Unsheathed

After leaving Bamboo Scroll Lake, Xun Yuan flew out to sea and set off on his return journey to the Parasol Leaf Continent directly from there, as opposed to traveling to Old Dragon City first.

Liu Zhimao and the Millet Grain Island Master paid a visit to Palace Willow Island together, and two of them stopped around ten thousand feet away from the island.

Liu Laocheng only met with the Millet Grain Island Master, while Liu Zhimao was told to leave in a very unceremonious fashion.

Inside the tall building in Pond Water City, Cui Dongshan was so amused to see this that he erupted into laughter and began rolling around on the ground.

However, after his laughter subsided, a sullen look returned to his face, and he began “swimming” along the ground to the edge of the golden lightning field before heaving a forlorn sigh, lamenting the fact that he had trapped himself in a prison of his own making.

After that, he sat up and began tossing stones onto the go board, using the stones to measure out how much fondness different people had felt toward Chen Ping’an during their initial encounters.

It was a completely pointless endeavor, but he had to find a way to entertain himself and pass the time somehow.

Qi Jingchun. Cui Dongshan tossed ten stones onto the board, then rolled his eyes as he sighed, “Fine, I’ll admit that you’re a better judge of character than I am.”

He then brushed all of the stones off the board with his sleeve.

The sword spirit. Cui Dongshan didn’t toss a single stone onto the board as he rolled his eyes and grumbled. “You’re still on top. Are you happy now, Qi Jingchun?”

Only after that did he toss six stones onto the board before brushing them away again.

Old Man Yang, one stone.

A’Liang, five stones.

Cui Dongshan thought about it for a moment, then added four more stones as he murmured to himself, “That’s for after they reached Red Candle Town.”

Zuo You, three stones. Given his ties to Qi Jingchun, Cui Dongshan assigned him three more stones.

Wei Jin, no stones.

Ruan Qiong, two stones.

Cui Dongshan ran through a list of virtually every single one of Chen Ping’an’s acquaintances on the go board one by one, and all of a sudden, he erupted into a furious fit at the realization that he had forgotten about the most deplorable bastard of all.

“How could I have forgotten about you, you shameless old scholar! You’re the most biased person I’ve never met!”

He picked up an entire jar of go stones with both hands before dumping all of them onto the go board.

Right at this moment, his brows furrowed slightly as he stowed the picture scroll away, then returned all of the go stones to their jar before calling out, “Come in.”

The owners of the building, the Fan couple of Pond Water City, entered the room with that idiot son of theirs, Fan Yan.

Fan Yan was huddled over slightly as he trailed along behind his parents in a timid manner, and there were no chairs in the room.

Cui Dongshan was seated on the ground, so the three of them couldn’t remain standing over him, so they could only sit down across from him, but of course, they were seated in a kneeling position with their legs folded beneath them.

The Fan Clan of Pond Water City were once double agents for both the Great Li Empire and the Luminous Vermilion Empire, selling intelligence back and forth between the two parties. As for the authenticity of the pieces of intelligence that they sold, that depended on whether the Green Ripple Pavilion provided them with more compensation and were better at keeping them in check, or if those idiots from the Luminous Vermilion Empire did a better job.

As it turned out, the Millet Grain Island Master was much more capable than whoever was responsible for intelligence affairs from the Luminous Vermilion Empire, and in the end, the Fan Clan had chosen to pledge its allegiance solely to the Great Li Empire.

The lord of Pond Water City remained seated, while his wife, who was said to have spent all of her time doing nothing but spending money and spoiling her son, provided Cui Dongshan with a detailed and organized report on the state of Bamboo Scroll Lake and the recent developments pertaining to the Luminous Vermilion Empire’s border forces.

Cui Dongshan remained expressionless the entire time, and despite his youthful appearance, the woman didn’t dare to take him lightly at all.

This was because prior to Cui Chan’s departure, he had told her to treat Cui Dongshan the same way that she would a left or right-hand minister of one of the Great Li Empire’s Six Ministries.

After discussing the matter with her husband, the two of them had concluded that Cui Dongshan had to have been an earth immortal of the Great Li Empire or the son or grandson of a pillar general at the very least.

The woman took a glance at her husband, the lord of Pond Water City, and he hurriedly rose to his feet before making his way to the edge of the golden lightning field with his back hunched over in a respectful manner, and he extended both hands forward to offer up a secret letter that had been given to him by the imperial preceptor of the Great Li Empire.

“Young Master, the esteemed imperial preceptor instructed me to give you this letter if you still hadn’t come down from the top floor by today.”

Cui Dongshan made a beckoning motion to draw the letter into his grasp, then tore open the envelope and casually tossed it aside, and his expression instantly darkened slightly at the sight of the letter inside.

