Unsheathed

From a large river in Yellow Court Nation that originated from the Great Li Empire, Chen Ping’an caught an unexpected large fish, and the little girl in pink used it to cook up a delicious fish soup.

After filling their bellies, the trio sat down for a chat.

Chen Ping’an had read in some books that immortals were able to absorb the essence of the sun and the moon and get by without food entirely, and he wanted to know whether this was actually useful for advancing one’s cultivation base.

The little girl in pink immediately nodded vigorously in response, while the little boy in azure shook his head while skipping some stones across the river as he replied, “The benefits are so minor that they’re entirely negligible. When it comes to descendants of flood dragons like us, the key of our Great Dao is to rely on the natural environment and harness the fortune of mountains and rivers. Everything else is largely useless and ineffective.”

Chen Ping’an smiled as he asked, “If it still provides at least some benefit, then why not make use of it? Both of you want to evolve into flood dragons, and in the future, you’ll have to pick out a large river that’ll allow you to travel straight into the sea. Only then will you be able to attain the bodies of True Dragons and fulfill your Great Dao. Is that not sufficient reason for you to work hard in your cultivation?”

The little boy in azure skipped one final stone across the water, then clapped his hands together as he replied with a smile, “Cultivation is a matter of talent, not hard work.”

“If you possess talent for cultivation, doesn’t that mean you should work even harder so you don’t squander that talent?” Chen Ping’an asked.

The little boy in azure faltered slightly upon hearing this, then replied, “Ah, Master, I’m suddenly beginning to get a headache. I must’ve caught a cold or something, so I need to go and sleep.”

Chen Ping’an was rather amused to hear this.

“But you’re a water snake, how could you possibly have…”

Before he had a chance to finish, the little boy in azure had already jumped into the river, where he immediately vanished, only to be replaced by an enormous water snake that was swimming languidly over the riverbed, resembling a monarch inspecting the territory under their jurisdiction.

“Don’t mind him, Master, he’s just lazy,” the little girl in pink said in a quiet voice. “However, his aptitude and bloodline are both superior to mine, and his physical body is naturally more powerful as well. Even if I cultivate for two or three more centuries, I won’t be able to catch up to him.”

“In that case, don’t compare yourself with him. Just compare yourself with yourself and aim to be a little better today than you were yesterday, and a little better tomorrow than you are today,” Chen Ping’an consoled.

The little girl in pink was immediately reinvigorated. “You’re right, Master! No wonder you’re still working so hard in practicing your fist techniques, even though you’re only a second tier martial artist, Master. As the saying goes, a dumb bird must make an early start…”

The little girl in pink hurriedly clapped her hands over her own mouth here, realizing that she had just likened Cheng Ping’an to a dumb bird.

Chen Ping’an was very amused to hear this, and he said, “You’re right, I am indeed a dumb bird, and that’s why I have to work extra hard.”

After that, he began to practice his walking meditation along the riverbank, and even for someone with as steadfast a personality as the little girl in pink, she was starting to grow bored of seeing Chen Ping’an’s walking meditation, having already witnessed it so many times.

Several days later, Chen Ping’an slowly made his way up a mountain while using a length of bamboo as a walking stick, and during the climb, he picked up a handful of soil in a solemn fashion, then carefully placed it into a small cotton pouch that he had prepared in advance.

The pouches of soil had gradually accumulated to become the heaviest item in the entire basket, and both the little girl in pink and the little boy in azure had refrained from asking why he was doing this, regarding it as some type of secret to Chen Ping’an’s cultivation.

Initially, the little boy in azure was feeling quite glad that he no longer had to adopt his true form and carry Chen Ping’an on his back, but after walking at such a slow pace for such a long time, his patience was wearing thin. However, he didn’t dare to question Chen Ping’an’s itinerary, so he could only make some conversation to stave off his boredom.

“Master, why were you so frugal back in the prefectural city that we passed by? If you’re short on money, you can spend mine! I have a ton of money, so don’t be afraid of running out. Even if we spend all of the silver that I’m carrying, I can just go to any river and quickly unearth a bunch of treasures to be sold for money.”

