Chapter 96: The Little Inspector

At night, stars hung low, and the moon over Shengjing shone like liquid silver.

Ji You left the Bishui Lake Elegant Garden and found many people staring at him with strange eyes, especially some senior sisters whose gazes burned intensely.

How come some people aren’t even wearing belly bands? Damn… this is what cultivation disciples call true freedom?

This is just too free.

Ji You had always been observant; passing through the Awakening Ground among those coming and going, he was deeply shaken inside.

He sat cross-legged on the ground in the Awakening Ground, quietly withdrawing his gaze, then sent his spiritual sense soaring upward.

After passing through endless darkness between the hollows, he arrived beneath Xuwu Mountain.

Yan Shuyi sat atop a black stone, her delicate fingers continuously shaping the Dao, causing swirling mystic light to ripple around her, mirroring the void.

The attempt by Tianjian Peak to absorb Wenjian Peak had intensified the tensions among the three main peaks of Lingjian Mountain.

Though the conflict remained contained, hidden currents surged constantly; she needed to become the sharpest sword faster, so she trained relentlessly these past days.

As Ji You’s approach was announced, the Little Inspector dismissed her Daoic formation and shifted her pert little buttocks slightly on the black stone.

Her red skirt was much shorter than usual, revealing pale, slender legs; she turned her head back, her expression proudly aloof.

“Did the Yuan siblings leave?”

Ji You hadn’t meant to disturb her while she meditated peacefully, but before his buttocks even touched the stone, he heard her voice—he immediately stood at attention, his gaze resolute: “They left at dawn.”

Yan Shuyi lifted her eyes: “I heard someone fought over the Yu Danzong’s eldest daughter, clashed with the Inner Court’s direct disciples, and stunned the Outer Court with fifty-three sword strikes—quite the spectacle.”

Ji You turned his head in surprise: “How do you know about this?”

“I have scouts outside Lingjian Mountain in Shengjing—nothing escapes me. One of my disciples, Bai Xi, tells stories very well, and apparently she knows you—I just happened to listen a little longer.”

“Is your sect’s messaging that fast?”

The Little Inspector looked down at him: “Lingjian Mountain’s communication methods are naturally faster than those used by your Tian Shu Academy.”

Ji You instantly saw she was lying.

In today’s Qingyun Realm, information exchange relied solely on Message Incense and Burning Letter Technique, both limited by distance and time.

Lingjian Mountain was far from Shengjing—neither method could possibly deliver messages the same day.

The only possibility was the Mountain Gate Jade Token, but that technique consumed immense spiritual sense and could only be used for critical matters.

This girl… she probably used the Mountain Gate Jade Token every day to ask disciples whether the Yuan siblings had left.

Ji You didn’t ask, because even if he did, she’d just say, “I overheard it—I didn’t care much.”

The Little Inspector of Lingjian Mountain had lips softer than rose petals but harder than swords.

Yan Shuyi furrowed her elegant brows, fixing her gaze on Ji You: “Why are you silent?”

“I didn’t expect all this got back to you.”

“I didn’t inquire—it was Bai Xi who insisted on telling me, since she knows you.”

Yan Shuyi straightened her willow-like waist: “Everyone in Shengjing says you and Yuan Caiwei are mutually smitten. I was slow to catch on—I didn’t notice those two days in Ningcheng County, too busy resenting you for pinching my cheeks.”

After hearing this, Ji You coughed once, thinking: The Little Inspector’s grudge is blunt as a hammer.

Back in Ningyang County, she used to call her “Caiwei-jie”—now she calls her “that woman.”

Seeing him silent, Yan Shuyi spoke with a fierce, cute edge: “What are you smiling at?”

“I can’t help it—Yuan Miss massages my feet every day, but you never let me, and every time I try, you kick me.”

“So you like feet… and apparently, anyone’s will do…”

Yan Shuyi spoke calmly, then paused, and from above, extended her snow-white foot forward.

Ji You froze, thinking: This is allowed? He reached out with a righteous expression—before his fingers touched her plump toes, he was kicked straight down the mountain.

Yan Shuyi glared at him, cheeks flushed: “You’re dreaming.”

“The duel wasn’t about jealousy—it was because my departure from the academy was near. Many senior Outer Court disciples, stirred up by the Inner Court, came to harass me to curry favor with the Hall Master’s direct disciples.”

Ji You climbed back up the mountain, instinctively brushing dust off himself, then walked beside her.

Yan Shuyi lifted her eyes as he moved: “But you’re not a violent person.”

Ji You nodded: “True. But I didn’t realize they were paying—such an obvious trap, and I fell for it. Annoying.”

“Ji You, why are you so obsessed with money?”

“I’m terrified of being poor—I always want to save up to marry a wife.”

Yan Shuyi raised her moist eyes, staring straight at him, then softly opened her lips: “Ji You, I want a sword—one that costs a thousand taels—but I have no money.”

Ji You sat beside her: “Shall I help you gather the funds?”

“I’m serious—don’t think I’m joking, or you’ll regret giving it and resent me.”

“Fine. I’ll send it to you tomorrow.”

Seeing he wasn’t teasing, Yan Shuyi kicked him several times, then, after the final kick, casually rested her foot on his thigh.

Since returning from Ningcheng County, this stranger she’d only met twice had grown bolder.

