Chapter 226: The Wang Clan's Death, a Finger Snap and a Lifetime

In Maple Grove Town, a long line formed before the Wang Clan Tea House, which had stood for a hundred years.

When Fang Xu arrived, he first froze, then directly released his soul power, preparing to sense whether Sister-in-law Wang was inside the tea house.

Huh?

Feeling a familiar faint aura, Fang Xu's heart jolted, and then a look of joy appeared on his face.

Sister-in-law Wang is actually still alive!

But now she has exhausted her oil and dried her wick; her life fire is like fluff in the wind, which could go out at any moment.

Seeing this, he immediately prepared to enter the tea house, hoping to find a way to stabilize Sister-in-law Wang's life.

"How dare this person cut in line!!"

"Go line up at the back!"

"Where did this hothead come from, not knowing the tea house's rules?"

"Just wait and see, this brat will surely be thrown out directly!"

Watching Fang Xu ignore the long line in front of the tea house and about to barge in, the people queuing behind shouted in protest.

At the tea house entrance, two attendants in fine clothing also noticed Fang Xu and hurriedly reached out to stop him.

"Honored guest, the tea house has rules; please go line up at the back."

"Get out of the way!"

Fang Xu said coldly.

Sister-in-law Wang's life fire was about to dissipate, and he had no mood to waste words with these people.

Seeing Fang Xu's stern attitude, as if he wanted to cause trouble, the two attendants' faces turned cold.

"Honored guest, do you want to cause trouble here?"

"The tea house's rules were set by the princess; if you want to cause trouble here, you'd better measure yourself."

Great Yu under Lu Zhiyuan's rule is different from Great Yu during Li Cangwu's rule.

Now Great Yu lacks the scene of powerful clans standing side by side; most of its power and authority are concentrated in the hands of the imperial family.

Under these circumstances, no one dares to defy the imperial family's will.

The Wang Clan Tea House is under the protection of the sole princess of present-day Great Yu; anyone daring to cause trouble in the tea house will receive severe punishment.

"I said, get out of the way!"

A slight tremor in his inner aura directly shoved the two attendants blocking him back, and Fang Xu flashed forward, heading straight for the tea house's backyard.

Bang!

Just then, a figure rushed over and threw a punch at the intruding Fang Xu.

The attacker's cultivation had reached the Martial Sovereign Realm; looking across Great Yu, he could also be considered a major power.

But such a cultivator, in Fang Xu's eyes, was no different from an ordinary person.

Facing the attack of this Martial Sovereign powerhouse, he didn't even think of retaliating, merely turning his head to glance at him.

That Martial Sovereign instantly froze in place.

"Senior, quickly seize this brat!"

"Senior?"

The two attendants who had been shoved back watched the Martial Sovereign's attack halt midway, oddly standing still, and hurriedly urged.

But that Martial Sovereign didn't hear the two at all; at this moment he had fallen into some kind of illusion, and if Fang Xu didn't dispel it, he could never escape, even if he were to die of old age inside.

Passing through the tea house, Fang Xu directly arrived at the backyard.

"Who goes there!!"

At that moment, a sharp shout rang out, and a gleaming long spear thrust forward!

Fang Xu was about to strike, but upon seeing the spear's owner clearly, he froze slightly.

Clang!

The spear couldn't check its momentum, directly stabbing his chest.

But such a fierce attack merely tore his clothing, leaving only a shallow wound on his flesh.

"Fang Xu!!"

"Senior sister..."

The attacker was none other than Lu Qingluo.

At this time she already possessed early Primordial Martial cultivation.

Perhaps from long holding a high position, she bore a noble air she had never had before.

Lu Qingluo, gripping the spear, looked at Fang Xu's face with a somewhat complex expression.

But when she noticed her spear was pressing against Fang Xu's chest, a flash of panic crossed her face, and she hastily withdrew the spear.

"Fang Xu, you... you alright?"

Clearly aware that her cultivation was Primordial Martial Realm, though her earlier thrust wasn't her full strength, it still gathered eighty percent of her power.

Fang Xu didn't dodge, allowing her spear to pierce his chest.

Lu Qingluo worried that she might have seriously injured him.

"It's fine."

Fang Xu gave a light smile.

His current physique is so strong that standing still, even if Lu Qingluo attacked, it probably wouldn't be a big problem.

"You... how did you happen to come here?"

Seeing Fang Xu unharmed, Lu Qingluo let out a breath and asked doubtfully.

Fang Xu said nothing, glancing at the tightly closed door behind Lu Qingluo.

"Wang Shi's sister-in-law..."

Lu Qingluo turned her head to look at the door, then shook her head: "The end is near; the imperial physician is thinking of ways to help her prolong her life."

"But she isn't even a warrior master; being able to live until now is already a miracle."

Among cultivators, the lifespan of a warrior master realm is only one hundred fifty years.

