Unsheathed

They came across a group of road-blocking bandits when they navigated through a relatively treacherous section of the road near the capital, and Sui Jingcheng felt like this group of haughty bandits was truly very fortunate…

Chen Ping’an told Sui Jingcheng to casually launch an attack, and a single flying-sword-like golden hairpin was all it took to make the bandits wet their pants in fright and scurry away.

Afterward, Chen Ping’an snuck near the mountain village with Sui Jingcheng, where they saw simple and crude houses, crowing roosters, barking dogs, curling smoke from chimneys, and a skinny child flying an old and torn paper kite. One of the bandits was squatting on the side of the path and grinning, and standing beside him was a short old man wearing tattered green clothes and angrily scolding the man for being incompetent.

If they failed to earn money soon, it wouldn’t be long before the village was unable to put food on the table. At that time, the little pipsqueaks didn’t need to dream about studying or whatnot, as their tummies would grumble even louder than their voices when they were reciting books at school. The man scratched his head sheepishly, replying that the young lady was truly very powerful and most likely a fabled immortal from the mountains. If it weren’t for them running fast enough, then they would have been beaten to death today instead of being starved to death in the future.

Chen Ping’an silently left with Sui Jingcheng, returning to their carriage and continuing their journey to the capital of the Five Mountain Nation.

Sui Jingcheng didn’t feel sleepy when night arrived, so she sat sideways outside the carriage and gazed at the forest beside the road.

“I initially wanted to kill all of those bandits when I saw them blocking the road to rob people. Senior, would I have made a mistake if I genuinely did that?” Sui Jingcheng murmured to herself.

“No, you wouldn’t have been wrong,” Chen Ping’an replied with a shake of his head.

“Then after witnessing their difficult life, would I be wrong to toss them a pouch of gold and silver coins if I encounter them on the road again?” Sui Jingcheng asked.

Chen Ping’an smiled and replied, “You wouldn’t be wrong, but you wouldn’t be right either.”

Sui Jingcheng suddenly felt slightly diffident.

“I said before that I’m only lending those gold and silver coins to you, so I won’t say anything about what you do with them. You don’t need to worry about me interrogating you for secretly leaving the coins outside the mountain village.”

In the end, Chen Ping’an remarked, “Worldly matters are complicated, and this saying isn’t a throwaway comment. Regarding the theory of context that I explained to you, whereby one observes the many threads of the human mind, achieving initial mastery will allow this seemingly complicated theory to become much simpler than it appears.

“On the other hand, the theory of sequential order appears simple but is actually even more complicated. This is because the theory of sequential order involves more than just the concepts of right and wrong, and it also pertains to the good and evil of the human heart. Even though I talk about context and threads of events all the time, I’m ultimately striving to master sequential order.

“However, there’s no one to teach me and guide me in the right direction, so I’ve temporarily only managed to comprehend the notions of severance and delineation through my sword heart. I’ve roughly explained these concepts to you before, so since you have nothing better to do right now, you can use these three concepts to have a good think about today’s events.”

Today had initially been bright and scorching hot, and Sui Jingcheng had felt extremely stifled and irritated inside the carriage even though she was wearing her Bamboo Robe Dao Robe. However, the sky unexpectedly became overcast, following which a torrential downpour quickly thundered down. The small mountain path became muddy and difficult to navigate.

Fortunately, there was a residence constructed by literati in the nearby mountain forest, providing them with shelter to wait out the rain.

Sui Jingcheng was familiar with the owner of this residence, and this owed to the fact that the owner had previously had some interactions with the Sui Clan many years ago. He was also a Go master like her father, but his official rank had been lower, and he had retired and returned to his hometown after reaching the position of palace minister of the Ministry of War.

However, there were many outstanding talents among his descendants, with Go officials who were more skilled than him as well as two young top scholars who had already become officials. As a result, this mountain which had initially enjoyed no fame started to gain renown due to the prodigious talents that it produced. The residence was located in a serene and desolate mountain forest, yet it was still frequented by guests and visitors all year round.

Upon hearing that the young woman wearing a veiled hat was from a side branch of the Sui Clan and was returning home to visit her family after marrying into a distant region, the old steward of the residence became very polite as he spoke to the two people. In fact, he even became slightly disappointed when he heard her say that they didn’t need to stay for the night. Old Assistant Minister Sui had been a pillar official of the Five Mountain Nation, after all, and he was also a divine Go expert just like his master. With this in mind, ordinary relatives of officials and nobles couldn’t compare to this young woman from the Sui Clan.

Sui Jingcheng didn’t take off her veiled hat while she and Chen Ping’an stayed in the residence to shelter from the downpour, but the steward of the residence still instructed a maidservant to bring tea for the two of them.