“I’ve heard that cultivation is an endeavor that’s extremely taxing on one’s finances, so…”

It was clear that Chen Ping’an was about to launch into one of his spiels again, and the little boy in azure immediately declared, “I was lying to you just now, Master! I’m completely broke!”

He was willing to do anything to avoid hearing Chen Ping’an’s boring spiels.

However, in the end, the little boy in azure was still unable to stand the loneliness, and after Chen Ping’an fell silent, he initiated the conversation once again. “Master, I don’t mean to criticize you or anything, but we cultivate so that we can spend as much money as we want and earn back just as much with ease.

“We’re supposed to be heroes who live our lives to the fullest and stamp our mark on this world! We don’t cultivate in order to become petty misers who are concerned with every single trivial little thing…”

Chen Ping’an offered no refutation to this, merely continuing to make his way slowly up the mountain.

It was clear that he and the little boy in azure were bound to part ways someday even though they were walking on the same path for now.

This was one of the most important insights that Chen Ping’an had gleaned on his trip to Great Sui Nation with Li Baoping and the others.

————

On the border between Yellow Court Nation and the Great Li Empire, Chen Ping’an encountered a natural disaster that shook the very earth beneath his feet. Dust could be seen rising up in all directions on a distant mountain summit, and upon spotting this phenomenon, Chen Ping’an had rushed toward the scene with the two children in tow. In the end, they arrived in a small city in Yellow Court Nation, where they were greeted by a horrific sight.

The city walls had collapsed along with countless houses and temples. Close to half of the city’s residents had lost their homes, and everyone was in a state of despair. There were Daoist priests of different ages rushing in and out of the temples, displaying all types of different emotions, with the younger Daoist priests lamenting the disaster that had befallen the city, while the older ones were looking quite elated, as if they had somehow profited from the disaster.

Thankfully, order in the city was still being maintained relatively well, and Chen Ping’an only ran into a group of thugs that were terrorizing a young boy and a young girl who were brother and sister and had lost their parents to the disaster. Chen Ping’an immediately intervened, preventing the thugs from abducting the young girl to be sold as a prostitute.

These thugs were taking advantage of the situation for their own personal benefit, and after a couple of them were forced back into retreat by a punch and a kick from Chen Ping’an, all of them quickly scurried away.

After that, Chen Ping’an left the pair of orphaned siblings 20 taels of silver before departing. In the end, he decided to take a rest in an abandoned martial sage temple, and to his surprise, despite the fact that the temple was in a state of disrepair, it hadn’t been harmed in the slightest during the earthquake that had just taken place.

A painted clay statue of the martial stage was standing atop a pedestal, looking down with an authoritative expression.

It only took a single glance at the martial stage statue for the little boy in azure to figure out why this temple was the only place that had remained completely unharmed during the earthquake. “This is a tiny temple in a small city, and it’s clearly not getting enough visitors and incense offerings.

“If you don’t have enough to eat, you’ll starve to death, and that applies to both humans and deities. Hence, the deity of this temple is already long gone, so it’s naturally unable to protect the entire city, and it can only just barely keep this temple intact.”

The little girl in pink didn’t have the knowledge and experience of the little boy in azure, but her personality was more pure and innocent. She extended a respectful bow toward the martial stage statue, and after noticing that Chen Ping’an had begun sweeping the ground, she decided to help out by wiping away the dust on the altar.

The little boy in azure didn’t dare to insult Chen Ping’an, so he could only turn to the little girl in pink with a mocking sneer on his face as he jeered, “You’re just a little fire python who’s read a handful of books, why are you trying to suck up to a deity like this?

“Also, during that massive battle that took place all those years ago, the entire world underwent a massive revolution, and as descendants of flood dragons, we are seen as complete traitors. It’s a good thing that this lowly deity isn’t here anymore.

“Otherwise, that bow of yours would’ve definitely been seen as provocation, and the deity would’ve perhaps been goaded into revealing his true form, appearing in the form of his godly body to smash your head open with a single punch! If that were to happen, I would definitely clap and cheer him on!”

“Why are you flood dragons considered to be traitors?” Chen Ping’an asked with a curious expression.

The little boy in azure realized that he had said something that he shouldn’t, and he hurriedly closed his mouth before shaking his head vigorously.

