Unsheathed

Chen Ping’an entered Bamboo Scroll Lake through Green Parasol City again, and just like last time, he temporarily left his horse at an inn. He then went to that same small alley and visited the same steamed bun shop, buying four cheap but delicious meat buns. However, business at the shop seemed much worse than half a year ago, with the young shopkeeper appearing listless and sighing again and again. Chen Ping’an munched on the meat buns as he went to the ferry station and found his boat, sweeping it clean before rowing it back to Cyan Gorge Island.

New Year was just around the corner, and compared to last year, the state of Bamboo Scroll Lake was even more miserable than that of the steamed bun shop. There had been three bouts of heavy snow at the end of last year, causing the spiritual energy of Bamboo Scroll Lake to increase noticeably. Because of this, even the cultivators who were extremely apathetic toward New Year celebrations were able to enjoy a delightful New Year.

However, they had never imagined that things would take a turn for the worse so quickly, with the one thousand or so islands including Cyan Gorge Island all needing to give up more than half of their wealth before the year was even over. They needed to pay tributes to the heavy cavalry commanded by Great General Su Gaoshan of the Great Li Empire. Some islands that had good relationships with the Luminous Vermilion Empire or its vassal states, such as the Stone Brush Nation and the Plum Glaze Nation, were truly suffering unspeakable pain. Not only were they dealt a severe blow, but they were also unable to please either side of the conflict.

The most terrifying thing was that Millet Grain Island’s Tan Yuanyi, White Fish Island’s Tian Hujun, and Guest Elder Yu Gui joined forces to bring together all of the islands that had earth immortals among their elders — for example, the earth immortal couple from Oriole Island — once again forming an alliance. There was no conflict or argument this time, and everyone worked together surprisingly well.

They voluntarily designated the four surrounding cities including Pond Water City and Green Parasol City as passes, with four people responsible for overseeing each pass. These four people would include one general from the Great Li Empire, one scholarly official, and two accompanying cultivators.

This formed a gigantic net that trapped the tens of thousands of vagrant cultivators, preventing them from leaving Bamboo Scroll Lake. As such, they had no option but to grit their teeth and part ways with their wealth, sending box after box of immortal coins to Pond Water City. Many other changes and conflicts occurred during this time, and after the death of close to one hundred vagrant cultivators including two Golden Core Tier cultivators, the chaos and commotion in Bamboo Scroll Lake finally started to die down. The vagrant cultivators finally accepted their fate and gave up on their resistance.

It was said that this was only the first round of sweeping changes.

Afterward, some of the larger islands would receive permission from the heavy cavalry of the Great Li Empire to conquer and engulf the smaller islands, allowing them to wantonly increase their number of vassal islands. Of the one thousand or so islands in Bamboo Scroll Lake, it was extremely likely that approximately thirty percent of them would lose their independence within one year, with their ancestral halls being demolished as they were turned into subordinates.

During this inevitably violent and bloody change, any cultivator who dared to resist would face one and only one fate — it was rumored that Su Gaoshan was going to create a new position with no rank, Horse-Leading Cultivator. This implied that the cultivators would become horse-leading subordinates of the legitimate accompanying cultivators of the Great Li Empire’s army.

Once General Su Gaoshan tore through the defences of the Plum Glaze Nation, both his army and Cao Ping’s army would send their troops to five separate fronts, joining forces to create a huge encirclement around the Luminous Vermilion Empire. The only fortune enjoyed by the Horse-Leading Cultivators was that they could accumulate military merit through their battles with the army of the Luminous Vermilion Empire. Through this, they could potentially be promoted to the lowest-ranking accompanying cultivators of the Great Li Empire’s army.

However, would even two or three out of every ten Horse-Leading Cultivators survive to become accompanying cultivators? Heavens knew. Even if they could, what would they do when the heavy cavalry of the Great Li Empire continued to march south?

This rumor was extremely widespread due to its richness in detail and plausibility. It stood up to scrutiny, and Su Gaoshan, that money-grubbing barbarian from the Great Li Empire, was genuinely someone who would kill a chicken to take its eggs.

However, there was no unity among the vagrant cultivators anymore, with the larger forces having all been destroyed and broken into pieces. That being the case, who dared to sound the horn of resistance?

