Unsheathed

When Ning Yao and Die Zhang returned to the shop, Die Zhang suddenly stopped in her tracks, not daring to take another step forward.

This was because she felt respect and fear toward the man who had suddenly appeared at the entrance of her shop.

He was none other than Great Sword Immortal Zuo You, someone who was renowned for his coldness.

Regardless of how poor one’s temper was in their hometown, ordinary sword cultivators from other continents all needed to rein in their tempers when they arrived at the Sword Qi Great Wall.

However, Senior Zuo You was different. An indigenous Immortal Tier sword immortal guarding the city wall had attempted to challenge Zuo You — who was widely recognized as possessing the greatest sword skills in the world — when he had just arrived at the Sword Qi Great Wall, yet Zuo You had simply said, “You’re not able to learn my sword skills, but there is one thing you can learn from me: It’s better to avoid a fight that you can’t win.”

The Lord Hidden Official had been standing nearby at the time, and she had concurred, “That seems to make sense.”

And thus, the highly anticipated sparring session hadn’t taken place atop the city wall.

Die Zhang was filled with curiosity following her shock. Why was Zuo You suppressing his sword qi so much? Everyone at the Sword Qi Great Wall knew that Sword Immortal Zuo You was always surrounded by sword qi, using this to forge a path forward during the big battles and venturing deep into the ranks of the demon tribe’s large army. He would also be surrounded by sword qi when he tempered his sword intent alone atop the parapet.

Today, however, the most skillful sword immortal in the Majestic World was surprisingly suppressing his sword qi, not displaying a single wisp.

Seeing this, Ning Yao dragged Die Zhang off to stroll around again.

Only when Ning Yao learned that the Scholarly Sage had already left did she return to the shop. Unexpectedly, Zuo You was still yet to leave.

Before leaving, the old scholar had especially reached out to bid farewell and thank her. Ning Yao was slightly puzzled at this moment, not knowing why she deserved the Scholarly Sage’s thanks.

Regarding the interesting relationship between Chen Ping’an and Zuo You, it wasn’t difficult for Ning Yao to understand the thoughts of the two people. Thus, she hadn’t made any comments about Zuo You to Chen Ping’an.

It wouldn’t be appropriate for her to say anything, and in any case, Chen Ping’an had his own views and beliefs regarding these important matters in life. There was no need for Ning Yao to interfere, and there wasn’t even a need for her to provide suggestions and strategies.

Die Zhang truly couldn’t contain her curiosity, so after walking far away, she used her mind’s lake to ask Ning Yao, “Is Chen Ping’an acquainted with Great Sword Immortal Zuo?”

“They’ve been acquainted for a long time,” Ning Yao confirmed with a nod.

Chen Ping’an had written about this in his travel journal, and he had actually dedicated quite a number of paragraphs to describing his experiences with Zuo You.

“Can you tell me a bit more?” Die Zhang asked with a smile.

“No, I can’t,” Ning Yao replied with a shake of her head.

Die Zhang tugged at Ning Yao’s sleeve, gently swaying it back and forth as she put on a pout and said in a pitiful voice, “Just tell me anything, Big Sister Ning. There has to be something you can say.”

Ning Yao pondered for a moment before replying, “You should ask Chen Ping’an yourself when we return. He’s planning to partner with you to open a shop, so you can use this as a condition for forming the partnership. Don’t agree to his proposal too early.”

Die Zhang quickly understood the implications of Ning Yao’s words, with the latter clearly laying a trap for her to walk into. Die Zhang chuckled in anger and huffed, “I’m not planning to become business partners with him. Don’t push your luck, Ning Yao.”

Ning Yao smiled and said, “I’m truly not siding with Chen Ping’an over you, but the reality is that he was correct — you aren’t clever enough when it comes to doing business. With his help, it’s guaranteed that you can enjoy a large and steady income.”

Die Zhang furrowed her brows, wanting to say something but ultimately deciding against it.

Ning Yao glanced at Die Zhang and immediately read her mind, explaining, “Chen Ping’an is carrying one pocket treasure and two minimization treasures, but apart from some ordinary wine from his hometown and a large pile of bamboo leaves, they’re filled with nothing but empty space. He has almost nothing on him. If Chen Ping’an truly wanted to travel to the Sword Qi Great Wall as a merchant like many on the intercontinental ships and rely on selling a bunch of miscellaneous items to earn money from us sword cultivators, then would he have wasted his treasures like this? He would have stuffed his pocket treasure and minimization treasures full of goods.

