Unsheathed

Even though the Ning Manor wasn’t on Taixiang Street or Ink Stick Street, it was most certainly not a small place.

Chen Ping’an helped the trio pick out three residences to stay in. Cao Qinglang was a Qi refiner, so the utmost care had to be taken in selecting his residence. It had to be one with abundant spiritual energy but without excessive sword qi. Otherwise, as a cultivator on the cusp of reaching the Sea Observation Tier, the Sword Qi Great Wall presented a very inhospitable environment for Cao Qinglang’s cultivation.

Thankfully, Chen Ping’an knew the Ning Manor like the back of his hand, and he knew exactly where the three of them should stay. Even though Ning Yao was the owner of the manor, she left the decisions entirely up to Chen Ping’an.

Pei Qian was like a little sparrow, determined to circle around Ning Yao without pause.

Initially, Chen Ping’an was concerned that Pei Qian was keeping Ning Yao from her cultivation, but Ning Yao assured him that it was fine, and he trusted her judgment. Ning Yao took Pei Qian to the secret chamber that contained all of the Ning Clan’s most prized immortal treasures and artifacts, declaring that she was going to give Pei Qian a first-time meeting gift.

She would be able to pick any item that she pleased from the secret chamber, following which Ning Yao would pick out another gift for her in return for the iridescent cloud letter paper that she had given her earlier.

Zhong Qiu asked Chen Ping’an about the rules and off-limits areas of the Ning Manor, then made his way to the pergola on the Dragon Slaying Cliff on his own.

Cao Qinglang set down his belongings at his residence, then followed Chen Ping’an to Chen Ping’an’s little residence.

Along the way, Chen Ping’an tucked his hands up their opposite sleeves as he smiled and said, ”Originally, I wanted to have both you and Pei Qian stay with me, just like back when we first met. However, right now, you’re at an important bottleneck in your cultivation, so your cultivation needs must be prioritized.”

”Honestly, I was really afraid of Pei Qian even back then, but I put on a brave front because I didn’t want you to think badly of me,” Cao Qinglang admitted with a candid smile. ”However, at the same time, I admired Pei Qian from the bottom of my heart. I’ve always felt like if I had been in her shoes, then there’s no way I would’ve been able to survive in the capital of the Southern Garden Nation.

“At the time, I didn’t know much about her, so I didn’t really like her, but I obviously didn’t dare to speak ill of her. Back then, she told me about many of her feats from her travels, and it was very apparent to me why she had told me those things.”

”Has she ever beaten you in secret when I wasn’t around in your clan’s ancestral residence?” Chen Ping’an asked with a smile.

Cao Qinglang nodded vigorously in response, but didn’t go into any detail, and Chen Ping’an didn’t ask for further elaboration.

It wasn’t difficult for him to imagine what it would’ve been like for Cao Qinglang to stay with Pei Qian in that shoddy ancestral residence in his absence.

There were many things that Cao Qinglang had to face on his own, such as the passing of his seniors and all of the less-than-savory words directed at him by those around him.

Cao Qinglang had been forced to endure a lot of hardship before he finally reached the light at the end of the tunnel.

Back then, Cao Qinglang was no match for Pei Qian in a fight, and he didn’t even dare to fight back. To make matters even worse for him, there was a sense of erratic, unpredictable aggression about Pei Qian at the time, and she would often destroy an ant’s nest or kill a fly or mosquito for no reason other than to show she could.

Thus, Cao Qinglang had no choice but to fear her. One time, Pei Qian had stared directly at him while holding a little stool in her hand, but for once, she didn’t say anything to try to intimidate him. On that occasion, Cao Qinglang had truly feared for his life, to the point that he would often go outside to avoid Pei Qian whenever Chen Ping’an wasn’t around.

He could only sit on the steps outside with a glum expression, too afraid to stay in his own home. On those occasions, he would frequently cast hopeful glances down the alley, waiting eagerly for Chen Ping’an to return. Once Chen Ping’an returned, he would be able to finally return to his own home, but he couldn’t say anything, and he certainly couldn’t tattle to Chen Ping’an about Pei Qian’s behavior.

