The Legend of Fangren

"Master Zhang".

That evening, Zhang Kongming went to Fang Shi's residence again.

Fang Shi was quite surprised. Luo He's residence was right next door. Since Zhang Kongming had already taken him as his disciple, he should rest at his disciple's residence.

Could it be that because he is utterly unworthy, Master Zhang saw that his disciple still harbored feelings for this worthless man and wanted to come here to settle things once and for all?

This person is indeed blind.

Very well, let's see what my expedient plan is.

Before Zhang Kongming could speak, Fang Shi, with a thousand thoughts swirling in his mind, took the initiative to speak: "Immortal Zhang, if you are worried that Hezi cannot sever his mortal desires, I can go and explain it to him. Alternatively, I can play the bad cop and settle things with him. However, if Hezi achieves success in his cultivation in the future, I hope that you can explain it to me, so that my acquaintance with him will not have been in vain, and that someone will visit me when I turn into a lonely grave and weeds."

After hearing these words, Zhang Kongming's eyes showed surprise, but he did not say what he expected:

"You are capable of making this decision, even if you lack the talent for cultivation, you are not someone who can be bound by this small village. However, I came here with other intentions."

"What does Master Zhang mean?"

"To be honest, Luohe needs my help. He wants me to take you with me back to the sect."

"Isn't this precisely because worldly desires have not yet been eradicated?"

Fang Shi shook his head, but his heart skipped a beat with excitement. He Zi was indeed a good brother.

"That's not right. The most important thing in cultivation is to avoid having a blocked mind. Even if you use your 'bad cop' approach to deal with him, he still won't let it go."

Zhang Kongming lightly raised his finger, and the wooden door behind him closed automatically as if blown by the wind.

What are you doing? Why are you closing the door? Fang Shi carefully took a half step back. Could it be that they're going to kill him first and then kill him later?

Zhang Kongming pretended not to see anything, sat down on the wooden stool without minding the dirt, and continued, "Before I came, I was entrusted by Luo He with a request after three kowtows, which I naturally agreed to. However, I wanted to ask your opinion on bringing you, a mere mortal, to the sect."

Fang Shi pondered for a moment and asked, "May I ask, Immortal Master, do all the people in that sect treat others with the same courtesy as you?"

Without hesitation, Zhang Kongming shook his head and said, "Of course not."

"Is the place where that sect is located isolated from the world?"

This prompted Zhang Kongming to recall for a moment, and he said, "My sect is a major sect in Qingzhou in the eastern border, called Longhe Sect. It has thirty-two subordinate cities. It is located on the first peak of Cangmu Valley in the south of Longhe River. There is a city in the valley below the mountain called Qingye City. It is the largest city in the Eastern Wilderness, and there are countless merchants and tourists."

"That's wonderful, then I'll have to trouble you, Immortal Master." Fang Shi no longer hesitated, stood up and bowed, accepting his childhood friend's kindness.

"Get a good rest tonight, young man. We'll set off early tomorrow morning."

"clear."

After the story was told, Fang Shi discovered that Zhang Kongming showed no intention of leaving.

"Master Zhang?"

Zhang Kongming chuckled: "Young brother, I'm afraid I'll have to stay here for the night. You can rest here; I'll meditate nearby and won't disturb you."

Fang Shi asked in confusion, "But the Immortal Master has already taken Luo He as his disciple, wouldn't he invite you to rest?"

"this……"

Unexpectedly, Zhang Kongming gave him a strange look and asked, "You really don't know the reason?"

"Reason? What reason do you need?" Fang Shi scratched his head, not understanding why.

Why are you two, master and apprentice, already shy after just meeting?

However, since the immortal master didn't mind, he had nothing to say. He went to bed, pulled up the coarse linen quilt, and fell asleep immediately.

The whole process took less than three seconds, leaving Zhang Kongming completely stunned.

This young man is indeed young; his quality of sleep is truly remarkable.