The little girl in pink went even further, clapping her hands over her mouth as she turned to Chen Ping’an with a pitiable expression, putting on an adorable display that said: “Please don’t ask me, Master. I wouldn’t dare to tell you anything even if I knew.”

The entire sky was filled with resplendent red clouds, and Chen Ping’an and the little girl in pink started a fire and began to cook in the temple. Meanwhile, the little boy in azure was waiting with a bored expression for food to be served, walking back and forth along the tall doorstep as he did so.

All of a sudden, he jumped down before quickly making his way down the steps, where a pair of siblings had arrived. He then cleared his throat and put on a high and mighty demeanor as he asked, “You’re looking for my master, right? What business do you have with him? If you’re hoping that our master will provide the two of you with further assistance, then I suggest you leave right away. However…”

A sly grin appeared on the face of the little boy in azure as he took a glance at the young girl. Her clothes were very shabby, much like the clothes worn by Chen Ping’an, and her looks weren’t anything outstanding, but she had an exceptional figure, and despite her age, she already had possessed the allure of a voluptuous grown woman, which was a very rare trait for someone so young.

The smile on the face of the little boy in azure faded as he continued with a serious expression, “If you feel like there’s no way for you to repay my master other than to give yourself over to him to warm his bed at night, then I’ll inform him of your arrival right away.”

The young boy was the older of the two siblings, and an enraged look appeared on his face as he turned to leave, but her sister gently tugged on his sleeve, and only then did he discover that their savior had already emerged from the martial sage temple.

Chen Ping’an gave the little boy in azure a firm flick on the forehead, then said with an apologetic expression, “Don’t mind him, he likes to joke around a lot.”

“It’s alright, my brother and I aren’t offended,” the young girl replied in a shy manner.

As it turned out, the two of them had come to deliver some food to Chen Ping’an. None of them were very good with words, so not long after Chen Ping’an accepted the food from the pair of siblings, the boy turned to depart, while the girl extended a rather awkward curtsey toward Chen Ping’an before taking her leave as well.

Chen Ping’an heaved a faint sigh, then made his way back to the martial sage temple. The little boy in azure was still skipping around on top of the doorstep, and Chen Ping’an said to him in a gentle voice, “I know you don’t have any bad intentions, but don’t go around constantly making jokes when talking to others. Sometimes, you may not mean any harm with your words, but they can still be very hurtful nonetheless and leave scars for many years.”

A hint of displeasure appeared in the eyes of the little boy in azure, but he disguised it very well, and he nodded as he gave an affirmative response, and that was the end of the matter.

Chen Ping’an didn’t speak any further on the subject as he returned to the martial sage temple to practice his seated meditation.

From a very young age, Gu Can, who had also previously lived on Clay Vase Alley, had held a large number of grudges against his “enemies”. Whenever he mentioned those people to Chen Ping’an in private, he would always be filled with resentment and hatred, and despite his tender age, he was already considering doing heinous things such as digging up the ancestral graves of the people who had wronged him.

It was very difficult to say who was at fault in this matter, but according to the Scholarly Sage, when looking at such matters in sequential order, it could be determined that many of the knots in Gu Can’s heart had originated from some seemingly inconsequential insults and jibes.

The little boy in azure glanced at the little girl in pink, who was busy at work, then turned his gaze toward the meditating Chen Ping’an, and he wanted to say something, but refrained from doing so in the end. However, it seemed that suppressing what he wanted to say was only making him feel more agitated, and he began to pace back and forth faster on the doorstep.

In the end, he was unable to resist the urge to speak up any longer, and he stood still on the doorstep while swinging back and forth, falling toward the interior of the temple one moment, then leaning back out of the temple the next as he said to Chen Ping’an, “What an ungrateful little wretch that boy is! He couldn’t even take a light-hearted joke.

“If you ask me, he should’ve just died in that earthquake! He’s got no redeeming traits, yet he’s more arrogant than anyone! He deserves to live a life of pain and suffering!”

Chen Ping’an remained seated on the ground in a meditative state, offering no response.

The little boy in azure was silent for a moment, and a cold look appeared in his eyes as he glowered intently at Chen Ping’an, but he didn’t his best to put on a joking tone as he continued, “Master, when we’re out in the world, we have to help those who are close to us rather than always dogmatically thinking about right and wrong.

