Chapter 194: Kissing is also Cold and Arrogant
As the Great Cold approached, Shengjing City was covered in falling snow. At this time of year, banquets in the city increased, and many invited Ji You. However, Ji You, who usually enjoyed attending banquets, never showed up, as if the free food and drink had lost their appeal to him, which was perplexing.
Cao Jinsong had been on edge these past few days because the end of the month was when he received his monthly salary.
But the expected bandits didn't appear, which made him feel relieved yet puzzled, thinking, “Could this wicked Disciple have changed professions?”
However, the news Ban Yangshu brought later made Cao Jinsong suddenly realize something.
He said someone had seen a woman's figure in Ji You's courtyard.
The woman had no Spiritual Qi fluctuations around her, so she should be a Mortal, and she was now living in Ji You's room.
Some others also claimed to have heard a woman's voice in Ji You's courtyard, as melodious as a silver bell.
In other words, he was captivated by beauty.
And indeed, the rumors were true. During the days of peaceful wintering with the little Master Jian of Lingjian Mountain, Ji You was somewhat reluctant to go out.
He had grown tired of drawing hopscotch with his hands, so he drew her animal cards, which was a game similar to ‘Tiger, Chicken, Worm’.
“Tiger cards aren’t allowed to have tails drawn.”
“?”
Ji You felt the faint Sword Qi and thought, “I don’t understand, but I respect it.”
Yan Shuyi, at this moment, had her fair, smooth feet bare, stepping on the cotton-padded mat. Seeing that he didn’t draw the tail, she showed a satisfied expression.
“Want to make a bet?”
As soon as Ji You said this, he saw Yan Shuyi curl her fair, tender feet behind her.
At this moment, the upright Young Master felt offended: “No betting on feet this time.”
Yan Shuyi looked up at him in confusion, suddenly noticing he was staring at her red lips: “Oh, do you want to bet your life?”
“No, I think gambling is bad.”
At this moment, all the gentleness stemmed from insufficient strength.
Ji You had now stabilized his current Realm, and unless he actively willed it, his Aura remained deep and restrained.
As for the opportunity for Integration Dao, it was still a mystery. The only thing he could continue to Cultivate was his Physical Body.
So, after the card game ended, Ji You took out the Great Qi and hung it by the stove, then picked up a futon, preparing to return to his room to Cultivate diligently. Even if he couldn’t win, he had to be able to endure.
However, after a moment of thought, he did not stay in his room but returned to the main hall.
A moment later, the Qi waves around him began to roar and surge, and the Spiritual Fire circulating through his Meridians slowly churned outwards, accompanied by a wave of scorching Qi spreading out.
The previous feeling was not wrong.
After several attempts, Ji You found that the feeling of restraint he felt before Breakthrough had indeed weakened significantly as his Realm improved.
It was as if the invisible copper ring had moved back considerably, leaving more room to advance.
That meant that the Body Refining method during the Cultivation process was indeed not a wrong path.
A higher Realm can be paired with a stronger Physical Body to gain stronger combat power, because a Breakthrough in Realm not only increases Divine Thought and Spiritual Qi but also raises the upper limit of Physical Body strength. Yan Shuyi was currently admiring the snow outside the room, her graceful figure standing amidst the flying snow, her immortal posture elegant, her eyelashes trembling slightly, as she extended her slender, fair hand to catch the scattered snowflakes.
Her exquisite beauty, combined with the temperament she had cultivated since childhood, presented a captivating, world-shattering appearance.
As the wave of heat came from inside the room, the little Master Jian slightly averted her gaze, her pretty face expressionless, but her mind was filled with many images.
Most of these images were drafts brought by Zhuo Wanqiu after the Tianshu Academy Autumn Tournament.
However, drawings are merely products of sight; they lack the immersive appeal of being there in person.
Yan Shuyi watched very subtly, glancing sideways, exuding the Master Jian's authority, one could say she was looking down with a serious expression.
Ji You often held her while brewing tea by the stove, and she had looked around quite a bit. Thinking of this, her gaze became much more justified.
And in this process, the little Master Jian suddenly understood why she liked being held by him so much.
Because after Ji You underwent Body Refining, his constant body temperature had also been increasing, making him like a stove.
This unfamiliar Young Master, he must be doing it on purpose...
The main room had east and west rooms, one for each of them, but he always chose to Body Refine in the main hall.
After the Yao Race and Human Race began trade, Yan Shuyi had read many documents and knew that before the Yao Race's true spirits awakened, in an era when they had not shed their racial forms, there existed a very beautiful race called the Nanke.
