I Am Immortal in Great Yu

"SCREEE!"

A white crane carrying the Qing Yan Little Child entered the Fang Mansion amidst the pouring rain.

RUSTLE!

BZZZZZ!

In the darkness, an extremely faint sound, nearly drowned out by the downpour, hinted at something terrifying rapidly approaching. It made the Qing Yan Little Child’s blood run cold and the hairs on his neck stand on end.

But after a single whistle, the feeling of extreme danger instantly faded and vanished without a trace.

’Good thing I made it in time.’

These days, the level of defense at Fang Rui’s mansion was on a completely different level than before.

The three types of Exotic Beasts—the Jade Snakes, Killing Bats, and Phoenix-tailed Swallows—were one thing.

The most terrifying were the Black King Bees. Under the radiation of the Dragon Pearl, they had undergone a primary mutation into ’Golden-striped Black King Bees’ and a secondary mutation into ’Purple-striped Black Emperor Bees’.

Even an ordinary Fifth Grade Martial Artist couldn’t defend against a Golden-striped Black King Bee. The Purple-striped Black Emperor Bees were even more terrifying, capable of breaking through the Transforming Force of a typical Fourth Grade Martial Artist to inflict wounds.

—Only because he had raised them from a young age, possessed the strength to suppress them, had advanced his Beast Taming Technique to Great Success, and used his Great Success Medical Skill to create medicated bait could Fang Rui tame these mutated creatures.

Currently, the Fang Mansion housed a hive of Black King Bees, over ten Golden-striped Black King Bees, and two Purple-striped Black Emperor Bees.

In other words, anyone who recklessly barged into the Fang Mansion would be besieged by a force equivalent to a large group of Sixth Grade, a dozen Fifth Grade, and two Fourth Grade combatants.

Such a formidable lineup would give a headache to anyone below the Upper Three Grades!

’As expected, Master’s intuition was right. Layman Fang is not so simple.’

The Qing Yan Little Child landed on the white crane, soaked to the bone. His clothes clung to his body, dripping water PITTER-PATTER onto the ground, cutting a sorry figure.

"Qing Yan, here, dry yourself off quickly!"

Fang Rui handed him a towel. "Why did you come over in such a heavy downpour? Did something happen? Where’s your master?"

"Layman Fang, our White Cloud Temple was attacked by the Divine Capture Bureau..."

"Attacked by the Divine Capture Bureau? Are you sure?"

Fang Rui’s pupils contracted. "But... before Director Zhou left, didn’t he already smooth things over with the authorities for you and your master?"

"Master once said that officials speak out of both sides of their mouth. In the end, it all comes down to whatever you people at the Divine Capture Bureau decide to say, doesn’t it?"

The Qing Yan Little Child gritted his teeth. "I saw it with my own eyes! The two attackers were that villain Zhang Henshui and a Spirit Master from your Divine Capture Bureau with the surname Sun. It was them!"

"Master used the White Cloud Temple’s Array to trap them and told me to come find you at the Fang Mansion. He also ordered me not to go back... WAHHH!"

No matter what, he was still just a child, about the same age as Fang Ling and Nannan. After explaining what had happened, the painful reality hit him, and he burst into tears with a loud wail.

As for asking Fang Rui to go and rescue Ge Changgeng?

Ge Changgeng hadn’t said it, and the Qing Yan Little Child didn’t ask.

They both believed that Fang Rui had some hidden strength, but they didn’t think he could defeat Zhang Henshui and Sun Shouchai. They didn’t want him to take the risk.

"Was it just the two of them? They didn’t bring any subordinates?! Then it most likely wasn’t an official order from the Divine Capture Bureau, but their own private action... I’ll have someone look into it."

Fang Rui called over two young maids who were already awake and arranged for them to take care of the Qing Yan Little Child and get him into some dry clothes. He then informed the Third Lady before leaving in a hurry.

...

He said he was going to have someone look into it, but that was just a pretense. In reality, after leaving the mansion, Fang Rui headed straight for White Cloud Temple.

’If I were only at the Sixth Grade, I definitely wouldn’t go. But my true strength is at the Second Grade, and the opponents are just a Middle Grade Spirit Master and a Fourth Grade Martial Artist.’

’Since I have more than enough power, I should help Daoist Ge if I can.’

There are things a gentleman must do, and things he must not!

Ge Changgeng was a mentor and a dear friend to Fang Rui. He had gained a great deal of knowledge and insight from the man. Their relationship was much deeper than his with Xun Buhe or Niu Bajin, and their friendship was far purer than his with Zhen Daoji. Moreover, he owed the man quite a few favors.

SPLASH!

The rain poured down in sheets, but it parted around a thin, translucent, colorless film of True Qi covering Fang Rui’s body, not a single drop touching him.

’Daoist Ge, White Cloud Temple is your stronghold. You have to hold on a little longer!’ he thought to himself as he sped toward the temple.

Soon, he could see White Cloud Temple in the distance, but it was shrouded in darkness, making Fang Rui’s heart sink.

When he finally arrived at White Cloud Temple and went inside, his ominous feeling was confirmed.

Signs of a fierce battle were everywhere. Tables and chairs were overturned, walls had collapsed, and the roof was torn open, allowing tiles, rubble, and mud to scatter across the floor as rain poured in.

He didn’t see Ge Changgeng’s body, but the air was thick with the rich scent of blood. Upon closer inspection, he could make out some blood-stained scraps of cloth and mangled pieces of flesh...

"The fight ended this quickly?! And they destroyed the body to eliminate the evidence? How ruthless!"

Fang Rui’s heart sank further.

’It makes sense. About a quarter of an hour passed from the time the Qing Yan Little Child left to when I arrived. In that amount of time, a person could die a thousand times over!’

’Not to mention, since the enemy launched a sneak attack, they must have come fully prepared to end things quickly, without any delay.’

This served as another wake-up call for Fang Rui: this was the real world, not some novel or storybook. The hero doesn’t always arrive at the last second, and the villains don’t waste time on long-winded monologues.

A single mistake or oversight could cost one their life!

"This is just..."

Fang Rui couldn’t bear to close his eyes. He recalled his last meeting with Ge Changgeng two days ago: by the shore of Mochou Lake, under a blood-red setting sun, Ge Changgeng was halfway through telling an amusing story when he suddenly fell silent. He shouldered his fishing rod, mounted his white crane, and rose into the air. Seeing the speechless look on Fang Rui’s face, he had called out, "You’ll hear the rest next time," and flown off with a hearty laugh.