Chen Fan curled up on the sofa and opened Spirit Messaging to scroll through his feed. The buzz surrounding the daytime public trial was still building, and related topics had practically taken over his homepage.
Just as expected, the moment the verdict came down, some people among the overseas powers could no longer sit still.
Several accounts spoke up first, their words circling around "excessive punishment" and "damage to friendly diplomatic relations," insinuating that Jiang Qingyuan was headstrong and disregarded the bigger picture.
Several spineless local officials chimed in below, their every word amounting to "there was no need to offend overseas powers over a few commoner students."
Chen Fan burst out laughing as he scrolled and held Douke toward Jiang Qingyuan. "Look at these people. They don't even change their lines. It's always 'consider the bigger picture' and 'harmony is paramount.' Since the victims aren't their children, I guess it's easy to talk standing up when your back doesn't hurt."
Jiang Qingyuan had just changed out of her presiding judge's robes into moon-white casual clothes, her long hair loosely pinned behind her head. At his words, she merely glanced over and took a sip of spirit tea from the cup between her fingers. "Just a few clowns jumping about. Ignore them."
No sooner had she finished than the tide on Spirit Messaging's homepage turned.
The first to enter the fray was a deputy mayor from a city in Qingzhou, whose statement was blunt: "The Immortal Palace's laws are written in black and white. What's wrong with sentencing according to the law? Leniency when foreigners break the law, silence when our own people suffer injustice-what sort of bigger picture is that?"
Next came the president of the Xuzhou Alchemy Theory and Practice Association, a renowned authority on swordsmanship theory and practice from Yunzhou, a major general from the Yuzhou Grand Military Region... One influential account after another stepped forward, all of them Jingfu University alumni.
Some cited legal provisions, some appealed to reason and fairness, and some bluntly accused certain people of having "knees rooted to the ground." As though they had arranged it beforehand, Jingfu graduates from every profession emerged from across the Nine Provinces to support Jiang Qingyuan together.
The comments were even livelier. Countless ordinary students, Rogue Cultivators, and commoners left messages, with one phrase appearing more than any other: "Presiding Judge Jiang did the right thing."
Later, even the official accounts of the Xuzhou and Qingzhou Grand Military Regions, two of the nine grand military regions, quietly liked the posts, effectively making the military's position clear.
In less than half a day, that faint opposition had been crushed beneath overwhelming support until not even a scrap remained.
The few accounts that had been jumping up and down promptly deleted their posts and withdrew into their shells like turtles.
Chen Fan clicked his tongue in amazement, scrolling without lifting his head. "Impressive, Professor Jiang. Jingfu University's influence is downright terrifying. A million years of history-so you've got your people planted in every profession?"
"Jingfu was founded a million years ago. In imparting the Dao and teaching its students, it has never judged people by their backgrounds, only their character and talent." Jiang Qingyuan set down her teacup and lightly stroked its rim, her tone calm. "Its graduates are spread throughout the military, government, business, and academia across the Nine Provinces. Ordinarily, everyone attends to their own duties, so naturally they don't band together. But when principles are involved, no one equivocates."
She paused and raised her eyes to Chen Fan, her gaze growing more serious. "That's also what gives Jingfu the confidence to remain the foremost institution in the Nine Provinces. First and foremost, the students it produces must be people who can distinguish right from wrong and hold to their bottom line. Their cultivation and rank come second."
"Unlike a certain university next door, which still hasn't taken a position."
Chen Fan nodded, genuinely impressed yet unable to help finding it funny too.
"Speaking of which, today's incident also teaches you a second lesson." Jiang Qingyuan suddenly spoke, leaning back against the sofa a little and relaxing her posture.
Chen Fan immediately straightened, assuming the air of an attentive student. "Go ahead."
