Tonight's moon was exceptionally round.
The moonlight, like radiance and like gauze, draped over Qing Mao Mountain.
Every vertical leap of the Treasure Brass Toad covered a full distance of a hundred meters. Because it advanced by leaping, the steep and narrow mountain paths could not pose a restriction or obstacle to it.
Jia Fu and his party, all sitting on the body of the Treasure Brass Toad, came out from the Gu Yue village and hurried back towards the caravan.
The wind whistled by their ears, and their field of vision bumped up and down along with the Treasure Brass Toad's leaps.
Moonlight shone upon everyone's faces. Everyone remained silent, and Jia Fu's face was even frostier than snow.
After a good while, a trusted aide could not bear this dead silence and offered advice to Jia Fu: "Master, what should we do about this? Jia Jinsheng is dead. After Master returns, how will you explain this to the Old Master? Should we first find a scapegoat…"
Jia Fu shook his head, abruptly changing the subject: "Do you know the story of Ren Zu?"
The trusted aide was stunned, not expecting Jia Fu to respond like this. For a time, he did not know how to answer him.
Jia Fu continued: "Ren Zu possessed the Rules Gu, so he captured all the myriad Gu in the world, gained strength, and lost wisdom. At this time, three Gu were left in his net. He opened it to look, and these three Gu were respectively the Attitude Gu, the Believe Gu, and the Doubt Gu. Ren Zu was unwilling to let them go, so these three Gu had no choice but to discuss a bet with Ren Zu. As long as Ren Zu opened the mouth of the net, they would fly out simultaneously in three different directions. Whichever one Ren Zu caught would submit to him. Tell me, what did Ren Zu catch in the end?"
The trusted aide seemed to realize something and replied: "It was the Attitude Gu!"
"Do you know why?" Jia Fu asked again.
The trusted aide shook his head.
Jia Fu let out a dark laugh: "Because attitude can explain everything. Regardless of whether father 'believes' or 'doubts', I have already expressed my 'attitude'. When Jia Jinsheng went missing, I immediately launched an investigation in the caravan, and upon finding a clue, hurried back to the Gu Yue village without stopping to rest. In the village, I braved the danger of being besieged by the Gu Yue clan to confront them face to face. I didn't even take a seat, and to verify Fang Yuan's words, I even used the Rank four Bamboo Gentleman."
"After returning to the clan, I will also spend a heavy sum to hire the Divine Investigator, inviting Tie Xue Leng to investigate this matter. Regardless of whether Jia Jinsheng is dead or alive, I, as an older brother, have done what I should do, and my attitude has been clearly shown! I have just thought it through; there is no need for a scapegoat, I will just go back candidly like this, because I genuinely did not do this! If I find a scapegoat, I might just fall into his, Jia Gui's, scheme. If I can find someone to take the blame, he can naturally find someone to overturn the case."
The trusted aide was secretly shocked: "Master, are you really suspecting that Young Master Jia Gui did it?"
"Hmph, who else but him could do it so brilliantly?" Speaking up to this point, Jia Fu's face twisted, the flames of rage in his eyes wanting to shoot straight out. "Previously, considering our brotherhood, I did not act like this towards him. I never expected him to be so sinister. Since you are unkind, do not blame me, Jia Fu, for being unjust!"
At this moment, however, he did not know that in the distance, there was a pair of eyes watching him leave from afar.
Fang Yuan stood on the hillside, watching quietly.
Tonight's moonlight was truly beautiful and bright.
The golden round moon hung high in the night sky, illuminating the mountains and earth into a state of hollow clarity.
Nearby, the green mountains were lush and verdant, the hundred grasses flourishing. The entire mountain of pine, cypress, and fir trees, as well as the unique green spear bamboo of Qing Mao Mountain, connected patch after patch, cluster after cluster. A large expanse of dark green cascaded all the way down from the mountain peak, flowing to the foot of the mountain.
The distant mountains stretched continuously, turning into a heavy, indistinct black shadow under the moonlight.
The winding mountain road meandered down like a sheep's intestine, at times blocked by the woods, extending all the way out.
Jia Fu's party rode the Treasure Brass Toad, proceeding along the mountain road. After continuous leaps, their figures were eventually covered by the dense woods.
Although the mountainous terrain could not restrict the Treasure Brass Toad's speed, Jia Fu also did not dare to traverse Qing Mao Mountain recklessly. If he barged into a beast nest, even with his Rank four cultivation, he would properly be thrown into a miserable state. Therefore, advancing along the mountain road was the most appropriate.
Not too long ago, Fang Yuan was exactly on this hillside holding an umbrella, watching the caravan leave. Now, he stood here again, watching Jia Fu depart.
"The trouble of killing Jia Jinsheng has finally been resolved." His eyes were secluded, the lake of his heart without ripples, entirely tranquil.
