Unsheathed

Mao Qiulu smiled as she removed the bracelet of bells from her wrist, then handed them over to Chen Ping’an, who she was still yet to identify as a Qi refiner.

The old man beside her swept a sleeve through the air, and the Eight Triagrams formation on the surface of the lake instantly came together like a giant, silver net, forcibly transporting the little girl to the shore, while the other Azure Stone Residence cultivators retrieved the eight compasses.

“Make sure to keep a close eye on her, Young Master Chen. We’re going to withdraw the formation, take care that you don’t let her flee into the lake,” Mao Qiulu cautioned.

“Of course,” Chen Ping’an replied with a smile and a nod.

The formation instantly faded away, and Chen Ping’an stepped forward before lifting the little girl up by the back of her collar, suspending her in mid-air as she crossed her arms with a displeased expression.

Meanwhile, all of the people gathered in the valley were quickly packing up their belongings before hurriedly fleeing the scene, escorted by the monks.

The Azure Stone Residence cultivators strode over to join the monks of the Deity Visage Nation, clearly intending to help them evacuate everyone from the valley.

“You there! The armed escort!” Chen Ping’an yelled.

A young armed escort riding on a horse turned around to look at him.

While continuing to carry the little girl with one hand, Chen Ping’an conjured up a wine flagon in his other hand, then hurled it toward the young man on the horse, aiming his throw with such exceptional accuracy and the young man merely had to reach out a hand on horseback to catch the flagon.

After stowing the flagon away, the young man smiled and cupped his fist toward Chen Ping’an in a grateful salute.

“You’re not coming with us, Young Master Chen?” Mao Qiulu asked.

Chen Ping’an smiled as he replied, “I’ll go in some other direction. Patriarch Yellow Wind will definitely choose to go after a large group like yours rather than a lone straggler like myself.”

Mao Qiulu was so infuriated to hear this that she was at a complete loss for words, and she raised a thumb in his direction, then slowly turned it upside-down.

Chen Ping’an remained unfazed as he called, “I’ll be sure to visit your Azure Stone Residence when I get the chance.”

Mao Qiulu stoically ignored him as she departed without another word.

The little girl swayed her head back and forth in a display of schadenfreude as she jeered, “You scholars are so stupid! She was feeling a bit of affection for you after what you did, but you’ve completely turned her against you now!”

Chen Ping’an released the back of her collar, lowering her to the ground.

“Despite your appearance, you seem to have a lot of life experience,” Chen Ping’an chuckled.

The little girl clasped her hands behind her back and fixed her gaze on the string of bells in Chen Ping’an’s hand.

Chen Ping’an tossed the bells to her, then put on his conical bamboo hat before hoisting the large bamboo bookcase onto his back.

The little girl was completely stunned by this turn of events, and her little face scrunched up like a piece of paper, reflecting the extent of her befuddlement.

“What’re you doing? You think I can’t get away? How dare you look down on me! I’m a great water monster!”

“Get out of here,” Chen Ping’an shooed as he shoved her back with a finger to the forehead.

“Hey! Watch it!” the little girl snapped.

She opened her mouth up wide to reveal a set of bright and sharp teeth, then asked in as threatening a voice as she could muster, “Are you scared of me?”

“Terrified,” Chen Ping’an replied flatly as he slowly made his way toward the hill.

The commotion to the north of the hill was growing louder and louder.

The little girl hesitated momentarily, then casually tossed the string of bells into the lake. She then pinched her own chin and began pondering something with her brows tightly furrowed, watching as Chen Ping’an made his way up the hill.

All of a sudden, she turned to swagger back toward the lake, then abruptly drew to a halt before turning around, only to discover that Chen Ping’an had already made it to the summit of the hill, and he continued to walk away without even so much as a single backward glance.

The little girl scratched her head vigorously, unable to make sense of the situation.

She leaped into the water, where she reverted back to her fish monster form, then began pursuing the sinking string of bells into the depths of the lake.

Over on the hill.

Chen Ping’an walked for a few kilometers before coming to a stop, then removed his conical bamboo hat and bamboo bookcase.

An old monk was seated on the ground not far away, his entire body soaked in blood.

He was silently reciting a Buddhist scripture, and there was a khakkhara plunged into the sand beside him, the rings on which were clanging together incessantly.[1]

The monk’s blood was a golden color, and a series of golden lotus flowers were constantly blooming around him with his scripture recitation.

Swirling around the old monk was a yellow tornado, with just a barely visible yellow robe concealed within it.

The petals of the golden lotus flowers were constantly being stripped away by the raging tornado, and even though the monk’s eyes remained closed, he could sense that someone had appeared behind him.

He swept a sleeve through the air as he urged, “Get out of here! Grab onto my staff, it’ll help you get far away from this place!”

