Chapter 228: Master Jian's Invitation
After watching Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu depart, Ji You glanced at Yan Hao, who was standing under the begonia tree, and then planned to wander to the West Garden.
But before he could move, he suddenly noticed someone at a round table behind Yan Hao looking at him.
So Ji You stopped and met his gaze.
It was also a man in a white robe, neatly dressed, but his clothes were not as luxurious as Yan Hao's, nor did he have as many expensive accessories.
From his appearance, Ji You thought he should be a few years older than himself, exuding a heroic aura. He was already in the Rongdao Upper Realm and was standing in front of the round table, smiling kindly at him.
Ji You did not recognize this person and thought he must have mistaken him for someone else.
Just now, an old man had mistaken him for the Zhao family's second son, so he wasn't surprised, just a little astonished that there was someone else in this world who was as handsome and refined as himself.
However, what surprised Ji You was that although he didn't know him, Kuang Cheng, who arrived shortly after, was familiar with him.
Kuang Shusheng had just finished his busy work and was coming from behind a rockery with Gongshu Chou. Ji You could tell that this Reception Department of his basically had to do all sorts of odd jobs, more like a Department of Oxen and Horses.
He initially came towards Ji You, but when he got closer, he noticed the man in white, paused slightly, then cupped his hands and bowed to him.
Ji You looked at him in surprise: "You know this person?"
Kuang Cheng turned to him: "Fang Ruoming, the eldest son of the Fang Manor."
Ji You was stunned for a long time before he reacted: "Is he Princess Ruoyao's elder brother who left home to join the army many years ago?"
"Exactly."
Ji You looked at Fang Ruoming again, indeed seeing a few similarities between him and Fang Ruoyao in his Face and eyebrows: "No wonder Fang Ruoyao could get a spot at Tianshu Academy; her brother is actually in the Integration Dao Realm?"
Kuang Cheng also looked at Fang Ruoming: "Brother Ruoming is here to compete on behalf of the Zhenbei Army and is also staying in Taiping Garden.
We have met several times these past two days."
"You seem to respect him a lot?"
"Brother Ruoming is a good person and was also a student of Chen Fuzi. It's just that Brother Ji is usually busy with his petty thievery, so he probably hasn't had much contact with him."
Ji You thought to himself, 'Do I have career plans so early?'
It seemed that Fang Ruoming, who had only been smiling before, suddenly put down his wine glass and said something to his companion before stepping forward, as if he had seen Kuang Cheng approaching.
He first greeted Kuang Cheng, calling out his name, then looked at Ji You, his eyes flickering.
"Worry-free, long time no see."
Fang Ruoming showed a smile: "When I left home to join the army, you and my Ruoyao hadn't fully grown up yet. Now you're incredibly handsome. If I saw you on the road, I really wouldn't dare to recognize you. You didn't recognize me just now, did you? But with our relationship, we shouldn't be so unfamiliar."
Ji You cupped his fists: "Brother Fang, you overstate. It's just that the matter between me and your sister was made clear in Yuyang County."
"I know that. It's just a pity that I haven't returned home for many years, otherwise I definitely wouldn't have let my father and sister act like this. But now that it's come to this, I can only say that Ruoyao has no good fortune."
"It's just a difference in personality; it has nothing to do with good fortune or not."
"Worry-free is a magnanimous person, which makes me feel even more that Ruoyao has no good fortune."
Ji You looked him over at this moment: "Brother Fang's cultivation level...?"
Fang Ruoming glanced at himself: "It's all from training in the army, but it's not like Worry-free. I only have the Realm but no courage, unlike Worry-free, who liberated millions of people in my Feng Province and even helped my Zhenbei Army block a great calamity."
Ji You knew he was talking about the mission to the Snow Region: "This is what people of my Feng Province should do."
"Indeed, I joined the army for this reason back then, but I was still a step slower than Worry-free."
