Xiao Die nudged Zhang Xin Ci with her elbow. "Lord Gu Master, Young Missy here is simply a bit too shy to impose on you. In reality, we would be happy to accompany you."
Xiao Die then gave her friend a rough look. Zhang Xin Ci was her closest friend; that was why she was acting this way in the first place. Where else would they possibly go?
At this point, she had to admit that this was a valid concern. They could not stay in this mortal hamlet for too long. They had nothing to do here, and it wasn't like either of them were useful at farming or anything else that might come in handy.
They could not return to the merchant caravan; the lecherous gazes of some of the Gu Masters was already keenly felt by Zhang Xin Ci even while she had been walking away. While she had walked away with Fang Yuan, it had been only his presence that had deterred them, but he would not be there if she were to return.
At the same time, though, Zhang Xin Ci said, "Our original goal was to get to Shang Clan City... we would be delayed by quite a bit..."
"Now, though, isn't it better to get there late rather than not at all?" Fang Yuan asked, and unspoken was the thought that if she didn't take this opportunity, she likely would not make it. Fang Yuan was right.
"Alright then we will impose upon you for a bit longer, thank you."
Fang Yuan then did something that she hadn't expected.
He had gathered the villagers and had attempted to arrange for proper burials for those who had passed away who had been traveling with the merchant caravan. Whether they be mortal or Gu Master - he had not discriminated between them, treating them with equal reverence.
Although he had given away Zhang Zhu's body to Shen Zhen Shi, asking if she would like to bury it, she could not bear to deal with his mangled face. "Please, if someone else could do it,"
She felt so weak and ashamed to offload this responsibility to someone else. However, the mere sight of what remained of Zhang Zhu's corpse caused her stomach to churn.
Many people could not be properly found, of course.
Several of them were still within the stomachs of various beasts, and for others, only something like a finger might remain. Still, Fang Yuan had attempted to do his best to see that the dead were properly buried, earning high praise from the mortal villagers.
Even the caravan members, when they started seeing this, felt that they should also join in. After all, weren't these people their own compatriots? Shouldn't they show the slightest bit of concern when an outsider like Fang Yuan could do so?
Several of them felt ashamed at abandoning their comrades like this. Usually, people who died along the merchant caravan, if they had no family or friends, would be left to rot in the dirt with only the maggots to accompany their corpses into the next life.
This time though, things were different.
When this was finally done, she agreed to accompany the two of them back to the new Gu Yue Village.
As they flew through the clouds, Zhang Xin Ci tightly clung to the gu worm for dear life, feeling as if there was even the slightest shift in position, she would fall off, sink through the clouds, and smash against the Earth into a million pieces.
"Don't worry," Fang Yuan said, calling out back to her. "If you fall, we'll catch you."
"Couldn't we have just gone over land?"
"It would take far too much time," Fang Yuan said. "This is much faster, isn't it?"
It might have been faster, but Xiao Die felt like her lifespan was being reduced several-fold in exchange while they were flying around. Flying on the back of this dragon; both of them were severely disoriented and off-balance by the time they landed near Gu Village.
"You're back then," Fang Zhen said, approaching.
"Young Missy, I think I really got sick while flying, I'm seeing double," Xiao Die said.
"Me too," Zhang Xin Ci said, emptying her breakfast somewhere close by, the White Form Immortal Snake snorting and backing away from her.
What the two of them hadn't realized was that Fang Yuan had actually been going rather easy on the two of them - reducing the White Form Immortal Snake's speed so that it would be smoother for the two of them. However, they both still looked slightly green - Zhang Xin Ci's shade nearly matching those of the robes she was wearing.
"You're not seeing double, this is my twin younger brother, Fang Zheng," Fang Yuan explained to the two of them.
Fang Zheng had been taking care of the village with Fang Yuan gone.
While he had been quite excited to become the nominal village head, he had quickly discovered that there were several issues that he was rather ill-equipped to handle.
Even if this had been the way things were meant to go, where he was destined to become clan head with his A-grade talent, he wouldn't have reached this point until a few years in the future, and would have had others like Gu Yue Bo to guide him all along that way.
Right now, although he did have Qing Shu with him, even Qing Shu was slightly overwhelmed at the various changes that were going on in Gu Village. They had to deal, not just with the ordinary issues, but with issues from the other clans, including the Bai and the Xiong Clans. Not only that, they had to make sure that they maintained somewhat peaceful relations with their new neighbors, the Bei Clan, near the foot of the mountain who were still in the process of settling.
This was a complex issue that even the original clan head might have struggled with. For Fang Yuan, however, with his five hundred years of experience, he could easily navigate these problems, smoothing them over alongside Fang Zheng and giving him pointers for the future.
"Oh, these two are my new guests," Fang Yuan said, indicating the two mortal woman. He turned towards the two girls. "If anyone here happens to give you trouble, just tell them that you're associated with me. That will smooth things over."
The news of Bai Ning Bing reaching Rank 4 resonated throughout the village. The Bai Clan faction was quite happy. Now, some of them wondered if they should have even joined up with the Gu Yue Clan if this were the case.
However, upon further reflection, they knew that without a fresh spirit spring, they would have been done for. A Rank 4 Gu Master out their head, or a Rank 5 Gu Master out their head, it would not have made a difference.
The Xiong Clan were no doubt bitter. It appeared even in this coalition of villages, they were at the bottom as they still had not formed a single Gu Master who was at Rank 4. That was not to say that they were not treated fairly, however. Inwardly, they couldn't help but feel a great deal of resentment at this fact. What could they do other than endure and hope that among their ranks a Rank 4 Gu Master might emerge in the future? Perhaps they too, would be blessed with an A-grade talent among their ranks in the coming times.