Unsheathed

The young man made his way over to the lake, and he could tell that the Geyang Gao Clan had invested a great deal of effort and wealth into this academy. As for the site of the old Mountain Cliff Academy in the Great Li Empire, that was about to become the location for the new Confucian temple of the Great Li Empire’s capital city.

The young man turned around and caught sight of a familiar, yet also unfamiliar figure. Unfamiliar because the figure’s appearance, height, and attire had all changed drastically, but also familiar because those eyes still hadn’t changed at all. All those years ago, they had been neighbors.

One of them had been the kiln supervision official’s illegitimate son, while the other had been a lonesome orphan struggling just to get by. Since then, one of them had become Prince Song Mu of the Great Li Empire, while the other had become a wandering… scholar? Swordsman? Hero? In any case, since their last meeting, Chen Ping’an had journeyed across an immeasurable distance over two continents.

“I heard from Mountain Master Mao that you came to the academy, so I came to see you,” Chen Ping’an declared in a direct and straightforward manner.

Song Jixin looked Chen Ping’an up and down for a moment. He had heard that the pseudo-celestial weapon that he was carrying on his back, Sword Immortal, had been an apology gift from the Fu Clan, while the wine gourd strapped to his waist was a Sword Nurturing Gourd that had been meticulously picked out for him by Northern Mountain God Wei Bo as a bonus gift for purchasing those mountains back in the Dragon Spring Prefecture.

Song Jixin smiled as he said, “Back when we were neighbors, I always felt like the people on Fortune Street and Peach Leaf Alley were wealthier and more fortunate than us, but looking back now, it seems like the people from our Clay Vase Alley and Apricot Blossom Alley are doing a little better than them.

“Apricot Blossom Alley really only has Ma Kuxuan to boast of, whereas our Clay Vase Alley has you, me, Zhi Gui, and that little runt, Gu Can. I wonder if several decades from now, people will look back on our once shoddy Clay Vase Alley and regard it as a place of legends.”

Chen Ping’an opened his mouth to say something, only for Song Jixin to raise a hand to interrupt him.

“Let me finish. Otherwise, given your stinky personality, there’s a very good chance that our long-awaited reunion will conclude on rather sour terms.”

Chen Ping’an nodded as he replied, “Alright, let’s walk as we talk then.”

The two of them began to make their way down the peaceful path next to the lake together.

Song Jixin smiled as he said, “You sure went far on this journey of yours, and you were gone for a very long time too. You probably don’t know what things are like back in the small town right now, right?

“Ever since the history of the Jewel Small World was revealed, and it became open to the outside world, regardless of whether it’s wealthy folk on Fortune Street and Peach Leaf Alley, or the impoverished households in Dragon Riding Alley and Apricot Blossom Alley, everyone has been digging through their belongings for things that have been passed down for generations, or just items that are quite advanced in age.

“Everything from bowls used during meals, stone troughs for feeding pigs, vats for picking vegetables, to copper mirrors taken down from walls are all being treated like prized artifacts. On top of that, many people have begun entering the nearby mountains and bodies of water. In particular, the Dragon Whisker River is absolutely packed with people for around half the year, and all of them are there to harvest rocks.

“The immortal tomb and the mountain of porcelain naturally haven’t been spared, either, with countless treasure hunters taking whatever they could from those places before having them appraised at the Cloth Wrapper Shop on Ox Horn Mountain. Many people really did manage to gain astonishing wealth overnight, and gold and silver that used to be considered extremely precious are now barely worth anything.

“Right now, everyone is fixated solely on how much immortal currency they have in their pockets.”

“I’m assuming all of the farmland and many of the dragon kilns have been abandoned, right?” Chen Ping’an asked.

“Indeed. No one cares about such measly profits anymore,” Song Jixin replied with a nod.

Chen Ping’an heaved a forlorn sigh upon hearing this, but he wasn’t surprised to hear this. If he hadn’t experienced everything that he had and remained in Clay Vase Alley as an ordinary kiln worker, then he would’ve most likely also abandoned his post to go searching for treasures in the mountains and rivers.

The only difference would be that he most likely wouldn’t completely abandon his craft, and if he had some farmland, then he wouldn’t have been able to bear letting it go to waste.

Back when he had been reminded by Lu Chen that the snake gall pebbles in the Dragon Whisker River could be sold for money, he had gone to the river that very same night with a large basket on his back, searching tirelessly for snake gall pebbles that still hadn’t yet lost all of their spiritual energy.

On that occasion, he had searched meticulously through almost the entire river, and of course, he had made very bountiful returns from the trip, but in contrast, Ma Kuxuan had found the most precious snake gall pebble after only entering the river once. As he emerged from the river with the pebble, it had glowed as brightly as the moon hanging up in the sky.

“Do you hate me?” Song Jixin asked as he stopped in his tracks.

“I don’t hate you, I just want nothing to do with you,” Chen Ping’an replied with a shake of his head.

“You still don’t hate me even after my mother sent people to kill you?” Song Jixin asked.

“Did you convince her to send those people?” Chen Ping’an asked.

“I don’t have anywhere that amount of sway,” Song Jixin replied in a self-deprecating manner. “After my name was changed to Song Mu, we officially became mother and son, but it wasn’t like we miraculously became close with one another just because of that.

“I quickly came to realize that while the stakes are often higher when it comes to familial matters in the imperial clans, fundamentally, things are no different from what they’re like in the common world. As long as there are multiple children in a household, the parents will always have their favorites.”

“That settles it then. You had nothing to do with it, so I’ll just have to go after her when I get the chance. There’s no need for me to hate you,” Chen Ping’an replied.

