplies left behind by the Zhou family during their camp, she wouldn't freeze or starve anytime soon. Fang Yuan naturally didn't care.

As for the talk of being a maidservant, what idiot would take that seriously? And cause a heap of trouble for it?

"She's still here?"

Unconsciously, the sun began to set, and darkness steadily expanded.

Fang Yuan was reading the Iron Cloth Shirt manual, idly making gestures with his hand. Seeing the Flower Fox Ferret approach, he asked casually.

The Flower Fox Ferret shook its head in a very human-like manner.

"Sigh... It seems the matters in Qingye City are indeed quite troublesome..."

Fang Yuan stood up, let out a long breath, and murmured, gazing in the direction of Qingye City.

The only reason Zhou Tong stubbornly left his daughter here was to seek protection and perhaps forge a connection.

Understanding this, Fang Yuan immediately made up his mind.

If this gift proved satisfactory, he would keep the girl for a few days and then send her back to the city. If not, he could simply send her away. He would do as he pleased; what could Zhou Tong do about it?

"This 'Iron Cloth Shirt'..."

With his thoughts clear, Fang Yuan began to carefully ponder the cultivation technique he had obtained.

He was now a minor expert who had broken through four gates, and he possessed the Gui Ling Heart Method. Even though it was missing some crucial parts, it was still a profound secret manual from the Gui Ling Sect. It provided accurate common knowledge and realm divisions for martial arts.

With this foundation, when he looked at the Iron Cloth Shirt, he immediately ruled out the possibility of Zhou Tong having tampered with it.

"Currently, the martial arts I have, Black Sand Palm and Hard Qi Skill, can only be cultivated to the fifth gate. After that, I'll need to find new techniques. But Iron Cloth Shirt is different!"

A strange light flickered in Fang Yuan's eyes. "Paired with the Eagle Claw Skill, it perfectly forms the Eagle Claw Iron Cloth Shirt, which can be cultivated to the Great Perfection of the Twelve Gates of Golden Lock and Heavy Tower realm!"

Just for this reason alone, Fang Yuan had to accept Zhou Tong's request for his daughter to seek shelter here.

After all, it was too important for the improvement of his strength.

It was like getting a pillow when you were sleepy. Even setting aside the life-saving favor, this gift was extraordinary.

"The Twelve Gates of Golden Lock and Heavy Tower. After the first eight gates come the Four Heavenly Gates, divided into Yin, Yang, Di, and Tian. Finally, one breaks through the Tian Gate and ascends to Martial Ancestor!"

"The Gui Ling Heart Method vaguely contains content related to this, but the Iron Cloth Shirt doesn't mention it at all, clearly indicating it's one level inferior and lacks the method to reach Martial Ancestor!"

"But for me, the current Iron Cloth Shirt is enough! Of course, I can't neglect the Black Sand Palm. I'll raise it to the fifth level as soon as possible, and then I'll fully practice the Eagle Claw Iron Cloth Shirt!"

Fang Yuan made his decision.

For any other martial artist, transforming martial arts and practicing techniques would undoubtedly require painstaking effort and slow progress, with no room for haste.

But for Fang Yuan, it was merely a matter of proficiency. A few more repetitions and he'd master it.

After one night, he looked at the proficiency bar, which had filled up by nearly a tenth again, and was quite satisfied. "If I could spend another year quietly farming, then the Song family, the Gui Ling Sect, everyone would have to step aside!"

"Heh heh!"

At this moment, the Flower Fox Ferret transformed into a white blur and suddenly appeared in the clearing, gesturing with its little paws.

"Oh? Something happened to the young miss outside the valley?"

Fang Yuan thought for a moment, casually grabbed a towel to wipe off his sweat, and went to the camp outside the valley.

He saw Zhou Wenxin curled up in a corner, holding two pieces of flint and trembling as she tried to strike a pile of firewood, but couldn't get a spark.

"Pfft!"

Seeing her like this, Fang Yuan couldn't help but chuckle, finding Zhou Tong rather amusing.

Sending this young miss to be his maidservant was simply wishful thinking. It was already a remarkable feat if she could take care of herself.