Casually killed
A flash of light drops Fang Yuan into a bamboo forest partway up San Cha mountain’s northern slope, well clear of the cave he shares with Bai Ning Bing on the southeast side. He checks for danger, finds none, and looks up at the mountain’s three peaks: a yellow light pillar for King Quan Inheritance, blue for King Xin, red for King Bao, each already shrunk to about half its size since he entered and due to keep shrinking until it vanishes and the entrances close, only to open again after a wait. The King Quan travel token in his hand now carries several deep cracks; it can be used three times at most before it crumbles completely, and worth more than the escape itself, he judges, is the confidence and freedom of choice such a retreat gives a Gu Master. ch. 352
Hurrying toward his cave, Fang Yuan is stopped again and again by Gu Masters staring at him in open astonishment. He grabs one by the collar and learns that Bai Ning Bing killed a Tie clansman inside King Quan Inheritance and was exposed the moment she emerged, since rust flower Gu marks anyone who kills a Tie clan Gu Master with a scent carried in their own soul. Four Tie clan Gu Masters at rank four middle stage now pin her down with iron cabinet Gu, and San Cha mountain has read the standoff as demonic path against righteous path rather than a private grudge, with everyone waiting for little beast king, as they call Fang Yuan, to step in. ch. 352
The man Fang Yuan is choking talks fast to save himself, insisting his disappearance these past few days must hide some good reason outsiders need not know, and reciting how he has already killed the tyrant, Fei Li, and Sky Tiger since arriving at San Cha mountain. Fang Yuan tells him he is right, and lets him go. The man’s relief turns instantly to fresh flattery, calling him a great hero and a great warrior. Then Fang Yuan laughs coldly and, too fast for the man to react, crushes his spine with one pinch, killing him where he stands. ch. 352
Fang Yuan searches the corpse at once, but every Gu on the body and in its aperture has already self-destructed, since a Gu Master’s own dying thought outraces any strike; loot from a kill in the outside world is correspondingly rare, unlike inside the three kings inheritance itself, where the heavenly power keeps Gu at rank five and below from self-destructing at all. Watching Gu Masters whisper that he lets nothing go, calling him greedy and addicted to killing even against a man who was begging and posed him no threat. When Fang Yuan shouts at the hidden onlookers to leave if they have seen enough, figures break from the bushes, trees, creeks, and soil and vanish within seconds; the ones his shout scares off are the weak, he knows, and the ones still watching are strong enough to have real confidence. ch. 352
San Cha mountain now names him for it: having killed three rank four demonic Gu Masters in a row and gotten results by any means necessary, he is called despicable, cold blooded, and fiercely addicted to killing. Fang Yuan knows his gift lies in combat rather than investigation, and that even if he spotted the Gu Masters trailing him now, only charging crash Gu is on hand, and it would struggle to catch anyone that fast. ch. 352
Instead of turning toward Bai Ning Bing, he walks to the cave of Li Xian, a cunning rank four upper stage demonic Gu Master who never suffers a loss, and the Gu Masters trailing him assume little beast king means to make trouble for him. Li Xian greets him from twenty steps away, careful not to close the distance, and invites him inside; the two vanish into the cave together while investigative Gu ringing its mouth keep the followers from trespassing. Left outside, the watching Gu Masters can only guess whether a deal or a battle between the two is coming. ch. 352
