Unsheathed

Ning Yao didn’t say anything when she saw Chen Ping’an returning from the city wall, yet Granny Bai felt worried and aggrieved again, pulling Nalan Yexing aside to ferociously scold him.

Nalan Yexing didn’t talk back, accepting his fate. It was rare to see a lofty sword immortal being wronged like this.

He drank by himself to wash away his frustration.

Chen Ping’an was accustomed to applying ointment and medicine to his wounds, and Grandma Bai had already given him the keys to the Ning Residence’s medicinal room and treasure chamber a long time ago.

While walking over to the medicinal room, Chen Ping’an told Ning Yao and Grandma Bai about the assassination attempt on Guo Zhujiu, also explaining the cause and the eventual outcome.

Grandma Bai grumbled that these underhanded people who liked to pick on children truly deserved to die.

Ning Yao didn’t think too much about this, unwilling to dwell on the matter as long as the young girl was okay. Anyhow, Chen Ping’an liked to think about these things, so she would let him do all the thinking.

Since Ning Yao was accompanying Chen Ping’an, Bai Lianshuang didn’t get in their way. She hadn’t scolded Old Bastard Nalan enough just then, what with Chen Ping’an being present and all, so she was going to find an opportunity to scold him to her heart’s content.

Chen Ping’an made his way to the familiar medicinal room, completely unfazed even though his arms were bloody and mangled, with many bones in his hands exposed. He picked out three porcelain bottles, also needing to apply ointments of various colors on his wounds. There were three main colors, and they needed to be applied in a specific manner.

When bandaging his wounds, Chen Ping’an was still in the mood to make a joke about himself, saying, “According to the processes of firing pottery in the dragon kilns, this is called applying a three-colored glaze, nothing too expensive or fancy. The emperors of the Great Li Empire seldom used this porcelain, and they would mostly use them as rewards for their meritorious subjects.

“Going back two generations, the old emperor at that time was very fond of a particular type of porcelain, one with azure flowers under the glaze and further underglaze outlines as well as golden flourishes. Those were truly beautiful pieces of porcelain. Of course, the process to make them was incredibly complicated and difficult, and the finished product would also appear slightly too colorful.

“We never had the opportunity to see the finished products, and I’ve only seen the broken shards of some subpar products. They were indeed very fancy. In fact, the process to make this porcelain was so complicated that out of the dozens of dragon kilns, only Old Man Yao, who was still young at the time, was able to master the process and successfully make finished products.”

Chen Ping’an was initially afraid that Ning Yao wouldn’t like to hear about these trivial matters, but she was unexpectedly listening very intently, which encouraged Chen Ping’an to recount some other interesting stories from his time as an apprentice in the dragon kilns.

“Liu Xianyang often dragged me over to the porcelain mountain when I was an apprentice, and he would carefully pick and choose the shattered porcelain pieces as if he were looking over his treasures at home. He could identify the original shapes and purposes of the shattered porcelain, regardless of whether they were new or old, almost as if he had made them himself. Among those who aren’t Qi refiners, firing pottery is indeed a task that requires talent and aptitude.

“After becoming a cultivator, however, one’s perspective on these mortal matters naturally changes. Whether it’s music, Go, calligraphy, or painting, there are far too many blemishes and shortcomings that don’t stand up to scrutiny. As the saying goes: Becoming a cultivator in the mountains, I awoke first from the grand dream, and thought it all ordinary.

“Song Jixin’s father, the late emperor, was much more elegant and refined in his taste. Our dragon kiln was responsible for producing large porcelain vessels for the imperial court, and based on the unique features of these vessels, apprentices like me would privately make nicknames for them, such as loach back, lamp grass root, cat whisker, and so on. We would also speculate whether the emperor, the wealthiest person in the world, was aware of these nicknames. I’ve heard that the young emperor has reverted to liking those porcelain products with bold and colorful glazes, although much more muted than what his grandfather liked.”

“How are you able to remember so many things? I can’t remember very much,” Ning Yao asked with a smile.

“Why are you insulting me in this roundabout manner?” Chen Ping’an asked.

“How did I insult you?” Ning Yao asked in utter confusion.

“Aren’t you complaining about my cultivation being unfocused and my advancement being too slow?” Chen Ping’an replied.

Ning Yao lightly flicked a finger toward Chen Ping’an’s arm and said, “You’re asking for this punishment.”