Fang Ruoming chuckled, shattering his wine glass: "As fellow Yuyang County residents, you and I should naturally be closer than others. If you have free time during the competition, you can come to my place with Kuang Cheng for a visit."
Ji You nodded, watched him turn and leave, and couldn't help but look at Kuang Cheng: "Is his attitude a bit strange?"
Kuang Cheng turned to look at Ji You: "Not at all. Brother Ruoming has been a sensible person since he was a child. He told me before that Fang Ruoyao's forced annulment of the engagement with you was indeed a bit too much, and if he had been there, it wouldn't have happened like that."
"His physique is very strong."
"Physique?"
Ji You put down his empty wine glass, recalling the heat he had felt earlier: "Does the Zhenbei Army also practice Body Refining techniques?"
Kuang Cheng turned to look at the Zhenbei Army group: "That's not surprising. After all, their opponents are the Barbarian Race with unmatched physical bodies. Body Refining is also for self-preservation."
"How many spots does the Zhenbei Army have in this Heavenly Dao Conference?"
"Fifteen, the same as the Immortal Sects."
"The always stingy Immortal Sects are giving enough Face this time."
Kuang Cheng rolled up his sleeves: "Immortal Sects don't meddle in worldly affairs, but to cultivate diligently, they need a stable environment.
The Zhenbei Army constantly sacrifices their lives and sheds blood in the northern border, so fifteen spots are not too many at all."
Ji You nodded, thinking that this was true.
To make a horse run, you have to let it eat grass. It is precisely because of the close relationship between the Zhenbei Army and cultivators that the Seven Great Immortal Sects allow these Mortals not from Worldly Families to cultivate within the army.
Ji You withdrew his gaze at this moment and turned to Kuang Cheng: "I saw Wei Rui earlier. Do you want me to take you to find her?"
"Miss Rui'er—"
Kuang Cheng's cheeks instantly flushed when he heard about finding Wei Rui.
"?"
Ji You looked at him and thought he was useless, wondering how he could quickly have a fat nephew if he blushed just from looking for her.
Unable to resist Ji Bochang's urging, or perhaps Kuang Cheng himself wanted to go, the two returned along the road to where they had previously met Wei Rui.
The four women were indeed still there, but there were more people around them. One was Chong Wang, the current emperor's uncle, accompanied by some pro-immortal officials, and the others were some Lingjian Mountain Disciples.
Princess Changle, in addition to being Chong Wang's daughter, also had the identity of an outer Disciple of Lingjian Mountain, naturally making her closer to Lingjian Mountain.
Ji You surprisingly found that Ding Yao, who had just left, was also among them, as well as the skilled but rough Gongshu Chou. Another person he recognized was Yan Shujing, a direct Disciple of a Peak Master whom he had only met a few times.
Zhao Yunyue was standing in front of Yan Shujing at this moment, talking to her very intimately.
She knew that this was a direct Disciple of Xuanjian Peak's Peak Master and also the Master Jian's cousin, a noble identity that was naturally worth befriending.
However, after talking for a long time, Zhao Yunyue realized that this direct Disciple of Xuanjian Peak seemed extremely cold and didn't say a word.
But Liu Junchi had told her before that this direct Disciple of the Peak Master was a sword fanatic; she saw everyone else as wood except for swords.
Zhao Yunyue temporarily gave up on Yan Shujing and turned to look at Ding Yao and Gongshu Chou.
Gongshu Chou was too aloof, exuding an aura of an otherworldly expert, difficult to approach. Ding Yao was better.
Although her Realm was relatively low and she had no actual status, she was a maid who had served Master Jian since childhood. In her opinion, she was still worth befriending.
However, for some reason, Ding Yao's attitude towards her was not very good, deliberately maintaining a sense of distance, yet she seemed very interested in Wei Rui, constantly looking at the bracelet on her wrist.
Just then, Princess Jiaren saw Ji You walking towards them through the bustling crowd and reached out to pull Zhao Yunyue.
