Chapter 259: The Night Watchman

Because there were traces to follow, Dou Yuan Kong's movements were quickly traced out.

His last known appearance was in Nanming City, Wanshan County of Qingzhou, but at the time he had already left the city by carriage, and judging by the direction, he was headed for Anyuan City, famed for its wine.

And this stretch of road was not far from where his old servant's corpse had been found.

But soon, once Dou Yuan Kong's final whereabouts were confirmed, rumors about the matter gradually subsided.

Neither Shengjing nor the Heavenly Book Academy sent any further news.

It wasn't until three days later that some scions of noble families brought up the matter again, and the final lead in the search for Dou Yuan Kong's whereabouts began to circulate.

"Found him?"

"Yes, reportedly he went to a winery. The owner said he got drunk and insisted on finding a singing girl, then wandered off half-conscious. The area around the winery is full of wilderness—the owner thinks he probably stumbled into the woods in a daze."

"So it's just bad luck? Unrelated to the demonic seed? After all this fuss, this is the outcome?"

"If it's not human malice, that's still good news. Do we really need another demon sect to appear?"

"…"

For the past few days, Ji You had been in the Inner Courtyard's Library Hall, poring over records concerning Ding Dao, searching for a way to merge the Dao without passing through the Wenxin Trial.

The result was predictable—he found nothing.

For millennia, the cultivation system of cultivators had always been fixed; few had cultivated as abstractly as he had.

In addition, he reviewed records on the Sacred Grounds of the Ancients, the history of the Descendant Clans, and prior research on the demonic seed.

The Sacred Grounds of the Ancients were the place where the human race's fortune revived—this matched what he had heard before.

Within the shattered spaces of the Sacred Grounds, there indeed existed the Altar of Heaven's Dao and the Ancestral Temple of Humanity.

As for the Descendant Clans, records were scarce, and many details were hard to verify.

He had also been keeping close watch on the matter of Dou Yuan Kong.

Because the topic was discussed daily, he didn't even need to ask—information drifted into his ears on its own.

While Ji You was flipping through his book, Wen Zhengxin and Ban Yangshu entered the library; both had personally experienced the demonic seed incident and were especially concerned about it.

Upon hearing the investigation's conclusion on Dou Yuan Kong, they hurried over to find Ji You.

Seeing Ji You reading in the library, Wen Zhengxin couldn't help recalling the rumor that Dou Yuan Kong could only strike ten or so times before collapsing.

Ji's body must be stronger than a thousand Dou Yuan Kongs combined.

"Ji brother, have you heard about Dou Yuan Kong?"

Ban Yangshu sat beside him: "They say his disappearance has nothing to do with the demonic seed—just pure bad luck."

Ji You looked at the two: "Have you noticed that although rumors are spreading, the sect's wandering disciples haven't returned?"

Ban Yangshu blinked: "?"

"I think it's fake—a fabricated rumor deliberately leaked out."

"That… shouldn't be possible, right?"

Ji You looked at Ban Yangshu's uncertain expression, then closed the book: "The Management Office sent out two groups of disciples this time. Doesn't that remind you of how we were dispatched to Qiling?"

Hearing this, Wen Zhengxin and Ban Yangshu exchanged glances and suddenly understood Ji You's meaning.

When Qiling was compromised, we were sent as the vanguard to investigate; only after confirming the presence of celestial fortune within the ruins did the Seven Immortal Sects send the second group to compete for it.

In other words, when the Management Office dispatched its second group, they likely found evidence linking Dou Yuan Kong to the demonic seed.

Otherwise, the lofty Immortal Sects wouldn't have gone to such lengths.

Wen Zhengxin opened his mouth, then snapped back to himself and lowered his voice: "Could they have uncovered something too sensitive to reveal, so they fabricated this false conclusion to quell the rumors?"

"That's certainly possible."

"Then what could it be?"

Ji You shook his head: "I don't know. But in Qingyun's world, many things are kept secret—family-secret techniques, methods of Ding Dao—they're nothing new, but they're feared because they're either blessings or curses."

Ban Yangshu and Wen Zhengxin exchanged glances, then fell silent.

"The Seven Immortal Sects care about matters of great consequence. Not knowing is better—we're mere small fry, we can't get involved."

Hearing their words, Ji You gently placed his hand on the desk.

The Seven Immortal Sects held the reins of the world—they were the true rulers who had led humanity's survival all along.

Small fry like us can't participate in their schemes, but the problem is their decisions aren't always good ones—that's what's truly worrying.

Fengzhou has just begun to develop; people's lives are already decent. What's feared most is unforeseen events.

But I'm just a rustic private cultivator—if I can save a few children from dying, that's already more than I ever expected.

I originally only wanted to find a bandit den and become its chief, robbing immortals to help the poor when I felt like it.

Wen Zhengxin now noticed the book on Ding Dao lying on the desk and glanced at Ji You.

Ji You had once stayed in her courtyard for a while; back then, he was attempting Ding Dao, then he decisively chose the path of body refinement.

