Chương 82: Old Tang's Earnest Advice

After dealing with Hu Tong, Fang Cheng did not leave in a hurry. He took out paper and a brush and wrote a letter to his superior, Pei Tang. In the letter, he detailed Hu Tong and Su Mu's crimes. He also mentioned that Su Mu had transformed into a great tree and drained the life from Shuili City and Dongyang City, and that the Heavenly Dao had appeared and struck Su Mu down. The battle between them had destroyed both cities.

At the end of the letter, he emphasized that he had only been a witness and had nothing to do with it. He had merely executed the criminal Hu Tong at the end. After writing, he sent the letter off and waited for Pei Tang's reply. To be honest, the destruction of Dongyang and Shuili was a fatal blow to Lianshan Prefecture. The silk textile trade that had been booming was now completely wiped out. For White Flower City, however, the loss of a strong competitor meant its textile industry would grow even faster.

In the future, White Flower City might be the only city producing silk textiles, with Lianshan Prefecture serving as its sales channel and labor supply. So Fang Cheng was a little worried. Would Pei Tang suspect that he had destroyed Shuili and Dongyang to weaken Lianshan Prefecture and strengthen White Flower City? He waited a long time. No reply came from Pei Tang. Han Bingxuan did not reply either.

He remembered that before leaving White Flower City, he had sent Pei Tang a flying sword letter and had not received a reply then either. Was Pei Tang too busy in the capital to respond? Or had some bored high-level cultivator intercepted his flying sword? Fang Cheng frowned, thinking. He could not figure it out. So he took out paper and a brush again and wrote a letter to Pei Tang's steward, Old Tang, asking about Pei Tang's situation. After sending the letter, he waited.

Suddenly, he heard a faint sound of something cutting through the air. He turned and saw Old Tang flying toward him, holding Fang Cheng's flying sword. His face was urgent. He had not even opened the letter.

"Young Fang, what happened here!" Old Tang's voice was full of concern and tension before he even landed.

"Calm down, Old Tang. Nothing major." Fang Cheng reassured him, then recounted everything that had happened with Su Mu, Hu Tong, and the Heavenly Dao. Old Tang listened quietly. His expression gradually relaxed. He sighed and said, "So Su Mu forged a Dao, but because it was a demonic Dao, the Heavenly Dao manifested as the golden dragon and struck him down." Old Tang had actually been several dozen li away. Before leaving, Pei Tang had instructed him to keep an eye on Shuili City and Dongyang City.

From a distance, he had only seen the golden dragon attacking a great tree. Then the tree exploded, the dragon flew into the sky, and an unknown red object grappled with the dragon for a while. Then the dragon vanished, and blood rain fell from the sky.

"Oh, and Young Fang, what was that red bird-like creature?" Old Tang asked.

"Uh..." Fang Cheng hesitated, then decided to tell the truth.

"That was a special battle form of mine. Haha. I did not mean to fight, but that golden dragon mocked me. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. As a man, how could I tolerate being mocked? So I got angry. My blazing fury turned me into a battle bird..."

"I understand, Young Fang. My master mentioned your special abilities." Old Tang smiled knowingly, his gaze toward Fang Cheng growing more respectful. Pei Tang had told him Fang Cheng was not ordinary. But he had not expected Fang Cheng to be able to fight off the Heavenly Dao. It seemed Fang Cheng had also been the one to slay the Heavenly Demon in White Flower City. And in Shuili City, Su Mu had forged a Dao and transformed into a great tree. Fang Cheng was certainly connected to that too.

Old Tang nodded inwardly and glanced at Hu Tong's severed head nearby, confirming his thoughts. He said to Fang Cheng, "Young Fang, I will report the Shuili City incident to the higher-ups, but I will leave out your involvement. Do not tell anyone you were here either. White Flower City and Xiangshi City's Heavenly Demon disasters both involved you. Especially Li Jinghong's death in Xiangshi City. The Hall of Eternal Life and the Chief are already suspicious of you.

If they find out you were also in Shuili City, they might use it against you." Fang Cheng understood Old Tang's meaning. He patted his chest and promised, "Do not worry, Old Tang. I will not tell anyone. Especially those Hall of Eternal Life people." Old Tang nodded and continued, "Young Fang, for now, stay in White Flower City. Do not go anywhere else. If you get bored, you can go to the Everlasting Mountains and kill a few spirit beasts for practice. But do not go too deep. Stay out of the inner reaches."

"Relax, Old Tang. I will be good. I will not go anywhere. And I do not need to kill spirit beasts." Fang Cheng laughed. He had made a deal with Old Xu to have the spirit beasts help repair the road. He could not afford to kill those hardworking laborers now. Old Tang was not so reassured. He thought to himself: wherever this kid goes, death and destruction follow. Look at Shuili City. If you had not come, it might have survived. But you showed up, and now Shuili City is in ruins, along with Dongyang City.

If this continues, the entire Lianshan Prefecture will be gone. He had to warn him again.

"Young Fang, my master told me that chaos is coming. He wants you to avoid conflict as much as possible. He is very busy right now and cannot look after you. I hope you understand." Fang Cheng patted his chest again, promising to stay out of trouble. Then he asked, "I sent flying sword letters to Pei Tang and Han Bingxuan in the capital. Neither of them replied. Were the letters intercepted, or are they just too busy to respond?" Old Tang replied, "Interception is impossible.

The flying swords I gave you were personally forged by my master. No one in the capital would dare intercept them. My master must have received your letters, but he is in meetings and cannot reply casually. Especially with the Chief of the Hall of Eternal Life and a host of great cultivators from other dynasties present. He cannot afford to be distracted. As for Officer Han, logically, he should be able to reply... maybe he just cannot find the time." Fang Cheng frowned.

"Han Bingxuan is investigating the Spirit Gathering Array case in the capital. I am worried that if he uncovers something, the mastermind might..." Old Tang reassured him, "Do not worry, Young Fang. Han Bingxuan is an Underworld Officer, and the Underworld Bureau Chief is also in the capital. No one would dare harm his subordinate in front of him." Fang Cheng was not entirely reassured.

"I asked Han Bingxuan to look into Dark Night. Those people are ruthless and leave no survivors. What if..." Old Tang laughed heartily.

"Young Fang, you do not need to worry about Dark Night either. Han Bingxuan is from the Han family, a direct descendant. And because of Li Jinghong's death, Dark Night has a new Grand Commander. He is a Ninth Realm cultivator from the Han family. He would not let Dark Night harm his own people."

"Dark Night was created by the Chief. How did a Han family member become its Grand Commander?" Fang Cheng asked. Old Tang replied, "My master mentioned it once, but he did not go into detail. In any case, whether it is Dark Night or the Hall of Eternal Life, the Chief has made concessions. He is no longer all-powerful." Fang Cheng nodded. It was probably some shady political deal, best not to dwell on. He said goodbye to Old Tang and prepared to return to White Flower City.

Before leaving, Old Tang handed him another storage ring filled with Immortal Crystals and said earnestly:"Young Fang, take these Immortal Crystals and cultivate well in White Flower City. Do not go around dispensing justice anymore. Do not investigate the Spirit Gathering Array case either. In times of great calamity, even if the people are struggling, they get by. Sometimes, not interfering is a kind of kindness."