Unsheathed

Li Er made his way out of Mountain Cliff Academy, then traveled to a secluded residence nearby before knocking on the door.

Initially, no one answered the door.

The residence had already been rented out, and the old man living there very rarely came out, keeping a very low profile, but the spectacular battle between immortals that had taken place that night had tipped everyone off to the fact that it was no ordinary old man staying in this residence.

While it was true that Cui Dongshan had come out on top in that battle that had taken place on the summit of Eastern Splendor Mountain, the imposing old man had displayed formidable power in his own right to ward off the attacks from Cui Dongshan’s vast array of immortal treasures.

Even the expert onlookers of advanced cultivation bases would willingly admit that there was no way that they would’ve been able to last through the night against Cui Dongshan’s barrage of immortal treasures, had they been in the old man’s shoes.

Li Er kicked open the gate of the residence, then strode directly inside to find an imposing old man glowering at him with a dark expression. It was none other than the 10th tier Qi refiner, Cai Jingshen. He was standing in his yard with a flagon of wine on the table, as well as an extensive spread of dishes to accompany the wine.

Cai Jingshen was one of the people who had been present to spectate the epic battle that had taken place in the imperial palace a day ago, and looking at the newly ascended End Tier Superior Grandmaster standing before him, he had no confidence whatsoever.

Even so, that certainly didn’t mean that he was going to submit to Li Er and attempt to pander to him, and he adopted a demeanor that was neither humble nor arrogant as he asked, “Why have you barged into my residence uninvited? As far as I can recall, there doesn’t seem to be any bad blood between us.”

Li Er offered no response, charging forward without any warning to throw an incredibly fast and powerful punch. Cai Jingshen was caught completely off guard and sent flying straight into the room with blood gushing out of his mouth. He crashed through the door and the table inside before collapsing to the corner under the plaque in the hall, unable to get up.

Li Er turned to depart, not uttering even a single word this entire time.

Cai Jingshen was completely dumbstruck as he got up into a seated position with his back leaning against the wall. He had thought that Li Er would’ve at least said something before lashing out. Normally, it was always a verbal altercation that was escalated into a fight, but Li Er had skipped the verbal altercation part entirely!

How could he be so barbaric and unreasonable? Upon returning to his senses, Cai Jingshen was immediately struck by a sense of rage and indignation, and he called out in a furious voice, “Come at me again, why don’t you!”

As soon as these words slipped out of his mouth, Li Er made his way into his residence once again, standing in the yard as he looked into the room at Cai Jingshen.

Cai Jingshen gulped nervously, then said in an unconvincing voice, “I wasn’t talking to you, I was talking to the boy that I fought that night.”

Cai Jingshen was extremely embarrassed by his own cowardly attempt at deflection, but there was nothing that he could do against an opponent so much more formidable than himself.

Li Er had an empty wine gourd strapped to his waist, and he suddenly asked a rather strange question. “How much did that flagon of wine on your table cost?”

Cai Jingshen was rather befuddled by this question, and his heart was filled with grief and indignation. He wanted to stand up for himself, but in the end, he had no choice but to submit to Li Er as he replied, “I don’t know the exact price, but I presume it cost around 30 to 40 taels of silver.”

Li Er was silent for a moment, then proposed, “How about we have a rematch, but this time, I restrict my cultivation base to the eighth tier.”

Cai Jingshen was completely tipped over the edge upon hearing this.

I’m just trying to have a quiet drink, why do you insist on humiliating me?!

Among the cultivators of Great Sui Nation, Cai Jingshen was renowned for his short temper and his exceptional combat prowess, and he wasn’t going to allow himself to be humiliated any longer. A furious look appeared on his face as he yelled, “If you want a fight, then that’s what you’ll get! I’m not scared of you!”

A short while later, Li Er left the residence to return to Mountain Cliff Academy.

Cai Jingshen was laying in his yard, and his injuries weren’t particularly severe, but he wasn’t going to be able to stand up anytime soon.

Laying on his back, he looked up at the sky with a dazed expression. This was the first time he had ever felt so humiliated in his life, and he wasn’t sure if he had the will to live any longer.

He immediately decided there and then that after he recovered his injuries, he was going to pay the emperor a visit and request to leave Eastern Splendor Mountain and get far away from Mountain Cliff Academy. In fact, he wasn’t even going to stay in the capital city of Great Sui Nation anymore.

————

Li Er told Li Huai that he wanted to explore the academy on his own, so the latter went back on his own to find both Li Baoping and Lin Shouyi had come to visit. The two of them had only just arrived, and Li Baoping was having a chat with Li Huai’s mother.

“How long are you going to stay at the academy, Auntie? Do you need me to take you on a tour of the capital city? I’ve already carefully studied the map of Great Sui Nation’s capital city, so I know my way around. The map was really hard to find in the scripture library, and it took me a long time to track it down. Where do you want to go? I can take you there.”

