Chapter Fifteen: Human World (Four)

  That night, Ji Ruochen tossed and turned, unable to calm down or fall asleep. Even alchemy and divination were frequently mistaken. The green stone had returned to its usual appearance, quietly lying on his chest. His mind was restless, no matter what he did, he would stop from time to time, take out the green stone and look at it for a moment.

  Ji Ruochen's life was originally very simple, and the things he wanted were also simple. Only because of his miserable childhood, after entering the Dao De Zong, he only thought about preserving this dreamlike life. After learning a bit about the true nature of the demonic immortals and being assassinated twice, he could only think about advancing his dao cultivation, in preparation for the day when he could no longer hide the truth, so that he would have a skill to rely on, at least to escape with his life.

  Perhaps the pressure was too heavy, even in this spring of thoughts and feelings, even with beautiful women around him, those romantic thoughts only flashed through his mind.

  In a certain sense, his heart is still as pure as paper, although this paper is not white.

  But everything has changed, and it was in that illusion that it changed.

  As soon as Ji Ruochen thought of the moment when the city was burned by fierce fire, pain would come overwhelming him, making it hard for him to breathe. It wasn't the physical pain of being burned, but an inner agony. Ji Ruochen didn't know what this pain was, but he couldn't shake it off. After experiencing it several times, he became numb and couldn't distinguish whether the burning city was real or just an illusion.

  Ji Ruochen didn't know his own birthdate, only roughly knowing his age. When spring arrived and flowers bloomed, he would be turning twenty years old.

  At twenty years old, Ji Ruochen's state of mind was already different when he looked at the white clouds and the vast expanse.

  It's finally over after one night.

  At dawn, Ji Ruochen went to the Taishang Daode Palace to retrieve some Taoist scriptures from the Cangjing Hall to pass the time.

  When cultivating the Tao, time always seems to pass too quickly, but when one has worries, the golden crow and jade rabbit seem reluctant to take another step. When Ji Ruochen returned from the Taishang Daode Palace, the sky had just brightened, and this hour was only when the people of the Daode Sect had just finished their breakfast.

  Ji Ruocheng's heart was heavy with thoughts, he directly pushed open the courtyard door, walked into the study in big strides, and put more than a dozen thick Taoist scriptures on the shelf by the east wall. Only then did he let out a long breath, turned around, and suddenly froze!

  There is also someone in the study room.

  She wore a plain long shirt, sitting in the chair where Ji Ruocheng sat every day, with her elbows resting on the fragrant rosewood desk where Ji Ruocheng studied diligently every day. She held in her hands the "Taiping Zhuxian Scattered Notes" that Ji Ruocheng had not finished reading before leaving home, and had also added dragon's saliva incense to the bronze cauldron on the table. Looking at her calm and composed demeanor, it was as if this study belonged to her all along.

  Ji Ruochen was speechless, looking around in all directions, and it wasn't until half a day later that she dared to confirm that this was indeed her own room.

  Unexpectedly, she smiled slightly and said: "Brother Yu Chen, don't be polite, please sit down."

  Ji Ruochen only felt that the whole world was in chaos, and habitually thanked her before taking a chair to sit down. It wasn't until she sat down across from him that Ji Ruochen suddenly thought, this was clearly his own room, so why did he still thank her?

  Ji Ruo's heart skipped a beat as he realized his composure had been disrupted. Upon careful reflection, aside from the earth-shattering illusion they shared yesterday, he hadn't sensed her presence at all since returning this time - not even when entering the courtyard or placing the Daoist scriptures on the shelf! If she harbored malicious intentions, he would have died countless times already. Considering their ages were similar, how could there be such a vast gap in their mastery of the Dao?

  Even at this moment, sitting in front of her, only a few feet away, he clearly saw her sitting there, but Ji Ruochen couldn't sense her presence. As long as he closed his eyes, Ji Ruochen would feel that the room was empty and no one was there.

  Ji Ruocheng's heart was shocked, what did this mean? He was clearer than ever. Because of his extraordinary spiritual awareness and cultivation, he was not deceived by illusions, and his Taoist spells were always accurate, making him invincible in the annual exams. But when facing her, because he couldn't sense her position or aura, almost all his Taoist skills were unusable!

  Against such an opponent, Ji Bingxian actually lost without any grievance.

  Ji Ruocheng composed himself, bowed his head slightly and forced a smile: "Miss Gu Qing's visit is an honor to my humble abode. May I ask what brings you here today?"

  She slammed the "Taiping Zhuxian Sanji" shut and put it back on her desk. She didn't answer Ji Ruochen's question, but instead stood up, walked around the study, looked around, and said: "Brother Ruo Chen seems to be a diligent person, I thought that at this time visiting would see Brother Ruo Chen, didn't expect Brother Ruo Chen had already gone out for quiet cultivation."

