Lanke Chess Edge

Chapter 453: I Will Teach You

The scissors and scraps of paper on the stone table had all fallen to the ground. Ji Yuan looked at Hu Yun, who was fast asleep on the stone table; it was as if he was looking at the injured little fox from back then.Just like he had all those years ago, Hu Yun was sleeping soundly and peacefully, because he knew that he would not be harmed in Ju’an Pavilion.

“Sleeping peacefully, I see.”

Ji Yuan didn’t bother to clean up the large pile of yellow paper scraps on the ground in the courtyard. He planned to wait until Hu Yun woke up so that he could take a look and clean it up himself. This wasn’t because Ji Yuan was reluctant to trouble himself, but rather because Ji Yuan knew that this would give Hu Yun a strong sense of accomplishment.

This feeling was actually similar to how, as a student in his past life, he would painstakingly complete several test papers or solve several difficult problems, and then look at the draft paper next to him filled with the notes he used to solve them.

If one were to truly consider the hardships and difficulties of studying the Tao, a mere three days was nothing. Regardless of anyone else’s experiences, even Ji Yuan himself sat on a mountaintop on an island for years in order to comprehend a sliver of true understanding.

But the spirit of seeking the Tao that Hu Yun demonstrated during these three days was truly precious. Ji Yuan had observed this feeling with careful scrutiny using his supernatural eyes. He believed that Hu Yun’s three days of unwavering dedication were an indication that he could continue on in this matter for three hundred years, or even longer.

After stretching and yawning, Ji Yuan prepared to leave. However, as he reached the courtyard gate, he turned back, looked around the courtyard, and then spoke.

“Don’t wake him up.”

These words were, of course, directed at the group of small calligraphy spirits. Although these small characters were usually noisy and liked to tease Hu Yun, they would never disrupt Hu Yun’s cultivation at crucial moments. They truly regarded this fox as one of their own.

“Don’t worry, Master, we’ll watch over him.”

The voice was very soft, coming from the character for “intent”1, which had pasted itself atop the courtyard gate.

“Hm.”

Ji Yuan responded, then opened the door and went out.

It was early morning, and there were quite a few residents coming and going from Tian Niu Lane. However, few were familiar faces. Most people would just stare at Ji Yuan when they crossed paths, and occasionally, when he met someone he knew, they would greet each other earnestly.

As he passed through the alley outside Shuang Jing Lane, he encountered an old man, who was slightly taken aback when he spotted Ji Yuan. He paused slightly, then quickly took a few steps closer to examine him.

“Mr. Ji? Is it really you?”

Upon hearing the voice, although it had changed slightly due to age, Ji Yuan immediately remembered him.

“It’s you, Brother Qian.”

This person wasn’t particularly close to Ji Yuan, but he used to greet him whenever he saw him. Of course, he was still in his prime back then, or at least, he had black hair, but now his body was hunched over.

“Sir, you still remember me? That’s wonderful! I heard you were back, but I hadn’t seen you yet. But the fragrance of jujube blossoms, which I haven’t smelled in the neighborhood for many years, finally returned. I figured you must be back. I can sleep so well at night with this fragrance.”

“Haha, it does smell nice.”

Ji Yuan stopped and chatted casually with the other man for a few minutes, before saying goodbye and leaving.

Perhaps this timing marked a turning point, because after that, he ran into several more people who recognized him. After leaving Tian Niu Lane, Sun’s noodle stall was packed with people, and there wasn’t a single empty seat.

“Grandpa, Mr. Ji is here!”

Sun Yaya, with her sharp eyes, saw Ji Yuan exit Tian Niu Lane from afar and quickly notified her grandfather, Sun Fu.

Sun Fu looked at the tables in front of the stall, which were now unusually full.

“What do we do now? There are no seats available!”

At a table near the wooden cart, one of the four young men immediately turned to Sun Fu.

“Uncle Sun, we’ll eat quickly and make room for Mr. Ji right away.”

