Chapter 75: Has the Appraiser Fallen Ill Again?
(This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation)
From the moment celestial radiance surged from the ancient ruins, Yan Shu Yi had remained in place, determined to discern the grand scheme at play.
She witnessed the ascent of the fiendish figure, saw Ji You and “his fiancée,” and then beheld him cleaving realms with his sword and engaging in a solo battle against Min Cheng.
During this time, Zhuo Wan Qiu and Ding Yao had stood quietly behind her.
Thanks to prior preparation, Zhuo Wan Qiu noticed many subtle details amidst the spectacle.
When the fiend ascended, the Appraiser’s aura sharpened unnaturally. Though she stood below, her striking features bore an air of haughty scrutiny. A flicker of battle intent danced in her luminous eyes.
This version of the Appraiser was one Zhuo Wan Qiu had seen many times before—at the Spirit Sword Mountain Sect’s initiation ceremony, during the Wandering Immortal Tournament. Always in her signature crimson dress, she stunned all with a single glance, aloof and reticent, her emotions unreadable.
But with the sudden arrival of a figure entering the city, Zhuo Wan Qiu noticed an unusual vitality in the Appraiser’s gaze. Her cherry lips parted as though she wished to speak, only to press them back together. This change occurred as Ji You appeared, accompanied by a woman.
Later, during the alley skirmish, the Appraiser’s reactions were even more pronounced. Her chest rose subtly several times, and pride seemed to flicker in her eyes. It was most apparent when he broke through the realm.
When Min Cheng was defeated, Ding Yao made a move to draw her sword, but Zhuo Wan Qiu restrained her immediately.
Zhuo Wan Qiu was convinced: Ji You held a special place in the Appraiser’s heart.
She whispered to Ding Yao without revealing everything. “He’s someone you cannot afford to provoke.”
Ding Yao didn’t understand at the time, but seeing Zhuo Wan Qiu’s intense warning, she relented.
While Min Cheng’s pursuit of Zhuo Wan Qiu was genuine, it was largely motivated by currying favor with the Dao Seeking Sect’s direct disciples. Zhuo Wan Qiu’s intentions aligned with his—Spirit Sword Mountain’s Mystic Sword Peak lacked the deep reserves of Heavenly Sword Peak. To secure the position of Sect Master, they needed alliances with other Immortal Sects.
Zhuo Wan Qiu’s closeness to Min Cheng was a calculated move to approach the Dao Seeking Sect and gain an edge. Their personal connection, however, was shallow. Hearing Zhuo Wan Qiu’s warning, she decided to wait and observe.
“Shall I deliver a message to the Appraiser?” Zhuo Wan Qiu asked tentatively.
“No need. Just an incidental meeting on the road,” Yan Shu Yi replied calmly.
But as they passed a tavern, her brows furrowed abruptly. Her small hand trembled slightly as she tossed the silver ingot she had been holding.
Zhuo Wan Qiu froze, stunned to see the Appraiser narrowing her eyes, her expression full of feigned innocence.
Then Ding Yao heard the words “Cai Wei Elder Sister,” and her heart skipped a beat. She glanced at Zhuo Wan Qiu with gratitude, mistakenly believing that the “him” she had warned her about referred to the woman accompanying Ji You.
Yuan Cai Wei was momentarily taken aback but greeted warmly, “It’s the Appraiser. Yuan Cai Wei of the Pill Sect pays her respects.”
“This isn’t Spirit Sword Mountain. Elder Sister Cai Wei, no need for formalities.” Yan Shu Yi turned her gaze to Ji You. “And this unremarkable stranger is?”
Ji You was visibly puzzled: “?”
Yuan Cai Wei explained, “This is Ji You, a disciple of the Heavenly Script Academy. I encountered danger in Qiling and only escaped thanks to him.”
“A true gentleman,” Yan Shu Yi commented, her pink lips parting.
To her, Ji You was merely a fellow cultivator she had met by chance during her journey. Their conversations were pleasant but not particularly deep. Learning from Zhuo Wan Qiu that he had a fiancée, the Appraiser had only expressed a passing interest in meeting the woman.
