"Father….."
Outside the valley, Zhou Wenwu looked back in the direction of the secluded valley and said, "Let my sister becomes a slave to someone else? If this piece of news spread, what will the Zhou family's reputation become?"
"You are over worried. If both of us don't reveal anything, no one will know that it is Wenxin!"
Zhou Tong shook his head and said, "Your sister is too stubborn. It is time for her to look for someone to improve her character. Since I'm still alive now, it is still okay. When I'm dead, she will likely bring trouble for the Zhou family!"
"But….."
Zhou Wenwu disapproved. "I still feel that this is inappropriate. Sister's reputation….hold on a second. Father, you want to…."
"Haha, the young Master is not that kind of person. Even if so, what is there to lose out on if I have a son-in-law?"
Zhou Tong stroked his moustache and said, "Even though your sister is stubborn, her character is actually good in nature. We should let them get together first. Even if their relationship doesn't work out in the end, at least your sister is able to benefit from learning a few techniques from the Master!"
"Father, looks like you have much confidence in this Master!"
Even though Zhou Wenwu stayed silent, he knew that Zhou Tong had already made a decision and would not change it no matter what.
Also, the mindset here was different. Marrying off one's daughter or sister to a capable man meant that others would not look down on you.
"Not to mention….."
Zhou Tong heaved a long sigh, "Qingye City's situation is unpredictable. I am finding an alternative path for the Zhou family. Wenwu, don't follow me back to the city. Just head straight to Lieyang County and find your aunt. Stay there for a period of time and enjoy yourself!"
"The situation is in such a bad state now?
Zhou Wenwu was surprised and this would mean that Zhou Tong would be on his own and away from the family. Zhou Wenwu angrily said, "Father, when Song Yujie died, you still haven't recovered from your injuries. The whole family was in the mountains. How will Song Zhong dare to accuse you?"
"In the past, he would not dare to. However, it is hard to say now…."
Zhou Tong shook his head.
A desperate person was the scariest. Song Zhong lost his child when he was old and since then, he had lived alone. It was hard to say what his mind had become.
Plus, he was also an elder. Zhou Tong, on the other hand, was just an Outer Sect Deacon and both of them were enemies of the same Sect.
If the other party lost his loved one and felt like committing suicide, he would also bring others along and die together!
Zhou Tong's face was gloomy and suspected that the poison case was likely to have originated from the Song family.
Of course, Zhou Wenwu wouldn't need to know about this suspicion.
"Alright, Father will with all of us. We have nothing to be afraid of since we did nothing wrong!"
Zhou Wenwu shuddered as Song Zhong, who broke through two Gates, was a [Martial Artist (7th Gate)] expert!
If Song Zhong became crazy and started killing everyone in Qingye City, no one could stop him as the city was not part of the Spirit Returning Sect.
"Leave?"
Zhou Tong listened and gave a sorrowful smile. "You should leave with your sister first. I, being the father, shouldn't!"
This was just a prediction of the worst case scenario. It was totally unnecessary for now.
If the Zhou family migrated elsewhere, what would the rest of the Qingye City think?
If the Zhou family retreated and escaped to elsewhere when there was trouble, they would not have to think about living in the Qingye City ever again.
Nowadays, families here were like beasts as they had territories they controlled. Qingye City was the territory of the Zhou family. If this territory was abandoned, others would come and claim it.
Hence, the worse the situation became, the more Zhou Tong couldn't leave.
"Don't worry, Song Zhong and I are of the same Sect. With Lin family around, he will not dare to do anything funny!"
Even though Zhou Tong was worried, he still comforted Zhou Wenwu.
Even he himself also felt this way. If not, based on his cunning character, he would definitely not go back and die.
....
"Your father sent you here to become my servant?"
At that moment, Fang Yuan stared at Zhou Wenxin and remained silent.
"Certainly…..certainly not…."
Zhou Wenxin immediately teared after hearing what Fang Yuan said.
Seeing that Fang Yuan stepped forward, she became even more terrified and retreated further with her hands clutching her shoulders. "What….what do you want? Don't come near me!"
"Why do you make me look like the bad guy?"
Fang Yuan stroked his chin and said, "I'm not interested in you. Even if I wanted to be mean, isn't it normal for me to have a servant?"
"Boohoo!"
After what he said, Zhou Wenxin couldn't endure any longer and cried out loud. "You are bullying me again….you are a bad guy…."
"Excuse me, you are being self-affectionate!"
Fang Yuan frowned and said, "I am preparing to send you out of the mountains today actually!"
"What?"
Zhou Wenxin stopped crying and lifted her head. Her teary eyes were staring right at Fang Yuan's.
She thought that she would be suffering since she landed onto a thief's hands. She didn't expect that Fang Yuan was not interested in her and was preparing to send her off!
At that moment, she felt humiliated instead of being fearful.
Previously, she thought that being a servant was humiliating. She didn't expect that being rejected to be someone's servant was even more humiliating!
"You are not willing to leave?"
