"I will take care of the Beggar Sect in your absence," Shang Xin Ci said.
"Good," Fang Yuan said. "Since we are trying to hide my identity as an Immortal for some time, if need be I will have my younger brother, Fang Zheng, take over the position as the Insane Reverend in the time being as my body double. As for Sister Ding Ching, she will continue training within Shang Clan City. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to reach out to her for help."
"I understand, Teacher," Shang Xin Ci said.
The two of them hugged, Shang Xin Ci taking in Fang Yuan's warmth and form for a moment. The hug felt far too short for her as they broke apart from their embrace.
"I'll be leaving towards the evening. If you have anything, simply reach out. I still have my methods within the city."
"Understood, teacher," Shang Xin Ci said.
Although Shang Xin Ci went back to cultivating, with her heart in turmoil and sadness enveloping her, she still wished Fang Yuan the best of luck.
Fang Yuan exited the city that evening, now finally making his way towards the Western Desert, where Thieving Heaven Demonic Venerable's inheritance was said to be kept.
As he moved, however, a figure intercepted him. It was none other than Shang Qing Qing.
"Ah, Senior Sister," Fang Yuan said. "Out for a nighttime stroll?"
"No, nothing trivial like that," Shang Qing Qing said, her expression quite serious. "There is an issue with Shang Guai Li - right now, at the moment he's gotten into some kind of argument with the Tie Clan, and one thing led to another, and it involves a tea ceremony."
Fang Yuan immediately felt uneasy, as he had an idea where this was going.
"A tea ceremony?"
"Indeed, Fang Yuan. I think that your expertise is needed, and it will be greatly appreciated in this matter," Shang Qing Qing said.
"Senior sister," Fang Yuan said, "I was heading towards the Western Desert just now for that mission-"
"Correct, right," Shang Qing Qing said. "Forget about that for now. We need your help here for something else."
Fang Yuan was slightly flustered. He wanted to get to the Western Desert as fast as possible. However, it was impossible for him to openly decline this or the Shang Clan's invitation without it reflecting badly upon him and destroying whatever goodwill he had worked so hard to build in the first place.
'Damn it,' Fang Yuan thought to himself, 'this is exactly why I didn't want to join up with the righteous path in the first place. Being part of a righteous force means getting involved in all sorts of nonsense like this which I can't easily break from. And the majority of it is simply a colossal waste of time. Should I just go ahead and shatter all ties with them? I would like to, but then there's the matter of the inheritance. If I show up at the Tian Clan and the Shang Clan has denounced me, how am I going to deal with it then?'
Fang Yuan's eyes flashed with inspiration.
"Senior Sister, I would love to help, however, my Earthly Calamity is quickly approaching and I need to prepare-"
"Don't worry about that," Shang Qing Qing said, waving her hand as if it was nothing.
Fang Yuan was not lying when he said that his first Earthly Calamity was coming. It certainly was, and he wanted to obtain Thieving Heaven Demonic Venerable's inheritance before that happened. Who knew what kind of treasure it possessed - it could very well be something that could help him pass this calamity with ease.
And yet, despite that, Shang Qing Qing did not seem like she was in any way closer to letting him go.
"This is just your first earthly calamity, isn't it, Fang Yuan?" she asked. "Well then, don't worry about it. The first earthly calamity is never that dangerous. At maximum, it might harm your aperture a little and take away some resources. And if you really are this concerned about it, I will personally help you with your tribulation, not to mention resources that you can get from the Shang Clan elders that will compensate you abundantly for your losses. Now come."
With that, Fang Yuan essentially had no choice, as he was led astray by Shang Qing Qing, sighing and hoping that he could only make up for the time later on.
***
Meanwhile, inside Fang Yuan's aperture, on Fang Yuan Continent, Wang Tian continued to work away as a slave. His days were long and hard.
He would be forced to wake up before the crack of dawn and immediately start work by feeding and cleaning the horses. The horses, it seemed, also disliked him and would tend to make his job harder by turning away from him and even occasionally kicking him.