Perhaps the maidservant had revealed their presence, and perhaps it was due to some other reason, but a young and elegant young master quickly arrived and made some polite small talk. Afterward, he asked the young lady wearing a veiled hat whether she was skilled at Go. Sui Jingcheng was flawless in her responses, but the young master was also a very patient person, always able to find something to talk about even though there was clearly nothing to talk about. He didn’t feel awkward at all. In fact, he even spoke a little to the young carriage driver in azure, and he became especially enthusiastic and friendly when he learned that the carriage driver was a nephew of the Sui Clan who was responsible for delivering family letters for the young lady. He didn’t appear haughty at all.

After the rain subsided, the young master personally saw Chen Ping’an and Sui Jingcheng off to the entrance of the residence, watching them disappear into the distance before smiling faintly and remarking, “This young lady is definitely a breathtaking beauty, leaving a sweet fragrance behind in this serene mountain forest. However, it’s a shame that I wasn’t able to witness her stunning appearance.”

The elderly steward was seemingly familiar with the young master’s demeanor, and he joked, “Then why doesn’t Second Young Master personally escort them on their journey?”

The young man swayed his head back and forth as he returned to the residence to play a game of Go with a beautiful maidservant.

Sui Jingcheng sat next to the curtains of the carriage and gently took off her veiled hat, pulling back the curtains and asking, “Senior, would I have been in the wrong if he had tried to force himself on me and ended up causing a disaster? Would I have been slightly responsible? After all, my beauty would have come first, and him coveting my beauty and doing evil would have come afterward.”

Chen Ping’an sighed upon hearing this question. This was the troublesome aspect of the theory of sequential order, and it was very easy for people to descend into a state of confusion in the beginning. It was as if everyone was a bad person, and it appeared as if everyone had a sinister mind. At the same time, however, sinister people and sinister actions appeared somewhat justified as well.

If Chen Ping’an were genuinely Sui Jingcheng’s Dao mentor, then generally speaking, he wouldn’t have directly explained these matters to her. Instead, he would have allowed her to contemplate these matters herself. Since he wasn’t her Dao mentor, however, and seeing that she was already very smart, there was no need to worry about these restrictions.

“The theory of sequential order doesn’t work like that. Casting one’s gaze across heaven and earth, the rights and wrongs of many matters — especially those pertaining to the customs of a continent or a nation — are already set in stone. For example, developing sinister thoughts and committing evil when seeing someone’s wealth, and developing debauched thoughts and abusing one’s power when seeing someone’s beauty. Both of these things are categorically wrong. A person isn’t innately wrong because they’re rich, nor is a person innately wrong because they’re good-looking.

“Only after understanding these concepts can a person discuss and apply the theory of sequential order, as well as attribute magnitudes to actions of right and wrong. Otherwise, a young woman walking seductively through the streets is no reason for someone to kidnap them and sexually assault them, and a little child carrying a gold nugget in the markets is no reason for someone to target them and steal from them. After all, do you genuinely think that the little child is in the wrong? Are people wrong simply because they possess wealth? No, this isn’t the case. Rather, it’s because of the unfortunate crimes in the world that these old sayings have become popular, with many related sayings urging kind-hearted people and weak people to be careful.”

Chen Ping’an turned around and asked with a smile, “The world has always been like this, so is this correct by default? No, I posit not.”

“Senior’s insights are truly brilliant and lofty!” Sui Jingcheng exclaimed with a bright glimmer in her eyes.

Chen Ping’an looked at her and chuckled, “This can be regarded as a brilliant and lofty insight? If the sagely principles in the books are able to come alive, then I surmise that countless miniature people in the bellies of the countless scholars in the world will be angered to death. Of course, these miniature people might also feel a strong urge to jump out from the scholars’ bellies and run back into the books.”

“Senior has something against scholars?” Sui Jingcheng asked in a careful voice.

Chen Ping’an shook his head and replied, “People who have read many books and poems before aren’t necessarily scholars, and on the flipside, it can’t be said that those who are illiterate and haven’t read any books before definitely aren’t scholars.”

Sui Jingcheng was just about to sigh with emotion and say something.

However, Chen Ping’an had already added, “There’s no need for any flattery.”

Sui Jingcheng couldn’t help but say in embarrassment, “Senior is truly able to see the future.”

Chen Ping’an turned around to look at her again.

Sui Jingcheng winked and silently dropped the curtains of the carriage. After sitting back down, she was unable to stop a smile from spreading across her face.

After entering the capital of the Five Mountain Nation, Chen Ping’an stopped the carriage whenever they arrived at a famous sight or a scenic spot, taking a look around and occasionally inscribing the words on the plaques and couplets onto his bamboo slips.