Nanke tribesmen would curl and spread their tails upwards during courtship, revealing magnificent tail feathers to gain the favor of females. Yan Shuyi was thinking when she suddenly saw a black cat dart onto the wall, arching its back and moving forward on its paws, its slender tail swaying in the snow, its expression instantly becoming cold and arrogant.
The unfamiliar Young Master who attracts attention—
After reading Gongshu Chou's great work, she had some questions but hadn't figured out how to ask them, nor was she sure if she should.
So she gently beckoned, and a gust of wind instantly condensed, then countless snowflakes flew towards her palm, forming a snowball, her eyes filled with eagerness.
After a long time, Ji You slowly opened his eyes and gradually retracted his Aura.
Although the sense of restraint had weakened, the sixteenth minor illumination would still not be as effortless as the first. By his estimation,
this time it would take about twenty times to achieve something.
Then, the heat around him did not recede, and he walked out of the room like an upright Young Master, pacing back and forth in front of the little Master Jian who was admiring the snow.
Yan Shuyi knew he was doing it on purpose and showed no concern for the heat emanating from him, yet her cheek was suddenly pinched, and her cold face quietly flushed red.
But before her Master Jian temper could flare, she suddenly felt a wave of warmth wash over her.
When she came to her senses, Ji You had already draped his scholar's cloak over her, tied the two straps at her chest, and brushed the scattered snow from her hair.
Cultivators could use Spiritual Qi to ward off cold, but the little Master Jian, seeing not much snow, had not circulated any Spiritual Qi at all, seemingly wanting to be closer to the heavy snow of winter.
At this moment, Yan Shuyi turned to look at the room, at the place where the Great Qi had been hanging.
She had seen Ji You suddenly take out the Great Qi, but at that time, she didn't understand why Ji You insisted on hanging it by the stove until this moment, her eyelashes couldn't help but tremble slightly.
At this moment, Ji You turned to look at the base of the wall, where scattered firewood was piled.
Freedom, auspiciousness, longevity, purity, desirelessness—Tianshu Academy had five great halls. He was pondering which hall might have unused crossbeams.
“I don’t think Body Refining is a wrong path.”
“Are you trying to challenge the common understanding of the Qingyun World with your own interpretation?”
“No, I just think some things should be considered from a different angle. Could it be that Body Refining limits the Human-Heavenly Dao connection not because the Physical Body restricts Divine Thought too much, but because the Heavenly Dao is too weak?”
In the evening after admiring the snow, Ji You stoked the stove hotter and offered a sip of tea from his cup to Yan Shuyi, who had just returned from outside the door.
It was his own cup, but Yan Shuyi didn't seem to mind.
In fact, for the past few days, they had been eating and living together, and they had already mistakenly used each other's cups many times.
Even during meals, things Ji You had bitten but not finished sometimes inexplicably disappeared into the little Master Jian's mouth.
At this moment, Yan Shuyi sat in front of him, took off her boots, and then lightly raised her arm, feeling a warm chest press against her.
“What do you mean by the Heavenly Dao being too weak?”
Ji You pondered for a long time: “Do you know about Wi-Fi? It’s a type of wave, similar to a communication jade platform. High-quality communication jade platforms are also good, capable of transmitting messages from the Snow Region to the Nine Provinces, but poor quality ones can only be used between prefectures.”
Yan Shuyi turned to look at him: “Are you saying that the waves emitted by the Heavenly Dao are so weak that they cannot be sensed if slightly obscured?”
“Yes, it shouldn't be this weak, but it is indeed very weak. Its weakness has led the Human Race to have to change their Cultivation methods, abandoning Body Refining to ensure the continuation of the Human-Heavenly Dao connection. This also aligns with the theory of the Human Race's Luck loss.”
“But the Qingyun World has no such history.”
As the next Master-in-charge of an Immortal Sect, the little Master Jian of Lingjian Mountain had access to far more secrets than an ordinary Inner Courtyard Disciple like Ji You.
And if even someone of her status didn't know about it, then it was highly likely it didn't exist.
Ji You watched her fall into thought and then spoke: “After the Primordial War, the Heavenly Dao’s Luck abandoned the physically powerful Yao Race and instead chose the weak Human Race. In my opinion, perhaps it wasn't a fated choice, but rather a helpless compromise.”
“Do you think the Yao Race is better than the Human Race?”
