Unsheathed

None of the intercontinental ship administrators of the Northern Complete Reed Continent raised any objections to the prices listed in the catalog.

Compared with the administrators from the other continents, all of whom were meticulously looking through every single entry in the catalog, the cultivators of the Northern Complete Reed Continent barely even bothered to read through the catalog at all. Instead, they were mostly drinking wine or sipping tea without a care in the world.

They weren’t really even aiming to make money to begin with, so they were content to leave the negotiating and bartering to their peers.

The administrators of the Southern Whirl Continent had raised a few minor objections, as had the two administrators from the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, while the administrators from the Middle Earth Divine Continent, the Pure White Continent, and the Circling Ascension Continent were yet to speak.

The Flowing Dawn Continent and the Golden Armor Continent were neighboring continents that were on decent terms with one another, and they shared many of the resources that they transported to Stalactite Mountain, so they were already communicating through their mind’s lakes.

They planned to wait until Wu Qiu, Tang Feiqian, Jiang Gaotai, and Bai Xi had spoken first before deciding what they were going to do.

For the catalog, Chen Ping’an had determined the overall direction for everything, while the other swordsmen of the Hidden Official’s branch had meticulously examined all of the finer details to determine the final prices. Among them, Lin Junbi and the other swordsmen from the Majestic World had made significant contributions. Many of the records of the Hidden Official’s branch weren’t actually up to date with the current situation in the Majestic World, so the prices for many resources listed in those records were outdated and had to be adjusted.

The two administrators, Liu Yu and Liu Shen, had been tasked with keeping records of the discussion taking place in the main hall, and Shao Yunyan had arranged stationery for both of them before leaving the main hall to search for Chen Ping’an.

Just as Chen Ping’an had said, the eight continents all had different resources that they excelled at producing, and a great deal of thought had to go into minimizing expenditures for the intercontinental ships.

At the very beginning of the catalog was a short prologue, in which Chen Ping’an encouraged the intercontinental ship administrators of the eight continents to consult with their sects and backers, so the discussion that was taking place in the Spring Banner Inn wasn’t just a simple matter of the intercontinental ships bartering with the Sword Qi Great Wall.

Instead, this was a much more complex affair that concerned all of the intercontinental ships and their suppliers, requiring them to renegotiate terms and prices.

Nalan Caihuan had been observing the unfolding situation this entire time, and the more she thought about it, the more she came to realize just how complicated Chen Ping’an’s plot had been. There were so many little things that he had done that appeared largely inconsequential on their own, but when strung together, they formed a cohesive plot that had allowed him to gain the upper hand over all of the administrators present.

The personal threats that he had made to the administrators constituted the first part of his plan, but once the administrators had been sufficiently intimidated, he suddenly extended them an olive branch, encouraging them to take this opportunity to try and further their own cultivation.

He told them that not only was the Sword Qi Great Wall not averse to this, but they would also be willing to help out the administrators in the provision of certain cultivation resources and immortal treasures.

To top it all off, the icing on the cake was the promise that he had made that all of the intercontinental ships would be making money in their business dealings with the Sword Qi Great Wall.

He had planted the idea in everyone’s mind that they were not here just to represent the interests of their sects or backers, but they could also stand to benefit themselves, and all of a sudden, everything had taken on a completely different complexion.

However, it was still to be seen whether this plot hatched by Chen Ping’an would stand the test of time.

As he drew close to the main hall of the Spring Banner Inn, Chen Ping’an suddenly asked, ”Do you know of anyone with exceptional talents in keeping accounts?”

”I once had a direct disciple who was really good at this stuff, and he took care of all of the Spring Banner Inn’s business matters,” Shao Yunyan replied with a slightly forlorn expression.

”Is there any chance you can convince him to come back to the Spring Banner Inn?” Chen Ping’an asked.

”I can try and get him to come back,” Shao Yunyan replied with a nod. ”He really is very talented when it comes to calculation and doing business. He seems to have an instinctive feel for numbers that are mind-numbingly boring to others, and he really enjoys what he does. I gave him a secret letter of recommendation for him to take to a prominent business sect in the Pure White Continent, but if he can come back and gain some work experience in the Spring Banner Inn first, then that letter of recommendation most likely won’t be necessary.”

”Make sure to bring him back to Stalactite Mountain, even if you have to abduct him,” Chen Ping’an said.

Upon Chen Ping’an’s return to the main hall, a long and grueling tug-of-war commenced. It was finally time for the price negotiations to begin.

