Chapter 167 Borrowing a Knife to Kill

Wei Rui and Kuang Cheng had never practiced Taoism. They were both well-read and well-versed in etiquette, so they were very reserved towards each other.

At the same time, due to the obvious conflict between the Pro-Immortal Faction and the Immortal Supervisor, the two rarely had the opportunity to communicate privately, and usually only communicated through letters.

So from the time they met until now, the number of times they had met combined was not as many as the number of times Ji You had retorted to Rulong.

So three days ago, the two of them made an appointment to go out together to enjoy the lanterns during the Moon Festival.

This is how everything in the world is. It is much easier to handle if you have a reason.

Just like there are bandits in the city mountains at night, so people can be killed, it is natural to deliberately encounter them while watching the lanterns on the Moon Festival.

Ji You has only one comment on this: forgetting friends for the sake of beauty.

"So the beauty has a date. No wonder she looks so energetic today."

"I'm not too excited..."

"Give me two taels of silver!"

"?"

Ji You spread out his hands: "On such a beautiful night with a full moon and beautiful flowers, and you have a beautiful woman by your side, shouldn't you let me go to the street and buy a lantern to play with?"

Kuang Cheng reached into his bosom, took out his purse, and took out two cents of loose silver.

Ji You put the silver in his arms and said, "If you are in love with me, don't just talk about it. What's the point of writing letters? Take the opportunity to make love. My village is in urgent need of people."

Kuang Cheng blushed: "Miss Wei and I are friends of gentlemen, Brother Ji is really reckless..."

"Reproduction has been the core mission of the human race since ancient times. How can you say that Meng Lang is being reckless? You, a scholar, are too pedantic."

"In short, it is Meng Lang. Kuang has great aura, so naturally he cannot... cannot act like this. Therefore, Master Ji needs to make efforts personally on the population issue."

Ji You picked up a dumpling and said, "I tried hard a few days ago, but was rejected."

Kuang Cheng looked up after hearing the voice, and after thinking for a long time, he said, "If this one doesn't agree, you can change to another one, or take a concubine first. Qingyun has had this tradition since ancient times. Brother Ji can do it first, and the choice of the first wife can be decided on a later date, and it won't delay the endless life."

Ji You stretched out his hand from the table: "Give it to me."

Kuang Cheng was shocked: "Why do I have to pay money just to talk to Brother Ji?"

"I asked you to show me the holy book you read."

"Brother Ji, are you interested in the sage books?"

"I really want to know what exciting things are taught in it."

Kuang Cheng heard that Ji You was joking, so he lowered his head and ate dumplings in silence.

After dinner, the night had already come, and the two left the courtyard and walked towards Chunhua Lane.

At this time in Shengjing City, the lights were bright and endless, as if the stars had fallen into the mortal world.

The streets were full of young men and women in gorgeous clothes, walking along with smiles on their faces, their faces illuminated by the lanterns hung on the street.

Kuang Cheng and Wei Rui agreed to meet at the entrance of the Lantern Festival, and that entrance was on the road that Ji You had to take to return to the mountain, so the two of them went forward together.

The Lantern Festival was held in the East Market. The two walked through the streets and alleys to get here, and saw a high flower stand in front of them. There were colorfully painted paper lanterns hanging high above, looking dazzling and bright.

Wei Rui was standing under the light at this time, her beautiful face illuminated by the firelight and her figure was slim and charming.

But she was not alone. Standing in front of her was Dou Yuankong, the son of Minister Dou, and several students from the outer college, such as Fang Jincheng, Puyang Xing, and Lu Hanyan.

In addition, there were two young men beside Dou Yuankong. Although they were wearing human clothes, there were clearly visible fine scales on their necks and short horns hidden in their hair.

Dou Yuankong was saying something to Wei Rui at this time, as if inviting him to travel together, but Wei Rui gently waved her hand with a look of resistance.

"Mr. Dou, I have an appointment tonight."

"Who? Princess Changle?"

Wei Rui pursed her lips and then shook her head slightly.

Dou Yuankong suddenly thought of something, and his expression gradually turned ugly: "Is it that poor scholar again?"

Wei Rui raised her head, her pretty eyebrows slightly wrinkled: "Mr. Kuang is an official of Daxia, not some poor scholar."

