Unsheathed

When Chen Ping’an finally returned to the main hall of his residence, he discovered that Qiu Shi was lying on the table and taking a nap. Meanwhile, Chun Shui was quietly sitting beside her and smiling as she gazed at the study. After seeing Chen Ping’an, she hurriedly reached over to slap her younger sister on the shoulder.

However, Chen Ping’an shook his hand and gestured that it was okay. After hesitating for a moment, Chun Shui still decided to slap her younger sister’s shoulder and wake her up. Qiu Shi regained her senses, and she hurriedly wiped her mouth lest she appear unrefined in front of their esteemed guest.

The rules on the Kun ship would be extremely lenient toward the friend of the formal god of the Great Li Empire’s Northern Mountain, but Ceremony Mountain would be completely merciless toward her and her older sister, two maidservants on the ship.

Chen Ping’an sat down at the table and grabbed an emerald green fruit from the azure porcelain plate. This fruit looked like an unripe citrus fruit, but it tasted especially refreshing and sweet after peeling its skin. After eating one, he grabbed another two and handed them to the twin sisters. Chun Shui wanted to turn his offer down, unwilling to accept the fruits. Since this was the case, Qiu Shi had no option but to reluctantly do the same.

However, Chen Ping’an forcefully put the fruit down in front of them. The twin sisters didn’t persist anymore, especially since these were everspring mandarins that were the unique produce of Complete Reed Continent Fresh Grass Mountain. Eating one such fruit could provide them with the same amount of spiritual energy as cultivating in earnest for 10 days.

There was no shortcut when it came to cultivation — this was something that was often said to cultivation prodigies. The purpose was to warn them against becoming conceited or impatient. They needed to walk on solid ground, and only so could they climb to the heavens.

However, it was clear that there existed countless shortcuts for cultivation. This was the consensus among vagrant cultivators, itinerant cultivators, as well as external disciples with mediocre talent. As long as one had enough money, even eating could become an act of cultivation. If one had a powerful background and good talent, and was able to live in a blessed land that was filled with spiritual energy, then even sleeping could become an act of cultivation.

For example, Chun Shui and Qiu Shi could only spend their hard-earned money on spiritual fruits like everspring mandarins or low-grade alchemical pills with similar effects. Eating these things would make their hearts ache. If they cast their gazes further, and gave things more thought when they had some reprieve from earnest cultivation, then they might grit their teeth after a few years of hard work and spend all of their savings to buy an immortal tool.

This definitely wouldn’t be an immortal tool to assist their combat capability. Firstly, they wouldn’t be able to afford such an immortal tool. Secondly, buying such an immortal tool would be completely meaningless. Instead, they would buy spirit tools that could help them cleanse their impure Qi a little bit at a time.

Prodigious Qi refiners could soar to the mountains in a single breath, after which they would be able to advance tiers every now and again. This was something that others could only envy. Meanwhile, cultivators like Chun Shui and Qiu Shi could only climb up one step at a time and envy the talent of others. After exclaiming in astonishment, they would bury their heads and continue to toil away again.

After witnessing the spectacular scenes that belonged to the higher tier cultivators, who would still be willing to live the life of wealthy mortals or mortal housewives?

Of course, some jaded and disheartened Qi refiners would indeed leave the mountains, and some of them would indeed enjoy successful and delightful lives in the mortal world. They would be like top scholars in the imperial court. Compared to their awkwardly mediocre statuses in the mountains, living in the mortal world would indeed be more comfortable and carefree.

For example, the imperial court of some empire might recruit them and bestow them with a good piece of land with beautiful mountains and water, where they could act as the local ruler. They could also look after the residences of wealthy individuals and enjoy the position of guest elder, and this would naturally be a decent option as well.

However, these seemingly successful and mighty Qi refiners were ultimately people who had failed to succeed in the mountains. In this sense, they were no better than scholars who failed the imperial examination and ran away to hide in the mountains and forests.

Chun Shui was slightly adrift as she slowly chewed the everspring mandarin. Her demeanor was no inferior to that of refined daughters from influential scholarly clans. This was unlike her younger sister Qiu Shi, who was happily eating the everspring mandarin and thinking that it would be a waste not to take advantage of this opportunity. After all, only fools would turn down such good opportunities.

Chen Ping’an was the first to finish, and after seeing Qiu Shi glance at his mandarin peel with eager eyes, he asked, “This mandarin peel is also useful?”

“Young Master Chen, tossing a few pieces of mandarin peel into dishes when cooking them will make them especially fragrant!” Qiu Shi replied in a casual manner.

Chen Ping’an’s eyes lit up.

I like this! I’m fairly good at cooking, and I was simply handicapped by a lack of ingredients when traveling to Great Sui Nation. Otherwise, Li Baoping and the others wouldn’t have missed the food from that old assistant minister’s house so much. In fact, they were still disappointed even when I made fish soup for them.

Chen Ping’an smiled and grabbed another two everspring mandarins, handing them to Chun Shui and Qiu Shi. “Here, eat the mandarins. Remember to leave the mandarin peel for me.”