The problem was that Pei Qian was truly very smart, unimaginably smart for a boy of Cao Qinglang’s age at the time. From the very beginning, she delivered a threat to Cao Qinglang, warning him that if he dared to tattle to Chen Ping’an, then she would beat him every time that he did. She told him that even if Chen Ping’an kicked her out, she would climb over the wall in the middle of the night to smash everything in the residence.

Perhaps Chen Ping’an could stop her for a day or two, but what about one or two years? Would he always be around? Given his personality, there was no way that he would kill her, no matter what she did, so she advised Cao Qinglang not to try any funny business. Otherwise, she would harass him relentlessly for years to come! He was an orphan with no one to protect him anyway, and she had plenty of ways to make his life a living hell.

She would constantly empty his water bucket and fill it with piss, and she would throw stones through his windows every day, leaving behind holes that would expose Cao Qinglang directly to the elements during the winter months.

What Cao Qinglang found the most difficult to endure from Pei Qian at the time wasn’t her direct threats and insults. Instead, it was the other airy remarks that she made while grinning at him in derision and disdain.

”Sheesh! You’re so poor that your rice vat is even cleaner than your bed! No wonder you’re constantly staying outside; you must be posing as a door god so you don’t have to spend money buying any! Look at all of the other households. They’re always welcoming new members into their families while earning more and more money, while everyone in your family is dead, and they didn’t leave behind any money, either.

“Wasn’t your father supposed to be a traveling salesman? There are a ton of brothels on Champion Scholar Alley, right? He must’ve spent all of his money for the chance to get in bed with those women!”

”Where’re the sunflower seeds? Don’t tell me there’s none left! I’m going to smash the jar that you keep sunflower seeds in and rip all of your shitty books to shreds! Once Chen Ping’an comes back, kneel on the ground and cry and beg him to buy some sunflower seeds. He has a ton of money, so buying sunflower seeds is nothing for him.”

”Cao Qinglang, you don’t actually think that he’s taken a liking to you, do you? He only pities you, you idiot. He and I are the same type of people. You know what type of people we are? Say I’m out taking a walk, and I see a hatchling on the ground that’s fallen out of a nest in a tree. I pity it, so I pick up a rock and kill it. That way, it won’t have to suffer a slow and painful death. Doesn’t that make sense? Doesn’t that make me a good person?

“You think I’m staying here just to pick on you? You’re a fool! I’m protecting you! What if he decides to put you out of your misery someday? He wouldn’t dare to do that when I’m around, so you have to thank me.”

”Why are you always looking so depressed? Your parents died? So what? You think my parents are still around? If your parents were to see you like this from the other side, they’d surely be so pissed off that they’d die all over again! I think you should just put an end to your own life, Cao Qinglang.

“If you die now, maybe you can still catch up to your parents on your way to the afterlife, but make sure you go and die somewhere further away so Chen Ping’an doesn’t find you. He has money, but he’s super stingy, so he won’t even be willing to buy a blanket to wrap your body with. After you die, this residence will belong to me.”

Cao Qinglang had picked a fight with Pei Qian on two occasions, once for his parents and once for Chen Ping’an, who had been absent for a very long time. Of course, he was no match for her. Pei Qian had gotten into more fights than she could count, while Cao Qinglang didn’t even dare to attack any of her vital regions, so he was beaten black and blue on both occasions.

Chen Ping’an led Cao Qinglang to the wing room on the left-hand side, where there were two tables inside. He instructed Cao Qinglang to sit at the table with all the seals, fan frames, and fan leaves, then began arranging the maps and manuals on the other table.

Chen Ping’an had never told anyone this, but he had always felt like Cao Qinglang’s personality and life experiences were very similar to his own, but also not so similar. It was a very strange feeling.