At this moment, the vagrant cultivators of Bamboo Scroll Lake finally started to reminisce about the good qualities of Liu Zhimao. They had been terrified at the thought of Liu Zhimao advancing to the Upper Five Tiers back then, yet they were now lamenting the fact that he hadn’t cultivated earnestly enough. Otherwise, would he have suffered such a miserable fate and become a prisoner of Palace Willow Island? Would he have watched on so helplessly and been unable to lead the resistance of Bamboo Scroll Lake?

Chen Ping’an walked onto Cyan Gorge Island, first visiting his room near the mountain entrance and sitting there for a while. He discovered that there was no dust in the room, but he quickly came to a realization. This was most likely thanks to Gu Can.

Gu Can had seemingly broken the agreement between the two of them, but this was actually a positive development.

Chen Ping’an walked out of his room and glanced at Bamboo Scroll Lake.

He had passed many islands to get to Cyan Gorge Island, so it was without a doubt that many keen observers were already aware of his arrival.

However, the times had now changed, and not a single person came over to visit Chen Ping’an. In reality, things had already been this downcast and lonely when Chen Ping’an had previously left the Stone Brush Nation to briefly visit Bamboo Scroll Lake.

Many island masters had visited Chen Ping’an one after another in the past, including Yu Gui, the island master of Purple Bamboo Island, and Liu Chongrun of Bejeweled Hairpin Island. Things had been so busy and lively that it had appeared as if Chen Ping’an were the true leader of Bamboo Scroll Lake.

If one were wealthy, one would have many distant relatives even if one lived in the deep mountains. If one were poor, one would be left alone even if one lived in the bustling cities.

This was something that had never changed since ancient times.

Chen Ping’an enjoyed the peace and quiet, and he once again visited the ruins of the Hengbo Residence and stayed there for a short while. Taking an extra look at these ruins would allow him to further experience the dangers of cultivating in the mountains.

Gu Can arrived at the ruins of the Hengbo Residence very quickly this time, and he stood next to Chen Ping’an as he commented, “I thought you would only return here after the New Year.”

Chen Ping’an sighed with emotion and said, “I need to travel to the mountains located to the south of Bamboo Scroll Lake afterward, and I might need to spend slightly more time there.”

Gu Can nodded in understanding.

“Has Tian Hujun visited you yet?” Chen Ping’an asked.

“She has, and she was relatively sincere when she spoke,” Gu Can replied. “She even encouraged me to lower my ego, saying that I should try my luck at Pond Water City and find a younger accompanying cultivator to become acquainted with. After all, my hometown being Dragon Spring Prefecture is a huge plus and should make this process easier. She also said that a young accompanying cultivator being able to stay at Pond Water City implies an impressive background, so becoming acquainted with them might bring me peace and stability. However, I don’t really dare to trust her, especially since she has a closer relationship with Han Jingling and Huang He in private.”

Chen Ping’an pondered for a moment before replying, “Her suggestion for you to go to Pond Water City isn’t necessarily wrong, but doing so might not yield the results that she expects. You not agreeing to her proposal to go to Pond Water City to look for an accompanying cultivator of the Great Li Empire isn’t necessarily wrong either. This is because you have no clue regarding the personality and disposition of that accompanying cultivator who supposedly has a very impressive background. Have Han Jingling and Huang He purposely set up this trap for you? I can’t say for sure.

“However, I can say a few things that pertain to human nature. For example, if that young accompanying cultivator truly hails from a powerful clan in the Great Li Empire, yet he’s still chosen to join the army as an accompanying cultivator who must fight on the front lines, then it’s clear that he’s a proud and arrogant individual who doesn’t want to ride on the coattails of his clan. This is one aspect.

“In addition, even if the descendants of these large clans understand the reason for your actions in Bamboo Scroll Lake back then, they won’t agree with what you did. This is because they’re familiar with the rules of the imperial court, and they’re more inclined to agree with these rules and limitations. Taking these matters into account, I won’t say that you were definitely correct to not go to Pond Water City. However, you definitely weren’t incorrect.”

Gu Can turned around and looked at Chen Ping’an, asking with a smile, “How do you understand these kinds of things?”

