What Ji Yuan was writing could be seen from the scroll of Xiezhi in his sleeve, and the slightly low voice of Xiezhi also came out from Ji Yuan's sleeve.
"Ji Yuan, you've given your elementary school student so much homework. Are you ready to leave here?"
"Um."
"Oh, I see. Let me out for a moment."
"Um?"
Ji Yuan asked in doubt, but still took out the scroll of Xiezhi from his sleeve and put it aside before continuing to write.
Wisps of black smoke floated out of the Xiezhi scroll, as if lighting up a few words on the outside of the scroll. These words were left by Ji Yuan to help Xiezhi transform into a physical form. So after the words lit up, the Xiezhi scroll automatically flew up, and then light mist emerged from the words and quickly took shape into a body.
Ji Yuan glanced at Xiezhi, then lowered his head and continued writing.
"Master Xiezhi, what are you going to do?"
"Hey, Ji Yuan, lend me some money."
"What?"
Ji Yuan looked up at Xiezhi. Although the human figure was an illusion, its face was extremely vivid with a smile and a slightly embarrassed expression.
"Lend me some money, just a little bit, one or two ounces of silver will be enough."
Ji Yuan grinned.
"You say one ounce of silver is just a little money? How many ounces of silver do I have?"
"You still have some gold particles."
"You are very clear about this..."
That being said, Xiezhi is not an old cow after all, and it was a rare opportunity for Ji Yuan to lend him money so he gave him face. If it was an old cow who asked to borrow money, he would feel that he had no money at all. So Ji Yuan took out some small change from his sleeve and handed it to Xiezhi. The latter grinned, took it, said thank you, and walked out the door and left.
"Come back soon, don't worry about me not seeing you when I left."
"rest assured."
Xiezhi walked out of the temple and met a monk who was sweeping the floor in the temple, but the monk acted as if he didn't see him. Then he walked along the somewhat desolate alley outside the temple, and finally got on the street and headed straight for a small restaurant in the city. When he arrived at the door of the restaurant, Xiezhi had already shouted inside.
"Waiter, bring me your signature dish, braised duck, and a pot of rice wine."
"Okay, sir, please come in first. There are private rooms upstairs~~"
Xiezhi smiled and followed the waiter upstairs. He sat in a corner at the back of the second floor. There was a window diagonally opposite. From where he sat, he could vaguely see very far along the alley behind through the window. He even crossed the alley and saw a corner of the street opposite.
In that distant corner, a burly man was swinging a hammer in a blacksmith shop. Every time the hammer fell, a lot of sparks were produced on the metal blank on the anvil.
This blacksmith was none other than Jin Jia who had transformed into an apprentice blacksmith. He was strong and powerful, and was quiet but hard-working. He was highly regarded by the old blacksmith, and this blacksmith shop was not far from the Li family.
Rather than letting Jin Jia keep an eye on Li Feng, Ji Yuan was taking this opportunity to let Jin Jia experience some of the human love and affairs.
Xiezhi looked towards the sky again, but did not find the little paper crane. As for the God of Land, it would certainly be hard to find. However, he just smiled and sat down in his seat waiting for the food he ordered.
After finishing the meal and paying the bill, Xiezhi went out from the back door of the restaurant, walked through the alleys and streets, and walked directly to the main gate of the Li Mansion.
When the Xiezhi passed by, Jinjia of course noticed him, but did not move. His eyes were fixed on the person transformed by the Xiezhi, but the iron hammer in his hand still fell accurately one by one. At the corner of the eaves of a small building nearby, a little crane was also looking at him thoughtfully.
Xiezhi walked to the gate of Lifeng and spoke directly to the servant guarding the gate.
"I am a friend of your master's teacher. I came to meet your master."
The servant did not dare to delay and said wait a moment, then hurried in to report. Not long after, he came back to invite Xiezhi in.
Xiezhi was taken directly to a small reception room in the Li Mansion, where Li Feng was already waiting for him.
Looking at the cakes and tea that had already been laid out in the hall, Xiezhi took them with a smile and enjoyed them without any hesitation, ignoring Li Feng and several servants of the Li family in the hall. Li Feng, on the other hand, looked at this man with a frown.
"Who are you? You said you were Mr.'s friend, but I've never seen you, nor have I heard Mr. mention you."