Still, she couldn’t comprehend why someone with a fiancée would stare at her feet or pinch her face.
She had thrown the silver ingot, knowing it would draw Ji You over. Yet now, as she watched the two of them, she found herself at a loss for words.
Zhuo Wan Qiu leaned closer. “Should we invite them for tea in the courtyard?”
Yan Shu Yi shook her head and addressed Yuan Cai Wei: “Such a selfless rescue speaks volumes of his feelings for you. When will you marry this gentleman? I’ll prepare a congratulatory gift.”
Yuan Cai Wei blushed furiously and waved her hands. “You misunderstand. Ji You and I just met. He’s a friend of my younger brother and came to my aid at his request.”
Ji You frowned. “Why do rumors spread like wildfire? Are people courting death?”
“No need to feel embarrassed. Matters of the heart are only natural,” Yan Shu Yi remarked.
“True, but if there were any truth to it, why would I hide it?” Yuan Cai Wei responded firmly.
“…”
“Then why not join me for tea in my courtyard?” Yan Shu Yi suddenly spun gracefully and descended the tavern stairs.
For several days in Qiling Town, the Appraiser of Spirit Sword Mountain had stayed in a quaint courtyard behind the tavern. Now, she extended an earnest invitation.
Zhuo Wan Qiu held her breath, as though savoring a rare treat, and followed eagerly.
Only Ding Yao, perplexed by the Appraiser’s alternating warmth and coldness, struggled to discern the woman’s true intentions.
They soon arrived at the courtyard, seating themselves around a stone table beneath a fragrant osmanthus tree.
Ji You had just settled into his seat when he felt a gentle pressure on his right foot. Startled, he looked up to see Yan Shu Yi maintaining a calm demeanor as she instructed Ding Yao and Zhuo Wan Qiu to serve tea for the three of them.
Taking the tea handed to her, Yuan Cai Wei nodded in thanks before breaking the silence. “Does the Mirror Master know what truly happened in the mountains?”
Yan Shu Yi waved her hand, releasing a burst of celestial radiance to isolate them from the outside world. “A demonic cultivator sought to refine the essence of immortality within the mountain by using the spiritual essence of cultivators to create pills, attempting to defy the heavens and ascend. However, they ultimately perished under the Ninefold Heavenly Tribulation.”
“And who was this demonic cultivator?”
“Their identity remains uncertain. However, when Wan Qiu was tracking down missing disciples, she captured a man named Chen Qing He. He claimed to be from the Zheng family, and this led me to investigate their lineage. I suspect the Zheng family patriarch is involved,” Yan Shu Yi explained. “The Red Mountain Mine once belonged to the Zheng family, and their ancestral home conceals numerous malignant beings.”
Unable to restrain herself, Zhuo Wan Qiu interjected, “It’s likely that the Zheng family accidentally accessed ancient ruins while mining, obtaining what they believed to be a fateful encounter with immortality. However, they inadvertently released numerous malignant beings, attracting the Immortal Sect’s scrutiny. The Zheng patriarch, already nearing his end, seized the opportunity to refine himself for ascension.”
Hearing this, Ji You frowned and turned to Yan Shu Yi. “Is the Zheng family considered a prominent clan?”
Yuan Cai Wei glanced at Ji You in surprise. By convention, when a group gathered, questions were typically directed at the closest acquaintance. She wondered why Ji You chose to ask Yan Shu Yi instead of herself, knowing the Spirit-Mirror Mountain’s Mirror Master was notoriously aloof and unlikely to speak with unfamiliar men.
Ding Yao, sharing similar thoughts, smirked faintly. As the former personal servant of the Mirror Master, she understood her mistress’s disposition well. To her, Ji You, merely an outer-court disciple of the Heavenly Script Academy, would never have been offered tea here if not for the female companion accompanying him.
But to everyone’s surprise, Yan Shu Yi rested her hands on the table and responded directly, “The Zheng family is one of the largest clans in the Central Prefecture. During the era of chaos, they were part of the old imperial lineage. How do you not know this?”
