Unsheathed

Since they needed to stay in the prefectural city for a day, Chen Ping’an brought Pei Qian out of the inn to sightsee and play. He bought a specialty local product of the Azure Phoenix Nation for her—a fairly expensive sparrowhawk kite from a local kite shop.

When Chen Ping’an took out his money to pay for the kite, Pei Qian couldn’t help but feel a sharp pang of pain in her heart. She tugged on his sleeve and pointed at a large pile of relatively cheap butterfly kites stacked inside the shop, saying that these kites were actually quite good-looking as well. Chen Ping’an patted her head and replied that there was no need to be too thrifty with these silver coins. After all, her master would budget appropriately for daily expenses.

Before buying the sparrowhawk kite, Pei Qian had dearly wanted the kite yet had also felt extremely pained and reluctant to part with so much money. After Chen Ping’an bought the kite for her, however, all she felt was delight and joy. With a saber and a sword criss-crossing by her waist and an expensive sparrowhawk kite in her hands, the smile on Pei Qian’s face was so wide that it almost reached her ears.

Afterward, Chen Ping’an took Pei Qian to several famous scenic spots in the prefectural city that tourists definitely had to visit. There was City God Temple Street, a temple with pagodas and a forest of steles, the old residence of a previous prime minister, and so on. The two of them wandered around and enjoyed a leisurely morning.

Noon arrived, and Chen Ping’an brought Pei Qian to a small restaurant to eat. The food was delicious and cheap, but it was a little too spicy for their tastes. Pei Qian’s forehead was filled with sweat, and even her vision became blurry because of the sweat trickling down into her eyes. However, her chopsticks still moved like a blur as she ate.

When the three dishes on the table were almost finished, the sweating Pei Qian vigorously wiped her tanned face. She suddenly discovered that Chen Ping’an had already put down his chopsticks and was looking at her with a smile. Pei Qian also smiled in reply, and she couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed. Her manner of eating was indeed quite terrible, so she definitely needed to hold back a little in the future. Otherwise, she might accidentally lose face for her master when they were traveling around the cultivation world.

After returning to Hundred Flower Garden, Chen Ping’an helped Pei Qian find a relatively large and empty space in the immortal inn where she could fly her brand new kite.

Chen Ping’an sat on a bench in the pavilion and watched the skinny little girl sprinting across the area with the sparrowhawk kite gliding behind her in the wind. His mind was peaceful and calm as he took small sips of osmanthus wine, one of the few pots remaining in his minimization treasure.

Pei Qian turned around and asked loudly, “Master, do you want to fly the kite as well?”

Chen Ping’an shook his hand in response.

Pei Qian continued to happily sprint around the area.

In Hundred Flower Garden, there were a myriad of flowers contending with each other for beauty and uniqueness. This was an indescribably beautiful sight.

Cui Dongshan and Sui Youbian walked over to the pavilion, and after bowing and paying his respects, Cui Dongshan sat down cross-legged on a long bench, leaning his back against the vermilion pillar. Sui Youbian didn’t sit down, and she said, “Chen Ping’an, I’m planning to leave this place and head to the Parasol Leaf Continent’s Jade Tablet Sect first.”

Chen Ping’an wasn’t surprised, and he nodded and replied, “Take care on your journey.”

Sui Youbian quietly waited for Chen Ping’an to say more, yet it seemed like he had already finished speaking after uttering these five words. Sui Youbian’s expression was cold, and she neither left the pavilion nor did she say anything else. The atmosphere became extremely awkward as she looked at Chen Ping’an in silence.

Chen Ping’an glanced at Cui Dongshan, and the latter immediately understood his master’s intentions. He used his golden flying sword to draw a large circle around the pavilion, cutting this area off from the outside world and preventing others inside or outside the immortal inn from eavesdropping on their conversation.

This wasn’t a genuine small world so Cui Dongshan couldn’t necessarily prevent earth immortals from observing the mountains and rivers through their palms. Even so, he would be able to detect anyone who was trying to do this. At that time, just how difficult would it be to kill a trashy Golden Core Tier cultivator or Nascent Tier cultivator in a small place like this? They would do well not to underestimate Cui Dongshan.

