Yu Yan was infuriated. Chen Yuan was still looking down on him just like before. He immediately cursed, "Chen Yuan! Who do you think you are? You ungrateful wretch!"
He slammed the table and stood up. Leaping forward with clenched fists and billowing robes, he was actually going to start a fight right here in the private room.
Chen Yuan’s eyes turned cold, but he knew this wasn’t the place for a brawl. If they broke anything, they would have to pay for it. He immediately retreated two steps to the door, dodging Yu Yan’s lunge.
Seeing that the situation was going south, Gao Mingchang hurriedly held back the enraged Yu Yan and urged, "Brother Yu, wasn’t this meal supposed to be about making peace? Please, calm down."
He thought to himself, "Are you missing a screw, Yu Yan? You were supposed to apologize, but you started a fight on the spot instead? Who could tolerate this?"
Xue Anping hadn’t expected things to escalate to this point either. What happened to the apology? Caught in the middle, he could only act as a peacemaker. "Guys, there’s no need to fight over such a trivial matter. Let’s all cool down."
Chen Yuan scoffed coldly. "Brother Yu is truly impressive. This method of apologizing has really broadened my horizons. Is this how the Gu family taught you? Heh, forgive me for not keeping you company."
"You ignorant fool, do you have the right to say I lack manners? Do you dare to fight me?" Yu Yan pointed furiously at Chen Yuan.
He felt that there wasn’t a single good person in Huo Courtyard. Xu Heng had completely crushed him and humiliated him in public, and now even Chen Yuan dared to insult him time and time again.
Chen Yuan turned and walked away, leaving behind a single sentence. "When I have the time, I’ll have to ask the martial artists around here which family apologizes by throwing punches."
At the end of the day, Yu Yan was entirely in the wrong. If word of this got out, his reputation would be ruined.
Just as he stepped out of Osmanthus Pavilion, Xue Anping chased after him. He called out and said with a face full of guilt, "Brother Chen, this is my fault. I didn’t expect Yu Yan to have such a violent temper. I’ve caused you to suffer a grievance."
He truly hadn’t expected Yu Yan to act like a complete blockhead and start fighting over a single disagreement.
Chen Yuan smiled. "It’s fine, I don’t blame you. I didn’t expect a creature like Yu Yan to exist either. Besides, I got three Bone Strengthening Pills for free, so it’s not a loss."
However, he knew he’d better test them for poison. Even though an idiot like Yu Yan probably wouldn’t think of poisoning them, the fight was likely just a spur-of-the-moment impulse.
Xue Anping finally breathed a sigh of relief. He scratched his head and asked, "Brother Chen, what do you mean by ’creature’?"
Chen Yuan was left speechless by his slip of the tongue and quickly glossed over it.
This incident made him realize that Yu Yan was an unreasonable lunatic who thought he was the center of the universe and that everything had to revolve around him. It was better to stay far away from a fool like that.
As for ruining Yu Yan’s reputation, Chen Yuan didn’t do it immediately to save some face for the Gu family.
Having barely touched his food earlier, he finally had a full meal after returning to Huo Courtyard. After resting for half an hour, he continued practicing his martial arts. His strength was the very reason he dared to deny Yu Yan any face. As for who was stronger between the two of them now, they would have to fight to find out. If Yu Yan mistook his previous retreat for weakness, he was sorely mistaken.
Before setting off for Funiu Mountain, Chen Yuan also received a visitor from the Gu family. He went to the courtyard gate and found that it was Supervisor Gu Ye, who had been in charge of the previous sponsorship. It was clear that as Chen Yuan’s strength improved, his importance grew, to the point where higher-ups of the Gu family had to visit him personally.
Chen Yuan smiled faintly and cupped his hands. "Greetings, Supervisor Gu."
A flash of awkwardness crossed Gu Ye’s eyes, as if he recalled their past interactions. He then replaced it with a steady smile. "You’re too polite, Chen Xiaoyou. In just half a year, you are already so high-spirited. Truly remarkable."
Chen Yuan smiled plainly. "Thank you for the compliment. If Supervisor Gu has business with me, please speak frankly. There is no need for formalities."
He was definitely here to clean up Yu Yan’s mess. After all, what he did in that private room was absolutely laughable.
