“Aren’t you impressed?”

Ji Yuan teased, as if seeing through Hu Yun’s thoughts. The red fox nodded rapidly.

“Yes, yes, this large fellow looks so powerful. I think he might even be able to beat Lu Shan Jun…”

Hu Yun looked from the Golden-Armored Warrior to Ji Yuan. He had initially thought that even Mr. Ji wouldn’t be able to defeat this massive individual, but considering that this impressive golden-armored warrior had been created by Ji Yuan’s hand, he still felt that Mr. Ji was the stronger of the two.

Ji Yuan shook his head.

“As long as Lu Shan Jun knew the strengths of this warrior, he wouldn’t need any clever tactics. He could throw this warrior for a loop just by playing with him.”

Ji Yuan rubbed at his brows to relieve his exhaustion. Now, considering Du Changsheng and his master’s limited skills, it was already a remarkable achievement for the two generations to have refined a total of six paper warriors. Moreover, their previous method of refining the warriors were far inferior to what Ji Yuan had deduced. Although there were only 108 paper figurines to cut, it was likely that each creation required immense effort.

After tidying up the scraps of paper and tools that had been left on the table, Ji Yuan brought the sieve back into the house.

Hu Yun glanced at the motionless Golden-Armored Warrior, then hurriedly followed Ji Yuan back inside, his voice still chattering on.

“Mr. Ji, Mr. Ji, is this technique called the Golden-Armored Warrior Talisman?”

Ji Yuan turned to look at the burly warrior still standing outside, then responded to the red fox.

“It can indeed be called that, or it could be called the Yellow-Clothed Warrior.”1

The red fox poked his head out the door to take a closer look, and indeed saw that the armored giant was wearing yellow cloth draped across his chest and back.

“Then why not a red cloth? I like red, just like my hair. It’s so beautiful!”

As he spoke, Hu Yun flicked his tail at the giant outside. He fur was currently a fiery red, without any stripes of other colors, and was indeed very eye-catching.

However, this gesture naturally failed to elicit any reaction from the golden-armored giant, as if he were simply staring into the air a few feet in front of him.

Ji Yuan was unfazed by Hu Yun’s banter, and patiently explained.

“Yellow is a mysterious color. This stack of yellow paper is no ordinary paper: it has been imbued with a trace of earthly spiritual energy. Though it contains very little, it still represents the enduring solemn earth — thick, deep, and capable of being shaped and molded. There is a saying that strength originates from the earth; this warrior’s body is bound to it. As long as his spiritual energy is not exhausted, his strength is boundless…”

At this moment, as if he had received some kind of instruction from Ji Yuan, the armored warrior slowly stepped forward, clenched his fist, and suddenly punched his fist towards the sky.

“Whoosh… bang…”

The fist ripped through the air, slightly shaking the surrounding flow of air.

“Crash… Crash…”

This punch unleashed a gust of wind that swayed the branches of the jujube tree, causing some of the light patches of snow lingering between the leaves to fall.

Hu Yun stared at the scene in amazement. His heart pounded as he suddenly realized the meaning behind Mr. Ji’s previous words.

“So, what you’re saying is that if this big guy is lifted up into the air, he will immediately become weaker?”

Hearing Hu Yun’s subconscious words, Ji Yuan was slightly taken aback. He took a deep glance at the red fox, who was still staring intently at the warrior outside.

“Indeed, you are correct: if the warrior is not touching the ground, then the only source of power left to it is the spiritual energy given by the caster when it was summoned. This makes this technique prone to failure. We haven’t even considered how long it can last, which is another weakness of this technique…”

Ji Yuan paused for a while, put away the yellow paper and other items, and walked back to the door. He looked outside and continued.

“But if the warrior is touching the ground, it cannot be so easily provoked. In any case, you cannot tell anyone about this, do you understand?”

Hu Yun looked at the warrior’s terrifying appearance, and thought to himself that Mr. Ji was absolutely right. He nodded in response.

“Understood!”

The red fox still dreamed of having a golden-armored warrior to show off his own power in the future, so he wouldn’t have said anything even without Mr. Ji’s instructions.

“Mr. Ji, can I use this technique? Do I need to be as powerful as you?”

“Do you want to refine the talisman, or use it? Haha, if you want to refining a talisman, don’t think about it right now. If you want to use one, you could use one with your essence and your vitality, but it would be a bit detrimental to your Qi.”

Ji Yuan had not really looked at this golden-armored warrior carefully. The yellow silk strips in front and behind him actually served another purpose: supporting his body and providing the option to bind him.

‘Overall, I’m quite satisfied. ’

However, if the paper figure were destroyed, then the golden-armored warrior would vanish as well. Ji Yuan thought that it would be good if he could cultivate this technique to the point of “increasing strength to the extreme, diminishing weakness to the extreme”2 in the future.

By combining countless paper movements into one, he could create a warrior and ultimately dissolve the talisman into the heavens and the earth, avoiding the issue of the talisman disappearing. In that way, it would become increasingly close to a true living Golden-Armored Warrior.

At this thought, Ji Yuan reached out his hand and waved it. The golden-armored warrior in the yard immediately dissipated and turned back into a yellow paper figure, flying back to Ji Yuan’s palm.

Seeing the paper man disappear into Ji Yuan’s sleeve, Hu Yun showed a strong look of envy.

“It’s getting dark, and it’s getting late. You should go back to the mountain early. Since Lu Shan Jun said he would bring you with him to the spring, it means he wants to help you. Go back early and prepare.”

