Unsheathed

Assistant Minister Liu and his family were naturally very thankful to the cultivators for working together to subdue the demon. He was especially grateful to Liu Boqi and Chen Ping’an for the major role that they played.

The rims of Liu Qingshan’s eyes were red, and the lame young man found an opportunity to privately speak with Daoist Nun Liu Boqi and bow to her in gratitude. He then sought out Chen Ping’an and his companions and also bowed to them in gratefulness.

Liu Boqi pursed her lips and didn’t say anything.

That night, the Lion Garden hosted a banquet to celebrate the resolution of the problem. Liu Boqi remained emotionless, and she would only grab some food with her chopsticks from time to time. Even though she found the banquet boring and a waste of time, she still remained in the banquet hall until the banquet finally concluded.

The next day, Liu Qingshan somehow ended up standing side-by-side with Liu Boqi, and he invited Chen Ping’an to enjoy the scenery of the Lion Garden together with them.

Chen Ping’an politely turned him down, yet his refusal was denied, and he was forced to go with Liu Qingshan and Liu Boqi anyway.

As they wandered around, Liu Boqi shot a cold glance at Chen Ping’an.

Chen Ping’an pretended that he couldn’t see this.

It was a sunny day today, so after Chen Ping’an agreed to Pei Qian’s voluntary offer, she started to slowly carry their books and bamboo slips around the Lion Garden. Like an ant moving nests, she moved all of the books and bamboo slips to an empty area in the Lion Garden.

After completing this busy task, Pei Qian was filled with satisfaction as she squatted on the ground.

Two people walked over from the distance, and Pei Qian was aware of who they were. They were teachers in the Lion Garden’s private school, and the old scholar was called Fu Sheng, while the middle-aged scholar had the surname Liu.

Thus, Pei Qian didn’t stop them from walking over.

The middle-aged scholar stopped and stood still relatively far away.

Only the old scholar, Fu Sheng, walked to Pei Qian’s side and asked with a smile, “Young Lady, may I take a look at the contents of the bamboo slips?”

Pei Qian stood up and properly bowed in respect, greeting Mr. Fu as she did so. After thinking for a moment, she squatted back down and waved her hand, saying, “Go on, feel free to take a look, there’s nothing to hide anyway. In fact, the contents of these bamboo slips are great. They’re either phrases that my master worked hard to copy from the books, or they’re phrases that he heard other people say while traveling around the world.”

For example, there was the nonsense phrase that Zhu Lian had casually said a while ago—the book of bitter life lessons, the best book to educate a person.

Chen Ping’an had also inscribed this sentence onto a bamboo slip, not missing a single character. However, Pei Qian disliked this bamboo slip the most, so she placed it on the outermost fringes where it was completely isolated and alone.

In any case, she felt like this bamboo slip was inferior to all of Master’s other bamboo slips.

Pei Qian raised her head and said in a serious voice, “Let me say this first, Mr. Fu. Since I’m allowing you to look at my master’s precious treasures, you need to stand up for me just in case my master becomes angry. You might not know this, but my master is seriously strict with me. Ah… This is inevitable since Master likes me so much. I have to transcribe texts, practice walking meditation, and… Actually, forget about it, Mr. Fu probably doesn’t understand what I’m talking about anyway. Old scholars who read and study in the scripture libraries probably don’t even know how many copper coins a steamed bun sells for.”

Pei Qian once again reiterated her warning to the old scholar, saying, “Mr. Fu, you can’t let my good deeds be repaid with negative consequences, right? Do you agree?”

“Agreed!” the old scholar in azure replied with a wide smile.

And thus, the little girl remained squatting on the ground, and the old scholar also squatted down beside her. He looked over the bamboo slips one by one, gently picking them up before carefully putting them back down.

Pei Qian breathed a sigh of relief when she saw this.

Fu Sheng looked over approximately half of the bamboo slips before smiling and asking, “The fist is the paramount reason in the world. Do you agree with this saying, Young Lady?”

“Of course I do,” Pei Qian replied without hesitation. “Otherwise, why am I practicing walking meditation, fist stances, and sword and saber techniques every single day at such a young age? The cultivation world is teeming with dangers, and bad people are around every corner.”

Pei Qian had initially wanted to say a few impressive sentences related to her grand ambitions, yet she suddenly recalled Old Man Wei’s warning about engaging in deep conversations with unfamiliar people being a huge taboo in the cultivation world. Upon thinking of this, she forcefully stopped herself from speaking her mind. It was better to keep these words inside her own mind, with Master being the only person who needed to know about them.

