Chapter 84
“Fang Yuan, you’re pushing it too far!”
Seeing Flower Fox Ferret dragged Hu Yuxu away unrelentingly while Fang Yuan continued to advance continuously, Old Crane was panic stricken. He stepped backwards and shouted out.
“I’m pushing it too far?”
Fang Yuan snorted mockingly, “You took the effort to travel all the way here to disturb me. When you did not achieve your objective, you even devised a deadly trap and tried to trick me. How dare you say that I’m the one pushing it too far?”
“Shoo!”
As he was talking, he sped like the wind and circled Old Crane a few times before coming to a halt by the side.
Old Crane’s face turned ghostly pale. His hand shivered and a few bags of medicine fell to the floor as he stuttered, “You…have broken through the 4 Heavenly Gates?”
Even though he knew that Fang Yuan was a highly skilled martial artist with an unrivalled inner force, he never thought that Fang Yuan was such a formidable martial artist!”
Fang Yuan was not even past 20 years of age! Yet he was so proficient and outstanding in both medicinal abilities and martial prowess to the point that it was completely unbelievable!
“Do not forget that I am also a medical practitioner. Those moves you have will not work on me!”
Fang Yuan wriggled his nose and shook his head slowly.
Even though Old Crane was also trained in martial arts like him, he was probably only around the 5th or the 6th gate. How could he possibly be a match for Fang Yuan?
As for attempting to use poison on Fang Yuan, Old Crane was simply making a fool out of himself in front of Fang Yuan who was an expert in this field.
“Ah!”
After seeing what happened, Hu Yuxu who was struggling with Flower Fox Ferret let out a shout. He threw out a Sword Flower which burst into flames in mid-air, sending rays of blinding light in all directions. He forced Flower Fox Ferret to release its grip and took the chance to escape.
“Keke!”
Seeing Hu Yuxu escaping, Flower Fox Ferret flew into a rage and chased after Hu Yuxu relentlessly with vengeance. Even though it was less powerful than Hu Yuxu and could not possibly hold him back alone, it could still get its revenge with the help of its friend.
“Choo choo!”
A gigantic black eagle descended from the sky through strong gusts of wind and blocked Hu Yuxu’s escape path. Brandishing its razor-sharp talons, it charged towards Hu Yuxu.
“Yin yang Sword!”
Hu Yuxu’s expression changed. He thrusted his sword in its direction. The Yin and Yang energies flowed along the blade of the sword, forcing the airborne eagle to land.
“Sou!”
At this instant, Flower Fox Ferret appeared out of nowhere within the range of Hu Yuxu’s weapon and tore out his throat!
Snap!
Blood spurted everywhere as Hu Yuxu slumped to the ground. There was a gaping hole in his throat and a painful contorted expression on his face.
As he lay on the ground, he eyes were still filled with rage, as though he was still indignant that he was killed by two beasts.
“What a great spiritual bird!”
Seeing Iron-tailed Black Eagle, the colour drained from Old Crane’s face. It seemed like he knew his end was near.
He looked at Fang Yuan deeply and thought, “Not only is he highly skilled in martial arts, he even has spiritual beasts. What impressive achievements! I am ashamed beyond measure…”
“Sigh…I never thought that after all these years, I would actually die here!?”
After saying this, he dropped to his knees without hesitation. A smile appeared on his face and his breathing halted instantly.
“Oh? Did he commit suicide?”
Fang Yuan stepped forward and checked for Old Crane’s breathing from his nostrils. His mouth curled into a mocking smirk. Suddenly, he forcefully jabbed his index finger onto Old Crane’s heart with lightning speed.
“Pooh!”
With a dull thud, Old Crane’s lifeless body fell to the floor like a wooden log.
“It doesn’t matter if you are really dead. I will give it to you if you are able to survive after I destroy your meridians!”
Without looking at Old Crane again, Fang Yuan walked towards Zhang Sheng.
At this point in time, the two spiritual beasts who just neutralised Hu Yuxu returned together on either side of Fang Yuan. It was an impressive sight.
“Cough…”
Zhang Sheng spat out fresh blood which contained some parts of his internal organs and asked cynically, “Is the divine healer here to kill me?”
“Oh? Why would you say so?”
Fang Yuan frowned.
“Old Crane has many connections. You would probably think twice before killing him. But seeing that you treat your spiritual eagle and true martial prowess with such secrecy, it seems that killing a person who has witnessed them would be the only way to keep these secrets. And for that reason, I too must die right?”
Zhang Sheng chuckled scornfully, “Anyway, even if you do not kill me now, I would still die by the end of today!”
“True, your core elixir is broken. Even if you do not die, you would be handicapped for life!”
Fang Yuan surveyed Zhang Sheng’s injury. Nodding his head, he asked, “What if I am able to save your life and help you keep your martial prowess?”
“What?”
Fang Yuan’s question kindled a fire within Zhang Sheng which shone through his eyes. This caused Fang Yuan to chuckle silently.
It was natural for all living things to have a desire to live. It was hence natural for a martial artist to desire to continue living.
“And what would you have me do?”
Zhang Sheng was no doubt a street-smart and intelligent person as he immediately thought about what Fang Yuan wanted in exchange.
“I will save your life and help you keep your martial prowess. In return, you will work for me for 20 years. What do you think?”
Even before Zhang Sheng and Old Crane embarked on their journey, Fang Yuan already did a background check on Zhang Sheng. He understood quite a bit about Zhang Sheng. Zhang Sheng was an extremely skilled martial artist who was reliable and had an impeccable character.
If not for Zhang Sheng’s impeccable character, Fang Yuan would have killed him without hesitation.
“Work for you for 20 years?”
