Chapter 457: The Time for Departure Has Arrived |
Although Princess Changping had already noticed the unusual situation in the courtyard, she felt no fear as long as Yin Qing sat calmly beside her.
Upon hearing Ji Yuan’s words and confirming that the two guards leaning against the wall were unharmed, Yang Ping turned her gaze away from them and replied to Ji Yuan.
“I am a royal daughter, so naturally I should have royal bearing.”
Yin Qing smiled slightly from the side.
“Sir, Ping’er and I will be getting married next year. We hope that you can come to the capital to attend the wedding if you have the time. It would be best if you could bring Hu Yun with you.”
As he spoke, Yin Qing took out a red-sealed invitation and handed it to Ji Yuan with both hands. The latter reached out and took it, stroking the gold-embossed characters on it. Then he looked at Yin Qing and Yang Ping, eyes filled with emotion.
“Qing’er is finally getting married!”
Ji Yuan stood up, walked to the trunk of the jujube tree, looked at the branches of the jujube tree in the courtyard, and then looked in the direction of Niu Kui Mountain.
“Those who know me in Ning’an County are slowly growing old. In a few years, people will return to dust. The story of my life in the small Ju’an Pavilion may circulate for twenty years more, but I cannot let the townsfolk think I am immortal. Perhaps being gradually forgotten is for the best.”
Yin Qing said in a flattering tone.
Upon hearing Ji Yuan’s words, Yang Ping gripped her skirt tightly with her left hand under the table. Noticing this, Yin Qing reached out and took her hand.
Yang Ping’s heart was racing, but she forced herself to remain calm and asked Ji Yuan in a composed tone.
“Sir, do you mean that you are an immortal?”
Ji Yuan turned and looked back at the stone table.
“To be precise, there are no absolute ‘immortals’ in the world. There are only those who cultivate immortality. In the bustling city, there are people who make a living by using talismans. You call them experts or even wandering magicians. In the high mountains, there are people who can summon wind and rain. You call them immortal masters. In reality, they are all the same kind of people. However, although there are no absolute ‘immortals,’ they all possess an immortal aura and spirit.”
Ji Yuan’s words were tantamount to an admission. Yang Ping gripped Yin Qing’s hand even tighter. For a moment she didn’t know what to say.
The Yang family once had a history of using the resources of an entire nation to seek immortality, and now a man who seemed to be an immortal was standing right before them.
“Your Highness, with your intelligence, you should know that the Yang royal family’s several attempts to seek immortality were destined to be fruitless… well, not entirely. They were certainly destined not to achieve the kinds of results they desired.”
The old beggar’s situation prevented Ji Yuan from making a definitive statement, but the meaning was still conveyed.
“Qing’er truly cares for you, which is why he brought you to Ju’an Pavilion. I once told him that couples can have their own little privacies, but it’s best not to have any big secrets between you.”
Yang Ping subconsciously looked at Yin Qing, who was also watching her. Once Yang Ping married into the Yin family, there were only two outcomes: either she would be kept out of all supernatural matters, or her elders would treat her like their own daughter, and her husband would support her through thick and thin.
Clearly, Yin Qing was willing to believe in Yang Ping.
“Perhaps Your Highness might be wondering at this moment whether the Yin family’s success is due to their acquaintance with me?”
Ji Yuan knew that it was inevitable for a normal person to think this way.
“It is undeniable that there is some connection, but it is definitely not what you think. A devout scholarly heart and a righteous character are witnessed by Heaven and Earth. Even if I were to help the Yin family with all my might, I could not conjure up a Yin Zhaoxian who would be respected by the people and admired by the gods out of thin air.”1
As he spoke, a smile appeared on Ji Yuan’s face. He returned to the table, placed his left hand on the red invitation, gently opened it, and looked up at Yin Qing and Yang Ping.
“Your Highness, please don’t be nervous. Now that you are marrying Yin Qing, you will be my junior. I wish you a long and happy marriage!”
As he spoke, Ji Yuan stretched out his right hand, and a stream of light flew out from his sleeve, transforming into a wolf-hair brush at his fingertips. The brush tip was wet with ink amidst the shimmering light.
As the ink from the brush touched the red paper, a faint fragrance of ink wafted out. One by one, characters full of spirit appeared on the red paper as Ji Yuan wrote: “May you have a long and happy marriage; may your hearts be one forever.”
As the last word was written, a flash of light appeared on the invitation.
Ji Yuan handed the invitation back to Yin Qing.
“Keep this safe. If you ever take another wife, I won’t give you another one.”
“He wouldn’t dare!”
Princess Changping pinched Yin Qing hard, then stood up and gave Ji Yuan a deep bow.
“Since you are an elder, you can just call me Pingping or Ping’er.”
“Alright, I’ll call you that when it’s just our own family from now on.”
Yin Qing slapped his thigh and quickly pulled up the small jar of wine from under the table.
“Mr. Ji, these two jars are 20-year-old Qianrichun wine. It took a lot of effort to buy them from Yuanzipu. I know you like to drink it, so I brought them here especially to show my respect to you!”
Ji Yuan chuckled.
“The owner of this garden shop is shrewd. Twenty years ago, a 20-year-old Qianrichun was indeed rare. Now, who knows how many they’ve hoarded? Next time, look for one that’s over 30 years old. Well, your salary is enough to buy it anyway.”
