Chapter 44: Flying Dragon Sending Flowers

The red fox had fallen asleep on the stone table at some point. A gentle breeze occasionally ruffled its fur, and its large tail lay over its body, occasionally sweeping in front of it.

Ji Yuan, having changed out of the blood-stained green robe into a similar wide-sleeved long gown of a more bluish hue, saw this scene as he emerged from his room.

The red fox resting beneath the jujube tree created a sense of profound tranquility.

Upon seeing Ji Yuan leave the house, the deeply sleeping fox immediately opened its eyes and peered at him.

"You rest here at home. I'll go to the market to get you something to eat…"

Ji Yuan spoke as he walked past the fox, paused before opening the courtyard gate, and then turned to look sternly at the red fox, who had been staring at him.

"While staying at Ju'an Tiny Abode, don't let me find out that any household in the neighborhood is mysteriously missing chickens or ducks, understood?"

Although Ji Yuan's tone was very gentle, under the gaze of his serene, ancient eyes, the red fox felt particularly guilty.

It whimpered.

"Good, I'll take that as a 'yes'!"

After saying this, Ji Yuan finally left for the market.

Today, Ji Yuan again headed to Old Man Sun's noodle stall. From a distance, he could already hear diners chatting about the morning's strange street events.

"Oh, Mr. Ji is here!"

It was Old Man Sun who first spotted Ji Yuan. The idle chatter at the noodle stall immediately quieted, and many faces turned to look. As Ji Yuan's gaze shifted towards them, they quickly turned back to their noodles.

"Hello, Mr. Ji!"

Two regular customers who knew Ji Yuan greeted him.

"Hello!"

By the time Ji Yuan replied, he had already reached the noodle stall's canopy. Old Man Sun specially came out to wipe down the only available table once more.

"Please have a seat, Mr. Ji. We have sheep offal today; I saved some for you!"

"Excellent. The usual then: one bowl of braised noodles and one bowl of offal."

Ji Yuan adjusted his sleeves and sat down. Old Man Sun hadn't left yet; instead, he quietly asked a question.

"Mr. Ji, I heard people saying that you rescued a fox around noon, is that right?"

Those familiar with Mr. Ji of Tianniu District knew him to be humble, polite, and broad-minded. Old Man Sun, who considered himself quite well-acquainted with Ji Yuan, felt no pressure and naturally asked when his curiosity got the better of him.

The other diners also leaned in to listen, even the slurping of noodles ceased.

Ji Yuan found it somewhat amusing. Even in different eras, people's desire for gossip was much the same, so he felt no pressure and simply told the truth.

"Indeed, that is true. At the time, I was strolling down the street when the fox was being chased and bitten by a yellow dog and pursued by idlers. It fled all the way to my feet, and seeing its miserable state, I took pity on it and rescued it."

Such incidents, much like an affluent old man marrying a young concubine, are topics that generate buzz for a while before fading away. Although a fox bowing to a human is rare, it ultimately has no impact on ordinary people. However, a particular impression of Mr. Ji of Tianniu District was now firmly established.

Ji Yuan spoke of it lightly, making no mention of the mystical events such as the fox bowing or the yellow dog retreating on its own.

"Mr. Ji is truly a kind-hearted man!"

Old Man Sun, needing to attend to his business, couldn't chat much longer. After offering his praise, he went back to work, though he became even more convinced that Ji Yuan was truly an extraordinary person, thinking that perhaps someday he could ask him to interpret a dream or something similar.

Today, Ji Yuan abandoned his usual habit of slow eating. He finished his noodles quickly and then went directly to the market to buy two chickens: one live and one already butchered by the vendor.

On his way home, the old hen he carried upside down was still looking rather listless. But as soon as he pushed open the courtyard gate of Ju'an Tiny Abode...

The chicken and the fox instantly locked eyes.

"Cluck~~~ cluck cluck~~~ cluck cluck cluck~~~"

The old hen, driven by instinctual fear, suddenly began flapping vigorously, beating its wings hard. The fox, on the other hand, stood up from the stone table, baring its teeth with a "Hiss~~~ hiss~~" and striking a menacing posture, claws outstretched.

