Unsheathed

Chen Ping’an, Xu Yuanxia, and Zhang Shanfeng were persuaded to stay in the prefectural office for three days.

After experiencing the recent calamities, it was as if Liu Gaohua had become a completely different person. He was no longer resigned like before, and would often look for his father to ask questions and learn. They would discuss morals and etiquette, and they would also discuss methods of bringing peace and prosperity.

However, Prefectural Overseer Liu was still lukewarm toward his son. Even so, Liu Gaohua would no longer feel afraid or uneasy when he saw an expression of impatience on his father’s face. He would no longer walk away in fear. In any case, he had annoyed Prefectural Overseer Liu to no end these past two days.

More of the time, however, Liu Gaohua would stick together with the big-bearded martial artist and Daoist Priest Zhang Shanfeng. Apart from this, he would also keep a wary eye on the impoverished scholar, Liu Chicheng, as if he were guarding against a thief. He didn’t mind this impoverished scholar from White Mountain Nation getting married to his sister, but he definitely wouldn’t allow him to get his way with her before he took her out of her house in the wedding sedan carried by eight people.

Since they were all friends who had experienced calamities together, Liu Gaohua no longer tried to hide too many things from Chen Ping’an and the others. He privately told them about some matters pertaining to the cultivation world and imperial courts of Colorful Garment Nation.

Even though the demonic cultivators who had brought calamity upon Blusher Prefecture had already fled or been killed, the casualties and damage that they had inflicted upon the prefectural city were still causing massive ripples. Everyone was jittery, and many wealthy families were secretly preparing to leave the prefectural city and settle down in other provincial cities.

In fact, even the wealthy families in the capital of Colorful Garment Nation were reconsidering their position. Even if they didn’t move away, they still had to avoid putting all of their eggs into one basket. After all, this was common sense to begin with.

According to rumors, low-ranked officials from the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of War had already left the capital and were slowly traveling south toward Blusher Prefecture after the imperial court of Colorful Garment Nation received news of the situation. It was said that they were traveling over to investigate the incident and reassure the residents.

However, Prefectural Overseer Liu had already been in the officialdom for half his life, so he knew that this was nothing more than a meaningless gesture from the emperor in the capital. They didn’t need to dream about receiving funds from the Ministry of Revenue to deal with the aftermath, not even a single tael of silver.

Blusher Prefecture was a mess right now, and there was little money left in the prefectural treasury to deal with the situation. Moreover, Prefectural Overseer Liu wasn’t the type of corrupt and extortionate who would heartlessly grab money from his residents.

In the end, he had to shamelessly ask the wealthy clans in the prefectural city for money. Rather than giving them any material benefit, he could only offer them words of praise in the Local County Chronicles or engraved stone tablets for future generations to admire. Moreover, he had to deal with this matter before the officials from the two ministries arrived in the prefectural city.

He definitely couldn’t offend the emperor, and couldn’t cause extra trouble for the officials from the Ministry of Revenue, who were already under a lot of pressure. Only by avoiding these things could he keep his position as prefectural overseer.

There were ups and downs in life, and this was the same in the imperial court, the business world, and also the cultivation world. The downs of some people might also lead to the ups of some other people.

For example, Chen Ping’an and his companions’ decision to help the prefectural city. Regardless of whether they had acted out of righteousness or compassion, they were finally able to reap positive rewards from their positive actions. After going over their spoils, Xu Yuanxia and Zhang Shanfeng found that they had surprisingly made a huge profit.

Xu Yuanxia had obtained a new powerful weapon, a short saber left behind by Old Demon Mi’s eldest disciple. The previous owner of this short saber had been a demonic cultivator, but the saber qi of this weapon was unexpectedly bright and dazzling after it was drawn from its scabbard. It didn’t appear sinister at all.

Not only that, but the armored general had also developed a strong relationship with the big-bearded martial artist after fighting alongside him. He had purposely reported a top-notch bow and five Mohist arrows from the prefectural storage as lost and had secretly given them to Xu Yuanxia.

