Fang Zheng's life had been somewhat hectic as of late.
Things had been relatively simpler before, especially when compared to the other members of the Gu Yue clan.
With Fang Yuan's help, he did not lack for primeval stones nor a secure place to sleep at night. He also had someone who would help him with his required quota of wolf-killing missions, on top of which no one dared to create trouble or problems for him, because even when Fang Yuan had just been just Rank 3...
...
Fang Zheng shook his head. To think that there had been a time when he thought Rank 3 was the pinnacle of what his brother would reach... only for his brother to have broken that barrier completely and reached Rank 4 and making a nonsense of the reputation of a Rank 3 Gu Master.
Not only that, his older brother was now clan head. While Fang Zheng was quite happy for Fang Yuan's advancement, especially as Fang Yuan had not thrown him out like he had feared, Fang Yuan, after becoming clan head, was now far busier than before.
Fang Zheng no longer bothered wasting his time trying to work on the Nine Leaf Vitality Grass Gu. That was small fry compared to the resources that Fang Yuan now had, which was 10,000 primeval stones each week.
With that said, of course, such resources did not come without any strings attached to them. The weight of the village now rested entirely on his elder brother's shoulders.
Fang Zheng found himself dealing with many of the matters that Fang Yuan thought were either too troublesome or just beneath his notice. So he sent Fang Zheng to do them instead.
Other than Fang Zheng, Qing Shu and Han Lin were both firmly in Fang Yuan's faction, and were also assisting him with tasks so that Fang Yuan could take some time to cultivate.
Fang Zheng did not fully understand what kind of experiments his brother was working on, but hopefully they would bear fruit in the upcoming fight.
While it was common for the clan head to neglect his cultivation once he achieved that position, Fang Zheng found that he was also neglecting his own cultivation while simply running around to get Fang Yuan's tasks done. However, he also understood that with the threat of the wolf tide, Fang Yuan couldn't help him as he had promised earlier.
And though Fang Zheng had to work hard, Fang Yuan had now told him that he would start to help him get a leg up and get to Rank 3 once the threat of the wolf tide was done. He had already been given a Red Steel Relic Gu by his elder brother and was promised another soon enough.
'Was this the location?'
Perhaps. It was dark and dirty, which many of the alleyways within Gu Yue Village were, given the current circumstances. However, there was something in particular that he was looking for. 'It was supposed to be here.'
He fidgeted with some of the stones which looked like they had been moved, before making his way through a narrow passage.
There's a voice coming out from up ahead.
"Welcome! Welcome! I see that you're looking for some... entertainment during these trying times."
"Yes, some cheap entertainment."
"One primal stone is more than enough for a night."
"One primal stone?" the other voice asked angrily. "Wasn't it half just a week ago?"
"Yes, it was half just a week ago, however, times change. The clan head has begun cracking down on one of our other locations- AIEEEE!" the man who was speaking shouted out as Fang Zheng crawled out of the side entrance and gripped onto his shoulder.
This was a Rank 1 Gu Master, judging by both his plate and his aura, and he was stooped over a counter in a small room, which was extremely grimy and very dimly lit. The person who was speaking to him was actually one of Fang Zheng's former friends who was helping him out with this little mission.
The Rank 1 Gu Master tried to bolt, perhaps thinking that Fang Zheng was actually Fang Yuan. Actually, now that Fang Zheng thought about it, if he thought that it was Fang Yuan, he wouldn't have thought that he would've had a chance to escape.
The man didn't get any further than five steps before Fang Zheng tripped him. "Now, do you want to come quietly, or should we do this the hard way?" Fang Zheng asked. He unleashed his Rank 2 aura, which was nowhere near as threatening as Fang Yuan's Rank 4 aura. However, to a Rank 1 logistics Gu Master, this was more than enough.
"Uh, Lord Fang Zheng," the Gu Master replied, trying to act innocent despite the clear evidence of what he was doing. "What could possibly bring you here?"
"Your gig's up," Fang Zheng said. "I know all about your little business here."
In times like the wolf tide, death was hanging above nearly everyone's head.
It would naturally promote risky behaviors and other mechanisms to cope as many people didn't know whether tomorrow would be their last: like smoking or drinking or gambling, or in certain people's cases, visiting brothels.
After all, fighting all day kicked something in the survival instincts of many male Gu Masters, and the release of such energy helped them calm down.
Brothels by themselves were not illegal within Gu Yue village. The issue was that this Gu Master had been inviting mortal women who had nowhere else to go and exploiting them for his own gain. Some of the women employed in the other locations that they had raided, were not even aware of what they had signed up to do until they were dragged to a dark room to do whatever the customer asked.
The old clan head had let such matters slide, mainly because it was only happening to mortal women, and he did feel that the soldiers needed some form of relaxation. However, Fang Yuan had decided to put his foot down and close down these sorts of places.
"It is... do you want a cut of the profits? I can give you 20, no, 30, if you just..." the Gu Master began to mumble before Fang Zheng rolled his eyes and dragged him outside. "Relax, so long as you don't blabber more, at most we'll give you some beatings, and then you can get back to work." The reason for such treatment was that the clan did not want to lose any fighters, not even Rank 1 Gu Masters.
This person was just a logistics Gu Master, and as such, could get back to work relatively quickly, even after being forced to endure several strokes of the bamboo rod.
Fang Zheng signaled for some of his other comrades to step inside the building and take care of the women trapped inside. "I don't like having to deal with women," Fang Zheng said, dragging the Gu Master back towards the Clan Head's Pavilion for punishment.
While Fang Zheng was more than happy to comply with Fang Yuan's request, he couldn't help but feel that Fang Yuan was being a bit too generous and kind.
Many of his requests involved distributing food or primal stones to certain beggars and the like. Fang Zheng solidly believed that he needed to strengthen himself.
Otherwise, if he was too generous, then someone would take advantage of his weakness.
After all, although Fang Yuan was quite strong, it wasn't like the other clans had nothing up their sleeves. It was rumored that the Bai clan's Bai Ning Bing could somewhat even fight on the level of Rank 4 Beast Kings now.
If such were the case, then Fang Yuan needed to be on guard and needed to focus on his own cultivation. He had expressed such to his brother many times, though his brother had simply waved his hand during these occasions and said that they still needed to look after the welfare of everyone living in the village. "After all, that's what being a righteous clan leader means," Fang Yuan had said.