Dawnless Sovereign
Chapter 10: Reasonable and Logical

Chapter 10: Reasonable and Logical

"What about Su Yue?" Fang Qianyi asked.

This was not the first time that this question had been brought up, and Fang Che immediately displayed the response that had always been given by his past self, putting on a firm and exasperated expression as he replied, "That's none of your business, Mother. Su Yue is a good friend and good brother of mine. Am I not allowed to have a few good friends?"

"Good friend? He clearly has ulterior motives!"

"I'm not listening!" Fang Che yelled as he shook his head back and forth like a petulant child, leaving Fang Qianyi to heave a resigned sigh.

It seemed that despite his changes, he was still the same foolish and unreasonable boy as before, and she would just have to keep a close eye on him.

***

The next morning.

Fang Che was training, while Fang Zhenghang had already paid a visit to the Hall of Protectionists, submitting the Fang Clan's missions for the month while also reporting the matter of Fang Che's new master.

As for Fang Qianyi, she had been awoken by a foul stench.

After dinner the night before, she had gone to bed after taking a bath. She felt like her body was very sticky, and she scrubbed herself down several times, but to no avail. She was exhausted from her travels, and she felt very safe back in her own home, so it didn't take long before she fell asleep in her bed.

The next morning, she woke up to discover that her bedroom had been transformed into a cesspool, and that her entire body was coated in a layer of nauseating filth.

***

She hurriedly bathed herself again, and as she emerged from the bath, she could hear the sound of the maidservants dry-retching as they cleaned her room.

Her cheeks became flushed with embarrassment, but that was quickly cast out of her mind as she noticed the drastic change that had taken place in her body.

She felt more light, her mind more clear, and her sensitivity to spirit qi enhanced by severalfold.

Most importantly, as she looked into the mirror, she discovered that the condition of her skin had improved significantly, looking and feeling even better than it had when she was in her late teens.

She was ecstatic to see this, and upon seeing Fang Che, she couldn't help but pick up the hem of her dress before performing a dainty twirl as she asked, "Notice anything different about me today, Che'er?"

Fang Che pretended to have been momentarily stunned into silence, following which he exclaimed, "Did you end up sleeping in the fountain of youth last night?!"

Fang Qianyi burst into delighted laughter upon hearing this, then suddenly asked, "Are you saying I looked really old before this?"

"Not at all, Mother," Fang Che said in an earnest manner. "You only look more youthful than before. In fact, you look younger by the day!"

Fang Qianyi nodded in a pleased manner as she pulled out a small mirror and examined her own reflection with a gleeful expression.

"Honestly, there's been something bothering me for quite some time," Fang Che sighed.

"What is it?"

"My future wife. I have such a beautiful mother, so I have to find an equally beautiful wife. Otherwise, she'll put our clan to shame, but it's going to be difficult to find someone so beautiful."

Fang Qianyi burst into laughter once again upon hearing this.

"You've always been so dense and bad with words, not like your father at all, and I was wondering for a long time why you didn't take after your father, but I can lay those concerns to rest now. You're smooth-talking me just like your father did all those years ago!"

Fang Che was rendered speechless upon hearing this.

Just how corny was my father?

After that, Fang Qianyi eagerly left the Fang Clan's estate. The clan was holding a meeting that she took no part in. Her top priority at the moment was to seek out her best friends for a reunion.

***

At this point, it had finally been confirmed that all of the Su Clan's decision-makers had disappeared, and the Fang Clan was itching to take advantage of the situation.

Everyone was eagerly expressing their opinions on how they could best benefit from the Su Clan's abrupt fall, and the Fang, Lü, Zhang, and Wei Clans were visiting one another to hatch plots in secret.

***

In the Fang Clan's estate.

Sun Yuan didn't want to be here anymore.

Some of the questions raised by Fang Che were already beyond him, and he had absolutely nothing left to teach him.

Even his disguise, fraud, and gambling techniques had all been mastered by Fang Che, leaving Sun Yuan feeling very defeated and dejected.

"Train hard and continue your preparation for the warrior academy entrance examinations. I have to pay a visit to the Su Clan. It seems like something's happened there," Sun Yuan said.

"What happened? Is Brother Su alright?" Fang Che immediately asked with an expression of feigned concern.

Sun Yuan was aware of Su Yue's ties with Fang Che, and he was aware that Su Yue was the one that had planted the Five Spirit Parasite into Fang Che's body. Hence, he knew exactly what type of person Su Yue was, and he couldn't help but internally scoff at Fang Che's naivete.

