Unsheathed

The warm rays of the morning sun shone into the wine shop. The old shopkeeper was whistling and teasing the caged oriole, yet the oriole sparrow was as cold and aloof as a celestial maiden from the mountains. However, this raised the old shopkeeper’s fighting spirit, and the old man eagerly showed off his skills as he skillfully whistled.

Elsewhere, the young shop attendant was diligently cleaning the wine shop. The tables and chairs were already spotless to begin with, yet they became even more sparkling clean after he attended to them. He would occasionally breathe onto the furniture before using his sleeves to carefully wipe them clean. He was radiating with a feeling of satisfaction.

To this young shop attendant in the wine shop in Stalactite Mountain, it seemed as if cleaning up the shop was the most satisfying and happy thing in the world.

Chen Ping’an, whose arms and head were resting on the table, slowly woke from his drunken slumber. He didn’t have a splitting headache from being hung over, and simply felt a little dazed and adrift. He was at a slight loss as he sat there, and he wracked his brain as hard as he could to recall what happened last night. However, he surprisingly couldn’t recall anything at all.

He only remembered accepting the couple’s offer to come here and drink Forgetting Sorrow Wine, a type of wine that even Unpolished Jade Tier cultivators had a difficult time getting their hands on. What was the true identity of that couple? What had he discussed with them? And when had they left? He couldn’t remember any of this.

That wine was clearly called Forgetting Sorrow Wine, but what had he actually forgotten?

Rather than forgetting his sorrows, Chen Ping’an felt even more troubled and sorrowful now. He felt like there was a hint of sadness lingering in his heart, unable to be dispersed.

This was like an oriole stopping on his earthen window sill in Clay Vase Alley early one morning. It might chirp and disturb his sweet dreams, but he would still feel reluctant to shoo it away.

Chen Ping’an looked around, and he saw the diligently working young attendant as well as the carefree old shopkeeper.

“I’ll grab the bill now?” the young boy asked tentatively.

The young shop attendant wiping a table leg grinned and didn’t say anything.

The old shopkeeper smiled and replied, “The three of you drank four jars of wine in total, and three of them were on me. So, young boy, you actually do need to foot the bill for the last one.”

“How much is it?” Chen Ping’an asked.

The old shopkeeper chortled with laughter. “How much? If you want to use money to purchase a jar of golden millet wine[1], then that will really set you back quite a bit.”

The young shop attendant, whom the old shopkeeper had referred to as Xu Jia, chuckled and said, “Last night, a wealthy young master from Pure White Continent visited our wine shop because of its good reputation. He wanted to buy a jar of Forgetting Sorrow Wine to bring home. However, our shopkeeper was unwilling to sell him anything, saying that this wasn’t a matter of money.

“The young master kept pestering us, and he insisted on getting a price for the wine. However, he was stupefied when he eventually learned of the number. Would you look, he’s been sitting on the steps outside the shop in a daze for the entire night. I say that he still hasn’t given up yet.”

“Liu Youzhou?” Chen Ping’an asked.

The old shopkeeper nodded and replied, “That’s him, the future clan leader of Pure White Continent’s Liu Clan. He’s known as the ‘Treasure Child,’ and his container treasure is filled with all kinds of immortal treasures. Because of the Ape Havoc Estate, everyone in Stalactite Mountain has heard of this wealthy young master’s title.

“One time he formed a group of eight people to adventure and train in Middle Earth Divine Continent, yet they came across some powerful enemies during their journey. Liu Youzhou retrieved seven high-grade immortal treasures at once, all of them powerful offensive treasures. He then retrieved defensive immortal treasures to surround the group until they were like a turtle.

“To say nothing of Sage Name Talismans, he was able to summon two suits of Divine Dewbearing Armor. Meanwhile, the seven other people in the group relied on the offensive immortal treasures to forcefully kill an earth immortal yin entity that was two entire tiers above them.”

It was evident that the old shopkeeper felt like this young boy was worth saying a few words about. He chuckled and continued, “Such an interesting young boy. Even I almost couldn’t help but give him a bowl of golden millet wine for free.”

Chen Ping’an felt slightly ashamed on behalf of his acquaintance. Just how scared of death was Liu Youzhou?

There was slight unease in Chen Ping’an’s voice as he asked, “Old Mister, how should I pay?”