Xu Yuanxia had initially refused to accept them. Military law was paramount, and regardless of what things were like in the other regions of Colorful Garment Nation, it was very likely that General Ma adhered to this principle judging from his manner of leading his soldiers.

After learning of Xu Yuanxia’s concerns, the lieutenant general had roared with laughter. Since he appreciated the big-bearded martial artist’s temperament, the lieutenant general had revealed a small secret and said it was approved by General Ma.

In the beginning, he had only dared to ask for a single arrow. However, after General Ma informed Prefectural Overseer Liu about this, the prefectural overseer had waved his hand and directly modified his report to the Ministry of War, changing the number of used arrows from sixteen to twenty-one.

Zhang Shanfeng had obtained two spirit tools that were in bad condition. One was a severely damaged wine cup made of white jade as thin as paper. It could automatically absorb spiritual energy from heaven and earth, and it could eventually form a dewdrop that was filled with spiritual energy every five days. Zhang Shanfeng had accidentally chipped the wine cup while placing it into his luggage, and this would most likely affect the spiritual energy accumulation speed of the spirit tool.

There was also a pair of legendary chopsticks from Azure Divine Mountain. One chopstick was engraved with the characters “Azure Divine Mountain,” and the other chopstick was engraved with the characters “divine cloud bamboo.” Just by looking at them, one could see that these chopsticks had quite some history. As for whether they were genuinely made from divine cloud bamboo from Azure Divine Mountain, this was anyone’s guess right now. However, the chopsticks were indeed brimming with spiritual energy.

In any case, these were the spirit tools that Qi refiners at the Lower Five Tiers dreamed of!

Chen Ping’an didn’t take out the azure wooden box and the golden and silver shards of the city god’s gold statue. These pertained to significant matters, and they could lead to both great fortune and great misfortune. These treasures weren’t like the mountain turtles or snake eagles in his hometown. They weren’t things that he could hunt down and share with friends like Liu Xianyang. Thus, Chen Ping’an only showed them the piece of burnt ebony and the white bowl with the painting of the Five Mountains.

Xu Yuanxia didn’t notice anything special about the white bowl, but he clicked his tongue in wonder when he saw the hefty piece of ebony. He said that this was lightning-struck wood, and it wasn’t a type of wood that could be simply produced by lightning striking trees. Instead, the bolt of lightning had to be one of the five types of lightning that possessed heavenly might, and the struck tree also had to survive the encounter, because dead wood couldn’t contain such kinds of mystical lightning aura and heavenly might. Xu Yuanxia weighed the piece of burnt ebony in his hand and chuckled, “Chen Ping’an, do you believe me when I say that an Agrarian cultivator can transform this piece of ebony into a small sapling full of vitality if you give it to them?”

Chen Ping’an immediately understood what he meant.

This was a very valuable item!

The prefectural office symbolically rewarded them with five hundred taels of silver. This was a gesture of respect toward the righteous cultivators, and it was also a manner of thanking them for their hard work.

The big-bearded martial artist was unwilling to accept this, and Daoist Priest Zhang Shanfeng was also unwilling to accept this. However, Chen Ping’an chose to accept the silver. Because of this, Zhang Shanfeng even teased him and called him a true miser. Chen Ping’an simply smiled in reply.

The little boy from the Zhao Clan residence was called Zhao Shuxia, while the little girl whom he had tried to protect was called Luanluan. Their misfortunes had been a blessing in disguise, and they had both broken free from the shackles of their lowly status now. They became students of the old man called Mr. Fisherman, and Luanluan had even become a direct disciple of the old man.

When Chen Ping’an practiced walking meditation in the courtyard each morning, Zhao Shuxia would squat beside the courtyard door and watch him with his cheeks in his hands.

Chen Ping’an turned a blind eye to this.

