To be honest, at first Ji Yuan didn't think that just because he went to the underworld to visit his deceased parents, Lu Chengfeng would change so much.
Because in Ji Yuan's view, although Lu Chengfeng used to be polite and tactful, he was just an ordinary person after all. He would not look up to Lu Chengfeng because of his previous achievements in the martial arts world, nor would he look down on him because Lu Chengfeng was crushed by the cruelty of reality. He could only respond with some sympathy and concern for his old friend.
But human hearts are the most difficult to understand, and this applies to both good and bad changes. After returning from the underworld in Desheng Mansion, Lu Chengfeng is no longer an ordinary person.
Ji Yuan could clearly feel that Hero Lu had become a powerful man, a powerful man recognized even by people like him who were considered immortals or gods in the eyes of ordinary people. Well, maybe other practitioners might not recognize him, but Ji Yuan recognized such a powerful man very much.
Turning around from the gate, Ji Yuan closed the gate again and looked around the yard. The branches and leaves of the jujube tree were still swaying in the breeze. Although they were moving, they made the yard look more tranquil.
"It seems you admit it too!"
That jujube was not given by Ji Yuan, it was really given by the jujube tree itself.
"Buzz..."
The Qingteng Sword, which had been leaning against the jujube tree, also made a slight sound, showing its presence, as if it understood what its master was thinking just by Ji Yuan's half sentence.
"Well, I know. You admit it too."
Ji Yuan smiled, returned to the table, picked up the jade slip and continued to read its contents. He also had some special thoughts in his mind about Lu Chengfeng's sudden visit.
There is a saying that everything is destined. Ji Yuan believes that this is by no means a pure theory of fate. In fact, it is talking about the laws of nature and the law of nature. However, it can also be understood that when there is a cause and effect connection, things will have corresponding influences.
Lu Shanjun is now at a huge turning point in his life as a demon, a time for rebirth. According to his analogy with dragons and dragons, the once fierce tiger will be completely transformed in three to five years at the fastest, or ten years at the slowest. Presumably, transforming into a human form will be a more natural thing by then. After all, most of the aquatic spirit monsters can transform into human form shortly after successfully transforming into dragons, and there are even a few that have transformed into human form before transforming into dragons.
This time also coincided with an important turning point for Lu Chengfeng himself, and he achieved a breakthrough in himself. It must be said that this was also a wonderful law of fate. If you really look into it, the reason why Lu Shanjun and the nine people made a covenant was that in addition to his role in calculating fate, Lu Chengfeng was undoubtedly the initial bond.
Ji Yuan was very curious about what the tiger would turn into. After all, he had never heard of such a precedent. This change was most likely related to his "Xiao Yao You". He was also more curious about how Lu Shanjun would fulfill his promise.
Judging from the current situation, it is very likely that these nine former young knights may not all remember the agreement they made with Menghu. Even Lu Chengfeng who just left seems to be the same, at least he did not mention it in front of Ji Yuan.
In recent years, Ji Yuan had visited the giant stone platform of Niukui Mountain several times. He had preached the Tao to Lu Shanjun several times with his increasingly proficient method of deriving the Tao from artistic conception. Although Lu Shanjun had never mentioned the agreement they made back then, Ji Yuan knew Lu Shanjun much better than the nine young heroes back then. He knew that his humble disciple valued his promise the most and kept the agreement they made in mind very closely.
After looking at the jade slip for a while, Ji Yuan stopped again. Lu Chengfeng's visit made him curious.
Then he used the names of the other seven people except Du Heng and Lu Chengfeng and the inspiration in his memory to tell the fortune. After a moment, Ji Yuan frowned.
I don't know the date of birth and so many years have passed. Under limited conditions, with Ji Yuan's fortune-telling ability, the hexagram can only be considered ambiguous and can only roughly predict a direction.
But even so, I can still get a vague feeling of good or bad.
"Forget it, this 'surprise' belongs to Shanjun and them, I'd better not get involved for now."
. . .
Five days later, in front of the Lu family's home in Yunge, Yuchang County, Lu Chengfeng got off a yellow horse, dusted off the dust on his body, took off the bamboo hat on his head, and regardless of his tiredness and sleepiness, went straight to find his eldest brother.
Half a minute later, in the house next to the back warehouse, Lu Chengfeng saw his brother busy at work.
As soon as he saw Lu Chengfeng, Lu Chengyun frowned.
"Where have you been for so many days? Why didn't you let the servants follow you? The situation of my Lu family has been bad in the past two years. Do I need to tell you again?"
Lu Chengfeng did not talk back, but just smiled, took out a carefully wrapped cloth from his arms, and after untying it, a bright red date was revealed.
"Brother, I brought you a rare jujube fruit, a gift from a great master, it is definitely not an ordinary thing."
In fact, Lu Chengfeng was very clear about the extraordinary nature of this date. He had examined it carefully more than once on the way back. Whether it was the lingering warmth or the occasional firelight in the middle of the night, they all fully demonstrated the magic of this fruit.
"What is this? Dates? In this state, at this time of year?"
Lu Chengyun was also attracted by the fire dates. Out of curiosity, he couldn't help but grab the dates to take a closer look, but as soon as he touched them, he felt a burst of fire in his hands.
