Chapter 67: Plague Qi in the North

Chapter 67: Plague Qi in the North

By now, I must seem like some kind of genius in the eyes of the other academy disciples, right?

Though, currently, it probably hasn’t reached too outrageous a level yet…

How I present myself is key!

Being a genius naturally brings envy, but it has both benefits and pitfalls; it needs careful handling.

Ordinary people facing a genius go through stages: first admiration, then jealousy, and finally, worship.

But push beyond worship, and the next step is probably… fear.

When it reaches the point of fear, it invites a lot of unforeseen troubles!

Fang Cun deeply understood this feeling, and consequently, he knew exactly what kind of person he should be.

Initially, before entering the academy, he’d planned to be just average and unremarkable. But when he took on the challenge of the Rear Mountain, he made an impressive display, leaving everyone with an impression of extraordinary talent. Then during Old Master Zhong Yue’s lecture, he stood out again. After that, venturing into the mountains with the Nanshan Alliance to slay an old fiend—in the eyes of ordinary people, this younger brother of the Immortal Master Fang Chi was already a genius worthy of admiration… even jealousy.

At this level, it was easy to attract petty people and, without knowing it, get entangled in trouble.

However, within the Lan Shuang Pavilion, he had utilized the Merit Books, revealing his exceptional talent across various Classics. His rapid progress had shifted the attitudes of his fellow students. Just from their demeanor, Fang Cun understood that at this point, he had actually surpassed the stage of being envied.

Some petty minds, seeing how far he’d pulled ahead, actually felt there was no point in harboring ill will anymore.

When the gap grew too large, they came to accept the disparity as a simple fact. Such recognition meant they wouldn’t stir up malicious intentions.

What he needed to do now was to deepen that impression. Make people feel that Second Young Master Fang, the younger brother of an Immortal Master, possessing astonishing talent in this area, was entirely normal, utterly reasonable… nothing worth being jealous of at all.

From the next day onwards, Fang Cun continued attending the academy as usual, though his workload grew considerably heavier.

In the eyes of others, Second Young Master Fang practiced cultivation nightly, his strength growing steadily, while also studying the Scripture of Arts, the Classic of Spirits, and other texts daily. He practiced artifact control techniques each day. To all appearances, he was endlessly busy. And indeed, his scholarly understanding improved by leaps and bounds during this period.

Seeing Fang Cun exert himself so diligently actually stirred quite a few of his fellow Lan Shuang Pavilion disciples.

If someone as talented as Second Young Master Fang works this hard, how can we not put in the effort?

If we don’t work hard and get left far behind in cultivation in the future, what right will we have to complain?

Holding such thoughts, those disciples who were already diligent doubled or tripled their efforts.

Fang Cun had unintentionally sparked this wave of diligent study—something he hadn’t anticipated before.

Another half-month slipped past unnoticed. Fang Cun’s accumulation of knowledge and understanding in Qi Refining had reached a considerable depth. To a certain extent, he was beginning to subtly approach the level of the other Lan Shuang Pavilion disciples. In fact, in some areas, his insights were even deeper than theirs!

If life could just pass by peacefully like this, it would be quite leisurely and comfortable. However, the lines Fang Cun had cast out previously were slowly starting to be reeled back in.

First, Xiao Qingliu, who had rarely been staying at the manor lately, returned to report: “Young Master! Our treasure ginseng has been sold!”

Fang Cun was teasing the Little Fox Girl with a small, fluffy tuft of something. Hearing this, he smiled and asked, “How much did it fetch?”

“Just this single root brought in, well… at least twenty thousand silvers!”

Xiao Qingliu lowered his voice mysteriously. “As you told me before, Young Master, that ginseng of ours was worth maybe twenty to thirty thousand. It’s just that such things rarely ever appear on the market. I took it to a major shopkeeper and told him to label it at forty thousand! It sat there for over a month, and no one batted an eye. Then, just yesterday, a wealthy merchant from the city suddenly came asking about it. I had the shopkeeper tell him it was already spoken for. This merchant was dead set on it! Willing to pay a huge premium! In the end, he offered a staggering fifty thousand silvers! That’s when I told the shopkeeper to hand it over.”

“Following your instructions, Young Master, I secretly followed him. I figured out who he was, where he came from. Though he was being all secretive and evasive, I managed to track down who he was acting for! You won’t believe it, Young Master, this merchant from out of town… he seemed to have links to that Devouring Sea Gang!”

“The Devouring Sea Gang?” Fang Cun was a bit surprised. He hadn’t expected his bait ginseng to lure out that bunch of violent thugs.

Xiao Qingliu continued, “I came back immediately to report to you, Young Master. If this isn’t enough, I’ll head back and try to dig deeper into the Devouring Sea Gang!”

“No need for now!” Fang Cun waved a hand dismissively. “The Devouring Sea Gang has plenty of Demonic Cultivators among them. It would be too dangerous for you to go poking around alone.”

Xiao Qingliu promptly grinned. “Young Master underestimates me! Besides, what’s a little danger when working for you?”

“Oh, really?” Fang Cun looked at him, a knowing smile playing on his lips.

“Absolutely!” Xiao Qingliu thumped his skinny chest heavily. “Through water or fire, I’ll go wherever you command!”

