Chapter 33 – Go ahead and scold away
“Hmm?” Mo Yan frowned, then her rage burst forth almost instantly as she suddenly understood that she had been fooled by Fang Yuan.
“You are tremendously brave to even consider lying to me!” While speaking, she stretched out her right hand to grab hold of Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan stood firmly on the spot. He raised his head and laughed, “Mo Yan, you better think this through!”
Mo Yan stopped her actions. While she still stood right outside the door, her outstretched hand paused in midair and her face showed a sign of hesitation and resentment.
Within the family, there were relevant rules. Students in the dormitories were protected, and any other person would not be allowed to intrude upon the hostel to capture the students. Mo Yan only wished to teach Fang Yuan a lesson and let him bear a taste of suffering. She definitely did not want to risk getting punished for breaking the rules.
“If it’s only me who broke the rules, that would still be fine. However, if this would affect the family and even grandfather’s honour…” Thinking of this, Mo Yan reluctantly withdrew her arm. She looked at Fang Yuan who was inside the house with her bloodshot eyes. If her death-stare could be converted into fire, it would burn Fang Yuan to ashes in a second.
“I never lied to you. I said I would bring you to Fang Yuan, and now you have already found him here. It seems you have something to say to me.” Fang Yuan smiled faintly with his arms behind his back, ignoring the pressure of a Rank two Gu Master, fearlessly making eye contact with Mo Yan’s furious gaze.
He was just a step apart from Mo Yan. One stood within the house, and one stayed outside. But this same distance had also become as far as the east was from the west.
“Hehehe, oh Fang Yuan, you sure have studied the clan rules well and thoroughly.” Mo Yan, suppressing her anger, said with a sinister smile. She added, “Unfortunately for you, even while relying on the rules, all it will do for you is to stall for time. There is no way you are staying in the dormitories forever. I’ll see how long you can stand hiding in there.”
Fang Yuan laughed refreshingly and looked at Mo Yan with disdain. “Then all the more I want to see how long you can disturb me. Ah, it is already late. I have a bed to sleep in, but what about you? If I do not show up for class tomorrow and the elders come to investigate, what do you think I will say?”
“You!” Mo Yan flew into a rage, her fingers pointing at Fang Yuan, barely restraining herself, “Do you really think I wouldn’t dare come in and take you down?”
Squeak.
Fang Yuan opened the doors of the hostel wide open, his lips breaking into a grin, his eyes dark like the abyss and his tone full of confidence as if the situation was within his grasp. He challenged Mo Yan, ”Then show me.”
“Hehehe…” Mo Yan calmed down instead upon seeing this. Her eyes squinted as she looked at Fang Yuan and she said, “Do you think I’d fall for your goading?”
Fang Yuan shrugged. He had already seen through Mo Yan’s personality.
If he had closed the door, or even half shut it, Mo Yan had at least a 50% probability of breaking into the house. But when he purposely opened it fully, it had instead made her more wary and calm as a result. Thus there was barely any chance of her forcing her way in anymore.
Five hundred years of experience had already made him fully aware of the human nature and their weaknesses.
He grandly turned around, exposing his back fully to Mo Yan. If Mo Yan struck now, she would definitely be able to capture him in one swift action. However, Mo Yan stayed still outside the door as if there was an invisible mountain blocking her way.
Even after Fang Yuan sat in his bed, Mo Yan only stared at him in anger, gritting her teeth. But regardless of this, she did not make a move.
“This is the pathetic side of humans.” Fang Yuan sat up and stared at Mo Yan who was outside looking like a fool, thinking to himself, ”At times, the things preventing people from taking action is not physical difficulty, but instead it is the restrictions they have placed on themselves subconsciously.”
When comparing cultivation levels, Fang Yuan was definitely not her match at this point in time. But even with her Rank two cultivation level, she could only stare at Fang Yuan and had no courage to make a move. Her distance from him was only a few steps away, and the door was wide open with no hindrance. The only thing that was truly restricting her was none other than herself.
“Humanity sought for knowledge relentlessly to understand the world and to comprehend the rules, and ultimately to use them. If one is constantly bound by the rules, thus being restricted by the very knowledge they sought, that is the ultimate tragedy.” Fang Yuan took a final look at Mo Yan before closing his eyes and letting his consciousness sink into the primeval sea.
“This Fang Yuan dares to cultivate right in front of me! He is simply doing so as he pleases!” Looking at this sight, Mo Yan felt a sense of frustration erupting from her chest, making her almost wanting to vomit blood.
She badly wanted to go ahead and give him a few punches!
But she knew she couldn’t.
