Chapter 8: Accident?
In a crowded restaurant in a village, a young man in a white robe was serving the diners.
Since the village was near the Mountain of Abyss, it was always filled with an adventure-seeking crowd.
It was even said that a powerful cultivator had left behind a treasure, and that's why no one could return from the depths of the mountains.
Nearly one month has passed since the old man was killed. The death devastated Fang Yan, who has always considered this man as a father,. He struggled quite a bit to recover from the shock.
In the end, he accepted the reality of the situation and took over the restaurant the old man had left behind.
Throughout his childhood, he had brief contact with the surrounding people. Only two people held a special place in his heart.
One was the old man, whom he considered his father, and the other was Xiao Ying, a person who was always close to him when he needed it most. In fact, he considered her to be his future wife.
Her family owned a small herb store, which was harvested from the foot of the mountains.
While he was serving diners, he heard a conversation from a nearby table.
"You know, a group of cultivators from the Eternal Palace sect has reached here," a voice said.
"Eternal Palace Sect?" he mumbled as he got stuck. Even the cultivator who killed the old man was connected to the Eternal Palace Sect.
Even though he wasn't a cultivator, he was familiar with the Eternal Palace Sect. A powerful sect of the Black Dragon Continent, with branches spread throughout every empire.
Members of the sect are regarded as elite cultivators.
"Is it true one cultivator even spoke to that Ying girl from the Xiao family?"
"Yes, I even saw them go deep into the mountain,"
Fang Yan could not comprehend what he had just heard.
Suddenly, the loud sound of breaking plates was heard across the room.
Everyone swiveled their heads to look at Fang Yan, who stood still on the spot while plates were strewn on the floor all around.
Following a moment of silence, he looked toward the men who were just talking to each other about Xiao Ying, and then hurriedly ran out of the restaurant.
"Hah, what a shame. I heard they were childhood sweethearts." Someone said.
Fang Yan ran towards Xiao Ying's House to confirm if it was the same girl they were talking about.
As he hurriedly knocked on the door of a small house, he felt nervous.
As an obese woman opened the door, a frown formed on her face as she glanced at Fang Yan.
"What are you doing here?" she asked indignantly.
"Where is Ying'er?" He hurriedly asked as his heartbeat sped up.
"How could you take her name like that? And do not destroy her life anymore. A cultivator from the Eternal Palace sect has promised us to make her his concubine," she screamed and told Fang Yan.
Her words broke his heart. This was the first time in his life that he felt powerless. Had he been powerful, this would not have happened.
Xiao Ying lived with her mother and brother. Her father passed away several years ago. None of her family members liked Fang Yan. They widely knew that the old man had adopted him as the abandoned child.
Xiao Ying's mother didn't want her to have a relationship with an abandoned child who had no known heritage.
Suddenly, a sense of abandonment filled his heart.
"Where is she?" he asked in a hoarse voice.
"I told you not to go near her from now on!" she yelled. A crowd formed around the house when people heard her scream.
"I wanted to speak with her one last time," Fang Yan remarked as he took a deep breath.
Xiao Ying's mother frowned as she snorted, "She should be in the mountains."
A look of anger could be seen on Yang's face as he left the place.
As he approached the mountain, Fang Yan's head was filled with memories of Xiao Ying. Even though she hadn't told him, he sensed her interest in him all along.
He was mistaken, though; she didn't like him. She was just like everyone else. At most, she sympathized with him.
By the time he reached the foot of the mountains, Xiao Ying was nowhere to be found. As his mind began playing with the images of her making love with the cultivator, his heart sank.
A deep breath cleared his mind as he climbed deep into the mountains.
He spotted many groups of cultivators as he made his way into the mountains. When these people saw a young boy embarking on a journey deep into the mountains. They mocked his bravery but didn't intercept him because no one knew his background.
When it comes to cultivation, background matters more than anything else. Nobody wants to set off a hornet's nest.
As Fang Yan made his way deep into the mountain, he spotted a lone female figure standing at the edge of the cliff. His heart pounded when he saw her.
"What is she doing here?" He mumbled as he approached her.
Upon closer inspection, he found she was lost in thoughts, and her clothes were torn as she gazed down the cliff.
...........
The memories about her being played by that cultivator flooded her mind as Xiao Ying gazed up at the darkness. However, she was abruptly interrupted by footsteps approaching her. Suddenly, a vision of a figure entered her mind, causing her heart to race.
