But Ji Yuan merely glanced at the few contracts. With his bird's-eye vision, could he have hoped to clearly see what was written on them? In any case, he still trusted Lu Chengfeng fairly well.
All of a sudden, a numb, itchy sensation began spreading through his body. Ji Yuan hurriedly focused his attention inward and felt it carefully.
Strangely, the more he tried to examine the sensation closely, the harder it became to grasp. Yet when he relaxed his mind and cast aside distracting thoughts, there came a marvelous feeling of following his intent.
For a moment, it felt as though his body were endlessly rising, swelling, and expanding. It was as if he could see the meridians throughout his body turning into great rivers, while his organs, blood, and bones became mountains, streams, natural winds...
As Ji Yuan became increasingly free of thought and cast away all clutter from his mind, that sensation of gazing upon heaven and earth grew more natural as well. As his mind sank into it, his consciousness seemed to turn into a spiritual breeze, roaming freely through heaven and earth with a feeling of weightlessness. There were rising and falling mountains, hidden currents and deep pools, misty wind and rain, clear skies and fog banks—countless anomalous phenomena intertwined and shifted unpredictably...
Within that daze of mountains, rivers, mist, haze, and glittering stars, though he could not see it, Ji Yuan sensed the presence of an illusory chess piece drifting through heaven and earth.
"Mister Ji? Uh, well, the Government Office records said this residence might be a Haunted House. Did you see through it long ago?"
Lu Chengfeng still could not hold back and wanted to personally confirm it with Ji Yuan.
But Ji Yuan's mind was free of distracting thoughts, and he was wholly immersed in this rare inner visualization. When Lu Chengfeng's voice reached him, it turned into peals of rumbling thunder in his mind, the thunder sound rising and falling with every syllable.
The feeling was wondrous beyond measure, and it filled Ji Yuan with excitement. At that moment, for the first time, he felt certain that he could live a brilliant life in this lifetime. A smile unconsciously appeared on his face. That Azure Spirit Qi was very likely the legendary Spiritual Qi.
Lu Chengfeng smiled as well. Mister Ji was Mister Ji—how could he possibly fail to see it? Others bought that residence because they thought their lives were too long, but when it came to Mister Ji, he had truly gotten a bargain.
"Then when does Mister Ji plan to get rid of the filthy things there? Do you need our help?"
Lu Chengfeng asked expectantly. Seeing the methods of a Master of the mysterious sects was far rarer than witnessing the Martial Arts of an accomplished fighter.
Yet this time, Ji Yuan merely smiled without answering. After waiting a while, Lu Chengfeng only saw Mister Ji sitting there with his eyes slightly closed, utterly at ease.
Lu Chengfeng felt somewhat awkward. It seemed Mister Ji had silently refused, and it appeared that he had disturbed Mister Ji's cultivation just now.
"Um, if Mister Ji needs anything, please feel free to instruct us. We will be in Ning'an County for the next two days. We will not leave until Yan Fei, Junior Sister Luo, and the others' injuries have stabilized a little more..."
Ji Yuan still showed no reaction, and Lu Chengfeng no longer dared remain. It seemed he was disturbing Mister Ji, and he was afraid of provoking his displeasure.
"Mister, please rest well. Chengfeng takes his leave!"
Lu Chengfeng quietly placed a brush holder on the table, then hurried away in small steps, gently pulling the door shut behind him.
More than an hour passed before Ji Yuan emerged from that state. It was not that he did not wish to continue experiencing it, but the sensation had grown weaker and weaker, until he could no longer hold on to that state.
As his senses gradually returned, he looked around the room. The few contracts and documents were still on the table, while Lu Chengfeng had left at some unknown time. There was no helping it—what had just happened had somewhat exceeded Ji Yuan's expectations, and he had suddenly become so absorbed that he forgot himself entirely.
Of course, Ji Yuan also noticed the brush holder on the table and could not help secretly praising Lu Chengfeng for being thoughtful.
Now, Ji Yuan could finally examine those land and house deeds carefully. The excitement of buying a home rose within him.
He picked them up and scrutinized them.
Sure enough, though Ji Yuan's eyesight was poor, with the paper practically pressed against his eyes, he could still make out the neat writing on the contracts and documents through the blur. Each clause was laid out in full, along with red seals of various sizes and the largest official seal.
Of course, in Ji Yuan's eyes, the seals were just blobs of red patterns.
Together with Lu Chengfeng's claim that the Government Office had records on file, Ji Yuan felt that these contracts were probably fairly rigorous.
But because they were only sheets of paper, it was quite difficult for Ji Yuan to feel out exactly what was written on them. That suddenly made him think of a rather serious problem.
He could not use methods like buying books to learn about the era he was located in, the customs of different places, or their culture!
Ji Yuan had actually been wondering whether he was in ancient China or in another similar Time and Space altogether. He simply had not had the chance to verify it these past two days.
Based on his current subjective judgment, having encountered the Tiger Demon and Ghost Servant at close range and witnessed the genuine Martial Arts of Yan Fei and the others, Ji Yuan leaned more toward the possibility that he was in another Time and Space.
