Chapter 213: Can Finally Sleep Well

As the Mountain God bowed in greeting, Ji Yuan, not wanting to take advantage, immediately reciprocated with the same gesture. As soon as the Mountain God finished speaking, Ji Yuan began.

“Mountain God Hong, please don’t be offended,” he said. “I tried to call upon you, but when it didn’t work, I had no choice but to use a summoning spell to bring you here!”

Ji Yuan tried to make his tone sound as sincere as possible, as the current situation was rather awkward and could easily lead the Mountain God to associate it with future retribution.

Before the Mountain God of Tingqiu Mountain could ponder further, Ji Yuan continued speaking.

“Mountain God Hong, are you aware of the rumors concerning the Divination Bureau’s prophecies?”

Mountain God Hong Shengting glanced at the evil cultivator on the ground and replied truthfully.

“Yes, I am. Does the Immortal Master believe this person came because of those rumors?”

Ji Yuan considered for a moment.

“Not necessarily. Da Zhen is a peaceful era. Even if evil cultivators scheme for such an ethereal opportunity, they should still try to align with the natural order. Practicing evil methods like this man, similar to the Nine-Child Ghost Mother, would only invite calamity if he were not careful.”

The Mountain God couldn’t help but look at the immortal cultivator before him, whose eyes seemed blind, and thought to himself, *Immortal Master, aren’t you precisely his calamity?*

Ji Yuan also looked at the man on the ground, pausing his words before continuing.

“Judging by this man’s condition, he might not be fully aware of the Divination Bureau rumors. Instead, he might have been unfortunately used by others, becoming a mere pawn, attempting to use evil methods as a test?”

The Mountain God also frowned. The man on the ground was indeed an old acquaintance of his, having lived in Tingqiu Mountain for over sixty years and even helping him considerably, or else he wouldn’t have this Mountain God Stone.

However, it was quite strange that upon his return this time, he had found a place of yin miasma to cultivate, and even began practicing evil methods.

Of course, in the eyes of mountain and water deities like the Mountain God of Tingqiu Mountain, who receive almost no incense offerings, they couldn’t be bothered with what kind of techniques he practiced, as long as he didn’t disturb Tingqiu Mountain. After all, all wondrous methods have their own paths; perhaps there was some other extraordinary power involved.

If this immortal master had summoned him to denounce and punish, the Mountain God would naturally have revealed all these matters. But since he wasn’t asked, he wouldn’t feign sincerity and force the explanation.

Pondering these thoughts, the Mountain God, not waiting for further elaboration, decided to ask himself.

“Then, Immortal Master, why did you summon me? Do you have something to instruct?”

Ji Yuan cupped his hands again towards the Mountain God.

“Indeed, I have an impudent request…”

Ji Yuan ceased his bow and looked north, his gaze falling upon the endless mountain ranges of Tingqiu Mountain.

“The rumors about the Divination Bureau are still unclear, but many are fixated on them. It’s fine if they merely wish to observe in Da Zhen, but pests like the one at our feet are truly disgusting.”

In truth, this man’s cultivation wasn’t low; without the Green Vine Sword, Ji Yuan wouldn’t even dare to confront him head-on. However, Ji Yuan’s belittling him as a “pest” felt entirely natural in this context.

Ji Yuan paused for a moment before continuing.

“Tingqiu Mountain is located in the northern reaches of Da Zhen. For mortals, it’s an insurmountable natural barrier, and even for cultivators, crossing it isn’t quick. Mountain God Hong, it would be best if you could spare some attention, or even warn, those with improper methods.”

The Mountain God looked north, deep in thought.

“Does the Immortal Master mean that after today, with the spread of your ‘Heaven-Toppling Sword’ display, ignorant individuals like the one at our feet will still appear?”

The Mountain God now felt that this immortal master also harbored intentions of deterring petty villains. As a Mountain God, he naturally couldn’t have failed to notice the distant qi fluctuations just now.

“Haha, what the Mountain God says is quite possible. For instance, a true demon who suffered a great loss at the hands of myself and the Dragon Lord of Tongtian River would not dare to show himself in Da Zhen, but given his nature, he must be extremely unwilling to accept defeat. It’s not impossible that his shadow is behind this evil cultivator.”

This remark left much to the imagination, but Ji Yuan only hinted at it and didn’t elaborate.

That monstrous, large-bellied woman was very likely a native of Da Zhen. Cultivating evil ghostly arts in such a manner on Da Zhen’s border, then, once she reached a certain level of power, burrowing into the heartland of Da Zhen to hide, would make it convenient for her to do whatever she pleased.

This indeed seemed like a way to circumvent a blood oath, but the timing didn’t quite align. After all, the large-bellied woman already had seven ghost children, with another in her belly; she couldn’t have reached such a state in just a few years. It was only in recent years that reports of people having their hearts dug out and eaten caused panic.

After much thought, it seemed it could just be a coincidence: this old man acquired evil methods, chose a location advantageous to himself, and wanted to refine this thing. In the latter half of this year, he seemed to have become somewhat impatient due to certain matters, or perhaps the large-bellied woman simply had a poor disposition and caused trouble herself, leading to Du Heng and others’ ambush in the northern border and Ji Yuan’s subsequent arrival.