Zhao Yunyue immediately looked over, thinking, 'Sure enough,'
Ji You had wandered around for half an hour, but in the end, he only ended up with Kuang Cheng. These two country brothers from Yuyang County could only accompany each other.
Seeing this lonely scene, Zhao Yunyue couldn't help but turn to look at Wei Rui.
She had previously been reluctant for Wei Rui to marry a country bumpkin, especially one who couldn't cultivate. Just now, she had an idea to introduce a Tong Xuan Realm Disciple from Lingjian Mountain to her.
But at this moment, Wei Rui's eyes began to sparkle upon seeing Kuang Cheng, which made her feel a bit helpless.
"Young Master Kuang."
"Miss Rui'er."
The two lovers looked at each other, their eyes filled with affection.
Zhao Yunyue then looked at Ji You: "Young Master Ji has come back again?"
"There were too many acquaintances over there, and I didn't feel like talking much, so I came back."
"I see. It seems Young Master is indeed not good at making connections like this. I just wonder why Young Master came here today with such a personality."
Ji You felt the Yin and Yang in Zhao Yunyue's tone, feeling as if she was saying he wanted to make connections but couldn't find anyone, so he stubbornly claimed he didn't like to talk much. He felt speechless.
Chong Wang, however, had been staring at Ji You, constantly sizing him up.
Chong Wang had always regarded Ji You as a missed investment, but in reality, he and Ji You had never truly met Face-to-Face.
When he arrived here just now, he had already heard from his daughter that Ji You had also come, but because of his identity as a private cultivator from the countryside, no one introduced him, so he wandered alone for a long time, revealing the awkwardness of a private cultivator from the countryside.
But his thoughts were different from his daughter's. Faced with a missed investment, Chong Wang actually wanted to bring him back from the bottom of his heart.
To him, Ji You's current predicament seemed like an opportunity.
He secretly controlled the tax tributes and participated in the Spirit Stone affairs of Yun Province over the years, accumulating quite a network of connections.
Although the ascension of the Immortal Supervisor gradually cost him power, he still had a bit of Face and could introduce Ji You to some people.
However, before he could speak, Kuang Cheng looked up at Gongshu Chou: “Gongshu, it’s been a while.”
Gongshu Chou cupped his fists: “Brother Kuang.”
Zhao Yunyue and Chong Wang couldn’t help but be slightly stunned, their expressions gradually turning to surprise.
The Pro-Immortal Faction and the Immortal Monitoring Department were opposing forces. Chong Wang had heard much about Kuang Cheng, but he never expected that a mere Mortal would have such connections within the Immortal Sects.
One must know that Gongshu Chou had previously maintained a profound and aloof demeanor, appearing somewhat indifferent to everyone.
However, what they didn’t expect was that after Gongshu Chou and Kuang Cheng exchanged greetings, Gongshu Chou immediately turned to Ji You: “I’ve walked around this garden three times, visiting both the left and right sides, and only now have I finally seen Brother Ji.”
Ji You frowned slightly: “Why are you looking for me again? I haven’t met a single client today, so I have no material.”
“It’s about what you mentioned yesterday. I’ve mostly forgotten it, so I specifically came to ask for your guidance.”
“I haven’t eaten yet. How can one tell stories without eating?”
Ding Yao also bowed slightly to Ji You at this moment: “Ding Yao greets Young Master Ji.”
Ji You turned his head: “Fairy Ding, long time no see.”
Ding Yao smiled softly, then looked at Wei Rui and Kuang Cheng.
She had just left the right garden with Zhuo Wanqiu, and during their separate strolls, she was pulled here by Liu Junchi.
She initially had no interest, but upon arriving, she instantly recognized the bracelet on Wei Rui’s wrist. As Master Jian’s personal maid since childhood, she was certain it was one of the bracelets Master Jian had worn since childhood, vaguely guessing that Wei Rui and Master Jian must have met.