Ji Yuan waved his hand and began ushering the fox out. It wasn’t that he didn’t want Hu Yun to stay here, but rather than he didn’t want the fox to return too hastily, with the concern that he might distract Lu Shan Jun.

“Oh…”

Hu Yun responded. He glanced across the room in the direction of where the yellow paper and scissors had been put away. After a moment’s hesitation, he left the yard.

“Then, Mr. Ji, I’ll take my leave. Um, that warrior’s talisman… can I borrow it for a few days?”

“No!”

“Oh……”

Hu Yun took a few steps out, looking back every now and again. Finally, he reached the gate, stood on tiptoe to pull the latch with his claws, opened the door, and walked out.

As soon as the red fox left, the courtyard suddenly seemed a lot quieter.

Hearing the sound of dogs barking slowly growing in intensity in the distance, Ji Yuan let out a chuckle. He walked into the yard to collect the ceramic bowl that Hu Yun had eaten honey from and left behind.

When he got to the kitchen, he sorted out the stove and firewood. There were still some eggs, a bunch of radishes, and a dried salted fish. In any case, it was New Year’s Eve, and he still hadn’t slept all night, so Ji Yuan decided to light the stove and cook something.

A bowl of scrambled eggs, a bowl of stewed salted fish with radish, and a small pot of rice tasted surprisingly good. He regretted not letting Hu Yun to try any of it.

That night, as the world bid farewell to the old year and welcomed the new, the Green Vine Sword joyfully soared into the sky, flying straight to Niu Kui Mountain. Amidst the roar of a tiger, it slashed off a small cloud of New Year Qi.

Born anew are all things in the New Year, so too is the origin of all things reborn.3

. . .

On the first day of the first lunar month, Ji Yuan heard the crackling of firecrackers all over Ning’an County from his bed. However, what truly roused him was the sound of footsteps approaching Ju’an Pavilion.

“Knock knock knock… knock knock knock…”

“Excuse me, is Mr. Ji home? The servants of the Wei family in Desheng Prefecture have been sent on orders of the Patriarch to greet you!”

Ji Yuan got dressed and went out of the house. A light snowfall had started overnight, and the landscape had been blanketed in a sea of white.

The two men outside stopped knocking and waited silently for the sound of movement in the courtyard.

“Squeak…”

Ji Yuan opened the courtyard gate and was met with the sight of two dusty men. Frost still clung to their beards and hair, their faces flushed from the cold. Any redder, and their skin would have been almost as red as that of his Golden Armored Warrior.

Braving the frigid wind, they had ridden four horses in shifts, galloping over two or three hundred li across the land. In less than a day and a night, they had reached Ning’an County.

“Greetings, Mr. Ji!”

Seeing Ji Yuan open the door, the two hurriedly bowed together in greeting.

“Patriarch Wei has come down the mountain? Come in and have some hot tea, let’s chat.”

Ji Yuan could tell that these two men were skilled in martial arts. However, they weren’t made of steel, and were nonetheless shivering.

The two of them did not refuse, entering the small pavilion and taking a look inside. There was a large jujube tree, still emerald green despite being covered in snow, a well covered with a stone slab, a stone table and four stone stools, and an ordinary house around the courtyard.

‘Is this where the reclusive master lives? ’

As they sat in the living room of the main house sipping hot tea, the two of them explained the current events in the Wei family in detail upon Ji Yuan’s inquiry.

“Oh, Yiyi and that child are there too? “4

“Exactly!”

The two warmed their hands with the teacups and took sips. The sweetness of the tea washed over them, and a warm current flowed from their stomachs to their whole bodies, gradually dispelling the chill they had gathered along the way.

They didn’t stay in Ju’an Pavilion for too long, and left after about a quarter of an hour.

Mr. Ji agreed to visit during the Lunar New Year, so the two men immediately had to depart and return as soon as possible to inform the Patriarch so that the latter could make preparations.

At the gate of the small pavilion, Ji Yuan watched the two riders leave. After pondering for a moment, he then turned and closed all the doors and windows of his house. Then, he leaped up into the air from the courtyard, riding on clouds across the sky as he headed for Desheng Prefecture.

Soon, Ji Yuan set foot on the streets of Desheng Prefecture’s capital, and strolled up to the outside of the Wei Family Mansion.

Coincidentally, Shang Yiyi, Guan He, and Wei Yuansheng all happened to be walking out, accompanied by servants holding long strings of firecrackers, clearly preparing to head out to set them off.

Even though they hadn’t seen Ji Yuan in many years, Wei Yuansheng, Shang Yiyi, and Guan He all recognized him the moment they laid eyes on him.

“Mr. Ji!”

“Mr. Ji is here!”

Wei Yuansheng quickly grabbed the firecrackers from the servants’ hands and told him:

“Hurry up and inform my father.”

“Yes!”

As soon as they left, Wei Yuansheng leapt from the gate onto the street.

“Come on, Mr. Ji, come quickly, let’s set off firecrackers together!”

Ji Yuan nodded towards the somewhat reserved Guan He and Shang Yiyi, then looked at Wei Yuansheng. In the few years he hadn’t seen him, this kid had laid a good foundation.

1. 黄 (huáng): yellow, 巾 (jīn): towel/general purpose cloth/women’s headcovering. In the manhua (chapter 156) it’s drawn as a kind of neckerchief and two scarf-like cloths on either hip.

2. 诞之以极，消之以虚 fun little couplet here, I used a more literal translation but you can still get the general gist

3. 万物新春，胎骨化生 A beautiful, concise couplet that I couldn’t to quite do justice to, but that’s the way of translating poetry I guess

4. T/n: LOL imagine meeting JY and being known as “that other kid”