To Nalan Caihuan’s surprise, Chen Ping’an seemed to have been intentionally discussing details and prices with everyone as meticulously as possible, and it felt as if he was perfectly happy to write up a new catalog altogether.

Even the administrators from the Northern Complete Reed Continent, who had already made up their minds not to speak, were dragged into the discussions by Chen Ping’an, and he questioned them extensively about whether the Northern Complete Reed Continent had close or equivalent substitutes to some of the resources listed in the catalog.

Seeing as Chen Ping’an was being very earnest in his intention to talk business, the intercontinental ship administrators quickly settled into their role, and the discussion quickly began flowing.

The administrators of the Northern Complete Reed Continent didn’t have much patience for all of this, and they quickly answered Chen Ping’an’s questions, but spoke no further beyond that.

After they had their turn to speak, the administrators of the Southern Whirl Continent also joined the discussion, and even the two administrators from the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent were able to muster up the courage to say something.

Whenever a new price was negotiated, Chen Ping’an would instruct Mi Yu to cross out the existing price on the catalog and replace it with the new one.

Wu Qiu and Tang Feiqian were both relieved and pleased with the turn of things, and they also joined in on the discussion.

Some of the administrators were able to negotiate higher prices, while others inadvertently lowered the prices of certain items, and in general, there were losses and victories for both sides.

Before long, Yan Ming had also broken his silence, and even Nalan Caihuan had begun speaking again.

Doing business was what the administrators were most familiar with, and they quickly regained their confidence and mojo.

Earlier, they had been completely at the mercy of the flying swords wielded by the sword immortals assembled by Chen Ping’an, but on this new battlefield, where the weapons of choice were abacuses and account books, they were much more confident in their chances.

Among the administrators of the Pure White Continent, Jiang Gaotai was the one who spoke the most, and it seemed like he had become the unofficial leader of the Pure White Continent.

The other administrators were very impressed with his courage. He had come very close to death just a bit earlier, but it seemed that he was completely unfazed.

On the surface, Jiang Gaotai was as composed and confident as ever, but internally, he was cursing his current situation. The reality was that Chen Ping’an was speaking to him through his mind’s lake, forcing him to lead the charge in the bartering race. Otherwise, why would he be putting his life on the line like an idiot like this?

Chen Ping’an took a glance outside the main hall to discover that it was already morning.

There had already been many changes to the prices and terms in the catalog, but there were clearly still many more to be made.

To further muddy the waters, conflicts had begun to arise between the administrators themselves with the passage of time. In the beginning, everyone made an active effort to keep things cordial, but before long, all pretenses and niceties had been thrown to the wayside, and there were even administrators banging the table and hurling insults at one another.

Chen Ping’an didn’t mind this at all. In fact, he was taking full advantage of these conflicts, using them to aid him in his bartering efforts, putting his shameless nature on full display once again.

Everyone in the main hall was a cultivator, so staying up for one night didn’t take much of a physical toll on them, but the mental toll was an entirely different story.

However, all of the administrators knew that they couldn’t rest now. If they could secure even a tiny increase in price for a certain item on the catalog, even if it were just a margin of one or two snowflake coins, then that would equate to a massive increase in profits.

With that in mind, they were very much motivated to continue in spite of their weariness.

At around noon, Chen Ping’an proposed that everyone return to their respective courtyards, where all of the administrators could have another internal discussion with their peers from their home continents.

If they wanted to visit administrators from other continents as well, then they were free to do so.

Everyone immediately departed.

Jiang Gaotai was one of the last administrators to leave, and he took a subtle glance at Chen Ping’an, while the latter gave him a smile and a nod.

Yan Ming and Nalan Caihuan also had many things to discuss with each other.

Chen Ping’an turned to Gao Kui and said, ”Thank you for your hard work, Sword Immortal Gao. You may return to the Sword Qi Great Wall now.”

”Hard work?” Gao Kui scoffed. ”All I did was sit around drinking wine, stand up once, and glare at Nalan Caihuan a few times in between. As opposed to hard work, I’d say it’s more appropriate to say I hardly did any work!”

”I just wanted to be polite,” Chen Ping’an said with a chuckle.

”Make sure to be more respectful when speaking to Lord Hidden Official, Gao Kui,” Mi Yu said with a smile.

In the past, Gao Kui had nothing but disdain for Mi Yu, and he didn’t even want to look at the latter, let alone speak to him.

After the events of the previous night, his impression of Mi Yu hadn’t improved by much, but at the very least, he was now willing to speak to Mi Yu. Of course, he didn’t have anything nice to say.