Wang Shi isn't even a warrior master; being able to live until now is already not easy.

"Let me try."

Fang Xu spoke.

The imperial physicians in the palace had no solution, but he could try.

Saying that, Fang Xu prepared to walk toward the room behind Lu Qingluo.

Swish!

A spear suddenly blocked his path.

"Senior sister..."

Fang Xu looked at Lu Qingluo, puzzled.

Lu Qingluo spoke with a hint of resentment: "I know everything about you and Wang Shi's sister-in-law."

"You cruelly abandoned her alone for a hundred years; now she's about to die, and you only come now—what good is that?"

"I..." Fang Xu wanted to explain, but he felt that no matter what he said, in Lu Qingluo's eyes it would probably be an excuse.

"Senior sister, just let me in."

"I can save her life!"

Upon hearing that, Lu Qingluo hesitated a moment, then still firmly shook her head: "You go."

"She doesn't want to see you."

"Especially to see you in this state."

Feeling the weakening flame of Wang Shi's life inside the room, Fang Xu grew anxious.

He grabbed Lu Qingluo's spear and prepared to force his way in!

"Fang Xu!"

Lu Qingluo shouted, her voice slightly pleading: "Please, I'm begging you—let her keep a shred of dignity, okay?"

Fang Xu froze.

Lu Qingluo spoke with a dim expression: "A hundred years ago, she gave you everything; a scholar dies for his confidant, a woman beautifies herself for the one who pleases her."

"Back then, she would never have wanted the last thing you see to be her current state."

Fang Xu shook his head.

Yun Wan had once said these words to him.

But he did not think so.

A hundred years of longing—perhaps letting Wang Shi see him now is the best.

As the two were deadlocked in argument, the door behind them suddenly opened.

An old man in imperial court physician's attire hurried to Lu Qingluo, clasped his hands, and said: "Princess, the old lady has awakened, saying... let... let this gentleman in."

Upon hearing that, Lu Qingluo stared blankly at Fang Xu.

Fang Xu returned the gesture, then flashed into the room.

Just as he stepped through the door, his steps halted.

Familiar!

Everything in the room was so familiar.

The furnishings of the room where Wang Shi now lives are exactly the same as those in her home.

Even all the furniture in the room was moved from her home.

Scanning the surroundings, Fang Xu's gaze gradually fell upon the white-haired, wrinkled Wang Shi on the bed.

Fang Xu walked over slowly.

On the bed, Wang Shi had no strength to sit up; she could only strain to turn her head, looking at Fang Xu's blurry figure, a faint happy smile appearing on her face.

"You've come."

Fang Xu came to the bedside, gently bent down, and grasped Wang Shi's hand.

"I came late."

Wang Shi slightly shook her head: "It's not too late; at least I still get to see you one last time."

Her eyes were full of tenderness, without a trace of resentment.

"I must look awful now, right?" Wang Shi laughed.

Fang Xu shook his head: "Do you hate me?"

Wang Shi shifted her gaze, looking at the canopy above, murmuring: "I once hated..."

"But thinking about today's outcome, isn't this exactly what I had long anticipated?"

"To you, a hundred years is a snap of the fingers; to me, a hundred years is a lifetime."

"We were never people of the same world."

Hearing these words, Fang Xu felt bitter in his heart.

"Wait a moment, I..." He immediately wanted to take some heavenly materials and earthly treasures from his Universe Ring to forcibly prolong Wang Shi's life.

"Don't bother." Wang Shi slightly shook her head to stop him: "I have already lived one hundred fifty years."

"I'm fortunate to have met you in my best years, and also fortunate to see you again before I die."

"Fang Xu..."

Wang Shi strained to raise her own hand, wanting to touch Fang Xu's face.

But she was now at death's door, and there was nothing she could do.

Fang Xu grasped her hand and placed it on his cheek.

Wang Shi smiled with satisfaction.

As she smiled, her expression suddenly froze, and her cloudy eyes gradually closed.

Sensing the loss of vital breath, Fang Xu knew that Wang Shi had ultimately died.

After rubbing Wang Shi's hand a few times on his face, Fang Xu slowly rose and went outside.

At that moment, Lu Qingluo was holding a spear, silently leaning against a pillar in a daze, not knowing what she was thinking.

Seeing Fang Xu come out, she hurriedly asked, "Madame Wang—"

"She's gone." Fang Xu said indifferently.

Reaching his current cultivation level is actually rather sad.

Most things hardly cause his emotions to fluctuate.

"As for the funeral…" Lu Qingluo paused a moment and asked.

"Just bury her simply; she probably wouldn't like too much fuss."

Lu Qingluo nodded, then, as if remembering something, hurriedly told Fang Xu, "Madame Wang asked me to tell you something."

Fang Xu turned around: "What is it?"

"She said her name is Ren Susu, and hopes you will remember this name."

In this era, women lose their own names after marriage.

