Chapter 186: Two Divine Detectives

As news spread, the return of the envoy mission began to stir widespread discussion, and the murmurs grew louder.

The tale of Ji You slaying the Soldier King, or his counter-killing of a demon general in Demon Emperor City, also began to reach more people.

Among disciples who preferred seclusion and quiet cultivation, Ji You seemed like a troublemaking seed—he hadn't even returned to Jiuzhou yet, yet he'd already stirred storms from all directions.

Why should they?

In the past, everyone cultivated in stillness; who had the higher realm was the most renowned. When had there ever been someone whose fame so wildly outpaced their actual cultivation?

Ji You's renown was nearly matching that of the Elders who sat in eternal meditation at the Yingtian realm!

But whenever someone recalled the combat prowess Ji You displayed when slaying the Soldier King and countering the demon general, they fell silent again.

"The five-year deadline is nearly up. After next spring, the Heavenly Dao Assembly—commonly observed across the realm—is likely to be scheduled soon. According to the envoy's message, if the slaying of the Soldier King is true, then among all living Tongxuan cultivators, none can rival Ji You…"

"Yet I wonder whether he will choose to break into the Rongdao realm before the Heavenly Dao Assembly begins…"

"If he remains in Tongxuan, he may seize the top rank and be sent to the Land of the Ancients' Proof."

"But if he attempts to break into Rongdao, it may still be uncertain."

Within the Inner and Outer Academies, winter solstice banquets continued. As wine loosened thoughts, some shifted the topic from Ji You's mission to the demon tribes to the once-every-five-years Heavenly Dao Assembly.

This was the grand gathering of all cultivators in Qingyun's realm, held every five years. Even before the envoy's news arrived, people had already mentioned it in idle chatter.

But since the event was still far off, discussion had been limited—until it collided with Ji You's story, sparking far more speculation.

Hearing this, the crowd fell into thought, their expressions varying: "The Heavenly Dao Assembly…"

"Didn't realize five years had passed so quickly?"

"If slaying the Soldier King is true, Ji You's participation in the Heavenly Dao Assembly won't be surprising at all."

"Still, I find it hard to believe—how could someone at his realm slay a barbarian Soldier King comparable to an Yingtian elder?"

"That sounds familiar. When Ji You went to Fengzhou, established a clan, slaughtered eighteen Tongxuan cultivators in one night, and slew a Rongdao from Immortal Villa, I heard the same words from you."

"How could a rural private cultivator possibly reach such heights?"

"How dare you still call him a rural private cultivator?"

"You don't understand. Before, calling him that was an insult. But now… saying those words is almost a compliment. Since he entered the Heavenly Book Academy, who else dares use those four characters?"

Amidst the ceaseless winter debates, as the envoy's return drew near, a carriage hurried out of the Heavenly Book Academy.

Inside sat a middle-aged man, two young men, and a young woman, racing swiftly toward Fengzhou.

The three youths had no distinguishing features—they looked like ordinary sect disciples. Only the middle-aged man had an unusually swollen chest.

The driver was a mortal, a poor man scraping by in Shengjing.

He knew nothing of cultivation, yet couldn't help wondering: what kind of immortal cultivation had this man done to swell his chest like that?

"Hey, Liu Jian'an, you're here to deliver gifts too? Where's Master Cao?"

"Uh… I don't know. No one's in the courtyard."

At dusk, stars and moon floated in the cold sky. On a forest path outside the Instructor Courtyard, Liu Jian'an, son of the Fengzhou Inspector, and Cong Yi, daughter of the Guiyun Prefect's governor, met by chance.

These past days had seen many winter solstice banquets; by nightfall, the Academy's students had thinned out.

Liu Jian'an had just returned from a banquet, intending to present gifts to Cao Jingsong and seek advice on reaching fullness in the lower three realms—but found no one there.

He glanced at the empty courtyard, then turned to Cong Yi: "It's winter solstice. I heard many noble families in the capital sent invitations to the Academy. Yours must've been the same as mine—so why didn't I see you there?"

Cong Yi smiled faintly and shook her head: "I didn't want to be a mere ornament. Better to eat dumplings alone."

At that moment, Xiang Fu, daughter of the Danxia Prefect's governor, arrived along the path and couldn't help asking: "Is Master Cao not here?"

Cong Yi nodded: "Not here. The door's locked."

Xiang Fu blinked: "By now, the envoy to the demon tribes should be returning soon. Master Cao must've gone to Fengzhou."

Cong Yi suddenly understood: "That explains it…"

Liu Jian'an opened his mouth: "Lately, the Outer Academy's been buzzing about this. I've attended several banquets—all they talked about was Senior Ji."

Hearing this, Xiang Fu and Cong Yi exchanged glances, then gazed toward Fengzhou, their emotions complicated.