However, he still hoped to take Cao Qinglang with him back when he left the Lotus Flower Blessed Land, and even if he couldn’t, he sincerely hoped that Cao Qinglang would become a true scholar like Mr. Qi. He regretted leaving on such short notice, and he was also worried that he would set Cao Qinglang on the wrong path. Cao Qinglang had been too young at the time, so many things that were right for Chen Ping’an weren’t right for him.

Thus, prior to claiming one of the four quadrants that the Lotus Flower Blessed Land had been split up into, Cao Qinglang had always been on his mind, to the point that when Pei Qian asked him if he thought of Cao Qinglang often in the inn on the border of the Great Quan Empire, he had immediately given an affirmative answer without any hesitation. He admitted that he didn’t want to take her to the Parasol Leaf Continent with him at all, and that had it been possible, he would’ve taken Cao Qinglang with him instead.

In terms of fist techniques, Zhao Shuxia took after him the most, but Zhao Shuxia reminded Chen Ping’an of Liu Xianyang the most. During their first meeting, Zhao Shuxia had been protecting Luanluan in the same fashion that Liu Xianyang had protected him back in the small town.

The ones who actually bore more of a resemblance to Chen Ping’an were Pei Qian for the timid fashion in which she examined this world, and Sui Jingcheng for the way that assessed the hearts of others and took gambles accordingly. Right now, there was another young boy who bore a resemblance to him on the Sword Qi Great Wall. It was not Zhang Jiazhen who was helping out at the wine shop.

Instead, it was an impoverished boy on Raincoat Alley by the name of Jiang Qu. Whenever Chen Ping’an told stories there, Jiang Qu would always be the one who spoke the least out of all of the children. He would always squat further away from Chen Ping’an than everyone else, but he was the one who thought about the stories the most. He put more heart and effort into his fist technique practice than all of the other children, so it was no surprise that he had made more progress than everyone else.

On the few occasions that he did speak, he often appeared nervous and uncomfortable, but his eyes were always resolute and determined. He was the only child on the Sword Qi Great Wall that Chen Ping’an had taught standing meditation to.

Whenever Jiang Qu went to listen to Chen Ping’an’s stories, it would always seem like he was listening with full focus and concentration, but Chen Ping’an could tell that at least a part of this was a facade that Jiang Qu was putting on to appease him.

Chen Ping’an didn’t resent the boy for this. Instead, he simply felt very sorry for him.

No one knew why Chen Ping’an had burst into tears when Wei Bo spoke to him of A’Liang in front of the bamboo building on Downtrodden Mountain.

At the time, there had been a sense of guilt and remorse hidden deep in his heart, but Wei Bo had failed to detect those emotions at the time.

Almost everyone had been of the opinion that the first long journey that Chen Ping’an had embarked on was a solely unselfish endeavor. He had accompanied Li Baoping and the others to the Great Sui Nation, serving as their Dao guardian throughout the journey, and, looking at the outcome alone, he had done an impeccable job.

However, back when Chen Ping’an first met A’Liang, that had actually been another major test in his life, an internal tug-of-war.

Chen Ping’an hoped that in A’Liang’s eyes, he was the one that Mr. Qi had placed his hopes in. Thus, the entire time that he was with A’Liang, he had been constantly trying to guess A’Liang’s thoughts, trying to put himself in A’Liang’s shoes to think of what an unfathomably powerful cultivator like him would like and dislike.

He wanted to act in a way that would allow him to curry the most favor with A’Liang, and even if he couldn’t do that, he had to do everything in his power to at least ensure that he didn’t end up being resented by A’Liang. Thus, everything that he had said and done at the time had been calculated in what he thought had been a flawless act.

Whenever Chen Ping’an thought back to this brief chapter in his life, he would be overcome with a sense of sorrow and struck by the urge to drink.

The chapters of one’s life were not like places that could be revisited. Once they were in the past, they would remain there permanently, so how could he not drink on the occasions when he looked back to reflect on his life?

The careful act that Jiang Qu was putting on was extremely reminiscent of the act that Chen Ping’an had put on for A’Liang.

