Unsheathed

Xie Xie grimaced slightly upon hearing Chen Ping’an refer to cultivators as “transcendent and carefree beings”, and a bitter look appeared in her eyes, but she quickly concealed her dejection as she patiently explained, “For cultivators, qi refinement is of the utmost importance, while bodily refinement is only an unintended benefit for cultivation.

“Actually, that’s not exactly accurate. How do I describe this? Say you have a bowl. It’s obviously going to be too small to hold five liters of wine, but if you have a priceless pocket treasure, it would be able to hold thousands of liters of wine, even if it’s only the size of a normal bowl.

“We cultivators draw upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth in order to refine our bodies in a process that essentially bolsters the structural integrity of the metaphoric bowl. If a cultivator’s body is too frail, then it will inevitably hinder their pursuit of immortality at some point.”

After explaining all of this, Xie Xie was no longer in the mood to chat, and she fell silent as she cast her gaze toward the moonlit scenery outside of Horizontal Mountain.

Chen Ping’an also remained silent and allowed her to bask in her thoughts.

Chen Ping’an hadn’t received a formal education, but he was smart enough to know that certain things had to be kept secret, so he wasn’t going to tell anyone about the state of his acupoints and the path that his qi was taking in his body, and he was certainly going to be tight-lipped about the 18 Stops qi channeling technique that A’Liang had taught him.

Not long ago, the fiery-dragon-like burst of qi in his body had finally graduated from its indecisive phase, choosing a pair of acupoints to reside in, one on top, and one on the bottom. One of those acupoints was that the wisp of sword qi had vanished from after Chen Ping’an had slain that white python on Go Table Mountain.

As soon as that wisp of sword qi disappeared, the burst of qi in Chen Ping’an’s body had immediately moved into that acupoint as if a prized piece of real estate had just opened up, and it stayed in that acupoint far more than it did the acupoint near Chen Ping’an’s dantian.

After that, Chen Ping’an had integrated the breathing techniques taught to him by Old Man Yao many years ago into his training, striving to make every breath taken during his walking and standing meditation pass directly through or nearby the acupoints used in the 18 Stops.

It was apparent to any bystander whenever Chen Ping’an was practicing his fist techniques, but no one was able to see the immense effort that Chen Ping’an was making to abide by his stubborn breathing methods.

Back when he was still alive, Old Man Yao had said something to Chen Ping’an that was going to remain with him until the day that he died: “If something is meant to be yours, then hold onto it and don’t let it go, but if something’s not meant to be yours, then don’t even think about it.”

Back when Chen Ping’an had nothing, the second half of that sentence had resonated with him far more than the first half, but now that he had accumulated some wealth and was beginning to pursue certain aspirations, the first half of that saying was starting to come in useful.

I have to do everything as well as I possibly can!

This was something that he often told himself.

During this southbound journey, Chen Ping’an had gone through one pair of straw sandals after another, and even though he had seen many new sights and scenes, he hadn’t forgotten a single one of the principles that he had lived by ever since he was a small child, no matter how insignificant they were.

Perhaps it was because he was traumatized by the poverty that he had been forced to endure, but words and principles that were completely hollow and useless in the eyes of others were particularly cherished by Chen Ping’an, who had nothing growing up, and with the passage of time, those principles were only going to become even more precious to him.

He would think about them whenever they applied in his daily life, and whenever he had some spare time to himself, he would often regurgitate those principles.

There was a quote in the Confucian book, “Grand Etiquette”, which stated: “The heavens bestowed upon us human nature, and the pursuit of the Great Dao entails remaining true to ourselves, while entities that can guide us to self-fulfillment should be referred to as teachings. The Great Dao is not something that can be diverged from even for a moment. Otherwise, it will no longer be the Great Dao.”

One day, while Li Baoping was explaining this passage to Chen Ping’an, Cui Chan made a rare appearance, stepping out of his horse-drawn carriage before arriving beside Li Baoping and Chen Ping’an to listen in silence, only to leave after hearing Li Baoping’s explanation.

However, Li Baoping’s explanation had been quite stiff and rigid, and Chen Ping’an was completely befuddled by the passage, so the two of them had quickly skipped over that part of the book.

All of a sudden, Xie Xie said, “Chen Ping’an, you can go on ahead. There’s no need to keep me company.”

Chen Ping’an nodded in response. “Cui Dongshan said that it’s very likely that there are spirits on this Horizontal Mountain, and it’s already quite late, so do be careful.”

Xie Xie smiled as she replied, “I may only be a cultivator of the Lower Five Tiers at the moment, but I have self-preservation tricks up my sleeve, so there’s no need to worry about me.”