Fengzhou had no immortal sects or noble clans. All its cultivators were raised in foreign immortal villas as children, then entered the Academy through allotted slots.

All three of them were like that.

When they first entered the Heavenly Book Academy, they'd been thrilled—after all, they'd joined an immortal sect. For them, this was a lifelong dream, and stepping through the mountain gate felt like fulfillment.

But once they began living in the Academy, they realized everything was different from what they'd imagined.

Though born into official families and never lacking food or drink, in this world where immortal power ruled supreme, their status was low. They rarely managed to befriend children of immortal clans.

Especially since most noble families formed tight, exclusive circles, leaving little room for outsiders.

Even when they met others in the Awakening Fields, Sword Trial Woods, or Immortal Dining Hall, hearing them speak of their fathers' realms, their cousins' breakthroughs, or the spirit treasures their families acquired—or gossip about other sects—they couldn't join in.

Children from Fengzhou seemed naturally excluded from these circles.

They could only look up, yearn, but dare not approach or voice their opinions.

What if they said something wrong? What if they pretended to understand? What if they showed weakness and were mocked by everyone?

This was also why Xiang Fu and Cong Yi rarely attended banquets of capital nobles.

Women were more sensitive than men, and thus their self-respect was stronger. Each time they went as ornaments, they returned feeling uneasy.

They'd once complained after entering the Academy: why were they born in Fengzhou? Why hadn't their ancestors granted them protection?

Even if they couldn't match Fang Jincheng, who daily invited Inner Academy disciples to assist his cultivation, at least they should've been like those minor clan youths—within that circle.

But now, as Ji You's name echoed again through the Academy, as those exclusive circles whispered only of him, Xiang Fu and the others suddenly broke free from their sense of marginalization.

Senior Ji wasn't a noble son—he wasn't even an official's child. He was the lowest of the rural private cultivators.

His path had been far harder than theirs.

The Outer Academy didn't receive imperial rations. According to some senior sisters, when Ji You first entered, he couldn't even afford meals.

Back then, as he cultivated in the Outer Academy, he must've heard "rural private cultivator" whispered constantly.

He'd even been sent to Qiling to die, simply because he blocked Chu He's promotion to the Inner Academy—a fate not much different from this mission to the snowlands.

Yet he never tried to force his way into those glittering noble circles. He scorned them. Instead, he carved his way into the Inner Academy, blade by blade—until now, his name became the sigh of those very circles.

Those they'd once looked up to, yearned for, now looked up to and yearned for his name—even if their expressions were laced with sarcasm, their envy could not be hidden.

Private cultivator entering the Academy, defeating the thousand-year noble Chu He, entering the Inner Academy, slaying eighteen Tongxuan and one Rongdao to establish a clan.

Now he has slashed a thousand li away, his blade chilling the snowlands.

Under the night sky, Xiang Fu and Cong Yi opened their mouths slightly—then suddenly heard Liu Jian'an's voice rise from the darkness.

"Master Cao clearly said I was his best student, praised me as 'this boy is extraordinary'—yet as soon as Senior Ji returned, he rushed off after him."

"?"

Xiang Fu and Cong Yi exchanged glances, then turned to Liu Jian'an: "When did he say that?"

Liu Jian'an scratched his head: "Every time I bring gifts, he says that. He calls Senior Ji a bad disciple, says I'm nothing compared to him."

Xiang Fu and Cong Yi twitched their lips—they knew it was because you brought gifts, while Senior Ji didn't bring anything, and even watched Master Cao's monthly stipend like a hawk.

But then again, yes, he was a bad disciple—but not everyone had the qualification to be one…

Around the same time, fifteen carriages raced in a triangular formation across the borderlands, having traveled long distances, now nearing the Luoyue Pass west of Han Tie Pass.

Ji You leaned against the carriage, training his arm flexion.

Their journey had gone smoothly; they encountered no large-scale barbarian pursuit forces.

The strongest among them had been merely a General, felled by Yan Chuan's single sword strike.

After all, when they left, the barbarians feared they'd influence the Demon Emperor's decision. Now that everything was settled, expending vast troops to chase a tiny envoy was no longer worth the cost.

Ji You gently raised his hand, gazing toward the right side of the carriage—the direction of Han Tie Pass.

War still raged, siege sounds unceasing.

The Zhenbei Army had received word of their arrival today and launched a counterattack, aiming to push the front line eastward to welcome the envoy's entry.

On the northern city wall stood a scholar in plain robes, clutching a five-silver-tael dagger, gazing northward, his eyes devoid of sorrow or joy—until he saw the carriage convoy racing into the city.

He froze for a long moment, then turned and sprinted down the wall…

"Brother Ji…"

"Brother Kuang, I'm back alive. Too bad your dagger purchase was useless."

