Chapter 150: What Are You Thinking About

As Ji Yuan and the old dragon departed, the lingering warmth in the garden rapidly dissipated. The clash of hot and cold air currents briefly created a peculiar scene: a shroud of white mist.

Seeing the white mist spread around them, the emperor momentarily grew excited. The surrounding guests and servants also held their breath, all believing that a divine being, summoned by His Majesty, was about to reveal itself.

At that moment, only Yin Zhaoxian remained calm, knowing that the so-called "divine being" would not appear.

Indeed, the white mist came and went quickly, dissipating completely within moments. Some of the mist condensed into dew drops on the green leaves and red flowers, only to be swiftly frozen by the cold weather.

After waiting for a long time in the central garden until his hands and feet grew cold, Emperor Yuande finally seemed to accept that no divine being would appear, and he sighed.

"Let's go back. I am tired and shall return to the palace!"

The disappointment following intense excitement left the emperor feeling somewhat weary.

"Your son respectfully bids farewell to Father Emperor!"

Prince Jin quickly expressed his intention to see off the emperor.

As the emperor prepared to leave, no one dared to return to the banquet hall on their own; they all followed behind him. Outside Prince Jin's manor, court eunuchs and guards had already prepared the imperial carriage, complete with warm braziers and hot tea inside.

Outside the manor, eunuchs placed a footstool for the emperor, empress, and imperial concubine to step onto the carriage.

After boarding, Emperor Yuande looked through the thick leather curtain of the carriage window at the gathering of people standing outside Prince Jin's manor.

"You may all return now."

"Respectfully see Your Majesty back to the palace!" "Farewell, Your Majesty!"

The group bid farewell in unison, bowing to the moving carriage, and only dared to straighten up after the sound of the wheels faded into the distance.

"Phew…"

Prince Jin let out a long breath, and the others also felt a sudden sense of relief.

"Let's go, we should return to the banquet hall to warm ourselves. Standing out here for so long has made us terribly cold!"

"Your Highness is right." "Yes, let's go, our hands and feet are numb with cold!"

The group hurried back to the banquet hall, where it was warm as spring inside. They eagerly discussed the auspicious signs they had witnessed earlier. Even Prince Jin, not one to defy convention, was more concerned with the auspicious omen appearing at his own manor than with the emperor's desire to see a divine being.

Li Mushu was even more courteous towards Yin Zhaoxian. After Yin Zhaoxian's murmuring had caught his attention, he noticed that among everyone present, it was only Yin Jinyuan who remained completely calm and unperturbed.

Such a person, with great composure and talent for governance, whose interactions that afternoon revealed a nuanced understanding of social conduct, made Li Mushu implicitly aware of Yin Zhaoxian's future prospects.

In the imperial capital, firecrackers still echoed intermittently. As Ji Yuan and the old dragon walked through the streets, they could see waves of vitality surging upwards, even forming reddish clouds of energy above the capital. Anyone with the spiritual insight to perceive this energy would undoubtedly be awed by its immense scale. At such a time, it was likely that even ordinary malevolent entities would not dare to appear.

"Mr. Ji, we've sampled the human prince's family banquet, and the scholar Yin Zhaoxian has also received some benefit. What's next? If there's nothing else, shall we go to the Tongtian River Water Mansion?"

The old dragon's constant suggestion to go into the water in the middle of winter left Ji Yuan a bit helpless. Perhaps he also had a mischievous desire to defeat Ji Yuan in a game of chess, but his real interest lay in what Ji Yuan planned to do next.

However, Ji Yuan actually had no specific purpose, at least not after leaving Prince Jin's manor.

"Elder Ying, please don't dwell on your Water Mansion tonight. Just consider it a leisurely stroll with me."

Their pace was naturally extraordinary. As they spoke, they had already passed through the former Wenqu Street, crossed the central East-West Grand Avenue, walked past Gongshi Lane where many aspiring scholars rented rooms, and also passed the chess hall Ji Yuan frequently visited, as well as numerous commoner homes.

Under the collection of energies, the chess pieces belonging to the old white jiao and the local earth god finally turned white, while those of the Zuo family and the one-armed swordsman Du Heng remained untouched for the time being.

By dawn, the old dragon felt he had figured out what Ji Yuan had been doing all night: he was clearly practicing some profound technique at an annual crucial juncture. He was itching with curiosity about what kind of wondrous method it was but found it inconvenient to ask.

After circling around like this, they returned to Gongshi Lane in the morning, just as Yin Zhaoxian was being sent back by Prince Jin's carriage. Shi Yusheng, who had reported the incident to no avail, let out a huge sigh of relief.

At the entrance of Gongshi Lane, seeing this scene, the old dragon thoughtfully looked at Ji Yuan beside him.

