Chapter 194

Ji Yuan didn't need to read the letter; given his friend's personality, he could already guess its contents.

He opened his letter and quickly scanned it. As expected, it was a request for Ji Yuan to urge Yin Qing to go and study at Huiyuan Academy in the prefecture.

As Ji Yuan read Yin Zhaoxian's letter, he could sense the man's presence in every line. Master Yin, having served as an official for several years, now wrote with a grander, more majestic flair. His calligraphy had significantly improved since he used to imitate Ji Yuan's handwriting, and it had developed its own distinctive style.

While Ji Yuan was engrossed in the letter, a paper crane, dragging a brocade pouch, struggled its way out of Yin Qing's arms. It then tore open the pouch, emerged, spread its wings, and flew onto Ji Yuan's shoulder.

"Oh, it's gotten quite capable!"

Outsiders could not discern the paper crane's true essence without breaking its magical decree. If it didn't fly, many cultivators would mistake it for an ordinary paper bird, but Ji Yuan could naturally see through it at a glance.

Ji Yuan clearly noticed that the paper crane's spiritual energy had not diminished but had, in fact, increased. What's more, the magical power he had imbued it with remained entirely intact. He wondered if this was because it had always stayed under the large jujube tree.

The paper crane itself had no true intelligence yet; it only possessed a spiritual instinct. The paper it was made from was not special either. The key to its stored spiritual energy and ability to fly lay in the invisible characters written upon it.

Over the past two years, although this paper crane had instinctively accumulated spiritual energy well, its energy levels had never surpassed their initial state.

Ji Yuan reached out and touched the paper crane, sensing the intricate connection between the hundreds of characters on it. As he had originally envisioned, the coherence of these characters formed a unique pathway.

However, constantly using this single paper crane, and regularly infusing it with spiritual energy and magical power through divine thought, had forged this pathway into an unyielding bond, much like water leaving a persistent trail in its wake.

Ji Yuan withdrew his hand, and the paper crane flew down from his shoulder, naturally slipping into his sleeve.

As if its keen hearing had detected Ji Yuan's voice, Hu Yun woke up a moment later, twitching its ears and opening its eyes. Sure enough, it saw Ji Yuan standing by the stone table, still reading the letter.

"Mr. Ji, you're back!"

Ji Yuan simply grunted in acknowledgment and continued reading the letter.

Hu Yun quickly reached out a paw and nudged Yin Qing a few times, waking him from his midday nap.

"Uh... what's happening?"

Yin Qing groggily woke up, rubbed his eyes, and turned his head to look in the direction indicated by the red fox's paw.

"Mr. Ji!"

Seeing the letter in Ji Yuan's hand, Yin Qing's face fell. He knew without a doubt what his father had written.

"Awake now? You know your father wants you to go to Chunhui Prefecture, don't you?"

"Yes, I know..."

Ji Yuan nodded.

"In that case, prepare tonight. Tomorrow, you can bid farewell to your master and friends, then head to Chunhui Prefecture."

Yin Qing responded with a listless "Oh," looking first at the red fox, then at Ji Yuan.

Ji Yuan shook his head and smiled, then turned and walked out of the courtyard, a light sentence drifting back to them.

"Hu Yun and I will accompany you to Chunhui Prefecture."

Only after Ji Yuan had left did the boy and the fox suddenly react, exchanging quiet cheers.

The next day, Yin Qing bid farewell to his friends in the county, close neighbors, family relatives, and his academy master. He then packed his satchel, gathered his clothes, money, the Four Treasures of the Study, and a fox pendant, before setting off with Ji Yuan for Chunhui Prefecture.

Ji Yuan felt he should be considered an elder to Yin Qing. Rather than entrusting Yin Qing's escort to other relatives of the Yin family, or letting Yin Qing travel alone, it would be better for him to go.

When Ji Yuan traveled years ago, he always went on foot. This time, treating the journey as a study tour, he naturally hired a carriage.

The carriage curtains were fully drawn back. Yin Qing sat beside the coachman, watching the scenery, much like Ji Yuan used to feel in his previous life when he sat by a bus window during student excursions.

The coachman was a talkative man. He looked to be nearing sixty but was actually only in his early forties, one of those people who aged prematurely, even among villagers.

The carriage had barely left the county before the coachman began chatting incessantly.

"Mr. Ji, we'll reach Shunbao County by evening. Then tomorrow morning, we'll head to Qianzhou County, and with good luck, we could reach Jiudaokou County within five days!"

"Hmm, alright!"

Ji Yuan responded, continuing to look at the white jade slip in his hand. Of course, due to his illusion spell, the coachman saw it only as a bamboo scroll.

When word got out that Ji Yuan was hiring a private carriage for Yin Qing, many coachmen eagerly competed for the job. Ji Yuan himself was respectable, but the true prize was Yin Qing, the son of the esteemed Scholar Yin. Establishing good relations would be beneficial, and it certainly boosted their prestige to say they had driven him.

"Young Master Yin, look at this yellow horse in front of me. Don't let its age fool you; its stamina is excellent, and it knows the way. I travel to Old Birch Mountain near Jiudaokou dozens of times a year. Even if I doze off in the carriage, this horse can still get us there!"

"Oh, that's impressive indeed!"

Yin Qing offered a compliment, then reached forward and swatted something, batting away Hu Yun, who had been attempting to scratch the horse's backside with its paw.

