However, at this moment, Ji Yuan noticed Wei Yuansheng’s fearful expression. The smile on his face gradually faded. After thinking it over for a while, he pulled his chair closer to Wei Wuwei, and lowered his head to look at Wei Yuansheng.

“Xiao Yuansheng, do you want to go to Yuhuai Mountain? Do you want to cultivate immortality?”

“I?”

Wei Yuansheng made a dazed sound of surprise. Suddenly, he felt that his father’s embrace had became a lot tighter.

“Um, haha, Mr. Ji… Yuansheng is only four years old, how can he judge right or wrong…”

Ji Yuan glanced at Wei Wuwei, who suddenly seemed to feel a tremendous pressure. He hardly dared to breathe, and gradually relaxed his grip.

“Yes, I asked you if you wanted to cultivate immortality. Previously, it was likely your father, mother, and elders in your family who have been telling you how and what to prepare. So, what about you?”

A smile appeared on Ji Yuan’s face again, the kind of expression that made Wei Yuansheng instinctively relax at first glance.

Although Wei Yuansheng was young, he had the sense that if he just said “I don’t want to” at this very moment, then everything would be put aside, far away from him.

The elders of the Wei family that were present had sweat beading on their foreheads. Only Wei Yuansheng’s mother had some anticipation in her eyes.

Wei Yuansheng looked at his mother, then raised his head to look up at his father. Finally, he looked at Ji Yuan.

Wei Yuansheng naturally knew who exactly this Mr. Ji was. He hesitantly asked Ji Yuan.

“Mr. Ji, are all immortals like you?”

Ji Yuan pondered the question from a couple different angles.

“There are definitely people who are similar to me, but very few.”

Ji Yuan was no longer concerned about the standard of immortals in his mind. After all, in the eyes of ordinary people, any individual cultivator who could fly in the sky and had spiritual energy was an immortal.

“How hard would it be to reach the same level as you?”

Ji Yuan originally thought that it wouldn’t take all that much skill, but suddenly he considered it carefully. Although he had performed many acts by accident, it really wasn’t something ordinary cultivators could handle.¹

Moreover, although cultivating the red Qi in his mental world did not require extremely strong spiritual powers or a deep comprehension of Taoism, it was easy to get lost after a long period of time. Those who dared cultivate their minds in an inner world usually had a very high level of Taoism.

“If you study carefully, it would take a lot of skill.”

As soon as Ji Yuan answered, Wei Yuansheng mustered up the courage to ask another question.

“You really don’t want to take me as a disciple? Everyone says I’m smart, and it’s not just because I’m the young master of the Wei family.”

Ji Yuan smiled and shook his head, saying only one word.

“No.”

“Oh… Although I am still a little afraid of the Immortal Mountain, I still want to go. I know that it’s a rare opportunity, and mortals only encounter such opportunities once in their lifetime. If I don’t seize it, I will regret it.”

After Wei Yuansheng finished speaking, his expression grew troubled, and he clenched a little fist angrily

“Besides, if I don’t go, all my hardships in studying this past year would be in vain. That would suck!”

“Hahahahaha… Wonderful, wonderful. Then, you have to think it through. This is not only for your Wei family, but also for yourself, Xiao Yuansheng. Don’t pout all day long. You know very well, right? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!”

Ji Yuan laughed a few times, and didn’t forget to tease the child.

Ji Yuan’s smile made the atmosphere in the hall immediately relax. Wei Yuansheng seemed to have lost his fear and began asking Ji Yuan about the immortal sect.

“Mr. Ji, how big is Yuhuai Mountain?”

“I don’t know, I’m hoping you can go and tell me!”

“Haven’t you been there?”

“No.”

“Then what if I go there and get locked up? How would I be able to tell you?”

He also brought up potential threats for some reason.

“They wouldn’t dare!”

“Can my dad really go too?”

“It should be fine.”

“What about my mom? Can my wet nurse come? And Xiao Cui!”

Ji Yuan rubbed his head.

“I’m afraid that wouldn’t work…”

…

Wei Wuwei and the others in the room were relieved at this situation. For the most part, Wei Wuwei let his son and Ji Yuan talk more, only interrupting when necessary.

Ji Yuan had been chatting with the child and his scattered ideas until midnight, completely alleviating Xiao Yuansheng’s fears of the immortal sect. As it grew later, Wei Yuansheng couldn’t resist the sleepiness and passed out in Wei Wuwei’s arms.

After Madam Wei carried Wei Yuansheng off to sleep. Ji Yuan took out a strange object from his sleeve. To Wei Wuwei’s, it appeared to be a flat paper bird.

“Uh, Mr. Ji, this is for Yuansheng?”

“No, this is for you.”

Ji Yuan put the paper crane on the table and turned to Wei Wuwei.

“Listen closely, when you arrive at Yuhuai Mountain, if you see the immortal Qiu Feng, hand it over to him directly, and instruct him to fold the paper crane’s wings like so, then pull them apart in the middle like this.”

Ji Yuan folded according to his instructions as he spoke. After he completed the paper crane actually flew up off of the table, circled around Ji Yuan twice and then Wei Wuwei twice, then flew back to the table.

Like a real bird, it even twisted at its ends to peck at the lower corners, trying to straighten out an edge that was not quite perfect.

Many people present stared at this scene in amazement, speechless. Even if they had seen the old turtle control water previously, they couldn’t help but be shocked when they saw this magical immortal technique.

