Unsheathed

Zuo You arrived outside the thatched cottage.

After a short time, the old scholar walked out of the thatched cottage with a melancholy expression, sighing. “What a tough negotiator. However, I have to negotiate with him no matter how difficult it is.”

“When are you leaving, Master?” Zuo You asked.

The Scholarly Sage scratched his head and replied, “I have to try again, don’t I? However, there’s nothing I can do if the negotiations fall through, and I’ll still have to leave when I have to leave. There’s no way around this. I’m destined to be busy and to carry all the blame.”

“You’re not going to visit Chen Ping’an?” Zuo You asked.

“Are you telling me what to do?” the old scholar fumed.

Zuo You fell silent and didn’t say anything else.

As expected of the founder of the scholarly lineage.

As if feeling slightly guilty, the old scholar patted Zuo You’s shoulder and said, “Zuo You, the scholar whom you and I respected has finally forged a path, one as vast as a fifth world. Everything is abundant there, with the exception of people. The population won’t increase significantly in the short term either. Is this not perfectly suitable for your needs? Are you not going to head over to take a look?”

Zuo You shook his head and replied, “Master, there aren’t many people here either, and it’s also better than that completely new world. This is because the more time that passes, the fewer people who will remain here. They won’t come rushing over to increase the population.”

“Oh, it’s been so upsetting for me as a master. None of my disciples is willing to listen to me,” the old scholar lamented.

“There’s still Chen Ping’an, isn’t there?” Zuo You responded in a soft voice.

“Zuo You, you’re going to take things too far if you keep stabbing my heart like this,” the old scholar said in a meaningful and heartfelt voice.

“Why isn’t it appropriate for you to visit Chen Ping’an, Master?” Zuo You asked in confusion.

The old scholar smiled and frowned at the same time, causing his expression to appear strange as he replied, “I heard that your junior brother recently established an ancestral hall on a mountain in his hometown, placing a portrait of me inside at the highest and most central location. This is actually quite inappropriate, and secretly placing my portrait in his study would have been enough. I’m not the type of person to get pedantic about these small matters, after all. Did I care when I was kicked out of the scholarly temple back then? I didn’t care at all. The shallow notions of fame and fortune are vast and pointless, just like the salted peanuts that are eaten one after another when enjoying wine.”

“Master, please wipe the smile from your face first,” Zuo You said in a reminder.

The old scholar nodded in response. When he discovered that Old Man Yao was no longer standing on the city wall, he rubbed his face before jumping up and smacking Zuo You on the head, scolding, “And you still have the gall to complain about other people speaking nonsense? Aren’t you full of nonsense as well? You’re the dimmest out of all my disciples.”

“He’s an elder from Ning Yao’s family, after all, so this disciple inevitably had his hands tied,” Zuo You replied in helplessness.

“I didn’t say it was wrong for you to have your hands tied and not move, but with the large number of sword qi around you, would it be strange for you to lose control of a wisp or two even if you remained unmoving?” the old scholar commented in confusion. “These wisps of sword qi could have swept toward Old Man Yao, and after a few shouts of anger from him, the two of you could have naturally engaged in a sparring session that provided mutual benefit to your Sword Dao. And after defeating Old Man Yao, you could have loudly flattered him to bring the conflict to a nice close. Did this never cross your mind?”

“This disciple is dull-witted, and your suggestion is very reasonable, Master,” Zuo You replied with a nod.

The old scholar turned around and ran back to the thatched cottage, saying, “I just thought of a few things, so I’m going to haggle with him again.”

Zuo You walked over to the parapet.

A short moment later, the old scholar sighed deeply and returned to Zuo You’s side.

“Master, is it already the limit of cultivators to stand on one speck of dust and walk onto another speck of dust?” Zuo You asked.

The old scholar smiled and replied, “One tree will greet another tree in the wind, one mountain will remain silent to another mountain for hundreds upon thousands of years, and one river will crash into another river after growing wide and mature. All matter will quietly observe this and feel content.”

Zuo You mulled over this for a moment before saying, “Please explain this in simpler terms, Master.”

“I didn’t know the answer to your question, so I could only give you a perfunctory answer,” the old scholar replied.

Zuo You was rendered speechless.

“Immortal forces sit atop the mountains, while mortal paths fill themselves with mud and water,” the old scholar said with emotion.

“Master, you are criticizing this disciple,” Zuo You said.

The old scholar shook his head and responded in a solemn voice, “I’m asking more of noble people and prodigies.”

Afterward, no further words were exchanged as Zuo You accompanied his master and enjoyed the scenery for an entire night.

When morning arrived, the Scholarly Sage turned around and walked toward the thatched cottage, saying, “I’ll roll around and shout if I’m not able to persuade Chen Qingdu this time.”

