Fang Yuan headed towards the three bamboo houses after leaving the wine tavern.
These three bamboo houses were all rented out by Fang Yuan's uncle and aunt; they were nearly always occupied.
In this world, great emphasis was placed on reproduction. With a rapidly growing population, the village's space felt increasingly cramped.
The clan followed the system of primogeniture—where the eldest son inherited the family estate. The other children had to rely on their own efforts.
Even those who leveraged clan politics to earn a small portion of the family property and worked diligently might not save enough to buy a bamboo house in their lifetime.
On one hand, nurturing Gu worms was costly.
On the other, land within the village was limited, making housing extremely expensive.
Technically, people could construct homes outside the village, but it was highly unsafe.
Wild beasts and venomous snakes frequently roamed the outskirts and could easily break into homes. And every time a beast tide swept through, all outlying homes would be destroyed.
The only long-term solution was to expand the village itself.
However, expansion came with its own problems.
A larger area meant a greater perimeter to defend, making the village more vulnerable to beast tide assaults.
Additionally, a larger settlement would make it harder to detect infiltrating Gu Masters from rival villages.
Gu Yue Village had expanded several times throughout its history, only to be ravaged by beast tides each time. Learning from those bitter lessons, the village eventually settled on its current size—the largest it could manage safely.
Fang Yuan had already understood the situations, these three bamboo houses were operated very well by Uncle and Aunt. The rent was also customized to get more profits, so he might as well just let it run like that.
"Now that I have my family assets, I finally have the support and resources for my cultivation. Next, I will unearth the Flower Wine Monk's inheritance and put all my effort into advancing to Rank Three." Fire burned in Fang Yuan's deep, black eyes.
"Big brother, come down, I need to talk to you." At some point in time, Gu Yue Fang Zheng had reached the bamboo house. He looked up at Fang Yuan and yelled.
"Hmm?" Fang Yuan's thoughts were interrupted as he glanced down at Fang Zheng with an indifferent expression.
Their gazes locked. A quiet tension filled the space between them.
Fang Zheng stood below, partially hidden in the shadow of a nearby building. He looked up, brows slightly raised, a sharp glint flickering in his eyes.
Fang Yuan remained above, bathed in sunlight. His half-lowered gaze revealed pupils deep and dark like the night.
Their similar features mirrored one another in that brief exchange.
Fang Yuan wasn't the least bit surprised by his younger brother's sudden appearance.
To him, Fang Zheng was nothing more than a pawn sent by Uncle and Aunt to contend over the family inheritance.
But so what?
Fang Yuan looked down at Fang Zheng, sighing inwardly, "A-grade aptitude, but is nothing more than a pawn…truly insignificant."
Eventually, Fang Yuan did not go downstairs, and his brother did not go up.
The two persisted, and the distance between the floors indicated that the distance between the brothers were enlarging.
The talk was not smooth.
"Brother, you are just too much! To think that you are such a person!" Downstairs, Fang Zheng stood, his brows creasing tightly as he screamed.
Fang Yuan was not angry, but laughed lightly, "Oh, what kind of person am I?"
"Brother!" Fang Zheng sighed deeply, "After our parents died, Uncle and Aunt adopted us. They have the gratitude of raising us. To think that you are so heartless, returning favor with revenge. Big brother, is your heart made of stone?"
Saying so, Fang Zheng's tone was slightly trembling.
"So strange, this inheritance is rightfully mine, what is there to be said about revenge and favour." Fang Yuan retorted unenthusiastically.
Fang Zheng gritted his teeth, acknowledging, "Yes! I know, this inheritance is from our parents. But you cannot take them all, you have to at least leave some for Aunt and Uncle to let them enjoy their life in retirement, right? Doing so, you really are making our hearts bitterly disappointed, you let me look down on you!"
Pausing, he continued, "Did you ever return home to see the living conditions that they are in now? Half the servants at home were already retrenched, they cannot afford it. Brother, how can you be so cruel!"
Fang Zheng's eyes were red, clutching his fist, he screamed at Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan laughed coldly, he knew that Uncle and Aunt had controlled the assets all these years and must have amassed a huge fortune. They are only pretending to be poor so Fang Zheng would come and find trouble.
Fang Yuan used his gaze to size up Fang Zheng and said directly, "My adorable little brother, if I insist on not returning the assets, what can you do? Although you are sixteen, you have already acknowledged them as parents, don't forget that. You have lost the rights to the inheritance."
