Unsheathed

There was a small lake on Eastern Splendor Mountain with water so clear that one could see all the way to the bottom. The surface of the lake was covered in lotus flowers, but seeing as it was already winter, all of the flowers had already wilted, giving the lake a rather bleak and lifeless appearance.

Yu Lu was holding a green bamboo fishing rod, which he was fishing with as he sat on the bank of the lake. Occasionally, there would be some passersby pointing and gesturing at him, but no one approached him for a conversation.

Finally, Xie Xie arrived by his side and asked, “Is fishing fun?”

“It certainly is,” Yu Lu replied with a smile and a nod.

“How so?” Xie Xie asked.

Yu Lu smiled as he replied, “I’m happy when I hook onto a fish, and I’m happy even if the fish gets away in the end.”

A slightly enraged look appeared on Xie Xie’s face upon hearing this.

Yu Lu resisted the urge to laugh as he stared at the surface of the lake, and he conceded, “Alright, alright, I’ll come clean. To tell you the truth, I’m practicing martial arts right now. Even if we set aside the way I’m holding the rod, just my sitting posture alone has a special purpose. When I’m still, I must be as still as a mountain, but when I move, I must be like a turbulent river.

“In the instant that the fish bites down onto my hook, I’ll instantly transition from extreme stillness to extreme activity. In that split second, I will grasp the true meaning of inertia. There’s a secret martial arts scripture that states that one body part cannot move without the entire system moving. Hence, through fishing, I’m able to hone my movements and become a more capable martial artist.”

Xie Xie was rather skeptical of these claims.

Yu Lu’s gaze remained fixed on the surface of the lake the entire time as he continued, “If you say I’ve never practiced martial arts, then you wouldn’t be wrong. I’ve never practiced fist techniques or martial arts stances. However, if you say that I’m constantly practicing martial arts, then you also wouldn’t be wrong.

“When I’m sleeping, when I’m eating, when I’m walking, and even when I’m fishing right now, I’m constantly thinking of the things that I read in the secret martial arts scriptures. One of the benefits of coming from a good upbringing is that the martial arts scriptures in my clan’s collection may not necessarily be of the high caliber, but the majority of the information contained within them is definitely correct.

“Furthermore, there are many areas that appear to be self-contradictory in the fist technique and sword scriptures, but that’s often where the crux of the text lies.”

Xie Xie sat onto the ground and hugged her knees to her chest as she cast her gaze toward the long and slender fishing rod. “It’s a real pity that you aren’t able to cultivate.”

An indignant look appeared on Yu Lu’s face as he protested, “Hey, don’t pour salt on my wounds like that!”

Xie Xie was silent for a moment, then mused, “We finally get to live out our days in peace, but for some reason, I only feel more agitated and uneasy. How about you?”

She then answered her own question. “Forget it. Knowing you, it doesn’t matter in the slightest wherever you are. I’ll admit that you’re better than me in this regard.”

Yu Lu suddenly turned to her without any warning as he shook his head and said, “I enjoyed sitting in front of a campfire on my own while on nightly lookout duty.”

“Why is that?” Xie Xie asked.

Yu Lu turned back to face the surface of the lake as he replied, “I don’t know, I just like it.”

“Then do you like her?” Xie Xie asked with a smile. “The woman who almost became your bride?”

Yu Lu initially remained expressionless, but a smile then quickly appeared on his face as he cautioned, “We have to be prudent with our words and actions here, Ms. Xie.”

A fake smile appeared on Xie Xie’s face as she said, “Li Huai came to me earlier to show off that jade pendant of his. How come you don’t have one?”

Yu Lu smiled as he replied, “You don’t have one, either. It’s not strange at all that I don’t have one, but it doesn’t make sense for a beautiful woman like yourself to have not received one, either.”

“Please be prudent with your words!” Xie Xie offered Yu Lu’s advice back to him with a dark look on her face.

All of a sudden, Yu Lu tugged the fishing rod upward with a flick of his wrist, and the hook was set on the fish on the other end of the line as he gleefully exclaimed, “I got one!”

