Hours slipped by as everyone was naturally curious about what happened to each other.

Stories poured out one after another, excitement filling the entire tent with questions and curiosity.

At the center, Fang Yuan sat there, answering everyone one by one patiently.

Then Lin Zhaoyue, who had been quietly sitting beside him the entire time, gently leaned her head against his shoulder.

Her fingers tightened slightly on his sleeve.

"...I’m sleepy," she murmured softly.

The voice wasn’t loud. But it was enough as the noisy tent gradually quieted.

without anyone needing to say it out loud, everyone slowly understood.

"...We should rest."

"...Yeah."

They began to disperse, preparing to return to their respective tents. And then, almost at the same time, everyone seemed to arrive at the same thought.

"I’ll sleep beside master tonight."

"No, Brother Shouge should stay with us tonight! Don’t you know we’re sworn brothers?"

"Move aside, Xiao Pei, you’re too big, you take too much space!"

The entire tent instantly descended into noise.

Fang Yuan sat in the middle, a headache slowly forming.

Meanwhile, Lin Zhaoyue stood quietly at the entrance.

Smiling, it was a very gentle smile.

Yet the noise slowly stilled once again, no one dared to raise their voice any further.

Then she spoke softly.

"Everyone out."

The tent instantly became silent.

"But Mother—"

"Out."

"...Yes."

One by one, everyone obediently left like defeated soldiers.

Even Xiao Pei did not dare resist this time.

Within moments, the massive tent became completely empty.

Well... almost empty.

As Zhu Huan was still standing awkwardly in the corner holding a blanket someone had forced into her hands earlier.

Lin Zhaoyue slowly looked toward her and Zhu Huan immediately stiffened.

"...I can sleep outside," she said quickly.

Lin Zhaoyue stared at her for two seconds before calmly speaking.

"The servants’ tents are over there."

"...Understood."

Zhu Huan fled instantly.

The flap closed and silence finally returned.

Fang Yuan finally let out a tired sigh and leaned back slightly.

Lin Zhaoyue climbed directly onto the bed and wrapped herself around him without hesitation.

Her arms locked around his waist tightly.

"...You’re not leaving again tonight," she muttered quietly against his chest.

Fang Yuan looked down at her before helplessly patting her head.

"...I’m not going anywhere."

———

Morning arrived quietly.

Soft sunlight filtered through the tent, illuminating the scattered robes and the faint mess left behind from last night’s chaos.

Fang Yuan slowly opened his eyes.

Then immediately realized he could not move.

Lin Zhaoyue was still wrapped around him like a human seal, arms and legs locking him down completely.

Even in sleep, her brows were faintly furrowed, as though afraid he would disappear the moment she let go.

Fang Yuan stared at the tent ceiling silently for a moment before whispering softly,

"...Zhaoyue, I can’t breathe."

Her grip tightened slightly instead.

Fang Yuan: "..."

Fang Yuan glanced down at Lin Zhaoyue, still clinging to him like her life depended on it.

After a brief pause, he decided not to wake her.

Instead, his gaze shifted inward and the system interface opened.

[ Quests: Take Zhu Huan as your 2nd ]

[ Reward: 100,000 system points ]

Fang Yuan’s eyes stared at it and this time, instead of ignoring it, he decided to address it.

After all, the system had clearly shown it’s frustration on his decisions which showed that it was paying attention to him, and probably also have him a leeway to negotiate.

’You already know that quest will never be fulfilled,’ he said calmly in his mind. ’Either change the content or there won’t really be any progress.’

A full minute passed without any response from the system nor did Fang Yuan speak any word as he simply wait.

[ ... ]

[ You’re one infuriating host. ]

[ Quest has been changed. ]

[ New Quest: Gain Zhu Huan’s trust and raise her faith to 99% ]

[ Reward: 100,000 system points ]

Fang Yuan’s brows lifted slightly.

Getting to 99% faith, that was going to be tough but at least there was a chance unlike the previous quests which wasn’t going to happen, not in this lifetime.

"Much better," he replied inwardly. "Thanks."

The system gave no further response.

Instead, his status panel appeared.

[ Status ]

Host: Fang Yuan

Realm: Middle Stage of the Hollow Spirit Realm

Root: Heavenly Root

Hidden Physique: None

Martial Techniques: 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

– Swift Step Footwork (Low-Grade Black)

– Golden Shell Armor (Mid-Grade Earth)

– Tyrant’s Light Sword (High-Grade Saint)

– Thousand Face Technique (High-Grade)

System Points: 188,400

Faith Points: 8,000

Fang Yuan’s gaze lingered on the last line.

Eight thousand faith points in just a single day.

He stared at it with a satisfied smile, the more faith points he got, the stronger he could get.

Faith points could be used to trigger the golden qi which, in his opinion was almighty.

It could heal, it dealt a lot of damage and it could mitigate any form of suppression he was put under.

Although all of that eats up on a lot faith qi, where do you think he is!

(He was back to his clan, his faith farming clan if Imay add.)

Then his expression turned a little more complicated.

If Zhao Lusi hadn’t kidnapped him back then...

He clicked his tongue faintly in his mind.

Tsk. The amount I could’ve accumulated by now...

Hah whatever, I should instead focus on igniting the faith of both clans instead of pushing blames.

As soon as the thought formed, the system interface shifted.

Clans under host:

[ Fang Clan ]

Head: Fang Yuan

Clan Faith: 2%

[ Lin Clan ]

Head: Lin Xi

Clan Faith: 1%

To Fang Yuan, only two months had passed.

But after everything he had seen last night... he was thoroughly convinced that, within this realm, three full years had gone by.

Three years.

That was more than enough time for people to forget.

He looked at the Fang Clan’s data and couldn’t help but sigh.

To say he wasn’t disappointed would be a lie.

He had taken over that family when he was still a child.

Step by step, he had raised it from a fallen name to one that could stand shoulder to shoulder with the four great families of the city.

He had even gone further, so far that he nearly took control of the entire city... until the war came.

Fang Yuan’s gaze lowered slightly.

Now that I think about it... wasn’t I the one who built it up... and the one who brought it down in Coldwind City?

A soft chuckle escaped him.

The disappointment in his eyes faded as he slowly let it go.

The family was still alive. That was more than enough.

Since when did I become this greedy...? He chided himself silently before shifting his gaze to the side.

Lin Zhaoyue’s peaceful sleeping face came into view.

Fang Yuan smiled faintly before leaning in closer and gently placed a soft peck on her cheek.