Chapter 273: Fighting Again
The moment Yan Shuyi was embraced, she remained aloof, her slender waist held straight, stubbornly insisting on being a little taller than Ji You.
However, it wasn't long before she relaxed, her feet dangling slightly in the embrace she so cherished.
Despite her long legs, slender waist, and cold, arrogant expression, making her seem like an older sister, her actions resembled those of a restless little girl.
Perhaps feeling it didn't suit her dignified image, she stopped swaying, looked at Ji You with cold arrogance, and was only slightly satisfied when she saw he wasn't smiling. Normally, Ji You would have kissed her by now.
But after several attempts, he immediately felt a sharp pain in his muscles, causing him to wince slightly.
Seeing this, Yan Shuyi's proud gaze revealed an even stronger arrogance.
“Master Jian, do you know that I have no injuries on my hand?”
“?”
Yan Shuyi suddenly trembled, her eyes narrowing as she felt her chest being kneaded: “I’m sending you away tomorrow.”
Ji You was silent for a moment, then moved his hand…
His Physical Body was already incredibly strong, and he no longer hesitated as much as before in many matters.
And with the next playful touch, Yan Shuyi suddenly punched him in the chest, while her Sword Qi and Killing Intent surged around her.
Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu happened to be passing by, and hearing the clanging sounds from the room and feeling the spreading force of the punches, they couldn't help but exchange glances.
Such a scene was not new to them; when Ji You went to Lingjian Mountain to seek the Dao, they had also fought every day.
“They always fight, but why is it so intense this time?”
“After all, it’s been a long time since they last met.”
“I heard Elder Yan Chuan say that Master Jian initially ordered that as soon as the Young Master woke up, he should be sent away immediately, so that others wouldn’t gossip. But then, she couldn’t resist and snuck into the Young Master’s room shortly after.”
“Elder Yan Chuan, having lived for so long, also possesses some wisdom and life experience. He knows that if she doesn't send him away, there likely won't be any punishment. If she really did send him away, she might even be expelled from the sect—it's not impossible.”
In the afternoon, under the setting sun, An Yuan City was exceptionally peaceful.
At a small food stall, Ji You, Yan Shuyi, Ding Yao, and Zhuo Wanqiu, a group of four, were eating iron pot lamb bones.
The Wulu Trading Company was nearby, currently signing contracts to provide grain to those who couldn't afford their taxes.
After three years of wasteland reclamation and seed selection, Feng Province's grain yield had doubled, and many things that couldn't be done last year could now be completed this year.
Those who came with children would also receive a fist-sized piece of cured meat or a rattle drum.
Seeing this scene, Ji You, gnawing on a bone, remained silent, but the corner of his mouth, which had a small cut, couldn't help but curve upwards slightly.
However, this movement of his mouth made him hiss, and he instinctively rubbed it again.
His Physical Body was already very strong, yet he hadn't expected that when truly fighting, Yan Shuyi was still stronger than him, even subtly surpassing Elder Fang, who had been in the Wujiang Realm for a long time.
It was said that this was because Yan Shuyi was creating her own Sword Dao and magical arts.
And Ji You was honored to be the first to try them.
There are many magical arts in Qingyun World, but not many are passed down. The reason is that to learn someone else's magical art, one's Dao Heart and state of mind need to match that of the creator. In other words, no matter what kind of magical art, it is most powerful when used by its creator.
Because it is the crystallization of their Dao Heart's understanding of the Laws of Heaven and Earth, it naturally fits them better than it would an imitator.
As Ji You was rubbing the corner of his mouth, he was suddenly kicked in the knee by a foot.
Ji You, who was polite due to his insufficient strength, remained silent, only looking up with a warning glance.
Yan Shuyi was cold and aloof, looking somewhat huffy, as if she wanted to kill him.
Seeing this, Ji You pursed his lips.
“The hateful hairless little water tiger.” After finishing the bone, Ji You and his group headed to the southwest side, not far from the city wall.
After passing through a quiet, uninhabited path, a distant manor came into view, with four large characters on its plaque: Xia Clan Winery.
After the Bu family fled into the deep mountains, this winery was already empty, the entire courtyard a mess, with some dark bloodstains on the ground, extending from the front yard all the way to the main hall.
