Unsheathed

Chapter 477 (1): One’s Heart Must Contain a Sun and a Moon

River Goddess Yang Hua wasn’t enraged, but she had once again begun carefully sizing up the young swordsman before her with a blatant look of judgment in her golden eyes.

With the backdrop of the night behind her, she had presented herself in her godly body. There was a layer of golden light shimmering over her plain dress, lending even more radiance to her already stunning beauty, and even the moon above the river paled in her spectacular presence.

In contrast, the young man standing before her was far less extraordinary in appearance.

Previously, Yang Hua had gazed upon Chen Ping’an with the same judgmental look, but at the time, she had only gleaned an air of poverty about him, accompanied by some faint fist intent.

At this moment, she was still not able to see anything remarkable about him, aside from several of the items in his possession, such as the Sword Nurturing Gourd that had been chosen for him by Wei Bo, the azure robe that couldn’t even be referred to as a Dao robe, and of course, most significantly of all, that sword on his back.

Yang Hua had always been extremely confident in her own swordsmanship, and the longsword that she held in her arms was such a formidable weapon that it had almost been placed into the replica White Jade Capital.

The most problematic things were the things that couldn’t be seen through, and that was sufficient reason to lash out for Yang Hua.

A cloud of faint mist suddenly appeared between the two of them without any warning, and Wei Bo arrived on the scene with a smile as he said, “Sage Ruan may be absent, but his rules must still be followed, so don’t make my job more difficult than it has to be.”

The spectacular aura around Yang Hua was instantly quelled by the arrival of Wei Bo.

Her gaze remained fixed intently on Chen Ping’an as she said, “It’ll be within the rules if we establish a life and death contract.”

“Unfortunately, your mistress doesn’t seem like the type to abide by rules,” Chen Ping’an mused.

A hint of fury finally appeared on Yang Hua’s face upon hearing this. The empress had saved her life before serving as her Dao mentor, and she was fully devoted to her. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have laid down her own life and endured such excruciating torture just for the slim chance of becoming the Iron Talisman River Goddess at the empress’s request.

There were some things that she wanted to say to the empress from the bottom of her heart, but there was no place for an outsider like Chen Ping’an to criticize the empress! The wretch from Clay Vase Alley seemed to have become too conceited for his own good after rising to wealth!

“As long as I’m here, no battle will be able to take place between the two of you. If you wish to be made into laughing stocks by lashing out at the air with none of your strikes reaching your targets, then go right ahead,” Wei Bo said with a smile.

“I never wanted to speak to her in the first place, so there’s no point for me to stay here. Send me to Pei Qian,” Chen Ping’an requested as he turned to Wei Bo with a smile.

Wei Bo nodded in response, while Yang Hua sneered, “Why don’t you trouble Mountain God Wei to send you to the bamboo building on Downtrodden Mountain? Wouldn’t you be even safer under the watchful eye of a Mountain Summit Tier martial artist? I definitely wouldn’t dare to pursue you then.”

“Why can’t you just leave me alone? Could it be that you’ve fallen in love with me?” Chen Ping’an countered.

A frosty look appeared on Yang Hua’s face as the tranquil Iron Talisman River suddenly became extremely turbulent, producing a burst of thunderous rumbling.

Wei Bo hurriedly sent Chen Ping’an to Dragon Riding Alley before the altercation could escalate any further.

Otherwise, even with Sage Ruan Qiong’s help, he may not have been able to keep these two from going at one another.

Only after Chen Ping’an’s departure did Yang Hua cast a cold gaze toward Wei Bo, and there wasn’t even the slightest hint of respect in her eyes.

“Why did I even come here?” Wei Bo sighed with a wry smile.

“Back when you were passing through this place with Xu Ruo and the others, you looked at me with a very strange look in your eyes. Why is that?” Yang Hua asked.

Wei Bo smiled as he replied, “I may have only been the mountain lord of Go Table Mountain at the time, but I was once a formal mountain god of a nation, so I could see that your godly body was one of an exceptionally high caliber, and that naturally caught my attention.”

“You’re lying to me,” Yang Hua declared with a shake of her head.

Wei Bo didn’t argue with her over the matter as he smiled and asked, “Care to take a walk with me?”