Ji Yuan smiled. He was quite satisfied with the “paper crane art” that he had tinkered with and perfected. He took the paper crane and flattened it again, and the magical paper bird immediately turned back into a folded piece of paper.

“Did you see it clearly? If you can’t find the Immortal Qiu Feng at that time, you can unfold the paper crane in private, and it will find Immortal Qiu by itself.”

“I have made note of it!”

Ji Yuan nodded and stood up, leaving his seat and walking out. Wei Wuwei also hurriedly stood up.

“Mr. Ji, I will take you to the guest house to rest!”

Ji Yuan paused and turned his head.

“No need. Please just bring Xiao Yuansheng a message from me.”

“Please tell me what you would like!”

Wei Wuwei replied respectfully. He vaguely sensed that Mr. Ji was leaving again.

“Well, judging from his previous behavior, it seems he has some understanding of who I am and my temperament. I suppose it was Patriarch Wei who informed him?”

“Exactly! Sir, please don’t blame me.”

“It’s not surprising, it’s alright. Inform Xiao Yuansheng on my behalf: he said that he wanted to become an immortal like me, and I took it seriously. He made a promise to me, don’t forget it!”

“Of course, of course. I will tell Yuansheng and urge him to uphold it!”

Ji Yuan nodded and bowed with cupped hands to all the Wei family members standing in the room.

“Then I will take my leave. There’s no need to see me off.”

After speaking, Ji Yuan opened the hall door and stepped out. Wei Wuwei and the others hurriedly chased after him. How could they possibly stand to not send him off?

However, when everyone went outside, they did not see Ji Yuan in the corridor, nor in the yard outside. Instead, several maids and servants who had stayed at the door hurriedly bowed to the group that had exited and greeted them in unison.

“Patriarch!”

Wei Wuwei looked around.

“Did you see how that gentleman who just came out of this room left? Did he fly into the sky?”

The four servants nearby looked at each other, and one of the older ones replied hesitantly.

“Patriarch, the door just opened suddenly now, but after a moment only you came out.”

Wei Wuwei was stunned when he heard these words. He, his Third Uncle, the old housekeeper, and the others looked at each other in surprise.

On this night that was destined to be filled with sleepless excitement for the Wei family, Ji Yuan had already flown to Ning’an County. He hadn’t returned for many years, and he missed the quiet courtyard.

He heard that Master Yin went to another province to be a prefect, so the Yin family must have moved there as well. He didn’t know what Ju’an Pavilion’s state was like. Was the dust three inches thick? Was the jujube tree in bloom?

…

About eight to nine hundred li away from Desheng Prefecture was Yucui² Mountain, which stretched for over five hundred li, covering both steep and gentle-sloped terrain. Its mountain range was shrouded in clouds and mist all year round, and even experienced mountaineers often got lost and circled around to their starting point. This misty mountain range was where Dazhen’s famous Yuhuai Mountain was located.

However, the Cuiyun³ Mountain Range was not as quiet as it used to be. Two cranes were returning home with their feathers damaged, their plumage messy and clearly covered in bloodstains.

A cultivator sat on the back of one of the cranes, looking depressed.

“Skreeee… Skreeee…”

The two cranes flew into the fog one after another. Long crane calls rang out, and the clouds and mist automatically parted.

After flying through the layers of fog, the white fog in the center suddenly disappeared, and everything became brighter in the middle of the night. Scattered buildings stood in between the seemingly precipitous mountain peaks and cliffsides. Small bridges and flowing water were hidden in the quiet valley.

“Skreeee… Skreeee…”

The two cranes moved at a very high speed – or rather, they could not slow down, and they skidded down the flat top of a lower hill with great momentum. Their wings flapped and their talons were unstable when they landed, so they fell to the ground one after another. The cultivator on their backs also rolled to the ground.

“Skreeee…”

The immortal crane guarding the mountains arrived first, flapping its wings and generating gusts of wind, landing beside the man and the two cranes. It transformed into a woman in a feathered robe.

“What happened?”

Shocked, she hurriedly gathered the surrounding spiritual energy. She could see that both the cranes and the man had exhausted their spiritual energy.

The crane’s cry had already alarmed the immortals of Yuhuai Mountain. When it landed on the flat top of the low mountain, four people had already rushed over, riding on the wind, and landed on the flat top of the mountain at the same time.

“Junior Brother Zhao! Does He Gu know what’s going on?”

“I just arrived as well. Immortal Zhao and the two Taoists are still unconscious.”

“Their spiritual energy is exhausted.”

“Where is Uncle Pei? Didn’t they go to Tianji Pavilion together?”

“Be patient. Take Junior Brother Zhao and the red-crowned cranes to Shuyun Tower for healing.”

The cultivators and the immortal crane used their spiritual techniques together to fly up on the clouds to a building atop a high peak in front of them. When they arrived, they waved their arms; streams of light flashes and separated from the building, and the group flew inside.

T/n: I forgot to say this yesterday, but happy Lunar New Year! It’s the Year of the Snake!

1. T/n: SEND OUT THE KLAXONS!!! IGNITE THE FIREWORKS!!! SOUND THE JOYOUS ALARM!!! JI YUAN IS FINALLY GETTING A CLUE!!! XD 😀
2. 玉 (yù): jade, 翠 (cuì): green/turquoise (esp. jade)
3. 翠 (cuì): green/turquoise (esp. jade), 云 (yún): cloud

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read