Chapter 286: Steaming Human World

The battle of lips and tongues that started without a word was disturbed by the sound outside the window and stopped briefly, but careful observation revealed that no one had entered from the door.

According to simple logic, the battle should continue, because the fairy without emotion or love didn't intend to stop.

But only one person continued, and it was the one whose mouth was the hardest before; this feeling was very strange.

In the flickering stove fire, Yan Shuyi sat in Ji You's arms and looked at him quietly.

Almost in an instant, the confusion on her pretty face faded, and then her eyes became sharper and sharper.

Seeing this scene, Ji You straightened his waist and sealed her red lips again.

He and Yan Shuyi had known each other for a long time and knew her temperament like the back of his hand.

The Little Inspector of Lingjian Mountain cared most about face; at this time, one must not laugh at her "heart toward the immortal path, no emotion or love," otherwise it was looking for death.

After a long while, Yan Shuyi returned to her seat, looked at the fire in the stove, and wiped her red lips expressionlessly.

Before long, Xiang Kuangcheng and Wei Rui, who had washed the dishes, walked toward the room.

Seeing this scene, Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu also walked in, their brains echoing with the "ze ze ze" sounds they had heard just now, their eyes darting around.

【Heart toward the Immortal Path】

【Severing Emotion and Love】

【The friend of Rui'er's sweetheart】

【Meeting again, just small talk】

So this is how old friends make small talk when they meet...

Just at this moment, Xiang Kuangcheng, having wiped his hands dry, carried a very large pottery basin out from the room and placed it beside the stove.

In the basin was glutinous rice soaked in clear water, each grain sinking to the bottom, separated from the clear water.

Afterward, Xiang Kuangcheng took out a small stone mill, placed it beside the pottery basin, then roasted his hands in front of the stove for a while, and began to wash the rice and put it into the stone mill.

"What is this?"

"Grinding rice paste."

"Oh, making rice cakes again."

Ji You quickly realized that the New Year was approaching, remembering that Xiang Kuangcheng had made rice cakes at around the same time the year before last.

At this time, Xiang Kuangcheng filled the gap in the center of the stone mill with rice grains: "The last two times I made them, some didn't hold their shape well, so I changed the method this year; I'll try soaking the rice in warm water first to soften it."

"Do you need any help?"

"Come back in a few days when it's time to pound the rice cakes."

Xiang Kuangcheng gripped the handle of the stone mill and began to grind it in circles; before long, rice paste began to flow out along the small opening of the stone mill.

In ancient times, if it was a snowy winter day, it would be dark shortly after the Shen hour, and with no activities, one could only light candles to do these things.

And as the stone mill turned faster and faster, the few people sitting by the stove watched the rice paste flow quietly, unable to help but fall into a trance.

The lives of practitioners have always been about sitting in stillness, seclusion, and charging realms, with little contact with the outside world; there are few opportunities like this to gather together to knead dough and live life, waiting for the arrival of a festival.

Watching and watching, Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu suddenly exchanged a glance.

He suddenly understood why practitioners must avoid the world, because although this kind of life seems plain, it truly can make people immerse themselves in it.

At this time, Ji You raised his eyes to look at Ding Yao: "What, has your Dao heart lost its guard?"

Ding Yao hesitated after hearing this, then nodded lightly: "A little."

"The reason practitioners disregard the common people is that they have always been told that the mortal world is a cage of suffering compared to the Immortal Realm, so even if they cannot ascend, they do not feel that this mortal world is worth cherishing."

"And then, in the inheritance of generation after generation, practitioners who have avoided the world for years no longer love this steaming human world, which is why they are so indifferent to all things; but suddenly one day when you see it, witness it, you will discover that you have not lost the instinct to love life."

Ding Yao was slightly startled after hearing this, then her eyes blinked lightly, pondering that remark for a long time.

At the same time, the cold and proud Little Inspector of Lingjian Mountain raised her head slightly, looking at Ji You.

She was the one who had been educated since childhood to be an Inspector, to be an Abbot, to approach the Immortal Realm, to ascend, and to perpetuate great power, so she had always been in seclusion in the mountains.

For decades, she had been pampered with every need met, to the point that she didn't even know how to tie her own sash.

The other aristocratic disciples, though not as noble in status as her, also did not engage in production and were supported by the mortal world, so their situations were much the same.

Without pain, one naturally cannot feel happiness, just as one cannot feel relaxation without fatigue, and naturally, one cannot understand that the human world is also worth it.

She had indeed come to find Ji You on a whim, following him to hide away for the entire winter, and it was indeed at that time that she detached herself from her previous yearning for the Immortal Realm and began to notice the subtleties around her.

Thus, she felt that if one could live like this forever, it might not be necessary to seek that immortality.

It is a pity that seeking immortality is the great trend of Qingyun, and there are very few in the world who want to live each day well.