As for that slight oddity, Zhang Kongming didn't think about it in detail. He figured the two of them had been together for so long that they were too familiar with each other to notice it.

Therefore, he didn't need to point it out.

With a slight smile, Zhang Kongming also closed his eyes and began to meditate on the wooden stake.

At this moment, Fang Shi, who was facing the broken earthen wall, opened his eyes.

"A sect, huh...?"

Based on his understanding of the Luo River, he naturally knew what the good intentions were.

Although he was just an ordinary person, his sect always had rare and precious treasures. Some of these treasures, after being refined, could prolong life and add a hundred years to a person's lifespan, even if they couldn't change their aptitude.

Such good fortune is something that countless wealthy people in the mortal world yearn for but cannot attain.

But Fang Shi, are you really willing to accept this?

From childhood to adulthood, relying on his experience as a human in his previous life, he led Hezi through this small village. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he practically raised him from infancy, making up for his regret of not getting married and raising children in his previous life. Many nights, he acted as the elder brother, describing to Hezi the rich and prosperous life they would have in the future, and even patted his chest and promised him that he would definitely give him a good life.

And now... after going through both sides, it turns out that I've dragged him down.

Even Fang Shi, who considered himself the protagonist, felt a sense of loss that was hard to shake off.

It's late at night, time to get emo.

He took the square relief from the bedside table, held it in his palm, and fell into a deep sleep.

In the darkness...

In the beginning, there was only chaos and oneness. It was first divided into two, and thus yin and yang came into being.

The latter two merged and leaned against each other, giving rise to chaos, which was different from the original state and was called Hunyuan.

The primordial chaos is neither yin nor yang, yet it is intertwined with yin and yang, causing yin to give rise to metal and wood, and yang to give rise to water and fire, which are placed in the four directions. Then, yin sinks and yang rises to transform into heaven and earth, uniting the four directions to form a boundary.

The cube, being a six-sided, four-directional object, is thus named: the Four Directions Boundary Technique.

……

"Fangzi! Fangzi... get up quickly, we need to leave."

As Fang Shi awoke from his daze, he opened his eyes to see Luo He's slender hand rushing towards him, which startled him so much that he jumped up.

"oops…"

Luo He, who had never been faster than Fang Shi in slapping since childhood, got slapped again. Fortunately, he had already learned the reason why he could take a beating yesterday.

Those with a metal constitution possess extraordinary strength and resilience, with muscles and bones that are unlike those of ordinary people.

Fang Shi also shook his hands, saying they hurt a little.

"Gentlemen, it's getting late. The journey to the sect is long, so we should hurry on our way."

Zhang Kongming stood outside the door, raised his hand to the sky, and a clear white mist formed in his palm. He knew at a glance that it would rain today, so he urged the two of them to hurry up.

There was no time to pack, but luckily the two of them were penniless and didn't have much to carry.

Fang Shi was most concerned about the square relief, which he had carved from memory as a child and was a testament to his past life.

However, after searching the bed, they found nothing.

Strange, he clearly fell asleep while holding onto something last night.

"Hezi, where's my relief sculpture? Did you take it?"

"Why would I need that weird thing?" Luo He shrugged and denied it.

"No..." Fang Shi suddenly became anxious.

Putting everything else aside, he's been collecting that thing for over ten years. How can he just throw it away like that?

He hurriedly searched, and in his destitute home, he almost pried open the walls to look inside. It was Luohe who pulled him back, afraid that the immortal was getting impatient.

"My darling."

Fang Shi, who was dragged onto the carriage, was on the verge of tears, looking at his departing residence with extreme grievance.

He punched the wooden plank of the carriage in great distress, intending to vent his frustration. However, this action made him feel something was different; there seemed to be something different about his fist.

Upon opening their palms, they found, sure enough, a square mark had inexplicably appeared in the center of each palm, resembling a birthmark.