He publicly claimed he was interested in body refinement, saying a real man needed a strong body—but Wen Zhengxin always suspected Ji You couldn't merge the Dao. Seeing the books he'd read, she now felt slightly more certain.

Just then, Ban Yangshu's voice suddenly sounded beside her.

"What book is Brother Ji reading?"

Wen Zhengxin turned to look and saw that Ji You held a book, its cover bearing three characters: The Night Watcher.

Wen Zhengxin turned and saw Ji You holding a book with three characters on the cover: The Night Watchman.

Ji You picked up the book, pondered for a moment, then spoke: "Have either of you heard of the term 'Night Watchman' in Qingyun's world?"

Wen Zhengxin frowned: "I've never heard of any Night Watchman."

"So it really is just a fictional tale built on a real-world backdrop."

"Fictional? What are you researching, Brother Ji?"

"Nothing much—just browsing…"

After chatting for a while, Wen Zhengxin and Ban Yangshu left.

As they said, even if Dou Yuan Kong truly was connected to the demonic seed, this matter was beyond their involvement.

When everyone was gossiping, joining the chatter was fine—but if something unexpected happened, they could only pray it wouldn't lead to dire consequences.

Watching Ban Yangshu and Wen Zhengxin depart, Ji You turned his gaze back to The Night Watchman in his hand.

He'd found it while researching; initially drawn by the title, he thought it sounded cool and picked it up on a whim.

The book sat on a shelf storing body refinement techniques, deep within the library hall, tucked in the farthest corner—ordinary people would never find it.

After all, body refinement techniques were always dismissed as heretical paths; no one bothered to look at them.

Even Ji You himself had never noticed this obscure corner before.

The Night Watchman didn't recount Qingyun's history—it read more like a folk tale.

At first, Ji You thought the book had been misplaced.

The story told of a legend: the world harbored terrifying darkness, filled with countless dangers—man-eating demons and world-ending calamities.

Yet people weren't afraid of nightfall, for their world had the Night Watchmen.

This was an occupation dating back to ancient times, as old as the descent of the Sacred Artifacts.

Each generation of Night Watchmen was born from the Heavenly Book Academy, their lineage passed down through Heavenly Book Awakening, just like the Academy's disciples.

But Night Watchmen didn't live in the Academy—they stood alone, guarding the deep mountains against demons and calamities. Only the Seven Immortal Sects knew of them; the world at large remained unaware.

Ji You had mistaken it for a folk tale because its writing style was exactly that.

He'd asked Wen Zhengxin and Ban Yangshu, and even an elderly librarian who managed the library—he'd never heard the name "Night Watchman" in reality.

When he read "standing alone, guarding until death," he couldn't help muttering: "What kind of brutal job is this? Even a dog wouldn't take it."

Only writers of folk tales could dream up such a plot.

If this were real in Qingyun's world, Night Watchmen who could fight demons would surely establish their own Immortal Sect and lord over others.

But as he read further, he fell silent.

The story said Night Watchmen pursued the path of the Tyrant Body, forging their flesh to attain realms…

The world was strange: when he actively sought body refinement texts, he found nothing—but now, in this folk tale, he found a single phrase that matched.

That one line made him freeze, unable to look away.

His own haphazardly cultivated body refinement technique was nearly identical to what the book described.

The world thought him a rustic private cultivator with no ancestral lineage—but only he knew he had one.

His lineage came from the half-scroll of immortal scripture he'd found in the dense forest.

He'd never traced its origin or heard of similar body refinement methods—yet now, he felt a strange connection.

If Night Watchmen were real, then his cultivation might be their technique.

Ji You closed the book, sat quietly in the library hall, and thought.

When he saved Qiu Ru, he shattered two realms in one night, then coughed blood for days, his spiritual core shattering.

He'd always assumed it was backlash—but if his cultivation truly was the Tyrant Body path of the Night Watchmen, then it wasn't backlash.

It was likely the true cultivation path of the Night Watchmen.

From Awakening to Micro Illumination to Condensation, the hidden currents of the technique had long been embedded in his body; when the lower three stages reached fullness, his spiritual core would naturally rupture, allowing spiritual energy to flood his entire body and lay the foundation for body forging.

That made sense.

After entering the Heavenly Book Academy, Ji You had researched many legends of shattered spiritual cores—all ended in death.

Had it not been for the Tyrant Body technique, he would have met the same fate.

But why had he received the Night Watchmen's legacy?

Had some Night Watchman once passed through Fengzhou and accidentally dropped half the immortal scroll, which he'd picked up?

Where were they guarding now?

Ji You had always been lonely, mainly because he'd never found a sense of belonging.

Old Qiu calls him Young Master, but he knows full well he's not that Ji Young Master.

As for the Heavenly Book Academy, forget it.

His sense of belonging to the Heavenly Book Academy was even weaker than his attachment to Spirit Sword Mountain, after all, Spirit Sword Mountain had its moody ghosts.

After learning that the Qingyun Realm had a lineage of Night Watchers, Ji You suddenly felt a faint sense of belonging.

This wasn't just because they might cultivate the same cultivation art—part of it was because, according to the stories, these Night Watchers all seemed to be good people.

