Unsheathed

Cao Xi laughed loudly and said, “We can indeed do business, I mean, doing business with others has always been my favorite thing. However, I dearly hope that you won’t ask for too high a price, Senior. Otherwise, I definitely won’t buy anything. Perhaps you aren’t too familiar with the type of person I am, so let me explain this to you. For the sake of cultivation, I’m even willing to sell my own sons or grandsons. However, I’m quite well off now, and I’ve returned to my hometown with money and glory. I somewhat miss my parents after seeing the buildings in the small town, and that’s why I feel a small urge to act on my feelings of nostalgia.”

“There’s a young girl called Li Liu. She went to Complete Reed Continent in the north with her parents,” Old Man Yang said slowly. “The souls of your parents are in her possession now. If you’re willing to make a fair transaction, then I’ll be willing to do business with you as well. I guarantee that everything will go smoothly. At that time, your parents’ souls will be returned to you with their whiskers and tails fully intact.

“Of course, you can also go back on your word and attempt to forcefully snatch the souls of your parents. If that’s the case, then you can turn around and leave now. You’ll be fully responsible for what happens in the future.”

There was a wry smile on Cao Xi’s face as he replied, “Whiskers and tails… Senior Yang, your figure of speech is far too unpleasant. Alright, name your price.”

Old Man Yang used his smoking pipe to point at Cao Xi’s wrist.

Cao Xi was enraged, and he exclaimed, “What the heck? You want me to give my bonded flying sword to that Li Liu?! Old Man Yang, have you gone crazy?”

Old Man Yang shot a sideways glance at him and continued, “You’ve always kept the other flying sword that you had before refining this great river, correct? You can give that flying sword to Li Liu. Remember to teach her the sword technique as well.”

There was a dark expression on Cao Xi’s face.

Cao Xi chuckled coldly and said, “Don’t feel like you’re suffering a loss. You’ve never taken a good disciple in your life, so I’m essentially giving you one for free right now. Perhaps everyone will say this when they mention you in the future — Oh, Cao Xi? You mean Li Liu’s master?”

Cao Xi was slightly intrigued by this. He rubbed his hands together and clicked his tongue in wonder, asking, “The girl is this powerful?”

Old Man Yang pursed his lips and replied, “Why, look for her and find out! I’m sure that you’ll be extremely willing to hand your flying sword over to her when you see her.”

“Then it’s a deal! If I want to gamble, then I’ll take a big gamble. Only a big gamble can live up to Great Sword Immortal Cao’s name!” Cao Xi slapped his thigh and exclaimed.

He then lowered his voice slightly and asked, “Is there anything else apart from this? Are there any other transactions we can make?”

“Your father’s soul,” Old Man Yang replied calmly.

Cao Xi was taken aback. However, he immediately rolled his eyes and said, “Forget about it. I wouldn’t want it even if you paid me to take it.”

Old Man Yang started to exhale puffs of smoke again. “If you don’t want it, then you don’t want it. Let’s consider something else. Look for True Martial Mountain’s Ma Kuxuan and become his Dao guardian. Look after him for the next ten years.”

Cao Xi put on a fake smile and replied, “A sword immortal who has the potential to reach the 12th tier acting as the Dao guardian of a young child?! I don’t care much about my face, and I am indeed renowned for my shamelessness in Southern Whirl Continent. However, I still care about this amount of face!”

“I can allow Cao Jun to join the army of the Great Li Empire and temper his sword heart on the battlefield. I can ask someone to protect him in secret for twenty years, all the way until his sword heart is fully healed,” Old Man Yang said in a solemn voice.

Cao Xi’s expression turned serious.

“Don’t try to push your luck,” Old Man Yang scoffed. “Which is more important — your face, or an additional terrestrial sword immortal in your clan?

There was a troubled expression on Cao Xi’s face, and he replied, “Cao Jun is clearly an ungrateful brat. If he becomes a terrestrial sword immortal in the future, then won’t he try to overthrow me? Having two sword immortals in a single clan will indeed allow us to stand up straight and be proud people no matter where we are. Oh, no, I should say ‘proud immortals.’ But really, who knows whether that brat will seek revenge on me in the future…”

Old Man Yang completely ignored this and said, “Anyway, when Cao Jun becomes a terrestrial sword immortal, he has to promise me one thing. Rest assured, I won’t tell him to die or whatever. This task won’t be too difficult for Cao Jun at that time.”

