Dawnless Sovereign-Chapter 45: Foolish!

Upon arriving at the Virtue Manor, Fan Tiantiao knocked on the door and was greeted by Ye Meng, who was naturally given a massive fright by the sight of the unconscious Fang Che.

"What happened?"

"Administrator Fang was severely wounded during a retaliatory attack from the demonic churches. Carry him inside to rest."

Ye Meng hurriedly accepted Fang Che from Fan Tiantiao, almost knocking her head on the doorframe in the process, clearly feeling a little shaken.

Even after Fang Che was laid down to rest on his bed, Fan Tiantiao remained in the Virtue Manor, staying late into the night.

Sometime after midnight, Fang Che woke up, and by that point, his injuries were already close to fully healed.

"Deputy Hall Master Fan? Was it you that saved me?"

"Thank heavens you were able to get off a signal flare in time. Otherwise, you would've been screwed!"

"I didn't think those demonic church members would dare to attack me in broad daylight! Thank you, Deputy Hall Master Fan."

"No need to thank me. Stay at home and rest for a few days. I've already sent people to notify your instructors at the academy of the situation, and hopefully, they'll send some people to protect you. Otherwise, you're not safe even in your Virtue Manor. I wouldn't be surprised at all if those people come here to try and finish the job."

Right at this moment, a gust of fierce wind swept into the room, and Old Man Shen descended from the heavens.

"What happened?"

"Congratulations on your recovery, Elder Shen," Fan Tiantiao greeted. "Administrator Fang has sustained some injuries, but he's mostly recovered now. However, he'll have to be on his guard from now on."

"Killed too many demonic church members, did he?"

"That's most likely why."

"What do you mean most likely? Is it a yes or is it a no? Is this how you conduct yourself as deputy hall master? Do you have something against Fang Che?"

"Of course not, Elder Shen. Now that you're here, I'll leave Fang Che in your capable hands."

"Get out of here!"

Old Man Shen was clearly still very displeased with the top brass of the Hall of Protectionists over their handling of Fang Che.

Following Fan Tiantiao's departure Old Man Shen turned his gaze to Fang Che, then harrumphed in a disgruntled manner, "I kept telling you not to go so hard, but you never listened to me! You think you can pick off demonic church members like you're hunting deer? You can't even imagine the lengths demonic church members are willing to go to for retribution!"

"That's why we have to fight them! We can't allow such heinous factions to continue existing in this world!"

"That's much easier said than done," Old Man Shen. "I'll stay here for the night so you can have a good sleep."

"Thank you, Elder Shen."

"No need to thank me."

After a brief silence, Old Man Shen suddenly proposed, "How about I start living with you here from now on?"

Fang Che was given a massive fright by this proposal.

"There's no need for that. You've only just recovered, so I'm sure you're very busy, and it'll make it seem like I'm receiving special treatment if you stay with me. Don't worry about me. If I encounter any danger in the future, then I'll go running to you right away!"

Old Man Shen nodded in response, and Fang Che was very relieved that he didn't try to press the issue any further.

"By the way, what did you tell the academy about how you recovered, Elder Shen?"

"You're only just thinking of that now ," Old MAN Shen scoffed with a roll of his eyes.

All of a sudden, Fang Che was feeling very anxious.

Only in hindsight did he come to realize how foolish his actions had been. He had directly given Old Man Shen the divine power essence himself without any attempt at concealment, and if word were to spread of this, then there was a very good chance that the demonic churches would be able to extrapolate his identity!

"Don't worry, you're not going to be in any danger, but you should tell those colleagues of yours at the Hall of Protectionists to not go around telling anyone else about this. After discussing the matter with Li Changkong, we decided that even if we were to declare that I had used up the entire piece of divine power essence, some people still may not be convinced, and they could suspect that you still have some left in your possession.

“Hence, we decided to tell everyone that it was Master Nine that gave me the divine power essence. Master Nine once promised me that if he ever came into possession of some divine power essence, then he would immediately give it to me, so the story is very much believable. At this point, everyone in the academy is under the impression that it was Master Nine that helped me recover, so no one will come after you."

Fang Che was very relieved to hear this.

"That's good to hear. I've been concerned this entire time that people could come after me in search of divine power essence, but it seems like my concerns were unnecessary."

"You can rest assured. Li Changkong and I are the only two people at the academy who truly know what happened. Anyway, I'll leave you to rest up now."

