This was only a spar where they stopped when enough; at most, they used eighty percent of their full strength. Otherwise, Ji Yuan dared say that the force of those blows ringing in his ears would have been even greater.
Just from the dull thuds of fists and feet colliding, and the tremors passing through the air around them, it was clear this was no mere flowery display of fists and embroidered kicks.
The inn guests and waiters watching from the side were having a wonderful time, but if any one of them went up and took a hit, they would be bedridden for half a month at best; at worst, an injury to a vital spot would leave them unable to rise from bed.
This stirred some thoughts in Ji Yuan as well. After all, he was still a weak chicken right now, and Martial Arts seemed quite formidable.
Everyone was in high spirits, and with the others egging them on, while Lu Chengfeng and Wang Ke took a brief moment to regulate their breathing, two more people prepared to step forward and spar.
Naturally, the injured ones could not take the field, but watching from the side still helped ease their moods. Of the nine, only Du Heng, whose right hand had been crippled, seemed somewhat despondent. He merely sat there, watching his companions exchange moves without uttering a word.
Not only was Ji Yuan's hearing exceptionally sharp now, but he could also distinguish sounds with remarkable precision. He had heard the voices of the other eight, yet Du Heng had not spoken a single word. The blow must have been too great.
What a fine young fellow. Shame I can't help you.
At this moment, several inn guests and attendants were loudly cheering them on. Most of those outside were in high spirits as well, and Ji Yuan did not want to draw too much attention. He blended into the back of the crowd as a spectator. It was not as if they could keep fighting forever.
The five uninjured people were the main ones taking the field, while the injured ones could at most gesture and offer pointers from the side. After several matches, they sat together beneath a weeping willow, discussing where the moves they had just used could be changed more appropriately and where their reactions had been too slow.
After standing by the back door for a while without hearing anything of interest, Ji Yuan grew a little impatient. Still, he was too embarrassed to force them to go eat. He had to maintain at least a little of a master's bearing.
Forget it. They've invited me to eat with them these past few days. I'll just go back to my room and wait.
With that thought, Ji Yuan did not linger any longer and prepared to return to his room to continue testing the chess piece's unknown cultivation effects.
That was right. Although he still could not make heads or tails of it, and although he did not yet know what use it had, Ji Yuan temporarily comforted himself by defining his previous state as a form of cultivation.
After returning to his room, Ji Yuan once again recalled that sensation and tried to summon the chess piece. Yet perhaps he was being too deliberate, or perhaps he was missing some crucial key. Though he could draw wisps of faint Azure Spirit Qi together, he could no longer enter that state of visualizing the Inner World.
The cool breeze in the room gradually subsided, and Ji Yuan's temple hair no longer stirred.
When the chess piece vanished from his fingertips, another stream of Azure Spirit Qi transformed into a cool sensation and flowed into his body through his fingertips, disappearing without a trace.
Ji Yuan propped up his chin, his brows furrowed.
That shouldn't be right. Could there be some time requirement? Come to think of it, when exactly was it just now? No watch, no phone—this is really inconvenient!
Or maybe I can ask a real cultivator for confirmation someday? It'd be nice if I could join an Immortal Sect like in the novels and find some powerful master who protects his disciples no matter what!
Ji Yuan was deep in thought when his heart suddenly stirred. He heard nine sets of footsteps approaching, accompanied by hushed whispers.
"Chengfeng, do you think Mister Ji has finished cultivating?"
"It's been so long. He should be done by now..."
"No matter what, we can't leave without coming to tell him!"
"Mm!"
Those scattered murmurs left Ji Yuan somewhat puzzled. He did not know what they had come to say.
Before long, there came a knock at the door.
Knock knock knock...
"Mister Ji, is this a convenient time?"
Ji Yuan rubbed his face with both hands to wake himself up before replying.
"Come in!"
The wooden pivot of the inn door made its characteristic creak as Lu Chengfeng, Yan Fei, and the other nine filed inside one after another.
"Mister Ji, we have come to bid you farewell!"
Yan Fei opened with words of parting.
"What? You're all leaving?"
Though he had already vaguely guessed it, Ji Yuan still could not quite describe how he felt. These people barely counted among the few acquaintances he had here. Now that they were all leaving at once, a sense of loneliness truly rose within him.
"Yes. Ning'an County is ultimately a small place. Only by returning to our respective sects can several of us receive better treatment for our injuries. We originally wanted to stay a few more days, but just now, the Third Master of Luoxia Mountain Manor in Desheng Prefecture City came to find Junior Sister Luo, so we... we have to leave together as well..."