Only after this did Chen Ping’an say, “Sui Youbian, let me say some honest but harsh words. You might not like what I’m about to say, but you have to finish listening to it anyway. First, I’m only lending Deep Infatuation to you, so you need to return it to me. The same goes for that Dragon Slaying Platform, and you need to pay me back for it.

“Second, you becoming an official cultivator of the Great Li Empire is something that we already agreed on, so you can’t renege on this promise. Cui Dongshan needs to help you fulfill this promise before you leave.

“Third, I’ll be keeping your picture scroll on me. However, I can’t say for certain whether gold essence copper coins will still revive you and allow you to walk out of the picture scroll after you change paths from a pure martial artist to a sword cultivator. You need to be careful when traveling south, and you shouldn’t act recklessly. You also need to keep your emotions and temper in check after you arrive at the Jade Tablet Sect. As a sword cultivator, practicing sword techniques is a form of cultivation. However, cultivation isn’t merely about practicing the sword.”

Sui Youbian glanced at Chen Ping’an before slowly nodding in response.

Cui Dongshan wiped his hand across the corners of his eyes and feigned sadness as he sobbed, “This is so touching… If I were a lady with the slightest bit of conscience, then I definitely wouldn’t leave after hearing this.”

He turned around to look at the sparrowhawk kite soaring through the sky outside the pavilion before continuing, “Mortal people only say that immortals are carefree and unfettered, while my Dao only envies couples and doesn’t envy immortals.”

Chen Ping’an and Sui Youbian both ignored Cui Dongshan’s comedic interjection.

Sui Youbian remained silent.

“Have you prepared some money for your journey?” Chen Ping’an asked. “Actually, forget that I asked, you definitely haven’t prepared anything yet. You and the others didn’t have any avenue to make money while we were traveling. How about this, I’ll prepare two pouches of money for you, one pouch of ordinary gold and silver, and one pouch of snowflake coins. I barely have any lesser heat coins remaining for myself, and I’m completely out of grain rain coins as well. This means you won’t be able to be too extravagant with your spending when you travel south to the Parasol Leaf Continent.

“In fact, you might even need to do some careful planning regarding which travel routes and intercontinental ships you take. You won’t be able to stay in the expensive high-grade rooms either. Otherwise, you might have to switch to traveling on foot halfway through your journey. At that time, you’ll face a much greater risk of running into trouble.”

Chen Ping’an suddenly changed his mind and said, “Actually, you can travel to Old Dragon City and look for Fan Er first. You can ask him to lend you money. Tell him I agreed to this.”

He held up a hand and added, “Five grain rain coins at most. Five at most!”

Sui Youbian maintained her silence, yet the corners of her lips had already curled up into a slight smile.

Chen Ping’an mistakenly thought that she was ridiculing him for being so miserly, so he huffed and said, “There’s no room for negotiation, you can only borrow a maximum of five grain rain coins from Fan Er!”

Sui Youbian nodded and replied, “Understood.”

Cui Dongshan pondered for a moment, but he eventually decided against overstepping his authority and generously parting with his wealth on behalf of Chen Ping’an. As a pitiful disciple who couldn’t escape the fate of being a walking money pouch for his master, it was no big deal for him to help his master and generously part with his wealth when it came to small matters. However, it was best to stand back and let his master decide for himself when it came to important matters that pertained to separation and death.

Even so, two pouches of money still materialized in Cui Dongshan’s hand. After tossing them to Sui Youbian, he turned to Chen Ping’an and chuckled, “You can repay me later, Master.”

Chen Ping’an naturally had no issues with this.

In reality, neither Chen Ping’an nor Sui Youbian liked to dilly-dally too much. They were both very frank people. Thus, they genuinely fell silent and concluded their conversation after reaching a mutual agreement.

Sui Youbian turned around and walked outside the pavilion, and Cui Dongshan removed the golden restriction that he had set up around the perimeter of the structure. Sui Youbian didn’t turn around even as she walked down the steps, and Cui Dongshan couldn’t help but click his tongue in wonder when he saw this. She was truly a wasteful and cold-hearted woman.

