In the side hall of the outer palace, Bai Qi, the god of the Chunmu River, sat on a guest chair made of white pebbles and waited quietly.
Bai Qi was not impatient. He had made up his mind to wait this time.
After drinking a cup of Shuifu tea, a Shuifu servant with fish gills on his face and a fish tail in his lower body swam over.
"Master Bai, the Dragon Lord will be here soon!"
Bai Qi perked up, put down the teacup covered with bubbles and looked at the person who came.
"Really? Then Mr. Ji? Are you coming with Long Jun?"
Although there was theoretically a banquet tonight, after the second night, most of the water creatures had dispersed. More than two days had passed, and Bai Qi had already found out that the Dragon King's "guest of honor" was named Ji Yuan, most likely a Taoist master with a mysterious identity.
Moreover, since he can become a close friend of the Dragon King, he should not have much prejudice against the demon race.
Seeing Bai Qi staring at him like that, the little monster was immediately frightened by the dragon energy that the other party inadvertently revealed, and he couldn't speak clearly.
"This... this villain is not clear!"
Bai Qi also realized that he had lost his composure and quickly restrained his breath.
"Got it. I'm waiting here for Lord Long!"
The servant water demon quickly took his leave.
After a while, the old dragon slowly came to the side hall, and Bai Qi hurriedly stood up and bowed.
"Greetings, Lord Dragon!"
When asking for gifts, Bai Qi also looked behind Lao Long to see if there was anyone coming with him. Naturally, he was disappointed.
"God Bai Jiang, please don't be so polite. I wonder why you have been waiting here for so long to see me?"
Seeing that Lao Long was taking his time, Bai Qi didn't bother beating around the bush with him.
“To be honest with you, Lord Long, Bai Qi has been trapped in the Chunmu River for many years. He has no hope of becoming a dragon in this lifetime. However, what happened with the River God the other day… I will tell you straight away. I hope Lord Long can introduce me to Mr. Ji!”
Bai Qi in Chunhui Mansion looked over fifty years old, but now he looks more like a middle-aged man.
Lao Long looked at him and knew what the other person was thinking.
"God Bai Jiang, I know what you are thinking. I might as well tell you that my daughter did get the Dharma the other day. With the help of Mr. Ji, I gained a lot of benefits. Although I have not turned into a dragon yet, I already have the heart of a dragon!"
Hearing this, Bai Qi couldn't help but breathe faster, and his breath became shorter.
"However, Mr. Ji has already made it clear that it was just because my daughter's state of mind was in harmony with the opportunity, so he used his profound Taoist sound to touch my daughter's heart in a dangerous way..."
"The 'knock on the heart' that immortal cultivators often talk about?"
Bai Qi couldn't help but ask.
There is not much communication between immortal cultivators and monsters, but they still know a lot about each other. In addition, some monsters are born to practice suitable immortal methods, like some immortal beasts in immortal palaces.
But understanding does not mean knowing what you are doing. Few monsters can master the ability of "knocking on the heart". We only know that there are several types of knocking on the heart. Some are like the dragon girl's, when the timing is right and there are masters to protect you, while others can be called the "heart-knocking calamity".
Moreover, “knocking one’s heart” often requires physical action, and sometimes one even needs to seek in the secular world.
"That's right! Mr. Ji said that the heart-knocking was actually extremely dangerous. Of course, after it succeeded, my daughter also gained a lot and directly forged the Dragon Heart!"
Old Long Yinghong said this with some pride, and then looked at Bai Qi again.
"The situation of Bai Jiangshen is obviously very different from that of my daughter. Although my friend is very advanced, he cannot go against the will of heaven... When I came to see you, he had already left!"
After hearing the last sentence, Bai Qi's body froze for a long time. Finally, it was as if all the strength in his body was drained away, and he immediately collapsed.
"already left… "
Bai Qi murmured to himself. He had heard that Long Jun had been looking for Ji Yuan for three years. If such a person left on his own, it would probably not be easy for him, Bai Qi, to find him.
Having said that, Bai Qi didn't want to stay any longer and bowed dejectedly to Lao Long.
"Thank you, Lord Long, for telling me. I'll take my leave..."
Seeing that he was about to leave, Lao Long hurriedly stopped him.
"God Bai Jiang, wait a moment. Mr. Ji left a few words before he left. I will tell you about them."
Bai Qi thought that it was probably some advice asking him not to look for someone. Even though he was in a bad mood, he still had to listen. He stopped and waited for Long Jun to continue.
"Mr. Ji once said: 'Seeking hardship is not the law of fate, but practicing correctly is the true law. If you are a dragon, you will have the right way to act, and if you are a god, you will protect a place. If your mind is not lacking, you will have the time to burn incense!'"
As soon as Lao Long finished speaking, he found that Bai Qi opposite him was just standing there in a daze. The next moment, his aura suddenly changed and he could hardly suppress his dragon energy. His whole mood was completely different.
"If your mind is full of thoughts, you will have the time to burn incense... If your mind is full of thoughts, you will have the time to burn incense! Is it him? It's him!"