"this!"
Lu Chengyun looked at his Lu Chengfeng in surprise, as if he just realized that what his brother said was true. He played with it in his hand for a while and then handed it back to Lu Chengfeng, but as soon as he stretched out his hand, it was blocked by Lu Chengfeng.
"I brought it back for you. I don't know if it will go bad after a long time. You'd better eat it as soon as possible, brother."
After saying this, Lu Chengfeng turned around and left, not wanting to explain anything more.
Lu Chengyun looked at the jujube fruit. The fruit in his hand also had a strong temptation. Just looking at it made him feel like drooling.
"Chengfeng, or you..."
"I don't need it anymore!"
Lu Chengfeng stood still and turned to look at his brother. He refused without waiting for the other party to finish speaking and left without looking back.
"What are you going to do?"
"Take a nap first, then get up and practice."
Lu Chengfeng's back had disappeared at the door of the house, and a voice came from outside in the distance.
It was just a few words, but from the tone of his voice, Lu Chengyun inexplicably felt that his brother seemed a little different.
. . .
It was the plum rain season in Jizhou and it was still raining that day.
Ji Yuan did not go to the yard, but took a chair and sat under the eaves in front of the house to read the letter in his hand.
Communication in the Dazhen society was not convenient. Sometimes the absence of letters for a long time did not necessarily mean that no one had written. For example, now, as soon as Ji Yuan received a letter, he immediately sent it out. It was not because there was a problem with any post office, and it was impossible to check in real time. It was only sent out after a long time of accumulation and the problem was finally discovered.
In the past life, many express deliveries might have encountered similar situations, not to mention now. Unless it is a military letter or a personal delivery, it is not very secure.
Reading a letter is easier than reading a book. The person the letter writer is confiding is Ji Yuan. When the letter paper is touched, there is a hint of energy, which to some extent allows Ji Yuan to read the letter without being affected by his own eyesight.
There was a letter from Du Heng, which mentioned Lu Chengfeng. He said that Lu Chengfeng seemed very depressed because of the huge changes in his family. He couldn't help but bring up the matter of Mr. Ji, which reminded Lu Chengfeng to find Ji Yuan and wrote a special letter to apologize.
There was another letter from Bingzhou. The writer was Qin Zizhou, who had changed a lot now. He told about his current practice status and mentioned that he had studied Taoist scriptures related to astrology with two Taoists in Yunshan Temple, which was very helpful for him to be in harmony with the star map and flag in the temple. He could even occasionally draw a trace of star power at night, and start to get on the right track of practice.
The first half of the practice was normal. In the second half, Qin Zizhou asked Ji Yuan in a puzzled and amusing tone. The general idea was that Taoist Qingsong was getting stronger and stronger because of the spiritual energy that Ji Yuan had brought in and Qin Zizhou's practice. He was more concerned about food and less about punishment when it came to the things he was passionate about. Was this a good thing or a bad thing
Ji Yuan knew very well what the so-called "things that Taoist Qingsong was passionate about" were, but what could he say about such things
The remaining two letters were all sent from Wanzhou. The first one was signed by Yin Zhaoxian. There was nothing special about it. Apart from chatting about recent situation and family matters, it was also a belated New Year's greeting letter. When Ji Yuan read it, he looked at the spring rain outside and decided to regard it as an early New Year's greeting from the Yin family this year.
The handwriting on the second letter was rather strange, appearing rough and awkward. Ji Yuan could tell at a glance that it was written by Yin Qing with his left hand. It didn't even have a signature, so his expression became a little more serious.
The letter mentioned that Emperor Yuande's health had been deteriorating, and he began to ignore state affairs, and even acquiesced in the King of Wu's forces in the court to suppress other princes.
However, some things that happened at the assembly made the old emperor firmly believe that there must be a way to immortality in this world, and he became even more frantic in seeking immortals and medicines during this period.
Yin Qing even mentioned in a veiled way that "the King of Wu not only tried to win over his ministers, but also teachers."
Ji Yuan put down the letter, looked at the drizzle outside and thought for a long time.
The teacher naturally refers to Yin Zhaoxian. Even Yin Zhaoxian, a prefect who was far away in Wanzhou, was once tentatively sent people to win him over by the King of Wu. Not to mention the capital, there were indeed undercurrents in the court of Dazhen.
Yin Zhaoxian would not write about this kind of thing in a letter, but it is interesting that Yin Qing specifically informed him, Ji.
Once the old emperor dies, the most legitimate person to succeed to the throne will naturally be the King of Wu. However, the King of Jin is no pushover either, and his methods are more powerful than his brother. I'm afraid that one of them will die in the fight.
Unfortunately, Ji Yuan had no intention of intervening in this fight for the throne, so it would be okay to just go and take a look.
He had been practicing at home for nearly two years, and it was time for him to move around. He also wanted to go find the original storyteller Wang Li, to listen to the story of Bai Lu Yuan after it was published as a book, and if he was okay, he could tell him some new stories.
Ji Yuan sat for a while, went back to his room to grind ink and write, wrote a letter back to Wanzhou, and did not reply to any other letters. Then he locked the inner and outer doors of the pavilion and went out.