Chapter 66 Transactions
Bai Qianfan patted his bottom, went to the door and brought Ji Zihua, who was still tied up, into the main hall to continue tying him up, and even thoughtfully found him a straw mat.
Ji Zihua was initially defiant, talking big to himself even when no one paid attention to him. After a while, he suddenly fell silent for some reason, and then everyone heard his stomach rumbling.
Ji Zihua turned her head away, the tips of her ears turning slightly red.
Chu Jianshan smiled at him and asked, "Would you like some roasted sweet potato?"
Ji Zihua snorted coldly, turned his head away, and said with a tough air, "A gentleman does not accept food offered with contempt."
Bai Qianfan's lips twitched slightly, and he looked disgusted: "Oh, you call yourself a gentleman? You're already being rude by being given food, and you're still being picky."
Chu Jianshan asked again, "Are you going to eat or not?"
Ji Zihua raised his chin and said, word by word, "No! Eat!"
“Very good,” Chu Jianshan raised an eyebrow, beckoned Bai Qianfan over, and handed him the roasted sweet potato in his hand: “Stuff it into his mouth.”
"Alright!" Bai Qianfan took the things and walked towards Ji Zihua with a mischievous grin.
Ji Zihua tried to back away, but he was tied up and couldn't move. He looked at Bai Qianfan with a terrified expression: "What are you doing?! Don't come any closer!!"
"Shut up!" Bai Qianfan shoved half a roasted sweet potato into his mouth and held Ji Zihua's head down to prevent him from turning around.
After struggling for a while, he finally gave in: "I'll eat it! Don't touch me!"
"Alright, alright, I won't touch you. Take it and eat it yourself." Bai Qianfan clapped his hands and sat back down next to Chu Jianshan.
Because his hands were tied, Ji Zihua handled the sweet potato somewhat clumsily, taking a while to take a bite. Chu Jianshan was staring at him from the opposite side, feeling somewhat suspicious.
Aside from being somewhat arrogant, this person didn't seem to have any cunning or scheming. Being young and lacking experience in leading troops, given Qiao Yi's meticulous approach, why would he send someone like this? It couldn't be that he's just too conceited.
Ji Zihua took a couple of bites of sweet potato, then looked up to see Chu Jianshan staring at him with his chin resting on his hand. He felt a sudden chill and stammered, "W-wh-why are you looking at me like that?"
Chu Jianshan turned around and said with a smile, "It's nothing."
Then, as if remembering something, she casually asked, "How does Qiao Yi treat you?"
Ji Zihua thought there was something wrong with him. What did it matter to this man how the Lord treated him? So he probed, "Why are you asking me this?"
Chu Jianshan smiled and said, "Just asking. I think you have good talent. If Qiao Yi doesn't treat you well, why don't you come with me? I'll take you as my disciple and guarantee you a bright future."
Bai Qianfan glanced at him silently from the side, thinking to himself that he really dared to say such things. If Cheng Yuan heard this, he would be hanging himself at the gate of Changjin Mountain the next day.
Ji Zihua snorted and said, "How could you compare to how good the Lord has been to me? If my brother and I hadn't been saved by the Lord, we would have died in the snow long ago."
"Oh?" Chu Jianshan suddenly realized, "So he saved your lives. Then I really can't compare to him."
Ji Zihua looked at him coldly: "What exactly do you want to ask?"
Chu Jianshan said, "Based on my understanding of him, he couldn't possibly be unaware of our strengths, and he probably guessed that you would be captured by me. So why did he still send you here?"
Ji Zihua stubbornly replied, "Your Excellency... is it because you can't trust me?"
Chu Jianshan hit the nail on the head: "But you also said that your life means nothing to him."
Ji Zihua remained silent.
Chu Jianshan continued, "Perhaps he really does regard human life as worthless, but there's no reason for him to send you here to die. Isn't that just asking for trouble?"
Ji Zihua laughed and said, "Immortal Chu has such a sharp tongue. He's just trying to trick me into revealing information."
Chu Jianshan smiled and said, "If you don't know the details, what can I possibly get out of you?"
He then suggested, "How about we make a deal?"
Ji Zihua looked puzzled: "You're making a deal with me? What's in it for me?"
