Tie Ruo Nan found no more useful information from any of the Bai Clan villagers before they left. While she heard the na 'Bai Ning Bing' occasionally as a famous personality within the clan, she never would have connected it to the person she had just t, and Bai Ning Bing's secret of holding the Northern Dark Ice Soul Physique was now known only to those who had passed on to the next life.
One thing that did surprise Tie Ruo Nan, though, was the fact that many of the Bai clansn, even more so than the Xiong clansn, seed to also say that there were demonic cultivators putting alchemical solutions into the water.
However, there was sothing off in how they said this, many of them smirking slightly, as if there wasn't so kind of inside joke that they weren't sharing. Or maybe they just found the rumor ridiculous? Her father certainly seed to think so, dismissing the entire thing as being nothing more than the 'odd fantasy of so person.'
"I doubt that there was much truth to it," Tie Xue Leng told her. Tie Ruo Nan, on the other hand, was new to this and more easily misled, thinking that if so many different sources said the sa thing, it had to be true.
The next morning, they set out for Gu Yue Village. The village had managed to repair the wall which surrounded it, differentiating it from the other villages on imdiate inspection.
In addition, its population was over eight tis that of the other two combined. So of that was because mortals had flocked to this village rather than the other two, but there was no doubt that when it ca to strength, whether it be in numbers or just cultivation, this village was the king of Qing Mao Mountain.
That said, the balance of power would shift once again once the Gu Yue Clan heard that the Bai Clan had soone who could use a Rank 5 gu worm freely.
Soone was there to greet them at the gate. They had a '2' inscribed upon the plate on their belt and introduced themselves as Gu Yue Fang Zheng.
"Are you perhaps...?" Tie Xue Leng wondered.
"Yes, Fang Yuan is my twin brother," Fang Zheng said. "He apologizes for not being able to greet you directly; he is currently occupied with a vital issue related to our clan. You have to understand that with current events, there are multiple things which need his attention."
Tie Xue Leng waved his hand. "That is fine. Don't worry."
Although soone like Tie Xue Leng would normally expect the clan head to greet him whenever he ca to a village, they had dropped by unannounced.
On top of which, at most, the Gu Yue Village would have had one day's worth of notice to prepare if the Bai or Xiong clans had inford them.
Still, Tie Xue Leng would usually expect at least Rank 3 elder to greet them. He was unsure what Gu Yue Fang Yuan ant by sending this person to greet them instead.
It could normally be seen as an affront to send a Rank 2 Gu Master instead of a Rank 3 elder. At the sa ti, this person was his younger brother, a family mber and potential future elder of the clan as well. It was not necessarily true that those with higher cultivation ranks necessarily carried more political power. Jia Jin Sheng was such an example, despite being only Rank 1; as the caravan leader's younger brother he carried a great deal of authority. He had been able to do almost whatever he pleased unless his elder brother put his foot down.
It could be the sa in this case.
By being Fang Yuan's brother, it was possible that Fang Zheng had the political clout equivalent to an elder.
"Co with ."
The difference between Gu Yue Village and the other two villages was apparent even before they walked in, but was even more stark on the inside.
While most of the buildings also showed signs of damage, many of them had also been repaired and seed to be mostly functional.
Not only were there more people within the village, Tie Ruo Nan also felt that they were... for lack of a better word, more lively and optimistic. There was a shine and glimr in their eyes, which the Xiong and the Bai clansn, particularly the Xiong clansn, seed to lack. 'Is this all because of Fang Yuan?' she thought to herself. 'Is that why they remain so hopeful?'
Fang Zheng led them to a repurposed guesthouse, which had originally been a flat for one of the elders. Given the shortage of elders currently, it was vacant. A al had already been prepared for them, and while it could not be said to be fine cuisine, given the situation the village was in, it was clear that they had put a great amount of care and thought into what they were serving them.
"Thank you for this warm welco," Tie Xue Leng said.
"My older brother asked to guide you around the village," Fang Zheng said, cupping his hands. "If there's anything that you need, please do not hesitate to ask. As it is, I really do hope that you succeed in your investigation and get to the root of events."
Tie Xue Leng noted that the boy's feelings seed to be genuine, and he seed to be thankful that the two of them were here.
"Don't worry, we'll do our best to find the culprit," Tie Ruo Nan said. Tie Xue Leng gently nudged her. It was not a good idea to make promises, especially ones that you were not sure you could keep.
"Yes, please bring those people to justice!" Fang Zheng said eagerly, with a small smile on his face.
"Do you want to tell you about what happened, or would you prefer to wait after lunch?"
"No, it's fine. We can talk and eat too," Tie Xue Leng said.
"So this is what happened," Fang Zheng said, and started narrating the events which had occurred with Lord of the Mysteries.
It was then that the two Tie clansn realized sothing. There was a reason that Fang Zheng was so eager to help them out, and there was another reason why it seed that Fang Yuan had asked for Fang Zheng to be the one to help them: because Fang Zheng had been involved hand in foot in the matter that they had been originally called to investigate. As a matter of fact, he had been the victim in question, whose cultivation aptitude had fallen significantly!
Tie Ruo Nan choked a little on what she was eating as she thought about this.
"Need so water?"
"No, I'm fine," Tie Ruo Nan said. Her father was far more composed than she was.
Fang Zheng looked so eager and hopeful when he looked at the two of them. She didn't have the heart to tell him that they weren't really here to investigate what had happened to him.
Also, she felt slightly guilty. She had written off this initial incident as being nothing more than a small issue that she didn't really have to worry about. However, upon seeing Fang Zheng's state, and thinking that he could likely have been a Rank 3 elder by this point had this not happened, she realized that, no matter how small the cri was, it did not appear so to the victim in question.
'I'm sorry Fang Zheng, but we probably won't be able to help you,' she thought, sinking into her seat a little.
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