Chapter 178: Words Light but Meaning Heavy

Sun Ji's braised noodles and mixed offal were still as delicious as before, or perhaps more accurately, they tasted like home. After arriving in this world, Ning'an County had undoubtedly become Ji Yuan's hometown.

Over the years, Sun Ji's location hadn't changed, nor had its taste, portion sizes, or prices. Everything remained the same, except for the stall owner, who had grown a little older.

After finishing his meal, paying for the noodles, and exchanging a few pleasantries with old man Sun, Ji Yuan got up and headed towards Miaosi Lane.

Two of the shop assistants at Miaowai Restaurant had changed, but the owner, being a shrewd businessman, recognized Ji Yuan after a close look. He even remembered the general types of pastries and Huadiao wine Ji Yuan used to buy.

Even Ji Yuan was slightly surprised by this. Unlike Old Man Sun's stall, which catered mostly to regulars, Miaowai Restaurant had a significant daily flow of customers. As he left with two boxes of pastries and two pots of Huadiao wine, he found it comforting to be remembered, even though he understood the reason behind it. It's always nice when someone remembers you.

Business owners like him paid extra attention to special customers. In a small place like Ning'an County, Ji Yuan was someone the owner considered particularly important. Not only because of Ji Yuan himself, but also, to put it another way, he was a good friend of the top scholar.

It wasn't until Ji Yuan had left Miaowai Restaurant and was walking towards the City God Temple that a new, young assistant in the restaurant turned to the owner with a puzzled question.

“Owner, who was that Mr. Ji just now? You seemed very enthusiastic.”

The owner turned to look at his assistant. Before he could speak, a customer nearby, who had just exchanged pleasantries with Ji Yuan, interjected.

“That was Mr. Ji Yuan, who used to live at Ju'an Small Abode. Haven't you heard the story, young man, about the jujube tree that bore fruit overnight just for him?”

“Oh? He's real?”

“Heh heh heh…”

The owner behind the counter shook his head with a smile, while the customer chuckled.

“Oh, so you didn't believe that story, did you? You thought I was lying when I told you I'd tasted those April jujubes?”

“Of course not, haha…”

The assistant mumbled a vague reply to gloss over it, then quickly grabbed a cloth and went to clean tables elsewhere.

Meanwhile, the owner sighed with emotion.

“A worshipper who came for morning incense told me today that Tianniu Lane is filled with a fragrant aroma, the scent of jujube blossoms, spreading to all the surrounding lanes and shops along the street. So, Mr. Ji is back!”

The customer who had been teasing the assistant gasped in surprise.

“Is that true?”

“Yes, it must be true!”

Leaving aside the brief discussion about Ji Yuan at Miaowai Restaurant, he was now carrying pastries and wine to visit City God Song at the City God Temple.

Returning to Ning'an County, this courtesy was necessary. After offering a box of pastries and a pot of wine, he walked and chatted with the elderly City God, who appeared when Ji Yuan was leaving the temple. They conversed for a while as they strolled through the county, before finally bowing to each other in farewell.

With these necessary matters concluded, Ji Yuan returned to Ju'an Small Abode.

In the evening, after the county school dismissed classes, Yin Qing led the students in bowing to their master, and then they dispersed. Yin Qing and the little fox also hurried home with light steps.

By the common age calculation method in this world (by traditional Chinese reckoning), Yin Qing was now eighteen. He had grown from a child to a youth, and now to a young man. Given Yin Qing's knowledge and intelligence, he could attend a major academy for advanced studies at any time.

Yin Qing maintained the dignified and courteous demeanor of a scholar in public, but as soon as he reached quiet alleys or similar places, he would run swiftly, barely out of breath by the time he reached Tianniu Lane.

Upon arriving at Tianniu Lane, he once again caught the scent of blossoms.

“Ah, the scent is still here, it’s not fake. Little fox, let’s go see the big jujube tree.”

“Call me Hu Yun!”

“All right, all right, Hu Yun!”

The fox let out a raspy grimace.

