Robbed

"Who was that?"

Watching the siblings' retreating figures, Fang Yuan sorted the high-grade realgar powder and asked casually.

"Them... they're from a big family in the county town, the Zhou family. You were lucky today, running into Second Young Master Zhou. If it had been that willful Miss Zhou alone, well..."

The shopkeeper shook his head, clearly well-acquainted with the matter.

"Wanting red ginseng, for treatment? Has Lord Zhou fallen ill?"

"It's not that simple. The Zhou family backs the Gui Ling Sect, and Lord Zhou is a steward himself. Word is he was injured! Internal injuries! That's why he needs all sorts of herbs to replenish his vitality. Pity... if that red ginseng of yours had a hundred years—no, even fifty years—you might try claiming the notice!"

"Notice?"

Fang Yuan grew interested. "Shopkeeper, tell me about it."

"Ah, what's there to say? The Zhou family, seeing the old master hasn't recovered, put out a notice recruiting skilled doctors. They declared that if anyone can work a miracle, any condition can be met..."

The shopkeeper sighed, clearly not optimistic about Lord Zhou's future.

Fang Yuan listened, then instinctively glanced at his own attribute panel. The medical skill there stood out plainly.

Anything this system deemed worthy of recording was of a certain grade.

Though Fang Yuan had mastered many skills, only the medical skill and planting skill imparted by the Heart-Questioning Hermit had been recorded.

Thus, compared to ordinary doctors, Fang Yuan considered himself a fine physician.

But he was lazy by nature and didn't care for Miss Zhou's temperament, so he had no intention of volunteering.

'Still, the Zhou family is part of the Gui Ling Sect. They might have martial arts manuals or something... but that path is still risky. Forget it.'

The Zhou siblings, though somewhat rude, were generous with their money. Fang Yuan not only bought a large batch of realgar powder but also had some cash left over.

Leaving the shop, he wandered the streets, looking around and enjoying himself.

'Speaking of which, this incident was probably some minor figure under the Gui Ling Sect acting on their own, and their influence isn't that great...'

At noon, Fang Yuan crouched at a street corner, gnawing on a rice ball he'd brought, deep in thought.

This was good news. It meant he didn't have to flee his hometown in panic for now.

The other party cutting off his supply might have been an attempt to pressure him into leaving. But since he wasn't taking the hint, who knew what would come next?

'Maybe... I should find a martial arts manual to practice? Legend says the Gui Ling Sect has a Martial Ancestor sitting in charge. What's a Martial Ancestor? Is it impressive? And martial arts—would the system recognize it...'

The rice ball was made from Pearl Jade Crystal Rice, wrapped around a sour plum, giving off a fragrant aroma.

Around him, a few beggars had gathered, eyes gleaming, swallowing hard, clearly drawn by the smell.

If not for the busy street, they'd probably have tried to snatch it already.

"Hehe... Little Beggar, so you're here?"

Just as Fang Yuan, bothered by those pitiful stares, was considering whether to hand out a few, a somewhat familiar voice rang out beside him.

He looked up and saw that Miss Zhou, standing there with an air of superiority.

"Little Beggar? Me?"

Fang Yuan pointed at his own nose, stunned.

"You're huddled with beggars—if not a little beggar, then what?"

Miss Zhou giggled, pulling out an embroidered purse. "How about it? Want the Eldest Daughter to toss you a few coins so you can eat at a restaurant?"

Fang Yuan was speechless. He looked down at himself.

What could he do? A country bumpkin in town—wasn't this just how it looked?

He rolled his eyes, ignored her, and bit into his rice ball.

"Hehe... only a country bumpkin like you would treasure a rice ball. I just came from Fugui Tower... Huh, what's that smell?"

Miss Zhou's delicate nose twitched, and she suddenly stared at the rice ball in Fang Yuan's hand.

The grains of Pearl Jade Crystal Rice, translucent like pearls, paired with the red-and-white of the plum inside, looked nothing like a country person's food.

But the real kicker was the pure fragrance of the rice.

She'd just eaten at Fugui Tower, also Pearl Jade Crystal Rice, but this pure aroma... it was... it was unbearable...

Miss Zhou discovered, with infinite resentment, that her supposedly full stomach was growling again.

No, it wasn't simple hunger—it was attraction! The allure of food!

Her throat bobbed. The rice ball in Fang Yuan's hand seemed to become a black hole, pulling her gaze in, impossible to look away.

She couldn't take it anymore. Any longer, and she'd be drooling!

Miss Zhou wisely decided to turn and leave.

"Hey... you want one?"

Fang Yuan happened to catch her gaze, felt a bit sorry for her, and held out his last rice ball. "Here!"

"Gulp!"

