Although separated by a layer of the Earth God's magic, Ji Yuan's ears still caught the sounds from inside the house, including the chaotic clamor.
‘This “Great Master,” they’re not referring to me, are they?’
Ji Yuan found it somewhat strange but couldn't think of any other possibilities at the same time.
The *Sword Intent Scroll* was created at least eighty or ninety years ago. It contained the sword intent and spiritual essence of Zuo Li, who was then recognized as the world's foremost master in Dazhen and neighboring countries. One could say that when it was first completed nearly a hundred years ago, it was already extraordinary, almost transcending mortal objects.
Truly, only two people had the most profound influence on the *Sword Intent Scroll*: one was naturally Zuo Li, the 'Madman Zuo,' who originally wrote it, and the other was Ji Yuan. Although it passed through many hands in between, Ji Yuan believed those had no impact on the *Sword Intent Scroll* itself.
The characters on the *Sword Intent Scroll* had transformed into little spirits, all calling out “Great Master.” This could only mean they were referring to Zuo Li or himself, Ji, but then again, Zuo Li had been dead for nearly a century, and back then, even though the scroll was remarkable, it was still just a scroll.
‘So, they *are* calling me?’
Ji Yuan gazed at the house enveloped in the earth spirit's aura, his expression unreadable. The thought of being surrounded by over a hundred small characters calling him “Master” struck him as both strange and amusing.
Inside the house, the Earth God held up his staff, the flame at its tip growing from a small flicker into a torch-like blaze.
Even though the flame significantly improved visibility indoors, when the Earth God looked around, all he saw were walls stained with ink, with no trace of any spirits hiding.
The house was small and almost entirely visible. Yet, he couldn't find them. The Earth God knew in his heart that if they escaped, and were prepared next time, he likely wouldn't get another chance like this.
“Since you won't come out, don't blame this Earth God for acting decisively. After receiving so many offerings from others, it's only natural to resolve their worries!”
The flame on the staff suddenly shot up several feet high, clearly indicating that the Earth God wasn't joking and truly intended to burn down the house.
“How dare you!” “You little old man, you're too bold!”
“Let us out quickly…”
“Little old man, we'll come out!” “Yes, yes, we'll come out!”
“I'm not coming out!” “Me neither!”
“We'll burn to death!” “Then die!”
“Hey, hey, hey, don't burn, don't burn!”
The Earth God only heard the spirits' clamor, a cacophony that left him utterly exasperated. They were all talk and no action; those who claimed they would come out showed no sign of doing so.
“Hmph, still defiant, take this!”
He pointed his staff in various directions, and sparks immediately flew out, striking different parts of the house with scorching heat.
“Ah…” “Wow…”
“We're going to burn to death!” “Great Master, help!”
“Great Master, save us!”
Amidst the noisy, anxious atmosphere, the Earth God unleashed flames, ready to escape underground himself to avoid the fire. This fire manipulation spell wasn't particularly sophisticated; it was only meant to ignite flammable objects, turning into ordinary open flames unless he continuously expended magical energy, which would otherwise burn him too.
However, before the Earth God could retreat underground, he noticed that the flames he had conjured were weakening in mid-air. By the time they were about to hit the wooden walls and shelves, they had dwindled to mere sparks and eventually extinguished without igniting anything.
“Hmm?”
The Earth God looked surprised. Refusing to believe it, he waved his staff and tried to conjure fire again.
This time, the flames extinguished themselves less than a foot from the staff. Even the flame on the staff itself grew weaker and weaker, finally going out with a “poof,” plunging the room into considerable dimness.
‘Could these spirits be extremely skilled at fire manipulation? No, that can't be right; if so, they wouldn't have been so scared earlier!’
While the Earth God was still pondering with uncertainty, the clamor inside the house reached a new peak.
“Hahahahaha… the little old man's magic isn't working!”
“Wahahaha, excellent, excellent, he can't light a fire now.”
“Let us out quickly, you can't burn us anyway!” “That's right, you can't burn us!”
“If you don't let us go, we'll complain!” “Yes, complain, tell the Great Master!”