Cao Qinglang quietly examined some of the finished seals and fans, then suddenly noticed that Chen Ping’an was merely staring off into space in an absentminded silence at the neighboring table.

Cao Qinglang didn’t want to interrupt him, so he pulled out the small carving knife that Chen Ping’an had given him earlier before gently setting it down onto the table.

He didn’t know why Chen Ping’an had given him this gift, and of course, he wasn’t someone who would not cherish the carving knife just because it was made from ordinary materials. On the contrary, his teacher had given him this gift on a whim, and the less ”valuable” it was, the more it was something that he should cherish.

Chen Ping’an stood up with a smile and said, ”I was thinking of some past memories just now.”

Cao Qinglang also stood up with him, but Chen Ping’an gestured for him to sit back down as he said, ”There’s no need to observe all these pedantic formalities. Be more at ease.”

Cao Qinglang smiled and nodded in response, but still waited for Chen Ping’an to sit down first before returning to his seat.

Chen Ping’an tucked his hands up their opposite sleeves as he leaned forward to examine the carving knife on the table, and he smiled and said, ”This carving knife was given to me as a gift by the shopkeeper when I was buying some jade seals from a shop in the capital of the Great Sui Nation. That was back on my first long journey away from home.

“You still remember those bamboo slips I gave you? I carved out every single one of those inscriptions myself with this carving knife. In itself, it’s just a worthless carving knife, but it’s a very meaningful item in my life.”

Cao Qinglang immediately returned to his feet, then took a few steps back before extending a grateful bow.

”Didn’t I just tell you to be more at ease?” Chen Ping’an scoffed in an exasperated manner. ”There are many worthless things that hold meaning to me. I have a bunch of worn straw sandals that all have stories attached to them; do you want them as well? Are you going to extend a bow with each pair that I give you?”

”I’ll pass on the straw sandals,” Cao Qinglang replied with a smile. ”I can weave them myself, and perhaps I’m even more skilled at it than you are.”

Chen Ping’an shook his head in disagreement.

”In terms of studies and cultivation, perhaps you are indeed superior to me, but when it comes to weaving straw sandals, I can confidently say that I have no equal under the heavens. If we compare weaving straw sandals to the Great Dao, then right now, you’re only a Lower Five Tiers sandal weaver, and you have no idea what the scenery is like up at the Upper Five Tiers.”

”If you say so, Teacher,” Cao Qinglang replied with a smile and a nod.

Chen Ping’an was rather taken aback by this response. He had become accustomed to being surrounded by suck-ups who praised him at every turn, with Pei Qian and Zhu Lian the prime examples, and even Guo Zhujiu was displaying great aptitude in the art of insincere flattery. The dignity and objectivity that Cao Qinglang carried himself with were exactly what Downtrodden Mountain was missing.

Chen Ping’an was very pleased that he had finally taken on a student with good morals who knew how to behave normally.

Cao Qinglang reached out to pick up a bamboo fan that had inscriptions on both the leaf and the frame.

The text on the leaf was naturally the centerpiece, but Cao Qinglang was much more drawn to the line of small, compact script text on the bamboo frame of the fan. It was like a shy child who didn’t dare to show himself. The text was extremely, extremely small, and one could easily miss it altogether. Perhaps if the fan were purchased by someone lacking attention to detail, they could spend their entire life oblivious to this little secret.

”You can have that fan if you like it,” Chen Ping’an offered with a smile.

”I won’t get in the way of your money-making,” Cao Qinglang replied with a smile and a shake of his head.

Chen Ping’an picked up another fan at random, then began fanning himself as he chuckled, ”I don’t mind.”

”Should we start engraving seals now, Teacher?” Cao Qinglang asked.

”Sure,” Chen Ping’an replied as he set down the fan.

Cao Qinglang picked up a white stone seal that had caught his eye, but there was a hesitant look on his face as he said, ”Engraving and writing are two very different things, and I’ve never done this before. If I make a mistake, then won’t that be a waste of a seal?”

