Chapter 92: The Brother-in-Law Setup

"Young Master Ji, where is my younger brother?"

"He knew I was the one hosting, so he rushed off to pick a restaurant."

"These past few days, many people from your Heavenly Tian Shuyuan have wanted to invite him, but he hasn't been interested. It seems he isn't indifferent to the specialties of the capital; it's just that the host wasn't the right person."

"How foolish. He doesn't know that every time he attends a banquet, he could bring me along to freeload..."

Ji You muttered to himself, feeling that he would need to teach Yuanchen more about this in the future.

Yuan Caiwei followed behind, watching his figure. He looked somewhat travel-worn, just like her younger brother had been these past few days.

This made her unable to help but recall the casual chat she and her brother had in the courtyard last night.

Her brother was the person closest to the Dao of alchemy in the Pill Sect in the last hundred years. In the eyes of outsiders, even if some disciples of the Immortal Sects became personal disciples, they might not necessarily become the Abbot in the future.

But her brother was different, because their father had long ago revealed his intention to pass the sect leadership to him.

It was just that her brother had never been very attentive to the Dao of alchemy.

He had once secretly left the mountain and gone to a manor under the Mountain Sea Pavilion to seek a master, only to be caught and brought back after being discovered.

The elders at home had both taught and disciplined him, but they were never able to rekindle his interest in alchemy, which gave them quite a headache.

She hadn't expected that in the end, it would be this person who untied the knot in their Pill Sect's heart.

Within Yuan Caiwei's line of sight, Ji You, who was walking in front, suddenly turned his head. He was attracted by a female cultivator who possessed a heart for the world, his gaze filled with appreciation and awe.

Seeing this scene, the Pill Sect's eldest daughter wore a slightly feigned expression.

For a man with such rude behavior, she would usually find him shallow and dissolute.

But when it came to Ji You, she felt this was his true nature. Even if his character wasn't of the highest quality, he was still an upright gentleman...

These past few days, under the arrangements of the elders, she had interacted with You Buyu from the inner courtyard several times, feeling that the other party had a profound realm and carried himself with scholarly elegance.

And so, with the help of others in the inner courtyard of the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan, they had chatted about many things.

Things like the myriad Daoist methods, great freedom, ascending to become an immortal, as well as the Daoist methods he had currently realized and the techniques he had already mastered.

Seeing his high-spirited posture and vast immortal aura, he truly looked exactly like the husband Yuan Caiwei had once imagined.

Yet for some reason, she always felt a lack of spirit, feeling as if the countless people around her were all floating on the surface, though she still smiled and echoed them.

Thus, the few days of the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan trip passed by in a rush, and she found that she couldn't remember much, only those few sentences.

"Sister, do you think our preaching was wrong?"

"Brother-in-law said, since I was born between heaven and earth, I must leave some stories for future generations to see."

Yuan Caiwei watched Ji You walking in front, and besides the sound of the wind, only those few sentences remained in her ears.

"..."

"What are we eating? Mountain chicken from Hongding Tower, and it's fifty taels each? Is this a mountain chicken or a phoenix?"

"Brother-in-law, you said it didn't matter."

"Look at my sword; it wants to tell you that eating some braised bones is enough. What kind of bicycle do you need?"

"..."

In recent days, there had been many people traveling in company to enjoy the spring, and they would gather at taverns after returning to the city, making the business at Hongding Tower very lively.

At this moment, on the second floor of the tavern, Lu Qingqiu, Lou Siyi, and Sun Qiaozhi were already seated, with Princess Changle and Dou Yuankong sitting across from them.

They had made an appointment a few days ago, the purpose being the matter of the Great Xia wanting to strengthen the control of spirit stones and immortal herbs, but it had been delayed by Ji You returning to the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan.

So, taking advantage of this bright spring day, they finally managed to meet up.

Originally, they had also invited Chu He, but today several Chu family members had come to the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan, presumably to help him obtain a spot in the inner courtyard, so he didn't have the time.

