Unsheathed

Ma Duyi and Zeng Ye stopped at the foot of the mountain ridge and waited for a long time, yet there was still no sign of Chen Ping’an turning around and returning with his horse.

Ma Duyi started to become a little worried, and it was surprisingly Zeng Ye whom she had blocked just then who remained calm and composed.

Ma Duyi was most annoyed about Zeng Ye being a stupid person who has stupidly good luck and him not realizing how lucky he was. She chuckled in anger and huffed, “What a heartless person you are, feeling carefree and relaxed after eating and drinking your fill.”

Zeng Ye was just an expressionless young boy who was timid and inarticulate, so he didn’t dare to talk back to Ma Duyi. Most importantly, he didn’t feel that Ma Duyi’s criticism of him was incorrect.

Ma Duyi was just about to say something else.

However, Chen Ping’an descended from the mountain ridge at this moment, and his expression appeared a little different in the eyes of Ma Duyi and Zeng Ye.

He no longer looked troubled and gloomy, and he instead looked a little… happy?

Ma Duyi exchanged a glance with Zeng Ye.

Chen Ping’an grabbed his Sword Nurturing Gourd and took a swig of wine, saying with a faint smile, “Let’s keep going.”

————

The three steeds continued north along the meandering roads.

There was thick snow blanketing the roads and surroundings, and the snow melted so slowly that it was almost impossible to see any greenery amid the mountains and rivers. However, there was finally a hint of warmth from the sun.

Zeng Ye was able to see and hear many things on the journey, and he finally came across the famous border scouts of the Great Li Empire. The scouts were suited in battleworn armor and armed with bows and sabers, and the cavalrymen didn’t appear arrogant or haughty, nor did they radiate with any killing intent. Rather, they were like a flowing river under ice, silent and slow.

The scouts only observed them for a brief moment before rushing past. Zeng Ye’s heart was in his throat, and he only dared to breathe again after the scouts were dozens of paces away from them.

They also came across an endless stream of large convoys hastily traveling north, with all of the carriages exquisite and everyone fearing for their own safety, from the guards to the chariot drivers and to the passengers who occasionally pulled back their curtains to peer at the three steeds.

Zeng Ye saw Mr. Chen stopping his horse by the side of the road, and only when the convoys passed did he continue forward. Afterward, they saw a small box roll along the ground, one that the owner had no time to stop and retrieve. Chen Ping’an jumped off his horse and opened the small box, finding that it was filled with ancient books.

Casually grabbing one and flipping it open, he saw several book stamps belonging to different dynasties and using different scripts. This represented the previous owners of the book. Chen Ping’an held the small box and looked backward, thinking for a moment before deciding against returning it. He temporarily placed it in his minimization treasure before jumping on his horse and continuing forward.

Ma Duyi looked for a conversation, saying in amusement, “Oh? I didn’t think that you were this type of person. Are you going to steal the books just like that?”

Zeng Ye rebutted Ma Duyi in a rare display, saying, “These items were abandoned by their previous owner, and they’re books of all things as well. Perhaps you want us to leave them in the mud to get soiled?”

Chen Ping’an shook his head and said, “They’re in the process of fleeing for their lives, so us delaying them for even a second could lead to unpredictable consequences.”

Zeng Ye shot a glance at Ma Duyi.

Ma Duyi rolled her eyes in response.

Afterward, a female yin entity who had temporarily resided in a Fox Skin Beauty Talisman entered the living world and used her slightly rusty local dialect to ask for information in a small prefectural city that hadn’t been transformed into a battleground. After asking many people, she finally found a residence with a tall and impressive front door.

The four of them then settled down in a local inn, and Chen Ping’an put away the Fox Skin Beauty Talisman at night before quietly sneaking inside. He then retrieved the talisman and allowed the female yin entity to enter the living world again, giving her an opportunity to finally see that handsome scholar who had traveled to the capital to participate in the imperial examination back then.

The scholar was already an old man closing in on fifty, and he was carrying his young and snoozing son in his arms as he drank with a few good friends from the officialdom. They were engaged in spirited discussions, and his friends congratulated him again and again, saying that he had obtained fortune from misfortune. The scholar had become acquainted with a military officer from the Great Li Empire, allowing him to become the third-in-command in this small prefectural city. His friends joked and said that he shouldn’t forget about them after becoming wealthy and powerful, causing the old scholar who was yet to don his brand new official garb to roar with hearty laughter.

