In the main hall of the county office, a graceful woman was holding a teapot, respectfully brewing two cups of fragrant pre-Qingming tea.
The so-called pre-Qingming tea is not a brand name, but refers to the tender tea buds picked before the Qingming Festival, which are verdant in color, subtle in aroma, mellow in taste, and beautiful in shape.
However, Yuyang County does not produce tea, so such a cup of tea is often quite valuable.
It is clear that a county magistrate earns a lot of money in a year, especially under this tax tribute system.
“Cao Instructor, Senior Sister Pei, please have some tea.”
Cao Jinsong, an Instructor from Tianshu Academy, picked up the teacup, took a sip, and squinted slightly, feeling a sense of clarity.
Beside him, Outer Courtyard Head Disciple Pei Ruyi was clearly not interested in the tea. After twirling her teacup, she said, “You will be going to Shengjing with us tomorrow. Have you packed everything?”
Fang Ruoyao immediately nodded: “Reporting to Senior Sister, it’s all packed.”
Cao Jinsong stroked his long beard and added, “After entering the Academy, remember to cultivate diligently and not waste time. You must know that even after entering Tianshu Academy, you haven’t truly entered the Immortal Dao. The true Immortal Dao…”
“The true Immortal Dao?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
Cao Jinsong chuckled softly, taking back the rest of his words.
The Qingyun World has seven major Dao lineages, but they generally follow the three-five Realm Qi cultivation method passed down by the Heavenly Dao from ancient times.
These are the Lower Three Realms, Upper Five Realms, and Linxian Realm, until finally one laughs heartily and achieves Ascension.
For cultivators, the first three Realms are merely internal Realms for self-tempering, considered the foundation of cultivation, and only by condensing the Spirit Origin within the body can one be considered to have initially stepped onto the Immortal Dao, also known as Junior Third Realm Completion.
It’s just that Fang Ruoyao’s Aptitude is not exceptional, and Instructor Cao did not want to put pressure on her too early, leading to a demon in her Dao Heart.
In fact, the Aptitude of the students Tianshu Academy has admitted in recent years has been getting worse and worse. Even though they choose descendants of Immortal families or Worldly Family Disciples, there are only two Junior Third Realm Completion cultivators under the age of twenty this year.
In the past, when the seven great Sects jointly formulated the qingyun immortal rules, they stipulated that Junior Third Realm Completion cultivators under the age of twenty could enter the Immortal registry regardless of their origin.
However, very few can achieve this now.
Fang Ruoyao looked at him as if she understood, then suddenly saw a young servant from the residence run to the front of the courtyard.
“Young Miss, Young Master Kuang is outside asking to see you; he wishes to bid you farewell.”
After much thought, Fang Ruoyao said, “I am brewing tea for the Immortals. Please ask Young Master Kuang to come another day.”
Pei Ruyi couldn’t help but wave her hand: “The journey will be long and arduous. Since he came specifically to say goodbye, you should go see him.”
“Then… then Ruoyao will go see him.”
Seeing Fang Ruoyao leave, Pei Ruyi took the teapot, intending to refill the Instructor’s cup.
However, just as the spout tilted, a ray of light suddenly shot up from the north, merging into the twilight sky.
The fiery clouds stretching across the sky, which originally extended for a thousand li, were now neatly cut off in the direction of Paifang Street, with a ten-li break, as if an Immortal had swung a sword.
Before anyone could react, the light quickly receded, disappearing behind the clouds, as if it had never appeared.
A few breaths later, only two empty cups remained in the front hall of Yuyang County, and the white-robed Immortal from Tianshu Academy had already left the residence with his sword, arriving at Paifang Street in Yuyang County with a solemn expression.
This place is remote and barren, with no Immortal Daoist temples.
The only Fengxian Villa is thirty li west, quite far from here, so the Daoist resonance and heavenly light would not penetrate the clouds.
Therefore, it was a rogue cultivator.
There was a rogue cultivator in Yuyang County who had just broken into the Ninghua Upper Realm!
The two chased to Paifang Street, only to see pedestrians on the street hurrying along, but most of them looked dull, and by this time, that aura had long since disappeared.
“Instructor, it’s gone.”
“Hmm, it’s gone.”
Cao Jinsong murmured softly, subtly glancing at the Ji Family’s plaque, a shock appearing in his eyes before quickly vanishing.
Yuyang County is not large, and interesting news can spread throughout it in an hour. Immortals have keen senses, so some things naturally cannot be hidden from them.
He knew about the Qiu Family’s young girl, whose spiritual light pierced the heavens, and the Ji Family’s Young Master, who was under twenty…
Pei Ruyi noticed the Instructor’s gaze, then frowned and looked at the Ji Residence: “Could it be that the rogue cultivator is hiding in this courtyard?”
“No, I don’t even need to look to know that’s not the case.”
“?”
Cao Jinsong turned and walked away, his hand trembling uncontrollably in his sleeve.
Fang Ruoyao had an fiancé who was scorned by the entire county. It was said that he was under twenty and as timid as a mouse…
Under twenty, under twenty, under twenty, under twenty!
Pei Ruyi followed behind him, thinking that the Instructor’s leg strength was truly unmatched; even his walking trembled as if he were practicing martial arts.