At this moment, seeing the intense gazes between Young Miss Wei and Kuang Cheng, she realized they were to be sisters-in-law, marrying into Feng Province together, and no wonder Master Jian had even given away her personal items. After Ji You and Ding Yao finished their pretense of conversation, he turned to look at Yan Shujing.
Previously, at Rusheng Garden, Ji You had received a bow from her and returned one. Now that they met again, he couldn’t pretend not to know her, as that would be awkward, so he bowed slightly.
Yan Shujing also clasped her hands together at this moment and bowed slightly to him.
Zhao Yunyue watched this scene, her eyes shifting from surprise to doubt, and finally to a state of shock.
Chong Wang also narrowed his eyes at this moment, his gaze toward Ji You becoming peculiar.
He wasn’t surprised that Gongshu Chou knew him, because he was just an ordinary Integration Dao Realm cultivator, which in the King’s eyes was nothing special.
But he truly hadn’t expected that even Master Jian’s personal maid from Lingjian Mountain and the direct Disciple of the Xuanjian Peak Master were so familiar with him.
Ding Yao suddenly looked at Chong Wang, the various officials, and Princess Changle: “Your Highness Chong Wang just said he wished to meet my Master Jian. Why don’t you come with me?”
Zhao Yunyue was a bit taken aback, and at this moment, she regained her composure and looked at Ding Yao: “Senior Sister Ding just said it might not be possible and that we shouldn’t have too much hope.”
“Trying still gives a chance. If you don’t try, there’s no chance at all, isn’t that right?”
Chong Wang cupped his fists and bowed first: “Many thanks, Fairy Ding Yao, for making this possible.”
Ever since the Great Xia established the Immortal Monitoring Department, their power had severely diminished due to clear accounts and swift actions, necessitating the search for new backing.
Thinking that his daughter was an outside Disciple of Lingjian Mountain, Chong Wang had made extensive arrangements to reach this point where he had the opportunity to meet Master Jian, naturally filling him with joy.
Ding Yao then looked at Ji You: “Young Master Ji, Young Master Kuang, and Young Miss Wei, would you like to come along and meet her?”
Ji You raised his eyes: “Can I go too?”
“Since we’ve run into each other, there’s no harm in meeting. Is Young Master Ji free at this time?”
“Then let’s go.”
Ji You looked at Ding Yao, thinking that not only the tsundere liked seeking excitement, but she and Zhuo Wanqiu also enjoyed it.
Wei Rui’s eyes instantly lit up when she heard their conversation, and her small hands couldn’t help but clasp together.
She had known for a long time that Master Jian was her Sister Yan, and now she finally had a chance to meet her.
As for Chong Wang, Princess Changle, the two princesses, and the surrounding officials, they were somewhat bewildered, not expecting Ji You to also be invited.
The silver for all the arrangements came from them, which only bought them this chance to meet, yet these two managed to tag along.
However, they dared not object, as the invitation came from Master Jian’s personal maid.
Then, the group followed Ding Yao, proceeding through the right courtyard to the back garden.
The back garden was a more exquisitely landscaped area, with guards at the entrance. However, with Ding Yao leading the way, no invitation was needed.
Ji You walked in with them, looking around, and found that most of the people here were important figures with white hair and beards, exuding powerful Qi. Besides these individuals, he also saw those high-ranking direct Disciples in the various courtyards within the back garden.
First was Chu Xian, clad in purple robes and a purple crown, sitting quietly in a courtyard.
Aside from a vague glimpse of Chu Xian on the white jade path earlier, this was the first time Ji You truly saw this non-bloodline Saint of Xuan Yuan Immortal Mansion. He indeed bore some resemblance to Chu River and was already in the Sky Soaring Upper Realm.
Next was Huo Xingzhong, the direct Disciple of Mountain and Sea Pavilion, standing in another courtyard. He was in the Sky Soaring Middle Realm, with a habitual upward curve to his lips, an inscrutable expression, and sat among the crowd.
