Bang, bang-bang, bang, bang-bang.
The patrolling night watchman struck his clapper in rhythm.
As the sound drifted into the stilted house, Fang Yuan opened his dry eyelids and thought to himself, "It is the fifth watch."
Lying in bed last night, he pondered for a long time, planning out a multitude of arrangements. All in all, he only slept for a little over two hours.
This body had not yet begun cultivation and its energy was not robust; thus, waves of fatigue and drowsiness still shrouded his body and mind.
However, over five hundred years of experience had long forged Fang Yuan's deep, steel-like willpower. This bit of drowsiness was nothing at all.
He immediately pushed aside the thin silk quilt covering him and got up cleanly and decisively.
Pushing open the window, the spring rain had already stopped.
A fresh moisture mixed with the fragrance of dirt, trees, and wildflowers instantly blew against his face. Fang Yuan immediately felt his mind clear, the groggy sleepiness entirely swept away.
At this time, the sun had not yet risen; the sky was a deep blue, appearing both dark and bright.
Looking out, the stilted houses built with green bamboo and wood contrasted with the mountain ranges, painting a serene and verdant scene.
Stilted houses had at least two floors; it was a unique structure for mountain dwellers. Because the mountain paths were rugged and uneven, the first floor consisted of massive wooden pillars, while the second floor served as human living quarters.
Fang Yuan and his younger brother, Fang Zheng, lived on the second floor.
"Young Master Fang Yuan, you are awake. This servant will come upstairs right now to serve you in washing up." Just at this moment, a young girl's voice came from downstairs.
Fang Yuan looked down to see his personal maidservant, Shen Cui.
Her appearance could only be considered upper-middle class, but she dressed well, wearing a green blouse with long sleeves and trousers, embroidered shoes on her feet, and a pearl hairpin in her black hair, radiating youthful vitality from head to toe.
She looked at Fang Yuan with joy, holding a basin of water, and bounded up the stairs with quick steps.
The water was warm, adjusted perfectly for washing the face. For rinsing the mouth, she provided a willow twig dipped in snow salt to clean the teeth and whiten them.
Shen Cui served him gently, a smile on her face and a spring-like affection in her eyes. Afterward, she helped Fang Yuan dress and button his clothes, occasionally brushing her full chest against Fang Yuan's arm or back during the process.
Fang Yuan remained expressionless, his heart as still as calm water.
This maidservant was not only his uncle and aunt's spy but also vain and fickle by nature. In his previous life, he had been deceived by her. After the Awakening Ceremony, when his status plummeted drastically, she instantly turned her back on him and gave him no shortage of cold stares.
When Fang Zheng arrived, he saw Shen Cui smoothing out the wrinkles on the chest of Fang Yuan's clothes. A flash of envy and jealousy involuntarily crossed his eyes.
Living with his older brother these past years and receiving Fang Yuan's care, he also had a servant attending to him. However, it wasn't a young maid like Shen Cui, but a fat, bloated old nanny.
"If one day Shen Cui could serve me like this, what would it feel like?" Fang Zheng wondered somewhat in his heart, yet also somewhat dared not to think about it.
His aunt and uncle favored Fang Yuan; this was a well-known fact within the household.
Originally, he didn't even have a servant attending to him; it was Fang Yuan who took the initiative to demand one for Fang Zheng.
Although there was a status difference between master and servant, in daily life, Fang Zheng didn't dare to look down on this Shen Cui. This was because Shen Cui's mother was Mother Shen, the attendant by his aunt's side and also the steward of the entire estate. She was deeply trusted by his aunt and held no small amount of authority.
"Alright, no need to tidy further." Fang Yuan impatiently brushed away Shen Cui's soft, small hands; his clothes had long been smooth, and Shen Cui was mostly just trying to seduce him.
To her, his future was bright, and the possibility of A-grade aptitude was extremely high. If she could become Fang Yuan's concubine, she could transition from servant to master, which could be described as ascending to heaven in a single step.
In his previous life, Fang Yuan had been deceived and had even liked this maid. But after his rebirth, he saw everything with striking clarity, his heart as cold as frost.
"You may step down." Fang Yuan adjusted his cuffs without even looking at Shen Cui.