Xie Xie rose to her feet, and as she turned to depart, she grumbled, “All men are trash!”

Yu Lu was carefully tiring out the fish as he turned to look at Xie Xie’s departing figure, and he said, “I’m in no position to say whether I’m trash or not, but a certain somebody most certainly isn’t trash. The only flaw I can pick out about him is that he likes to play favorites. I don’t have a bookcase or a jade pendant. All I have are some pairs of straw sandals, which everyone received. How sad.”

Xie Xie turned around and strode directly back toward Yu Lu.

Yu Lu hurriedly scrambled to justify his previous statement. “I’m not trying to imply anything here. I’m just saying that we both received the same treatment, so neither of us should be disappointed. Don’t misunderstand…”

Xie Xie displayed no intention of stopping in her tracks, and in his haste to get away, Yu Lu was forced to abandon the fish on the hook as he tossed his fishing rod aside and ran for his life.

Xie Xie picked up the fishing rod, which was still yet to be dragged into the lake by the fish on the hook, then hurled it toward the center of the lake before departing with a pleased smile on her face.

Yu Lu was stunned into silence for a moment, and this time, he really was feeling somewhat enraged as he yelled, “How could you do something like that? I’ll take on your surname if you dare to do the same thing to Chen Ping’an’s fishing rod!”

————

There was an unremarkable yellow jade pendant in Lin Shouyi’s hair. His complexion was slightly dark from the journey he had taken to get to Great Sui Nation, but he was still extremely handsome. Even though he had a very serious and aloof personality, he was still very popular with the girls in Mountain Cliff Academy.

The women of Great Sui Nation couldn’t take part in the imperial examination, but they were able to pursue education if they so desired, and prior to getting married, they could attend any academy that they chose, as long as they were accepted by the academy.

As usual, Lin Shouyi would go to the scripture library to read books whenever there was a lesson that he didn’t want to attend, and he presented a very eye-catching sight.

The first cohort of students of the new Mountain Cliff Academy had all been selected from within Great Sui Nation, and they were either born into wealth or nobility, either coming from renowned clans in the capital city, or wealthy and powerful clans elsewhere in the nation. As a result, all of them came from similar upbringings, and there wasn’t much diversity among them.

Hence, Lin Shouyi was like a breath of fresh air among the monotonous cohort of students, and he instantly captured the hearts of many of the female students.

His cold and aloof demeanor only made those female students from privileged upbringings more determined to have him, and in their eyes, everything that Lin Shouyi did was unique and incomparable. For example, he wore very plain and simple attire, and he led an extremely modest lifestyle, presenting a stark contrast with all of his wealthy and privileged peers. This had always been his style.

Initially, many of the female students were only drawn to Lin Shouyi due to these superficial factors, but the more they came to learn about him, the more alluring they found him to be.

For example, Lin Shouyi was held in very high regard by the reputable Confucian scholar, Dong Jing. Dong Jing was someone who had a brilliant reputation even in Great Sui Nation’s imperial court, and he was publicly recognized as an expert in both the teachings of Confucianism and Daoism. Dong Jing often called Lin Shouyi over to his rustic thatch hut to impart knowledge upon him in person.

Whenever there were thunderstorms, he would personally take Lin Shouyi to the tallest mountain in Great Sui Nation’s capital city, Iron Tree Mountain. As for the reasons behind this, many people in the academy had their own speculations. Ultimately, with enough prying eyes, the truth was bound to be revealed eventually, and not only did Dong Jing have a group of good friends, he was also a renowned drunkard.

Sure enough, after a few cups of good wine, he revealed some details of what he had been doing with Lin Shouyi. As it turned out, Lin Shouyi was a rare cultivating prodigy, and if he could attain an aura of righteousness to complement his lightning techniques, then he was all be assured to reach the Middle Five Tiers, barring any mishaps, and there was a chance that he could even reach the sixth tier before turning 25 years of age.

To put it in simpler terms, Lin Shouyi was a brilliant cultivating prodigy who had realistic chances of reaching the 10th tier, and that placed him above the vast majority of other so-called prodigies.

