"Why you-" Tie Ruo Nan began, before sighing and cutting herself off. "Aren't you afraid going around talking like that?"
"What do I have to be afraid of?" Fang Zheng asked. "So what if your father is Tie Xue Leng? My elder brother is Fang Yuan - a Gu Immortal. You're not the only one here with powerful backing."
"That's not what I was even-" Tie Ruo Nan said, frustrated that she wasn't getting through to him. "You're missing the point entirely!"
She hadn't come here to argue with Fang Zheng, but rather to see if he could be reasoned with or guided toward a better path. It was a project worth attempting, and something her father would want her to try. It was clear that shaming him wouldn't work, however. So she pivoted.
She pointed toward the scroll in Fang Zheng's hand. "What exactly are you reading there, Fang Zheng?"
"Oh, it's a scroll on gender studies," Fang Zheng said. "Do you want to take a look?"
He handed the scroll to her. Tie Ruo Nan scanned the first paragraph: "The most important principle to remember while studying gender is that there is only one gender; women are simply objects."
She frowned and glanced down at the author's name at the bottom - of course it was written by a Northern Plainsman. Where else would Fang Zheng get something like this?
She sighed and glared at him. "Fang Zheng, don't you think your attitude toward women needs to be corrected? You can't possibly believe all of this."
"Why can't I? I've seen nothing to convince me otherwise," Fang Zheng responded.
Tie Ruo Nan's brow twitched. She had come here for a specific reason, and Fang Zheng was making it remarkably difficult. "Well, in that case, perhaps I should show you what the strength of a woman looks like. How about a simple challenge?"
The Tie clan old-timers all looked over in surprise. "Young Miss, are you serious?" one of them asked.
Fang Zheng was invited here under Tie Xue Leng's name. By challenging a guest in the open like this, wasn't Tie Ruo Nan essentially insulting her father's hospitality?
"It's nothing serious like that, just a small contest," Fang Zheng said, smirking while waving for them to relax. "All right then, Tie Ruo Nan. What kind of contest do you have in mind? How about which one of us can pee their initials into the soil the fastest?"
Not falling for his provocations, Tie Ruo Nan replied, "How about a simple refinement contest? It's in the spirit of the Three Kings Inheritance."
"All right," Fang Zheng said. "Let's do it."
The next morning, the two set up their refinement materials across from each other.
This was meant to be an informal contest, though many Tie clansmen couldn't help but gather to watch. Naturally, they were all rooting for Tie Ruo Nan. Sure, Fang Zheng was Rank 5 and she was only Rank 4 - but in this kind of contest rank was far from everything. And once Tie Ruo Nan won, she felt, Fang Zheng would have to acknowledge her strength and change his stance on woman. Even if he didn't change his mind immediately, he would have to at least admit that Tie Ruo Nan had bested him!
Yes indeed, Tie Ruo Nan was striking out on behalf of women everywhere. If Fang Zheng's thoughts and principles became popular throughout the Southern Border as his fame increased, wouldn't that spell catastrophe? She had to nip that problem in the bud.
Tie Xue Leng had not met with Fang Zheng or Qing Shu earlier as he was resting, but he currently watched the contest from afar, deciding to remain silent and observe.
"For this challenge," Tie Ruo Nan said, "How about we compete on who can refine a Golden Spear Gu the fastest?"
The Tie clan primarily cultivated the Metal path, and the Golden Spear Gu was a classic among them. Its recipe was widely known even outside their clan, so there was no issue in letting Fang Zheng see it in case he didn't know.
"Let's begin," she said.
The two inspected their materials. Fang Zheng knew only one recipe for Golden Spear Gu, as did Tie Ruo Nan. The difference was that Tie Ruo Nan had refined this gu worm in the past, whereas Fang Zheng was attempting it for the first time.
As expected, Tie Ruo Nan held a slight edge, progressing ever so faster as the minutes ticked by.