The khakkhara immediately flew toward Chen Ping’an at the old monk’s behest before drawing to a halt in mid-air beside him, and its rings continued to clang together insistently, as if it were urging Chen Ping’an to grab onto it so that he could get away from this place.

In the absence of the khakkhara, the old monk’s powers were diminished, and the yellow tornado instantly seized the upper hand, eradicating almost all of the golden lotus flowers in the blink of an eye.

Right as the old monk was about to be completely overwhelmed by the tornado, a warm voice rang out beside his ears.

“Don’t worry about me. Please focus on your recitation, I am honored to be able to hear your wise words.”

Chen Ping’an then sprang forward over a hundred feet in a single step as he yelled, “Come!”

The bamboo bookcase sprang open on its own, and a golden demon-binding chain shot out from within before hurtling into the tornado like a golden flood dragon, then wrapped itself tightly around the yellow robe.

Immediately thereafter, Chen Ping’an sprang into the fray, unleashing a barrage of almighty punches.

Despite the tremendous power that he was unleashing, often able to snap the entire tornado into two with just a single blow, he appeared very relaxed and casual, as if he were simply taking a stroll in the park.

The old monk slowly opened his eyes, then smiled as he brought his palms together and murmured to himself, “If only I had some tea with which to treat this esteemed guest.”

The yellow tornado had already fled into the distance, with Chen Ping’an in hot pursuit.

The old monk slowly rose to his feet and made his way to the bamboo bookcase, where he retrieved his khakkhara before departing.

That day, in the darkness of the night, Chen Ping’an was slowly walking along.

A little girl was hanging from his leg with her arms wrapped tightly around his ankle, resembling a weighted shackle.

“You’re just going to keep clinging to me like this?” Chen Ping’an asked without even lowering his head.

Slung across the little girl’s shoulders was a cloth pouch, and she nodded as she replied, “This pouch contains all of the treasures on the lakebed, and they have to be worth more than a grain rain coin! I’ll give them all to you, but you have to help me find a scholar that can write novels, then get him to write a story about me, making sure that I appear as menacing and terrifying in the story as possible.”

“If you keep this up, I’ll have to remove you by force,” Chen Ping’an sighed in an exasperated manner.

The little girl immediately erupted into tears, wiping her tears and snot on Chen Ping’an’s pant leg as she sobbed, “Please, just take me with you! You’re so powerful, even Patriarch Yellow Sand was no match for you! I won’t have to worry about anything if I’m with you! I have to find that scholar and get him to write my story. I have to make it known to everyone that I am the almighty water monster of Mute Lake!”

“Let go!” Chen Ping’an said in a firm voice as she stopped in his tracks.

“No!” the little girl stubbornly refused as she continued to cling to Chen Ping’an’s leg with all her might.

“Get out of here!”

Chen Ping’an raised his leg forcefully, and the little girl was sent flying directly toward Mute Lake, tumbling through the air in a massive arc.

Mere moments later, Chen Ping’an turned back to discover the little girl tailing him from a distance.

As soon as their eyes met, she immediately stopped in her tracks and began looking up at the moon, pretending as if this were nothing more than a chance encounter.

“If you follow me, you could end up dead,” Chen Ping’an sighed.

The little girl began eagerly rushing toward him, only to hurriedly stop in her tracks at the sight of his displeased expression.

“Everyone dies at some point anyway, so I’m not afraid of death! I just want everyone to know of me! Once I accomplish that goal, I wouldn’t mind even if I died.”

Chen Ping’an continued onward, while the little girl continued to follow.

All of a sudden, something caught her interest, and she crouched down to stare intently at something on the ground, then abruptly opened her mouth to swallow a lizard whole.

“Delicious!” she declared with a wide smile as she stood back up again, only to discover Chen Ping’an looking at her, and she immediately looked away again, but her cheeks were twitching involuntarily from amusement at their little game.

Chen Ping’an smiled as he relented, “If you want to follow me, then do as you please. I’ll try and find a place for you to stay once we reach the Spring Dew Garden, but let me make this clear in advance: if you change your mind somewhere along the way and want to return to Mute Lake, you’ll have to do so on your own.”

She immediately rushed to Chen Ping’an’s side, then puffed out her chest as she declared, “I would never change my mind! I’m a great water monster!”

“Yep, a great water monster the size of a grain of rice,” Chen Ping’an scoffed.

A rare look of embarrassment appeared on her face.

Such an embarrassing detail had to be left out of the novel.

From there onward, Chen Ping’an was accompanied on his journey by a little girl who frequently complained of thirst.

The little girl was thoroughly enjoying her time with him.

One time, they sat together atop a wall to watch the door gods of two different households bickering with each other.

The two households were situated directly across from one another, and ironically, the household with the scholarly door god plastered to their doors was home to a gallant hero, while a talented scholar had come out of the household with the martial door god plastered to their doors.

