Chapter 129 The Unspoken Understanding of Those from the Past
The time it took from disembarking to entering the city far exceeded Ji Mingran's expectations.
First, there were ten entrances to the city wall of the prefecture. When the group saw the entrances from afar, they stopped. Song Heyi, dressed as a scholar, took out a compass from the basket on his back, squatted down and began to look at it.
The others were used to it and stood in place waiting.
Just a quarter of an hour later, Miao Miaowan smiled slightly, her eyes filled with tenderness, and she bent her knees slightly, tilting her head to watch Song Heyi's deduction.
"Are you sure you can do it?" Cui Mianyue walked over, squatted down on the other side, and peered at the spinning compass.
“If Junior Brother is having bad luck today, perhaps I should take over.” Lin Wuqi, his face still gloomy, slowly walked over and squatted down to study the spinning compass. “Hmm, it’s going left, huh? Then it’s going right.”
It should be on the left.
I think it's on the right.
A group of people surrounded Song Heyi, discussing the matter animatedly.
Yu Tianxing stood there expressionless, his eyes lowered, holding his sword. Jiang Chaoxing sat beside him, idly swinging his sword.
Ji Mingran was still hanging on Yu Tianxing's back, half of his face resting on the cold shoulder, glancing at Jiang Chaoxing's sword intermittently.
The unnamed people on the boat mentioned that this was a divination sword.
From a distance, the sword resembled the one in Yu Tianxing's hand, both being jet black. However, Yu Tianxing's sword had a long, slender blade with a sharp edge that constantly gleamed with a cold light, while Jiang Chaoxing's sword was as thin as a cicada's wing and as soft as a willow branch. The blade was covered with intricate patterns, and the boneless hilt swayed and folded as he swung it.
Ji Mingran pursed his lips and gestured with five fingers across Jiang Chaoxing.
Cut him horizontally along the intervals between his five fingers, dividing him into five equal parts. Do this once she finds a suitable body.
Jiang Chaoxing, who was idly swinging his sword, shuddered and secretly glanced at Yu Tianxing.
Yu Tianxing: "What?"
"Why do I always feel a murderous aura coming from you?" Jiang Chaoxing glanced at him and took two steps away. "This isn't the first time; it was the same on the ship."
“It’s because you have a guilty conscience,” Yu Tianxing said calmly.
Jiang Chaoxing's pupils twitched, and he abruptly turned his head.
Yu Tianxing calmly uttered the second half of the sentence: "He secretly broke into my sword-training cave."
With a slightly stiff smile, Jiang Chaoxing scratched the back of his head, lowered his head to hide his unnatural expression, and said, "Hey, hey, don't mention it. I won't dare to wander around like that again."
Yu Tianxing said calmly, "If it's not done properly, I'm afraid it could cause more harm than this. Next time, you can tell me in advance, and I'll pick a suitable place for you."
Ji Mingran forcefully poked Yu Tianxing's head with his index finger: "He broke into my house."
Just then, Song Heyi finished his calculations and said, "The second entrance from the left is correct; this location is very auspicious."
The group continued their journey.
After entering the city gate, they arrived at Miaomiao Bay and began to calculate. After waiting for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, they finally spoke up: "Let's stay at the third inn we come across."
The group nodded and moved forward.
Following the compass, they came to the third inn. Suddenly, Cui Mianyue said, "I have something to do. You all go inside and wait for me." Without waiting for the others to respond, she slipped away and disappeared in an instant.
For some inexplicable reason, Song Heyi took out a small chair and table from his backpack and placed them next to the entrance of the inn. Then he took out a flag, unfolded it, and saw that it had a large character "算" (calculate) written on it. He set up a small stall on the spot and sat down comfortably: "You guys go in, I've chosen this spot."
Miao Miaowan nodded: "Okay."
Lin Wuqi looked the flag up and down and pointed at it, saying, "Junior brother, may I borrow this flag? I plan to walk around the city for the next few days and see what I can do with it."
Song Heyi readily agreed, “Of course, I can write a piece of calligraphy and hang it on the table, it will be just as useful. Senior brother, please feel free to take it.”
After the two agreed, Lin Wuqi led the rest of the group into the inn. Their striking appearances immediately drew attention from everyone inside. Miao Miaowan and Lin Wuqi, meeting the gazes, went straight to a square table in the center of the inn and sat down, while Yu Tianxing and Jiang Chaoxing approached the innkeeper.
Yu Tianxing stepped forward: "Shopkeeper."
When the shopkeeper suddenly saw this man with an ethereal appearance standing before him, his eyes widened and his mouth gaped open, and he couldn't utter a word of greeting for a long time.