She hurriedly turned around and saw Fang Yan approaching. The tears welled up in her eyes as she leaped into his arms.
"I'm sorry, Brother Yan." she bawled, tears streaming down her face as she was holding him.
Her heart was heavy with regret, regret for not being able to refuse that cultivator.
During the dark times of her life, it was her Brother Yan who was there for her. The feeling of security in his arms made her swear that she would never betray him again.
"Why did you betray me?" A voice suddenly rang in her ear. Her heart sank when she heard him ask that question.
When she looked up to see him, his piercing dark black eyes were directly focused on hers.
The moment she opened her mouth to speak, she felt a hand on her chest, pushing her off the cliff. She felt choked, unable to comprehend what had happened. As she fell down the cliff, her eyes were fixed on the cold-looking Brother Yan, whose gaze was fixed on her.
..................
As he watched Xiao Ying fall into the darkness, Fang Yan mumbled, "You shouldn't have betrayed me."
While his gaze held steady on the spot where Xiao Ying's body disappeared, his mind replayed the images of the time he spent with her.
When he turned around to leave, he stepped on a slippery rock, causing his body to fall into the darkness.
................
One day in a city in the Green Heaven empire, a large carriage surrounded by ten men halted in front of a large building.
With a feather fan in his hand, a good-looking silver-haired young man emerged from the carriage, wearing a luxurious purple robe.
He took a deep breath and stretched while mumbling to himself,
"Let the adventure begin!"
Chapter 9: Flower City
The Phoenix Pavilion in the Flower City was crowded with individuals on another regular day. All across the place, a steady onslaught of yells, mumbles, and grumbles could be heard.
Suddenly, the crowd's attention was sparked when they saw an enormous carriage approaching the pavilion, surrounded by burly men riding on the horses.
Several of them became curious about the identity of the individual who was riding in the Phoenix Pavilion's private carriage. Many people had heard of the phoenix pavilion's transportation service, and they knew that only the powerful and wealthy could afford the service of private transportation.
As the carriage came to a halt in front of the pavilion, they noticed a good-looking, silver-haired young man, dressed in an expensive purple robe and holding a feather fan, step out. When he stepped out, he had a haughty expression on his face and looked around the crowd.
People began whispering to one another as they tried to figure out who the young master was.
---------------------------------------------------
As Andy stepped out of the carriage, a sea of people whispering among themselves greeted him. He wasn't bothered by being the center of attraction as he had got accustomed to it.
During this one month, he visited many towns and cities, and he drew attention everywhere he went. He was uncomfortable at first as he was not used to being the center of attraction, even in his time on earth. It wasn't uncommon for people to flatter him, and some girls even started flirting with him. Many of them wanted to grab hold of the thighs of the rich young master.
Following a series of encounters with the crowd, he got accustomed to his surroundings. He accepted the fact that he was Lu An and that Lu An was him. A rich young master of the Lu family.
He stretched his muscles as he'd been sitting in a carriage for the last several hours and felt extremely cramped.
"Welcome, Young Master Lu," he heard a female voice call out to him, and his gaze was drawn to a woman dressed in a tight red robe, steadily approaching him with a smile on her face.
Everyone surrounding the carriage heard the female, and they started whispering among themselves.
"Is he from the Lu family of the Blue Lord empire?"
"Isn't he that infamous young master of the Lu family?"
When Andy heard the whispers, he was astounded to learn that the infamous deeds of Lu An were also well known in the Green Heaven Empire?
He shook his head and fixed his gaze on the young woman in red. When she noticed Lu An's gaze fixed on her, that young lady shuddered for a moment, but she kept a smile on her face as she stood in front of him.
"Did you know I was coming?" Andy inquired, an astonished expression appeared on his face.
"Yes, would you like to follow me inside?" She asked with a smile.
Andy nodded at her and followed her inside.
As he followed her, he noticed that this Phoenix pavilion looked exactly like the one in his city. People were crowding around the counters. Some of them even looked at him with mockery in their eyes.
"Lu An, O Lu An, I did not know you were so popular," Andy grumbled as he shook his head and followed the woman to the guest room.
The guest room was big and lavishly decorated, with expensive curtains and a large couch in the middle.
As he entered the guest room, he sat on the couch, looked at the lady in front of him, and asked.