“That’s the truth. The Yao Race and the Barbarian Race are both superior to our Human Race, whether in talent or Physical Body. This is my personal experience from my envoy mission to the Snow Region.”
“So tails are good too? Truly a personal experience.”
Ji You slightly winced, thinking, “Why is it about tails again?”
Yan Shuyi couldn't help but say, “I just happened to hear Gongshu Chou mention it. I had already forgotten, but you suddenly brought up the Yao Race, and then I remembered Young Master Ji’s scandalous stories about tails in the Snow Region.”
Ji You lowered his head and found the little Master Jian looking at him with a cold, arrogant expression, holding a fire poker in her hand.
At this moment, some things gradually became clear in the depths of his mind.
For example, the arrow-pierced heart ‘masterpiece’ he received after returning from the Snow Region, and the subsequent lack of a reply.
Also, a few days ago, when he went to the city to buy charcoal, he casually fed a stray cat and was then given the cold shoulder for half a day. And then today, he wasn't allowed to draw tails on the tiger cards. It turned out she knew about the Snow Region matter.
This was not “had already forgotten”; she had been holding a grudge ever since he returned from the Snow Region.
Gongshu Chou said this? Fortunately, he didn't know much, only that they went to the street to look at tails.
Ji You opened his mouth at this moment: “I have a friend who is very curious about the Yao Race and asked me to inquire when I went to the Yao Race if Yao Race women have tails.”
“So you went to see the Yaozu Gongzhu’s?”
“?”
“As everyone was puzzled, a graceful figure appeared at the door, exquisite and lithe—‘May I ask, Princess, do Yao Race women have round hips and tails? Ji Lang, do you want to see? The Yaozu Gongzhu lifted her skirt, revealing a beautiful tail, and flirted with Ji You.’”
Ji You was stunned: “What kind of filth is this?”
The little Master Jian quietly leaned against him, the fire poker in her hand glowing red, her beautiful eyes filled with innocence: “Gongshu Chou’s ‘Travelogue of the Snow Region’.”
Upon hearing this, Ji You suddenly remembered Gongshu Chou's furious writing that night in Ji Village.
It turned out it wasn't a love letter at all; it was a book of life and death he had written for him.
He didn't know that two divine detectives were in the carriage on the return journey that day, so at this moment, he was very puzzled as to how Gongshu Chou knew he had seen Feng Yang's tail.
“Where was he then?”
“Where was who?”
“Gongshu Chou.”
Yan Shuyi blinked: “How would I know where he was?”
Ji You raised the corner of his mouth at the sound: “He was treating an injury at the time, and I was also treating an injury, but he wrote as if he had seen it with his own eyes.”
“He could even describe the shape of that tail. Didn't that Yaozu Gongzhu show it to both of us? Master Jian, how credible do you think this is?”
The Young Master Jian raised her beautiful eyes: “You mean he just made it up?”
“Of course, none of those who write books are good people.”
“But there's an old saying in Qingyun World: 'Where there's smoke, there's fire.' Gongshu Chou is a Cultivator after all, with keen senses. Even if he didn't see it with his own eyes, it can't be entirely fabricated, and he would never dare to lie to me.”
Ji You looked at Yan Shuyi and suddenly realized that the Young Master Jian had truly been feeling jealous all along.
But looking at her serious expression at this moment, he suddenly felt that letting her be jealous wasn't so bad after all.
This tsundere, she acts like a stranger to him every day. Normal methods of pursuit would take countless years to bear fruit.
Yan Shuyi's eyes met his at that moment. Her interrogating expression suddenly froze. She felt as if she were the main wife whose favor had been stolen by a concubine, and her eyes instantly narrowed.
This was why she didn't know how to ask; it would compromise the dignity of a Master Jian.
Just as she was thinking this, she suddenly felt her backside lift from the stool. Before she could react, she found herself already sitting on Ji You's lap.
Although they had been carrying each other around on Lingjian Mountain, their posture had always been one holding the other from behind.
They had never adopted a posture like this, where she was entirely held in his arms, sitting on his lap.
So her two fair feet dangled awkwardly in mid-air, exquisitely clear as if carved from jade, their insteps shimmering with an orange glow in the flickering firelight.
Ji You looked at Yan Shuyi, who was sitting sideways in his arms, then gently pulled the fire hook from her hand.
Without much resistance, the Young Master Jian released her small hand, a hint of obedience flashing in her eyes.
Seeing this, Ji You suddenly discovered an interesting point.
This tsundere Fairy, once she was in intimate contact, her Aura would suddenly weaken by a few points, completely disregarding any so-called Master Jian dignity.