There were two others on the banquet list: Yuanchen and Yuan Caiwei.

The spirit pills produced by the Pill Sect were of the highest quality in the world. Except for some top-grade and supreme-grade spirit pills that were not allowed to be circulated or sold privately, the other low and middle-grade spirit pills were actually a very big business.

But unfortunately, Lu Qingqiu had submitted visiting cards several times and was politely declined.

Princess Changle actually also wanted to get to know the disciples of the Pill Sect. After all, she was currently charging into the Upper Five Realms and needed some supreme-grade spirit pills to protect her Dao.

Such spirit pills were only allowed to be purchased and circulated by the Immortal Sects. The Great Xia laws did not allow imperial clans to join Immortal Sects, so she would be in a difficult position even if she had a fortune.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but think of the scholar outside the city who was distributing porridge with Wei Rui, and the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan student who stood side by side with the scholar.

"What is Ji You doing now?"

Lu Qingqiu was somewhat surprised to hear this: "The Princess still remembers Ji You?"

Princess Changle nodded: "I went to the outskirts of the capital for a spring outing a few days ago and saw him bring a Pill Sect personal disciple to treat the refugees. That Pill Sect personal disciple seemed to call him brother-in-law? Is there such a thing?"

"I have heard of this."

"It's actually true?"

Lu Qingqiu covered her mouth and chuckled: "That Pill Sect personal disciple is a bit strange. It is said that he doesn't like the Dao of alchemy but prefers fighting and killing. Ji You saved him and his sister in the ruins, so he naturally feels very close to Ji You."

Princess Changle had some realization: "Then why call him brother-in-law?"

"That Pill Sect personal disciple's longing for Ji You is like a mortal's longing for immortals like us, so he has always wanted to play matchmaker for him and his sister. I can only say that this Pill Sect personal disciple's mind is truly a bit simple."

"Then what does his sister think?"

Princess Changle had also thought about making friends with Ji You, but she hadn't made up her mind yet.

After all, in her heart, she appreciated Chu He, and Chu He, who now had a backbone of pride, had already been stepped on and broken by Ji You twice.

But if Ji You could really marry into the Pill Sect, even if the man she appreciated was stepped on a third time, she would still have to show some goodwill.

Because things like medicinal pills were too important for cultivators.

"His sister naturally does not agree."

"The current situation between the Immortal Sects is a bit complicated. The Mountain Sea Pavilion wants to hold the Chen clan accountable, while other Immortal Sects feel that the Pill Sect is in collusion with the Zheng family, so they are suspicious of each other."

"The Pill Sect wants to seek greater help, and the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan is happy to see it happen, so they arranged for Senior Brother You to interact with Yuan Caiwei. It is said that the two have a very good impression of each other."

"Senior Brother You is the nephew of Hall Master You of the Auspicious Hall, with a cultivation base in the Realm of Merging with the Dao."

Lu Qingqiu raised her moist eyes and pursed her red lips after speaking.

Actually, she felt Ji You was very good; he had talent and was a nice person. The moment he was attacked on the street that day, she had also had various thoughts about him.

It was just that he was all alone, and his status without a family background was too eye-catching.

Yuan Caiwei was born in the Pill Sect, just as she was born in the Lu family. Girls should always be a bit more precocious and know their responsibilities.

Princess Changle nodded after hearing this, feeling that what Lu Qingqiu said was more reasonable.

Between a personal disciple of a Hall Master in the Realm of Merging with the Dao and a wild private cultivator from the outer courtyard, there was indeed no need to hesitate about which one to choose.

Just at this moment, a familiar figure walked up from downstairs.

The expressionless Ji You still decided to cut his losses and bring them here to eat the wild chicken that was priced like a phoenix.

Because this was the first time Kuangcheng was eating with Wei Rui, considering Wei Rui's status, it wouldn't be good to make it too shabby.

Moreover, after the Little Appraisal Master was taken by him to eat braised bones once, she seemed to have complaints even now.