Cao Xi was slightly puzzled. “Senior Yang, why don’t you look for Cao Jun yourself and discuss this with him? Perhaps there are some other schemes and considerations? The two of us can be considered fellow townsmen, so you shouldn’t screw me over even if we don’t shed tears of emotion upon seeing each other, right?”

“Cao Jun doesn’t have the right to do business with me now. But you do,” Old Man Yang replied bluntly.

Cao Xi was rendered speechless.

When he finally left the Yang Family’s medicine shop, Cao Xi stood on the street and glanced back at the pharmacy. “That old man Chen Chun’an wouldn’t have predicted these matters as well, would he?” he murmured to himself.

————

Clay Vase Alley.

It was late at night, and a wealthy-looking young boy in brocade robes dazedly sat in a courtyard.

Before the cultivator from the School of Naturalists was killed by his imperial uncle, Song Changjing, in the capital, he had once visited him and had a shocking discussion with him.

In fact, the old man had even revealed his huge scheme against the emperor of the Great Li Empire. He had persuaded the emperor to cultivate in secret, thereby breaking the rules established by the Confucian sages. Not only had the emperor reached the Middle Five Tiers in secret, but he had even continued upward and advanced to the 10th tier without much difficulty.

The emperor had chosen this path in the hopes that he could see the Great Li Empire conquer the entire continent. Meanwhile, the Naturalist cultivator had enacted this scheme so he could transform the emperor, Song Jixin’s father, into an obedient puppet. When the emperor of the Great Li Empire officially entered seclusion to advance to the Upper Five Tiers, that would be the moment he lost his sentience and transformed into a puppet.

However, A’Liang’s arrival had shattered the emperor’s bridge of immortality. At the same time, it was extremely likely that the emperor had noticed some traces and clues when his bridge of immortality had shattered. The traps hidden inside his bridge of immortality had most likely been exposed.

Even though the emperor had concealed his emotions extremely well on the plaza outside the White Jade Capital, he ultimately hadn’t imagined that the cultivator had tampered with his son’s body as well.

No matter what, A’Liang’s punch had completely ruined the intricate plan of the Naturalist cultivator. This was a plan that his branch of Naturalists had carefully put together and executed for dozens of years.

Even so, things were far from over.

Right now, Song Jixin was feeling extremely solemn as he recalled those words.

“What’s wrong, Young Master? Is there something weighing on your mind?” Zhi Gui walked over and asked.

Song Jixin turned around and replied with a smile, “No, I’m just unable to fall asleep.”

Zhi Gui nodded and carried a stool over to sit next to Song Jixin.

“The moon is bright and the view is good, so why don’t we take a little stroll?” Song Jixin suddenly suggested.

“Alright, I’ll listen to you, Young Master,” Zhi Gui replied in a lazy voice.

They were still master and servant, and they walked through the streets and alleys of the small town together. When they arrived next to the stone table behind the old private school where Mr. Qi had taught in the past, Song Jixin reached over and ran his hand over the ice-cold surface of the Go table. He had sat on the north seat every time, while Zhao Yao had sat on the south seat every time. Back then, he hadn’t understood why this was. Now that everything was clear, however, he finally understood the reason behind this. Song Jixin smiled and said, “I wonder how Zhao Yao is doing right now.”

Zhi Gui became quieter than usual after arriving here.

Afterward, the two of them continued to stroll around without purpose. They walked to wherever their hearts took them.

The iron chain had already been removed from the Iron Lock Well by a man from the outside. This iron chain was also a fated opportunity for immortals.

The black cat from Apricot Blossom Alley had seemingly left the small town with that quiet retard Ma Kuxuan.

The old sword blade under the covered bridge — which had been torn down to reveal the stone arch bridge again — had also vanished without a trace.

It was also rumored that Sage Ruan Qiong was soon going to found his own sect on one of his large mountains. This was sure to be a grand event. The Great Li Empire’s Ministry of Rites treated this as the most important event for the tail end of spring, and they spent many resources and much effort to organize the ceremony.

The two neighboring shops in Dragon Riding Alley, the Burclover shop and the pastry shop, had both been bought by an owner with the surname Chen. This was truly astonishing. After all, almost everyone with the surname Chen in the small town was a slave or servant of the Four Families and Ten Clans.

The constructions of the new Wenchang pavilion and martial sage temple were already complete. They were located at the immortal tomb and the mountain of porcelain, and they honored the old ancestors of the Yuan Clan and the Cao Clan, respectively. They were the “two jade pendants” who had brought renewed prosperity to the Great Li Empire, and it could be said that they had been returned to their hometown now.

