Unsheathed

With the arrival of the Major Cold solar term came howling winds that swept incessantly over the Dragon Scaling Platform, and at this moment, several horse-drawn carriages were parked outside the alley in front of the Dust Medicinal Shop.

Under the orders of the Fu Clan, the entire city had been placed under lockdown. Not only were itinerant cultivators and regular citizens of the city not permitted to spectate the battle on the Dragon Scaling Platform, anyone outside of the six major clans was also forbidden from loitering on the city streets.

Of course, some wealthy and powerful figures in the city could secure exemptions through their connections to the six major clans, thereby allowing them to access the Dragon Scaling Platform and the inner city without any problems.

There were naturally widespread objections to these unreasonable arrangements, but the Fu Clan was too dominant a force in the city to be opposed, and it had already informed all of the powerful clans outside of the six major clans of its intentions in advance, so there were no significant mishaps.

Occasionally, a dissenter would emerge to try and cause some trouble, only to be instantly suppressed before they could make any real impact.

These were normally people from wealthy and powerful clans who felt that they were deserving of privileges above the common folk, and after being forced back to their manors by cultivators of the Fu Clan, all of them were immediately showered with torrents of abuse from the seniors of their clans, scolding them for almost bringing disaster upon themselves and their clans.

At the Dust Medicinal Shop, everyone enjoyed a meal of congee courtesy of Zhu Lian, then set off for the Dragon Scaling Platform.

Zheng Dafeng led the way out of the shop, and he took a few puffs out of his pipe at the entrance, not looking nervous at all. However, in contrast with his usual messy and unkempt appearance, he had changed into a slightly old, yet still very clean azure robe.

Zhu Lian and Pei Qian cleared the table, while Sui Youbian was standing under the eaves of the shop, dressed in pristine white with Deep Infatuation on her back, and she resembled a stunning goddess as she stood under the eaves of the medicinal shop.

Lu Baixiang was in his usual Confucian robe, but he wasn’t massaging go stones in his hand as he normally did, and strapped to his waist was Halting Snow.

Out of everyone, Wei Xian was dressed in the most eye-catching attire. He asked Chen Ping’an if it was against the law to wear imperial dragon robes, to which Chen Ping’an had jokingly replied that he could even wear an empress dress if he so desired.

Hence, Wei Xian put on the imperial robes that he had brought with him out of his picture scroll. It was the dragon robe of Southern Garden Nation’s founding emperor, and concealed upon one of its sleeves was the Militarian armor pellet, West Mountain.

Zhu Lian made his way out of the kitchen while wiping his hands on his apron, looking much like a chef, while trailing along behind him was Pei Qian, who seemed to be in a rather bad mood on this day.

As usual, Chen Ping’an was wearing his Golden Sweet Wine Dao robe and his jade hairpin, while his Sword Nurturing Gourd was strapped to his waist on one side, and his jade tablet on the other.

The jade tablet was something that Chen Ping’an had taken out of an acupoint that had once been home to an extremely, extremely small wisp of sword qi. By Fan Junmao’s definition, it was something that had only undergone basic refinement, so it was still only something that he could look at but not use.

Hence, it was more of a keepsake than anything else.

To put it more accurately, it was an object of one of Chen Ping’an’s very few fixations, which included avenging his parents, fulfilling his promise to Ning Yao to become a powerful sword immortal, his sixty-year agreement with the sword spirit, and earning the right to be heard by all four words someday.

On this day, Chen Ping’an had changed into a pair of new boots, which had been brought to him in secret by Pei Qian. Pei Qian had gotten up even before first light to go to the medicinal shop, where Chen Ping’an was sleeping on the ground, carrying the pair of boots with her. Chen Ping’an asked her where she had gotten the boots from, to which she replied that she had purchased them using the silver that they had borrowed from Jiu Niang.

She had used some of the silver to buy food in Fox Town, but most of it had been spent on this pair of boots, and she intended to give them to Chen Ping’an earlier, but Chen Ping’an had later tried to chase her away and leave her in the inn on her own, so she had thrown a tantrum and buried the boots.

After that, Chen Ping’an changed his mind and decided to take her with him to Mirage City, so she had snuck out at night to dig up the pair of boots again. At the time, Zhong Kui had been with her, and he had said something about a cenotaph.