“Which is to say, Chen Ping’an only wants to earn ethical money by forming a business partnership with you. This is out of habit, and Chen Ping’an has always liked to earn money from a young age. However, this isn’t due to a pure desire for wealth. I have to speak up and defend him in this regard.”

Die Zhang felt a huge sense of relief, and a smile returned to her face as she said, “That’s good then. Otherwise, I would have scolded him for being greedy and scummy to his face, and so be it if our friendship ended as soon as it began.”

Soon after the old scholar left, Zuo You lightly placed his pot of wine on the chair. He didn’t like to drink wine, and suppressing his abundant sword qi was also very troublesome. Perhaps he was the only person in the world who complained about having too much sword qi.

Chen Ping’an was still taking small sips of wine, appearing quite carefree and relaxed.

Zuo You chuckled coldly and asked, “Is it hard to feign calm and composure now that Master isn’t here to help you anymore?”

Chen Ping’an firmly refused to speak.

“You weren’t aware that Master would come to the Sword Qi Great Wall before, so there was no issue with you asking Chen Qingdu for assistance,” Zuo You said. “However, since Master visited just now, why didn’t you take the opportunity to ask for his agreement? Whether Master agreed or not would have been his problem, but whether to ask or not is a matter of respect and etiquette for a disciple.”

Chen Ping’an also placed his wine pot on the chair, placing his hands inside his opposite sleeves before leaning forward and gazing at the street that was currently being repaired. “I’m aware of Master’s current state, so could I still open my mouth to ask this question? What would that achieve apart from making Master feel troubled? Even if Master doesn’t feel troubled, will my conscience not feel uneasy? Even if I don’t feel uneasy, what happens when this matter causes trouble for the entire Sword Qi Great Wall, becoming the spark that directly triggers an all-out battle between the two sides? If that were the case, would Master truly not feel troubled when he departed?”

Zuo You nodded in response, approving Chen Ping’an’s answer.

Master had many things to worry about, so it was only appropriate that his disciples should shoulder some of the burdens and responsibilities.

Zuo You recalled the tall and sturdy Mao Xiaodong, though his recollection of this unofficial disciple was slightly hazy. He only remembered Mao Xiaodong as a young man who had earnestly studied and sought knowledge all year round. He wasn’t part of the brightest group of unofficial disciples, with his understanding and comprehension abilities being relatively slow. Mao Xiaodong always liked to ask for clarification regarding scholarly questions, and Cui Chan often joked that he was a dimwitted blockhead. Cui Chan would only give the final answer, and he would never be willing to go into more detail. Only Little Qi would be patient enough to entertain Mao Xiaodong.

“Mao Xiaodong was unwilling to enter the School of Rites to shelter from trouble in the beginning, insisting on tying himself to the scholarly lineage. He also wanted to accompany Little Qi to the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent to establish Mountain Cliff Academy,” Zuo You recounted slowly. “Master actually said something very harsh back then, saying that Mao Xiaodong shouldn’t have such selfish thoughts, seeking only to appease his own conscience. Why couldn’t he elevate his ambitions to the next level? There was no need to stubbornly cling to one lineage, and if he could use a greater knowledge to benefit the world, it mattered little whether he belonged to the scholarly lineage or not.

“After hearing this, Mao Xiaodong, whom I never really held in high regard, said something that impressed me greatly. He screamed at the top of his lungs, saying to Master that he was slow and untalented, but he knew that only by respecting his master could he uphold Dao and be free from guilt. The sequential order of these matters couldn’t be swapped. Master was both happy and sad to hear this, but he no longer forced Mao Xiaodong to leave the scholarly lineage and join the etiquette lineage.”

Chen Ping’an grabbed his pot of wine and took a sip, saying, “Senior Brother Mao was extremely hospitable both times I visited the Great Sui Nation’s Mountain Cliff Academy. He was afraid that I would venture down the wrong paths, so he appeared much like a Confucian sage and teacher when he explained some principles to me.”

Zuo You smiled and remarked, “Well, that’s because you didn’t see his speechless expression when I put him in a chokehold. Regardless of how reasonable his response was, he shouldn’t have sent spittle flying all over Master’s face, should he? What do you say, Junior Brother?!”

Chen Ping’an quietly put his pot of wine back on the chair, simply responding with a nod and stubbornly refusing to say anything extra.

Zuo You stood up, grabbing his pot of wine from the chair before shooting a glance at the food container beside his feet.

Chen Ping’an stood up and said, “I’ll pay for this.”

Zuo You shot another glance at Chen Ping’an.

Chen Ping’an had no option but to add, “And I’ll continue to do so in the future.”

