Chapter 72 is too slow.
"kindness?"
Meng Ji raised a clean, sharp eyebrow. This gesture did not diminish the icy aura surrounding him; instead, it amplified it to its peak. At the same time, he let out a mocking laugh, "Does the young lady believe such things?"
In fact, Yao Jin had listened to quite a few performances in the past few days, and she knew that this storyteller never told lies, or exaggerated claims to attract attention, or created hype, but all of them were based on reality.
This storyteller is no ordinary person.
This is why Yao Jin lost her composure, but she wouldn't say these things to Meng Ji. Instead, she bent down to pick up the scattered spirit stones.
One of the stones had fallen into the crack at the corner of the table, at the very back, so Yao Jin reached out to grab it.
But as he reached for it, a look of bewilderment appeared in his eyes.
Unlike hidden emotions, darkness could not conceal the brilliance of the spirit stone. It lay there quietly, its spiritual light proclaiming its precious value with both silence and arrogance. And the surrounding discussions, once started, were unstoppable:
"I don't believe it. The Immortal Lord loves his wife so much that he even killed his childhood sweetheart for her. How could he have an illegitimate child?"
"Yes, that's absurd."
"Refund! Refund!"
These sounds blended together, slowly forming a picture—the image of a boy suddenly lunging at you.
It was a scene of Leng Dandan's jealousy as she brandished her hairpin, and Meng Ji's desperate attempt to protect her, only to be met with her calmly saying that everything was alright.
These images are no less powerful than the light emanating from the spirit stone, and they can even help people let go of past hatred.
Has time really passed so quickly?
Soon, all those dazzling landscapes will have become the result of the passage of time.
Yao Jin blinked lightly, and a drop of water slid down her cheek.
As she straightened up, her face showed neither sorrow nor joy. She merely tightened her collar slightly to ward off the sudden chill that rose from her bones, a chill that made her voice equally sarcastic, even exceptionally arrogant.
She crossed her arms and looked up at him, "I believe you, of course I believe you."
"Hmm." Meng Ji's brow twitched slightly. He raised his hand to take a sip of tea, and when he spoke again, his voice was a little hoarse, and he unconsciously spoke more. "I see that you are not a person of this kind. I thought you were not one to follow the crowd."
Yao Jin also held a teacup, but instead of hot tea, her cup contained cold wine. As the wine went down her throat, a burning sensation stimulated her entire body.
Her face was frosty as she looked at him with ill intent. "How did you know? Aren't you blind?"
These words struck a nerve, and Xu Zhao immediately exploded, "How can you talk like that, young lady?"
Xu Zhao slammed his fist on the table and stood up, his eyes blazing with fury.
Meng Ji raised his hand to stop him, looking calm and composed. "My eyes may be blind, but my heart is not. I can listen."
"The fact that the young lady could remain unmoved by ten spirit stones shows that she is not someone who struggles for a living, and her status must not be low."
“Go on,” Yao Jin hummed in agreement, seemingly very interested, but in reality, every word Meng Ji said struck a nerve, instantly suppressing her complex emotions.
"A person of such status should have the ability to judge right from wrong, and wouldn't get so agitated upon hearing news of a stranger. So, young lady, do you know this immortal lord?"
At this point, Meng Ji pointed vaguely at the spirit stones scattered on the table.
Those spirit stones were placed by Xu Zhao. Xu Zhao usually followed Meng Ji and had excellent habits. Everything was stacked neatly. The placement of the spirit stones was also very clever. He deliberately placed them to the left of Yao Jin, according to Meng Ji's gesture, and a distance away from the edge of the table.
Unless Yao Jin is left-handed.
However, whether she was fiddling with the candied fruit at the beginning or drinking tea later, she used her right hand, so there was no risk of accidentally knocking over the spirit stone.
There was nothing else to it but emotion.
In an instant, all the surrounding noise seemed to disappear, and Yao Jin awkwardly turned his head away.
Meng Ji, however, was extremely patient, facing Yao Jin with a posture of listening attentively.
Pressed so hard, Yao Jin suddenly felt aggrieved. She stood up abruptly and snapped, "Whether I know him or not is none of your business!"
"Are we that close? Why are you asking me about this?"
"So annoying."
After saying a few words, Yao Jin left in a somewhat disheveled state, leaving the spirit stones behind.
*
evening
Wugou Pavilion
Meng Youhui's voice rang out unhurriedly. He had done his homework carefully yesterday, and now when he spoke about the article, he explained it in a simple and easy-to-understand way, which was very pleasant to listen to.
"Stop." Meng Ji pointed out a spot, "The wording here is too strong and inappropriate."
Meng Youhui pondered the matter carefully but disagreed. Just as he was about to argue his point, there was a knock on the door.
"Master."
This requires an imperial edict.
Knowing that his grading of the day's lessons was over, Meng Youhui stopped, rolled up his books, and prepared to leave.
"No rush, stay here."
“You’ve grown up. Stay and listen.” Meng Ji said this in response to Meng Youhui’s astonishment, then waved and opened the door.
Xu Zhao entered and was taken aback to see Meng Youhui still there. "Young Master."
It's normal for Meng Youhui not to participate in the meeting, so why is this happening? Xu Zhao was stunned and didn't speak, but Meng Ji waved his hand and told Xu Zhao, "It's okay, I asked him to stay. Just tell me."
