Yang Hongye looked at Yang Zhen anxiously, afraid that Yang Zhen would really go to the Fang Household with the middle-aged cultivator.
The middle-aged cultivator's face darkened upon hearing this. He glared at Yang Hongye and shouted angrily, "Shut up!"
"Hmm?" Yang Zhen turned to look at the middle-aged cultivator, a hint of dissatisfaction flashing in his eyes.
The middle-aged cultivator's expression changed, and he hurriedly said, "Young Brother Yang, please don't misunderstand. I just... yes, we hit it off immediately, and I'm just worried that this girl from the Yang Household might affect our relationship."
The surrounding crowd scoffed, thinking, "Damn it, what kind of friendship do you two have?" But Yang Zhen, feigning sudden realization, glared at Yang Hongye and said, "Don't try to sow discord between me and Brother Fang. True friendship is like water; though we met by chance, we click and will surely become close friends. Don't you agree, Brother Fang?"
Yang Zhen turned to the middle-aged cultivator surnamed Fang and said the last sentence. The middle-aged man surnamed Fang was taken aback, then hurriedly nodded and said, "Brother Yang is absolutely right. Then... shall we return to the city now?"
Yang Hongye and Yang Zhen hesitated, then Yang Zhen waved his hand and said, "That's enough. I've long heard of the Fang Household patriarch's Tongxuan strength and have always wanted to pay him a visit. If you two have nothing else to say, you may leave."
The middle-aged man surnamed Fang's expression changed, and he was about to speak when Yang Hongye suddenly stepped forward and stubbornly said, "No, I won't leave!"
The middle-aged woman's expression changed drastically. Just as she was about to speak, Yang Hongye stared at Yang Zhen and said, "Young master, Yang Hongye. I am not the kind of person who cannot distinguish between gratitude and resentment. Please forgive me for not being able to ask you to put yourself in danger. If you are willing, please take me back to the city with you!"
"What?" The middle-aged woman's expression shifted rapidly as she exclaimed, "You're going back to the city?"
Yang Hongye glanced at the overjoyed middle-aged man surnamed Fang, then turned to the middle-aged woman with a smile and said sadly, " Aunt Lian, Young Master Yang has done me a great favor. I cannot stand by and watch him risk his life alone. Since he insists on going to the Fang Household, Hongye is willing to accompany him."
As she spoke, Yang Hongye's expression turned serious, and she said to Aunt Lian, who seemed hesitant to speak, " Aunt Lian, I know what you're worried about, but Hanwu City is, after all, the foundation of the Yang Household. Father has already... If there's even the slightest chance, Hongye can't just stand by and watch the Yang Household fall into the hands of the Fang Household."
Aunt Lian pondered for a long time, then looked deeply at Yang Zhen and said, "Since that's the case, then Aunt Lian will go with you. Whether we live or die, it's up to fate. It's better than living in constant fear, guarding against those wolves with ulterior motives."
Yang Hongye's expression changed, and she was about to speak when Yang Zhen suddenly said impatiently, "You two women, why are you so troublesome? Since you both want to go, then you can both come with me to the Fang Household as guests. Brother Fang is such a hospitable person, would he continue to harm you?"
Aunt Lian and Yang Hongye froze, while the middle-aged man surnamed Fang laughed loudly and said in a sinister tone, "Brother Yang is absolutely right. Since you two don't trust the Yang Household, then come back with us. Actually, you've always misunderstood the Fang Household. As long as you name your price, the Fang Household isn't all-powerful in Hanwu City. Do you think they would just rob us?"
Upon hearing this, Yang Hongye and Yang Zhen's expressions turned angry. Yang Zhen waved his hand and said, "It's settled then. What calligraphy is so important that you'd rather destroy your clan than give it up? Let's go, this Sage of Saunter hasn't eaten in a long time."
The middle-aged man surnamed Fang glanced at Yang Hongye and his companion with a half-smile, then turned and scolded, "Why aren't you helping the young master up? Hurry back and inform them to prepare wine and food to entertain Brother Yang and these two Yang Household guests from the Yang family!"
The crowd behind them immediately tensed up, hurriedly agreed, and led the young master of the Fang Household away, limping.
Before leaving, the young Fang Household gave Yang Zhen a gloomy look, but was stopped by the middle-aged man surnamed Fang with a look. Only then did the young master of the Fang Household reluctantly cover his buttocks and walk towards the carriage next to him.
Yang Zhen looked in the direction the group was heading, and his eyes lit up. He pointed to a magnificent carriage and said, "This is great, I want to ride in this!"
