Unsheathed

Guo Zhujiu no longer wandered aimlessly through the streets by herself when she returned home this time, and she no longer acted like a small, stray cat on the walls of the neighboring residences on Ritual Baton Street. She was extremely well-behaved because her master was walking beside her.

A young boy whom she was well-acquainted with leaned over a wall and asked with a smile, ”Why aren’t you visiting the checkpoints and challenging the generals today, Lü Duan? I’ve achieved great mastery with my sword techniques over the past two days, so I’ll definitely be able to fight off your challenge. I’ll definitely force you to obediently take a detour!”

Guo Zhujiu looked up and asked with a blank expression, ”And who were you again?”

The young boy hurriedly disappeared from view after seeing Guo Zhujiu secretly signal to him with her eyes.

This was also Chen Ping’an’s first time visiting Ritual Baton Street’s Guo Clan, and Sword Immortal Guo Jia personally walked out to welcome him. However, Chen Ping’an only dropped Guo Zhujiu off at the door, politely turning down Guo Jia’s invitation to enter the Guo residence.

Sword Immortal Luo Shan from the Hidden Official’s lineage was still keeping a close eye on him, after all, and even though the Ning Residence didn’t care about these matters, Chen Ping’an still needed to consider the implications for Sword Immortal Guo Jia and the Guo Clan. At the very least, he needed to make an effort to show that he cared.

Guo Jia dragged his daughter inside and casually asked, ”What did you and your Senior Sister Shorty chat about over there?”

”Dad, I won’t tell you anything even if you interrogate me,” Guo Zhujiu replied. ”Just who am I? I’m Guo Zhujiu, Great Sword Immortal Guo Jia’s daughter! I won’t utter a single word about these matters that I shouldn’t talk about.”

Guo Jia looked down at his smiling daughter and gently smacked her head, saying, ”No wonder they all say that grown daughters are hard to keep at home. Dad is absolutely heartbroken.”

”But Mom isn’t the same. Even though she married Dad, she still defends her family all the time, doesn’t she?” Guo Zhujiu asked. ”And also, I have to say this, Dad, but you never grumble to your master or drink with your sword immortal friends when you feel wronged by Mom, and you instead run to your father-in-law’s place to play the pitiful victim. This annoys Mom to death.

”You might not know this yet, but Grandpa has secretly chatted with me before, asking me to persuade you against running over to look for him all the time. Grandpa says that he’s begging you, his son-in-law, to take pity on him. Otherwise, he’ll ultimately be the one to suffer the most.”

Guo Jia was very accustomed to his daughter’s incisive remarks, so this naturally gave him some form of immunity. With this in mind, his father-in-law would also do well to grow accustomed and develop some immunity. There was no need for Guo Jia to be too polite with his own family.

The dark shadow in Guo Jia’s heart dispersed a little as if illuminated by moonlight. Zuo You had visited him earlier, and it was a positive conversation where Zuo You had spoken reason instead of drawing his sword. In this sense, Guo Jia was much more fortunate than Great Sword Immortal Yue Qing. Of course, Zuo You had still carried a sword with him even though he hadn’t drawn his blade.

In reality, Guo Jia actually felt deep gratitude for this sword-carrying visitor, who possessed the loftiest sword skills in the world, from the bottom of his heart. Similarly, Guo Jia also had a very good impression of the young man who had accompanied his daughter back home just then. It appeared that disciples of the Scholarly lineage were all very good at speaking a type of wordless reason. Moreover, they were speaking these reasons to both the Guo Clan and those outside the Guo Clan.

Guo Jia had always hoped that his daughter, Lü Duan, could visit Stalactite Mountain to take a look, taking a leaf from Ning Yao’s book and traveling further to see more things. It wouldn’t matter if she returned home later.

However, despite his daughter enjoying the hustle and bustle from a young age, she surprisingly hadn’t ever thought about secretly sneaking off to Stalactite Mountain. Guo Jia had asked his wife to provide strong hints to Guo Zhujiu before, but their daughter had reeled off a reason that had rendered them completely speechless.

Guo Zhujiu said that when she was little, she had spent a huge amount of effort to climb onto the roof of their house. Upon seeing the moon resting atop the parapet of the Sword Qi Great Wall, she had thought to herself that she would definitely run over to touch the moon one day. When she grew up and went to the city wall by herself, however, she discovered that things were completely different from her imagination.

