Unsheathed

After strolling down River Viewing Street, they managed to purchase all of the necessities that they needed. Chen Ping’an was just about to leave, but A’Liang unexpectedly suggested that they take a boat and enjoy the night scenery on the Rushing Tranquil River. Few people were interested, and only Lin Shouyi nodded in agreement.

Chen Ping’an didn’t mind taking a look at this dangerous stretch of water after placing everything back in their rooms at the relay station. However, Li Baoping tugged his sleeve, and Chen Ping’an immediately understood her intention. He weighed the pouch of coins in his hand, and there were enough loose copper coins to buy some tanghulu.

Zhu Lu dragged her father away to visit some weapon shops. Meanwhile, Li Huai complained that he was hungry, so A’Liang told Cheng Sheng to take him back to Pillow Relay Station for a late-night snack.

Chen Ping’an and the others split up.

Lin Shouyi walked beside A’Liang, and he asked in a soft voice, “Senior, you said that Li Huai was the most fortunate. Is that seemingly new Severed Water Cliff book the most valuable?”

A’Liang nodded lightly and revealed, “It only looks new. In reality, however, it’s already been around for quite some years. The contents of the book aren’t worth anything though, and it’s just some random nonsense about water-element cultivation techniques. This is to purposely trick others. However, the material of the book is relatively valuable, and the book won’t be attacked by insects even after being placed somewhere for a few hundred years.”

A’Liang untied the small gourd from his waist and took a gulp of wine before continuing, “Also, if my eyes didn’t deceive me, a few silverfish have already taken residence in that book. Of course, you guys wouldn’t have been able to see them with your naked eyes. These silverfish are a type of mystical spirit, and they’re incredibly small insects that like to swim around words and characters like fish like to swim around corals.

“Silverfish feed on the essence and spirit contained within words, and after maturing, they’ll grow no thicker than the width of a hair. Numerous types of silverfish exist in the world, and the silverfish in Li Huai’s book can only be considered ordinary. However, if the book is sold to an official or noble who takes great interest in peculiar matters, I presume it will command at least 3000 taels of silver. In this sense, it was one of the most valuable books in that bookstore.”

Lin Shouyi was speechless with astonishment.

These were silverfish that couldn’t be seen, yet they could command a price of at least 3000 taels of silver? Perhaps money was the most worthless thing in the world beyond their hometown?

A’Liang saw through his thoughts, and he chuckled, “When you truly enter the path of cultivation in the future, you’ll understand that gold and silver are things that will flow like water. Even if you have mountains of them, you’ll find that you can spend it all with a single snap of your fingers. However, since it’s necessary to spend exorbitant amounts of gold and silver, this also reflects that such lowly matters are indeed quite valuable.”

Lin Shouyi nodded in understanding.

A’Liang smiled and said, “If it were Chen Ping’an, he might not understand such a principle.”

Lin Shouyi shook his head and replied, “Since this relates to money, I’m sure that he’ll definitely understand it.”

A’Liang roared with laughter. He arrived at the bustling banks of the river with Lin Shouyi, and the young boy was slightly feeling slightly uncomfortable — he had already grown accustomed to the peaceful and cool night of his hometown. This was especially the case each time he took a breath and inhaled the fragrance of perfumes and powders. These smells had seemed fragrant in the beginning, yet after smelling them for a while, he couldn’t help but find them a little nauseating.

After exiting the alley and arriving at the banks, their field of view immediately opened up. Bluestone slabs lined the two sides of the river, and the pleasant chatter and silvery laughs of young women traveled through the air. Many beautiful women were leaning against the rails of the tall buildings, showing off their pale white and supple arms. Most of them were wearing bright red or bright green dresses, and under the illumination of the hanging lanterns, these young women appeared even more charming and seductive.

Decorated boats of all shapes and sizes gently flowed down the river. Bamboo curtains were lowered over the cabins, and most of the decorated boats had a young woman sitting on each end of the boat. In addition to them, there was also a young woman to row the boat.

In contrast to the seductive women who were openly soliciting business from the balconies of the tall buildings, the young women on the decorated boats appeared more refined and gentle, even though they were also dressed in a revealing manner.