The Earth God frowned. Listening to the commotion, it seemed the fire magic's failure wasn't due to the spirits' mischief. There must be another special circumstance at play.
“I am the Earth God of Lilong Village in Moyuan County. If there is a distinguished expert present, please show yourself if it is convenient!”
The Earth God held his staff with both hands, cupped one hand in the other at his side, and swept his gaze around, tentatively addressing the space with a polite greeting.
As soon as his voice fell, a sound responded the next moment.
“Earth God of Lilong Village, Ji Yuan greets you!”
With the voice, Ji Yuan's figure materialized inside the house, just four or five steps from the entrance.
The Earth God turned at the sound, seeing a white-robed gentleman standing not far from the large house's entrance, with long hair and whiskers, a jade hairpin pinning his bun, and a pair of deep eyes observing him, making a cupped-hand salute.
‘Someone is really here?’
“You are…”
The Earth God's heart skipped a beat, and before his bewildered question could fully escape, the sounds inside the room erupted.
“Great Master!” “Great Master!” “Great Master!”
“Ah!”
“It's the Great Master!” “It really is the Great Master!”
“Oh dear!”
“The Great Master is here!” “Great Master, help!”
“This little old man is bullying us!”
Ji Yuan swept his gaze around. With his spiritual eyes wide open, he could barely discern faint characters sticking to the deeply ink-stained areas of the roof, walls, and various corners of the house. Even the spirits' glow was ink-colored.
“Come out, all of you.”
Ji Yuan's calm words, though serene, instantly silenced all the clamor, and the room grew quiet.
Then, before the eyes of both the Earth God and Ji Yuan, characters densely imbued with ink slowly floated out from various corners of the house and even from seemingly plain walls.
Sword, I, Self, Weapon, Iron, Intent, Edge, Sharpness…
There were single characters and duplicates, totaling over a hundred. Each character was clearly discernible, and each possessed a vivid, lively charm.
Interestingly, many of the characters were somewhat curled and bent, with a half-piece or a corner of a source ink fragment attached below, looking as if they were holding onto the source ink with outstretched hands.
Ji Yuan smiled wryly, feeling helpless. This was truly a case of “caught red-handed.”
“They are characters? Can characters become spirits?”
The Earth God's heart trembled, and his astonished words involuntarily escaped his lips.
All the characters floated in mid-air, forming a circle around Ji Yuan, some horizontally, some vertically, and some occasionally wiggling as if secretly peeking at him.
This situation was something neither the Earth God nor Ji Yuan had ever anticipated encountering.
After a moment of astonishment, the Earth God shifted his gaze from the characters back to Ji Yuan. He suddenly recalled having seen this person by the river earlier.
At the time, he had thought he was just a mortal and paid little attention. Now, he realized he was facing an expert he couldn't see through. Even now, the Earth God still couldn't discern anything special about the man; he still appeared to be an ordinary mortal.
As he observed, the Earth God's gaze suddenly focused on Ji Yuan's robe. He keenly noticed something peeking out, looking around curiously. Upon closer inspection, it was a paper bird.
As if sensing the Earth God's gaze, the paper crane turned to look at him, then quickly retreated back into Ji Yuan's robe.
‘Who exactly is this esteemed expert? How can he have so many spirits serving him!’
Clearly, the Earth God assumed the paper bird was also one of the spirits.
Out of reverence, the Earth God solemnly held his staff, cupped his hands, and bowed again.
“This humble deity is Huang Qiu, the Earth God of Lilong Village in Moyuan County. I did not know these character spirits were under your esteemed tutelage. I hope you will forgive any offense!”
“Hehehehe, now you're scared!” “Great Master, teach him a lesson quickly!”
“Great Master, deliver justice for us!”
“Slay him with an immortal sword!” “No, burn him with True Samadhi Fire!”
“No, use the Immobilization spell to fix him in mid-air for ten years!”
“Not enough, not enough, a hundred years!” “Yes, yes, at least a hundred years!”
