Patrol Captain

"what happened?"

Master Qingyangzi's voice rang out, and seeing that Ji Wuming behind him had stopped moving, he turned his head slightly.

"It's nothing, Master." Under Qingyangzi's gaze, Ji Wuming's expression remained unchanged. He rolled up the outer robe he had taken off Qingyangzi, then, as if noticing something, he took Qingyangzi's hand and couldn't help but frown.
"But what happened to your hand? Why are your fingers all cut?"

On Qingyangzi's hand, there was dried blood between his thumb and forefinger, and a cut on his index finger.

Ji Wuming looked up at Qingyangzi, who looked somewhat bewildered. He turned his head away and simply said, "Perhaps it was accidentally scratched somewhere last night."

"It's alright."

As he spoke, he withdrew his hand, as if it were no problem.

Ji Wuming muttered from behind, "You should be more careful in the future."

Then he added, "Please change your clothes first. I'll go wake up the other junior brothers to get up and wash up. They can't miss the morning lessons."

As he spoke, he naturally took the outer garment that Qingyangzi had taken off and walked outside.

Behind him, "Qingyangzi" watched silently as his prized disciple left his room. Then, he raised the hand with the cut finger, his eyes flashing with a faint purple light, but quickly returned to normal.

On the other side, Ji Wuming walked out of Qingyangzi's room with a normal expression. However, after walking a distance, his expression began to change unpredictably. At this moment, he had a guess that made him both surprised and terrified.

The person in the room was not his "master"!
From the moment he discovered the blood-written words, Ji Wuming immediately became suspicious.

In addition to his own probing, the "Qingyangzi" in the room was unaware of the blood-written words, and he casually brushed off the fact that the other party had a cut on his finger.

He had spent many years with his master, Qingyangzi, and they were like father and son. He knew his master very well. In addition, since his master fell into misfortune, he had often taken care of his daily life. He could feel some subtle differences in his master's expression and tone of voice.

That's not my master inside!

Perhaps something has taken over his master's body.

Damn!

Ji Wuming was both shocked and angry, and worried about his master's condition.

But he was strong-willed and did not show any unusual behavior or reveal any clues on the spot. He left the room calmly.

At this moment, even though he was extremely anxious, he could only suppress it, his mind racing as he tried to find a solution.

The first thing that came to his mind was to seek help from the people in the Yun family.

But it was quickly rejected.

The people in the Yun family cannot be trusted.

Or more precisely, if the Yun family were to be alerted, there would be no one in the Yun family who could definitively resolve his doubts.

Subconsciously, he was telling himself that the Yun residence was not safe.

We mustn't alert anyone!
In that moment of intense thought, a flash of inspiration struck Ji Wuming.
As he walked, he unfolded the rolled-up coat in his hand, revealing the bloodstained sleeve.

The bright red character "Chen" pierced his eyes!

He suddenly felt a sense of enlightenment.

This is the warning his master left him, and it is also the key to truly resolving the issue.

His anxious mind quickly calmed down under the contrast of the blood-stained words.

His pace became unhurried, his expression returned to normal, and as usual, he went next door to wake up a junior brother, asking him to wake up the other junior brothers and sisters, to get up, wash, and practice their morning lessons.

He then left the guest quarters of the Yun family mansion and headed towards the main gate.

Along the way, the servants of the Yun family who got up early to clean saw this young hero and, fearing that something might have happened to him, came up to greet him.

Ji Wuming simply said he was going out of the manor to see the lively atmosphere of Chengdu that day and visit a friend. The servants in the manor had no suspicions and gave the young hero directions.

As they reached the corner of a waterside pavilion, a figure suddenly appeared from the side. Seemingly unable to dodge in time, she couldn't help but let out a soft cry and leaned back.

Ji Wuming reacted quickly, pulling and supporting the person who had come to his aid.

He glanced up and saw a young girl supporting him in his arms. The girl was beautiful and graceful, dressed in a moon-white silk jacket and a lotus-colored brocade cloak. She was slender and delicate, like a willow swaying in the breeze.

At this moment, the girl seemed to be frightened. Her almond-shaped eyes were soft and weak. She let out a "Ya!" and her face flushed red. She quickly stood up from Ji Wuming's arms.

"I'm sorry, young master, I've offended you."

The girl clutched her hand, which seemed to have been hurt, and looked down shyly, her head bowed, unable to meet his gaze.

Ji Wuming saw the young woman and, judging from her attire, believed her to be a young lady from the Yun family. He helped her up and apologized.

"My name is Ji Wuming. I accidentally bumped into you, Miss. It was my fault."

I'm sorry.

"However, I have other matters to attend to. I will come to apologize in person when I return later."

"So you are the renowned swordsman Ji from the Shu Mountain Sword Sect? I have long admired you. Is there anything you need my help with?"

The girl spoke in a clear, crisp voice, still with that delicate and shy demeanor.

“Thank you for your kindness, Miss Xie Nu’er. Chengdu must be bustling with activity today. I’d like to go outside the manor to join the fun and, while my elders are still getting ready, visit some friends.” Ji Wuming said calmly.

"Yes, today is the Cloud Peak Mountain Seal Conferment Ceremony. It's sure to be very lively. I've been staying at home for a while and I'd like to go and see what's going on." The girl said, raising her head, her tone becoming excited, looking at Ji Wuming with the innocent eyes of a young girl.

"Young Master Ji, would you be so kind as to take me out to see what's going on?"

Ji Wuming frowned slightly at the girl's naive words. He had urgent business to attend to and hadn't expected to bump into this Miss Yun on the way, who insisted on leaving the manor with him.

Just as he was pondering how to reply, he heard a woman's voice coming from around the corner behind the girl.

“Sister Nu’er”.

"I heard you came here. Who are you talking to?"

"Let's go, today is a big day. The old lady in the backyard told us to go and pay our respects to the old lady."

As they were talking, a woman emerged from around the corner. She was dressed in blue with a gentle expression; it was Zhao Yunluo.

As Zhao Yunluo spoke, she walked over and then noticed Ji Wuming standing to the side.

She recognized Ji Wuming. On the way she was picked up by the Yun family, she encountered the flying boat of the Shu Mountain Sword Sect and rode with it all the way.

"Yunluo greets Young Hero Ji."

Zhao Yunluo gracefully bowed to the other party, unsure whether he remembered her or not, and she didn't mention it.

Ji Wuming vaguely remembered this woman, but he had no time to say anything more at the moment, and returned the greeting.

At this moment, the girl's request was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Zhao Yunluo, and Ji Wuming seemed to have a certain string in his mind become clear.

He was completely unaware that his thoughts had been affected, that he had become hesitant, and that he was still struggling with how to find an excuse to refuse the girl.

At that moment, he clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"The two young ladies have gone to pay their respects, so I will take my leave now."

After speaking, Ji Wuming calmly left. (End of Chapter)