Chen Ping’an held his hands inside his opposite sleeves and hurriedly turned around, dodging Ning Yao’s finger as he remarked, “Normal girls would have already burst into tears upon seeing someone in such a miserable state, but you’re the opposite, and you even want to rub salt in the wounds.”

Ning Yao stopped and asked, “Oh? Am I making you feel upset?”

Chen Ping’an’s expression was calm and composed as he put his feet together and hopped forward, swaying his head around as he said to himself, “How can Ning Yao, the girl whom I like, possibly be a normal girl?”

Ning Yao launched a kick at Chen Ping’an, who was standing in front of her.

He fell forward as he was kicked in the backside, landing on his head and calmly standing still upside down. He gracefully turned around and asked with a chuckle, “Do you want to learn this Heaven and Earth Stance?”

Ning Yao slowly walked forward, ignoring his question.

Chen Ping’an stood still and waited for Ning Yao to catch up to him, after which he continued to walk properly and asked in a quiet voice, “Regarding the group of prodigies who came before you and the others, those innate sword talents who are roughly fifty to one hundred years old now, are they very strong? I only saw one of them at Die Zhang’s wine shop, Wang Zongping, a sword cultivator at the peak stage of the Nascent Tier. I haven’t come across any of the others.”

Ning Yao was in no hurry to answer this question, instead asking, “There are many prodigies in our generation of sword cultivators, the most in the past one thousand years. This is something that you’re already aware of. Out of the thirty or so prodigies, do you know how many remain after the two large-scale battles?”

“Including prodigies like Guo Zhujiu, who have ascended the city wall before but haven’t traveled further south, twenty-four of the thirty-two prodigies survived, with eight falling in battle. Half of them died in the chaotic battles, and among them, the extremely talented Zhang Rong fell victim to a surprise assassination attempt by an Unpolished Jade Tier great demon. Zhang Rong’s guardian sword cultivator was also killed while trying to save him,” Chen Ping’an responded.

Ning Yao looked at Chen Ping’an, seemingly not wanting to say anything else. He knew everything already, so what was the point of asking her these questions? She had forgotten many things, so she understood even less than him regarding some of these matters.

Looking at the pitiful expression on Chen Ping’an’s face, however, Ning Yao continued, “I need to cultivate now. We can continue this conversation later.”

“Then I’ll visit Grandpa Nalan for a drink,” Chen Ping’an said.

“Whatever makes you happy,” Ning Yao replied as she briskly walked away.

Chen Ping’an hadn’t wanted to drink to begin with, but he truly wanted to drink at this moment.

“Don’t drink too much,” Ning Yao said without turning around.

Chen Ping’an nodded in response. He hadn’t wanted to drink a lot to begin with, yet he suddenly wanted to drink more now.

After arriving at Nalan Yexing’s residence, Chen Ping’an was greeted by the sight of the old man sighing and shaking his head. It wasn’t that the wine couldn’t wash away his sorrows, but rather, that the old woman had just left after scolding him severely.

“Care for a drink?” Nalan Yexing asked with a smile.

Chen Ping’an smiled and nodded in response, after which the old man poured him a bowl of wine. However, Nalan Yexing didn’t dare to fill the bowl, seeing that Chen Ping’an was still wounded from his training. He was afraid of giving Grandma Bai another reason to scold him.

Chen Ping’an’s arms were bandaged like dumplings, severely inhibiting his movements. However, he was a Lower Five Tier cultivator, after all, and he had at least learned some mystical abilities, so he moved the wine bowl with a single thought, dragging it closer to himself. He then replicated Chen Sanqiu’s technique, lowering his head to bite the white bowl and lifting it up, tilting it slightly to take a swig.

Nalan Yexing smiled upon seeing this. This was called conforming to the local customs, a very good sign.

“Grandpa Nalan, why isn’t this Bamboo Sea Small World Wine from our own wine shop?” Chen Ping’an grumbled.

Nalan Yexing smiled and replied, “This is what’s left in the Ning Residence’s storage this year. Your Grandma Bai will set a limit on how much wine can be consumed at the start of the year, and it isn’t long before the New Year arrives. There aren’t many vats of wine left in the residence, and I’ll start to support your business next year. Grandma Bai will also purchase many vats of wine without me needing to say anything.”

“Grandpa Nalan, are you curious about why my progress with the Sword Qi Eighteen Stops Technique is so slow?” Chen Ping’an asked.

