With the occurrence of such an incident, the few people lost their interest in continuing their stroll and simply left the Haohan Building, returning to the Qian family courtyard by carriage.
On the way back, there was also a minor incident. Several demonic creatures openly broke the limbs of some mortals, only to be killed by passing cultivators who then took the demonic creatures' corpses to the Prefectural Governor's office.
"The current situation outside looks a bit unusual," Zhao Yuansong said immediately, frowning as soon as he stepped into the courtyard where they were temporarily staying at the Qian family's.
In the past, how could demonic creatures dare to commit violence in human cities, or even dare to harm mortals passing through the wilderness! Only some young demons who didn't know their place would dare to act this way, secretly devouring hunters and woodcutters from the mountains. Even so, they had to live in constant fear, lest the blade of the Mingjian Division fall upon them one day. A scene like today would have been impossible in the past!
"My father said that in recent years, many demonic creatures have come out of the deep mountains, and even many demonic creatures from the Nine Great Demonic Regions have appeared in our human cities," Xu Qiqi said with a somber expression.
Although the laws of the Great Yu Dynasty did not specifically target demonic creatures, a contract had been signed between the two races. Human cultivators at the Golden Core stage and above were forbidden from entering demonic territories without reason to kill demonic creatures and beasts, and demonic creatures were forbidden from entering human cities. However, in the past decade or so, this contract had become a mere formality. A large number of demonic creatures began to appear in various cities and acted recklessly. Some with powerful backing even seriously injured or killed mortals in broad daylight! If it were disputes between cultivators, there would be nothing to say, as long as higher realms did not bully lower realms, everything would be left to fate. But harming mortals who had no power to resist was a violation of the human bottom line. However, for some unknown reason, the high-ranking officials of the court had always turned a blind eye to these demonic creatures that crossed the line. Even Mingjian Division enforcers who dared to kill them were severely punished.
When an anomaly occurs, it might be a coincidence, but when a series of anomalies occur consecutively, there must be some hidden reason that is not known.
"The Great Yu Dynasty... is likely to usher in a period of turmoil..." Ji Yuan sighed, and then he roughly recounted the situation he had heard from Xu Lin to everyone. This matter was not a secret, and some larger factions had more or less received some wind of it. Even court officials at the Prefectural Governor level and above had begun to make plans for the future, either choosing neutrality or rushing to pledge allegiance to a prince in an attempt to gain merit for supporting the dragon. Even some great sects that were detached from the world and had thousands of years of heritage had to make a choice of allegiance. If they still adopted an attitude of watching a play, considering their status and unwilling to get involved, once the old emperor passed away and a new emperor ascended the throne, a purge would inevitably follow, and in severe cases, their lineage might even be severed.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yuansong and the others had complex expressions, both looking displeased and worried. However, with their current cultivation levels, these matters were beyond their capacity to get involved. In the face of the great trend that was about to roll in, other than drifting with the current and following their sect, there was no other choice.
"If one had the cultivation of the Golden Core stage or above, perhaps then one would be qualified to participate," Zhao Yuansong lamented. If one could form a Golden Core, even if unable to change the situation, at the very least, one could do something for their sect.
"I'll go back to my room to cultivate," he murmured and then walked towards his room. Since reaching the second realm, although he was still diligent in his cultivation, he was no longer as attentive as he had been over the past decade. It was as if once a certain goal was achieved, his spirit had dissipated. It was only upon seeing the demonic creatures acting wantonly in the city and hearing of the impending turmoil in the Great Yu Dynasty that he realized his state of mind had become problematic.
Xu Qiqi, Jiang He, and the other four also returned to their respective rooms, clearly feeling the pressure. Soon, only Ji Yuan and Xia Dong remained in the courtyard. The latter's heart had never been on cultivation. Although she had luckily attained enlightenment and embarked on the path of cultivation, her innate talent was not very high, so she naturally did not pay much attention to cultivation. As for the former, he had just come out of seclusion for over a month, and with the ripples in his state of mind, he did not intend to continue cultivating immediately. While cultivation was a matter of seizing every second and being meticulous, it also required a balance between work and rest. Constant secluded cultivation could lead to disadvantages over time.
"I mentioned earlier that I wanted to buy you another set, but we left in a hurry and I forgot about it," Ji Yuan said apologetically after thinking for a moment. "It was my oversight. I'll definitely take you to buy prettier dresses later."
Upon hearing this, Xia Dong shook her head and said with a smile, "Does Young Master have too much money to spend?" "Actually, this outfit I'm wearing is already very good. Many female cultivators at the second realm might not even be able to afford it." "Besides, I'm just a servant girl, so it doesn't matter if I wear the same as other maids. There's no need to spend so much money unnecessarily."