"Even so, he is still a poor scholar. How can he be worthy of you!"

Fang Jincheng was standing aside at this time, somewhat puzzled.

He had been feeling depressed after comprehending the Heavenly Book these days, and happened to receive an invitation from Dou Yuankong, so he decided to go out and relax. However, as soon as he got here, he found Dou Yuankong running towards a woman, and later he learned that this was Wei Li's granddaughter.

Dou Yuankong seemed to be interested in this woman, but she was ruthless.

But what about the poor scholar? As a child of an immortal family, he rarely heard of this term.

"What poor scholar?"

Dou Yuankong turned his head and glanced at Fang Jincheng, his face darkening. "He is a villager from a remote countryside. He went to Beijing to take the exam two years ago and was fortunate enough to pass. After the Qiling incident last year, a large number of refugees came to Shengjing. This scholar has been pestering Ruier by offering porridge to the refugees."

After the words fell, not only Fang Jincheng was a little surprised, even Puyang Xing and Lu Hanyan couldn't help but raise their eyebrows.

The world of Qingyun has always been strictly hierarchical, with immortal sects, aristocratic families, royal relatives, and nobles in the capital who practice immortality. Mortals don't even have the qualifications to be included, let alone mortals from the countryside.

Moreover, they have had a lot of contact in the past few days and know that Dou Yuankong is not a good person.

It is really strange that a poor scholar has been harassing the girl he likes for half a year and has not died yet.

"Wouldn't it be OK to just break his legs?"

Wei Rui's face changed when she heard this: "Sir, who I associate with is probably none of your business."

Fang Jincheng glanced at Dou Yuankong, but found that the other party did not refute, which made him feel even more strange.

But at this moment, a voice suddenly sounded from the street, instantly attracting everyone's attention.

"Miss Wei, what happened here?"

Kuang Cheng walked towards them and looked at Wei Rui with concern, and also noticed Dou Yuankong and his group.

The scholar was weak and frail, unable to even tie a chicken, but he showed no fear at this moment.

He had invited the girl, so he had to protect her well...

Fang Jincheng, Puyang Xing and Lu Hanyan turned around and saw that he was indeed a mortal with no spiritual energy in his body and looked a little frail.

To them, such people, even if they were officials of Daxia, would not be cared for if they died without the background of immortal cultivators.

After all, it is an indisputable fact that immortal power is higher than imperial power.

But the strange thing is that ordinary mortals would tremble when they see immortal cultivators, even if they don’t kneel down, but this scholar could walk up to them openly without fear.

On the contrary, Dou Yuankong didn't say a word, as if he was enduring it.

But at this moment, a figure following the scholar suddenly caught everyone's sight.

The man was also wearing a scholar's long gown and walked over. In an instant, several people in the room realized what was strange.

"Miss Wei, what happened here?"

Ji You walked closer and bowed like Kuang Cheng, asking the same questions word for word.

Wei Rui bowed slowly: "Hello, Mr. Kuang, Hello, Mr. Ji. We just chatted with acquaintances, nothing happened."

At this moment, Lu Hanyan and Puyang Xing could not help but straighten their backs, raised their hands and crossed them in front of them, and bowed slightly.

Ji You looked at Dou Yuankong: "Mr. Dou is here to enjoy the lanterns too? But Miss Wei seems to have an appointment with someone else, how about joining me?"

Dou Yuankong held his breath: "That's not necessary!"

"Hey, don't be shy."

After Ji You finished speaking, he turned to look at Kuang Cheng: "Where are you going?"

Kuang Cheng glanced at Wei Rui and said, "Go west along the road."

"Then Brother Yuankong and I will head east. Since this is not on our way, you two can go first."

Kuang Cheng bowed to Ji You, then looked at Wei Rui.

Wei Rui's eyes flashed clearly, and then she nodded slightly. The talented man and the beautiful woman walked into the crowded Lantern Street.

At this time, Ji You turned around and looked at Dou Yuankong, Lu Hanyan and others.

He didn't like to interfere in other people's love affairs, and he never thought of bullying others like the children of aristocratic families, because matters between men and women, no matter how many people are involved, should be relatively equal since ancient times.

What he is doing now is to provide Kuang Cheng with an equal environment.

"Brother Yuankong, I have two coins. I will buy you a lantern later."