When Lu Chengfeng heard Ji Yuan's words, he truly wanted to stay behind, especially to see how Mister Ji would deal with that Haunted House. But he could only steel himself and answer this way. The Third Master was still waiting on the first floor of the inn.
Luo Ningshuang shot Lu Chengfeng a fierce glare, then, in a rare display of girlish manner, faced Ji Yuan with apology.
"Mister Ji, it was nothing much at first, but Third Uncle discovered that several of us had suffered severe injuries and strictly ordered us to return..."
Suddenly, Luo Ningshuang seemed to think of something.
"Or perhaps Mister Ji could return with us!"
The others' eyes lit up as well. All nine had, to varying degrees, sounded Ji Yuan out about whether he intended to impart any profound and wondrous arts. Even now, they had not entirely given up, especially after hearing Lu Chengfeng describe how Mister Ji had summoned a cool breeze to circle around his room in the rear courtyard.
But returning with them was something Ji Yuan had never considered. Otherwise, his bluffing would sooner or later be exposed. It was not that Ji Yuan could not bear the embarrassment; rather, sometimes the consequences went far beyond merely losing face.
Although Ji Yuan had gained at least a little confidence because of the chess piece, that confidence belonged to the future, not the present.
"No. I still prefer somewhere quieter. If we are fated, we will meet again."
Hearing this, they were all more or less disappointed. But an extraordinary person like Mister Ji presumably had always acted as he pleased. He was not someone they could casually speculate about.
Yet Ji Yuan's train of thought veered elsewhere at that moment.
Ah, what a pity. Looks like I won't get the chance to coax some of their martial arts out of them for now!
After bidding Ji Yuan farewell, the nine of them went together to the inn's main hall. There, a middle-aged man with a slightly long beard was drinking tea. He wore a wide-sleeved long robe, and his long hair was neither crowned nor tied into a topknot. He looked more like a confucian scholar or refined gentleman than a martial artist.
Seeing them come downstairs, the man set down his tea cup.
"Finished saying your goodbyes?"
"Mm, Third Uncle, we..."
"Then let's go. I hired three carriages. They are waiting outside the inn."
After saying that, the man stood up, flicked his sleeve, and placed five copper coins down as tea money. He was the first to head outside the inn. Luo Ningshuang bit her lip but could only follow helplessly, while the other eight followed close on her heels, as though they were all quite afraid of this Third Master.
Yet as he stepped out of the inn, the Third Master seemed to sense something. He turned his head upward and looked toward the third floor. There, a thin young man with pale eyes half-open was smiling and nodding at him.
The Third Master nodded in return, then took one step out of the inn. The nine following behind him also subconsciously looked toward the third floor and saw Ji Yuan nod at them.
They had kept their agreement with Ji Yuan and had not mentioned anything that should not be mentioned to outsiders. Thus, this Third Master only believed that Ji Yuan was a down-and-out mountain guest the nine had met in the mountains, someone who had provided them some help over the past few days.
Outside the inn, three carriages stood lined up in a row. The Third Master boarded the first, leaving the nine to divide themselves between the two behind it.
As the coachmen cracked their whips and urged the horses onward, the carriages gradually headed out of Ning'an County.
Young people... the waters of the martial world run deep. They paid such a terrible price merely for a trip into the deep mountains to eliminate a tiger. Ah, what a pity for that boy from the Du Family...
Luofeng, the Third Master, leaned back inside the gently swaying carriage, shaking his head as he thought.
Meanwhile, Ji Yuan was still staring somewhat absently in the direction of the inn entrance. Though his vision was blurry, it was as if he could inexplicably perceive something like a certain "temperament," making Luofeng's image much clearer in Ji Yuan's eyes.
Whenever something was especially unusual, Ji Yuan's terrible eyesight often produced unexpectedly delightful results. Yet Ji Yuan also somehow understood that this Third Master was, at most, highly skilled in Martial Arts and absolutely not some demon or the like.
Recalling how he had seen the Ghost Servant Wang Dong before, Ji Yuan could not help guessing whether his eyes might be Yin-Yang Eyes, or something even more impressive.
Of course, the thoughts in his mind were quickly replaced by another idea.
Damn it, that Third Master's whole outfit looked so damn flowing and flamboyant, so damn stylish. I need to get myself something similar too!