She spoke word by word, not with any reluctance, but truly thinking this way. When she was at the Qian family's, although she ate and drank well and no one mistreated her, she only wore standard maid attire. How could she now wear such beautiful and comfortable magic clothes that she could never afford in her lifetime? Just this alone made Xia Dong very content, not to mention that she also discovered that this young Taoist priest seemed to treat her not merely as a servant girl. Otherwise, how many families would buy a magic garment worth five hundred taels of gold for a servant girl? Of course, there were those dissolute individuals who treated their servant girls as playthings! However, she saw no trace of filth or baseness in Ji Yuan's eyes, not even a hint of condescension, only a very ordinary and calm gaze. This seemingly insignificant aspect was precisely what Xia Dong most desired. Although Qian Nishang and the Qian family were kind to her, there was still a difference in status between them. No matter how approachable they were, they were still master and servant. But who would want to be a slave or a maid to others in this world? If possible, she naturally wished to be treated as an equal, with dignity.
"Whether you want it or not is your business, whether I buy it or not is my business. This Taoist priest simply has too much money to spend!" Ji Yuan rolled his eyes and said irritably. To be honest, he himself did not understand what kind of emotion the strange feeling that suddenly arose in his heart represented. For the girl who was only a year or two older than him, he naturally harbored no impure thoughts, but he also did not truly regard her as a mere maid. It was somewhat like friendship, yet not quite. Shaking his head, Ji Yuan pushed these incomprehensible emotions deep into his heart, not exploring them for the moment, as if he subconsciously resisted.
"Master!" At this moment, a loud cry came from the courtyard gate. He turned his head and saw Zhao Yuebai holding Zhang Zhiya's hand, with Liao Qiming and the other four following behind, carrying large bags of items back to the courtyard.
"Master, eat!" Zhao Yuebai ran over, stopped, and handed out two candied hawthorns. "Sister Dong'er, you eat too!"
The two took the candied hawthorns and, under expectant gazes, took a bite and chewed, nodding repeatedly and exclaiming how delicious they were.
"Yuebai insisted on bringing them back for you to try," Zhang Zhiya said slowly, his old face full of smiles, his wrinkles bunching up. It was evident that the old Taoist priest was very happy today and had enjoyed himself immensely. For how many years had it been since he had been so joyful? Old people always liked children, which was also one of the reasons he had adopted one orphan after another over the decades.
"They're really delicious!" Zhao Yuebai's eyes were squinted with a smile. He also had a skewer with two or three candied hawthorns left in his hand. It had to be said that the taste of these candied hawthorns was indeed excellent, sweet and crisp. The fruit inside was also very fresh, not ordinary hawthorn. The flesh was white, crisp, and extremely sweet and refreshing, perfectly balancing the sweetness of the sugar coating.
"Before we leave in two days, let's go buy all of these candied hawthorns!" Ji Yuan took another bite of a candied hawthorn and then decided. Upon hearing this, Zhao Yuebai smiled even more happily, and the old Taoist priest beside him also chuckled repeatedly. Even Ji Yuan and Xia Dong, who were just watching, couldn't help but smile knowingly. The entire courtyard was filled with laughter and joy. Only Liao Qiming and the other four, who were carrying a pile of things, had complex expressions on their faces. The thought of having to make another trip made their legs tremble, even though they were martial artists.
That evening, after a dinner made from spiritual ingredients, Ji Yuan called Zhao Yuebai into his room. He emptied the contents of the Mountain and River Bag and then handed it to his disciple, who was until his chest height.
"It's yours now." Ji Yuan said with a smile. As his voice fell, he stuffed the Mountain and River Bag into the stunned Zhao Yuebai's arms, then turned around and used the jade thumb ring to put away the pile of items he had taken out.
"Thank you, Master!" Zhao Yuebai said with a sweet smile. However, Ji Yuan shook his head and tapped his forehead lightly, "Don't thank me yet, there are still several more things!" He then took out a stack of gold and silver notes, totaling about fifty thousand taels of silver, and stuffed them all into Zhao Yuebai. Afterward, he took out a palm-sized round shield and a three-foot-long sharp sword, and handed them all to his disciple.
"When we reach the Nine Profound Sect, Master will help you refine your natal flying sword. With these items, you will have no obvious shortcomings." After giving his disciple a pile of pills, spirit stones, and other items, he said with satisfaction. However, after thinking about it, Ji Yuan felt it was still not perfect, and was considering whether to draw some graded talismans later and make a few hundred ordinary talismans for his disciple to carry, thus increasing his means. If possible, it would be best to also get two formation plates, one for defense and one for concealment, so that it could be considered somewhat safe.
"Master... you are so good to me..." Zhao Yuebai scratched the back of his head and said with a chuckle. Upon hearing this, Ji Yuan hit his forehead, "You are my first disciple!" At this moment, he was somewhat proud. Although he was only seven or eight years older than his disciple, every time he gave his disciple magic artifacts, spiritual items, etc., he felt a sense of accomplishment in nurturing his disciple little by little. And Ji Yuan himself did not realize that when he interacted with Zhao Yuebai, he was instead releasing his true nature, no longer trying to appear mature and steady like others.