Chapter 290: Brother-in-law, save me!

The Shengjing post station had been exceptionally busy these past few days; after all, with the exchange of courtesies, there was a constant turnover of goods moving through the Qingyun world.

Ji You followed the morning mist out of the Wulu Trading Firm, dressed in white, and arrived at the station. He waited in line for a long time before finally retrieving his goods.

There were several jars of wine sent by Qiu Zhong, all brewed by the farmers of Fengzhou themselves.

Once the inventory was finished, Ji You gave a wave of his hand and stored them into his storage gourd. He then made his way to Xiang Kuangcheng's residence, where he found Xiang Kuangcheng busy wielding his brush, writing couplets for the New Year.

Ji You stood to the side and took a look, seeing a pair of couplets with perfectly matched antithesis.

Reading history by the pine window, I often harbor the worries and joys of the world.

Cooking tea in the plum grove, I never forget the rise and fall of the nation.

Ji You knew that Xiang Kuangcheng had written this for himself.

His life now was much better than before—compared to his time in Yuyang County, it was like heaven and earth. This couplet was to remind himself not to forget to be vigilant in times of peace.

Xiang Kuangcheng stopped his brush and looked up: "Brother Ji is here?"

Ji You nodded: "Well written. If you ever leave the Immortal Supervision Bureau, you could make a living selling calligraphy and paintings."

"I am honored by Brother Ji's praise. Would you like me to write a pair for you as well?"

"Sure, go ahead. Appearance, talent—whatever theme you like. But forget about 'gentleman' or 'sage'; I'm not worthy of those."

Xiang Kuangcheng picked up his brush again, pondered for a long time, then carefully set it to paper, swiftly writing out two rows of large characters.

Three wives and four concubines filling the backyard, orioles and swallows chirping.

Many sons and daughters gathered at the knees, bustling and lively.

Ji You remained silent for a long time after reading it. He looked up at Xiang Kuangcheng, feeling as if the kid was mocking him.

After he returned from here yesterday, he had been kissing the little Inspector of Lingjian Mountain until dusk. He had almost reached the point of being a head taller than that girl, and then Yan Shuyi had simply said it was getting late and stood up to leave, completely disregarding whether he lived or died, leaving him unable to get a good night's sleep.

Many daughters and sons gathered at the knees, bustling and lively—tch.

Ji You took the wine out of his storage gourd: "Sent by Old Qiu. I'll leave two jars for you."

"I live alone, two jars is a bit much..."

"It's not. Goodbye."

"Eh? Brother Ji, why are you in such a hurry to leave?"

"Going back to cultivate!"

"?"

After leaving the wine, Ji You drifted out the door and returned to the Wulu Trading Firm.

The clerks at the firm had been given time off a few days ago, so the courtyard was empty. He lit the stove in the tea pavilion and sat cross-legged in meditation.

He cleared his Dao heart and began to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

Ji You had previously guessed that spiritual energy was a universal substance that could exist in any form. At this moment, due to the weather, the spiritual energy absorbed into his body carried a biting chill.

As this spiritual energy flowed along his shattered spiritual essence into his body, it immediately ignited a raging fire under his mental focus.

The scorching flames began to burn through every inch of his body, making him tremble all over, the pain sinking deep into his marrow.

The last time he had broken through a major barrier in his physical body was at the Sacred Land of Sages. That place was rich in spiritual energy, and the improvement to his physical body had truly been a thousand miles a day.

But after returning from there, the concentration of spiritual energy in the outside world was not enough to support such intense burning.

Body refinement was no easier than seeking the Dao. Because Ji You's several breakthroughs at the Sacred Land of Sages had seen the process lengthen—first the third level, then the fifth, the seventh, and now he feared he had reached the ninth level.

The fifth and seventh levels, under the blessing of the Sacred Land of Sages, had not consumed much of Ji You's time, but the current ninth level was progressing extremely slowly. Only now had he touched the first charge of the barrier.

This was also the reason he couldn't beat Yan Shuyi, because if one were to divide it by the realm of seeking the Dao, he hadn't even completed the initial realm.

Ji You clenched his fists, his internal energy surging, and sweat began to appear on his forehead.

Yan Shuyi had brought Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu over to mooch a meal, once again observing his cultivation process.

"The Young Master has been cultivating for longer than before. It's already the hour of the snake."

"The New Year is almost here. I've seen many Heavenly Tian Shuyuan disciples stop their cultivation these past few days to go down the mountain to meet friends. Why has the Young Master suddenly become so diligent?"

Listening to the conversation between Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu, the cold and arrogant little Inspector clenched her fists, remembering how he had wanted to carry her back to her room yesterday.

This guy wanted to beat her so she would bear his cubs...

By now, it was nearing the New Year, and Shengjing City was becoming increasingly lively.

Every household hung paper lanterns, the East and West markets were planning stalls for the Lantern Festival, and stalls filled with winter-brewed wine began to appear on the main street.

The little Inspector, who loved the bustle, couldn't sit still, but she wouldn't say it herself. Instead, she had Ding Yao act coquettishly, begging Ji You to take them out to the street.