But then he smiled knowingly and closed his eyes, clenching his hands into fists as he started to silently count in his mind. He unclenched a finger for each number that he counted.

Sui Youbian walked over to Pei Qian after leaving the pavilion, causing the little girl to hurriedly bring in her kite and put it away. She started to chat with Sui Youbian, occasionally nodding or shaking her head as they spoke. After a brief moment, she sprinted into the pavilion and said breathlessly, “Master, Big Sister Sui said that she wants you to see her off. You don’t need to accompany her far, just to the entrance of the inn.”

Right as she said that, Cui Dongshan finished counting to ten, and his clenched fists were now open palms. He laughed loudly and made funny faces at Chen Ping’an.

Chen Ping’an felt like this was a reasonable request, so he quickly caught up to Sui Youbian, who was slowly disappearing into the distance.

After Chen Ping’an caught up with her, the two of them remained silent all the way until they reached the entrance of the immortal inn. Behind them were the colorful life-sized door gods plastered on the front doors of Hundred Flower Garden.

Sui Youbian stopped walking, and Chen Ping’an also stopped beside her.

She didn’t look at Chen Ping’an. Instead, she looked up at the clear blue sky as she asked in a soft voice, “Have you always viewed me as a burden? Do you feel much more relaxed now that I’ve decided to leave?”

Chen Ping’an turned around to look at the side of Sui Youbian’s face, and he chuckled in reply. “Don’t be so pessimistic about people all the time.”

One had to admit that Sui Youbian was a stunningly beautiful woman, and this was especially the case when she shed her ice-cold expression and appeared like a flower in full bloom.

Would Sui Youbian come across a man whom she was attracted to in the cultivation world? Would she become immortal Dao partners with someone when she arrived at the Parasol Leaf Continent’s Jade Tablet Sect? If she did, then that person would most likely be a young and equally talented sword cultivator, right?

Chen Ping’an was quite curious about whom Sui Youbian would take a fancy to in the future. He was also looking forward to their next reunion in the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, when she would stand next to that person and wave to him in greeting.

Chen Ping’an couldn’t help but chuckle out loud as he thought about these difficult-to-imagine yet extremely interesting things.

Sui Youbian turned around and asked in puzzlement, “What are you chuckling about?”

Chen Ping’an didn’t dare to reveal his thoughts to Sui Youbian, especially since they were somewhat disrespectful to her. She was easily embarrassed and short-tempered, so he naturally didn’t want to turn this amicable farewell into one where he suffered the wrath of her sword.

With this in mind, Chen Ping’an simply said, “Take care.”

Sui Youbian strode away, and she left Chen Ping’an with a message that was spoken softly but carried immense confidence and weight: “It won’t be long before I become an Upper Five Tier sword immortal.”

Sui Youbian turned her head and looked back upon reaching the end of the wide street, yet Chen Ping’an was already nowhere to be seen. All she saw were the two colorful door gods.

Sui Youbian smiled faintly as she walked away.

————

As if they had planned everything out earlier, Lu Baixiang also came over to Chen Ping’an to request leave soon after Sui Youbian’s departure. He explained that he wanted to visit the White Water Temple and all of the other major temples in the Azure Phoenix Nation. Afterward, he would travel around the Fortune Mountain Nation and the Lofty Sky Nation. In other words, it would be a few years before he could travel to Dragon Spring Prefecture, Chen Ping’an’s hometown.

Chen Ping’an stood in his room and shot a glance at Cui Dongshan, and the latter hurriedly explained, “This has got nothing to do with me! If I’m lying, then I’ll use the Five Lightning Righteous Technique to blast myself to death!”

Lu Baixiang smiled and said, “This has indeed got nothing to do with Mr. Cui. It’s my own decision to visit the temples and travel around the world. Just like my time in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land back then, I want to journey around the world to my heart’s content. I hope to reach the seventh tier within the next three years, and I also hope that I can reach the eighth tier, the Far Roaming Tier. That way, I can also travel on the wind and roam afar like Qi refiners, allowing me to view all of the stunningly beautiful sights in the mountains. Afterward, I’ll fulfill my duty and obediently serve you, all the way until the day I desire adventure and take leave to travel around the world again.”

