Roaming Dragon Sending Flowers

The red fox had already fallen asleep on the stone table at some unknown time. A gentle breeze occasionally ruffled its fur, its large tail draped over itself like a blanket, now and then sweeping across its front.

Ji Yuan had changed out of the green robe stained with fox blood and put on a wide-sleeved long gown of a similar cut but bluer in hue. When he came out of the room, this was the scene he saw.

A red fox lying beneath the jujube tree—there was a tranquil charm to it.

Seeing Ji Yuan emerge from the house, the fox, which had been sound asleep, suddenly opened its eyes and lifted its head to look at him.

"Rest easy at home. I'll go to the market and buy some food for you."

Ji Yuan spoke as he walked past the red fox. He paused before opening the courtyard gate, then turned his head to look at the fox, which was still staring at him.

"Living in Ju'an Pavilion, don't let me find out that any household in the quarter is missing a chicken or a duck, understand?"

Though Ji Yuan's tone was quite amiable, under the gaze of those calm, ancient pale eyes, the fox felt a pang of guilt.

"Woo..."

"Mm, I'll take that as a yes!"

With that, Ji Yuan stepped out and headed toward the market.

It was still Sun's Noodle Stall today. From a distance, Ji Yuan could hear diners at the stall chatting about the morning's street oddities.

"Oh, Mister Ji is here!!"

Old Man Sun was the first to spot Ji Yuan. The chatter at the noodle stall fell silent in an instant. Many faces turned to look, but when Ji Yuan's gaze shifted toward them, they quickly turned back to their noodles.

"Greetings, Mister Ji!"

Two regulars who had known Ji Yuan before offered their greetings.

"Good!"

By the time Ji Yuan responded, he had already reached the awning of the noodle stall. Old Man Sun came out specially to wipe down the only empty table again.

"Mister Ji, please sit. We have lamb offal today—saved some for you!"

"Good, the usual: one bowl of braised noodles and one bowl of offal!"

Ji Yuan tugged at his sleeves and sat down. Old Man Sun didn't leave immediately but leaned in to ask quietly.

"Mister Ji, I heard from folks that around noon, you saved a fox?"

Those who knew him well understood that Mister Ji of Tianniu Quarter was humble, polite, and magnanimous. Old Man Sun, who considered himself quite familiar with Ji Yuan, felt no pressure and let his curiosity get the better of him.

The other diners pricked up their ears, even the slurping of noodles ceased.

Ji Yuan found it a bit amusing. Even if times were different, people's thirst for gossip was much the same. He felt no pressure and answered directly.

"It's true. I was strolling at the street corner when the fox was being chased and beaten by a yellow dog and some idlers. It fled all the way to my feet. Seeing its pitiful state, I was moved to compassion and saved it."

This kind of thing was like a wealthy old man marrying a young concubine—a topic that would heat up for a while and then fade. A fox bowing to a person was rare, but it didn't really affect ordinary folks. Still, people would definitely keep a special impression of Mister Ji of Tianniu Quarter.

Ji Yuan spoke lightly, not mentioning the strange matters of the fox bowing or the yellow dog retreating on its own.

"Mister Ji is truly a kind-hearted man!"

Old Man Sun had business to attend to and couldn't chat too long. He praised Ji Yuan and went back to work, but in his heart, he was even more convinced that Ji Yuan was an extraordinary person, thinking he might ask him to interpret a dream someday.

Today, Ji Yuan broke his habit of eating slowly. He finished his noodles quickly and went straight to the market to buy two chickens—one live and one already slaughtered by the vendor.

On his way home, the old hen he carried by the feet was still listless. But the moment he pushed open the courtyard gate of Ju'an Pavilion—

The chicken and the fox locked eyes instantly.

"Cluck~ cluck cluck cluck~ cluck cluck cluck cluck~"

The old hen, driven by instinctive fear, suddenly flapped and struggled wildly, beating its wings hard. The fox on the stone table also stood up, baring its teeth with a hissing "tsk tsk," its fierce expression fully revealed.