  For some reason, Gu Qing stood up, and Ji Ruochen felt uncomfortable all over his body while sitting, so he also stood up unconsciously. Hearing Gu Qing's words, he said: "I just went to the Tai Shang Dao De Palace to fetch a few volumes of Taoist scriptures. Did Miss Gu wait for a long time?"

  Gu Qing smiled faintly, standing in front of the bookshelf with his hands behind his back. As he gazed at the titles on the shelves, he said, "It's not a long time, just an instant. Brother Ruo Chen has many magical tools and a vast collection, it seems that his knowledge is extremely broad. I've heard that Brother Ruo Chen was actually taught by eight true immortals together, it appears that this is indeed the case."

  Ji Ruochen opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word. Gu Qing seemed to be asking questions, but every time she didn't wait for him to answer and just gave the answers herself. Her tone was calm, without any hesitation, and what she said was not false. For a moment, Ji Ruochen felt suffocated by the invisible pressure emanating from Gu Qing in front of him, making it hard for him to breathe. At this point, the host-guest situation had completely reversed, with Gu Qing being extremely at ease, as if she were the host. However, Ji Ruochen couldn't open his mouth to refute her and could only follow her around the study room.

  Ji Ruochen suddenly had a kind of intuition, before Gu Qing, he was afraid that no secret could be kept.

  As soon as the thought arose, Gu Qing's left hand beckoned, and a purple crystal divination slip flew out from the cluttered shelf in the corner of the house and fell into her hand. Gu Qing's hands were slender and white as snow, while the purple crystal divination slip was dull and grey, obviously having been dusty for a long time. However, when Gu Qing held it up to examine it closely, not a speck of dust from the slip stuck to her hand.

  Ji Ruocheng followed behind Gu Qing, watching her every smile and movement with clarity. He finally realized that Shang Qiushui was right, Gu Qing's appearance and demeanor were extremely beautiful, the more he looked, the more so, almost flawless. However, her movements and actions were also extremely free-spirited, like a noble gentleman in the midst of a chaotic world, without any hint of femininity. Moreover, amidst her natural calmness, there was an air of subtle majesty, people with weak willpower wouldn't dare to have any improper thoughts, let alone approach her closely.

  Gu Qing looked at it for a moment, snapped his fingers, and the purple crystal divination slip flew back to its original position on the shelf, as if nothing had happened. Gu Qing walked towards the other side of the study room, saying: "It turns out that Brother Ruochen has such a deep understanding of the Bagua Dan Ding's learning. He is proficient in all arts and can integrate them seamlessly, no wonder he can break my Cloud Dwelling Eight Qiong True Spell."

  While speaking, Gu Qing had already walked to the other side of the bookshelf and pulled out a thin book, flipping through it casually. Ji Ruochen saw this and finally coughed, saying: "Miss Gu Qing, this...this book is part of my family's Sanqing True Manual, Miss looking at it seems somewhat inappropriate."

  Gu Qing nodded slightly and continued to flip through the pages, saying lightly: "This is no problem. Before I came, I had visited Ziyang True Man, he has already agreed to store it in the Dao De Sect's repository, you can let me read it at will."

  Ji Ruochen was shocked, and really couldn't understand why Ziyang True Person would let a Cloud Dwelling Sect disciple like him read the sect's secret scriptures. But Gu Qing had a special status, with an elegant temperament, so she probably wouldn't lie about something big like this. Moreover, with her cultivation level and moral character, it was truly unnecessary for her to steal a look at the Taiqing Xuansheng Scripture.

  But this matter still seems very strange, Gu Qing as a fellow of Yun Zhongju, the requirement to browse the moral classics is already impolite, and it's even more surprising that Zi Yang Zhenren would agree! Ji Ruochen vaguely felt something was off, as if he had caught a whiff of a sinister plot.

  Gu Qing flipped through a few pages and then put the book back on the shelf. Only then did she sit down beside Ji Ruochen's desk, this time taking the main seat.

  Ji Ruoxuan smiled wryly and had no choice but to sit down in the accompanying guest position.

  Gu Qing smiled slightly, her bright eyes like morning stars gazing at Ji Ruochen, motionless. Ji Ruochen felt extremely uncomfortable under her gaze, as if sitting on pins and needles, it was like an eternity. He could only hope that Gu Qing would look away for a moment, but she had an unusually calm demeanor, with a broad-mindedness that seemed to encompass the world, clearly not paying attention to the trivialities of male-female relationships, simply staring at him relentlessly.

