Chapter 271

Chapter 271: One Soul and One Spirit Taken

Jiang Yu Chuan and Jiang Liu Yun’s faces changed. They knew their daughter and sister’s abilities. If someone else had said such strange words, they would have thought it nonsense. But from their daughter and sister, it felt certain.

Jiang Liu Yi was shocked at first, then doubtful. As a man of the martial world, he had been taught from childhood to respect strength and to scoff at ghosts and spirits. Yet when he saw his father and younger brother believe, he paused, then looked at his sister with new thought, wondering: [Is she truly capable, or just putting on a show?]

Even with doubt in his heart, he did not say it out loud. Aunt Yin could not help herself and asked: “If a person is missing one soul and one spirit, can they still live?”

It was not that she distrusted the young miss; it was that this was too frightening and sounded too wild.

Yu Zhi Yi did not mind others’ doubt. Seeing that the Jiang men, whether they believed or not, did not question her, she for a moment did not know what else to say. She had already prepared a full explanation. She could understand Jiang Yu Chuan and Jiang Liu Yun, since they had seen her act on the road. But Jiang Liu Yi-why did he not challenge her?

Meeting her gaze, Jiang Liu Yi smiled a little and said: “I trust Father and Xiao Yun. Since they trust Sister, I trust Sister too.”

Yu Zhi Yi pressed her lips together, then said: “At midnight, I will use a spell to find Mother’s missing soul and spirit. When they return to their place, she will regain her mind. But at first her body will be very weak, and she will need a period of rest to recover.”

Jiang Yu Chuan, of course, had no objections. Aunt Yin wanted to speak, but when she saw the three men’s hopeful faces, she decided to pull the master aside later when no one else was around.

Jiang Liu Yi had already prepared a courtyard for Yu Zhi Yi. Seeing that there was nothing more to be done here for now, they left the room. Only then did Jiang Liu Yi say with a smile: “Yi’er, do you like this courtyard?”

Yu Zhi Yi had sensed it the moment she entered. Now she was sure: the Jiang clan had prepared this courtyard for her.

Sure enough, Jiang Liu Yun said proudly as if showing a treasure: “Father and Mother have always kept a courtyard for Sister. Every year Father buys new clothes and things for Sister. He even puts the monthly allowance into a special chest himself.” He tugged Yu Zhi Yi’s sleeve and pushed open another room.

Compared to the earlier room, this one looked normal. It was clearly a proper young lady’s chamber, and the decorations were in bright colors.

Jiang Liu Yun ran to the dressing table, picked up two big chests, and held them toward Yu Zhi Yi as he said: “Sister, look, this is your monthly silver!”

Jiang Liu Yi swatted the back of his head and said: “Silly, put them on the table.”

Rubbing the sore spot, Jiang Liu Yun did not get angry. Being reminded by his big brother, he realized he had been thoughtless. His sister was a pampered young lady, not thick-skinned like him. How could she lift such heavy chests?

He set the chests on the table and opened the lids. At once, light filled the room. Inside lay heaps of broken silver, silver ingots, and gold ingots. In the afternoon sun, the already bright room gleamed so much it made the eyes sting.

A rough count showed that one chest held a few hundred taels. Both together made over a thousand.

Sure enough, Jiang Liu Yi said: “Every child of the Jiang clan gets ten taels of spending money each month. Father put yours in here.”

Jiang Liu Yun brought over a big trunk and said: “Sister, look, this is the birthday gift Father prepared for you.”

When he opened it, a dazzling array met Yu Zhi Yi’s eyes. Inside the trunk sat several small boxes. Beside them lay a gem-inlaid long sword, a dagger, and a few secret manuals of the martial world. All of these were worth a lot; some could not be bought even with money. There were even a few oddly shaped gems.

Yu Zhi Yi’s eyes warmed. In all those years when she thought no one cared, someone had been missing her.

Jiang Liu Yun still wanted to open the wardrobe, but Jiang Yu Chuan grabbed him and pulled him back, saying: “That’s enough. Your sister is travel-worn. Let her rest first.” Then he smiled at Yu Zhi Yi and said: “There will be a family dinner tonight. I’ll come to get you.”

Yu Zhi Yi nodded and said: “All right.”

The Jiang men went to make arrangements for the heir apparent of Marquis Wu’an and the others. The heir apparent left four people to take orders from Yu Zhi Yi, then led the rest away to rest.

Yu Zhi Yi had no objections to this arrangement.

After she closed the door, her eyes fell on the big wardrobe. At last she could not hold back and opened it.

Along an entire wall, the wardrobe was packed with gorgeous clothes. It was clear that each year the clothes had been sewn to fit a girl at a certain age. The row at the far end was for a little miss. The farther in, the larger the clothes. In the last third, the size no longer changed.

Usually a girl’s figure settles at fourteen or fifteen. Some still grow taller, but they are few. In the Great Sheng Empire, most women average about 1.5 meters tall. Only a few reach over 1.6, and above 1.7 is very rare.

People of the martial alliance were children of the martial world. They trained from a young age, and their food was not like that of the pampered misses in the capital. Even so, the women Yu Zhi Yi had seen were around 1.6 meters tall.

Unluckily, Yu Zhi Yi was one of the rare ones. So none of the clothes in the wardrobe would fit her.

Yet she felt no displeasure. She stroked the dresses again and again, imagining Jiang Yu Chuan, a grown man, preparing these clothes, and what he must have felt.

Li Rou did not want to disturb the miss, but her eyes still grew hot with tears. It was wonderful. Someone as good as the miss deserved a family that loved her to the bone. The Yu clan did not deserve her.

After a long while, Yu Zhi Yi closed the wardrobe. She went to the bed and saw the bedding was clean. Not just the bedding-the whole room, even the entire courtyard, was neat and spotless. Clearly someone cleaned every day.

Lowering her gaze, Yu Zhi Yi went to check on Xiao Qing in the next room, then returned to her own room to rest.

She did not sleep. She sat cross-legged and began to meditate.

Since breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm, her cultivation base had grown more slowly. The main reason was that she kept suppressing it on purpose. Her master had said that the more solid your cultivation base is, the more stable your realm. If you only chase quick gains and forget to firm your realm, one day it will bite back.

In her past life, she had not had this worry. She cultivated step by step, and her cultivation base rose very slowly. She died without ever breaking through the Foundation Establishment Realm.

After being reborn, she no longer feared she could not raise her cultivation base. Instead, she struggled because she had no fast way to strengthen her realm. To be exact, she had no path.