Despite what Fang Yuan had said, the newly elected leader felt that he couldn't possibly not pay Fang Yuan his rightful dues. However, the world of a Rank 5 Gu Master was much different from that of a Rank 3. What was valuable to him might be nothing to Fang Yuan. But they very well couldn't hand him nothing.
The decision was made to simply passed to hand over their excess goods over to Fang Yuan, as thanks for rescuing them.
Thankfully, there was quite a lot of merchandise left. After all, the Iron Fang Sabretooths had little use for most of it, and their owners were gone. Zhang Xin Ci had even given up all of her assets as well.
Normally, this would all be taken and put into a pile and redistributed among the remaining factions of the merchant caravan. However, in their current predicament, no one would complain if they handed these all over to Fang Yuan instead.
Zhang Xin Ci slumped away from the meeting, wondering what she would do next. When someone walked over to her, he said, "Lady, I believe these are yours." She turned her head to see Fang Yuan giving her back what she had just offered up towards the leaders.
Of course, Fang Yuan knew that there was a deeper reason behind this - she had done a smart thing. Without a Gu Master's protection, she could not protect these assets and would be a target for assassination if she continued to keep them.
After all, the members of the merchant caravan had lost a lot because of this recent attack, and they would without a doubt want to remake those profits in any way possible. And what would be a more alluring draw than her assets (in more than one sense of the word) which were ripe for the taking?
"No, no, those are for you as a thank you," she said. "And a token of my gratitude."
"I have no need of thanks," Fang Yuan said. "As I had said earlier, I merely saw some people in need and wanted to help them. There was nothing further when it came to my actions."
Her heart fluttered once more.
"I was curious, however," Fang Yuan said. "The two of you appear to be mortals. For the two of you to have amassed such great fortune, I'm assuming that you must have had a Gu Master patron at some point?"
"Indeed, my uncle was a Gu Master," she said, a tear forming and rolling down her cheek. "He sacrificed himself so that we could live. If only we hadn't run into this problem..."
Fang Yuan pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to her. "The two of you seem to have no place to stay for now. In the meanwhile, would you like to have tea with me and my companion back in the hamlet that we were staying in?"
"Oh, is Lord Gu Master staying near a mortal village? But why?" she asked.
"Oh, that," Fang Yuan said. "There had been some problems near the mortal village, and I decided to help them out.
"Gu Masters usually don't go around helping mortals..."
"Perhaps an ordinary one does not," Fang Yuan said. "However, it doesn't matter whether they're a Gu Master or an Immortal to me. We're all human, aren't we? Shouldn't we all be looking out for each other?" His words touched Zhang Xin Ci, and although she protested and said that she didn't want to impose on Fang Yuan anymore, the rational part of her kicked in.
If she was with Fang Yuan, at least for a while, it would protect her while she thought of her next move. Right now, she was vulnerable, not only to the surrounding beasts, but also to any of the Gu Masters in the caravan. She hated to have to demand anything further from her benefactor, but there might be a chance that he could even set them back on the road with a small donation on his end.
'No I shouldn't think such things, he's already done so much for me..."
The caravan made its way near the village where they unloaded their goods and bought several things. They also needed a few more mortals for their journey while they recuperated from their injuries whom they would recruit from villages along this route. Normally, they would only stop by for about a single afternoon but they ended up staying for two whole days.
"Welcome to my humble abode," Fang Yuan said, leading her to the inn that he and Bai Ning Bing were staying in.
She had to admit that he was not exaggerating - this place was rather run-down, but they would find nothing better in a mortal hamlet.
Her eyes drifted naturally to Bai Ning Bing. 'So he already has a peerless beauty by his side...'
Later on, Xiao Die would tell her that between the two, she already won in terms of looks - though Zhang Xin Ci doubted so. Not to mention she was Rank 4 Gu Master, after all.
Fang Yuan introduced himself and who he was. His story involving fighting several demonic Gu Masters and changing the location of his clan was quite riveting - Xiao Die had her doubts to how truthful parts of it were, but there was no doubt that he had lived quite a colorful life until now regardless.
All of this served to cement the image of him being a chivalric hero in their minds.
"We were here because my mother said so," Zhang Xin Ci explained while they were talking. "She said that there might be something waiting for me in Shang Clan City, which is where we were headed."
"Oh? Were the two of you really headed towards Shang Clan City?" Fang Yuan asked. "Small world- we were thinking of actually going the same route..."
Now that was news to Bai Ning Bing, who frowned.
"Oh?"
"Yes, there are many things that I needed - and my clan by extension, that we could only buy there," Fang Yuan said.
Neither of the two doubted it - the needs of a Rank 5 Gu Master could oftentimes not be met with a single village or even a merchant caravan.
Even Bai Ning Bing thought of Poison Vow Gu when Fang Yuan mentioned this. She had been unable to obtain one despite all of her searching, but if there were a place where one could find it, it would be Shang Clan City, if the rumors were to be believed.
"Say, given the two of you no longer seem to have a place within the merchant caravan," Fang Yuan said. "Why not come with us back to our village? We can head off towards Shang Clan City later on after I take care of some business. You would be safer traveling with us."
"Oh, we couldn't possibly impose on benefactor any more than we have already done..." Zhang Xin Ci protested.