A Gift of Sword for You

After Instructor Wang accepted him as a disciple on behalf of his master, Ji You returned to the Outer Court from the Affairs Management Courtyard.

However, as soon as he reached the Ascending Immortal White Jade Platform, Ban Yangshu and Ji Qirui caught up to him, each holding a spirit sword, intending to give it to him as a token of gratitude.

Ji You waved his hands, pushing them away. In the end, unable to refuse their earnestness, he tied the swords to his waist with a firm knot.

The senior brothers in the Inner Court were too generous, and too naive, Ji You mused with a sigh.

He finally had some motivation to join the Inner Court.

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

"With that speed, he was clearly holding back when he fought that Oddity that day..."

"..."

After bidding farewell to the two senior brothers, Ji You headed towards the Jade Garden of Bingshui Lake.

As he got a little closer, he noticed a woman standing in front of his door.

The woman, dressed in a fine gauze skirt embroidered with rolling snow, was holding a crescent moon-white longsword and looking around. It was Lou Siyi, whom he had met at the banquet that day.

Regardless of her personality, her most prominent trait was her delicateness.

When a woman is rescued by a man during an attack on the street, she tends to develop certain feelings.

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

However, what Lou Siyi found waiting at the door was not Ji You, but two other close friends from her inner circle, whom she knew very well, arriving from different directions.

One was Lu Qingqiu, a noble lady from Yunzhou, who approached with a pearl-adorned sword in hand, her skirt billowing, creating a wave of movement.

The other arrival was Sun Zhiqiao, who also held a longsword.

However, the three women seemed to have not coordinated their actions. After meeting, they paused for a moment, then noticed the swords in each other's hands, looking slightly awkward.

"Why are you two here?"

"Young Master Ji doesn't have a sword, so I came to give him one..."

After hearing Lou Siyi's answer, Lu Qingqiu turned her gaze to Sun Zhiqiao: "You call yourselves sisters, yet you acted on your own without consulting us?"

Sun Zhiqiao's face flushed slightly as she hugged the sword in her arms: "Giving a sword to a man is easily misunderstood. Moreover, he is Fang Ruoyao's fiancé, so it's not easy to say."

Lu Qingqiu's delicate eyebrows rose slightly: "You know he's Fang Ruoyao's fiancé, yet you still have the nerve to come here with your cooing and fluttering to give him a sword?"

"But Qingqiu, it seems you're also here to give him a sword, aren't you?"

Lu Qingqiu was momentarily speechless. She pursed her lips for a while before replying, "I hosted yesterday's banquet, and I also bear some responsibility for the attack. Furthermore, he saved me twice yesterday, so I couldn't possibly not show my appreciation, lest I seem too ungracious."

Sun Zhiqiao and Lou Siyi exchanged glances: "We naturally also came because he saved our lives."

"He only saved you incidentally; you don't need to be so polite."

"?"

Lou Siyi and Sun Zhiqiao were taken aback. They wondered why saving them was considered incidental.

Besides, the phrase "you don't need to be so polite" should have been said by Ji You himself.

Lu Qingqiu ignored them and continued talking to herself, "Moreover, on that day, he held onto my sword the entire time and never let go. I suppose he must have liked it, so I'm giving him the same one."

"That's just because your sword was closer to him. If mine had been closer, the one he held onto tightly would definitely have been mine."

Lu Qingqiu didn't know where her friend's confidence came from: "When a man chooses a sword, he chooses the one that catches his eye and heart at first sight."

Lou Siyi rolled her eyes at her: "At the brink of death, one acts instinctively. How could there be such careful consideration as you describe, Qingqiu?"

"You..."

Seeing the two about to argue, Sun Zhiqiao immediately interjected, "Alright, alright. Since he can use three swords, it's perfect for each of us to give him one."

Lou Siyi stopped talking upon hearing this but then began to hesitate: "Should we inform Fang Ruoyao before we give her fiancé a sword?"

Lu Qingqiu tilted her head up: "We don't have any ulterior motives. Since our consciences are clear, why do unnecessary things? It would only make people suspect something."

However, just as she finished speaking, two more figures rushed over. One was Qian Yunxiao, and the other was Bai Rulong.

Both of them also had a sword in hand, and they bumped into the three women, looking somewhat surprised.

It seemed they had all had the same idea.

Ji You watched this scene from the mountain path not far away, thinking, This is great, I'm going to turn into Commander Zuo now.

"Young Master Ji."

Lu Qingqiu happened to see him approaching along the mountain path and waved her fair jade arm at him: "Have there been any results from the investigation by the Affairs Management Courtyard?"

