Severed ties and living in a dilapidated house? No worries, the poor thing has a space.

"..." The shopkeeper twitched his lips and began to examine it. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he looked at Fang Yu with a hint of surprise: "Where did you get this jade pendant?"

"Now it's my turn to ask you!"

The shopkeeper immediately backed down after being nudged on the forehead: "This jade pendant was sold from me a while ago for a thousand gold pieces. Miss, you don't regret it and want to return it, do you? Once an item is sold, we do not accept returns."

The shopkeeper shook his head: "I can't break the rules of our trade."

Fang Yu nodded seriously: "It's fine if you don't want to say. Rules are rigid, but people can be rigid too. What do you think, shopkeeper?"

As the shopkeeper felt ashamed, he noticed Fang Yu's hand slowly pressing the trigger. He could sense that if he didn't speak up, his fate would be the same as the jade artifact on the shelf.

Moreover, it had been so long and there hadn't been any movement from his people outside, making the shopkeeper increasingly uneasy.

"Yes……"

The shopkeeper was planning to make up some excuse, but Fang Yu said in a cold voice, "Don't try to fool me. I dared to come alone, and I'm confident I can get out unscathed. If you don't believe me, you can call your people in and see."

The shopkeeper thought through everything that had happened recently, and it seemed that he hadn't offended anyone. How did he suddenly run into such a tough opponent?

"There's a Black Wind Stronghold on Black Wind Mountain, ten miles outside Qingshan City. The seller is the bandit leader of that stronghold. I've told you everything I know. Can you let me go now?"

The information about the bandits of Black Wind Stronghold was no different from what she had gathered; everyone within a hundred miles knew that it was the only bandit stronghold there.

If Fang Youfu had indeed fallen victim to these bandits, Fang Yu would definitely seek justice for the unjustly killed Fang Youfu.

After putting away the gun, Fang Yu looked at the shopkeeper with a relaxed expression: "Thank you, shopkeeper."

In the blink of an eye, Fang Yu burst out the door. By the time the shopkeeper realized what was happening and called for help, she was already gone.

Even with extraordinary abilities, leaving a place like Black Wind Stronghold unscathed wouldn't be easy; she'd have to think it over carefully.

Fang Yu went straight home; the trip had been fairly fruitful.

After quickly washing her face, she carefully lay down between Li Shi and Fang Xin.

.........

A rooster's crow woke up the whole village.

Fang Yu finished preparing the meal, and only then did Li Shi and Fang Xin slowly wake up.

Li sat up and stared blankly for a while. Only when she heard the sound of pots and pans clashing outside did she get up and go out.

She came out rubbing her temples. Fang Yu turned around and put down the basin of water in his hand: "Mother, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Fang Yu helped her sit down and placed his fingertips on her wrist to feel her pulse. Fang Yu was certain that Li Shi's body was perfectly fine.

Madam Li breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the door that was slightly ajar: "Yu'er, it's been a long time since I've visited your father. Let's cook a couple of dishes and go see him."

"Ah?" Fang Yu exclaimed subconsciously. She had just dug up Fang Youfu's grave. If Li Shi went to check now, she would find that the grave had been disturbed.

"What's wrong, Yu'er? Are you feeling unwell?"

"No." Fang Yu shook his head: "Then I'll go to the village entrance and buy a pot of wine later."

Fang Xin came out rubbing her head: "Mom, sister, what's wrong with me lately? I always feel sleepy. Am I sick?"

As she spoke, she touched her forehead and muttered softly, "It's not hot."

Fang Yu walked over and felt her pulse, then pinched her cheek: "You're in good health, you've just been too tired these past two days, that's why you've been sleeping for longer."

That's what she said, and Fang Xin believed Fang Yu's words, but she knew that since leaving the Fang family, she had been doing less than half the work she usually did, something she had never done before.

"Let's eat first," Fang Yu changed the subject, pulling them inside.

After the meal, Fang Yu went to the village entrance to buy wine by herself.

"Fang Yu, stop right there!"

He hadn't gone far when he heard Fang Ling's voice behind him.

Fang Yu turned around impatiently: "Hey Miss Fang, are you ever going to stop?"

Fang Ling strode over and questioned in a calm voice, "Why did you show up yesterday? Did you take a fancy to Young Master Wang? He's my fiancé, you shameless woman."

"Who are you calling a slut?" Fang Yu casually picked at his ear.

"Of course I'm talking about you!" After saying that, Fang Ling belatedly realized what she meant, and her face flushed for a moment: "You showed up on purpose to attract Young Master Wang's attention, didn't you?"

Fang Yu clicked her tongue lightly: "Does getting a man's attention have to be this complicated? I can just ask him if he's free and make an appointment."

“Besides…” Fang Yu glanced at her: “Only you would treat someone like Wang Yuan as a treasure.”

"You...you..." Fang Ling's eyes widened in disbelief: "How could you say such shameless things?"

Fang Yu retorted seriously, "Aren't you ashamed? You're an unmarried woman, aren't you ashamed to be alone in a room with a man?"

"you!……"

"What do you mean, 'you'?" Fang Yu interrupted her directly: "A person who doesn't know self-respect and self-love, even if he really rises to the top and becomes a phoenix, will still be the subject of gossip."

As Fang Yu was about to leave, Fang Ling grabbed her arm and said, "Fang Yu, are you trying to teach me how to do things? If you weren't unwilling to marry Lin Wu, I wouldn't have done this."

Fang Yu laughed and pulled her arm away: "Nonsense. If you want to marry someone surnamed Wang, go ahead and marry him. Nobody's going to fight you for him. Besides, don't try to drag us into the mistakes your family made."

Undeterred, Fang Yu patted the sleeve she had touched and turned to leave.

On the way, they ran into a few people who loved to gossip about everyday matters. When they saw Fang Yu arrive, one of them asked, "Sister Yu, are you going to the city again?"

Fang Yu nodded casually. She didn't want to pay attention to those people anyway, so she wasn't in a good mood.

"Tsk tsk tsk." Another person spoke up sarcastically: "He just got lucky and picked up a wild boar, and his nostrils are practically pointing to the sky."

Fang Yu didn't even glance at them, and walked away with measured steps.

After buying the wine, Li and Fang Xin prepared everything they needed to take with them.

On the way there, Fang Yu deliberately slowed down and walked at the very back.

She was thinking about what excuse she should come up with to explain herself.

As they drew closer, Fang Yu felt increasingly uneasy; they could already see Fang Youfu's grave.

Li and Fang Xin, who were walking ahead, suddenly stopped. But after only two breaths, they quickened their pace and ran past in unison.

Fang Yu scratched his head in frustration and quickly followed.

"How could it have turned out like this?"

It was unclear whether Li was asking someone or muttering to herself, but her crouching figure exuded sorrow.

Fang Yu's sense of self-blame intensified. She walked over with heavy steps, intending to obediently admit her mistake, hoping that this might make Li feel a little better.