Wei Yang approached Fang Yuan. "Ah, Brother Fang Yuan. I was so saddened to see you lose. However, you managed to put up an excellent fight against a Gu Master two minor realms above you. Without a doubt, that is no small feat. I've no doubt that in time, you'll be able to surpass Liu Nan."
"Yes, perhaps during the rematch, I'll win," Fang Yuan said, smiling.
"And I wanted to apologize for giving you incorrect information earlier," Wei Yang said. "I can't help but feel that if I had more accurate information to give you, you may have won. On the contrary, I told you he was using Dark Path gu worms, which may have altered your preparations."
There was a saying that 'having the wrong information is worse than having no information', and this was particularly true when it came to battle.
"You don't need to worry about that at all," Fang Yuan said, waving his hand. "I'd already anticipated that that might have been a smoke screen for his actual specialization."
"Still, I can't deal with this guilt within my heart," Wei Yang said. "I see that you're currently lacking for primeval stones. I happen to have a small reserve of my own. I can offer you a loan, at a very low interest rate if that would make things easier for you."
"Don't worry," Fang Yuan said. "This is only a minor setback." Without a doubt though, he had dug himself into a financial pit because of this fight.
But what of it?
Now, people would think less of him for giving up.
But what of it?
He had drained his clan's resources dry for his own gains.
But what of it?
He had lost the Frost Lance Gu, as well as his Scouting Hive Gu for now given that Bai Ning Bing was keeping it as collateral.
But what of it?
So long as he had his eyes on the goal, he would not waver. Reputation, resources - all of it could be staked for the bigger picture.
He had countless other schemes in order to rebuild his wealth and on top of which, he had accomplished what he was truly going for. Shang Xin Ci was now going to be a young master of the Shang Clan.
And were his plan to work, these losses could be said to be negligible.
Shang Ya Zi was beside himself, nearly bursting from laughter as he walked out of the coliseum. "See that, Fang Yuan? You tried to fight me, Shang Ya Zi, and what happened to you? You may be a Rank 5 Gu Master, but now you're publicly humiliated by losing, haha. Not only that, but you're deeply in debt. Heh - if you'd sold that recipe for me at the agreed upon price, this wouldn't have happened. Now let me see who buys it from you." His joy could barely be contained. He had already done well enough from the gu recipe that Liu Nan had sold him that he would not be the one being knocked off when a seat was given to Shang Xin Ci.
"Shang Ya Zi certainly is ruthless..."
"In the end, he outmaneuvered Fang Yuan, a Rank 5 Gu Master..."
"Ha... strength can only you take you so far in Shang Clan City. Fang Yuan was the one who made a mistake butting heads with him on his own turf."
Fang Yuan laughed, despite everything that had gone on. "Do not worry, this is how life is. One must lose sometimes. Only a fool thinks that they will not suffer setbacks." Fang Yuan had not gone into the fight intending to lose, but at the same time, it did not bother him much to do so.
The truth was that he was not about to show his Human Path killer moves on a public stage like this, which is why those gu worms were not in his aperture.
Additionally, that mortal killer move could have possibly damaged the White Form Immortal Snake Gu, which he did not want to risk. Liu Nan had actually made the wrong choice if his goal had been to restrict Fang Yuan in that he had not taken the White Form Immortal Snake Gu.
***
As Liu Nan returned to his residence, he couldn't feel any drop of joy even after winning.
The more that he thought about it, the more that he felt that he had been set up by Fang Yuan.
'Fang Yuan... you planned to lose from the start?'
Even he had taken a large financial hit despite winning. His gu worms needed to be fed more often now because he had used them, and with them being Rank 4 and Rank 5 mostly the costs were enormous. He might not even find some of the materials needed within Shang Clan City.
'Perhaps it is time that I go back home...' he thought to himself. 'Master, my apologies, but I have failed you.'
His Master's Will remained in his mind without giving an answer. After all, the more that it tried to talk with him, the more it would be dissipated.
As for the Frost Lance Gu he had managed to obtain, it would cost a large amount in order to feed it. And he was not an Ice Path cultivator. The only thing he could really do was sell it.
'No wait- perhaps there is still a chance to turn things around,' he thought to himself.
He already knew where Fang Yuan was, and found him along with Bai Ning Bing, the two of them totaling their losses from the recent fight.
"Fang Yuan," Liu Nan said, approaching them. Fang Yuan did not do so much as raise his head to look at Liu Nan.
"What do you want?"
"There is a certain gu worm that you have that I want," Liu Nan said. He took out the Purple Crystal Relic Gu. "I'm willing to trade you this for it."
"Which gu worm do you want?" Fang Yuan asked. He did not need this, but that did not mean that it could not be sold.
"Charity Gu!" Liu Nan said.
Fang Yuan frowned. He had not told anyone about Charity Gu - even Bai Ning Bing was in the dark regarding such. How did Liu Nan know about it? Some kind of Investigative type gu worm, or a Wisdom Path method to deduce it? "I do not have that gu worm in question," Fang Yuan said.
"Fang Yuan, there is no point in lying, I know what the truth is," Liu Nan said. He took out Frost Lance Gu. "Here, I will give you this as well in addition to Purple Crystal Relic Gu."
"Fang Yuan, you owe me that gu worm!" Bai Ning Bing said. She didn't know what Charity Gu was or why Liu Nan wanted it so badly, but she did want her own gu worm back.
"Relax, Bai Ning Bing, as I said, I will return it to you," Fang Yuan said. Bai Ning Bing could demand payment, but she couldn't force Fang Yuan to fork over everything now as per what they had agreed upon. "Again, Liu Nan, I do not have the gu in question, nor have I ever heard of such a gu worm."
"I will add on one million - no, two million primeval stones," Liu Nan said.
By this point Bai Ning Bing was slightly curious as to what Charity Gu was. If Liu Nan was willing to pay this much for it, just what were its powers?
"Again, I can't sell you what I don't have," Fang Yuan said.
Liu Nan paused as he consulted his master's will. "Can I leak a slight hint on the Spring Autumn Cicada, or another secret that might change his mind?" he thought loud and clear. He was not dumb enough to actually mention its name, but there were roundabout ways of still mentioning it to Fang Yuan.
"No," his Master's Will replied as it analyzed the information that Liu Nan had collected. "Abandon your mission for now. I have other directives for you." There was then a pause. "Although it it unlikely to succeed, you may try to tempt him with that..."
"Alright then, Fang Yuan," Liu Nan said, sighing as he returned the offered gu worms back into his aperture. "I cannot force you to trade. However, I would like to thank you for agreeing to the fight we had earlier. Please accept this as a token of my appreciation."
Liu Nan placed an information-type gu worm on the table. "It is yours to take. There is no need for payment whatsoever. Consider it a sign of my generosity and magnanimity."
"What is in this?" Fang Yuan asked warily. It looked like an ordinary information-type gu worm, only Rank 2. Nothing seemed off about it. But the whole offer felt fishy.
Liu Nan smirked. "Take a look inside of it, Fang Yuan, and you will realize its value. I bid thee farewell, until we meet again."