Lanke Chess Edge
Chapter 174: Distinguished Guest of the Wei Residence

It was drizzling today, and Ji Yuan, carrying a bag and holding an umbrella, walked slowly into the Desheng Prefecture’s capital through the city gate like an ordinary solitary traveler.

Although he had also practiced some techniques to store things in the past two years, he still carried this cloth bag with him all the time.

The various Dimensional Storage¹ techniques were quite special. Not only were they profound, only those who had cultivated Taoism enough could master a small portion of them. Some gifted monsters could even comprehend some extraordinary spiritual techniques.

It could be regarded as simple, but there was no end to the study of the techniques, and each family cherished their own most advanced techniques, and would not share them easily. Although the art wasn’t as exaggerated in its exclusivity as “Spirit Binding,” it was also very difficult to practice. Techniques, comprehension, cultivation, and pure fate were all indispensable to its mastery.

Generally, this technique relied on having a certain container. Many cultivators relied on secret pockets in their sleeves as well as their own spiritual energy. Of course, there were also storage objects that did not rely on the spiritual energy of the cultivator, which were often highest-grade immortal tools, defined as objects that could produce spiritual energy. Monsters were naturally gifted with spiritual energy, either in their abdomens or other cavities.²

The dragons of the Tongtian River lineage had their own spiritual powers that they had developed in their own practice. Although the Old Dragon sometimes liked to tinker with some strange techniques, he obviously did not intend to show the results to others. Thus, although Ji Yuan had found a jade slip with the art of Dimensional Storage among those he had borrowed from the Old Dragon in the past two years, it was still incompatible with human cultivation, as with the previous transformation technique.

However, Ji Yuan was nonetheless happy to take his time studying it by himself. After all, what the Old Dragon had been tinkering with was quite good; it was like elucidating the essence of the art through the phenomenon of its practice. That might have been the Old Dragon’s original intention with this exploration. In Ji Yuan’s opinion, although it was still lacking in its comprehension, it was at least a start.

The Old Dragon felt that there was no more progress to be made and that this technique did not match his own talent, let alone improve his skills. But in Ji Yuan’s opinion, this kind of starting point was actually extremely rare.

There were very few true dragons in this world. Those who could become true dragons, such as Ying Hong, were indeed extraordinary beings even among the dragons and flood dragons.

For example, in the art of transformation, one should “seek the real and shun the false” as much as possible; in the art of Dimensional Storage, one should “store items and weave concealment around them, display their thousands of changes, devour all things and return them to their original state.” In the words from Ji Yuan’s previous life, these were the sturdy foundations upon which could be built a tall tower.³

Ji Yuan understood that sometimes the Old Dragon didn’t make much progress simply because he lacked the support of immortal skills, but also that sometimes he just lacked a little imagination.

Therefore, no matter how incompatible it was with humans, Ji Yuan was still very happy to study the half-finished technique that the Old Dragon had been tinkering with. At least, with his knowledge of the Information Age of his previous life, he could see its potential relatively intuitively.

The Dimensional Storage technique that Ji Yuan was currently practicing was based on the Old Dragon’s independently-developed version. He also borrowed from the habits of other cultivators and relied on the pockets inside of his sleeves.

In the past two years, in addition to normal cultivation, he had also focused on studying transformation and the spiritual energy of Yin and Yang in his dreams. Ji Yuan was not disappointed; even just an ordinary cloth shirt could solidly support these techniques.

His dimensional space was extremely limited, so apart from some important jade slips, books, and pendants, he still carried his clothes and his larger books in his bag. Either way, he didn’t think it was too much of a hindrance.

Ji Yuan wore a white robe and held an umbrella as he ambled down the streets of Desheng Prefecture’s capital.

Although the rain was light, it still made a sound when it fell, allowing Ji Yuan to appreciate the scenery of the city more clearly. Although he always claimed to be from Ning’an County, this was his first time visiting his prefecture’s capital.

The Wei family was a well-known wealthy family in Desheng Prefecture, rich with both money and connections. Even the officials in the prefecture had to give the Wei family some face.

Ji Yuan found a bun shop in the city and bought two buns. On the way, he inquired about the Wei family to the vendor, and found the exact location of the Wei family mansion. However, he wasn’t sure whether Wei Wuwei would be in his ancestral home or in the new mansion.

That afternoon, a man in a white robe holding an oil-paper umbrella slowly approached the Wei Mansion in the north of the city from a distance.