Fang Yuan became a little interested and said, "Or would you prefer me to torture you?"
"I…..I….."
Zhou Wenxin bit her teeth tightly and couldn't wait to bite that cocky lad.
However, she recalled her father's advice on the situation of Qingye City and his scolding. She took a breath and said, "I will not leave!"
"What?"
Fang Yuan felt something strange about her sudden change in attitude. "Is your father leaving you? Looks like your family is seriously affected by the death of Song Yujie!"
"You can stay in this piece of wildland for as long as you want but I warn you first, do not enter the secluded valley or your life will be at risk!"
Fang Yuan gave a warning and decided to go back and ponder further.
Anyway, the Flower Fox Ferret would not be gentle towards anyone. If this lady indeed decided to explore the secluded valley, the Flower Fox Ferret will definitely not spare her life.
By that time, she would have become a fertilizer for the plants.
"No entry to the valley?"
Miss Zhou looked at her surroundings and heard noises made by the beasts from far. She shuddered and said, "Fine, I will not enter the valley!"
"Very well!"
Fang Yuan then left, leaving Zhou Wenxin behind.
With the camping resources her family gave, she definitely would survive out in the wild. Hence, Fang Yuan naturally wouldn't show any concern about her.
With regards to the news about her being a servant, which idiot would believe? Who would want to get into trouble?
....
"She still hasn't left?"
Soon, the sun began to set and the sky gradually became dark.
Fang Yuan was reading a manual about the Eagle Claw Iron Skin Technique and gesturing subconsciously. He met the Flower Fox Ferret and asked about Miss Zhou.
The Flower Fox Ferret shook its head like a human.
"Hmm….looks like there is big trouble brewing in Qingye City…."
Fang Yuan got up and exhaled out a long breath. He looked in the direction of Qingye City and murmured something.
The reason why Zhou Tong was thick-skinned enough to make his daughter stay put was so that his daughter could be protected and he could pull connections with Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan made a decision after understanding the whole situation.
If he was satisfied with the gift, he would accommodate the lady for a few days before sending her back to the city. If he was not satisfied, he would send her back right away. He followed his inclinations and what could Zhou Tong do about it?
"This 'Eagle Claw Iron Skin Technique'…..".
After some serious considerations, Fang Yuan started to think carefully about the techniques that he had.
He was not only a young 4th Gate Martial Artist, he also had the Spirit Returning Heart Manual with him even though he was missing a few essential ones. After all, this manual was from the Spirit Returning Sect. The differentiation between the knowledge of martial arts and Gates mentioned in it should not be fake.
With such confidence, he looked at the Eagle Claw Iron Skin Technique once more and concluded that it was impossible for Zhou Tong to trick him.
"So far I have yet to attain [Black Sand Palm (Grade 5)] and [Rough Breathing Technique (Grade 5)]. I need to find other techniques to learn but the Eagle Claw Iron Skin Technique is different!"
Fang Yuan's eyes glittered. "It can combine with the Eagle Claw Technique to become the Eagle Claw Iron Skin Technique. This will enable me to train to the peak of the 12 Golden Gates!"
With this benefit alone, Fang Yuan would gladly accept Zhou Tong's request for his daughter to seek protection here.
After all, this was very important with regards to strengthening himself.
The gift was timely. Even though he had saved Zhou Tong's life, it was still a huge gift that was not proportionate compared to what Fang Yuan had done for him.
"The 12 Golden Gates. The 4 Heavenly Gates come after the first 8 Gates. The 4 Gates are namely Yin, Yang, Heaven and Earth. In the end, one will break through the Heaven Gate and become Grandmaster!"
"The Spirit Returning Heart Manual mentions briefly about this while the Eagle Claw Iron Skin Technique doesn't. It clearly shows that Eagle Claw Iron Skin Technique is inferior as it does not mention anything related to Grandmaster!"
"But to me, having the Eagle Claw Iron Skin Technique is sufficient. Of course, I cannot give up Black Sand Palm. I should quickly train it to 5th Grade and then I will focus fully on attaining the Eagle Claw Iron Skin Technique!"
Fang Yuan was determined to do that.
If it was other martial artists who wanted to convert their techniques, they would have to take a long time.
For Fang Yuan, he was very familiar with the conversion and was able to get it with just a few practices.
After a night of training, he was satisfied by his improvement in the conversion. "If I am given another year to train, Song family, Spirit Returning Sect and others will have to step aside for me!"
"Keke!"
The Flower Fox Ferret suddenly came gesturing to Fang Yuan with its claws.
"Oh? Did something bad happened to Miss Zhou?"
Fang Yuan thought for a while and grabbed a handkerchief to wipe his sweat. He then reached the camping site, which was outside the valley.
He saw Zhou Wenxin curled up at a corner with her hands holding two flintstones, trying to light up a fire.
"Puff!"
Seeing her current state, Fang Yuan couldn't help but thought that Zhou Tong was funny.
It was already whimsical for Zhou Tong to send his daughter here to become a servant and even more amazing that she could take care of herself on her own.