Real Yet Dreamlike

Ji Yuan was now thinking that, once he could get down the mountain with his life intact, he needed to find a way to secure his livelihood, then see whether his eyes could be treated—or whether he could join some place where immortals were cultivated.

Of course, he also desperately wanted to figure out what had happened to him after Lord Lu had just left, and what that fleeting image of a chess piece had been.

Ji Yuan felt that it was most likely connected to the Rotten Axe Chess Game from before. It might even be the key to surviving in this world.

A mountain breeze swept past. Once he relaxed a little, Ji Yuan began to feel drowsy.

He did not know whether he had simply never noticed it before, or whether it was a change that had occurred after coming to this world, but Ji Yuan suddenly realized that his ability to bear pressure was actually quite strong.

The group rested by the stream for only about fifteen minutes. Once they had recovered some strength, and after some of them helped the four injured men regulate their breathing and tend to their wounds again, they set off once more.

This time, they charged straight down the mountain in one breath.

In Shuixian Town, a night watchman and two men dressed as local militia moved through the silent streets and alleys. One carried a clapper, one held a bronze gong, and the last carried a lantern.

"Dong... dong dong dong~"

The bamboo clapper sounded once slowly, then three times in quick succession.

"Fourth watch~~~"

"Dong... dong dong dong~"

"Fourth watch~~~"

After making a round, the three looked over the quiet, secluded streets, pulled their clothes tighter around themselves, and prepared to head back. Along the way, they began chatting idly.

"Yesterday in the daytime, I heard several Jianghu people went up the mountain."

"What for?"

"Seems they took down the Magistrate's Office notice and went to Niu Kui Mountain to kill the Great Beast!"

"What?"

The night watchman holding the clapper grew a little nervous.

"They dared enter the mountain at this hour? I heard those old hunters who sell goods say the thing in those mountains isn't some ordinary Fierce Tiger. Eight times out of ten, it's become a spirit. Even those old hunters don't dare stay on the mountain at night."

"Hey, isn't that exaggerating?"

"Better to believe it exists than not!"

As they spoke of it, they suddenly felt the weather grow much colder. Their steps unconsciously quickened.

When they reached the end of the street and were about to turn, one of them suddenly spotted a group approaching in the distance. It was Lu Chengfeng and the others returning.

"People over there!"

When they drew closer, the enormous White Tiger Hide sent chills shooting up the men's scalps.

At dawn the next day, news that the vicious tiger of Niu Kui Mountain had been brought to justice spread outward from Shuixian Town. The Ning'an County Magistrate's Office also dispatched constables and official runners to Shuixian Town at once to investigate.

This was not the information age Ji Yuan had lived in. When some wealthy man took a concubine, it was already gossip worth talking about. Now Jianghu heroes had entered the mountain to kill a man-eating tiger—and it was the Niu Kui Mountain man-eater rumored to perhaps be a tiger spirit. How could that not cause a sensation?

For a time, everyone in simple and honest Ning'an County—its county seat, twenty-two villages large and small, and the market town at the mountain's foot—soon learned that several heroes had successfully gone into the mountains to eliminate the tiger. Many even hurried to Shuixian Town to see the excitement, only to come up empty, because the group had already headed for Ning'an County Town.

The bloodstained White Tiger Hide was ultimately gifted by the Nine Young Heroes to the Ning'an County Magistrate's Office. The Ning'an County Magistrate proved worthy of the people's praise as a good official. Acting fairly, he gave the heroes the eighty taels of silver offered on the notice, then additionally took out seventy taels of silver to purchase the precious White Tiger Hide.

It was the second day after the nine heroes returned, and also the first day the tiger hide had arrived at the Ning'an County Magistrate's Office.

In the county yamen's main hall, the huge tiger hide, its bloodstains dry but its strange odor still wafting out, lay atop an Eight Immortals Table.

The hide had been flayed with exceptional skill. The head, claws, body, and tail were all intact.

"Good heavens... even the teeth are still there!"

"Oh, oh, oh, look at that tiger's mouth—it's bigger than my head!"

"How many people must this thing have eaten?"

"Mother of mercy, that's horrifying! I heard this Fierce Tiger was nearly a spirit!"

"That's right. Good thing it's dead now, or who could say what might have happened?"

"Tsk tsk tsk... those heroes were not only skilled in Martial Arts, they were ruthless too!"

"Exactly. The four injured men were each worse off than the last. It was terrifying just to look at them! Doctor Tong, the best physician in the county, said they were fortunate to be Jianghu Experts. Otherwise, they'd have died long ago!"

Several constables, yamen runners, clerks, registrars, and scholar officials gathered around the tiger hide, clicking their tongues in wonder.

County magistrate Chen Sheng and County Captain Zhu Yanxu stood nearby as well, their faces full of smiles.

"Hahahaha, sir, now that the vicious tiger has been eliminated, one great worry of our Ning'an County has finally been put to rest."

"Indeed! County Captain Zhu, trouble yourself to find some skilled hunters and have this tiger hide properly tanned. I intend to display it outside the Ning'an County Magistrate's Office for ten days, to Pacify the People!"

"A wise decision, sir!"

Ning'an County lived off the mountains. Aside from working the fields granted by heaven and earth, the richly productive Niu Kui Mountain was also Ning'an County's treasure. Eliminating the vicious tiger was no small matter, so the local gentry simply seized this good opportunity to organize a Temple Fair.

The injuries of the four wounded men had stabilized.

Yan Fei and Luo Ningshuang had their wounds stitched, Trauma Medicine applied, and then took two doses of medicine to regulate their qi and blood. Combined with regulating their True Qi, they were largely out of danger.

