Hearing the dull thud from behind him, Fang Chen immediately turned his head on reflex.
And that single turn of his head stunned the world!
Three young boys and girls wearing outer sect disciple robes, along with a youth about the same age as Xiao Qing, all froze as if struck by a Body Securing Spell the moment they saw Fang Chen. Time itself seemed to stagnate.
In the very next second, the youth shrieked in terror:
“Ah!”
“It’s Fang Chen! Run!”
Seeing the Senior Brother leading them cry out, the young children didn’t even care about the item on the ground and immediately bolted.
Fang Chen: “…”
Was that really necessary?
After fleeing for quite a distance, everyone finally slowed to a halt upon seeing that Fang Chen showed no intention of chasing them.
Shaken, they exchanged glances and let out a collective sigh of relief.
“Thank goodness. That Old Dog Fang might be in a good mood today. He doesn’t plan to trouble us!”
The youth sighed with relief.
One of the young boys couldn’t help but ask in confusion, “But, Senior Brother, why did we run?”
“You all just entered the Danran Sect, so it’s normal that you don’t know.”
The youth curled his lips, his eyes revealing intense hatred. “This Old Dog Fang has committed every evil deed imaginable! He’s the biggest villain in the outer sect!”
“Last time, there was a Senior Brother who accidentally dropped a jade slip in front of his door. It was originally a trivial matter, but Fang Chen sent people to harass him day after day for several months. That Senior Brother couldn’t cultivate properly or even sleep. Even taking it to the Law Enforcement Hall was useless. He was forcefully pressed to hand over ten Low Grade Spirit Stones as an apology before Fang Chen finally let him off.”
“We just dropped something. If we didn’t run quickly, we’d have to pay through the nose too!”
“That guy is a real beast!”
Hearing the youth’s account, the three young children immediately revealed astonished expressions. They clearly hadn’t expected Fang Chen to be so vicious!
The youth then blamed himself, “But this is all my fault. I know this Old Dog Fang loves to extort people, and I usually know to avoid him. But just now, for some reason, I suddenly thought that cutting through here to the Sea Turtle Platform would be closer, and that we might luckily avoid him, so I took this path…”
“Sigh, I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been cultivating too hard recently, leading to mental fatigue and a lapse in judgment. I owe you all an apology!”
“Senior Brother, you needn’t blame yourself!”
“But…” a young girl said worriedly, “We dropped Elder Hua’s item in front of his mansion. Won’t Elder Hua blame us?”
“Don’t worry!” The youth shook his head. “Elder Hua is broad-minded. Even if she’s angry, she will at most give us a scolding. The absolute worst case is sweeping ash in the pill room for a few days to atone. But if we were extorted by Old Dog Fang, the consequences would be unimaginable!”
Hearing this, the others shivered in unison, utterly terrified.
At this moment, Fang Chen had become the ultimate villain, a name that made them tremble in fear!
However, the young girl still asked worriedly, “Then, Senior Brother, he won’t remember our faces from just now, right?”
“I heard powerful cultivators can remember everything they see!”
The youth immediately sneered. “Don’t worry. That Old Dog Fang’s cultivation is trash, and he’s over ten years older than us. His brain is definitely mush by now. He can’t possibly remember all our faces from a single glance.”
“That’s good!”
…
Outside the outer sect’s most luxurious mansion, Fang Chen stood silently beside the pure gold guardian lion.
Finally, he let out a sigh. “It seems my popularity really isn’t very good…”
Afterwards, Fang Chen walked forward to see what those four had left behind.
I need to find someone to send it back!
But upon looking closer, Fang Chen froze.
It was a guzheng, a long wooden zither!
Fang Chen bent down and saw three large, gilded characters on the lower right corner of the instrument: Hua Qirong!
The handwriting was elegant and graceful, but upon careful inspection, one could feel a hidden majesty within the strokes.
This was the guzheng of Hua Qirong, the Elder of the Danran Sect’s Pill Refining Room!
Hua Qirong was someone everyone in the Danran Sect knew.
Not only because of her alchemy skills, but also because of her peerless beauty.
It was said that anyone who had ever seen Hua Qirong was instantly captivated!
