I Like Kicking You

As dusk settled, the sky was high and the clouds were thin.

Night gradually crept in from the eastern horizon, causing the fiery red in the west to fade until it was finally swallowed by the vast expanse of the sky.

The disciples from the Dao Comprehension Ground rose and headed to the Immortal Cuisine House, stopping involuntarily as they crossed the white jade bridge.

They saw Instructor Cao sitting on the stone steps, guarding an empty money pouch and angrily muttering about how the world had gone downhill.

"No wonder they refused it when it was offered; they only like to snatch things! What kind of weird habit is this?"

The disciples coming from the Dao Comprehension Ground, seeing him cursing, all bypassed him without a sound. Upon reaching the Immortal Cuisine House, they saw Ji You and the exceptionally elegant Fairy sitting opposite each other.

Spirit Prefecture had only one sect, called Spirit Sword Mountain.

On the day of the winter solstice, when they went to eat at Hong Ding Tower, Ban Yangshu had mentioned that Spirit Sword Mountain was originally named Spirit Sword Mountain.

The origin of this name was that during the ancient, ignorant period, the Heavenly Dao had bestowed seven sacred artifacts upon the sects, and the founding patriarch of Spirit Sword Mountain controlled the Spirit Mirror.

However, after a thousand years of inheritance, Spirit Sword Mountain had a later Sect Master who, obsessed with the way of the sword, changed the character "Mirror" to "Sword."

Ji You still remembered that on his first day sensing the Heavenly Tome, the Fairy from below the mountain had asked him, "Why are you inside my Mirror?"

At that time, he thought the character was "Sword," but later he increasingly felt that the character was actually "Mirror." Both characters had the same pronunciation and were related to Spirit Sword Mountain.

Then came the day of the New Year.

He had a meal in Shengjing with Lu Qingqiu and others. During the meal, Lou Siyi spoke of rumors about Spirit Sword Mountain.

Ji You paused his chopsticks, looked up, and then turned to Yan Shuyi, who was eating her food in small bites. "I heard Spirit Sword Mountain recently lost a Young Master Jian."

Yan Shuyi looked up at him. "You're a bit clever."

"It was you after all..."

"But it wasn't lost; she went out to travel."

Ji You leaned on the table and said, "It's fortunate we met today, otherwise I wouldn't have had the chance to tell you."

"What is it?"

"I might not be able to cultivate with you from now on."

Yan Shuyi looked up, her beautiful brows furrowing slightly.

Seeing her reaction, Ji You explained, "The sect has ordered me to go out for a while, and I don't know when I'll return. I came to the Dao Comprehension Ground today intending to tell you at Void Mountain, but I didn't expect you to come here."

Yan Shuyi poked at her food with her chopsticks a few times. "That's great. Without you, it will finally be peaceful down the mountain."

"Then why did you kick me those few days after the winter solstice when I didn't show up?"

"I like kicking you."

After saying that, Yan Shuyi felt she sounded a bit too soft, so a hint of ferocity flashed in her eyes.

She was indeed the Young Master Jian that Spirit Sword Mountain had "lost," the next Sect Master in charge of the Spirit Mirror.

Her elders had trained her since childhood to be stern and unsmiling, exuding an imposing aura with every movement.

Her current soft tone must be his doing. If he continues, she might as well kill him.

Yan Shuyi, wearing a pair of moon-white boots, dangled her small feet playfully beneath the table before finally kicking his knee with a sharp thwack.

After being kicked, Ji You looked up. After a long silence, he couldn't help but laugh.

Like Yan Shuyi, he knew the person in front of him was her, yet he wasn't entirely sure.

So, when he spoke, he always carried a hint of caution, unlike when they were at Void Mountain. This feeling intensified when he guessed she might be the most powerful direct disciple of the current generation.

At Void Mountain, he had even dared to call her "little demoness" and was eager to pinch her cheeks.

But in reality, he felt a certain distance between them.

Yan Shuyi also acted differently than she did down at Void Mountain. A cold glint often flashed in her eyes, and her every move was filled with sword energy, as if she were resisting being too familiar with him, maintaining a sense of aloofness.

But with this kick, that sense of unfamiliarity suddenly lessened.

"How long do you plan to stay in Shengjing?"

"After seeing you in Shengjing this time, I have other matters to attend to and will be leaving soon."

Although Yan Shuyi kept emphasizing "impulse," "passing through Shengjing," and "just browsing before heading back," she inadvertently revealed that she had come specifically to see him.

In fact, that was precisely the case.

If he hadn't been in Shengjing, Yan Shuyi might not have turned back midway.

If one were to say she came specifically to see him, there was indeed nothing to argue against.

