Unsheathed

Chapter 471 (4): I Heard That You Wanted to Challenge Someone’s Swordsmanship

Li Huai ran to the shop entrance and said with a wide grin, “Oh my, isn’t this Dafeng? Are you sunbasking right now? Where is your missus? Tell your wives not to hide and hurry up and come here to greet me. I’ve heard that you have seven or eight wives now. How impressive!”

He was pouring salt in the wounds.

“Piss the hell off!” Zheng Dafeng snapped.

Li Huai chortled with laughter and ran inside the medicine shop, directly running to the backyard and hollering, “Old Man Yang, Old Man Yang, guess what I’ve brought for you?!”

Old Man Yang who was sitting in the backyard looked up at Li Huai.

Li Huai took off the luggage bag and shockingly ran into the main room that even Zheng Dafeng, Su Dian, and Shi Lingshan viewed as completely off limits. He casually tossed the luggage bag onto Old Man Yang’s bed before leaving the room and running to Old Man Yang’s side, retrieving a jar from his sleeve and saying, “Top-grade tobacco purchased from a hundred-year-old shop in the capital of the Great Sui Nation! It costs a whopping eight silver coins an ounce! How is it? Are you afraid of that? Just remember to think about my good points when you smoke in the future. Of course, you shouldn’t forget my dad, my mom, or my big sister either!”

The young boy handed over the jar of tobacco before raising both his hands and putting up eight fingers, shaking them back and forth in the air.

Zheng Dafeng carried a stool into the backyard and sat down, enjoying the good show.

Shi Lingshan followed behind him, curious about where this young boy had suddenly jumped up from. He was completely unrestrained, and so be it if it were only toward Zheng Dafeng. However, this young boy was showing no respect toward his master as well?

Su Dian hesitated for a moment before also standing near the bamboo curtain.

Old Man Yang squeezed out a rare smile on his aged and wrinkly face, but he was still as blunt as always as he said, “Leave the tobacco here and piss off to the side. You’re still young, little brat, but you’re not wearing open crotch pants anyway? Doesn’t this make pissing and shitting too difficult for you?”

Li Huai giddily ran behind Old Man Yang and smacked him on the back of the head, scolding, “What can you expect from a hog but a grunt? If you’re so capable, then why don’t you repeat these bastard words in front of my mom? Are you looking for a beating?”

Old Man Yang surprisingly didn’t become angry, and he stuffed some tobacco into his smoking pipe in a leisurely manner before starting to inhale and exhale clouds of smoke again. He then spat and scolded, “Make sure to smash up that shop’s sign when you get back. What absolute crap is this? It’s not worth its price.”

Li Huai roared with laughter and replied, “I wouldn’t dare. I couldn’t afford the most valuable tobacco that cost eight silver coins an ounce, so it’s still being displayed at that shop right now. I did indeed want to buy it, but the shop wasn’t willing to sell it. That being the case, I tried my best and bought some cheaper alternatives for you. It’s the thought that counts, after all. Just how far have I traveled with this tobacco? Old Man Yang, you’re someone who likes to stay in one place and never move around, so how can you possibly understand the distance of a thousand mountains and a myriad rivers?

“I’m not trying to criticize you or anything, Old Man Yang, but you should go out and travel more seeing that you still have some strength left right now. Don’t sit here all day long, and you might even come across an old woman whom you like if you travel around. That will be quite something, and when the two of you rekindle the flames of love, perhaps I might even have some celebration wine to drink?”

Old Man Yang glanced at Li Huai and was just about to open his mouth to scold him.

However, Li Huai covered his ears, bobbing his head around and exclaiming, “Old Bastard Wang likes to spew nonsense, but Mr. Li Huai won’t listen at all.”

Zheng Dafeng’s eyelids and the corners of his mouth twitched together when he saw this.

It had truly been far too many years since he had last heard his sister-in-law’s cursing and witnessed Li Huai pissing all over the place.

Su Dian and Shi Lingshan were even more shocked, with the young boy gulping as he watched the incredible scenes. He didn’t know what kind of incredible person this bold young boy in azure robes was.

This was unsurprising, as Shi Lingshan only knew that he had a goofy senior brother in Zheng Dafeng over at the small town. As for Li Er, he had never even heard of this name before.

In any case, this unfamiliar young boy in azure robes truly dared to run his mouth.

Shi Lingshan felt like he would never have such courage in his lifetime.

Moreover, this was because Shi Lingshan was still young and hadn’t witnessed the scenes in the medicine shop several years ago. Otherwise, he would feel even more shocked.