Fifteenth flew out of Chen Ping’an’s acupoint and into his grasp, and he replied in a nonchalant manner, ”It’s fine. The material used to make these seals is just a type of common rock that can be found all over the Sword Qi Great Wall, so it barely costs anything. If you really don’t want to waste anything, then just take it slow.

“The slower you go, the less likely you are to make mistakes. In any case, the swordsmen of the Sword Qi Great Wall aren’t all that pedantic, and they’re not going to go out of their way to try and pick out tiny flaws. As long as you don’t make any mistakes that are overly egregious, the seals will be sold just fine.”

Chen Ping’an held Fifteenth in one hand and a seal in the other, and he was planning to gift Cao Qinglang and Pei Qian a seal each. However, he hadn’t made up his mind on what he was going to inscribe on the two seals.

In contrast, Cao Qinglang already had an inscription in mind, and he quickly got to work. After finishing the first character, he took a deep breath to rest, and he turned to discover that Chen Ping’an was still thinking.

After a brief pause, Cao Qinglang lowered his head and continued his work.

There was something that Cao Qinglang had been thinking ever since his reunion with Pei Qian, but he didn’t want to tell his teacher his thoughts as it didn’t paint Pei Qian in the most flattering light.

Only those who have seen how bad Pei Qian was in the past can truly appreciate how good she has become.

Cao Qinglang had already been very surprised by Pei Qian during their first reunion, and their second reunion only left him feeling even more surprised and perplexed.

Only after paying that visit to the Heart Manifestation Temple with Pei Qian did he finally begin to feel a little enlightened. After coming to Downtrodden Mountain, it became more and more apparent to him how Pei Qian had undergone such a drastic change. Even to this day, he still couldn’t fully understand how Pei Qian had become the current version of herself, but at the very least, he was no longer entertaining the possibility that she had been possessed by someone else, or had had her soul altered in some way.

In reality, even after witnessing the change in Pei Qian, Cao Qinglang had still come to Downtrodden Mountain with a sense of apprehension in his heart.

However, after seeing Chen Ping’an reprimand Pei Qian atop the city wall, his concerns were completely laid to rest.

Cao Qinglang continued to focus on his inscriptions and planned to gift this seal to Chen Ping’an.

Chen Ping’an still couldn’t think of an inscription, so he set down the blank seal in his hand, returned Fifteenth to his acupoint, and then decided to work on a folding fan instead.

Cao Qinglang turned his gaze to Chen Ping’an, and he didn’t look away for a long time.

Chen Ping’an didn’t raise his head, but he had detected Cao Qinglang’s gaze, and he smiled and asked, ”What’s wrong? Did you make a mistake? In that case, pick another seal and start again, but as long as you’re not opposed to the idea, I suggest that you keep that seal as a keepsake.”

”I didn’t make a mistake,” Cao Qinglang replied with a shake of his head. ”I was just thinking to myself that I was really fortunate to have met you, Teacher.”

Chen Ping’an was very amused to hear this, and he replied, ”I feel just as fortunate to have met you.”

Cao Qinglang returned his attention to his work.

After finishing the fan, Chen Ping’an turned and asked, ”What inscription did you make?”

Cao Qinglang hurriedly covered the seal with his hand and said, ”I’m still not done yet. You’ll find out what the inscription is soon enough, Teacher.”

Chen Ping’an smiled and nodded in response. This student of his was very different from his founding disciple, who was undoubtedly sucking up to Ning Yao at this very moment.

Cao Qinglang sat with a straight, formal posture, a look of concentration on his face. His engravings were impeccable, and his hands were extremely stable.

He was making these inscriptions with the carving knife his teacher had gifted him, and he would gift this seal to his teacher when they next parted ways.

Midway through his engravings, Cao Qinglang closed his eyes, and a beautiful image that had been in his heart for a very long time surfaced in his mind. That image was being conveyed from his mind straight onto the seal through the carving knife.

”Teacher sits alone, while the spring breeze ruffles the book.”