Chapter 25: Mysterious Disappearances

Originally, the girl’s cultivation hours were not fixed.

But as time passed, Ji You noticed their meetings became increasingly frequent.

He suspected the girl was adjusting to his schedule—simply because his own cultivation hours were fixed: martial training by day, Dao reflection at dusk; if she didn’t wish to meet, she could easily avoid him.

Thus, the two maintained an unspoken understanding, cultivating seated on separate black stones.

Cultivation was inherently dull, yet having a tacit fellow cultivator was surprisingly pleasant.

Yet over the next Qiba days, the girl always looked displeased, inexplicably irritable, and grew angry if he so much as glanced at her twice.

The upside was, the irritable girl no longer settled for merely sweeping her sleeve away—she now kicked him out directly with her snow-white feet.

Wasn’t this, in its own way, a reward?

“Nineteen breaths…”

“If this continues, I should gather seven dark lights before the New Year…”

After being kicked away, Ji You slowly opened his eyes, his gaze filled with golden radiance.

At this moment, the fifth dark light coalesced!

A stronger spiritual sense also had another benefit: it elevated his five senses to an unprecedented level, allowing him to observe even the faintest flutter of an insect’s wings.

Some women in the courtyard, like Lady Lu Qingqiu of Yunzhou, valued poise over warmth—even in freezing weather, they wore only gauze skirts, relying on spiritual energy to ward off the cold.

Each time they met in the Dao Reflection Ground, Ji You found it hard to stare too closely, contenting himself with a dozen glances before looking away.

In the mountains, no calendar marks the days; winter ends, yet one loses track of the year.

Ji You opened his eyes again—the sky was vast and gray, distant mountains drifted with cold air, winter had arrived.

He pulled out his money pouch, weighed it in his hand, and decided to head to the Immortal Dining Hall to fill his stomach.

A few days ago, Kuangcheng came by, saying he’d been appointed to the Immortal Supervisory Office, earning fifteen taels a month, and had given him seven.

The Immortal Supervisory Office was a newly established imperial bureau, supposedly created solely to serve the immortal sects—not at all like an effort to revive imperial authority, but more like a lapdog to the immortal clans.

Yet in Ji You’s view, this might be a tactic of feigned weakness, suggesting the Great Xia Emperor wasn’t without wit.

Ji You practiced the Han Mountain Fist in empty air as he walked toward the White Jade Platform.

He cultivated both martial and Daoist paths; though all said martial arts were minor skills, he never neglected them.

But he rarely visited the Sword Trial Grove anymore—he had already mastered the fundamentals of swordplay, spear techniques, and fist forms, able to execute entire sequences in daily movement.

Moreover, Wang Xin’an begged him not to come anymore, saying he’d once enjoyed a leisurely life as a martial arts instructor, but since Ji You arrived, he could no longer find joy.

He even said that if Ji You came less often, he wouldn’t charge the one tael.

This situation embarrassed the bandit, so he readily agreed.

As Ji You reached the Ascension White Jade Platform, he suddenly saw thirteen instructors—including Instructor Cao—returning from outside, dusty and weary, brows deeply furrowed.

Since the onset of winter, the outer courtyard had grown chaotic, and Shengjing City as well.

“Instructor Cao!”

“Huh? Oh, Ji You.”

Cao Jingsong halted at the White Jade Platform, bid farewell to the other instructors, then approached Ji You: “How goes your cultivation?”

Ji You released his spiritual aura, and five spiritual lights appeared on his forehead.

“My word, this lad is extraordinary—won’t you enter the Upper Five Realms before the New Year?”

“No, I intend to steady my progress, not rush.”

Ji You harbored concern over his fractured spiritual spring, and offered this as an excuse.

“Taking it slow is fine—after all, Chu He has locked himself away, likely with his Dao heart shattered, and Lu Qingqiu has only gathered two dark lights; no need to hurry.”

After speaking, Cao Jingsong remembered something: “By the way, have you seen Zhang Congzhi and Cai Ziyao?”

“I’ve met Cai Ziyao—around the start of Winter, quite lovely, wearing a plain snow-and-river silk dress, with large eyes. As for Zhang Congzhi…”

Ji You frowned for a moment: “Who’s that?”

“Zhang Congzhi is your peer, often cultivates in the Dao Reflection Ground. You don’t recognize him, yet you recognize Cai Ziyao, who rarely goes there?”

“Then Zhang Congzhi must be utterly unremarkable in appearance.”

Cao Jingsong waved his hand: “But that’s irrelevant. The point is, both vanished after the start of Winter—I and the other instructors searched for three days and found no trace.”

Ji You paused, thinking: It was rare for immortal cultivators to disappear.

He sensed a faint unease, yet couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong.

“Did they show any signs before vanishing? Perhaps a fellow disciple? I’d like to see if your Dao heart is clear.”

Instructor Cao spat: “They didn’t vanish simultaneously—they disappeared seven days apart.”

Ji You pondered: “Perhaps they vanished for different reasons.”

“Whether or not they share the same cause, the fact remains—they’re gone. And neither took their usual clothing nor valuable elixirs or spirit stones. They shouldn’t be gone this long.”

“Could they have met with misfortune?”

“Who would dare attack disciples of the Heavenly Book Academy under its very nose? I doubt it.”

After speaking, Instructor Cao urged him to focus on cultivation, then hurried off.

Ji You watched him disappear, then returned to the Azure Lake Elegant Garden, practicing his fist forms.

But before he could enter his gate, he saw a group of fellow cultivators gathered before his door.

Two of the Nascent Soul Upper Realm: Bai Rulong and Qian Yunxiao; three female cultivators: Lu Qingqiu, Sun Zhiqiao, and Lou Siyi.

“Young Master Ji.”

“What’s this about?”

Lu Qingqiu smiled faintly: “Today is Winter Solstice. I, Qingqiu, am hosting a gathering at Hongding Pavilion—would you grace us with your presence?”

Since their encounter at the Immortal Dining Hall, she had repeatedly hinted at wanting to befriend him.

Such was the nature of noblewomen—even rivals among cultivators—once they saw a promising future in another, they instantly changed their minds.

“Agreed!”

“Then let’s meet at the Divine Gate’s Divine Path at the hour of Shen.”

Ji You glanced: “Who else?”

Lu Qingqiu nodded slightly: “Young Master Bai went to summon Chu He, but he wasn’t in his quarters.”

“Then we’ll meet at Shen hour.”

Ji You bowed to them all, then entered his gate and retrieved a letter from his drawer.

It had been sent from Yuyang County—he hadn’t had time to read it earlier, and presumed it was Old Qiu inquiring after his well-being.

As expected, the letter opened with Old Qiu asking how he was faring, then added that Qiu Ru had grown half a head taller and constantly asked when the young master would return.

Also, Fang Zhongzheng visited the Qiu household, saying Old Qiu had once served the Ji family with great efficiency, and suggested he take a post at the county magistrate’s office.

Old Qiu also mentioned another matter—a strange one.

He said that near Thirty-Li Village, some malevolent force had been active, causing livestock to vanish in the days after he left.

Ji You finished reading the letter, thinking: Strange—why was he encountering nothing but disappearances?

Two people vanished from the Heavenly Book Academy, and now even the livestock of Thirty-Li Village were missing…

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(End of Chapter)