The first thing that Li Baoping did after arriving at the academy was to familiarize herself with all of the academy’s rules, as well as the corresponding punishments for breaking those rules. After that, she carefully studied the layout of Great Sui Nation capital city, thinking to herself that if Chen Ping’an ever came to the academy to visit her, she would be able to take her on a tour of the city.

“You’re such a clever girl, Baoping,” Li Huai’s mother praised with a smile. “It’s all thanks to you that Huai’er hasn’t been bullied by anyone.”

Li Huai was so astonished to hear this that his jaw almost fell onto the ground. Throughout the entire journey to Great Sui Nation, Li Baoping had been his tormentor-in-chief, constantly picking on him at every turn. Aside from her, not even A’Liang or Chen Ping’an had ever picked on him.

Also, his mother was clearly well aware of how Li Baoping had thrown his underpants onto a tree back at the school in the small town. Could it be that she had suddenly forgotten somehow?

At the time, she had taken him to Fortune Street with the intention of confronting Li Baoping’s seniors over her behavior, but upon seeing the pair of stone lions situated on either side of the gates of the Li manor, she had lost her courage and gone back without even daring to knock on the gate.

The conversation between Li Baoping and Li Huai’s mother was completely disjointed, and Li Huai was developing a headache just from listening to them. It was as if they were having two different conversations entirely, yet somehow, they appeared to have been thoroughly enjoying each other’s company.

Li Huai’s mother asked Li Baoping how many rooms there were in the Li manor on Fortune Street, to which Li Baoping replied that the academy had many dormitories, even more than the number of rooms in the Li manor…

After some insistent nagging from Li Huai, Li Liu finally caved and agreed to stitch a pair of cloth shoes for him as soon as possible. At this moment, she was seated peacefully on the edge of the bed, carefully stitching together a pair of soles.

Occasionally, she would cock her head to the side to sever the thread between her teeth, and whenever she did so, she would turn to her mother and her brother with a warm smile. On the occasions where her and Lin Shouyi’s eyes met, she would give him a smile and a nod, and Lin Shouyi would immediately blush in embarrassment.

This was the second time that Lin Shouyi had been so thankful that he had made the decision to leave the town to follow Chen Ping’an and Li Baoping on their journey to Great Sui Nation, with the first occasion being the time that he had gotten a sip of wine out of A’Liang’s gourd.

Li Baoping just so happened to have been leaving right as Li Er returned to the academy. As usual, she was rushing away like the wind, but she immediately stopped in her tracks at the sight of Li Er, then smiled and greeted, “Hello, Uncle Li!”

Li Er wasn’t very good with words, so he merely nodded in response, but he was very happy to see Li Baoping. Back in the town, he hadn’t visited the school on many occasions. At the time, Li Huai would always complain about how embarrassing it was to have him for a father, so he didn’t dare to visit the school, but on the few occasions that he did go, Li Baoping was the only student there who would greet him as Uncle Li.

All of a sudden, Li Baoping heaved a slightly dejected sigh. Her thoughts had always had a knack for jumping around in an unpredictable fashion, and for seemingly no reason, she apologized, “I’m sorry, Uncle Li.”

Li er was a simple man, but he wasn’t stupid, and he immediately realized why Li Baoping was apologizing to him. It had to have been the case that she felt like she had failed to look after Li Huai, and he hurriedly shook his head in response. “There’s nothing you have to apologize for.”

An earnest look appeared on Li Baoping’s face as she said, “Uncle Li, Li Huai is currently working even harder in his studies than I am. Mr. Qi told us that hard work can make up for a lack of talent, and anyone can become a late bloomer as long as they work hard enough, so don’t be disappointed in Li Huai. Learning is something to be done over the course of an entire lifetime, so don’t be too hard on him.”

She raised her fist and adopted a more serious tone as she re-emphasized, “Don’t be too hard on him!”

Li Er felt as if his heart were about to burst with affection at the sight of the adorable little girl, and he nodded in response. “I’ve never been disappointed in Li Huai.”

Having said that, he had made a decision that it was time for him to do something that he had refrained from doing up to this point. As for how far his son would ultimately be able to go, that would be up to him.

Li Baoping gave Li Er a wide smile, then rushed away like a joyful little oriole.

Li Er stood and watched as she rushed away, and only after she had disappeared out of sight did he turn around with a smile and continue walking.

Upon arriving at the entrance, he ran into Lin Shouyi, who just so happened to have been leaving, and he also greeted Li Er as Uncle Li before departing.

Lin Shouyi still wasn’t very good at opening up to other people, even when it came to someone like Li Er, who was the father of the girl of his dreams.