Prior to this, Sun Yuan had naturally been on the Su Clan's side. After all, the Su Clan had completely given itself over to the One Heart Church, but now, his allegiance lied solely with his disciple!

In comparison, the Su Clan was nothing!

"Che'er, you have to make sure to be more shrewd when making friends in the future," he advised in a meaningful and heartfelt manner. "Su Yue is not a good person, and he has no good intentions for you."

"No way!" Fang Che protested in a serious manner. "Brother Su has done so much for me and is constantly looking out for me. He's the best friend and brother I could ever ask for!"

Sun Yuan offered no response.

His disciple was perfect in every way, but it seemed that he was still sorely lacking in life experience.

"What happened to the Su Clan, Master? If it's something bad, then we have to help them," Fang Che said in an urgent manner.

"How are we supposed to help? They're all dead?" Sun Yuan scoffed.

"They're all dead? Has it been confirmed?" Fang Che asked in a stunned manner.

"No. At the very least, no bodies have been discovered."

"In that case, Brother Su must still be alive! He's such a good person, his good karma would've surely kept him alive! We can't just stand by and do nothing, Master," Fang Che urged.

"What do you suggest then?"

"Even if Brother Su won't be back for the foreseeable future, we have to look after his estate," Fang Che declared in a moral and justified manner. "As his brother, I have an obligation to ensure his estate remains intact during his absence. You have to help me, Master!"

Sun Yuan couldn't help but feel as if something were amiss, but all he could see was a genuine look of urgency and concern on Fang Che's face, looking as if he were ready to lay down his life for Su Yue at a moment's notice if required.

"How do you suggest we look after his estate?"

"Brother Su told me that he's the Su Clan's only heir, so the entire Su Clan should be his. In that case, I should take over the Su Clan in his absence!" Fang Che declared.

Sun Yuan stroked his own beard as he cocked his head to the side in contemplation.

He scratched his own head, feeling as if his mind were a little muddled.

Could it be? No, surely not. Perhaps he really does only want to help his friend preserve his estate.

"You're still so young, how do you plan to take over the Su Clan and all of its properties?" Sun Yuan asked.

"It's simple! We can just sell off everything, and I'll hold onto the money before giving it to Brother Su upon his return!"

"That does make sense..."

After pondering the prospect momentarily, Sun Yuan decided that it aligned with the interests of the One Heart Church, so he declared, "Alright, I'll go arrange everything."

"You have to hurry, Master! Don't let those other scoundrels take advantage of the Su Clan!"

"What about the other members of the Su Clan?" Sun Yuan asked.

A grief-stricken look appeared on Fang Che's face as he said, "Brother Su once told me that all of his clansmen have always been extremely jealous of him as the clan's sole heir, so he's been completely ostracized, and there are many of his own clansmen who even want to kill him! His mother was killed by those plotting against him, and he has no siblings. He's led a very tragic life, and I'm his only family left in this world."

"I see, so you don't want to give the rest of the Su Clan anything."

"I have to preserve the entirety of Brother Su's estate so that he can quickly get back on his feet once he returns!"

"This... does make sense..."

"I'm not going to touch the money, but if you want to use it, then I'm sure Brother Su won't be opposed to the idea. Also, I am a member of the Fang Clan, so it would be great if you could look after our Fang Clan a little when selling off the Su Clan's properties."

***

Sun Yuan left the Fang Clan's estate in a daze, looking utterly perplexed.

He couldn't figure out if Fang Che's intentions were genuine, or if this were all some type of ruse.

Having said that, the Su Clan was a subsidiary clan to the One Heart Church to begin with, so the Su Clan's estate belonged to the church. In that sense, there was nothing wrong with his disciple inheriting everything.

In fact, it would be more difficult for the One Heart Church to get its hands on the estate than for Fang Che, and surely, having his disciple claim the estate would be better than having it split among outsiders.

With that in mind, everything made logical sense, but the execution was not going to be so simple, so he had to hatch a plan.

With that in mind, he immediately got to work.

He was no idiot, and he was aware that perhaps this wasn't as selfless an undertaking as Fang Che had proclaimed, but that was hardly a problem in his mind.

In fact, he would be furious if Fang Che really did simply hold onto the Su Clan's estate in Su Yue's stead like an idiot.