They are usually referred to by their husband's surname plus the suffix 'shi'.

After Ren Susu married Wang Ergou, the townspeople only knew her as Wang Shi.

"I'll remember it." Fang Xu said, then turned and left the teahouse.

As he passed that Martial Venerable, he slowly waved his hand, dispelling the latter's illusion.

In the courtyard, watching Fang Xu depart, Lu Qingluo's expression was very complex.

Just then, she felt an impulse to tell Fang Xu her thoughts.

But when the words reached her lips, she didn't know how to begin.

Because she could clearly sense that Fang Xu gave off an aura of keeping people at a distance.

Perhaps, unbeknownst when it started, the two had gradually drifted apart.

Leaving Maple Forest Town, Fang Xu did not rush straight back to the Celestial Splendor Realm; instead, he came to the Duskcloud Grassland on the edge of Moon-Viewing Mountain.

Concealing his identity, he bought a horse from the herdsmen living there, then quietly rode it, wandering aimlessly across the endless grassland.

Days passed one by one, and gradually Fang Xu seemed to forget his identity, forget everything, and became completely a wanderer.

He watched the sunrise and sunset, observed the wind bending the grass, clouds rolling and unfurling, and the cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death.

Until two years had passed, when he suddenly came to understand some things.

In worldly affairs, aside from life and death, what else could be considered important?

That day, disheveled and dirty, he looked at the horse beside him, slowly removed its reins, then patted its hindquarters: "Come on, it's time to set you free."

After releasing the horse he had ridden for two years, Fang Xu's figure vanished into the vast grassland.

Outside Hidden Dragon Pass, a meteor streaked across the sky, flying toward the Sea of Death.

Suddenly, that meteor flashed and fell, heading straight for a ruined wreck.

Inside the ruins, a man covered in black hair with a strange donkey‑like face sensed a terrifying aura rapidly descending, and his face instantly turned pale from fright.

"No!"

"It's the master's aura!"

Sensing the familiar taste in that aura, the donkey‑faced brute charged straight out of the ruins, rushing toward the descending figure!

"Master!"

"Master!"

As he ran, he kept shouting loudly.

Not far away, the newly landed Fang Xu looked dubiously at the donkey‑faced man before him.

He had just passed over the ruins overhead, when he suddenly felt a faint karmic connection.

He had thought there might be an acquaintance here, but instead he encountered a donkey demon!

What's more strange, this donkey demon kept calling him master!

How could he not remember when he had ever taken in this donkey demon?

"Master, I've finally seen you!"

The donkey demon excitedly rushed up to Fang Xu and fell to his knees with a thud.

Fang Xu frowned and looked at him.

This donkey demon had merely reached the Great Demon Realm; its transformation was still incomplete.

"Do you know me?"

Fang Xu asked doubtfully.

At such close range, he could also sense that this faint karmic connection came precisely from this donkey demon.

Yet he had no memory of it at all.

"Master, where have you been all these hundred‑plus years? I've scoured the entire desert, even sneaked into many cities, but I couldn't find you."

"Over a hundred years?"

Fang Xu's heart stirred slightly; that must have been when he first set foot on the martial path.

Um, how did we meet?

The donkey demon was first stunned upon hearing that, then pitifully said, "Master won't forget me, will you?"

I was carrying you and a woman over a thousand li, from North Cang City all the way here.

North Cang City…… carrying myself and a woman……

Fang Xu's mind suddenly flashed with a trace of memory!

He realized the identity of this donkey demon!

Back then, Gu Qiu came from Fairy Island to carry out the mission of slaying Yu Shan Tianyi, an Ascendant Immortal Society disciple captured by the Yan Shen Sect.

And at that time, I happened to be undergoing the inner disciple examination.

I was ordered to go with Gu Qiu to North Cang City to slay Yu Shan Tianyi.

At that time, the two rode a Cloud‑stepping Steed to North Cang City, but later, after the great battle with Yu Shan Tianyi at the Yan Shen Sect's stronghold in North Cang City, the Cloud‑stepping Steed was lost.

The two then found an old donkey and set off from North Cang City toward Liangzhou City.

Along the way, the old donkey was too slow, and Fang Xu kept feeding it Essence Yuan Pills, Blood Qi Pills, and other medicinal pills.

After arriving in Liangzhou, he released the old donkey.

I never expected it to actually cultivate into a demon!

This……

Looking at the donkey demon before him, Fang Xu was greatly surprised.

An ordinary old donkey, relying solely on the low‑grade pills he fed it, took over a hundred years to evolve from a common wild beast into a great demon.

It's utterly unbelievable!

Consider that the old ape possessed the bloodline of the Earth‑Fiend Demon Ape, yet even as its qi and blood were about to exhaust, it never managed to reach the great demon realm.

Compared to him, the donkey demon is simply heaven‑defying!

There must be something fishy going on here! (End of chapter)