Ji You was alone and had no intention of visiting the Lantern Festival, but at this moment he suddenly became interested and walked forward.

I carefully selected the items at the stalls along the street, thinking to myself, I bought lanterns for Yuankong, so Yuankong must give me a good gift in return.

Dou Yuankong's mouth trembled slightly, and he saw Puyang Xing whispered: "If you didn't say he was a country bumpkin, how could that scholar know Senior Brother Ji?"

"He is also a country bumpkin..."

"?"

Hearing this, everyone was speechless, and then they remembered that Ji You also had the title of a rural private cultivator.

Dou Yuankong pinched his sleeves tightly: "They are all from Yuyang County, and it is said that they grew up together."

Fang Jincheng looked at him at this time and thought to himself, no wonder you were so forbearing just now.

Ji You had already walked a long way forward. He could not help but turn his head and spoke softly, but his voice was like thunder rolling in: "No one wants to swim with me?"

As the voice fell, Lu Hanyan and Puyang Xing followed and asked, "What is the relationship between Senior Brother and that scholar?"

"Probably a life-and-death friendship."

"I see……"

Ji You frowned slightly at this time: "Who are those two monsters?"

Puyang Xing raised his hand upon hearing this: "This is the first time we've met them, but according to Dou Yuankong, they are all envoys from the demon race."

Ever since the demons began to trade with Jiuzhou, demons have become common in human territory, but most of them have yellow eyes, while the two that traveled with Dou Yuankong have blue eyes.

Previously in Shengjing City, he had fought with the guards around the Demon Emperor's son and became curious about the color of their eyes.

Later I learned that yellow eyes represent the common people among the demon race, while blue eyes represent the nobility.

The two young men from the demon tribe had already walked up and looked at Ji You with curiosity in their eyes.

They knew that the human race was divided into aristocratic families under the Immortal Sect. Seeing their reactions just now, they thought Ji You was a child of an aristocratic family. But then they found out that he was a private cultivator in the countryside, and their curiosity grew even more.

"This person entered the Heavenly Academy a year ago and was the first to comprehend the Heavenly Book. He then mastered the Seven Swords and became famous all over the world."

"Half a year ago, he learned the sword art of Lingjian Mountain and gained extraordinary combat power. He killed eighteen people in the Tongxuan realm and established a family in Fengzhou."

"You two should have heard that there is a thousand-year-old family with the surname Chu in the human race, and even the second son of the family was defeated by him."

Dou Yuankong has always disliked Ji You, but seeing that these two are interested in Ji You, he did not hesitate to praise him and praised his fighting power to the sky.

Seeing this scene, Fang Jincheng couldn't help but frown slightly, wondering what he was thinking.

After hearing this, the two envoys from the demon clan became even more interested. They looked at each other and said, "So there are such people in the Heavenly Academy."

"Ji You's divine power is not limited to this. He even fought to a draw with the guards around your Ninth Prince."

"?"

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When the Demon Emperor's ninth son came to Shengjing, Ji You did have a conflict with his guards in order to save a child from a demon beast.

But because the demon tribe had just entered Jiuzhou and was restrained, the two sides did not fight each other violently, so it would not be appropriate to say that it ended in a draw.

But Dou Yuankong made it sound like it was true, as if he wanted to make the two of them more interested in it...

However, the two demons looked at each other and suddenly seemed to understand something. They turned to look at Dou Yuankong and said, "After saying so much, Mr. Dou actually wants to kill someone with a borrowed knife?"

Hearing the voice, Dou Yuankong was stunned for a moment.

As the night deepened, the lights became brighter.

Under pressure from the bandits, everyone began to travel together, and Ji You often asked them whether they were happy or not.

During this time, Lu Hanyan asked about the experience of perfectly breaking through the lower three realms and entering the Tongxuan realm, so Ji You told her some of his experiences and insights.

He had eaten many meals with Lu Qingqiu and had received her spirit sword. Now he was helping her train her younger sister, which could be considered a gift in return.

Seeing the other party telling her about the breakthrough one by one, Lu Hanyan couldn't help but pursed her red lips.

Everyone in the courtyard said that Ji You's words "It was the Heavenly Book that inspired me" were just an excuse, but after listening to him explain in detail about his experience in breaking through the realm, they became a little uncertain.