He then turned to depart without waiting for a response from Yang Hua as he said, “Both the living and the deceased like us have to follow some rules. Ruan Qiong isn’t here at the moment, so why has Chen Ping’an still chosen to walk back to the small town on foot rather than traveling there by flying sword?”

Only then did Yang Hua follow along after Wei Bo, and the two deities walked along the bank of the Iron Talisman River.

Wei Bo clasped his hands behind his back as he said, “If I’m not mistaken, you intercepted Chen Ping’an purely because you were compelled to do so by your competitive nature, which stems from your inability to renounce your status as a swordsman from back when you were alive.

“Right now, your godly body is still unstable, and you’ve only been worshipped for a short time, so you’re still not able to open up a gap between yourself and the gods of the Embroidered Flower, Fine Wine, and Rushing Tranquil Rivers. Hence, you provoked Chen Ping’an solely with the intention of challenging him to a sparring match. In that case, it’s a very simple matter, so why couldn’t you approach it amicably?

“Do you really think Chen Ping’an wouldn’t dare to kill you? To be frank, even if Chen Ping’an were to kill you, no one would bat an eyelid, and there’s a good chance that the first person to verbally support his actions would be the empress in an attempt to make amends for their past differences.”

Yang Hua fell silent upon hearing this.

It was common knowledge in the Majestic World that mountains were superior to rivers, and as the Northern Mountain God of a nation, Wei Bo’s status was loftier than that of any river god.

However, Yang Hua clearly didn’t have much respect for him.

Wei Bo wasn’t bothered by this, and he continued as if he were talking to himself, “How close is one thought to another? As soon as a thought arises in your mind, someone will sense it from vast distances away. However, at times, one thought can also be very far away from another.”

Yang Hua stopped in her tracks as she sneered, “I’m not in the mood to hear your riddles. I have not shirked my duties at all as the Iron Talisman River Goddess, so if you’re here to try and lord over me as the Northern Mountain God, then I suggest you give it a rest. If you want to oppress me and the Iron Talisman River as you did with Mountain God Song of Downtrodden Mountain, then go right ahead.”

Wei Bo turned to her with a smile and said, “Replace ‘I’m not in the mood’ with ‘I don’t have the time,’ and it suddenly sounds much better. The former is a blatant show of disrespect to your superior, while the latter suggests that you’re busy stabilizing your godly body and taking in the essence of worship, which is still a little rude, but much more understandable.”

“Is that it for your lecture?” Yang Hua asked as she stopped in her tracks.

Wei Bo nodded with a smile as he said, “I’ll continue to come and chat with you in the future.”

Yang Hua’s expression darkened slightly upon hearing this.

Wei Bo raised a finger to his lips and said, “If there are some hurtful things that can be left unsaid, then leave them unsaid.”

As expected of a former maidservant to the empress of the Great Li Empire, not only did she relent upon hearing this, she became even more direct and straightforward as she asked, “Do you really not know what some of the high-ranking deities of the Great Li Empire say about you behind your back, including the mountain gods nearest to the capital?

“I thought that perhaps they were wrong about you or were simply exaggerating, but now I’ve gotten to see you for myself, you really are a shameless, opportunistic…”

Wei Bo waved a hand with a smile as he interrupted, “I know what you’re going to say, but what people say about me has no bearing on me. It’s not like they’re omnipotent sages that can speak things into existence. In that case, Chen Ping’an was just suggesting that perhaps you had fallen in love with him, is that really how you feel?

“I can see that you’re trying to get under my skin so I’ll leave you alone in a fit of rage, and that way, you won’t have to see me again. Rest assured, I won’t come to chat with you often, and I’ll make sure not to interrupt your cultivation.”

A sense of exasperation welled up in Yang Hua’s heart, further exacerbating her anger as she sneered, “Do you not feel ashamed sucking up to Chen Ping’an when you’re the Northern Mountain God? Many of the mountain and water deities of both the Great Li Empire and its subsidiary nations are regarding you as a laughing stock, ridiculing you in secret!”

