Unsheathed

On the journey back north.

Chen Ping’an was resting atop his horse on the summit of a nameless mountain. From here, he was planning to go to the nearest immortal ferry station to travel back to the Dragon Spring Prefecture by ship. Taking advantage of the bright sun hanging high up in the sky, he laid out the bamboo slips that had been left untouched for a very long time.

The slips were crafted from a diverse range of bamboo materials, including bamboo from Go Table Mountain and Azure Divine Mountain, as well as normal green bamboo found in the wilderness and purple bamboo from Purple Bamboo Island in Bamboo Scroll Lake.

The nearby area was filled with undulating mountains, but nestled between them was an ancient road for merchant use, and there were still some traveling merchants making use of this road.

Chen Ping’an intentionally chose a small path to follow, traveling over several kilometers of rugged mountain path to arrive on this mountain summit to lay out his bamboo slips under the sun.

After laying out all of his bamboo slips, Chen Ping’an sat on his haunches nearby with an absentminded look in his eyes.

He couldn’t help but develop a throbbing headache whenever he thought of all of the debt that he accrued.

He took a sip of wine while internally consoling himself, telling himself that once he returned to the Dragon Spring Prefecture, he would be able to accumulate an incredible amount of wealth with Wei Bo’s help, and at that point, these debts would be completely insignificant to him.

With that in mind, he gave himself a slap to the cheek as a gesture of encouragement and reinvigoration.

He then turned to discover an elderly Confucian scholar panting heavily as he stood in the distance. He had encountered the elderly scholar earlier on the way here, and at the moment, the scholar was looking at him with a bewildered expression, having just witnessed him slapping himself for no apparent reason, and it seemed that he was considering fleeing the scene for fear that he had run into a madman.

At the time, Chen Ping’an had passed the elderly scholar and his scholarly attendant on horseback, and judging from their breathing and footsteps, it seemed that they were both ordinary people. Of course, if they were actually powerful cultivators who were concealing their powers for some reason, then that was none of Chen Ping’an’s business.

The young scholarly attendant didn’t accompany the elderly scholar up the mountain. Perhaps the scholar wanted to scale the mountain on his own and recite some poetry as a form of self-expression before returning to the scholarly attendant, at which point they would continue their journey.

Of course, there was also a possibility that he was a powerful cultivator that had disguised himself as an innocuous scholar, and he had come here to rob Chen Ping’an in broad daylight.

In any case, it didn’t matter to Chen Ping’an.

After seemingly grappling with some internal conflict for a while, the elderly scholar finally made up his mind and strode over to Chen Ping’an, stopping close to twenty meters away as he bent down to inspect the bamboo slips that had been laid out on the ground.

He then looked back up at Chen Ping’an with a smile as he asked, “Are you a traveling scholar, young man?”

Chen Ping’an considered the question for a moment, then nodded with a smile as he replied, “I suppose so. I’m trying to see more of the world.”

“That’s good to hear. Books are certainly a valuable learning resource, but they can’t compare with the accrual of practical experience. Nowadays, books are becoming more and more accessible, so the younger generation is becoming less and less willing to go out and see the world for themselves. Do you mind if I take a look at these precious bamboo slips of yours?” the elderly scholar asked.

“Go ahead,” Chen Ping’an replied with a smile.

He was quickly made to regret this decision. Not only did the elderly scholar begin looking through the bamboo slips, he was also taking a very hands-on approach, picking through them like vegetables at a market while asking a mind-boggling number of questions, such as where certain quotes came from.

Whenever Chen Ping’an engaged by informing him of the quote’s author and the book that it had come from, the scholar would ask him if he understood the teachings espoused by said authors and books.

Whenever Chen Ping’an displayed some difficulty in answering his questions, the elderly scholar would reprimand him for his lackluster knowledge on such topics before launching into lengthy spiels about the books and authors in question, while Chen Ping’an could only nod along in silent exasperation.

