Lanke Chess Edge

Chapter 454: Yin Qing’s Good News

When Ji Yuan returned home, Hu Yun was still asleep. Ji Yuan figured the fox wouldn’t wake up anytime soon, so he spread out his brush and ink on the empty space of the stone table and began to write down his thoughts on his wondrous technique.In Ju’an Pavilion, unless it was necessary for spiritual practice, Ji Yuan always preferred to follow a normal daily routine, going back to his house at night and leaving at dawn.

The next day, before Ji Yuan rose from sleep late in the morning, he heard Hu Yun stir earlier than he had expected. It seemed that Hu Yun had been thinking about his paper-cutting.

When Ji Yuan opened the door and went out, he saw Hu Yun sweeping the yard. Although he probably hadn’t recovered his mental energy yet, he was in high spirits.

Hu Yun knew he probably couldn’t continue to add more paper talismans, so he didn’t continue cutting them, nor did he rush to combine them. Hu Yun knew that his cultivation level wasn’t high enough to skip Mr. Ji’s guidance, and blindly combining talismans would make all his previous efforts go to waste.

Hu Yun didn’t use a broom or anything, but instead used its claws and tail to sweep. After cleaning for a while, he would stand up and look at the yellow paper talismans on the stone table and bamboo basket, his face full of happiness.

Hearing the door open and knowing that Ji Yuan had come out, he immediately scurried over.

“Mr. Ji, may I begin combining talismans today?”

Ji Yuan looked at the fox’s impatient appearance and nodded.

“Sure, but you can cut out two more paper figures to practice. Combining two won’t do any good, but it will help you get familiar with the process. Combining the figures is simpler than cutting and shaping them. I’m just afraid you’ll forget the feeling after you take a nap.”

“Yes, yes, I’ll listen to you, sir!”

Hu Yun replied with a grin, and began to learn how to combine the talisman figures according to Ji Yuan’s teachings.

By afternoon, Hu Yun finally felt he could stop practicing. Although he was still uneasy, he knew that continuing to practice would yield minimal improvement, so he chose to combine the talismans under Ji Yuan’s supervision.

The process was much smoother than Hu Yun had expected. The talisman was completed almost without any obstacles. Finally, a thin paper figure appeared in his paw. Judging from its appearance alone, it did not seem that much different from the Warrior Talisman in Ji Yuan’s hand. However, both parties understood the true difference between the two talismans.

Nonetheless, at this moment, Hu Yun was filled with excitement. After imbuing the paper figure with the initial drops of his blood that it needed, he he couldn’t wait to test the talisman he had crafted. He stood on the stone table, tossed it forward, and shouted solemnly.

“I call upon my Warrior!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the paper figure transformed into streaks of red light, eventually appearing before Hu Yun as a dark gray figure. Upon closer inspection, he could vaguely see glimpses of the far wall through its translucent body. Aside from its dark gray coloring, its face had a faint red glow.

There was no golden armor, of course. Hu Yun didn’t have the mental power to visualize it, nor did he have the spiritual power to condense it. So the figure simply appeared like a human draped in thick gray cloth.

Upon appearing, the figure bowed to Hu Yun, but did not speak. Hu Yun, like many others, lacked the ability to visualize the necessary supernatural organs within its body using his mind and spiritual power during the cutting process.

“Hahahaha… It’s done, it’s done! Mr. Ji, my Warrior Talisman is complete!”

Ji Yuan smiled and looked up and down at the dark gray figure. Its features were barely discernible under the faint red glow. Calling it a warrior was an understatement; it resembled a monster more than it did a warrior.

However, it was certainly not the worst it could have been. The one that Hu Yun had refined was many times stronger than the one that Master Du had made back then. At least Ji Yuan felt that the talisman in front of him could be useful, as it had incorporated many of Hu Yun’s unique ideas and perspective.

“This doesn’t quite fit the description of a Warrior.”

Hu Yun, of course, understood his own shortcomings agreed with Mr. Ji’s assessment. He nodded in agreement.

“Indeed, it doesn’t look as imposing as the Golden Armored Warrior, but it’s something I forged myself. By the way, Mr. Ji, what should this be called?”

As he spoke, Hu Yun pointed with his paw, and the figure in front of him suddenly turned into a dark shadow, wandering around the courtyard like a ghost, circling the jujube tree a few times, going around the kitchen, before finally returning to the table.

Ji Yuan understood: since there were only thirty-six movements visualized, this creatur e remained mostly still as it moved, but thanks to Hu Yun’s visualization and spiritual technique, its movements were still swift.

“Haha, you created it, so you can name it yourself.”

…

Hu Yun naturally came over from time to time while Ji Yuan stayed at Ju’an Pavilion. However, the fox didn’t stay in the pavilion all the time; he would only come once every now and then, spending the rest of his time in the mountains.

Ji Yuan was not lonely in Ju’an Pavilion. Besides the strange and wonderful spirits around him, the most important thing was that there was a little girl who often ran over to visit the pavilion. She was Sun Fu’s beloved granddaughter, Sun Yaya.

The little girl brought her own writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. She would always excitedly arrive at Ji Yuan’s Ju’an Pavilion. Ji Yuan’s calligraphy was very beautiful, and she really wanted to learn it.

At first, the Sun family would bring her over to the pavilion and then pick her up. Later, she came by herself, and the Sun family would only pick her up after. Eventually, Sun Yaya arrived alone, practiced calligraphy, and went home by herself.