The young man who spoke was the same one who had seen Sun Fu recognize Ji Yuan when Ji Yuan returned last time. He was somewhat related to Sun Fu by blood, and they had a deep impression of Ji Yuan and hoped to run into him again.

“Okay, then you guys eat quickly!”

The two of them quickly shoveled down the noodles in their bowls, making loud slurping noises. But even as they were still stuffing their faces with noodles, Ji Yuan had already reached the stall.

Sun Fu had clearly seen Mr. Ji walking slowly, but he hadn’t expected him to arrive so quickly. Just as he was about to inform Ji Yuan that there would be a seat soon, Ji Yuan smiled and spoke.

“Why don’t you two just sit on one bench? There’s no need to eat so fast. What if you choke?”

The young man was taken aback for a moment, then quickly dragged his bowl to his companion’s side. The latter also hurriedly shifted his position to make room. Eating at the same table as Mr. Ji was even better than standing to the side.

Sun Fu quickly came over to wipe down the table.

“Mr. Ji, please have a seat. The usual, yes?”

“Yes, same as always.”

The other diners probably didn’t recognize Ji Yuan; they just glanced at him and then went back to eating their noodles. Ji Yuan sat down at the table, nodded to a few curious young people, and then turned his gaze to Sun Yaya by the food cart.

Ji Yuan remembered that the little girl was also by the stall when he came back last time. It happened to be a day off then, so he didn’t think much of it. But today was different. This girl should be at the academy.

Ji Yuan gently waved to Sun Yaya, who swung the branch she was using as a wooden sword, turned around, and with two exclamations of “hey~ ho~”, she lightly and cheerfully arrived at Ji Yuan’s side.

“Mr. Ji, you called me?”

Ji Yuan looked at the branch in the little girl’s hand. It was straight, and the bark had been peeled off, indicating that she had obviously been playing with it for a long time. Looking at her chubby little face and bright, lively eyes, he thought she would surely grow up to be a beautiful and spirited girl.

‘The Sun family certainly has good genes.’

“Yaya, why aren’t you at school? The academy isn’t closed today. Has your family never sent you to school before?”

Sun Yaya pouted and shook her head, swaying her body.

“Grandpa sent me to school a long time ago, but I don’t want to go anymore.”

“Why not?”

Sun Yaya lowered her head and waved the branch in her hand, fidgeting and unwilling to answer. Sun Fugang was about to speak, but Ji Yuan didn’t even look up, instead signaling with his hand for him to be quiet.

‘Should I tell Mr. Ji?’

Sun Yaya swayed back and forth, and hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“I don’t want to go to school anymore, they’re bullying me!”

“How are they bullying you? Doesn’t the teacher care?”

Since she had already started, Sun Yaya just poured her heart out.

“The teacher does try to discipline us, but he’s not always around, and the more he disciplines us, the more resentful they become. That’s not all: what’s most infuriating is that there are only three girls in the school, including me. They laugh at us all the time for being clueless, for not being able to recite our lessons, for not being able to answer the teacher’s questions in class, for not being able to write well, and even sprinkle water on our seats… I stood up for the other two and hit the boy who sprinkled water, and the day before they were so grateful to me. But over the next few days they just distanced themselves from me, just like the boys…”

Sun Yaya’s voice trailed off as she spoke, her voice softened, and her head remained lowered. Judging from the change in her tone, she was about to cry.

Sun Fu felt very sorry for his granddaughter. He brought over a bowl of noodles and placed it in front of Ji Yuan’s table, then quickly went to pat her on the shoulder.

“It’s okay, it’s alright. If Yaya doesn’t want to go, then you don’t have to go.”

Ji Yuan shook his head and spoke.

“Yaya, putting aside what the other students are doing, I want to ask you: do you think studying itself is good, or bad?”

Sun Yaya wiped her face with her sleeve and looked up at Ji Yuan.

“It’s good…”

“Yes, studying is a good path. It’s not just for girls; many boys don’t have this opportunity either. You and your classmates are just not familiar with each other yet. Once you get to know each other, you’ll all become good friends.”