As they reached the latter half of Tianniu Lane, the red fox jumped off Yin Qing's back, and together, they walked towards Ju'an Small Abode. Turning the corner into the alley, they suddenly noticed that the courtyard gate of Ju'an Small Abode seemed to be open.

“Huh! The gate is open?”

Yin Qing exclaimed in surprise. The fox, jumping onto Yin Qing's shoulder to get a better look, also spoke, puzzled.

“Could there be a thief inside?”

“Silly, a thief would just climb over the wall. Why would they bother opening the main gate? Besides, there's the big jujube tree there.”

As they spoke, they quickened their pace, a strange sense of anticipation building within them.

When they reached the courtyard gate of Ju'an Small Abode, they looked inside and saw Ji Yuan sitting at a stone table, reading a book. On the table were some pastries from Miaowai Restaurant.

“Mr. Ji!” “Woo…”

Both Yin Qing and Hu Yun exclaimed in pleasant surprise, the latter letting out a fox's yelp in her momentary excitement.

Ji Yuan put down his book, smiled at Yin Qing, and gestured towards the pastries on the table. He also smiled and nodded at the somewhat apprehensive red fox.

“Come in, both of you. I can't finish all these pastries from Miaowai Restaurant by myself.”

Yin Qing cheered and, together with the red fox, entered the courtyard. Once seated at the stone table, his mouth wouldn't stop, as he chattered away with Ji Yuan while eating.

The red fox was initially a bit reserved and dared not speak human language. It wasn't until Ji Yuan initiated conversation that he began to speak, exchanging amusing anecdotes with Yin Qing about learning human speech.

That evening, after Yin Qing had fallen asleep, the red fox quietly went outside Ju'an Small Abode and, with a light leap near the wall, jumped into the courtyard.

Ji Yuan hadn't retired for the night yet. He was sitting at the stone table in the courtyard, using a jade slip to point and draw something with his finger, as if he were revising the descriptions of the Old Dragon's Qiankun-containing storage techniques.

“Mr. Ji!”

“Hmm.”

Ji Yuan didn't turn to look at Hu Yun, continuing to gesture with the jade slip.

“Mr. Ji, I'm preparing to return to Mount Niukui to inform Mountain Lord that you've returned.”

“Oh.”

The red fox cautiously looked up at Ji Yuan's unchanging expression.

“So, you agree?”

Ji Yuan turned to look at him and smiled.

“Go on, then.”

The red fox imitated a human bow, clasping his paws together towards Ji Yuan, then immediately leaped over the courtyard wall and darted out of Tianniu Lane.

Under the starry night sky, a red fox with a bushy tail sprinted along the road outside Ning'an County, heading straight for Mount Niukui. In just over a quarter of an hour, he reached the foot of the mountain and agilely darted into the forest.

About two hours later, a fierce tiger's roar echoed from a cave in the deep parts of Mount Niukui's ancient forest.

“Awooo…”

The fallen leaves and dead branches outside the cave were swept away by the wind gusting from within.

The red fox huddled tremblingly against the cave wall, not daring to move. His fur seemed to be pulled straight, as if facing a fierce gale, from the recent tiger's roar.

In the darkness, a pair of glowing green tiger eyes emitted a captivating, eerie light.

“You said Mr. Ji is back!?”

The red fox quickly nodded in affirmation. “Yes, yes, yes!”

“Thump… thump… thump… thump…”

Mountain Lord Lu's massive tiger body paced back and forth in the cave, the soft dry grass beneath his paws rustling with each step, betraying a mix of excitement and slight impatience.

“Mr. Ji is back, Mr. Ji is back! Will he come to see me? Should I go to see him?”

“Thump… thump… thump… thump…”

The tiger's heavy body thudded on the cave floor, each step echoing in Hu Yun's heart. He dared only to lie quietly at the edge of the cave until Mountain Lord Lu spoke.

In fact, Hu Yun was experiencing a strange sense of amusement. He had never seen Mountain Lord Lu, the most terrifying being in Mount Niukui, behave like this.

The fierce tiger twitched his head and tail, muttering continuously.

