Unsheathed

Wei Jin bought a flagon of wine from a wine shop on the side of the street, then poured some of the wine onto the palm of his hand. The white donkey beside him immediately lowered its head, eagerly lapping up the wine. Thankfully, all of the people here had witnessed all manners of things, so not only did no one bat an eyelid at the sight of the donkey drinking wine, they wouldn’t even have been surprised if it opened its mouth to speak.

Wei Jin started drinking the wine himself as he departed from the wine shop and embarked on an aimless stroll, while the donkey trotted along behind him.

Wei Jin had always regarded himself as a man of the people, and even after leaving the city that Divine Edict Sect was situated in, he still didn’t want to travel atop a flying sword. Instead, he drank until he was drunk, then sat on the donkey’s back, swaying unsteadily from side to side, allowing it to carry him wherever it pleased.

He passed through the same old scenery, and in the end, he arrived at the capital of Southern Stream Nation, where he lined up at the city gate just like everyone else, and only after submitting his entry pass was he granted entry into the city.

At this point, Wei Jin was still quite drunk, and it took him a while to recall that he had a friend in the city that he was rather fond of. Seven or eight years ago, the two of them had gone on a journey together, and Wei Jin recalled that the man had told him that he was the son of the master of a large sect by the name of Magnificent Sect.

Wei Jin also recalled that the man had scoffed at how uneducated his ancestors were for naming the sect something so uninspired. At the time, Wei Jin had consoled him by telling him that there was a huge immortal sect in the southern part of Eastern Treasured Vial Continent with an extensive history, and it was so powerful that it was virtually a nation in itself, but its founder had named it Invincible Divine Fist Sect, which was a truly unfortunate name.

Whenever there were gatherings of cultivators from different sects, all of the disciples of the sect would be so embarrassed that they would contemplate ending their own lives.

Wei Jin slowly made his way down the street, and he passed by a fortune-telling stall on the street. Behind the stall sat a young Daoist priest, and it was clearly a very slow day of business as he sprawled out over the table, lecturing a snotty kid who was holding a tanghulu in his hand. “This world is a terrible place, but that’s not a reason for you to regard those who are willing to treat others with kindness and do good for others at their own expense as idiots.”

The Daoist priest adopted a more stern tone as he continued, “If you think that, then you’re the real idiot, understood?”

The expressionless child sniffled, and the two streaks of snot that were trailing down from his nostrils were instantly sucked back, following which the child began licking at his tanghulu.

An agitated look appeared on the Daoist priest’s face as he scolded, “Quit focusing on that tanghulu! I’m trying to teach you something important!”

The child remained completely unmoved and cocked his head to the side as he continued to nibble at the tanghulu.

The young Daoist priest heaved a forlorn sigh. “There’s not an ounce of wisdom in your entire body, you little rascal. I was kind enough to tell you your fortune and determined that you and that little girl from your neighbor’s house are a perfect match, and I didn’t even charge you any copper coins! Is that not a great act of kindness?

“Don’t you know that kindness needs to be repaid? How much could a tanghulu possibly be worth? It’s nothing compared with a future wife!”

The boy had been staring expressionlessly at the Daoist priest this entire time, but he suddenly grinned as he scoffed, “I’m not falling for that!”

He then turned around and skipped away while raising his tanghulu joyfully above his head.

The young Daoist priest slammed a fist down onto his table as he wailed, “What has this world come to?”

An amused smile appeared on Wei Jin’s face as he passed by the fortune-telling stall, but he then suddenly stopped in his tracks, but he didn’t turn around. He thought back to the attire worn by the Daoist, and he was feeling a little hesitant about how to proceed.

The Daoist priest smiled as he said, “Our meeting was pre-ordained by fate, so why don’t you turn around to look at me?”

Wei Jin immediately departed with his donkey.