“Then who is the Zheng patriarch?”
“The previous head of the Zheng family,” Yan Shu Yi replied. “He studied under the Chen Clan of Immortals and is the senior brother of Chen Ru Hai, the current head of the Chen Clan. Decades ago, the two were known as the Chen Clan’s Twin Geniuses, both reaching the pinnacle of the Upper Five Realms. However, as a direct descendant, Chen Ru Hai inherited the clan’s Daoist lineage.”
Ji You pondered deeply. “But the one who searched Yuan’s soul was at the Celestial Transcendence Stage.”
Yan Shu Yi nodded thoughtfully. “Indeed, my findings align with this. This suggests the Qiling Mountain Range harbors an entity that disregards lineage, enabling one to ascend to immortality directly. What do you think?”
Beside them, Ding Yao pursed her lips, internally noting that the Mirror Master’s voice seemed hoarse, as though she had caught a cold.
Ji You clenched his fists, sensing something was amiss. Turning to Yuan Cai Wei, he asked, “Miss Yuan, you spent several days in the mountains. Did you encounter any infants?”
“Infants?” Yuan Cai Wei repeated, startled. “No…”
“Not a single one?”
“Although part of my memory is unclear, I can confirm I saw no infants,” she replied firmly.
Ji You fell into a prolonged silence, his doubts intensifying. [If the events transpired as Zhuo Wan Qiu described—a mere coincidence unlocking ruins and releasing malignant beings—then where do the infants fit in? Could they have been part of a larger plan left unexplained?]
The lack of an answer left Ji You feeling that the available information was simultaneously deep and shallow, seemingly orderly but utterly chaotic.
Breaking the silence, Yan Shu Yi turned back to Yuan Cai Wei. “One more question. How did the demonic cultivator refine spiritual essence into pills? Does the Pill Sect possess such alchemical techniques?”
“There are records in ancient texts,” Yuan Cai Wei admitted. “But no alchemist has succeeded in achieving it for ages.”
“Why not?”
“Because it requires the karmic flame, an innate fire ignited by resentment. It can refine all living things, but no one truly understands what resentment is,” Yuan Cai Wei explained.
Yan Shu Yi appeared contemplative, her gaze shifting to Ji You. “I heard Spirit Sword Mountain and the Heavenly Script Academy clashed in the ruins. They said you showed mercy to my sect’s disciples. Why?”
Yuan Cai Wei suddenly realized the source of Yan Shu Yi’s cordiality towards Ji You—a token of gratitude.
Ding Yao, on the other hand, grew uneasy, fearing Ji You might reveal the prior conflict in the forest.
Ji You, however, gazed at Yan Shu Yi’s flawless face and felt an urge to pinch her cheek. [This girl must be addicted to playing the role of a stranger.]
“At the life-and-death moment of my fellow disciples, I harbored strong killing intent,” Ji You confessed. “But in my haste, I chose the wrong weapon.”
From his gourd, he summoned a black spike and looked at it with unusual tenderness. “A celestial fairy gave me this as protection before leaving. In that crucial moment, I hesitated, unwilling to use it against her sect’s disciples.”
Yan Shu Yi blinked, momentarily stunned. Her icy facade melted as her cheeks flushed. She quickly lifted her teacup and took a long sip, her feet swinging slightly under the table.
Ding Yao, Yuan Cai Wei, and the otherwise silent Yuan Chen were left baffled by the exchange, while Zhuo Wan Qiu let out a deep breath, finding the scene unexpectedly moving.
Once she had drained her tea, Yan Shu Yi addressed the group. “You must be exhausted after returning from the mountains. Why not rest in this courtyard for a day?”
Yuan Chen glanced at his brother-in-law, silently noting the urgency with which Ji You had earlier sought their comrades. He doubted they would accept the invitation.
“Alright,” Ji You answered easily, his mind faintly whispering that he might have forgotten something important. [Oh well, it doesn’t matter.]