"How did you know I was on my way?" He inquired solemnly.
The fact that they were aware of his upcoming visit to the city surprised him. The reason he chose this city over the Empire's capital was that it was the closest to the Mountain of Abyss.
And he was certain that he hadn't stopped at any Phoenix Pavilion branches during his journey. But then he remembered that this pavilion had been described in the book as being very mysterious.
And, as expected, the young lady replied,
"We have our ways of getting the news; is there anything else we can do for you?"
After a moment, he nodded with a meaningful expression on his face.
"I would appreciate it if you could arrange for a place for me to stay, and," Then he stared at her for a moment and said,
"I'd like you to find someone and, if possible, kill him."
He stared at her as he waited for her response.
According to the book, there is a secret organization within Phoenix Pavillion that deals with assassinations. However, only a few wealthy and powerful people were aware of it.
The woman's face became solemn, and after a brief pause, she replied to him.
"Please wait? I would like to consult with my manager,"
Andy nodded, and she exited the room quickly.
As he gazed at the disappearing figure of that lady, he reflected upon his decision to assassinate Fang Yan.
Fang Yan was the main character in the book, and everything revolved around him. It was later revealed in the book that Fang Yan inherited that saintly inheritance as part of his destiny.
According to the narrative, Lu An was doomed to die at the hands of Fang Yan. Nonetheless, after he'd been transmigrated into the body of Lu An, he would not allow Fang Yan to kill him.
He didn't care about his guilty conscience for killing an innocent person. In a world where people kill each other over minor disagreements. He'd be killing someone who could become a threat to his life.
After he inherited the inheritance of that saint, there was no chance that Fang Yan would become a threat to him, but he didn't want to take any chances.
Andy's thoughts got disrupted when he heard the footsteps approaching him. His gaze drew towards the lady as a middle-aged man accompanied her.
This man was tall, had a mustache on his face, was dressed in a blue robe, and exuded a slightly different aura. There was no doubt about it: he was a cultivator.
Andy's gaze was drawn to the two approaching individuals. The man also cast a glance at the young man sitting in front of him. While he was aware of rumors about the Young Master of the Lu Family, the young man in front of him bore no resemblance to the dandy he had heard about.
The man smiled while clasping his hand.
"I'm Lin Juan, the Pavilion's manager. I heard you wanted to talk about something very important."
Andy nodded but did not get up from the couch as he gestured the man to sit.
It startled the man for a moment but sat opposite to Andy as he signaled the young woman to leave.
The woman exited the room quickly and closed the door behind her.
"I think she would have informed you about my request. Is that possible?" Andy said to the manager without a delay.
"I heard about it; we could certainly make that happen. However, it would be extremely expensive. Is the man you want to assassinate a cultivator?" The manager inquired.
"He's just a mortal like me," Andy said as he looked into the manager's eyes.
The man sighed in relief, and said, "Then it's fine. It would cost one hundred gold coins"
If Andy requested any cultivator to be killed, it would have created a problem for the Pavilion as they are certainly a pain in the ass.
Andy nodded, as he handed the coins to the Manager. After checking the coins, that manager looked at him and said,
"We have prepared a courtyard for you to relax in. I'll send someone to get the precise details."
After the manager left the room, a thin man led Andy to the courtyard.
The Pavilion appeared to have prepared a luxurious courtyard. After leading Andy to the courtyard, the man requested,
"The manager told me to get the details,"
Andy was taken aback for a moment when the man asked him. He quickly composed himself, however, and described Fang Yan in great detail.
The description of Fang Yan in the book stuck in his mind. He still remembers every word described of him.
The man left after obtaining the information. Andy was told that they would finish the work by tomorrow.
Andy took a quick shower and climbed into bed after that man left; he was exhausted from his long journey and fell asleep within minutes of climbing into bed.
However, his sleep was disrupted by a loud knock on the door. As he gazed out the window, he noticed it was already dark.
When he opened the door, his gaze was drawn to the same skinny man holding a pouch.
Seeing Andy's perplexity, the man blurted.
"The task was not finished; the man you mentioned has been missing for three days. He was last seen entering the Mountain of Abyss three days ago."
When he heard the news, he felt as if he had been struck by lightning. His slumber was shattered as a loud yell flared up from his mouth.
"WHAT"
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
0 Power
stone 
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