Zhao Long, who had taken a whipping blow from the tiger's tail, had mainly suffered internal injuries. However, he had a solid foundation in Hard Cultivation, so he was not seriously affected.

Du Heng's arm had been set, but the tendons and bones inside had actually been shattered to pieces. In Doctor Tong's words, if he was lucky, he might still be able to lift chopsticks and eat a meal. Lifting a blade was impossible.

What had Ji Yuan been doing during this period?

Aside from repeatedly trying to stir up whatever unusual ability he might possess, his biggest undertaking had been bathing!

He had no idea how long the previous owner of this wretched beggar's body had gone without washing. In any case, he made the inn waiter change the bathwater three full vats' worth. Layer after layer of old grime came off his body. Afterward, he not only felt much lighter, but even his complexion had turned somewhat fairer. It was truly horrifying!

On the third day of staying at Yunlai Inn, Ji Yuan had finally cleaned himself from head to toe and changed into a fresh set of clothes. At last, he felt able to face people.

That morning, Lu Chengfeng accompanied Ji Yuan around Ning'an County, intending to find a quiet house where Ji Yuan could settle down.

Whether to rent or buy would depend on what they found.

Ji Yuan felt that he still knew far too little about this world. It was better not to roam about recklessly for now.

As for where the money came from, the Ning'an County Magistrate's Office had one hundred and fifty taels of patterned silver, did it not? The nine young heroes had insisted on giving it to the person who truly deserved it—Ji Yuan.

For this sort of thing, Ji Yuan only declined twice before accepting. It was indeed his due, was it not?

After learning that an ordinary household's yearly expenses amounted to only several taels of silver, while a residence could be bought for merely several dozen taels, Ji Yuan was more inclined to purchase a home in Ning'an County Town, where the people were said to be simple and honest and the Parental Official had a good reputation.

He was alone and did not have high demands. He did not need some grand residence with courtyard after courtyard. A quiet place with its own yard, a kitchen, a bedroom, and a privy would do.

Having shed his beggar's clothes and been cleaned and groomed, Ji Yuan looked refined and scholarly. He was somewhat thin and tall, with a Guanjin Scarf on his head. Though Ji Yuan himself Couldn't See Clearly, he felt he probably looked presentable enough.

Lu Chengfeng was not local either. Accompanying Mister Ji was only proper, but finding a house required a local bully familiar with the area. Thus, a middle-aged man followed alongside them as well—a broker.

The county town had been especially bustling these past few days, because many people had come to see the publicly displayed man-eating tiger hide. Since it was the rare hide of a white tiger, people flocked to it like ducks to water. With the Temple Fair adding to the excitement, even idle folk from nearby counties had come.

Ji Yuan was not purely looking for a residence. He also intended to use this chance to see more of the place.

The streets were currently crowded with pedestrians, making the county town as lively as New Year's.

Ji Yuan's current feeling was exceedingly novel. Even though his eyes were poor, his extraordinary ability to distinguish sounds allowed him to take in discussions, jokes, haggling, and even quarrels and curses from every direction on the street.

"Sugar-coated hawthorn~~~ sugar-coated hawthorn~~"

"Fine Cloth, Fine Silk!!"

"Rouge and powder! Rouge and powder for sale!"

"Carved Brush Pots! Sandalwood, Eaglewood, Pear Wood—we have them all! Come take a look at the Four Treasures of the Study too!"

Whether they were fixed storefronts or roadside stalls, waiters called out from time to time. After all, the town had been extremely lively these past two days.

Ji Yuan had thought the noise would make his ears unbearable, but to his surprise, he did not feel irritated in the slightest. Instead, his mind became even sharper.

Ji Yuan had kept his eyes only slightly open. Leaving them open too long made them ache badly, yet remarkably, even with such vision, he walked no differently from an ordinary person.

As they walked, they stopped in front of a Four Treasures of the Study shop. Two stall tables had been set outside, displaying all manner of writing supplies, while a waiter stood outside specifically to greet customers.

"Sir, take a look at this brush pot. It's one of our Ning'an County's renowned scholar's tools—superior Yellow Flower Wood, crafted by an old master. The carved patterns are exquisitely detailed. High officials and noblemen all love them!"

Lu Chengfeng's fitted martial attire was rather refined. Ji Yuan wore plain clothes but carried himself with poise, not seeming like someone short on money. As for the broker, he was taken for a servant.

Ji Yuan could see only a blurry dark yellow patch when he looked at the brush pot. Opening his eyes wider was no use, so he crouched and cautiously felt around with his hand. Only after finding the brush pot did he pick it up, turn his face to one side, and carefully run his fingers over it. Through the rises and falls of its patterns beneath his fingertips, and by listening closely to the sound of his fingerprints brushing the pot, he examined it.

Through this process, the brush pot appeared in his mind in the finest detail.

This craftsmanship is fucking exquisite!

Mountains and rivers, people and figures covered the brush pot. The designs were densely packed, the figures lifelike, and it even reminded him of the lesson The Account of the Olive-Pit Boat.

Ji Yuan had merely been curious to see the craftsmanship and techniques of this place, yet he was stunned by what he found.

The dazzling array of merchants, lingering pedestrians, surrounding bustle, and delicacy of these little handicrafts gave Ji Yuan a rich, real sensation. He could smell the breath of life itself, while his exceptional hearing granted him a glimpse of the joys and sorrows of people from every walk of life.

Ji Yuan slowly opened his aching eyes wider, his mind somewhat dazed. Only then did he truly accept one reality: he really was no longer in his original world of time and space.