The moon was extremely far away from the city wall, so far away that she couldn’t touch it at all. Thus, she was no longer willing to travel far away. The city wall of the Sword Qi Great Wall was already so tall, yet she was still unable to touch the moon even when she reached up and jumped as high as she could. That being the case, it would only become harder to touch the moon if she traveled to Stalactite Mountain. That would be very uninteresting.

The reason for Zuo You’s visit was that he hoped Guo Zhujiu could become an official disciple of his junior brother, Chen Ping’an. If Guo Jia agreed, then it was naturally implied that Guo Zhujiu would need to follow her senior brothers and senior sisters to the ancestral hall in the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent’s Downtrodden Mountain to pay respects to her grandmaster.

Afterward, she could either stay at Downtrodden Mountain or choose to travel elsewhere. If the young girl truly missed home, then she could also return to the Sword Qi Great Wall at a later date.

Guo Jia felt like this was okay.

Zuo You, personally visiting with his sword at his waist, had proposed this, so the Unpolished Jade Tier Guo Jia hadn’t dared to disagree. The other sword immortals hadn’t found any reason to disagree either, and if they managed to find one, they could complain to Zuo You themself.

However, Guo Zhujiu suddenly said, ”Dad, while coming home, Master asked me if I wanted to travel to his hometown in the Majestic World with Senior Sister Shorty and the others, and I risked death to go against Master’s wishes, turning down this request. Say, aren’t I very brave and heroic?”

Guo Jia sighed in his mind and asked with a smile, ”Why didn’t you agree? There are many rules pertaining to becoming a disciple in the Majestic World, much more than what exists in the Sword Qi Great Wall. It’s not the case that you can become a disciple simply with a nod from your Dao mentor, not even needing to kowtow and only needing to casually give a toast in respect. You also need to go to the ancestral hall to pay respects to the portraits hanging there, offer incense, and go through many other complicated etiquette. You’ll need to abide by the customs of the Majestic World if you truly want to become Chen Ping’an’s official disciple.”

Guo Zhujiu shook her head and replied, ”I’ll go with Master whenever he returns to his hometown. Otherwise, who will look after Dad’s garden if I leave?”

Guo Jia tried his best to maintain a straight face as he said in an earnest voice, ”Tone it down with your sword technique the next time you attack the flies and insects. Don’t hack the plants and flowers as well.”

”It’s a shame that Senior Sister wasn’t willing to give me her hiking pole,” Guo Zhujiu lamented in disappointment. ”Otherwise, to say nothing of Dad’s garden, even the entire Guo Residence would be free from flies. Dad could hold me accountable and smack my head if even a single fly managed to sneak in.”

Guo Jia walked to the garden after parting ways with his daughter. Guo Zhujiu frequently visited the Ning Residence after becoming Chen Ping’an’s disciple, so she no longer had the time and effort to meticulously take care of the plants and flowers in the garden. This allowed the plants and flowers to grow spectacularly well.

Guo Jia stood by himself in a pavilion that was decorated with a blooming splendor of flowers, but he couldn’t bring himself to feel happy even as he looked at the neat and flourishing garden. How could humans enjoy longevity if the flowers were beautiful, the moon was full, and everything was perfect?

Thus, Guo Jia would rather that the garden was damaged, but the people were together.

————

Over at the Ning Residence, Ning Yao was still cultivating in seclusion.

Meanwhile, Pei Qian was practicing fist techniques with Grandma Bai.

Zhong Qiu was practicing walking meditation, using the abundant sword intent suffusing through heaven and earth to temper his fist intent.

Cao Qinglang was cultivating, and Cui Dongshan was drinking with Brother Nalan.

Chen Ping’an made his way to the expanding wine shop after leaving the Guo Residence on Ritual Baton Street, and following the well-established rules, he didn’t fight for a table with the customers, seeing that he was the shopkeeper. He squatted on the side of the street to drink, but it was a shame that Fan Dache was very unkind, having directly used all of the remaining funds of his lesser heat coin to drink in a single sitting. As a result, Chen Ping’an had no option but to pay for his wine.

Jiang Qu was manning the counter, and the young boy mustered his courage and said that he had made a prepayment to Big Sister with his wage not long ago, so he could treat Mr. Chen to a pot of Bamboo Sea Small World Wine. Chen Ping’an didn’t accept this offer, saying it wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but rather that he didn’t dare, lest his extremely good reputation at the Sword Qi Great Wall be blemished. He was a scholar, so he naturally needed to look after his image.