Therefore, sometimes he couldn't always be too accommodating; he had to apply some intensity from time to time.
Otherwise, with her constantly conflicting personalities, it would be difficult to make much progress, as her little mouth was extremely stubborn.
Ji You held the fire hook, glanced at the firebox, and then bent down to poke it.
However, just as he bent down, the Young Master Jian in his arms suddenly blushed slightly, and a slender, fair, jade-like hand pushed against his shoulder, as if to stop him from bending, but the force she exerted was incredibly soft and weak.
“?”
“?”
Ji You was stunned for a moment, then saw Yan Shuyi quickly withdraw her hand, looking somewhat surprised while her expression gradually became thoughtful.
At this moment, Yan Shuyi's pink and moist toes instantly curled together, and she fell completely silent.
Silence, not a sound.
The firewood occasionally crackled as it burned, but it could not disturb this silence. The man and woman, pressed together, each had their own thoughts.
She thought he was going to kiss her.
He was not going to kiss her.
Ji You suddenly bent down at this moment, poked the stove again, and watched her expression.
Yan Shuyi turned her head to look after hearing the sound, feeling a bit annoyed. She thought he had noticed her misunderstanding and was deliberately teasing her, so she turned back and met Ji You's gaze.
Her stunningly beautiful face now held a cold and arrogant expression, perfectly composed without the slightest hint of evasion.
No misunderstanding, not going to kiss you, don't overthink it.
Ji You now slammed the fire hook on the ground twice, deliberately making noise to inform her that he was going to poke the stove. But as he leaned down, he suddenly dropped the fire hook, leaned in close, and precisely captured her soft, sweet lips.
With a gentle squeeze of his hands, the delicate and soft Fairy was embraced deep within his arms.
Yan Shuyi was still in her 'arrogant stare-down' with him, not expecting to be kissed. Her translucent toes instantly curled tighter.
But neither of them closed their eyes; the gaze continued.
After a long while, Yan Shuyi finally came to her senses, realizing her mouth was constantly changing shape under the increasingly forceful kiss. After much thought, she deliberately shifted her gaze to the side.
On the right wall of the room hung a painting, which Cong Yi had given to Cao Jinsong, and which Ji You had later taken.
Leisurely, cassia flowers fall; at night, the spring mountains are empty and still.
As the moon rises, it startles the mountain birds, who occasionally chirp in the spring stream.
The Young Master Jian silently read the inscription on it, her lips parting involuntarily, her tongue tip caught, and soft panting sounds emerged from her ears as her body grew somewhat weak.
After finishing the poem, she shifted her gaze back, only to find Ji You still watching her with open eyes. So she gently bit down with her pearly teeth, but failed to bite him in the slightest.
Her helpless pearly teeth could only give up the attack, letting him kiss her, but her gaze remained cold and arrogant, drifting about.
Actually, this kiss was just a test in Ji You's mind; he hadn't planned to kiss her so thoroughly.
After all, the woman in front of him was from the Yingtian Realm. But he hadn't expected it to develop like this, so when he heard the Young Master Jian's panting gradually begin, he kissed deeper and deeper.
After a long while, with a soft pop, Ji You released her sweet lips, and saw Yan Shuyi panting proudly, her full chest gently rising and falling.
“The sweet potatoes are almost done.”
“?”
Ji You looked at her with some disbelief: “I remember we just kissed. Why are you reacting like this?”
Yan Shuyi pulled away a trace of glistening moisture between them: “No.”
“Are you a heartbreaker?”
“Anyway, no.”
The Lingjian Mountain Master Jian was calm and composed, losing the kiss but not the battle.
So, after a prolonged stare, Ji You leaned in again and saw Yan Shuyi open her small mouth slightly in advance, reaching out to embrace his neck, curling up like a kitten, but her face still remained utterly cold and arrogant.
Deep kisses continued for several rounds. During this time, the Young Master Jian even bit Ji You's tongue tip once, but did not continue to apply force. This continued until the early morning of the second day, when a thick layer of snow had accumulated, and their two small mouths were so hot they could melt the snow.
Not long after, a Disciple from the Master's Courtyard came knocking, delivering a letter.
Kuang Cheng was going to make rice cakes in the courtyard today, a custom nearing the New Year, and he had specially invited them both as guests.
But actually, inviting them wasn't the main point; the main point was inviting Wei Rui.
After all, for a single man to invite an unmarried Young Miss to his home alone, it wouldn't sound very good if word got out.