In the bustling East and West markets, vendors were struggling to sell their wares amidst the surging crowds.

Ji You took the three veiled girls through the long street, bought some useless but pretty things, and then arrived at the second floor of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, finding a private room to sit in.

Yan Shuyi could use her spiritual mirror to erase their traces to avoid causing a commotion by revealing their identities, but daily conversation was still inconvenient, so finding a private room was better.

And naturally, you get what you pay for; although the private room on the second floor was expensive, compared to the crowded lobby, the view was very open.

Whether it was singing and dancing or playing and singing, everything could be seen at a glance.

After the four of them sat down and ordered some tea and snacks, before they were even fully served, they saw Yuanchen arrive in a hurry.

After coming up, he drank a cup of tea, grabbed a mung bean cake, and ran back down, struggling to weave through the crowded lobby until he squeezed to the front of the stage below.

He had already figured out the program times for all the major teahouses and restaurants in Shengjing. He knew the storytelling program would be on soon, and sitting at the very front was for the most direct impact.

Ji You had been busy cultivating these past few days and hadn't been able to look after Yuanchen. Seeing him so frantic, he couldn't help but be puzzled: "What has Yuanchen been busy with lately?"

Yan Shuyi put down her teacup and raised her eyes to look at him: "Yuanchen is having a hard time controlling the sacred artifact, so I gave him a wisp of the sacred artifact's origin. He has been refining that wisp these past few days."

"The sacred artifact's origin?"

"Used for testing. If he isn't repelled by the sacred artifact's origin, then he can wield the sacred artifact. And watching him these past few days, Yuanchen shouldn't be repelled."

Ji You opened his mouth: "Then why has he never been successful on the Pill Mountain?"

Yan Shuyi's expression turned serious: "It might be that Yuanchen really isn't working hard enough, so Yuan Caiwei is very angry, to the point that Yuanchen has been having a miserable time these past few days and can only sneak out to listen to stories for a while."

"Giving away a wisp of the sacred artifact's origin—will it have any effect on you?"

Yan Shuyi heard a hint of concern and did the opposite, upholding the dignity of an Inspector as her gaze turned cold: "A mere Heavenly Tian Shuyuan disciple is overstepping."

Ji You looked up at Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu: "You two turn around. Don't ruin the cold and arrogant dignity of your Inspector in your hearts."

The little Inspector: "?"

Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu didn't dare to delay and turned around immediately, thinking to themselves that their high-and-mighty Inspector was about to get her bottom spanked again.

Sure enough, as the thought flashed through their minds, a "slap" sounded from behind, along with the sound of whistling sword energy blowing up robes.

When the two turned their heads again, they found their Inspector looking at him with a face full of murderous intent. They couldn't help but pout, thinking that the Inspector only knew how to scare people with her aura; in reality, she couldn't bear to actually do anything.

After a while, Yan Shuyi, who had been whistling with sword energy for a long time, was fed a piece of pastry and couldn't help but speak softly.

"If you want to know, it wouldn't hurt to tell you. Whether the origin power is a little more or a little less doesn't really matter, but it is connected to my spiritual mirror. If it were taken by someone with malicious intent, it might be troublesome."

"Did Yuan Caiwei ask you for it?"

"She was too worried, so I thought of this method."

"It seems that although you sisters bicker on weekdays, your relationship is actually quite good."

As the words fell, the private room suddenly fell silent.

Ji You looked at Yan Shuyi's fierce expression and thought to himself that he had been rash.

Before, when they talked about sisters, they were truly sisters; now, in Yan Shuyi's eyes, the word "sister" meant someone trying to steal her man.

However, although the tsundere's jealousy hadn't diminished, she had still risked giving Yuanchen a wisp of the sacred artifact's origin.

On one hand, it was because she was proud by nature and felt that no one could surpass her; on the other hand, it might be because of his relationship with the Yuan siblings.

Come to think of it, he also felt that Yuan Caiwei seemed a bit elusive, only coming over for dinner every day, and always carrying a scent of exhaustion.

However, the little Inspector had stepped on his foot because of the sister matter, which made him feel it wasn't appropriate to ask further.

At the same time, a noisy sound suddenly erupted downstairs.

Three or four people dressed in black with hair buns came down from the second floor, starting to clear a path through the crowd toward the front stage.

There was a lot of pushing and shoving, leading to some sounds of dissatisfaction.

Subsequently, several young masters and young ladies of noble families dressed in fine clothes came down from upstairs, holding wine glasses overflowing with spiritual energy, and arrived in front of Yuanchen.

As the New Year approached, many noble families came to the Nishan Heavenly Tian Shuyuan to socialize. Coupled with those who had heard the news and come to participate in the Immortal Appreciation Meeting and the Snow Appreciation Meeting, cultivators could be seen everywhere.

Those who had come downstairs this time included several young masters from the Zhu family of Liangzhou, the young lady of the Xu family of Qingzhou who was attached to the Mountain and Sea Pavilion, the son-in-law of the Miao family of Yuzhou, and the younger generation of the old imperial Li family. ===== CHAPTER 291 =====