Just as the three of them were preparing to head to Qing city’s biggest restaurant, a voice transmission talisman flew over from the horizon and floated in front of Ji Yunwei.
Ji Yunwei stretched out two fingers and clamped the voice transmission talisman. A short while later, it turned into ash and disintegrated into the air.
Ji Yunwei revealed a shocked look on his face, then turned around and said to Lin Xuanzhi and Yan Tianhen, “Looks like we won’t be able to drink and be merry today, a rare and ancient nine-tailed fox spirit beast was sighted in Xiliang, I need to head there immediately to see it myself. If I’m lucky, I might even be able to obtain a new spirit beast. We’ll meet again if fate allows it.”
An ancient nine-tailed fox spirit beast?
So the story between Ji Yunwei and the nine-tailed fox began here.
Lin Xuanzhi smiled slightly and said, “I sincerely wish for your success, I believe that you’ll definitely be able to tame that nine-tailed fox.
Ji Yunwei laughed a big “haha”, then waved his hand and said, “The news of the reappearance of the nine-tailed fox has already travelled to the ears of all the beast tamers in the West Continent. Various beast tamers are already searching for traces of the nine-tailed fox, I’m just going to join in the fun. This kind of ancient spirit beast that had been extinct for almost 10 000 years, I’ll have no regrets as long as I can catch a glimpse of it and I wouldn’t dare ask for anything more. But…”
Ji Yunwei cheekily raised his eyebrows at Lin Xuanzhi, “Thanks for your kind words. If I do manage to tame that nine-tailed fox, I’ll certainly have to treat you to a round of drinks.”
“The heavens are on Ji young master’s side, so you’ll definitely get what you wish for.” Lin Xuanzhi smiled.
Ji Yunwei said, “I really appreciate someone like Lin young master, why not we drop the formalities and just address each other by name?”
Lin Xuanzhi said, “Yunwei.”
“Xuanzhi.” Ji Yunwei’s naturally smiley and handsome face looked incredibly charming, but it was the kind of charm that made onlookers feel like they were being bathed in a warm, spring breeze. “Oh right, those two tiger cubs are not ordinary demonic beasts, now that they’ve returned to their original masters, you two need to treat them with kindness and not sell them off so easily again. Or else, sooner or later you’ll regret it. There are too many people walking about here so I’ll send you a message regarding the details later, it’s not convenient to say any more here.”
Lin Xuanzhi nodded and said, “Much thanks for Yunwei’s guidance, I’ll remember it.”
He took out a glossy jade bottle from his storage bag and pa.s.sed it to Ji Yunwei, “This is a medicinal bottle I crafted myself. If you store ordinary medicinal pills in this, I can guarantee that its spiritual Qi and medicinal Qi would not dissipate in a hundred years; if you store top-grade medicinal pills in this, its level will definitely not go down within ten years. You can treat this as a gift for our first meeting.”
There are some people whom, upon your first meeting, would feel like you’ve already known them for a long time; while there are others whom you may have known for many years but feel no affinity with. Even though Lin Xuanzhi didn’t have a deep understanding of Ji Yunwei in the past, he can be sure that Ji Yunwei was not someone who would take advantage of others.
Lin Xuanzhi isn’t someone who liked to take advantage of others either, plus, in his past life, he had already ascertained that Ji Yunwei was someone whom he could forge a strong bond with, so he generously gave Ji Yunwei the most valuable and practical item on him – second only to his Mysterious Ice Jade hairpin.
Ji Yunwei’s eyes lit up. He accepted the medicinal bottle and looked it over, then stared at Lin Xuanzhi with a profound look in his eyes and said “Brother Xuanzhi, I’ve heard of your situation before and had always felt that it was a pity. I was thinking that on my way through Qing city, I would see for myself what kind of person the genius Lin Xuanzhi – who had shaken the entire East Continent’s mainland with his peerless talent – was. I didn’t expect that even though your Dantian was destroyed, you would overthrow your previous cultivation and re-establish a path that was even more suited for you. I’m sure that in due time, Brother Xuanzhi would definitely become the top craftsman in the entire Five Continents.”
“Thank you for your kind words too.” Lin Xuanzhi said.
“This is such a precious magic treasure, I’ll accept it for now, thank you!”
After Ji Yunwei finished talking, he clasped his hands together into a fist and said, “I’ll have to take my leave now.”
A Penetrating Clouds Shuttle1 rose into the air, and the Ji Yunwei who was in front of them just a moment ago suddenly disappeared into thin air.
The people in the demonic beast market couldn’t help but widen their eyes in wonder.
The speed of a Penetrating Clouds Shuttle depends on its grade, and the Penetrating Clouds Shuttle used by Ji Yunwei was obviously at the level of a magic treasure – this was rarely seen in the whole of Qing city.
Yan Tianhen blinked, then looked at the two tiger cubs on the table. He said to Lin Xuanzhi, “Dage, that guy just now, how could he tell at a glance that you were cultivating the craftsman path?”
Lin Xuanzhi smiled, then while he held Yan Tianhen’s hand and walked out, he said, “From your observations, Ji Yunwei should be a beast tamer of what level?”
Yan Tianhen seemed to have realise something, then sucked in a breath of cold air and said in surprise, “The guy just now is Ji Yunwei? East Continent’s mainland beast tamer family’s Ji Yunwei?”
“That’s him.” Lin Xuanzhi said, “Has Ah Hen heard of Ji family’s young master?”