“No, no, I can't. I'm a tiger spirit, and I'm so massive. If I went down the mountain like this, I'd scare people to death. The City God and Earth God wouldn't let me pass either…”

Suddenly, the tiger turned and stared at the red fox, making Hu Yun's fur stand on end. He had been secretly chuckling and thought he'd been caught.

“Mr. Ji just returned today, right? Did he mention me? Did he say he would come to see me?”

“Uh… well…” Hu Yun's heart pounded with anxiety. Mr. Ji hadn't mentioned Mountain Lord, much less said he'd visit him. But if he disappointed Mountain Lord Lu now, wouldn't he be eaten? “Um… Mr. Ji must have returned last night, as the big jujube tree blossomed last night… Then, when I went to the small courtyard tonight, Mr. Ji seemed to already know I was coming and even agreed for me to come tell Mountain Lord about his return…”

“And then?” A large tiger face was now less than two feet from the red fox, making the latter shiver and swallow hard.

‘There was no 'then'…’

“Oh, oh, oh, it’s all my fault, all my fault! My mouth isn't flexible enough since I just refined my horizontal bone. I was so nervous seeing Mr. Ji that I couldn't speak clearly. When I heard him say I could return to the mountain to inform Mountain Lord, I just… I couldn't wait and jumped out of the courtyard. Now that I think about it, he probably had more to say. It's all because I was too nervous…”

“You… roar…”

The tiger roared again in agitation, but there wasn't much anger behind the sound; rather, his excited body seemed to calm down slightly.

“Alas… Mr. Ji probably didn't mention me…”

As soon as this somewhat dejected voice fell, Ji Yuan, who had been leaning against the cave entrance outside, couldn't help but smile. So, this was another side to Mountain Lord Lu, the fierce tiger spirit who once filled him with awe.

“Long time no see, Mountain Lord Lu. I hope you've been well?”

Ji Yuan's voice entered the cave, startling both Hu Yun and Mountain Lord Lu inside. This was followed by an intense surge of surprise, with more surprise for the former and more joy for the latter.

A massive dark shadow leaped out of the cave, revealing in the moonlight a fierce tiger with slanted eyes, twice the size of an ordinary tiger.

As the fierce tiger leaped out of the cave, he saw Ji Yuan leaning against the mountain wall. Immediately, he brought his hind legs together to support his front body off the ground, placing his left paw over his right, hiding his claws within his paw pads. Lacking long sleeves, he used his fur to cover the backs of his paws, raising them to his forehead in a bow.

“Your humble student, Lu Shan Jun, greets you, Master!”

Although common people performed a simplified bow in daily life, Mountain Lord Lu, despite being a large fierce tiger, executed the most standard long bow, from the angle of his bend to the posture of his salute. Such solemnity was usually reserved for academy students greeting their masters or disciples greeting their esteemed teachers.

When Ji Yuan first arrived in this world, he didn't fully understand the daily etiquette. Years ago, before they parted ways outside the Mountain God Temple, he had received a similar bow from Mountain Lord Lu. Now, he could only accept it.

“Mountain Lord, please rise quickly. I have not taught you anything; I am truly undeserving of such a gesture!”

“Your guidance back then, Master, was like a new creation for me. How can you say you haven't taught me anything? My cultivation has progressed, and my spiritual perception has become clearer. Even if you look down upon me, a tiger demon, this reverence I show cannot be omitted.”

After bowing, the fierce tiger didn't forget to raise his paws to his brow and then lower them, performing the entire ritual meticulously.

Ji Yuan verbally urged the tiger spirit, but he didn't move, standing there to receive the bow, which secretly delighted Mountain Lord Lu.

“Very well, since that is the case, and as I am in a rather good mood today, I shall impart to you the essentials of demonic cultivation. Little fox in the cave, come out as well!”

He had discussed these matters with the Old Dragon a few times over the past two years, so he had plenty of knowledge to share.

Mountain Lord Lu's tiger eyes glowed intensely. His secret delight transformed into immense joy in that moment. He understood the profound significance of Ji Yuan's words, which weighed a thousand catties.

As for the red fox who had leaped out of the cave, he was still inwardly agonizing over teaching himself to say “Hu Yun,” but he didn't dare to correct Ji Yuan.