On the way from the Mirage City ferry station to the Clear Realm Mountain ferry station, then to Old Dragon City, she had constantly been afraid of this so-called cenotaph. She was worried that it would irk Chen Ping’an, and she was feeling a little guilty, so she hadn’t dared to bring out the boots until now.

Chen Ping’an was clearly very pleased as he began putting on the boots, and even though he didn’t praise Pei Qian much, his feelings about the boots were clearly reflected in his eyes.

Pei Qian was crouched down beside him as she asked, “Do they fit well?”

Chen Ping’an nodded in response.

However, after Chen Ping’an put on the boots and jumped up and down in them a few times, he declared that Pei Qian was to stay with the yin soul at the Dust Medicinal Shop instead of accompanying him to the Dragon Scaling Platform, much to her dismay. He also told her that the yin soul was also going to leave the medicinal shop at some point, but she had nothing to fear as she would be safe as long as she didn’t leave the medicinal shop.

Pei Qian was naturally not very happy with this arrangement. She had been diligently practicing her Deranged Demon Sword Techniques every day for this occasion, but she could tell that Chen Ping’an was very serious, so she could only hang her head and agree to stay in the shop.

After that, Chen Ping’an turned to Zheng Dafeng with a smile as he asked, “So what’ll it be? Do we set off now?”

Zheng Dafeng took a long draught from his pipe, then strapped it to his back to his waist as he stepped out of the shop and declared, “Let’s go!”

With that, Chen Ping’an and the others set off from the Dust Medicinal Shop.

From there, they got on the carriage sent over by the Fan Clan, but neither Fan Er nor Ma Zhi were there with the carriage. Earlier, Fan Er had paid another visit to the medicinal shop, and he and Chen Ping’an had spent some time drinking on the rooftop.

Chen Ping’an had warned him not to appear near the medicinal shop on the day of the Major Cold solar term, and Fan Er said he was aware of how serious the situation was, and he assured Chen Ping’an that he wouldn’t be reckless.

Pei Qian carried a little stool over to the entrance of the Dust Medicinal Shop, then sat down on it and wrapped her arms around her own knees.

Her trusty hiking pole was laying on the ground beneath her feet, and she was gently rolling it back and forth under the soles of her shoes.

Leaning against the door of the shop was an oil paper umbrella. Chen Ping’an had instructed her to keep the oil-paper umbrella close to her at all times, even if she were in the Dust Medicinal Shop.

The yin soul with the Zhao surname still hadn’t set off yet, but all Zheng Dafeng had to do was snap his pipe, and the yin soul would be able to instantly appear by his side. If he were to show himself too early on the Dragon Scaling Platform, then perhaps the Fu Clan would be able to work out certain countermeasures against him, so he was going to remain hidden for now.

The battle that was set to take place on the Dragon Scaling Platform was truly a battle for the ages, and the only people who were going to be standing on the Dragon Scaling Platform on this day were some of the powerful people in the entire city.

“Are you worried about Chen Ping’an?” the yin soul asked as he turned to Pei Qian.

Pei Qian shook her head in response.

“My father’s so strong, nothing bad will happen to him.”

The yin soul smiled as he said, “He’s definitely a very strong man, albeit a little dumb. This clearly has nothing to do with him, yet he insists on getting involved for some reason.”

To the yin soul’s surprise, Pei Qian didn’t flare up with rage. Instead, she murmured to herself, “My father’s not dumb, he’s just too kind for his own good. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be bringing me with him. All I do is waste his money. My father is so rich, yet he’s still extremely stingy. He never wastes money on anything, and if it were possible, he’d split a single copper coin into pieces to spend.”

The more she spoke, the more disheartened Pei Qian became, and she pulled out the yellow Treasure Pagoda Demon-Suppressing Talisman out of her sleeve, then slapped it onto her own forehead. After that, she raised her head and blew out of her mouth so that the talisman drifted up into the air in front of her face.

There were three horse-drawn carriages traveling from the inner city to the outer city.

Zheng Dafeng was seated in the front carriage, resting with his eyes closed. He was already doing everything in his power to suppress his own fist intent, but it was still showing signs of spilling out. Whenever the carriage hit a slight bump, a burst of fist intent would escape from his body, only to be immediately reined back in.

