Unsheathed

The old woman was busy cooking in the kitchen, and she was rather surprised to see Chen Ping’an. According to the teachings of sages, noble gentlemen were supposed to stay out of the kitchen. [1] While the sagely teachings advised using the best possible ingredients and preparing food as meticulously as possible, that didn’t mean that noble and virtuous individuals would cook in person.

However, the old woman was only surprised for a moment before realizing that for someone like Chen Ping’an, who clearly traveled extensively, he would’ve had no choice but to cook and fend for himself. On top of that, he didn’t seem to be a child from a highly educated family.

Having said that, the old woman didn’t think that Chen Ping’an would be able to help her much, so he assigned him with the simple tasks of cleaning the vegetables while also keeping an eye on the stove.

Chen Ping’an readily accepted these chores, helping out wherever he could, and it didn’t take long before the rhythmic sound of the old woman’s chopping rang out in the warm kitchen. Meanwhile, Chen Ping’an was seated on a little stool, peeling some spring bamboo shoots.

“What happened to your left hand, Young Master Chen?” the old woman asked.

Chen Ping’an took a glance down at his own bandaged left hand, then replied with a smile, “I fell over by accident and injured it a little, but it’s no big deal.”

The old woman was happy to have someone chatting with her, and she smiled as she said, “You have to be more careful when walking on the slick ground while it’s raining. This estate has already been around for a very long time, and we were in a very difficult predicament prior to this, so we had to keep a low profile.

“At the very most, all we did was perform some simple repairs on the yard walls. We also very rarely hang up lanterns in the night, and we didn’t dare to hire any skilled artisans to come and help us for fear that we would scare them, so all the repairs on the estate were done by me, and they’re only serviceable, at best.

“Many of the bricks on the ground are quite bumpy and uneven, and if we were an affluent clan in the large cities, not only would that be an embarrassing sight for us, we would quickly become the laughing stock of the entire city if someone else were to see it.

“Thankfully, my masters never cared much for what people said behind their backs, and they’ve been willing to tolerate my shoddy repair jobs. I’m very fortunate to be serving such a pair of kind and gracious masters.”

The old woman spoke in a mellow and placid voice that resembled a calmly flowing river. All of the emotions that she had experienced over the course of the past century had condensed at the bottom of her heart bit by bit, and despite all of the hardships that she had to endure, she felt very blessed and fortunate.

“Master Yang and his wife are very fortunate to have you,” Chen Ping’an said in a quiet voice.

The old woman faltered slightly upon hearing this, then turned to Chen Ping’an with a smile as she jibed, “You look like such an honest and down-to-earth kid, where did you learn to sweet talk others like that? ”

At this point, Chen Ping’an had already finished peeling all of the spring bamboo shoots and placed them into a clean bamboo basket, and he raised his head as he replied, “I’m telling the truth!”

The old woman looked into Chen Ping’an’s clear and earnest eyes for a moment, then turned back to her cooking. Her smile had grown even wider, and she asked, “Do you have a girl that you like, Young Master Chen? The girls over in the nearby prefectural city are renowned for their good looks in our Colorful Garment Nation.

“If you’re not in a hurry to go anywhere, I suggest you visit a temple fair or something like that. Who knows? Perhaps you’ll be able to find your future wife there. You may not be all that accomplished a martial artist, but Rouge City is just a small place with no deities or immortals, so you’ll already be standing above most of your peers.

“If you’re willing to settle permanently here, you could easily serve as a general or an admiral or something like that, and you could marry a young maiden from a good family. Doesn’t that sound like a good life to lead?”

A shy look appeared on Chen Ping’an’s face, and he didn’t know how to respond.

The old woman turned to take a glance at Chen Ping’an, and a knowing smile appeared on her face as she mused, “Oh, I get it. You must already have someone you like.”

A deep blush appeared on Chen Ping’an’s face, and said, “The girl that I like once asked me if I like her, and at the time, I said I didn’t like her, so if I go to her now and tell her that I do like her, do you think that she’ll think of me as a liar?”

“That sounds like a tongue twister, Young Master Chen,” the old woman chuckled with an amused expression.

The dish that she was cooking was simmering over the stove, so she sat down on a small stool beside the stove and smiled. “Why did you tell her that you didn’t like her at the time? Were you afraid or embarrassed? Or did you think that admitting to your feelings would make the girl look down on you, so you decided to put on a stoic facade?”

Chen Ping’an considered this question carefully for a moment, then gave a very candid and earnest answer. “Because I’m stupid.”

The old woman immediately burst into laughter, and the harsh lines of her face were softened by her amusement. “I think the girl that you like won’t be mad at you. It’s always a good thing for a girl to be liked, particularly by someone as earnest and pure as yourself.”

A slightly sullen look appeared on Chen Ping’an’s face as he set down the basketful of spring bamboo shoots onto the counter beside the stove, then said, “But she once told me that she only likes powerful Sword Immortals…”

The old woman held back the urge to laugh as she said, “Well, that really is a tall order for you. A Sword Immortal has to be at least at the sixth tier. My young master was a prodigious cultivator, yet even back when he was cultivating in Divine Edict Sect, he wasn’t able to reach the Middle Five Tiers.