Wei Bo made a very immature gesture, pinching his own cheeks before his index fingers and thumbs before lifting up the corners of his lips into a smile as he said, “All that matters to me is that they display an obedient, smiling face in my presence. As for what they’re saying and thinking about me behind my back, I have no interest in finding out.”

Yang Hua pursed her lips in a skeptical manner, clearly not convinced.

“You may have endured some hardships while attaining your godly body, but someday, once you’ve experienced as many ups and downs as I have in life, you’ll come to realize that all of this behavior simply comes down to human nature,” Wei Bo said. “The path of cultivation is a long and arduous one, and it’s important to think things through when interacting with people and dealing with ordeals.

“Ultimately, success and failure in most things in life comes down to how you deal with other people.”

Yang Hua remained as abrasive as ever as she scoffed, “If you’re so fond of lecturing others, why don’t you go and teach at Forest Deer Academy or the Chen Clan’s school?”

Wei Bo suddenly cocked his head to the side as he smiled and asked, “It seems like you simply refuse to listen when I’m speaking to you nicely.”

A sense of foreboding welled up in Yang Hua’s heart upon hearing this.

Wei Bo raised his hands, then swept his sleeves through the air, claiming the incense essence from the river goddess temple and the water fortune essence of the Iron Talisman River,which manifested themselves as two balls of light, one golden and one green.

With that, Wei Bo departed without another word, leaving Yang Hua rooted to the spot in a daze.

Could it be that Wei Bo had finally lost his temper?

As if he had gleaned her thoughts, Wei Bo suddenly turned his head while continuing to depart as he smiled and said, “I’m not angry, I promise. If I’m lying to you, then I’m a dog.”

————

Chen Ping’an gently knocked on the doors of the pastry shop on Dragon Riding Alley.

Seeing as Wei Bo had sent him here, Pei Qian had to have been spending the night at the shop.

This was no surprise. Pei Qian liked to stay out of Cui Cheng’s line of sight as much as possible, and Downtrodden Mountain was nowhere near as lively and interesting a place as the small town. Whenever she wanted a snack, she could eat the pastries from the shop, or pay a visit to the tanghulu stand not far away.

Chen Ping’an had never said anything about this. As long as she kept up with her transcriptions and wasn’t too naughty, he let her do as she pleased, and she really was quite invested when it came to looking after the operation of the shop.

Shi Rou was the one to open the door. Yin entities had no need for sleep, and in direct contrast with living people, they were nocturnal beings. Furthermore, even if they did need to sleep to nourish their own souls, it would generally only be for a few hours.

Apparently, this was because the souls of yin entities were far more pure than those of living people. After all, things like being exposed to sunlight and hearing the sound of thunder were grueling ordeals for yin entities, but it was also a type of passive cultivation.

“Welcome back, Young Master,” Shi Rou greeted with a smile.

Chen Ping’an nodded in response, then asked, “Is Pei Qian sleeping here?”

“She finished her transcriptions with Li Baoping, and the two of them spoke for a long time before going to bed. A few days ago, they went to Go Table Mountain and were stung by some wasps there. Even after we bought some herbal medicine to apply to the stings, they’re still having a hard time getting to sleep,” Shi Rou replied in a quiet voice.

After the shop’s doors were closed, Shi Rou asked, “Should I go wake them up?”

Shi Rou was feeling a little awkward. There were three rooms in the backyard of the pastry shop, but the main room had been taken by Pei Qian and Li Baoping, while one of the side rooms was occupied by stock, leaving her with no choice but to stay in the third and final room.

At the moment, the room was filled with her private belongings, which made for a very strange sight. Her body was that of an old man, yet the table was laden with makeup, and even she occasionally found it quite jarring. To further compound her woes, Pei Qian had given her a copper mirror as an ill-intended gift.

Chen Ping’an lowered his voice as he replied, “There’s no need for that, I can just sit for a night in the yard. It’ll serve as sitting meditation practice. I’ll tell you about the recent developments in the Dragon Spring Prefecture later.”

The two of them were standing under the eaves of Shi Rou’s side room, and she dragged over a bench for Chen Ping’an to sit on. There were still more chairs, but she remained standing.

She then told Chen Ping’an about some affairs related to the Night Travel Banquet and Downtrodden Mountain.