Wang Tian would have liked to scold them or even hit them in retaliation. However, if he did so, it would be he who would be whipped instead. As a slave, he had no right to damage his master's property, and his life was considered less than that of the horses. The horses even seemed to comprehend that, and their bullying of Wang Tian seemed to worsen after this.
Once Wang Tian was done feeding the horses, he then had to draw water for the rest of the clan, an activity that carried him into early morning. Wang Tian was only allowed two meals throughout the day: one for lunch and one during evening time. So by this time, his head would usually be spinning from dizziness and borderline hypoglycemia from being forced to work so hard on an empty stomach.
He then had to help several of his masters bathe using the water that he had drawn. After that would be lunch, which tended to be a thin paste of gruel which seemed to almost deliberately be made as unappetizing as possible for him. Once, his masters had even spat in it before laughing and handing it to him as yet another act of humiliation. It was not even afforded the smallest bit of salt. On certain days, he would be fed with the coarse brown rice that grew in certain areas rather than the richer, polished white rice.
Things like fruit and meat and vegetables would only be afforded to him once a month. Whenever Wang Tian asked for a little bit more, they always told him, "Hmph, a mere slave dares to ask for better rations? How could a slave possibly eat as well as one of his masters? Stay content with what you have!"
And that was the kind of answer he would get if they were in a good mood. If they were in a bad mood, they would just go ahead and thrash Wang Tian.
Afternoon was the time during which the tribe tended to rest and go to sleep. However, Wang Tian got no sleep for himself. There was usually always work to do at this point, whether it was trying to quieten down frogs in the neighboring pond so they wouldn't wake up his masters while sleeping or fanning them while they slept.
He would be busy until the afternoon, after which he had to run chores like fetching firewood and occasionally helping with the evening dinner. His work would continue until almost midnight, by which time he was nearly dizzy from exhaustion, his body oftentimes covered in bruises and tears, which made falling asleep difficult - only for the routine to start again the next morning.
"Oy, hurry up!" one of his masters yelled out, as Wang Tian went to go fetch water for them to drink.
"Coming, Master," Wang Tian said.
In response, though, this man glared at him, and the horse even snorted at him while flicking its tail. The shock of said action knocked Wang Tian off balance as he fell on his rump, the bucket of cold water that he was taking falling to the earth and spilling all over.
"Why, you useless little-" the man atop the horse said, glaring at him before he decided he had had enough and took out a leather belt, beating Wang Tian to his heart's desire.
The other horse-riding members of the tribe glanced at it. None of them attempted to stop this man. Some of them even began chuckling. After all, Wang Tian was simply a slave now. The man who had seen his son in Wang Tian had passed away recently, and his treatment had only gotten worse after that.
By the time the man was done, Wang Tian was covered in bruises and could only whimper as he was put back to work. As further punishment, they had decided to give him no dinner, meaning he went to sleep hungry as well.
By noon the next day, he was almost fainting from all the exertion he had to do. Forget about trying to advance in his cultivation - it seemed like Wang Tian would be unlikely to survive for longer than a few months if these things continued.
His only hope of surviving seemed to be to find a way to escape. But how was he going to do so? His masters had horses. How was he going to outrun them? Wang Tian himself had very little experience in horse riding and didn't think that even if he stole a horse, he would be able to outrace any of his masters.
With that said, he was sure that one day Heaven would certainly smile upon him and give him the opportunity to slip away. Either that, or he would need to find a gu worm that could help him escape.
This change in mindset arose because he had already survived through the illness, something that he was sure was going to be a death sentence. But he had lived through that. Now, he was sure that Heaven had a plan for him, and hope had already lit a flame in his heart. This incident gave him a boost of confidence and a new outlook in life.
He was not going to die a nobody in this place!
The open vast blue sky above called to him. The wind tickled his ears, speaking of where he could go once he was free. The sun seemed to wink at him from behind the clouds, speaking of a future where he was no longer bound to serve others.
He would escape. He would resume cultivating. And if there truly was an Immortal in this world, he would go up to that person directly and asked why they had never helped him or his tribe out. Why they allowed such violence to exist when they could intervene. Wang Tian was angry, and he was dead set on getting answers from this person.