Mysterious Disappearances

At first, the young woman's cultivation schedule had not been fixed.

But as they grew familiar with each other, Ji You discovered that their chances of meeting had become increasingly frequent.

He suspected that she was adjusting to his schedule. The reason was simple: his cultivation hours were fixed. He practiced martial arts during the day and comprehended the Dao in the evening. If she did not wish to see him, she could easily avoid him.

Thus, the two maintained this tacit understanding, each sitting upon a black stone to cultivate.

Cultivation was originally a tedious affair, yet having a fellow cultivator with whom one shared such unspoken harmony seemed like an excellent thing.

However, over the next seven or eight days, the young woman always looked unhappy, growing irritable for no apparent reason. If he looked at her a few times too many, she would get angry.

The good part was that the irritable young woman was no longer satisfied with merely flicking her sleeve. She now used her snow-white little feet to kick him straight out.

Was this not a kind of reward?

"Nineteen breaths..."

"At this rate, I should be able to gather all seven strands of Mystic Light before the year ends..."

After being kicked flying, Ji You slowly opened his eyes, golden mist filling them.

At this moment, the fifth strand of Mystic Light had formed!

A powerful Divine Sense had another benefit: it elevated his five senses to unprecedented heights. He could even observe the minute details of a flying insect's wings beating.

Some women in the academy, such as Miss Lu Qingqiu of Yun Province, wanted grace but not warmth. Even in cold weather, they wore only gauzy skirts, using spiritual energy to ward off the chill.

Whenever he encountered them at the Dao Comprehension Ground, Ji You was even somewhat embarrassed to look too closely, stopping after only a dozen or so glances.

In the mountains, there was no calendar; when the cold had passed, one did not know the year.

When Ji You opened his eyes again, the sky was vast and gray, cold air drifting around the distant mountains. Deep winter had arrived.

He reached out and took out his purse, weighing it in his hand before deciding to head to Immortal Cuisine House and fill his stomach.

A few days ago, Kuang Cheng had come by and said he had joined the Immortal Affairs Supervision Bureau. His monthly salary was fifteen taels, and he had given seven taels to Ji You.

This Immortal Affairs Supervision Bureau was a new government office established by the Emperor of Great Xia. It was said to exist specifically to serve the immortal sects. It did not seem like an attempt to restore imperial authority; rather, it looked somewhat like an effort to become the immortal sects' lapdog.

But in Ji You's view, this might well have been an act of showing weakness to the enemy, proving that the Emperor of Great Xia was not without brains.

Ji You practiced the Mountain Shaking Fist in empty forms as he walked toward the White Jade Platform.

He cultivated both martial arts and the Dao. Although everyone said martial arts were ultimately but minor skills, he had never neglected them.

It was simply that he no longer visited the Sword Testing Forest as often. He had basically mastered the foundations of swordsmanship, spearmanship, and fist techniques, and could perform an entire set of moves while walking or sitting.

Besides, Wang Xinan had begged him not to go anymore. He said that teaching martial techniques had once been an easy, leisurely job, but ever since Ji You arrived, he had never been happy again.

He even said that as long as Ji You went a few fewer times, he would not need to pay that one tael of silver.

This matter made even the bandit feel embarrassed, so he readily agreed.

Upon reaching the Ascending Immortal White Jade Platform, Ji You suddenly saw thirteen instructors, including Instructor Cao, returning from outside. They were covered in dust, their brows deeply furrowed.

It seemed that ever since winter began, the outer academy had been somewhat chaotic, and Shengjing City had been somewhat chaotic as well.

"Instructor Cao!"

"Ah? Oh, Ji You."

Cao Jinsong stopped at the White Jade Platform. After bidding farewell to the other instructors, he walked toward Ji You. "Has your cultivation been going smoothly?"

Ji You released his spiritual light, five streaks appearing upon his forehead.

"Good heavens, this lad is extraordinary. Could it be that you will enter the fifth realm before the year ends?"

"No, I still intend to steady myself. I do not wish to rush too much."

Ji You was somewhat worried about his shattered spiritual origin, so he left himself an excuse.

