Fortuitous Encounter

But as for these few contracts, Ji Yuan only gave them a glance—with his bird-like eyesight, what hope was there of making out what was written on them? Anyway, for now, he trusted Lu Chengfeng well enough.

Suddenly, a sensation of numbness and itching began spreading through his body. Ji Yuan quickly refocused his attention inward, feeling carefully.

Strangely, the more he tried to scrutinize it, the more elusive the sensation became. Instead, when he relaxed his mind and cast aside distracting thoughts, a wondrous feeling arose, as if intent could move freely.

For a moment, it seemed his body was expanding without limit, rising and swelling. He could almost see the meridians within him transforming into great rivers, his organs and bones becoming mountains and streams, natural winds and wonders...

As Ji Yuan grew more and more thoughtless, discarding all stray notions, the feeling of gazing upon heaven and earth became even more natural. His mind sank into it, his consciousness turning into a spiritual wind, drifting through the world with a sense of weightlessness—mountains rising and falling, hidden currents and deep pools, misty winds and rain, clear skies and haze. All manner of anomalous phenomena interwove, myriad and ever-changing.

Amid this hazy vision of mountains, rivers, mist, and scattered brilliance, though he could not see it, Ji Yuan sensed the existence of a phantom chess piece, drifting through heaven and earth.

"Master Ji? Uh, well, the government records say this residence might be a haunted house. Did you already see that coming?"

Lu Chengfeng couldn't hold back any longer and wanted to personally confirm with Ji Yuan.

But Ji Yuan was now free of distracting thoughts, fully immersed in this rare inner contemplation. Lu Chengfeng's voice reached him, transforming into rumbling peals of thunder in his mind, rising and falling with the syllables.

This sensation was utterly marvelous and greatly excited Ji Yuan. At this moment, he felt for the first time that he could absolutely live a brilliant life in this incarnation. A smile crept onto his face—that Azure Spirit Qi was very likely the legendary spiritual energy.

Lu Chengfeng smiled too. Master Ji was Master Ji—how could he not have seen it? Others buying this residence would be asking for a short life, but in Master Ji's hands, it was a true bargain.

"Then when does Master Ji plan to cleanse the filth there? Do you need our help?"

Lu Chengfeng asked with some anticipation. Witnessing the methods of a profound master was far rarer than seeing the martial arts of a skilled fighter.

But this time, he saw Ji Yuan only smile without answering. After waiting a while, he just saw Master Ji sitting with eyes slightly closed, content and at ease.

Lu Chengfeng felt a bit awkward. It seemed the master had declined without words, and he had probably interrupted Master Ji's cultivation just now.

"Uh, Master Ji, if you need anything, just say the word. We'll still be in Ning'an County for the next couple of days. We won't leave until Yan Fei and Junior Sister Luo and the others are a bit more stable..."

Ji Yuan still showed no reaction, so Lu Chengfeng dared not linger. It seemed he was disturbing the master and might provoke dislike.

"Master, please rest well. Chengfeng takes his leave!"

Lu Chengfeng quietly placed a brush holder on the table, then hurriedly left with small steps, gently closing the door behind him.

A full hour or more passed before Ji Yuan withdrew from that state. It wasn't that he didn't want to continue feeling it, but the sensation was growing weaker, and he couldn't hold onto that condition any longer.

Gradually coming back to his senses, he looked around the room. The contract documents were still on the table, but Lu Chengfeng had left at some unknown time. Well, the situation had caught Ji Yuan a bit off guard—he had suddenly become completely oblivious to everything.

Of course, Ji Yuan also noticed the brush holder on the table and silently praised Lu Chengfeng for his thoughtfulness.

Now, Ji Yuan could finally examine these land deeds and house deeds closely. The excitement of buying a house grew stronger.

He picked them up and scrutinized them carefully.

To be fair, though Ji Yuan's eyesight was poor, by pressing the paper almost against his eyes, he could still make out the neat characters on these contracts and documents in a blur. Each clause was laid out in full, along with red seals of various sizes and the largest official stamp.

Of course, in Ji Yuan's eyes, the seals were just blobs of red patterns.

Add to that what Lu Chengfeng said about the government having records, and Ji Yuan felt that such contracts were probably fairly rigorous.

But since it was just paper, Ji Yuan found it difficult to make out exactly what was written on it. This suddenly made him think of a rather serious problem.

As he was now, he couldn't learn about the era's background, regional customs, or culture by purchasing books or the like!

In truth, Ji Yuan had been wondering all along—was he in ancient China, or in an entirely similar but different time and space? He hadn't had the chance to verify this in the past couple of days.

Based on his current subjective reasoning, having been in close contact with a tiger demon and a ghost servant, and having witnessed the true martial arts of Yan Fei and the others, Ji Yuan leaned more toward the speculation that he was in another time and space.