Chen Ping’an had only just repaid a pouch of silver coins and a pouch of snowflake coins to Cui Dongshan, yet he was quickly made to give away more money again. He chuckled in irritation and asked, “Go on, tell me. How much money do you need to borrow for your journey?”

Lu Baixiang laughed loudly and replied, “I don’t need a single immortal coin. Just some silver coins will do.”

Even though he said this, Chen Ping’an still offered two pouches of coins to Lu Baixiang, saying, “Being short a single copper coin can stop a gallant hero in their tracks, so it’s best that you accept this pouch of snowflake coins as well. Treat them as emergency funds that you can use if an unexpected situation arises.”

Lu Baixiang didn’t feign politeness and turned down Chen Ping’an’s offer, and he accepted the two pouches of coins before suddenly chuckling in self-ridicule and musing, “Wouldn’t it be extremely awkward if I died immediately after leaving?”

Chen Ping’an smiled and said, “You’re almost about to advance to the seventh tier of martial arts, and you’re not a hot-headed or reckless person either. These qualities will allow you to travel through the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent without an issue.”

Lu Baixiang stood up and bid farewell, cupping his fists in respect and saying, “Then it’s farewell for now, and we’ll meet again in the future?”

Chen Ping’an also cupped his fists in reply, saying, “Till then.”

He then seemed to remember something and said in amusement, “Also, this is the Majestic World and not the Lotus Flower Blessed Land, so don’t try to cook up another demonic sect or whatever.”

However, Cui Dongshan immediately challenged Chen Ping’an’s comment and said, “Lu Baixiang isn’t an immortal from the mountains, so it won’t matter too much if he creates his own force in the cultivation world.”

“Little Bai, give me a second,” Pei Qian suddenly shouted.

She turned around and retrieved the scented pouch which Lady Gui had given her and she was using as a money pouch now. She grabbed a single snowflake coin from it before running over to Lu Baixiang and instructing, “Give me your hand, Little Bai.”

Lu Baixiang smiled and extended a hand.

Pei Qian forcefully slapped the snowflake coin into Lu Baixiang’s palm before saying in a solemn voice, “This is a present for you, Little Bai. This present is quite valuable, and the thought behind it is even weightier!”

Lu Baixiang wrapped his hand around the snowflake coin. To have this little miser voluntarily give instead of lending him an immortal coin, the thought behind this present was indeed very weighty. Lu Baixiang smiled faintly and said, “Rest assured, I’ll help you keep an eye out for any treasures while I travel around the cultivation world for the next few years. If I can obtain these treasures, then I’ll give them to you as greeting gifts in the future.”

Pei Qian nodded earnestly and said in a serious voice, “Traveling and enjoying yourself is one thing, but remember not to slack off on your martial arts cultivation. Practicing martial arts is like traveling against the current, so if you stop training and moving forward, then you can only move backward. You need to learn from me. I transcribe books, practice walking meditation, and practice my sword and saber techniques every single day. I’m very diligent and work extremely hard. After all, a clumsy bird must fly first![1]”

Lu Baixiang reached over and said with a smile, “I understand.”

Pei Qian nimbly dodged the hand that was reaching over to pat her head, and she complained, “That will stop me from growing taller.”

However, she quickly flashed a dazzling smile at Chen Ping’an and said, “Of course, it’s alright if Master pats my head.”

Lu Baixiang laughed heartily, and he eventually looked toward the young immortal in white robes sitting beside Chen Ping’an with his legs crossed. Cui Dongshan raised a hand, gesturing for Lu Baixiang to swallow his words before saying, “Is there any need for men like us to dawdle around and act so emotionally?”

Lu Baixiang left in a carefree and leisurely manner.

The room fell silent.

1. A clumsy bird must fly first is an idiom stating that those with less talent need to make a head start to avoid falling behind. ☜