Chapter 329: No Longer Laughing

Ji Yuan’s brush moved with divine inspiration. The character for “fortune,” written with rich ink, was slowly painted on both sheets of red paper.

Even though the Zhang family members were illiterate, watching Ji Yuan write still gave them a delightful sense of awe, both from his writing style, demeanor, and the characters themselves.

Once he had finished the “fortune” character, a subtle glow flashed and vanished. Ordinary eyes would at most only perceive the momentary glint as a trick of light, and wouldn’t look deeper into it.

However, after finishing the second character, Ji Yuan stopped.

Zhang Fu looked at the many sheets of square red papers still left on the table, scratched his head, and said:

“Mister Ji, there are still so many sheets of paper left. Would you mind writing a few more? We could share some with our neighbors and fellow villagers.”

But Ji Yuan had already put away his brush. He even picked up the inkstone, cradling it in his palm. Looking at the “fortune” characters on the table, whose ink was rapidly drying, he glanced over at Zhang Fu’s family and smiled.

“The calligraphy here is worth a thousand pieces of gold; it’s not something I can casually write more of. Put one of these two characters on the door of the Zhang family’s home, and send the other to the Liang family in Qiangang Village!”

Ji Yuan said as he began walking out, carrying the inkstone and brush. Outside the door, Ying Ruoli was already waiting.

Most of the Zhang family were still admiring the calligraphy. Only Zhang Fu and Old Zhang, seeing that Ji Yuan seemed about to leave, quickly stepped forward and tried to persuade him to stay.

“Mister Ji, please stay and have lunch with us. It would be even better if you could stay for a few days!”

“No, no. I actually have important matters to attend to, and someone is waiting for me, so I won’t stay long…”

As Ji Yuan left, Zhang Fu and Old Zhang saw him off. They looked outside but saw no one waiting, understanding that Ji Yuan was probably just being polite.

Old Zhang comforted him.

“Mister Ji, please don’t worry about what happened a few days ago. Your well-being sets our minds at ease for a peaceful New Year. Besides, you’ve left us with your calligraphy. Your hometown is very far, and with the New Year approaching, you surely won’t make it back in time. There’s really no need to rush off like this…”

Ji Yuan felt quite touched upon hearing these words, especially considering the rather unfriendly local customs in many parts of the country of Zuyue. He then turned and bowed with cupped hands to Old Zhang again.

“That’s not the reason. I’m actually quite thick-skinned, but I truly have matters that prevent me from staying. Oh, and about these two ‘fortune’ characters, if anyone wishes to buy them…”

Ji Yuan’s smile faded, his expression becoming slightly serious.

“No matter who offers money, or how much, do not sell them! Give the same instructions to the Liang family, understand?”

Seeing Ji Yuan’s serious expression, the Zhang father and son exchanged a glance and instinctively nodded in unison.

“We’ll remember.”

“Good. Then I shall depart. You two need not see me off.”

With that, Ji Yuan turned and strode away. After taking a dozen steps, the inkstone and brush in his hand had vanished.

In just a moment, Ji Yuan’s figure had vanished from Zhang Fu and Old Zhang’s sight. They had originally intended to see him off further, but after walking around a corner of the house, they could no longer see any trace of Ji Yuan.

“Mr. Ji walks so fast?”

Old Zhang looked at his son with a hint of surprise. The latter also seemed a bit puzzled.

“Never mind. Isn’t Chunlan going back to her family home? It’s perfect, let her take this ‘fortune’ character calligraphy with her. Also, don’t forget what Mr. Ji just said about not selling it.”

“I know, I know. I’ll go with Chunlan to her father’s house.”

The father and son chatted as they returned indoors. They still needed to tidy up their home thoroughly to welcome the New Year with a fresh start.

…

In the sky, flying towards the distant ocean, Ying Ruoli looked back at the rapidly receding fishing village and asked Ji Yuan,

“Uncle Ji, was that an Immortal Edict just now?”

“What ‘Immortal Edict’? An Edict is an Edict; there’s no need to forcibly add the title ‘Immortal.’ Your father could achieve the same effect.”

Ji Yuan replied with a slight smile, then flew with Ying Ruoli towards the location of the Giant Whale, quickly returning to that same spot in the sea.

As they arrived, the Giant Whale slowly emerged from beneath the sea surface once more.

“River Goddess Ying Ruoli, Immortal Elder Ji, if you don’t mind, please stand upon this humble general’s back. My underwater speed isn’t all that slow, and I know many underwater shortcuts, allowing us to bypass numerous strange currents in the Heavenly Domain Seas, and avoid getting lost!”

Ying Ruoli nodded slightly to Ji Yuan, inviting him on with a gesture of her hand.

“Uncle Ji, please!”

“Alright, let’s take a ride on the giant-whale-boat.”

1

The two descended from the sky and stood together on the whale’s back. The giant whale flicked its tail, pushing aside a large volume of seawater, and began swimming towards the horizon, its speed increasing.

However, at this moment, when he heard about the strange currents in the Heavenly Domain Sea, Ji Yuan suddenly realized a problem.

“By the way, River Goddess, do you know where Dragon Rock Island, where your mother resides, is located?”

The Dragon Daughter shook her head.

“I don’t know. Mother used to live in the Eastern Sea, then she left for somewhere else and never returned. Uncle Ji, we’re already very far from the Tongtian River now, so please don’t call me River Goddess anymore. Just ‘Ruoli’ is fine.”

Ji Yuan forced a smile. Now he was concerned about a different matter.