“Only then will we be able to do well for ourselves. Besides, I didn’t even do anything to that pair of siblings. You treated them with such kindness, and the sister displayed the gratitude that you deserved, but her brother was a real nasty piece of work. Part of the reason why he was so angry was because he felt humiliated that I had made that joke about his sister, but the main reason is his inferiority complex.

“Deep down, he knows that he’s nothing more than a useless piece of trash, and that even if that disaster hadn’t befallen his family, he still wouldn’t have been able to protect his sister anyway. If someone like him continues to remain so stubborn and unyielding in the future, then he’s only going to get himself into more trouble. Hence, I was fooling around with them for their sake, Master.”

Chen Ping’an opened his eyes upon hearing this, and after carefully pondering what he had heard he nodded in response. “What you said is correct, but there is a sequence to right and wrong. You can’t retroactively justify something that you did wrong with something that you did right after committing the initial unjust deed.”

The little boy in azure concealed his hands within his sleeves as he clenched them into tight fists. At the same time, he lowered his head, seemingly afraid that Chen Ping’an would be able to glean his turbulent emotions through his eyes. Back in the Imperial River, he had been able to do whatever he pleased, reigning supreme over all other beings in the river with the exception of the river god.

At this moment, his heart was burning with fury, and he wanted nothing more than to kill this infuriating “master” of his with a single punch, then devour the fire python to supplement his own cultivation, using her as a stepping stone on the way to fulfilling his own Great Dao.

The little boy in azure turned around and jumped down from the doorstep as he declared, “I’m going to apologize to them now, Master.”

He had said this in a lighthearted tone, but his expression was twisted with violent fury and killing intent.

Following his departure, the little girl in pink said in a fearful voice, “He really was very angry just now, Master. Given his personality, if he had been back in the Imperial River, the river would’ve most likely already been flooding right now;. According to the records in the local prefectural chronicles, the Imperial River had flooded many times in the past few centuries, and not only did the river god not try to suppress these floods, he would try to help them along instead.”

Chen Ping’an patted her on the head as he replied, “If he doesn’t want to listen to my preaching, then I won’t preach to him from now on.”

With that declaration, Chen Ping’an had truly made up his mind that he wasn’t going to preach to the little boy in azure anymore.

He had thought that they had grown a little closer during the course of their journey together, and that was why he had been willing to try and impart some things that he felt to be correct and beneficial onto the little boy in azure.

However, if his preaching was only bothering the little boy in azure, then he would just return to square one and treat the boy like a complete stranger again. From this point onward, Chen Ping’an wouldn’t say anything as long as the little boy in azure didn’t commit any severe transgressions.

Back when they had first met, Chen Ping’an definitely wouldn’t have said anything over such a trivial matter, and he certainly wouldn’t have said so many things that had come straight from the heart. He and Cui Dongshan had completed an extremely long journey together, yet Chen Ping’an had barely said anything genuinely heartfelt to him.

The little girl in pink looked up at Chen Ping’an with an innocent expression as she said, “You can preach to me, Master. I really like hearing you talk about these things.”

A faint smile appeared on Chen Ping’an’s face as he said, “You have to make sure correct me if I say anything wrong.”

The little girl in pink nodded eagerly in response as she said, “What you said about the sequence of actions just now was brilliant, Master! I felt I learned so much just from that alone!”

She then quickly blushed as she hurriedly clarified, “I mean it, Master! I’m not sucking up to you like he does!”

Chen Ping’an was watching the fire, and the rice was about to be ready. Meanwhile, a disgruntled look appeared on the face of the little girl in pink as she grumbled, “Let’s not leave any food for him, Master. Just let him starve!

“You were saying all those things for his sake, yet he got so angry at you! If it isn’t for the fact that his true body is currently trapped in that inkstone, he would’ve definitely attacked you just now! I was so scared that my heart was about to jump out of my chest!”

“That won’t do,” Chen Ping’an said as he shook his head with a smile. “We still have to leave something for him to eat.”

“I’ll do whatever you say, Master,” the little girl in pink replied with a bright smile, and Chen Ping’an patted her affectionately on the head.