Because my sister had said before that Ji You didn’t seem to be the type of person who would keep secrets.

So, it might really be the Book of Heaven that came to inspire him that night.

At this time, the night was getting darker, and the candlelight of the lanterns gradually dimmed. Everyone said goodbye one after another, first Fang Jincheng, then Puyang Xing, then Lu Hanyan, and finally Dou Yuankong, who was holding a lantern in his hand. He left in a hurry with the two monsters as if he had been hollowed out.

Ji You turned back from East Street and came to the Liu'an Bridge, where he saw countless young men and women reluctant to leave and finally waved goodbye.

At this time, Kuang Cheng and Wei Rui walked towards the bridge.

The two of them had just gone to the brothel on the west side, where folk artists were performing. When they returned, their eyes were full of smiles, and it was obvious that they were in a passionate relationship, but they probably hadn't made any physical advances yet.

"Brother Ji, are you done shopping? Why are you alone?"

"They all left. They didn't seem very happy to be traveling with me."

Ji You's waist suddenly glowed, and an exquisite box appeared in his hand: "Pen, ink, paper, and inkstone are all top-quality items. They are considered as gifts for the moon."

Kuang Cheng reached out to take the box, opened it and took a look, then was a little stunned.

Because he could tell just from the appearance that the ink, paper and inkstone were indeed very valuable. Even if he bought them from a real merchant, they would probably cost close to a hundred taels of silver.

"Brother Ji...did you pick up someone else's wallet on the street?"

Ji You shook his head: "No, I just spent two coins to buy Dou Yuankong a lantern, but I didn't expect him to be so polite and give me so many things in return."

Wei Rui looked a little dazed. After looking for a long time, she raised her head and said, "Master Ji and Dou Yuankong, so they are such close friends?"

Ji You shook his head: "No, I've only seen him a few times."

"That……"

Kuang Cheng looked up at Ji You at this moment, as if he understood something: "Brother Ji, you are really professional..."

Ji You raised the corner of his mouth: "I was delayed by the reputation of being a disciple of the inner court of Tianshu Academy, otherwise I wouldn't even have to send the lanterns."

On the second day after the Moon Festival and Lantern Festival, the streets seemed much quieter.

A sedan chair came in front of the Nishan Sacred Road, and then the Supervisor of the Immortals, dressed in official uniform, came alone to the inner courtyard of the Tianshu Academy.

Afterwards, the decree of the Heavenly Academy flashed again in the blue sky for half a day.

This decree can only be used by the Palace Master, and the last time it appeared was to clear the Dan Sect’s name by helping the Zheng family’s ancestor ascend to heaven.

"The Barbarians sent an envoy to the Demon Tribe?"

In the Director's Office, Lang Hetong was somewhat surprised when he heard the news.

Qin Rong nodded after hearing this: "Yes, this happened a few days ago. After the news came out, it attracted a lot of attention. It is said that the Barbarian delegation received a warm reception from the Monster Tribe, so the Emperor of Daxia is also preparing to send an envoy to prevent the Monster Tribe from suddenly turning against them."

After the incident at Qiling, the demons and barbarians felt that the human race was losing its luck and could not wait to come to Jiuzhou.

However, due to historical reasons, the two tribes did not unite. Otherwise, if the Zhenbei Army alone relied on guarding the pass, Jiuzhou might have fallen by now.

The immortals of the human race have been high and mighty since ancient times and have not paid much attention to worldly affairs. Be it war, disease, or the life and death of the people, these are all trivial matters to those who are devoted to the great way.

But everyone knows that the purpose of the demons and barbarians is to obtain the destiny of heaven.

And luck is related to becoming an immortal.

They are merely the heads of the Tianshu Academy and have no idea how to seize the so-called destiny of heaven.

But since it has attracted the constant coveting of the two big clans, it means that the matter of luck is definitely not groundless.

And this is a fatal thing for the immortals.

"The Heavenly Academy issued an order to the world yesterday, telling other immortal sects to select people to escort the Great Xia delegation into the Snow Region to meet the Demon Emperor."

Lang Hetong narrowed his eyes: "If we want to cross the Northern Plains, we will definitely encounter barbarians."

