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Chapter 243 The Young Appraiser's Guard
"The impact your competition had on Qingyun Tianxia was enormous."

"Probably no one would have thought that you could be this strong, to the point that there are countless people who doubt their own existence."

"Even I was a little frightened, wondering what kind of monster I had brought out of Yuyang County."

After the battle at Lingxi Dojo, Yan Hao was expelled, and Ji You went to Taiping Garden to register as the new champion, awaiting the next challenger.

At this moment, many immortal sects and ancient families gathered in Taiping Garden, all there to defend their positions in the upcoming arena. A group on the left and a group on the right, all gazing at Ji You's figure from afar.

Cao Jingsong, standing beside him, began to mutter to himself upon seeing this scene, his chest bulging with immense volume.

He had been saying all the time that "this child is extraordinary," but when he actually saw how extraordinary Ji You was, he still felt like he was in a dream.

Even an instructor like him is still reeling from the experience, so the impact of the battle that morning on the others is unimaginable.

Ji You remained silent, wearing a serious expression, appearing somewhat unfathomable and unapproachable.

That's right. In the eyes of Cao Jingsong and the other three, Ji You has come this far with just his sword. He should have some of the burdens of a celestial being. He can no longer laugh and rave as he used to. He needs to cultivate some celestial aura around himself.

After all, those with high cultivation levels and strong talents in the Azure Cloud Realm are all calm and composed, unperturbed by honor or disgrace.

This can suppress emotional fluctuations and make one's mind clear, while also making one appear more profound and unfathomable.

However, compared to that, they still felt that the roguish Ji You from back then was more vivid and interesting.

If this continues, their relationship will likely become increasingly distant.

The atmosphere in Qingyun Tianxia has always been like this. Due to the difference in cultivation talent, everyone's cultivation speed varies. Many people make rapid progress in their cultivation, but when they look back, they don't recognize the companions they came from.

These thoughts swirled in the minds of the four until the Director of the Immortal Clan explained that the damage to the dojo did not require compensation. At that moment, they noticed that Ji You's heavy heart had vanished, and the smile on his lips was becoming uncontrollable. Only then did they realize that they had really overthought things this time.

"Teacher, I won."

"Well, I suddenly remembered that I have some things to take care of at the inn."

"?"

Cao Jingsong and his three companions quickly left, not for any other reason than that Ji You's smile was increasingly suggesting that they were inviting him to dinner.

Because of the Tiandao Society, the Zhongxing County Courtyard is overpriced, and even a four-dish-and-one-soup meal can be deadly. It may not be a bad thing that it is becoming more and more distant.

These people are really awful.

I clearly saved them money to repair the temple, but I didn't expect them to be so stingy as to not even treat me to a meal!

Ji You returned to Rusheng Garden, cursing and swearing, only to find the garden completely quiet.

Autumn has arrived, and the leaves have turned yellow very quickly these past few days. The trees are covered in golden leaves, swaying and rustling in the wind.

He stood in the courtyard for a long time, and suddenly noticed two figures in front of the beautiful woman in the opposite building. One was Zhuo Wanqiu and the other was Ding Yao, who were also looking at him.

They returned directly from the Lingxi Dojo, their eyes filled with even more respect than before, and a hint of coquetry in them, as if they wanted to accompany her as part of her dowry.

Ji You looked into their eyes and immediately understood, so she pushed open the door and went inside.

Yan Shuyi was in his small house, kneeling barefoot on the tea table, examining a pile of letters on the table with a cold and arrogant look in his eyes.

From his angle, he could just see a pair of small, white feet with a rosy tinge, gently pressed against her plump buttocks, her ten toes as beautiful as green onions and cardamom.

Yan Hao's injuries were not serious; he only suffered from blood stasis and difficulty moving his arms. Compared to Tang Jingming and Xiang Hui, who had previously fainted, and Chen Ruiyang, who had suffered internal injuries, he was in much better condition.

This also shows that the gap between the Fusion Realm and the Profound Realm is indeed enormous; it's just a pity that he encountered a monster.

After leaving the Lingxi Dojo, Yan Hao was sent to a medical clinic for treatment. Upon returning, he apologized to Yan Shuyi, saying that he had failed the expectations of Lingjian Mountain.

He was indeed appointed by Tianjian Peak to take the top spot and find a way to seize the sacred artifact, but on the surface he still put on a respectful attitude towards Yan Shuyi.

Yan Shuyi looked at him with a cold and arrogant expression and said that it was not surprising that he lost to him, after all, that person was him, which made the surrounding disciples show strange expressions.