“I have a suggestion for you, Young Master Chen: I think you should negotiate with the girl that you like to see if she can lower her standards a little. For example, instead of a sixth tier swordsman, how about she accepts a fourth or fifth tier swordsman instead?

“All swordsmen are generally revered and admired everywhere, and a fourth or fifth tier swordsman is already considered to be very remarkable by the vast majority of people.”

Chen Ping’an wanted to say something, but decided against it in the end.

By “powerful Sword Immortal,” Ning Yao definitely meant one that was at least at the 12th tier!

Even if she was willing to lower her standards a little for him, he would still most likely have to be on par with the likes of Wei Jin.

Chen Ping’an heaved a faint sigh, then suddenly said, “The food’s ready!”

The old woman hurriedly stood up and lifted the lid of the pot, and it didn’t take long before a delicious dish that excelled in appearance, aroma, and flavor was scooped out onto a plate. Chen Ping’an was instructed to carry the dish to the main hall, and he was also told that he didn’t have to come back to the kitchen after delivering the dish.

However, Chen Ping’an quickly rushed back after setting the dish down on the table in the main hall, and in response to the old woman’s angry facade, Chen Ping’an smiled as he explained, “I’m here for some wine. Master Yang agreed to spare me some wine…”

Chen Ping’an removed the wine gourd from his waist as a bright smile appeared on his face, and he concluded, “And he said that I can take as much as I want.”

The old woman pulled a wine ladle out of a nearby cabinet, then smiled as she pointed at the several large jars of wine in the corner of the kitchen as she said, “Take an unopened jar of wine for everyone to share. There’s a jar that’s already been opened over there, and it’s still about halfway full. You can use that to fill your wine gourd, and it should definitely be enough.”

After that, the old woman paid no further heed to Chen Ping’an as she continued cooking. A short while later, Chen Ping’an informed her that he was leaving, then departed from the kitchen with a jar of wine in his hands.

The woman turned to glance at the red wine gourd strapped to Chen Ping’an’s waist with a smile on her face. The gourd was rather weathered and unremarkable in appearance, and the old woman was rather amused that Chen Ping’an was already such an avid drinker at such a young age.

At the same time, she couldn’t help but wonder if this gourd of wine would be drunk for celebration or to drown his sorrows once he met the girl that he liked.

Of course, she was rooting for him and hoping that his feelings would be reciprocated by the girl of his heart, as was the case for her masters.

At this moment, there was a joyous and harmonious atmosphere in the main hall.

Yang Huang and Zhuo Jing were seated on the left hand side of the table, while Xu Yuanxia was sitting at the head of the table. Xu Yuanxia was a very direct and straightforward man, so he couldn’t be bothered to turn down this arrangement.

Meanwhile, Zhang Shanfeng was seated on the right hand side, and after the dishes and wine were carried to the table by Chen Ping’an, everyone began drinking to their hearts’ content. In a rather comical sight to behold, Zhuo Jing’s roots snaked all the way from the boudoir into the main hall, and in order to not spoil everyone’s appetite, she had put on a thick veil to conceal her face.

Earlier, Xu Yuanxia had already asked whether there were any immortal techniques that could be used to help the poor woman recover her original appearance, but Yang Huang had shaken his head with a wry smile in response before giving Xu Yuanxia a detailed explanation for the reasons involved.

As it turned out, the combination of Divine Edict Sect’s inscription talismans, the secret technique that had been used to resurrect Zhuo Jing, and the wood core of Ancient Elm Nation’s ancestral elm tree had resulted in a set of very complex circumstances to navigate. The crux of the matter was that the formation in the estate and the wood core of the ancestral elm tree had fused as one and couldn’t be moved.

As for this location, it was a massive unmarked grave with a radius of hundreds of kilometers. 200 years ago, a horrific famine had befallen Colorful Garment Nation, and over 100,000 people had perished as a result. Most of them had been buried haphazardly around the area, and all of the past emperors of Colorful Garment Nation since then had hoped to alter the Feng Shui of this place.

There was one occasion when a master Daoist priest at the Sea Observation Tier had been passing through Colorful Garment Nation, and the emperor at the time had requested an audience with the Sea Observation Tier Daoist priest, imploring him to alter the fortunes of the area.

Extensive remedial measures were thus taken. Even just the two heavenly worship ceremonies that had been carried out cost close to a million taels of silver. However, the effects only lasted a few years before the area reverted back to a horrific hellscape that was rife with wandering spirits and sinister energies, and it seemed that even the gods would’ve been powerless to change anything.

Yang Huang had chosen this place for its Feng Shui, and it was keeping Zhuo Jing alive, but it was no different from drinking seawater to quench one’s thirst. Eventually, there would come a day when she would become an evil spirit.

Yang Huang was very candid about this inevitable eventuality, and Zhuo Jing had also accepted her fate. The two of them had already made an agreement that when that day arrived, they would both put an end to their own lives so that they didn’t become a menace to the people in the area.