Perhaps after Lu Chengfeng and the others left Ning'an County, it would be more appropriate to find a scholar well-versed in history and literature to consult?

Ji Yuan had always been fairly optimistic. He had survived the dead-end start of this life; other matters would find a way. There was no need to solve everything at once.

Glancing at the Four Treasures of the Study on the other side of the inn's desk, Ji Yuan, in good spirits, had a sudden whim—he wanted to try "writing blind."

But after grinding the ink and picking up the brush, the feel was strangely wonderful, as if his body remembered. When the brush touched the white paper, it flowed like clouds and water—clerical script, seal script, regular script, complex and simplified characters interwoven, all coming effortlessly without restraint!

"Holy shit, I'm way too good!"

Ji Yuan couldn't help but let out an excited low cry. As for whether the characters were good? With this feeling, they probably weren't bad!

It seemed that the beggar before his downfall had quite a story.

Time flew by with this practice, and with the physical exertion, Ji Yuan began to feel hungry.

He looked at the light outside the window. Even if it wasn't mealtime yet, it soon would be.

He stood up, stretched, put away the house deeds on the table, and prepared to check on the injured young heroes, reminding them it was time to eat. Not to mooch a meal, but as a friendly reminder!

They were all in superior rooms at the same inn, not far apart. Coming out of his room and walking along the third-floor corridor, he soon reached the area where the young martial artists were staying.

After all, they had trained in martial arts since childhood, so their physical foundations were solid. With timely medical treatment, their injuries had stabilized over the past few days. They could even move around on their own and no longer needed constant care.

But when Ji Yuan went to check, he found all the rooms empty. Even Lu Chengfeng's room had no sound of breathing.

Fortunately, by listening carefully, he could pick out their distinctive voices from the noisy environment. It sounded like they were practicing in the inn's backyard.

The backyard of the Yunlai Inn had a large open space, connected to two small residences that also belonged to the inn's property. The stables, hay shed, and woodshed were all next to this area.

This space was reserved for future expansion and was also where the inn daily aired out bedding and set aside pickled goods.

At that moment, several of the injured were sitting on the side resting, while Lu Chengfeng and the others were sparring. Many inn guests and some idle waitstaff were watching from the back door.

Ning'an County was a remote little place, with few people in the martial world and even fewer masters of high-level martial arts, so watching these wandering heroes leap and clash was quite thrilling.

Amid the sounds of fists and feet, a few weeping willows swayed with the wind.

By the time Ji Yuan reached the back door of the inn, it was already blocked by several waiters, and even a few cooks, the innkeeper's wife, and two female laborers had gathered there to watch.

Lu Chengfeng and another young man named Wang Ke were locked in a fierce battle, using no weapons, only fists and feet in their sparring.

Wang Ke could wield a sword, but he was better at palm techniques, while Lu Chengfeng excelled in fist and claw techniques.

"Slap! Slap! Bam~"

At that moment, their arms parried two strikes simultaneously, and both extended their legs to kick at each other. After their feet clashed heavily, Lu Chengfeng twisted and slid behind his opponent, while Wang Ke fluttered like a butterfly toward a weeping willow behind him. Twisting mid-air, he stepped on the trunk, contorted his body, bent a leg, and kicked off, suddenly using the momentum to strike at Lu Chengfeng with a palm.

Lu Chengfeng had just steadied himself when he felt the wind of the attack rushing toward his face. Without a second thought, he dropped flat to the ground, using his hands to support himself as he kicked his left leg at Wang Ke, who was a full body height above him, with his right leg, charged with even more power, following closely behind.

"Bam! Bam!"

Wang Ke felt he had adjusted his moves quickly enough, but the speed and force of this double kick were greater. His palms, catching both legs, went numb, and his entire body was sent flying into the air.

"Watch out!"

Lu Chengfeng shouted a warning as he twisted his body, the veins on his supporting arms bulging.

"Ha!"

With his left leg slightly bent and his right leg straight, his body trembled like a spring, launching him forward to kick at Wang Ke, who was still airborne.

"Bam!"

One kick knocked aside Wang Ke's defending palms and struck him in the chest, but the force was clearly pulled back by half.

With that strike, victory or defeat was decided. Both sides landed lightly using their body techniques.

The waiters in front of Ji Yuan couldn't help but applaud, their faces full of excitement.

"Well fought!"

"Better than the plays at the temple!"

"Amazing, Young Master Lu is truly amazing!"

"Young Master Wang is no slouch either!"

"One more! One more!"

Ji Yuan joined in the applause. Though he couldn't see clearly, from the outlines he caught and the rhythmic sounds of impact, he could tell the fight was quite exciting.

Suddenly realizing this book already has an Alliance Leader, I want to thank fellow reader Bai Baishou for the Alliance Leader reward, and also thank the other readers who have rewarded, collected, and voted for this book!