Those who were younger appeared much like the friendly girl from next door, while those who were older appeared like the noble daughters of influential clans. From time to time, the women in the tall buildings would ridicule and taunt the boat hostesses who were competing with them for business, even going as far as to throw fruit and vegetable scraps at them. However, the boat hostesses were already accustomed to this, and most of them didn’t pay any heed to these vulgar acts. Unless they were hit, they rarely ever glowered back and argued with these women.

When conflict did inevitably occur between the women, however, they would definitely draw shouts of encouragement from the spectating men who reveled in the chaos.

Lin Shouyi felt tense and uneasy, and he asked, “Senior A’Liang, didn’t you say we were going to boat down Rushing Tranquil River to enjoy the night scenery?”

“Since this is the meeting point of three rivers, this section of the river can naturally be regarded as part of Rushing Tranquil River as well,” A’Liang replied in a deliberately dishonest manner.

Lin Shouyi was rendered speechless.

A’Liang squatted down on the bank of the river and gazed at the decorated boats that slowly drifted past. Each time a boat hostess made eyes at him or greeted him in a mellow voice, he would lift his small gourd and silently gulp down a mouthful of wine, muttering to himself in a quiet voice.

Lin Shouyi squatted beside him and pricked his ears to listen to what A’Liang was muttering. He could vaguely make out some mentions of “keep myself as pure as jade”, “I’m a gentleman”, “charming beauties make men fall”, and so on. Lin Shouyi held in a laugh. As it turned out, Senior A’Liang was faring no better than him…?

A’Liang turned his head a little to look at a decorated boat nearby. An ordinary-looking woman was sitting at the front of the boat, and she was boldly looking around. She didn’t look like she was selling her services, and she instead looked like a noblewoman who was sightseeing on the river. Meanwhile, the teenage girl who was standing behind her and rowing the boat appeared delicate and charming.

A’Liang stood up and waited for the decorated boat to pass by. When it approached them, he suddenly took out a dazzling gold ingot and asked, “Is this enough?”

The woman wore a gentle smile, but she neither nodded nor shook her head. The teenage girl was stunned, and she felt a strong urge to accept this offer for the woman.

The woman’s gaze bypassed A’Liang and landed on the young boy behind him. She pointed at him and said, “This young master can board the boat alone.”

A’Liang hurriedly put the gold ingot away and exclaimed, “This brat is a piss poor! He’s got no money! He’s absolutely penniless!”

“I can let him board for free,” the woman said in a gentle voice.

The teenage girl looked in the direction that the woman was pointing, and what she saw was a young boy whose face was bright red with embarrassment. His lips were full and his teeth were sparkling, and his demeanor was one of grace and sophistication. A shy smile spread across her face.

The pitiful man in the bamboo hat was cast aside even though he was offering a huge sum of money. His face was filled with incredulity. Was this woman blind? Or were her standards that high? She was refusing a man in his prime as handsome and dashing as him? And she was instead interested in the stick-thin Lin Shouyi? If he followed this logic, then wouldn’t she be offering them taels of silver instead if he dragged Chen Ping’an over?

“How upsetting…” A’Liang murmured.

The woman smiled as she looked at Lin Shouyi. For some reason, there was an aura of charm and seductiveness exuding from this ordinary-looking woman. “You’re not going to board?” she asked.

Lin Shouyi shook his head in reply.

A’Liang sat on the stairs and downed a mouthful of wine in sorrow. “Brat, hurry up and board the boat. The worst thing that can happen is that you won’t be able to drink from my gourd anymore. What wine in the world can beat flower wine[1]? You mustn’t let this opportunity slip away.”

Lin Shouyi remained unmoving. However, he rolled his eyes at the back of the man.

The decorated boat had no option but to keep moving forward — they were being urged to move on by the boat hostesses behind them.

The woman looked back and flashed a smile at the young boy.

Lin Shouyi was unfazed, and his expression remained cold as he locked eyes with her.

Decorated boats continued to sail by, and voluptuous women, slender women, and boat hostesses of all body types drifted past them like a moving painting of beautiful women.

“A’Liang, were you especially waiting for her?” Lin Shouyi asked softly.

A’Liang fixed his bamboo hat before shaking his head and replying with a smile, “No, it was just on a whim. I simply wanted to see how far and wide this fishing net has been cast.”