What he was doing were stances from the Mountain Shaking Guide, and he had never viewed the manual as his property. That meant he couldn’t carelessly teach these fist techniques to others, but at the same time, he didn’t view Zhao Shuxia’s act of “stealing techniques” as a bad thing.

This little boy was extremely kind-hearted.

Thus, Chen Ping’an purposely performed the six stances of walking meditation slower than normal. He performed them again and again.

On his final day in the prefectural office, the sun shone bright above his head. Summer had arrived, and all matters had fully ripened.

When it was nighttime, Chen Ping’an said to the little boy, “Zhao Shuxia, can you earnestly practice these fist stances a mil—uh, I mean, a hundred thousand times?

The little boy nodded vigorously.

“You shouldn’t pursue speed, only stability,” Chen Ping’an warned. “Moreover, you can’t make any mistake when you perform the six stances. Only after going through the six stances without error can it be considered as a single punch. You should reach a hundred thousand punches in three to five years. Remember, you have to start over if you make any mistake. You can’t be careless about this.”

Either Chen Ping’an wouldn’t speak, or he would be extremely pedantic and fussy. The little boy in azure and the little girl in pink in Downtrodden Mountain were most familiar with this.

Chen Ping’an carefully thought for a moment before continuing, “Practicing fist techniques is a… very dumb process. Zhao Shuxia, you can be a smart person — of course, you are indeed much smarter than me — but you should know that the dumber, the better when you practice fist techniques. Do you understand?”

There was a determined look in the little boy’s eyes as he clenched his fists and replied, “I understand! Only by enduring the greatest hardships can I rise above all others!”

The innately intelligent little boy genuinely understood this principle.

Chen Ping’an was very amused, and he asked, “What do you want to do after rising above all others?”

“I’m going to buy a lot of warm winter clothes for Luanluan!” Zhao Shuxia replied without hesitation.

“Then what about yourself?” Chen Ping’an asked.

The little boy wiped his mouth and replied with starry eyes, “I’m going to eat full meals every day!”

The smile disappeared from Chen Ping’an’s face. He frowned slightly and asked, “That’s all?”

The little boy was from an impoverished and lowly background, so he was naturally skilled at reading people’s expressions. He was slightly troubled upon seeing Chen Ping’an’s frown, and he was afraid that his benefactor would view him as unambitious. However, he genuinely had no other thoughts at this moment, and he was ultimately unwilling to lie to Chen Ping’an. In the end, he could only hang his head and say in remorse, “That’s all.”

“How is eating full meals enough?”

Chen Ping’an had purposely put on a stern expression just then, but it softened considerably at this moment as he rubbed the little boy’s head. “You also need to have meat with every meal!” he said in amusement.

Zhao Shuxia instantly chuckled like a fool.

Zhang Shanfeng, Liu Gaohua, and Liu Chicheng were squatting in a row on the corridor bench.

Luanluan was sitting in the lap of Liu Gaohua’s older sister, and they were slightly further away from the three men.

Everyone smiled in amusement upon seeing Chen Ping’an’s interaction with Zhao Shuxia.

They had faced many challenges during their time together, and this was a rare case of a peaceful encounter and a peaceful farewell.

At noon the next day, Liu Chicheng left the prefectural city with Chen Ping’an and the others. Liu Gaohua and his older sister, Zhao Shuxia and Luanluan, as well as the old scholar Mr. Fisherman all went to see them off. They saw them off all the way to a resting station three kilometers from the city. There were gentle willows[1] near the resting station.

Liu Chicheng and Miss Liu reluctantly farewelled under the shade of the willow tree. Nobody knew what Liu Chicheng had told her, but there was a hint of a smile on the woman’s face even though she was extremely sad. There was clearly a strong sense of emotion and anticipation in her eyes.

Chen Ping’an walked over to Mr. Fisherman and handed him the paper notes worth five hundred taels of silver. He also gave him a gold paper talisman. He said that these were presents to the master on behalf of Zhao Shuxia and Luanluan, and he hoped that Mr. Fisherman could accept them.

