Ji Yuan quite appreciated won like Lu Qianyan, whose straightforward and outspoken nature was actually quite unusual. However, he appreciated many different kinds of people, and teaching immortal techniques was completely different from being friends. It was no casual matter.
Lu Qianyan’s question would have received the sa answer from any other Taoist cultivator, not just Ji Yuan. Others might have offered her so leeway, but Ji Yuan wouldn’t. It was better to be straightforward with this kind of personality.
As for the unscrupulous who only feigned real ability, they would look down on the lady-in-waiting. Those who only knew so crude tricks and called themselves experts in the marketplace would not impress her, and in a fight they would likely be no match for a first-rate martial arts master like her.
Hearing Ji Yuan’s straightforward refusal, the lady-in-waiting was naturally disappointed. However, she was already prepared for rejection; seeking immortality was not so easy. She just didn’t expect that Mr. Ji would not even say what his requirents were, but would directly say that he would not accept disciples.
Given the lady-in-waiting’s personality, she wouldn’t keep begging shalessly. She hated when others were pretentious, and was even less used to being pretentious herself, so she rely clenched her fist and said nothing more. But now that she had witnessed true immortals and gods in this world, the fire that had risen in her heart was not so easily extinguished.
Only then did Monk Huitong step forward.
“Praise be to the Great Mingwang Buddha! Mr. Ji, you have done our Daliang Monastery a great kindness, and you even address the Venerable One as a friend. Daliang Monastery has not yet properly entertained you. Would you please join us for a vegetarian al before you leave?”
Looking at Monk Huitong’s profound and dignified appearance, Ji Yuan couldn’t help but be reminded of the ti when they had first t, juxtaposed with the way Huitong had been complaining and grumbling recently. Ji Yuan couldn’t help but tease him.
“I’ve had enough of vegetarian food lately, I want to eat at!”
Huitong was clearly stunned for a mont, and Ji Yuan burst into laughter.
“Hahahaha… Masters, please forgive , it was just a joke. I’ll be off, then!”
Amidst his laughter, Ji Yuan leaped lightly, creating a gust of wind over ten zhang above the ground, and instantly soared into the sky. His figure seed to gradually dissolve into the wind behind him, quickly disappearing and fading away.
“Praise be, Mr. Ji is truly a carefree immortal!”
With a smile on his face, Monk Huitong bowed in the direction Ji Yuan had left. The monks of Daliang Temple, including the abbot, also perford the sa Buddhist bow.
In fact, Ji Yuan hadn’t not joking. Although the vegetarian food at Daliang Monastery was quite delicious, the thought of eating so at suddenly gave him a craving.
Many people encountered this kind of situation, where they might not initially care what they ate, but then they would rember a certain delicacy, and couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Moreover, the injury from the Heavenly Tribulation Ji Yuan’s body could not be ignored. Although it could slowly heal with spiritual energy and internal energy as he cultivated, this kind of injury was no ordinary one, and required careful treatnt.
Now, Ji Yuan’s ideal wish was to head to the Tongtian River. The Old Dragon still owed him a lot of Ambergris, which should have so effect.
…
Two days later, a thin mist rose on the banks of the Tongtian River in Dazhen. Ji Yuan’s figure did not fall from the sky, but rather seed to erge from the mist, appearing on the riverbank as if the mist itself had solidified.
This section of the river was near the entrance to the Tongtian River Underwater Palace. At this mont, several large ships were sailing along the river, moving very slowly due to the thin fog.
Ji Yuan glanced at the river surface and then stepped into the water.
Not long after entering the water, Ji Yuan could sense that the Old Dragon must be ho. There was a series of very slight jolts in the current at the bottom of the nearby waters, with long intervals in between. He wouldn’t have been able to feel it without careful attention. In fact, this rhythm was caused by the Old Dragon’s breathing in the Dragon Pool.
Upon arriving outside the Underwater Palace, the patrolling yakshas spotted Ji Yuan. All except one stood waiting at the entrance to the Underwater Palace barriers and waited, their long hair flowing like ribbons in the water. The last quickly swam into the depths of the Underwater Palace.
As Ji Yuan approached, all the yakshas held their weapons in their hands and clasped their fists in a salute.
“Greetings, Mr. Ji!”
Ji Yuan returned the greeting with a slight bow, stepped a few paces closer onto the surface of the water. He looked inside the Underwater palace, and inquired.
“Is your Dragon Lord here?”
A captain of the yakshas quickly replied.
“The Dragon Lord is resting in the Dragon Pool. A yaksha has already gone to inform him of your arrival, sir. Please follow inside to rest and wait!”
“Alright!”
Just as Ji Yuan was about to step into the Underwater Palace, he suddenly rembered sothing. He leaned close to a yaksha with a familiar aura and whispered an instruction, which the latter nodded repeatedly.
Ji Yuan then entered the Underwater Palace. The yaksha captain led him to the inner hall, where he quickly sat down. Various foods were laid out on the table beside him, including so famous pastries from the capital of Dazhen.
Ji Yuan ate a few pieces of mung bean cake,1 and casually asked the yaksha who was serving him:
“Are His Highness Ying and Her Highness the River Goddess not here?”
If they were, hey would have co out to see him by now.
“Replying to Mr. Ji, the River Goddess and His Highness Ying…”
“Hmph, those two went to Yuexiu2 Island!”
Before the yaksha could finish speaking, the Old Dragon’s voice ca from the back hall. He parted the water as he slowly glided towards Ji Yuan, bowing respectfully as he approached.
“Mr. Ji, it’s been a long ti!”
Ji Yuan put down the mung bean cake in his hand, stood up, and returned the greeting with a smile.