Old Man Shen gave him a meaningful look and a pat on the shoulder, then stood up to leave the room.

Once outside, he sat down onto a chair before heaving a faint sigh.

Some time later, Fang Che heard Old Man Shen call out to Ye Meng.

"Fetch me some tea, young lady."

"Yes, Elder Shen."

***

Fang Che was laying on his bed, thinking about the parting look that Old Man Shen had just given him.

He couldn't help but feel as if Old Man Shen knew something or had figured out something through extrapolation.

However, he had never asked any ques\tions.

Li Changkong and the other instructors undoubtedly had his best interests in mind, but Old Man Shen was the only one in the academy who truly had absolute and unconditional trust in him.

Fang Che heaved an internal sigh.

Then there was the problem of Zuo Guanglie and the others. The ten of them had kept his secret out of gratitude, hiding the fact that he had taken the divine power essence from the spoils of the Divine Heavenly Church branch helm, but that didn't change the fact that they were loose ends that could spill the secret at any time.

With that in mind, Fang Che couldn't help but heave another internal sigh, and he felt as if he could see Dongfang Sansan gazing upon him in disapproval over his foolish actions.

Fang Che was feeling very remorseful over his actions.

He had been far too reckless, and if Old Man Shen and Li Changkong hadn't attributed the divine power essence to Dongfang Sansan for his sake, he would be facing a crisis of unprecedented proportions.

The popes of all of the subsidiary churches were aware that Night Demon possessed divine power essence, so by bringing out the divine power essence at such a sensitive time, he was essentially exposing himself to everyone.

I have to be more careful from now on. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but the more I think about it, the more flawed my plan appears in hindsight.

***

Dongfang Sansan had also been informed of Old Man Shen's recovery, and the news felt like a punch to the gut, leaving him in a state of complete despair as his teacup slipped out of his hand and fell onto the ground, where it shattered into a million pieces.

His face had turned deathly pale, and only after reading through the entire report and learning that the divine power essence had been attributed to him did he heave an enormous sigh of relief.

He immediately rushed out of his study, appearing before Xue Fuxiao in the blink of an eye.

"Go to the White Cloud Prefecture right away and beat the crap out of Fang Che!" he ordered through gritted teeth.

"Why?"

"It's a long story. Just do as I say!"

Xue Fuxiao didn't ask any further questions, flying away in a flash.

He knew that this had to have been an extremely urgent matter because he had never seen Dongfang Sansan look so agitated before.

Even after Xue Fuxiao's departure, Dongfang Sansan was still fuming as he growled to himself, "He still has several centuries left to live, so what's the hurry?! You're a fool!"

***

Meanwhile, Fang Che had completed his process of self-reflection, and he pulled out his communication jade to find another pile of new messages waiting for him.

He ignored all of the messages from Yan Beihan, Ling Kong, and the others to address the messages from Yin Shengong first.

Sure enough, Yin Shengong was already furious.

He had messaged Fang Che, but received no response, and he was fuming as a result.

He was eager to finally teach his disciple something new, but his enthusiasm had been met with the cold shoulder!

Finally, Fang Che's response arrived.

"Please forgive me, Master. I was attacked by several Warlords from the main church on my way home from the Hall of Protectionists this afternoon, and I suffered some very severe injuries that left me unconscious. Thankfully, Deputy Hall Master Fan Tiantiao arrived just in time to save me. Otherwise, that would've been the end of me."

Fang Che provided Yin Shengong with a recount of events, concluding with: "My injuries are mostly healed thanks to the Cloud Spirit Pill I took, and I've only just woken up to see your messages."

Yin Shengong's fury instantly turned to concern upon reading Fang Che's message.

"How are you feeling right now? Do you know who you were attacked by and for what reason?"

"I don't know exactly who they were, but they came after me in vengeance for eradicating the Divine Heavenly Church branch helm. I was able to throw a handful of tracking powder onto them during the battle, and I'll see if I can go find them after I'm fully recovered."

Yin Shengong was furious, but powerless to do anything aside from curse the Divine Heavenly Church and Kou Yifang.

When are the people from the main church going to leave? How much longer do I have to be confined in my own headquarters?! Everyone's out there building branch helms, yet I'm being imprisoned here! My disciple's being targeted left, right, and center, yet I can't do anything!

"How are you right now? Do you need any resources to help you recover?"