Kuang Cheng had been well-read and sensible since childhood, and had a benevolent heart, so he cared greatly about a woman's reputation.
Wei Rui's courtyard was closer to Kuang Cheng's than Ji You's was from Tianshu Academy, so she arrived first. She was rolling up her sleeves, helping Kuang Cheng, who was holding the hammer, turn over the sticky glutinous rice that had already been pounded.
They planned to make more, some for Ji You to take back, and some to send to the children in the Orphanage.
Just as the rice cakes were gradually taking shape, a knocking sound suddenly came from the door.
So Wei Rui got up, wiped her hands, and went to open the door, finding that the visitors were Young Master Ji and Sister Yan.
But what made the Wei Young Miss feel strange was that Sister Yan was veiled today.
“Sister, is this—?”
“It's nothing, Sister's face is a bit sensitive to the cold.”
“I see.”
Wei Rui didn't know whether to believe it or not.
Yan Shuyi stepped on Ji You's foot at this moment, then walked into the courtyard, following Wei Rui into the house.
Just a male concubine.
Ji You stood in the courtyard, his expression a bit strange.
After receiving the letter today, Yan Shuyi's lips were incredibly red, but her stubbornness was truly stubborn, which also made him feel a bit helpless.
What could he do but coax her?
Yan Shuyi's personality wasn't formed in a day; it wasn't so easy to make her submit with one kiss, and besides, he couldn't beat her.
At this moment, Kuang Cheng stopped the wooden mallet in his hand. “Brother Ji, why does Fairy Yan seem a bit cold today?”
Ji You came up to him at this moment: “You told Gongshu Chou about me seeing the Yao Race woman's tail, didn't you?”
“?”
“Didn't we talk about it together in the carriage?”
Ji You narrowed his eyes: “But I never said that person was the Yaozu Gongzhu.”
Kuang Cheng raised the corner of his mouth at this moment: “That day, after you got out of the carriage to relieve yourself, Brother Gongshu and I discussed the matter. Actually, I was curious why you didn't get beaten, because only a husband can see a Yao Race woman's tail.”
Ji You: “?”
“Really, I saw this in some ancient texts. These texts have been passed down from the Primordial Era and are already dilapidated, but their authenticity is extremely high. You know, back then, the Yao Race and Human Race lived together.”
Kuang Cheng leaned on the wooden mallet: “After I finished speaking, Brother Gongshu rigorously reasoned and calmly judged, concluding that you two have been together these past few days and couldn't have met any other woman, so he deduced that the Yaozu Gongzhu showed you her tail while treating you.”
Ji You thought to himself, you two are truly brilliant detectives. Why don't you calculate when I can become the dean of Tianshu Academy?
But before he could utter a single complaint, he fell into deep thought because of Kuang Shusheng's opening remark.
Only a husband can see a Yao Race woman's tail?
He suddenly remembered the Yaozu Gongzhu's strange expression that day when he asked about her tail. Now, he suddenly seemed to understand something.
Is she treating me as her husband?
Why?
If Feng Yang herself had come to help that day, it would be understandable, but clearly, that person was her maid, so how could such a thing happen?
No wonder Yan Shuyi got angry when she saw the tail after reading Gongshu Chou's great work.
She truly was a femme fatale. But the good thing was that Ji You didn't have any subjective malicious intent; he just didn't know there was such a big misunderstanding.
Furthermore, the Yaozu Gongzhu's attitude couldn't be judged solely on this point, could it?
That day, the tail was actually seen through her skirt, not directly, and besides, after leaving the Snow Region that day, she didn't even come to see him off.
Gongshu Chou was purely making assumptions; that day, his heart should not have shifted by two inches from its proper place.
Kuang Cheng now looked at Ji You, pondering his expression, and said, “Did Fairy Yan find out about the Yaozu Gongzhu?”
“Yes.”
“Did she hit you?”
“No, she is gentle and kind, refined and sensible. How could she hit me?”
Ji You glanced into the room, appearing calm and composed.
Yan Shuyi was sitting in the room at this moment. Upon hearing this, she couldn't help but purse her reddened lips.
In the Qingyun World, Cultivators of the Human Race emphasize Worldly Family lineage and roots, and the continuation of offspring is a top priority. This is no exception among immortal Sects.
Thus, polygamy became prevalent, and it was common for mothers to gain status through their children.
However, despite this, there were still women who were prone to jealousy, and Yan Shuyi was a jealous person, even if she wouldn't admit it.
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