Ji Yuan found it a bit troublesome. He closed the courtyard gate and raised the dead chicken in his other hand toward the red fox.

"Today, you eat this. Once you've recovered a bit more, I'll give you a live chicken."

With that, Ji Yuan walked to the kitchen side, locked the hen in the long-dusty chicken coop, then entered the kitchen to fetch a pot and boil water.

Not skilled in cooking, Ji Yuan took some effort to debone the chicken completely, preparing to make simple plain boiled chicken.

Though the fox seemed to have recovered well, Ji Yuan had seen what it looked like in the morning. Better to start with cooked food.

As dusk gradually descended, Ji Yuan brought the clay pot of chicken with broth to the stone table, then began to study the calligraphy scroll intently.

In his past life, there was a saying that calligraphy was like swordsmanship. Ji Yuan hadn't believed it then, but now he had no choice but to.

The characters on the scroll flowed together, vividly forming a sharp-edged wandering dragon. There were no direct descriptions of sword moves, but in Ji Yuan's eyes, it carried a natural, heaven-made sword momentum.

With a wave of his hand, a twig at his feet flew up into his grasp. He didn't know if cultivation techniques had similar spells, but the high-level internal cultivation's so-called "telekinetic grasp," when performed with spiritual qi, had an ethereal grace untouched by worldly dust.

"Swish swish... whoosh whoosh... woo..."

Using the twig as a sword, with no specific sword technique, Ji Yuan temporarily merged that free and unrestrained sword momentum into the saber techniques of the Iron Punishment Battle Post. Relying on his keen senses to smooth over the rough spots, he freely executed hooks, hangs, points, flicks, thrusts, sweeps, and chops.

Gradually, the shadow of saber techniques faded, and even the traces of specific moves disappeared. Ji Yuan felt as if he were practicing calligraphy with a brush—the sword momentum like the stroke of a pen, the sword shadows flowing as if each strike was a single move yet naturally linked like a dragon.

Ji Yuan's calligraphy in this life was already considered superb, and now it was as if he were dancing with a sword to rewrite the Sword Intent Scroll.

Within the courtyard of Ju'an Pavilion, the wind shifted at will. When the sword momentum was gentle, a soft breeze swirled around; when it was fierce, the wind whipped high and low, unpredictable and utterly extraordinary!

Ji Yuan grew more and more unrestrained, the twig in his hand as if guided by sticky silk, until finally, with a sweeping motion of his sleeve and a flick of his sword, the breeze in the courtyard carried fallen branches and jujube blossoms diagonally upward, rushing out of the small yard and forming a faint green-yellow flower dragon that soared above Tianniu Quarter before dissipating.

Some commoners, catching the fragrance, looked up to see the wind sending flowers down like rain...

A long time passed, and in the small pavilion courtyard, the sword ceased and the wind settled. The sky was already dotted with countless stars!

Ji Yuan slowly calmed his breathing. The feeling just now of being hearty and uninhibited was truly exhilarating. More importantly, even if this person Ji himself couldn't see it, he understood that it must have been very handsome and dashing.

"Not bad. Regardless of the origin of this Sword Intent Scroll without any sword moves, let's call the one just now 'Wandering Dragon.'"

Perhaps the peerless martial master Zuo Kuangtu from decades ago would never have dreamed in his wildest fantasies that the precious secret manual in his tomb would be less than useless to Ji Yuan, while the Sword Intent Scroll, written in his final moments as a lament for a lifetime of sword intent, would be treasured by Ji Yuan as a priceless gem.

The fox, having long since finished its chicken, stared blankly at Ji Yuan in the courtyard, who made the Wandering Dragon flow and turn. The sight of fallen flowers swirling around like a dragon and then flying far away, carrying an aura close to the Dao, struck the red fox with profound shock!