Jiang Qu continued to serve the customers, thinking to himself that Mr. Chen was a scholar who very much didn’t look after his image. This wouldn’t do.

Chen Ping’an leisurely enjoyed some wine before getting two extra bowls of free wine from the fellow drinkers around him. Only then did he stand up and walk to the two new walls of the wine shop, going over the names and contents of all the safety tablets.

He then grabbed a small stool and made his way to the corner of the alley, earnestly waving his verdant green bamboo stick around and calling for attention like those storytellers who stood under overpasses in the mortal markets.

Feng Kangle was the first to run over, and he was in such a rush that he hadn’t even grabbed his ceramic pot, which was growing heavier and heavier by the week. The little boy whispered into the second shopkeeper’s ears, roughly explaining his predicament and telling Chen Ping’an to be careful with what he said.

Chen Ping’an smiled and nodded in response, and in exchange, he told Feng Kangle to run through the streets and alleys to gather a bigger audience for him. After receiving a promise from the second shopkeeper that his lies wouldn’t be exposed, Feng Kangle firmly patted Chen Ping’an’s shoulder and raised a thumb, saying that his brother was truly loyal and had his back.

Chen Ping’an glanced at Feng Kangle, and the little boy immediately patted the second shopkeeper’s shoulder lightly again, after which he shouted at the top of his lungs as he ran down the streets and alleys, announcing that the storyteller was finally going to continue telling the story about the scholar beating the drums outside the city god pavilion to complain about injustice.

After a crowd formed around him, Chen Ping’an grabbed some roasted seeds from the little girl beside him before continuing to tell the story about the mountain god bullying men and seizing beautiful women. In the end, the scholar would eventually overcome many obstacles to finally reunite with his lover.

However, the children became unhappy and started to noisily complain after Chen Ping’an talked about the city god feeling timid and thinking about retreating after hearing the scholar’s complaint about the haughty and powerful mountain god.

What the hell was this all about? Chen Ping’an had spent an excessive amount of time introducing the various officials in the city god pavilion, such as the day and night wandering deities, the scholarly and martial officials, the generals, and so on, describing what virtues they had performed when alive and why they were able to become officials in the city god pavilion after death.

Not only that, but Chen Ping’an also detailed the phrases written on the plaques, why the official garb of the city god was so mighty and imposing, and a whole trove of other useless information. In the end, however, the city god, who was described as having countless ghost subordinates and a powerful army, was actually unwilling to provide justice to the pitiful scholar? This was the outcome after laying so many foundations?

Chen Ping’an finished the roasted seeds in his hand and was just about to turn around to ask the little girl for some more. To his surprise, the little girl actually turned around and refused to give him more roasted seeds.

Feng Kangle no longer cared about whether Chen Ping’an would snitch on him and reveal that he hadn’t dared to knock on the door of the Ning Residence at all as he rewarded the second shopkeeper with a punch, exclaiming in rage, ”No, this won’t do at all! Either you directly tell us the ending, or you might as well start a new and more satisfying story! Otherwise, I won’t come here again in the future! You can sit here by yourself and enjoy the loneliness.”

The other children nodded in agreement.

Sure enough, those sword immortals drinking wine had very sharp eyes and good judgment — the second shopkeeper truly had a black heart.

So be it if they didn’t listen to such a frustrating and depressing story.

Chen Ping’an raised the bamboo stick in his hand and put together the index finger and middle finger of his other hand, waving his two fingers around as if he were brandishing a sword before asking, ”I already mentioned the city god temple last time, so does anyone remember the couplet outside the door, the one which I only described half of?”

A young boy nodded and replied, ”Yes, that half of the couplet read, ’I pray to be guided by my conscience, becoming a person who does good deeds; heaven and earth are vast during the day, I act with propriety and feel at peace; I lie in bed at night, my soul calm and my dreams stable.’”

Chen Ping’an smiled and nodded in response.

”I asked you last time why you didn’t reveal the other half of the couplet, and you simply replied that it was a secret that couldn’t be revealed. But you can tell us now, right?” the young boy asked.

”Don’t fret, and allow me to build some more suspense as I tell the story that’s far from over,” Chen Ping’an replied.

”It was completely silent in the city god temple, and the city god stroked his beard and didn’t dare to speak. The scholarly judge, the martial judge, and the day and night wandering deity were also speechless. Right at the moment, dark clouds suddenly covered the moon. The commoners were too poor to light candles, and the moonlight was now blocked, so the scholar looked around and felt utter despair.

