Unsheathed

It took them around an hour to go to the river guardian temple to offer incense. The temple wasn’t close, but Chen Ping’an wasn’t feeling too worried about this. Instead, it was the incense provider who started to feel a little guilty. At the same time, he became increasingly curious about Chen Ping’an’s background.

Old farmers went into the fields to look at their crops, while woodsmen went into the mountains to search for firewood. Since mountain dwellers lived off the mountain and shore dwellers lived off the waters, it was only natural that different people saw things very differently. This man was a vagrant cultivator from the mountains, and he was also working as an incense provider at the same time. As a result, he would come across more cultivators than ordinary people.

Moreover, the Azure Phoenix Nation was quite different from most of the other empires and nations in the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent. The imperial court had a very close relationship with the mountains, and it would never deliberately elevate the standings of immortal forces and clans for no reason.

There were still many conflicts inside the mountains and outside the mountains, but the emperor would always display his impressive boldness and might to resolve these issues. As a result, those in the Azure Phoenix Nation—especially those from wealthy clans—were all extremely familiar with all manner of strange and peculiar spirits and ghosts.

Because of this, citizens of the Azure Phoenix Nation were particularly haughty and thought very highly of themselves.

Today, as with the past few days, countless officials and wealthy nobles surged into the Azure Phoenix Nation again. Thanks to the grand debate between Buddhism and Daoism that had captured the attention of the entire nation, the Azure Phoenix Nation was now the hottest topic in the southeastern region of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent.

The incense provider’s cultivation base was low, only at the third tier. When he had enough coins in his money pouch, he would invite two or three good friends over to drink and chat. During their times, he discovered that his sense of superiority as a citizen of the Azure Phoenix Nation was no inferior to his sense of superiority as a third-tier Qi refiner.

This was most likely a sense of pride for his home nation.

However, the incense provider didn’t dare to guarantee whether or not he would become like those official immortals after he advanced to the Middle Five Tiers.

Even though he daydreamed about this, he understood that his beautiful dreams were nothing more than that—distant dreams, at this moment. At the end of the day, he had to take things one step at a time, just like he had to eat the rice in his bowl one mouthful at a time. For example, his current priority was to do his best to win over these outsiders.

Of the four travelers, the young man carrying a bamboo bookcase and a sword on his back was walking in front. He was clearly the leader, and his nimble footsteps and dignified aura signified that he was most likely an official immortal. However, he was undoubtedly from a wealthy noble family. Moreover, he definitely hadn’t entered the mountains to cultivate at a young age.

The incense provider had seen many young immortals from relatively bad backgrounds who, due to good fortune and outstanding aptitude, had obtained fated opportunities at a young age and been selected by traveling elites or scouts from some large immortal forces. After entering the mountains, these young immortals essentially stepped away from their difficult lives and soared to heaven in a single step.

However, if he were to comment on the temperament of this kind of young immortal… They were genuinely young immortals who treated clouds as food and dew as drink and didn’t appear human at all. When they left the mountains to temper their Dao Heart in the mortal world, perhaps they wouldn’t be aggressive and overbearing with everyone. Yet they would almost never be amiable and approachable either. They treated everyone the same, whether they were facing officials, generals, nobles, or powerful martial artists from the cultivation world. And “the same” meant “the same complete apathy.”

The tanned little girl with a bamboo sword and a bamboo saber hanging by her hip was most likely a junior from the same clan as the young master. She looked extremely lively and energetic. As for the two old men of short stature, they were probably subordinates or guards who were keeping the two safe while they journeyed through the cultivation world.

While the incense provider was speculating about Chen Ping’an and his companions’ identity, Chen Ping’an used the official dialect of the Parasol Leaf Continent to explain to Pei Qian the situation regarding deities at the level of river guardian.

Even though river guardians were deities officially recognized by the imperial court, allowing them to accept worship and incense offerings from the local residents, they were extremely low-level deities. To put it simply, they were equivalent to petty officials in the imperial court.

However, even though these low-level deities weren’t recorded in the imperial genealogical records, they would still be envied by the deities of the illegal temples and shrines regardless of how small their temples were and how big the illegal temples were. Illegitimate deities envied low-level deities far more than the reverse.

Illegal deities would have their life force cut off if they received no more worship and incense offerings, and their unsupported godly body would gradually begin to decay as well, eventually leading to their death. Moreover, there was no way for them to elevate their status, and they would often be hunted down by official immortals and vagrant cultivators. They were very juicy targets, after all.

