"I practiced basic fists and feet bitterly for seven continuous days, but unexpectedly only supported two moves in Fang Yuan's hands before being knocked unconscious by him again. Shame, what a shame!" Gu Yue Mo Bei's heart was filled with humiliation, anger, and rage.
In the courtyard of his home, he continuously punched and kicked a wooden puppet, hitting it with a series of banging sounds.
At this time, a soft chuckle came over: "Little brother, do you have a deep enmity with the wooden puppet that you hate it so much?"
Hearing this familiar voice, Gu Yue Mo Bei's expression relaxed. He stopped his attacks and turned his head: "Big sister, you have returned!"
"Mm, the clan assigned a reconnaissance mission, I was out for over ten days…" Gu Yue Mo Yan answered with a smile. She was Mo Bei's biological older sister, and was currently already a Rank 2 middle stage Gu Master.
But her expression quickly changed, and a sharp gaze penetrated from her eyes: "Little brother, what is going on with the bruises on your face? Who bullied you?"
"Ah, it's nothing. I accidentally tripped while walking and bumped into something." A trace of panic flashed across Mo Bei's face as he randomly prevaricated with an excuse. He absolutely did not wish for his older sister to know about such an embarrassing matter of his. The dignified future person in power of the Mo branch faction, the biological grandson of Gu Yue Mo Chen, was actually beaten unconscious twice in a row by someone.
However, fortunately, he was not the only unlucky one; everyone else had a share.
"Oh, so it's like that. Then you must be a bit more careful. By the way, wanting to practice fists and feet like this won't do. Since you don't have a Gu to increase your defense, you must wrap thick cloth strips. Only then can you protect your hands and feet from suffering injuries." Gu Yue Mo Yan exhorted a few sentences, then left.
"Greetings, eldest miss."
"Good day, eldest miss."
"It is eldest miss returning, slave pays respects to eldest miss."
Gu Yue Mo Yan's expression was cold and clear as she walked briskly. The domestic slaves she encountered along the way universally bowed and paid their respects.
She arrived in front of the study, and without reporting, pushed the door directly and entered.
Inside the study, Gu Yue Mo Chen had his back facing her, currently standing in front of the desk practicing calligraphy.
"You're back?" Gu Yue Mo Chen did not turn his head, but directly asked, "Reconnoitering outside for over half a month, how is the situation at the wolf den?"
"Grandfather, how did you know it was me?" Mo Yan froze for a moment.
"Hmph, in this entire household, aside from you who can rely on my doting to completely ignore the rules and not even knock on the door, who else could it be?" Gu Yue Mo Chen carried a tone of reprimand, but when he turned around, his expression was very gentle, looking at Mo Yan with a smile in his eyes.
Mo Yan curled her lips: "Speaking of doting, grandfather actually dotes on little brother more. It's just that little brother will hold power in the future, so grandfather is strict with his requirements for him, and others just cannot comprehend this doting, that's all."
Pausing for a moment, she asked again: "Grandfather, how come little brother was beaten by someone! I just asked him, but he lied. It wasn't good for me to force him, so I had to come ask grandfather."
Gu Yue Mo Chen's expression turned solemn: "You haven't answered my words yet."
He put down the pen, pulled over a chair, and slowly sat down.
Mo Yan had no choice but to report: "The wolf den is almost full. According to this speed of reproduction, although there will not be a wolf tide this year, there will definitely be a wolf tide impacting our mountain village the coming year."
Gu Yue Mo Chen asked again: "There is essentially a wolf tide every three years, this is nothing unusual. It is just, in that wolf pack, how many Thunder Crown prime wolves are there?"
"About three." Mo Yan answered.
Gu Yue Mo Chen nodded, letting his heart down. The Thunder Crown prime wolf was the leader of the wolf pack, the trickiest existence when a wolf tide impacted the mountain village.
Three Thunder Crown prime wolves were not too many, because there were three mountain villages on Qingmao Mountain. Each mountain village would share the burden of one, and the pressure of the wolf tide's impact would be greatly reduced.
"Grandfather, you still haven't told me about little brother's matter." Mo Yan asked unwillingly.
"There's no harm in telling you. Mo Bei was beaten by someone, once seven days ago, and a second time today. He was beaten to the ground at the academy's main gate, both times fainting on the spot." Gu Yue Mo Chen said smilingly.
"What person is actually so audacious as to beat little brother unconscious?" Mo Yan's eyes widened.
"It is a classmate of his, called Fang Yuan. He fought well…" Gu Yue Mo Chen chuckled aloud.
Mo Yan's eyes widened even more as she asked in confusion: "Grandfather, what kind of words are these? Mo Bei is your biological grandson!"
Gu Yue Mo Chen took a deep look at his granddaughter, speaking with earnest and well-meaning words: "Mo Yan ah, you are a girl, you might not understand. Failure and humiliation make people progress. Without failure, a mature man cannot be tempered out."