Li Er made his way into the room to discover his wife nagging his son as usual. “That little girl is not bad at all, but she’s a little too rough around the edges, so I don’t think she’ll be very good at looking after others. If you ask me, that girl by the name of Shi Chunjia is really nice. Her family isn’t as wealthy as Li Baoping’s, but they still own that large shop, so no one will look down on you if you marry her. She’s such a nice and pretty little girl with her little twin braids…”

“I like Li Baoping a bit more than Shi Chunjia,” Li Er said with a smile.

An exasperated look appeared on Li Huai’s face as he sighed, “Have you two ever paused to consider whether they like me or not?”

“How could they possibly not like you? It’s not like they’re stupid!” Li Huai’s mother scoffed.

Li Huai slapped a hand to his own forehead in exasperation. “Please don’t go around saying things like this to anyone else. Otherwise, Li Baoping will beat me to the death! Shi Chunjia wouldn’t dare to beat me, but given how petty and scheming she is, she’ll be sure to hold a grudge against me for the rest of her life! She can hold a grudge for a very long time.

“I pulled on her braids just one time, and she complained to Mr. Qi about me 10 times, telling a different lie every single time, and each lie was extremely convincing! She told Mr. Qi that I was scolded by him for not completing my homework to a satisfactory standard, and she made fun of me for that, so I tugged on her braids in vengeance.

“The next day, she told Mr. Qi that I was late to school, and all she did was tell me that it was important to be punctual, and I got mad at her and pulled on her braids. The day after that, she said that I got beaten up by Li Baoping and didn’t dare to retaliate, so I vented my frustration by pulling on her braids… My god, if Shi Chunjia becomes my wife, I’d cry myself to death!”

“So what kind of wife do you want?” his mother asked with an amused expression.

Li Huai thought about it for a moment, then replied, “Finding a wife is such a pain, I don’t want to think about it for now. I’ll think about it after I’ve grown up and meet a girl that I like.”

“If your future wife picks on me, whose side are you going to take?” his mother asked with a smile.

A sly grin appeared on Li Huai’s face as he replied, “Of course I’d help my wife. You already have my father to help you, don’t you? Isn’t that enough?”

“You heartless little bastard!”

LI Huai’s mother put on an enraged expression as she reached out to pinch his ear, and he hurriedly got up before running away.

Li Huai’s mother then turned to Li Er as she asked, “Where did you go?”

“I had to pee, so I went to find a lavatory,” Li Er replied.

Li Huai’s mother immediately spotted the wine gourd strapped to Li Er’s waist, and she leaned in closer to it before taking a whiff, following which an enraged look appeared on her face as she yelled, “Why did it take you so long to take a piss? Did you fall into the lavatory? Also, was the lavatory filled with wine instead of shit and piss?”

Li Er had no idea how to respond, and he turned to his son for help.

However, instead of helping him, Li Huai stabbed him in the back, proclaiming, “Father must’ve spotted some seductive little vixen! Look at how guilty he looks!”

Li Huai’s mother rolled her eyes at the terrified Li Er, and in a rare display of mercy, she didn’t pursue the matter any further. Instead, she sat down beside Li Liu, stroking her daughter’s hair as she sighed, “The two of you are all grown up now, while your father and I have grown old.”

Li Liu set down the soles that she was stitching and gently held onto her mother’s hands.

Li Huai immediately jumped in with the flattery, declaring, “You’re not old at all, Mother! You look exactly the same as when you gave birth to me! If you and Li Liu were to go out together, people would definitely think that you’re a pair of sisters.”

His mother was very pleased to hear this, and she burst into laughter as she scoffed, “Save this type of flattery for your future wife!”

“Mother, I want to buy a box of makeup,” Li Liu suddenly said.

Her mother immediately launched into her usual spiel, complaining about how Li Liu was always being so wasteful, but in the end, she still left to go shopping with her.

With that, Li Er and Li Huai were the only ones left in the room, and the former smiled as he asked, “You wanna have a drink with me, son?”

Li Huai’s eyes widened in surprise. “You’re letting me drink?”

After having only half a bowl of wine, Li Huai quickly became inebriated and fell asleep on the table.

Li Er reached out to grab onto Li Huai’s wrist, then took a deep breath and closed his eyes with a solemn expression, seemingly about to do something very important.

————

As Li Huai’s mother and sister were making their way down the mountain, they passed by a white-robed young boy at the archway at the foot of the mountain.

Li Liu turned back, and their eyes met.

Li Liu had always been an amicable and delicate girl, but in this instant, her smile suddenly faded, and she made a discreet warning gesture at Cui Dongshan, swiping her slender hand over her own neck in a throat-slitting

Cui Dongshan had intentionally come here to see her, and he couldn’t help but muse to himself, “There are freaks every year, but there are way more than usual this year.”