Chapter 33

After acting as a proxy master to accept disciples on behalf of Master Wang, Ji You returned from the Administration Office to the Outer Court.

However, just as he reached the Immortal-Ascending White Jade Terrace, Ban Yangshu and Ji Qirui chased after him, each holding a spirit sword they wanted to give him as a token of gratitude.

Ji You waved his hands and tried to decline, but in the end, unable to refuse their warm intentions, he tied the swords to his waist with a permanent knot.

The Inner Court senior brothers are too generous, and naive too, Ji You thought with some emotion.

He finally had some motivation to want to enter the Inner Court.

"I didn't even see when Junior Brother Ji tied that knot..."

"With this kind of hand speed, he must have been holding back when he fought that evil spawn the other day..."

"..."

After bidding farewell to the two senior brothers, Ji You walked toward the Green Water Lake Elegant Garden.

When he got a bit closer, he discovered a young woman standing in front of his door.

The woman was wearing a fine silk dress with snow-white trim, holding a crescent-moon-white long sword, looking left and right; it was none other than Lou Siyi, who had attended the banquet with him that day.

Regardless of a woman's personality, fragility is always the most prominent component.

When saved by a man while being attacked in the street, one will always develop some small, private thoughts.

So, upon learning that Ji You did not have a sword of his own, she entrusted someone to buy a good one for him.

However, the person Lou Siyi waited for at the door was not Ji You, but two other close friends she was very familiar with, who were arriving from different directions.

One was the daughter of a wealthy family from Yunzhou, Lu Qingqiu, holding a sword adorned with pearls and jewels, her skirt fluttering as she approached, her figure undulating.

The other person who arrived was Sun Zhiqiao, who also held a long sword in her hand.

However, the three women seemed not to have coordinated beforehand; after seeing each other, they were slightly stunned, and then noticed the swords in each other's hands, looking slightly embarrassed.

"Why did you come?"

"Young Master Ji has no sword, so I came to give him one..."

After hearing Lou Siyi's answer, Lu Qingqiu turned her gaze toward Sun Zhiqiao: "And you call yourselves sisters, yet you acted privately without discussing it with us?"

Sun Zhiqiao held the sword in her arms, her face slightly red: "Giving a man a sword is easily misunderstood, and besides, he is Fang Ruoyao's fiancé, so how could I say it out loud?"

Lu Qingqiu raised her delicate eyebrows: "You also know he is Fang Ruoyao's fiancé, yet you still have the nerve to come here chirping like a bird to give him a sword?"

"But Qingqiu, it seems you also came to give him a sword, didn't you?"

Lu Qingqiu was choked up for a moment, pursing her lips for a long time before speaking: "I hosted the banquet yesterday, and I have responsibility for the attack; besides, he saved me twice yesterday, so it wouldn't be right for me not to show some gesture, as it would be too heartless."

Sun Zhiqiao and Lou Siyi looked at each other: "We naturally came because our lives were saved by him too."

"He only saved you as an afterthought, you don't need to be so overly polite."

"?"

Lou Siyi and Sun Zhiqiao were slightly stunned, thinking to themselves, why was saving us considered an afterthought?

Besides, the phrase "no need to be so overly polite" should have been said by Ji You himself.

Lu Qingqiu ignored them and continued talking to herself: "Besides, that day, my sword was the only one he held tightly the whole time; I imagine he likes it very much, so I'll give him one just like it."

"That was just because your sword was closer to him; if mine had been closer, the one he held tightly would definitely have been mine."

Lu Qingqiu didn't know where her sisters got their confidence: "When a man chooses a sword, he definitely chooses one he likes at first sight."

Lou Siyi rolled her eyes at her: "In a life-or-death moment, of course, one just grabs whatever is at hand; how could there be such clever thinking as Qingqiu's?"

"You..."

Sun Zhiqiao saw that the two were about to argue and immediately spoke up: "Alright, alright, since he can use three swords, wouldn't it be perfect if we each gave him one?"

Lou Siyi stopped speaking after hearing this, but then began to hesitate: "If we give swords to Fang Ruoyao's fiancé, shouldn't we let her know?"

Lu Qingqiu raised her head: "We don't have any other intentions; since our conscience is clear, why do something unnecessary that would only make people think there is something going on?"

However, just as she finished speaking, two more figures ran over from the side; one was Qian Jun, and the other was Bai Rulong.

Both of them also had a sword in their hands, and bumping into the three women, they were somewhat surprised.

It seems they all thought of the same thing.

Ji You stood on the mountain path not far away, watching this scene, thinking to himself, this is great, I'm about to become Colonel Zuo.

"Young Master Ji."

Lu Qingqiu happened to see him coming along the mountain path and stretched out her fair jade arm to wave at him: "Did the Administration Office investigation have any results?"

Ji You shook his head: "The matter is strange, and the Administration Office currently has no leads; everyone should try not to go out these next few days."

"Do you mean to say that they will commit crimes again?"

"The perpetrators' motives are not yet clear, so it's impossible to judge whether they will stop."

Bai Rulong hesitated for a long time before speaking: "I've been tossing and turning these past few days, and I actually think it was done by my half-brother who hired assassins."