"Mo Bei getting beaten is his own failure. As soon as he woke up, he began to ask the nursing guards for instruction on fist and foot martial arts. This is a type of progress. And this progress was brought by Fang Yuan, who beat him awake. Being his biological older sister, if you truly want to care for him in a real sense, do not interfere with his growth. Fang Yuan is just a poor kid with a C grade, while Mo Bei is a B grade aptitude, and also has us behind him. Sooner or later, there will be a day when he steps Fang Yuan under his feet."
"Leave this opponent to Mo Bei. In a woman's lifetime, she needs relatives, friends, and lovers. But in a man's lifetime, relatives, friends, and lovers are dispensable, yet only an opponent cannot be lacking. You must not go find trouble with Fang Yuan, understand? This is a matter for the younger generation. By getting involved, you are the big bullying the small. Breaking the rules and conventions within this, others will also look down on our Mo family."
Mo Yan opened her mouth several times wanting to speak, but under Gu Yue Mo Chen's gazing eyes, she ultimately still lowered her head and answered: "Yes, grandfather. Granddaughter understands."
She lowered her head and exited the study. Even Gu Yue Mo Chen did not discover—her eyes were constantly flashing with a different kind of light.
"Grandfather, this is your way of doting on your grandson. Yet I, Mo Yan, also have my way of caring for my little brother!" Mo Yan had long established another idea in her heart.
…
In the dining hall of the tavern, there were people sitting at a few tables, eating dishes, thus it appeared somewhat lively.
One or two waiters carried trays serving dishes, weaving and wandering freely among the tables.
Fang Yuan sat next to a table near the window, ordered a few dishes, and ate while looking far into the distance through the window.
At the edge of the sky, the sunset glow was like fire, burning quietly.
Most of the sun had already set. It nostalgically cast a final gaze upon the earth; the afterglow was its reluctant backward glance.
The distant mountains had already been covered by the dusk. On the nearby streets were crowds of people returning home. Some were farmers with bare, mud-stained feet, some were herb gatherers carrying medicine baskets on their backs, some were hunters carrying pheasants, wild boars, and other prey on their shoulders, and some were Gu Masters. They usually wore a set of blue martial arts uniforms, looking capable and sharp. They tied headbands on their heads and wrapped broad-edged belts around their waists.
These belts were very particular. A Rank 1 Gu Master had a green belt, the front embedded with a copper plate, and on the copper plate was a character "One".
A Rank 2 Gu Master's belt was red-colored, the very center embedded with an iron plate, carved with a character "Two".
Sitting by the window, Fang Yuan observed for a while, seeing six or seven Rank 1 Gu Masters, mostly young people. There was also one Rank 2 Gu Master, who was a middle-aged man.
As for Rank 3 Gu Masters, they were usually already elders. Rank 4 was a clan leader, the master of a village.
Rank 5 Gu Masters were very rarely seen. In the history of the Gu Yue clan, there were only the first generation clan leader and the fourth generation clan leader.
"Actually, observing the strength of a clan is a very simple matter. Just finding a seat in the mountain village, carefully observing pedestrians for an hour or so, and seeing how many Rank 1 and Rank 2 Gu Masters there are among them, one can see the foundation and strength of this clan." Combining his five hundred years of experience, Fang Yuan summarized a piece of experience in his heart.
Speaking of Gu Yue village, for every twenty pedestrians walking on the street, six of them were Gu Masters. Among these six Gu Masters, there was a fifty percent chance of there being a Rank 2 Gu Master.
It was precisely relying on such strength and foundation that Gu Yue village occupied one of the best resource points on Qingmao Mountain. It could be called the overlord of Qingmao Mountain.
However, Qingmao Mountain was nothing more than a small corner in the vast Southern Border. For the Gu Yue village, speaking in terms of the entire Southern Border, it could only be considered a middle-lower tier ethnic group.
"I have only just started cultivating now. With my Rank 1 initial stage cultivation, I do not even have the qualifications to roam the Southern Border alone. One needs at least Rank 3 strength to travel far ah." Fang Yuan ate a bite of food and let out a faint sigh in his heart.
Qingmao Mountain was too small, it could not contain his ambition; he was already destined to leave.
"Haha, Gu Yue Fang Yuan, I finally found you." At this very moment, a middle-aged man walked over with a sinister smile.
"Hmm?" Fang Yuan turned his head slightly to look, only to see the opposite party had a sallow face and slanted eyebrows, but a tall stature and well-developed muscles on his body. Taking large strides over at this moment, his arms crossed over his chest, he stared down from above at the youth Fang Yuan who was sitting and eating, a trace of cold glint flashing through his long and narrow eyes.
"Fang Yuan, disaster is imminent for you, do you know? Hehehe, you actually dared to hit the young master of our Mo family, now Eldest Miss Mo Yan is looking for you everywhere to settle the score." The middle-aged man sneered continuously. He used his gaze to look Fang Yuan up and down, faintly radiating an oppressive aura.