The Ge family patriarch let out a long sigh. "Alas, your sister is dead, and they have no interest whatsoever in listening to my explanation. Why? Because they want to use this as a legitimate pretext for military action! But I brought in Chang Shanyin to back us up. Chang Shanyin is a hero of the Northern Plains with immense prestige, and behind him stands the Chang family. Even Man Tu wouldn't dare twist logic and force an argument — that's why they reluctantly backed off tonight."
Ge Guang was stunned. "So there was such a tangled story behind it all? But Father, there's one thing I can't figure out. If you saw through the Man family's intentions from the start, why did you agree to this marriage and give my sister to that monkey Man Duo?"
The Ge family patriarch bent his finger and rapped hard on Ge Guang's forehead. "Is there no brain in that head of yours? Why did I agree to the marriage? Do you think I wanted to wrong my own daughter?! It's because the Great Snowstorm is approaching — if we could form a marriage alliance with the Man family, we could take shelter in Red Flame Valley and preserve our clan to the greatest extent possible! Sacrificing your sister's happiness to save the entire Ge family. This marriage was nothing more than a transaction. Alas, what a pity that your sister ran away from the wedding and died in the Rotten Poison Grassland!"
Ge Guang furrowed his brow and blinked rapidly. "Father, I'm starting to understand."
"No, you don't understand yet." The Ge family patriarch knew his son all too well, and frustrated by his dullness, pressed on with the explanation. "Tonight, the Man father and son were ostensibly inviting Chang Shanyin, with us accompanying him. In reality, their true target was us father and son. And I pushed Chang Shanyin forward as a shield."
"When Man Duo brought out that Smoke Chase Gu, his intentions were utterly sinister! When all of you were suspecting Chang Shanyin, I swore to him that I believed him. Did you really think I didn't suspect him? I'm not yet so senile as that!"
The Ge family patriarch stamped his foot, his tone bleak and desolate. "But I didn't dare show suspicion. The reason we father and son can stand against the Man family on equal footing is because we borrowed Chang Shanyin's strength. If we showed suspicion toward him, then the Man father and son would have succeeded in driving a wedge between us. If Chang Shanyin didn't stand on our side, we might never have returned from tonight's banquet."
Ge Guang's face was filled with shock. "What? Could the Man family really be bold enough to that extent — wanting to kill us father and son?"
"Hmph. When you went out to search this time, why do you think you encountered so many wind wolves attacking you? On the Northern Plains, using beast herds as proxies to kill people is hardly uncommon! However, in tonight's situation, the Man family wouldn't go so far as to kill us, but they would certainly place us under house arrest. At that point, they would use the matter of Ge Yao as a legitimate pretext to swallow up our Ge family. And with us gone, the Ge family would be leaderless — the outcome would be grim."
Hearing his father's explanation, Ge Guang finally understood the danger of the night, a look of lingering fear appearing on his face.
"For the clan, for the greater good, even if Chang Shanyin really is the culprit, we cannot suspect him! Did you truly think I forgot about the Spider Silk Trail Gu? How could I! But you just had to bring it up. What if it was actually proven that Chang Shanyin is the culprit, then what would we do?" The Ge family patriarch spoke earnestly.
Ge Guang fell silent. It was a long while before he spoke. "So, Father, you gave the precious Fifth Transformation Spider Silk Trail Gu... to Chang Shanyin. This was to mend the rift in our relationship with him, to make him stand on our side, wasn't it?"
The Ge family patriarch nodded. "You're finally showing some understanding. Son, although your aptitude is outstanding and your cultivation is high, you are still far from being the new patriarch of the Ge family."
"Father, it's so good to have you here. I will definitely learn more from you in the future. The Ge family can do without anyone, but it cannot do without you," Ge Guang said, full of admiration.
The Ge family patriarch shook his head slightly. "Time spares no one, Father is already old. The Ge family will still have to rely on you in the future. Sigh... After this matter, I have also come to see Man Tu for who he truly is. He is a greedy jackal; no amount of wealth can ever fill his heart."
"Now that your sister is gone, we have also lost the pretext to borrow Red Flame Valley. We can't very well tear the clan apart to follow the Man family entirely, can we? No, the Ge family cannot be extinguished like this, or else I will be the eternal sinner of the Ge family! After this night, I have made up my mind. We cannot stay here; sooner or later, we will be plotted against by the Man family. In a few days, we will set out for the Hero Assembly."
"Father, if we leave just like this, will the Man family let us go so easily?" Ge Guang asked worriedly.
"They naturally won't want to let us go, but we will travel with Chang Shanyin. Man Tu fears Chang Shanyin and won't dare to make a move," the Ge family patriarch said with a chuckle.
"Then, us using Senior Chang Shanyin like this, isn't it..." Ge Guang felt a little embarrassed.
"You fool! Why not use it? What's wrong with making use of things? A good hunter is skilled at utilizing everything around him. When our strength is lacking, we must make up for it with wisdom. All of this is for the survival of the clan!"
The Ge family patriarch scolded him for a moment, then paused, a complicated expression surfacing on his face. "But this Chang Shanyin is truly a hero worthy of his reputation... Perhaps he has already seen through it all, yet he still stands on our side. Such integrity and righteousness, helping the weak — this is a true exemplar of the Righteous Path, a beacon of light in this world. Son, be grateful that our Ge family encountered such a person!"
……
Time passed quickly, and several more days went by.
In the room, Fang Yuan watched the bone bamboo gu in his hand burn to ashes under the ghost fire, then let out a breath of turbid air. "This is the last bone bamboo gu."
Over these days, he had cultivated diligently without rest, using up all the hundreds of bone bamboo gu from the gift box.
Through his vigorous repairs, the eight most severe wounds on the war bone wheel had all been successfully mended. Though the war bone wheel was still covered in scars, it had at least been pulled out of the danger zone.
Sending the war bone wheel back into his Empty Orifice, Fang Yuan began to examine his own Empty Orifice.
He was at the Peak Stage of the Fourth Transformation.
Therefore, the four walls of his Empty Orifice were made of transparent crystal membrane. His Yuan Sea had reached ninety percent, and it was all true gold True Essence.
However, Fang Yuan had only recently arrived in the northern plains, and without fully adapting, his true gold True Essence was merely equivalent to the pale gold True Essence of the Initial Stage.
Therefore, Fang Yuan's cultivation was temporarily stalled. Using pale gold True Essence, he naturally could not break through the barrier to become a Fifth Transformation Gu Master.