The old shopkeeper pondered for a moment before replying, “I haven’t come up with a payment option yet, so I’ll look for you in the future when I come up with something.”

Chen Ping’an felt both relieved and anxious upon hearing this.

The old shopkeeper smiled and added, “It’s also possible that I won’t recall this before you pass from this world, so don’t feel afraid.”

Chen Ping’an breathed a soft sigh of relief.

He stood up and was just about to leave, yet the old shopkeeper asked, “Young boy, there’s still almost half a jar of golden millet wine remaining. You’re not going to drink it first before leaving?”

Chen Ping’an reached over and swirled the jar of wine. Sure enough, there was still almost half a jar remaining. “I can’t take it with me?” he asked in puzzlement.

The old shopkeeper shook his head and replied, “If you take it away, then you won’t be able to forget your sorrows anymore. It will become even inferior to ordinary wine. That’s a reckless waste of this valuable wine, so I encourage you not to do something so stupid. There’s something unique about this wine, and that couple inviting you to drink it now is already a humongous waste. The later in life you drink it the better. However, it’s very difficult to pursue the notion of better all the time, and sometimes you just need to go with the flow and take things as they come. You should be satisfied as long as the outcome is good.”

Chen Ping’an sat back down and asked in curiosity, “Isn’t it called Forgetting Sorrow Wine? Mister Shopkeeper, why do you keep calling it golden millet wine?”

Xu Jia, the young shop attendant, widened his eyes in shock. It was as if he had seen a ghost in the morning, and he exclaimed, “You don’t know where this place is?”

Chen Ping’an felt increasingly puzzled, and he replied, “Isn’t this Stalactite Mountain?”

Xu Jia grinned and asked, “Then you should know about the Golden Millet Blessed Land, right?”

Chen Ping’an shook his head in response.

The old shopkeeper came to Chen Ping’an’s rescue, saying, “It’s understandable that you’re not aware of this place. This blessed land is in the same state as your hometown, Jewel Small World. It’s already been destroyed.”

Xu Jia hurriedly threw his towel away and said with urgency, “Shopkeeper, Shopkeeper, let me explain the rest. Young Mistress said that I look extremely handsome when I tell this story.”

The old shopkeeper chuckled and said, “Either my daughter is blind, or she was speaking nonsense after having too much to drink. Tell me, which one is more likely?”

“Young Mistress is healthy and well!”

Xu Jia coughed and cleared his throat before putting on a serious expression and beginning, “Right now, only some ruins remain of the Golden Millet Blessed Land. Back in its glory days, those in the world who felt sorrow all yearned to travel to the Golden Millet Blessed Land, making it a bustling world filled with beautiful people and beautiful scenes, beautiful wine and beautiful dreams. This blessed land had everything. Moreover, it was guaranteed that the things in this blessed land would align with one’s wishes. This was the rarest quality of the blessed land.

“Not only that, but the blessed land could also reflect one’s Dao Heart. There are many Unpolished Jade Tier cultivators who barely managed to advance to the Upper Five Tiers. Earlier in their cultivation journey, these cultivators relied on fortune as well as many secret techniques and heretical methods from all kinds of different teachings to advance their cultivation base. Thus, these cultivators will especially travel to this wine shop in Stalactite Mountain.

“They’ll strip back their layers of souls while remaining conscious, and they’ll drink a jar of Forgetting Sorrow Wine after that to discover their true heart. Seizing this opportunity, they’ll gain an uninhibited view of their heart. At that time, they can either analyze the finest details of their heart layer by layer, or they can determine what areas need strengthening…

Xu Jia was filled with spirit as he spoke, yet the old shopkeeper impatiently cut him off, saying, “Hold it right there! You keep repeating this ancient history over and over again, so are you not afraid of it getting rotten and boring? To put things simply, this small wine shop is the last remaining land of the Golden Millet Blessed Land.”

Chen Ping’an poured himself a bowl of wine and looked around. He was truly unable to view this shop as a blessed land.

In reality, there was also a blessed land in Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, the Limpid Pond Blessed Land. This blessed land was controlled by Divine Edict Sect.

According to rumors, Parasol Leaf Continent’s Jade Tablet Sect also controlled a blessed land, Cloud Cave Blessed Land.