Perhaps after Lu Chengfeng and the others left Ning'an County, it would be more suitable to find a well-read scholar versed in history and ask for guidance?
Ji Yuan had always been optimistic. He had already survived the dead-end opening of this life; there would always be a solution to other matters. There was no need to rush to solve everything at once.
Looking at the Four Treasures of the Study provided on the Inn table, Ji Yuan, in high spirits, suddenly felt inspired to try "a blind man writing."
But after grinding the ink and taking up the brush, the sensation in his hand became extraordinarily strange. It was as though his body possessed memories of its own. His brush flowed across the white paper like clouds and water—clerical script, seal script, regular script, traditional and simplified characters intermingling as he pleased, utterly unconstrained!
"Holy shit, I'm fucking amazing!"
Ji Yuan could not help letting out an excited cry. As for whether the writing was good? With that feeling, it surely could not be too bad!
It seemed that before that beggar had fallen into destitution, he had once had quite a story.
Time flew as he practiced calligraphy, and with the physical exertion added in, Ji Yuan was starting to feel hungry.
Ji Yuan looked at the light outside the window. Even if it was not mealtime yet, it would be soon.
He stood up and stretched his body, put away the house deed on the table, and prepared to check on the injured Young Heroes. He would also remind them that it was time to eat—not that he was hoping to mooch a meal, but out of kind concern!
They were all staying in Superior Rooms at the same Inn, so they were not far apart. Leaving his room and walking a few steps down the third-floor corridor of the Inn brought him to where the young martial artists were staying.
After all, they had practiced martial arts since childhood, so their physical foundations were excellent. With timely treatment as well, their injuries had stabilized after a few days. They could even walk on their own and no longer needed constant care.
But when Ji Yuan went looking, he found every room empty. Even Lu Chengfeng's room had no sound of breathing within.
Fortunately, with a slight listen, he could distinguish those distinctive sounds from the noisy surroundings. It sounded as though they were practicing their fists and legs in the Inn's back courtyard.
The back courtyard of Yunlai Inn had a large open space, connected to two small residences that also belonged to the Inn. The stables, fodder shed, and woodshed were all beside it as well.
This area could be reserved for future expansion, and it was also where the Inn normally dried sheets and quilts or set out pickled vegetables.
At this moment, several injured people sat resting at the side while Lu Chengfeng and the others sparred. Many Inn guests, along with some Waiters who were temporarily not busy, were watching near the Inn's back door.
Ning'an County was a remote little place. There were not many people from the martial world here, much less anyone skilled in exceptional martial arts. Watching these wandering heroes dart and weave as they fought was tremendously exciting.
Amid the sounds of fists and feet, several weeping willows nearby swayed in the wind.
When Ji Yuan arrived at the Inn's back door, several Inn Waiters had already crowded there. Even a few Cooks, the innkeeper's wife, and two female laborers had gathered together to watch.
Lu Chengfeng and another young man named Wang Ke were locked in an inseparable battle. Neither used weapons; they were exchanging fists and kicks in a spar.
Wang Ke could use a sword, but he was even more skilled in Palm Technique. Lu Chengfeng, meanwhile, excelled at Fist Technique and Claw Technique.
Smack! Smack! Bang!
At that moment, their arms blocked two strikes from each other, and they simultaneously kicked at their opponent. After their soles collided heavily, Lu Chengfeng spun sideways and slid backward. Wang Ke drifted like a butterfly toward a willow behind him. In mid-flip, he stepped on the trunk, twisted his body, kicked off fiercely, and borrowed the force to chop his palm toward Lu Chengfeng.
Lu Chengfeng had only just steadied himself when he felt the sound of wind splitting toward his face. Without a second thought, he dropped flat, braced one hand on the ground, and kicked his left leg at Wang Ke, whose charging palm was a body-height above him. His right foot, charged with even more force, followed close behind.
Bang! Bang!
Wang Ke believed he had changed his move quickly enough, but the speed and force of the two consecutive kicks were even greater. Catching both legs with his palms made his hands go numb, and his entire body was kicked into the air.
"Watch out!"
Lu Chengfeng shouted a warning as he twisted his body, the veins in both arms that braced against the ground bulging.
Ha!
His left leg bent slightly while his right leg stood straight. His body trembled and sprang out like a compressed spring, kicking at Wang Ke in midair like a chasing wind.
Bang!
One kick knocked aside Wang Ke's guarding palms and landed against his chest, though its force had clearly been reduced by more than half.
This strike decided Victory or Defeat. Both men used their movement techniques to land lightly.
The Inn Waiters before Ji Yuan could not help applauding, their faces full of excitement.
"Great fight!"
"Far better than the plays in front of the temple!"
"Amazing! Young Master Lu is truly amazing!"
"Young Master Wang isn't bad either!"
"Another one! Another one!"
Ji Yuan applauded along with them. Though he could not see very Clearly, from the outlines he could make out and the rhythmic sounds of impact he heard, he could still tell that the fight had been quite spectacular.
Suddenly noticed that this book already had an Alliance Leader. Many thanks to reader Bai Baishou for the Alliance Leader reward, and many thanks as well to the other readers who have rewarded this book, bookmarked it, and voted for it!