However, Fang Zheng had learned something valuable from his brother: when challenging someone to a refinement duel, you don't necessarily need to refine better than your opponent - you simply need to distract them. Wasn't the way of dealing with the hairy men in the Three Kings Inheritance simply the same?
Within this contest, attacking one another was forbidden, but breaking her concentration was entirely fair game. Complimenting her wouldn't work; she was far too sharp for that. Fang Zheng had to get creative.
"Tie Ruo Nan, do you know an interesting fact?" Fang Zheng asked.
"What is it?" she replied, keeping her eyes on her materials. She was reaching a crucial step.
"Did you know that Giant Sun Immortal Venerable was a firm believer in women's rights?"
Tie Ruo Nan frowned, though she did not lose her focus. "If you're trying to break my attention with nonsense, you'll have to try much harder than that."
"No, it's not a joke," Fang Zheng said. "He was a firm proponent of women's rights - specifically, a woman's right to remain silent. He believed women should be seen and not heard, especially in the presence of men. I took his words to heart and refined a special gu worm in his honor."
Fang Zheng took a small seashell-like gu worm out of his aperture. Tie Ruo Nan remained focused on her refinement, but wondered where he was going with this.
"Do you know what this gu is called? It's an invention of mine called Silencing Wenches Gu," Fang Zheng said. "A gu worm designed to specifically silence only women. When activated, no woman within a fifty meter radius can make a sound, but men can speak like normal. I find it quite helpful for allowing men to work in peace without being disturbed by women. In times of crisis, it will allow the men to calmly discuss a plan without being bothered by women's emotional bickering. Doubtlessly it will save people from countless headaches and also spare numerous lives."
"Fang Zheng, do you really think-" Tie Ruo Nan began, but Fang Zheng activated the gu while she was talking.
Tie Ruo Nan tried to speak, but found herself completely mute. No matter how her lips moved, no sound came out. Her concentration broke instantly. It was only for a split second, but that brief lapse caused her refinement to fail - the mixture detonated right in front of her!
Fang Zheng finished his refinement minutes later, winning the match.
In truth, the Silencing Wenches Gu did not work as Fang Zheng claimed. It was actually a Sound Path gu worm that Fang Yuan had given him known as Silent Seashores Gu, which silenced all sounds within an area regardless of whether they came from men, women, animals, or even inanimate objects. Fang Yuan had given it to him for covert missions that might require it, but Fang Zheng had improvised on the fly and Tie Ruo Nan had fallen for the bluff.
As for creating an actual gu that would silence only women; that was an effect so specific that someone like Fang Zheng currently simply lacked the talent to do so.
"Oh well, looks like I win," Fang Zheng said with a smirk, finishing the refinement. "But don't feel too dejected, Tie Ruo Nan. Your performance was not bad."
The Tie clansmen watching grit their teeth. This Fang Zheng was truly shameless - winning through underhanded tactics and then bragging by saying that Tie Ruo Nan's performance wasn't bad!
But it turned out that Fang Zheng wasn't finished.
"Your performance was not bad... for a woman. If you continue working hard just like I do, you might one day be somewhat equivalent to a man," Fang Zheng, someone who owed roughly 97% of his achievements to nepotism and being born as Fang Yuan's younger brother, said.
Several Tie clansmen watching the duel nearly spat out blood in anger. If Fang Zheng hadn't been Rank 5 or a guest that had been invited to their camp they'd likely have jumped him right then and there. But ultimately this was an informal match and hardly worth the effort, and when some of the hopefuls glanced over at Tie Xue Leng, their leader showed no signs of reprimanding Fang Zheng.
Ultimately, this was just a test to see how his daughter would perform. She had failed, but failure was simply a part of life. He hoped she could learn from this failure. At the very least she had not suffered severe harm - only a minor injury from the refinement failure. If this spurred her to work harder and grow in the future, it was well worth it.
Thinking of Fang Zheng however, inwardly, Tie Xue Leng sighed.
"This boy is not simple... he is going to be a massive amount of trouble in the future," he muttered under his breath.