Chapter 119: Night Rain on Banana Leaf Mountain

The atmosphere in the teahouse turned a little strange. Ji Yuan hadn't paid close attention earlier, but now, opening his eyes a bit wider, he looked around. He noticed that, judging by their bearing, only about six or seven people, including himself and the teahouse owner, seemed truly uninvolved.

The others, who had previously seemed ordinary, now exuded a different aura. In terms of vital energy, the burly man directly opposite him was the most prominent, followed by the two women nearby.

All their gazes were subtly directed at Ji Yuan. They didn't seem to be rivals; rather, they appeared to be working together.

Ji Yuan felt a sense of resignation, but certainly no fear. After all, they were merely ordinary martial artists; they posed no threat to his safety. If he wanted to avoid trouble and simply leave, he doubted anyone could keep up with him.

So, he simply picked up his teacup, drained its contents, and then, with a look of resignation, glanced at the burly man across from him.

"Uh... my friend," he began, "traveling with animals is too expensive and troublesome to manage. It's better to walk. It might be a bit tiring, but it's more peaceful."

After speaking, Ji Yuan turned to closely observe the seven- or eight-year-old boy who was tapping the teacup. Although not immediately obvious, the more he looked, the more peculiar the child seemed. Enduring a slight ache, he opened his eyes wider and suddenly discovered a layer of gray, mist-like substance around the boy.

It was this mist that had initially prevented Ji Yuan from immediately noticing the child's peculiarity. But once his gaze pierced through the mist, the boy's appearance became perfectly clear, revealing a lively intelligence.

Seeing Ji Yuan look at the child beside them, one of the two women narrowed her eyes and spoke.

"Sir, you look very familiar," she said. "It seems we met a few days ago in Juntian Prefecture, and now we meet again outside the city."

The other woman interjected.

"Could it be that you took a liking to us sisters when you saw us that day? Heheheheh..."

Ji Yuan was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. He hadn't even clearly seen what the two women looked like, but he recognized their voices as those of the people from that day.

He had been curious about the boy, but now it felt like a confrontation was about to erupt. What more was there to say? Ji Yuan had already encountered plenty of strange situations.

Ji Yuan sighed and smiled.

"Well, what a coincidence this world offers," he said. "Whether you two ladies believe it or not, I have no intention of getting into trouble. Since this little teahouse doesn't welcome me, I suppose I'll have to take my leave..."

Ji Yuan saw no need to engage in a tense standoff with this group over a mere misunderstanding; it was both pointless and uninteresting.

After finishing the tea in his hand, Ji Yuan stood up, acutely aware of the burly man's intense stare. He offered an apologetic word to the young shop attendant, who had been about to come over and serve him.

"Young man, don't trouble yourself," he said. "I won't be resting here."

With that, Ji Yuan adjusted his satchel, picked up his umbrella, and after one last glance at the roughly seven- or eight-year-old child, he left the bench and walked out of the teahouse. He continued westward along the main road, showing no inclination to linger.

Inside the teahouse, the burly man and the two women watched Ji Yuan's retreating figure. Their bodies were slightly tensed, prepared for him to suddenly turn and launch an attack.

After the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, Ji Yuan's figure in the distance had already blurred, and he still showed no sign of looking back.

Truth be told, at such a distance, launching an attack would have been meaningless; he was too far.

"Could this person truly be just a passerby?"

The burly man murmured his doubt, looking at the two women beside him. One of them replied with a frown.

"But we definitely saw him; we couldn't be mistaken," she said. "That day in the cloth shop in Juntian Prefecture, he also had that... unrestrained and casual demeanor..."

The other woman added:

"This person is clearly not ordinary. As Mo Tong said, Juntian Prefecture is quite a distance from here. We only saw him in the city two days ago. How could someone traveling on foot alone arrive here today, unless he rode a carriage or horse midway? Otherwise, wouldn't he be utterly exhausted?"

"Hmm, just now when I tried to probe him," the burly man said, "he seemed to have noticed something, but his tone was quite resigned."

As Mo Tong, the burly man, spoke, he kept staring into the distance down the road, where Ji Yuan's figure was already growing fainter.

The child who had been continuously tapping the bottom of the teacup finally stopped his noisy "bang-bang-bang..." and looked in the direction Ji Yuan had left.

He quietly told the woman beside him, "I want fried crispy pork."

"We only have biscuits and dried meat. Do you want some?"

"No! I'd rather starve to death!"

The child stubbornly retorted, then resumed his "bang-bang-bang..." tapping. The woman beside him rolled her eyes, knowing he would eat eventually when he truly got hungry.

***

Three nights later, on Banana Leaf Mountain, located at the border between Juntian Prefecture and Xining Prefecture, Ji Yuan was walking along a mountain path in the pouring rain, holding an umbrella.

Banana Leaf Mountain got its name because, when viewed from its highest peak, its overall shape resembled a banana leaf. Its mountain range was not particularly large, not even comparable to Old Birch Mountain where he had first encountered the two Jade Embrace children. It stretched for over thirty li between the two prefectures, covering an area of just over ten li in circumference.