Sun Yaya hesitated and didn’t say anything. She glanced at the noodles on the table, and gave a reminder.

“Mr. Ji, please eat your noodles quickly, or they will become soggy and won’t taste good.”

“Haha!”

Ji Yuan smiled, ruffled Sun Yaya’s hair, and turned around. He picked up his chopsticks and started stirring the noodles to mix them into the sauce. After taking a couple of bites, he lowered his head and said to Sun Yaya.

“How about this, Yaya: go to school. After school, you can come to Ju’an Pavilion. I will teach you calligraphy and reading. Aren’t those children laughing at you? Let’s see if they’ll still be laughing when your studies are better than theirs, and the teacher treats you like a treasure!”

At these words, Ji Yuan added another sentence.

“My calligraphy is quite good, definitely better than your teacher’s!”

Because Yin Zhaoxian had once been a teacher at the Ning’an County School, the school had a very strong academic atmosphere. Children with good grades were respected.

Hearing Ji Yuan’s words, Sun Yaya’s eyes immediately lit up. Meanwhile, Sun Fu, who was serving the cooked mutton offal, subconsciously trembled, but pretended to be nonchalant, picking out the offal that could have been scooped up in two or three spoonfuls and putting it into the bowl one by one.

“How about it?”

Ji Yuan swallowed the noodles in his mouth, then asked with a smile. Sun Yaya looked at her grandfather and saw him wink at her before immediately going back to work. The little girl then looked at Ji Yuan, glanced in the direction of Tian Niu Lane, and finally smiled as she smelled the fragrance of the jujube flowers.

“Mr. Ji, you I hope you’re not lying to me!”

“Hahaha, young lady, why would I lie to you?”

Sun Fu inside the kitchen stall felt relieved. He quickly prepared the bowl of offal and brought it over.

“Mr. Ji, your lamb offal soup is ready. Come, be careful, it’s hot. Enjoy!”

Sun Fu came over with a smile and placed the mutton offal in front of Ji Yuan.

Ji Yuan nodded, picked up some of the food, and placed a portion into the bowls of the two young men.

“Thank you to both of you young men for giving up your seats.”

“Oh, you’re welcome, you’re welcome!”

“Thank you, Mr. Ji!”

The two young men were flattered. Because of Uncle Sun’s attitude earlier, they had asked their elders about Mr. Ji of Ju’an Pavilion and heard that he was an extraordinary person, especially since he was close friends with Star Scholar Yin. He was definitely a prominent figure in Ning’an County, though not many people knew that now.

While eating the mutton offal that Ji Yuan had given them, and seeing that Ji Yuan and Sun Yaya had finished talking, the two young men exchanged a glance. One of them tentatively asked a question.

“Mr. Ji, may I ask how old you are?”

Ji Yuan paused, his chopsticks still. This question really stumped him. He didn’t know how old the original beggar’s body in the Mountain God Temple was. If he were to consider his own age, should he include his past life?

After thinking for a moment, he could only reply with a smile.

“Older than you think, anyway.”

“Oh, oh!”

Sun Fu laughed and scolded from off to the side.

“You two brats, what nonsense are you asking? Your noodles are on me today, so eat up and get the hell out of here!”

“Oh dear, Uncle Sun is kicking us out!”

“Exactly! Let us finish our meal before we leave, we haven’t finished eating yet!”

The two chuckled and squeezed onto a stool together, and joked around.

T/n: Hi friends! Unfortunately it’s looking like next week is going to be CRAZY busy for me, so I’ll see you all for the next update on July 20th. Cheers!

Random guy: How old are you?

JY: uhhhh… How would you count the reincarnation, the transmigration, the original body’s age, and the fact that I am quite literally immortal?

JY: …

JY: older than you think! ????

JY, to himself: nice save!

Random guys, staring at each other: He’s definitely an immortal, right? Should we say something? Will he smite us? Yyyeaaah let’s just change the subject reeeeal quick

意 (yì): idea/thought/meaning/sense/intention/state of mind

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