Chu Jianshan: "Isn't it a good thing that your life can be saved? I guess you don't want to die."
"Hahahahaha..." Ji Zihua burst into laughter: "How does Immortal Venerable Chu know whether I want to die or not?"
Chu Jianshan glanced at the sweet potato peels on the ground beside him: "You finished the sweet potatoes I gave you. If you were really willing to die for him, you wouldn't be in the mood to eat anything."
He looked at Ji Zihua: "...If you want to live, just tell me Qiao Yi's true purpose, and I swear on Changjin Mountain that I can guarantee your life."
Ji Zihua's eyes were fierce, but the corners of his mouth curled up: "It's easy for Immortal Venerable Chu to say. Even if you really take pity on me today and spare me, how can you guarantee that I won't be punished by the Venerable Master after I return to Linyi Sect? As long as he wants me dead, he won't let me go, even if it's to the ends of the earth."
Chu Jianshan smiled and said, "That's why I left you some room to maneuver."
He pointed to Bai Qianfan beside him: "Take him back. After all, he is your young master. It can be considered as making amends, right?"
Bai Qianfan: "?"
...He knew that following Chu Jianshan would bring nothing good.
Upon hearing this, Ji Zihua looked at Bai Qianfan, whose lips twitched and teeth were practically grinding to powder: "...He's right, I'll go back with you."
Ji Zihua scoffed, "Immortal Chu, you can't even come up with a decent reason for lying. You're his master, would you really be willing to let him go back with me?"
Chu Jianshan said, "Why not? You don't know, everyone in Changjin Mountain is already trying to kill him. I can't let him live. It would be better to let him go back to your Linyi Sect. At least he can save his life."
Ji Zihua remained silent. Chu Jianshan slowly approached him and asked, "How have you decided? This is a sure-fire way to make money."
After a long pause, Ji Zihua looked up at him and said, "Okay, I agree, but you have to untie me first."
Chu Jianshan smiled and said, "Of course."
After untying him, Chu Jianshan pushed Bai Qianfan towards him and said, "Here's the person. How about it? Can you talk now?"
Ji Zihua stretched his body a couple of times, feeling no discomfort, and asked Chu Jianshan, "You really just gave him to me like that?"
Chu Jianshan assured, "I always keep my promises."
Ji Zihua pulled Bai Qianfan to the doorway and said to the crowd, "Of course I can tell you the truth, but..."
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly drew his sword and placed it against Bai Qianfan's neck: "But not today!"
"What are you doing!" Dong Qi almost rushed over, but was pulled back by Dong Huai Ren and stood frozen in place.
Chu Jianshan looked at him coldly: "What do you mean by this?"
Ji Zihua's lips curled up slightly: "It means going back on your word."
He looked at Chu Jianshan smugly: "Thank you for your kindness, Immortal Venerable Chu. I'll take the person with me. We'll see about this later!"
After saying that, he pulled Bai Qianfan across the threshold. Dong Qi looked anxiously at Chu Jianshan: "Immortal Venerable, aren't you going to stop him!"
Chu Jianshan said softly, "No rush."
Just as Ji Zihua turned around, Bai Qianfan smiled and stuck a talisman on his body.
A familiar force instantly pressed down on Ji Zihua, forcing him to kneel on one knee. He struggled to lift his head and look at Bai Qianfan: "Young Master, you...?"
Bai Qianfan coughed twice, making a fist with his hand to his lips: "Look carefully, I am not your young master."
"What?" Ji Zihua exclaimed in astonishment, "When...when did you change the people?!"
Chu Jianshan walked over, looked down at Ji Zihua on the ground, and held the Mo Yang Sword to his neck: "Not bad acting, I almost fell for your trick."
Ji Zihua struggled to move, and asked him with a smile, "Immortal Venerable knew from the beginning that I was faking it, so why bother to play along with this act?"
Chu Jianshan sighed softly, "Even if you really bring Cheng Yuan back, Qiao Yi won't think much of you. Don't struggle anymore."
"You're talking nonsense!" Ji Zihua suddenly became agitated: "I am the Lord's most capable subordinate, how could he not care about me!"
Chu Jianshan said, "But I can't deny that he also schemed against you. If I were truly malicious, you would be dead by now. Why would you risk your life for someone like that?"