A despairing look appeared on the Daoist priest’s face as he sighed, “I can’t keep going like this for much longer. Why are all of the people of Southern Stream Nation so cunning and vigilant? Why can’t they be more pure and simple-minded?”

He sat back down on his stool in a huff of frustration, then interlaced his fingers behind the back of his head as he swayed his head back and forth, gazing up at the sun. The Daoist hat on his head was swaying with the movements of his head as he sighed to himself, “I’m so bored that I could die.”

A pretty young woman approached him in a timid manner, then mustered up some courage as she asked, “Can you tell my fortune in marriage?”

The young Daoist hurriedly sat up straight as he replied, “For sure! And I won’t charge you anything unless you get a good outcome!”

The young woman faltered slightly upon hearing this, then immediately turned to depart. It was clear that this was a scam, and she was convinced that the Daoist priest was some shameless fraudster. It then occurred to her that none of the Daoist priests in Southern Stream Nation were this shabby and impoverished, and internally reprimanded herself for trying to cut corners.

Her future marriage was an extremely important matter, so she should’ve been going to Screen Alley to find a real Daoist priest to tell her fortune instead of turning to this fraud just to save some money. While it was true that the Daoist priests on Screen Alley charged a little extra, at least they weren’t going to scam her.

That fraudster was actually quite a handsome man, so why couldn’t he stick to the straight and narrow? With that in mind, a glum look appeared on her face.

The young Daoist priest rubbed his own face vigorously with his hands as he sighed in a defeated manner, “I should just end it all here and now! When luck is on your side, heaven and earth conspire to elevate you to greater heights, but when luck turns against you, even the greatest of heroes will be brought down!”

In the end, the young Daoist priest sighed, “Even a gentleman like me can only take so much. Seeing as this place is so openly hostile to me, it appears I’ve overstayed my welcome.”

As he was grumbling to himself, he began to pack up his fortune-telling stall.

“Perhaps I’ll return here again someday.”

With yet another forlorn sigh, he shook his head as he rebuked himself. “Unlikely.”

————

On the southern border of the Great Li Empire, Chen Ping’an’s trio were walking through a valley while braving the wind and the snow.

Chen Ping’an was arduously performing his walking meditation, and as he did so, his breathing was becoming more and more labored.

With each breath that he took, he felt as if there were countless daggers being plunged into his skin, and his face was turning slightly purple.

The little girl in pink was still carrying Cui Chan’s bookcase on her back as she cautioned, “Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing, Master. I read from a book that sometimes, the more you strive after something, the more out of reach it will be. You’ve already been practicing your walking meditation far longer than normal.”

Chen Ping’an only shook his head in response, refraining from speaking so that he wouldn’t release the Qi that he had accumulated in his body.

The little boy in azure was intentionally lagging behind, and he called out, “Hey,

The little girl in pink turned to find him beckoning to her while also placing a finger over his own lips, warning her to be quiet.

She was going to ignore him, but the little boy in azure gave her a vicious glare, intimidating her into slowing down in her footsteps, and it didn’t take long before the two of them were walking side by side with one another.

The little boy in azure wore a dark expression as he walked along in silence.

The little girl in pink was also silent for a moment, then suggested, “Maybe you should apologize to Master.”

The little boy in azure was furious to hear this, but even so, he still made sure to keep his voice down as he raged, “Apologize?! A whole river’s worth of water must’ve gushed into that head of yours for you to come up with such a ridiculous suggestion!”

The little girl in pink was so frightened that she didn’t dare to say anything further.

After a brief moment of hesitation, the little boy in azure asked, “Do you think Master will hold a grudge against me?”

“He wouldn’t do that,” the little girl in pink replied with a shake of her head.

“Really?”

The little boy in azure was rather skeptical.

“Really!”

Initially, the little girl in pink was very confident, but her confidence then quickly began to falter as she concluded, “I think…”

The little boy in azure became even more furious, and his entire body was giving off an air of agitation. He wanted to adopt his true form and smash the cliffs on either side of the valley to bits, but in the end, he gritted his teeth and forced a stiff smile onto his face. “I’m going to kowtow and apologize to Master!”