The group followed the bloodstains for a long time, searching the front yard, back yard, main house, side rooms, and annexes, finally arriving at the wine cellar built underground.
The Bu family members were all dead; some died when the Mountain Sea Pavilion Disciples attacked the manor, while the ones who escaped died under Ji You's sword.
But just as Ji You and Yan Shuyi discussed in the room, there were still many unresolved doubts, which even Xia Qirong himself didn't understand.
They could only try to search and see if there were any clues. If there truly were, they absolutely couldn't let these things fall into the hands of those dying Immortal Sect Elders.
Ji You was walking at the front at this time, and as he entered the dark wine cellar, he couldn't help but look at Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu: “Where’s that proud one?”
Ding Yao looked up at the sound: “Master Jian is afraid of the dark; she rarely goes out at night.”
“Didn’t she come to find me in the middle of the night last time when I went to your place to ask about the mountain?”
“That was because the Young Master came.”
“If I ask her that, she definitely won’t admit it.”
Zhuo Wanqiu nodded at the sound: “Master Jian is like that; she’ll definitely say she’s not afraid of the dark at all, and that she loves to go out for strolls at night, and coincidentally discovered the Young Master and went in to chat or something.”
Yan Shuyi stood outside the door at this moment, looking askance at the figures in the wine cellar, her cold face gradually turning red.
Ji You, accompanied by Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu, continued inward, following the slope to the deepest part, reaching the dark end.
The wine cellar was full of unopened wine barrels; other than that, there was nothing particularly noteworthy.
Just then, Ding Yao's delicate nose twitched, and she suddenly sniffed the air twice: “Young Master, do you smell anything?”
“The smell of kerosene.”
“?”
Ji You, holding a Spirit Stone for illumination, turned to look at the corner in the depths.
There were large patches of charred marks there, extending from the ground up to the wall, as if the Xia Family had deliberately burned something before they left.
Seeing this, the three couldn't help but exchange glances.
At that time, when the Mountain Sea Pavilion Disciples searched An Yuan City, in such an urgent situation, something that needed to be burned was probably not that simple.
So they squatted down and carefully looked for a long time, only finding some charred, sticky substance.
Ji You stared for a long while, then walked out of the wine cellar: “The road where the Xia Family winery is located is the most direct and easiest one from outside the city to inside. Why is there no one to be seen?”
Yan Shuyi looked at the road outside the door: “When the Xia Family was still here, this road was strictly guarded. It was said that anyone who trespassed would be beaten to death, so even though the Bu family is now all dead, many people still subconsciously take a detour.”
“Then how did Dou Yuankong get onto this road, and even discover the Xia Family’s secret, while the Bu family didn’t discover him?”
“That’s why I didn’t go to the Dongping Mountain Range immediately, but came to An Yuan City instead.”
While Spiritual Qi surged and search parties constantly moved back and forth in the Dongping Mountain Range, the people of An Yuan City often saw a beautiful woman wandering about.
The reason was that the little Master Jian of Lingjian Mountain felt that Dou Yuankong's whereabouts were still full of doubts.
Then, she discovered traces of the Barbarian Race in the city.
It was precisely because of this that she later pursued the Barbarian Race's king to the Dongping Mountain Range.
The appearance of the Barbarian Race did not resolve the confusion in her heart; instead, it made her doubts even greater.
While thinking, the four arrived at a manor in the west of the city.
The plaque of this manor also bore the characters of the Bu family; it was where the main branch of the Bu family resided, but it had been empty for a long time, and the house and grounds were covered in dust.
Ji You walked in front at this time, while Yan Shuyi followed behind, with Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu behind them. The two searched for a long time in the vast garden.
“Qingyun World has a strict Rank system. Logically speaking, what a side branch does cannot be hidden from the main Family. This Xia Qirong’s Family, to put it plainly, was just a wine seller; it’s impossible for them to have done so many things in secret.”
“You mean, the main branch of the Xia Family also has problems?”
Yan Shuyi turned her beautiful eyes slightly upon hearing this: “The main branch of the Xia Family has a Spiritual Seed field, and there happens to be a ruin nearby. I’ve said before, sometimes too many coincidences are definitely not coincidences.”
Ji You turned his head, looking at this empty and vast courtyard.