”Stop weighing down those around you, Mi Yu. If it isn’t because he keeps insisting on looking out for you, your brother would already have reached the Immortal Tier long ago. It used to be a widely accepted fact that Yue Qing’s aptitude was inferior to Mi Hu’s, but because of you, he hasn’t been able to reach his full potential.”

Gao Kui promptly departed after getting that off his chest, not interested in hearing a response from Mi Yu.

”What right does he have to criticize me?” Mi Yu grumbled. ”I sincerely love women with all my heart, and women reciprocate my feelings. How is that wrong?”

”It’s only thanks to Sword Immortal Mi Hu that you haven’t already been hacked to death by all of the single sword immortals on the Sword Qi Great Wall!” Chen Ping’an scoffed.

Mi Yu turned to Xie Songhua, who was sitting on her own with a bored expression, but before he even had a chance to speak, she smiled and said, ”Please get out of my sight.”

Mi Yu let loose a wail of despair as he stepped out of the main hall, then went to a peaceful corner to build a snowman, or perhaps it was more accurate to call it a snowwoman.

He had chosen a flowerbed in the Spring Banner Inn, and even with all the falling snow, the plants in the flowerbed were still thriving.

Nalan Caihuan would never come to a place like this. She was undeniably beautiful, but she was too fixated on making money. However, there was a very good chance that the girl from the Middle Earth Divine Continent would come here, and she would definitely be enraptured by these immortal peonies that were still able to bloom even in the snow. Once she came to the flowerbed and saw the flowers, she would soon catch sight of the snowman that he had made for her as well, and that would be enough to convey his feelings.

Whenever an outsider sword immortal left the Sword Qi Great Wall, the native sword immortals would generally treat them to some wine.

For example, right before Huang Tong returned to the Great Emblem Sword Sect, Dong Sangeng personally saw him off.

To keep the tradition alive, someone had to see Xie Songhua off as well, so Chen Ping’an escorted her to the entrance of the Spring Banner Inn.

Xie Songhua was rather unhappy, feeling like she still had unfinished business on Stalactite Mountain.

Chen Ping’an told her that she could wait at the Flood Dragon Trench if she wanted, and that if she wanted something to do, then she could go pay a visit to the Rain Dragon Sect as well.

This immediately piqued her interest, and she asked, ”Does that mean you’ve chosen Jiang Gaotai? What about Dai Hao? How about I just kill them both? I owe you a favor, and given how calculating you are, I’m sure you’re going to take full advantage. Just give me the word, and I’ll make sure both of them are dead before they even make it back to the Pure White Continent.”

”Don’t do anything for now,” Chen Ping’an said with a shake of his head. ”I’ll keep you updated.”

”Just make up your mind!” Xie Songhua complained. ”I wouldn’t even be talking to you right now if I didn’t owe you such a big favor. Don’t bother coming to see me if you ever visit the Pure White Continent in the future; I don’t want to have to deal with you anymore.”

”The two girls from the Stork Inn will be in your care from now on, Sword Immortal Xie,” Chen Ping’an said with a smile.

The thought of the two girls immediately lifted Xie Songhua’s mood significantly, and she said, ”Both of them have a lot of potential. I’ll be sure to mentor them well. It might be difficult to nurture them into sword immortals like me, but I’ll definitely at least nurture them into earth immortals. You have my thanks, but this doesn’t warrant owing you another favor, so you’ll just have to make do with my gratitude.”

As the two of them drew close to the entrance of the Spring Banner Inn, Chen Ping’an asked a rather strange question: ”Do you ever brew wine yourself, Sword Immortal Xie?”

”Of course not,” Xie Songhua replied. ”Why do you ask?”

”I have a friend who once told me that his only wish is to retire to the mountains, sip tea brewed from spring water, and live out a life of leisure,” Chen Ping’an replied with a smile.

”Has Mi Yu been rubbing off on you, Chen Ping’an?” Xie Songhua asked in a displeased voice. ”Are you trying to flirt with me?”

Chen Ping’an was rendered completely speechless.

He had never felt like he was good at dealing with women. In this regard, he was far inferior to the likes of Mi Yu and Jiang Shangzhen, and in all honesty, he couldn’t even compare with Qi Jinglong.

”Ha! You’re still just a kid, after all.” Xie Songhua chuckled. ”For all your smarts and cunning, you still can’t even take a joke!”

Chen Ping’an breathed a sigh of relief.

”There’s no need to escort me any further beyond this point, Lord Hidden Official,” Xie Songhua said as she cupped her fist in a parting salute. ”I don’t have a habit of taking strolls with men.”