Before, when she kicked him, he never dared retaliate; later, every kick led to him touching her feet. At first, she blushed, but after a few times, she grew used to it—didn’t feel ashamed to drape her foot on his leg.

Like the first time she visited him—afraid of the dark, unwilling to sleep outside, huddling by the stove, gradually growing accustomed to being close to him.

Ji You watched her feigned composure, his gaze rising—then froze in surprise: “Your skirt… why’s it so short now?”

“I don’t know—it was like this when I came today…”

Yan Shuyi murmured, staring at the hem now nearly reaching her thighs, then looked up at Ji You—saw his body wreathed in yellow smoke, and slowly pulled the hem down.

The wonder of Xuwu Mountain wasn’t just that spiritual senses could touch each other—emotions could also leak outward.

Besides those two, clothing seemed to shift with one’s inner state.

Like how she usually favored red flowing immortal robes and refused shoes—here, she wore the same, unchanged from her real-world attire.

But today, for some reason, her skirt had suddenly grown much shorter.

She felt her inner state hadn’t changed, then glanced at the stranger she’d met only twice.

A hereditary constitution…?

Yan Shuyi recalled the rumor Bai Xi had told her today, then remembered how he’d asked in Ningcheng County whether she planned to pass the Ling Jian to the next generation—her eyes flickered with faint shame and irritation.

Ji You noticed her aura suddenly shifting from purple-black to a faint yellow, and held his breath.

He still couldn’t defeat her, so he dared not ask what she was thinking—he pretended not to notice.

They sat in silence for a long while, until Yan Shuyi suddenly spoke: “Have you seen your Tian Shu Academy’s imperial decree?”

“Imperial decree?”

Ji You recalled the golden light that had shot from Nishan’s peak before he accepted the challenge—and nodded.

Yan Shuyi grew solemn: “The Zheng family’s patriarch came from the Chen Shixian clan, used Yu Danzong’s methods to ascend, and killed countless immortal sect disciples. Most importantly, this exposed their greed and shamed all other immortal sects—cultivation requires a pure heart, yet this scheme laid bare their avarice.”

Ji You chuckled: “Shanhai Pavilion lost the most lives—so they’re the greediest. Chen Shixian comes second, Tianjian Peak third. It’s almost laughable.”

“Correct. But your Tian Shu Academy’s decree claims it seeks to clear Yu Danzong’s name, stating they had no connection to the ruins’ calamity—so they won’t act against Yu Danzong for now.”

“That’s not surprising—the head of Yu Danzong’s younger brother came personally to Tian Shu Academy and stayed in the Inner Court for a long time. What about Chen Shixian?”

Yan Shuyi swung her feet: “Shanhai Pavilion and Tianjian Peak have sent large groups of cultivators to pay their respects at Chen Shixian’s mountain.”

Ji You instinctively grasped her snow-white foot—felt it was cold.

He once heard a saying: only girls without anyone to care for them have cold hands and feet.

The Little Inspector ignored his boldness and continued: “There’s another matter—I should tell you.”

“Hmm?”

You know the Qingyun Realm is scattered with countless ruins. A few days ago, Wenda Sect sent word, proposing we jointly control all the ruins in Lingzhou and Yuzhou. Other immortal sects are likely secretly counting ruins as well, preparing to divide them up.

Ji You’s brow furrowed: “They still won’t give up on this so-called divine fortune?”

In the Qingyun Realm, only resources were divided among immortal sects.

From the people’s taxes to the primordial herbs of the Northern Plains, spirit stone veins, and spirit seed fields—all were seized.

Before the Zheng patriarch attempted his ascent, ruins were never among the resources sects fought over.

But this change reveals one thing: ancient ruins are now seen as resources by immortal sects.

The Zheng patriarch’s ascent failed, yes—but he truly opened the path to ascension. Cultivators can’t ignore this.

If he’d heard this before returning from Ningcheng County, he wouldn’t have worried.

With more cultivators, the people suffer more—opening more ruins, killing more cultivators, might even relieve the burden on the masses.

But now he didn’t think that way—he knew the divine fortune within ruins required infants as vessels. If this leaked, it would be a great catastrophe for humanity.

“It’s not just the Seven Immortal Sects who won’t give up.”

“Demons?”

“Yes. Since the founding of the Great Xia, demons and humans have had no contact for centuries—but now, demon folk are entering the Nine Provinces under various pretenses. Just yesterday, rumors spread that a royal demon scion would come to tour.”

Yan Shuyi watched his furrowed brow and softly bit her lips: “You don’t want the ruins opened?”

Ji You nodded: “Opening them will kill many.”

Then I won’t deal with Wenda Sect…

The Little Inspector murmured, then noticed Ji You staring at her oddly—she instantly straightened her face: “I’m the Little Inspector of Lingjian Mountain—I don’t want my disciples dying for this, nor do I want Tianjian Peak to seize any divine fortune.”

Ji You fell silent for a long while: “There are many immortal sects in the world—but only one Yan Shuyi.”

Yan Shuyi stared at him, then softly spoke: “You needn’t worry so much—the Seven Immortal Sects balance each other. Even if one wants to move first, it won’t be easy.”

“True—but someone will surely break first…”

(Returned to my hometown for New Year’s. Today, I drove all night back—wrote for hours hunched in the car, my hands frozen stiff. I’ll fix errors when I get home. Please vote for me!)

(End of Chapter)