"Miss, you mustn't." Zhang Zhu hurriedly spoke up.
"Miss, our Zhang family's contingent is among the weakest in the entire merchant caravan. If we take him in, we'll inevitably offend another power. For the sake of two mere household servants, it simply isn't worth it. Even if you won't consider yourself, Miss, you should at least think about our Zhang family caravan and everyone around you," Zhang Zhu persuaded.
"This..." Shang Cidi was caught in a dilemma, unable to decide.
"There's nothing difficult about this. Miss Zhang, I'm merely a hired hand for the Chen family, not their household servant yet. If you're still troubled, Miss, I have a way to resolve it. You can simply tell the Chen family that my companion and I offended you, and to punish us, you've had us imprisoned. The Chen family certainly won't offend your people over two mortals," Fang Yuan said.
"That's a wonderful idea!" Shang Cidi's eyes lit up instantly.
"Miss..." Zhang Zhu sighed helplessly, knowing he could no longer dissuade her.
Fang Yuan immediately seized the opportunity, rising from the ground and bowing deeply to Shang Cidi. "Miss Zhang, you truly are a wonderful person. I will definitely repay you in the future!"
Shang Cidi shook her head. "I never intended to ask for your repayment. Since I encountered you, I'll do everything in my power to help those in need. You two will sleep in my camp tonight. Xiao Die, make arrangements and clear out a tent for them."
"Yes, Miss." Xiao Die agreed reluctantly.
"Follow me, you two. Don't blame me if you get lost." Xiao Die didn't spare Fang Yuan any pleasantries as she led the way ahead.
Watching the retreating figures of Fang and Bai, Zhang Zhu's brow furrowed deeply.
In his heart, he greatly disliked the pair. Moreover, as Shang Cidi's bodyguard, he had to prioritize her safety.
He decided to handle this matter personally.
It was only a small tent, its interior cramped and narrow.
But neither Fang Yuan nor Bai Ningbing cared. They had even used beast-catching trees as shelter before — this environment was more than adequate.
In the darkness, both lay casually.
Fang Yuan reached out and took Bai Ningbing's hand. "Everything will be alright, Bai Yun."
Bai Ningbing rolled her eyes. She naturally knew Fang Yuan's true intentions. Secretly, she drew out a strand of Snow Silver True Essence and channeled it through her palm to Fang Yuan.
"Go to sleep early. We're fortunate to have met someone as kind as Miss Zhang," Fang Yuan said, then closed his eyes and began secretly cultivating.
He had now advanced to the Second Transformation, his True Essence entirely of the Red Iron Sea. Although he could already use the Four Flavor Wine Worm, Bai Ningbing's Snow Silver True Essence was undoubtedly superior.
For Fang Yuan, as long as Bai Ningbing was around, the Four Flavor Wine Worm had become redundant.
Snow Silver True Essence scoured and tempered his Empty Orifice, and his foundation rose rapidly. With the Breath Concealing Gu's effect, he didn't have to worry about his aura leaking.
As long as he didn't deploy any Gu outside his body, his disguise wouldn't be broken.
Currently, the Breath Concealing Gu hadn't yet truly taken the stage. In his previous life, it wouldn't become widely known until approximately a hundred and fifty years later, because of the Hunter King Sun Gan. Within the fifty years after that, during the massive war that engulfed the entire Southern Border, it would be widely employed and enjoy a period of great popularity.
In other words, following the historical trajectory of his previous life, people wouldn't consciously guard against the Breath Concealing Gu for another hundred and fifty years. And it would take two hundred years before they possessed mature methods and extensive experience to deal with it.
Moreover, the Breath Concealing Gu was a Third Transformation Gu, and this merchant caravan had no Fourth Transformation Gu Masters. Though there were many Gu Masters, who would pay special attention to two ordinary people named "Hei Tu" and "Bai Yun"?
Having exhausted this strand of Silver True Essence, Fang Yuan immediately activated the Crocodile Strength Gu within his Empty Orifice.
Thread by thread, new power was permanently added to his body. His bones were no longer fair-skinned but resembled hard black iron — a solid foundation that steadily bore the ever-increasing burden of strength.
The night passed without incident.
The next morning, just as the sky began to brighten, the entire camp stirred to life.
After a flurry of tense activity, the caravan set off.
Zhang Zhu didn't approach the Chen family directly, but first sent subordinates to investigate secretly.
There had indeed been a fight the previous night. Many people at the scene had witnessed it.
As for Brother Qiang and his group, they had concealed the fact that Fang Yuan had beaten them. If word got out that so many of them couldn't handle a single Fang Yuan, it would be utterly humiliating! How could Brother Qiang and his men continue to make their way?
In fact, they had gathered that very night to deliberate. They coordinated their stories and reached a consensus, fabricating the tale that "they had bullied the newcomers, whereupon Fang Yuan willingly offered up Yuan Stones. Then, still disgruntled, he went to find the old steward."
Having confirmed that the dispute had indeed occurred, Zhang Zhu stepped forward and sought out the Chen family's leader.
This deputy leader, upon learning that two mortals under his charge had offended Shang Cidi and been detained, fell into contemplation.
He didn't want to offend the Zhang family over one or two mortals either. However, on one hand, he didn't want to immediately acquiesce — the Chen family's prestige couldn't be undermined. On the other hand, among these servants, there were those with personal connections to him.
So he asked which two people were involved.
Zhang Zhu told him.
The Chen family deputy leader paused briefly. He had some recollection — it was at the old village chief's request that these two had been allowed to join. Who would have thought that on the very first day, they'd already caused trouble.
By his estimation, Fang and Bai were probably some relatives of the old village chief. But so what?
The old village chief had been appointed by him and was firmly under his control. Abandoning these two, he dared not expect the old man to have any objections. Besides, they had clearly been in the wrong and brought trouble upon the Chen family — they deserved what they got!
With this thought, the deputy leader had already decided to discard the two of them to resolve the conflict with the Zhang family.
But outwardly, he put on a troubled expression. "Brother Zhang, to be honest with you, if you take them both, I'm afraid our Chen family will be short-handed. We can't very well have our Gu Masters doing manual labor to haul cargo, can we? Here's what I'll do — I'll call over the steward in charge. He knows the situation. If we truly are short on manpower, then these two can't be handed over just yet. They'll have to stay with me for now, and we'll only be able to deliver them to your Zhang family for judgment once we've recruited new people at the next village."