The young scholar sat down beside him and boldly gazed at the beautiful women.

A little child with a basket ran up and down the bluestone path next to the river, loudly peddling his plum blossoms as he ran from one place to another.

————

Zhu Lu wanted to buy a dagger for herself. She wanted a sharp one, but more importantly, she hoped that she could find one that looked good. Unexpectedly, however, the weapon shop had already closed for the day. The young girl could only stand there in silence and frustration.

“We’ll come again tomorrow,” Zhu He said, trying to comfort her.

Zhu Lu leaned against a hitching post and looked up at the night sky.

“Something on your mind?” Zhu He asked softly.

Zhu Lu shook her head.

“During the last leg of our journey through Go Table Mountain, Young Mistress especially asked to take a forest turtle with you. Did she have something to say to you?” Zhu He asked carefully.

“Mhm, she told me to be more respectful to the others,” Zhu Lu replied in low spirits.

Zhu He breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, “Young Mistress isn’t wrong. Harmony brings wealth, especially when traveling away from home.”

“So be it if I have to be respectful to A’Liang. After all, he’s a member of Wind Snow Temple,” Zhu Lu grumbled in a low voice. “Even though he looks nothing like the immortals of my imagination, an immortal is an immortal, after all. I can tolerate him no matter how detestable he is. However, just who do Lin Shouyi and Li Huai think they are? Just because they’ve been classmates with Young Mistress for a few years, they’re acting as if we’re all close friends? One is the son of a lowly maidservant, and one is the son of a good-for-nothing man. What right do they have to stand on equal footing with Young Mistress? Especially that…”

Seeing that she was unwilling to continue, Zhu He offered, “Chen Ping’an?”

Zhu Lu pursed her lips.

Zhu He sighed and continued, “There are no outsiders here, so what I’m about to say might be a bit grating to the ear…”

The young girl’s face suddenly lit up, and she cut her father off and said, “Father, Young Master especially jotted some notes down for me at the end of his letter to Young Mistress. Young Master’s semi-cursive script and regular script[2] are getting better and better by the day. In any case, he wrote about how he personally hunted down a group of horse thieves with others, and he described the ups and downs during this chase. He said he became acquainted with the eldest son of a meritorious general from the Chen Clan, and he also described the scene of beacon towers being lit to signify everything was fine.

“He described how there are all kinds of peculiar and wonderful things in the capital, and there were actually people riding pythons and celestial cranes as they wandered through the streets! However, the people in the capital were already used to this. Young Master also said that there are two living door gods at the southern gate of the city, and it’s rumored that they were gifts from a Daoist Sect when the Great Li Empire was first founded. They’re a whopping 15 meters in height! Father, doesn’t this sound like fun?”

“Refer to him as Second Young Master! You need to be more careful,” Zhu He said in exasperation.

Zhu Lu smiled brightly and retorted, “Young Master isn’t here, and he wouldn’t care with his simple and honest personality anyway. He wouldn’t get angry even if he heard it.”

“Don’t be so disrespectful!” Zhu He scolded.

Zhu Lu looked down, with her lashes trembling slightly.

“Young Master… Ahem, Second Young Master once told us servants that those who are fated for a good life will enjoy good fortune even if they lie down and do nothing. However, those who are fated for a bad life have simply come to this world to endure hardship and suffering. Li Huai is fated for a good life, and so is Lin Shouyi. By becoming disciples of Mountain Cliff Academy, it’s extremely likely that they’ll become renowned and influential people in the future. Even if things don’t turn out well, they’ll at least still become filthy rich nobles.”

The young girl looked up and continued, “As for Chen Ping’an… His life isn’t too bad either. At the very least, he doesn’t have to refer to others as young mistress or young master.”

Zhu He was slightly afraid to catch his daughter’s gaze.

They were “generational servants”, generational because they were servants from birth.

Zhu He wanted to speak, but he didn’t know how to respond.

There was a firm look in Zhu Lu’s eyes as she continued, “Father, it’s fine. Second Young Master said that once we arrive in the capital, there’ll be a million ways for us to break free from our lowly status. Moreover, the front-line army of the Great Li Empire is willing to recruit female martial artists. If I make outstanding contributions, perhaps I’ll even receive an honorary title conferred by imperial mandate!”