Lou Siyi also couldn't help but speak: "I actually think they were targeting me; perhaps they have their eyes on my family's spirit herbs."

Ji You smiled after hearing this.

If it were really as they thought, this matter would be simple.

But the problem is, this explanation doesn't account for why Zhang Congzhi, Cai Ziyao, and three other practitioners were harmed.

In the Qingyun world, to be able to kill disciples of the Immortal Sect so recklessly, the conspiracy behind this is far greater than they imagined.

Ji You regained his focus, looked at the swords in everyone's hands, and coughed: "By the way, what brings you all to me?"

Lou Siyi and Sun Zhiqiao finally remembered their intention and immediately stepped forward holding their swords: "Young Master Ji, we heard you don't have a sword, so we specially chose one to give to you, to thank you for saving our lives."

Lu Qingqiu also raised the sword in her hand: "And me too."

Bai Rulong and Qian Jun also nodded: "Us too, thank you Brother Ji for saving the two of us; from now on, we two will follow Brother Ji!"

"Eh, what is this talk."

Ji You waved his hands and took the five swords one by one: "I will accept the swords, but the junior brother part is too valuable, it's not appropriate."

"?"

Ji You took the swords back into the room, then lit a charcoal stove, put on a few sweet potatoes, and set a pot of water to boil.

Seeing that the five were still outside, he waved his hand and invited them inside.

Although he didn't have much affection for children of wealthy families, since he had accepted their swords, he couldn't even refuse them tea.

The sweet potatoes roasted in the glowing red stove emitted waves of fragrance, while the hot water was the first to boil.

Ji You brewed the tea, poured a cup first, and handed it to Lu Qingqiu, who was on his right: "Let it sit for a moment, be careful it's hot."

"Thank you..."

Lu Qingqiu took the teacup and couldn't help but look at Ji You.

On the night of the attack, this person pushed her away regardless of his own safety, swapped positions with her before the blade, and couldn't keep his hands off her personal sword.

Now, the first cup of tea was given to me, and his tone is so gentle.

Looking closer, among the five teacups on the table, only hers and Ji You's were the same pattern, as if they were a pair.

Sure enough, there are some thoughts unrelated to classmate friendship...

Miss Lu, the daughter of the Yunzhou wealthy family, couldn't help but rest her chin on her hand, staring at Ji You's profile for a while.

Ji You can indeed be called handsome, and even his temperament is quite extraordinary.

She only knew before that the other party was a private cultivator from a remote countryside, but she had never noticed this point.

After watching for a long time, Lu Qingqiu came back to her senses and couldn't help but sigh.

She can see his kindness toward her, but unfortunately, she won't choose him.

He didn't do anything wrong; he was just wrong in his humble background.

Before coming to the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan, the elders of the Lu family hinted to Lu Qingqiu that she should get close to Chu He.

Because the Chu family members are all experts of the Upper Five Realms, and their talent can be inherited through bloodlines; this point is too terrifying.

But Lu Qingqiu doesn't like Chu He; she always feels that the other party is too aggressive and dark-minded; compared to him, a man like Ji You is much better.

But even so, Lu Qingqiu still won't choose him.

The Lu family of Yunzhou started with spirit mines and was already quite envied, so they needed to unite with more forces through marriage.

Her aunt married the son of an elder of the Mountain Sea Pavilion for this reason.

Although that elder's son was incompetent, he could make those who coveted the Lu family's spirit mines dare not act rashly; this is what unity is.

Unless Ji You can become a direct disciple of the Hall Master, then stay in the sect to become an elder, branch out, and take root in the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan.

But the probability of such a thing is too low.

There are countless examples of those who were brilliant in the Outer Court but gradually became mediocre after entering the Inner Court; Senior Brother Ban is one of them.

Human power has its limits; only wealthy families can be passed down for ten thousand generations.

The Qingyun world is just such a solid piece of iron.

There was once a play among the people telling of a daughter of a noble family who fell in love with a poor scholar, and in the end, even in death, they remained entangled, turning into butterflies and flying together.

But that, after all, was just a play, a play that only people at the bottom could write.

Lu Qingqiu pondered for a long time and felt that she still needed to find an opportunity to explain the pros and cons to him.

And at this moment, Ji You had no idea that the young lady beside him had such intense and fluctuating inner thoughts.

What he was thinking about now was that because of this attack, it seemed he hadn't been to the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan to savor and discuss the Dao for a long time.

"It's getting late, time to go back."

After drinking a few pots of tea and chatting for a while, Lu Qingqiu suggested leaving.

Seeing this, the others looked up at the sky and found that it was indeed near dusk, so they responded one after another.

However, what was surprising was that Ji You also got up and followed them out of the courtyard, and closed the courtyard door.

"To see us off for such a short distance..."

Lu Qingqiu was somewhat worried about Ji You's quiet and secret care.

However, before she could open her mouth to refuse, she discovered that Ji You was not walking with them, but turned and went to the Enlightenment Field.

(Had an argument with my wife, she wanted to drag me out shopping, which is outrageous. Is my time for shopping? It's for writing! Seeking monthly tickets, seeking follow-reads... or2)

(End of chapter)