Chen Ping’an wanted to travel in the same carriage with Zhu Lian, but the latter was beaten to the punch by Sui Youbian. Hence, Zhu Lian could only leave Chen Ping’an to her before getting into the same carriage with Wei Xian and Lu Baixiang.

Inside the carriage, Chen Ping’an and Sui Youbian were seated across from one another, and the latter asked, “Did your opinion of Lu Baixian change because he was the first one to reveal the phrase that had been told to him? Do you dislike me because you detected the hint of killing intent that I displayed toward you back in the inn on the border?”

Instead of answering her questions, Chen Ping’an raised one of his own: “The old Daoist priest assured me that the four of you would be absolutely loyal to me after emerging from your picture scrolls. Did he tamper with your mental states to ensure this?”

He then answered his own question as he mused, “I don’t think that’s the case. Not only did you display killing intent to me that one time, the four of you have always seemed like living, breathing people to me.

“As long as you’re human, there will always be fluctuations in your emotions, regardless of how much you temper your own mental state. No one can be certain that they won’t change over time. Hence, I’m very curious about how the old Daoist priest could be so confident in assuring me that none of you will turn on me.”

“Do you not trust him?” Sui Youbian asked.

“I do trust him on this matter,” Chen Ping’an replied.

Sui Youbian stroked a hand over the scabbard of Deep Infatuation, which was sitting across her lap, and she revealed, “Aside from the four unique phrases that were told to each of us, there’s actually one more phrase that all four of us were told. Actually, I’m not sure about Wei Xian, because he never chats with us in private, but at the very least, I know that Lu Baixiang, Zhu Lian and I are aware of it.”

“Can you tell me?” Chen Ping’an asked.

A wry smile appeared on Sui Youbian’s face as she said, “I suppose it couldn’t hurt to tell you. We were told that the one who kills Chen Ping’an will be the only one who’s freed. Hence, if you had summoned me out of my picture scroll first, then I would’ve tried to kill you no matter what.

“As for why Wei Xian made no attempt on your life even though he was the first to be summoned, that’s something that’s beyond me. During the battle at the inn, you summoned the three of us as well, and from there, the four of us all kept an eye on each other, making sure none of us could claim the only chance at freedom, thereby ensuring your safety.”

“But back in the temple on the mountain, Wei Xian personally told me that if I die, then all of you die. Doesn’t that contradict what you just told me?” Chen Ping’an asked as his brows furrowed slightly.

Sui Youbian smiled as she replied, “In that case, either Wei Xian lied to you, or the master of our Lotus Flower Blessed Land had already predicted that you would summon Wei Xian first, so he intentionally refrained from telling Wei Xian that killing you would grant him his freedom. In any case, regardless of what’s going on with Wei Xian, at the very least, Lu Baixiang, Zhu Lian, and I won’t allow anyone among the three of us to kill you.

“If any of us dares to kill you in private, then that person will be hunted by the other two until one side has perished. None of us are willing to lose our chance at freedom. You’ve reached the pinnacle of the Lotus Flower Blessed Land before, so I’m sure you’re aware that freedom is not just some willy-nilly pursuit for people like us.”

Chen Ping’an didn’t make any comment on the concept of freedom raised by Sui Youbian. Instead, he merely sighed, “No wonder people always say that you can never outsmart the heavens. No matter how one tries to outsmart the heavens, they’ll always be one step behind.

Sui Youbian smiled as she said, “Even if you manage to survive this ordeal, you’ll be incurring a massive loss. Is it worth it?”

Due to how vast this world was and how far cultivators had distanced themselves from the mortal world, there were far too many people and things that weren’t worth it.

Chen Ping’an offered no response, merely closing his eyes as he began practicing his standing meditation.

The three carriages traveled out of the outer city en route to the Dragon Scaling Platform, while Fu Qi began to scale the Dragon Scaling Platform on his own.

The Nascent Tier patriarch of the Fu Clan wasn’t present, but Fu Donghai, Fu Chunhua, Fu Nanhua, Chu Yang, and a collection of other Fu Clan guest elders were all standing at the foot of the Dragon Scaling Platform.