Additionally, there were the twin siblings of the Chen Clan, Chen Luo and Chen Xi, both in the Integration Dao Upper Realm, silently dining in their own courtyard.
On the way, Ji You suddenly thought of a question and turned to Gongshu Chou: “I’ve been in Xianxian Garden for two days and have wandered around quite a bit, seeing direct Disciples of the Immortal Sects. But why haven’t I seen any Sect Masters or Palace Lords?
Are they not coming, or am I not worthy?”
Gongshu Chou crossed his arms: “Neither. To be precise, they only appear in the finals, and the venue for the finals is set in the Human Race’s Primordial Dao Field. So, you can only see them by entering that Human Race Primordial Dao Field.”
“They’re making it quite mysterious.”
Ji You turned to look at the tall and rugged Human Race Dao Field beneath the high heavens.
He had been constantly thinking about Old Man Ao, Old Man Ao, but he hadn’t even seen the old man’s Face, always feeling that this goal was too vague.
It would be good to finally meet him, then he could inquire about the old man’s health and build some rapport.
Ji You regained his composure: “How does Brother Gongshu know so much?”
Gongshu Chou glanced at him: “I’ve been here once, competing in the Tongxuan Upper Realm.”
“Five years ago?”
“Fifteen years ago, emmm... At that time, I was still a young boy... ”
Ji You couldn’t help but open his mouth: “Then what’s it like inside the Xianxian Dao Proving Ground?”
Gongshu Chou couldn’t help but puff out his chest: “Inside is ancient desolation, carrying the aura of the primordial era. Spiritual Qi is dense, and the Immortal Dao is vast. One year inside is worth ten years of cultivation outside.”
“What kind of divine wonder allows cultivators to achieve ten years of progress in one year?”
“I don’t know.”
“?”
“I lost before the finals. I just heard others talking nonsense.”
Ji You’s mouth twitched: “Reasonable. If you put the effort you put into writing novels into cultivation, you would have entered long ago.”
Gongshu Chou glanced at him, thinking, “Why do you think I write novels? It’s precisely because I encountered a Bottleneck myself.”
“My strength couldn’t improve, so I enhanced my own value by defeating opponents who had previously defeated me.”
Ji You nodded, then continued to follow. As he entered the last courtyard, the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but curve slightly upward.
There sat the cold and beautiful woman with the most powerful aura. Her brows and eyes carried a sense of indifference to the world, as if she were detached from it, with nothing external to her heart. But no one knew that when she kissed, her perfectly round and smooth toes liked to rub against each other.
Yan Shuyi was currently meeting with a group of Worldly Family heads. Seeing them approach, her eyes swept over them indifferently.
Chong Wang, Princess Changle, and the other two princesses were actually quite surprised, because Ding Yao had clearly said “try” earlier, but in reality, she brought them directly in without any announcement, as if Ding Yao knew Master Jian would definitely see them.
The four of them approached with reverence, then bowed in greeting.
Only Wei Rui stood frozen in place, her eyes somewhat timid and confused.
Although Wei Rui knew Yan Shuyi was also proud, she wasn’t as cold and glamorous back then, and sometimes she would even act spoiled, completely unlike how she was now. This gave Wei Rui a sense of unfamiliarity that made her feel uncertain.
This was actually like Ji You’s assessment of Yan Shuyi: her identity as Master Jian and her usual self were like identical twins with completely different personalities.
The current Yan Shuyi made Wei Rui feel a sense of pressure.
However, at this moment, Yan Shuyi suddenly blinked at her, instantly making Wei Rui relax.
That’s great, she’s still my Sister Yan, the sister-in-law I’ll marry into the same place as in the future.
Yan Shuyi then raised her eyes to look at everyone: “I just met some people and happen to be a bit hungry. Would you like to stay and eat together?”
Chong Wang’s eyes widened slightly, a little overwhelmed by the honor.
Ding Yao, meanwhile, glanced at Master Jian, thinking, “She’s setting up a whole banquet just to have a meal with one person.”