Ji You stepped down from the carriage, dusty but eyes bright, arms unable to lift, yet posture upright, standing proudly as he faced Kuangcheng.

A scholar with no strength, a Tongxuan cultivator with no strength—locked eyes, then gazed toward the barren lands of Fengzhou beyond Luoyue Pass.

"We held it."

"Only temporarily."

"Still, we held it."

At that moment, a detachment of Zhenbei soldiers dismounted to greet them, bowing deeply to ministers like Wang Mingchang, Yu Shuheng, and Lu Ming.

If the demon and barbarian alliance attacked Zhenbei, others might escape blame—but these soldiers bore the first brunt.

Yet surprisingly, when the veteran ministers saw this, they said nothing. Instead, they all turned, raised their hands, and bowed to Ji You as the soldiers had.

The immortal sect prodigies who returned with him also stepped down, watching this scene.

Though their journey to the demon tribes had been equally perilous, their goals upon return differed.

Some sought the position of direct disciple, others spirit treasures or elixirs, still others family interests.

Only this man sought to protect the thousand li of barren land behind him.

Hence, when they landed, they stood straight, speaking calmly of "holding it"—not grand, but resolute, their spines unbent.

The Immortal Dao is ethereal; sometimes one spends a lifetime without glimpsing it. Yet cultivators still pursue "immortality" as their life's goal, because everyone does.

But now, witnessing this first scene, they suddenly felt Ji You's Dao seemed brighter than theirs.

"The former Headmaster once said, the sword and the youth are perfectly matched."

"Now it seems… he was right…"

With the war outside the pass raging, sand and dust flew everywhere; even in broad daylight, the sky remained hazy and yellow—not a good place to rest—so the envoy team decided to make for Fengzhou Prefecture.

Along this journey, every city was filled with cultivators from outside Xianzhuang; looking down from tea houses and taverns, some opened their mouths as if to speak, then fell silent.

When they first heard Ji You had been sent to the demon clans, the senior figures of these outside Xianzhuang had all been thrilled and praised.

Because Ji You had been targeted—by those aristocratic families—because he didn't understand the rules, acted without restraint, and needed a lesson: either death or injury.

But for us outsiders from Xianzhuang, this was directly tied to our own interests.

Because if Ji You died in the wilds or on the snowfields, the tax tribute matter would return to its proper course, and we were determined never again to let Fengzhou produce a cultivator worthy of entering an immortal sect's inner court.

But after the envoy team departed, they suddenly discovered many powerful figures had appeared along Youzhou's border.

Wujiang Realm… even Shenyou Realm…

Only then did they realize Youzhou was guarded—if Han Tie Pass fell and the demon and barbarian tribes surged in, Youzhou would become a formidable barrier, even conjuring images of moving mountains and filling seas.

In contrast, the historically barren Fengzhou had no defenses; it had shifted from a buffer zone into a new battlefield.

But when they grasped this, and looked back once more, they suddenly realized Fengzhou was also guarded.

Yet the one guarding it was merely a Tongxuan Realm cultivator…

But no matter what, someone was guarding this place after all.

These outsiders from Fengzhou's Xianzhuang were all scraps of the aristocratic clans, never valued; some had even fled their homes because they couldn't bear to stay. For a moment, they truly empathized with Fengzhou.

So when they saw Ji You return, their emotions were complex, unsure how to express them.

Xiang Kuangcheng, riding with him now, seeing the glances from outside, couldn't help speaking: "I thought they'd have hoped you'd die beyond the pass."

Ji You shifted his body: "Then it's easier. I'd have no regrets."

"Why does Ji Brother always give me the feeling you don't want to live?"

"Don't say that—I was badly wounded beyond the pass. If they hadn't hung gold above my room to keep me from letting go, I'd have died long ago."

Ji You suddenly turned to the other passenger, Gongshu Qiu, and remembered he'd forgotten to introduce him: "By the way, this is Gongshu Qiu, disciple of Lingjian Mountain. I once stabbed him once, nearly killed him—he's now practically a sworn brother."

Xiang Kuangcheng's mind blanked: "?"

"I don't fully understand it either. It's just how it is."

"Truly strange. Still, nice to meet you, Brother Gongshu."

Gongshu Qiu bowed slightly: "Pleased to meet you, Young Master Xiang."

After the greetings, Xiang Kuangcheng began relentlessly questioning them about their journey.

As an official of the Si Xian Jian, he'd already read the reports sent by his office, but still had many concerns—so Ji You picked out the most memorable moments to tell him.

For instance, being hunted night and day by the Twelve Soldier Kings after their trail was exposed, or the night attack by the Lin and Ya tribes after their first audience.

