A foe arrives.
With such a commotion, the Qin family, whom they had been waiting for, did not show up. Instead, the person they least wanted to see arrived first.
"Little Fan, what's wrong?"
Cui Fu was startled by Chu Fan's sudden movement and stood up nervously, following suit.
"Old Cui, if anyone asks for me, just say I've already left and I don't know where I've gone!"
After hastily leaving these words, Chu Fan's figure flashed as he rushed towards the stairwell and then went upstairs.
Women were truly not to be trifled with, so he could only hide.
"This..."
Cui Fu looked strange and confused, unable to comprehend how anyone in this era could make Chu Fan flee.
Knowing that Chu Fan had obviously sensed the other party's arrival and was in a hurry to avoid them, Cui Fu prepared to go outside to see who this person was, possessing such great power that even Chu Fan had to actively dodge. He thought that if it were a master, he should treat them well.
As soon as he took a step, the door of the Treasure Pavilion was pushed open.
The person who entered was Fu Piaoyao, dressed in her finest attire.
Upon learning that a peerless genius had emerged in Nanyun City, Fu Piaoyao, who had been searching everywhere for Chu Fan's whereabouts, instantly confirmed that the so-called peerless genius was him.
After finding out that Chu Fan was quite close to Cui Fu of the Treasure Pavilion and often appeared there, she immediately dressed up and took a taxi to find the place.
A woman?
Cui Fu, who was initially full of curiosity and anticipation, felt his excitement doused like a blaze hit by a basin of cold water when he saw the beautiful woman who had entered.
He had expected someone extremely powerful to force Chu Fan into hiding.
He hadn't expected it to be just a very beautiful girl.
However, on second thought, Cui Fu realized this was normal.
Chu Fan was so powerful that the only person who could make him want to dodge seemed to be a woman.
Recalling that Chu Fan had once mentioned that his family had already arranged a marriage, Cui Fu suddenly thought, could this beautiful girl be his betrothed?
Furthermore, given Chu Fan's disguise and his living under an assumed name, Cui Fu was fairly certain he was running away from his marriage.
And now, his fiancée had come looking for him.
Despite his thoughts, Cui Fu's actions did not stop. He stepped forward and politely asked Fu Piaoyao, "Miss, are you here to purchase any antiques?"
Fu Piaoyao's sharp gaze swept across the interior. Not seeing Chu Fan's trace, she then looked at Cui Fu.
However, her initially cold expression instantly softened as she faced Cui Fu.
"You are Grandpa Cui, right?"
If one seeks a favor, posing haughtily would lead to nothing being accomplished.
Fu Piaoyao knew very well that Chu Fan would definitely avoid her, and to find him, she had to be polite to Cui Fu, otherwise, she would miss the chance to find Chu Fan again.
"I am Cui Fu, may I ask who you are..."
Although he knew the beautiful girl in front of him was looking for Chu Fan, Cui Fu still pretended to be ignorant and put on a look of confusion.
"Grandpa Cui, hello, my name is Fu Piaoyao!"
"I've come here to inquire about someone, a young man who has been quite close to you recently, about this tall..."
Before Fu Piaoyao could finish her description, Cui Fu said, "The person you're looking for is Little Fan!"
Little Fan?
Fu Piaoyao was startled at first, then realized that Wuming must have changed his name again. She immediately nodded, "It's him. Grandpa Cui, do you know where he is?"
"Oh dear, you've come at a really inconvenient time!"
"Just half an hour before you arrived, he happened to leave!"
Damn it!
Fu Piaoyao cursed inwardly, but smiled outwardly and asked, "Grandpa Cui, do you know where he went?"
"I have something very important to find him about!"
To ascertain Chu Fan's exact whereabouts, Fu Piaoyao's anxious expression would only earn her Cui Fu's sympathy.
Cui Fu shook his head and calmly said, "I'm not really sure. You know he's not an ordinary person; he's elusive, and I don't even know where he lives in Nanyun City!"
"Just now, when he left, he said he was going to take care of something and didn't say where."
"If you're looking for him, you might have to try looking elsewhere!"
An old man's wisdom.
Cui Fu would not be fooled by Fu Piaoyao's pitiable urgency. After all, he only knew that he and Chu Fan were on the same side.
If he helped resolve his troubles, Chu Fan would be happy, and many things would be easier to discuss.
Fu Piaoyao suddenly looked disappointed and glanced around the shop again. She could only say weakly, "Then I'll trouble you, Grandpa Cui."
She walked to the counter and wrote down her phone number.
"Grandpa Cui, this is my phone number. If he returns, please inform me. I really have something very important to find him about."
Fu Piaoyao looked at Cui Fu with a pitiful gaze.
"Alright!"
"If he returns, I'll notify you!"
Cui Fu chuckled and wrote down the phone number.
After seeing Fu Piaoyao off, Chu Fan came downstairs, and Cui Fu asked curiously, "Was that your fiancée just now? Did she come looking for you because you're running away from marriage?"
"No!"
Chu Fan shook his head and then explained, "It was just a child I met on the way. He admired me quite a bit and clung to me like a bothersome fly, talking a lot. It was hard to have peace."
"If it were a man doing that, I'd have swatted him away with a single palm!"
"As for a woman, it's not easy to act."
As a man himself, Cui Fu understood how vexing it was to be pestered by women and nodded in understanding with a chuckle.
Thinking about their previous plan, he continued, "Let's rest for two days, and I'll sort through the items brought from the forbidden area to see if I can find more clues about the star chart!"
"We'll set off in two days to search for the star chart!"
Since they hadn't found what they were looking for, the matter of finding the star chart to break open the wooden box naturally had to continue. Chu Fan nodded and left through the back window of the Treasure Pavilion.
Having interacted with Fu Piaoyao frequently, Chu Fan had long since memorized her aura.
Although she had left the Treasure Pavilion, Chu Fan could still sense that she was lingering nearby. If he had left through the main entrance, he would have been discovered.
Shortly after Chu Fan left, personnel from other forces arrived.
The five hidden families and six major sects, Chu Fan was basically uninterested in them except for the Qin family. Therefore, when faced with personnel from these forces who wanted to see him, he directly shook his head and said he wasn't qualified to know their movements; he would only appear when he had business with them.
The members of the arriving forces were also helpless and could only find places to temporarily reside and wait.
Within the Mu Nan Sect, the Second Elder learned that Chu Fan had not met with other sect forces, knowing that he had no intention of dealing with them, and was in a good mood.
After all, if Chu Fan had agreed to meet, it would have implied that other forces might have won him over, which was not the outcome the Mu Nan Sect desired.
Two days passed in a flash.
After making arrangements for the matters in the shop, Cui Fu quietly left the Treasure Pavilion, met up with Chu Fan, and set off for the Ten Thousand Mountains again.