Chen Ping’an slid back down onto the ground along the tree trunk, then slowly made his way back to the campsite while walking according to the walking meditation method stipulated in the Mountain Shaking Guide.

The fist techniques were very simple, but Chen Ping’an made them appear very graceful and elegant.

Xie Xie grabbed onto the branch, then began to gently tap it against her knee. All of a sudden, Cui Chan appeared on a nearby branch without any warning. It was the exact same branch that Chen Ping’an had been practicing his standing meditation on earlier, and Cui Chan was bobbing up and down slightly as the branch bowed and flexed beneath his feet.

With a casual sweep of his sleeve, a bamboo flute was sent flying toward Xie Xie, who caught the flute before lowering her head to inspect it with a complex look in her eyes.

“We’ve already been traveling with Chen Ping’an and the others for close to 20 days, have you still not seen through his personality?” Xie Xie asked. “You told me to chat with Chen Ping’an and speak whatever springs into my mind, but what exactly is this supposed to achieve?”

Cui Chan cast his gaze into the distance as he replied, “Whenever Chen Ping’an sees me, his energy, essence, and spirit would instinctively curl up, much like the closing of a city gate when enemy forces are spotted on the horizon. He’s more willing to open himself up to Li Baoping and the other children, but that’s still not enough. I need someone to be able to have casual yet meaningful conversations with him.”

“Are you trying to get me to probe out his true boundaries?” Xie Xie asked.

Instead of answering her question, a pained look appeared on Cui Chan’s face as he said, “That old geezer engraved some text onto my soul. For now, all I know is that the engraved text will drastically magnify certain emotions that I feel. When those emotions are expressed, it appears very natural, but I can’t help but be horrified when I look back on those emotional outbursts.

“If Old Man Yang hadn’t pointed that out to me, perhaps I would’ve still been oblivious to it even to this day.”

“Perhaps you’re experiencing what it feels like to treat people with sincerity for the first time,” Xie Xie chuckled.

A cold look appeared on Cui Chan’s face, and he remained facing away from Xie Xie as he said, “My patience has its limits, so I’d advise you not to make fun of me, little girl. I can’t lay a finger on Chen Ping’an.

“Otherwise, he would’ve already died 100 times, but when it comes to a powerless little brat like you, even if you die right here and now, no one would even bother to erect a tombstone for you, so I could easily crush you beneath my foot at any moment that I desire.”

Xie Xie fell silent upon hearing this.

Cui Chan clasped one hand behind his back while flexing the wrist of his other hand as he mused, “Yu Lu is far more pleasant and intelligent than you.”

Xie Xie didn’t dare to respond.

She had grown rather complacent over the course of this journey, and Cui Chan’s words and actions this entire time had painted him in a very absurd light, so she had unwittingly begun to look down on him.

There was a dazed look in Cui Chan’s eyes as he murmured to himself, “The height of Daoism, the breadth of Buddhism, and the paramount rules of Confucianism… Those are the foundations of the three teachings, so how are the other schools of thought supposed to compete? How could they possibly evolve into teachings? Is there really no chance?

“Do I really have to follow the same path as Qi Jingchun and gain independence from the old geezer purely through the accrual of experience and knowledge? But the problem is that I tried to do this in the past, and I felt like I had found the right path, but the old fart completely denounced and condemned me, so what exactly do you want me to do? Tell me!”

Tears began to flow involuntarily down Cui Chan’s face again as he spoke, but this time, Xie Xie didn’t find this to be an amusing sight at all. Instead, she wanted nothing more than to have been deaf so she couldn’t hear what Cui Chan had just said.

Cui Chan turned to Xie Xie with tear-filled eyes as he smiled and said, “You owe me another life now, you worthless little bitch. You’ll have to repay me for everything someday.”

————

As soon as Chen Ping’an returned to the campsite, he was immediately greeted by a confounding sight.

An unfamiliar face had appeared among their group.

It was a woman in a white dress with skin as fair as snow. Her lips were of a dark green color, and she had a lifeless disposition that made it appear as if she wasn’t even alive.

She was seated beside the campfire, playing a game of go against Lin Shouyi, and the Yin god was seated beside the go board with his legs crossed, watching the unfolding

Li Baoping was also crouched down next to the go board, but she didn’t have the restraint to watch the game in silence, and she would always offer her opinion whenever Lin Shouyi or the woman played a move.

Yu Lu was the only one who was looking after the horse-drawn carriage and staying away from the campfire.

Chen Ping’an was a little dumbfounded by what he was seeing, and he had no idea what was happening.

Right at this moment, Li Huai rushed over to him, then whispered, “This big sister is really open and honest. As soon as she appeared before us, she told us that she’s the spirit of the Azure Maiden Temple on the mountain summit. During her lifetime, she was very fond of playing go.