All of a sudden, Li Huai rushed over to Lin Shouyi, panting heavily as he did so. As soon as he caught sight of Lin Shouyi, he immediately erupted into tears as he sobbed, “Lin Shouyi, my painted puppet disappeared! Someone stole it from me!”

“Are you sure you didn’t lose it?” Lin Shouyi asked.

“I’m certain!” Li Huai immediately replied.

“How many people are there living in your dormitory?”

“Four, including me.”

“Is there anyone you suspect out of them?”

Li Huai shook his head in response.

Lin Shouyi’s brows furrowed tightly upon hearing this, and in the end, he took Li Huai back to his own dormitory, then pulled out a few bank notes that he gave to Li Huai. These banknotes had been sent to him by his family back in the relay station in Red Candle Town, but the accompanying letter with those banknotes had left Lin Shouyi with a furious look on his face.

“What’s this for? I don’t want money, I just want my puppet!” Li Huai said with a perplexed expression.

“Once you get back to your dormitory, tell your dorm mates that you lost your puppet at… Just make up some place, and if anyone can find it for you, then you’ll give them this money as a reward,” Lin Shouyi explained.

“Will that work?” Li Huai asked with a puzzled expression.

“Just give it a try first,” Lin Shouyi replied with a resigned shrug.

The next day, Li Huai was overjoyed as he came to Lin Shouyi again. “It worked!”

“Make sure to keep your bookcase locked, and don’t always go around showing off your junk collection!” Lin Shouyi grumbled.

“I’m grateful to you, and I’m definitely going to return the money that you lent me, but I refuse to allow you to speak about my collection like that!” Li Huai protested in an indignant manner.

Lin Shouyi gave him a slap on the head. “Stop pestering me! I’m going to the scripture library now.”

“At this rate, you’re going to become a nerd!” Li Huai made a face at Lin Shouyi, then ran away as quickly as he could.

A few days later, Li Huai came to Lin Shouyi once again in tears. His head was lowered, and he clearly had something to say, but he didn’t dare to speak.

He had intercepted Lin Shouyi at the entrance of the scripture library, and Lin Shouyi sighed, “What happened? Was your puppet stolen

“No. It’s my set of clay figures this time,” Li Huai replied in a sullen voice.

“You made sure to keep your bookcase locked?”

“I did! I promise! I used two locks, and I constantly carry the keys on my person!”

Lin Shouyi massaged his own glabella with an exasperated expression, then said, “I’ll go to Mr. Dong to see if he has a solution. We can’t just allow this to keep happening.”

Li Huai suddenly raised his head as he forced a smile onto his own face and said, “Don’t worry about it, I’ll keep looking for them on my own. Maybe they’ll turn up by themselves someday.”

As soon as his voice trailed off, Li Huai immediately rushed away, refusing to stop even as Lin Shouyi called out to him.

————

On this day, Li Huai just so happened to have a shared lesson with Li Baoping. After the lesson, Li Baoping sought out Li Huai, who was intentionally avoiding her, and she noticed that there was some bruising on the corner of his lips. “What happened to you?”

“I fell over,” Li Huai replied in an unconvincing manner, not daring to look into Li Baoping’s eyes.

“Tell me the truth!” Li Baoping snapped with a threatening expression.

Li Huai’s lips were beginning to quiver, and he was holding back his tears with all his might as he revealed, “I got into a fight, but I was beaten.”

“By who?”

“My dorm mates, but I fought them one on three, so I didn’t let you down!”

“Let’s go!”

Li Baoping wasted no time with words before springing into action as she instructed, “Go to your dormitory and wait for me there. Go right now! I’ll be there in a minute!”

Li Huai returned uneasily to his dormitory, where his three slightly older dorm mates were chatting together, completely ignoring him. However, whenever they glanced at Li Huai, their eyes would be filled with mockery and derision. In their eyes, he was just a little hillbilly from the Great Li Empire.

He wasn’t a bright student, and all of his words and actions betrayed the impoverished background that he came from. He regarded that crappy bookcase of his as a priceless treasure, and what was even more laughable was that there was more than one pair of straw sandals in that bookcase!

