Unsheathed

“Is he so poor that he can’t even afford to eat? How could he stoop to advertising for a bookshop like this?”

“This is the first time he’s ever done this. I presume that he’s doing this at the request of a good friend, so it wasn’t something he could turn down easily.”

“I’m glad he’s at least looking embarrassed because he definitely should be feeling that way,” Cui Ci said with a sigh as he sprawled down onto the table. “Having said that, it’s a nice change of pace. For once, he’s not going on and on about some vapid and pointless principle today. Otherwise, I would’ve surely already fallen asleep by now.”

“Who says principles have to have a point in order to be good principles?” Li Xisheng asked as he continued to listen to the old virtuous scholar’s lecture.

“Pardon?”

Cui Ci felt like he had to have misheard his teacher.

Li Xisheng’s attention remained on the picture scroll as he smiled and said, “Let me pose you a little question, Cui Ci. Which one is heavier, a gram or a kilogram?”

Cui Ci was perplexed. Was this meant to be a rhetorical question?

“Who initially decided what these two weight units would entail? What were the scales and weights that these weight units were first based on? These units had to have been invented tens of thousands of years ago, so did it not stand to reason that they had to have changed to some extent, even if only minutely, after all this time? If these changes had indeed taken place, then what impact would they have on the world?”

Cui Ci was beginning to develop a headache just thinking about it.

“There are some extremely pure principles in this world that seem to be very impractical and detached from reality, but you can’t just say those principles are useless. There always have to be people to pass down such seemingly useless principles. By speaking to you about these things, am I helping you earn money or advance your cultivation base?” Li Xisheng asked.

“No,” Cui Ci replied with a shake of his head.

Li Xisheng took a forlorn glance at the elderly scholar in the picture scroll, then turned his gaze to Cao Ci as he said, “Refining spiritual energy and harnessing it for oneself is the essence of cultivation. Our objective is to rise up in cultivation base until we eventually ascend to the heavens and attain immortality.

“By espousing principles and promoting morality to the world, that is the way that Confucians try to make a positive impact. The best principles are those that bring about changes in a subtle fashion, like spring rain nourishing the earth. A true Confucian scholar never has immortality as their sole pursuit.”

The old virtuous scholar’s age was beginning to show, and he quickly grew weary in his lecture. Normally, he would’ve been able to speak for two hours at a time, but on this occasion, he fell into a deflated silence after just an hour.

A sullen look appeared on his face as he cast his gaze into the distance and sighed. “I know no one’s listening to these lectures. Twenty years ago, I heard from our mountain master that these lectures would occasionally earn a few snowflake coins here and there for the academy, but they have been generating virtually no income for the past ten years. Whenever I hear that someone is willing to spend money on my pathetic lectures, I become so overjoyed that I immediately go out drinking with a friend.”

The old man forced a smile onto his face as he spoke, then picked up the travel journal as he continued, “The friend I’m talking about is the one who’s selling this travel journal. I haven’t had a chance to have many drinks with him, but I’m already an old man. Over the past few years, I haven’t been able to earn a single snowflake coin for the academy, and that’s something that’s always weighed on my conscience.”

All of a sudden, the old man set down the book with an angry expression as he yelled, “I know you’re watching, you old bastard! You’re worried that I won’t follow through on my promise of promoting your book, aren’t you? You’d better save some wine and food for me! Just a little bit will do! As long as I have something to eat and drink once I leave the academy.”

The old man rose to his feet here, then extended a deep bow as he continued, “This lecture is the final time that I will be making a fool of myself in the academy. I’m glad that no one listens to my nonsensical ramblings. It would be a waste of your money. Cultivation is not easy, and I’ll be the first one to admit that my thirty years’ worth of lectures have been close to completely useless. Just take a look at me! Do I look like a scholar, someone with actually useful knowledge to share? I’m not even convinced myself!”

The old man strode over to the enchanted picture scroll, intending to roll it back up. Even though he was a virtuous scholar, he wasn’t a cultivator, so he wasn’t able to roll up the picture scroll from afar with a sweep of his sleeve like many of his colleagues could.

Right at this moment, Li Xisheng tossed a grain rain coin into the picture scroll, then rose to his feet and extended a respectful bow as he said, “Scholar Li Xisheng has benefitted immensely from your lectures. Please allow me to express my gratitude.”

The old man was stunned into silence for a long while, and tears began to well up in his eyes as he mumbled, “I am not worthy of your gratitude.”

Feeling indebted to this generous benefactor, the old man lowered his voice and advised in a whisper, “Don’t buy that travel journal no matter what you do! It’s far too expensive for what it’s worth, and it’s a complete waste of money! Cultivation is not cheap, and it can’t hurt to be frugal.”

The old man was about to habitually begin rattling out a bunch of broad principles again, but he caught himself at the last second and sighed in a self-deprecating manner, “What’s the point? No one wants to hear it anyway.”