Chen Ping’an drank some wine and asked, “Old Mister, I didn’t do anything stupid last night, did I? Also, where did that couple go?”

“You don’t remember?” the old shopkeeper asked.

Chen Ping’an shook his head.

“Even you don’t remember, so why do I, an outsider, have to remember?” the old shopkeeper replied with a chuckle.

Chen Ping’an was unable to counter this, so he could only drink wine in silence.

He still couldn’t determine whether this wine was good or bad.

However, he felt like it went down very smoothly.

The old shopkeeper suddenly remembered something, and he pointed at a wall and said to Chen Ping’an, “Do you see that wall over there? Those who have enjoyed wine here can all go over to write a poem or a few words on that wall.”

Xu Jia put on a mature tone and said, “After drinking this wine, there can be two potential outcomes. One type is becoming drunk and pissing off, after which one will waste away the rest of their life in jars of wine. Even until death, they’ll never regain sobriety. The other type is comprehensively waking up and seeing through the meaning of life. These people have yet to experience an entire lifetime, yet it’s as if they’ve already experienced the ups and downs of several lifetimes. I feel like the poems and thoughts written by these two types of people are particularly interesting. Customer, do you want to give it a go?”

The old shopkeeper chuckled in anger and said, “Piss right off, why don’t you? My teeth are almost about to rot away from the cringe. You’re just a kid, yet you’re always trying to emulate A’Liang. Don’t you find it embarrassing?”

“Young Mistress likes A’Liang very much, so if I don’t emulate him, who else should I emulate?” Xu Jia replied in a righteous voice.

“Those who learn from me live, those who emulate me die[2],” the old shopkeeper said with emotion. “You’ve seen so many drunkards and heard so many drunken remarks, so how do you still not understand this?”

“I’m learning from A’Liang, not learning from you,” Xu Jia replied with a chuckle.

The old shopkeeper threw a wine cup at the young shop attendant and scolded, “All you do is talk like a smart-arse!”

Xu Jia gently caught the wine cup and tossed it high up back to the old shopkeeper. He then quickly jogged over to Chen Ping’an and gave the young boy a calligraphy brush. “Here, leave your thoughts on the wall.”

Chen Ping’an put his wine bowl down and said in reluctance, “My handwriting is very bad.”

Xu Jia rolled his eyes and replied, “Can it be any worse than A’Liang’s worm-like characters? In any case, even the characters of those well-renowned calligraphy masters are belittled as squashed toads, dead snakes, or a crude soldier’s embroidery by their peers.”

The young shop attendant lowered his voice and continued, “I’ll be honest with you. No matter how bad someone’s handwriting, their characters will definitely look as beautiful as celestial immortals compared to A’Liang’s characters! If you don’t believe me, then head over and have a look for yourself.”

Chen Ping’an still didn’t accept the calligraphy brush. However, he stood up and walked toward that wall. From a distance, the wall looked blank and without any trace of ink. After walking close to it, however, one would discover that the wall was filled with lines of poetry, essays, and warnings.

There was a spectacular mixture of writing styles and works.

Someone’s writing clearly stood out from the others. This was a poem written in cursive script and taking up a very large space on the wall.

The different works on the wall were like a bouquet of flowers, with each flower fighting to display its flourishing beauty. Among them, it was as if one flower dazzled more than all others, capturing everyone’s gaze.

There were also works that appeared out of place and inharmonious, with the most jarring one being a line of large characters that were crooked and messy. Even Chen Ping’an felt like it was unsightly. Not only that, but its contents also rendered people speechless. “Whenever I think of all the girls who are waiting for me with impassioned love, my heart can’t help but ache.”

Most importantly, there was also a smiley face and a thumbs-up drawn at the end of the characters.

There was no doubt that these characters had been personally written by A’Liang. After all, ordinary people wouldn’t be shameless enough to write something like this.

Chen Ping’an suppressed a smile as he turned around and asked, “Old Mister, you’re going to keep this on the wall?”

The young shop attendant who was holding the calligraphy brush for Chen Ping’an appeared listless and sickly as he replied, “Firstly, A’Liang is extremely shameless. He said that each character we wipe off will be equivalent to him returning money for one jar of wine. Secondly, Young Mistress is extremely fond of this line, and she thinks that A’Liang is praising her. Young Mistress even used a jar of golden millet wine to purchase a romantic novel from a Fictionist Master. The novel was about her and A’Liang… Shopkeeper, what was the novel called again?”