On the other hand, river guardians wouldn’t suffer such a miserable fate even if the feng shui of their area flowed away and caused them to receive little worship and incense offerings. As long as the imperial court still existed and was willing to help, they could move to a different area and continue to receive worship and offerings. Their godly bodies could also be healed.

After arriving at the river guardian temple, which measured around one acre in area, the temple attendant quickly walked outside to welcome Chen Ping’an and his companions. He personally explained the achievements of the river guardian to the visitors, and he also talked about some of the poems and famous phrases left on the walls by visiting scholars and literati.

As they walked to the main hall to offer incense, the temple attendant subtly hinted to Chen Ping’an that he could also leave his thoughts on the walls if he spent another three to five snowflake coins. The more he spent, the better the location he could write at. Indeed, he could write in a prime location where future visitors could appreciate his work. Not only that, but the temple would also take good care of it, preventing it from being eroded by the elements.

In addition to this, visitors to the river guardian temple could also donate money or light eternal flame lamps. Both of these were positive interactions that would result in good karmic bonds being formed. However, this was completely up to Chen Ping’an and the others, and the temple definitely wouldn’t force them to do any of these things.

There was a slightly awkward expression on the face of the incense provider, and he didn’t participate in any of these conversations even though the temple attendant shot meaningful glances at him several times, reminding him to chip in and talk things up. However, he couldn’t bring himself to do this. Even though he was making a living through means that were unfit for a Qi refiner, he was an honest person who couldn’t bring himself to talk things up, after all. Thus, the incense provider simply pretended that he didn’t notice the temple attendant’s meaningful glances.

Chen Ping’an gave Pei Qian and Zhu Lian three sticks of incense each. However, he didn’t give any to Shi Rou, as she was a ghost residing in an immortal’s body, so he was afraid that he might commit some taboo and cause unwanted conflict.

After Chen Ping’an and the others offered incense, the temple attendant felt like there was no hope of squeezing any more incense money out of these visitors. However, he didn’t turn inhospitable because of this, and he simply felt a sense of disappointment. He remained polite and warm, and he even invited Chen Ping’an and his companions to stay and visit his dwelling for some tea.

The incense provider had remained silent the entire time, yet he finally opened his mouth again at this moment, also inviting Chen Ping’an and his companions to stay for some tea. He explained that while river water was a truly poor choice for brewing tea, the river water near this temple was very different. This water contained a small amount of water essence that was beneficial to one’s body.

The temple attendant almost chuckled in anger upon hearing this. While Chen Ping’an and the others were appreciating the rubbings of stele inscriptions in the corridor, the temple attendant seized the opportunity to slow down and secretly kick the incense provider from behind. He was helping the outsiders a bit too much.

The incense provider grinned in response, seemingly accustomed to this already.

Chen Ping’an politely turned down the temple attendant’s kind offer of tea, and he instead asked Pei Qian, “Do you want to write on the wall?”

Pei Qian vigorously shook her head.

That would cost three to five snowflake coins! Why didn’t the temple attendant directly rob them instead? If she exchanged this into silver coins, there would be enough coins to squish her to death! She definitely didn’t want her master to spend so much money. After all, the sparrow hawk kite in the prefectural city had only cost eight taels of silver!

However, Chen Ping’an turned to the elderly temple attendant and asked with a smile, “Can you please pick a relatively inconspicuous wall for me? The type that costs three snowflake coins? The two of us want to write down some thoughts. Oh, that’s right, is there a limit on how many characters we can write?”

Pei Qian almost threw her hiking pole away when she heard this. She hurriedly grabbed Chen Ping’an’s sleeve and furiously shook her small head.

“If it’s not a wall in a spot with extremely good feng shui, then three snowflake coins will be enough for Young Master to fill up an entire wall,” the temple attendant hurriedly replied.

Afterward, the temple attendant briskly led Chen Ping’an and the others to a suitable location. While doing so, he asked the incense provider to help him notify the others in the temple, telling them to prepare top-quality calligraphy brushes and ink as quickly as possible.

They stopped at a corridor in the fourth courtyard, and the temple attendant smiled proudly while they were waiting for the calligraphy brushes and ink to arrive. He pointed at a poem on a nearby wall and praised it. “Even though this place is relatively inconspicuous and far away from the main entrance, it’s actually a precious piece of land with very good feng shui. Truth be told, Young Master, I only led you here because there’s genuinely a good karmic bond between us. Over there is the precious work of the Azure Phoenix Nation’s elderly assistant minister.

“Assistant Minister Liu is a truly renowned literatus in the Azure Phoenix Nation, and it’s without a doubt that he deserves his fame as a knowledgeable Confucian scholar. His regular script is brilliant, and I’m sure that you have already recognized his incredible skills. There’s no need for me to say anything else.”