I wonder if I'll ever get the chance to meet them?

But solitary mountain guarding—that lonely, grueling work? No thanks. He wasn't suited for it; he couldn't even sit still at the Heavenly Book Academy, let alone out in the mountains.

Honestly, solitary night guarding isn't something just anyone can handle.

Ji You sat in the Scripture Hall, lost in thought for a long while, then closed the book and stepped out.

Knowing the possible origin of his lineage brought Ji You a measure of peace.

Previously, he'd always felt choosing body refinement was a last resort—especially since everyone around him called body refinement a heretical path, making him fear it was a dead end.

But now it seemed he hadn't been practicing blindly.

The Night Watchers' lineage also came from the Heavenly Book, yet differed from Daoist cultivation—this explained why his perception of the Heavenly Book differed from others'.

Ji Bochang really had some luck—he picked up something random and turned it into this, even found himself a stunning beauty.

But why Ji You had seen Yan Shuyi in the Heavenly Book remained unclear to him.

In the days that followed, Ji You paid close attention to anything concerning the Night Watchers, asked many people he trusted, and even specifically checked the Heavenly Book Academy's scripture collection.

The information he gained was scarce—even less than a single page from that book.

He also asked Cao Jingsong, but got nothing useful: "What are Night Watchers?"

"Instructor, it seems your understanding of this world is still very limited."

"?"

Ji You didn't press further, but changed the subject: "Instructor, have you received your monthly stipend yet?"

Cao Jingsong immediately waved his hand: "No, not a single silver tael."

"That can't be right—hasn't the stipend day passed already?"

"The Administration Courtyard only has a few disciples stationed here; the others haven't returned yet, so the stipend distribution is delayed."

Ji You frowned: "The Administration Courtyard's people haven't returned?"

Cao Jingsong nodded, his gaze growing heavier.

Ji You suspected Dou Yuan Kong's claim of bad luck leading him to encounter a demonic seed was false—and Instructor Cao knew it too.

He'd originally thought the rogue disciple was exaggerating, but now that the Administration Courtyard disciples had been gone so long, he too began to wonder.

But just a few days later, Ji You received a note from Kuangcheng inviting him down the mountain.

Ji You descended and arrived at Kuangcheng's courtyard, where Kuangcheng regarded him with grave expression.

"Brother Ji, did you hear about Dou Yuan Kong?"

"I heard—he got unlucky, got drunk, wandered into the woods, got lost, wandered aimlessly, and somehow ended up in Sanli County, where he encountered a demonic seed."

Kuangcheng stared at Ji You: "It's not that simple."

Ji You lifted his eyes to meet his: "What else did you find out?"

"One of my colleagues just returned from Anyuan City and passed through there."

"You don't mean there's no wine estate there?"

Kuangcheng shook his head: "There is a wine estate—but only wine, no people, as if they vanished into thin air. Either the estate was always empty, or the Seven Immortal Sects came and cleared it out. But the truth isn't what they claim."

If the estate was always empty, there couldn't have been a landlord who reported Dou Yuan Kong's whereabouts.

If the people disappeared only after the Seven Immortal Sects arrived, then something the sects didn't want known happened.

Ji You had suspected this already and wasn't surprised: "Are the Seven Immortal Sects' outside envoys still in Anyuan City?"

"No. According to my colleague, there are no cultivators left in Anyuan City now."

"But they haven't returned either."

In fact, after learning of this, Ji You had already sent a letter to Spirit Sword Mountain.

In his view, regardless of whether the truth was hidden, Yan Shuyi must know what happened.

But he still hadn't received a reply.

So in the following days, Ji You focused entirely on body refinement.

Knowing he hadn't been practicing blindly, he became less cautious, training steadily until autumn approached—then he left the Heavenly Book Academy with Kuangcheng.

The Heavenly Way Assembly and cultivation in the Sacred Ground of the Ancients had passed in the blink of an eye—another autumn arrived.

For the two of them, certain great events of the world were beyond their reach; no matter how much they worried, it meant little. But the autumn harvest in Fengzhou was something they had to do.

"Ji You's back in Fengzhou?"

"It's autumn again—he goes back every year around this time, doesn't he?"

The Heavenly Book Academy had long stopped talking about Ji You, but news of his return sparked a fresh wave of chatter.

Because everyone knew he was returning for the autumn harvest.

To him, this mattered deeply—he'd always slipped away to attend the harvest even during the Heavenly Way Assembly.

This time, people were paying attention because, after emerging from the Sacred Ground of the Ancients, Ji You was still at the Penetrating Mystery realm. To them, the immortal estates that once bowed to his dominance might no longer cooperate.

But what they didn't expect was that the reality was different.

The disciples of Fengzhou's immortal estates mostly came from great northern clans.

So they had ample channels to learn what happened after Ji You returned.

It was said that after arriving, Ji You rested one day, then visited several of Fengzhou's major clans.

At first, their attitudes were cold—even the gatekeepers greeted him with icy stares.

But when Ji You left, the coldness vanished completely—not only did the estate masters personally escort him out, but each one bowed and scraped in deference…

(End of Chapter)