"Steady is fine as well. After all, Chu He has shut himself indoors and refused to emerge. I fear his Dao heart has been utterly shattered. Lu Qingqiu has only condensed two strands of Mystic Light too, so there is no need to hurry."

After speaking, Cao Jinsong recalled something. "Right, have you seen Zhang Congzhi and Cai Ziyao?"

"I have seen Cai Ziyao, probably before the Beginning of Winter. She was quite lovely, wearing a Plain Snow Thousand Water Skirt, with very large eyes. As for Zhang Congzhi..."

Ji You frowned slightly for a while. "Who is he?"

"Zhang Congzhi entered at the same time as you and often comprehends the Dao at the Dao Comprehension Ground. You do not know him, yet you know Cai Ziyao, who rarely goes to the Dao Comprehension Ground?"

"Then Zhang Congzhi must have no distinctive features."

Cao Jinsong waved his hand. "But that is not important. What is important is that the two of them vanished after the Beginning of Winter. The other instructors and I searched outside for three days, yet found no trace of them."

Ji You froze for a moment. He thought that cultivators going missing was truly a rare occurrence.

He seemed to smell a faint trace of something bad, yet he could not say where the problem lay.

"Before they left, were there any signs? For instance, something like, 'Junior Sister, I want to see whether your Dao heart is sound'?"

Instructor Cao spat. "The two did not disappear at the same time. There were seven days between their disappearances."

Ji You pondered for a while. "Perhaps they did not disappear for the same reason?"

"Whether they did or did not, they are gone. Moreover, neither their usual clothing nor their valuable pills and spirit stones were taken with them. They should not have been away for so long."

"Could they have met with some misfortune?"

"Who would dare attack Celestial Academy disciples beneath the very eyes of Celestial Academy? I do not think so."

After saying this, Instructor Cao urged him to cultivate diligently, then hurried away.

Ji You watched him disappear, then returned to Jade Garden of Bingshui Lake while practicing his fist forms.

Yet before he could even enter his gate, he saw a group of fellow cultivators arrive before his courtyard entrance.

There were two in the Nirvana Realm, Bai Rulong and Qian Yunxiao, along with three female cultivators: Lu Qingqiu, Sun Zhiqiao, and Lou Siyi.

"Young Master Ji."

"What is it, everyone?"

Lu Qingqiu smiled faintly. "Today is the Winter Solstice. Qingqiu is hosting a gathering and wishes to invite you to Hong Ding Tower. Would you honor us with your presence?"

Ever since their previous encounter at Immortal Cuisine House, she had revealed her intention to befriend him on several occasions.

Such was the way of daughters of great clans. Even if someone was a rival among fellow cultivators, once they saw that person's future was bright, they would immediately change their minds.

"Good!"

"Then let us meet before the Divine Gate Divine Path at Shen Shi."

Ji You glanced around. "Who else is coming?"

Lu Qingqiu nodded slightly. "Young Master Bai went to call on Chu He earlier, but he was not in his room."

"Then we shall meet at Shen Shi."

Ji You cupped his hands to the group, then entered through the gate and took out a letter from a drawer.

It had been sent from Yuyang County. He had not had the time to read it earlier while cultivating, and he assumed that Old Qiu must be writing to ask after his well-being.

Sure enough, Old Qiu began the letter by asking whether he was doing well. He also said that Qiu Ru had grown half a head taller and was always muttering about when young master would return.

In addition, Fang Zhongzheng had visited the Qiu household and said that Old Qiu had been quite capable when he worked for the Ji Family in the past. He had asked him to take up a post at the county office.

Old Qiu also mentioned something else—more precisely, something strange.

He said that evil spirits seemed to be causing trouble near Thirty Mile Shop, resulting in livestock frequently vanishing during the days after Ji You left.

After reading the letter, Ji You thought, How strange. Why do I keep encountering disappearances?

Two people had just disappeared from Celestial Academy, and now even the livestock near Thirty Mile Shop had vanished...

(The foreshadowing will gradually connect later. Please support with monthly votes and continued reading.)