"The first was what I told you last time: as long as you're in the right, don't fear making a big scene." Jiang Qingyuan spoke slowly, enunciating every word. "When you encounter injustice or difficult opponents, don't always think about smoothing things over and swallowing grievances to accommodate them. Retreat one step, and they'll advance ten. The more you cover things up, the more those demons and monsters lurking in the dark will dare climb from your nose onto your face."
"Conversely, if you lay things out in the sunlight, the bigger the uproar and the more people watching, the safer you'll be." She tapped the Spirit Messaging screen. "Take today's case. Had the verdict been delivered secretly behind closed doors, they might really have managed to whittle down the sentence and secure leniency. But with a live broadcast throughout the Immortal Palace and hundreds of millions of eyes watching, no one dared manipulate things behind the scenes. No one dared stand against what was right."
"And remember," she added, her tone carrying the clarity of someone who saw through worldly affairs, "you aren't the only person under heaven who can't stand these filthy dealings. Everyone has their own position and interests. Make a big enough stir, and others who can't stand it either, or who stand to benefit, will step forward of their own accord to become your teammates. Your enemy's enemy is your friend. That saying never fails."
As Chen Fan listened, the tangled weeds blocking his understanding suddenly cleared, as though a new door had opened in his mind.
He had lived at the bottom before, accustomed to keeping his head down and enduring, accustomed to believing one less problem was better than one more. He had always felt that the bird sticking its head out got shot.
But Jiang Qingyuan's words today had given him an entirely different way of thinking. When he was in the right, sticking his head out wasn't courting death-it was breaking the deadlock.
He fell silent for several seconds before saying sincerely, "Lesson learned. Honestly, I always used to think one less problem was better than one more, and that I should endure whatever I could. Only now do I understand that some things can't be endured, and shouldn't be."
Looking at the light in his eyes, Jiang Qingyuan felt something stir within her.
That was rare indeed.
"Principles are rigid; people are living." Her voice softened a little. "Think things through as you handle more cases. When to stay steady, when to strike hard-you'll gradually learn the proper measure. These days of handling cases and presiding over trials nonstop really have been tiring."
With that, she frowned slightly and unconsciously rolled her left ankle.
She had worn her judicial cloud boots all day. Their heels were rather high, and from the trial to standing on the grounds overseeing the punishment, she had been on her feet the whole time.
That small movement did not escape Chen Fan's notice.
Almost instinctively, he asked, "Are your feet tired?"
The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted them a little.
The question was too direct. It seemed presumptuous.
Jiang Qingyuan froze too, raising her eyes to him with a momentary look of surprise.
She had intended to casually say, "It's nothing," but when she met the genuine concern in the young man's eyes, that polite response reached her lips and, somehow, was swallowed back down.
After two seconds of silence, she gave a soft "Mm." Her voice was very quiet, with an almost imperceptible ease, as though she had shed a little of her usual hardness.
Something stirred in Chen Fan's heart. After hesitating for several seconds, he ventured, "How about... I massage them for you? Back when I was doing physical training for the Immortal Palace's college entrance exam, we did running drills and standing stances every day. Sprained ankles and leg massages were routine. I learned a few massage techniques from the school doctor. I'm reasonably good."
He grew nervous as soon as he finished, his fingertips curling slightly.
He wasn't a frivolous person, and he knew all the better that a cultivator's body, especially a woman's delicate feet, was intensely private.
Saying this was tantamount to puncturing the safe "teacher and student" distance between them and moving in a more intimate direction.
But looking at Jiang Qingyuan's slightly furrowed brows, he simply hadn't been able to stop himself.
Jiang Qingyuan was genuinely stunned.
Throughout her life, from an innocent young girl cultivating her way to her present standing, she had walked alone, cutting through thorns and brambles. Never mind having someone touch her feet-few people had even come close to her.
Had anyone else dared say such a thing, she would already have lashed out with a streak of immortal light.
Yet facing Chen Fan, she felt no aversion. Instead, an inexplicable fluster rose within her, and her heartbeat even quickened a fraction.
She lowered her eyes, her long lashes casting small shadows beneath them, while two little figures seemed to be fighting in her heart.