Sun Yaya’s arrival instantly made Ju’an Pavilion more vibrant. The cheerful and lively atmosphere even extended beyond the pavilion. Whenever people entered Tian Niu Lane, Sun Yaya, dressed in a well-fitting white scholar’s robe, would greet them on the street.

Many residents of Tian Niu Lane knew this lively and lovely little girl was learning calligraphy from Mr. Ji. Even those who didn’t already know Ji Yuan learned his name indirectly through Sun Yaya.

However, although Hu Yun, Xiao Zi, and Zhi He were very curious about Sun Yaya and even liked her, they all avoided her, and tried to prevent her from seeing them.

Half a year passed peacefully. Sun Yaya’s complaints about the academy gradually turned into cheerful banter. After half a year, Sun Yaya became a star at the academy. Even the teacher said that although Sun Yaya’s writing was still immature, it already possessed a certain charm, and that she was a promising talent.

One day, the little girl was practicing calligraphy in the Ju’an Pavilion when, in a flash of inspiration, she wrote the character she was most satisfied with to date.

“Teacher, look at my handwriting for the character ‘elegant’.1 Isn’t it much better now?”

Sun Yaya grabbed her brush and paper and rushed to the kitchen, eagerly showing them to Ji Yuan, who was chopping vegetables. Ji Yuan glanced at them symbolically, nodded, and praised her.

“Not bad, it is indeed more spirited than before, but it’s not enough. The characters should express their meaning, so think more about their essence when you write.”

“Understood!”

Sun Yaya rushed back to the courtyard to practice her calligraphy. Every time Mr. Ji seemed to offer casual praise, the next day when she showed it to the school teacher, the teacher would often be full of praise, and perhaps even astonished. These moments were particularly fun, and Sun Yaya was already looking forward to them.

“Is Mr. Ji here?”

Sun Yaya put down her brush and looked at the kitchen.

“Sir, I’ll go open the door.”

“Go ahead, go ahead.”

The little girl ran excitedly to the courtyard gate, opened it, and saw an official standing outside. While Sun Yaya was sizing him up, the official was also looking at her.

“Who are you, and what brings you to see Mr. Ji?”

The officer smiled and spoke in a slightly louder voice.

“I am an official from the county government, currently in charge of postal mail for Tian Niu Lane and the two neighboring districts. Today I received a letter for Mr. Ji sealed with red wax, which I am bringing here specifically!”

These kinds of wax-sealed letters could only be used by high-ranking officials of the imperial court. When they arrived at the county government office, the bailiffs would not dare delay and would deliver them directly.

Ji Yuan came out, wiping his hands with a cloth. He bowed to the bailiff at the gate and then took the letter. A quick glance revealed that it was signed by Yin Qing.

“Thank you for bringing it, sir. Would you like to come in and have some tea?”

Ji Yuan stepped aside, but the official dared not enter and repeatedly declined.

“No, no, I have official business to attend to, so I won’t disturb you any longer.”

“Oh, then please accept this as a gift, official, in place of treating you to tea!”

Ji Yuan, being very polite, took out a five-wen coin. The bailiff feigned reluctance a couple times before accepting, then bowed and left.

By the time Ji Yuan closed the courtyard gate, Sun Yaya had already been sneaking on tiptoes to peer at the letter for quite some time.

“Sir, whose letter is this, and what does it say?”

“Haha, this is a letter from a very important person. It was written by Yin Qing, the current Vice Minister of Rites.”

Sun Yaya frowned and thought for a moment.

“Yin Qing? Hmm! Surname Yin? Could he be Star Scholar Yin’s son?”

“That’s right.”

Ji Yuan gently pinched Sun Yaya’s nose, then opened the envelope. He took out the letter, shook it, and ran his fingertips over the paper, feeling the essence of the characters to decipher the content.

In the letter, Yin Qing mentioned he had gotten engaged to Princess Changping, and the wedding was to take place a year later. He was inviting Ji Yuan in advance to attend if it was convenient for him, and informing him that he would take Princess Changping back to Ning’an County with him. If Mr. Ji was home, he would definitely come to invite him over.

Yin Zhaoxian was no longer a minor official of Wan Province. When his son got married, all the imperial relatives and civil and military officials of the court would definitely attend. Ji Yuan didn’t care for that kind of scene, but when it came to Yin Qing’s wedding he had to attend no matter what.

“This kid moves quickly!”

“Sir, sir, what does it say? Can you tell me?”

Ji Yuan looked down at Sun Yaya.

“It’s nothing, Yin Qing is getting married.”

“What? Yin Qing is getting married? So fast!”

No sooner had she finished speaking than a surprised voice suddenly rang out from the courtyard, startling Sun Yaya. She turned and looked around the courtyard but couldn’t find anyone speaking. She tugged at Ji Yuan’s sleeve.

“Sir, it sounded like someone was talking just now!”

Sun Yaya’s gaze swept around, and suddenly she sensed a fiery red silhouette beside the stone table. As she stared at it intently, the silhouette grew clearer and clearer, until she finally saw a fox squatting there.

T/n: I’m baaaack! Thank you all for your patience as real life came at me like a truck.

RIP Hu Yun, he was definitely not made for subtlety.

雅 (yǎ): elegant. This character is the one repeated twice in Sun Yaya’s name.

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