The wood core of the ancestral elm tree was actually a very pure object, but at the time, Yang Huang had been desperate to save Zhuo Jing’s soul, and the drastic measures that he had taken had resulted in her soul progressively becoming more and more tainted.

If she could absorb the spiritual energy of a pure and untainted land over a prolonged period of time, then she could have been able to recover her spirituality and even reciprocate the fortune of the land, becoming an existence similar to the illegitimate mountain god. The only difference was that due to the ancestral elm tree, her divine nature would’ve been completely different from the illegitimate mountain god.

She would’ve served to benefit the area, while that illegitimate mountain god could only spoil and taint the land even further.

In the end, Yang Huang mused that in 30 years at most, he and Zhuo Jing would no longer be around, so he urged Xu Yuanxia, Zhang Shanfeng, and Chen Ping’an to come and visit as frequently as possible before time was up for them. At the very least, they would have a clean place to stay, and he and Zhuo Jing would certainly enjoy the company and pleasant conversation.

This was a matter that concerned the enormous fortune of the entire area in a radius of hundreds of kilometers, so neither Xu Yuanxia nor Zhang Shanfeng were able to think of any feasible solutions. Only Qi refiners who had reached the 10th tier had the power to influence the fortune of the land.

It was an unspoken rule that all 10th tier Qi refiners could refer to themselves as Sages. Initially, this was a title of reverence coined by mortal empires. Immortals of the Upper Five Tiers were simply far too rare, while 10th tier cultivators had to occupy a blessed land with abundant spiritual energy and cultivate for extensive periods of time in order to make a breakthrough.

Occasionally, they would interact with mortal emperors and other important figures of the mortal world, and over time, 10th tier Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist Qi refiners all became colloquially known as Sages.

While it was true that Chen Ping’an had become an avid drinker, he never drank very much in any single sitting. In contrast, Xu Yuanxia preferred to eat and drink to his heart’s content whenever the opportunity arose. As for Zhang Shanfeng, his tolerance for alcohol was even inferior to Chen Ping’an’s, yet he was very susceptible to persuasion. It didn’t take much convincing from Yang Huang and Xu Yuanxia for him to down one bowl of wine after another.

In the end, Chen Ping’an only dared to pour very small amounts of wine for him at a time, yet even so, it still didn’t take long before he was completely inebriated, stumbling around with rosy cheeks and heavy-lidded eyes. In his drunken state, he had become a lot louder, and he was happily discussing things that he had seen during his travels with Xu Yuanxia, while also reciting poetry with Yang Huang.

The old woman would periodically bring in new dishes, and with one jar of wine emptied, she immediately brought in another one.

It was a very joyous occasion for everyone present, yet right as the second jar of wine was about to run dry, an anguished wail suddenly rang out.

“Where have you gone, Brother Chu? Don’t leave me here on my own! Daoist Priest Zhang, Young Master Chen, why are you two also nowhere to be seen? Have you been eaten by demons and spirits? Curse you, abhorrent demons! If you’re going to eat us, then eat all of us together! Don’t save me for last!”

The old woman set down a dish onto the table, and she was just about to go to the scholar with the Liu surname and explain to him what had happened, but Chen Ping’an hurriedly rose to his feet and volunteered to go in her stead.

The old woman quickly decided that this was for the best. After all, if she were to go, the cowardly scholar would most likely be so frightened that he would fall unconscious.

Before long, the scholar with the Liu surname was led to the main hall by Chen Ping’an. His legs were trembling, while his lips had turned blue, but he was slightly reassured at the sight of Xu Yuanxia.

However, he then spotted the terrifying tree roots snaking into the main hall from the boudoir, and his eyes instantly rolled back into his head. Right before he fell unconscious, Chen Ping’an tightened his grip around the scholar’s arm, sending a sharp jolt of pain running through his arm that snapped him back to his senses.

The scholar was on the verge of tears as he turned to Chen Ping’an and complained, “Just let me faint!”

An exasperated look appeared on Chen Ping’an’s face as he said, “If you’re too scared to stay sober, then have some wine. If you drink yourself to death, then so be it. Surely you have at least that much courage.”

“Can I refuse?” the scholar asked with a pitiful expression.

“No!” Chen Ping’an replied in a stern voice.

The scholar took a careful glance at Chen Ping’an’s face, and he could tell that Chen Ping’an was serious, so he could only heave a forlorn sigh before declaring, “Fine, if you want me to drink, then that’s what I’ll do! Even if this wine is going to kill me, it’s still wine!”

After taking a seat at the table, the scholar with the Liu surname didn’t dare to look at anyone, and all he did was drink in silence.

Xu Yuanxia smiled as he asked, “How did you end up becoming friends with that tree spirit? I can’t believe you traveled all the way here with him. Now that I think about it, you’re very blessed to have survived to this point and be drinking with us right now. Judging from your attire, you must be from quite an affluent clan of Colorful Garment Nation, right?”

1. There’s more context and nuance to the actual saying, which states that a noble individual stays out of the kitchen not because they think cooking is beneath them, but instead because they can’t bear to see living creatures being killed for food. ?