Only after hearing this did Zuo You prepare to leave.

“I hope I didn’t disappoint you, Senior Brother Zuo,” Chen Ping’an suddenly said.

Zuo You remained silent for a moment before saying slowly, “You did okay.”

Chen Ping’an breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled. “That’s good then.”

Zuo You hesitated for a moment and eventually said, “From today onward, if anyone speaks to you in a taunting manner and accuses you of receiving protection and enjoying today’s success simply because you belong to the scholarly lineage, then there’s no need to speak nonsense with them. You can directly send a messenger flying sword to the city wall, and I’ll teach them what respect means.”

Chen Ping’an was rendered speechless. He was truly quite unaccustomed to this.

Zuo You paused briefly and added, “I’ll teach their parents and seniors the meaning of respect as well.”

Seeing that Zuo You was becoming slightly impatient and seemingly wanting to teach him sword techniques, Chen Ping’an was reminded of a saying popular among vagrant cultivators: better to sacrifice someone else than to sacrifice oneself. With this in mind, he hurriedly nodded and replied, “I’ll keep this in mind.”

Zuo You didn’t go to great pains to suppress his sword qi any longer, transforming into a streak of brilliant light as he returned to the distant city wall.

As Zuo You soared from the city to the city wall, his abundant sword qi caused the primordial sword intent that suffused heaven and earth to briefly move aside and create a path.

After arriving at the city wall, Zuo You lightly raised his hand holding the wine pot, lifting his sleeve, which held a bound book. This was a book that Chen Ping’an had given to the Scholarly Sage just then, yet the Scholarly Sage had secretly passed it onto him for some unknown reason. In fact, the Scholarly Sage had even hidden this from Chen Ping’an, his most favored final disciple.

Zuo You used his sword qi to create an isolated small world, after which he started to drink wine and read. He placed the book on the parapet in front of him, relying on his sword qi to flip the pages when required.

Before he knew it, Zuo You had already finished the entire pot of wine. He gazed up at the sky, turning toward the direction where the Scholarly Sage had left.

Master’s smile remained the same even after becoming the most impoverished Confucian sage in the world, but Zuo You knew that his master wasn’t truly carefree and happy. Rather, the Scholarly Sage was feeling guilty about his disciples having to disperse and drift around the world.

Things were only different when Master saw his junior brother, someone whose ego was higher than the heavens, and who was finally willing to acknowledge the Scholarly Sage as his master. Even though Master had spoken little and smiled little, having already departed from the Sword Qi Great Wall as well, he was definitely beaming from ear to ear right now.

Perhaps Chen Ping’an wasn’t aware that if he had hurriedly rushed to the city wall to greet his senior brother upon arriving at the Sword Qi Great Wall and hearing that Zuo You was there, then Zuo You would have indeed felt disappointed.

How could Little Qi choose such a junior brother?

If Chen Ping’an had secretly constructed an ancestral hall at home and hung up Master’s portrait, yet he actively sought praise from Zuo You because of this, then Zuo You would have felt even more disappointed.

How could Master choose such a closing disciple?

If Chen Ping’an wanted to learn sword techniques because he felt like Zuo You was a skilled swordsman, then Zuo You would have felt most disappointed.

Why should he accept such a junior brother?

However, Chen Ping’an didn’t do any of these things. This was the junior brother that Zuo You had waited one hundred years for.

In fact, he was even better than the ideal junior brother that had existed in Zuo You’s mind.

When parting ways at the Flood Dragon Trench back then, there was one thing that Zuo You hadn’t said. He had hoped that Chen Ping’an could do one thing.

To his surprise, Chen Ping’an had not only done this thing, but he had even done it very well. He had traveled across three continents and witnessed their mountains and waters.

Thus, Zuo You finally realized why Master had purposely given the book to him after reading its contents.

At this moment, Zuo You wondered to himself whether his hesitant response of, “You did okay,” to Chen Ping’an at the shop entrance back then had hurt his junior brother’s feelings.

Perhaps Master would have smacked him across the head again if he were present.

Zuo You’s gaze lingered on the sky for a long time.

The Dao of heaven and earth was vast, substantial, lofty, brilliant, far-reaching, and long-lasting.[1]

A pity! Worry weighs on my heart, yet I can feel it flowing away with time, with no chance to address it.[2]

1. This is a line from the Doctrine of the Mean (中庸), one of the Four Books of classical Chinese philosophy and a central doctrine of Confucianism. ☜

2. This is a line from The Oath of Qin (秦誓), a chapter from the Book of Documents (尚书). ☜