"Damn it, it's like this again!" Tie Ruo Nan punched a tree, causing the leaves to scatter.
She was very indignant as she said with clenched teeth, "It is clearly a murder, but they are turning a blind eye to it and not giving a damn. Father, are the mortals not humans? Why do Gu Masters feel that they have the rights to kill the mortals?"
Tie Xue Leng was silent like a sculpture.
The weather was somewhat gloomy, and the wind blew and tree leaves rustled.
Tie Ruo Nan suddenly lowered her head, her expression was down. "I am sorry, father."
She apologized, "I didn't listen to your advice, and used the Intuition Gu."
"Sigh….." Divine Investigator let out a long sigh and looked at his daughter with a profound gaze, "Child, you have such hatred for evil and are full of righteousness, just like me when I was young. I am happy but also worried."
"Why are you worried?"
"Your ideals are much bigger than mine was at that time. When I was young, my ambition was to capture all the criminals and cram up the Demon Suppression Tower. But as for you, you want to make everyone equal, treating both Gu Masters and the mortals equally, causing law and order to be established in the whole world. Such ambitions and ideals are too big and also very heavy," Tie Xue Leng's words were filled with experience.
"But father, this so-called law, fairness and justice. If we don't treat everyone equally, what meaning do they have? If the young don't have ambitious dreams, then how could they be considered young? I believe it's all a matter of our own efforts. As long as I give my best, it might not necessarily be impossible to achieve!" Tie Ruo Nan spoke excitedly, her two eyes filled with hopes for the future.
Tie Xue Leng was silent for a good while, "There will be a day when you will understand. But, this is good too, young people should walk their paths by themselves. Setbacks will make you mature. Father won't interfere anymore. I only hope you can live the life you want!"
He then took out a letter and gave it to Tie Ruo Nan.
"This is….?!" Tie Ruo Nan tore open the letter and was immediately overjoyed.
The letter came from Jia Fu and detailed everything about Jia Jin Sheng's case.
It covered how Fang Yuan won the Liquor worm through rock gambling, how the bamboo gentleman interrogated him, and even listed Fang Yuan's bidding prices during the caravan's second visit, when he displayed keen business sense and received Jia Fu's offer to join.
Tie Ruo Nan reread the bidding records several times, her eyes growing brighter each time.
"This Fang Yuan is not only fierce in his methods, but also has cruel nature and is even able to scheme deeply. My intuition tells me he is very suspicious. If he is really the killer, then he should be somewhat afraid. But the bamboo gentleman showed no changes to his lies, how did he do it?" Tie Ruo Nan muttered to herself.
"What are you preparing to do next?" Tie Xue Leng asked.
"It has been a long time since Jia Jin Sheng's death. Everything is fishy and filled with mysteries. Till now, his corpse has not been found and even the place of his death hasn't been deduced. This case is too clean, giving me no clues, except that Fang Yuan is the biggest suspect. Although the clues from Wang Er have been broken, there are no evidences to prove he is the killer. However, because there are no other clues, I can only rely on my intuition to investigate this Fang Yuan!" Tie Ruo Nan enthusiastically replied.
"You feel that Fang Yuan is suspicious?" Tie Xue Leng asked.
"Extremely suspicious!" Tie Ruo Nan immediately said, "This Fang Yuan is clearly only a C-grade aptitude, but why is his cultivation speed faster than Fang Zheng's? One could say he had the help from the Liquor worm and the Relic Gu, but this speed is still very fast. Gu Yue clan might not have sensed anything wrong, but this is a case of 'those closely involved can't see as clearly as those outside'. This is the first suspicious point."
"Besides this, there is another suspicious point; his luck. He rock gambled for the first time in his life and bought six purple gold stones, but was able to get two live Gu; a mudskin toad and a Liquor worm. Isn't this luck way too much?"
Tie Xue Leng nodded, "Yes, continue."
"This Fang Yuan looks ordinary, but if we look into him, we will find that the mysteries surrounding him are like the thick fog covering the mountain. Many things that were inadvertently revealed makes one ponder. For instance, his rock dissecting technique; he actually used the Moonlight Gu to dissect rocks and did it without damaging the core. Such delicate control is really unimaginable for a student….wait!"