“On top of that, there’s a bunch of rowdy scholars drinking in her temple and making a big commotion right now, so she decided to take a stroll down the mountain to avoid them and clear her head. As she did so, she just so happened to spot Lin Shouyi reviewing his games on his own, and she couldn’t help but want to challenge him to a game.

“In exchange, she was willing to gift Lin Shouyi a go manual as a gesture of her gratitude. Senior Yin god asked her a bunch of questions, and after ensuring that she harbored no ill will, he allowed her to play a game against Lin Shouyi.”

Chen Ping’an didn’t have the talent for go, and he was afraid of making blunders, so he always played very slowly. Hence, once Xie Xie and Yu Lu joined their party, thereby giving Lin Shouyi more options, he stopped challenging Chen Ping’an to games of go.

Chen Ping’an was aware that he didn’t have talent for the game, so he didn’t bother to try and study it. In contrast, Lin Shouyi would often play out games from go manuals on his own whenever he had some time to rest, and he was as reclusive as an old monk, clearly a result of his upbringing.

Chen Ping’an made his way over to the campfire, but he didn’t approach the go board. Instead, he merely added a bunch of firewood to the flames. Even so, Lin Shouyi still turned to look at him despite the fact that he was in the middle of a game, and there was an apologetic look in his eyes.

Following the incident concerning the bridal ghost, the Yin god that was accompanying them on their journey had told them that all deities that weren’t listed in the imperial court’s genealogical records could only be categorized as ghosts and spirits, regardless of how advanced their cultivation base was or how immaculate their reputation was. Hence, a spirit like the Azure Maiden was no better than a wandering child with no one to rely on like Lin Shouyi.

In response, Chen Ping’an made a reassuring gesture as he smiled and said, “It’s alright, feel free to continue.”

The female spirit was completely immersed in the game, holding a black stone against her chin with her index and middle fingers, and her brows were tightly furrowed.

It was clear that she wasn’t a very strong go player. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been losing against Lin Shouyi.

Chen Ping’an sat on his own a small distance away from the campfire, and he snuck a glance at the Yin god, in response to which the Yin god gave him a smile and a reassuring nod, indicating that there was no need for concern, and that the woman posed no threat.

Only then did Chen Ping’an feel truly reassured.

The Yin god was supposed to have parted ways with them at the border of the Great Li Empire and returned the same way they had come to Dragon Spring County, but he had changed his mind at the last minute, telling Chen Ping’an and the others that he would continue to accompany them, not to fulfill Old Man Yang’s orders, but for his own sake.

Chen Ping’an didn’t know what had led to the Yin god’s decision, but upon the Yin god’s insistence, Chen Ping’an agreed to allow him to accompany them.

After taking a seat, Chen Ping’an began to practice his meditation again, and upon reopening his eyes, he discovered that the Yin god was sitting right beside him.

The Yin god had his back facing the people gathered around the go board, and he was looking at Chen Ping’an with a smile on their face.

“Do you need to speak to me?” Chen Ping’an asked.

The Yin god nodded in response. “I have to go back now, so I wanted to bid you farewell.”

“I see,” Chen Ping’an replied.

The Yin god suddenly called out his name again, and right as Chen Ping’an was feeling rather perplexed, his eyes abruptly widened as he was greeted by the sight of a familiar face. The Yin god had revealed his true appearance to Chen Ping’an, and he hurriedly raised a finger to his lips in a silencing gesture, following which his features quickly reverted back to their usual murky and indistinct facade.

At the same time, the Yin god’s voice rang out in Chen Ping’an’s mind through the use of a secret technique. “Ping’an, thank you for looking after Little Can for me for all these years. I’m extremely grateful to you, and you even gifted that catfish to him. I truly don’t know how to repay you. If it were possible, I would be more willing to pledge my life to you, but I’m unable to do that…” [1]

Tears began to well up in Chen Ping’an’s eyes, but at the same time, a wide smile appeared on his face.

He was genuinely glad for Gu Can, but he also couldn’t help but feel a little sad.

The Yin god raised a fist and clasped it over his own heart as he smiled and said, “Chen Ping’an, I’m certain that you’ll reach the highest of heights someday!”

Chen Ping’an didn’t know how to reply, and before he could offer a response, the Yin god had already departed.

This year, Chen Ping’an was 14 years old, young Cui Chan was 15 years old, Lin Shouyi was 12 years old, Li Baoping was nine years old, Li Huai was seven years old, Yu Lu was 14 years old, and Xie Xie was 13 years old.

1. By Little Can, the Yin god is referring to Gu Can here. ☜