"I know!" Fang Zheng's gaze had a divine light, "That's why I am here to challenge you to a written war challenge. On the arena, let's have a match to decide victory, if I win, return a portion of the family asset to mother and father."
This world's Gu battles were like the Earth's martial arts competitions.
Between clansmen, if they had unresolvable conflict, they could use this method to settle the problem.
Seeing the brother's determined expression, Fang Yuan suddenly laughed, "It seems that before this, Uncle and Aunt specifically told you huh. But, as someone who lost to me before, you have such confidence of winning me?"
Fang Zheng squinted, unable to stop himself from recalling the recent humiliation he suffered in the arena.
Each time the memory resurfaced, a burning anger flared in his chest.
That fury wasn't just aimed at Fang Yuan—it was directed at himself as well.
He despised his own incompetence, the way he panicked at the crucial moment.
Truthfully, he had failed to perform at his best during that battle.
Fang Yuan had completely disrupted his rhythm, and he only thought to use the Jade Skin Gu when it was already too late.
The loss came suddenly, leaving him overwhelmed with frustration and unwillingness.
His self-directed anger only made his resentment burn even hotter.
Thus, when Uncle and Aunt complained to him, Fang Zheng not only wanted to take back the inheritance for the two of them, but also wanted to fight Fang Yuan again to prove himself.
"Things are different now, brother." Fang Zheng looked at Fang Yuan, his eyes burning with determination, fires blazing around him, "Last time, I performed badly and lost to you. This time, I have successfully refined the Rank two Gu worm Moon Raiment. You cannot break my defense anymore!"
Saying so, he emitted a vague light blue fog around his body.
The fog enveloped him, and in the mist, it eventually formed into a long floating ribbon.
The ribbon looped around his waist and coiled around his two limbs. The middle section of the ribbon drifted above his head, causing Fang Zheng to give out a sort of graceful and mysterious magical breath.
"Indeed, it is the Moon Raiment, how foolish, revealing your trump card like that." Fang Yuan stood on the stairs, seeing this scene, his gaze twinkled.
Moon Raiment was a Rank two Gu worm with defensive properties. Although the defense was slightly lower than the White Jade Gu, it could assist others in defending and had greater contribution towards small group fights.
With this Gu in his hands, Fang Yuan really could not break Fang Zheng's defense with his bare fists. Sending the fist over was like hitting cotton, absolutely losing its kinetic force.
"But, you think I did not expect this?" Fang Yuan stared down at his brother, his lips curling.
He said to Fang Zheng, "My persistent little brother, of course you can challenge me. But have you gotten the approval of your teammates? If during the battle, your group has to go on a mission, how would you choose?"
Fang Zheng paused; indeed, he did not think of this. He had to admit, Fang Yuan was right. The group had to work together, and if teammates wanted to go on individual operations, they would need to report first.
"Thus, you might as well go back, find that leader Gu Yue Qing Shu of yours, and explain the situation. I'll wait for you guys at the northern gate's wine tavern," Fang Yuan said.
Fang Zheng hesitated slightly, then gritted his teeth, "I'll go now, brother! But let me tell you, delay tactics don't work."
Fang Zheng came to Gu Yue Qing Shu's residence, and the family servant led him in.
Gu Yue Qing Shu was practicing using his Gu.
Seeing Gu Yue Qing Shu practicing his Gu Fang Zheng stared with his mouth wide open, forgetting his original intention in the first place. "As expected of the number one Gu Master among the Rank two, Senior Qing Shu! With such an attack, I can't even last for ten breaths. He's really too strong."
"Oh? Fang Zheng, why are you here. The previous mission just ended, you have to rest more, got to keep that balance between work and rest!" Gu Yue Qing Shu upon noticing Fang Zheng, kept away his fighting aura and smiled gently.
"Senior Qing Shu." Fang Zheng bowed to him respectfully
This respect was sincerely from his heart. Ever since he joined the group, Fang Zheng had been attentively taken care of by Qing Shu, and in Fang Zheng's eyes, Qing Shu was like an elder brother.
"It's like this…" Fang Zheng said his intentions, as well as the entire story.
Hearing so, Qing Shu's eyebrows slightly rose. The truth is that he had heard a lot about Fang Yuan, and when compared to Fang Zheng, he was more interested in Fang Yuan.
Thinking so, Gu Yue Qing Shu nodded, "I have something to discuss with your brother as well. In that case, let's go together."
Fang Zheng was overjoyed, "Thank you senior!"
"Hehehe, no need to thank me, we're in the same group." Qing Shu patted Fang Zheng's shoulders.