Chapter 403: Transmitting and Gaining Trust

When Ji Yuan first obtained the "Sword Intent Calligraphy," he cherished it deeply, constantly rereading it in the courtyard. He also spent countless hours under the tree, practicing sword movements with a branch, inspired by the text.

The old date tree, of course, recognized the "Sword Intent Calligraphy." What truly surprised it was hearing the characters on the scroll chattering and arguing with each other.

Ji Yuan gazed at the trunk of the old date tree. While ordinary people perceive plants as slow and unthinking, bound to the earth and largely immobile, spiritual plants are often far more intelligent and wise than even enlightened animals.

Even Ji Yuan himself was quite taken aback upon first encountering these small characters, let alone the old date tree. Nevertheless, since it was a familiar object, the date tree's branches and leaves soon resumed swaying gently in the wind, demonstrating its acceptance.

Though the small characters were boisterous, Ji Yuan's "tutelage" had not been in vain. Now, inside the Ju'an Small Pavilion, while the characters could not completely suppress their excitement, they were considerably calmer. This calmness, however, was relative; anyone approaching the pavilion could still detect a faint murmur of noise.

One, two, three, four…

Consequently, the small characters began leaping from the "Sword Intent Calligraphy." Even those previously "asleep" were roused by their companions, eagerly joining the others outside.

Carried by the spiritual breeze within the Ju'an Small Pavilion, over a hundred small characters soared and danced throughout the courtyard. Although the "Sword Intent Calligraphy" had possessed spiritual energy since its creation, for these characters, the pavilion was where they first awakened to consciousness—their true home.

In the past, these characters always seemed "hungry," and much of the ink they consumed was wasted. However, since Ji Yuan re-inked them last time, they remained "satiated," still in the process of digesting the spiritual energy. As a result, they were more energetic than ever.

"Alright, you all stay here. I'm going to fetch water to fill the tank."

Life requires a sense of ritual, and for Ji Yuan, activities like fetching water, brewing tea, or cooking at home served that purpose.

Ji Yuan was never one to be inflexible. The amount of dust in his house had been truly excessive; manually cleaning it might have taken days, even half a month. So, he decisively resorted to magic.

Ji Yuan glanced at the well in the courtyard, perpetually covered by a stone slab. He recalled the malevolent entities that had once emerged from it. After a brief consideration, he opted against using it, instead picking up his carrying pole and buckets to fetch water from elsewhere.

As he prepared to leave, he beckoned to the paper crane. It lightly flapped its wings and flew to his side. With his left hand on the carrying pole, Ji Yuan extended his right index finger and gently tapped the paper crane's head, slowly imbuing it with divine thought and magical energy.

"Go to Yuhuai Mountain and deliver a formal visit request on my behalf. Tell them that I, Ji, will visit within three months. If anyone plans to attend the Immortal Sojourn Gathering early, please wait for me if it is convenient."

As he spoke, he transmitted the message. Once Ji Yuan withdrew his finger, the divine thought had fully infused the paper crane. It swiftly flapped its wings, indicating its readiness to depart at once.

"No rush, I'll give you a lift!"

Ji Yuan smiled, holding the paper crane in his hand. A subtle whirlwind formed around his palm, growing stronger and faster, emitting faint white glows.

"Go."

Ji Yuan raised his hand.

*Whoosh…*

A powerful gust, confined to the space of his palm, surged forth. Its residual force caused the branches and leaves of the large date tree in the courtyard to sway dramatically, as the paper crane vanished into the distant sky, carried by the wind.

The Immortal Sojourn Gathering was still several years away, and it was unlikely that participants from Yuhuai Mountain would depart prematurely. This message served merely as a heads-up.

Ji Yuan smiled, then hoisted the carrying pole and left.

It was nearly noon. Few people were out and about in Tianniu Ward, and given the remote location of Ju'an Small Pavilion, Ji Yuan didn't encounter anyone on his walk with the carrying pole.

The area around Shuangjingpu in Tianniu Ward was bustling with activity. People were washing clothes, others were cleaning vegetables, all chatting and laughing. Most were women from the ward, over a dozen of them, drawing and using water.

Despite their hands being red from the winter chill, their work proceeded without hindrance.

Ji Yuan's arrival with the carrying pole brought a momentary hush to the chatter, reminiscent of his first visit to Shuangjingpu for water.

"Hey, who is that man?" "He looks so refined!"

"He's fetching water; is he from our ward?"

"I've never seen him!"

These whispers came from young women, some feeling shy yet unable to resist stealing glances at the elegant man in the white robe, Ji Yuan.

Although many of the older women also did not recognize him, two or three furrowed their brows, observing Ji Yuan intently.

"Hey, Xiao Dong's mother, doesn't that man look familiar?"

A woman scrubbing clothes asked her neighbor, who was wearing a floral padded jacket and frowning as she washed a bedsheet.

"He certainly looks very handsome. When did someone like this arrive in our ward...?"

The woman suddenly fell silent. Watching Ji Yuan approach the Twin Wells, roll up his sleeves, and turn the winch to draw water, a memory abruptly surfaced in her mind, and her face flushed slightly.

"Hey, why are you blushing? I can't recall anyone like him in our ward!"