The Pond Water City Lord and his wife were stunned to see this, unable to believe the callous disrespect with which Cui Dongshan was treating this secret letter from the Great Li Empire’s imperial preceptor.

If the two of them had received such a prestigious honor, then they would’ve been sure to frame the secret letter and worship it like an imperial edict.

In contrast, Cui Dongshan scrunched the letter up into a ball and erupted into a furious tirade.

The letter read: “I said you were forgetful, and I’m sure you disagreed. How about now? You were the one who drew this circle, did I ever contest you on this matter? By stepping out of the lightning field, you’d be breaking the rules, but so what even if you followed the rules? You are the one who has backed yourself into a corner and trapped yourself in a prison of your own making. In that sense, how are you different from Chen Ping’an?

“Chen Ping’an is unable to get over himself, and as his disciple, you have really taken after him very well. Since when have you fallen to the point that you need a lightning field to be able to follow the rules? If you’re already this pitiful, then you can eat this letter of mine. If that’s not enough to fill your belly, then you can beg the Fan Clan for more.”

Cui Dongshan really did stuff the ball of paper into his mouth and chewed it into pieces before swallowing it.

To his surprise, the taste of the Xuan paper was quite nice.

Cui Dongshan swayed his head from side to side as he pointed at Fan Yan, who was seated behind his parents with his legs folded under him, and he demanded, “Get over here, Fan Yan. Are you having fun pretending to be an idiot? Tell me what you think of that fool, Gu Can.”

The tall young man rose to his feet, then extended a respectful curtsey before stepping forward and sitting down abreast of his parents, who were clearly a little anxious, perhaps even somewhat fearful of this son of theirs.

Fan Yan wore a calm expression, and he looked directly at Cui Dongshan with no fear or timidity in his eyes at all as he smiled and said, “Gu Can is a very simple kid. All I had to do was act a little stupid and simple, pretend to be very devoted to my parents, and be willing to endure hardships and accept losses, and eventually, I was able to earn his trust.

“I was going to sell him once I encountered someone who could afford him, but Liu Laocheng ended up costing me a large sum of immortal currency, and I don’t even have anyone to complain to.”

“You’re a smart guy,” Cui Dongshan remarked with a smile.

“Unfortunately, I lack wisdom,” Fan Yan replied.

“Is that really what you think?” Cui Dongshan asked with an amused smile, and Fan Yan was slightly taken aback by this question.

Cui Dongshan rose to his feet and clasped his hands behind his back, then strode over to the edge of the golden lightning field before sending Fan Yan sprawling with a kick.

He looked down at the young man, who had fallen onto his backside, and said, “If you want to be able to stand above others, then you have to be able to bear greater fortune and endure greater misfortune than those beneath you.

“If you want to live an easy life, then you’ll either have to play the fool or be an actual fool. Which one of those two categories do you fall into? Make sure you think carefully about that question. If you answer wrong, the city lord’s manor will have to arrange your funeral tomorrow.”

Fan Yan’s complexion turned deathly pale, while Cui Dongshan continued to look at him with a faint smile.

All of a sudden, a smile appeared on Fan Yan’s face as well, and all of the fear in his eyes had faded away.

Cui Dongshan cocked his head to the side as he scrutinized Fan Yan with a cold gaze and asked, “You must’ve been told by that old bastard that you don’t have to worry about me killing you, is that right? But do you know what he’s actually thinking? If you can’t even deduce that, if you can’t even guess who I am, then who gave you the courage to speak to me like this?”

It was only now that Fan Yan was truly beginning to grow anxious.

“It’s already a foregone conclusion that the Great Li Empire is going to conquer Bamboo Scroll Lake. The intelligence that you’ve sold to our Great Li Empire has proved to be very useful, and you’ve made some significant contributions in the past, but you’ve been given just reward for everything that you’ve done, so you’re not owed anything.

“Also, do you really think that the Green Ripple Pavilion is unaware of the private arrangements you’ve made with the Luminous Vermilion Empire? What makes you think that you’re untouchable, even now, when you’re completely expendable?”

He stepped out of the golden lightning field, and the entire building shuddered violently under his Nascent Tier aura.

Cui Dongshan strode over to Fan Yan, then brought the tips of his thumb and index finger together as he looked down at the latter and sneered, “I don’t even want to crush a piece of scum like you because it would only dirty my hand. It’s incredible to think that a little shit like you dares to get smart with me!”

He then turned to the entrance of the room and spat in that direction as he yelled, “I know what you’re plotting, you old bastard! You want this little shit to goad me into a fit of rage so that I would slay that ninth tier swordsman of the Luminous Vermilion Empire for you, isn’t that right?”

At this point, the Pond Water City Lord and his wife were already trembling uncontrollably from fear, and Cui Dongshan turned to them with a menacing expression as he snapped, “You two should be ashamed of yourselves for raising such an incompetent piece of trash! It’s still not too late to perform your duties as parents.

