Holding the Piece, Qi Fills Azure Spirit

Even Lu Chengfeng, a martial artist, felt a chill run down his spine. He turned and glared fiercely at the broker. If this guy was a local bully in this area, how could he possibly not know about this?

"Uh, this, I forgot... I..."

"Hmph!"

The registrar glanced at him and spoke.

"Actually, our yamen has also investigated this residence specifically for the murder case, but found nothing. We even invited monks and Taoist masters to perform rituals. As for what this house truly is, opinions vary. I am but a minor registrar, merely fulfilling my duty to warn you!"

Having said this, the registrar stroked his beard and looked at Lu Chengfeng.

"Young Master Lu, do you still wish to purchase this residence?"

Lu Chengfeng hesitated. Since the house was suspected to be a haunted house, naturally he couldn't buy it. Even the government records noted these things. If it turned out to be true, buying it would harm Mister!

"Ah, since it's a haunted house, then I..."

Wait!

Lu Chengfeng paused mid-sentence, stunned. He suddenly remembered who he was buying the residence for.

It was Mister Ji—the hermit master who had made the Niu Kui Mountain tiger demon kneel with a disciple's rite and seek his guidance! An extraordinary man! A formidable man!

Then he recalled Mister Ji's words when deciding to buy the residence: "Why not buy such a cheap and elegant residence? Even if there's some dust, a little cleaning will fix it!"

Some dust? A little cleaning?

If the haunted house was real, could Mister Ji not see it? If it was fake, then there was no problem at all!

"Registrar, I'll still buy this residence, but it's not for me to live in. It's for a senior of mine."

The registrar looked at him in surprise. Another yamen runner in the room also couldn't hide his shock, while the broker secretly rejoiced.

"Young Master Lu, have you thought this through carefully? Since it's for a senior, you should consider it even more carefully!! You... are sure you want to buy it?"

"Registrar, please rest assured. I know what I'm doing!"

The registrar shook his head and didn't try to persuade him further. He had done his duty. The haunted house claim had no solid evidence anyway. He pointed to the brush on the pen rack and the inkstone beside it.

"Very well. Please sign the household register on behalf of your senior, and pay thirty-six taels of patterned silver."

Lu Chengfeng said nothing more. He took the brush, dipped it lightly in ink, signed two characters on the register, returned the brush to the rack, and handed over three ten-tael banknotes from a local money shop, one five-tael banknote, and a one-tael sycee.

The registrar took the money, examined the banknotes and weighed the silver ingot, then put it all in a drawer. He turned the register and saw the neatly written characters "Ji Yuan." After a moment's thought, he recalled no such person among the nine tiger hunters.

"Alright, Young Master Lu, wait a moment. I'll fetch the house and land deeds."

The registrar stood up, searched through several large bookshelves behind him based on labels, took a stack of paper documents from a wooden box, found the deed for that residence, and handed it to Lu Chengfeng.

"Here, take it."

"Thank you, Registrar!"

Lu Chengfeng thanked him, took the deed, and glanced at it. The official seals, annotations, and details were all complete.

"Here, this is your commission. One tael eighteen zhu."

The registrar pushed silver and a small pile of copper coins to the corner of the table, where a small scale sat.

"Ah, good, good!!"

The broker couldn't suppress his smile. He quickly took his commission from the registrar, didn't even weigh it, and stuffed it into his money pouch.

If the deal went through, the commission was paid by the seller. The more expensive the house, the higher the commission, up to a maximum of ten taels. If it fell through, the broker only got the guide fee from the buyer.

Then, Lu Chengfeng and the broker walked out of the registrar's yamen office together. The latter darted away as soon as they were out the door, afraid Lu Chengfeng would settle scores with him.

"Hmph, a market rogue!"

Watching the fleeing figure, Lu Chengfeng snorted coldly. He had indeed wanted to kick him just now, but the guy slipped away faster than a loach, missing even a martial artist's good opportunity. Chasing after him to hit him would be beneath his dignity.

The Yunlai Inn was a fine establishment in Ning'an County, near the City God Temple and the market. Bustling by day and quiet at night. The nine young heroes and Ji Yuan each had a superior room.

Ji Yuan was now sitting in his room, the window open, staring blankly at the bustling noise outside.

He had been in this world for several days, and Ji Yuan still felt quite lonely.

Lu Chengfeng, Yan Fei, and the others were decent enough, but he neither wanted to nor could follow them forever. Ji Yuan had quietly asked some doctors in the city about his vision problem, and they all said it was hopeless. As for the immortal destiny he hoped for, he had no leads at all.