"Brother Ji?"

Lu Qingqiu looked at him with some surprise: "Here to eat?"

Ji You turned his head to look at Lu Qingqiu: "What a coincidence, Miss Lu, Miss Lou, and Miss Sun are also here?"

"Meeting with a few friends in the capital. This is Princess Changle, and this is Young Master Dou."

"Oh, we've met once before."

Dou Yuankong had already seen Wei Rui and Kuangcheng coming over gracefully. His expression changed and he was about to stand up, but was stopped by Zhao Yunyue with a look.

Because at this moment, besides them, the Pill Sect personal disciple and the eldest daughter of the Pill Sect were also coming upstairs.

As their eyes met, Wei Rui was also flustered, but seeing that her old friend didn't speak, she felt a little relieved and slowly bowed to pay her respects.

Afterwards, Ji You led everyone to the table next door and stared at the mountain chicken that had been served for a long time.

Although the private rooms at Hongding Tower were separated, there were screens between them, and the upper and lower ends were still hollowed out.

"Brother-in-law, sit."

"Brother-in-law, hurry and taste the mountain chicken I ordered..."

"Brother-in-law, why aren't you eating? Do you not like it?"

Lu Qingqiu and the others had just picked up their chopsticks when Yuanchen's voice rang in their ears, continuous and constant, finally making her unable to help but look back curiously.

At first, she thought that Yuanchen calling him brother-in-law so loudly in public would probably get him scolded.

The Pill Sect's eldest daughter was currently interacting with Senior Brother You from the inner courtyard. Now that her younger brother was calling someone else brother-in-law, it would be fine if she wasn't there, but since she was, she would definitely scold him.

But after waiting for a long time, Lu Qingqiu never heard any scolding, and couldn't help but feel curious.

Then she discovered that Yuan Caiwei, who was listening to her brother call Ji You brother-in-law, had no reaction, just nodding and eating, occasionally raising her eyes to look at the two of them.

She seemed to have accepted her brother's address for Ji You and didn't feel there was anything wrong with it.

Could it be that, just like the rumors, the two of them had forged a deep friendship because of life and death in the ruins, and were truly moved?

But one was a personal disciple in the Realm of Merging with the Dao, and the other was a wild private cultivator from the outer courtyard. Everyone knew how to choose.

Princess Changle also looked at her at this time: "It seems Miss Lu's judgment might be wrong."

"Perhaps Ji You did express his heart to her, but out of gratitude for saving his life, Yuan Caiwei couldn't refuse him to his face."

Dou Yuankong had a private feud with Ji You and still remembered being knocked off his horse. At this moment, he couldn't help but sneer: "This wild private cultivator really knows how to climb high branches. By using the favor of saving a life, he wants to climb up the branch and become a phoenix?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Qingqiu and Zhao Yunyue saw Ji You stand up and reach out to grab Yuanchen's ear.

"When Miss Caiwei is around, don't call me brother-in-law randomly. Your sister and I are not yet married. If people hear it, they'll think there's something between her and me. Your sister already made it clear to you before that I am not in her criteria for a husband. It seems you don't have ears."

"A woman's reputation is a big deal. Don't always make jokes about this, you brat."

"?"

Lu Qingqiu was somewhat stunned, not expecting Ji You to say such things.

So she quickly looked at Yuan Caiwei's expression and found that the other party was slightly pursing her lips, a trace of disappointment flashing in her eyes.

But soon, fighting spirit ignited in Yuan Caiwei's eyes again, as if she wanted to snatch something back.

The eldest daughter of the Lu family watched for a long time and finally muttered: Ji You doesn't like her; it's she who likes Ji You...

Princess Changle also looked at Lu Qingqiu with some disbelief at this moment, because only women like them could understand what that expression meant.

Only Dou Yuankong in the room laughed and snorted foolishly: "Can't tell, this brat actually has quite a bit of self-awareness."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 93 =====