The side branches of a Family indeed depend on the main Family for survival. The winery was so close to the Bu family; it would indeed be very difficult to act without the main branch knowing.
Yan Shuyi looked at Ji You: “If you hadn’t killed Bu Qirong, perhaps these matters would have been clear.”
Ji You shook his head: "If Xia Qirong had fallen into the hands of an Immortal Sect, the risk would have been even greater. At that time, the best method was to kill him, because only dead men tell no tales."
He snapped back to reality and suddenly noticed Yan Shu was staring at him, her eyes filled with scrutiny.
Seeing her gaze, Ji You softly asked: "You think I'm killing someone to silence them?"
"No, I actually want to know who Qiqi is?"
"?"
Ji You froze for a moment after hearing that, slowly turning his neck to look at the arrogant girl: "How do you know Qiqi..."
Yan Shu looked at him with cold eyes: "You kept calling that name for a long time during the three days you were asleep."
"Qiqi is my younger sister's name—"
"What about Xiaodi? And Lingling, Qiangqiang, Wenwen, and Xiangyu—"
Ji You remained silent for a long time before speaking: "They are all my younger brothers and sisters."
Yan Shu stood with her hands behind her back, half-believing his answer.
Seeing this, Ji You reached out and wiped a bit of dust from the table, then drew a streak of ash on Yan Shu's beautiful face.
Master Jian looked at his index and middle fingers, which had touched her face more than once, and her eyes flashed with Killing Intent.
"You lecher—"
"You little jealous one."
After touring from the Bu family's winery to the Bu family's main residence, Ji You's strained waist was nearing its limit, so he returned to his room to rest.
The cold and peerless Yan Shu was no longer afraid for the time being and was still willing to let Ji You hug her, but she strictly controlled his hands, not allowing him to touch her indiscriminately.
This made Ji You feel like he was the one being teased...
However, after being cooped up in the mountains for a long time, staying in the room for extended periods was not a good thing, so the next day, they went out to visit the market in Anyuan City.
The Bu family's affairs caused a great stir among cultivators, but they did not affect the lives of ordinary people.
If there was any impact, perhaps it was that many common people felt much more relaxed in their hearts after the Immortal who had oppressed this city was gone.
Because after Xia Qirong died, a huge weight was lifted from Ji You's heart, and he was in a good mood.
While at the market, he casually bought some rattles and tiger-head shoes.
Although Ji You explained that these artisans lived difficult lives and buying from them was a way to help them,
Master Jian still felt a surge of Sword Qi and wanted to kick him as she walked.
Most importantly, Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu, who were following behind them, kept whispering to each other, discussing many Ji-surname names.
Ji You genuinely liked children; he usually couldn't walk past silver without stopping, but he always gave some to child beggars whenever he saw them.
He later gave the rattles he bought to them, only giving the tiger-head shoes to Yan Shu as a gift.
Seeing this, Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu kept thinking that although their Master Jian was afraid, she would eventually get a good scolding—
Master Jian hadn't been scolded yet, which was actually thanks to Elder Fang.
Passing by a medical hall, Ji You also went to check on his waist and bought two tubes of ointment.
He couldn't apply it himself, so he could only ask Yan Shu to do it.
However, when Yan Shu applied the ointment, she secretly gave him two slaps, as if afraid he would recover too quickly. "Your technique definitely has a personal vendetta—"
"With so many Wujiang Realm and Spirit Roaming Realm cultivators present, you still dared to kill Bu Qirong. It's already lucky you survived; what's a backache?"
Ji You's hands were currently restrained, and the Master Jian's orchid-like breath was spraying onto his face. She knew his waist was not good, yet she still dared to sit in his embrace.
However, what Yan Shu said was true; if she hadn't been there, he wouldn't have survived killing someone forcefully in the hands of those old monsters.
Yan Shu looked at him at this moment: "I ask you, if I hadn't been there at that time, would you still have killed that Bu Qirong?"
Ji You pondered for a long time before nodding: "I would still have killed him."
"You're really not afraid of death?"
"Don't you know that if you want to bring out the Immortal fate from the ruins, it will harm many children?"
Master Jian suddenly brought this up, hoping that Ji You wouldn't be too impulsive and disregard his own life.