Thinking of this, Fang Chen’s expression turned incredibly solemn. He declared gravely, “Such an important item cannot be entrusted to others. I must personally deliver the guzheng back!”
Fulfilling duties for the sect’s seniors was simply part of his responsibility as a disciple!
But just as Fang Chen was about to pick up the guzheng, an inexplicable impulse surged into his fingers, giving him an urge to pluck the strings.
After all, he had just learned the guzheng with the system’s help!
But just as his fingers were about to extend, he suddenly stopped!
“There’s a problem, there’s a huge problem!”
The last shred of reason in Fang Chen’s mind screamed wildly.
At this moment, he smelled a conspiracy!
His ‘hobby’ of extorting people was already famous far and wide. Why else would the area in front of his mansion be utterly deserted?
Why would those Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters suddenly pass by his place?
Furthermore, cultivators had steady hands, and they were carrying an Elder’s item. How could they just happen to slip up and drop the guzheng right in front of his door?
And why did he himself suddenly feel such a strong urge to play it upon seeing this guzheng?
This wasn’t right!
This really wasn’t right!
Fang Chen withdrew his hand at the very last moment. Then, as if sensing something, he snapped his head around and looked down the mountain…
He saw the graceful figure of a young girl in a water-blue dress strolling over. Although her exquisite face still carried a hint of youth, it already possessed a transcendent aura. Given time, she would undoubtedly become a beauty capable of toppling cities and kingdoms…
The newcomer was none other than Jiang Ningyi.
Seeing Jiang Ningyi, Fang Chen’s brain felt as though it had been struck by lightning. In an instant, he saw through all the strangeness…
The system had used some incomprehensible method to drop this guzheng from the sky, setting him up to accidentally play it. A few strands of immortal-like music would definitely astonish Jiang Ningyi.
When that happened, the young girl would inevitably become infatuated. Upon deeper interaction, his irresistible charm would cause her to fall completely.
And from the moment the roots of love grew deep and the threads of affection wove tightly, he would be finished!
Damn it!
This wasn’t a guzheng; this was a blade aimed at his manhood!
Having figured it all out, Fang Chen’s back broke out in a cold sweat. The fingers that had almost touched the strings recoiled as if electrocuted.
He took a deep breath.
Fortunately, while you might drop guzhengs from the sky, I possess an iron will.
I’m not panicking this time.
I’ve already seen through it!
Having regained his composure, Fang Chen sneered contemptuously in his heart…
This damned system wants to set up traps to harm me with its amateurish tricks?
Dream on!
Fang Chen suppressed his impulse, hugged the guzheng, and prepared to leave without a word. He didn’t even plan to greet Jiang Ningyi.
But Jiang Ningyi had come specifically to find him. How could she just let him run?
“Senior Brother Fang, please wait!”
Jiang Ningyi hurriedly called out, rushing over to block Fang Chen’s path with incredible speed.
Fang Chen, who had been planning to use Gale Step to run away, immediately froze.
It seems I can’t outrun her!
“Damn, you got me!”
Fang Chen cursed in his heart.
Then, looking at the peerless beauty so close at hand, Fang Chen’s heart fluttered…
This Child of Providence is truly outrageous!
Having the beauty of a blooming flower and the autumn moon is one thing, but why are her strength and talent so high as well?
Compared to himself… besides being handsome and dashing, imposing, law-abiding, profound and far-sighted, famous far and wide, renowned throughout the world, writing with divine inspiration, possessing vast divine abilities, displaying his mighty powers, commanding awe on every side, having a face like flawless jade, standing tall and elegant like a jade tree in the wind, suave, upright, coming from a proper family, and possessing immense wealth… he was practically useless.
It’s far too unfair!
Afterwards, Fang Chen settled his spiritual power. Then, he slipped with practiced ease into an arrogant, insufferable expression. He glanced at Jiang Ningyi out of the corner of his eye, curled his lips, and sneered with disdain, “Junior Sister, you dare to block my path?”
“Don’t you know this road belongs to the Fang family?”
In this moment, Fang Chen perfectly embodied the image of an arrogant and domineering young master.