“Lingering Sadness,” the old shopkeeper replied with a cold chuckle.

Xu Jia nodded and continued, “That’s right. In reality, Young Mistress hinted to the Fictionist that he should write the romance as blatantly as possible. However, the Fictionist Master most likely found it too shameless to write in such a blatant manner, so he kept the romance more reserved and subtle.

“Young Mistress was very displeased, so she said that she was going to elope when running away from home this time. However, one of her objectives is also to find this Fictionist and give him trouble. His novel was far too crappy, and Young Mistress claimed that he was nothing more than a scammer fishing for fame. She’s determined to find him and spit on his face.”

Chen Ping’an’s gaze traveled across the wall, and he eventually lowered his head and found a line of small characters in the corner. This line was also written by A’Liang, but it didn’t seem jarring at all.

“Little █, there’s nothing good about the cultivation world. Only the wine is somewhat decent.”

After writing this, A’Liang had drawn a blob of ink over the character after “Little.”

“I can write anything I want?” Chen Ping’an asked.

Xu Jia handed him the calligraphy brush and replied with a nod, “Yes, anything you want. As long as you write in a blank area, you can write whatever tickles your fancy.”

After saying this, the young shop attendant didn’t forget to add, “Customer, please don’t write blah blah blah was here. That’s far too tacky and basic. In fact, even A’Liang’s shameless words are better than that.”

Chen Ping’an accepted the calligraphy brush before suddenly running to his table. He drank a large mouthful of wine, and only then did he return to the wall. He half-squatted and wrote a small “Qi” behind the character “Little” and above the blob of ink.

“Little Qi, there’s nothing good about the cultivation world. Only the wine is somewhat decent.”

“The character doesn’t have much spirit, and it’s simply written in a proper manner. However, it appears much better when placed next to A’Liang’s characters. This is called cheating. No, you need to write a line somewhere else,” the old shopkeeper said in amusement.

Chen Ping’an nodded and started to look for a blank space on the wall. However, the central region of the wall was already tightly packed with characters. It was indeed possible to thread the needle and write something small there, but Chen Ping’an felt like that would be disrespectful toward his predecessors. Moreover, most of the people who dared to write in the central region of the wall all had very impressive handwriting. Thus, Chen Ping’an truly didn’t dare to write there.

Because of this, he tried his best to look for empty space in one of the four corners of the wall. Xu Jia suggested two locations with quite a bit of empty space. One location was in the top-right, and one location was in the bottom-left.

Chen Ping’an shuffled over and squatted down near the bottom left corner of the wall. He took a deep breath and wrote three characters.

Before writing these characters, he recalled the many sword immortals and immortal swords in the Sword Reverence Pagoda.

Thus, his three characters were, “Lasting Sword Qi.”

Xu Jia looked at the three characters which were written in a straight and proper manner. They were truly uninteresting, so he shook his head and didn’t think much about them. At the same time, he couldn’t help but mumble, “It’s clear that he hasn’t read much.”

The old shopkeeper echoed the young shop attendant’s sentiment in a rare display, nodding and saying with a smile, “He also hasn’t drunk enough wine yet. Hey, young boy with the surname Chen from the Great Li Empire, there’s no need to be in such a hurry. Drink a bowl of wine first, and after you feel satisfied, write something from your heart. It’s not as difficult as you think. I treated you to three jars of wine, so I’ll also let you write three lines of characters. You still have one chance left.”

However, Chen Ping’an had already returned the calligraphy brush to Xu Jia. He smiled at the old shopkeeper and said, “There’s no need.”

The old shopkeeper didn’t mind this. Immortals creating valuable works of ink in a drunken state was a minor matter to bring good omen; it was simply an added bonus. Since the young boy didn’t have impressive handwriting, nor was he a sword immortal, the old shopkeeper naturally wouldn’t force him to write another line.

Chen Ping’an hesitated for a moment before asking, “Old Mister, can I save this half jar of wine for later? I want to go to the Sword Qi Great Wall first and drink it after I return. Is that okay?”

Xu Jia vigorously shook his head, saying, “There’s no such service in our wine shop. Once the clay seal of the jar is broken, you have to drink the golden millet wine in one sitting. There’s no service that allows you to leave and come back later to finish your wine.”