Back when Li Er was still a shop attendant in the medicine shop, Li Huai had liked to sneak away from his mom and come here to go crazy. He would roll around and make a fuss whenever he got hurt, and he would end up with mud all over his body.

If his mother saw this when he returned, she would most likely feel extremely pained, not only for the clothes, but even more for her mud-covered son. Whenever this happened, she would bring Li Huai to the medicine shop to complain, scolding the heavens, scolding the earth, and scolding anything that she could. There wasn’t anything that she was afraid to scold. This was nothing.

More importantly, Li Huai was still wearing open crotch pants back then, and he was always unable to hold in his pee. As such, he would pee all over the backyard of the Yang Family’s medicine shop.

Even Li Er, a taciturn man who couldn’t have a single word squeezed out of him, felt genuinely apologetic toward his master, apologizing to Old Man Yang several times. However, Old Man Yang never dwelled on these matters, so Li Er also allowed them to pass. Old Man Yang would at most use his smoking pipe to smack that little bastard’s weewee.

Li Huai was also quite strange, and after making a fuss and crying at the top of his lungs, he wouldn’t bear any grudges toward Old Man Yang for scolding him or using his smoking pipe to smack him. Not only that, but he would always giggle like a fool. Of course, he would finally quiet down after he tired himself out. When that happened, he would carry a small stool over and sit to the side by himself, holding his cheeks in his hands as he watched Old Man Yang inhale and exhale clouds of smoke with his smoking pipe. He could sit there and watch this for half a day.

Li Huai squatted down beside Old Man Yang and whispered near the old man’s ear, “Old Man Yang, do you have any valuable family heirlooms? Why don’t you give me a few of them? It’s not like you’re planning to marry and have children anyway, so these family heirlooms are naturally for me, right? In that case, does it make any difference whether you give them to me now or later?”

Old Man Yang shook his head and replied, “There are indeed a few items that are for you, but we can talk about these things later.”

Li Huai heaved a sigh and warned, “Don’t leave it until too late, or who knows when my sister will suddenly get married one day. Our family is poor, so perhaps we’ll be looked down on by my brother-in-law’s family in the future. I’m counting on you to support us at that time.”

Old Man Yang pursed his lips.

Li Huai suddenly turned around and added, “Old Man Yang, remember to smoke less in the future. You’re already so old, yet you still don’t understand how to look after your health. You need to eat cleaner and take more walks, or else are you sitting here all cooped up to wait for death or what? If you ask me, your old bones are still quite sturdy, so climbing some mountains to collect medicinal herbs shouldn’t be a problem at all. Alright, chatting with you is the boringest, so I’m going to take my leave now. There are new clothes and shoes in the luggage bag, so remember to change into them yourself.”

Li Huai left just as he said he would.

Of course, he didn’t forget to scold Zheng Dafeng as he left. He then smiled and said goodbye to Shi Lingshan and Su Dian.

It was abundantly clear who he had a closer relationship with. One simply needed to understand everything in reverse.

————

The old temple was approximately three hundred and fifty kilometers away from the Water Combing Nation’s Sword Water Villa.

Chen Ping’an had traveled on foot back then, so he had naturally been very slow. Now that he was traveling on a flying sword, however, his speed naturally increased manifold.

He didn’t go directly to the mountain villa, and he didn’t even go to the flourishing small town outside the villa. Instead, Chen Ping’an descended onto a tall mountain fifty-odd kilometers from his destination, peering down at the mountains and rivers and vaguely noticing something. Not only were there green mountains and limpid waters, but there were even spritely clouds and mists shrouding a certain mountain peak like a veil. Just as Chen Ping’an landed on the mountain peak and sheathed his sword, a deity who was most likely the mountain lord of the area appeared in front of him, bowing in respect and referring to him as Esteemed Immortal.

Chen Ping’an took off his bamboo hat and hurriedly cupped his fists, returning the gesture before smiling and saying, “I’m just passing by, so there’s no need for Mountain Lord to show me such respect.”

According to the customs of his hometown in Dragon Spring Prefecture, people needed to first use stones to hold down some paper money when picking a burial ground and digging a tomb for their deceased relative. The stones and money needed to be placed at specified locations on the mountain, and doing so was equivalent to leasing the mountain from the mountain lord.

When holding the funeral and placing the coffin into the earth, people also needed to throw paper money into the air along the way. According to the explanation of the elders, this was to pay a road fee to the mountain lord and thus receive guidance for their deceased relatives, allowing them to smoothly pass through the gate of the underworld and cross the bridge to the afterlife.