  It was just a moment's work, but Ji Ruoxu had already been stared at by her until his face turned red and his ears were hot with sweat.

  Finally, Gu Qing smiled and said: "I've heard that Brother Ruochen has a rare treasure, the Blue Stone. May I borrow it to take a look?"

  Ji Ruoxuan had finally managed to get Gu Qing to speak, and just as she let out a sigh of relief, she suddenly heard this sentence, and in an instant her limbs turned ice-cold, unable to move.

  Gu Qing didn't rush either, just sat there quietly waiting for Ji Ruochen's response.

  Ji Ruochen almost exhausted his entire life's energy to calm down. He forced a smile and said, "Miss Gu Qing is joking, I do have some magical tools here, but as for the Green Stone, I've never heard of it..."

  In front of Gu Qing's clear and piercing eyes, Ji Ruochen's voice became smaller and smaller, until the last sentence was as thin as a mosquito's hum. The lack of confidence in these few sentences would make even a child know that he was lying.

  Ji Ruochen was silent for a moment, then let out a long sigh, knowing that the day when the secret would be revealed had finally arrived. No matter what, being able to drag it out for more than four years had already exceeded his expectations. This Gu Qingdao's actions were unfathomable, and Ji Ruochen knew that even if he staked his life on it, there was no possibility of escape.

  When people's hearts are the weakest, it is when their fate has not been decided. At this time, the truth will soon be revealed, and Ji Ruoxuan, who was panicked earlier, is no longer flustered. He quietly takes off the cyan stone from his neck and hands it to Gu Qing.

  Gu Qing took the green stone and gently stroked it with her fingertips, remaining silent for a long time. After a moment, she seemed to let out a faint sigh, and then returned the green stone to Ji Ruochen, saying: "I didn't have any ill intentions, why did you make a vow of death, Brother Ruochen?"

  Ji Ruochen couldn't help but let out a cry of surprise.

  Gu Qing was like a mind reader, consecutively revealing his inner thoughts and striking him repeatedly. Under the barrage of attacks, Ji Ruochen could no longer maintain his composure. He knew he had lost his temper, his face flushing red as he hung the blue stone back around his neck and sat down silently, waiting for what came next. Gu Qing's visit was certainly not simple; now that he had grasped the overall situation, it seemed likely that he would make demands next.

  Gu Qing looked around the study again, and said calmly: "Brother Ruochen's determination to cultivate alone is admirable. I still need to stay at the Dao De Zong for a few more days, during which time I will come to accompany Brother Ruochen in reading and cultivation, what do you think?"

  Ji Ruocheng never thought that Gu Qingti would make such a request, his heart suddenly racing like a landslide and tsunami, hot blood rushing up, his face as if on fire. This shock was not trivial!

  "Th...th..." Ji Ruochen's voice was as thin as a mosquito hum, and it took half a day for her to say: "...this is somewhat inappropriate, isn't it?"

  Gu Qing's eyebrows slightly raised, and she said: "Oh? Brother Ru Chen doesn't want to?"

  Ji Ruocheng steeled herself and knew that Gu Qing was profound and unfathomable, so it would be better to keep her distance. Taking a deep breath, she said: "My humble abode is too simple, I fear it will tarnish Miss Gu's noble presence."

  Gu Qing suddenly smiled faintly, and this time her smile lingered on her lips and eyes, lasting for a long time without dispersing. She gazed at Ji Ruochen, her right index finger tapping lightly on the desk, each tap making a crisp sound that made Ji Ruochen's heart flutter with anxiety.

  Gū Qīng Xiān's fingers suddenly stopped in mid-air!

  Ji Ruochen's heart leapt to his throat in an instant!

  "If Dust Brother has the Separation Immortal Technique, I wonder if the True Person of your noble sect knows about it?" Gu Qing's bright eyes held a hint of amusement.

  Like thunder on a clear day!

  Ji Ruoxuan fell back into his chair, his mouth agape as he stared at Gu Qing, unable to utter another word.

  Gu Qing stood up straight, put her hands behind her back and walked towards the outside of the study. Ji Ruochen struggled to get up, silently following behind her. When they reached the door, Gu Qing stopped in her tracks, slightly turned around and smiled: "Although I don't bother with worldly affairs, it doesn't mean I'm not aware of social norms. Today's disturbance has gone on for too long, so I'll take my leave now. Tomorrow morning, I will come again to pay a visit."

  Ji Ruocheng gazed at her stunning profile, his mouth opening and closing several times before he finally managed to squeeze out a few words: "Welcome!"

  Gu Qing let out a soft laugh and didn't want Ji Ruochen to see her off, so she floated away.