Chapter 546: You Can See Me?

After Ji Yuan left, Sun Yaya could no longer suppress her intense excitement. She rushed back to the living room, hugging her grandfather and then her parents, before bouncing around the house like a child.

Given the circumstances, the Old Sun family still had food and wine. Seizing the joyous moment, the banquet naturally continued for quite some time. It was half an hour later before the Sun family finally cleaned up the dishes and furniture in the living room.

Night deepened. Sun Dongming and his wife, along with Sun Yaya, had all retired to their rooms. His two elder brothers were also sound asleep in the guest house. Unable to sleep, Sun Fu got out of bed alone. He then took a candle holder and went to the end of a small side hall next to the Sun family's living room, where the memorial tablets of his parents and wife were placed.

Sun Fu took three sandalwood incense sticks from nearby. He lit them with the candlelight, bowed three times while holding the incense, and then placed them in the small incense burner in front of the memorial tablets.

“Father, you still have such good foresight, your son…”

Sun Fu’s voice was slightly choked. He took a deep breath, looked at the three tablets, and said with a smile.

“Our Yaya has achieved something great, even more significant than before!”

The next day, Sun Yaya woke up early. After washing and getting ready, she organized her writing tools, put on her bamboo book satchel, and, after greeting her family, went to Ju’an Pavilion with a joyful heart. She was even earlier than her grandfather Sun Fu, who was preparing to set up his stall.

Although she used to go in the afternoons, that was when Sun Yaya was still attending the county school. The situation was naturally different now.

Not long after leaving home, she again met the woman she had seen by the neighborhood entrance yesterday. Sun Yaya approached with light steps, greeting her first.

“Good morning, Aunt Li, going to wash clothes?”

“Oh, it’s Yaya! You’re so happy today, did you get engaged yesterday?”

Aunt Li smiled and responded to Sun Yaya. Among the neighbors in Tongshu Fang, young and old, almost no one disliked her. Naturally, many young men secretly admired her, but they only dared to think about it to themselves. Not only did they all know that a woman of Sun Yaya’s talent and beauty was simply not someone an ordinary person could marry, but just spending a little time with her, the young men of the neighborhood would feel inadequate.

In the past, when people said such things, Sun Yaya, though polite, would feel displeasure. But today, she felt exceptionally lighthearted.

“No, it’s not that at all! You take your time washing clothes, I’m going ahead!”

Although she said that, Sun Yaya’s steps never stopped. She was already calling out to Aunt Li from a distance.

Passing through streets and alleys, crossing ditches and walking along paths, if it weren't for fear of jostling the writing tools in her book satchel, Sun Yaya would have really wanted to spin a few times as she walked. She was smiling brightly the whole way, actively greeting every acquaintance she met, a complete change from her usual melancholy. With her spirits greatly lifted, she was like a flower blooming in the bright morning light, appearing even more dazzling.

Before long, Sun Yaya, carrying her book satchel, had passed through the familiar narrow alley and saw Ju’an Pavilion in the distance. She immediately reined in her emotions, subconsciously tidied her clothes and hair, and then walked with steady steps to the courtyard gate. After that, she rubbed her face, making sure her joy wasn't too obvious, before knocking on the door.

“Thump, thump, thump…” “Teacher, it’s me, Yaya, I’m here to practice calligraphy!”

Ji Yuan’s calm voice came from inside.

“Come in.”

Sun Yaya couldn’t help but smile again. She gently pushed open the courtyard gate and saw the courtyard was empty; Mr. Ji had just opened the door to the main house.

“Good morning, Teacher! I brought you vegetable buns and meat buns, and two fried dough sticks. Please eat them while they’re hot!”

As she spoke, Sun Yaya had already closed the courtyard gate. She walked to the stone table in the courtyard, put down her book satchel, efficiently took out the breakfast she had bought for Ji Yuan, and began organizing her own writing tools.

Ji Yuan shook his head and smiled. This girl had come too early; sensing her approach, he had been forced to get up, though he should have been sleeping for much longer.

However, looking at her again today, Sun Yaya’s entire demeanor had changed. It was as if, in just one night, there had been a qualitative improvement. Her whole being exuded a special sense of clarity, which also made Ji Yuan smile again.

Sun Yaya busied herself with her writing tools for a while. She placed the ink stone, arranged the brush rest, spread out the Xuan paper, and placed the paperweight on it. Then, with practiced ease, she drew water from the water vat to grind ink. After dutifully completing all these tasks, she finally couldn’t help but look up at Ji Yuan and ask.

“Teacher, are you really an immortal?”

“Hahahahahahaha… I was just waiting to see how long you could hold it in, hahahaha…”

Ji Yuan laughed heartily, a rare occurrence. Though it’s said that a girl changes a lot as she grows older, this girl’s behavior was not much different from when she was a child.

“Teacher…”

“Alright, alright. If you see more of them in the future, you’ll find that immortals aren’t so divine. For today, first copy this calligraphy copybook once.”

Saying this, Ji Yuan came out from the main house, walked into the courtyard, and spread open the Sword Intent Scroll on the stone table.

Because each small character on it had become sentient, the characters on the Sword Intent Scroll were now vastly different from Zuo Li’s original handwriting. The small characters themselves constantly practiced and changed, making each character closer to the "Dao." However, they were also different in style from Ji Yuan’s own handwriting, and even differed from each other. Almost every small character represented a unique style; each character was distinct, yet each approached the Dao.

