Make One Similar Too

This was just a sparring match where they stopped when enough was enough, at most using eighty percent of their full strength—otherwise, Ji Yuan was sure the impact sounds reaching his ears would have been even fiercer.

Even so, the dull thuds of fists and feet colliding and the vibrations in the surrounding air made it clear this was no mere fancy footwork.

The inn guests and waiters watching on the sidelines were having a great time, but if anyone else took a hit like that, at best they'd be bedridden for half a month, at worst their vitals would be damaged and they'd never get up.

This stirred some thoughts in Ji Yuan—after all, he was still a weakling now, and martial arts seemed pretty impressive.

With everyone's spirits high and the crowd egging them on, two more people prepared to spar as Lu Chengfeng and Wang Ke caught their breath.

The injured ones naturally couldn't join in, but watching from the side was a way to lift their moods. Among the nine, only Du Heng, whose right hand had been crippled, seemed dejected, sitting there silently as his companions exchanged blows.

Ji Yuan's hearing was now exceptionally sharp, and he could distinguish sounds with great clarity. He heard the voices of the other eight, but Du Heng hadn't said a single word—the blow must have been too heavy.

'Nice kid, but I can't help you.'

By now, some inn guests and servants were shouting and cheering, and most of the people outside were equally excited. Ji Yuan didn't want to stand out, so he blended into the crowd as a spectator—after all, they couldn't keep fighting forever.

It was mainly the five uninjured ones who went down to demonstrate, while the injured mostly just gestured and commented from the sidelines. After several rounds, they sat under a willow tree to exchange thoughts, discussing which moves could have been adjusted better and where their reactions had been too slow.

After lingering at the back door for a while without hearing anything interesting, Ji Yuan grew a bit impatient, but he still couldn't bring himself to insist they go eat—he had to maintain a bit of a Master's demeanor.

'Forget it, they've been inviting me to eat with them these past few days. I'll just go back to my room and wait!'

With that thought, Ji Yuan didn't linger any longer and headed back to his room to continue experimenting with the chess piece's unknown cultivation effect.

That's right—though he still didn't understand the ins and outs, and though he had no idea what use it was, Ji Yuan was comforting himself by defining that previous state as a form of cultivation.

Back in his room, Ji Yuan tried to recall that feeling again, attempting to summon the chess piece. But whether it was because he was trying too hard or missing some key element, even though he could draw faint wisps of Azure Spirit Qi together, he couldn't re-enter that state of visualizing the Inner World.

The indoor breeze gradually calmed, and Ji Yuan's temple hair stopped stirring.

As the chess piece vanished from his fingertips, another surge of Azure Spirit Qi turned into a cool sensation flowing into his body along his fingers, disappearing without a trace.

Ji Yuan propped his chin on his hand, frowning.

'That can't be right. Is there a time requirement? What time was it back then, anyway? No watch, no phone—really inconvenient!'

'Or maybe I should find a real Cultivator to ask about it? If I could join an Immortal Sect like in those novels and get a protective, formidable master, that'd be great too!'

Just as Ji Yuan was pondering, his heart stirred. He heard nine sets of footsteps approaching, accompanied by hushed whispers.

"Chengfeng, do you think Mister Ji has finished his cultivation by now?"

"It's been a while, so probably..."

"Either way, we have to go tell him!"

"Yeah!"

The fragmented voices left Ji Yuan a bit puzzled—he didn't know what they wanted to say.

Before long, a knock came at the door.

"Dong dong dong..."

"Mister Ji, are you free right now?"

Ji Yuan rubbed his face with both hands to wake himself up before answering.

"Come in!"

The wooden door hinge let out its characteristic creak as Lu Chengfeng, Yan Fei, and the other nine filed in.

"Mister Ji, we've come to say goodbye!"

Yan Fei opened with a farewell.

"What? You're all leaving?"

Even though he'd already guessed as much, Ji Yuan couldn't quite pinpoint his feelings. These people were barely counted as his few acquaintances here, and if they all left at once, a sense of loneliness would creep in.