Ji Yuan found it a bit troublesome. Closing the courtyard gate, he raised the dead chicken in his other hand toward the red fox.

"You'll eat this today. I'll give you live chicken once you've recovered a bit more."

After saying this, Ji Yuan went straight to the side of the kitchen, put the hen into the long-unused chicken coop, and then entered the kitchen to get a pot and boil water.

Ji Yuan, who wasn't skilled at cooking, took some effort to debone the chicken completely, preparing to make simple boiled chicken.

Although the fox seemed to be recovering well, Ji Yuan had, after all, seen its condition that morning, so it was better to start with cooked food.

As dusk gradually fell, Ji Yuan placed the chicken, still in its broth, on the stone table in a clay pot, then began to earnestly study the calligraphy scroll.

In his previous life, there had been a saying that calligraphy was like swordsmanship. Ji Yuan had never believed it before, but now he had no choice but to believe it.

The characters on the scroll flowed together, vividly forming a sinuous, sharp-edged dragon. There were no explicit sword techniques described, yet in Ji Yuan's eyes, there was an innate sense of naturally perfected sword potential.

With a wave of his hand, a thin branch from beneath his feet flew up and landed in Ji Yuan's grasp. He wasn't sure if cultivation techniques had similar spells, but the "telekinetic object manipulation" of high-level internal martial arts, when executed with spiritual energy, truly possessed an ethereal elegance, detached from worldly concerns.

"Swish swish... whoosh whoosh... hmm..."

Using the thin branch as a sword, Ji Yuan, lacking specific sword techniques, temporarily blended the free and flowing sword potential into the blade techniques from the Iron Punishment Battle Scroll. Relying on his acute senses, he smoothed out any awkwardness, effortlessly executing hooks, parries, points, lifts, thrusts, sweeps, and cleaves.

Gradually, the shadow of blade techniques disappeared, and even the specific forms vanished. Ji Yuan felt as if he were practicing calligraphy with broad strokes, his sword potential like a brush tip. His sword movements flowed as if each strike was a single, spontaneous action, yet seamlessly connected like a dragon.

Ji Yuan's body in this life was already adept at calligraphy, and at this moment, it was as if he were re-writing the 'Sword Intent Scroll' through sword dancing.

Inside the courtyard of Ju'an Tiny Abode, the wind shifted at will. When the sword potential flowed gracefully, gentle breezes encircled him. When it turned sharp, the clear wind surged fiercely up and down, unpredictable and profoundly mystical.

Ji Yuan grew increasingly unrestrained. The thin branch in his hand moved as if guided by silken threads. Finally, with a flick of his sleeve and a swing of the 'sword', the clear wind in the courtyard swept fallen branches and jujube blossoms together, surging diagonally upward out of the tiny abode, transforming into a faint green-yellow flower dragon that soared over Tianniu District before eventually dispersing.

Some residents, catching the scent, looked up to see a rain of flowers carried by the clear breeze.

After a long time, the swordplay ceased and the wind quieted in the tiny abode's courtyard. The sky was already dotted with countless stars!

Ji Yuan slowly composed himself. That feeling of exhilarating freedom was truly exceptionally refreshing. More importantly, even if he couldn't see it himself, he knew he must have looked incredibly cool and graceful just now!

"Excellent. Regardless of the origin of this 'Sword Intent Scroll' without specific techniques, I'll call what I just did 'Wandering Dragon'!"

Perhaps the peerless martial artist Zuo Kuangtu, who lived decades ago, would never have dreamed that the precious secret manual in his tomb would be less than useless to Ji Yuan. Instead, the 'Sword Intent Scroll' he had written in his final moments, a reflection on his life's sword intent, would be regarded as a priceless treasure by Ji Yuan.

The fox had, at some unknown point, finished the chicken. It stared blankly at Ji Yuan, who moved like a wandering dragon in the courtyard. The sight of the falling petals swirling with the wind like a dragon, then flying off into the distance, possessed a beauty imbued with an aura close to the Dao, leaving the red fox profoundly shaken!