2

He looked down at the Giant Whale swiftly swimming below them.

“May I ask, General Giant Whale, where is Dragon Rock Island, where your Lady Mother resides?”

“The Lady Mother never allows it to be spoken of, especially by those from this region… But it should be fine for Immortal Elder Ji and River Goddess Ying Ruoli to know, since we’re headed there anyway. Actually, Dragon Rock Island isn’t within the Eastern Sea. One must pass through a vast expanse of ocean, detour around a portion of the Desolate Sea, and reach the border between the Eastern Sea and the Northern Sea.”

Bypass a portion of the Desolate Sea? The border between the Eastern Sea and the Northern Sea?

Ji Yuan tried to imagine it. This probably meant going east to the edge of the Eastern Sea, then going up close to the Northern Sea. Wasn’t that the furthest northeastern corner within the Desolate Sea?

“That far?”

Ji Yuan couldn’t help but ask. He could hardly imagine how far that distance would be. All the continents in the world were surrounded by oceans, and the area covered by the Eastern Sea undoubtedly many times larger than that of the Eastern Cloud Continent.

“Your mother sure ran quite far…”

Ji Yuan made a rare remark. Even Ying Ruoli could only offer an awkward smile, unsure how to respond.

“It is a bit far, but rest assured, Immortal Elder Ji. This humble General Giant Whale may not have that many skills, but I definitely know how to find my way across the oceans! Those realm-crossing ferries, flying ships, and floating islands—in terms of speed, they cannot compare to me!”

General Giant Whale spoke as he swam, looking quite smug, while Ji Yuan’s heart grew heavy.

“River Goddess Ying Ruoli, you are an orthodox river goddess. Is it alright for you to be away from the Tongtian River for so long?”

Ying Ruoli smiled lightly.

“Uncle Ji, there’s no need to worry. All the aquatic creatures in my Tongtian River serve my underwater palace. Whatever problem might arise, someone will help me resolve it. Besides, I don’t truly care for the divine path, so it doesn’t matter how long I’m outside my jurisdiction.”

“Oh… that’s good…”

Ji Yuan truly couldn’t manage a smile anymore.

In the patch of ocean behind the departing giant whale, a mirage-like dragon aura hidden within a patch of mist sensed the whale’s departure. What the old dragon’s divided consciousness perceived naturally represented what his True Dragon body perceived.

‘With Ji Yuan tagging along, there shouldn’t be any major problems, right? ‘

…

In Pianwan Village, Zhang Fu, his wife Liang Chunlan, and their young son carried some gifts and traveled to Qiangang Village, seven or eight li away. They arrived at the Liang family’s home before lunch.

The visiting family put down the basket of items they had brought, while the host family poured water in welcome. Naturally, they shared a warm conversation, which inevitably, led to discussions about Ji Yuan.

“Brother-in-law, you mean Mr. Ji isn’t dead?”

Liang Pingle’s face lit up with surprise, and his father also looked astonished.

“That’s right, Mr. Ji is fine. He came to our house earlier this morning to let us know he was safe and sound, and even wrote a ‘fortune’ character for us!”

Zhang Fu recounted how he had met Ji Yuan that morning with a smile, narrating how the latter had written the characters for them and explaining everything in detail.

“By the way, look, this is the ‘fortune’ character Mister Ji wrote. Before I came, I specifically walked around the entire village, and none of the characters pasted on any of the houses were as beautiful as Mr. Ji’s! Not even half as beautiful!”

As Zhang Fu spoke, he deliberately stood up, left the table, walked to the basket he had set aside, rummaged through it, pulling out rolled-up piece of red paper.

“Look!”

The red paper unrolled, revealing a boldly-written “fortune” character in thick ink. Just looking at it made the Liang family feel quite happy.

“What beautiful calligraphy, truly beautiful calligraphy!”

“Indeed, it’s really beautiful!”

The Liang family members likewise couldn’t read many characters, yet they commented on it as if they were old scholars.

“See? I wasn’t lying to you. Mr. Ji said this calligraphy is worth a thousand gold pieces. Hmm, it probably means it’s priceless. He told us to paste it on our doors, and no matter who sees it and wants to buy it, no matter how much money they offer, do not sell it!”

“We won’t sell it, we won’t sell it!”

“Exactly! This is a New Year’s blessing from Mr. Ji, why would we sell it?”

“Yes, this calligraphy is truly wonderful!”

Hearing that Ji Yuan was alive also brought a slight sense of relief to the Liang father and son. At least they could have a more relaxed New Year, without carrying any lingering resentments. And seeing this “fortune” character made their mood exceptionally cheerful.

Liang Pingle eagerly grabbed the “fortuen” character and ran to the door, measuring it up, down, left, and right, trying to see how it should be pasted correctly.

Liang Pingle’s father laughed from inside the house and scolded him.

“You silly child, are you daft? Can you paste it up just by holding it to the door? Wait for your mother to make some paste from rice porridge first, then you can stick it!”

Liang Pingle chuckled, thinking that his father was correct, he must have been too eager. He could only blame it on the fact that the calligraphy was too beautiful.

Just as he was thinking this, he loosened his grip, and the “fortune” character suddenly stuck itself to the door.

Liang Pingle thought it had been blown there by the wind, and scratched his head, attempting to peel it off. However, he found that his fingernails couldn’t even get under the edge of the paper, and he instantly froze in surprise.

“It’s stuck on?”

T/n: LOL yes giant-whale-boat is a literal translation

T/n: JY: I didn’t do anything :0 Ying Hong listening in: <_<