Liang Xiaoke, standing nearby, finally breathed a sigh of relief. That single punch could have completely annihilated Ye Jingyu; he hadn't expected this Fang Zhuguo to show mercy at the last moment.

"Thank you. As for making amends, I can't do much for you right now..." Ye Jingyu nodded, though his face was alarmingly pale.

"No matter. Your potential is excellent. It won't take long before your strength reaches a formidable level. I will seek you out then, and I hope you keep your promise!" Fang Zhuguo stated mildly.

"Rest assured. While I may not be a good man, I am absolutely a man who keeps his word!" Ye Jingyu declared solemnly.

"Very good, I appreciate integrity..." Fang Zhuguo kept smiling.

"But I don't like men!" Ye Jingyu suddenly blurted out.

Both Fang Zhuguo and Liang Xiaoke were momentarily stunned, clearly not anticipating such a remark. Immediately after, the three of them burst into simultaneous, hearty laughter.

Eventually, the laughter died down, and when they looked at each other, their gazes held a subtle shift; at least the previous hostility was gone.

"It's best you don't show your face around for a while. If that old fossil finds out I didn't kill you, he'll surely cause trouble for me. Naturally, he'll send someone else after you too, so be careful!" After the laughter subsided, Fang Zhuguo spoke up.

"Heh heh, even if I wanted to appear, I'd have to wait until this body of mine recovers. With injuries this severe, there's no way I can be running around." Ye Jingyu managed a wry smile.

Glancing at Ye Jingyu’s battered form, a smile reappeared on Fang Zhuguo’s face, though this one seemed tinged with a hint of triumph and a measure of approval.

"I should be going now. They won't send anyone else in the short term. Take care of yourselves!" After saying this, he glanced briefly at Liang Xiaoke, moved his feet, and vanished without a trace.

Only when he sensed that Fang Zhuguo's aura had completely faded did the tension leave Ye Jingyu's expression. Involuntarily, he slumped toward the ground. Even though Fang Zhuguo had ultimately spared him, the terrifying power of that strike was still wreaking havoc on his body; standing upright had been sustained purely by sheer will.

Liang Xiaoke gasped in alarm and stepped forward quickly to steady Ye Jingyu.

"You took too great a risk today!" After supporting him, Liang Xiaoke huffed out, sounding somewhat displeased.

"Heh heh, the risk was worth it. The Fang family possesses such immense power. Even if we escape this encounter, what about the next? Until our strength has fully matured, we cannot afford to provoke the Fang family too severely. Making him abandon the chase is naturally the best outcome. Besides, don't you think having an ally hidden within the Fang family would be immensely helpful for our future plans?" Seeing Liang Xiaoke's concerned expression, Ye Jingyu said with a gentle smile.

"But what if he doesn't keep his promise?"

"Although he isn't a good man either, he is absolutely a man who keeps his word. Doesn't everything that just happened prove that?" Ye Jingyu smiled lightly.

Recalling the mercy Fang Zhuguo had shown at the end, Liang Xiaoke fell silent. While the man was certainly annoying, he had, in the end, honored his commitment.

"So, what do we do now?" Liang Xiaoke asked again.

"Increase our strength, continuously increase our strength. We absolutely will not reappear before the Dou Hun War!" Ye Jingyu’s eyes held a look of resolute determination. The sheer might of the Fang family had sounded a stark alarm bell; without sufficient power, everything else was futile.

While Fang Zhuguo was relentlessly pursuing Ye Jingyu across a thousand miles, far to the south of the Gu Hua Continent stood a massive peak, known as Wind Spirit Mountain. It enjoyed perpetual spring, shaded by lush forests teeming with various birds and beasts. At the mountain's apex rested an enormous palace, the Wind Spirit Palace.

This place served as a detached estate for the Feng family, one of the Nine Great Families of the Gu Hua Continent.

Presently, in the rear courtyard of this estate, there was an artificial lake. Floating in the center of the lake was a long, flat-bottomed vessel. Standing atop this vessel was a man clad in a long, white robe, his face utterly devoid of expression.

If Ye Jingyu were present, he would recognize this man instantly, for he was Qin Yan—the very person who should have been dead.

Not only was his appearance identical to Qin Yan's, but so too were his demeanor and aura. If there was any difference between the two, it was that the aura radiating from this man was exponentially stronger than anything Qin Yan had possessed. This man was none other than Feng Yan, the Patriarch of the Feng family.

Behind the Patriarch, three other men stood respectfully, each bearing a striking resemblance to him. Every one of them gazed forward.

"What do you think the Fang family sent Fang Zhuguo to the Nine Provinces to achieve?" At this moment, the man leading the group, Feng Yan, the Feng Family Patriarch, finally spoke.

"What else does that fellow do besides killing? This subordinate guesses he was sent to kill someone, but I'm slightly puzzled—who in the Nine Provinces is worth his personal attention?" The man standing to Feng Yan's left spoke up, his eyes flickering with confusion.

"He was sent to kill the murderer of Fang Jiuyou!" Feng Yan nodded slightly.

"Ah? That useless Fang Jiuyou was killed, and in the Nine Provinces no less? How is that possible?" The other men displayed expressions of utter astonishment upon hearing this news.

"Heh heh, I didn't believe such news at first either, but Fang Zhuguo told me this information personally. Tell me, should I believe him?" Seeing the look of surprise on his subordinates' faces, Feng Yan chuckled lightly.

"Although Fang Zhuguo has some flaws, he disdains deception. But, Patriarch, why would he share this with you?" the man to Feng Yan's left continued to inquire.

"Because he wants to become the Patriarch of the Fang family!" Feng Yan stated calmly.

The others grew even more startled upon hearing this. For someone of Fang Zhuguo's standing to vie for the position of Fang Family Patriarch? Didn't he ever look in a mirror?

"Do you think he’s an ugly toad dreaming of eating swan meat? You are correct; his current standing dictates everything for him within the Fang family. But what if he had the full backing of our Feng family?" Feng Yan smiled mysteriously. Hearing this, the others nodded slightly. Indeed, if he could secure their Feng family's covert support, it wasn't entirely impossible for him to secure the Fang Family Patriarchate. But why would their own Patriarch invest in this particular man?

"They are finally bringing her here. You all follow me down," just as the group was about to press for answers, Feng Yan spoke again. Everyone looked up and saw a small, flat-bottomed boat sailing towards them. Apart from the boatman, there stood a woman on the vessel—a beautiful woman dressed in a green gauze skirt, bearing a face as lovely as a pear blossom...