Tie Ruo Nan paused. She had discovered something as her eyes let out bright and sharp light! Her gaze landed on a line of words in the letter, and the more she looked at, the more her gaze brightened.
"I found it. This Fang Yuan has a huge problem!" After a long while, she suddenly raised her head and excitedly spoke.
The tea's aroma drifted through the study.
Fang Yuan lifted the cup, blew aside the leaves, and sipped slowly before exhaling in a relaxed manner.
Seeing his calm demeanor, Gu Yue Mo Chen struggled to stay composed, veins throbbing on his forehead.
Earlier, Fang Yuan's outrageous demands had driven him to kick the young man out.
But now, he had no choice but to invite him back.
All this was because the situation left him no choice.
The Yao faction kept pressing him, and news of his fall to Rank two would soon leak.
The Mo faction was on the brink of collapse and urgently needed an elder son-in-law to steady things.
"This bastard is too vile, making such sky-high demands. Does he really think my Mo faction is bathing in gold?" Gu Yue Mo Chen cursed inwardly, while outwardly putting on a warm smile and speaking in a negotiating voice, "Elder Fang Yuan, your price is too much, it greatly exceeds what my Mo faction can support. Can you decrease it?"
Fang Yuan glanced at Gu Yue Mo Chen. This old man who knew when to give and take was worthy of respect.
It was almost the crucial moment now, so Fang Yuan softened his tone, "Then we will decrease it by thirty percent. But there is a condition, you need to show me your sincerity by paying forty thousand primeval stones in advance. Also you must hand over a Pig Iron Gu and an Afterlife Grass Gu."
Gu Yue Mo Chen couldn't help but massage his brows when he heard this. He replied in a sunken voice, "Pig Iron Gu will be handed to you, but my Mo faction's warehouse doesn't have any Afterlife Grass Gu. We can't also give the forty thousand primeval stones at once, they will be given to you in installments."
Fang Yuan knew this old fox wasn't speaking the truth, but he was very clear that being too overbearing could instead produce the opposite result.
"Fine, I will wait for you to send them first, but I would also like to make a transaction." Fang Yuan suddenly gave a condition.
"What transaction?" Feeling suspicious, Mo Chen couldn't help but tense when he heard Fang Yuan's words.
Fang Yuan told Mo Chen how Chi Chen had faked his grade with Chi Lian's help.
Shocked by Fang Yuan's words, Mo Chen fell silent.
The study room was quiet once more.
After a few moments, Mo Chen broke the silence once more by saying. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"
"Hehe, Mo Chen, I know you are suspicious right now. However, the truth can easily be verified. Just submit a report to the clan leader for investigation. After all, the only thing you can lose now is your reputation. Other than that, the Divine Investigator and his daughter will surely be watching the Awakening Ceremony," Fang Yuan casually told Mo Chen.
Hearing Fang Yuan's words, Mo Chen was once again shocked as many questions ran through his mind. "Why will the Divine Investigator and his daughter be watching the Awakening Ceremony?" and "Why is Fang Yuan so confident that Chi Chen faked his grade?"
Seeing Mo Chen's expression, Fang Yuan stood up and prepared to leave.
"I will be back after you have verified the truth, then we can talk about the marriage and compensation. Before that, I can't guarantee my allegiance." Fang Yuan left these words before walking away.
The study room was silent once more.
A long while later, Gu Yue Mo Chen suddenly said, "You can come out."
A hidden door was pushed open and a young girl walked out. There were tear stains on her face and her eyes were red from the crying.
"Grandpa." She paid her respects; she was Gu Yue Mo Yan.
Gu Yue Mo Chen sighed, "You are also clear on the family's situation. Mo Yan, our family needs your sacrifice, can you understand?"
"Yes." The young girl sobbed and lowered her head.
No matter the world, there's no such thing as a free lunch.
Fang Yuan contributed much to the clan, but what one gains or gives varies from person to person.
Even those born with silver spoons can't enjoy privileges for free. By accepting family support, they must be willing to sacrifice.
Gu Yue Mo Yan had that resolve.
She felt no affection for Fang Yuan—only hatred and disgust. But she knew, for her family's sake, she had to marry him.