It wasn't Ge Gen. That kid was too excited to watch the Master and Daoist Couple Ceremony, and he overdid it practicing swordsmanship during the day. He's fast asleep now.
Shuanghuang was sent outside to help with odd jobs. Puppets don't need sleep or rest, so Ji Mofan planned to exploit them all night.
Who else would come to his yard besides him?
His fingertips unconsciously touched the Embracing Snow Sword hanging at his waist. Ji Mofan slowed his steps and stepped into the doorway.
The door creaked open.
An old man with white hair and a long beard was holding his teapot, sitting casually in the chair closest to the door, sipping his newly brewed flower tea directly from the spout.
"...Sect Master." Ji Mo Fan's eyes flickered slightly as he bowed to the other party.
This seemingly ordinary, even somewhat eccentric, old man is the current sect leader of the Yuncang Sword Sect.
The old man also had a rather cute name: his surname was Qi, and his given name was Yuan.
"Xiao Fan, come here and let Grandpa take a look." Qi Yuan put down the teapot in her hand and waved to Ji Mo Fan with a smile. "Oh my, it's been so many years, you've grown so much. When you were little, you could ride on my shoulders."
Jimo Fanyi walked into the past.
Then Qi Yuan grabbed his ear.
"You brat, you're just wasting the family's resources while I'm not around, are you?" Qi Yuan said, as if she were about to settle scores.
"Hmm... I thought everyone was feeling cooped up, so this was a good opportunity for us to relax together..." Ji Mofan muttered, trying to justify himself.
He can spout nonsense at will when talking to Shen Yun.
But it doesn't work on old men, especially when their ears are being held in the hands of the other man.
"Did I say I was criticizing you for what happened at the ceremony?" Qi Yuan's grip tightened even more when he admitted his mistake.
He tugged at Ji Mo Fan so hard that he had to stand on tiptoe and jump after him, "Grandpa...Grandpa Sect Master..."
Hearing him address him that way, Qi Yuan's expression softened slightly. He finally released Ji Mofan, and seeing him take two steps back while clutching his bright red ear, Qi Yuan turned his head and snorted coldly.
"Serves you right," he said. "You distributed those rare and precious materials from the sect's treasury to the disciples without any restraint. Did they even make good use of them? Isn't that a waste?"
Ji Mo Fan lowered his head guiltily.
He couldn't deny it, because it was something he had already done before his rebirth.
“But I’ve also sorted out all the messy debts they owe to the sect…” Ji Mofan said.
Keeping accounts is a tough job; no one has ever taken it on without any problems. When Ji Mofan took over, there were already many problems, but no one had taken care of them before, and no one was willing to.
Ji Mo Fan was dealt with by his predecessor in a way that was to let things slide, and he had been doing so for many years.
Until recently, they seized the opportunity to dig up old grievances from who knows how many years ago and thoroughly settled them.
Unless he is no longer in the sect, Ji Mofan has been completely wiped out.
I dare not speak of the distant past, but since he took over the financial power of the Yuncang Sword Sect, the sect has never been this wealthy.
The old man glared at him, puffing out his beard, "So you're just handing over the sect's affairs, which you've worked so hard to sort out, to someone else?"
Ji Mofan scratched his cheek a little guiltily, "How did you know...?"
"I may look old, but I'm still sharp-witted and have excellent hearing and eyesight," Qi Yuan said, raising his chin with a proud expression.
"Xiao Fan, tell Grandpa Sect Master the truth." After raising his head for a while, he couldn't help but sigh and lower his head. "Are you resentful that I forced the position of Chief Disciple into your hands back then?"
Ji Mofan shook his head. "How could I complain about the honor you gave me?"
The Yuncang Sword Sect has selected many chief disciples throughout its history, and most other sects of similar size from the same era also had chief disciples, but he is the only one who lives his life in such a muddle, so it cannot be blamed on the position being wrong.
It was his own fault.
Qi Yuan reached out her hand again.
This time, however, instead of pulling his ear, she gently rubbed his head with just the right amount of pressure.
“Good child, you’ve worked hard all these years,” Qi Yuan said.
Ji Mofan suddenly felt an itch on the tip of his nose and couldn't help but raise his hand to rub it.
You old geezer, how old are you? Don't you find it cheesy to say such things?
"Tomorrow is your and Xiaoyu's Dao Couple Ceremony." Qi Yuan seemed to find the touch pleasant, and seeing that he didn't struggle, she took advantage of the situation and rubbed him a few more times until Ji Mofan was rubbed into a messy little dog before she withdrew her hand with satisfaction.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
Ji Mofan could only straighten his own hair. "It's alright."
"This isn't the kind of situation where you're about to marry the person you love." Qi Yuan looked at him with a smile. "Did Xiao Yu put pressure on you?"
"Don't be too lenient with what he says just because he has a relationship with the old man."
"It's up to you to decide what to do."
"Sect Master, I was not coerced." Ji Mo Fan's eyebrows curved into a smile, a rare hint of sincerity in his expression.
This time, it's the opposite; he wasn't forced by Qi Fengyu, but rather he blackmailed Shen Yun.
He even replaced his own soul lamp.
I dare not mention it; it would be far too blasphemous.
But Qi Yuan didn't ask anything. She just stood in his shoes and judged him by his expressions that he had been wronged. She seemed determined to seek justice for him, which warmed his heart.
The old man was a bit mischievous, but the days when he was still by Jimo Fan's side were indeed quite pleasant.
"By the way, Sect Master, there is something else I would like to ask you." With that thought, Ji Mofan raised his head and looked at Qi Yuan, who was leaning casually against the armrest of his chair.
“I was picked up by my master back then, which is how I went from being a beggar to becoming a true disciple of the Yun Cang Sword Sect. I always thought that my master just happened to be passing by and picked me up.”
“But a few days ago, Master suddenly told me that it wasn’t him who went there on his own initiative, but rather you who asked him to go there specifically.”
"It was you who told him that he would meet a disciple there whose aptitude was suitable to become his true disciple."
"Sect Master, why did you say such things back then...?"
When the question was posed, the air seemed to freeze for a brief moment.
Ji Mofan looked at Qi Yuan in front of him and waited quietly for his reply.
"Heavenly secrets must not be revealed."
In the end, all I got was this one sentence.
Qi Yuan finished his flower tea, and then gracefully drifted away with a flick of his sleeve.
Ji Mo Fan only remembered after he left that he had originally planned to share with him what he had learned from the Yun Cang Sword Technique when he saw him again.
He was so confused by pulling my ear and rubbing my head that I forgot what I was doing.
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