“Hello, Mr. Ying. It seems you’re enjoying your leisure ti all by yourself.”
The Old Dragon gave a low hum and gestured for him to sit.
“Mr. Ji, please have a seat!”
Ji Yuan knew exactly what Yuexiu Island was—it was the place of residence the Dragon Daughter and Dragon Son had found for their Dragon Mother in the Eastern Sea. Seeing that the Old Dragon seed unwilling to discuss this further, Ji Yuan didn’t press the matter, and got straight to the point after sitting down.
“Mr. Ying, does our bet from back then still stand? I have co to collect!”
“I have already prepared it!”
The Old Dragon readily agreed, and with a wave of his hand, two wine jugs appeared on the table: one was a white jade jug with a slender spout, and the other was a jade green.
“Here you go, two thousand-dou3 jugs. These are two treasures. The white one was prepared for you by Feng’er. He was afraid he wouldn’t be here when you ca, so he left it with . It contains about twenty dou of fine wine brewed with spiritual energy-infused immortal herbs as a supplent, which is quite rare. As for the erald green jub, it is naturally filled with ambergris, about three dou.”
Ji Yuan’s face lit up with joy upon hearing this.
“Three dou, that’s plenty, plenty!”
One “dou” of wine was roughly equivalent to four jin of wine, so three dou would be a full twelve jin. Plus, this was Ambergris;Ji Yuan originally thought that three or four small jugs would be enough.
The Old Dragon glanced at Ji Yuan, who was unusually cheerful, and spoke casually.
“I’m glad Mr. Ji likes it.”
“Of course I like it, then I’ll gladly accept it!”
Ji Yuan raised his sleeve, and the two Thousand-Dou Jugs flew into his sleeve on their own. Then he stood up.
“I have eaten the snacks and taken the wine, so I’ll take my leave now!”
“Huh?”
The Old Dragon was stunned for a mont, then imdiately stood up, his beard bristling and eyes wide.
“You cunning bastard! You really just ca to collect a debt? You took the wine and are leaving in such a hurry, you don’t even have ti for a ga of chess?”
Ji Yuan felt no psychological burden when facing a friend like the Old Dragon, even if the other party was a True Dragon who seed to be angry at the mont. He even deliberately smiled and shrugged.
“Otherwise? Mr. Ying has had a solemn expression this whole ti. I can’t help but think you don’t welco . You might as well just stay here and cool off by yourself!”
The Old Dragon’s mood softened. He shook his head and clenched his fists a couple tis with his hands behind his back.
“Fine, fine, whatever you want.”
“Alright, since you’re following my wishes, Mr. Ying, why don’t you co with ? Back then, we escorted Qin Zizhou to Cloud Mountain Temple together. Now that sothing big is about to happen there, I should take you there to see it.”
Ji Yuan stood up, straightened his clothes, and invited the Old Dragon along; after all, he could tell that the other party was not in a good mood.
“Haha, I knew you had sothing to say. I’m feeling bored too. Let’s go!”
The Old Dragon finally smiled. After giving a few instructions to the yakshas around him, he followed Ji Yuan out of the underwater palace. As soon as they stepped outside of the underwater palace’s barriers, the yakshas bowed to them. One yaksha stepped forward, holding a thin strand of waterweed in his hand.
“Mr. Ji, here’s your fish!”
The Old Dragon glanced behind the yaksha and saw that the waterweed algae entered through the gills and exited through the mouths of three large silver carp, each weighing at least twenty or thirty catties.
“Not bad, not bad!”
Seeing these fish made Ji Yuan even happier. He rembered that when he was fishing on the river years ago, it was this sa yaksha that caught the fish.
“Haha, how could I not do my best in following your instructions, sir? I swam all over the nearby waters and specifically looked for these few suitable fish. According to your requirents, I specifically found fish with large heads. Half the weight of these three fish alone is in their heads.”
The yaksha briefly ntioned his process to show his effort.
Ji Yuan looked at the Old Dragon and pointed at the yaksha.
“See? This is what a capable subordinate looks like!”
As he spoke, Ji Yuan took the waterweed rope from the flattered taksha, and with a flick of his arm, it and a piece of the river water vanished into his sleeve.
Ji Yuan’s words made the old dragon take a second look at the yaksha. He even nodded slightly to him before swimming away with Ji Yuan, quickly disappearing from the yakshas’ sight.
After Ji Yuan and the Old Dragon left, the surrounding yakshas, even the yaksha captain, ca over to congratulate their colleague. Being rembered by both the Dragon Lord and Mr. Ji ant that this colleague had a bright future ahead of him.
……
As Ji Yuan flew towards Bing Province on the clouds, he took out the jade green Thousand-Dou Jug midflight, poured so Ambergris, and drank it. He deliberately controlled his body to prevent it from refining the special spiritual energy in the wine, letting the power of the wine flow through his body and spontaneously gather in his left arm and hand.
A cool sensation rose up, slightly suppressing the constant pain, and Ji Yuan breathed a slight sigh of relief. The Ambergris did indeed have so effect.
Old Dragon, on the other hand, thought that Ji Yuan’s appreciation for wine had reached a new level, to the point that he was so eager to pour himself a drink that he would even do so while flying.
Mung Bean Cake recipe 月 (yuè): moon, 秀 (xiù): refined/elegant/beautiful –> “Beautiful Moon Island” 斗 (dǒu): 1 dou is around 10 liters in modern China. Note that historically these asurents likely varied. The jars are said to be “thousand-dou” but this essentially ans that it’s dinsional storage (bigger on the inside) not that it actually contains 1000 dou of liquid.
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