Unsheathed

The autumn sun was warm, and Lu Tai was sitting in the courtyard and playing out games of Go from the manuals by himself. Chen Ping’an was practicing techniques from the Proper Sword Scripture nearby.

The Flying Eagle Fortress didn’t violate their privacy anymore after Lu Tai detected the spy from the fortress last time.

Seizing the opportunity when Chen Ping’an momentarily stopped practicing his sword techniques, Lu Tai suddenly asked, “Chen Ping’an, should I teach you how to play Go?”

Chen Ping’an was still rotating his wrists and searching for the smoothest and most suitable sword-holding posture to defend against surprise variations in attacks. He needed to seek change in the finest areas if he wanted his sword strikes to become quicker. This followed the same principle as the extremely profound jumping burin technique in pottery firing. At a rough glance, it would seem as if the technique was focused on not moving. In reality, however, this wasn’t the case.

Chen Ping’an shook his head upon hearing Lu Tai’s suggestion, replying, “Forget about it. I’ve learned how to play Go before, but I’m still no good at it. I witnessed grandmaster Go players during my first distant trip, and I still prefer to watch others play than play myself.”

There was Lin Shouyi, Xie Xie, Yu Lu, and the young imperial preceptor who had changed his name to Cui Dongshan. Each of them was more skilled at Go than the other. Chen Ping’an often watched them playing Go, yet he was still unable to decipher whether a move was good or bad and what kind of short-term or long-term strategies the two sides were employing. Thus, he felt that he didn’t have any talent when it came to playing Go.

Even so, he still enjoyed watching games of Go just like how he enjoyed watching Lu Tai brew tea. These were all very pleasant experiences. During his journey to the Great Sui Nation, Chen Ping’an had also enjoyed watching the games of Go between Lin Shouyi and Xie Xie.

Chen Ping’an felt like the meditative state that people entered when playing Go was very beautiful.

Lu Tai didn’t dwell on Chen Ping’an’s refusal to learn, and he asked with a smile, “Do you know what the peak state of playing Go is?”

Chen Ping’an naturally didn’t know.

Lu Tai pinched a Go piece and placed it on the board before saying with a fervent expression in his eyes, “To have no one in front.”

Chen Ping’an ruminated on this for a moment before nodding in understanding. “Mhm.”

It was Lu Tai’s turn to be surprised, and he raised his head and shot a sideways glance at Chen Ping’an, asking, “You genuinely understand this?”

Chen Ping’an slowly walked around the courtyard, bringing his Qi to his Dantian and allowing his fist intent to pour into the surroundings. This appeared unremarkable at first glance, yet in reality, the young boy had already reached a state where his aura was vast and quiet like deep water. Chen Ping’an smiled and replied, “A certain person’s sword techniques and the fist techniques of the old man who helped me temper my third tier of martial arts all exuded this feeling. Just like you said, to have no one in front.”

Lu Tai faltered slightly.

This was the case even though Lu Tai had witnessed far too many interesting people and beautiful scenes, extravagant decorations and lavish food, noble people and powerful people, graceful people and carefree people, and immortals who treated clouds as food and dew as drink.

Regardless of all this, watching Chen Ping’an practice fist techniques was still a form of enjoyment.

However, Lu Tai felt like Chen Ping’an could do even better.

He stood up and took a deep breath.

Four wisps of white air slowly drifted out from his nose and ears, yet they didn’t drift away nor did they disperse. Instead, they were like four slender white pythons hanging upside down on Lu Tai’s face.

Chen Ping’an was slightly confused. He didn’t know what Lu Tai was trying to do.

Lu Tai walked to the middle of the courtyard and slowly explained, “Pure martial artists temper Qi, and Qi refiners also nurture and temper Qi. As we breathe and meditate, we can’t escape from the matter that is Qi. When describing mortals, the phrase ‘Qi as thin as a thread’ implies that one is reaching the end of their life. However, this phrase has a completely different meaning when used to describe sword cultivators.”

Lu Tai exhaled slowly, causing his Qi to condense into silk-like threads. In the end, these threads transformed into a miniature sword in front of him. Lu Tai gently blew the sword.

Chen Ping’an’s heart jolted, and he quickly turned his head to the side. A burst of white light rapidly shot past his ear. Afterward, the extremely slender burst of white light started to furiously whiz around the courtyard, leaving trails of very slow-dispersing light in its wake. Before long, it was as if the courtyard had been transformed into a cage formed from sword qi. It was like a pool of lightning that was permeating with intense sword qi.

Lu Tai stomped his foot, causing the peculiar phenomenon to instantly vanish.

