Lanke Chess Edge

Chapter 405: The Paper Crane Child

Zhu Cheng was still worried about his father’s anger, fearing that he might have delayed his father’s important business. However, when Zhu Yanxu returned, the whole Zhu family found that the old man was in a very good mood and seemed refreshed, even speaking more amiably than usual. Back at Ju’an Pavilion, Ji Yuan returned to the courtyard only after Zhu Yanxu had disappeared from sight. Immediately afterward, a soft commotion erupted in the courtyard.

“Phew…He’s finally gone!”

“Yeah, yeah, this guy stayed for so long!”

“That’s right, he stayed here until sunset!”

“Uninvited old man!”

“Oh, that was so suffocating!”

“I was so bored!”

“You weren’t as bored as I was.”

“You’re talking nonsense, I was the most bored!”

“What snacks did he bring?”

“The snacks from the Outer-Temple Building, that Master likes the most.”

“Oh, that’s very thoughtful!”

“He’s an official.”

“Shaoxing wine, there’s also Shaoxing wine!”

“What’s so great about Shaoxing wine? Can it compare to the wine in the master’s bottomless jug?”

…

A whole mess of chattering came from the jujube tree. With Zhu Yanxu’s arrival, the little ones had been holding back their words for half the afternoon.

Ji Yuan rubbed his forehead, but didn’t scold them. He walked into the courtyard to admire his afternoon’s work.

The ink on these four characters had long since dried. At first glance, ordinary people might only think the characters were beautiful; even those truly knowledgeable about calligraphy would be amazed. However, upon closer inspection, they wouldn’t be able to discern anything significant. This is because although there are subtle techniques involved in these four characters, their spiritual energy was restrained and subtle.

However, this plaque was indeed not so simple. Now that the most crucial first half of “The Wondrous Method of Heaven and Earth” had been completed, Ji Yuan’s cultivation has almost naturally shifted towards that path. His time observing the small characters had also greatly benefited his calligraphy skills.

Therefore, although these four characters were not written using any powerful Edicts, they conveyed more than just the name of the small courtyard: they represented a certain deeper meaning.

Holding the plaque, Ji Yuan returned to the courtyard gate. He lifted one hand upwards and the wooden plaque flew up on its own, hanging neatly in its original position.

“Not bad, a completely new look!”

Ji Yuan chuckled. He walked into the courtyard, closed the gate, and then sat down at the stone table, taking out the stack of letters to read.

Sure enough, two of these letters were from Monk Huitong. One was from Lu Chengfeng, three from Du Heng, and many more from the Yin family, probably twenty or thirty in total.

Ji Yuan already knew the contents of Monk Huitong’s letter from his time at Daliang Monastery. He opened it, glanced over it, then put it aside.

Ji Yuan opened the remaining letters one by one. They didn’t discuss anything major. There were stories of what they had seen or heard, questions and requests for minor help, and mostly accounts of everyday family matters. He couldn’t help but smile as he read the letters.

Letters couldn’t possibly contain everything in life, of course, but reading them, Ji Yuan felt as though he were experiencing some of these events of the past few years, witnessing the growth of the two sons of the Yin family.

…

Nearly a thousand li away, above Yuhuai Mountain, a paper crane flew rapidly, carried on a gust of wind. Its wings flapped so quickly that they created afterimages, reaching its fastest speed.

Once it had reached a place in the misty sky above Yuhuai Mountain, the little paper crane slowed down, and the frequency of its flapping wings returned to normal.

Suspended high in the sky, looking down, the vast expanse below was almost entirely white. However, the paper crane had been here once before, and knew that below lay the entrance to Yuhuai Sacred Land’s defensive labyrinth realm.

After descending a bit and flitting about the mist a few times, the paper crane did not enter from the very center of the mist, but instead circled to the edge and plunged into the fog from below, like crashing into a giant piece of cotton candy.

Unlike ordinary mountain creatures who easily got lost, the paper crane’s flight path was remarkably clear. It circled and weaved, turning east and west, sometimes clockwise, sometimes counterclockwise, never flying in a straight line. Yuhuai Sacred Land’s labyrinth seemed to be completely ineffective against the paper crane, at least in terms of its abilities of deception.

About half an hour later, the little paper crane emerged from the densest part of the fog and entered a place where the fog was relatively thinner.

The paper crane landed on a large rock, twisted its body, looked up at the surrounding sky. Seeing nothing, it tilted its head and looked around, finally turning its paper head as low as possible to look at the large rock beneath it.

The sounds, sometimes crisp and sometimes piercing, echoed through the valley. Sometimes the sound was soft, sometimes loud, and it was intermittent yet very regular.

The cry of a crane sounded from the sky, echoing several times before fading into the distance.

The strange noise continued unabated.

Not long after, a graceful woman dressed in feathered robes emerged from the mist, looking around in this direction. After searching for a while, she finally spotted a small paper bird pecking at a boulder. It had already carved out a shallow hole the size of a fingernail.

“Could it be a paper crane?”

This crane was the same one that had a past connection to the Wei family. Although her shift guarding the mountain had almost ended, she was still currently on duty.