The elderly scholar seemed to have endless patience, and even after the young scholarly attendant in the distance called out to him twice, he still refused to budge. In the end, the scholarly attendant sat down onto the ground, looking just as exasperated as Chen Ping’an felt.

After over two hours, the elderly man had finally read through all of the bamboo slips and asked all of the questions that he could think of, at which point he suddenly smiled and asked, “I’ve taken a particular liking to twenty of your bamboo slips. Would you be able to give them to me as a gift?”

“No,” Chen Ping’an replied with a decisive shake of his head.

He wasn’t familiar with the old man, and he had decided that he wasn’t going to be a walking charity anymore.

A furious look appeared on the old man’s face upon hearing this.

“How are you still so stingy after reading so many books? All of the scholars under the heavens are like family, surely you can spare me a few bamboo slips!”

Chen Ping’an smiled as he replied, “You are a far more knowledgeable scholar than I am, so I need these bamboo slips more than you. Besides, as the saying goes ‘do not do to others what you would not have them do to you,’ so please don’t try to force me to hand over my precious bamboo slips. Otherwise, you’ll be going against the sagely teachings of our predecessors.”

The old man pointed a finger at Chen Ping’an as he harrumphed, “Fine. In that case, I can only find some solace in telling myself that a virtuous individual does not take from others what is precious to them.”

Chen Ping’an remained silent with a smile on his face.

The old man clearly still wasn’t willing to give up, and after a brief, disgruntled silence, he asked, “Are you really not willing to gift me any of your bamboo slips? Even twelve will suffice!”

An exasperated look appeared on Chen Ping’an’s face as he replied, “I really can’t. All of these bamboo slips and their contents are very important to me, and they are all prized pieces of my collection. Every single one of them encapsulates my mental state at some point in time, and each time I bring them out is an exercise in self-reflection for me.”

“That shows that you’re a superficial scholar who doesn’t truly understand what he’s reading! Otherwise, if you’ve truly absorbed all of the teachings in the books that you read, then there would be no need to consult these bamboo slips!” the old man grumbled.

Chen Ping’an’s exasperation was only further exacerbated upon hearing this. The old man had rattled off so many principles to him, but regardless of how noble he tried to make it sound, the fact of the matter was that he was trying to take his bamboo slips free of charge.

Chen Ping’an had noticed that out of the forty-five bamboo slips that the old man was most enamored with, the majority of them had been crafted from the green bamboo of Azure Divine Mountain and the purple bamboo of Purple Bamboo Island, all of which contained a great deal of spiritual energy.

If the old man truly only wanted these bamboo slips for their contents, then that would be fine, but if he were actually a cultivator who only wanted the bamboo slips for their valuable material, then it would be a travesty to allow him to have them.

The old man could see that Chen Ping’an was very firm in his stance, so he could only relent as he grumbled under his breath in indignation.

As Chen Ping’an began to pack up the bamboo slips, the old man looked on with a pained expression, as if he were watching ingots of silver slipping out of his grasp.

A hint of sympathy welled up in Chen Ping’an’s heart upon seeing this. Twenty-four bamboo slips were definitely too many, as was twelve, but perhaps he could afford to part with six bamboo slips. After all, the old man had spent over two hours here, and Chen Ping’an was feeling rather exhausted just listening to him, so he had to have been tired as well.

Even if he had done this out of greed, it still didn’t change the fact that lecturing someone for so long was undoubtedly an exhausting endeavor. Additionally, while he could’ve perhaps been a little more succinct in his delivery, it was clear that he really was a very knowledgeable scholar. He was a little greedy, but Chen Ping’an could also be faulted for the same.

The old man had already begun resorting to shameless tactics, putting on a “kindhearted” display as he urged, “Don’t be in such a hurry to pack up your bamboo slips, young man. It’s such a bright and sunny day, you should take advantage and leave your bamboo slips out for a bit longer. Moisture is the mortal enemy of all bamboo slips.

“If you’re worried that you won’t be able to pack everything away in time if you leave it too late, then I can help you! It would be a terrible shame if these beautiful bamboo slips were to go bad because of your impatience and negligence!”