The disciples of Lingjian Mountain all knew that their master was awe-inspiring and always had a cold and aloof demeanor. They never expected her to use such a tone to evaluate a disciple of the Heavenly Academy.

In addition, the appraiser's voice sounded like he had caught a cold.

Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu looked at their appraiser's expression, which seemed to say that everything about her husband was wonderful, and thought to themselves, "You'd better hurry up and go play with your son-in-law before everyone comes back, or you'll let something slip."

So Yan Shuyi came here, brewed tea and peeled pumpkin seeds by himself, and waited for him to return.

“Audacious disciple of the Heavenly Academy has dared to injure a member of my sect.”

Yan Shuyi had a cold and arrogant expression, but the moment Ji You entered the room, her pink toes, which were under her buttocks, visibly curled up.

Ji You took off her boots and walked onto the tea table: "So what?"

"Although the Heavenly Academy is called the Great Xia Holy Sect, it is only in name. Everyone knows that my Spirit Sword Mountain is the number one of the Seven Immortal Sects. Are you not afraid of bringing trouble upon yourself by acting like this?"

"I have a secret marriage relationship with the higher-ups of Spirit Sword Mountain, and I was entrusted with this action by him. Do you really need to know that?"

"You lecherous scoundrel..."

"Don't anger me, or I'll banish you from Spirit Sword Mountain."

Yan Shuyi was stunned for a moment, then remembered Gongshu Chou's words about Ji You treating Lingjian Mountain as his own: "I'll beat you up..."

Ji You sat up straight: "You don't believe in my connections? Then go and ask around. When my tutor was watching the match, he was personally received by the young master of Lingjian Mountain. He even specially placed my tutor Cao's seat in front of his own, clearly showing him the respect due to an elder."

Yan Shuyi's cold face flushed red, and her round, jade-like toes curled slightly again: "Why do you always care about these unimportant things, but aren't you curious about why I didn't tell you that Yan Hao was going to break through to the next realm before the competition?"

"If you didn't tell me, it means you definitely didn't know either. But why is Yan Hao hiding this so well, even from his fellow disciples?"

"Perhaps it's for the sacred artifact."

Yan Shuyi then told him about the inheritance of sacred artifacts in the holy land of the sages, and the speculation that Tianjian Peak might be looking for a way to retrieve the Spirit Mirror.

Upon hearing this, Ji You couldn't help but slightly open her mouth, thinking to herself, "This is really unbelievable."

After all that, I ended up helping to resolve a hidden problem.

It seems that the fact that the arrogant ghost has entered the Boundless Realm has indeed put great pressure on Tianjian Peak. Fortunately, I did not hold back back then, and fortunately, I chose to continue on the path of body refinement. Otherwise, Yan Hao would really be difficult to deal with.

Ji You pondered for a moment, then suddenly felt something cool and soft reach into her hanging palm. Looking down, she realized it was Yan Shuyi's small and delicate feet.

He glanced at the young appraiser, who sat upright with a slender waist, his beautiful eyes filled with reward.

Ji You reached out and grasped those snow-white feet, only then noticing the mountain of letters piled up: "What are these things?"

Although the room wasn't his own, he had lived there for half a month and was naturally very familiar with it. He remembered that when he left, there weren't that many things on the table.

Yan Shuyi then looked at the table: "It's for you. I don't know what's inside. Open it and see for yourself?"

"The signature is Huang Rou. Who is this Huang Rou? I don't think I know her."

"It sounds like a woman."

"?"

Ji You tore open the bulging envelope, and before she could even reach in, a light pink bodice fell out, carrying a pleasant fragrance of cosmetics, and embroidered with the words "Huang Rou".

The bellyband is a woman's most private and intimate item, so it is made of the smoothest silk fabric, which is why it slips out automatically.

Along with the bib, there was also a note in the envelope, inviting him to meet at the willow grove on the island in the middle of the lake the next evening.

Upon seeing this, Ji You couldn't help but hold her breath.

He was very familiar with this thing because he had received many similar letters when he defeated Chu He. Later, he received some more after winning a spot in the Heavenly Academy during the preliminary rounds. He knew that this was a signal that a woman was willing to cultivate with a man.

His battle with Yan Hao has probably spread throughout the entire Xianxian Garden by now, so it's not surprising that this has happened.

However, it is quite obvious that all the women who delivered the messages came from minor aristocratic families, while those from middle and upper-class families probably looked down on his status as a rural private cultivator.