Chen Ping’an had a very deep impression of these matters, but the first mountain lord that he had come across after leaving the small town back then was Go Table Mountain’s Wei Bo who was still “locked up” at the time. Chen Ping’an had actually felt dejected for a very long time afterward.

At the present moment, the mountain lord who had the appearance of a middle-aged man and was responsible for the mountains in this area didn’t dare to linger around for too long, with his expression respectful as he made some small talk before taking his leave.

This was because the young man in front of him was clearly a sword immortal, someone whom a measly mountain lord like him couldn’t hope to seek connections with. However, he definitely wouldn’t let the opportunity slip by if the person who appeared in front of him was a Qi refiner at the Middle Five Tiers.

Chen Ping’an retrieved a pot of crow caw wine and handed it to the slightly reserved mountain lord, saying, “You can treat this pot of wine as my greeting gift for barging into your territory without any notice.”

The lowly-ranked deity didn’t even have the right to have his name recorded in the official genealogical records of the Water Combing Nation, and he instantly became struck with fear, hurriedly walking forward and bowing down as he accepted the pot of immortal wine. He knew that this wasn’t some ordinary mortal wine just by gauging the weight of the wine pot.

Chen Ping’an grabbed his Sword Nurturing Gourd and took a swig of wine handmade by the elderly woman at the old estate, after which he asked, “Mountain Lord, I’m on my way to visit some friends at the Sword Water Villa, so I’m curious about how the villa has been faring in the past ten years?”

The mountain lord carefully mulled over his words, not seeking to impress but seeking to make no mistake as he said slowly, “The Sword Water Villa is no longer the most powerful force in the Water Combing Nation. Rather, this position has been taken over by Saber Grandmaster Wang Yiran’s Unruly Saber Villa. Even though this person is Sword Saint Song’s junior, he’s vaguely showing signs of becoming the alliance leader of the Water Combing Nation’s martial world.

“According to those in the cultivation world, all that’s missing is a fight between Wang Yiran and Sword Saint Song. Firstly, Wang Yiran successfully broke through to the next cultivation tier and became a genuine first-rate grandmaster, with his saber skills reaching an extraordinary level. Secondly, Wang Yiran’s daughter married the son of a powerful clan in the Water Combing Nation, and lastly, the Unruly Saber Villa was the first force to pledge their allegiance to the southward marching heavy cavalry of the Great Li Empire. On the other hand, the Sword Water Villa showed more backbone and was unwilling to become a subordinate force to anyone. As a result, their power and influence have gradually fallen over time…”

The mountain lord hesitated after saying this, and it was as if he were reluctant to continue.

“Please go ahead, Mountain Lord,” Chen Ping’an said.

The mountain lord lowered his voice and continued, “The imperial court is planning to tell the Sword Water Villa to relocate such that they can construct a mountain god temple over there, one that’s only second to the Five Mountains. I’ve heard that it’s Great General Chu Hao who wants to do this.”

Chen Ping’an took a sip of wine, smiling and asking, “Chu Hao, Great General Chu, as in the one who recognizes the Great Li Empire’s Song Changjing as his ancestor when it comes to military strategy?”

He was familiar with both Wang Yiran and Chu Hao.

Wang Yiran wasn’t a bad person, and even though his daughter Wang Shanhu was far inferior to him, Wang Yiran’s response during the commotion back then could definitely be regarded as generous and impressive.

As for fighting side-by-side with Senior Song in a battle to the death with Chu Hao on the battlefield, Chen Ping’an wouldn’t go as far as to seek revenge because of this. These differences existed in two separate places, the battlefield and the cultivation world.

However, Chen Ping’an naturally went with the flow since the mountain lord had already mentioned him.

The mountain lord chuckled in response, knowing that he would risk making a mistake if he spoke anymore. It was enough as long as he offered sufficient information. He was just a small mountain lord in the Water Combing Nation, after all, while Chu Hao was a lofty being who towered above all but one person in the imperial court of the Water Combing Nation. Of course, this was ignoring the group of scholarly officials from the Great Li Empire who were acting as “honorary emperors” of the nation.

Chen Ping’an put on his bamboo hat and retied the Sword Nurturing Gourd to his hip before once again cupping his fists and thanking the mountain lord.

The mountain lord hurriedly bowed with the pot of wine in his hands, saying, “This lowly god is truly frightened to receive such respect from Esteemed Immortal.”

Chen Ping’an jumped on his sword and flew away from the mountain.

The mountain lord suppressed the fear in his heart and murmured in puzzlement, “Song Yushao is only a martial artist, so how was he able to become acquainted with such kind of martial artist?”