"I never imagined this journey would be so perilous…"

"The chase by the Twelve Soldier Kings was bearable—we knew they were after us and had prepared. But the night attack on Yuyuan caught us completely off guard."

Gongshu Qiu nodded: "Indeed, the Yuyuan night was far more dangerous. In the wilds we could flee, but in the Demon Emperor's city, we had no escape—we could only fight. That demon general, they say, had extraordinary talent—he beat Ji You to a bloody pulp with nothing but his bare hands."

Xiang Kuangcheng opened his mouth, then turned to Ji You: "Bare hands? Ah, I see… Congratulations, Ji Brother, you've acquired two treasure blades."

Ji You looked up at him, silent for a long moment, then spoke: "Damn. You really know people."

Gongshu Qiu: "?"

Xiang Kuangcheng raised his sleeves: "Anyway, as long as you're safe—that's what matters. You've just lost some weight."

"Perhaps the food on the snowfields didn't agree with you. That place is truly barren—no wonder they're so nostalgic for the Nine Provinces. But at least it's bought Fengzhou temporary peace. Worth it."

"And you got two short blades."

Gongshu Qiu: "?"

Ji You waved his hand: "Don't bring that up again. But the gains weren't just that—I fulfilled another vital mission: I personally confirmed that demon clan women truly have tails, filling a gap in human historical records."

Before departure, the two had discussed the topic of demon clan women having round buttocks and tails.

At the time, Xiang Kuangcheng had combed through the demon clan ethnographic texts in the Si Xian Jian, but found no mention even after reading the final page.

So they'd agreed then: Ji You would fill that blank—and now, Ji You had delivered, solving the mystery.

At this thought, Ji You couldn't help recalling the demon princess.

Princess Fengyang was a decent person, but cold—unlike my little Jianzhu's outward chill and inward softness; hers was truly cold.

I thought seeing her tail made us friends, but when I left, she didn't see me off—so cold it made me sigh.

Yet when Xiang Kuangcheng heard "personally witnessed" and "definitely has a tail," his expression turned strange.

After thinking for a long while, Xiang Kuangcheng whispered: "Ji Brother… didn't they beat you?"

Ji You blinked: "I'm intelligent and eager to learn—I asked respectfully. Why would I get beaten?"

"Your arm was beaten, wasn't it?" Xiang Kuangcheng pointed at Ji You's motionless arm, his expression serious: Don't think you can fool me.

"That was from the barbarians. When their Soldier King shattered the immortal sect elder's punch, I had no choice but to block two blows. It's been some time already."

Xiang Kuangcheng stared at him thoughtfully: "That doesn't make sense…"

Ji You found him utterly baffling: "Why would I have to get beaten?"

"No, no, it's fine—you're safe, that's all that matters."

"?"

Then the carriage moved on, heading west.

During a stop where Ji You got off to relieve himself, Gongshu Qiu glanced at Xiang Kuangcheng: "Why do you always think he'd get beaten?"

"Since Ji Brother left, I've been stuck here, worried sick but powerless. So I dug up more demon clan texts and came across accounts of demon women—I've been terrified he'd be beaten senseless on the snowfields."

Xiang Kuangcheng paused: "Because demon women do have tails—but like their breasts, buttocks, and feet, these are the most private, shameful parts, normally retracted, visible only to their husbands."

Upon hearing this, Gongshu Qiu held his breath.

Xiang Kuangcheng continued: "Ji Brother truly is Ji Brother—even on a diplomatic mission, he didn't waste time. But who's tail did he see… and yet didn't get beaten?"

"This…"

Gongshu Qiu froze, suddenly realizing the gravity.

Since entering the snowfields and encountering the demons, the two of them had been inseparable—Ji You's hands were injured, and he feared Ji You might be harmed if he went out alone.

They had gone out to look at buttocks once—but that time, they found nothing.

After that, the atmosphere in the Demon Emperor's city grew tense; they had no time to go out again. Ji You had no opportunity…

Gongshu Qiu suddenly froze, then opened his mouth, his eyes trembling for a long moment: "I get it—he saw the demon princess's…"

Xiang Kuangcheng slowly widened his eyes, then sank into deeper silence. After a long while, he spoke: "I always said Ji Brother would conquer the world with his body."

"?"

Ji You reboarded the carriage, frowning at them: "What are you two talking about?"

Xiang Kuangcheng quickly said nothing, then turned to Gongshu Qiu: "What I said earlier was just speculation. Brother Gongshu, just listen—it's not something to spread around."

Upon hearing "don't spread it around," Gongshu Qiu fell silent for a moment, then silently narrowed his eyes.

Ji You didn't know his carriage held two detectives. He frowned, unsure what they'd been discussing, but vaguely heard it involved the demon princess.

【Thought we were friends】

【So cold it made me sigh】

【Maybe I overestimated myself】

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(End of chapter)