Bai Qi muttered to himself nervously, then looked up at Lao Long with a bright look in his eyes, and bowed with his back bent.
"Thank you, Lord Long, for the message. Thank you, Mr. Ji, for your guidance. Bai Qi will definitely follow your instructions!"
Bai Qi's reaction was somewhat beyond Lao Long's expectations. Lao Long could even see that one of Bai Qi's hands was actually clenching a corner of his robe. This reaction was simply unbelievable for a demon of his status.
'Does Ji Yuan mean that he will help Bai Qi rebuild the Dragon Transformation Dao in the future? That's not right. The first two sentences clearly told him not to beg. Shouldn't the whole sentence mean that he should be a good river god and attract the people to worship him. Is it a continuation of the Shinto path?'
No matter how hesitant Lao Long was, he still returned the gift openly.
"God Bai Jiang, what exactly does Mr. Ji mean by this? Why are you so..."
Bai Qi is in a very good mood now, with a big smile on his face, and he feels even happier when he sees Lao Long's doubts.
“Hahahahahaha… Don’t blame me, Lord Long. Since Mr. Ji didn’t explain this matter, I can’t say it clearly either. Anyway, thank you very much, Lord Long. Once again, I wish you a long and happy life. I’m leaving now. I’m leaving now! Hahahaha…”
Bai Qi walked away with his head held high. As soon as he left the side hall, he transformed into a scaleless white dragon and swam into the river...
. . .
Somewhere on the Tongtian River, Ji Yuan stood at the bow of a small black-sailed boat with a smile on his face. Just now, a chess piece flashed in his sleeve.
When viewed in the artistic conception of mountains and rivers, it is a completely solid chess piece, but it has not yet been divided into black and white, so it appears light gray at this moment.
In the artistic conception, I reached out to hold the chess piece, only to feel that it was not light, and there was a faint roar of a white dragon.
There was a dragon girl standing half of her body in the river beside the boat. Seeing Ji Yuan suddenly smiling towards the distance, she felt a sense of naturalness and was stunned for a moment. She waited for Ji Yuan to come back to his senses before she dared to disturb him.
“Uncle Ji, Ruoli will be sent here!”
After the Dragon Girl finished speaking, Ji Yuan bowed to her.
"Please go back, Madam Jiangshen. Your father's birthday banquet has just ended, and the palace must be very busy!"
The Dragon Girl bowed to Ji Yuan in the waves of the river, said with a smile, "Ruoli, goodbye," and then sank into the river.
Ji Yuan saw the dragon girl enter the water, and then he sat down at the bow of the boat.
He put on his bamboo hat and grabbed the oars, and rowed his boat away like an ordinary fisherman.
Under the water, the Dragon Girl was actually still looking at the small boat above through the rippling waves. She found that Ji Yuan did not perform any magic tricks. He was just like an ordinary boatman, rowing slowly.
If she hadn't known that the person on that boat was Ji Yuan, she would not have been able to tell what was special about that boat.
Ji Yuan actually didn't know how to row a boat in his previous life, but after learning from the old fisherman, he could row quite well. He got his first solid chess piece in the true sense, so he was naturally in a very good mood at this moment.
In addition, there are two other things that make Ji Yuan happy.
One is to ask the old dragon for a few cups of special "ambergris". Of course, this is not brewed from the dragon's saliva, but there is some connection. It is brewed with algae as the main ingredient, which is stimulated by the ambergris that the old dragon flows out when he dozes off in his real body. It is also added with many treasures and magical herbs that absorb spiritual energy. It is extremely difficult to make wine, and the quantity is not large.
It was this wine that Old Dragon invited Yin Zhao to drink first, and Ji Yuan asked for a few more cups not just because he was greedy for the taste of the wine, but because he was thinking of a certain Taoist who was seeking death. Ambergris could replenish the Taoist Qingsong's depleted vitality so that he would not die prematurely.
The second thing is that Ji Yuan picked and borrowed several books from Lao Long's library. To be precise, only one can be called a book, and the others are jade sticks or jade slips that convey the spirit of the object, and there are many contents that Ji Yuan is interested in but lacks.
Ji Yuan thought that even if he couldn't catch any fish it was not bad, he could read a book while waiting for Master Yin. After the imperial examination was over in the spring of next year, he would go to Taoist Qingsong to extend the life of this guy who couldn't control his mouth!
So now when I row the boat, I feel a sense of leisure and contentment, and a sense of freedom as I drift with the waves. I even think of the songs sung by the old boatman when I chartered a boat to Chunhui Mansion. My mood and environment are in harmony and I sing happily.
"Fishing boat~~~~Paddle your boat~~~~Fishermen~~~~enjoy your time~~~~"
His voice was strong, peaceful and melodious, more pleasant and rhythmic than that of the old boatman.
The dragon girl listened for a long time underwater, and only returned to the water palace when she saw the boat had gone away. She did not transform into a dragon, but just twisted her body and swam underwater, with her flowing sleeves and long hair dragging behind her like waves.
'What was the situation like when Dad and Uncle Ji met?'