Auntie Crane was familiar with the appearance of this paper bird. Although she didn’t know if it was the same one, it was most likely a paper crane created by the wondrous technique of a highly skilled master. Therefore, this paper crane had extraordinary significance.

Upon recognizing the paper crane, Auntie Crane dared not delay and quickly revealed herself, approaching the large rock in a few steps. Seeing Auntie Crane approaching, the paper crane stopped pecking and looked up at her.

Auntie Crane bowed to the paper crane and asked.

“Excuse me, did you come all the way specifically to find Yuhuai Mountain?”

The paper crane nodded, flapped its wings and flew up, landing on Auntie Crane’s shoulder. After turning its head to look at her, it stopped moving. Auntie Crane guessed that it meant she should take it to the Yuhuai Sacred Land.

After a brief inspection, He Gu found no evil energy on the paper crane. She then took flight, carrying the paper crane through the Yuhuai Mountain defensive formations, and headed towards the Yuhuai Sacred Land.

The news that Ji Yuan had sent a paper crane to deliver a message quickly reached the ears of the Grand Master who was currently on duty at Shuyun Tower, who ordered Auntie Crane to bring the paper crane directly to the top of Shuyun Tower.

A moment later, at the top of Shuyun Tower, there were not only two Grand Masters on duty, but also a group of cultivators including Qiu Feng. The paper crane sat in the palm of Grand Master Ren.

The paper crane looked at the serene, then at the robed immortal cultivator sitting cross-legged peacefully, and some fragmented memories flashed through its mind. It seemed that this person had once wanted to burn it.

“I understand Mr. Ji’s intentions. I shall tell you all now. According to this paper crane… uh…”

Master Ren stopped midsentence when he felt the paper crane staring at him with a strange gaze, even though it clearly had no eyes. He frowned and continued speaking.

“According to the paper crane child’s imbued spiritual message, Mr. Ji will soon be visiting Yuhuai Mountain. This will be Mr. Ji’s first visit to the Yuhuai Sacred Land, so we will need to treat him well. Moreover, it seems that Mr. Ji is going to the Cultivator’s Grand Assembly on Jiufeng Mountain in Heng Province in the Northern Territories, and he intends to go with us!”

Master Ren subconsciously glanced down at the paper crane in his palm, and sensed that at the words “paper crane child,” the strange feeling of the little paper crane staring at him disappeared, or rather, softened considerably.

Master Yangming seated below almost immediately.

“Master-Uncle, although the invitation to the Cultivator’s Grand Assembly had been sent to our sect some time ago, our Yuhuai Mountain has not participated in that conference for over a century.”1

“But Mr. Ji is going!”

Another cultivator chimed in.

“Well, since Mr. Ji wants to go, I think our Yuhuai Mountain can go as well this time. It is good opportunity. Although the conference is boring, there are many like-minded people there. It would be good to show our faces by taking advantage of Mr. Ji’s reputation!”

Qiu Feng’s words might have seemed vulgar, but they resonated with what many people were thinking.

“Junior Nephew Qiu is right. Junior Brother Ren, what happened more than a hundred years ago was under the auspices of Grandmaster Ziyu. So much time has passed, there shouldn’t be any problems now. Why don’t we send a message to Yuzhu Peak to ask for their opinion?”

Another Grand Master spoke up, and everyone nodded in agreement. Soon, the news reached Yuzhu Peak, Jingguan Pass of Yuhuai Mountain.

Besides the decision to head to Jiufeng Mountain this time, Yuhuai Mountain also believed that, since Mr. Ji had returned to Ju’an Pavilion, it was only right and proper for them to wait for him to join them but that Yuhuai Mountian should also pay him a visit.

After much deliberation, the heavy responsibility finally fell on the shoulders of the two immortal cultivators Qiu Feng and Yang Ming. They would each bring a disciple along, namely Wei Yuansheng and Shang Yiyi. In addition, the highly skilled Ju Yuanzi would go with them.

The little paper crane had already left Yuhuai Mountain ahead of time, flapping its wings rapidly towards Ning’an County. The spiritual energy. Ji Yuan had applied to it had not been completely exhausted, so its wings were still flapping very fast.

At this time, the night in Ning’an County was quiet and peaceful, with stars twinkling overhead. Ji Yuan sat in the courtyard of the Outer-Temple Building, enjoying pastries and drinking Shaoxing wine, a smile on his face as he sipped.

“Meeting villagers by day and seeing ghosts and spirits by night, this trip home feels like going home for Chinese New Year in my past life…”

Just then, there was a knock on the courtyard gate.

“Mr. Ji, Song Shichang is visiting. Would it be convenient for us to meet?”

As the old City God of Ning’an County spoke, he looked up at the plaque above his head. It had obviously just been written today. The calligraphy was full of charm, but it seemed to just be a name, without any supernatural power contained in it.

Ji Yuan quickly went to the front of the courtyard and personally opened the gate for the old City God. The two greeted each other with clasped hands.

“How have you been, Old City God?”

“Hello, Mr. Ji!”

“Please come in!”

“Alright!”

Ji Yuan used the opportunity to offer the Old City God some of the items Zhu Yanxui had brought earlier.2

“Over a century” is actually “two 60-year cycles” “taking flowers to present to the Buddha” –> regifting things