Ever since killing Jia Jinsheng that night, he had been thinking about how to deal with the aftermath.
He knew very clearly in his heart that he had zero foundation. If the truth was revealed, the Gu Yue clan would definitely sacrifice him. But blindly concealing it was even more like paper unable to wrap up a fire.
Brilliant lies are all half-true and half-false, truth within falsehood, and falsehood carrying truth.
He had to divert the disaster eastward!
This situation was like a chessboard, with two sides confronting each other. On one side was Jia Fu's caravan, and on the other was the Gu Yue clan's village. In this situation, whether it was Gu Yue Bo, the academy elder, or Jia Fu, they were all chess pieces. Even he, Fang Yuan himself, was a chess piece among them.
To protect this chess piece representing himself, the only way was to utilize the opposition between the two factions to find a sliver of an opportunity within the cracks.
Starting from a few days ago, Fang Yuan began to lay out his plan.
First, utilizing those two guards, he put on a good show on the stage built by the academy elder. Then, concealing the existence of the Liquor worm was precisely to hook the curiosity of the clansmen, cause a widespread reaction, and attract the attention of the higher-ups. At the same time, making the academy elder conduct a secret investigation.
Secondly, robbing his classmates displayed his impulsiveness, untamed nature, and dissatisfaction with the clan, "showing weakness" for the Gu Yue higher-ups to see.
After that, calculating the days, he waited until Jia Fu arrived.
During the public confrontation, he displayed his own childishness and panic, which actually invisibly guided everyone's train of thought, allowing everyone to discover the "truth" themselves.
Finally, he utilized the conflict of interest between the Gu Yue clan and Jia Fu, making the academy elder who had been suspecting and investigating him all along testify for him instead.
The Bamboo Gentleman was a tiny accident, but ultimately it was only Rank four. Under the suppression of the Spring Autumn Cicada's aura, the Bamboo Gentleman ironically became Fang Yuan's best proof.
Ultimately, not only did Fang Yuan perfectly explain the origin of the Liquor worm, but he also tossed the blame onto the innocent Jia Gui, breaking out of the predicament safe and sound himself.
"The academy elder was left behind. It seems Gu Yue Bo wants to intervene in the academy's affairs and cancel the suppression on me. According to his layout, he does possess this kind of magnanimity. However, his true goal does not lie with me; his main starting point should be Gu Yue Fang Zheng. One of my purposes in blowing this matter up was to cause a disturbance and get the higher-ups' attention. Even if Gu Yue Bo did not step forward, Gu Yue Mo Chen and Gu Yue Chi Lian would make a move to protect their reputations."
"As for Jia Fu, he should have already determined by now that Jia Gui is the murderer. The flames of revenge are already burning within his chest. Hehe, I really look forward to it. After my intervention, the struggle between these brothers will escalate immediately. I wonder if that Gu battling tournament will be brought forward?"
"Right, there is also that Divine Investigator Tie Xue Leng. Tie Xue Leng… hmph." Fang Yuan chewed these two words in his mouth, and after a long while, laughed lightly. "In the righteous path, this person is indeed quite a figure. Unfortunately, he is bogged down with affairs and extremely busy. It won't be easy to invite him over just for this single matter. For Jia Fu to express his attitude, he will definitely invite him over, but the time is uncertain. It will be scheduled at least two or three years from now."
In two or three years, he would have Rank two, or even Rank three cultivation. By that time, his life would be entirely in a different world.
The night breeze blew over, the fresh air of the mountains carrying an aromatic fragrance.
Breathing it in, Fang Yuan felt even more refreshed and energized.
Stretching his gaze far into the distance, his field of vision was broad. The mountains spreading out were like a painting, entirely tranquil and peaceful under the moonlight.
"Bright moon shining among the pine trees, clear spring flowing over the rocks." Fang Yuan chanted softly, unable to help but recall a fable from Earth.
A group of monkeys chasing the moon, seeing the moon in a well, wanted to scoop it out. The monkeys in the back grabbed the tails of the monkeys in the front, and the monkeys in the front grabbed the tails of the ones even further ahead. Strung together one by one like this, the monkey at the very front finally touched the water surface in the well.
Upon reaching out a hand, the water rippled and the moon scattered.
People in this world are also often like this. Seeing the shadow of the moon, they mistake it for the real moon.
Little do they know, it is merely the moon in the well, the moon in their eyes, the moon in their hearts.
"In this life, I only wish to become the true moon, rising from the heavenly mountains, playing amidst the seas of clouds, illuminating the ancient and the present, walking above the dark heavens." Fang Yuan's eyes were clear, the beautiful green mountains reflected in his pupils.
On the hillside, the thin youth stood silently.
A golden round moon, like a disk, hung high in the night sky.
It existed eternally through the ages, traversing the night sky, faintly printing the youth's tiny shadow onto the bluestone.