Chun Shui and Qiu Shi exchanged a confused glance. They were at a loss regarding this situation. Perhaps this young boy who was staying in a premium room on the Kun ship was so frivolous that he enjoyed cooking by himself? The Confucian sages earnestly taught their disciples that noble people should distance themselves from kitchen work[1], yet the young boy was going to ignore this as well?

However, Chen Ping’an didn’t care about the gazes of others. He took the three portions of mandarin peels and placed them inside his sleeves. He didn’t dare to place them inside his pocket treasure, Fifteenth. He then urged the twin sisters to hurry up and eat.

Since their esteemed guest was already being so inelegant, even Chun Shui no longer felt a sense of guilt when she ate the everspring mandarin. This was not to mention her younger sister, Qiu Shi.

Chen Ping’an smiled faintly.

Chun Shui suddenly felt a little warm and fuzzy inside.

So, that’s how it is.

As it turns out, Chen Ping’an is a pleasant young boy who’s as heart-warming as the spring breeze.

————

In the end, Chen Ping’an returned to his room to sleep with several portions of mandarin peels in his sleeves. Meanwhile, the twin sisters rested in a wing room beside the study. If Chen Ping’an wanted to summon them, then all he needed to do was ring the silver bell beside his bed. Moreover, this bell wasn’t an ordinary bell, and it was instead a unique bell that would automatically ring if it detected any impure or sinister aura in the room.

Only after entering his room did Chen Ping’an remove the scabbard that held Subduing Demons and Eliminating Fiends from his back. He rested it against the side of the bed that was closer to the wall. After doing this, he lay down and stretched on the bed that was so comfortable that he could barely get used to it. However, one of his hands remained on the sword scabbard. Chen Ping’an then consciously calmed his breathing down using the breathing technique that Old Man Yang had taught him.

In reality, the two flying swords in his Sword Nurturing Gourd, First and Fifteenth, had already gained intelligence and sentience. Even if Chen Ping’an entered deep sleep, the flying swords would still be able to automatically fight against enemies should their master face any danger. Even so, Chen Ping’an didn’t dare to be careless and enter deep sleep. Just like that, he remained alert and slept until dawn the next day. When Chun Shui quietly woke up, changed her clothes, and opened her door, Chen Ping’an immediately opened his eyes.

In fact, Chen Ping’an had discovered the slight differences between Chun Shui and Qiu Shi’s footsteps a long time ago.

When traveling outside, it would never be wrong to be more careful.

Chun Shui didn’t knock on his door to wake him up, and she instead started to methodically sweep the other rooms in the residence.

Only when Qiu Shi woke up and started walking around did Chen Ping’an conclude his session of standing meditation. He put his straw sandals on and stood up. After taking a few steps, however, he immediately returned to the bedside. He then walked with heavier footsteps as he opened the door and walked outside.

Chun Shui was wearing a different dress today, and she performed a curtsy when she saw Chen Ping’an. While performing the curtsy, her dress hugged her voluptuous body even tighter, causing Chen Ping’an to falter for a slight moment. He flushed a slight shade of red. Fortunately, his skin was very tanned, and this helped to hide his blush. He wasn’t having any impure thoughts, and he simply felt like Chun Shui’s dress was very beautiful. This was a dress made from something called brocade satin or whatnot. However, this dress also showed off her figure a bit too well…

At this moment, Chen Ping’an silently made a decision in his mind. When he found himself a wife in the future, she definitely couldn’t dress like this when she went outside.

It was time for breakfast, so Chun Shui told Qiu Shi to bring some food over from the kitchen. Meanwhile, she asked Chen Ping’an whether he was going to head outside today. At the same time, she also described the landmarks and entertainment venues that existed on the ship. However, whether consciously or not, she didn’t mention the brothels and adult entertainment venues that existed on almost every intercontinental ship in the world.

Apart from this, she described the various different shops as well as the restaurants and gambling venues. She also introduced the weapon shops and relay stations that used flying swords to deliver letters, and she talked about all kinds of other things that existed on the Kun ship. Even though the ship was small, it still contained all of the essentials. Chen Ping’an was quite impressed by this. The Kun ship was no inferior to his hometown.

After Chen Ping’an enjoyed a hearty breakfast with the twin sisters, he decided not to leave his residence to wander around the ship. Instead, he felt like he could read in the study whenever he needed a rest from practicing fist techniques.

Chun Shui and Qiu Shi naturally wouldn’t object to this. However, Qiu Shi couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed. In reality, they would get a commission if the guests in their room chose to buy things on the Kun ship. One time, there had been an astounding event where a maidservant had become filthy rich in a single night. The guest that she had been looking after had merely been staying in a low-grade room, yet she had still looked after him to the best of her ability and been as meticulous as could be. She hadn’t slacked off simply because the guest had been staying in a low-grade room.

In the end, it was revealed that the unremarkable young man had actually been the single child of a top-notch immortal clan, and he had been traveling around the world in order to train. Before leaving the ship, he had brought the maidservant with him as he had walked along the rows of shops and bought everything inside them without even entering. In fact, he hadn’t even blinked while buying up entire store’s worth of goods on the high-grade Kun ship. Thus, just the commission alone was an astronomical amount of wealth.