There were many couplets written by famous scholars and literati. In fact, even renowned scholars and literati from the distant Southern Stream Nation personally wrote couplets and sent them over. Their brush strokes were powerful and fearless.

Song Jixin pursed his lips outside the temple honoring the sages. “Hah, upright and fearless.”

In the end, the prince of the Great Li Empire turned around to gaze at the tall mountains in the distant west. He was looking in the direction of Downtrodden Mountain.

There was a mountain god temple with few worshippers and few incense offerings there.

As the young boy gazed at the distant Downtrodden Mountain, a downcast expression appeared on his face. He seemed weary.

————

Besides the grand temple that honored the formal god of Northern Mountain on Cloud Drape Mountain, there were also many ordinary mountain god temples on the tall mountains in the west. Among them, the mountain god temple on Cool Wind Mountain enjoyed the most worshippers and incense offerings. This was because it was located close to the prefectural city of Dragon Spring Prefecture.

Moreover, it also had the widest and most even mountain path, making it fairly easy to visit. There were also tea shops and restaurants along the way, as well as small and large inns for worshippers to stay in. These shops and inns popped up one after another like bamboo shoots after spring rain.

There was a marketplace at the foot of the mountain, and all kinds of tea, liquor, snacks, flowers, and pets were sold at this place. There was everything that one could wish for. In fact, many children in the small town would be ecstatic when they heard that their parents were going to the mountains to offer incense. They would almost be as happy as they were during the New Year.

This was because there were fragrant and fresh pancakes with meat fillings, old men making miniature clay figurines, and so on. The New Year’s money of many children would secretly accompany them to this marketplace. After having heaps of fun there, the children would often be severely reprimanded and punished by their parents after returning home.

A young boy called Dong Shuijing also owned a stall here. He only sold wontons.

Shrimp, spring bamboo shoots, and tofu were all incredibly flavorful. After sprinkling on some chopped spring onions and adding a bit of his homemade chili sauce, the wontons would truly be as delicious as could be.

The young boy had initially been studying at the new private school set up by the Dragon Tail Creek Chen Clan. However, he had suddenly dropped out of school for some unknown reason, even though it was free. He sold one of the two old estates in the small town, and he used the money to purchase large new estates in the new prefectural city. The new estate was only a few kilometers from Cool Wind Mountain.

His wonton shop would open from early morning until evening, and there wouldn’t be a fixed closing time. As long as there were still customers, Dong Shuijing would wait for them to finish eating no matter how late it was. Only after that would he pack up his stall and wheel it home.

There was no longer a night curfew in the prefectural city, so there were bustling scenes and big crowds everywhere one went. If one gazed at the prefectural city from the mountain god temple atop Cool Wind Mountain at nighttime, it would seem as if there were countless large lanterns resting on the land.

On this night, the tall and solidly built young boy was already preparing to pack up his wonton stall. He was about to return home.

However, a strange man unexpectedly walked over from the distance. He seemed to be a swordsman, but his sword wasn’t by his hip or on his back; it was hung by his belt behind his back. He walked over to the stall and asked with a smile, “Stall boss, are you still selling wontons?”

Dong Shuijing grinned and replied, “Yes, of course! However, I need to boil some water first. Please wait for a while.”

The man smiled and sat down beside a table. The table was wiped clean, without a single stain or drop of oil on it. There was also a handmade bamboo holder filled with long and slender bamboo chopsticks. As it turned out, this young stall owner was also a dexterous craftsman.

The man received a large bowl of steaming wontons. There were spring onions floating on top of the red soup, and just the look of them was enticing and mouth-watering. Dong Shuijing asked him if he could eat spicy food, and the man replied that the spicier the better. Hearing this, the young boy handed him a large plate of chili sauce.

The man grabbed a pair of chopsticks. He was in no hurry to eat, and he lowered his head and closed his eyes to take in the fragrance of the wontons first. He clicked his tongue in wonder and remarked, “This is the smell!”

He then casually asked, “Do you know about the Mohist Sect?”

Dong Shuijing nodded and replied, “Of course I do. My teacher mentioned them before, he said that the Mohist teaching used to be one of the four great teachings. As such, the Mohist teaching is naturally very impressive. However, learning Mohist theory is difficult, and abiding by Mohist principles is even more difficult. This is a huge test of one’s character. Moreover, there’s also a bigger risk of splitting hairs and going down dead ends. Teacher described the Mohist Sect as… kind of adorable.”

Dong Shuijing scratched his head upon saying this. There was an innocent smile on his face, and he added, “It was my teacher who said this.”