Ji You coughed and looked up at Yan Shuyi, only to see her eyes narrow slightly.

"This is boring, I'm not watching anymore."

"Since it's already been delivered, hurry up and take a look at some more."

Upon hearing Yan Shuyi's words, Ji You paused for a moment, then reached out and began to disassemble the other letters.

The contents of the letters were all similar, with most being bellybands and some underpants, a whole bunch of colorful ones, so much so that the house was filled with the fragrance of cosmetics, and at the same time, sword energy rose up.

The fragrance of cosmetics naturally came from the clothes worn close to the body, while the sword energy came from the vinegar essence of the Boundless Realm standing next to him.

Ji You looked up at Yan Shuyi again and found that she had subconsciously frightened her face. There were too many letters, some of which were extremely explicit, filled with words like "spring night" and "romantic tent".

Yan Shuyi's cold face flushed red as she discovered two more letters, one from the Hua family of Lingzhou and the other from the Zeng family of Lingzhou.

Ji You turned to look at her: "Jealousy."

"nonsense."

"They insist on seeing it even when I tell them not to, and then they get upset after seeing it."

Yan Shuyi glanced at him and said, "Why would I be displeased? I just want to see how much of a flirt you are."

Ji You placed the letter in her hand on the table: "Marriage between men and women is a natural law of the world. Besides, I am of age and have to consider the continuation of my bloodline. I don't want to choose someone else, but I don't know when the one occupying my life will give birth to my child."

He was no longer afraid of angering Yan Shuyi, because he knew that this little jealous girl would become obedient as soon as she was in his arms.

This time, however, Yan Shuyi didn't give him a chance to reach out and hug her. Instead, she swung her fists without saying a word, and the two of them fought loudly in the room.

If it weren't for the restrictions set up beforehand, everyone in the courtyard would definitely have been awakened by now.

boom!
As the fist landed, ripples spread through the air. Ji You blocked it with her arms, and then a fragrant, snow-white foot came straight at her. She immediately dodged, but a kick still landed on her chest.

Yan Shuyi didn't use all her strength; her cold feet were extremely soft, so the kicks weren't too much for him to bear.

Ji You dodged several times, feeling somewhat puzzled. She thought to herself that she had said the same thing to her before, but she hadn't seen her act so decisively. It was as if something had touched a nerve in her.

After a flurry of punches and kicks, Ji You was pinned to a corner.

He was now certain that Yan Shuyi's beating of him was not out of anger, but rather seemed to stem from some other emotion.

At this moment, the young appraiser kicked him twice and punched him twice.

She naturally couldn't bear to really hit him, so Ji You seized the opportunity to pull him into her arms, locking his small fists and restless feet, and lowered her head to press him down.

Yan Shuyi's small mouth was kissed, her two hands were buried in front of her body and clenched into a ball, her mouth opened and closed, her mind was full of the question he had asked her earlier about how many children she wanted to have, and her heart was full of shyness.

After a long while, they gently separated. Yan Shuyi was breathing softly in his arms, her eyes watery as if they were about to overflow, but her spiritual energy never stopped circulating, guarding against the weapon beneath her buttocks.

Ji You held her breath, too afraid to move.

Those few punches and kicks just now were more like playful teasing, but the sword intent condensed from spiritual energy now is real, and this is easy to tell...

"The Directorate of Immortals previously stated that the finals would be held in ten days or later. From what I've heard from others, it seems they don't intend to challenge me. So I'm planning to go out for a bit. Would you like to come with me?"

"I'll just go there while I'm at it."

"You didn't even ask where we're going?"

"There's no need to ask me more questions about what I'm doing."

Yan Shuyi curled up in his arms, her snow-white feet dangling, and whispered.

The duel with Yan Hao took place on the day of the Autumn Equinox, followed by an autumn rain.

Ji You did not appear all day, nor did Cao Jingsong and the others show up at the Sage Garden, so that all those who wanted to host a banquet for them returned empty-handed.

As for the arena battles, perhaps because Ji You's displayed strength made all the participants reassess themselves, everyone was extremely cautious, and no challenge matches were held on the second day.

Whether you call it trepidation or a period of reflection, the atmosphere was still quite strange.

At this time, He Lingxiu also successfully entered the arena, but has not yet chosen an opponent to challenge.

She broke through to the next realm very late, and has only now stabilized her realm. Whether she can make it into the top ten still depends on luck.

Others, like Shi Junhao, were also very cautious and did not make hasty choices.