He could at least consider the martial arts issue. After all, Lu Chengfeng and the others truly had martial arts—unlike the fake period dramas he'd seen on TV in his past life, these were real, with fierce techniques and the ability to leap onto roofs and scale walls.

But he, a blind man in others' eyes, and a hermit master in their impression, asking for a secret manual? Seeking guidance?

That seemed a bit inappropriate.

Lost in thought, Ji Yuan recalled the Rotten Axe Chess Game again. Why did I have to stumble into it? If I hadn't gone in, hadn't been reckless enough to play that tengen move, would I have...

"Zzz..."

A faint, almost inaudible sound buzzed within his body, and his arm went numb as if an electric current had passed through it—like accidentally hitting one's elbow, the numbness shooting straight to his fingertips, specifically his index and middle fingers.

The phantom of a chess piece appeared at his fingertips, surrounded by a coil of electric sparks.

"Damn!"

Ji Yuan blurted out a curse, his mood suddenly surging with excitement. The miraculous phenomenon that had appeared in his body after Lord Lu left was still fresh in his memory.

These past few days after coming down the mountain, he didn't know how many times he'd tried in private, even mimicking Spider-Man's web-slinging by running through all sorts of silly poses, but nothing had worked. He never expected it to show up now.

But the question was, what could this do? Open up the Conception and Governor Vessels?

Unfortunately, no miraculous "Words Become Law" effect appeared. Ji Yuan didn't feel any change in his body, nor did he manage to open any meridians or cycles.

Yet the room gradually stirred with a faint breeze, as if an almost imperceptible current of air was being drawn in from outside the window.

Ji Yuan suddenly forced his eyes half-open despite the soreness. He noticed that around the illusory chess piece at his right fingertip, strands of faint, elusive Azure Spirit Qi were appearing.

Adding to the slight wind sensation indoors, Ji Yuan, as if struck by a thought, turned his head toward the window and caught glimpses of wisps of Azure Spirit Qi flying in.

His gaze returned to his fingertip. The Azure Spirit Qi swirled around the illusory chess piece, forming a subtle vortex. The indoor breeze, once barely noticeable, grew a bit stronger, causing curtains and other items to sway left and right.

At that moment, all of Ji Yuan's attention and focus were locked onto the changes taking place. When an epiphany struck, a thought moved in his mind, and all the Azure Qi neatly plunged into the chess piece.

"Dong dong dong..."

"Mister Ji, it's me, Chengfeng. I'm back from the county office!"

Startled by the knocking, Ji Yuan's concentration loosened. The chess piece in his hand dissolved back into his fingertip and vanished.

Ji Yuan stared blankly at his finger, still immersed in the wonder of moments ago. He wasn't particularly annoyed by the interruption—if it could happen once, it could happen again.

"Mister Ji, are you in there?"

Lu Chengfeng asked again from outside the door. Ji Yuan snapped back to reality and replied over his shoulder.

"Come in!"

Lu Chengfeng pushed open the door to the room, but before stepping inside, he froze.

It was the sensation of being swept by a special aura—a brief, electric numbness and itching across his body.

The lingering breeze inside the room hadn't fully dissipated. Ji Yuan's right arm rested on the desk with his elbow, his hand forming a loose sword fingers gesture. The curtains rose and fell, the brush on the desk swayed, and the breeze seemed to coil around him before rapidly fading as the door opened, leaving the room calm and still.

And in that gradual settling, Lu Chengfeng found his own mind and emotions growing tranquil as well. Each breath felt light and refreshing, and he just stood at the doorway for a long while without moving.

Ji Yuan was still replaying the sensation from before. After the chess piece remerged into his body, his limbs and bones felt wonderfully relaxed, like someone exhausted who'd just finished a scraping and massage session. Finally, he noticed Lu Chengfeng standing there dumbly, still not inside.

"Young Master Lu, why are you frozen at the door?"

"Uh, sir, is it convenient for me to come in now?"

"What's inconvenient about it?"

Ji Yuan was quite sure that the chess piece's major changes had already dissipated by the time the knocking came, so Lu Chengfeng had at most seen a bit of wind. Nothing major—after all, the window was open.

"Oh, right, Mister Ji. I've already bought that residence for you. Here are the house and land deeds, and the key."

Lu Chengfeng stepped into the room, pulling paper documents and contracts from his chest, along with a copper lock key.

But Ji Yuan was a bit distracted, carefully savoring the feeling in his body from earlier as he glanced over the dense text on the deeds, the government clauses, the large red stamp, and his own name, Ji Yuan, written on the papers.

From his past life to this one, this was the first house he, Ji Yuan, had ever bought himself.