Gao Yanan (bonus update)

Although Fang Yunhua constantly sneered that Gao Yanan had a thing for a drunken lout, and called this lousy senior sister of his a hopeless romantic, he knew perfectly well that she was no less devoted to Mount Hua than he was.

After awakening his memories, he became even more certain of that.

In The Legend of the Bat arc of the original storyline, she had obeyed Master Kumei's orders and ruthlessly tried to kill Chu Liuxiang and Hu Tiehua, without even a second's hesitation.

So despite all the rumors in the martial world that Gao Yanan had lost her head over a drunken lout, if Hu Tiehua ever stood against Mount Hua, this senior sister of his would be the first to draw her sword and cut him down.

That was something Fang Yunhua admired all the more.

After all, his will was now the will of all Mount Hua.

"Shall we talk at my place?"

Gao Yanan nodded, and the two went to Fang Yunhua's residence. When he opened the door, he noticed that the rooms had been tidied and cleaned. He figured Hua Zhenzhen must have done it.

He also kept confidential intelligence in his residence, and Hua Zhenzhen alone had permission to come and go freely.

"Let's hear it." Fang Yunhua poured Gao Yanan a cup of water. She did not like tea, preferring liquor instead. Why else would she have fallen for that drunken lout Hu Tiehua?

Gao Yanan spoke with a serious expression.

"While Junior Sister Hua has been carrying out your plans these past few days, none of the other elders have forcibly interfered or shown any intention of taking the opportunity to strip her of authority. Even after Master left Mount Hua, they continued cooperating fully."

"Go on." Fang Yunhua took a sip of water and gave Gao Yanan a slight nod.

"The disciples from the branch lineages have been behaving themselves, too. Those with good aptitude have all joined the inner sect, and the other elders take turns giving them group instruction.

"They still have a few private cliques, but those won't have much impact.

"As for those who joined the outer sect, some need to rebuild their foundations and relearn our Mount Hua sword techniques and internal arts.

"The rest have already been assigned to our various businesses down the mountain, as you arranged.

"With this expansion, practically everyone who performs well can get a managerial position."

"Good. Thank you for your hard work."

Fang Yunhua nudged the cup of water toward Gao Yanan. She obligingly picked it up and drained it in a single gulp, just as though she were downing liquor.

"It's all for Mount Hua."

Gao Yanan's expression was utterly earnest. Fang Yunhua now had no doubt that if he said Master Kumei's existence was hindering Mount Hua's development, she might well pick up her sword and cut down even her most beloved master.

In her heart, Mount Hua already came before everything else. After witnessing the methods by which Fang Yunhua had led Mount Hua step by step toward a revival, she had placed that unwavering faith in him as well.

"There's one more thing I need you to tell Master. We've taken rather large strides in expanding our sect, so some of the outer disciples stationed elsewhere will inevitably be blinded by greed.

"The Beggar Gang's example is right before our eyes. We need to enforce our sect rules more strictly and absolutely cannot tolerate any stains on our reputation.

"That means she'll need to step up her patrols and inspections. At the very least, it would be best if she didn't return to Mount Hua this month."

This time, Gao Yanan did not immediately agree. After a moment's hesitation, she said,

"We can't keep your return a secret. Before long, those factions will all come up Mount Hua. Without Master here to hold the fort..."

"I'm already Mount Hua's junior sect leader. I'll handle the rest." Fang Yunhua took out the gifts Southern Shaolin had given him: four small bottles in total. Three contained Lesser Restoration Pills, while the fourth held just one Greater Restoration Pill.

"And I need Master to inspect these."

"These are..."

"Lesser Restoration Pills and a Greater Restoration Pill from Southern Shaolin."

Gao Yanan looked surprised. For both Northern and Southern Shaolin, even Lesser Restoration Pills were exceedingly complicated to refine, while the Greater Restoration Pill was hailed as a miraculous pill that could only be produced once every twenty years.

Though she was intensely curious about how this junior brother of hers had gotten Southern Shaolin so firmly under his thumb, she knew very well not to ask questions she should not ask.

After accepting the medicine, she said solemnly,

"I'll try to get back before they come up the mountain."

Fang Yunhua considered it, then nodded.

Gao Yanan then left his residence and headed straight down the mountain.

Watching his senior sister's retreating figure, Fang Yunhua felt a little wistful.

When it came down to it, she was one of the few people he trusted most. Even back when Hua Zhenzhen's deceptive appearance had fooled him, he had needed this senior sister to secretly handle certain dirty jobs.

Not every branch lineage behaved itself after returning to Mount Hua.

Some cared about legitimacy, and some sought protection. Others, upon discovering that Mount Hua was barely clinging to its last breath, inevitably began thinking of playing the cuckoo and taking over the nest.

Master Kumei was indeed formidable in combat, but she could not withstand the collective will of the sect. She could hardly slaughter everyone who opposed her over a single disagreement.

One branch leader had once entertained precisely that ambition and prepared to exploit this opening.

The result was that Fang Yunhua exposed every last one of his schemes, then used his life to kill the chicken and warn the monkeys.

Afterward, a number of returning branch members were dissatisfied with the status quo and tried to stir up trouble in secret. Fang Yunhua devised the plans, and Gao Yanan did the work, dealing with every last one of them.

Gao Yanan also knew that her reputation as a hopeless romantic in the martial world had effectively disqualified her from succeeding as sect leader. She therefore devoted herself to playing the villain, leaving Fang Yunhua to play the good man.

That was one reason why, when Gao Yanan stepped forward earlier to disperse the crowd, even the elders had obediently left.

This senior sister of his had truly given far, far too much for the sect.

His thoughts then inevitably drifted to the Bat Young Master. From Wuzheng Manor's standpoint, taking action in response to Mount Hua's expansion seemed reasonable, but the manor had actually kept a low profile for many years.

Had it been the old manor lord, he would probably have done no more than send a letter as a token gesture.

Ultimately, then, this was probably Yuan Suiyun's idea.

What did he want to do?

Fang Yunhua glanced out the window. It was late, so this was hardly a suitable time to question his bashful little senior sister.

But just as he began practicing his internal arts in place of sleeping, a familiar figure slipped inside.

Fang Yunhua smiled faintly and slipped an arm around her slender waist.

"Little senior sister, I recently learned a palm technique. Would you like to see it?"

Her face flushed, Hua Zhenzhen bit her lip, somewhat bewildered by her junior brother's sudden failure to appreciate the mood. She still nodded instinctively, only to hear Fang Yunhua say,

"I created this move based on a senior's glorious exploits. I named it the Fivefold Light Smoke Palm!"