Perhaps this was the impermanence of life. Yet, there still existed azure mountains wherever one went[2].

Chen Ping’an continued to pass his days in this dull and monotonous manner. Chun Shui naturally didn’t mind this, but Qiu Shi started to feel slightly bored. This Young Master Chen was far too uninteresting. All he did was walk up and down the observation deck every day and perform strange fist stances. His movements were light, and his speed was also slow. He didn’t seem to have a powerful aura at all. In fact, Qiu Shi felt like nodding off whenever she watched him cultivate.

Apart from this, he would simply stand on the observation deck and gaze at the sea of clouds. He would remain unmoving regardless of whether it was sunrise or sunset, and he could stand there for two hours without moving a single muscle.

At most, he would enter the study to read or practice handwriting. In the beginning, Qiu Shi would still help him grind ink. After seeing his rigid handwriting for a while, however, she genuinely couldn’t bring herself to do this anymore. However, her older sister continued to accompany the young boy. Whenever she became tired from standing, she would sit down in a seat not far from the table.

Because of this, Qiu Shi had privately teased her older sister and said that this was a case of a beautiful woman accompanying a young scholar while he studied. If this were in a novel, then the two of them would quickly fall in love and become one in bed after a short while. Chun Shui had chuckled in anger and viciously pinched her younger sister’s waist.

When eating every day, Chen Ping’an would ask the twin sisters what empire the Kun ship was flying over. He would also ask them to describe the customs and traditions of these empires. After listening to their detailed explanations, he learned that Eastern Treasured Vial Continent was only the smallest of the nine continents in the Majestic World. However, Chen Ping’an still felt like there was a vast number of empires on this continent. After all, just the surnames of the imperial clans were already able to use every character in ‘Hundred Family Surnames’[3].

Southern Stream Nation was located in the central region of Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, and it wasn’t far from Lake View Academy, one of the 72 Confucian academies.

When the twin sisters mentioned the Confucian schools and academies, Chen Ping’an asked about why Eastern Treasured Vial Continent only had two Confucian academies, Mountain Cliff Academy and Lake View Academy. He was quite curious about this.

Qiu Shi clutched her stomach and roared with laughter. She was as amused as could be. She pointed at the naive young boy and revealed, “Because Eastern Treasured Vial Continent is far too small! Our Complete Reed Continent has six Confucian academies, and this is not to mention Middle Earth Divine Continent which has even more.”

Chun Shui secretly shot a glare at her younger sister, yet Qiu Shi still couldn’t help but laugh and say, “But Young Master Chen’s question is truly hilarious.”

Chen Ping’an could only scratch his head as he listened to this.

As it turned out, the Majestic World was actually this big?

On this day, Chen Ping’an aimlessly gazed at the rolling clouds in the sky after concluding walking meditation on the observation deck. While doing so, he suddenly saw the young Daoist priest with the wooden sword on his back again.

Chun Shui walked over and stood beside Chen Ping’an. Following his gaze, she explained in a gentle voice, “Judging from his Daoist robes, he should be a Zhang Clan Daoist priest from Middle Earth Divine Continent’s Mount Longhu[4]. However, he’s definitely an external disciple. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be dressed like this.”

Chun Shui had initially wanted to say, “Otherwise, he wouldn’t appear so impoverished and spiritless.” However, she ultimately hadn’t been able to utter these words.

After all, she had already interacted with Young Master Chen for ten days in the premium room, and truth be told, he also seemed like a fairly impoverished and miserly person. In fact, Chun Shui could say with certainty that Chen Ping’an had genuinely come from an impoverished family. He wasn’t the type of wealthy descendant who was concealing his identity and journeying around the world.

This was because auras of nobility and wealth could only be formed after years of influence. Moreover, Chen Ping’an had never attempted to feign wealth or nobility either. Chun Shui was a very mature maidservant, so she didn’t let any of her feelings show on her face. Deep down in her heart, however, she indeed felt a slight and indescribable sense of

She smiled and continued, “There’s a popular saying that’s spread all over the Majestic World, both in the mountains and outside the mountains. Where there are demons and fiends causing trouble, there are definitely Heavenly Masters from the Zhang Clan.”

Chen Ping’an nodded in response.

By curious coincidence, the dispirited young Daoist priest with the peach wood sword on his back also turned around and looked over at this moment.

Gazing up at the tall building, the young Daoist priest with a lowly cultivation base could vaguely see the young boy with the wooden sword as well as the beautiful maidservant standing beside him. The young Daoist priest felt slightly dejected and dispirited.

1. A saying from Mencius when he was persuading King Xuan of Qi to implement benevolent policies. The meaning is for noble people to distance themselves from slaughter, such that they can cultivate a benevolent heart. ☜

2. This means that there exists beautiful sceneries everywhere. ☜

3. An ancient Chinese text that records 504 surnames. ☜

4. Literally Dragon Tiger Mountain ☜