Li Baoping silently made his way over to the doorstep of the dormitory, where he crouched down to draw some circles on the ground. A short while later, he caught sight of Li Baoping storming onto the scene, and she was holding that slender saber by the name of Auspicious Talisman.

Li Huai was so startled by this that he almost fell flat onto his backside. His knees were feeling a little weak, but he still struggled to his feet as he gulped nervously before asking in a low voice, “Baoping, did you really need to bring that to a fight?”

Li Baoping pushed Li Huai aside with a furious expression, then stormed into the dormitory as she replied, “If I’m going to teach someone a lesson, then I’m certainly not going to do things halfway! Get out of my way!”

Li Huai was so terrified that cold sweat was pouring down his back, but he still gritted his teeth and chased after Li Baoping as he yelled, “Wait for me, Li Baoping!”

Li Baoping glowered at the three boys in the dormitory as she raised the sheath of her saber and demanded in a cold voice, “Who stole Li Huai’s clay figures? Hand them over right now!”

The three boys were initially a little dumbstruck to hear this, but they then immediately erupted into raucous laughter.

Li Baoping became even more enraged as she yelled, “Who hit Li Huai? Step forward!”

The three boys exchanged a few glances as they rolled their eyes in derision.

Li Baoping raised the sheath of her saber and dished out a vicious beating to the three little bastards.

Li Baoping wasn’t particularly tall, but her strength had been honed from a young age from all her running around and tree-climbing. Furthermore, she had practiced fist techniques alongside Chen Ping’an along the entire rigorous journey to the academy, so it was all too easy for her to beat up three boys who had been born with silver spoons in their mouths.

Additionally, she knew the importance of setting the tone in a fight, so she made sure to go all-out for her first attack, lashing out extremely quickly to swat a boy who was around 10 years of age across the face with her saber sheath.

The blow packed such a punch that the boy twirled around on the spot like a spinning top, while Li Baoping lashed out once again, striking another boy directly on the top of his head, causing him to erupt into tears.

The third boy hurriedly tried to run away with a panicked expression, only for Li Baoping to leap up into the air before kicking him in the back of his chest. The boy was sent flying straight into a bed, where he lay sprawled out, playing dead in the hope that this would exempt him from further punishment.

Li Baoping swept his gaze over the three boys as she pointed menacingly at them with the tip of her saber sheath. “Hand over the clay figures right now! Also, if any of you dares to pick on Li Baoping again, I’ll beat you so badly that even your parents won’t recognize you! This is not an empty threat, so don’t test me!”

Li Baoping noticed one of the boys sneaking toward her, and she raised her saber sheath to threaten an attack, sending the boy hurriedly rushing back in retreat.

Having done what she had set out to do, Li Baoping turned to leave, only to spot Li Huai standing behind the door frame like a coward, and a furious look immediately appeared on her face as she snapped, “You’re such a coward, Li Huai! Don’t you dare refer to Chen Ping’an as your junior uncle as well. If you do, I’ll beat you up just like I did to them!”

Li Huai was very much saddened by Li Baoping’s scathing words, and he crouched down onto the ground and sobbed into his arms.

This only infuriated Li Baoping even further, and she stormed away in a fit of rage with her saber in her hand.

Inside the dormitory, one of the boys had a massive swollen knob on his head, and he yelled in a furious voice, “This isn’t the end of this! I’ll make sure that little bitch learns who she beat up today!”

————

Two days later

Inside the teacher’s office, Deputy Mountain Master Liu slammed a hand down onto the armrest of his chair. “This is absolutely unacceptable! I can’t believe they would go as far as to blatantly beat up their peers! None of you are to get involved in this matter! I want to see just how terrible this situation could possibly become!”

For once, Mao Xiaodong wasn’t taking a nap, and everyone turned to him for further instructions.

After contemplating the situation for a moment, Mao Xiaodong said, “Let’s do this.”

“Do what, Elder Mao?” someone asked in a timid voice.

“This!” Mao Xiaodong replied with an indifferent expression, as if he were playing a guessing game, and for some reason, everyone present felt chills run down their spines in the face of Mao Xiaodong’s response.