“You can start off by giving him a dozen or two slaps. Make sure to make them loud and clear or I’ll kill all three of you right now! Isn’t there a custom in Bamboo Scroll Lake that families have to be together, whether it be in this world or in the afterlife? You better not piss me off any more than this because I’m the one who’s going to decide whether you three get to stay together in the world of the living or on the other side!”

The sound of a string of loud slaps rang out in the room, and it was far more pleasing to the ears than the sound of clattering go stones.

Cui Dongshan’s mood was finally lifted.

He emerged from the room, then strode over the railing in the walkway with a bleak look on his face as he murmured to himself, “Gu Can, you must think that you’re better than everyone else, don’t you? Do you really know how cruel this world is? Do you know how Chen Ping’an has managed to survive to this day?

“Even with that little catfish by your side, you’re destined not to be able to survive for long in Bamboo Scroll Lake; what makes you think that you’ll be able to go far on this path of yours? Did Liu Zhimao teach you that? Did your mother teach you that? Do you know how much my teacher has sacrificed for you?”

————

In the dying light of dusk, Chen Ping’an took a stroll to the Vermilion Chord Residence while carrying the flagon of calamus wine that had been sitting in his minimization treasure this entire time.

Hong Su emerged from the side room as she waved at him with a smile.

Just like on that day, when Chen Ping’an had heard her life story, the two of them sat down on the doorstep together.

Hong Su’s eyes were glowing with admiration as she turned to Chen Ping’an and raised her thumb as she praised, “You’re the man, Mr. Chen!”

A hint of sorrow flashed through Chen Ping’an’s eyes, and he couldn’t bring himself to reveal to her the truth that would break her heart.

The world was never a simple place, and honesty wasn’t always the best policy.

At the very least, Hong Su could currently lead a peaceful life with no worries.

Would it really benefit her to know the truth? Wouldn’t that only make it so that she had to live in fear every day?

Just as she was now, Hong Su had been a very kind and thoughtful woman throughout her lifetime, and she mistook the hint of sorrow in his eyes as a sign that he had sustained some severe injuries during his riveting battle against Liu Laocheng. That had to have been why he was looking even more frail and lethargic than during their previous meeting.

Additionally, in her eyes, it made sense for Chen Ping’an to be concerned for his own future, given that there was such an insurmountable adversary of his currently residing on Palace Willow Island, constantly eying up Cyan Gorge Island.

Chen Ping’an raised the flagon of calamus wine in his hand as he forced a smile onto his face and said, “I’ve been saving this wine since you gave it to me last time. Do you have any cups or bowls here? Let’s drink this wine together.”

“I only have a single bowl,” Hong Su replied in an embarrassed manner. “Should I go and ask the servants of the manor for some cups?”

“There’s no need for that,” Chen Ping’an said with a smile. “You can use the bowl, and I’ll drink straight out of the flagon.”

A smile appeared on Hong Su’s face as well, and she skipped over to the dark side room to retrieve a white bowl. By the time she sat back down on the doorstep, Chen Ping’an had already removed the yellow paper from around the flagon and broken the clay seal, and he turned to the side to pour some wine for Hong Su.

Hong Su was struggling to contain her amusement.

The white bowl barely felt heavier at all. She was the one who had given him the wine, yet he was being so stingy, having poured barely any wine into her bowl at all.

He took a glance at her, then looked back down at the bowl and poured in a bit more wine.

Hong Su was finally unable to suppress her amusement any longer, and she threw a hand over her own mouth, but the sound of laughter was still escaping through her fingers.

Chen Ping’an also burst into laughter, and this time, he finally filled her bowl all the way.

Hong Su’s eyes had curled up into a pair of crescent moons from her vibrant smile, and she held the bowl in both hands as she drank the wine in small sips, while Chen Ping’an also took a sip himself.

Neither of them said anything.

During their previous meeting, Hong Su had jokingly asked him if there was a girl that he liked, and he had shyly admitted that there was. Hong Su couldn’t help but wonder where that girl was right now.

Surely her heart would ache for him if she were to see how lonely he was on Cyan Gorge Island.

Chen Ping’an took a sip of wine, then cast his gaze into the distance as he asked in a quiet voice, “Hong Su, we’re friends, right?”

Hong Su nodded firmly in response.

Chen Ping’an continued to look into the distance, and it almost seemed as if he were talking to himself as he said, “From now, no matter what kind of trouble you encounter, don’t be afraid. Always remember that you have a friend in me.”

Hong Su was rather perplexed about why Chen Ping’an was telling her this now, but she was still very happy, nonetheless. She turned her head to the side to sneak a furtive glance at him, and she discovered that he had already put on a thick, cotton, azure robe to protect him from the deepening winter chill.