Fang Yuan arrived at the Internal Affairs Hall and handed over the Golden Honey Wine.
The middle-aged male Gu Master handling the reception was quite surprised. Holding his brush, he asked, "You've completed the family inheritance task?"
"What do you think?" Fang Yuan countered.
The middle-aged male Gu Master immediately furrowed his brow. He had specifically chosen this task to make things difficult for Fang Yuan. He never expected Fang Yuan to complete it so quickly!
He stared at Fang Yuan, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes, and said gravely, "Young man, answer only what I ask. Vague answers will hurt your evaluation. Let me ask — did you complete this task alone? Tell the truth. We will investigate."
"Of course I completed it alone," Fang Yuan replied.
"Good. I'll note that down." The middle-aged male Gu Master recorded the answer while sneering inwardly. Just a mere newcomer like him — how could he possibly complete such a task alone? Falsely reporting like this, the clan would certainly send someone to investigate. Then the trouble would be enormous.
But Fang Yuan continued, "Though the situation was a bit special. That day I was only out scouting and happened upon a wild bear raiding a beehive. I seized the opportunity and took the honey wine."
"What?" The middle-aged male Gu Master's brush paused, and he looked up at Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan shrugged with a faint smile. "Otherwise, did you really think I could complete this task by myself? Come to think of it, I have you to thank for assigning me this particular task."
The middle-aged male Gu Master froze on the spot, his feelings too complex for words. After a long while, he gave a dry laugh or two and buried his head back in the records.
Fang Yuan watched the man with a calm, steady gaze, knowing full well that this inheritance task had been made so difficult as this Gu Master's "handiwork." Unfortunately for him, the task was already complete. Even if the clan grew suspicious and sent investigators, Fang Yuan had made all the necessary arrangements. There was nothing more this man could do to stop him, no matter how much he wanted to.
Even though this matter was handled by the man's own hands.
This was the sorrow of being part of the system — one's position became a shackle binding one's actions.
"Very well. Your task is complete, and you may now inherit the family property. However, your parents' estate is currently under the control of your uncle and aunt. The Internal Affairs Hall will recover it for you. Come back in three days." After a moment, the middle-aged male Gu Master spoke.
Fang Yuan nodded — he knew the rules. But he fixed his gaze on the paper the Gu Master had written on and said, "According to clan regulations, the Internal Affairs Hall's task record must be confirmed by the task-completer on the spot. Please let me see this record."
The middle-aged male Gu Master's expression shifted slightly. He hadn't expected Fang Yuan to be so familiar with the process. With a soft hum, he handed the record over to Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan took it and looked it over. There was nothing out of place in the record. Several hundred characters of flowing text, and at the very end was the evaluation — Good.
He could immediately see just how close this Gu Master was with Guye Dongtu.
The evaluation was quite fair and reasonable, which showed that the middle-aged Gu Master hadn't abandoned his professional principles over Guye Dongtu. His helping Guye Dongtu was likely nothing more than a transaction between acquaintances.
The kind where you take someone's money and do them a favor.
After returning the record to the middle-aged male Gu Master, Fang Yuan left the Internal Affairs Hall.
When he stepped outside, Guye Dongtu had already vanished without a trace.
Fang Yuan let out a cold laugh. Guye Dongtu's influence wasn't great enough to affect the operations of the Internal Affairs Hall. Even Clan Patriarch Gu Yue Bo, to achieve something like that, would need to withstand enormous pressure from the Elder Council and pay a heavy price in political capital.
Back on Earth, there was a saying: "When you're in the jianghu, you're not your own master."
The jianghu had its rules, which was really just another kind of system. Once you entered the system, no matter who you were, you were just a piece on the board — constrained by others, never truly free.
Unless one's personal power could rival an entire organization, joining one and expecting unrestrained freedom was nothing but a pipe dream!
Having harnessed the power of the clan's system, Fang Yuan reclaiming his inheritance was now a done deal.
Let alone Guye Dongtu — even the clan patriarch wouldn't pay such an enormous price for such a trivial matter.
The Reception Hall.
"Brother Dongtu, I'm truly sorry, but there's nothing more I can do." The middle-aged male Gu Master sighed as he stood before Guye Dongtu.
Guye Dongtu's face was as dark as still water as he sat in the main seat, silent.
"Is there really nothing we can do?" From the side, his aunt asked in panic, her voice filled with anxiety and unwillingness.
The middle-aged male Gu Master slowly shook his head. "This matter is already settled. It's entered the Internal Affairs Hall's processing workflow. Only the two ruling Elders or the Patriarch have the power to stop it. Brother Dongtu, this list from the Internal Affairs Hall details the estate. Please return everything in full — don't make this difficult for me." With that, he handed over an inventory.
The inventory was densely packed with entries, from large items like real estate down to small things like tables and chairs. Besides these, it also listed the Gu insects left behind by Fang Yuan's parents.
When Gu Masters died in battle, any Gu insects they had were reclaimed and passed on as estate to the master's heirs. This was one of the clan's policies.
His aunt took one glance at the inventory and shrieked, losing all composure. "Damn it, you can't do this! These are our things, ours! Master, say something! Think of something quickly! Without these assets, what will our family be left with? We'll probably have to dismiss most of our servants — we won't be able to afford them!"
Smack!
Uncle Guye Dongtu shot to his feet and swung a backhand slap that sent his aunt tumbling from her seat to the ground.