Up to that point, the little girl still only knew Chen Ping’an as Chen Haoren, and he plastered some talisman to her forehead, following which the two sat down atop the wall to watch the bickering match.

There was also one time when they encountered a marriage between the daughter of a mountain god and the son of a river god. It seemed like a massively festive occasion, but in reality, the wedding took place in complete silence. At the time, Chen Ping’an had voluntarily stepped off the path to make way for the marriage procession.

An old maidservant from the mountain god entourage handed him a celebratory red packet, and to the little girl’s chagrin, he accepted the red packet and politely offered a bunch of congratulatory words. In her eyes, it was extremely embarrassing that he had accepted the red packet as it only contained a single measly snowflake coin.

After that, they encountered one of the legendary gods of the Five Mountains on a stroll. It was a deity dressed in gold, riding atop a white horse with an extremely long tail, presenting a stunning sight to behold.

In a dilapidated temple, the two of them witnessed three beautiful women emerge, seemingly out of thin air, to meet with a scholar from the world of the living. Unfortunately, Chen Ping’an refused to watch the scandalous events that unfolded next, and he forbade the little girl from peeking as well.

Upon their return the next day, they discovered three clay statues of beautiful maidens standing in the church, but they were each missing a handkerchief, a golden hairpin, and a bracelet.

What was even more amusing was the time when they inadvertently encountered several spirits that were posing as scholars in a secluded paradise in the wilderness. Initially, the spirits were very warm and accommodating, but one of them then asked if Chen Ping’an could make an impromptu poem on the spot, a request that left him completely stumped.

The spirits instantly turned on him, denouncing him as a talentless shrew. In the end, the two of them were forced to leave with their tails tucked between their legs, but Chen Ping’an wasn’t bothered, and the little girl had found the interaction very amusing.

These were some of the highlights of their time together, but much more of their time was spent doing mundane tasks like traveling at night and starting fires for cooking.

During their time together, the little girl had noticed that Chen Ping’an could be rather strange at times.

One time, he was making his way down a walkway constructed along a cliff face. For some reason, he rushed directly into the cliff face, then pummeled his way straight through the entire mountain with his bare fists alone!

He would also often walk around in circles at night, doing so the entire night in a state of pseudo-sleep. In contrast, she would always sleep soundly through the night, and it was often the case that she would still see him wandering in circles when she got up the next morning.

There were also times when he would display a rather playful side to himself.

On time, they were passing by a waterside pavilion. It was raining heavily, and a bunch of scholars were gathered in the pavilion, appreciating the downpour. Right as spirits were high, Chen Ping’an did something to make the rain instantly stop, leaving the scholars in the pavilion completely rooted to the spot, while the little girl hid in the water, chortling with mirth.

Every once in a while, he would give his wine gourd a gentle pat, and a tiny flying sword would fly out from within, only to be used as a razor for facial grooming. One time, he turned to flash her a smile as he was shaving, but she couldn’t bring herself to smile back. That was an immortal flying sword, for heaven’s sake!

He also helped some farmers plant some seedlings into their fields on one occasion. He removed his conical bamboo hat and his bamboo bookcase to help them in their work, and he appeared very happy doing it.

Initially, the farmers were worried that he was just an inexperienced scholar that would only cause more work for them, but to their surprise, he was every bit as skilled in farmwork as they were. After the job was done, the farmers invited him back to their village for a meal, but he politely refused and left.

However, none of these trivial events were particularly exciting or worthy of being written into the story about her. Even after accompanying him on his journey for so long, she hadn’t gained even a smidgen of fame or renown. No one knew that she was the great water monster of Mute Lake, and whenever someone asked her name, he would only tell them that her surname was Zhou and leave it at that.

There was only one time when he did something that she felt like was worthy of admiration.

There was a small boat traveling over a river when a huge louchuan came lurching toward it.

There wasn’t enough time for the boat to swerve out of the way, and right when its passengers sank into the depths of despair, Chen Ping’an appeared at the head of the boat, stopping the louchuan with a single hand while drinking out of a flagon of wine.

There was also one time when they had sat together on the city walls of a lavish capital city at night, looking down at the countless lights below, which shimmered like a galaxy of stars.

He finally said something worthy of a scholar, remarking that there were galaxies of stars both up above and down below, and that there was immense beauty to be found both above and beneath the heavens.

For some reason, a hint of melancholy welled up in the little girl’s heart, just a little bit, the size of a grain of rice. She wasn’t homesick, not even in the slightest. It was just that when she gazed upon Chen Ping’an’s side profile, she was reminded of the sorrow that she often felt as a water monster lurking in the depths, watching people come and go, but unable to fit in as she wasn’t a human herself.

Chen Ping’an seemed to have sensed her melancholy, and he gave her a gentle pat on the head as a gesture of consolation.

In that instant, she felt like perhaps his name really was Chen Haoren.

1. A khakkhara is a monk’s staff. ☜