Shen Cui pouted slightly, feeling somewhat perplexed and wronged by Fang Yuan's lack of romantic appreciation today. She wanted to say something coquettish, but awed by the vague and inexplicable aura surrounding Fang Yuan, she opened her mouth several times before finally saying "Yes" and obediently withdrawing.
"Are you ready?" Fang Yuan looked toward Fang Zheng.
His younger brother stood blankly at the door, lowering his head to look at his toes, and softly replied with an "En."
He had actually woken up at the fourth watch, too nervous to sleep. He secretly got out of bed and got ready early, with dark circles around both his eyes.
Fang Yuan nodded. In his past life, he hadn't known the thoughts in his brother's mind, but in this life, how could he not understand?
However, pointing it out at this moment was entirely meaningless. He instructed faintly, "Let's go then."
Thus, the brothers walked out of their residence. Along the way, they encountered quite a few peers of the same age, in groups of two or three, evidently sharing the same destination.
"Look, that's the two brothers from the Fang family." Cautious whispering reached their ears.
"The one walking in front is that Fang Yuan, the Fang Yuan who writes poetry." Someone emphasized.
"So it's him. Expressionless and acting as if nobody else is around, truly as arrogant as the rumors say." Another spoke in a sour tone, laced with jealousy and envy.
"Hmph, if you could be like him, you could be this arrogant too!" Someone retorted with a cold snort, hiding a kind of dissatisfaction.
Fang Zheng listened expressionlessly; he was already used to such discussions.
He kept his head down, following behind his older brother, walking silently.
By this time, the morning light had already brightened the horizon, and Fang Yuan's shadow was cast upon his face.
The morning sun was gradually rising, but Fang Zheng suddenly felt as if he was walking into darkness.
This darkness originated from his older brother; perhaps in this lifetime, he would never be able to break free from the massive shadow his brother cast over him.
He felt waves of suppression coming from his chest, to the point of a stifled breath. This damned feeling even made him associate it with the word "suffocation"!
"Hmph, such talk, it really is 'the tree that stands out in the forest will surely be destroyed by the wind'." Hearing the chatter by his ears, Fang Yuan sneered coldly in his heart.
No wonder after testing for C-grade aptitude, he was surrounded by enemies on all sides, suffering from harsh treatment, cold stares, and neglect for a very long time.
He also caught the increasingly heavy, stifled breathing of his younger brother Fang Zheng trailing behind him.
What he failed to notice in his previous life, he observed with utmost clarity in this one.
This was the sharp insight brought about by five hundred years of life experience.
He suddenly thought of his uncle and aunt—they truly had some methods. Assigning Shen Cui to keep close surveillance on him, and assigning an old nanny to his brother. In truth, there were other discriminatory treatments in the details of their daily lives.
This was all done deliberately, purposely meant to stir up feelings of unfairness in his brother's heart and drive a wedge into their brotherly bond.
People of the world do not worry about scarcity, but about unequal distribution.
In his previous life, he had experienced too little, and his brother was too foolish and naive, allowing their uncle and aunt's provocation to succeed.
Since his rebirth, seeing that the Awakening Ceremony was imminent, the situation seemed deeply entrenched and hard to reverse. However, with Fang Yuan's methods and wisdom as a demonic path overlord, it wasn't impossible to change.
He could completely suppress and subdue this younger brother; as for a trivial little girl like Shen Cui, he could pull her into his harem even earlier. As for his aunt and uncle, the clan head and elders, there were at least several hundred schemes to discipline them.
"But, I just don't want to do that…" Fang Yuan sighed leisurely in his heart.
So what if he is a biological younger brother; there is no familial affection to speak of, he is just an outsider. Discarding him means nothing.
So what if Shen Cui is pretty; without love and loyalty, she is nothing but a body. Take her into the harem? She isn't worthy.
So what if it's the uncle and aunt, the clan head and elders; they are all merely passersby in life. Why exhaust my mind and drain my energy trying to discipline these pedestrians?
Hehe.
As long as they do not block me from traveling my path, then they can just go play with themselves on the side; I wouldn't even deem them worthy of being stepped on.