“Of course I’ve heard of him.” Yan Tianhen nodded and said, “Daddy used to tell me all about the local customs and influential cultivator families in each of the continents in the Five Continents. He said that Ji Yunwei can be considered a legendary genius. I heard that when he was just born, more than a thousand spiritual birds of different types were circling around in the skies above the Ji residence, and they had stayed there for three whole days. The moment he came into this world, he already knew how to tame beasts, and naturally understood beast language since his birth……he’s so amazing!”
Yan Tianhen couldn’t help but praise him.
Lin Xuanzhi looked at his idolizing look and couldn’t help but smile, then said, “Ah Hen is very amazing too. These two tiger cubs, you didn’t spend a single cent to get them back.”
“No I’m not.” Yan Tianhen pursed his lips, then said, “Don’t think I can’t recognise the value of items, the jade bottle that Dage took out just now is definitely a high-grade magic tool, it can be sold for at least 5000 gold!”
When he thought of this, Yan Tianhen couldn’t help but feel his heart ache.
He could tell that Lin Xuanzhi and Ji Yunwei aren’t common people, so naturally they wouldn’t be concerned with money. Lin Xuanzhi had given that precious magic tool to Ji Yunwei in order to express his thanks.
Lin Xuanzhi thought that a Yan Tianhen who looked like he had just eaten a bitter gourd looked really cute, and couldn’t help but rub his head, “Even though the medicinal bottle was precious, but making a new friend is even more valuable.”
Ah Bai and Hu Po were running around at the back chasing and biting each other, seemingly engrossed in their own entertainment.
Lin Xuanzhi looked at them, then when he saw that they were following along obediently, he didn’t bother with them anymore.
Yan Tianhen pondered for a bit, then asked, “Dage, you seemed to have known Ji young master for a long time, and even had good feelings towards him. But I’ve also only seen him once yesterday…… of course, I’m not saying that Ji young master isn’t a good person, and I’m not trying to intervene in Dage’s choice of friends, it’s just……I just thought it was a bit surprising.”
In the past, Lin Xuanzhi absolutely hated it when Yan Tianhen asked about his private matters. Whenever Yan Tianhen would mention a topic regarding his choice of friends, Lin Xuanzhi would throw Yan Tianhen a cold face.
If it wasn’t because of the sudden change in Lin Xuanzhi’s att.i.tude in the past two days that had made Yan Tianhen let his guard down, Yan Tianhen wouldn’t have had the guts to ask him.
Lin Xuanzhi pinched Yan Tianhen’s hand and said, “In the past, we did meet once. Ah Hen, when it comes to relationships between people, sometimes you don’t need to know the other party for a long time. As long as your interests and att.i.tudes align, you only need one meeting to determine whether or not the other party is the same kind of person as you.”
Just like himself, in his past life when he had seen through the repulsive faces of those around him, and had thoroughly regretted what he had done to Yan Tianhen, Lin Xuanzhi chose to take revenge like a madman– not just on those people, but also on himself.
When he resided within the ancient soul plate, every day he had to go experience a pain akin to being in purgatory, but he felt that he deserved that kind of pain.
He will not let off anyone who had hurt Yan Tianhen, including himself.
And Ji Yunwei was of the same nature.
Yan Tianhen looked pensive as he nodded, then broke out into a huge smile and said, “Congratulations Dage for finding a kindred spirit!”
“He’s my friend, so he’s your friend too.” Lin Xuanzhi said, “In the future, you must tell me whatever you’re thinking. If you have any doubts, don’t bottle it up, and if I were to know something, I’ll definitely not keep it from you either, ok?”
Yan Tianhen’s eyes shone brightly, and he smiled until his eyes had turned into crescent shapes. He nodded forcefully, then excitedly said, “Dage, you don’t hate me anymore?”
Lin Xuanzhi shook his head and said, “How could I hate you, after Daddy left, you’re my only family left. From today onwards, the two of us brothers will be relying on each other for the rest of our lives.”
When Yan Tianhen heard him bring up Daddy, the smile on his face instantly froze.
He secretly took his hand out of Lin Xuanzhi’s hand, then disappointedly hung his head down.
Lin Xuanzhi’s heart stirred, he knew where this reaction was coming from.
“Ah Hen, Daddy’s death is not your fault, don’t take it to heart.” Lin Xuanzhi said.
“No, Daddy died because of me, he was protecting me.” Yan Tianhen lifted his head and stared at Lin Xuanzhi with teary eyes.
Lin Xuanzhi had never been able to ask for the details of Lin Zhan’s death. On the one hand, he had a good relationship with Lin Zhan, so he didn’t want to relive the pain of losing him again. On the other hand, the day before Lin Zhan encountered trouble was the day when he had been seriously injured by his enemies’ devious plot and was bedridden. When he awoke, he no longer had the ability to take revenge for Lin Zhan.
It’s just that, there was someone by his side who kept trying to sow discord, and said that Lin Zhan died because of Yan Tianhen.
In his past life, Lin Xuanzhi had interrogated Yan Tianhen about whether he was involved in Lin Zhan’s death, and Yan Tianhen acted the same way as he was doing now – crying while admitting that it was his fault.
From then on, Lin Xuanzhi began to hate Yan Tianhen.
In this life, Lin Xuanzhi would definitely not put the blame of Lin Zhan’s choice on Yan Tianhen.
“Ah Hen, come with me.” Lin Xuanzhi pulled Yan Tianhen up the carriage, then turned towards the two tiger cubs who were playing catch and said, “The two of you should recognise the way back to the Lin residence, so the both of you are in charge of driving the carriage today.
1. A shuttle is a tool designed to neatly and compactly store a holder that carries the thread of the weft yarn while weaving with a loom. Shuttles are thrown or pa.s.sed back and forth through the shed, between the yarn threads of the warp in order to weave in the weft.↩