One said, This is improper, far too much of an overstep, while the other whispered, It's only an ankle massage. It's no big deal.
After several seconds of silence, she finally nodded lightly, her voice as faint as a mosquito's hum, carrying a trace of awkwardness:
"...Be gentle."
With her permission, Chen Fan first felt a surge of joy, then grew nervous again.
He brought over a low stool and carefully sat opposite Jiang Qingyuan, keeping his posture as low as possible so he wouldn't seem disrespectful.
First, he reached out to support her calf lightly. Seeing that she didn't pull away, he gently hooked his fingertips around the heel of her cloud boot and slowly slipped it off.
Once the snow-white cloud sock was removed, a luminous, jade-white foot settled into his palm.
Her skin was as fine as the finest mutton-fat jade, her ankle slender, her toes rounded, and her nails faintly pink, with a slightly cool temperature.
The curve of her arch was smooth and lovely, without a single flaw, like beautiful jade painstakingly carved by an artisan.
Even Chen Fan's breathing unconsciously softened. His gaze swept over it and immediately withdrew, not daring to linger for fear of being presumptuous.
He steadied himself and placed his fingertips on an acupoint on the outside of her ankle, first massaging in gentle circles with the pads of his fingers. He used very little pressure, letting her get used to it first.
"Is the pressure all right? Tell me if it's too hard," he asked quietly.
"Mm... just right." Jiang Qingyuan's voice sounded a little airy.
The warmth of the young man's fingertips passed through her skin, a warm touch entirely different from her own perpetually cool body temperature.
As he slowly worked the aching acupoints loose, a warm, soft ache spread upward from her ankle. It felt so comfortable that she couldn't help narrowing her eyes slightly, her back gradually settling against the sofa as her whole body relaxed.
Chen Fan kept his head lowered, his hands steady as he massaged little by little along her meridians.
He was very attentive, the pads of his fingers landing precisely on every aching acupoint, sometimes kneading gently and sometimes pressing, his pressure exceptionally well judged.
Whenever his fingertips accidentally brushed her delicate skin, his own heart would tremble first, but he feigned composure and continued.
He didn't dare look up, but he could imagine Jiang Qingyuan's relaxed appearance. It felt as though he carried a spirit fruit in his heart, sweet through and through.
Jiang Qingyuan leaned against the sofa, her gaze resting on the crown of the young man's head.
His head was lowered, the lines of his profile clean and sharp, his expression focused, as though he were attending to some tremendously important matter.
Only after massaging for about a quarter of an hour did Chen Fan slowly withdraw his hands, giving her ankle one final gentle press. He looked up with a smile. "Done. Try moving it. Does it feel much better?"
Jiang Qingyuan drew back her foot and gently rolled her ankle.
Sure enough, most of the aching had disappeared, her meridians had loosened, and her whole body felt considerably lighter.
"Not bad." Her tone was flat, but a faint blush quietly spread over the tips of her ears, half-hidden behind her loose strands of hair. "You didn't learn those skills for nothing."
Seeing her reddened ears, Chen Fan secretly delighted in it.
This presiding judge and distinguished professor, so imposing before others, was actually so easily embarrassed in private.
The contrast was striking, and oddly adorable. He wanted to give her a little affectionate squish.
He didn't point it out, considerately looking away as he stood. "You've been busy all day. You must be hungry too. I'll make a late-night snack in the kitchen-lotus seed and spirit rice congee, with a couple of side dishes. Easy on the stomach. Sit and rest a while. It'll be ready soon."
"Mm." Jiang Qingyuan nodded. Watching him turn and walk into the kitchen, she lightly stroked her ankle with her fingertips.
Soft sounds soon came from the kitchen-rice being washed, vegetables being chopped, everything orderly and unhurried.
Sitting on the sofa, Jiang Qingyuan gazed toward the kitchen, the corners of her mouth unconsciously lifting slightly.