Mo Yan suddenly felt a hint of regret. Standing outside the door, she felt the awkwardness of not being able to back down.
She was indignant to give up now, but she would be devastatingly humiliated. She mobilised her servants with the intention to come and teach Fang Yuan a lesson, yet in the end she was the one who ended up becoming the laughing stock.
Especially when there was a servant looking at her now.
“Damn it! Fang Yuan is way too uncooperative! He’s too sly!” Mo Yan furiously thought and started to provoke him with all sorts of insults, hoping to force him out of the room.
“Fang Yuan you brat, come out if you’re a man!”
“Fang Yuan, as a man you must own up to your own doings. Now you’re being a coward hiding in that room, do you not feel ashamed of yourself?”
“Stop pretending to ignore me, get out if you know what’s good for you!”
“You cowardly, spineless trash!”
Fang Yuan shut his ears and did not give a single response.
After scolding for a while, instead of venting all her anger, she felt even more irritated. She was starting to feel like a clown or a shrew; blocking the door was just way too embarrassing.
“AHHHHH, this is getting to the death of me!” Mo Yan was about to go crazy, and she finally gave up on provoking Fang Yuan.
“Fang Yuan, you can hide now, but you can’t hide from me forever!” She furiously stomped the ground and left indignantly. Before leaving she gave a final order, “Gao Wan, stand there and watch him! I do not believe he will not leave the house.”
“Yes, Master!” The muscular servant, Gao Wan rapidly replied and sent Mo Yan off. Within his heart he was feeling bitter – the mountain was chilly and breezy at night. He would have to stand guard the entire time, catching a cold easily like this. It was not an easy task.
Swish swoosh……
Within the primeval sea, ebb and flow of the tides raged on.
The green copper primeval essence gathered like water, forcing a tidal wave rolling about. Under Fang Yuan’s mental guidance, the waves endlessly crashed towards the surrounding aperture walls.
A Rank one initial stage Gu Master’s aperture walls resembled a white barrier. At this time, with the green copper primeval essence crashing towards them, it produced shadows of light, creating an indescribable feeling.
Time passed gradually and the level of the green copper primeval sea slowly declined.
From the original 44%, it dropped to 12%.
“If a Gu Master wants to raise their cultivation level, they would have to expend their primeval essence to nurture the aperture. Initial stage Gu Masters have light barriers as their aperture walls, while middle stage GuMasters have water barriers as their aperture walls and for upper stage, they have stone barriers. For me to cultivate from initial stage to middle stage, I will have to nurture the light barrier into water barrier aperture walls.”
From his five hundred years of memories, Fang Yuan had complete familiarity with the current stages of cultivation, and the methods were as clear as day to him.
He slowly opened his eyes, only to see that it was already late into the night.
The crescent moon hung high in the night sky, the moonlight shining pure as water.
The door was wide open and the moonlight shone in, letting Fang Yuan think of a famous poem from Earth – On a quiet night I saw the moonlight before my couch, and wondered if it were not the frost on the ground(1).
The night winds blew with a hint of chilliness.
Fang Yuan did not have any warmth-type Gu, and with just the body of a fifteen year old, he could not help but shiver slightly.
The night in the mountain was very cold.
“Scoundrel, you finally opened your eyes. How long are you planning to be cultivating there?! Get out, you’ll be punished regardless. You beat up our young master Mo Bei, so it was only a matter of time before young Miss teaches you a lesson.” Seeing that Fang Yuan had woken up, Gao Wan who was standing at the door got his spirits up.
Fang Yuan squinted; it seemed that the Rank two female Gu Master had left?
“Scoundrel, did you hear me? Hurry and come out here! You have a room to stay in and a bed to sleep, but I had to stand here all night. If you don’t come out any time soon, don’t you believe I might just barge in?!” Seeing no reaction from Fang Yuan, Gao Wan threatened.
Fang Yuan remained unfazed.
“Scumbag, come out and surrender yourself. You’ve offended the Mo family, you will not have any good days from now on. Hurry and apologise to young Miss and maybe she might just forgive you.” Gao Wan continued to chide.
Fang Yuan did not listen to a single word. He took out a primeval stone from his storage bag and held it in his hands, finally closing his eyes again.
Seeing that he was going to continue cultivating, Gao Wan was anxious and broke into a fit. “You mere C ranked talent, the most you can achieve in life is a Rank two Gu Master! What is there to cultivate? You are no match for the entire Mo family by yourself! Kid, are you deaf? Did you listen to a single word I said?!”
(1) A famous poem from Li Bai, a Chinese poet.
*This chapter was brought to you by Chibigen and Skyfarrow. Credits to Chibigen for helping with the translations.