However, Ji Yuan kept these thoughts to himself, not elaborating on them to the Mountain God. Thus, the Mountain God of Tingqiu Mountain was still pondering “secret tales of magical duels” in the direction Ji Yuan had suggested.

After a moment of thought, the Mountain God agreed. The situation left him little choice.

“Since it’s a request from the Immortal Master, I shall pay more attention to this, even if it means less rest.”

Such a matter was merely an oral agreement. Ji Yuan didn’t genuinely expect the Mountain God, who had little interest in affairs outside his mountain, to put in much effort, but it would at least have some effect.

Afterward, Ji Yuan and the Mountain God conversed for a few more moments about the evil cultivator before each departed. One vanished into the mountain, while the other flew towards Tingshui County, carrying the unconscious evil cultivator and the large-bellied woman, who was under an immobilizing spell.

At the inn in Tingshui County, the group of chivalrous warriors felt a degree of anxiety, and even Du Heng couldn’t help but worry.

Several days had passed, and Mr. Ji had not yet returned. He was chasing such a strange, evil creature, and they greatly feared something might have gone wrong.

The inn’s broken roof and walls had been roughly repaired with the help of the warriors during a day when the snow had stopped.

Tingshui County’s local government had already sent people to investigate the murder case at the inn. Although the inn boy’s description had unnerved a few constables and yamen runners, the incident was ultimately classified as the work of jianghu bandits, with a possible footnote: “Inn staff, through an intermediary, suspect evil entities were at play.”

Since several warriors reported that the assailant had been repelled and someone had pursued him, the constables, not wishing to move or stay in this inauspicious inn during winter, had long since retreated. Thus, the inn was now occupied by the original group, minus one unlucky inn boy.

That evening, Du Heng and the others, along with the inn’s original proprietor and staff, gathered around several tables in the ground floor hall to eat. During this period, everyone ate and stayed together; no one wanted to be alone.

Strictly speaking, it was still only early evening, but in this season, dusk fell particularly quickly in the northern region, and with the heavy snow, it was already almost pitch black outside.

The people at the tables ate distractedly. The howling wind and snow outside continued, likely not stopping throughout the night.

“Knock, knock, knock…”

The knock on the door startled everyone, and several of the warriors instinctively clutched their weapons.

“Young Hero Du, I, Ji, have returned!”

Ji Yuan’s calm voice rang out, causing many in the inn to feel a sense of relief, though they remained vigilant.

“Brother Li, let’s open the door!”

Li Tongzhou nodded and, with Du Heng, left his seat. They carefully pulled back the multiple door bolts, and the inn’s main door was immediately pushed open by the wind and snow.

“Whoosh… whoosh…”

Gale-force winds, laden with snowflakes, gusted inside. Ji Yuan stood elegantly in his white robes at the doorway. At his feet, one to his left and one to his right, lay two people bound by what appeared to be transparent threads. One was indeed the monstrous woman.

“Mr. Ji! Are you alright? Please, come in and warm yourself!”

Ji Yuan waved his hand.

“I won’t come in. I just wanted to show you these two evil creatures, so you can rest easy. You recognize this woman; the one beside her is her master. Besides these two, there are no other accomplices.”

As he spoke, Ji Yuan glanced at the dishes in the hall and twitched his nose.

Du Heng reacted quickly. Seeing that Mr. Ji did not intend to come in, he immediately ran back to the table, grabbed a pot of wine, and carried out a roasted chicken, still on its platter, that no one had touched yet.

“Mr. Ji, this is Dao Shao wine from Tingshui County; it’s not a famous liquor, but it will warm you up. And this roasted chicken, we haven’t touched it yet!”

The Wei family had long since sent word to Du Heng that while Mr. Ji didn’t have an alcohol addiction, he was fond of wine and wasn’t too particular about it.

Ji Yuan didn’t decline. He smiled and directly took the platter with the roasted chicken in one hand, placing the Dao Shao wine pot on it. If he were dressed differently, he would have looked quite like someone preparing to serve a meal.

“Very well, I shall take my leave then. If fate allows, we shall meet again.”

As he spoke, Ji Yuan took something from beside the door that resembled an emerald green bamboo pole. Then, astonishingly, he hooked one end of the pole under each of the two people on the ground and hoisted them onto his shoulder like a carrying pole. The slender bamboo pole, used as a carrying pole, bent significantly under the weight but remarkably did not break.

Carrying the platter with the roasted chicken and wine pot in one hand and steadying the bamboo pole in the other, Ji Yuan, with light steps, walked into the snowy night and quickly vanished from sight.

Even though it was very cold at the doorway, the crowd that had gathered waited for a long time without dispersing.

“A fishing rod!”

“Huh?”

“I said that was a fishing rod, and what bound the people must have been fishing line!”

Du Heng uttered these two inexplicable sentences, then smiled at the others.

“It’s freezing! Close the door, close the door! We can finally get a good night’s sleep tonight!”

At this, the others came back to their senses and relaxed. As for Mr. Ji, an extraordinary person like him traveling on a snowy night was clearly not something they needed to worry about.

Their taut nerves eased, and the atmosphere in the hall, which had been oppressive moments before, became exceptionally lively…