All of a sudden, another grain rain coin was dropped into the picture scroll, following which a voice declared, “Liu Jinglong has already been listening to your teachings for thirty years, and I would also like to express my gratitude. Thank heavens I came out of seclusion in time to catch your final lecture!”

Not only was the old man completely rooted to the spot, but even Cui Ci was stunned as he asked, “Is this the same Liu Jinglong as the young sword immortal from the Great Emblem Sword Sect?”

Li Xisheng nodded in confirmation with a faint smile.

The old man was brought to tears, and after taking some time to compose himself, he adjusted his robe and stood up straight as he smiled and said, “If you ever get the opportunity to do so, please come and have a drink with me! Even after I leave the academy, I won’t be far away, so I’ll be easy to find. That way, I’ll be able to complain to you in person for not announcing yourself sooner! If my colleagues knew that Liu Jinglong has been listening to my lectures for thirty years, I would’ve had huge bragging rights over all of them!”

All of a sudden, the voice of a third person rang out, but they didn’t make any donation.

“This has been the worst lecture that you’ve ever delivered. As opposed to advertising someone else’s book, why not open a bookshop yourself? I, Zhou Mi, would certainly be willing to buy a few books from you!”

“Is that you, Mountain Master Zhou?” the old man asked in a cautious voice.

“What do you think? Who else on the Northern Complete Reed Continent would dare to declare their name as Zhou Mi with such confidence?”

The old man hurriedly wiped his sleeve over his face to dry the tears that were still swimming in his eyes.

Even though he was leaving the academy, he still didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of the mountain master.

***

During Wei Bo’s absence from Cloud Drape Mountain, a convoy departed from Locust Yellow County of the Dragon Spring Prefecture.

It wasn’t that they didn’t have the money to go to Ox Horn Mountain to travel by immortal ship. Instead, it was because someone hadn’t given the nod, and that left a woman who was in charge of finances feeling very disappointed. She had never traveled by an immortal ship before.

Unfortunately, her son didn’t approve, and she had no choice but to go along with his decision.

Shortly following the death of the old woman from the Ma Clan of Apricot Blossom Alley, her grandson also left the small town, and the ancestral residence had been vacant ever since then. The old woman’s son and daughter-in-law had moved out of the ancestral residence long ago, and even though the Ma Clan was quite wealthy, they always kept a low profile.

The old woman’s son was very similar to Lin Shouyi’s father in that both possessed a great deal of jurisdictive power but never showed it, giving one the impression that they possessed far less authority than they actually did. The two clans were in quite a similar situation as well.

After moving out of Apricot Blossom Alley, the Ma couple hadn’t chosen to purchase a property on Fortune Street or Peach Leaf Alley. At this point, they had already secretly sold the dragon kiln that had been passed down in their clan for generations to the Xu Clan of Light Breeze City for an exorbitant price.

After that, they had moved to True Martial Mountain under the arrangements of their son. The plan was to permanently settle there and remain on True Martial Mountain for the foreseeable future, but in reality, the Ma couple was not very enthusiastic about the move. The two of them would’ve preferred to move to the capital of the Great Li Empire, but they had to follow their son’s lead.

After all, their son was no longer the dumb kid from Apricot Blossom Alley. Instead, he was now the most exceptional cultivation prodigy of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, even managing to slay two of the Luminous Vermilion Empire’s Golden Core Tier swordsmen, who were renowned for their combat prowess.

The woman lifted the curtain of the carriage, and outside was an absurdly beautiful young woman riding atop a horse. The woman was her son’s maidservant, and her son had given her the name Shudian.[1]

The woman found that rather amusing, and it was the only thing that made her feel like her son was still the same silly little kid from before.

At the moment, Shudian was sulking on horseback.

Back in Clay Vase Alley, Song Jixin, who was purportedly the illegitimate son of the kiln supervision official, had a maidservant by the name of Zhi Gui.

According to the old woman, back when she was still alive, Ma Kuxuan had actually always had a crush on Zhi Gui.

Shudian had already sensed the woman’s gaze, but she didn’t want to acknowledge it.

However, she was immediately met with a cold gaze from the young man riding on horseback at the forefront of the convoy, who had turned around to glower at her.

She shuddered in fear at the sight of the man’s cold gaze, and she immediately turned to the woman inside the carriage as she asked in a gentle voice, “Would you like to stop and take a rest, Mistress?”

The woman smiled and shook her head as she slowly let the curtain fall back down.

Shudian took a glance at the young man up ahead, who had turned to face directly forward again, and a sense of sorrow welled up in her heart, but she didn’t dare to show it, even in the slightest.

Back when she moved into the Jewel Small World with the mother-and-son duo of the Light Breeze City Xu Clan and the mountain-moving ape of Sun Scorch Mountain, everyone had thought that she had been blessed by the heavens, but ultimately, she ended up in the worst situation out of everyone. Not only was she unable to claim even a single fated opportunity, but she had also brought disaster upon her entire clan.