Not many people went out on rainy days, and this was not a busy commercial street. There were almost no other pedestrians on the avenue where the Wei residence was located, and the two gatekeepers noticed the man from a distance.

This year’s weather had been a little abnormal. It was almost summer, but was still a little cold. Aside from those with strong vitality, many people didn’t dare wear too few layers when traveling. Ji Yuan’s clothes obviously looked thin.

“Hey, do you think that person is coming to our house?”

“It’s raining and he didn’t take a carriage. He should just be passing by.”

“I don’t think so. Why not make a bet?”

“Let’s bet, the loser buys the winner a drink.”

“Okay!”

The two chatted a bit, then waited. Sure enough, they saw the man with the umbrella getting closer and closer to the Wei residence. He stopped in front of the door.

Ji Yuan turned to look at the large plaque on the gate of the mansion with the words “Wei Residence” written on it. He could see the characters clearly thanks to their large size. He approached the gate.

One of the gatekeepers winked at the other before taking the initiative to step forward to ask.

“Sir, why have you come to the Wei residence?”

Even though Ji Yuan was dressed in ordinary clothes, he looked quite elegant. Moreover, the Wei family also had some connections to the illicit underworld,⁴ and even the gatekeeper had some knowledge of this fact. As such, he usually tried to be as polite as possible to everyone.

Ji Yuan folded his umbrella and shook it off, then bowed slightly to the doorman.

“Sir, I am here to meet the patriarch of the Wei family. This is a token of our friendship.”

In order to save some trouble, Ji Yuan directly took out the jade pendant that Wei Wuwei had given him. After all, it was a bit ridiculous for a stranger to ask to see the head of the Wei family, but of all the Wei family members, Ji Yuan only knew him

“The patriarch?”

The gatekeeper was stunned at first, but it quickly turned to shock when he saw the jade pendant.

This jade pendant was emerald green and was round in shape, engraved with two fish and flowing water. It was an extremely important token marking the Wei family’s backing. If one showed it in any Wei family shop, one could receive strong support from the Wei family.

“Wait a minute, sir! I’ll go inform the Third Master; the patriarch is out today, and the Third Master is the only family head in the mansion at present!”

The gatekeeper quickly motioned to the other doorman, then ran inside with the jade pendant.

The other gatekeeper didn’t dare to be negligent, so he was also very alert and greeted Ji Yuan politely.

“Please come in, sir. There is a reception room next to us. Please take a rest there and have a cup of hot tea.”

“Alright, thank you for your help!”

. . .

The doorman ran very fast through the Wei family mansion, even using his martial arts skills for the movement technique, and rushed straight to the small storeroom of the Wei family mansion.

The old housekeeper of the Wei residence and the Third Master were both present there at the current moment. The Third Master was Wei Wuwei’s third uncle. After the death of the previous head of the family, Wei Wuwei’s father, the only people in the family who were older than him were Wei Wuwei’s eldest uncle, his third uncle, and the elder, his old grandfather.

On top of storing some of the account books, the small storeroom also housed some rare items, such as fine wines, antiques, and delicacies from all over the world.

“Third Master! Housekeeper! Third Master! Housekeeper!”

Before he had even reached the small storeroom, the gatekeeper couldn’t help but shout a few words.

“What’s the hassle?”

“Why make such a fuss?”

The Third Master of the Wei family and the old housekeeper came out of the room with frowns on their brows, and saw the guard stop in front of them, panting.

“Third Master, housekeeper, a gentleman in white came to the mansion and said that he wanted to see the patriarch. This is the token he gave me. Could both of you please take a look and see if it’s real?”

Third Master Wei grabbed the top-quality jadeite that the doorman handed him.

“Like a fish back in water!”⁵

Third Master Wei subconsciously looked at the pendant he wore on his waist. It was of the same style. The old housekeeper took a closer look.

“Over the years, my Wei family has only given away two such jade pendants… A gentleman in white?”

The old housekeeper suddenly felt his scalp grow numb, and turned to look at the doorman.

“Did he say who he was?”

The gatekeeper slapped his forehead.

“Yes, yes, he said his name was Ji Yuan.”

“Hiss…”

The Third Master of the Wei family and the old housekeeper both subconsciously took a breath. They looked at each other, seeing identical expressions of disbelief on each other’s faces.

If he could take out this jade pendant and give out this name, there could be no mistake.

“I will go entertain Mr. Ji. You go and find the head of the family. We can talk about the Luoxia Villa for another day. Even if the other party has objections, I think the head of the family will know how to choose.”

