Chapter 18: That's It?

Of course, Fang Che wasn't going to allow that to happen. Even if her cover really were blown, he would find some way to restore her undercover status.

Right as Ye Meng was at a loss for what to do, Fang Che's voice rang out once again.

"Once you're done in there, come out and clean up the yard and the study. My mother and I are going out for a bit, and both Qiu Xue and Dong Mei are busy, so don't expect anyone to help you!"

"Don't be too hard on her, Che'er. She's only just beginning to recover," Fang Qianyi said, and their voices began to slowly drift away, much to Ye Meng's relief.

This was a golden opportunity!

She hurriedly took an Aura Concealment Pill, which would have some effect in concealing the aura of her breakthrough.

To her surprise, everyone was out until nightfall, giving her more than enough time to complete her breakthrough, take another bath, and clean the yard and the study.

Only late that night did Fang Che and Fang Qianyi return in a weary manner with the two maidservants, following which all of the servants were instructed to move a series of large crates out of a horse-drawn carriage that had returned with them.

After that, they were delivered some food by the Fang Clan.

It seemed that they had worked throughout the entire afternoon and half the night, giving them no time to eat.

***

After taking over a large portion of the Su Clan's wealth and businesses, the Fang Clan's foundation had been significantly bolstered, and Fang Zhenghang gathered everyone for a meeting to discuss future plans.

"First and foremost, we must improve our clan's top-end combat prowess! Right now, the most powerful warrior in our clan is only a Great Grandmaster, and that's not going to be anywhere near enough for us to have any chance of becoming an eighth-tier clan. In fact, even our status as a ninth-tier clan could be in peril.

“As a ranked warrior clan, one of most important duties is to complete a sufficient number of merit points' worth of missions from the Hall of Protectionists to be deserving of our status as a ninth-tier clan.

“As we all know, merit points are mostly earned through capturing fugitives and other individuals that pose a threat to society, as well as through submitting demon beast spirit cores and eradicating nefarious church members. All three of these objectives can only be achieved with sufficient firepower at our disposal, hence the urgent need to improve our top-end and overall combat prowess."

Grim looks appeared on the faces of all of the clan's high-ranking members upon hearing this.

The minimum merit point threshold for a ninth-tier clan the previous year was two hundred, and the Fang Clan had secured two hundred and fifteen merit points, only just barely clinging onto its ninth-tier status.

At this point, they were already more than halfway through the year with only ninety-eight merit points to show for it, and the clan was very much at risk of demotion.

Fang Zhenghang heaved a weary sigh, then continued, "Right now, we have two Great Grandmasters..."

Right at this moment, Fang Qianyi interjected, "I..."

"What about you?"

"I should be able to reach the Great Grandmaster Tier some time this month," Fang Qianyi said.

Over the past half-month, she had been making rapid progress in her cultivation, and her aptitude had also improved significantly, while her rate of spirit qi absorption had also been enhanced by severalfold.

She suspected that this was perhaps attributable to the fruits that her son had fed her, but she chose not to ask any questions.

This was a very sensitive subject, and those fruits had to be kept a secret, even from her own clansmen.

Fang Zhenghang was overjoyed by this news, as was everyone else in the room.

With one more Great Grandmaster among their ranks, their chances of fulfilling the annual merit point quota would be much improved.

"This is fantastic news!"

Fang Che was seated behind his mother, and he said, "I also have several hundred demon beast spirit cores left behind by Brother Su Yue. They vary quite drastically in quality, but they can all be submitted for merit points. I'm willing to sell them to our clan, but I want the merit points to be attributed to my mother."

"The good news just doesn't stop! That's not a problem at all! Regardless of who the merit points are attributed to, they all count toward our clan's overall quota," Fang Zhenghang said in an ecstatic manner.

Not only did the Hall of Protectionists hand out merit points for demon beast spirit core submissions, all spirit cores that were submitted to the Hall of Protectionists would also be purchased for 70% of the market price, so the Fang Clan would receive the merit points, while Fang Che would be able to put the money into the "Su Clan's estate."

In any case, it wasn't like the Su Clan had any need for merit points anymore.

"Two hundred to three hundred demon beast spirit cores should equate to close to forty merit points, which makes our job for the rest of the year a lot easier."

The tense atmosphere was significantly alleviated.

"Don't get complacent! We can never have too many merit points!" Fang Zhenghang said in a stern manner.

Everyone agreed, but it was clear that they were much more relaxed than before.

If they could complete the quota of missions before the deadline, then much fewer risks would have to be taken. If they were still short on merit points by the time the final month arrived, the entire clan would have to go all-out, and casualties would be inevitable.

Fang Che stayed for the entire meeting, something that Fang Qianyi was very surprised to see.

He had never even taken part in any previous meetings, let alone stayed for the entire duration.

"What's going on with you? Are you sick?"

Fang Qianyi laid her hand against Fang Che's forehead in a concerned manner, but he didn't seem to have a fever.

Fang Che removed his mother's hand from his forehead in an exasperated manner.

It had already been close to a month since his rebirth, and during that time, whenever he spoke to or did anything with his mother, it was the exact same feeling as back when he was with his comrades. It was very direct, straightforward, and rough around the edges.

Fang Qianyi had none of the fragility of the average woman, making her very easy to talk to and be around.

My father must've done some very good deeds in his past life to have found such a good wife in this one.