"Mr. Ji, the high hopes you place on this scholar, Yin Zhaoxian, seem rather extraordinary!"

Ji Yuan glanced at the old dragon, as if to say it was obvious, and casually replied.

"Firstly, it's out of concern for a friend. Secondly, what Master Yin will do in the future relates to the grand trend of humanity in Dazhen."

And Ji Yuan silently added: 'And thirdly, it could even influence the grand trend of heaven and earth.'

"Indeed, such vast righteousness is rare. Yin Zhaoxian certainly possesses the qualities of a virtuous minister. His talent and learning are outstanding, and now that he has gained support in the capital, it would be unreasonable for him to fail the examination."

The old dragon cast a glance in that direction, naturally observing the somewhat weary Yin Zhaoxian, while Shi Yusheng went entirely unnoticed. Then he suddenly turned his head and asked.

"After the Imperial Examinations, Mr. Ji, you won't disappear again, will you?"

"Elder Ying, please spare me. The incident with the River Goddess was merely a stroke of luck. If I had failed to control it and her mind had collapsed, you would have chased me out of the Water Mansion then and there. As for the Dragon Prince, I truly have no solution for him!"

Ji Yuan finally blurted out what he had held back all night. The old dragon, as if his thoughts had been exposed, found himself in a rare moment of awkwardness.

"Uh, ha ha ha ha… Mr. Ji, you jest…"

After all, Ji Yuan didn't want to embarrass the old dragon too much, so he quickly changed the subject.

"Indeed, I can't hide it from Elder Ying. Once the affairs in the capital are settled, I wish to find a quiet place to cultivate for a period. Before that, there's one more thing I need to do."

"Is it something interesting?"

The old dragon asked with keen interest, and Ji Yuan replied with a hint of helplessness.

"It's nothing particularly interesting. While traveling, I once met a mortal Daoist who insisted on fortune-telling for me. As a result of that single divination, he lost half his lifespan. I've always been a pauper, so apart from barely preserving his remaining life, I had no spiritual elixirs to offer. But now that I have dragon ambergris, I can help him replenish his vital energy."

The old dragon's eyes widened.

If even Ji Yuan could only barely sustain the Daoist's life, how severe must that heaven-defying backlash have been?

After recent events, Ji Yuan's abilities had earned the old dragon's affirmation; he was truly a capable individual.

"Wait a moment, how could that Daoist possibly have divined your affairs?"

When the old dragon tried to find Ji Yuan, he couldn't divine Mr. Ji's whereabouts at all. So why could this Daoist divine his own fortune to the point of almost losing his life?

Ji Yuan gave a slightly embarrassed chuckle and said no more. The old dragon, puzzled, assumed Ji Yuan found it inconvenient to elaborate and didn't press further.

"In any case, if I decide on a place for cultivation, I will certainly inform Elder Ying, so you won't have trouble finding me!"

"That would be excellent!"

The old dragon smiled. To him, a friend with a congenial disposition and great ability was incredibly rare, primarily because there were so few he held in high regard.

At this very moment, in Bingzhou, five or six thousand *li* away, a Daoist who had just set up a stall for interpreting fortune sticks related to marriage outside the City God Temple suddenly felt his nose itch. Rubbing it vigorously several times did no good.

"Ah-choo! Ah-choo! Ah-choo!"

He sneezed three times in a row, and two streams of clear snot shot from his reddened nose.

"Strange, can anyone besides Qi Wen be thinking of me?"

Daoist Qingsong mumbled to himself, wiping his nose and shaking his hand.

"Ugh, how disgusting!" "Stay away from him!"

"Oh no, he flung it this way!"

Pilgrims hurrying to be the first to offer incense on the first day of the lunar month or to offer early morning incense all veered around the stall, while only the young Daoist beside him frantically searched for a handkerchief.

Half a day later, at the Tongtian River Water Mansion, a dragon-shaped being arrived in a hidden retreat. Outside the main hall, it transformed into an old man—it was the true dragon, Ying Hong.

Dragon Prince Ying Feng hurried out to greet him.

"Father, are you alone? Where's Uncle Ji?"

Seeing his son looking around expectantly, the old dragon let out a cold snort.

"Stop looking, he's not here!"

"What?! Uncle Ji didn't even give you face? This is…"

The old dragon shook his head and walked directly into the palace. His son, who had been fine after learning his sister had received benefits, had become restless after hearing his own speculation that the white jiao of Chunmu River also seemed to have had an opportunity.

"Hmph, always talking about 'Uncle Ji' whether there's a reason or not. Do you think Ji Yuan can't sense your intentions? Give it a rest!"

With that exasperated remark, the old dragon ignored his son and returned to his sand pool in the rear water palace to nap.