“His strokes are strong, and his characters reflect strength and health in old age,” Chen Ping’an concurred with a nod. He wasn’t being pretentious, and his praise was centered around the fact that he had indeed seen many brilliant calligraphy works before.

For example, there was Li Xisheng, Cui Dongshan, and Zhong Kui.

The temple attendant raised a thumb and praised him, “Young Master is indeed an expert with a keen eye.”

Chen Ping’an couldn’t help but feel slightly sheepish.

Similar to his skills in Go, Chen Ping’an was also mediocre when it came to calligraphy. Casting his gaze even further into the past, he hadn’t been especially talented at molding and firing pottery either.

Pei Qian felt even more uneasy at this moment. They were definitely going to spend the snowflake coins now, so it would be an absolute waste if she didn’t write anything. If there were no one here to stop her, she would have felt a strong urge to run around the entire river guardian temple and write on every single surface, including the floor. In fact, she would have even written on the godly statue of the river guardian, and only by doing so would she feel like the snowflake coins hadn’t been completely wasted.

However, to deface this wall with her handwriting, something that Old Cook Zhu Lian had compared to slithering worms and waddling ducks? Pei Qian was worried about losing face for her master!

The incense provider returned with a young boy who had been taken in by the river guardian temple, bringing with them calligraphy brushes and inkstones.

Pei Qian became increasingly worried, and she hurriedly leaned her hiking pole against the wall. After doing this, she removed her luggage sack and took out a book, wanting to find a pleasant sentence to copy. Pei Qian had a very good memory, and she had actually memorized this book a long time ago. However, her little mind was completely blank at this moment, and she couldn’t recall a single sentence from the book.

Zhu Lian took great pleasure in the little girl’s distress, and he laughed at her by saying that she had wasted all of her time and effort in reading and transcribing the texts. As it turned out, she hadn’t transformed any of this knowledge into her own—the sagely texts were still the sagely texts, and the little idiot was still the little idiot.

Pei Qian had no time to argue with the extremely mean-spirited old cook, and she instead focused on rifling through the pages of the book, looking left and right to find a suitable sentence. However, she wasn’t satisfied with anything, and she felt like she would make a huge fool of herself if she wrote any of this on the wall.

Pei Qian closed the book and lamented to Chen Ping’an in a dejected voice, “Master, don’t you have a lot of bamboo slips that are filled with impressive sayings? Can you lend me a few? I don’t know what to write…”

Chen Ping’an had already accepted a calligraphy brush and was just about to write a few lines of poetry that he enjoyed on the wall, but upon seeing Pei Qian’s pitiful expression, he suppressed his laughter and handed his calligraphy to her, saying, “Which sentence in the book do you think is the most reasonable? You can write that on the wall. If you truly can’t think of anything, then you’re free to write out some of your thoughts as well. There’s no need to feel anxious. Just treat this the same way that you would treat transcribing texts.”

Pei Qian felt slightly more at ease as she looked at Chen Ping’an’s smiling face. She took a deep breath and accepted the calligraphy brush, after which she raised her small head and looked up at the snow-white wall. However, her gaze continued to shift downward, and she eventually squatted down and… decided to write at the foot of the wall? There were no ghosts or spirits present to frighten her, and the intimidating Cui Dongshan wasn’t here to suppress her either. Thus, it was genuinely a very rare sight to see Pei Qian become as timid as this.

Chen Ping’an recalled something from the past. Back then, he, Liu Xianyang, and the snotty little child, Gu Can, had run to that small temple together and used some charcoal pieces to write on the wall. Liu Xianyang and Gu Can had wanted to compete with the owners of the other names, so they had come up with countless ideas regarding how they could write their names higher. In the end, they had stolen a ladder from someone and sprinted out of the small town with the ladder on their shoulders.

After crossing the stone arch bridge and arriving at the small temple, they had put up the ladder and allowed the three of them to write their names at the highest point of the wall. Liu Xianyang had stolen the ladder from a family in Dragon Riding Alley, while Gu Can had stolen the pieces of charcoal from his own home.

In the end, Chen Ping’an had held the ladder still while Liu Xianyang had climbed up and wrote his name in the largest font out of everyone. Gu Can didn’t know how to write, so it was Chen Ping’an who had climbed up and helped him write his name. In fact, Chen Ping’an had only learned how to write the character “Can” after asking his neighbor, Zhi Gui.

And thus, Chen Ping’an smiled and grabbed Pei Qian by the ear, pulling her up before squatting down and getting her to ride on his shoulders. “Write at the top of the wall; no one will see the characters there either.”