Standing in the distance, the middle-aged scholar habitually furrowed his brows.

However, the old scholar laughed heartily in response.

Pei Qian didn’t know what was so funny, so she shuffled over to flip around some of the bamboo slips that were lying in the sun, allowing the back of them to enjoy some sunshine as well. As she toiled away, she casually said, “However, Master taught me that we need to consider sequential order if we want to properly expound this principle. We can’t get the order wrong, and a person should always speak reason first. Once a person’s fist becomes big and strong enough, they can more easily speak reason with those who are unreasonable.

“However, this is not to say that people can ignore reason and only compare the size of each other’s fists. People shouldn’t pummel each other and completely forget about moral vigilance when alone, self-restraint, following etiquette, examining one’s own conscience, and so on. Ah… Master said I’m still young, so I only need to remember these things first. As for whether I understand them or not, all of the principles are waiting for me in the books.”

In the end, Pei Qian concluded, “So, Mr. Fu, what you said is reasonable in some sense, but it’s not entirely reasonable.”

Only after hearing this did the middle-aged scholar’s expression improve a little.

The old scholar didn’t laugh at Pei Qian, and he didn’t say anything in response either.

There was a bright glimmer in Pei Qian’s eyes as she asked, “Mr. Fu, is my Master’s knowledge very profound?”

“I can’t determine the level of your master’s knowledge through these few words alone,” the old scholar replied. “At the very least, however… what he said is very correct. Mhm, what he said is not incorrect. This might sound simple and easy to achieve, but in reality, it’s actually very difficult to achieve. Putting this into practice is even more difficult.”

Pei Qian raised an eyebrow and angrily stopped the old scholar from continuing to look at the bamboo slips. She crossed her arms and said, “Then Mr. Fu shouldn’t read too many of these bamboo slips.”

The old scholar chuckled and remarked, “Oh? You’re quite good at bearing grudges, Young Lady.”

Pei Qian nodded and replied, “It’s important to respect the elders and cherish the young. Mr. Fu, you’re quite elderly, while I’m still very young. In other words, things cancel out between us. That being the case, please don’t flaunt your seniority in front of a little girl, Mr. Fu.”

The old scholar had no option but to say, “Your master is teaching you correctly. Even more commendable than that is the fact that he’s allowed you to keep your lively mind and nature. Your master is indeed very impressive.”

Pei Qian first responded with a happy smile, but she quickly bobbed her head around and responded, “Mr. Fu, are you saying this because you want to look at a few more bamboo slips? Alright then, go ahead and look at them. I’m seriously afraid of old scholars like you now, what with your countless layers of principles and explanations. Ah… So worrisome.”

Following this exchange, even the middle-aged scholar had a slight smile tug at the corners of his lips.

The Paramount Sage had once written a book, and the fundamental principle expounded by this book was nothing more than the four characters, free of depraved thoughts.

Afterward, another great sage had wanted to maintain the flawless nature of the Paramount Sage’s moral teachings, yet he hadn’t dared to wantonly delete paragraphs from the Paramount Sage’s works. Thus, this great sage had found it incredibly difficult to annotate and perform exegesis on the book.

Fu Sheng couldn’t help but chuckle at the little girl’s words for quite a while.

The middle-aged scholar also wholeheartedly agreed with her assessment of there being countless layers of principles and explanations.

It appeared as if the three teachings, the hundred schools of thought, the imperial court, and the entire world in general were all facing this same problem.

However, the middle-aged scholar felt like Mr. Fu was acting slightly strange today. After all, he was surprisingly smiling again.

One had to realize that Fu Sheng had stayed in the Lion Garden for a long time, yet he had never ever smiled during his time here, not even once.

The old scholar stood up after reading over all of the bamboo slips, and he looked at the tanned little girl who was still working hard to flip them all around. He wanted to help, yet Pei Qian hurriedly shook her hand, using her arm to roughly wipe away the sweat on her forehead as she smiled and said, “I respect my elders very much, so there’s no need for Mr. Fu to help me with this. Otherwise, Master will definitely twist my ears if he sees you helping me.”

Fu Sheng smiled and bade farewell. At the same time, he also waved his hand at Pei Qian, gesturing that there was no need for her to stand up and bow. It could be said that he was cherishing the young.

The two scholars walked side-by-side along the small alley under the shade of the many trees.

The middle-aged scholar wanted to say something, yet he couldn’t help but hesitate.

The old scholar, Fu Sheng, smiled calmly and said, “If I’m not wrong, that young man is the old scholar’s final disciple.”

