Gulp, gulp, Ji You drank water.
The old doctor sat beside him, watching him, asking about Ji You's family background and his future aspirations, like a kind Senior.
Ji You smiled politely, but he was wary and unwilling to speak much.
In the Jianghu, one's origins must not be easily revealed; a slight carelessness could leave hidden troubles.
But later, when he heard the old man didn't charge for the consultation, his chatterbox opened.
This was a personality trait he had developed from living in Yuyang County for two and a half years, meeting everyone who didn't charge as if he had known them for ages.
"So, the day you arrived, you snatched the silver from that young friend surnamed Kuang?"
"Hey, how can a scholar's matter be called snatching, old man, you're so impolite."
"Scholar? Isn't that kid Kuang the scholar?"
"..."
"How can snatching from a scholar be called snatching!"
So, not long after, an aged and hearty laugh rang out, mixed with a constant, fawning chuckle.
And in the courtyard outside the door, the Master of Jixiang Hall, wearing a hairpin, sat at a stone table, holding a cup of tea.
The winter temperature was very low, and the tea on the small stove quickly cooled, requiring her to transform Spiritual Qi into fire to keep it warm.
At this moment, she had just warmed a pot and was surprised by the laughter from the courtyard.
Yesterday morning, the news of a student being attacked on the street spread throughout the Inner Courtyard.
Countless people spoke of that Dual Cultivation Disciple as if he were divine, which also greatly surprised her.
But what surprised her even more was that Master suddenly emerged from the bamboo hut deep within the sea of clouds this morning, saying he wanted to stroll around and observe the Outer Courtyard.
She thought Master had lived alone in the deep mountains for too long and wanted to experience the human world, so she accompanied him.
However, what You Yingqiu didn't expect was that Master went directly to Bishui Lake Garden to visit the Outer Courtyard youth who had fallen into a coma after exhausting his Divine Thought.
Just then, footsteps came from inside the house, and You Yingqiu stood up to look.
Master had already come out, muttering not to see him off, and then left.
"Master has finished looking?"
"Finished."
The old man nodded with a smile, his hands behind his back, and walked out of Bishui Lake Garden.
You Yingqiu was slightly stunned, feeling that her 'looking' and Master's 'looking' seemed to mean different things.
She meant visiting, while Master's 'looking' seemed to be observing.
Just like when she was vying for the position of Jixiang Hall Master, Master had said, "You'll do, I see you're not bad."
She didn't know what Master found 'not bad' about her, but it was said that someone of Master's Realm could see how one's Spiritual Qi flowed at a glance.
And as the two had just left the courtyard, a whooshing sound of wind came from the air.
Cao Jinsong arrived, stepping through the air, his forehead covered in cold sweat, steam rising from his head in the cold winter sun, as if being steamed.
Normally, flying around this courtyard only required a bit of Spiritual Qi, but today it was as if he was possessed; no matter how he flew, he couldn't reach it.
He seemed to have flown over the stone arch bridge on Bi Shui Lake five times, but he had no proof.
At this moment, he finally flew to his destination and couldn't help but marvel at his profound Realm and the great perseverance of his unyielding will.
"I wonder if Ji You has woken up..."
Cao Jinsong pushed the door open and saw Ji You sitting on the bed, stretching, finally relaxed.
Ji You was yawning and said as he entered, "That doctor was quite good."
"?"
Cao Jinsong was momentarily bewildered, wondering who had invited the doctor.
Exhausting Divine Thought wasn't an injury, so why would someone be so eager to invite a doctor? Could they be trying to snatch my Disciple?
Damn it...
It must have been Instructor Ma and Instructor Ding!
Ever since Ji You sensed the Tianshu, their coveting of this extraordinary child of mine hasn't been for a day or two.
Ji You suddenly remembered the attack and asked, "Have the Disciples who went out to search returned?"
Cao Jinsong came back to his senses: "I came for this matter. The three Masters-in-charge of the Master's Courtyard asked me to ask you if you're willing to participate in the discussion. If not, they can come personally."
"Have the three people who attacked us been caught?"
"Caught, but five were caught."
"?"
Ji You was slightly stunned, thinking, did catching bandits come with a bonus?
Cao Jinsong knew he didn't understand, so he explained: "After your skirmish in the city, the remaining Instructors took Disciples to pursue, but the other party clearly had a plan, heading straight for Wanzhuo Mountain outside the city, using the complex terrain to hide, with a clear route."
Ji You raised an eyebrow: "That sentence is usually followed by, 'we're unfamiliar with the terrain, and eventually lost them.'"
"One team did catch up, but the Disciples who went had low Realms, and two were severely injured in the end, but they couldn't keep them."
Ji You had fought them and knew the danger involved; if people in the Rongdao Realm were so easy to catch, this Realm wouldn't be worthy of being classified into the Upper Five Realms.
But Tianshu Academy... their strength is a bit weak.
He muttered, then remembered Cao Jinsong's previous sentence: "What do you mean by 'caught five'?"
Cao Jinsong's expression became even uglier: "Another team originally planned to pursue from the back of the mountain. Along the way, they accidentally discovered a cave. The entrance was extremely narrow, but the cave chamber was very deep. Inside were five mummified corpses, and we recognized two."
Ji You narrowed his eyes: "Are they Cai Ziyao and Zhang Congzhi...?"
"How did you know?"
Ji You glanced at him: "Didn't you just tell me yesterday that they went missing?"
Cao Jinsong nodded: "Indeed, although their appearance is no longer recognizable, from their clothing and accessories, they match Zhang Congzhi and Cai Ziyao on the day they disappeared."
This script for the Peerless Sword Immortal is almost turning into a young Bao Qingtian...
Ji You fell silent upon hearing this and followed Cao Jinsong to the Master's Courtyard.
The Master's Courtyard wasn't large, about the same size as Bi Shui Lake, but at this moment, the courtyard was filled with people.
There were the searching Disciples who returned today, and also the traveling Disciples from other sects who only knew to be shocked and horrified on the street last night but didn't offer help.
Seeing Ji You enter, a low murmur of discussion instantly arose among the crowd.
Especially for those who watched the battle on the street that day, their minds couldn't help but recall the white-robed Sword Master, who wielded three whistling swords, standing coolly in the night.
In the Immortal Realm, when encountering a high-Realm practitioner performing Dao techniques, most onlookers would exclaim, "Senior is divine."
But last night, they did not see Dao techniques on this white-robed Sword Master, yet they still wanted to call him divine.
Swords in this world are auxiliary tools, either infused with Spiritual Qi to counter enemies or loaded with Dao techniques for attack.
To put it bluntly, they are like wands in Harry Potter, not used as offensive weapons themselves.
But the day before yesterday, they accidentally got a good taste of it...
Ji You walked through countless gazes of reverence, looking up, and found that besides these traveling Disciples from other sects, there was also a team in Great Xia official uniforms standing behind them.
Kuang Cheng, whom he hadn't seen in days, was among them, casting him a look of admiration.
Ji You saw two words in his gaze: awesome.
But what does old Kuang have to do with this? Oh, he joined the Immortal Supervision Department.
No, even if he joined the Immortal Supervision Department, it's a civilian job, so why was he called here?
(Third on the new book list, please keep reading, please give monthly votes!!!)