The man chewed on a wonton and earnestly nodded. “Such a good description!”

He then asked, “Then have you heard about the saber-lending cultivators[1] among traveling Mohist cultivators before?”

Dong Shuijing shook his head with a blank expression.

Mr. Qi had never mentioned this before.

The man put down his chopsticks and patted his belly. He exhaled heavily and appeared extremely relaxed at this moment. He smiled and asked, “Then do you want to become a saber-lending cultivator?”

Dong Shuijing’s pupils contracted slightly, but they quickly returned to normal. He smiled and shook his head, replying, “Selling wontons is quite good. I can make money, and it’s also very peaceful.”

Back then, he, Li Baoping, Lin Shouyi, Li Huai, and Shi Chunjia, five students from the private school, had tricked the driver of the horse carriage who was actually a spy from the Great Li Empire. Even though Li Baoping and Lin Shouyi had come up with the plan, all of them had been forced to give a perfect performance. Otherwise, all of their efforts would have been wasted if someone had slipped up. Naturally, none of these five children who had eventually become Qi Jingchun’s direct disciples were simple people.

Take, for example, Dong Shuijing. He was still young, but he was already smart enough to seek out Ruan Xiu and ask her to sell the old estate in the small town for him. After selling it for an exorbitant price, he quickly went to the prefectural city to buy large new estates. He didn’t buy a single estate, but an entire street!

Money had fallen from the sky, and there were many ways to use this money. One could use money to earn more money.

When it came to small amounts of money used for survival, however, it was a different matter altogether. In this case, a penny saved was a penny earned. These two ideas didn’t conflict with each other.

The man waved his hand and said with a faint smile, “Don’t be in a hurry to answer this question. If you’re wondering why I’m choosing you, Dong Shuijing… I’ve already observed you for quite a long time. You’re not the best in each area, but you don’t have any issues in any area either. This is already good enough.”

Dong Shuijing felt slightly exasperated, and he asked, “You are?”

The man didn’t conceal his identity. “My name is Xu Ruo, and I’m a Mohist disciple from Middle Earth Divine Continent. I’m naturally not a saber-lending cultivator, but a very good friend of mine asked me to promise him something before he died. He asked me to find a suitable disciple for him, one that could inherit his lineage.

“He was the previous patriarch of the saber-lending cultivators in Mohist Sect, and he was a very powerful person. He drank with A’Liang many times, and he paid for the wine every time. While A’Liang was traveling around Middle Earth Divine Continent, A’Liang left a trail of debt in his wake. It was again this good friend of mine who helped pay them off.”

“Who’s A’Liang?” the young boy asked.

“The son of the mortal enemy of your teacher’s teacher,” Xu Ruo replied.

“What?!”

Dong Shuijing was completely stupefied. What in the world was going on?

Xu Ruo stood up and said, “I’ll visit again later. Have a good think about what I said.”

“Hang on a second!” Dong Shuijing suddenly called.

The man smiled faintly and said, “I’ll put this bowl of wonton on credit first. Perhaps when you agree to become a saber-lending cultivator in the future…”

“How can I accept this? Since I’m doing business, even brothers should keep clear accounts,” Dong Shuijing insisted.

Xu Ruo nodded and took out a few copper coins, saying, “Haha, you truly have the temperament of a saber-lending cultivator.”

He strode away under the soft glow of sunset.

Dong Shuijing sat down and looked at the disappearing figure of the traveling Mohist cultivator. He raised an arm and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

He hadn’t mustered his courage to ask for the copper coins because he was stubborn and pedantic. Dong Shuijing wasn’t a naive and rash person. Instead, he had done this to probe the character of the man in a very crude and basic manner.

Dong Shuijing quietly sat beside the table in a daze. He was motionless, and he didn’t feel a sense of wild joy as if a huge fortune had descended from the heavens. He was instead feeling a little lost.

The young boy didn’t like this kind of feeling.

In reality, he wasn’t a very ambitious person. He simply wanted to earn some money to guarantee himself a comfortable life with enough clothes and food. He wanted a well in his estate, and he wanted a willow tree next to this well. Each spring, he hoped to see tender green shoots sprouting from the willow tree. When the breeze blew over, he wanted to see the willow branches swaying back and forth. This would be… very adorable.

1. This is a reference to knife-lending merchants, a mysterious group of people from folk legends. These people didn’t sell their knives and only lent them, and they would offer profound prophecies while doing so. They would receive payment after the prophecies came true. ?