Chen Ping’an pointed at his eyes before pointing at his head and replying, “Look more and think more, and that will allow us to make fewer mistakes. At the same time, we should always be prepared to accept our mistakes and change for the better. Apart from matters pertaining to life and death, we should always leave some leeway for ourselves and ensure that we have a path of retreat. We shouldn’t burn too many bridges and make our paths too narrow, or else we might suddenly discover one day that the path before us is a narrow dead end.”

Gu Can squatted down and picked up a stone shard, casually tossing it into the distance as he asked, “Don’t people always say that they would rather death than dishonor?”

Chen Ping’an smiled and replied, “That’s only when they’re left with no other option. Regarding this, you need to think carefully first and understand what it truly means to be left with no other option, and why one has reached a state where they have no options. Afterward, think a bit more. Is it possible that the heavens have actually left one path open? Is there perhaps still a choice that can be made?”

Chen Ping’an also squatted down, picking up a broken green-glazed porcelain ware that would be viewed as a sacrilegious possession in mortal empires. Such kinds of wares could only be owned by the imperial family.

“You might find these matters a little complicated right now, but this is because you’re still yet to encounter these matters and start to make sense of them,” Chen Ping’an said. “This is why you find them annoying and troublesome. In reality, things aren’t as difficult as you think. This is analogous to a person walking through the mountains and rivers, paving paths when they come across mountains and building bridges when they come across rivers. Once you understand how to pave paths and build bridges, you’ll discover that coming across the obstructions of mountains and rivers isn’t actually that bad. These can be overcome just like the roadblocks in life.

“Of course, after understanding how to pave paths and build bridges, the process of finding the raw materials is still very tiring. You’ll need to pick and choose the rocks yourself, and you’ll also need to enter the mountains to chop wood yourself. If you run out of money, you’ll even have to borrow money from your friends. In fact, you might even have to humble yourself and borrow money from people whom you don’t like, as this might be your only option to build the necessary bridges.

“After you cross the rivers and climb the mountains, however, you’ll realize that everything was worth it. Taking things one step further, you might still fail to achieve success even after you’ve done all this. However, only at this moment can you say that you have a clear conscience and no regrets. You might still be facing perilous danger, but you now have the right to entertain death before dishonor as you mentioned before. This will adhere to the principle of sequential order.”

Gu Can lowered his head and murmured, “This is what you did in Bamboo Scroll Lake, right?”

Chen Ping’an looked down and blew away the dust on the broken green-glazed porcelain, replying, “Mhm. To say something that you might not want to hear, it was only after arriving at Cyan Gorge Island and becoming disappointed in you that I became aware of the differences between us. This might sound unpleasant to the ear, but I’m saying it from the bottom of my heart, so let me finish first. When we first left the Jewel Small World, we were both very scared of this world, weren’t we?”

Gu Can nodded earnestly in response.

“However, we chose different principles to adhere to, and I carefully observed this strange world and tried my absolute best to decipher the true thoughts of the people who appeared beside me,” Chen Ping’an continued slowly. “I tried to learn their good qualities, and I contemplated how they had grown to become so powerful.

“But what about you? You were investigating a shortcut that required the least thought and energy. I can understand the numerous difficulties and hardships that you faced on Cyan Gorge Island, and I also admire your desire to protect your mother. However, it’s not the case that I’ll blindly praise you as being correct just because we have a close relationship and simply because I understand your hardships.

“In reality, the notion of right and wrong in this world is very clear cut. Don’t mistake the complexity of the human mind as the complexity of the most fundamental notions of right and wrong. Let me say something even more bastardly — even if someone is to become a bad person, they should at least understand who they are and how many rules they’ve broken. Only bad people like this can cause lasting harm to the world.

“You don’t understand these things, but you liked to pretend that you did in the past.”

Gu Can sighed and complained, “Isn’t this still your fault? Who told you to come to Bamboo Scroll Lake so late? I would have definitely listened to you and changed my ways if you had explained everything to me earlier.”

Chen Ping’an didn’t become angry at all. This was a young child being stubborn and talking back, and Chen Ping’an actually approved of this kind of expression.

This was completely different from his first meal at the Spring Courtyard Mansion as well as Gu Can’s admission that he liked to kill people the same night.

Chen Ping’an patted Gu Can’s head.