“Good! Then go do one more thing for me!” Fang Cun laughed, giving him a light slap on the shoulder. “Your Young Master has more money than he can spend. Go find Old Steward Huang, take three hundred silvers. You have three days. Spend it all! If you have even one silver left, I’ll break your leg! Oh, and none of it is to go to that well-known widow!”

Xiao Qingliu was elated. “Young Master’s command? This lowly one wouldn’t dare disobey!”

After sending Xiao Qingliu off, Fang Cun couldn’t help but frown slightly, his mind working slowly over the possible reasons the Devouring Sea Gang had bought such a ginseng. The connections felt messy; he couldn’t untangle them clearly just yet. As he pondered, Old Steward Huang rushed into his courtyard, beaming with excitement.

“Young Master! Young Master! Big news! That Fairy Meng from the Academy… she’s come again…”

“Seems she has some results…” Fang Cun muttered inwardly. He summoned someone to bring him fresh robes before going out to greet his guest.

When he reached the main hall, he saw Meng Zhixue had already been ushered inside and was conversing with Elder Fang and Madam Fang. This time, the gifts she’d brought were noticeably more extravagant: an extra case of the Misty Mountain tea Elder Fang adored, along with jewelry from Lady Fang’s favorite shop, Jade Pavilion.

“Fairy Meng, gracing our humble abode for another meal?” Fang Cun said amiably, greeting Meng Zhixue.

Elder Fang and Madam Fang both immediately shot him reproachful looks, scolding him mentally for being so blunt.

Meng Zhixue merely smiled lightly. “The cooks here at the Fang Manor are exceptionally skilled, leagues beyond what the Academy can offer.”

She’s going to regret saying that, Fang Cun chuckled silently to himself.

True enough, dinner at the Fang Manor that night suddenly featured seven or eight additional dishes. Elder Fang graciously urged her to partake, while Madam Fang constantly added choice morsels to her plate. By the meal’s end, Fairy Meng’s naturally slender waist, previously narrow enough to clasp with a single hand, seemed noticeably… fuller.

This one is also a bit of a silly girl, not knowing how to refuse… Fang Cun thought, feeling no need to remind her at all. He found the whole scene quite amusing!

After dinner came the now customary evening stroll in the garden for Second Young Master Fang and the fairy. It was only after ensuring no one else was nearby that Meng Zhixue turned to him, her expression grave.

“Following your suggestion before, I set up observers and contacts in the city’s main apothecaries and in markets outside the city walls. We tracked the movement of the key herbs used for longevity tonics… but the results were not what we hoped for, nor quite what we expected.”

Fang Cun paused slightly, then smiled. “Nothing came to light?”

“Something did,” Meng Zhixue shook her head. “It just didn’t align with our initial thoughts. I had people monitor the flow of those herbs for over a month now. To my surprise, we found that the overwhelming majority… were actually being purchased by violent groups like the Devouring Sea Gang!”

“The Devouring Sea Gang again?” Fang Cun couldn’t help but frown this time. After a long moment, he asked, “Do you know why they are buying such supplies?”

Little Qingliu alone could only uncover so much, but Fang Cun believed Meng Zhixue must have other resources allocated to this matter.

“We made further inquiries and gradually pieced it together,” Meng Zhixue sighed. “Several days ago, a major plague broke out in the villages and towns about forty or fifty li north of the city. Refugees and commoners… the death toll is uncountable. The longevity herbs we’ve been watching? They happen to be key ingredients in a primary recipe used to combat this pestilence. These gangs and fiendish folk, like the Devouring Sea Gang at their head, are notorious for hoarding medicinal ingredients to exploit disasters for obscene profits. They likely aim to make a killing off this catastrophe…”

“A major plague?” Fang Cun’s eyes seemed to flicker almost imperceptibly. “Many have died?”

Meng Zhixue’s expression darkened slightly. “They say piled corpses are like mountains; the stench carries for ten li… It’s terrible. I have already dispatched helpers to assist…”

Fang Cun listened quietly, but her subsequent words didn’t quite register.

After a period of deep thought, he finally shook his head gently. “What a waste…”

Meng Zhixue nodded. “Indeed it is, only… the late-summer heat is intense right now, it’s the perfect time for pestilence to sweep through, we…”

Fang Cun interrupted her, sighing softly, “Consider this, Fairy Meng. Such pestilence snatches so many lives, commoners… isn’t its deadly toll ten times, a hundred times worse than those ‘Human Elixir Refining’ fiends? That… seems such a terrible waste. If we knew it was coming, wouldn’t it have been better to let those folk who died from the Plague Qi go to those… refiners? At least then, they wouldn’t have perished meaninglessly…”

“You…” Meng Zhixue was momentarily stunned by his words, then her fine eyebrows sharply drew together in anger. Her jade-like complexion flushed red. “Young Master Fang! Commoners’ lives aren’t lives?”

“You…” she began, fury evident, “…your way of speaking is truly…” she couldn’t finish, turning away clearly intending to storm off.

Fang Cun simply watched her go, a faint smile playing on his lips.

“One!”

“Two!”

“Three!”

…

Just as her anger flared and she prepared to stride away indignantly, Meng Zhixue abruptly froze.

She turned back slowly, her face etched with utter incomprehension and disbelief. She stared at Fang Cun as if seeing him for the first time.

“This…” her voice came out faint, hesitant, “…it couldn’t be…?”

Fang Cun merely gave her a subtle, enigmatic smile.