Zuo You silently waited for the outcome. The old scholar walked out from the thatched cottage at noon, twisting his beard in silence.

“Chen Ping’an is going to propose marriage to the Ning Clan, and the old great sword immortal has agreed to be their matchmaker,” Zuo You revealed in a low voice.

The old scholar was taken aback, and he immediately thumped his chest and stomped his foot, exclaiming, “Chen Qingdu, that old geezer! How shameless! What has this got to do with him? Is he treating me like I’m dead? Alright, even if I am half-dead…”

There was a loud pop.

The old scholar’s already shaky body transformed into a shadow before vanishing for good, almost as if he had suddenly disappeared from this world.

Zuo You narrowed his eyes and grabbed the hilt of his sword as he turned around to face the thatched cottage.

However, there was a small ripple the next instant, with the old scholar appearing travel-worn and exhausted as he reappeared and stood still again. He reached over and patted Zuo You’s sword-wielding arm.

Even so, Zuo You still didn’t let go of his sword hilt.

The old scholar smiled and said, “It’s okay. It’s not a big deal.”

Chen Qingdu appeared at the entrance of the thatched cottage and asked with a smile, “Are you planning to stay here and nag me?”

The old scholar sighed and replied, “I can’t stay here for long, even if I want to. I’ll immediately pack up and piss off after having some wine to drink.”

This was the suppressive power of heaven and earth.

It hadn’t been easy for Lu Chen to travel from the Heavenly World to the Majestic World and then to the Jewel Small World back then either, having to face suppression from the Great Dao wherever he went.

Chen Qingdu smiled and said in reminder, “There’s no bed for the Scholarly Sage over here. I suggest that you don’t take what isn’t yours.”

“Oh, that’s right. That works too,” the old scholar said in realization.

————

The Sword Qi Great Wall was actually very peaceful when it wasn’t engaged in war, with the prosperous streets bustling with people and the small alleys filled with noise.

However, there wasn’t a scholarly temple or a martial sage temple here, nor were there traditions of putting up door gods, writing spring couplets, or going to the graves to honor their ancestors.

The completely obliterated street was currently being repaired, with workers bustling around as they carried out their tasks. Meanwhile, the main culprit was sitting on a stool outside a miscellaneous shop and basking in the sun.

There were few customers and business was ordinary, so Ning Yao was chatting casually with Die Zhang.

Seeing that Die Zhang didn’t appear anxious at all, Chen Ping’an couldn’t help but feel slightly anxious himself.

However, they had only met each other a few times, so it wasn’t Chen Ping’an’s place to say anything. He needed to pay special attention when it came to women besides the person whom he loved.

A little child quietly snuck over, wiping his nose with a fist as he mustered his courage and asked, “You’re called Chen Ping’an, correct?”

Chen Ping’an smiled and asked, “What’s the matter? Do you want to challenge me to a fight?”

The little child retreated several steps in fright, but he was still unwilling to leave as he asked, “Are you able to teach me fist techniques? I can give you money.”

“No,” Chen Ping’an replied with a shake of his head.

“If you’re worried about the payment being too little, I can be indebted to you first and slowly pay you back when I master the fist technique and kill demons to earn money. In any case, you’re very capable, and your fist is powerful, so I wouldn’t dare to owe you money and not repay it.”

Chen Ping’an placed his hands inside his opposite sleeves, with his shoulders relaxed and loose as he asked in a lazy voice, “Why do you want to learn fist techniques? ”

“I’m not an innate sword talent, and I’m not very capable when it comes to practicing the sword. No one is willing to teach me either, and even Big Sister Die Zhang grumbles about my poor aptitude. She insists that I become a bricklayer instead. I looked after her shop for several months for nothing,” the little child replied in frustration.

Chen Ping’an smiled and explained, “Learning fist techniques is similar to learning sword techniques, and both cost a huge sum of money and have certain requirements for aptitude. It’s better that you become a bricklayer.”

The little child squatted down, perhaps having already predicted this outcome beforehand. He observed the young man in azure who claimed to be from Majestic World, thinking that he couldn’t be blamed for being impolite, seeing that the young man had spoken so rudely. Thus, he said, “Your looks are quite ordinary, so why is Big Sister Ning attracted to you?”

Chen Ping’an was slightly amused as he asked, “Are people only attracted to looks?”

“What else?” the little child retorted.

Chen Ping’an smiled and said, “I’m not ugly either.”

The child squatted there and shook his head with a sigh.

Chen Ping’an felt slightly hurt. His looks were indeed a bit inferior to Chen Sanqiu and Pang Yuanji, but he wasn’t anywhere near close to being ugly, was he? He raised his hand and rubbed the stubble on his chin. It was most likely because he wasn’t cleanly shaved.

With this daring child leading the charge, it wasn’t long before a large group of noisy children gathered around them. There were also some young boys and young girls slightly further away.

