This was an invitation letter personally written by Man Tu, to show his sincerity.
The content expressed the Man family patriarch's admiration for Chang Shan Yin, and went on to say that previous events had merely been a misunderstanding among youngsters. Chang Shan Yin had not slain the Man family's outside-elder Shi Wu, and such magnanimity had earned the admiration of the entire Man family.
Therefore, a banquet would be laid out tonight, and they sincerely invited Fang Yuan to attend. Meanwhile, the gift box contained compensatory offerings from Elder Shi Wu's household, as an apology for having offended the hero.
Fang Yuan opened it and chuckled: "The Man family certainly put thought into this."
Inside the gift box were over a hundred Bone Bamboo Gu.
Clearly, after Man Duo had returned, the Man family had thoroughly investigated Fang Yuan—even learning of his purchases at the market.
"Brother Shan Yin, this old man has an imposition to ask of you." The old patriarch spoke up from the side.
Fang Yuan waved his hand: "I understand what you mean, old brother. Rest assured—at the banquet I'll put in a word or two, and do my best to turn hostility between the Ge and Man families into friendship."
"Oh, then I am most grateful, Brother Shan Yin!" The old patriarch was deeply moved. He stood up shakily and bowed deeply to Fang Yuan.
There was still some time before the banquet. After seeing the guests off, Fang Yuan closed the door.
He sat cross-legged on the bed. With a mere thought, a streak of light flew out from his Empty Orifice.
The faint glow dissipated, revealing the War Bone Wheel.
This Fifth Transformation Gu was enormous in size, nearly reaching the ceiling. The moment it appeared, the originally spacious room immediately felt incredibly cramped.
The wheel was covered in cracks, with several severe wounds that had nearly destroyed all the spokes. There was also one particularly deep gash, so serious it had almost split the entire War Bone Wheel apart, held together by only a thin strip of white bone in the center. The sight was enough to make one's blood run cold.
This Fifth Transformation Gu had not been fortunate. It had already been battered to a wreck by Chang Shan Yin. After its original owner, Hatu Gu, died, it became a wild Gu, feeding on the corpses and bones left on the battlefield to barely survive, its wounds never repaired.
Later, it was attacked again by Fang Yuan and Ge Yao working together. The Spring Autumn Cicada was a Sixth Transformation Gu, but even it could not fully subdue a Fifth Transformation Gu. Fang Yuan had no choice but to beat the War Bone Wheel to the brink of death before he could finally bring it under control.
Because of this, the entire War Bone Wheel was on the verge of shattering. When it landed in the room, several bone fragments fell away from the wheel.
It could be said to be as miserable as one could possibly get.
Fang Yuan took out a Bone Bamboo Gu from the gift box. Relying on a wisp of the Spring Autumn Cicada's aura, he casually refined it on the spot.
This Gu Insect resembled a length of bamboo crafted from a bone, ghastly white, like a white candle.
Fang Yuan held the Bone Bamboo Gu in his hand, his True Essence flowing in response to his will, exiting his Empty Orifice and traveling upward to settle beneath his tongue.
The Ghost Fire Gu resided there, already condensed into a ball of blue flame.
Fang Yuan gently puffed out his cheeks and blew softly.
With a whoosh, he exhaled a wisp of ghostly blue fire.
The ghost fire landed precisely on the Bone Bamboo Gu, clinging to its upper tip and burning silently.
Fang Yuan gripped the base of the Bone Bamboo Gu, as if holding a candle with a blue flame.
The ghost fire burned continuously, emitting waves of chilling, bone-piercing cold. Under its scorching, the upper end of the Bone Bamboo Gu slowly melted, forming a wisp of white bone smoke that drifted upward.
Fang Yuan carefully brought the Bone Bamboo Gu close to the War Bone Wheel. The bone smoke seemed drawn to it, drifting unbidden toward the cracks on the War Bone Wheel. The wheel trembled slightly, and the cracks began to mend bit by bit.
Before long, the ghostly blue fire had burned down considerably, so Fang Yuan exhaled a second ball of fire to stoke the flames.
Half a cup of tea's time passed before this Bone Bamboo Gu burned away completely. Fang Yuan then took out a second Bone Bamboo Gu from the gift box and continued using the ghost fire to scorch it, producing white bone smoke.
This cycle repeated, tireless and unrelenting. After using more than thirty Bone Bamboo Gu, Fang Yuan had completely repaired the deepest crack on the War Bone Wheel.
The Bone Bamboo Gu filling the gift box had been consumed by a quarter in one go. To fully repair the War Bone Wheel, these Bone Bamboo Gu alone were far from sufficient.
And the War Bone Wheel was still nowhere near ready for battle.
The deepest crack had been mended, but other wounds still covered the wheel's surface.
It was like a patient who, through Fang Yuan's emergency treatment, had been pulled back one step from the cliff's edge of death. But this patient was still critically ill and required persistent, ongoing repair.
"One cannot become fat in a single bite. The damage to the War Bone Wheel is simply too severe. But if it weren't so, I wouldn't have been able to subdue it so easily. Besides, even if it were fully restored right now, my current True Essence wouldn't be enough to activate it. There's no need to rush this matter."
Fang Yuan climbed down from the bed, stretched his stiff and tingling limbs, and opened the window. It was already nighttime, with a bright moon in the sky and sparse stars.
"It's almost time." Thinking of tonight's banquet, Fang Yuan stepped out of his room.
Walking out of the courtyard, Man Duo and the Ge clan patriarch and his son had been waiting for quite some time already.
"Man Duo greets Lord Changshan!" Upon seeing Fang Yuan, Man Duo immediately bowed, his demeanor extremely respectful.