Yu Tianxing was clearly used to the various reactions others had to him. His dark eyes remained calm as he spoke slowly, "There are six main rooms: two facing south, two facing north, one facing west, and one facing east. The rooms need to be connected. Do you have them?"
A spirit stone was placed on the platform by slender, long fingers.
"Ah, this, I need to check the property deeds." The dazzling, enormous spirit stone startled the innkeeper, bringing him back to his senses. "The rooms are in short supply these days, it's hard to say..."
Such a demanding requirement—different orientations and yet connected—is rare even in quiet times. But with the spirit stones right in front of him, the shopkeeper, clinging to a sliver of hope, quickly flipped through the property deed. His eyes lit up: "Good luck, sir! There really is one!"
The two guests seemed to have expected his talk of good luck and showed no reaction. The immortal guest placed another mid-grade spirit stone on the platform and continued calmly:
"Replace the quilts in the south with jade pillows and brocade quilts, replace the quilts in the north with feather pillows and silk quilts, place a set of writing implements in the west-facing room, and boil a bucket of hot water in the east-facing room."
"The table that just came in for two people, please have a pot of hot tea, a pot of cold wine, two bowls of sweet osmanthus cheese, and three plates of fruit and pastries."
"in addition......"
He arranged accommodations for the six people in great detail, even specifying the size of the windows to be opened and closed.
But upon closer reflection, Ji Mingran realized that in the past, when she was with him, he naturally took care of her daily life. However, because it was just the two of them, Ji Mingran had never seen him make any arrangements. Now that she had seen it with her own eyes, she was surprised to find that he paid attention to and considered so many details in his daily life.
Too shocked to notice that her palms clenched together for a moment, and Yu Tianxing paused almost imperceptibly before continuing to speak.
Jiang Chaoxing simply nodded repeatedly from the side. When Yu Tianxing asked, "Do you have anything else to add?", she simply replied, "No." Then she followed Yu Tianxing, who had finished giving his instructions, back to their seats.
At this moment, the waiter arrived with wine, tea, and snacks. Yu Tianxing instructed him on the placement of the fruit platters and tea, poured a cup of wine for Lin Wuqi, and brewed a bowl of tea for Miao Miaowan before sitting down.
Miao Miaowan held up her tea and smiled gently: "Junior Brother Tianxing is so good at taking care of people, it really makes us all lazy."
Lin Wuqi sighed, "Traveling with my junior brother, I don't need to think about anything."
Jiang Chaoxing took the wine glass from Yu Tianxing and laughed, shaking his head, "He's just a face that's intimidating, a typical cold-faced but warm-hearted person."
Faced with everyone's praise, Yu Tianxing sat down silently, picked up his teacup and took a small sip, his expression still calm and aloof.
The other three laughed and joked, and sat in the most conspicuous spot in the middle of the inn, waiting from the blazing sun until sunset.
The fruit and melon seeds had long been cleared out, and the hot tea and wine had been finished. Cui Mianyue was nowhere to be seen. The four people waiting were patient and none of them urged or asked. They sat or stood guard at the table, chatting idly in the inn, seemingly oblivious to the situation.
Meanwhile, Song Heyi's voice could be heard from outside the door from time to time: "Brother, I see that your forehead is dark and your nose is narrow. You seem to be having bad luck. Do you want me to help you get rid of it?"
The waiter had rolled his eyes and waved the cloth strip past several times, but the shopkeeper hadn't come to chase him away.
However, Song Heyi's soliciting words were rather annoying, causing several minor disturbances. After that, Yu Tianxing stood guard beside the stall with his sword, like a door god.
As a result, the unpleasant noise subsided in an instant, and the strikingly handsome Yu Tianxing stood there, and soon a long queue formed in front of Song Heyi's stall. At a glance, all the men, women, and children in the queue were excitedly stealing glances at the incomparably handsome man.
Business was booming, and Song Heyi couldn't stop smiling.
As the moon rose high in the sky and Song Heyi packed up her stall, Cui Mianyue finally appeared. Along with her came a line of people carrying boxes of various sizes.
It was late at night, and there was no one else in the inn. Cui Mianyue waved her hand casually, "Just leave it here, and then you can go back."
The person carrying the wooden box put down the box one by one as instructed, and then left.
"As expected." Looking around at the wooden boxes that almost filled the entire table in the inn, Song Heyi sighed, "Senior Sister is here again."
As soon as he finished speaking, the wooden box on the table opened with a whoosh, and a dazzling array of colors shone from it, instantly illuminating the dimly lit inn.