Gu Ye’s mouth twitched at the thought of it. He sighed helplessly, "I’m sure Chen Xiaoyou already knows the purpose of my visit. Yu Yan acted too recklessly without considering the consequences and caused trouble for you.
"This is a small compensation to express our apologies. I hope you will consider our past relationship and not make this matter public. After all, Yu Yan is now considered a member of the Gu family."
With that, he handed over the prepared money pouch. He looked at Chen Yuan, who was striking, exceptionally talented, gentle, and composed, and felt endless regret. If he had known this would happen, he would have told the truth back then. Even if it meant falling out with Yu Yan, he should have kept Chen Yuan.
Chen Yuan took it and weighed it slightly in his hand, estimating there were about twenty taels of silver. They were quite sincere. It was likely they just didn’t want to cause any trouble right before the wedding. He would treat it as compensation for emotional distress.
Chen Yuan gladly accepted it and smiled. "Since Supervisor Gu has put it this way, I won’t spread the word for the sake of our past ties.
"However, I also hope the Gu family can properly temper Yu Yan’s character. Otherwise, with his temperament, he will likely cause even greater disasters in the future."
This was his sincere advice to the Gu family.
Gu Ye nodded. "Chen Xiaoyou is very magnanimous. I, Gu, am deeply grateful and will certainly pay more attention in the future."
The helplessness in his eyes grew. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to discipline Yu Yan; it was that he simply couldn’t. The Gu family had invested too much effort in him, and the marriage was already settled. There was no turning back now. Perhaps after getting married, Yu Yan would become a bit more mature. He only hoped that nothing else would go wrong in the half month leading up to the wedding.
After seeing Gu Ye off, Chen Yuan also headed in the direction of Funiu Mountain. Although a conflict broke out today, he was still very satisfied with acquiring three Bone Strengthening Pills and twenty taels of silver. If he had such good luck every day, he wouldn’t need to worry about silver anymore. However, after this incident, Yu Yan would likely be given a warning and probably wouldn’t dare to provoke him again.
His eight-hour guard shift passed in a flash. The colder the weather got, the more ferocious beasts like tigers and leopards liked to harass the Medicinal Garden, mostly because their usual prey was hibernating. But now, as long as these beasts dared to come, Chen Yuan could ensure they never returned. Once his reputation spread, the number of attacks decreased just as his kills increased, keeping him relatively free of trouble.
At Midnight, Chen Yuan finished his martial arts practice and headed home.
The moonlight was bright, and the white snow in the mountain forest shimmered with a silver glow. The snow-draped landscape had a unique charm to it.
Upon returning to his aunt’s house, he saw that the home, which was usually dark by now, still had a faint candlelight. Chen Yuan raised an eyebrow, his heart sinking as he quickened his pace. He was most worried about something happening at home.
Pushing the door open, he saw that Aunt Juan and Uncle Cheng Yong were indeed still sitting in the main room. Uncle Cheng Yong was smoking his dry pipe with a deep frown, but there were no signs of him having been beaten.
Hearing the commotion, his aunt quickly stood up and said gently, "Yuan, you’re back."
She looked somewhat haggard. Something had definitely happened.
Chen Yuan nodded and asked in a serious tone, "Aunt Juan, what happened?"
Huang Juan sighed and said softly, "It’s nothing major, just that our girl, Yu, came back today with a slightly swollen face and red eyes.
"It looks like she was bullied. She went straight to her room as soon as she got home and hasn’t eaten anything. She refuses to tell us anything no matter how we ask.
"I figured since you always take her out to play, she’s close to you. I want you to ask her what exactly happened."
Although her tone towards Yu was usually a bit strict, she loved her dearly from the bottom of her heart. How could she not be worried seeing her suffer?
Chen Yuan glanced at the table nearby. The food on it was already stone cold and barely touched. Evidently, his aunt and uncle’s appetites had also been ruined by this matter.
"Yuan, we have to trouble you with this," Cheng Yong’s voice was slightly muffled.
Chen Yuan nodded. "Don’t worry. If Yu was really bullied, I will seek justice for her."
Seeing his family in this state, he could no longer suppress his urge to clench his fists.