Chapter 402: Sending and Receiving Messages

When Ji Yuan first obtained the “Sword Intent Inscription”, he was so fond of it that he couldn’t put it down. He read it countless times in this courtyard and practiced swordplay with the tree branches under its canopy countless times.

So of course, the jujube tree couldn’t possibly be unfamiliar with the “Sword Intent Inscription”. It was truly unexpected for the characters on this calligraphy book to all be chattering and talking amongst themselves.

Ji Yuan looked at the trunk of the jujube tree. The so-called spirits of plants and flora, although limited by the earth and hardly able to move, often perceived as slow or without conscious thought, were often more intelligent and wise than sentient animals.

Even Ji Yuan had been quite surprised when he first saw these small characters, let alone the jujube tree. However, it was something he was by now already familiar with. Soon the branches and leaves of the jujube tree began to sway in the wind again, showing its welcoming nature.

Although these little characters were noisy, the education that Master Ji Yuan had given them over this period of time had not been in vain. Therefore, at this moment in Ju’an Pavilion, although the little characters still couldn’t hide their excitement, they were indeed much more well-behaved. Well, this obedience was only relative. If someone got close to Ju’an Pavilion, they would still hear some noise.

One, two, three, four…

The smaller characters jumped out of the “Sword Intent Inscription” one after another. Even those that were “sleeping” before were “pulled up” by the other characters they were familiar with, and then excitedly went outside.

It was as if they were riding on the spiritually rich breeze inside Ju’an Pavilion. Over a hundred small characters flew and swirled together in the courtyard. Although the “Sword Intent Inscripiton” had long possessed a spiritual quality since the day it was written, for the small characters, this was the place where they first developed consciousness—their true home.

Previously, these small characters always seemed “hungry,” and consuming that much ink was actually a waste. However, after the last time Ji Yuan had traced them with ink, they were still “full” of spiritual energy that they had not yet digested, so their energy was much more abundant.

“Alright, you all stay here, I’ll go fetch water to fill the water tank.”

Life needed a sense of ritual. For Ji Yuan, fetching water to make tea or cook in his home was one such ritual.

Of course, Ji Yuan was never a stubborn person. The dust in his house was so excessive that it would probably take him several days or even half a month to clean it by himself, so he decisively used spiritual techniques.

At this moment, Ji Yuan glanced at the well in the courtyard, which was as always covered by a stone slab, and thought of the evil creature that had emerged from the well before. After thinking for a moment, he decided against his idea, picked up the shoulder pole and bucket, and went out to fetch water.

Just before leaving, he waved to the paper crane, which lightly flapped its wings and flew to Ji Yuan’s side. Ji Yuan held the shoulder pole with his left hand, extended his right index finger, and gently touched the top of the paper crane’s head, slowly transmitting a stream of divine thought and spiritual energy.

“Go to Yuhuai Mountain to deliver my invitation. Tell them I will definitely pay a visit within three months. If anyone from the sect intends to head to the Cultivator’s Grand Assembly in advance, please ask them to wait for me if it is convenient.”

As he spoke, he used his spiritual sense to transmit his message fully. By the time Ji Yuan had finished speaking, his spiritual divine sense had already entered the paper crane. The crane quickly flapped its wings, indicating that it would set off immediately.

“No rush, I’ll see you off!”

Ji Yuan smiled and reached out to hold the paper crane. A slight whirlwind appeared around his palm, the wind spinning and carrying up faint white light, its speed increasing rapidly.

“Go.”

Ji Yuan raised his hand.

“Whoosh…”

A fierce wind swept across an area only a palm’s width in size, the aftershocks causing the branches of the jujube tree in the courtyard to sway violently. Meanwhile, the paper crane had already disappeared into the sky on the wind.

1

The Cultivator’s Grand Assembly was still a few years away, and it was unlikely that the attendees from Yuhuai Mountain would set off early. This was just a casual reminder.

Ji Yuan smiled, then picked up the shoulder pole and headed out.

It was almost noon, and there weren’t many people walking around Tian Niu Lane. Given that Ju’an Pavilion was in a more remote location, Ji Yuan didn’t encounter a single person as he walked.

It wasn’t until he reached the two public wells on Tian Niu Lane sthat things started to get lively. Some people were washing clothes and some were washing vegetables, all chatting and laughing. Most of them were women from the neighborhood, and a dozen or so more people were fetching water.

Even though their hands were red from the cold in the dead of winter, it didn’t hinder their work at all.

Ji Yuan’s arrival with his carrying pole briefly silenced the chatter, somewhat like the first time he had come to the public water wells to fetch water years ago.

“Hey, who’s that?”

“What a refined and scholarly aura!”

“Is he from our neighborhood, coming to fetch water?”

“I’ve never seen him before!”

Some of the young women commented. Some of them were both embarrassed and also couldn’t help but steal glances at Ji Yuan, the elegant man in a white robe.

While some of the older women didn’t recognize him, two or three of them frowned and stared at Ji Yuan.

“Hey, Xiao Dong’s mom, don’t you think this man looks rather friendly?”

A woman who was scrubbing clothes asked her neighbor a question. The woman she had questioned was wearing floral cotton-padded jacket, and frowned as well as she washed the bed sheets in her hands.

“Indeed, he’s quite handsome. When did we ever have someone like that in our neighborhood…”

The woman suddenly fell silent, watching Ji Yuan walk to the two wells, roll up his sleeves, and turn the pulley to draw water. A memory suddenly surfaced in her mind, and her face flushed slightly.