Zhu He looked at his daughter who seemed a little unfamiliar at this moment. She was glowing with eagerness and positivity, and this made him feel relieved and satisfied. He nodded and concurred, “We’ll both join the army together then. That way, we can also look out for each other. Now that Second Young Master has settled nicely in the capital, we should ask him to find us a nicer army unit to join — one that doesn’t face too many harsh challenges and is easy to make contributions in.

“In any case, we can’t bring shame to Dragon Spring County’s Li Clan before we break free from our shackles as lowly servants. Even when we gain freedom in the future, we still have to remain grateful to the Li Clan…”

The young girl smiled and quickly walked over to loop her arm around her father’s. She pulled him back to Pillow Relay Station and teased, “Alright, I got it. Father, since when did you become such a chatterbox?”

Zhu He patted his daughter’s head. He hesitated for a brief moment before eventually deciding to say, “When you get the chance, you should go and apologize to Chen Ping’an. Regardless of your intention during the battle in Go Table Mountain, the truth of the matter is that you did something wrong. Since you did something wrong, then it’s only natural that you should apologize and make up for your mistake.”

Zhu Lu fell silent. However, perhaps it was because she was in a good mood tonight, she smiled brilliantly and replied, “Okay!”

————

There were two temples in Red Candle Town, and this was in line with the Great Li Empire’s etiquette. There was a Wenchang pavilion and a martial sage temple, and both were fairly grand in scale. The former honored an official holding a ritual baton, while the latter honored a general in armor with one foot stepping on a leopard cat.

The two temples were located in the south of Red Candle Town, and they were only a short 500 meters away from each other.

Deep into the night, the two statues shook at almost the exact same moment, shedding the layer of dust from their bodies. Rings of golden light started to radiate from them.

At the same time, the golden clay statues in the temples by the Embroidered Flower River and the Fine Wine River also experienced a similar situation.

In the Go Table Mountain Ranges to the north of Red Candle Town, a bare-chested man held a flagon of wine in his hands. Three more wine jars were hanging by his waist. Even though he reeked of alcohol and could barely walk in a straight line, each step he took would still cover a surprising 15 meters. It was as if he were walking on flat ground as he traversed the mountain range. He quickly arrived at the peak of Go Table Mountain, and he burped loudly before forcefully stomping on the ground.

The mountain lord Wei Bo appeared nearby.

The man glanced at the handsome young man who was holding a green bamboo cane, and he chuckled, “Congratulations! How delightful! You’ve finally managed to break free from the restriction and recover your true body. In fact, there’s even a chance for you to become a mountain god. By the looks of it, you’ve encountered a supreme fated opportunity.”

“Get to the point,” Wei Bo said with a somber expression.

The man wiped his mouth and asked directly, “That swordsman called A’Liang… How powerful is he?”

Wei Bo fell silent.

“This matter is of utmost importance and I’m not in the mood to dilly-dally with you. I more so don’t have the time,” the man said calmly. “If you don’t want to speak, then I’ll shatter your body and not even give you the opportunity to recover.”

“Before answering your question, can you tell me why you’re asking this?” Wei Bo asked.

The man nodded and replied, “He killed two top-notch warriors of the Great Li Empire — Li Hou who was at the seventh tier of martial arts, and Hu Yinglin who was at the eighth tier of cultivation. They were both first-rate elites from Her Majesty’s Bamboo Leaf Pavilion. His Majesty was extremely displeased when he learned of this, and he felt like this person broke the rules first. Thus, the Great Li Empire wants to get an explanation from him.”

A glum expression fell across Wei Bo’s face.

The man smiled coldly and continued in a baleful voice, “I encourage you to stay out of this. It’s best if you can completely remove yourself from this matter. Otherwise, you might be tossed into the Rushing Tranquil River to take a bath again. However, I can guarantee you that no one will be willing to risk the disintegration of their body and soul to collect the shards of your body from the bottom of the river again. No one will put your statue back together piece by piece and bring you back to Go Table Mountain. What do you say, the northern mountain’s formal god of the Divine Water Nation?”

Wei Bo gave a mournful smile.

1. Drinking flower wine refers to drinking in the company of a prostitute. ☜

2. These scripts refer to styles of writing Chinese characters. ☜