“Okay, by all means, Third Master!”

The old housekeeper didn’t care about anything else. He leaped using his movement techniques and actually flew over the eaves and the walls of the Wei family mansion, heading straight towards the stable.

The Third Master of the Wei family ran directly towards the mansion gate. If the man hadn’t left yet, he would likely have been invited to the reception room.

‘Please, I hope he hasn’t left!’

The Third Master Wei and the old housekeeper were so impatient that the gatekeeper was shocked. By the time he reacted, the Third Master had already run a far distance, so he hurriedly chased after him.

The Third Master of the Wei family ran all the way to the outside of the reception room before he steadied himself. Then he dusted off the dust on his body, tidied up his clothes, and walked around the corridor to the door of the reception room.

He carefully looked inside. The visitor wore a simple white robe with wide sleeves. He had a black hairpin with his hair up in a bun and the rest of it loose, yet he looked natural and harmonious. A servant was currently serving him tea.

Ji Yuan naturally heard the sound of breathless footsteps. He turned around and looked outside the door. The person entering was a man in his fifties, with gray hair and a brocade robe.

Wei Xing stepped into the reception room with clasped hands, took a deep breath, and did his best to speak in an even, warm tone.

“You must be Mr. Ji, right? I am Wei Xing, the third uncle of the family patriarch. I didn’t know that Mr. Ji was here, I apologize for being negligent and not welcoming you, sir!”

From his reaction, Ji Yuan essentially understood that the person in front of him was someone who knew the inside story of his relation to the Wei family. He stood up and bowed with clasped hands in return.

“I am indeed Ji. Hello Third Master Wei!”

“I don’t dare to presume, I don’t deserve this, sir, please just call me Wei Xing!”

Wei Xing and Wei Wuwei had visited Chunmu River together, had seen the true monster, the Old Turtle, and thus knew the significance of the name “Ji Yuan.”

He was dealing with true immortals, the pressure was intense.

“By the way, Mr. Ji, why don’t we go to the inner hall? It’s more spacious and warmer there. I have already sent someone to inform the head of the family. When he knows you are here, he will definitely hurry back as fast as he can!”

“Oh, it’s fine, it’s alright. Third Master Wei, there’s no need to be so reserved. This is the Wei family, after all, and I am just a visitor. Since I’m here, I won’t leave without greeting Wei Wuwei.”

“Uh, haha… That’s good, that’s good. Oh, by the way, please have this, sir!”

Wei Xing walked close, bowed, and respectfully returned the jade pendant with both hands. Ji Yuan reached out and took it back.

The two servants standing to the side who were originally serving Ji Yuan tea were stunned.

“Third Master Wei, please don’t keep standing, it’s strange. Let’s sit down. “

“Alright! Sir, please take a seat!”

Only then did Wei Xing sit in another seat at Ji Yuan’s small table, and turned to the servant.

“Go and prepare a plate of fruit and pastries, and send them over. Instruct the kitchen to prepare a banquet, and tell others not to go near the reception room unless necessary!”

“Yes!”

The two servants complied cautiously, then left the reception room with light steps.

At this moment, Wei Xing could cheer himself on, and chat with Ji Yuan carefully.

Fortunately, after getting to know him for a while, he found that the legendary Mr. Ji was really easy-going. The tension subconsciously faded away as he spoke. Mr. Ji was very interested in the patriarch’s descendants. Upon learning of Wei Yuansheng, the conversation started to flow naturally.

1. 乾坤 (qiánkūn): Yin and Yang/heaven and earth/the universe, 纳 (nà): to receive/to accept/to bring into, 物 (wù): thing/distinct from the outside world. I decided against a literal translation in this case, which would have been “Bringing into the Yin-Yang world” or something like that, because “dimensional storage” is pretty much what it references and it’s a classic translation for all kinds of NovelFires
2. For example, Lu Shan’s stomach has a storage space, as we saw back in the beginning
3. In other words, these are the fundamental concepts for these arts, and if you can comprehend this confusing mess of sentences, then you can build your own technique
4. Not the spiritual underworld (“Yin Si”) but more like criminal underworld
5. 如鱼得水 (rúyúdéshuǐ): Lit. “like a fish back in water,” idiom that means to be back in one’s proper environment (for example, “like a fish in the sea,” or the opposite of “fish out of water”). This is a pun since the Wei family crest seems to be 2 fish in water.