Her grandfather was once the leader of the Sea Tide Cavalry, but he had lost all of his military jurisdictive power after their nation was conquered by the unstoppable forces of the Great Li Empire. However, he had managed to save an official position for himself in the imperial court, and he was even able to retire in peace. But then, that young man appeared.

The accompanying guards sent by the imperial court and all of her grandfather’s closest subordinates had all perished, amounting to over a hundred casualties.

Their bodies were littered all over the ground, while she and her grandfather were forced to kneel.

Ma Kuxuan stood between the two of them, pressing his hands down onto their heads. He said that their two heads weren’t enough to repay their debt, and that even the death of the entire Sea Tide Cavalry wouldn’t be enough to make amends.

Ma Kuxuan asked the old man how he planned to settle the matter, and the latter began kowtowing and begging Ma Kuxuan to kill him and spare his granddaughter.

The old man had earned countless battlefield accolades throughout his lifetime, yet in his final moments, he had been forced to kowtow to the ground like a lowly slave.

Ma Kuxuan pressed his palm down, leaving behind a limp and terribly mutilated corpse, but at the very least, the old man’s final wish had been granted, and his granddaughter was spared.

Ma Kuxuan kept her around as a maidservant, giving her the name of Shudian with no surname.

In the end, the grieving and despairing Shudian followed Ma Kuxuan to the Dragon Spring Prefecture.

Upon returning to his hometown, the first place that Ma Kuxuan visited wasn’t Apricot Blossom Alley, nor was it his parents’ residence. Instead, he made his way to the bank of the Dragon Whisker River. There, at the waterfall where the Dragon Whisker River and the Iron Talisman River met, Shudian saw a sword-bearing goddess. It was Yang Hua, a river goddess of the Great Li Empire.

At the time, Ma Kuxuan had been crouched down at the border between the two rivers, gently tossing stones into the water.

He turned to Yang Hua with a smile as he said, “I know that you were the empress dowager’s maidservant. As for me, I’m just the grandson of a river guardian beneath you, so I should be respectful to you, but I’ve heard that you haven’t been very kind to my grandmother, so you’re going to have to tread carefully. Everyone, regardless of whether you’re a cultivator, deity, spirit, or demon, must repay their debts.

“If you still haven’t repaid your debt by the next time I come to visit my grandmother, I’ll take your godly body to True Martial Mountain and refine it day after day for a thousand years. Even if I die, as long as True Martial Mountain still stands, you’ll have to suffer for a thousand years, not a single day less.”

Yang Hua snorted in disdain.

“You were able to become the goddess of a major river, so I’m sure you’re no stranger to enduring hardships, but that’s not a problem for me,” Ma Kuxuan continued. “Ultimately, you’re still a woman. Even though you’re no longer human, certain deep-seated personality traits are impossible to erase. Every few years, I’ll capture some illegitimate deities or spirits and take them to True Martial Mountain. From there, I’ll teach them a secret technique that was lost to time long ago and grant them a turn in their fortunes.

“I’ll make you understand what it means to have to use your body to repay your debts. I’m telling all of this because I’m hoping that you won’t be like certain people, that you won’t be so foolish as to think that many trivial things are truly just trivial things. Otherwise, at the rate at which I’m making breakthroughs, you’re going to repay your debts very quickly.”

Yang Hua remained silent with a disdainful sneer on her face.

“You don’t believe me, do you?” Ma Kuxuan asked as he cocked his head to the side. “In that case, just you wait. You know what? I’ve changed my mind now. Someday in the near future, I’m going to get the empress dowager to personally send you an imperial edict, ordering you to go and serve as a river goddess in the territory of True Martial Mountain. Once that happens, I’ll pay you a visit. I hope I won’t receive too frosty a reception.”

The disdainful sneer on Yang Hua’s face finally faded.

“I’m afraid it’s too late,” Ma Kuxuan said with a shake of his head.

Yang Hua’s eyes narrowed slightly in a menacing fashion.

A Dao guardian of True Martial Mountain appeared behind Ma Kuxuan, then warned with a faint smile, “It’s against the rules for you to kill on a whim, River Goddess.”

Yang Hua sneered. “Is Ma Kuxuan already the master of your True Martial Mountain?”

“Of course not,” the Militarian cultivator replied with a shake of his head. “However, when Ma Kuxuan says something, it seems to hold even more weight than the words of our mountain master. I don’t like it, but there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Yang Hua noticed the Militarian cultivator sneaking a subtle look at her as he spoke.

“Fine,” she relented with a resigned sigh. “Ma Lanhua will get her own river goddess temple very soon.”

Dragon Whisker River Guardian Ma Lanhua had been promoted to river goddess, but she had been unable to erect a temple for herself this entire time.

As a river goddess, it was only right that she had a temple of her own, so as long as Yang Hua gave Ma Lanhua her blessings as the Iron Talisman River Goddess, the local authorities and the Ministry of Rites of the Great Li Empire would surely approve.

1. This refers to a historic anecdote that’s a little difficult to explain, but the name is a reference to ungratefulness and forgetting one’s history and roots. ☜