"Uh, Young Master Yin, what did you just swat? I thought I saw..."

The coachman had just seen Yin Qing swat something forward and vaguely perceived a shadow beneath his palm.

"Oh, I was swatting a mosquito! I saw one about to bite the horse!"

"Oh, these autumn mosquitoes are quite venomous. But my yellow horse isn't afraid. Young Master Yin, with your delicate skin, be careful not to get bitten."

Yin Qing shot a sideways glare at the red fox, then subconsciously glanced at his own hand.

He wasn't a pampered child from a wealthy family and had always been accustomed to work. However, over the years, his skin had indeed become increasingly delicate, making him look as if he had never experienced any hardship since childhood.

Ji Yuan observed Hu Yun's actions. The red fox's temperament was still unformed; while its innocent and carefree nature was good, it couldn't be allowed to become arrogant simply by acquiring minor supernatural abilities. It seemed it was time for it to learn a lesson.

"Woof woof woof woof... woof woof woof woof..."

Just then, several large dogs suddenly darted over. They were likely domestic dogs from a nearby village outside the city, running back and forth, barking furiously at the carriage.

Almost simultaneously with the dogs' barking, Hu Yun darted inside the carriage, hiding behind Ji Yuan.

The coachman outside waved his whip to drive away the dogs near the carriage.

"Go on, go on... Get away, clear off! My whip's coming!"

As he spoke, the coachman cracked his whip. The dogs were only startled for a moment, scattering a few steps before quickly circling back and barking furiously again. Their barking followed for over a li before finally quieting down.

"Damn these dogs! They're really persistent today, following us all this way!"

Throughout the entire ordeal, Hu Yun stayed hidden beside Ji Yuan, not daring to move, which made Ji Yuan chuckle wryly. Once bitten by a dog, even a fox demon remained fearful.

Yin Qing, meanwhile, was holding his stomach, struggling to suppress his laughter.

This journey was unlike the past; there was no risk of getting lost. They turned directly from Shunbao County's main road into Qianzhou County, then traveled through Qianzhou and past Jiudaokou. Along the way, they consistently managed to find suitable inns before nightfall. On the sixth morning, they arrived at the entrance of Old Birch Mountain, just outside Jiudaokou County.

The carriage was hired only up to this point; they would continue on foot from here. Although the carriage could have taken them directly to the ferry, Ji Yuan had some business to attend to in Old Birch Mountain, so he decided they should be dropped off at the mountain's foot.

After paying the remaining copper coins and bidding farewell to the coachman, Ji Yuan led Yin Qing and Hu Yun into Old Birch Mountain.

However, after walking along the mountain path for a while, Yin Qing noticed that Mr. Ji had led them off course, venturing deeper into the mountains. He wasn't afraid, merely curious.

"Mr. Ji, aren't we going to the ferry? Why are we heading into the mountains?"

Ji Yuan turned to look at Yin Qing and Hu Yun, who was perched on Yin Qing's satchel, equally curious, and smiled mysteriously.

"There's a pond in these mountains. I'm going to see if there are any fish!"

The two people and one fox walked for almost half an hour, passing through thickets and forests, until they reached the Jade Green Pool in the center of Old Birch Mountain. The deep, emerald water of the pool made Yin Qing feel uneasy.

"Mr. Ji, can there really be fish in here? I feel like there might be a big snake or something..."

"Yes, yes..."

Hu Yun also nodded fearfully from behind Yin Qing.

Ji Yuan ignored the two, walked directly to the edge of the pool, and reached for the Green Vine Sword on his back.

At that moment, Yin Qing and Hu Yun's eyes widened. They suddenly realized that a sword had materialized out of thin air in Ji Yuan's hand.

Hu Yun was less surprised, but Yin Qing, despite having witnessed the marvel of the large jujube tree and having Hu Yun, who was clearly a fox demon, by his side, this was the first time he had seen Mr. Ji himself display such extraordinary powers.

Then they watched as Ji Yuan suspended the azure longsword two inches above the water's surface. Ji Yuan made no other discernible moves, yet after a few breaths, a small silver fish floated to the surface, belly-up, clearly stunned by the sword energy.

"Heh heh, there really are!"

Ji Yuan hadn't even finished speaking when another, slightly larger fish, floated to the surface.

"Hmm! Another one? Will there be a third?"

Ji Yuan waited a while longer, but no third fish surfaced. It seemed no one had been catching silver-hole fish for two years.

Yin Qing and the fox exchanged bewildered glances. This is how you catch fish?

Ji Yuan picked up a nearby branch, nudged the two silver-hole fish closer, and then picked them up. They felt cool and slippery to the touch, with gills, mouths, scales, and tails all perfectly formed. An ordinary person would surely mistake them for nothing more than two rare fish.

Without further ado, he cast a spell, enveloping the fish in a thin layer of shimmering water. Then, he pulled out pre-prepared dried lotus leaves from his sleeve and wrapped the two silver-hole fish.

"Let's go, let's go, to the ferry! We'll have delicious fish soup today!"

Ji Yuan's smile was irrepressible. Tucking the dried lotus leaf package away, he urged Yin Qing and Hu Yun to hurry. Although the Jade Green Pool was unowned, he still felt a faint twinge of guilt, as if he had just casually taken someone else's small fish for soup.