Qin Rong nodded: "If you are not at the Rong Dao realm and leave the Hantie Pass, you will surely die, so all the major immortal sects have sent masters at the Rong Dao realm and above in the past few days."

Lang Hetong looked at the dispatch list and said after a long silence: "Then... why is Ji You also on this list?"

"On the night of the Moon Festival, Dou Yuankong, the son of Minister Dou, entertained two of the demon envoys and ran into Ji You. It was said that he was praised as a god from heaven. Several nobles in the demon envoys were going back, so they specifically asked for him to escort them."

"Do they have a personal relationship?"

Qin Rong raised his eyes: "They have a personal grudge."

Lang Hetong narrowed his eyes instantly after hearing this: "But it's not their turn to have a say in what happens at our Tianshu Academy, right?"

"That's true. Our Tianshu Academy is the Holy Sect of Daxia, with great power throughout the country. Let alone Dou Yuankong, even the demons can't tell us what to do."

"Then why is he still on the list?"

Qin Rong took a deep breath and said, "Yesterday, several elders from the inner court came to me and said that Ji You was famous and capable of taking on important tasks, so he helped Dou Yuankong."

Lang Hetong was startled after hearing this, and then he realized something: "Is it because of Fengzhou?"

"Yes, he went on a killing spree in Fengzhou and angered many people, otherwise he wouldn't even be unable to enter the Immortal Palace. The most important thing is that Fengzhou's Immortal Gate tax this year is too little."

"I heard it's only 10%?"

Qin Rong nodded slowly: "Although Fengzhou is poor, it is very large in area, and the annual taxes are actually not small. Do you think those foreign immortal manors really eat up so much? No, those taxes are all given to the noble families, to us."

Lang Hetong couldn't help but sit on the chair: "If you enter Beiyuan from Tongxuan Realm, you will definitely die."

“Ji You is not an ordinary Tongxuan realm, you know, he can kill Rong Dao.”

"The Rong Dao of Xianzhuang is not a Rong Dao at all. It is just an empty realm. If it is brought to our Tianshuyuan, only two Tongxuan can kill it."

Qin Rong picked up the list and looked at it for a few seconds. "If he dies, everyone will be happy. If he survives, he probably won't act so arrogantly in the future. Either way, it's a good thing. Dou Yuankong may not know that this is really a stroke of genius."

Ji You established a noble family and took charge of the taxes in Fengzhou, which was in line with the Qingyun Immortal Rules.

The Qingyun Immortal Rules are the face of the seven major immortal sects and involve countless things. No one is willing to tear it apart and cause unrest among the human race.

But killing him by the hands of the barbarians would be extremely natural and shameless.

Lang Hetong picked up the teacup on the table and said, "Ji You is now an inner court disciple and has the right to refuse the order of the head court. Besides, he is not a fool. I don't think he will agree."

"What if I give him ten thousand taels of gold and three thousand Snow Region Spiritual Stones?"

Hearing this, Lang Hetong held his breath instantly.

Qin Rong sighed: "Everyone has weaknesses, Ji You's is the most obvious, it can be said that he is at the mercy of others..."

"Poor people don't deserve to live."

After the Moon Festival, the temperature begins to drop continuously, and the feeling of late autumn gradually deepens.

A cold current came from the north, causing a lot more frost on the leaves in the morning.

At this time, Ji You was making a fire in the bedroom, not for heating, but for drinking tea in the morning.

When the tea is ready, pour it into the teacup, rinse it and brew it, and the courtyard will be filled with the fragrance of tea.

His fifteenth micro-reflection was almost at the middle stage, where he sat still, but the blood in his body was constantly roaring, emitting a hot breath.

In addition, his spiritual power is also getting stronger, and his understanding of Taoism is also increasing.

At this moment, there was a knock on the door. Ji You said "Come in", and saw a disciple from the Headmaster's Court pushing the door and walking in.

"A letter for me?"

"No, it was Master Qin who invited me."

Ji You raised his eyes upon hearing the voice and could not help but sneer: "The Director's Office has never been looking for good things, so I won't go."

The disciples of the Headmaster's Court were slightly startled when they heard this: "Uh, Headmaster Qin said that there is money to be made."

"lead the way."

Ji You suddenly became interested. He put down his teacup and strode down the mountain with the disciples of the Head Office.

(asking for monthly ticket)

(End of this chapter)