Wun Fan saw Fung Ching’s expression and knew he had a favor to ask of them. However, if he wouldn’t speak up, Wun Fan wouldn’t speak for him either. Wun Fan wasn’t the kind to go looking for trouble that didn’t belong to him. He simply closed his eyes and rested until the tea arrived. He opened his eyes and slowly sipped the tea.
Hung Yu Fei didn’t have as many apprehensions as Wun Fan when it came to trouble. She was a stubborn and straightforward person who liked to do things her way. She hated when people were being roundabout. She immediately slapped the table and said, “Spit it out if you have something to say, instead of being all wishy-washy. Aren’t you a man?”
Fung Ching suddenly said something else instead, “Would the two of you mind if I told you a story first?”
Wun Fan kept his eyes closed and stayed quiet. He poured more tea for himself, sipped and let out a comfortable sigh. On the other hand, Hung Yu Fei’s curiosity was piqued. She shouted boldly, “Go ahead! I’m waiting for it!”
Fung Ching took his time and slowly started his story.
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As everyone knows, the four major clans of the Nap-Lan Empire have been its pillars for generations now. The clans appeared to exist in harmony on the surface, loyal and dedicated only to the Empire. However, human nature is evil. While there were no external threats to the empire, there was plenty of infighting. The four major clans conspired against each other in the shadows, fighting for every scrap of power and influence; serving the Empire on the surface, while actively working to further their own purposes.
This covert power struggle didn’t just occur between the clans, but within them as well. All the various branches of the clans laid traps and planned schemes to wrestle power into their hands, causing chaos and turmoil everywhere.
You might be able to lead a more comfortable life if you were one of the lineage branches or if you became their subordinate. Otherwise, life in the major clans was full of troubles.
Fung Ching was from the Fung Clan of the four major clans. For generations, the Fung Clan had protected the borders, taking on key roles in the military. They were loyal to the Empire and modest in their conduct. Compared to the other three clans, they had much less infighting. After all, their duty at the border already kept them busy enough.
Fung Ching’s mother was from a small scholar clan known as the Yun. They weren’t a powerful clan, but they were not commoners either. Typically, most marriages were made between clans of similar statures and importance. As the daughter of the head of the Yun Clan, Fung Ching’s mother was betrothed to a man from another clan. Moreover, the two of them got along quite well. It was rare to find someone like that through an arranged marriage.
However, the Yun Clan ran into misfortune and fell into disrepair. They had no choice but to solicit help from others. She attended a banquet between several clans with her father and caught the eye of Fung Ching’s father. Drunk and belligerent, he kidnapped her to a nearby inn and forced himself on her. The young girl lost her chastity and yet, that was not the worst of it.
Her father, head of the Yun Clan, said to her, “Your loss has brought about a great opportunity for the clan. You will marry the boy from the Fung Clan.”
The chastity of a young girl was nothing compared to the prosperity of a clan. Even though the man who violated her already had a wife, she was forced by her father to marry him. They became a subordinate clan of the Fung Clan.
Unexpectedly, that one incident caused her to become pregnant with a boy. However, as Fung Ching’s mother was not the first wife, and because of the circumstances surrounding her marriage and pregnancy, Fung Ching’s fate was sealed in stone the moment he was born. He would not be favored by his own clan.
Unfortunately, when Fung Ching awakened his martial soul, it was the heritage bow of the Yun Clan, not the wind of the Fung Clan. The discrimination and alienation grew worse with each passing day and verbal abuse was all too common. Fung Ching’s father used his connection to send him to Heaven’s Bow Order to hone his craft. However, his background as a bastard of a Fung Clan only earned him more scorn from his peers.
He ventured out of the Order now because of an extremely odd mission that he had been tasked with. The Order required him to travel to Green Sea Forest and return with five hundred inner cores of magical beasts class-two and above. Fail to deliver and he would be exiled from the Order. However, it was nearly impossible to harvest five hundred class-two inner cores in a month alone.
Even if you managed to kill a magical beast, its pack would either flee or retaliate. It was difficult to fend off so many enemies at once. Moreover, even if you could somehow defeat all of them, most magical beasts only lived in packs of less than a hundred. Every pack was extremely territorial and lived far away from each other. Setting aside the power required, hunting more than a single pack of magical beasts was also extremely difficult due to time and geographical constraints.
What made things worse was the fact that Fung Chign didn’t even have a single storage ring. Even an ordinary storage ring with a capacity of two to three cubic meters costs several gold coins. You would need at least ten times that capacity to store five hundred inner cores. A storage ring of that size easily costs over a hundred gold coins.