The handsome young man smiled faintly and said, “I understand the principles even though I’m not a pure martial artist. You’re obsessively practicing one of the most ordinary fist techniques, and you’ve actually managed to practice it more than one million times. As a result, your fist intent is completely smooth and natural. In reality, however, you fail to understand the true intent hidden within it.”

Lu Tai turned to Chen Ping’an, holding one hand behind his back and extending one hand forward with his palm outstretched. “Apart from strengthening one’s tendons, bones, Qi, and blood and nurturing one’s soul and intent, the truly mystical nature of fist techniques is their True Qi that doesn’t draw from the power of heaven and earth but instead seeks to command heaven and earth. This burst of True Qi is compact and allows one’s punch to be unreasonably fast!”

Lu Tai threw a punch, with his fist aura causing an explosive boom that triggered a subsequent series of tearing sounds.

Lu Tai threw another punch, this time on a slight angle. His fist then hooked around, finishing in the same spot as his previous punch. This punch was silent rather than explosive, yet the air that had come into contact with his fist collapsed in an astonishing manner.

“I used the same strength and intent for both punches,” Lu Tai explained. “My first punch traveled straight and appeared to take the shortest path, yet the situation was actually similar to traversing mountains and rivers. The fastest path isn’t necessarily the shortest one, but rather the one that follows the mountain paths and the flow of the rivers. As such, trying to take the shortest path might actually slow you down.

“It’s said that the genuine End Tier for Martial Dao is the tenth tier. If one advances further, however, one will reach the Martial God Tier. This paramount Martial God Tier is one that even Qi refiners envy and fear.”

Lu Tai retracted his fist and sighed. Looking up at the sky with an adrift expression, he continued, “Chaos has already started to sweep through the world. You have to stay alive, Chen Ping’an. If you can live until the end, then…”

Blood started to seep from the corners of Lu Tai’s mouth, yet he still insisted on saying, “You definitely have to stay alive and resolutely defend that place. Make sure to prevent yourself from being swept up and coerced by the unstoppable trend. You have to become that unwavering pillar. When the time comes, you’ll receive help from all sides and even from heaven and earth. Don’t limit your vision to short-term gains. I’m confident that you can walk further than Cao Ci, and I’m confident that you can rebuild your bridge of immortality and become a great sword immortal…”

Divine secrets couldn’t be revealed.

Perhaps this was a casual and joking remark often uttered by ordinary Qi refiners.

However, this was not the case for Naturalist disciples.

Those who were skilled in divination, fortune-telling, and horoscopes often wouldn’t die a peaceful death. Some occasionally would, yet they didn’t need to dream about their children and descendants receiving any ancestral blessings. In fact, it was even possible for these people to use up their descendants’ fortunes and thus cause harm to those after them.

Chen Ping’an could already sense the severity of the situation, so he quietly shouted, “That’s enough, Lu Tai!”

Lu Tai nodded and wiped the blood from his mouth using the back of his hand. After returning to his seat beside the stone table, he flashed a dazzling smile at the young boy and said, “Since I’ve found this place and found the Ascending Sun Platform in the Flying Eagle Fortress, you’ll need to continue your journey by yourself after this.”

Chen Ping’an sat beside Lu Tai and replied with a nod, “I’ll travel north by myself after we finish dealing with the matters here. You don’t need to worry about me.”

“Do you have any plans?” Lu Tai asked.

“Of course.”

Chen Ping’an smiled and explained, “In the short term, I want to find the ruins of an ancient battlefield and look for the heroic spirits of those lingering souls. I need to temper my three souls to solidify the foundation of my fourth tier of martial arts. In the long term, I want to continue practicing fist techniques with that old man after I return home. That way, I can advance my cultivation in a steadier manner and thus increase my chance of reaching the seventh tier of martial arts.”

Lu Tai nodded and said, “I’m fine, you don’t need to worry about me. This kind of backlash from the Heavenly Dao is nothing more than a common snack for members of the Lu Clan.”

Chen Ping’an finally felt reassured after confirming that Lu Tai wasn’t downplaying his injuries. He wrapped his hands behind his head and slowly said, “There’s also something that I’ve thought about but haven’t had the time to do. I want to pave a new road for my hometown, the type that has a resting pavilion every seven or eight kilometers. My heart won’t ache regardless of how much money I have to spend.”

“It’s just a path, so how much money can it cost?” Lu Tai asked with a huff.

No wonder his two bonded flying swords were called Needle Tip and Wheat Awn. By the looks of it, he was innately fond of nit-picking and arguing with others.