The children from Mountain Cliff Academy would continue their northward journey, traveling to the capital of the Great Li Empire to see the old site of the academy before continuing northward once more, until they reached the northernmost coastline of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent.

However, Li Baoping was somehow able to convince Mao Xiaodong to remain in the small town, and Shi Rou guessed that it was most likely because the ancestor of the Li Clan had gone to speak with Mao Xiaodong.

Liu Qingshan and Liu Boqi had already left the Dragon Spring Prefecture, and prior to their departure, they sought out Zhu Lian to share some wine and become a sworn brother to both of them.

Chen Ping’an was rather taken aback to hear this. In his mind, Liu Qingshan wasn’t the type to do something like that. Instead, this sounded much more characteristic of someone like Pei Qian.

Shi Rou smiled as she revealed that it was Liu Boqi who had accepted Zhu Lian as her sworn brother, and that she had insisted that Zhu Lian make a trip to the Azure Phoenix Nation to attend her wedding with Liu Qingshan.

Chen Ping’an massaged his own glabella in an exasperated manner.

Outside of that, Shi Rou brought up several more matters that weren’t exactly unimportant, but she didn’t go into much detail, encouraging Chen Ping’an to speak to Zhu Lian about these matters. She had to admit that Zhu Lian was very reliable when taking care of a wide range of matters, but his appearance certainly left much to be desired, and the look in his eyes was very unsettling, even for a female ghost like her.

One of the aforementioned matters of interest was that Liu Chongrun had sent a trusted disciple of hers to Downtrodden Mountain on her behalf. At the time, Wei Bo had voluntarily made an appearance, and the female disciple, who was only at the Abode Tier, was so overawed by his presence that she began tripping over her own words in her speech.

Additionally, the gods of the Imperial River and the White Swan River of the Yellow Court Nation had visited Downtrodden Mountain one after the other, and they had been attended to by Zhu Lian and Zheng Dafeng.

After hearing Shi Rou’s report on all of the matters of interest, Chen Ping’an pointed at the main room with a smile and asked, “How are those two recovering from their stings?”

Shi Rou faltered slightly upon hearing this, then said in an exasperated manner, “Pei Qian has always been quite naughty, but Li Baoping isn’t much better! I felt just like that girl from Bejeweled Hairpin Island when I saw the pitiful state that they were in when they returned to the shop!

“Having said that, they were both still in rather high spirits, and they had agreed to go on a second adventure in the same place once they became more adept in martial arts.”

Chen Ping’an was at a loss for words.

For some reason, Shi Rou seemed to be more relaxed and content staying here in the shop than on Downtrodden Mountain, and she even felt comfortable enough to joke around with Chen Ping’an as she asked, “Have you brought back presents from your journey, Young Master?”

Chen Ping’an nodded in response, then pulled out the three little trinkets that he had purchased from the Earth Dragon Mountain ferry station.

He then handed Shi Rou the shallow, red bowl and the wadang inkstone, while he held onto the pairs of seals and gently knocked them against each other beside his ear, listening to the pleasant sound that they made as he smiled and said, “These three things cost me twelve snowflake coins. If you like any of them, you can pick one, and I’ll tell Pei Qian that I only bought two things.”

Shi Rou’s gaze lingered momentarily on the red bowl, but ultimately shook her head as she said, “It’s fine, I’ll pass.”

Chen Ping’an smiled as he insisted, “Presents should only be given in even numbers, and it’s not good to give an odd number of gifts. I’m going to be embarking on a long journey very soon, and I won’t be back for quite some time, so this will count as your red packet for the spring festival of next year.”

Shi Rou gently raised the red bowl as she said, “Alright, then I’ll take this one.”

Chen Ping’an nodded as he cautioned, “Make sure Pei Qian doesn’t find out about this. She really likes to keep tabs on these things, and she wouldn’t dare to complain to me, but you won’t hear the end of it for at least a few years to come.”

Shi Rou stowed the little bowl away, then returned the wadang inkstone to Chen Ping’an.

“Do you like giving out presents that much, Young Master?” Shi Rou asked.