Xiezhi didn't say anything and kept eating a plate of cakes on the table. He glanced at the eaves outside the hall. Although there was no smell, a little crane had squatted on the side of the wooden beam for some reason, and it also didn't seem to be avoiding Xiezhi.
"Yes, that's true..."
As Xiezhi said this, he was grabbing the pastry and putting it into his mouth the moment before, and the next moment he flashed in front of Li Feng as if teleporting, and directly stretched out his hands to pinch his neck and lift him up, with his face almost touching Li Feng's face, and his eyes looking directly into Li Feng's eyes.
The little paper crane outside was so startled that its wings flapped into afterimages. The few servants of the Li family who were skilled in martial arts didn't even have time to react. They all took stances and looked at the Xiezhi.
"Young Master Li Feng, you really don't recognize me?"
Li Feng was obviously also frightened. His little face turned red from being pinched. He looked at the Xiezhi with horror and spoke incoherently.
"You, no, you can't be Mr.'s friend, you, I don't know you, come, come, catch him!"
At this moment, the person transformed by the Xiezhi had an image of a scroll emerging in the depths of his eyes. The Xiezhi in the scroll was baring its fangs and claws, looking at Li Feng with a ferocious look. The Li family servant originally wanted to take action, but suddenly he felt panicked, thinking that he was facing a top master, and immediately he became cautious.
After a long time, Xiezhi sneered and let go of his hand, putting Li Feng on the ground. The Li family servants nearby rushed up instantly and protected Li Feng behind them but did not dare to attack Xiezhi.
Xiezhi went back to the table at the side and continued to eat his snack, his eyes still looking at Li Feng who was still in shock.
"It seems that I worry too much, eh, Li Feng."
"W-what?"
"Would you lie to your teacher?"
Li Feng was stunned.
"Sir? No!"
After the last two words were spoken, Li Feng suddenly saw wisps of black smoke floating out from his eyes, ears, mouth and nose, and then were instantly sucked into the mouth of the scary man opposite him, while the people around him seemed not to notice this.
Xiezhi nodded.
"Very good, I'll take this plate of snacks."
Only after the Xiezhi walked out of the hall did the Li family's servants rush out immediately. They were about to call for help in capturing the stranger, but when they got outside, they could not see the man at all. They didn't know whether the man had escaped because of his high level of martial arts skills, or whether he was not an ordinary person at all.
When Xiezhi returned to Nichen Temple, he saw Ji Yuan sitting on the wooden board in the corridor in front of the monks' quarters with a small paper crane on his shoulder. He realized that Ji Yuan should have known the whole process.
"It's just as you heard. There's nothing else to say."
Xiezhi spread his hands and walked in front of Ji Yuan. His figure faded away and finally turned back into a scroll which fell into Ji Yuan's hands. Ji Yuan looked down at the painting in his hand and turned around to see the little paper crane also looking at him.
Then Ji Yuan laughed out of anger, and with a shake of his hands, he completely opened the Xiezhi scroll.
"What kind of riddle are you giving Ji? Explain it to me clearly."
The Xiezhi in the scroll fell to the ground, apparently knocked down by Ji Yuan's shake just now. After standing up, it shook its head and grinned with a bloody mouth.
"Your student should have been an 'old friend' of mine. Of course, his original body was definitely not a human. He should have known me, but now he doesn't. Is my riddle not difficult to guess?"
In this world, Ji Yuan had not met anyone else who knew Xiezhi except himself. Of course, he understood that the question Xiezhi had asked before was of great significance, but that was not what he wanted to ask, so he still looked at Xiezhi coldly.
Being looked at by Ji Yuan with such eyes, Xiezhi inexplicably felt a little guilty. He shook his body on the scroll and then added.
"I don't know who your student is, but I still feel a little familiar with that ominous feeling. He must be the incarnation of some evil creature. Just like I am just a painting, restricted by the world, he is just Li Feng, and he should not have been born... Ji Yuan, you should understand what I am talking about. It's not that I don't want to say more, but I dare not say it..."
When Xiezhi said this, Ji Yuan already felt a slight palpitation in his heart. This feeling was very familiar to him. He had experienced it countless times when he was playing chess, so he nodded in understanding.