Chen Ping’an couldn’t help but be impressed with the old man’s tenacity, and he stopped what he was doing as he smiled and said, “I have a slightly offensive question for you. Would it be appropriate to ask?”

“If it’s an offensive question, then don’t bother,” the old man rejected flatly with a shake of his head.

“Do you still want my bamboo slips or not?” Chen Ping’an asked.

“Ask me anything!” the old man said, immediately changing tact.

Chen Ping’an wiped a hand over his own face, feeling as if he had fallen into a trap.

The old man sneakily picked up a green bamboo slip from the ground beside him as he murmured to himself, “These are all fantastic quotes, but the inscriptions are utterly unsightly. It would be better to give them to someone else and inscribe new bamboo slips with improved handwriting…”

“You know I can hear you, right?” Chen Ping’an asked in an exasperated manner.

A flabbergasted look appeared on the old man’s face as he asked, “How could you have heard me when I didn’t say anything? Could it be that you’re an immortal capable of hearing people’s thoughts?”

The old man’s expression was so earnest that Chen Ping’an was almost beginning to suspect that he had perhaps indeed misheard.

Chen Ping’an was feeling rather perplexed. Could it be that this really was just an elderly traveling scholar?

If that were the case, then it wouldn’t be all that strange, considering cultivators of Confucian academies here were far rarer than cultivators were in Bamboo Scroll Lake.

On top of that, even a noble scholar most likely wouldn’t have been able to hide all telltale signs of their status as a cultivator over the course of over two hours, and Chen Ping’an didn’t feel like any sage of Lake View Academy would have the time to play such an elaborate prank on him.

“How cold and inhospitable a place the world can be,” the old man sighed in a forlorn manner, while Chen Ping’an pretended not to have heard him.

“So now you pretend to be deaf? What happened to your sharp hearing?!” the old man grumbled.

Chen Ping’an looked up into the sky for a moment, then conceded, “Fine, you win. Go and pick out the bamboo slips that you want, I have to leave soon. Don’t tell me which ones you’ve picked out, I’m worried that I may not be able to resist the urge to go back on my word.”

“Twenty-four?” the old man asked.

“It can be fewer than that, but not more,” Chen Ping’an replied with a nod.

The old man gave a pleased nod upon hearing this.

“That’s the way to go! A young man like you needs to be more generous. If you had agreed earlier, we wouldn’t have had to waste so much time here. Wouldn’t you say all this time that we wasted here is far more valuable than a few bamboo slips.”

“Yes, yes, yes, whatever you say,” Chen Ping’an replied with a weary nod.

With that, the old man began carefully selecting the bamboo slips that he wanted, intentionally moving in a very slow and deliberate fashion.

All of a sudden, Chen Ping’an cleared his throat, only to be completely ignored.

A wry smile appeared on Chen Ping’an’s face as he said, “You’ve already picked up close to thirty bamboo slips. You’re a scholar, are you not? Shouldn’t scholars have some integrity and keep to their word?”

A look of realization appeared on the old man’s face, as if he had only just been alerted to the fact that he had gone beyond the agreed quota, and he slipped one more bamboo slip up his sleeve, then promptly bade farewell to Chen Ping’an before departing.

Upon reaching the scholarly attendant, the old man hurriedly urged, “We have to get out of here! Hurry!”

The two of them rushed away like the wind, leaving an exasperated Chen Ping’an to look on with a flabbergasted expression.

After packing up the rest of his bamboo slips, he led his horse down from the mountain summit to arrive on the ancient path. From there, he traveled on horseback at a leisurely pace, and he didn’t encounter the old man again. Presumably, he was hiding somewhere, gleefully examining his newly obtained bamboo slips.

Chen Ping’an laid down onto the back of his horse, and before he knew it, he had fallen asleep.