The old man was a direct person, and he accepted the gift without any hesitation. He smiled and told Chen Ping’an to be at ease. He promised that he would definitely treat Zhao Shuxia and Luanluan as if they were his own children. He definitely wouldn’t let them suffer. In the end, Chen Ping’an cupped his fists and said, “Mr. Fisherman, your moral integrity is even higher than mountains and longer than rivers!”

These were words of sincere praise from the bottom of Chen Ping’an’s heart.

As such, it wasn’t difficult or embarrassing for Chen Ping’an to give such sophisticated praise for the first time.

The old man held the hands of the two little children as he watched the four people leave. He chuckled softly and said, “He possesses both an immortal air and a chivalrous aura. He’s a true talent of a nation.”

Liu Gaohua lightly nudged his older sister’s elbow and asked with a smile, “Sister, what magic potion did Liu Chicheng feed you? He was actually able to stop you from crying?”

The woman smiled faintly and replied, “Liu Chicheng said that he’ll definitely come back to marry me once he achieves great success. At that time, he’ll definitely have a hearty conversation with his father-in-law and convince Father that he’s a virtuous son-in-law.”

Liu Gaohua grimaced and said, “You seriously believe the empty promises of scholars?”

His older sister held her hands to her heart and gazed at the back of the scholar who had a willow wreath on his head. She was seemingly in a trance as she murmured, “The novels are all like this.”

Liu Gaohua felt slightly exasperated, and lamented, “How old is he? Yet, he’s still wearing a willow wreath on his head without any sense of shame? How can an impoverished scholar like him achieve great success?”

His older sister stomped on his foot, fuming. “You’re not allowed to talk about your brother-in-law like this.”

Liu Gaohua hurriedly retracted his foot in pain. He stood further away from his older sister, and he wrapped his hands behind his head in a carefree manner.

However, a loud slap echoed as a hand made contact with his head.

Liu Gaohua turned around and was just about to let loose a torrent of abuse. However, when he saw who had struck him, he felt as if a strong hand were clutching his throat. He couldn’t speak no matter what. His face became red with exertion, and he eventually called out, “Father…”

His older sister was even more worried and tense.

Prefectural Overseer Liu had changed his official garb for the azure robes of scholars. He stood between his son and daughter and asked, “You’re friends with Chen Ping’an?”

Liu Gaohua was unable to determine his father’s mood and hidden intention at this moment, so he carefully replied, “I guess so?”

Prefectural Overseer Liu glanced at his son and chuckled coldly. He didn’t say anything else, and he turned around and walked over to Mr. Fisherman. He started to discuss morality and virtue with the old man.

Miss Liu secretly patted her chest. It was as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

“Sister, did I say something wrong again?” Liu Gaohua asked softly.

She was amused at his misfortune, and she replied, “You’ve been wrong so many times that it doesn’t matter anymore. This is the situation right now. What are you afraid of?”

Liu Gaohua sighed in grief.

The two of them didn’t dare to follow their father, lest he roll his eyes at them again. They were even more afraid of being scolded by him. Thus, they followed him from a suitable distance.

Zhao Shuxia suddenly slowed down and walked next to Liu Gaohua. He looked up and quietly said, “Big Brother Liu, my master praised you as a good person, saying that you’re good-natured and have a sense of filial piety. Your father was very modest about this, and he said that you’re just passable enough to not bring shame to the family.”

Liu Gaohua had just questioned Liu Chicheng’s ability to achieve great success, yet he was met with these remarks so soon after that. He hurriedly ran to the river, saying that he needed to wash his face.

The group of people were able to enjoy a rare moment of peace and relaxation as they slowly walked back to the prefectural city along the official road. They brushed past a handsome young boy as they did so.

There was a handful of willow branches in the young boy’s hand, and there was also a red mark on his forehead.

He was truly very beautiful.

————

Three days later, Chen Ping’an and his three companions settled down in an old and rundown temple for the night. This temple was located on a secluded mountain path leading to Water Combing Nation.