Miss Zhou's throat moved, but her jade-white face flushed crimson. Her fingers trembled, caught between reaching out and holding back, until finally she erupted with intense dignity: "D-don't be ridiculous! I, the great Miss Zhou Wenxin of the Zhou family, how could I... how could I..."

She spoke, yet her feet unconsciously stepped forward.

"Oh, you don't want it?"

Fang Yuan, feeling he understood, directly handed the rice ball to a nearby little beggar: "Here, take it and eat!"

"Thank you, kind sir!" "Thank you, kind sir!"

This little beggar had been drooling over Fang Yuan the whole time, and now joy fell from the sky. He thanked him repeatedly and began eating with relish.

Watching his grimy little hand grab it, leaving clear fingerprints on the rice ball, even Zhou Wenxin felt a pang of regret at such a waste.

"Wuwu... delicious... delicious!"

The little beggar wolfed it down, finishing the rice ball in a few bites, and even licked the grains from the corners of his mouth and strands of hair. After eating, he savored the taste, licking his lips and fingers.

"You..."

Zhou Wenxin froze, her face flushing from white to red, then from red to white. Suddenly, she burst out with a 'wa' cry: "You're bullying me! Wuwu..."

She didn't know why, but she felt deeply wronged inside, turned around, and ran off.

Those around who knew her cast admiring glances at Fang Yuan.

To actually make the Zhou Family Little Chili cry? Hmm, young man, you can't judge a book by its cover! Boundless prospects!

"This..."

Fang Yuan scratched his head, feeling utterly innocent. The girl cried on her own—what did it have to do with him? He had to admit, sometimes IQ didn't equal EQ.

But even with his poor EQ, he knew that if he didn't run now, once someone came to stand up for the girl, he wouldn't be able to escape even if he wanted to.

So he turned and slipped into a street corner, making his getaway.

Fang Yuan's premonition proved absolutely correct.

Not long after, a group of fierce-looking house servants rushed over, nearly sealing off all four gates and conducting a city-wide search.

But by then, he was already leisurely out of the city, on his way back to the mountain.

And in the entire county town, how many recognized this stranger or knew where his lair was?

The Zhou Family Eldest Daughter, Zhou Wenxin, who hadn't even asked the little scoundrel's name, could only slink away after causing a ruckus. Yet the rumors spread far and wide, and under the gossip of busybodies, it eventually turned into a tale of the Zhou Family's willful miss suffering a great loss at the hands of a poor kid from the wilds, with plenty of amusing and indescribable details. This left Zhou Wenxin fuming but with no outlet for her anger.

"Hmm... so a Martial Ancestor is just a realm among martial artists, awakening primal power, able to fight a hundred alone, unmatched by ten thousand... The entire Gui Ling Sect only has one..."

At this moment, Fang Yuan was reading a book he'd picked up for a few copper coins from a street stall, utterly engrossed.

It seemed to be the notes of a small scholar, filled with many travelogues. He must have enjoyed wandering, and among them were descriptions of Martial Ancestors. Fang Yuan, excited by a worthy opponent, bought it on the spot.

"And the mountain range I'm in is called Qingling Mountain, this is Qinghe Commandery, and the county town just now was Qingye City..."

What delighted Fang Yuan was that, through interpreting the travelogue, he gained some understanding of the nearby region and even the world he lived in.

"This continent seems vast. Even the country I'm in is just a small one, nothing compared to the whole continent. Of course, to ordinary people, it's still a behemoth..."

From this travelogue, Fang Yuan learned that the outside world was huge and very exciting.

"Even a Martial Ancestor can only dominate for a hundred li nearby, and besides martial arts, there should be other systems..."

Fang Yuan tucked the book into his bamboo basket, stood up, and continued his trek.

"Unfortunately, right now, I can't even get my hands on a basic martial arts manual, so I can't even think about other things..."

Returning to the hidden valley, a sense of security immediately washed over him.

"After all, one's own doghouse is the most comfortable..."

Though he hadn't been gone long, Fang Yuan couldn't help but feel the emotion of a wanderer returning home.

After putting down his things, he almost eagerly rushed to the plantation.

"Huh?"

Just at the entrance, his expression changed: "These footprints—animal damage?"

Opening a plantation deep in the mountains, bird and beast infestations were a major problem. Fortunately, the Heart-Questioning Hermit had expertise in this area and could concoct Beast-Repelling Powder.

Fierce beasts like tigers and wolves marked their territory with urine, deterring all others. The theory behind Beast-Repelling Powder was the same—using medicinal ingredients to create a similar substance, sprinkled around to give other animals the illusion that a 'lord' already occupied this place, so they wouldn't dare approach.

As for the few that didn't care, a few animal traps and pitfalls were enough to solve the problem.

But now, the traps in the plantation had all been broken, and the bait inside had vanished without a trace, as if a thief had let out a silent mockery.