The old shopkeeper thought about this for a brief moment before nodding and replying, “I’ll allow it this one time.”

“How come?” Xu Jia exclaimed in panic.

The old shopkeeper placed the birdcage beside his hand. He then leaned on the bar counter and replied with a faint smile, “I like the notion of ‘saving’. This is very auspicious and joyful.”

When Chen Ping’an stepped out of the wine shop, he surprisingly tripped and stumbled. When he stabilized himself and looked back, he found that there was no wine shop at all. There was only empty space.

Inside the wine shop that had vanished without a trace, the old shopkeeper opened the birdcage and let out the golden-beaked oriole. However, before it could approach the wall of characters to adeptly examine a certain person’s martial fortune, it hurriedly turned around and flew back to its cage in a flash. Xu Jia was dumbfounded when he saw this.

The old shopkeeper pondered for a moment before sighing, “So be it. He’s only a young boy from a small continent, so what does it matter if he possesses this sapling of marriage affinity? It will only be a measly hundred years. Whether we examine his fortune or not won’t make a difference.”

Xu Jia angrily glared at a line of characters at the very top of the wall. Almost everyone wrote from top to bottom in a straight line, and only a single person apart from A’Liang had done otherwise in the past 100 years. This was a female customer who had visited not long ago, and she was the only person after A’Liang who had written her characters horizontally. Moreover, her characters had terrified the small oriole and caused it to wildly flutter around. It had taken more than half a day for the oriole to recover, and it was as if it had suffered a long bout of sickness.

The young shop attendant couldn’t help but grumble, “It’s all the fault of that martial goddess’ supreme martial fortune. Its aura is far too terrifying!”

There was adoration and kindliness in the old shopkeeper’s eyes as he looked at the pitiful little oriole. “I’ve made you suffer,” he murmured.

There was a pair of unique orioles in the world, able to peck scholarly fortune and carry martial fortune.

According to rumors, the male oriole had been captured by Daoist Branch Master Lu Chen, while the female oriole was being raised by the founder of Syncretism[3].

————

Chen Ping’an walked along a secluded alleyway.

Even though he experienced a confusing night of drinking, he suddenly came to a realization after walking out of the wine shop.

Chen Ping’an grabbed his Sword Nurturing Gourd and started to drink the remaining osmanthus wine. There wasn’t much left, and he continued to mumble as he drank.

“Ning Yao most likely doesn’t like you.

“Otherwise, how could she forget her promise? Back in Jewel Small World, she said that she would give a sword scabbard to you.

“Chen Ping’an, you’re truly an unlucky bastard. This isn’t a matter of whether Ning Yao likes you or not. Instead, this is a matter of whether Ning Yao detests you or not.”

With this in mind, the young boy felt a little content as he sought joy amid pain. At the very least, he hadn’t traveled all this way for nothing. He had gained a lot of experience.

However, he decided that he would still go to the Sword Qi Great Wall.

He continually told himself that he would only go there for a quick look. He wanted to look at those large characters engraved on the Sword Qi Great Wall.

At most, he would “coincidentally” come across that young girl at some place at some time. He would confidently smile and greet her. However, Chen Ping’an was still unsure about how he would greet her. Should he say, “What a coincidence,” or should he say, “Oh, you’re also here.” He didn’t know which one was more suitable.

Chen Ping’an was completely focused on solving this problem.

…So much so that he didn’t notice the person walking behind him, a young girl who was almost angered to death.

She was dressed in a dark green robe.

1. This refers to the idiom ‘a brief dream of grandeur,’ or more literally, ‘a golden millet dream.’ In the story, a Daoist priest dreams for a perceived period of decades, but wakes up to discover that only a few minutes have passed in reality, not even enough time for his order of golden millet rice to finish cooking. ☜

2. This references a line that Qi Baishi, a modern Chinese painter, said to one of his students. It means that one should learn the heart and philosophy of their teacher and build upon that, not simply emulate them. Otherwise, the student will always be walking in their teacher’s shadow, and their path will eventually lead to a dead end. ☜

3. Also known as the Mixed School, Syncretism (杂家) is one of the Hundred Schools of Thought. Syncretism is an eclectic school of thought that combines elements of Confucianism, Daoism, Mohism, and Legalism. ☜