With that, Xie Songhua promptly departed, and after walking a few steps, she gave Chen Ping’an a dismissive wave and teased, ”Quit looking at me! I don’t have a big arse or a thin waist, so there’s nothing for you to look at. If you want someone to look at, go to Nalan Caihuan. That Liu Shen wasn’t half bad, either. Did you see the knockers on her? I was worried her table would collapse under their weight!”

Chen Ping’an shook his head with a wry smile, then turned and made his way back into the Spring Banner Inn, and his mind was soon occupied again.

Zuo You had been sent to the Parasol Leaf Continent, where he would visit Mountain Master Song Mao and the old Heavenly Lord on Peace and Tranquility Mountain.

Wei Jin was going to the Southern Whirl Continent, while Shao Yunyan would be traveling to the Circling Ascension Continent with another sword immortal that was yet to be decided.

Given that Shao Yunyan was only an Unpolished Jade Tier sword immortal, he couldn’t shoulder the burden of going to the Circling Ascension Continent on his own, and that was why Chen Ping’an had to be very selective about who he chose. It had to be a native sword immortal, and they had to be at least at the Immortal Tier.

He had considered Lu Zhi, as well as one of either Chen Xi or Qi Tingji, and they were naturally going to set off later than Zuo You and Wei Jin.

However, his choice was going to have very far-reaching consequences, and it could spell disaster if he wasn’t careful, so he wanted to wait and see for a little longer.

Back on top of the city walls, the one who Chen Ping’an truly didn’t trust wasn’t actually the old deaf guy. Instead, it was Lu Zhi.

That wasn’t to say that Lu Zhi was secretly colluding with the Savage World. Instead, the problem with her was that she definitely wasn’t willing to die on the Sword Qi Great Wall. If she decided that the battle was already lost, then she would immediately leave without any hesitation.

Chen Qingdu didn’t fault her for this, and Chen Ping’an certainly wasn’t going to look down on her for her decision.

The fact that Chen Qingdu chose Lu Zhi to protect the Hidden Official’s branch had been a sign in itself. Even if it was one that Chen Ping’an wasn’t able to figure out the meaning of, it didn’t matter as it wasn’t going to change the final outcome. However, if he understood what Chen Qingdu was trying to convey, then as the newly appointed Hidden Official, he should do some things that the Hidden Official should do.

For example, he should try to allow Lu Zhi to leave the Sword Qi Great Wall with as clear a conscience as possible.

As far as Chen Qingdu was concerned, the only thing that was truly unacceptable for him would be if she were to betray the Sword Qi Great Wall and slay her comrades to appease the Savage World.

Throughout the history of the old sword immortal, there had been many sword immortals who had died against their will. Their deaths could’ve been avoided, but they still died nevertheless, and the fundamental reason for this was that Chen Qingdu wanted them dead.

Chen Ping’an shuddered to imagine what it would’ve been like to have been in Chen Qingdu’s shoes, not for a year or two, or even a century or a millennium, but ten thousand years!

Chen Ping’an felt like if he had been in the old great sword immortal’s place, his Dao Heart would’ve been destroyed long ago, shattered into so many pieces that he wouldn’t even be able to pick up its remnants from the ground. Either he went insane to avoid having to face reality, or he went to another extreme.

One couldn’t just not think about these things, but at the same time, thinking too much about these things was of no benefit to anyone.

Chen Ping’an had thought that Zuo You would be as cold and unapproachable as ever when the two of them parted ways, but to his surprise, Zuo You had been very pleasant and amicable prior to departure.

In fact, he had even regarded Chen Ping’an with a smile, and he had spoken in a placid, almost joking tone as he said, ”Don’t be like me and focus on swordsmanship before you even become a competent scholar. That’s one thing that you definitely shouldn’t learn from your senior brother.”

At this moment, Shao Yunyan was standing in his study behind his desk, looking down at a piece of calligraphy that he had just created with a very pleased expression.

The piece of calligraphy read: ”Improve with each passing day, and you will eventually reach the light.”

***

Chen Ping’an made his way back into the main hall, then sat down on the main chair. However, there was nothing for him to do for now, so he pressed a hand down on the surface of the eight immortals table before him. The originally very tight and secure mortise and tenon joints of the table had begun to loosen, causing the table to wobble ever so slightly.

After Chen Ping’an raised his hand, the table quickly fell still again.

Chen Ping’an rose to his feet, then walked a few steps before turning back and crouching down to observe the table.

To him, it appeared like the table was stable enough to remain standing for at least ten thousand more years.