”He felt like the entire world was collapsing, and he was destined to never save the young woman whom he loved. Staying alive like this was even more torturous than death, so he thought to himself that he might as well bang his head against a wall and commit suicide. He was unwilling to take another glance at the filth of the world.”

Feng Kangle and the other children felt extremely anxious upon hearing this.

Just what in the world was going on at the Majestic World?

More and more people were gathering around to listen to Chen Ping’an’s stories now, yet the second shopkeeper was only good at embarrassing him, Feng Kangle? How could he still make a name for himself in the cultivation world in the future? This was something that the second shopkeeper had told him about: The cultivation world could actually be divided into bigger cultivation worlds and smaller cultivation worlds, and he needed to practice his abilities in the small cultivation world around himself before he could enter the larger cultivation world.

Chen Ping’an smacked his knee and continued, ”It was at this critical moment, when the scholar’s life was hanging by a thread, that a speck of light unexpectedly appeared outside the forbodingly dark city god temple. This was an extremely small speck of light, yet the city god suddenly looked up and laughed heartily, announcing in a loud voice, ’My friends have come; this matter shall not be difficult to resolve.’

”The beaming city god walked around his study desk and strode down the stairs of the platform, walking out to welcome his friends. He quietly said something when he brushed past the scholar, and the scholar wasn’t sure whether he should believe the city god or not. Even so, he still followed the city god out of the main hall.

”My dear listeners, do you know who arrived? Could it be that wicked mountain god barging over to demand an explanation from the scholar? Or perhaps it was someone else arriving to help in a timely manner, giving the scholar a ray of hope in his darkest hour? If you want to find out, then please come again...”

The little girl beside Chen Ping’an suddenly extended a hand and offered the storyteller a pile of roasted seeds, saying, ”Don’t tell us to come again next time. Why don’t you continue the story now? Yes, continue the story now. I still have a lot of roasted seeds left.”

The young boy who asked about the other half of the couplet was extremely irritated as he huffed, ”Don’t beg him. He can do whatever he wants. In any case, I’m never going to come back after listening to the rest of this story.”

Chen Ping’an accepted the roasted seeds from the little girl’s hand before vigorously waving his bamboo stick and continuing, ”Looking closely, that tiny speck of light suddenly grew larger and larger. Not only that, but more specks of light started to appear as well, gathering together and appearing like a new moon. These specks of light sliced through the night sky, blasting through the dark sea of clouds and appearing like towering immortals who were even taller than the Five Mountains. Across the vast lands, the beasts, cultivators, and commoners were all startled awake from their dreams. Walking outside and looking up, it was truly a sight to behold!”

The storyteller hurriedly started to snack on the sunflower seeds after reaching this riveting point in the story, and he said, ”Please don’t rush me. Allow me to eat a few roasted seeds first.”

After finishing his snack, Chen Ping’an continued, ”The closer the specks of light got to the city god temple, the more thunderous the booming sound in the scholar’s ears, almost as if a deity were relentlessly beating a drum above his head. The scholar was worried about the city god being in cahoots with the mountain god, but there was also a glimmer of hope in his heart, a wish that there would eventually be someone willing to seek justice for him in this vast heaven and earth. Even if this failed, just making an attempt would leave him feeling satisfied. The roads of life ultimately weren’t full of treachery; the righteous heart of another person could indeed bring him comfort.”

The children crowded around the small stool held their breaths and listened intently with their ears pricked up.

”The scholar couldn’t help but raise a hand and block his eyes, with the brilliant specks of light becoming increasingly blinding as they drew closer and closer. In the end, the mortal scholar was forced to close his eyes, unable to even peer at the approaching light. To say nothing of the scholar, even the city god and his subordinates were forced to avert their gazes, unable to look directly at the blazing light between heaven and earth.

”Guess how brilliant the light became? With the city god temple as the center, the blinding radiance illuminated an area measuring fifty kilometers in radius, appearing much like the bright sun in the morning sky. How could the measly mountain god possibly enjoy such power and imposing might?!”

”Perhaps it was a passing sword immortal?” Feng Kangle asked in an uncertain voice.

The little girl who was sitting on the other side of the small stool nodded vigorously and concurred, ”Definitely! Mr. Chen said before that those sword immortals all have pure hearts, with their swords exuding brilliant radiance.”