Yin Qing exclaimed exaggeratedly.
“You can’t treat me like this, sir. I have to count every penny of my salary!”
…
Originally, Yin Qing and Princess Changping’s entourage were supposed to dine at a restaurant in the county, but they ended up having dinner at Ju’an Pavilion that night, with Ji Yuan personally cooking the dishes.
By the time they left, it was already dark. Although someone occasionally came by to maintain the Yin family’s old house, it was clearly not suitable for staying in, so they went to an inn in the city instead.
After leaving Tian Niu Lane, surrounded by the fragrance of jujube blossoms, Yang Ping leaned close to Yin Qing and quietly asked him:
“Dear fiancé, is Master Ji truly an immortal? Can he summon wind and rain, and grant immortality?”
“I don’t know, and I’ve never seen him perform such techniques. I only know him as an elder who always makes me feel at ease. Does it really matter if he can summon wind and rain or make people live forever? When I was a child, Mr. Ji said that immortality is never something you can ask for.”
After much hesitation, Yang Ping finally asked the question that had been lingering in her mind.
“Then, may I tell Father about this?”
Hearing this, Yin Qing’s expression did not change, as Yang Ping had worried it might; instead, he looked at her with a smile.
“Setting aside whether or not it would harm the country; if there really were an immortal who could help Dazhen, and the emperor was wise enough, the benefits would definitely outweigh the drawbacks. But you’ve asked the wrong person. You should ask Mr. Ji. What do you think his opinion is?”
Yang Ping immediately understood and all her worries disappeared.
After drinking sweet tea at Ju’an Pavilion, the fatigue from the journey vanished. Starting the next day, Yin Qing and his family began sending invitations to their paternal and maternal relatives, assuring them that they would not need to worry about the trip, as they would prepare carriages and boats.
On the fourth day, Yin Qing, having received a special message, took Princess Changping to Niu Kui Mountain. Ostensibly, it was for sightseeing, but in reality, they went to visit their good friend Hu Yun. This time, with Yin Qing’s prompting, Hu Yun revealed his true form to Yang Ping, letting her know that the so-called “red cat” was actually a fox spirit.
Yang Ping was even more excited to see the “fox spirit” than she had been in Ju’an Pavilion. Hu Yun had no reservations in front of Yin Qing. He used supernatural techniques to send the guards away, and showed off his monstrous power in front of Yang Ping. He even showed off his paper figure talisman like a treasure. He called the person he created from the paper doll talisman a “Shadow Spirit.”
That day, the guards responsible for protecting the princess and her fiancé were terrified. The group of highly skilled guards had actually lost track of the princess and her fiancé In a mountain that was said to have once been home to man-eating tigers. This was a grave offense.
Fortunately, Yin Qing and Yang Ping emerged from the mountain unharmed half a day later, putting the profusely sweating guards and servants finally at ease. Knowing that the couple would not punish them and would even cover up the incident, they felt even more relieved.
However, because of this incident, even after leaving Ning’an County and returning to the capital, the guards never took their eyes off of their two masters for a moment.
Once the year was up, the marriage of Yin Qing and Yang Ping became famous throughout the capital. On their wedding day, both the Yin residence and the palace were extremely lively.
In this festive atmosphere, Hu Yun accompanied Ji Yuan to the Yin family to offer his blessings. This time, however, he did not stay long, and returned to Ning’an County just three days later.
…
Time flew, but in Ning’an County, Ji Yuan didn’t feel as though time were rushing by, especially since he hadn’t chosen to sleep for extended periods of time.
This time, Ji Yuan stayed in Ning’an County for nearly three years, the longest he had ever stayed since coming to this world.
Nothing major happened during those years, and not many people came to bother Ji Yuan. The only exception was that the Wei family resumed their habit of sending tea. Every year when the new tea was harvested, they would select the best leaves and send them to Ju’an Pavilion.
In the blink of an eye, it was the second month of the year of Wuxu.2 On this day, Sun Yaya, who had grown a little taller, was still practicing calligraphy in the courtyard. Despite the freezing weather, the little girl’s hands and feet were warm, and her thoughts seemed to be clearer in the courtyard.
Ji Yuan was in his room, playing with several spiritual coins. These were the result of several sessions of careful refining. Their luster as more subtle and their Tao essence was more profound. They looked like larger copper coins, with a heavier feel.
“Knock knock knock…”
There was a knock on the gate. Sun Yaya quickly put her brush in the brush holder and ran to open the door.
With a creak, the door opened. Sun Yaya found an old man with a white beard standing outside, looking kind and gentle.
“You must be Sun Yaya?”
Sun Yaya frowned.
“Grandpa, who are you? I’ve never seen you before, why do you know me?”
“Hahaha, it’s possible to know someone even if you’ve never met them before…”
Ju Yuanzi looked at Ji Yuan, who had already walked out of the house, and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect.
“Mr. Ji, the time for departure has arrived!”
- T/n: while this is true, it is important to note that Ji Yuan was the one who gave YZX the push he needed to start rising in the ranks. The achievement is his own, but the path was opened by JY. In fact, it’s almost like he’s a chess piece on a go board, defending his territory — JY strategically places him in the right position, YZH does the rest. Just a completely random metaphor, I’m sure 😀
- 35th year of the 60 year cycle, Earth Dog
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