Ji Zihua lowered his head, panting heavily, and did not refute further.
Chu Jianshan squatted down in front of him: "I mean what I say. I will spare your life. You can decide for yourself what is right and wrong."
Ji Zihua raised his head, but not to look at Chu Jianshan. Instead, he looked at the half-eaten roasted sweet potato in the room. After a while, he lowered his head and smiled faintly: "You're right. I was also part of his scheme. I was just... his bait."
Ji Zihua closed his eyes: "Ask whatever you want to know."
Chu Jianshan spoke: "The demon army of tomorrow."
Ji Zihua blurted out, "They won't be coming."
Bai Qianfan was startled and quickly asked, "What do you mean?!"
Ji Zihua continued, "Not only the demon army, but also the Linyi Sect cultivators guarding outside the Shaoxuan Sect have left. Guess... where they went?"
Chu Jianshan's hands trembled slightly, and his breathing became increasingly rapid: "What do you mean? Explain yourself."
Ji Zihua sighed: "...Immortal Chu, let's go back to Changjin Mountain and take a look."
A few hours ago, at Changjin Mountain.
Ji Shi carried a plate of pastries into Tinglan Pavilion and said to Chu Qinglan, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, "Master's wife, if your face looks pale, turn on the lamp. Reading like this will hurt your eyes."
Chu Qinglan laughed: "You really are a chatterbox."
“But it’s getting dark so quickly. You probably haven’t had dinner yet. Why don’t you stay at Tinglan Pavilion? Ah Sheng will be coming over later too.”
"No...no need." Ji Shi refused, head down.
"What's wrong?" Chu Qinglan noticed Ji Shi's unusual behavior and guessed, "Did that brat Mei bully you again?"
Ji Shi shook his head: "No..."
Chu Qinglan affirmed, "Then you have it too. You did too, why didn't you fight back?"
Ji Shi pouted: "I'm not as capable as Cheng Yuan."
Chu Qinglan patted his chest: "But you still have your master's wife, right? She'll uphold justice for you!"
Ji Shi's eyes welled up with tears. He was used to it and didn't feel wronged, but when Chu Qinglan stood up for him, he felt like crying.
He walked over and lay down on Chu Qinglan's legs, like a child clinging to his mother.
Chu Qinglan was moved and gently stroked Ji Shi's head: "I've watched you grow up. You're a good child in every way, except that you don't like to offend people. Actually, that boy Mei is just from a better family. Why are you afraid of him?"
Ji Shi shook his head: "It's not because of his family background, but because... Master likes him more."
Chu Qinglan blurted out, "Then your master's wife likes you even more."
She suddenly lowered her head, her expression somewhat forlorn: "I know that I've been sick all these years, and he probably bullied you quite a few times, but it doesn't matter. Once you marry Ah Sheng, he won't be able to do anything to you."
"Master's wife, you...!" Ji Shi was somewhat shocked: "Why did you bring this up?"
Chu Qinglan asked in confusion, "Why can't we mention it? You and Asheng are at the point of discussing marriage. You two grew up together and can be considered childhood sweethearts. I can also tell that Asheng has feelings for you. I'll make the decision, and no one can say a bad word about you two."
As she spoke, she began to imagine the future: "When you get married and have a few more children, you and Asheng are both good-looking, and the children will definitely be adorable. When that time comes, I will take the children and teach them swordsmanship and meditation. Changjin Mountain will definitely be much more lively!"
Ji Shi looked somewhat reluctant and hesitated before saying, "But... isn't it too early?"
Chu Qinglan noticed his hesitation and tentatively asked, "Could it be... that you don't like Asheng?"
Ji Shi said, "No... no."
He naturally liked her. When they were young, Jiang Yan was strict with her, and he would protect her no matter how scared he was. However, this was the kind of affection he had for his younger sister. He couldn't imagine marrying Jiang Rusheng.
Moreover... when Chu Qinglan mentioned marriage, the image that came to his mind was that of another girl, a... very unconventional woman.
"Never mind," Chu Qinglan sighed, "I was too hasty. Actually, I just wanted to give you a guarantee, to let you... rightfully call me Mother."
Clang—clang—clang—
The golden bell on Changjin Mountain was struck three times, signifying an invasion by foreign enemies.
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