Chapter 107 Seeking Help

“That’s correct.”

At that moment, a servant entered, carrying a food box.

“I heard the young lady enjoys fine cuisine, so I had someone gather some specialties from Liangzhou City. See if there’s anything you like.” Ji Xiuqi took out plate after plate of food from the box.

Infused with spiritual energy and crafted with ingenuity, the flavors were excellent.

These delicacies were clearly not cheap.

At this moment, Ji Xiuqi resolved that he must recruit some highly skilled culinary cultivators in the future, so that his younger sister could have whatever she wished to eat.

“I like it,” Ji Jiuxuan said happily as she ate. “Big brother, could you tell me about the South Sea coast?”

Time passed quickly. Over the past two days, Ji Jiuxuan’s routine was very regular—going back and forth between Jinda Restaurant and the Ji family’s annex.

Despite everything, the presence she had sensed before had not appeared again.

“Feel free to speak. Who do you think that figure might have been back then?” Unable to make sense of it, Ji Jiuxuan instinctively asked the phantom.

“Why did it feel so familiar?”

“It seems they employed concealment techniques, making it impossible to detect who they truly are.”

Ji Jiuxuan sat in her room, her hands folded on the table, chin resting on them, a bit troubled.

The enemy lurked in the shadows while she was exposed in the light—this gave her little sense of security.

“That person carries the aura of your parents,” the phantom’s voice suddenly rang out like a thunderclap, causing her to sit up straight.

“My parents’ aura?” Ji Jiuxuan was astonished. “But Phantom, you’ve never seen my father or mother before. How could you recognize them?”

“I have seen them. Before you made a contract with me, I was at the Xuanyuan Sect. I’ve met your parents.”

Only now did he recall this crucial detail.

Ji Jiuxuan anxiously asked, “Phantom, can you still track that person’s aura?”

With the auction approaching, the stranger might have come to participate—or perhaps was just passing through Liangzhou City.

“They’re still in the city. Your junior uncle has already assigned people to watch them, and so has your big brother.” That two people could track the person indicated considerable skill.

However, the phantom cautioned, “Both might be underestimating that person’s strength. Their main forces are focused on you.”

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Unbeknownst to Ji Jiuxuan, two groups were secretly protecting her. Though comforted by this, given the matter involved her parents, she resolved to inform her junior uncle first.

“Junior uncle, I’ve figured out who that suspicious person from a few days ago is connected to,” Ji Jiuxuan sent a message to Nie Xingyuan, but received no reply.

Rising, she went to his room and knocked, but when no one answered, she used spiritual perception to find that he was absent.

Ji Jiuxuan wanted to investigate herself but worried about causing them concern. She recalled her grandfather’s words that the Ji family’s close blood relatives were trustworthy.

Looking at her senior sister, who was cultivating inside the room, Ji Jiuxuan left a message and proceeded toward the Ji family annex.

On her way out, she happened to meet Sikong Chanyan, who had changed into a new outfit today. She was both alluring and reserved, with no trace of contradiction.

“Little Nine, where are you going? What about your senior sister?” Nie Xingyuan had reminded them before leaving: if the young lady went out alone and something happened, not only would he be furious, but Min Chengjun would be hard to appease.

Ji Jiuxuan smiled and said, “I’m going to see my big brother.”

Knowing what Sikong Chanyan worried about, Ji Jiuxuan leaned close and whispered, “Aunt Yan, don’t worry. Someone’s watching from the shadows. I’m just going to big brother’s place—I won’t run off.”

With so many experts at the Ji family annex, it would be relatively safe.

“All right, be careful,” Sikong Chanyan said without much thought. The watchers were beyond Ji Jiuxuan’s current ability to detect.

She recalled Nie Xingyuan’s prior warning and thus put aside her worries.

Ji Jiuxuan left without delay, heading straight for the annex, deliberately avoiding secluded spots and sticking to crowded areas.

“Little sister, why did you come alone?” Ji Xiuqi was surprised to see Ji Jiuxuan arrive by herself.

He had noticed how closely Meng Jiao had been watching her these days, which reassured him.

“My senior sister is busy, so I came on my own,” Ji Jiuxuan said hastily, seeing the concern on her big brother’s face. “Don’t worry, big brother. I know someone’s protecting me in secret, so it’s fine.”

Ji Xiuqi paused, thinking perhaps the hidden guards had been discovered. Then he recalled Nie Xingyuan had also assigned people and supposed that Nie Xingyuan must have told his sister.

Once inside the parlor, Ji Jiuxuan sent a private message: “Big brother, I have something to tell you. Can you send everyone else away?”

Ji Xiuqi was surprised but calmly ordered those around him to leave.

He produced a protective array disk, lifting his hand to isolate everything around them.

Ji Jiuxuan looked at the array’s level. At this degree, breaking the barrier to eavesdrop was impossible. She recognized the high-grade formations inscribed, knowing any forced intrusion would trigger a backlash.

---

“Little sister, tell me what’s on your mind. No one else can hear us here,” Ji Xiuqi said reassuringly, unaware of Ji Jiuxuan’s formidable mastery of array techniques.

In this world, probably no one besides their master, Zhou Guangsheng, knew just how powerful her arrays had become.

If Ji Jiuxuan had told Zhou Guangsheng she intended to come to Liangzhou City alone, he wouldn’t have worried at all.

Nevertheless, the art of concealment was necessary. Both master and disciple adhered to the principle of feigning weakness to hide strength, so she reserved her array skills for dire necessity.

“Big brother, do you remember the first time you took me shopping? At the entrance to the Yu Xing Bureau, I sensed someone’s aura that felt very familiar.”

Ji Xiuqi nodded. That was exactly why he had sent people to protect Little Nine.

“I’ve been trying to recall why the aura felt so familiar over the past few days. Now I know—it carried the scent of father and mother. That person must be connected to them.”

After speaking, Ji Jiuxuan sat quietly, watching Ji Xiuqi’s reaction.

Her grandfather had said they were trustworthy, so she was willing to confide in him and seek his help if needed.

Ji Xiuqi was stunned by the news, his expression serious as he asked earnestly, “Are you certain, Ajiu?”

He had had people watching that person the whole time—fortunately so.

But when her second uncle and aunt disappeared, Ji Jiuxuan was still an infant, yet she remembered their aura to this day! What a prodigious little sister.

Without hesitation, Ji Xiuqi sent a message to those guarding the area, even dispatching reinforcements.

“I’m very sure. The aura was unmistakably familiar—I just know,” Ji Jiuxuan said, unable to explain how she had discovered it, much less mention the phantom’s existence. “Big brother, please trust me.”

Others might doubt her, but Ji Xiuqi did not. Without pressing further, he said, “Don’t worry, Ajiu. I’ve already sent people over. We’ll catch them and find out.”

Just as Ji Jiuxuan was about to warn him that both he and junior uncle might be underestimating the enemy, Ji Xiuqi’s communication jade suddenly buzzed.

“Young master, the target has escaped,” the message came. Ji Xiuqi sprang to his feet, alarmed. “Find them!”

(End of chapter)