Naturally, Fung Ching did not have that many gold coins. He didn’t even have a storage ring and had to keep his arrows in a quiver. It was plainly obvious how bad of a situation he was in. That was why he hoped to get Hung Yu Fei and Wun Fan’s help, knowing that they were also out to train themselves. However, he knew that he was asking a lot of them. Attacking entire packs of magical beasts was already incredibly dangerous, but they would have to give him all the inner cores as well.
That was why Fung Ching hesitated so much. He didn’t know how to ask them.
“The people from the Fung Clan are outrageous! That stupid Heaven’s Bow Order isn’t any better either! You should just leave them!” cursed Hung Yu Fei after she heard his sad story.
“Wun Fan?” said Fung Ching. He didn’t pay too much attention to Hung Yu Fei’s reaction. He rubbed his nose and waited for an answer. He knew very well that Wun Fan’s choice would very likely affect Hung Yu Fei’s own decision. That was why convincing Wun Fan was the most important thing to do.
“So…?” said Wun Fan as he stared at Fung Ching with a slight smile.
“Wew,” said Fung Ching as he took a deep breath. Wun Fan didn’t seem too interested, but he still had to try. He placed the parchment in his hand on the table, “I have the mission for exterminating the wolfapes here with me. I took it earlier. I want to split the inner cores from killing the wolfapes fifty-fifty with the two of you.”
“If you may forgive my curiosity, what will happen if you don’t complete this mission of yours?” asked Wun Fan as he looked straight at Fung Ching, trying to see into his mind.
Fung Ching was speechless for a moment. He smiled bitterly and said, “I can’t not complete it.”
He still remembered the words his father left for him the day he brought him to the Heaven’s Bow Order, “The day you become a Martial Baron in the Order, I promise you, I will give your mother the status she deserves.”
The only path forward for him was through.
Wun Fan could see the unyielding determination in Fung Ching’s eyes. He knew that he had a duty he could not abandon. However, he was not some sort of free labor. He had no reason to go hunt a whole pack of magical beasts with him and take such a huge risk just to earn the favor of someone he had only just met.
To his surprise, Old Lei suddenly spoke up, “Kid, I think you can try and hunt the magical beast pack.”
“Ha?” Wun Fan was startled and accidentally choked on the tea he was drinking. He started thinking about what Old Lei meant by this.
“Your martial heart means your future is inextricably linked with bloodshed and murder. Hunting a magical beast pack might help you greatly in becoming stronger,” said Old Lei after some thought. Obtaining death aura by killing humans was always an option, but there were always consequences to murder. Whether it was a beast or a human, to take a life was to take a life. Nevertheless, it was much better to kill a beast than a human.
Heavens’ reach is inescapable. Those who do evil will not escape their grasp. An evil deed never goes unpunished. Heavens’ punishment might come late, but it will arrive sooner or later. Old Lei didn’t explain it too thoroughly. He knew how sharp Wun Fan was. The boy would understand it with just a slight hint. The less he explained, the more Wun Fan would be able to think for himself. Speak too much and it would only hinder his growth.
Wun Fan thought for a moment and realized the wisdom in Old Lei’s advice. His eyes gleamed. He had a lot to gain from hunting the beast pack as well. Moreover, his secret was not something that should be easily revealed to other people. The only downside to this was having to travel with Hung Yu Fei for even longer. That said, there was no doubting her strength. She was a very good partner to have when it came down to a fight.
Even so, there was no reason to let Fung Ching benefit too much from this arrangement. So, Wun Fan put on a show and sighed as he said, “Well, I suppose we should help you. However, the loot will be divided thirty-thirty-forty. You can have the forty.”
“This is the biggest concession I can make. It’s up to you whether you accept,” said Wun Fan as he traced the lip of the teacup with his finger. He stared at Fung Ching as he waited for an answer. He even spoke for Hung Yu Fei in the same breath. The girl didn’t really have a goal in mind anyway. She would probably just follow him wherever he went.
It seemed like his sixth sense was not wrong.
“Alright, deal,” said Fung Ching, believing that he benefitted the most from this arrangement. Hung Yu Fei didn’t really care. She wasn’t lacking in money. All she wanted was the thrill of an adventure.
“Alright, cheers. To a happy collaboration,” said Wun Fan generously. He didn’t drag his feet at all. He raised his teacup and gave a toast.
Suddenly, Wun Fan felt his hair stand on end. A cold shiver ran down his spine. A faint killing intent had locked onto him.234Please respect copyright.PENANAVaKxnDrhF8