Chapter 13: Arriving in Yanjing (Thousand-Faced Ghost Arc Begins)
The earlier farce didn’t last long. Ming Ji and his disciples arrived at the mortal realm’s Yanjing via the teleportation mirror.
Yanjing was the capital of the current dynasty. To avoid appearing abruptly and causing panic among the mortals, they chose a secluded alley for their arrival.
Perhaps because they were at the feet of the Emperor, they hadn’t walked far from the quiet alley before the sounds of hawking vendors reached their ears.
Such a scene carried a sense of peace and prosperity.
But there were things that seemed out of place—for example, a wanted poster solemnly pasted at the city gate.
The man in the portrait was drawn as handsome, yet his appearance was marred by a savage scar on his face.
“Master, let’s find an inn first. We can discuss capturing the Thousand-Faced Ghost later,” Chu Yunduan said.
Ming Ji glanced briefly at the portrait before withdrawing his gaze.
When he came back to his senses, he saw Yan Shiman beaming, seemingly having found an opportunity to shine, strutting like a peacock right up to Ming Ji.
“Master has spent much time in the cultivation world and rarely visits the human race. You likely won’t be accustomed to ordinary inns. Why not go to my residence?”
Before Ming Ji could speak, Wei Zixi immediately went on alert. “Senior Brother, interested parties could easily find out about you going to the cultivation world to apprentice under Master. Wouldn’t doing this alert the Thousand-Faced Ghost?”
Guan Yuce didn’t understand these twists and turns, but after hearing Wei Zixi’s analysis, he felt it made perfect sense and nodded in agreement. “Immortal Venerable, Junior Brother Wei makes a valid point.”
Ming Ji was always cautious; even without reminders, he had considered this. naturally, he politely declined his disciple’s offer.
However, where should they look for an inn?
Just as they were struggling with the decision, they walked a mile forward and looked up to see a quaint and elegant inn.
Ming Ji stopped and said, “Let it be here.”
The shop waiter was very observant. Seeing several men in brocade clothes with extraordinary temperaments enter, his heart bloomed with joy.
He tactfully walked up to Ming Ji, smiling obsequiously. “Guest, are you dining or staying?”
“Staying. Five superior guest rooms,” Ming Ji said softly.
The waiter hadn’t looked closely at first, but now that he was closer to Ming Ji, he glanced at him and sighed inwardly that this was a god-like figure—even with the veil obscuring his face, his temperament exuded a sense of cold aloofness.
Within a few sentences, this aloof immortal generously took out shining silver. The series of actions dazzled the waiter’s eyes.
The waiter spoke with great difficulty, “Guest, currently there are only four guest rooms left.”
Four guest rooms… that meant… two people would have to share one room?
Ming Ji frowned slightly, wondering how to choose.
“Master, you know I have always been shy with strangers.”
Shy enough to only want to live with Master.
Wei Zixi didn’t voice his petty thoughts. Seeing Ming Ji’s conflicted expression, he immediately put on a pitiful look.
Ming Ji looked at his little disciple’s eyes and shook his head helplessly. “No matter. I also dislike staying with others. Let us look for another inn.”
(Wei Zixi: Master…)
“Guest, please stay!”
Just as Ming Ji was about to step out of the inn door, the waiter panicked and shouted loudly to stop him.
He approached them on his own initiative, lowering his voice mysteriously, “Please wait a moment, guests. One room is about to expire; it will only take a quarter of an hour.”
Ming Ji stopped as expected. Seeing this, the waiter perceptively invited them to sit and nimbly served tea.
“Guests, our shop also has many specialty snacks. You can taste them.”
Ming Ji had long since practiced inedia (bigu) and intended to refuse, but then he thought: My disciples have not yet reached the Golden Core stage; they still need to satisfy their appetites.
He said softly, “Then bring your shop’s signature dishes. One portion of each.”
The waiter called for the dishes to be served. He hadn’t been bluffing; the dishes before them smelled fragrant enough to stimulate the appetite.
Ming Ji just glanced at them indifferently and said, “You all eat.”
The atmosphere froze for a moment; no one moved their chopsticks.
It was Wei Zixi who broke the deadlock, placing a premium beef roll into Ming Ji’s bowl. “Master, try this.”
Ming Ji thought that perhaps they wouldn’t eat if he didn’t, so he picked up his chopsticks and tasted a dish symbolically. “It’s alright.”
Seeing Ming Ji eat, the others finally moved their chopsticks.
However, the scene that followed was laughable.
“Master, try this.” This was Chu Yunduan.
“Master, this Osmanthus lotus root is not bad.” This was Yan Shiman.
“Master, this pigeon soup is also very good.” Wei Zixi said, serving a bowl and placing it by Ming Ji’s hand.
Guan Yuce, on the side, didn’t know why they were doing this. He guessed it might be human etiquette.
Imitating the others, he also placed a piece of meat into Ming Ji’s bowl. “Immortal Venerable, this is delicious too.”
Ming Ji looked at the food piling up like a mountain in his bowl. He wanted to refuse, but through the veil, he vaguely sensed the expectant gazes of his disciples and fell silent.
He had never been one to spoil his disciples’ spirits, so he chewed with difficulty and swallowed the food.
The eyes of the others lit up for a moment, their hearts filling with joy, and they thought about serving Master more food.
Seeing they were about to serve more, Ming Ji quickly stopped them. “No need, I am full.”
Only then did they acknowledge him and obediently bury their heads to eat.
A quarter of an hour later, seeing that they had cleared their plates, Ming Ji walked to the waiter and asked, “Waiter, is that room ready?”