“What?”

The little girl in pink was stunned to hear this.

Shortly thereafter, the little boy in azure returned to her side with a dejected expression.

“What happened?” the little girl in pink asked.

“Mind your own business!” the little boy in azure snapped with a furious expression.

He then sat down onto the ground with a sullen look on his face as he said, “I didn’t even dare to say anything! I don’t understand why I’m feeling like this. I’m so mad, but I can’t do anything!”

The little girl in pink cast her gaze toward Chen Ping’an, then turned her gaze back to the little boy in azure, and she crouched down as she said, “I think I have a good grasp on how Master feels. Do you want to hear what I think? If you don’t, then I won’t say anything, but if you do want to hear what I have to say, then you have to promise me that you won’t get mad, and you’re definitely not allowed to eat me!”

“Fine, fine, I promise, just tell me what you have to say,” the little boy in azure replied in a feeble manner.

A serious look appeared on the face of the little girl in pink as she said, “If your original intention was to educate that boy on the hardships of life and how cold the world can be, then you would’ve been doing the right thing, and perhaps Master would’ve even been willing to apologize to you.

“However, if you said those things to hurt him just because you think it’s fun to do so, then even if your actions ultimately led to the positive outcome, Master will still think that you didn’t do the right thing. This is just what I think his mindset is, and it may not be correct. I think the best way to find out what Master is thinking is by speaking to him yourself.”

The little boy in azure was dumbstruck for a moment, then replied, “Of course I did it because I felt like it was fun! What does it matter to me if that boy lives or dies?”

A resigned look appeared on the face of the little girl in pink as she said, “In that case, I can’t help you.”

“Do you think what I did was wrong?” the little boy in azure suddenly asked.

The little girl in pink opened her mouth to reply, but then decided to hold her tongue.

“Tell me the truth!” the little boy in azure insisted.

The little girl in pink swiveled around so that the bookcase on her back was facing Chen Ping’an, and she hid under the bookcase, as if doing so instilled her with a sense of reassurance. “I think that Master is definitely right, but at the same time, you don’t need to care so much about what he thinks. Master doesn’t really care if you care about what he thinks. If you can think like that, then everything will become very simple.”

The little boy in azure nodded with a contemplative expression as he prompted, “Keep going.”

The voice of the little girl in pink was progressively growing more quiet as she continued, “Besides, all of us are cultivating, and our cultivation bases are already far higher than Master’s. If you manage to make better and faster progress in your cultivation, then perhaps someday, Master will begin to think that he’s the one who was wrong.

“Master once told me that if he does something wrong, then we have to tell him directly. He doesn’t think that what he preaches is always correct, and that’s what I like most about Master!”

An elated look appeared on the face of the little girl in pink as she spoke.

The little boy in azure rolled his eyes in response. “I already told you that cultivation is a matter of talent, not hard work.”

“There you go again! No wonder Master doesn’t like you.”

The little girl in pink stood up and picked up the pace so that she could catch up to Chen Ping’an.

The little boy in azure extended a hand forward, quickly conjuring up a snowball that he stuffed into his own mouth before chewing down on it forcefully.

His internal conflict continued to rage on as he walked along.

He wanted to kill this dull and unyielding master of his so that he wouldn’t have to deal with him any longer, but at the same time, he also wanted to swallow his pride and apologize, but he simply couldn’t bring himself to do so.

All of a sudden, he was feeling really homesick, and he couldn’t help but turn back to face the way that they had come from.

There was no one that he could even vent his frustrations to here.

Back home, he could eat and drink to his heart’s content. He had friends by the dozens, and he was free to do whatever he wanted.

He never had to consider bothersome concepts like right and wrong, he didn’t have to listen to all of these bullshit principles of life, and he certainly didn’t have such a frustrating master.