Chen Ping’an didn’t argue with Lu Tai, and he continued, “When I return home, I’m going to make an attempt to personally manage my two stores in Dragon Riding Alley. I’ll be happy as long as I make some money, even if it’s only a few copper coins every day.

“Then there’s also those damaged statues of deities in the immortal tomb. Even though I had already addressed some of the issues the last time I returned home, building many sheds and repairing the statutes a little, this is still far from enough. I still need to formally rebuild their golden bodies for them.

“Is this why you purchased those books about carving statues?” Lu Tai asked.

“Mhm, I need to learn as much about the rules and taboos of creating statues as I can, lest I perform bad deeds with good intentions.”

“You sure are busy,” Lu Tai remarked with a smile.

Chen Ping’an was gazing into the distance the entire time, and he asked, “Do you want to hear my plans that are even longer term?”

“Go on. I’ll jump into some well to cleanse myself if your plans are too preposterous and end up polluting my ears,” Lu Tai replied.

Chen Ping’an paid no heed to the handsome young man’s teasing remark, and he began, “I want to construct more buildings beside the bamboo building that’s located in my hometown’s Downtrodden Mountain. I want them to stretch from the foot of the mountain… Forget about that. I want them to stretch from the waist of the mountain all the way to the peak of the mountain. I want these buildings to have all of those things that you mentioned before: eave tiles, drip tiles, overhangs, caisson ceilings, and mortise and tenon connections.”[1]

Chen Ping’an raised a hand and vigorously gestured in the air as he said this.

Lu Tai rolled his eyes and exclaimed, “Such grand and terrifying ambitions!”

Chen Ping’an felt a little disheartened.

Lu Tai hurriedly raised his hands and relented, “Okay, okay, please continue. I won’t tease you anymore.”

Only after hearing this did Chen Ping’an continue, “I want to buy a lot of books—classics from the three sages, teachings from the Hundred Schools of Thought, and literary works composed by virtuous people of the past. I want to collect all of these. Before Jewel Small World shattered and fell, you can’t imagine how difficult it was to obtain even a single book in impoverished areas like Clay Vase Alley, the alley where I lived. It was even more difficult than coming across a single grain of silver.

“I want there to be all kinds of large buildings and small buildings in my mountains, and I want these buildings to be filled with all kinds of spirit tools and immortal treasures. I want to collect local specialties from all of the myriad nations in the world, things like embroidered gowns and cockfighting cups from Colorful Garment Nation.

“I want to collect lively and adorable spirits, spirits that can help people dress and apply makeup, spirits that can stand on the branches of potted plants and cup their fists, spirits that can open doors to welcome guests, and so on. I want to raise all kinds of unique and wonderful plants, have tall mountains and flowing rivers, construct pavilions and pagodas, plant bamboo forests for cultivation, and have seas of clouds roll past the mountains every day…

“Li Baoping and Li Huai can peacefully study there, Lin Shouyi can earnestly cultivate there, Yu Lu can reach the peak of martial arts and study fist techniques with Mr. Cui there, Xie Xie can… avoid being bullied by Cui Dongshan there, the little boy in azure and the little girl in pink can either cultivate or slack off as they please there, and Ruan Xiu can visit frequently and enjoy desserts from my shop there…

“On the first and fifteenth day of the New Year, many local residents can go to the mountain god temple in Downtrodden Mountain to offer incense. I want to make the mountain path wider, and I want to pave it with bluestone slabs like Fortune Street and Peach Leaf Alley. That way, people won’t need to worry about their shoes getting muddy even when it rains.

“In fact, I’ll prepare many raincoats and bamboo hats in the mountain god temple so the local residents don’t need to be afraid even if it does suddenly start to rain. They can borrow these things and return them the next time they visit the mountain god temple to offer incense.

“No matter what the world turns into, no matter what life is like outside the mountains, no matter what the situation is like in other mountains, I simply hope that everyone in my mountains will cherish each other and live happily every single day. I wish that those beside me won’t suffer like Liu Xianyang anymore, feeling like they can’t do anything to improve the situation, and feeling like others won’t listen to us even when we’re correct. In the future, we’ll improve the situation and we’ll make these people listen, even if that means using our fists or using our swords…”

Lu Tai quietly listened to the young boy’s dreams.

It was as if he were watching Chen Ping’an build a snowman on a scorching summer day.

1. Eave tiles (瓦当) refer to decorated tile ends, drip tiles (滴水瓦) refer to concave tiles that keep wooden structures fry and safe from rot when there’s heavy rain, and caisson ceilings (藻井) refer to layered and richly decorated ceilings/ ☜