“Add a tea room as well.”
“Understood, guest.” The waiter nodded repeatedly and shouted upstairs, “Five superior rooms plus a tea room.”
“Guests, please come inside—”
The atmosphere was excellent, provided no one disturbed it.
“Where is that female thief!” A thick voice shouted, breaking the originally quiet atmosphere.
Everyone followed the voice and saw a young girl of thirteen or fourteen with ordinary features, wearing linen clothes.
The girl was panting heavily, clutching a heavy purse. Under the public’s gaze, she kept her head down and ran downstairs.
The one stopping the girl was a merchant. He seemed furious, stuttering as he pointed a trembling finger at the servants beside him. “Stop… stop her!”
Ming Ji glanced faintly, his expression unreadable.
The girl lacked stamina. Before she could run a few steps out of the inn, she was intercepted by several servants and dragged back.
“Good, you female thief.” The fat merchant pointed at the girl, looked her up and down, and realizing there were many onlookers, lowered his voice to order his servants: “Find a quiet place and beat her.”
“Don’t kill her. I want to see if this thief dares to commit crimes again.”
Seeing no follow-up, the others assumed she would be sent to the authorities. Feeling there was no more drama to watch, they scattered.
Only Ming Ji, being a cultivator, heard the merchant’s whispered instructions. He subconsciously touched the Xuanshuang Flute at his waist.
“Master, this woman is no good person, stealing money in broad daylight,” Wei Zixi said, noticing Ming Ji’s hesitation.
The other three agreed with Wei Zixi’s view and nodded.
Ming Ji pursed his lips and said nothing.
His mind replayed the stubborn look in the girl’s eyes when she turned back after being taken away.
Even after putting away his luggage, Ming Ji stood silently at the second-floor railing.
From a distance, he saw the woman being dragged out of the inn and pulled into a quiet alley.
Ming Ji sighed. In the end, he followed his heart. He glanced sideways at his disciples and said, “I’ll go take a look.”
After saying this, Ming Ji vanished without a trace.
“Female thief, daring to steal our master’s money, you’re simply seeking death.” The servants were furious, grabbing sticks and weapons to greet the woman’s body.
The girl’s eyes revealed terror. She subconsciously closed her eyes, ready to face the endless beating.
“Stop.” Ming Ji waved the Xuanshuang Flute, knocking the weapons from their hands.
adhering to the principle of not harming mortals, he spoke softly to stop them.
“Yo, who are you?” The leading servant looked very arrogant. Although he had seen Ming Ji in the shop earlier, he assumed he was just a spectator, so his tone wasn’t pleasant.
“At the Emperor’s feet, instead of sending her to the authorities, how can you use private punishment?”
The leader listened, crossing his arms. “What do you know! This thief stole one tael of silver from our master in broad daylight. We’re just teaching her a lesson. It’s our master’s kindness that we don’t beat her to death!”
“One tael, is it?” Ming Ji repeated softly.
He was a cultivator and had never lacked money since childhood, so naturally, he didn’t care about these worldly possessions.
It was just a lifting of a hand.
Thinking this, Ming Ji took out a purse and handed it to the leading servant. “Here is ten taels. Share it amongst yourselves.”
The leader was startled at first, then understood Ming Ji’s intention—he wanted to settle this privately.
Being servants wasn’t easy; didn’t they work themselves to death just for a few taels of silver?
Besides, there were only a few brothers here. If they split these ten taels, it would be enough to feed their families meat for several meals.
Thinking this, the leader subconsciously weighed the purse in his hand. Calculating that it indeed felt like ten taels, he looked at the girl with contempt. “Count yourself lucky to meet a noble person.”
Seeing Ming Ji’s extraordinary temperament, and having been paid, they didn’t make things difficult. Instead, with good intentions, they whispered a reminder, “Young master, be careful. This thief has stolen from other wealthy masters too. It’s just that today she was unlucky and got caught by our master.”
Ming Ji nodded at the sound and responded softly, “En.”
After they left, he walked slowly closer. Looking up, he saw the girl huddled in the corner, secretly opening one eye to peek.
Ming Ji softened his voice and said, “Miss, they are gone.”
Only then did the girl stand up. She patted the dust from her body and looked at Ming Ji with gratitude. “This humble girl, Er Ya, thanks the Young Master.”
Ming Ji gave a soft “En.” Before he could say more, he heard the sound of sobbing.
The girl named Er Ya was sobbing uncontrollably, snot and tears mixing as she complained, “If I hadn’t truly reached a dead end, I wouldn’t have resorted to such a poor plan.”
“Now that I have been saved by my benefactor, I have no way to repay you. I am willing to work like an ox or horse in this life to repay the Young Master. I only beg the Young Master to take me in.”
After listening for a while, Ming Ji roughly understood her meaning: she stole because she had no money, and now she begged for shelter.
He couldn’t help but find it somewhat amusing. Seeing Er Ya about to pull his sleeve with a hand that had just wiped a snot bubble, he quickly turned sideways.
“Put on the mask.” Ming Ji took a mask from his storage bag and handed it to her. Seeing her puzzled expression, he patiently explained, “Later you will go to the inn. Most people will still remember you. That merchant might cause trouble, and perhaps even implicate those servants.”
Although the meaning wasn’t explicit, Ming Ji’s attitude showed he intended to take Er Ya in.
Er Ya suppressed the joy in her heart and put on the mask.
After the matter was settled, Ming Ji turned and walked out of the dark alley. Because his back was turned, he didn’t see…
Er Ya curved her eyes, revealing a cunning gaze.
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