“You may not be aware of this, but ever since I was a kid, I’ve always really liked earning and saving money,” Chen Ping’an explained with a smile. “At the time, I was saving up copper coins, and sometimes, when I couldn’t sleep at night, I would pick up my little clay pot and gently shake it around. I’m sure you’ve never heard the sound of a small potful of copper coins, right?

“Back when Zheng Dafeng was still serving as gatekeeper of the small town, I made a deal with him, earning a copper coin for each letter that I delivered to the households of the small town. Whenever I went to pick up letters from Zheng Dafeng, I prayed that there would be a massive basket full of letters waiting for me.

“However, in the end, I wasn’t able to earn much money from that job, and some things happened after that, forcing me to go on a journey away from home.”

Shi Rou shook her head with a smile.

Chen Ping’an tucked his hands up their opposite sleeves as he leaned forward and continued, “It’s not that I’ve become spendthrift now that I’m much more well off than before. Instead, I was such a miser back then so that someday, I wouldn’t have to haggle over every copper coin and be concerned every time I have to spend money.

“For example, I would be able to buy some better things for my parents when I visit their grave, and during the spring festival, I wouldn’t not be able to afford couplets and be forced to look enviously at the couplets plastered on the doors of my neighbors, trying to convince myself that they were my own. From the perspective of any outsider, they would’ve probably seen my attempts at cheering myself up as very childish and immature.”

Shi Rou didn’t know what to say.

Chen Ping’an was silent for a moment, then said, “There are some things that must be said that may not be all that pleasant to hear, but just bear with me for now. I’m going to be leaving the Dragon Spring Prefecture soon, and at the very least, you shouldn’t have to hear me bother you again for at least three years.”

“Please go ahead, Young Master,” Shi Rou prompted with a smile.

“I’ve never felt like it was an unfair privilege for you to have received this immortal body,” Chen Ping’an said. “However, fortune is much like the wind. Sometimes, it blows into your yard, but more often than not, you can’t keep it from leaving. Seeing as you’ve accepted this fated opportunity, do not feel bad about it, or feel as if it’s undeserved.

“The best thing you can do now is make full use of this immortal body and prove that you’re worthy of it. Perhaps you feel like I’m speaking disingenuously just to get close to you, but regardless of whether you believe it or not, I’m not banking on the prospect of you serving Downtrodden Mountain with this immortal body.

“All I’m hoping for is that you get along with everyone, regardless of whether you’re on Downtrodden Mountain or in this shop on Dragon Riding Alley. Don’t always feel like you don’t fit in. You’ve been given a second chance at life, so you have to take full advantage and grow accustomed to this new life of yours.

“Of course, it’s not going to be easy, and it’ll take some patience, but it’s the same for everyone, is it not?”

“I can tell you’re being sincere and earnest with me, Young Master. I’ll be sure to keep that in mind,” Shi Rou replied.

Chen Ping’an stowed away the pair of seals and the wadang inkstone, then removed his Sword Nurturing Gourd from his waist before taking a sip of a wine.

“Right now, everyone on Downtrodden Mountain varies drastically in status and cultivation base, but have you noticed that that doesn’t have much bearing on the closeness of their relationships with one another? I’m not saying this to you because I’m trying to mold you into the type of person I want you to become. Instead, I just don’t want you to feel depressed and ostracized as that’ll skew your view of the people and the world around you.”

“Are you going to continue to have these heart-to-heart exchanges with everyone even as more and more people come to our Downtrodden Mountain?” Shi Rou asked.

Chen Ping’an shook his head as he replied, “If I really do establish a sect of my own on the mountain, then there will definitely be too many people for me to attend to personally. However, that’s not an issue because I have many people to help me, and I’ve never felt like principles are things that necessarily need to be verbally espoused. Instead, leading by example is just as, if not more important.

“You, Zhu Lian, Zheng Dafeng, and the others all have their own experiences and views of the world, so you’ll each have your own principles to impart. It’ll be as subtle as a spring breeze blowing into the night, and it’ll certainly be much better than having a non-scholar like myself lecturing everyone all the time.”

Shi Rou stared at Chen Ping’an in a dazed silence.

Chen Ping’an didn’t speak any further as he began practicing his sitting meditation, while Shi Rou returned to her room.