Ji Yuan left in a very cool manner, but he did not really disappear. Instead, he turned on the street and walked towards Yin's mansion. Although he did not deliberately increase his pace, his steps were brisk, which was not slow for walking through the streets and alleys in the quiet capital city at this time.
"Boom-boom, boom, boom" "Tah..."
The sound of night watchmen's gongs and clappers could be heard from afar, followed by a clear and distant shout.
"It's freezing cold~~~"
In the dark night, two night watchmen, one holding a gong and the other holding a clapper, walked along one side of the street, rubbing their hands as they went.
"Boom—boom, boom, boom"
After one person struck the gong, the other followed with a strike of the clapper and then started shouting.
"Tsk..."
"It's freezing cold~~~"
The two men crossed a street corner and could see the lights on the gate of Yin's mansion in the distance. One of them rubbed his hands and breathed, whispering to the people around him.
"Hey, do you think Lord Yin is dying?"
They would never dare to say such words during the day or when there were many people around, but at this moment the street was empty, so the two of them dared to lower their voices and talk in private to divert their attention from the cold.
"It's hard to say. So many doctors can't cure him. Not to mention the imperial doctors in the palace, famous doctors from all over the world have come in waves, all to prolong Lord Yin's life!"
Upon hearing this, his companion shook his head and sighed.
"Ah! Those scholars often say that it is thanks to the existence of Lord Yin that the government is now clean and the world is peaceful. If Lord Yin were gone, the emperor might be deceived by treacherous and greedy officials."
"Who says it's not true? Every common people hopes that Lord Yin will live a long life. I heard that Wanzhou has gathered thousands of families to light lanterns and pray for Lord Yin at Guangdong Lake several times."
"Yes, yes, yes, I heard that too, but Yin Gong's illness is not getting better, what else can we do..."
The two night watchmen sighed as they spoke. Normally, it was not their turn to discuss the affairs of high officials, and they would not discuss it because they would never hear about any important figures. But Yin Zhaoxian was now a legendary figure of the Dazhen Dynasty, and everyone had heard several versions of Yin Gong's story. If Yin Gong had not been a high-ranking official of the current dynasty, and if it had been a minister of the previous dynasty or a deceased minister, the storytellers would have had to compile countless versions of the book.
One of them wanted to say something, but the other one nudged the arm of the person next to him with his elbow, indicating that he should stop talking nonsense. His companion looked up and found a man in a white shirt walking slowly towards him from the opposite corner of the street.
"Boom-boom, boom, boom" "Tah..."
"It's freezing cold~~~"
The two men quickly struck the gong and clappers and performed their duties.
Ji Yuan was walking towards them from a distance and heard the sound. Although he heard the conversation between the night watchmen, he just nodded to the two of them from a distance and passed by. The two night watchmen subconsciously smiled and nodded to Ji Yuan, but then they felt a little regretful and kept walking forward without even looking back.
Turning at the front intersection, you will enter a larger street, which is Rong'an Street, right in front of the imperial city. The famous Yin Mansion is located here.
When Ji Yuan arrived at the gate of Yin Mansion, he saw that apart from the two large lanterns at the gate, there was no other light inside the Mansion. But on another level, in Ji Yuan's eyes, Yin Mansion was transparent inside and out and radiated light, and its righteous aura was faintly reflected in the sky, making the sky appear clear.
"Haha, what is Master Yin up to? It's probably Qing'er's idea."
Ji Yuan was not worried about his old friend's health at all. He smiled and was not in a hurry to go in. It was the middle of the night and everyone was fast asleep. It was not the time to visit a friend. However, it would be dawn in a few hours and there was no need to spend money to stay in an inn for a night. So Ji Yuan simply entered a small alley diagonally across the street and found a relatively clean and pleasing corner, which was a corner under the eaves at the back of a house. He crossed one leg and bent the other, put his elbows against his knees, and used his fists as a pillow. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.
This sleep was not only a rest, but also an experience of the wonder of "dreamwalking". In a trance, Ji Yuan stood up from the empty space outside his body, looked down at his sleeping self, and walked away on the breeze. This time he was not riding the wind, but the wind seemed to blow everywhere following Ji Yuan's thoughts, and it seemed extremely natural.
This was the first time that Ji Yuan had escaped from the idea of traveling in a dream so smoothly since he had completed the "Dream Traveling" chapter in Yan Shu. Previously, he either failed or it would disappear after a few steps, so he had revised it countless times. Perhaps this time it was finally completed, so it went so smoothly.
There were two night-wandering gods patrolling the streets at night. Ji Yuan passed by in a dream. He clearly did not dodge or evade, but the two night-wandering gods were unaware of it.
One's own family knows one's own business. Ji Yuan's own methods have been tested time and time again for a long time. His vision is different from that of the past. He has a certain degree of confidence and can make a relatively accurate judgment on the level of his supernatural powers. Although he has not seen the real "dream-entering technique" and cannot make an accurate comparison, he feels that it should be close to the truth based on the rumors.
And it’s not that Ji Yuan really has no object to compare with. For example, when you first saw Lao Long’s “Mirage Technique”, you can use it as a reference.
The magical power such as "dream walking" is by no means a simple departure of the soul from the body, but is equivalent to the "entering dreams" technique, or may even be superior to it.