Xu Zhao nodded upon seeing this, cupped his hands in a salute, and then reported the results of his investigation over the past day: "Master, I followed her for a day. The girl's name is Qingwen. She lives in Qingshui Town and is an ordinary person. She used to have a husband, but he later went to the capital to take the imperial examination and became a third-ranked scholar. He then married a princess, and the two divorced. Now, Miss Qingwen lives alone at home, with no one else around."
"Nothing unusual happened throughout the day."
Perhaps the girl's fate was too tragic, making Xu Zhao feel a little sorry for her, and his words unconsciously leaned towards her, "Could it be that we are wrong, and Miss Qingwen just heard about the Immortal Lord during the day and thought of her unfaithful husband, which is why she was so emotional?"
Meng Ji shook his head and turned to Meng Youhui, "What do you think?"
After staying behind, Meng Youhui was filled with excitement. This was his first time attending such a secret meeting, but he also knew that it was a sign that his father trusted him. So the young boy straightened his chest and looked more and more like an adult.
Meng Youhui cupped his hands in greeting and asked, "May I ask, Senior Brother Xu Zhao, what did the storyteller say during the day?"
Xu Zhao said "oh" a few times before realizing that what he had said was incoherent, so he briefly recounted what had happened that day. Of course, he omitted Qing Wen's insults towards their master and some of their master's deductions.
After hearing Meng Ji's tacit gesture under the table, Meng Youhui pondered for a moment, "This woman is not right."
One sentence made Xu Zhao raise his head, "What do you mean?"
Meng Youhui said, "This woman... no, Miss Qingwen, she first said that there weren't enough spirit stones, and she seemed to be very calculating. But why didn't she point it out on the spot when you deliberately gave her one less spirit stone under Father's instructions? This is the first suspicious point."
"Why is the storyteller only telling this story today, and why is the audience full of men, with her being the only woman? Was her appearance accidental, or intentional?"
“If it were a coincidence, she wouldn’t have needed to make things difficult for you; she could have simply let you sit down. But if it was intentional, then everything makes sense. She must have something to do with Buzhou Mountain.”
With his father and senior apprentice in the presence of his father, Meng Youhui was initially nervous when he spoke these words, but as his father nodded from time to time, his words became more composed and confident in the end.
Xu Zhao couldn't help but nod in praise, "Young master is really amazing. I thought my master disliked that woman and deliberately told me to give her one less."
Upon hearing this, Meng Youhui blushed slightly and repeatedly said that he was unworthy of such an honor, but looked at his father with expectant eyes.
It's normal for children to ask for praise, but Meng Ji didn't offer encouragement as usual. Instead, he sighed softly, "It's going too smoothly."
As the sigh escaped, Meng Youhui's pride turned into a barely perceptible sense of loss. He lowered his head, clasped his hands in a gesture of respect, and asked, "Father, do you mean...?"
"The absence of any abnormality is the biggest abnormality."
Meng Ji looked exhausted; the day's outing seemed to have drained most of his energy, and his face appeared particularly thin at this moment. However, when he mentioned that woman, a hint of indifference that did not match his fatigue flashed in his eyes.
His deduction was consistent with Meng Youhui's, but the details differed. "This woman has no interest in spirit stones, but her background is that of an abandoned woman who will live a lonely and miserable life. With such a life, wouldn't she need spirit stones to make plans for the rest of her life?"
“I told her that she didn’t lack money, and she didn’t refute it at first, which means she agreed. However, the result that Xu Zhao found out contradicted this point, but this contradiction can explain why she became emotional later.”
"It's too smooth, so smooth that it's as if her life was pre-arranged. The fact that she can do this shows that she is not an ordinary person."
"Not an ordinary person?" Xu Zhao had been personally instructed by the sect leader, so his spiritual power was not low, but he didn't sense any spiritual power fluctuations from Qing Wen, unless...
"Is it a powerful being?" Xu Zhao clapped his hands and voiced his guess.
Meng Ji shook his head, decisively rejecting his guess, "Even powerful beings need to cultivate. Perhaps she doesn't care about these spirit stones, but why not take advantage of something that's free?"
"The only explanation is that she is not a person who does this."
Xu Zhao: "Then are demons and monsters?"
Meng Ji shrugged, not answering immediately. His energy was not what it used to be, and fatigue washed over him as he faced these questions. He pressed his forehead and lightly raised his finger, "You can answer this question tomorrow."
"...Yes." Caught off guard by being called upon, Meng Youhui was stunned for a moment before agreeing to take his leave.
After everyone left, Xu Zhao was about to leave as well, but before he stepped back, he couldn't suppress the confusion in his heart. "Master, haven't you always forbidden the young master from participating in sect affairs too early?"
Although he didn't know why, once he got used to it, he couldn't help but have doubts when he tried to change it later. Xu Zhao was now completely puzzled.
In response to this question, Meng Ji's hand subtly moved, revealing a golden line that snaked down to his elbow. He pressed it down silently, his face growing paler as he channeled his spiritual energy.
After a long while, he smiled and said, "He's grown up."
The candlelight flickered gently, the burnt-out wax piled up at the bottom, supporting the newly lit candle, and the candlelight reflected on the white hair, covering it with a thin layer of golden light.
Looking at the radiant light, Meng Ji said, "It's too slow."
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