Nalan Yexing nodded and replied, “Yes, theoretically speaking, your progress shouldn’t be so slow, but if Young Master Chen doesn’t want to say, then it’s not my place to ask.”

“Just like the wine on the table, one of the critical acupoints that my sword qi travels past once held another item,” Chen Ping’an explained.

“Is it a belonging of some deceased sword immortal, a bonded flying sword, that Young Master is temporarily storing in his acupoint?” Nalan Yexing asked in curiosity.

“It was a wisp of sword qi,” Chen Ping’an replied with a shake of his head.

“A wisp of sword qi?” Nalan Yexing asked in astonishment.

“It’s only an extremely, extremely small wisp of sword qi. I can’t say any more than this,” Chen Ping’an replied with a dazzling smile.

Zuo You had told him that he didn’t need to watch his words around Nalan Yexing.

Even if sword immortals in the city used immortal observation techniques to spy on the Ning Residence, they would still make sure to avoid Nalan Yexing, an Immortal Tier cultivator in the past.

Nalan Yexing was astounded, but he didn’t ask any additional questions. He raised his wine bowl and said, “That’s enough talking. Let’s drink some wine.”

Chen Ping’an didn’t need to be too polite around Nalan Yexing, so he didn’t worry too much about his posture being inelegant as he drank.

Nalan Yexing naturally didn’t care much about this either. Chen Ping’an was going to become a family member in the future, so he appeared impressive and pleasant to the eye, no matter how Nalan Yexing looked at him. His fist techniques were lofty, his swordsmanship was progressing well, his mind was sharp, and his appearance was also handsome. Most importantly, he had also engaged in scholarly studies before, something that was extremely rare at the Sword Qi Great Wall. He and Young Mistress were truly a match made in heaven, and it was no wonder that Bai Lianshuang was extremely protective of them.

While the old man and the young man drank, Ning Yao and Grandma Bai were also sitting together and chatting quietly.

Grandma Bai looked at Ning Yao and asked with a smile, “It’s a good thing for Chen Ping’an to face more hardships and difficulties when practicing sword techniques with his senior brother, so there’s no need to feel too worried about him. There aren’t many people whom Zuo You will diligently teach sword techniques to. I’ve heard that many smart people have tried to approach that great sword immortal, but the proud and haughty Zuo You has never paid any heed to them.

“In my view, Zuo You hasn’t simply acknowledged Chen Ping’an as a disciple of the Scholarly Sage, but he’s genuinely acknowledged him as his junior brother. This is why he’s willing to earnestly teach Chen Ping’an sword techniques.”

Ning Yao shook her head before lying down on the table, saying, “This isn’t what I’m worried about.”

Grandma Bai smiled and didn’t say anything.

Ning Yao sat up and continued, “He’s really good at flattering people.”

“Young Mistress doesn’t like this?” Grandma Bai asked.

“I don’t dislike it,” Ning Yao replied with a shake of her head.

“Is Young Mistress worried that he’ll like someone else?” Grandma Bai asked.

“I’m not worried,” Ning Yao said with a shake of her head.

Grandma Bai finally couldn’t help but chuckle and ask, “Do you think that he’s changed too much, while you’re seemingly still standing at the same place as before? Are you afraid that he’ll walk ahead of you one day? Perhaps you’re not worried about his cultivation base advancing too fast or whatnot, but you’re worried that there will be less and less for the two of you to talk about?”

Grandma Bai hit the nail on the head, causing Ning Yao to lie down on the table again with an adrift expression. She then said in a low voice, “I’ve never liked to speak from a young age, but he’s a complete chatterbox, unlike me. I don’t know how to respond a lot of the time, so will he eventually feel like I’m a very boring and untalkative person one day? He’ll naturally still like me, but will he also become untalkative as a result?”

A wide smile stretched across the old woman’s face, but she didn’t laugh out loud as she asked, “Why doesn’t Young Mistress say these things directly?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Ning Yao huffed. “He’s so smart, and he always likes to dwell on all kinds of things, so can’t he think of this himself?”

“Thankfully, you didn’t say anything. Otherwise, you would have truly wronged Chen Ping’an. The minds of women are difficult to read, and Chen Ping’an isn’t an all-knowing and all-seeing immortal,” Grandma Bai said in amusement.

Ning Yao nodded in response, with her mood improving ever so slightly.

Grandma Bai wasn’t worried at all.

This was because Young Mistress’ small troubles only existed because she truly liked that young man.