They had also come across a chivalrous young man and a gallant young woman during their travels, with the two steeds rapidly galloping past their horse-drawn carriage.

The sleeves of the two people and the manes of the two horses had loudly fluttered in the wind.

They once traveled past a rural village, where they saw a group of little children playing happily and jumping over a small stream one after another, with even some of the weaker little girls able to leap over after a small run-up.

One of the children had confidently stood beside the small stream, surprisingly not taking a few steps before jumping over the stream. Instead, he had swung his arms and attempted to build momentum on the spot. In the end, he had leaped forward and directly plummeted into the stream.

The carriage had been stopped nearby at the time, and Sui Jingcheng had seen a faint smile appear on the senior sword immortal’s face when he witnessed this scene.

The carriage traveled around the capital of the Five Mountain Nation and continued to trundle north.

It traveled directly to Sweeping Villa, a mountain village owned by Wang Dun, the most powerful person in the cultivation world of the Five Mountain Nation.

Chen Ping’an didn’t purposely detour around the prefectural cities and the county cities this time, so he was able to hear some pieces of news that had already spread throughout the imperial court and the cultivation world.

Wang Dun had managed to enter the new rankings of the top ten martial artists, and even though he was ranked last, everyone in the Five Mountain Nation still celebrated this great achievement.

This was because the Great Seal Script Empire alone already had five people ranked inside the top ten martial artists. And according to rumors, this was despite the fact that many old but powerful grandmasters of the Great Seal Script Empire who hadn’t shown themselves in public for a long time had been disregarded by the rankings.

Xiao Shuye was the only person from the Green Shrine Nation to make the rankings, placing ninth above Wang Dun. Meanwhile, there was surprisingly no one from the militarily powerful Golden Gate Nation, a nation with a culture of toughness and physicality. As for the Orchid Residence Nation, it didn’t even need to dream about anyone making the rankings of the top ten martial artists.

Taking all of this into account, it was a great honor for Senior Wang Dun to make the rankings even though he was only ranked last. At the same time, this was also a source of pride for everyone in the Five Mountain Nation, a nation with a so-called frail scholarly culture and no outstanding people.

The emperor of the Five Mountain Nation especially sent out an envoy to bestow a plaque upon Wang Dun.

As such, Sui Jingcheng could envision many guests and visitors pouring into Sweeping Villa right now, with an endless stream of congratulations being offered to Senior Wang Dun.

However, it was unknown whether Senior Wang had sought an audience with the emperor of the Great Seal Script Empire before returning to the Five Mountain Nation on an immortal ship.

As for the pieces of news relating to Sui Jingcheng, these were no less popular than the pieces of news relating to Wang Dun making the list of top ten martial artists. This was especially the case among people from the cultivation world, with their discussions spirited and sending spittle flying everywhere. Meanwhile, the women and young ladies traveling with them would appear displeased whenever this topic was brought up.

Sui Jingcheng would secretly glance at the senior sword immortal each time she was brought up in someone else’s conversation. However, he would either continue to silently eat and drink in the restaurants, or he would continue to drink low-quality tea from the roadside stalls, tea that quenched thirst but wouldn’t cool down the body and fight off the summer heat.

This caused Sui Jingcheng to feel slightly dejected.

When traveling between the famous sites and the scenic mountains and rivers, they also came across a group of drinking literati.

Someone raised their wine cup and loudly exclaimed, “A towering tree while in the forest, but a small blade of grass outside the mountains.” Tears streamed down his face, and the remaining literati also felt a sense of sorrow in their hearts. Someone stood up to brandish their sword, somewhat appearing spirited and impassioned.

The carriage slowly trundled past.

“If famous literati are making idle talk and having a winding stream party, does Senior know which two kinds of people can’t be missing?” Sui Jingcheng asked with a smile.[1]

“I’ve never participated in such events before, so why don’t you explain it to me?” Chen Ping’an smiled and replied with a shake of his head.

Sui Jingcheng smiled and replied, “When these literati gather, there definitely needs to be someone who can compose popular and universally praised poems. It’s best that a masterful painter who can compose the portraits of many people is also present. If one of the two is present, then the gathering can leave its mark in the history books. If both are present, then the gathering will become a grand event praised and talked about by everyone for hundreds upon thousands of years.”

Chen Ping’an nodded and said, “This makes a lot of sense. I’ll definitely tell one of my friends about this in the future, and he can perhaps record this information in his travel journal.”

Sui Jingcheng was still wearing her veiled hat as she covered her mouth and smiled. She sat sideways outside the carriage and swung her legs back and forth.

1. A winding stream party is an old Chinese custom in which the participants wait by a winding stream and compose poems before their cups full of rice wine float down to reach them. ☜