Because even though she didn't admit that Ji You was her husband verbally, that was only verbally; in her heart, she naturally didn't want the person she liked to constantly put himself in danger like this.
What's more, she had already implicitly admitted to being his Family in front of those Elders.
But after Ji You spoke these words, Yan Shu's eyes couldn't help but widen slightly.
She then leaned closer and looked, finding that he didn't seem to be joking. Only then did she realize that Ji You might know something that forced him to kill.
Connecting this to meeting child beggars a few days ago, and also to what she had said when she established a Worldly Family in Central Province, she felt that this unfamiliar man, who had only argued with her a few times and touched her in many places, would become very impulsive whenever children were mentioned.
Last winter, it seemed to be the same.
At that time, when Wulu Trading Company opened in Ling Province, Yan Shu was the first to know.
She had even secretly gone to Feng Province to hear people call her Lady Ji; how could she not care about her own trading company?
At that time, she heard from the people at that trading company in Ling Province that although Feng Province had a 50% surplus in grain production, it was not enough to feed so many people in the Nine Provinces.
Therefore, the rule of Wulu Trading Company at that time was to prioritize helping Sect with children to raise.
Just then, she felt a hand untying her belt, and her eyes instantly turned fierce. The next morning, there were two carriages in front of the inn.
In front of the carriages, Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu were waiting below, whispering to each other, discussing for a long time about Master Jian not returning to her room last night.
At the same time, Yan Shu, dressed only in her inner garments, opened her eyes in Ji You's arms, a blush appearing on her cold and proud face as she pulled his hand from between her breasts.
She had fought with him for half the night yesterday, and when she got tired, she lay in his arms and ended up sleeping together.
Unexpectedly, Ji You didn't do anything, but instead held her very tightly in his embrace and slept with her all night.
At this moment, Ji You seemed to have woken up due to the change in her breathing rhythm and was quietly looking at her.
"Awake?"
"You lecher."
"?"
Yan Shu glared at him, then pulled her hand out of his embrace, stepping off the bed with her bare, snow-white feet to begin washing and dressing.
Seeing this, Ji You also got up from the bed and began to comb his hair and put on his hair crown.
After washing, Yan Shu put on her outer robe and, with two unfastened belts, walked to Ji You, who reached out to fasten them for her.
They did not intend to stay long in Anyuan City; they had decided yesterday to depart from Anyuan City today. On one hand, due to the incident in Dongping Mountain Range, many Disciples of Lingjian Mountain were injured, and Yan Shu, as Master Jian, needed to return to preside over the overall situation.
The other reason was that Yan Shu found Ji You's recovery speed to be very fast—
She had secretly observed him last night while lying in his arms; the fresh wounds on his chest had now completely healed, and a deeper knife wound on his lower back was also rapidly scabbing over.
This kind of recovery speed should be related to the unfamiliar man's Body Refining.
Yan Shu felt that if they stayed a few more days, Ji You's waist would be fine, and she would be in pain—
Ji You was also eager to return to his sect at this time, because he heard that the people from Tianshu Academy were planning to return to their sect, and his forceful killing of Xia Qirong might have some impact, so he wanted to go back and see to be at ease.
After they both washed, they emerged from the inn, as calm as if they hadn't slept in the same room.
Only Yan De finally understood what it meant to have a bright future in these past few days.
"The weather has started to turn cold. After we go back, if nothing really happens, remember to come to Tianshu Academy to find me for roasted sweet potatoes."
"Does this Master Jian need to run to Tianshu Academy just to eat a roasted sweet potato?"
Yan Shu wanted to go, but she was afraid that she wouldn't get to eat a roasted sweet potato, and something else would be left in her stomach.
Ji You didn't listen to her stubbornness and turned to get into the carriage.
At this moment, Yan Shu stared at Ji You, who was sitting in the carriage, her brows slightly furrowed.
She wasn't sure when she had fallen for Ji You, because she still felt that she only wanted to be friends with him, and matters of love would never appear on the person who held such a high position as the future sect master.
But after their little squabbles, she couldn't lie to herself anymore, so she sent people to investigate Ji You's background, wanting to see where she would be marrying into.
According to what she knew, Ji You only had one Elder brother and one Elder sister, and not so many younger brothers and sisters like Qiqi, Xiaodi, Lingling, Qiangqiang, and Xiangyu.