Clan Building System: I'm not the Protagonist?!
Chapter 69: Phungrei City [3]

Chapter 69: Phungrei City [3]

Fang Yuan stared at them for a long moment.

Then he smiled.

It wasn’t cruel but ut wasn’t a smug either.

It was warm. Friendly and amost... pitying.

And somehow, that was worse.

"Ah... this is awkward," he said lightly, rubbing his jaw.

The patrolmen tensed.

"I had this whole low-profile thing going on," he continued, as if they weren’t drawing closer. "You know—wandering cultivator, mysterious drifter, hiding my cultivation base. Classic stuff."

The younger guard snapped, voice sharp and shaken:

"Shut up and drop the gold!"

But Fang Yuan didn’t even flinch. He just kept talking, fingers tugging at his fake mustache.

"Look at this thing. Scratchy as hell. It’s been killing me all day."

With a soft pop, he peeled the mustache off, revealing a youthful, clean-cut face beneath, still smiling.

The lead guard blinked. "Wha—"

He never finished the word.

BOOM.

Not an explosion.

Just the sound of displaced air, of a body moving faster than their eyes could track.

Fang Yuan blurred. A flicker. Gone from where he stood.

And then—crack.

He reappeared behind the tallest guard, who froze mid-swing. His arm hung at an impossible angle, blade slipping from nerveless fingers.

He crumpled like a puppet with its strings cut, already unconscious before his face hit the ground.

Another guard lunged, teeth bared only to stop short as a single finger tapped gently against his forehead.

That was all.

A whisper of contact.

But his eyes rolled back. He dropped like a sack of stones, a soft thud echoing in the alley.

Fang Yuan exhaled softly and turned.

Two more remained.

They didn’t speak.

They didn’t move.

They tried to run.

They didn’t make it past two steps.

A streak of motion, barely seen two dull strikes, precise and silent.

They hit the wall first. Then the ground. Out cold.

Fang Yuan stood alone, adjusting his sleeves like he’d just stretched after a long meal.

The alley fell silent, save for the slow drip of water from a broken pipe above.

Fang Yuan dusted off his sleeves, looking mildly disappointed.

"Tch. I was hoping to finish my pork in peace."

He looked down at the four unconscious men.

"You’d think Gu family soldiers would be better trained than this. Or at least know how to check someone’s soul depth."

He turned on his heel, walking back out into the open street, the mustache still in his hand.

"Guess I’ll need a new disguise..."

And just like that, he vanished into the crowd once more.

Once the last echo of Fang Yuan’s steps faded into the street, silence returned to the alley.

Then, soft footsteps echoed from the far end.

A girl stepped into view.

She paused at the sight of the four Gu guards sprawled across the ground, their limbs twisted awkwardly, blades scattered.

"Phew... he was strong," she muttered under her breath, eyes flicking over the scene. Then, hesitantly, she approached.

She knelt beside the nearest one, pressing two fingers to his neck.

A pulse. Faint, but steady.

She checked the others, each one still breathing.

But she didn’t sigh in relief.

Instead, her gaze slowly lifted, scanning the alley... and then stopped.

Her eyes landed on a large rock by the wall. Half-buried in the shadows. Rough. Heavy.

She stared at it.

Swallowed hard.

Her heart thundered in her chest.

No...

Are you really going to do it?

The question whispered through her mind like a cold wind.

But then another voice, sharp and furious cut through.

Why shouldn’t she? They assualted her. Toyed with her. Killed her only child. Her little girl. Her baby.

Her fingers curled into fists.

They deserve worse than death.

Her breath hitched. Sweat beaded at her brow.

But is this the right path?

Yes. Revenge is the only path left.

You said you’d avenge her, didn’t you? You swore it on her grave. So what are you waiting for?

Her feet moved on their own.

Step by step, she crossed the alley and stopped before the rock.

She crouched.

Her hands trembled as they touched the rough surface.

Cold. Damp.

Heavy.

She wrapped her fingers around its base.

Tightened her grip.

Lifted.

The rock groaned in protest, as if aware of what was to come.

But her resolve, was louder.

She rose slowly, arms straining, eyes burning with pain and memory.

Her movements were slow not out of hesitation, but from sheer effort.

The rock was heavy, awkward, its jagged weight biting into her palms with every step.

And yet, she carried it forward.

Toward the nearest guard.

He lay there, face slack, breathing soft. Peaceful, as if merely sleeping.

But she knew better.

She stopped beside him. Her shadow loomed over his body.

Her arms trembled, not from fear, but from strain, muscles crying, begging her to let go.

But she didn’t.

Not yet.

With a choked breath, she lifted the rock higher.

The weight of the past bore down harder than the stone ever could.

She saw flashes behind her eyes: her daughter’s tiny hands... the blood... the laughter of these men when she begged.

And then, she brought it down.

CRACK.

The sound echoed off the alley walls. A wet, sickening crunch. Blood sprayed.

She staggered back, gasping. Her hands trembled violently as the rock rolled from her fingers.

She stared.

The man’s skull had caved in—unrecognizable now. Her breath came in short, panicked bursts.

The first life she had ever taken.

Her stomach twisted. She nearly fell to her knees.

But then—

The tears came.

Silent. Hot. Endless.

And with them... came the memories.

The tiny grave. The silence of the night it all ended. The captain’s sneer. The guards’ laughter. Her daughter’s cold hands in hers.

"I’ll never forget. I’ll never forgive."

She grit her teeth.

Her hands moved on their own, back to the rock.

Blood clung to it like it remembered too.

Her body screamed. Her arms barely obeyed.

But her grief screamed louder.

So she picked it up again, this time without hesitation.

She turned to the next one.

She would not stop now.

Not until every breath stolen from her child was paid for, one shattered skull at a time.

Not until silence greeted every body.

Just like the night they took her child.