Whenever he was with Fang Qianyi, he didn't feel like a son being looked after by his mother. Instead, he was the one having to tolerate and look after her, much like an immature younger sister or daughter.

As the two of them left the meeting, Fang Qianyi said, "I had a look at Ye Meng, and I quite like her. She has big tits and a big ass, so she'll definitely be able to birth many children. Are you planning to make her your concubine?"

Fang Che didn't know how to respond.

"However, if you want to become an accomplished warrior, then you must absolutely make sure not to lose your virginity before you become a Grandmaster," Fang Qianyi warned.

Fang Che remained in an exasperated silence.

He was already well aware of that.

"I was swindled by your father and had you before I became a Grandmaster," Fang Qianyi continued in a disgruntled manner. "I was also a prodigy back in the day, but having you prematurely robbed me of the chance to reach my full potential."

Fang Che rolled his eyes.

"Can you not look so smug and content when lecturing others? If I didn't know any better, I would think that you're bragging to me and encouraging me to find a wife as soon as possible."

"Really?"

Fang Qianyi hurriedly put on a more stern expression.

Fang Che shook his head in amusement, then asked, "By the way, why did I take after your surname, Mother? What's my father's surname?"

"Why are you asking me that?" Fang Qianyi asked in a surprised manner.

"Don't children usually take on their father's surname?"

"Yes, so what's the problem?" Fang Qianyi asked.

A grotesque realization began to dawn on Fang Che.

"Could it be..."

"Your father's surname is Fang. Have I not told you?" Fang Qianyi asked.

Fang Che: "......"

Fang Qianyi's brows furrowed slightly as she murmured to herself, "Did I never tell you that? It seems like I really did forget..."

She then burst into laughter, seemingly very amused by the massive misunderstanding she had just caused.

All the while, Fang Che was staring at her in exasperation, and after a long silence, he sighed, "Thank you, Mother. It must've been really hard for you to raise me to this age."

"It was. I had to change your diaper and feed you..."

Fang Qianyi began to lament the difficulties of raising a child, while Fang Che's exasperation only continued to build.

Clearly, Fang Qianyi had completely failed to read between the lines.

"So where is my father right now?" he asked.

"I already told you this at least five hundred times! Your father can't come back to us right now, but he's a good person, a hero!" Fang Qianyi replied in a proud manner.

Perhaps Fang Che's former self would've scoffed at such an answer, but the current Fang Che believed her.

***

That night, as he prepared to go to bed, Ye Meng carried in a bucket of hot water like a dutiful maidservant.

Fang Che sat down onto the bed, and Ye Meng began to wash his feet.

The only sound in the room was that of the splashing water, but after a while, Fang Che broke the silence as he asked, "What do you think of your new name and your new home?"

He knew that he had to take the initiative in certain matters as a spy like Ye Meng wouldn't ask any questions for fear of exposing herself.

"Both have truly been a blessing. Thank you, Young Master," Ye Meng replied in a soft and submissive voice that was tinged with timidity and unease, perfectly playing the part of a helpless girl that had been thrust into an alien environment.

Fang Che wasn't offended by her disingenuous disguise.

On the contrary, he was hoping that she could maintain such a strong facade that even he wouldn't be able to see through her guise.

"Do you know why I fed you that immortal fruit?" Fang Che asked.

"Immortal fruit?" Ye Meng asked in a puzzled manner.

"The fruit that I fed you was a Heaven Vein Vermilion Fruit, which can greatly enhance one's aptitude," Fang Che revealed.

He knew that Ye Meng would only continue to play dumb, so he would have to take the initiative if he wanted any progress to be made.

"I... I'm not worthy!"

Ye Meng fell to her knees and began kowtowing repeatedly in a horrified manner.

A hint of approval flashed through Fang Che's eyes.

Her acting skills were truly worthy of a spy.

"I decided to save you on an impulsive whim, but after saving you, I decided that it would be too much of a waste to keep you simply as a maidservant," Fang Che lied. "If I make you my concubine, the problem is that I still haven't reached the Grandmaster Tier yet, so if you seduce me into losing my virginity, then that would negatively impact my future."

Ye Meng lowered her head and was unable to suppress the urge to roll her eyes.

"Hence, it felt to me like you were kind of redundant," Fang Che concluded.

Ye Meng didn't know what to say.

"That's why I fed you that fruit, so you can become a warrior as well," Fang Che continued. "That way, you may come in useful in the future. Hence, starting from tomorrow, you're going to train with me. If you don't fulfill my future expectations, then you could be abandoned by me at any moment, understood?"

"Yes, Young Master."

"Alright, make sure to work hard. I don't want to have to drag around dead weight."

Fang Che dried his feet, then laid down onto the bed.

"Why are you still here? You wanna sleep with me? Don't even think about it!"

Ye Meng's head remained lowered as she clenched her fists and departed.

"I'll be taking my leave then, Young Master."

"Don't think about it, but you can dream about it," Fang Che called out after her.

The sound of her receding footsteps suddenly became heavier.

***

Fang Che had fallen asleep in his bedroom, but Ye Meng was struggling to find sleep in hers.

She couldn't help but feel like this mission was progressing too smoothly, and that it was nowhere near as perilous and arduous as she had envisioned.

She had made extensive preparations for everything, even illusion and substitution techniques if Fang Che were to try and force himself upon her, but all of those preparations had been made redundant.

That night, Ye Meng sent out her first undercover report.