There was a complicated expression on the middle-aged scholar’s face.

Fu Sheng sighed with emotion and said, “Let’s not worry about this.”

The middle-aged scholar nodded and asked, “Then when is Master going to take Liu Qingshan as a disciple? I feel like Liu Qingshan has already passed his current examination.”

Fu Sheng shook his head and replied, “It’s still too early. He’s understood some principles after reading a myriad of books in the scripture library, but in terms of how to conduct himself? Liu Qingshan still needs to travel around the world so he can witness more matters and interact with more people.”

“Is Master planning to take Liu Qingshan back to the Middle Earth Divine Continent?” the middle-aged scholar asked. “And then Master will hand to Liu Qingshan the sagely texts that you saved by yourself back then?”

Fu Sheng thought for a moment before saying, “I might not accompany this child as he travels around the world. That will be far too eye-catching, and it won’t necessarily be beneficial either.”

Fu Sheng, the old scholar who was celebrated as someone who had passed down the teachings of Confucianism, suddenly smiled and continued, “Even though the old scholar belongs to a different branch of Confucianism, we have to admit that his choice of students is… moving in an upward trend. There was Cui Chan, then Zuo You, and then Qi Jingchun.”

The middle-aged scholar shook his head and said, “That young man isn’t deserving of Mr. Fu’s high praise. At the very least, he isn’t deserving of it at this current moment.”

————

Liu Qingshan, the young man with a crippled leg, brought Chen Ping’an and Liu Boqi to his study.

Liu Boqi immediately noticed the small wooden box on the table, inside of which was the treasure that belonged to the final emperor of a large empire. This treasure would look like nothing more than a small golden block to Qi refiners who lacked the necessary knowledge and experience, and it would seem like a small trinket that was only worth a few lesser heat coins at most.

She naturally belonged to the category of cultivators who lacked the necessary knowledge.

She developed some thoughts.

Afterward, Young Master Dugu and his maidservant, Meng Long, were the first to leave the Lion Garden. They only accepted two mortal curios from the Liu Clan.

The master and disciple traveling with them left with a bountiful yield, having accepted a large pile of immortal currency that the Liu Clan had conjured up from some unknown place.

Following their departure, the Dao partners also bid farewell, again bringing them with a bountiful yield. Their pockets were filled with lesser heat coins, far more than they had expected to receive. Thus, they were beside themselves with delight.

Chen Ping’an had initially wanted to leave a long time ago, yet Liu Qingshan kept asking him to stay, causing him to eventually remain for three more days. During this time, he was able to visit every location in the Lion Garden.

In fact, there would occasionally be a hint of anxiousness on Liu Qingshan’s face. During these times, he would always ask to drink with Chen Ping’an.

Chen Ping’an knew that this pertained to the private family matters of the Liu Clan, specifically to the matters surrounding Liu Qingqing. However, Chen Ping’an naturally wouldn’t involve himself in these matters.

During these three days, Liu Boqi went to the small courtyard to look for Chen Ping’an twice. The first time was to inform him that she had beaten that mountain lord, Lady Liu Shu, half dead. Thanks to this, the mountain lord would most likely perform her duties properly for the next one hundred years.

The second time was to divide the spoils with Chen Ping’an.

Liu Boqi naturally couldn’t use her saber, Jing God, to cut the treasure-creation demon into two. After all, any earth immortal treasure-creation demon in the world would have a huge chance of attaining the Great Dao as long as they were raised and trained properly.

Of course, if one were annoyed with a treasure-creation demon needing too many immortal coins and fated opportunities to raise, one could also kill the treasure-creation demon to harvest its treasures. Doing so would also give one a bountiful yield.

In the end, Liu Boqi converted things into grain rain coins and gave them to Chen Ping’an as his compensation.

After Liu Boqi left, Chen Ping’an and Pei Qian, master and disciple, sat facing the small mountain of grain rain coins on the table together. There was a dazzling smile on Pei Qian’s face, and Chen Ping’an also grinned widely as well. He patted Pei Qian’s head and said, “Then I won’t twist your ears anymore.”

“Huh?” Pei Qian was extremely confused.

Chen Ping’an bent down and rested his arms and head on the table, not responding to Pei Qian’s confusion as he gazed at the small mountain of grain rain coins.

Pei Qian crossed her arms and straightened her back, not thinking about her master’s remark just then as she happily asked, “Master, I didn’t lose money for you this time, did I?”

Chen Ping’an also sat up straight, and he smiled as he reached over to squeeze Pei Qian’s cheeks.