At this moment, separated by just one door and two courtyards, Ji You’s eyes were tightly shut, his forehead covered in beads of sweat that fell to the ground, shattering into pieces.
A moment later, he opened his eyes and looked up at the twilight outside the window, realizing that thirteen hours had passed outside.
Almost fainted from the rush…
Indeed, youth is fleeting, and learning is difficult to achieve; not an inch of time should be taken lightly.
He inwardly observed the spiritual spring within his body, seeing that the spring was full, awaiting refinement—a near-death experience.
Just then, Fang Ruoyao and Kuang Cheng met in the side hall of the county office.
Kuang Cheng’s visit was not to say goodbye, but for the matter of the Qiu Family’s young girl, and Fang Ruoyao had already anticipated his purpose, after all, she had already said goodbye to everyone a few days ago, and this extra effort now made it hard not to overthink.
As expected, Kuang Cheng’s map of Yan was very brief, and Fang Ruoyao’s rejection was also very direct.
“Tianshu Academy is naturally the Great Xia Holy Sect, but Xuan Yuan Immortal Mansion is also a major Sect in the current era. Although the two great Immortal Sects have secretly contended for many years, they have always cooperated openly, minding their own business.”
“What you saw in the book is correct, Tianshu Academy does have a responsibility to protect its Disciples and their families, but I have no relation to the Qiu Family. If I were to forcefully intervene, wouldn’t it lead to accusations that Tianshu Academy is meddling in the affairs of another Sect?”
“Moreover, I haven’t even entered the Academy yet, and I am of little importance, so how dare I trouble the Immortals?”
“Young Master Kuang, I will be departing tomorrow. I am grateful that you came to bid me farewell, and it is precisely for this reason that I am willing to see you, but I do not wish to cause any more trouble. I am truly powerless in this matter.”
Fang Ruoyao is now a Disciple of Tianshu Academy. Although she has not yet learned Immortal arts, she already possesses a certain transcendent aura, no longer like the humble young lady she once was, but more like a proud swan.
After all, becoming a cultivator already destined her life to be noble.
Kuang Cheng was silent for a moment and said, “Even the life of a five-year-old girl is not worth a try for Young Miss Fang?”
“In this world, who can save whom?”
“It is precisely because of this world that we should save people!”
“Young Master Kuang, do you know that we cultivators must have no distracting thoughts to achieve Dao following nature?”
Kuang Cheng paused slightly, his expression suddenly much more respectful: “Please forgive my intrusion, I will take my leave.”
Seeing him turn and walk out, Fang Ruoyao pondered for a long time before speaking again: “You went to see Ji You, but he didn’t dare to come, so you came yourself?”
“That’s right.”
“The Qiu Family showed him great kindness, and he can even pretend not to know?”
“What exactly does Young Miss Fang want to say?”
“When the Ji Family was destroyed, I took the opportunity to break off our engagement with him, and I received much criticism. Some said I, Fang Ruoyao, was kicking someone when they were down, and others said I was unchaste. Now it proves how innocent I was; how could such an ungrateful person be a good match for me?”
Kuang Cheng did not speak after hearing this and left the Fang Residence with a flick of his sleeve.
He disagreed with Fang Ruoyao’s words, because an engagement is an engagement, and character is character, just as merits and demerits cannot cancel each other out; they cannot be generalized.
If Fang Ruoyao truly disliked Ji You, she could have chosen an appropriate way to break off the engagement, leaving some dignity for both parties.
However, she chose to take advantage of his misfortune, forcefully breaking off the engagement when Ji You was still unable to walk, and her character was not necessarily any better.
But at this moment, although Kuang Cheng was full of reasoning, he truly had nothing to say, because Young Master Ji had not even dared to leave his house until now.
Kuang Cheng disliked Fang Ruoyao’s actions and looked down on Ji You’s cowardice, so he could only remain neutral.
After seeing the scholar leave, Fang Ruoyao walked to the center of the side hall, her face slightly cold.
Let alone that she couldn’t save the Qiu Family’s young girl, even if she could, she wouldn’t.
She was about to become an Immortal, and she didn’t want any more ties to old people or old matters.
If she truly asked the Instructor and Senior Sister for help, and people found out later that she had been engaged to a country bumpkin, she probably wouldn’t be able to hold her head high in front of her Fellow Daoists.
Fang Ruoyao poured the tea in her hand into the flower bed, got up and went to the main hall, but did not see the Immortal; she only saw her father returning from outside.
“Father, are the carriages ready for the journey to Shengjing?”
“They are already prepared, but… the Immortal from Tianshu Academy just returned from outside and said that he wants to meet the guests from Fengxian Villa tomorrow morning.”
Fang Ruoyao pursed her lips: “Fengxian Villa sent an invitation a few days ago, but didn’t Instructor Cao say he wouldn’t see them?”
Fang Zhongzheng also felt puzzled: “Yes, I don’t know why he suddenly agreed today.”
“But I have already notified my old friends to come and see me off. Won’t the departure time be delayed?”
“No matter, set up some tea tables in the corridor and let your old friends witness the Immortal’s might with their own eyes. That’s not a bad idea, hahahaha.”
(After the Lower Three Realms, there is a Junior Third Realm Completion, and after the Upper Five Realms, there is an Upper Five Realms Perfection. It’s a bit like the concept of three-in-one or five-in-one.)