Prefectural Overseer Liu had told them about it, saying that he had heard about a strange ferry station on Water Combing Nation’s Earth Dragon Mountain that wasn’t mentioned in the official records. It was extremely likely that this was the place Chen Ping’an was looking for. Perhaps this was the ferry station where immortals from the mountains went to catch ships that sailed across the sea of clouds.

When they arrived at that ferry station, Xu Yuanxia would bid Chen Ping’an and Zhang Shanfeng farewell and head to Azure Phoenix Nation in the southeast of Eastern Treasured Vial Continent by himself. He would bring his friend’s ashes back to his hometown.

Xu Yuanxia liked to travel around the world on foot, and he also liked to write travel journals to record his adventures. He liked to record the strange and dangerous natural sceneries that he came across. Because of this, he was always unwilling to take transcontinental ships from the ferry stations.

Meanwhile, Liu Chicheng’s destination was someplace in the southwest of Eastern Treasured Vial Continent. It was a place that none of the others had heard of before. In fact, even the knowledgeable and well-traveled Xu Yuanxia had never heard of this place before.

The abandoned temple was quite creepy at night. The statues of the Four Heavenly Kings had already collapsed to the ground, and the Buddhist temple was also very large and spacious, allowing gusts of eerie wind to freely blow through. The hoots of night owls would occasionally echo through the surrounding forest without warning as well. Liu Chicheng was so frightened that even his lips were trembling.

Even though they were sitting around a campfire, Liu Chicheng still shuffled as close to the big-bearded martial artist as he could. He felt like Xu Yuanxia was the most fearsome-looking of them all, so he would definitely be able to suppress any ghosts and yin entities in the surroundings. He most likely couldn’t rely on youngsters like Chen Ping’an and Zhang Shanfeng.

As for the “old ghost with makeup” living inside his body, Liu Chicheng had never viewed him as very powerful. He wasn’t even at the Golden Core Tier, and he could only hide inside his body and boast about his abilities. If he were truly powerful, then how could he have been suppressed and locked up for so many years? How would he have needed Liu Chicheng’s help to escape? With this in mind, just how powerful could he truly be?

After all, which genuine immortal didn’t possess a divine and ethereal aura? Who the fuck would wear a pink robe to stroll around the city? In any case, even Liu Chicheng felt embarrassed for him.

The demon whom Liu Chicheng had given the nickname “old ghost with makeup” was well aware of his host’s encounters and experiences.

However, Liu Chicheng would lose portions of his memory whenever the old demon took over his body and put on the pink Daoist robes. He would only remember the events before and after he was possessed.

This caused Liu Chicheng to feel extremely angry. When he married a breathtakingly beautiful wife in the future, and took in jade-like mistresses and shapely maidservants, what would he do if he suddenly passed out right after climbing into bed with them? He would lose all senses and memories, and it would already be morning when he opened his eyes again. Not only that, but he would also be fully dressed and out of bed. Just how shitty would that be? Most importantly, who could he complain to? Who would understand his unique distress?

Liu Chicheng was squatting with his bottom high in the air as he reached forward to warm his hands over the campfire. His face was filled with anxiousness. He was genuinely worried about his situation.

The old temple was shrouded in the darkness of night, and Liu Chicheng became increasingly afraid as he looked to his left and right. Fortunately, Xu Yuanxia was still drinking next to him, and Daoist Priest Zhang Shanfeng was still practicing swordsmanship with his peach wood sword nearby. This caused Liu Chicheng to feel slightly at ease.

Meanwhile, Chen Ping’an had ventured further away to search for firewood and dead branches to start another fire to cook. Liu Chicheng was truly impressed by this young boy. He was completely fearless, and extremely simple-minded as well. He would practice the same two fist techniques again and again, day after day. Nothing would stop him from doing so. Liu Chicheng felt like he would have already become an excellent scholar of Lake View Academy if he had studied half as hard as Chen Ping’an was practicing his fist techniques.