The man surnamed Fang was taken aback for a moment, then laughed heartily, gestured for Yang Zhen to ride in, and said, "Brother Yang has excellent taste. Since you like this carriage, it's a gift for you and Miss Fang Household. The three of you can ride together."
Yang Zhen rubbed his hands and said, "How could we? We rode in your carriage, what would you ride in?"
Upon hearing this, the man surnamed Fang was stunned, as if he hadn't expected Yang Zhen to say such a thing. He then gritted his teeth and said, "We can walk. This is how the Fang family treats Fang Household guests. Brother Yang, you don't need to worry about it."
"That's great!" Yang Zhen, pulling the two women along, brazenly climbed into the carriage, peeking out to say to the gritting-teeth Fang man, "Thank you for your trouble!"
The man surnamed Fang quickly put on a smile and said, "Brother Yang, you're too kind."
The carriages and horses moved towards Hanwu City. Aunt Lian listened for a moment, and after finding no movement, she sighed and said to Yang Zhen, "Young Master Yang shouldn't have acted so rashly. Do you know that Fang Quan is a notorious villain in Hanwu City, known for Fang Quan treacherous and shameless nature? If you want to go to North Isle, just find a merchant caravan in Hanwu City. Why bother going to the Fang Household to hitch a ride... or even hitch a ride on a boat!"
Yang Hongye also said worriedly, "Why don't you leave now, young master? We still have some True Essence left. If we fight them, we should be able to escape alive."
Yang Zhen sighed and said, "I can't stand fighting and killing, and I'm a very low-key person. I've already spoken politely, how could they possibly harm me?"
Upon hearing Yang Zhen's words, Yang Hongye immediately became anxious, glared at Yang Zhen, and said, "How can you be so unreasonable? Although your martial arts are strange and powerful, do you know that the Fang Household patriarch is a powerful expert in the Spirit Wandering State, one of the top experts in the entire Hanwu City? Apart from the Han Household, who in Hanwu City dares to disobey the Fang Household's wishes?"
Yang Zhen was taken aback and asked, "You still don't want to give in to their wishes?"
Yang Hongye's expression froze, and she sighed, saying, "That calligraphy is of vital importance to the Yang Household. My father was unwilling to part with it, but who would have thought it would attract the Fang Household's despicable schemes and wolfish ambitions? Now that my father has been murdered by villains, how can the Yang Household give it up so easily?"
Yang Zhen curled his lip and said, "In our village, there's a saying: 'Where there's life, there's hope.' We can just find a way to get the calligraphy back after giving it away. Why risk such heavy casualties?"
"You..." Yang Hongye snorted coldly, turned her head away in disappointment, clearly not intending to speak to Yang Zhen anymore, her eyes flickering, lost in thought.
Yang Zhen closed his eyes to rest. He really didn't want to get involved in this matter, nor could he manage it. Going to Hanwu City would require him to go through the trouble of finding a caravan, so it would be better to hitch a ride on the Fang Household's boat.
Moreover, Yang Zhen could easily see that the man surnamed Fang and his young master were exchanging glances, but he was too lazy to pay attention. Once they arrived in Hanwu City, if the Fang Household really wanted to go too far, he could simply seize their flying boat.
Yang Zhen prefers to dig a pit for the other party to fall into if something can be resolved with fists.
Ultimately, Yang Zhen suddenly wanted to forge a small flying boat, not too big, just enough for him alone, otherwise flying for more than ten days would be very tiring and inefficient.
In the reception room of the Fang Household in Hanwu City, two elderly men sat as host and guest, with a row of cultivators standing beside each of them, clearly representing their respective families.
The leading elder smiled and said to another elder seated at the guest table, "Brother Han, your Han Household has produced such a brilliant young girl who has been accepted as a disciple by Ink Pool Peak. Her future is limitless, so why come and mock this old man?"
The old man laughed heartily and said, "Now everyone in Hanwu City knows that your Fang Household is actually quite close to the Spirit Learning Palace. You're sure to rise to prominence in the future. Just don't forget about this old man when that happens."
Old Fang laughed heartily, glanced at the young and beautiful woman beside Old Han, and was about to speak when a young man limped in from outside, saying in a tearful voice, "Grandpa, you must do justice for your grandson!"
Seeing the young man limping and clutching his buttocks, Old Man Fang's face turned furious, and he asked in alarm, "Yang'er, what... what happened to your butt... what happened to your backside?"
"I... I was stabbed!" Fang Yang's face was filled with grief and indignation!
boom--!
Old Fang roared in fury, smashing the chair to pieces. He shouted, "You bastard! Which heartless scoundrel dared to treat my grandson like this, to do... to do such an absurd thing?"