Just like those elders who sit in the deep mountains, immersed in the Dao of immortality for most of their lives; even if they know the Dao of immortality is hard to achieve, they will not find the firewood, rice, oil, and salt of mortals interesting, and thus cannot empathize with mortals.

After thinking for a long time, a knock on the door came from the wind and snow outside the window; Ding Yao came back to her senses, stood up with Zhuo Wanqiu, and then walked into the courtyard to pull open the courtyard gate.

Standing outside the gate was a pretty young woman, looking about fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing double buns and looking at them.

"Zhu'er? Why are you here?"

"Uh, greetings to the two Immortal ladies, I'm here to find my Young Lady; it's too dark, and my Mistress said the Young Lady should go home."

Wei Rui's maid, Zhu'er, spoke softly, her clear voice ringing out in the wind.

In fact, the people of the Wei residence had always known that Wei Rui was spending time with Xiang Kuangcheng, but because of Ji You's presence, they had been hesitating between stopping it and not stopping it.

However, even if they adopted an attitude of turning a blind eye, they would never let the daughter of the house stay at a man's home until late at night.

Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu nodded after hearing this, then brought Zhu'er's message inside, and after finishing, they sat back down on the stools.

But what they didn't expect was that as Wei Rui stood up reluctantly, intending to go home, their own Inspector also stood up from her chair.

Thus, the two, whose bottoms hadn't even warmed the seats, also stood up, and then looked at their own Inspector with blank expressions.

【Meeting again is nothing but small talk】

【A brief taste, leave quickly after eating】

Ji You also straightened his body and looked at Yan Shuyi, only to see her leave him a glance with an arrogant expression, then walk along the courtyard to the outside of the gate, leaving a string of small footprints on the snow.

"Does the Inspector still have to return to the Wei family's detached residence?"

Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu followed behind the Inspector, and only after walking a few steps did they speak softly.

Yan Shuyi turned her head slightly: "Young Master Xiang and his friend were originally inviting Sister Rui'er to be a guest; it was already rude for us to come uninvited, and now that Sister Rui'er has left, and we are not familiar with them, how could we continue to intrude?"

Afraid to go back and spend the night with the son-in-law.

The two maids immediately translated that sentence in their minds and couldn't help but cough.

It seems that the little mouth, hard as iron, couldn't soften even after being kissed; all that nuzzling in the room just now didn't count, and the son-in-law is still "the friend of Rui'er's sweetheart."

At this time, Wei Rui looked at the Yan sister she admired, a trace of worry appearing in her eyes.

Under the wind and snow, the gate of the small courtyard was closed; Ji You slowly withdrew his gaze and saw Xiang Kuangcheng looking at him, his eyes also somewhat worried.

"What's wrong?"

"Have you and Immortal Yan truly broken off all relations?"

"?"

Xiang Kuangcheng stopped the stone mill in his hand: "Rui'er said Immortal Yan told her that from now on she will devote herself to the Dao, not fall into the red dust, and forget you in the Dao of immortality; I thought you were playing the 'don't know each other' game again, but Immortal Yan just left without a word, what is going on?"

Kuang Shusheng Xiang and Wei Rui had been questioning this ever since they knew Yan Shuyi had come to Shengjing without seeing Ji You.

So Xiang Kuangcheng had asked, and after Xiang Kuangcheng left, Wei Rui had also asked.

Seeing them always asking, Yan Shuyi very seriously told Wei Rui that practitioners are like this; when they cultivate to a certain realm, they must cut off love and desire, and all past red-dust affairs will be cast behind them; at this time, she had already broken off all relations with Ji You.

Wei Rui didn't believe it at first, but seeing the Little Inspector's serious expression and the rampant indifference in her eyes, she felt a bit uneasy in her heart.

It just so happened that Ji You sent Xiang Kuangcheng to invite people, so Wei Rui called Yan Shuyi to come along and see what was really going on.

Just now while washing the dishes, Wei Rui told Xiang Kuangcheng her worries, and Xiang Kuangcheng didn't believe it at all, thinking to himself that they had clearly just fed each other cured meat.

He advised Wei Rui to set her mind at ease and ignore those two, and even slowed down the dishwashing speed significantly, specifically leaving time for them to be alone.

Who knew that after they entered the room, they found that the two acted as if they didn't know each other; one was focused on the stove, and the other didn't say a word, as if there was no communication at all.

The most critical thing was that in the end, Immortal Yan left with Wei Rui without a word, and Immortal Ding and Immortal Zhuo also had complex expressions; this scene made the usually confident Kuang Shusheng Xiang feel a bit uneasy.

Ji You's mouth twitched as he listened to his description, thinking to himself that the tsundere ghost was going to fool people into being crippled.

No communication at all? She was still sticking her tongue out just now.

"You don't need to worry about this matter; her current persona is just like this."

Xiang Kuangcheng looked at him somewhat strangely: "What is a persona?"