Fang Yuan wanted nothing more than to tell these two to get lost as he had better things to do.
But there was a problem with that.
The first, of course, was that they were Gu Masters. Though he didn't care for his own reputation, he was still an academy student at the moment. He was trying to keep a low profile.
Secondly, he was going to try to get the Flower Wine Monk's inheritance- if the two of them became suspicious and began to follow him, it would spell trouble.
This was one of the issues he was quickly encountering because of the system.
Once one established a reputation, it would follow them. It would be fine if others saw Fang Yuan as a loser, so long as he could gain benefits.
The problem being that while he tried to get benefits from the system, other people didn't know about this.
If one started to give out charity to beggars, even if it was just occasionally for profits form the system, they would soon find themselves attracting the attention of other beggars asking for a handout. Fang Yuan had no issue kicking them to the curb- sometimes literally, though he couldn't do it with these two.
It was always like this. Those who were kind and generous usually found that being taken advantage of, while those who were cruel and ruthless could get used to reverential treatment.
From the memories of his past life, for example, he knew that there would soon arise a woman by the name of Shang Xin Ci who, although she didn't know it now- was the illegitimate daughter of the current Shang clan head. On top of which, she would eventually become the Shang clan head.
She was well-renowned for her kindness, though this of course, made it so that there were endless numbers of people who took advantage of her.
In the same manner, although Fang Yuan wanted to grab his reward, the wine, and leave to go find the Liquor Worm, his actions had attracted the attention of these two.
He had just a few moments ago been so jovial with drinking and offered to buy drinks for some mortals- it would be too much of an about-face if he were to tell two Gu Masters he wasn't interested in talking to them. Not to mention it would be highly suspicious if he just so happened to remember that he had to do something important.
If he had an accomplice, he could instruct them to barge in soon and say that his family was looking for him, giving him a good excuse to get away. But, he always operated on his own. That was how he preferred things anyway.
Hence his answer- it was the truth, and he hoped it would get them to buzz off as soon as they could.
"I... don't follow," Li Mei said.
"Ah, well," Fang Yuan said, now slurring his speech ever so slightly- to make it seem as if the alcohol was beginning to take effect. "My uncle and aunt never treat me fairly. I got into an argument with them, and my uncle threw me a sack of stones and told me to get lost. Heh- I'll show him. Soon enough, I'll be a proper Gu Master, and prove I don't need his help! Here- have a drink, a toast to my future success!"
Both Li Mei and Jiang Ya inwardly felt a great deal of disgust towards Fang Yuan in that moment.
He had earlier appeared like someone who was genuinely celebrating in an extravagant manner, but now had the demeanor of a spoiled rich brat.
Their prior image of Fang Yuan had crumbled like a sandcastle before the tides!
Jiang Ya even felt like smacking Fang Yuan across the face. After all, he had been stressed out from trying to handle his finances- he didn't have enough primeval stones for well... everthing! Gu refinement, feeding gu, paying rent, etc. And here this kid was, throwing money around like it was nothing!
It made him extremely angry, even angrier than before, but what could he do but curse fate?
It would be one thing if Fang Yuan still had some relationship to someone influential or famous, and so then the two of them could've possibly tried to suck up to him to gain some benefits. After all, every arrogant young master needed a couple of lackeys who would toady up to him. Both of them were of low status, to be able to do so could even be said to be a great honor for the two of them!
But on the contrary, it looked like he had been kicked out of whatever house he belonged to!
Given this, it was likely that any such attempt would be pointless. On the contrary, if Fang Yuan fell on hard times, both of them realized that he might've ended up asking them for favors on the contrary!
"Junior," Li Mei asked, trying to get a better grasp on the situation. "You just spent close to ten primeval stones. Do you really have that kind of money to throw around?"
Fang Yuan shrugged. He took another sip, the liquid now drooling down his chin and onto his clothes. He looked quite repulsive in that instance. "Eh, it's about half of what I have right now, but whatever. You can't make money without spending money, am I right? I'll get more soon enough..."
Li Mei and Jiang Ya were stupefied. What kind of odd logic was this? He wasn't spending money on resources or the like, he was literally pissing it away by drinking what would soon be turned, through thousands of elaborate internal biological machinations, into urine!
"Ah, my uncle will realize soon enough," Fang Yuan continued. "That he can't boss me around like he's my father..."
"What happened to your parents?" Jiang Ya asked.
"Oh, they died when I was little," Fang Yuan said. "Then my uncle adopted me. For some reason, it makes him think that he can order me around..."
'You ungrateful little rascal!' Jiang Ya thought. 'Your uncle was nice enough to adopt you and stop you from ending up on the streets, and here you are, pissing his money away and badmouthing him behind his back?'
'This junior thinks that earning primeval stones is so easy, hmph! Once he has to live on his own... reality with deal a cruel wet slap to his face!' Li Mei thought. Cultivators did not have it easy, while in the clan, Rank One and Rank Two cultivators had to risk their lives undergoing clan missions to scrape by a living. Elders were exempt from this, but conversely they also had to deal with their own harder, riskier missions. In uncertain times, even the clan head could end up dying in combat!
The world was precarious and the balance of power could tip at any time. Both of them felt that Fang Yuan was far too sheltered and did not understand the immensity of heaven and earth. No, it wasn't just the fact that he was ignorant that pissed them off, that much was understandable given his age somewhat- it was the fact that he seemed to be proud on some level of his ignorance and had not made any attempts to actually improve himself!
Both Li Mei and Jiang Ya drank at Fang Yuan's urging, but hastily made their excuses to leave. They had not even introduced themselves or asked what Fang Yuan's name was.
That was how fast they had completely lost interest!
Who knows- if they spent too much time with Fang Yuan his uncle would get mad at them instead for enabling him somehow.
Once it was clear that Fang Yuan was drunk, the waiters hesitated to give him more booze, which gave him an excellent excuse to storm out of the place angrily.