It wasn’t long before Liu Chicheng saw Chen Ping’an jogging back. Apart from a large bundle of dry branches in his arms, there was also an old-looking item around four or five feet long in his hands. Chen Ping’an asked the others what it was and whether it was worth any money.

Liu Chicheng rolled his eyes and scoffed, “It’s just a tall lamp stand to put your oil lamp on. Poor families can only afford short lamp stands, and they wouldn’t be so fussy about these kinds of things anyway.

“According to some unofficial history books, a Buddhist temple called the Forest Temple was once the wealthiest temple among many empires in Eastern Treasured Vial Continent. In fact, this temple was even wealthier than the emperor. Was this not an act of rebellion? Because of that, there were several movements to destroy Buddhism. If the lamp stand in your hand was brand new, then it might have been worth some money indeed. However, it’s nothing but a pile of scrap metal now. It’s barely worth a few copper coins.”

Chen Ping’an felt a slight sense of pity. After putting the bundle of dry branches down, he hurriedly ran away to return the tall lamp stand to its original spot.

Liu Chicheng rubbed his forehead. He felt like it was fairly embarrassing to travel around the world with a hillbilly like Chen Ping’an.

After Chen Ping’an finished cooking, Liu Chicheng picked and chose his food during dinner. He then lay down some blankets and prepared to sleep.

The big-bearded martial artist lay down and immediately fell asleep after drinking to his heart’s content. His snores were like rumbling thunder.

Zhang Shanfeng was responsible for lookout duty for the first half of the night, and Chen Ping’an was responsible for the second half.

Chen Ping’an walked around to gather and tidy up the damaged statues of the Bodhisattvas and Heavenly Kings first. He then moved them to corners where they wouldn’t be lashed by the wind and rain. After finishing this, he started to practice walking meditation on the bumpy ground of the temple.

In Liu Chicheng’s words, Chen Ping’an’s punches were so slow that the time it took him to throw a single punch would be enough time for him to enjoy a good long sleep.

However, Chen Ping’an suddenly started to speed up during the second half of his training session. In the end, his punches became as quick as lightning. Wind whistled around him. After a short while, however, Chen Ping’an started to slow down again.

Zhang Shanfeng walked over and watched him for a while. Then, he smiled and asked, “What’s wrong? Is there something weighing on your mind?”

Chen Ping’an stood still and broke his fist stance. There was exasperation in his voice as he replied, “I’ve reached the barrier to the next level, but I can’t cross this barrier no matter what. This feels quite frustrating.”

Zhang Shanfeng smiled and said, “Oh, so you want to advance to the next tier? You want to become a fourth tier martial arts lesser grandmaster before the age of twenty? This would be incredibly impressive even in Complete Reed Continent.”

Chen Ping’an sighed and revealed, “Before setting off, someone told me that it’s best that I advance to the Qi Refining Tier of martial arts before I arrive at Old Dragon City.”

All of a sudden…

The demon-detecting bell above Zhang Shanfeng’s luggage suddenly started to shudder and ring violently.

Zhang Shanfeng tensed up and exclaimed, “There’s demonic qi approaching the temple!”

Chen Ping’an nodded and suggested, “Put the demon-detecting bell away first, lest we warn our opponents of our presence.”

The big-bearded martial artist sat up and roared with laughter. “Business is truly going well for the three of us! We can’t even stop fortune from seeking us out!”

After laughing for a while, Xu Yuanxia stroked his beard and placed his hands on the hilts of his two sabers. His voice was solemn as he said, “But remember to keep this in mind. When slaying demons and eliminating fiends, staying alive is our number one priority.”

Chen Ping’an and Zhang Shanfeng exchanged a smile. The young Daoist priest chuckled and said, “I still have a divine movement talisman.”

After racking his brains for a moment, Chen Ping’an muttered, “I can run very fast!”

1. Willows are a symbol of reluctant farewells. ?