Gu Can kept his head lowered.

“If one day in the future your mother secretly tells you to plan an assassination attempt in the Spring Courtyard Mansion in order to keep me on Cyan Gorge Island and have me act as a door god, make sure you don’t listen to her and carry out her bidding. Such plans will be futile. Have you ever thought about this before? The only person who can change your mother’s thoughts isn’t even your father, but it’s actually you.”

Gu Can looked up with a shocked expression.

“What’s wrong? She’s already told you before?” Chen Ping’an asked with a smile.

Gu Can sighed and mumbled, “I’m a bit scared of you, Chen Ping’an.”

Chen Ping’an put down the broken green-glazed ware in his hand and said in a hoarse voice, “I just concealed things very well when we were still living in the small town. There were many hardships that I didn’t tell you about.”

Gu Can chuckled and said, “That’s true. I never thought about these things back then, and I only thought about asking you to buy all kinds of things for me. It was like New Year for me every time you returned from the dragon kilns and came back to Clay Vase Alley with some copper coins. Oh, that’s right, do you genuinely not feel pained about losing your money?”

Chen Ping’an shook his head and replied, “I’ll feel pained if it’s someone else, but I’ve never felt pained when it comes to spending money for you. I was thinking about repaying the favor in the beginning, but my mindset changed afterward, and spending money for you eventually became a habit.”

“Then have you ever considered the fact that your friends might feel burdened by this?” Gu Can suddenly asked.

“This is a very good question,” Chen Ping’an replied with a smile.

Gu Can grinned in response.

Chen Ping’an raised a hand and drew a long line in the air, his expression serious as he said to Gu Can, “Firstly, our lifespan will most likely be longer than that of ordinary people in normal circumstances, so we need to look further and think more about good people and good things. We need to travel around the world and see the myriad mountains and rivers.

“While walking on the path of life, I’ll also come across insurmountable challenges and encounter things that I don’t understand. When this happens, I’ll ask you and the others for help, and I won’t feel embarrassed to do so. This is the reason why I said to you before that the relationship between good friends is like aging wine — it becomes increasingly fragrant with passing time.”

Chen Ping’an lightly clenched his fists and continued, “Secondly, have you ever considered this before, Gu Can? The fact that I’ve also come across many people who make me feel ashamed of myself? These people indeed exist, and I’ve come across more than just one or two of them. Even in Bamboo Scroll Lake, there was still Su Xinzhai, Zhou Guonian, and the others. Disregarding your relationship with them, just meeting these people alone makes me feel unable to calm down. I think to myself, how can there be such good… people or ghosts in the world?”

Chen Ping’an looked at Gu Can, observing the subtle changes in his expression.

He didn’t try to hide his blatant observation either.

Gu Can looked Chen Ping’an straight in the eye and asked, “Chen Ping’an, can I ask you to please do one thing for me? Can you take my mom away from Bamboo Scroll Lake? For example, take her back to Clay Vase Alley or take her to my father?”

“And what about you?” Chen Ping’an asked.

“You said before that both speaking reason and not speaking reason come with a price. I understand the price of not speaking reason now, so I want to explore the price of speaking reason. I’ll go with Zeng Ye to the mountains located to the north of Bamboo Scroll Lake, and you only need to help my mom leave Bamboo Scroll Lake.”

Chen Ping’an nodded in response and replied, “Okay.”

It was as if he had waited for Gu Can to say this for a very long time.

Gu Can held his hands inside his opposite sleeves, and Chen Ping’an also did the same. They looked at the ruins of the Hengbo Residence together.

Gu Can returned to the Spring Courtyard Mansion afterward, not saying a single word to his mother about the new agreement that he had reached with Chen Ping’an. He simply consoled her as always.

Meanwhile, Chen Ping’an took a trip to Pond Water City.

He wasn’t able to gain an audience with Su Gaoshan using the Peace and Safety Tablet from the Great Li Empire, but this tablet would definitely be enough to grant him an audience with an accompanying cultivator stationed in the city.

After entering the tightly guarded residence of the Fan Clan and meeting the young cultivator, the two of them couldn’t help but look at each other in surprise.

Guan Yiran.

Chen Ping’an.

Life was full of coincidental encounters.