The female yin entity appeared a little downcast, and it seemed as if she could barely recognize the scholar who had been her childhood sweetheart. Perhaps it was because he was no longer young.

The female yin entity walked along a quiet street with Chen Ping’an after leaving the residence.

“That child looks more like his father — what do you think?” Chen Ping’an suddenly asked.

The female yin entity nodded and immediately cheered up, exclaiming, “I think you’re right!”

Chen Ping’an, Ma Duyi, and Zeng Ye left the small prefectural city that the heavy cavalry of the Great Li Empire didn’t care about at all, continuing on their journey north.

They arrived in a small county city where they decided to dismount and buy some miscellaneous goods. Chen Ping’an walked past a relatively big gold and silver shop, and he hesitated for a moment before turning back and walking inside.

There were two old shop attendants and two young shop attendants, with all of them busy with their own tasks.

Chen Ping’an retrieved an official gold ingot of the Stone Brush Nation and exchanged it for some official silver and a pile of copper coins.

The two old and experienced shop attendants didn’t participate in the transaction, allowing their young disciples to deal with the matter. After all, one’s master could only teach one the basics, and it was up to one’s talent and hard work to decide how far one could eventually go. When raising children, parents would hope that their children could look after them in old age. In a similar vein, masters would naturally want their disciples to be deft and capable such that they could help around and achieve great things in the future.

The two young shop attendants were similar in age, with one being relatively expressionless and inarticulate much like Zeng Ye. Meanwhile, the other appeared spirited and energetic, and the intelligent young boy observed Chen Ping’an up and down twice immediately after he entered the shop.

Chen Ping’an handed over the gold ingot and received some official silver and copper coins that were of slightly lesser total value. When negotiating with the young shop attendants, he first spoke using the official dialect of the Luminous Vermilion Empire, causing both of them to become slightly stupefied. Chen Ping’an then spoke unfluently using the official dialect of the Stone Brush Nation, and only then were they able to properly negotiate and reach a deal. Chen Ping’an left the shop after completing the transaction.

After the young man in azure cotton robes left the shop…

The expressionless young boy was still immersed in the joy of earning a healthy sum of money for the shop. However, he was quickly kicked in the backside by his good friend whom he had grown up with. Following the latter’s gaze, the expressionless young boy finally discovered that their masters who would argue with each other all the time were shockingly sitting together and solemnly discussing some matter.

Chen Ping’an returned to Ma Duyi and Zeng Ye’s side, and Ma Duyi asked with a smile, “This is but a small shop in a tiny county city, yet there are actually two Qi refiners?”

Chen Ping’an nodded and replied, “They’re probably choosing their disciples, with each of them interested in one of the young shop attendants.”

Ma Duyi pursed her lips and said, “The two elderly cultivators are at most at the Abode Tier, so how good a disciple can they hope to find?”

Chen Ping’an smiled and replied, “If anyone were to say this, it should be me rather than you, no?”

Ma Duyi replied with a cold humph.

Chen Ping’an hesitated for a moment before saying, “If my guess isn’t wrong, then one of the elderly cultivators should be at the Sea Observation Tier while the other has potentially reached the Dragon Gate Tier. However, the two of them detected your presence a long time ago, so they purposely suppressed their aura and had you mistakenly believe that they were at the Abode Tier.

“As for why they didn’t disguise themselves as ordinary old men from the neighborhood, it was most likely because they felt like two Abode Tier cultivators would be enough to deter powerful passers-by like us in a small rural area with little spiritual energy. At the same time, their cultivation bases wouldn’t be too shocking and eyebrow-raising. Which is to say, they’re both very experienced members of the cultivation world.”

Ma Duyi’s eyes lit up, and she asked, “Mr. Chen, what if they stubbornly believe that we’re targeting them? For example, what if they think that we’re trying to steal their disciples? Mr. Chen, I feel like your act of walking inside that gold and silver shop was incorrect in and of itself.”