Ji You shook his head: "The incident is strange, and the Affairs Management Courtyard currently has no leads. It's best if everyone refrains from going out for the next few days."

"Are you implying that they will commit more crimes?"

"As the perpetrators' motives are still unclear, we cannot determine if they will stop."

Bai Rulong hesitated for a moment before speaking: "I've been tossing and turning these past few days, and I suspect it was orchestrated by my half-brother, hired by him."

Lou Siyi couldn't help but chime in: "I, on the other hand, think they were targeting me, perhaps they had their sights on the spiritual medicine from my family."

Ji You chuckled upon hearing this.

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

But the problem was, this explanation couldn't account for why Zhang Congzhi, Cai Ziyao, and three other cultivators had been killed.

In Qingyun World, the conspiracy behind such a brazen murder of Immortal Sect disciples had to be far greater than they imagined.

Ji You snapped back to reality, looking at the swords in everyone's hands and clearing his throat. "Right, what business do you have with me?"

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

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

Bai Rulong and Qian Yunxiao nodded in agreement. "Us too. Thank you, Brother Ji, for saving us. From now on, the two of us will follow Brother Ji!"

"Whoa, what kind of talk is that?"

Ji You waved his hand, accepting the five swords one by one. "I'll accept the swords, but it's too valuable for a junior like me, it's not appropriate."

"?"

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

Seeing the five people still outside, he beckoned them in.

Although he didn't have a good impression of the progeny of noble families, he had accepted their swords, so he couldn't very well not offer them tea.

The sweet potatoes roasted, filling the air with a fragrant aroma in the glowing red furnace, and the hot water was the first to boil.

Ji You finished brewing the tea, poured a cup, and handed it to Lu Qingqiu, who was on his right. "Let it cool for a bit, be careful, it's hot."

"Thank you..."

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

The night they were attacked, this person had selflessly pushed her aside, then swapped places with her at the edge of the sword, and had been infatuated with her personal sword.

Now, he gave her the first cup of tea, and his tone was so gentle.

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

Indeed, he had some feelings for her beyond mere camaraderie...

Miss Lu, the thousand-gold daughter of Yunzhou, couldn't help but rest her chin on her hand, staring at Ji You's profile.

Ji You could indeed be described as handsome and elegant, with an exceptionally refined demeanor.

She had only known before that he was a rogue cultivator from a remote region, but she had never noticed this.

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

She could see his kindness towards her, but unfortunately, she wouldn't choose him.

He hadn't done anything wrong; his only mistake was his humble background.

Before coming to the Celestial Academy, her elders in the Lu family had hinted to Lu Qingqiu to befriend Chu He.

Because everyone in the Chu family was a master of the upper five realms, and their talent could be inherited through bloodline, which was truly terrifying.

But Lu Qingqiu didn't like Chu He. She always felt he was too aggressive and had dark intentions. Compared to him, a man like Ji You was so much better.

Even so, Lu Qingqiu still wouldn't choose him.

The Lu family of Yunzhou made its fortune from spirit mines, which already attracted much envy. They needed to form alliances with more powers through marriage.

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

Although that elder's son was uneducated, he deterred those who coveted the Lu family's spirit mines, and this was the purpose of the alliance.

Unless Ji You could become a direct disciple of the Hall Master and remain in the sect to become an elder, establishing his own lineage and rooting himself in the Celestial Academy.

But the probability of that was too low.

There were countless examples of those who were exceptionally talented in the Outer Court becoming mediocre in the Inner Court. Senior Brother Ban was one of them.

Human strength is finite, only noble families can last for generations.

Qingyun World was such an unyielding structure.

There was once a folk play that told the story of a noblewoman who fell in love with a poor scholar, and in the end, even in death, they were bound together, transforming into butterflies and flying away together.

But that, after all, was just a play, a play that only the lower class could write.

Lu Qingqiu pondered for a long time, feeling that she should find an opportunity to explain the advantages and disadvantages to him.

At this moment, Ji You had no idea that the young lady beside him was experiencing such intense inner turmoil.

What he was thinking about was that because of this attack, he hadn't gone to the Heavenly Tome to ponder the Dao in a long time.

"It's getting late, I should be going back."

After drinking several cups of tea and chatting for a while, Lu Qingqiu suggested they leave.

Seeing this, the others looked up at the sky and realized it was indeed nearing dusk, so they all agreed.

However, to their surprise, Ji You also stood up and walked out of the courtyard with them, closing the courtyard gate.

"He's escorting us even for such a short distance..."

Lu Qingqiu worried about Ji You's subtle, unspoken concern.

But before she could refuse, she realized Ji You wasn't walking with them but had turned and headed towards the Dao Comprehension Ground.