Logically speaking, this was actually the right choice, but when they thought about how Ji You directly picked the strongest one and went straight to the stage to draw his sword decisively, they still felt somewhat complicated.

It was afternoon, and He Lingxiu was sitting in the middle of the house, receiving the Qiu family father and daughter. On the table, where the aroma of tea filled the air, there was an invitation.

Since the day before yesterday, the head of the Qiu family has noticed that his daughter has become somewhat taciturn and often absent-minded. Yesterday morning, she got up early again, seemingly to go somewhere to watch the game.

His daughter, who had never shown much interest in the Heavenly Dao Tournament, suddenly seemed to have changed her personality, which naturally attracted her father's attention. So yesterday, he went to the Lingxi Dojo with her. After watching the show, he remained silent for a long time. Today, he wrote an invitation and brought his daughter here in a hurry.

When He Lingxiu suggested marrying Qiu Hanyue to Ji You as a concubine, the head of the Qiu family did not take it seriously.

The reason he agreed was not because he valued Ji You, but because of his relationship with the He family.

Therefore, when his daughter repeatedly avoided and refused to accept the marriage, the head of the Qiu family did not insist any further.

But after yesterday's duel, he regretted it.

That's why he brought his daughter along, hoping to see if there was still a chance for her to be married off.

After reading the letter written by the Qiu family head to Ji You, He Lingxiu raised her eyes to look at Qiu Hanyue, who had her hands clasped together and hanging on her skirt with her head down.

In fact, according to Qiu Hanyue's original plan, she would have refused to come here today because her father brought her, but for some reason she still came.

"Fairy He, do you think this post is appropriate?" the Qiu family head couldn't help but ask.

He Lingxiu came to her senses: "It's well written, but... let's forget about it."

Qiu Hanyue raised her head slightly and stared at He Lingxiu.

The Qiu family patriarch was slightly taken aback: "Why is that?"

“Some things were originally just a matter of course, but one of us didn’t want to and the other didn’t want to talk about them, so talking too much made both of us feel awkward.”

"This……"

He Lingxiu then placed the invitation back on the table: "Junior Brother Ji told me very seriously that he would not accept this marriage. I think the Qiu family should choose another suitable son-in-law. We can take advantage of this Tiandao Society meeting to look around and make more choices."

The Qiu family patriarch remained silent for a long time before saying, "My daughter was ignorant before, but Ji You can't possibly marry only one person. I still want to ask Fairy He to give it another try."

"Are you really determined?"

"I was ignorant before, but now I somewhat regret it..."

He Lingxiu looked at the father and daughter, and then glanced at Ji You's residence.

After witnessing his battle with Yan Hao, her desire to recruit Ji You intensified, but she hadn't yet found anyone else suitable.

Since the Qiu family's idea was so strong, He Lingxiu thought it was worth a try. After thinking for a long time, she got up and walked towards Ji You's house.

The Qiu family father and daughter waited quietly there, and soon He Lingxiu returned, the invitation in her hand seemingly untouched.

"He... won't accept it?"

"Yesterday, twenty-eight women sent letters and invitations. I just asked my maid, and she said they were all returned. Some of their clothes... were even packed incorrectly."

After He Lingxiu finished speaking, she handed the invitation back.

When the Qiu family patriarch heard He Lingxiu say "it is said," he was slightly taken aback: "He Fairy didn't see him?"

He Lingxiu's expression suddenly became complicated: "I didn't see her."

"How come this person... has even disappeared from his fellow disciples' page?"

"It's not that he's not seeing me, it's that he's left."

"left?"

"I went to his house just now and found that no one was inside. His clothes and everything else had been cleaned up. So I went to ask the disciples of the Head of the Affairs Department. The disciples of the Head of the Affairs Department said that Junior Brother Ji left after returning those twenty-eight letters and would come back for the duel."

The head of the Qiu family opened his mouth and asked, "Why would you leave at this time? Is there something important?"

He Lingxiu picked up her teacup: "He said the wheat in the field was ripe and he needed to go home to harvest it."

"?"

"That's just his personality. The more others care about something, the less he cares about it; the less others care about it, the more he cares about it."

Qiu Hanyue looked up after hearing this, her expression slightly taken aback.

Immortal cultivators are high above and don't care about ordinary people, let alone farming and harvesting.

But for some reason, when he heard that Ji You had gone home to harvest wheat, he sensed a carefree and elegant air of otherworldly grace in those few words.

(End of this chapter)