Chen Ping’an smiled and replied, “And that’s why outsiders like us should immediately leave after buying what we want. Also, let me say this first. Both of you should remember not to look around when we exit through the city gate in a moment. Just continue forward with your heads down, lest they start to suspect us of anything.”

Ma Duyi was slightly puzzled because she still didn’t understand why Chen Ping’an had walked into that shop. This was quite different from Mr. Chen’s normal manner of dealing with situations.

Chen Ping’an told Zeng Ye to enter a shop by himself to buy some items while he and Ma Duyi waited on the street outside. He explained to Ma Duyi in a quiet voice, “What if the two elderly cultivators weren’t planning to recruit in-house disciples? In fact, what if they weren’t official immortals and were actually heretical and sinister vagrant cultivators? So, I entered the shop to better understand the situation. The two elderly cultivators didn’t look like sinister cultivators with ill intentions, and I wasn’t able to gauge much more apart from this, so I simply left it at that.”

Ma Duyi heaved a sigh, with a hint of a smile on her face as she complained, “Mr. Chen, don’t you find it annoying to think about so many things every day? I feel annoyed just listening to it!”

“Thinking about these things isn’t annoying to me,” Chen Ping’an replied with a smile. “However, I most certainly feel annoyed when I think about you shamelessly staying outside and refusing to return to the talisman day after day, forcing me to count on my fingers the number of snowflake coins that I’m wasting.”

“How boring!” Ma Duyi exclaimed in embarrassment and annoyance.

Chen Ping’an smiled and put his hands inside his opposite sleeves.

When Zeng Ye finished buying the miscellaneous items, Chen Ping’an told him and Ma Duyi a small and interesting piece of information, saying that the stronger Dragon Gate Tier cultivator had chosen the expressionless young boy while the weaker Sea Observation Tier cultivator had chosen the intelligent young boy.

These were indeed minor matters to outsiders like Chen Ping’an.

To the two young boys who were temporarily oblivious to the situation, however, they would eventually understand the significance of these matters when they truly set foot on the path of cultivation in the future.

This contrast between significance and insignificance had also played out following the parting between General Xu Mao and Chen Ping’an.

A young woodsman had coincidentally passed by and accidentally tripped on something, and he was almost shocked to death upon digging up the snow and seeing what lay underneath.

Perhaps by the intangible will of the heavens, the young woodsman who was almost unable to make ends meet gritted his teeth and summoned his courage to dig up the snow in the entire area.

The young woodsman was trembling with fear when he left, but there was an additional jade pendant radiating with warmth in his possession.

This was a jade pendant that Prince Han Jingxin had liked to play around with, and inscribed using ancient seal script on one side were the characters “Dawn Cloud Mountain,” and inscribed on the other side was a Daoist mantra poem.

On the path of the Great Dao, unpredictable fortune and calamity doth be; a few trivial differences, yet vastly different outcomes.

Chen Ping’an and his companions continued their journey, and at dawn several days later, Chen Ping’an suddenly jumped off his horse on a relatively secluded road. He left the road, venturing a dozen or so steps away before flicking his sleeve at a location that smelled strongly of blood.

The snow on the ground was instantly pushed away, revealing a gruesome scene. Not only were the corpses hacked apart, but all of their organs and intestines had been dug out as well. Their deaths were incredibly brutal, and they had likely only been killed recently, no more than one day ago. This area should have been filled with wrathful yin energy, yet there wasn’t a sliver of such energy.

This was done by a cultivator using secret mystical techniques.

Ma Duyi could barely bring herself to look, while Zeng Ye directly ran away to retch.

Chen Ping’an buried the corpses further away from the road, not forgetting to piece them back together before doing so.

After burying the corpses and confirming that there was no one around, Chen Ping’an retrieved the Colored Glaze Pagoda from his minimization treasure and let out a yin entity who was once a Dragon Gate Tier cultivator and had been made into a ghost general by Yu Gui following his death.

The ghost general that still possessed sentience spent a long time to bring Chen Ping’an and the others to a tall mountain peak that had few inhabitants. Upon arriving at the foot of the mountain peak, Chen Ping’an summoned Ma Duyi back into a Fox Skin Beauty Talisman before asking the ghost general to possess Zeng Ye.

They started to climb the mountain, and they eventually found a mountain abode with the characters “Guqin Craft” carved on a nearby cliff.