“Hey, why are you blushing? I don’t remember anyone like that in our neighborhood!”

The woman trembled subconsciously when she was called, and nervously continued washing the bedsheets. Back when she was young, she had seen that gentleman come to fetch water a few times at the public water wells.

The people of Tian Niu Lane were simple and honest. and the girls rarely went out, so they rarely aw handsome men. Back then, Mr. Ji from Ju’an Pavilion was the dream husband of many young girls in love.

However, over the years, the girls’ dreams had long been shattered, and most of them had married elsewhere, either in other neighborhoods in the city or in other villages and towns within the county. This woman was one of the very few women who married someone from within the same neighborhood.

In her youth, she had been just like the girls here today, washing up, doing laundry, chatting, and laughing with the older women. Now, those older women had all grown old, and she had become an older woman herself.

In Dazhen, most of the elderly in ordinary families could no longer work after reaching sixty. Living past seventy was considered a long life. Qin Zizhou was a true centenarian.

The woman didn’t know why she was thinking so much. By the time she came to her senses, Ji Yuan was already fetching the second bucket of water.

“Hey, say something, are you crazy?”

The woman next to her nudged her with her shoulder, finally bringing the middle-aged woman, who had briefly returned to her teenage years, back to her senses.

“Oh! He… I… I think he looks somewhat like Mr. Ji from Ju’an Pavilion, but I’m not quite sure…”

“Mr. Ji? Which Mr. Ji?”

The woman next to her had married into Tian Niu Lane from somewhere else. Although Ji Yuan had returned to Ju’an Pavilion twice after she had married in, he had mostly been sleeping. So, in reality, apart from a few people in a few select places, Ji Yuan had hardly been active in the eyes of the people of Ning’an County over the past twenty years.

Back when Ji Yuan’s fame had been at its height in Ning’an County, most people still didn’t recognize him. Rumors about him mostly circulated during casual conversations, and mostly secondhand or third-hand accounts. Now it was even less.

However, the woman in the floral cotton-padded jacket did not answer, because Ji Yuan had already finished drawing his water, picked up the buckets, and stood up. She also subconsciously stood up, shook the water off her hands, and wiped it on her clothes.

“Mr. Ji?”

Her voice wasn’t loud, but it wasn’t quiet either. Since the people around her had been whispering about this gentleman in the white robe, her interruption was quite noticeable.

Ji Yuan, who had already taken a few steps, stopped. The two buckets filled with water swayed from where they hung, in front and behind him, but although the water looked like it was swaying violently, not a single drop of water was spilled.

Ji Yuan held the rope of the buckets with both hands, turned to look at the woman, nodded slightly to her, and then quickly picked up the carrying pole, attached the buckets, and continued walking away.

“It really is Mr. Ji, it’s really him! Mr. Ji is still so refined and elegant…”

The woman in the floral cotton-padded jacket blushed slightly again at that nod, but then chuckled and pressed her cold hands to her face.

“Hey, who is Mr. Ji?”

“Mr. Ji is also a resident of Tian Niu Lane. He’s a very good person… Go ask your husband or in-laws, they’ll definitely know…”

As the laughter and chatter behind them grew lively again, Ji Yuan had already retraced his steps through Ning’an County.

“Alas, time really does fly by for ordinary people…”

With a sigh, Ji Yuan returned to Ju’an Pavilion and manually poured the two buckets of water into the water vat.

However, Ji Yuan, who should have gone back to fetch water immediately, deliberately waited for half an hour before returning to the public water wells. Sure enough, by the time he returned, the woman from before had already left.

Having already eaten braised noodles and offal, Ji Yuan didn’t bother cooking again at home, merely boiling some water. However, the tea leaves had long since gone moldy and spoiled, so he couldn’t possibly drink that kind of tea. Therefore, he simply drank a pot of plain water.

It was almost afternoon when Ji Yuan left home and headed to the Ning’an County government office.

Over the years, he likely had accumulated quite a few letters.

The streets in the county were still the same as they were back then, with almost no changes. Many time-honored shops are still in their original locations, and the shouts and arguments were still lively.

As he approached the county government office, the sound of students reciting their lessons from the county school could faintly be heard in Ji Yuan’s ears. The students were reading Yin Zhaoxian’s “On the Subject of Birds – The Response of an Imperial Exam Candidate,” which, after several revisions, was already a very good introductory text.

Ji Yuan slowly approached the outside of the county government office. The guards at the gate had already noticed the white-robed gentleman’s approach.

Ji Yuan cupped his hands in greeting.

“Excuse me, sir, I wish to retrieve the mail I deposited. What procedures are required?”

Even government officials would treat a refined gentleman like Ji Yuan with courtesy, so they returned the greeting.

“Sir, you only need to show me your household registration document. After I have reviewed it, I can take the document inside to find the registrar!”

“Oh, I have it with me.”

As Ji Yuan spoke, he took out a folded piece of paper from his right sleeve with his left hand and handed it to the official. It bore the official seal of the magistrate of Ning’an County and the private seal of the previous registrar in charge of household registration. It had been issued together with the house deed to Ju’an Pavilion.

“Yes, this is it. Please come in, sir. The room with the character “household” on it is in the corridor on the left. Any mail items that have been deposited are all recorded there.”

“Thank you!”

Ji Yuan bowed again before entering the courtyard.

T/n: JY reinvents the pneumatic cannon