The characters around them became lively again. Ji Yuan now saw clearly that these sounds originated from the trembling ink patterns on the characters themselves, indicating that these character-spirits naturally possessed some unique abilities.
With each proposed punishment, the Earth God's heart would tremble. These spirits were clearly very naive, and their naivety meant their words were all the more sincere.
“Quiet!”
Ji Yuan's single word immediately silenced all voices. He then cupped his hands again towards the now slightly apprehensive Earth God.
“It is due to my lax supervision that such an incident occurred. By the way, may I ask, Earth God, besides stealing ink ingots, have these characters committed any other harmful acts?”
“No, no!”
The Earth God quickly waved his hand.
“These past few days, several wealthy families have repeatedly offered sacrifices and made offerings at the Earth God Temple, claiming that the ink workshop has suffered continuous thefts. Even with officers and experts surrounding the storeroom, it was useless. Fearing malevolent spirits, I took the offerings and investigated everywhere, which led to today's encounter.”
Ji Yuan understood. Just as he was about to speak, he heard a commotion outside, clearly indicating the arrival of the ink workshop owner and others. After a knowing glance with the Earth God, he took the characters and left first.
When the ink workshop owner and his people arrived inside the house, they found the ink ingots, which the Earth God had recalled from underground, scattered haphazardly on the floor, and many ink stands toppled.
Several miles downstream from the ink workshop, by the river, Ji Yuan and the Earth God sat on a riverside stone. All the characters had flown back into the *Sword Intent Scroll*, but the scroll was not put away; it lay open beside Ji Yuan.
A pile of complete or fragmented ink ingots, the stolen goods, lay next to the *Sword Intent Scroll*.
After hearing the account from the Earth God, Ji Yuan felt both exasperated and amused as he looked at the *Sword Intent Scroll* beside him.
“You certainly have discerning tastes, only choosing to consume top-grade source ink…”
With the characters joyfully calling him “Great Master” and caught red-handed, Ji Yuan naturally couldn't pretend ignorance.
And ever since a moment ago, all the characters within the *Sword Intent Scroll* had fallen silent. They had wanted to eat good ink before, but now they understood that such things couldn't be taken just because one had the ability to; they also realized they had caused trouble and displeased their Great Master.
“May I ask, Earth God, this is a source ink production area. What is the value of an ink ingot of this quality here?”
Ji Yuan thought the price would be much lower at the production site, but the Earth God was clearly very shrewd. He immediately understood Ji Yuan's intent upon hearing his question.
“Master Ji, you needn't worry. What they stole were not finished products, and they would have been sorted out later anyway. Moreover, this material hasn't even entered commerce yet; as raw material, its value is not high. Ten coppers per piece is already about right, and for these wealthy families who have already made a fortune, it's merely a drop in the ocean.”
“I see.”
The Earth God continued.
“Master, you don't need to trouble yourself over such a small matter. I will send dreams to the owners of these ink workshops, informing them that there will be no further issues and that I will ensure the ink workshops are well-protected. This will more than compensate for their losses.”
This would not only compensate for the losses but absolutely profit the ink workshop owners. The Earth God said this also because he had acted too harshly earlier, almost burning these character-spirits to death.
If they were ordinary spirits, their death wouldn't matter, but now they clearly had a powerful backer, so this was an act of goodwill.
Ji Yuan naturally couldn't ask for more.
“Thank you for your assistance, Earth God. I am indebted! How about this: if you can, please help me acquire some good ink. I will pay you for it.”
Hearing this, the Earth God felt relieved and burst into laughter.
“Hahahahaha… Master Ji, you jest. Acquiring some good ink is no trouble at all; I will certainly get it for you. But why would I take your money, and what would I do with money anyway… Er…”
“Is that so? You wouldn't want this either?”
At this moment, Ji Yuan opened his palm to reveal a gleaming golden magical coin resting quietly there, its inherent dao aura shimmering in and out of sight, clearly an extraordinary item.
[2 minutes ago] Chapter 820: Silent as a Cold Cicada (9)
[3 minutes ago] Chapter 663: Pasture
[8 minutes ago] Chapter 819: Silent as a Cicada (8)
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