EBE Chapter 127 Fang Yixiao
Chapter 127 Fang Yixiao
Chapter 127 Fang Yixiao
"A wooden house? It's not some kind of haunted house, is it?"
"Isn't this a barren mountain? There's no way anyone could live here."
"What if he's a reclusive master?"
"There are no reclusive masters out there. You've been reading too many novels or watching too many TV dramas!"
Upon hearing the news brought back by Lin Fan, everyone began to discuss it.
However, this group of people hadn't had a drop of water since noon, and were already parched and starving.
After a final discussion, everyone decided to go and see for themselves, preferring to die with a full stomach rather than wander around aimlessly like headless flies.
Lin Fan knocked on the door of the wooden house, and the group of people hid far away, afraid that something strange would appear inside.
With a creak, the wooden door was pulled open from the outside in.
The person who opened the door was an elderly man with a white beard who looked to be around 70 years old.
The old man's attire made him seem like he had traveled from ancient times, dressed in a gray linen robe with a cloth belt around his waist.
"Hello, we're lost in the mountains. Could we rest here for a while and ask for directions?"
Lin Fan cupped his hands in greeting as he spoke, while simultaneously using his Heavenly Eye to examine the old man.
This Heavenly Eye can see through breath-holding techniques, perceive the opponent's Qi Sea, and judge the level of strength by the amount of spiritual energy within the Qi Sea.
Clearly, the old man before them was a martial artist from the Nine Netherworlds. Although his cultivation was not as high as Lin Fan's, he was still a master, several levels stronger than Nangong Jin and Liang Sanhu.
As Lin Fan was sizing up the old man, the old man was also sizing him up.
However, the old man could not detect any trace of spiritual energy from Lin Fan, since only the Heavenly Eye could see through this breath-holding technique.
"Come in," the old man smiled, gesturing for Lin Fan to call the others inside.
Seeing Lin Fan enter the house, everyone cautiously followed.
After entering the wooden house, Lin Fan habitually looked around the interior.
The cabin was small, without modern furniture, let alone electronic products, and only a few oil lamps for lighting.
In the corner of the room were two weapon racks, one large and one small. The large rack had two spears and a broadsword on it, while the small rack had three swords, one long and one short.
Next to the weapon rack was an anvil, and next to the anvil were two iron hammers, one large and one small, and an iron clamp.
Lin Fan deduced from this that the old man must be a blacksmith.
"Master, it's time to eat!"
A tall man came out of the next room and called the old man to eat. When he caught sight of Lin Fan out of the corner of his eye, his expression became excited:
"Lin, Lin Fan?" The man rubbed his eyes again. "My benefactor, what are you doing here?"
"Even Kowloon?" Lin Fan chuckled, marveling at how small the world was.
"Benefactor?" The old man was taken aback and looked Lin Fan up and down again.
When the old man looked at Lin Fan again, he focused his energy, but still could not sense any spiritual energy.
The old man thought there were only two possibilities: first, Lin Fan's cultivation was above his own; second, Lin Fan had learned the art of breath control. The old man was more inclined to believe the second possibility.
But Lin Fan is the third type, meaning he has a higher cultivation level than the old man and also knows the art of breath-holding.
“Master, this is the benefactor I told you about, Lin Fan.”
"My benefactor, this is my master, the Qigong master Fang Yixiao!"
Lian Jiulong stepped forward and began to introduce them.
Lin Fan introduced Su Ruowei to Fang Yixiao and Lian Jiulong, explaining that this group of people were Su Ruowei's classmates, and briefly mentioned why they had come to the mountain.
Fortunately, there were several benches inside the cabin, so everyone sat down and started chatting.
"Lin Fan, do you know them?"
Su Ruowei was completely confused and curious as to why Lin Fan knew the people living in this deep mountain forest.
"I met Lian Jiulong once when I went for an interview at the Interactive Entertainment Group with Su Yulin," Lin Fan said with a smile.
Lian Jiulong touched his neck and chuckled, "Thanks to my benefactor who saved my life that day—"
When Lin Fan heard that Lian Jiulong was about to explain in detail, he quickly interrupted, "Brother Lian, we're starving! Can we have a meal with you?"
"Of course! I'll go make some more right away!"
Lian Jiulong chuckled as he checked the number of people in the circle, then went to cook.
Fang Yixiao noticed that Lin Fan seemed unwilling to mention this matter in front of everyone.
He could understand that many people from the Nine Netherworlds came here incognito for various reasons, some to avoid enemies, and others to act cautiously.
The vast majority of people keep their identities hidden until they die.
"Lin Fan, let's talk privately about my apprentice. I'm quite curious about him since he's been down the mountain for five years."
Fang Yixiao stood up and gestured for Lin Fan to go to the inner room to talk, clearly just an excuse to have a private chat with Lin Fan.
After Lin Fan left with Fang Yixiao, the remaining people became reserved, not daring to speak casually in the home of a stranger deep in the mountains.
As soon as he entered the inner room, Lin Fan said with a smile, "Thank you for your understanding, Master Fang Lingzhu."
Fang Yixiao's eyes widened suddenly, then narrowed into slits: "May I ask your honorable name?"
"My name is Lin Fan, please don't be too nervous."
"I saw the weapons in the corner, one of which was a short sword made of Nine Nether Black Iron. I suppose you brought it with you."
"Moreover, I see that the forging technique is the unique smelting method of the Fangmen family, a renowned family of Nine Netherworld Divine Weapons!"
"So I guessed that you might be the missing head of the Fang family, Senior Fang Lingzhu."
Lin Fan knew that it was not surprising for people from the Nine Netherworlds to adopt false names in order to be cautious, just like when he first arrived in the Nine Netherworlds, he named himself Lin Jianzhi.
After listening to Lin Fan's words, Fang Yixiao's eyes became kind: "That's right, I am Fang Lingzhu, the head of the Divine Weapon Fang Sect."
Lin Fan nodded, and Fang Yixiao suddenly burst into laughter: "I never thought that an old man like me would become a missing person!"
"No, since you came from the Nine Netherworlds, we should have arrived here at the same time. How do you know I am the missing head of the Fang family? Could it be that...!"
Fang Yixiao thought that, based on his investigation over the past few hundred years since he came to the mortal world, all the martial artists of the Nine Netherworlds arrived here at the same time in the first year of the Tai Zhang era.
“That’s right, I came here at a different time than you, or rather, I came back at a different time.”
“If I’m not mistaken, all of you people from the Nine Netherworlds arrived in the mortal world in the first year of the Tai Zhang era, while I arrived in the Nine Netherworlds in the first year of the Tai Zhang era.”
Based on his conversations with Nangong Jin and Liang Sanhu, Lin Fan had already gleaned some information: the time Lin Fan arrived at Jiuyou was the same time they arrived.
In other words, those people from the Nine Netherworlds were unaware of what had happened in the Nine Netherworlds over the next few hundred years.
Or perhaps, those who come to the mortal world from the Nine Netherworlds still have an impression of the Nine Netherworlds from the first year of the Tai Zhang era.
Of course, Lin Fan didn't mention any of this to Nangong Jin and Liang Sanhu, since they both wanted to see the people or things they wanted to see after they went back.
But the truth is cruel; a century has passed, and everything has changed.
"Then how long did you spend in the Nine Netherworlds before returning here?" Fang Yixiao's question hit the nail on the head.