The woman instinctively flinched when addressed, then nervously rubbed the bedsheet. Back then, in her youth, she had seen that "Great Master" come to draw water at the Twin Wells several times.

The residents of Tianniu Ward were simple, and young women rarely left their homes, so they seldom encountered handsome men. In those days, Mr. Ji of Ju'an Small Pavilion was the idealized gentleman for many young maidens' dreams.

Over the years, however, those youthful dreams had long since faded. Most of the girls had married and moved elsewhere, to other wards or villages within the county. This particular woman was one of the rare few who had married someone from their own ward.

When she was younger, she, like the girls now, would wash, chat, and laugh with the older women. Now, those older women had aged, and she herself had become an elderly woman.

In the Great Zhen land, ordinary elders typically ceased working in their sixties, and living past seventy was considered a long life. Qin Zizhou, however, was a true centenarian.

The woman wondered why she had drifted into such thoughts. By the time she snapped back to reality, Ji Yuan was already drawing his second bucket of water.

"Hey, say something, are you dazed?"

Her neighbor nudged her with a shoulder, bringing the woman, who had briefly slipped back into her maiden memories, back to the present.

"Oh! He, I... I think he resembles Mr. Ji from Ju'an Small Pavilion, but I can't be entirely sure…"

"Mr. Ji? Which Mr. Ji are you talking about?"

The woman beside her had married into Tianniu Ward from another area. Although Ji Yuan had returned to Ju'an Small Pavilion twice since her arrival, he had mostly been asleep. Therefore, for the past two decades, Ji Yuan had been virtually inactive in the eyes of Ning'an County residents, known only to a select few.

Even during the height of Ji Yuan's reputation in Ning'an County, most people didn't actually recognize him. Rumors passed during leisure time often referred to him as "so-and-so," let alone now.

However, the woman in the floral padded jacket did not answer. Ji Yuan had finished drawing water, hoisted his pole, and stood up. She, too, instinctively rose, shaking water from her hands before wiping them on her clothes.

"Mr. Ji?"

The voice was neither loud nor soft, yet it was distinctly heard, as those nearby were already quietly discussing the gentleman in white.

Ji Yuan, who had already taken a few steps, paused. The two full water buckets swayed back and forth, appearing to rock violently, yet not a single drop spilled.

Ji Yuan held the hook ropes, turned slightly to face the woman, and nodded subtly to her. He then quickly departed, shouldering the pole and holding the ropes.

"It really is Mr. Ji, it truly is! Mr. Ji is still as refined and elegant as ever…"

The woman in the floral padded jacket blushed again from that brief glance and nod, but then burst into silent laughter, pressing her cold hands to her face.

"Hey, who is Mr. Ji?"

"Mr. Ji is a resident of our Tianniu Ward, a very kind person… Go ask your husband or your in-laws; they'll certainly know him…"

As the laughter and chatter behind him grew lively once more, Ji Yuan was already on his way back to Ning'an County.

"Alas, for ordinary people, time truly flies…"

With this sigh, Ji Yuan returned to the Ju'an Small Pavilion and personally emptied the two buckets of water into the tank.

Although he should have immediately returned for more water, Ji Yuan deliberately waited for almost half an hour before heading back to Shuangjingpu. As expected, the woman he had seen earlier was no longer there.

Having already eaten braised noodles and offal, Ji Yuan did not cook at home. He simply boiled a pot of water, but his old tea leaves had long since molded and spoiled. Even he wouldn't drink such tea, so he settled for a pot of plain boiled water.

It was nearly time for afternoon work when Ji Yuan finally left home and headed towards the Ning'an County Magistrate's office.

After all these years, he presumed a considerable amount of mail had accumulated for him.

The county streets remained largely unchanged from how they once were. Many established shops were still in their original locations, and the lively shouts of vendors and sounds of debate continued to fill the air.

As he neared the county magistrate's office, the clear sound of reading from the county school drifted faintly to Ji Yuan's ears. The students were reciting Yin Zhaoxian's "Treatise on Birds—A Scholar's Reply," which, after several revisions, had become an excellent primer.

Outside the county public office, Ji Yuan slowly approached. The guards at the gate had already taken notice of the approaching gentleman in white.

Ji Yuan cupped his hands in greeting.

"Excuse me, officer," Ji Yuan began, "I intend to retrieve my stored letters. Could you please tell me what procedures are required?"

Even the officers were respectful towards such a refined scholar in a white robe as Ji Yuan, and one returned his greeting, saying:

"Sir, you only need to present your household registration document. Once I've verified it, you may take the document inside and speak with the Chief Clerk."

"Oh, I have it with me."

As he spoke, Ji Yuan, with his left hand, retrieved a folded paper from his right sleeve and handed it to the officer. The document bore the official seal of the Ning'an County Magistrate and the private seal of the previous Chief Clerk responsible for household registration, having been issued alongside the deed to the Ju'an Small Pavilion.

"Yes, that's it. Please enter, sir. The office marked with the character '戶' (household) on the left corridor is the one. Records of stored mail and postal items are also kept there."

"Thank you!"

After another cupped-hand salute, Ji Yuan entered the courtyard.