The moment Sun Yaya saw the Sword Intent Scroll, she was a little lost in thought. She felt that she wasn’t looking at a calligraphy copybook at all, but rather an all-encompassing painting. Looking at it for too long, she felt as if her mind would be fragmented by each small character.

“Calm your mind and focus.”

Ji Yuan’s calm and balanced voice reached her, and Sun Yaya immediately came to her senses. She quickly shook her head to dispel that lingering feeling.

“This copybook is amazing! Teacher, I feel like these characters are alive!”

Sun Yaya looked at Ji Yuan, her voice filled with astonishment.

“Heh heh, sometimes you can trust your spiritual sense. It often gets closer to the truth than you do yourself. Even when you are confused, your spiritual sense will remain clear longer than your conscious mind.”

Sun Yaya couldn’t help but widen her eyes, looking at the copybook. Was Mr. Ji implying that these characters were truly alive?

Ji Yuan stood before the stone table and suddenly said with a smile.

“Don’t hold it in anymore, say hello.”

Sun Yaya turned her head to look at Ji Yuan. One moment she was puzzled, the next moment her ears were filled with lively chatter.

“Master said we can talk!” “Hello, Yaya!”

“Sun Yaya, I saw you secretly blowing your nose in the courtyard when you were little!”

“Me too, me too!” “Hahahahaha, yes, yes, I saw it too!”

“Master told us to say hello, not to expose your embarrassing secrets!” “Sun Yaya, copy me first!”

“Me, me, I’m the first character!” “My essence matches Yaya’s!”

“You match nothing!” “Well, I match better than you do!”

The group of small characters started bickering again within a few sentences. Sun Yaya was so startled she couldn’t react for a long time. It wasn’t until Ji Yuan told her she could practice calligraphy that she, filled with uncontrollable excitement, began to write.

From time to time, the voices of the small characters echoed in her ears. Paper cranes also flew in to observe her during her practice. All of this made Sun Yaya realize that her world was now different from before.

Ji Yuan did not immediately demonstrate any wondrous immortal techniques to Sun Yaya, nor did he teach her any extraordinary methods from the start. When he said she was here to practice calligraphy, he meant just that. Besides teaching by word and example, his main instruction was for her to copy the Sword Intent Scroll.

Sun Yaya also proved herself capable, remaining neither arrogant nor impatient in this regard. She practiced calligraphy diligently. Without this temperament, she wouldn’t have been able to produce such beautiful calligraphy that impressed Ji Yuan.

Soon, winter arrived, nearing the end of the year. During this period, Sun Yaya visited Ju’an Pavilion daily. Although the Sun family still received continuous marriage proposals, the entire family’s attitude, from top to bottom, had greatly changed. They consistently rejected all proposals, leading some matchmakers to speculate whether the Sun family had already found a worthy son-in-law.

On the day of the Winter Solstice, fluffy snowflakes fell from the sky. Sun Yaya still stood in the courtyard of Ju’an Pavilion, practicing calligraphy at the stone table. A large jujube tree spread its dense branches above her head, preventing snowflakes from falling on her. Even in the cold of winter, the wind in Ju’an Pavilion’s courtyard remained gentle.

Ji Yuan, who was sitting at the wooden table in the main house, reading the Wondrous Transformation Heavenly Book, suddenly tilted his head slightly, but quickly refocused his attention on the book.

In Tianniu Fang, a fiery red fox stealthily crossed Shuangjing Pu. It then quickly passed through a narrow alley and leaped to the outside of Ju’an Pavilion’s courtyard. Just as it was about to jump into the courtyard, it suddenly noticed that the courtyard gate had no lock. Immediately, a look of delight appeared on the fox’s face.

Just as it was about to push the door open and enter, it seemed to remember that ordinary mortals also often visited Mr. Ji’s home. So it returned to the courtyard wall, used its fox magic, and then leaped into the small pavilion’s courtyard. Neither the pavilion’s plaque nor the jujube tree in the courtyard reacted to its unconventional entry.

In Ning’an County, as long as he hadn’t entered Ju’an Pavilion, Hu Yun was always cautious. For years, he had been surrounded by adversaries, and even though he now had some cultivation, he still tried to avoid their sharpest attacks.

As soon as Hu Yun landed, he looked around. His first glance brought him a pleasant surprise: Ji Yuan sitting in the house. Then he noticed Sun Yaya practicing calligraphy in the courtyard, and thought to himself, ‘Good thing I was careful, otherwise I would have been seen!’

Sun Yaya finished writing the character ‘sword’, rubbed her somewhat sore arm, put down her brush, and prepared to rest. The moment she looked up, she froze.

In her line of sight, a fiery red fox walked on its two hind legs, tip-toeing, passing the stone table and heading towards Mr. Ji’s main house.

As Hu Yun walked, before he even reached Ji Yuan’s room, he suddenly noticed that the girl writing seemed to be looking at him. So he slowly waved his paw from side to side. Sun Yaya’s gaze clearly followed the trajectory of Hu Yun’s paw.

Before Hu Yun could react, Sun Yaya spoke first. Her voice was even calmer than she had expected.

“Are you a demon? I think I’ve seen you before!”

Hu Yun slightly opened his mouth and pointed to himself with a paw.

“You can see me!?”

Ji Yuan, sitting in the room, nodded. “Good, she can now read the *Wondrous Heaven and Earth Methods*.”