Chapter Seventy-Nine: The Young Master Has Grown Up
Linjiang Inn.
Li Yunjie’s private chamber.
He returned at dusk. The rain had fallen for five days straight, and the room was heavy with dampness; even the bedding carried a faint, clammy smell.
Li Yunjie sighed softly, closed the window, and the sound of rain grew muffled.
“Eleven,” he said, opening the secret manual again, his brows knitting slightly. “Didn’t you say this manual could accelerate my cultivation?”
“I’ve practiced for so long, yet nothing seems to change.”
Eleven replied calmly, “Young master, you are already progressing very quickly.”
“In just a month, you’ve reached the peak of the seventh rank.”
“Is that so?” Li Yunjie asked skeptically. “Why do I feel nothing at all?”
“Of course you don’t,” Eleven said, serving him ginger tea to ward off the chill, then sitting opposite him to explain.
“Ordinary people feel their progress as their physical strength grows with cultivation rank.”
“But you are different. Your body is far stronger than your cultivation level.”
“It’s like dripping water into a vast container; the change is barely perceptible.”
Li Yunjie uttered an ‘oh,’ a sense of realization dawning upon him. Unlike his usual habit of doubting Eleven’s words, this time he found them to be quite convincing.
He recalled when, upon breaking through to a new realm, his severe injuries had healed completely overnight. At the Jiangnan Magistrate’s office, the fifty lashes from Song Yongnian felt like mere tickles.
He had to admit this body was indeed extraordinary.
His brows furrowed anew. To think such a powerful body was still subject to the torment of the Palace Guard Curse made him pound his chest in frustration!
He should have been a soaring eagle traversing the skies!
Yet at twenty-three, he remained a fledgling captive in a cage...
Li Jia, the old villain, ruined me!
“Eleven,” Li Yunjie asked gravely, “at this rate, when will I reach the fourth rank?”
Eleven counted on his fingers and pondered for a moment, murmuring, “If you’re lucky, three years and three months.”
Li Yunjie’s hope died.
He collapsed onto the bed, dispirited, and spoke no more.
...
Night deepened, and the rain ceased.
The long-lost sound of cicadas returned.
The night breeze parted the clouds, revealing a bright moon suspended high above.
On the willow branches outside Linjiang Inn, Yun Qihu sat cross-legged.
Her gaze was fixed intently on Li Yunjie’s window, as if calculating something.
After a long while, Yun Qihu took a deep breath, her eyes resolute, as if she had made up her mind.
She rose gracefully, her bare feet stepping into the air, conjuring clusters of green light to support her.
She walked lightly, as if on solid ground.
Taking a few steps forward, Yun Qihu formed a spell with her left hand, sending a wisp of ethereal light through the window crack into the Su sisters’ room.
Almost simultaneously, the window of Li Yunjie’s chamber quietly opened, as if welcoming Yun Qihu’s arrival.
She landed soundlessly; not even the curtain beside the window stirred.
She walked elegantly to the bedside, gazed at Li Yunjie’s handsome profile, and smiled.
“Coming to my room in the dead of night—what mischief are you up to?” Li Yunjie suddenly asked.
Yun Qihu’s expression remained serene, as if she had anticipated it. “I’m leaving, so I came to say farewell.”
Li Yunjie sat up slowly. “Does it have to be at midnight?”
“I came during the day, but you weren’t here,” Yun Qihu replied with a smile.
With that, she sat down beside him.
“Must it be on the bed?” Li Yunjie sighed as she drew nearer, his eyes tinged with concern.
Yun Qihu chuckled, and in the hazy moonlight, her faint dimples were especially alluring.
She leaned close to his ear and whispered, “How else?”
“How else shall I claim what I want from you?”
Li Yunjie’s body trembled—this woman was truly audacious!
Forceful and bold?
But... Li Yunjie glanced down, sighing inwardly.
“No need to worry, your lady has already been put to sleep by me.”
“No one else will know what happens tonight.”
With those words, Yun Qihu summoned a wisp of green light from her fingertips, tracing an arc through the air and injecting it into Li Yunjie’s body.
“What is this?” Li Yunjie asked, his brow furrowing as he felt a sudden sense of invasion.
“It’s a miraculous pill I fetched from several mountain tops,” Yun Qihu replied with a wicked smile. “It’s quite potent~”
Her words made no sense, and Li Yunjie did not understand, but his body’s signals told him everything.
His blood boiled, his whole body grew feverish.
The Palace Guard Curse flickered a few times, then quieted.
On the roof, Eleven lay quietly on the green tiles, hands behind his head, face full of contentment.
“My young master has finally grown up.”
That night, Eleven counted stars until dawn.
And listened to lullabies the whole night.
...
The next morning.
Li Yunjie slept until late.
He rose wearily, gazing at the wide-open window, savoring the lingering sensations.
He prepared to get out of bed.
As soon as he stood, he slowly sat back down.
His legs were weak...
“Young master,” Eleven entered the room cheerfully, carrying a food box.
“What’s this?” Li Yunjie asked in confusion.
“Chicken soup, very nourishing,” Eleven answered with a radiant smile. “You were exhausted last night; you need to replenish your strength!”
Li Yunjie’s heart skipped a beat. He asked tentatively, “You know what happened last night?”
“Of course!” Eleven grinned even wider. “You did well~”
Are you not a bit perverted...
Li Yunjie looked at him with disdain.
“You know as well?”
“Miss Yun told me.”
Hearing this, Li Yunjie’s brow relaxed and his lips curled upward.
If even the person involved was so satisfied, then surely there was nothing to criticize!
Eleven was about to ladle a bowl of chicken soup when he noticed a letter on the table.
“Young master, Miss Yun left you a letter.”
Li Yunjie accepted it; it spanned two pages.
The first read: [We shall meet again.]
Li Yunjie snorted.
Pull up your pants and pretend nothing happened?
Heartbreaker!
Still, it was quite reassuring~
“Miss Yun is remarkable,” Eleven’s eyes shone, “even managed to break the Palace Guard Curse.”
Li Yunjie frowned, gazing out the window, suddenly recalling Yun Qihu’s words from last night.
He took out the prescription Lusin had given him and compared it to the letter.
“So it really was her...”
He’d suspected this for some time, so he wasn’t too surprised.
“Who?” Eleven asked in confusion.
“Yun Qihu is actually Gu Xian’er,” Li Yunjie replied with a faint smile.
“The Immortal Doctor?” Eleven was stunned for a moment, murmuring, “Such a renowned immortal doctor, yet so frivolous...”
“But now she’s gone—what about Miss Qingmeng?”
“What about the tax silver case?”
Eleven’s expression grew anxious.
“She’s gone, so be it,” Li Yunjie said indifferently.
As for the Su sisters’ illness, Gu Xian’er had said the time was not yet right.
As for the matter of the Mobei Witch Tribe, that was a pity.
He sighed lightly and turned to the next page.
Suddenly, his brows knitted tightly.
[Regarding the Soul Severing Technique you were curious about, I do know a thing or two...]