Master Ji had a habit: whenever it rained, he liked to slow his pace. This was because on rainy days, he could clearly "see" the beautiful scenery of the mountains and rivers and "touch" all things on the earth along with the sound of the rain.

It was the same now; rain had been falling continuously since before nightfall. Ji Yuan had been walking leisurely for quite a while when he "heard" a building ahead.

Drawing closer, he caught a faint scent of sandalwood. Upon seeing the interior furnishings, he confirmed it was indeed a mountain god temple.

Holding his umbrella, he ducked under the eaves, then closed it and shook off the water. Pushing open the temple door, Ji Yuan observed the small temple with a relaxed expression.

This mountain god temple was only a few zhang deep. Though it appeared old and had no resident caretaker, it shouldn't be considered abandoned. The altar, after all, was quite tidy, and there were remnants of offerings, suggesting that local villagers from the mountainside would come to worship during festivals or for specific reasons. Naturally, it was mostly empty at other times.

Upon closer inspection of the mountain god statue, its depiction was unusual. Although it wore robes, its facial bones were quite prominent, and there were two bulging bumps on its forehead. The sculptor had carved several swirling cloud patterns on these bumps, leaving Ji Yuan unsure whether they represented horns or mere swellings.

There were no traces of divine light from a Golden Body manifestation on the mountain god statue. However, faint, exceptionally weak traces of incense power did linger and entwine around it. It was clear at a glance that this was not a true deity. Combined with its unusual appearance, it was likely a naturally occurring spirit creature attempting to use the power of incense and human wishes to accelerate its connection to the earth and mountain ley lines, thereby achieving the status of a mountain god.

By nature, minor deities embodied as spirit creatures cannot stay long in their temples. They only return to gather incense and partake in offerings when they sense villagers performing rituals.

Ji Yuan opened his Dharma Eyes. In just a few glances, he could tell through the statue that this so-called "mountain god" was still far from achieving true cultivation. Moreover, though Banana Leaf Mountain was small, it was still a mountain, spanning over ten li in circumference; it wasn't as simple as being a local earth god for a small manor or village.

With the meager incense offerings of this small temple, sustained and accumulated over years, coupled with diligent self-cultivation and its nature as a spirit creature, it would take a century and enduring tribulations to achieve any significant progress—and even then, only a limited amount. "Hmm, if it accidentally perishes midway, then all efforts would be in vain."

"Cultivation is difficult!"

Ji Yuan sighed, then closed the temple door and offered an apologetic word to the statue. He pulled a meditation mat to a corner and sat down to rest.

He pulled out his *Heretical Accounts* from his robes. Reading "realistic novels" on a rainy night like this had its own unique charm.

Inside the mountain god temple, there was an iron brazier, likely for burning paper offerings. Nearby were kindling and charcoal, seemingly provided for the convenience of villagers and pilgrims seeking temporary shelter. However, Ji Yuan didn't need firelight and felt no cold, so he naturally didn't need to light a fire.

He read for about half an hour, then switched to the *Tongming Scroll*. He happened to turn to a section discussing speculations and understandings of the "God-Binding Technique," which suggested that true God-Binding might have commonalities with the decrees of powerful masters. Clearly, the author of the book did not fully understand the God-Binding Technique.

Ji Yuan instinctively glanced at the mountain god statue in the temple. Previously, Qiu Feng from Jade Embrace Mountain had given him a partial text on God-Binding, which he had long since thoroughly studied.

The partial text, having been comprehended by Qiu Feng over more than ten years, contained numerous insights and records. Its completeness was actually quite high, but it lacked the crucial divine essence. Thus, aside from helping one's own spirit cultivation, it held little other significance.

However, in reality, ever since Ji had fortuitously obtained the extraordinary, all-encompassing divine ability "Imperial Edict," he had, to some extent, gained the ability to reconstruct the God-Binding Technique. After all, a true Imperial Edict was a notch above even a powerful master's decree.

But theory was one thing; no matter how high the feasibility, it ultimately hadn't been proven by facts.

Of course, while Ji Yuan pondered, he had no real intention of trying it out. He had no reason to; even a minor deity in a lesser temple was still a god, and one shouldn't casually bully a god just because of one's own cultivation.

As he was pondering, Ji Yuan's heart suddenly stirred. He heard some unusual sounds.

Not long after, the temple door was pushed open with a "bang" from the outside. Seven drenched figures rushed into the temple. They quickly scanned the interior but astonishingly failed to see Ji Yuan, who was naturally blending into the shadows of the corner.

"Hoo... hoo... they shouldn't have caught up, right?"

"Probably not... How is Young Master?"

"Still unconscious!"

"Mo Tong, how are your injuries?"

"It's nothing serious!"

Ji Yuan looked at the group of drenched, disheveled men and women. A faint scent of blood wafted over. Both their numbers and their condition were much worse. They were precisely the same group he had encountered earlier in the teahouse.