In fact, at this moment, Ji Yuan's physical body and soul were sitting in one place, and even his aura had not changed at all. It seemed that what was traveling was just a divine thought, but it was definitely not the case.
The real body's sensitivity is still there, it can recognize subtle sounds, and feel the breeze, and although the thought of traveling is illusory, it can still feel the changes around it. What is particularly strange is that "Ji Yuan in the distance" can even feel his own magical powers and the Qingteng Fairy Sword. The Qingteng Sword is still hanging behind the real body, but it seems that as long as he wants, he can draw the sword at this moment.
This feeling was so strong that Ji Yuan was eager to try it. After touring half of the capital city of Gyeonggi Province, Ji Yuan finally couldn't help but soar into the sky in his dream. After reaching high in the sky, he thought of the Qingteng Sword in his mind. Ji Yuan did not look back, but reached behind him with his right hand, and a vague feeling rose in the palm of his hand.
“Zheng—”
A flash of sword appeared in the void.
Boo~
Just like a bubble bursting, before the sword was even drawn, Ji Yuan's dreamlike intention shattered and dissipated...
"Huh..."
In the corner behind the house in the alley, Ji Yuan let out a long sigh, opened his eyes and looked around, then reached out and rubbed his forehead. His mental strength now was definitely terrifying, but he still felt a slight headache in such a place. It can be seen that drawing the sword halfway just now was not a joke.
Even so, Ji Yuan was still very happy. He continued to rub his head with a smile on his face. If the occasion was not inappropriate, he might have laughed out loud.
The Green Ivy Sword appeared and slowly flew in front of Ji Yuan, fluttering in the night wind for a few circles. It seemed confused about what had just happened. It had been with its master the whole time, and its master hadn't moved, so why did it feel like it was following its master's wishes and unsheathing its sword? But its sword wasn't unsheathed either.
“Hahahahahaha…”
Seeing the state of the Green Ivy Sword, Ji Yuan, who had not yet fully understood what he was doing, finally could not help laughing out loud. He reached out and grabbed the Green Ivy Sword, looking closely at the words on the scabbard and the green vine wrapped around the sword, and only let go after stroking it carefully, letting the Green Ivy Sword fly around for a while before returning behind him.
However, after going through this, Ji Yuan was really tired this time. He still maintained the same posture, and within a few breaths, he fell asleep with his head on his knees.
…
“Hua La La La…”
After the fifth watch, it began to rain in Gyeonggi Province. It wasn't a heavy downpour, but this drizzle wasn't light either. It wasn't like a thunderstorm that would disperse on its own in a few minutes, but it showed no signs of stopping until dawn.
Ji Yuan was still sleeping in the corner under the eaves. There was rain all over the outside, and the stone floor outside the eaves was already full of streams. The falling raindrops and splashing rain occasionally hit Ji Yuan, but it did not affect his sleep quality at all.
It was already dawn, but Ji Yuan hadn't woken up yet. At this moment, he heard a noise from behind.
With a "creak", the back door of this family's house was opened from the inside. A man holding a basin of turbid water stood at the door and splashed the water for washing his face outside the back door. When he was about to close the door, he caught a glimpse of the corner of the wall outside the door.
"Um?"
The man leaned out half of his body to take a closer look and saw a man in gray clothes who looked like a scholar sitting against the wall in a corner under the eaves. There was heavy rain and water on the ground next to him, and half of his body was wet.
"Boss, what's wrong?"
The man finally reacted when he heard his wife's voice inside.
"Oh, here, there is a person sitting behind our house."
"Ah? Beggar?"
The wife also walked to the back door, and the man moved aside to allow his wife to come out and take a look.
"Look at the way he's dressed, he doesn't look like a beggar..."
"Oh, he's all wet!"
After hesitating for a while, the man handed the basin to his wife, then walked carefully to Ji Yuan. Seeing that his chest was rising and falling occasionally, he thought he was still breathing, so he patted Ji Yuan's shoulder to reassure him.
"Sir, sir! Wake up, sir, wake up!"
"Huh..."
Ji Yuan let out a long breath, opened his eyes, looked at the man in front of him, and said calmly.
"I slept more soundly."
Ji Yuan said this while sitting up straight and stretching his arms.
The man took two steps back and saw that although Ji Yuan might be down and out, he still had a clear and cheerful demeanor while sitting in the rain. He was inexplicably impressed by him. If it were another scholar who cared about his reputation, he would probably be ashamed and angry by now, because most of the scholars he had met were like this.
"Sir, if you don't mind, please come in and sit down, warm yourself by the fire, and have a bowl of rice porridge."
"Yes sir, our family also respects scholars, come in and have a rest."
The wife on the side also agreed with her husband's words. Although it is not good to invite strangers into the house under normal circumstances, if one does not have any extra thoughts, Ji Yuan's natural friendly aura will be easily felt by others, and his appearance does not pose any threat, which will naturally make people feel more at ease.
Ji Yuan stood up, looked at his clothes, then looked at the couple's demeanor, thought for a moment, then nodded and smiled.
"Okay, I respectfully obey your orders. Your kindness will be rewarded."
"Hey, what's the good deed that's rewarded? Stop being polite!"
The man was also happy. This gentleman, half of his body was wet, he should have been shivering with cold, but he was still speaking so literary.