Zhang Sheng was slightly puzzled. Then he laughed and asked, “Aren’t you afraid that news of today’s incident might leak out? Or I might just leave you halfway through the 20 years?”
“Do not worry, I trust you!”
Fang Yuan generously waved Zhang Sheng’s negative suggestions away. On the outside, Fang Yuan seemed cavalier, but in reality, he had already made the necessary considerations.
In the first place he had no intention of hiding the fact that he killed Old Crane so it did not matter to him if the news were to spread out or not.
Even though a known doctor like Old Crane would have connections to several important people, people were rational, and it would be more beneficial to gain the favour of a living divine healer than to avenge a dead one.
Fang Yuan refused to believe that many martial artists would fight him to avenge Old Crane when he could possibly save their lives one day.
As for the possibility of Zhang Sheng breaking the deal, it was even more unlikely unless Zhang Sheng was willing to endure humiliation and shame to his name in the future.
Furthermore, Fang Yuan was very experienced with managing his subordinates. An excellent example was Zhou Wenwu who was now respectful and compliant towards Fang Yuan.
The addition of Zhang Sheng did not seem to be a problem for him.
After all, Fang Yuan was a Martial Artist that had broken through the 11th gate. Taking Zhang Sheng under his tutelage was a worthy investment.
‘There is a need to have someone to guard over this valley in the meantime. Even though Zhou Wenwu just broke through the 6th Gate, his military prowess is still far from a satisfactory level. Having just him to guard the valley alone is insufficient…’
Fang Yuan sighed in his mind and then asked Zhang Sheng, “Make up your mind now!”
“You mean…I have a choice in this?”
Zhang Sheng joked bitterly.
If he rejected the offer, he would definitely die by nightfall!
“Great, you will have yourself to thank in the future for making the correct decision!”
Fang Yuan stepped forward and applied acupuncture using his golden needle. He then took out a green fruit and instructed Zhang Sheng, “Eat this!”
“Crunch!”
Zhang Sheng obeyed in a docile fashion. When he felt the bamboo fruit dissolve and flowed to his intestines, he asked in a surprised tone, “It’s a spiritual item?”
“Haha…If I am only capable of doing things like saving lives, wouldn’t it besmirch my glorious reputation as the divine healer of the secluded valley?”
Fang Yuan laughed and hoisted Zhang Sheng onto the back of Iron-tailed Black Eagle. He said, “Take care and you shall be back to your normal active state within a few months!”
…
The news of Old Crane’s death did not spread out immediately. His corpse was only discovered several days after he died. When it was discovered, it created quite a bit of anguish.
Of course, it was just intensified emotions that’s all.
There was not even a need for evidence for people to identify the famous doctor in Qingye County as the person who defeated Old Crane. As for the martial artists from Cangshui County, they mostly made passing remarks about Old Crane’s death before continuing with their lives.
This was exactly as Fang Yuan predicted. Nobody would care about the death of this divine healer.
“Of course…Old Crane knew many people indeed. There would definitely be some fools amongst them who would seek revenge for him!”
At this time, he was in the valley and he instructed Zhou Wenwu, “Be more vigilant. If you see martial artists looking like they are here to seek revenge, expand all means and kill them on sight! Show them no mercy!”
Although these people were coming to seek revenge, they were also honourable people. Fang Yuan killed their friend or relative so it was reasonable for them to do so.
“Yes sir!”
The fires of passion shone through Zhou Wenwu’s eyes brightly. He had successfully broken through the Injury Gate and achieved his dream of becoming an expert in inner force.
If Old Man Zhou had such powers earlier, the Zhou family would have long dominated Qingye City and even Central Song.
As his martial arts prowess was improving by leaps and bounds, he was immensely grateful and respectful of Fang Yuan. He was determined not to let him down.
Zhou Wenwu was very clear that Fang Yuan could help him improve so much and he could definitely also cause him to lose his powers.
Hence, whatever Fang Yuan demanded of him, he made sure he tried his best to deliver.
At this point, there were new additions to the staff in the valley. The lady chefs were judiciously selected. They were very well-known culinary experts in Qinghe County. As for the new servant girls, they all looked incredibly gorgeous and had extremely gentle and demure behaviours. As for where they came from, Fang Yuan did not even have to ask to know the answer.
Of course, what caught his attention was not the girls, but the man who was always sweeping the floor within the mansion grounds.
Of course, this was Zhang Sheng!
His Dantian was broken and all of his cultivation lost, causing his head of hair to turn white overnight, with some traces of old age appearing as well.
Fang Yuan was tending to Zhang Sheng on a consistent basis in an attempt to help Zhang Sheng reaccumulate his energy and strength as soon as possible. As for the martial arts capabilities Zhang Sheng once had, he could only rely on himself to train and get them back.
Zhang Sheng was also a ruthless man. Seeing himself in such a pathetic situation, he changed his name and took a new identity as a servant. He swept the floors daily and also allowed others to treat him like a common servant.
Fang Yuan guessed that Zhang Sheng’s first reason for doing so was because he was ashamed that he had lost his martial arts powers. The second reason was that Zhang Sheng had numerous enemies and was afraid that they would bring trouble to the valley and Fang Yuan if they had known his whereabouts. He was indeed an honourable gentleman.
Fang Yuan held this sort of people in high regard.
Loyalty was the important virtue that a leader would look for in his subordinates.
Of course, if the subordinate was very capable and loyal, and did not create problems for his leader, it would be an ideal and perfect scenario.
‘Considering his martial arts prowess, I am confident of handing over this secluded valley to him in the future!’
A servant girl approached Fang Yuan with a smile on her face as she went up to offer him some tea. Fang Yuan waved his hand and sent her away without even noticing the pain from rejection in her eyes. Alone, he walked to his training room.
Now that everything has settled down, it is time to sleep!