Their eyes were filled with curiosity as they looked at the outsider who had fought four battles in a row.

When Majestic World was enjoying a lush spring with swaying willows, the Sword Qi Great Wall would be experiencing the biting wind of autumn.

There was only a single gate separating the two completely different worlds, and the opposite seasons in the two naturally resulted in vastly different customs.

It wasn’t difficult to survive at the Sword Qi Great Wall, and even the most frail child could survive at this place.

However, it was incredibly difficult to live a good life here.

Thus, those who were able to enjoy wine often — even if they owed wine money — were definitely no ordinary people.

Of course, it was a different story for descendants of large clans. They didn’t need to worry about food and shelter, and it was very easy for them to enjoy the lifestyles of kings and nobility.

This was genuinely a case of their ancestors accumulating virtue, with those sword immortals and sword cultivators sacrificing their lives to win the privilege for their descendants. In any case, these descendants needed to enter the battlefield and fight as well, so being able to return alive from the great wall was enough reason for them to enjoy life.

Perhaps because Chen Ping’an seemed easygoing, it didn’t take long for a large group of children to surround his small stool and loudly chatter away.

Outsiders who were able to enter the Sword Qi Great Wall from Stalactite Mountain would often stay in the area where all the large families and large clans were gathered. They didn’t like to visit this area.

Chen Ping’an had discussed many local people and matters with Ning Yao during his first trip to the Sword Qi Great Wall, allowing him to understand the spectrum of attitudes that the indigenous youths held toward Majestic World, a world that was so close yet so different. Some people announced they would definitely visit Majestic World to enjoy a bowl of the most authentic yangchun noodles, while others had heard there were many beautiful women there. These women were truly just mortal women, so frail and slender that they would sway around and not possess a single wisp of sword qi. They also wanted to know what kind of godly lifestyle the scholars in the Majestic World enjoyed.

Chen Ping’an was being peppered with questions right now, and he chose to answer some of them while also choosing to purposely ignore some of them.

A child who had yet to venture south of the city wall asked whether there were truly countless undulating green mountains in Majestic World, ones that were incredibly lush and where people could take a deep breath and smell the fragrance of plants and flowers after the rain.

A slightly older boy asked Chen Ping’an what it was like when mountain gods and water gods married or wed their children, what it was like when the city gods heard cases and issued judgments at night, and what mountain spirits and water ghosts looked like.

Someone hurriedly retrieved a wrinkled but treasured children’s book and asked whether the descriptions and illustrations in the book were accurate. When there were mandarin ducks hiding under the lotus leaves to shelter from the rain, did the people from the large houses truly need to hang nets from their eaves to prevent the birds from building nests and shitting everywhere? Would people truly not feel cold under the skywells when it rained or snowed during the middle of winter? And was the wine over there truly like stones on the roadside, free and available for everyone to drink? Was it actually unreasonable that they needed to pay for wine here?

Also, what kind of places were those brothels with silvery laughs? What kind of wine was flower wine? What was plowing the fields and sowing seeds all about? Why did people over there still need a place to live even after they died? Were they not afraid of running out of space for living people to live? Was the Majestic World truly so big?

In the end, a young boy grumbled, “You don’t know much, huh? You’re only answering one out of every three questions, and you call yourself someone from Majestic World.”

Chen Ping’an quietly flicked his wrist and retrieved his Sword Nurturing Gourd, taking a swig of wine before waving his hand and saying, “Run along now. Don’t delay your Big Sister Die Zhang from doing business.”

The little child who had arrived first to speak with Chen Ping’an squatted beside the small stool and said, “There’s no business at the shop anyway, so why don’t we chat for a bit longer?”

“Speaking nonsense with you and the others for so long hasn’t earned me a single copper coin either,” Chen Ping’an replied with a chuckle.

The children moaned and complained as they turned around and left.

Only after running very far away did the little child look back and shout, “Big Sister Ning, this person is so miserly and stingy, so why are you attracted to him?”

Chen Ping’an acted as if he were going to stand up, causing the little child to sprint and turn into an alley. However, he poked his head out and shouted in a louder voice, “I’m not lying to you, Big Sister Yao, but Chen Ping’an secretly told me just then that Big Sister Die Zhang is quite good-looking as well. You definitely can’t fall for this kind of womanizer.”

Standing inside the shop and leaning against the counter, Ning Yao exchanged a smile with Die Zhang.

Chen Ping’an returned to his small stool and raised his middle finger toward the alley in the distance.

Following the commotion, he peacefully drank some wine under the warm sun. He was still slightly unaccustomed to this.

He suddenly stood up at this moment.

As it turned out, an old scholar had appeared beside him at some unknown time.

The old scholar patted the young man’s shoulder and said, “You’ve grown up. You must have gone through a lot.”