Chu Yang was standing with a cold look on his face. During his battle against Zheng Dafeng, he had successfully made a breakthrough to the Nascent Tier, but he had made it clear to Fu Qi in advance that regardless of the outcome of the battle about to take place, he wasn’t going to involve himself any further in this mess.

Last time, he had already made an exception by leaving his seaside thatched cottage to go to the Fu Clan to stop Zheng Dafeng, and that was already beyond what could’ve been reasonably asked of him as a guest elder. Fu Qi raised no objections to this, assuring Chu Yang that all he would have to do was stand by and watch, and that no one was going to disrupt his peaceful cultivation from here onward.

Fu Donghai was completely expressionless, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking or feeling.

He had thought that by plotting against Zheng Dafeng while Fu Nanhua was getting all the attention and glory, he would be making a major contribution to the Fu Clan, and in doing so, he would be able to outshine Fu Nanhua and win some favor with Fu Qi.

However, never did he think that this would be the outcome. After he was severely injured by Zheng Dafeng last time, Fu Qi didn’t even pay him a single visit, neither reprimanding him nor making any effort to console him. It was as if Fu Donghai was dead to him, and that was the most frustrating thing for him.

Not only was Fu Qi the leader of the Fu Clan, he was also the lord of Old Dragon City, and whenever it came to dealing with the affairs of the clan and the city, he had always been extremely easygoing.

For example, he never went out of his way to bully the other major clans in the city into submission, and even the useless pieces of trash in the Fu Clan that were unable to cultivate were treated extremely well. However, this meant that whenever Fu Qi showed his cold and unforgiving side, even his children, like Fu Donghai and Fu Chunhua, couldn’t help but fear him.

Fu Chunhua was watching with an absentminded look on her face as Fu Qi scaled the Dragon Scaling Platform.

She still recalled the time when her father had taken her to see Zheng Dafeng. The meeting hadn’t gone very well, but neither had it gone poorly. Essentially, all that was established was that they were people walking different paths that weren’t ever going to intersect, and it was decided that they were going to stay out of each other’s way.

However, that tenuous equilibrium was completely shattered by Fu Donghai’s little sinister plot. As a bystander to all of this, Fu Chunhua was able to assess the situation from a far more rational perspective, and she could tell that Fu Qi actually wasn’t angry at Fu Donghai for what he had done. Instead, he was a little glad that things had turned out this way.

He had already given up hope on Fu Donghai, but the latter had just inadvertently provided a catalyst to a sequence of events that Fu Qi had been trying to set into motion but didn’t know how. Essentially, Fu Donghai had given him a massive helping hand.

Out of the three siblings, Fu Nanhua was the one that was more bored and disinterested in all of this.

In his mind, there was no doubt that Zheng Dafeng was going to die on the Dragon Scaling Platform.

As for that woman from the Jiang Clan, while it was true that they were newlyweds, on their wedding day, there had been an open and candid discussion between the two, laying out the terms of their marriages, terms that Fu Nanhua deemed to be acceptable. To his surprise and contrary to all of the rumors circulating about her, the woman wasn’t hideous at all.

Instead, her looks were at least on par with those of Jin Su from Osmanthus Island, whom Fu Nanhua had once developed feelings for. However, Fu Nanhua had no intentions of being physically intimate with her as on their wedding night, the old maidservant from the Jiang Clan had been standing in the corner of their room, watching his every move like a hawk.

The old maidservant was a seasoned Nascent Tier swordswoman, so Fu Nanhua naturally didn’t dare to step out of line at all.

All he had done was take a glance at the woman from the Jiang Clan, his newlywed wife, and he was immediately given a cold glare by the old maidservant. He didn’t dare to oppose her, so he was forced to comply, and after that, he kept his distance from his wife and the old maidservant, only visiting them when it was absolutely necessary.

To her credit, the woman stuck to her end of the agreement, even covering the costs of when Fu Nanhua went out drinking with his friends.

Fu Nanhua felt this to be an exceptional arrangement, and he had to learn to be content with what he had.

This marriage was always only meant to be an event that marked the alliance between the Fu Cla and Jiang Clan, and as long as he was willing to spend the money, he could still find a few women in Old Dragon City as beautiful as her.