”Indeed, they were none other than sword immortals who had left the mountains to travel around the world!” Chen Ping’an revealed. ”However, this definitely wasn’t all. A young sword immortal wearing a billowing white robe led the group and was the first to arrive at the city god temple atop his sword, and he retracted his flying sword and gracefully landed on the ground.

”And what a coincidence! This person’s name was Feng Kangle, a young sword immortal who was quickly gaining renown in the world. He loved to act righteously and uphold justice, and as he traveled around the martial world, the small ceramic pot by his waist would clink and clank. However, it was unknown what was kept inside this vessel.

”Even more coincidentally, the beautiful female sword immortal beside him was surprisingly called Shu Xin. Every time she stood on her flying sword and left the mountains, she would like to keep some roasted seeds in her sleeves. As it turned out, she would only eat some roasted seeds after she resolved a matter and upheld justice in the martial world. If people were extremely grateful and wanted to thank her, then the female sword immortal wouldn’t ask for money, and she would instead be happy to receive some roasted seeds.”

Feng Kangle was dumbstruck, and when he returned to his senses, he hurriedly sat up straight, with tears almost bursting from his eyes. The little boy was extremely moved as he exclaimed, ”This story is truly exhilarating!”

The little girl called Shu Xin felt slightly embarrassed, flushing bright red and even feeling a sense of guilt. By the looks of it, she had brought too few roasted seeds today.

Chen Ping’am continued to tell the story, saying, ”Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! Numerous sword immortals landed on the ground, one after another, with each appearing graceful and carefree. The men were either extremely handsome or astonishingly imposing, while the women were stunningly beautiful or attractively gallant. The city god, who knew what to expect but clearly still didn’t know well enough, was given a fright, while his subordinate officials and subjects were further stunned by what they saw.

”They bowed in respect, feeling absolutely shocked and not daring to look up at the new arrivals. Why... Why had so many sword immortals suddenly appeared at once? Among those extremely famous sword immortals, there was not only Feng Kangle and Shu Xin, but there was also Zhou Shuiting, Zhao Yusan, Ma Xiang’er...”

Chen Ping’an reeled off a long list of names, and while doing so, he looked toward a child whose name he didn’t know. Upon seeing this, the child hurriedly shouted, ”My name is Shi Tan!”

And thus, the storyteller added Shi Tan to the list of sword immortals.

The young boy called Zhao Yusan cracked a grin when he heard his name, but he quickly wiped the smile from his face and put on a stern expression.

If the next story told by Chen Ping’an still had Sword Immortal Zhao Yusan, then it wouldn’t hurt for him to come over and listen in. Otherwise, he would stick to his protest and refuse to listen.

But how would he know whether Sword Immortal Zhao Yusan, who shared the same name as him, would appear in the next story? The young boy from the impoverished alley would naturally need to come here first to hear the next story.

The story remained full of twists and turns afterward, but the children continued to pick and choose their favorite bits to focus on.

In the end, none of the children left, whether they were near the small stool or standing further away. They listened to the entire story, which concluded with the scholar marrying his lover and all of the sword immortals visiting to offer their congratulations. After experiencing many hardships and overcoming many difficulties, the scholar and his lover were finally able to become husband and wife, living happily ever after.

The children would usually disperse after the storytelling session concluded, but this time, they surprisingly didn’t leave straight away. This was a very rare occasion.

This time, however, Chen Ping’an didn’t say anything unrelated to the stories. He simply looked at the children and said with a smile, ”Stories don’t just exist in books, and each of you has your own stories. Not only that, but your stories will only grow as time goes on. I won’t come here to tell stories anymore in the future, and if the opportunity arises, I hope that some of you can take over the role. I’ll come here to listen to your stories.”

Chen Ping’an grabbed the small stool and stood up.

”Are you returning to your hometown, Mr. Chen?” a child asked in a timid voice.

Chen Ping’an shook his head and replied with a smile, ”No, I’m going to stay here. However, I’m not just a storyteller who tells stories and tricks people, nor am I just a bookkeeper who sells wine and earns money. I have many other things to deal with.”

Chen Ping’an walked away, and after walking for a while, he suddenly turned around and said with a chuckle, ”If you want to know what happens next...?”

Many of the children who had already stood up and started to leave burst into laughter, and only a smattering of children completed the phrase. However, their voices weren’t small as they said, ”Then do come again next time!”

Chen Ping’an smiled and murmured to himself, ”I’ll save this, yes, I’ll temporarily save this for later.”