"Yeah, Ning'an County is a small place after all. Our injuries need better treatment back at our respective sects. We wanted to stay longer, but just now, the Third Master of Luoxia Mountain Manor in Desheng Prefecture came to find Junior Sister Luo, so we... we have to go too..."

Hearing Ji Yuan's words, Lu Chengfeng really wanted to stay, especially to see how Mister Ji would handle that haunted house, but he had to grit his teeth and answer like this—the Third Master was still waiting downstairs in the inn.

Luo Ningshuang shot Lu Chengfeng a fierce glare, rare for her, and turned to Ji Yuan with an apologetic expression.

"Mister Ji, it's nothing really, but when Third Uncle found several of us badly injured, he ordered us back..."

Suddenly, Luo Ningshuang seemed to have an idea.

"Or you could come back with us!"

The others' eyes lit up too. All nine had, to varying degrees, probed whether Ji Yuan might teach them some mysterious arts, and they still hadn't given up hope, especially after hearing Lu Chengfeng talk about Ji Yuan summoning a breeze in his room earlier.

But going back with them was something Ji Yuan had never considered. Otherwise, his bluffs would eventually be exposed. It wasn't that Ji Yuan couldn't handle the embarrassment, but sometimes things weren't just about losing face.

Though Ji Yuan now had some confidence thanks to the chess piece, that confidence belonged to the future, not the present.

"No, I prefer peace and quiet. If fate wills it, we'll meet again!"

Hearing this, the group showed varying degrees of disappointment, but a man of mystery like Mister Ji was surely free-spirited and not something they could easily fathom.

Meanwhile, Ji Yuan's train of thought had veered elsewhere.

'Ah, what a shame. Looks like I won't get a chance to squeeze some martial arts out of them for now!'

After bidding farewell to Ji Yuan, the nine of them arrived together at the inn's main hall, where a middle-aged man with a slightly long beard was drinking tea. He wore a wide-sleeved robe, his long hair unbound by cap or hairpin, looking more like a Confucian scholar or a refined gentleman than a martial artist.

Seeing the group descend, the man set down his teacup.

"Done saying goodbye?"

"Mm, Third Uncle, we..."

"Then let's go. I've hired three carriages waiting outside the inn."

With that, the man stood up, flicked his sleeve to leave five copper coins as tea money, and strode out of the inn first. Luo Ningshuang bit her lip but helplessly followed, and the other eight trailed closely behind, as if all were afraid of this Third Master.

Just as he stepped out of the inn, the Third Master seemed to sense something. He turned back, looked up toward the third floor, where a gaunt young man with half-open pale eyes was smiling and nodding at him.

The Third Master nodded in return, then stepped out of the inn. The nine following him also instinctively looked up at the third floor and saw Ji Yuan nodding to them.

They had kept their promise to Ji Yuan, not mentioning anything they shouldn't to outsiders, so the Third Master only thought Ji Yuan was a down-and-out mountain guest the nine had met on the mountain, who had provided them some help over the past days.

Outside the inn, three carriages were lined up. The Third Master boarded the front one, letting the nine split into the two behind.

As the drivers cracked their whips, the carriages gradually rolled out of Ning'an County.

'Young people, this river of the martial world runs deep. Just one trip into the deep mountains to slay a tiger, and they paid such a heavy price. Ah, what a pity about that Du boy...'

Third Master Luofeng leaned back in the gently swaying carriage, shaking his head in thought.

At that moment, Ji Yuan was still staring somewhat absently toward the inn's entrance. Though his vision was blurry, he could somehow discern a certain "aura" that made Luofeng's image much clearer in his eyes.

Whenever something was particularly unusual, Ji Yuan's terrible eyesight would unexpectedly prove surprisingly useful. Yet he somehow understood that this Third Master was at most a high-level martial artist, certainly no demon or monster.

Recalling how he had seen the ghost servant Wang Dong, Ji Yuan couldn't help but wonder if his eyes were Yin-Yang Eyes or something even more impressive.

Of course, this train of thought was quickly replaced by another.

Damn it, that Third Master's whole outfit looked so effortlessly elegant and flashy—really stylish as hell. I need to get myself something similar!