An old man was guiding his horse along, and he smiled as he said, “Chen Ping’an, it’s a very good thing for one to build bridges and roads where required when traversing over the paths of one’s own heart, but is it possible to allow those who come after them to use those same bridges and roads to navigate their own hurdles in life?”

Chen Ping’an remained in a state of slumber as he replied from the bottom of his heart, “I’m just an accountant, not a teacher, I wouldn’t dare to hold such lofty ambitions.”

“Have you conceded defeat in this trial of self-reflection?” the old man asked.

“Of course.”

“Are you disappointed?”

“I’m a little disappointed in myself. I feel like I could’ve done better, but I’m not so disappointed in the world anymore.”

“I see.”

After that, the old man embarked on a rambling spiel, talking about whatever it was that he felt like, while Chen Ping’an listened in silence on horseback, not daring to reciprocate in any way for fear that doing so would prompt the old man to go on another massive tangent.

At the moment, he simply lacked the energy to argue with anyone.

Perhaps he could muster up the strength for an argument after having four of the cheap and delicious meat buns from Green Parasol City.

“Picture this: your wise predecessors are getting further and further away, while you trail along behind them, gazing upon them from afar. How would you feel in that scenario?”

“I would feel only a sense of admiration. If I could someday walk the same path as them, I would feel immensely honored, even if I can only catch a glimpse of them from afar.”

“Good!”

The old man released the horse’s reins, while the young scholarly attendant behind him began to flash with multi-colored light.

Chen Ping’an continued onward on horseback in his dream, riding further and further down the ancient path.

Meanwhile, the old man remained standing still on the spot, and his body had taken on an ethereal, cloud-like quality.

By the time Chen Ping’an awoke on the back of his horse with a start, it was already late at night, and his horse had carried him out of the mountains, having arrived beside a river.

————

Great Li Empire, twelfth year of the Yong Jia Era, spring equinox.

With the arrival of spring, the third branch of the Great Li Empire’s army that wasn’t under the command of Su Gaoshan and Cao Ping were sent onto the battlefield. The Luminous Vermilion Empire began suffering crushing defeats on multiple fronts, and before long the capital city had been surrounded. It seemed that the once mighty empire was on the verge of falling.

However, Song Changjing didn’t enter the Luminous Vermilion Empire’s territory. Instead, on a fine spring day, he continued southward over the Luminous Vermilion Empire aboard a giant Mohist ship.

Song Changjing was standing at the head of the main ship of a mighty Mohist fleet, looking down at the earth below. There were many swordsmen who refused to live in shame and rose up into the air to attack this unprecedentedly mighty fleet, only to be struck down one after another without any exception.

Their lifeless bodies were sent flying through the air, producing a shrill whistling sound that resembled the forlorn calls of a crane, striking all of the citizens of the Luminous Vermilion Empire looking down from down below with a sense of grief and despair.

As usual, Song Changjing was dressed in his shabby fox fur coat. Back when the Mohist branch that Xu Ruo belonged to chose to place its bets on the Great Li Empire, it had done two things, the first of which was work with the Naturalists to construct that replica White Jade Capital, completely overstepping their boundaries in the process.

On top of that, all of the wealth that the Great Li Empire had secured from conquering the Lu Empire and the spoils that had been acquired from all of the national treasuries during its southward march had been dedicated to crafting these flying ships. The Great Li Empire had been going from strength to strength over the recent years, but behind this facade of prosperity was a nation that was in severe debt to the Mohists, and the debt was only growing.

In particular, after the main branch of Mohism had chosen the Great Li Empire, their expenditure had been like flowing water, and the national treasury had already been completely emptied.

For the Great Li Empire, particularly the Ministry of Revenue, this was a display of both confidence and ability. It was why Cui Chan had changed his mind about the minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and why even Song Changjing and the entire military treated the officials of the Ministry of Revenue with so much respect.

Of course, all of that went out the window whenever the branches of the army went to the Ministry of Revenue to request funds. They would cry and scream, and all of them were top-notch actors when it came to acting poor. Song Changjing was aware of this, but he saw no problem in it.