Cui Mianyue smiled radiantly, bent down and reached into a box. With a clattering sound, she raised her hand, revealing ten jade hairpins and gold earrings strung on her fingers, jingling as they swayed.
She turned to Yu Tianxing and asked, "Junior Brother, which piece of jewelry do you want?"
"Senior Sister Mianyue, I want this and that, and I also want this." Jiang Chaoxing stared intently, reaching out to pluck a string of ringed hairpins from Cui Mianyue's index and middle fingers.
Cui Mianyue swiftly clapped her hands and raised her arm to dodge Jiang Chaoxing, who pounced on her like a monkey. "You always manage to get a lot, this time we'll let our junior brother choose first."
"He chooses?" Jiang Chaoxing raised an eyebrow. "What would he do with these women's ornaments? He has no use for them."
"And what about you? What do you need so much for?" Cui Mianyue glanced at him sideways.
Jiang Chaoxing's eyes lit up, and he said, "I'll pick them up and sell them to get some change, hehe."
Miao Miaowan chuckled upon hearing this: "Junior Brother Jiang, who are you trying to fool? I saw the spiritual artifact you exchanged with He Yi during this spiritual cultivation competition appear with our Junior Sister."
Jiang Chaoxing panicked and quickly picked up a box: "Senior Sister Miaowan, please forgive me, this is for you, this is for you."
Song Heyi said gently, "Hey, this belongs to Senior Sister Mianyue, it doesn't count as yours."
Cui Mianyue waved her hand generously: "Take whatever you like, as a gift from me to everyone for this trip."
"I think your cave is overflowing with jewelry." Lin Wuqi casually picked up a handful of exquisite ornaments and put them down. "Your problem is still incurable."
"Just forget about it," Cui Mianyue said angrily, running over and closing the box in front of him.
“Brother Lin, don’t say that. A little quirk is harmless. Besides, who doesn’t have one?” Miao Miaowan chose a silver hairpin and put it behind her ear. “We grew up in the sect. How could we have survived those days without some hobbies? You love wine, He Yi loves calligraphy and painting, I love buying clothes, and even Brother Qingyun developed a binge eating habit from being starving back then.”
Cui Mianyue said lazily, "Junior Brother, I really envy you. You've never suffered like this. Chaoxing had a tough time back then, didn't he?"
“I enjoy collecting magical artifacts,” Jiang Chaoxing said. “But I haven’t seen any aftereffects on my senior sister.”
“Her,” Cui Mianyue smiled, “she likes to stay in the house and never leave.”
"Huh?" Miao Miaowan covered her mouth in surprise and said, "Is that so?"
“Yes.” Cui Mianyue turned to Yu Tianxing and said, “Junior Brother Tianxing, I’m hungry.”
Yu Tianxing stood up: "It's time to start cooking. I'll go find the manager."
"Thank you for your trouble, junior brother. I feel really at ease traveling with you. These ten boxes of jewelry are a small token of my appreciation. Please accept them," Cui Mianyue said with a smile.
Ji Mingran thought for a moment, then slid off Yu Tianxing and remained.
"You're too kind, Senior Sister." Yu Tianxing nodded and headed to the back room of the inn.
Watching the departing figure, Cui Mianyue sat down as if she had no bones, casually playing with her jade jewelry and saying, "I just received a message from the sect."
The crowd selecting jewelry stopped and stared at her.
"I heard that early this morning, a junior sister was found dead in her residence, her head and limbs separated, the scene was horrific."
A moment of silence fell over the scene.
Jiang Chaoxing asked, "Do you know who did it?"
"Senior Sister said they're still investigating." Cui Mianyue grabbed handfuls of accessories and let them slip through her fingers, her expression unreadable. "Luckily, I got out with you all. Those who stayed inside would have been dragged into this."
After a moment's thought, Lin Wuqi asked, "Has it begun?"
Miao Miaowan and Song Heyi exchanged a glance but remained silent.
"Perhaps," Cui Mianyue said casually. She raised her eyes, her tone becoming lighter: "Junior Brother Tianxing, you're back? How is it? Have they prepared the meal?"
"I'm about to bring it." Yu Tianxing returned.
Ji Mingran rested his chin on his hand and watched the person with dark, indifferent eyes walk in. He walked around her location and paused. A cool, delicate fragrance wafted into his nose. Yu Tianxing chose to sit down next to her and returned to silence.
Everyone put down the accessories they had chosen, sat together, and chatted happily.
No one mentioned what had just happened.
Ji Mingran glanced at the others, then at Yu Tianxing's profile, and whispered, "Yu Tianxing, so you weren't always this smart."
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