Zhu Lian was sitting near the entrance and reading, completely enraptured as he reached a juicy scene. He wasn’t willing to turn away from this page at all.

He was starting to miss Senior Xun a little.

Shi Rou glanced at the book in Zhu Lian’s hands, and she was almost angered to death.

During Chen Ping’an’s final day in the Lion Garden, just before he and his companions set off for the capital of the Azure Phoenix Nation, Liu Boqi came alone to the small courtyard soon after the first ray of sunshine peeked over the horizon.

She handed him the small golden block from the wooden box and said expressionlessly, “Assistant Minister Liu already agreed to this in the beginning, so this belongs to you now. It will be incredibly outstanding if you refine this small golden block into a bonded item, since it contains not only the remnant fortune of a mortal empire, but also contains the scholarly fortune of the Liu Clan after being placed in the Lion Garden for several hundred years.

“This treasure is useless to me, but it will be extremely useful to you, Chen Ping’an, a half-assed scholar, if you manage to successfully refine it. Most importantly, you can still refine this treasure even if you’ve already collected a bonded item belonging to the metal element. In fact, you can use this treasure to elevate the quality of your original bonded item, allowing you to achieve double the results with half the effort when you cultivate in the future.”

Chen Ping’an accepted the small and exquisite treasure and examined it for a short while. He then returned it to Liu Boqi and said in a quiet voice, “Help me secretly put it back inside Liu Qingshan’s study. Remember not to put it in an eye-catching location.”

Liu Boqi frowned and asked, “You don’t want it? Or do you think I’m lying to you? Perhaps you feel like this treasure isn’t as effective as I described?”

Chen Ping’an couldn’t be bothered explaining anything to her.

He called over Pei Qian who was already carrying her luggage sack and holding her hiking pole, and they left the courtyard together and walked along the small and serene path in the Lion Garden.

Liu Boqi remained inside the courtyard, and she suddenly cracked a grin.

If Chen Ping’an had dared to accept the small golden block, then she would have drawn her saber to kill him.

However, why had Chen Ping’an decided to turn down this huge gift which he deserved?

Had he detected her killing intent and not dared to accept it, or had he genuinely been unwilling to accept it for some other reason?

Liu Boqi didn’t dwell on this for too long. Since the small golden block remained, what Chen Ping’an was thinking would have nothing to do with her anymore.

Pei Qian skipped and hopped beside Chen Ping’an who was practicing the six-step walking meditation, and she asked in curiosity, “Master, why didn’t you accept that small golden block? It looked very pleasing, didn’t it? Moreover, that Daoist nun also listed so many benefits.”

Chen Ping’an continued to throw punches as he walked, smiling faintly as he replied, “The scholarly fortune of the Liu Clan is intricately tied to this treasure, so what will happen to Liu Qingshan if I take it away? He also gave you a book, after all.”

Pei Qian thought for a moment before nodding and saying, “Uncle Cripple is already so pitiful to begin with, so we should indeed let him keep this treasure.”

Afterward, Pei Qian started to practice walking meditation alongside Chen Ping’an.

At some point in time, she suddenly chuckled and asked, “Master, is this the meaning of ‘a noble person seizes not the favored items of others?’”

Chen Ping’an didn’t stop his training, and he continued to slowly advance forward as he shook his head and replied, “I’m still very far away from becoming a noble scholar.”

“How far away? Is it as far away as the Lion Garden to here?” Pei Qian asked.

“Perhaps it’s even more far away than the Lotus Flower Blessed Land to the Lion Garden,” Chen Ping’an replied.

“That far away?!”

“Indeed.”

“But Master, you’ll still be able to get there regardless of how far away it is, right?”

“That’s correct. However, the condition is that we don’t veer off the correct path.”

Pei Qian suddenly stopped and stood still for a moment, and only when Zhu Lian and Shi Rou walked past her did she quietly place a hand behind her back and lightly clench it into a fist. She then ran over to Zhu Lian and asked with a wide smile, “Do you want to know what’s hidden inside my hand?”

“Scram,” Zhu Lian replied with a dark expression.

Pei Qian then extended her fist toward Shi Rou and asked, “Big Sister Shi Rou, why don’t you take a guess? I’ll give it to you as a present if you manage to guess correctly!”

Shi Rou rolled her eyes in response.

Chen Ping’an was chuckling in secret, yet he suddenly saw Pei Qian looking over at him with a broad smile. Before she could even speak, however, he immediately shuffled over to reward her with a knuckle to the forehead.