Ji You nodded. "Have you found a place to stay?"

"The disciples who travel outside Spirit Sword Mountain stay at the Hengfeng Inn. I've already notified them to reserve a room."

"Would you like to have a cup of tea before you go?"

"Okay."

Yan Shuyi stood up and followed him out of the Immortal Cuisine House with a tap-tap-tap of her boots. She decided to have a cup of tea before leaving, so the two of them returned to the Jade Garden of Bingshui Lake, one after the other.

Ji You started a fire to boil tea, while Yan Shuyi began to look around the room.

During this time, the two chatted intermittently, discussing things like how the house, though small, was quite charming, and what the character Ji You had carved on the wall meant. They continued until the tea was fragrant.

How to put it.

Ji You was clearly not accustomed to being alone with a woman, and Yan Shuyi's pretense of being aloof was a bit clumsy.

The two were in a state of knowing and not knowing each other, observing each other in a tentative manner.

It was a very interesting situation; what they talked about, and how the other replied, was not really taken to heart.

"The tea is ready, be careful, it's hot."

"Mm."

"Do you want to eat a roasted sweet potato?"

Yan Shuyi turned around with her hands behind her back, watching Ji You lift a sweet potato, then looking at him.

Well, no rush, so she might as well eat a sweet potato before leaving.

On a winter morning, the cold air condensed into frost on all things. The sky was just beginning to show the dawn, like a light wash of ink.

After a night, the charcoal fire in the stove was still burning in the cramped secluded room, but the charcoal ash was white, and it looked like it would soon go out.

Cultivators could use spiritual energy to ward off the cold, but ancient charcoal fires had more than just warmth as their purpose.

They could also be used to roast sweet potatoes and brew tea.

Furthermore, placing a pot of water on it to simmer slowly could also maintain indoor humidity.

Ji You walked out of the courtyard along with the thin morning mist, poured the cleared furnace ashes outside, then refilled the stove with new charcoal, igniting it with spiritual energy. He also casually tossed two sweet potatoes into the bottom of the stove.

Yan Shuyi sat beside him, watching him busy himself, quiet and well-behaved.

They had chatted idly, drunk tea, and tested each other yesterday, sitting until late into the night without realizing it.

As a result, the Young Master Jian of Spirit Sword Mountain did not return to the Hengfeng Inn but stayed in the west room of the secluded room.

Now she had woken up early, her delicate face still showing signs of sleepiness. She held a cup of hot tea and sat by the stove, her bright eyes blinking lightly.

"What do you want to eat this morning?"

"I don't have much of an appetite, I'll just have a roasted sweet potato."

Yan Shuyi replied, reached out and grabbed the fire hook, pulled out a roasted sweet potato, and peeled off its charred, fragrant skin.

After finishing his tasks, Ji You also found a small stool and sat down, picked up his chopsticks, and continued to practice his spiritual sense shortcuts.

The two had actually not known each other for long, but they increasingly felt a natural sense of living together.

After a while, a pair of chopsticks flew towards Yan Shuyi. She glanced at them, and they suddenly fell to the ground.

Ji You opened his eyes slightly: "What is the sword dao of Spirit Sword Mountain like?"

"Spirit Sword Mountain primarily cultivates natal spirit swords; they don't use as many swords as you do."

Although what she saw before her were chopsticks, Yan Shuyi knew at a glance that he was practicing the basic moves of the sword control technique.

She yawned, somewhat lazily curling up by the low table next to her, her feet close to the warm stove, continuing to watch the chopsticks fly all over the place, feeling a sense of peace and tranquility in her heart.

Actually, before she came, she had also thought about what it would be like for the two of them to meet.

In her imagination, there would probably be two outcomes.

Either the man would not be as interesting as she had imagined, and they would have a few casual chats, bid each other farewell, and go their separate ways.

After all, they weren't very familiar with each other, just acquaintances through cultivation.

Or, they might find they hit it off quite well, and spend the day discussing the Dao, becoming friends on the same path.

But the Young Master Jian never expected that she would one day be curled up by the stove eating a roasted sweet potato, lazily enjoying this winter morning without having to think about cultivation or breaking through realms.

As for Ji You, his thoughts were actually quite similar to hers.

He thought that if they met, they would either chat, then wander around Shengjing, and become friends.

If they could safely return from the ruins, and meet again in the future at Void Mountain, perhaps there would be a feeling of reunion after a long separation.

Or, it could be a passionate encounter, a dual cultivation at first touch, where he, being of a lower realm, would be forcibly drained.

But he never imagined that he would one day act so much like a gentleman, experiencing what true clarity of Dao Heart felt like.