Song Jixin had plucked down some willow branches, and he was planning to weave them into a willow bracelet when Chen Ping’an continued, “Just like Imperial Preceptor Cui Chan, she’s one of the most powerful people in the Great Li Empire, but I don’t think that’s the entirety of the Great Li Empire.

“The Great Li Empire had the earliest Mountain Cliff Academy, the thriving Red Candle Town, the border scouts who invited me to take shelter from the cold in the beacon tower, and even the spies of the Green Ripple Pavilion that she had personally founded, the ones that had been willing to deliver a message to me for the sake of the Great Li Empire even at the expense of putting their own lives at severe risk.

“I think those things are all part of the Great Li Empire as well.”

Chen Ping’an then turned to Song Jixin as he continued, “Now that I know all of this, if I’m still going to decide to kill her someday, then I can do so with a clear conscience. Our personal differences will be settled solely between the two of us, and I’ll do my best not to sweep any of the citizens of the Great Li Empire into our mess.”

“She’s not going to think like that,” Song Jixin said with a smile.

“I already have my own reasoning, and it abides by all of the Confucian rules, so why should I care what she thinks?” Chen Ping’an asked with a nonchalant smile.

“You’ve read some books on Legalism, haven’t you?” Song Jixin asked.

Chen Ping’an responded with a question of his own.

“Out of the books that Mr. Qi left you, you left some behind in your house in the small town, and I assume you took the rest with you. Did you read the books that you took with you?”

Song Jixin had woven a little willow bracelet that was sliding absentmindedly up and down his arm as he countered, “Why should I tell you?”

Chen Ping’an didn’t really care to know the answer to his question anyway, so he changed the subject and asked, “Why have you come to the Great Sui Nation?”

Song Jixin clasped his hands behind his back as he replied, “Gao Xuan once entered our small town to search for opportunities, and some say that he’s better than me for that, so I decided to come here to prove the doubters wrong.”

“That’s completely incomparable!” Chen Ping’an chuckled. “You’ve come to the Great Sui Nation to show off, while at the time, Gao Xuan had ventured deep into enemy territory in a display of great courage. Right now, Gao Xuan is serving as a glorified hostage in Forest Deer Academy, are you going to do the same?”

Song Jixin couldn’t help but burst into laughter upon hearing this.

“Chen Ping’an, you’ve matured so much since we were neighbors! Could it be that you learned from me?”

“Quit flattering yourself,” Chen Ping’an scoffed.

Song Jixin crouched down to pick up a rock, then threw it into the lake as he asked, “Can I ask you a favor?”

“No,” Chen Ping’an replied without any hesitation.

Song Jixin turned to him with a pitiable look as he asked, “Why? Think about it, Chen Ping’an, how have I ever wronged you outside of that time I tricked you into becoming an apprentice at the dragon kiln?”

“You clearly don’t like me, and I don’t like you, either, so why pretend like we’re friends?” Chen Ping’an asked.

Song Jixin was not expecting such an answer, and he burst into laughter as he said, “The current you is so much better than that boring wooden log that you once were. If you were like this from the very beginning, I would’ve been genuinely happy to make friends with you.”

Chen Ping’an shook his head in response.

“You know very well that there’s no way the two of us can become friends. We should just be content not to be enemies.”

Song Jixin removed the willow bracelet and tossed it into the lake, then picked up a rock and attempted to throw it into the center of the bracelet as he said, “The mountain god temple on Downtrodden Mountain isn’t doing so well at the moment. Wei Bo harbors a great deal of… animosity toward the current mountain god.

“I wanted to ask you to put in a good word for me with Wei Bo. I’m not hoping that Wei Bo will come around to the point that he’ll begin actively rooting for the mountain god temple, I just want to ensure that the deity statue in the temple won’t be suddenly swapped out someday.”

Chen Ping’an wanted to say something, but ultimately remained silent.

The current mountain god of Downtrodden Mountain was none other than the former kiln supervision official, Song Yuzhang.

Song Jixin watched as the willow bracelet slowly drifted away, and he continued, “I know exactly what you want to say. He was killed by Wang Yifu not just to hide those ugly secrets of the imperial clan, but also because His Majesty wanted him dead. After all, who would be happy with their own son thinking of someone else as their father?

“Wang Yifu told me in private that prior to his death, he had implored Wang Yifu to pass a message onto me, which was that he had always wanted to ask me to write a set of couplets for him. How could such a treacherous subordinate possibly have been allowed to live?”

Chen Ping’an was silent for a moment, then said, “I was planning to return to the Dragon Spring Prefecture anyway, and I’ll bring up this matter to Wei Bo. However, let me make this clear to you in advance: I’m not going to ask him to do anything, nor do I have the sway or authority to tell a Northern Mountain God how to act.

“I can even tell you now that Song Yuzhang will most likely side with your mother in the future in that even though he’s become the god of Downtrodden Mountain, he’ll most likely pit himself against me. When that time comes, I’ll be sure to destroy his godly body beyond repair as long as I’m capable of it, and I won’t hesitate to do so.”

“In that case, it seems like I don’t owe you anything, so I don’t need to thank you,” Song Jixin said with a smile.

“I never wanted you to thank me anyway,” Chen Ping’an said with a cold smile.

An amazed look appeared on Song Jixin’s face as he applauded Chen Ping’an and praised, “You’re speaking and acting just like a cultivator right now! It seems like you have the makings of a high-and-mighty immortal in you, after all!”

Chen Ping’an displayed no reaction to this.

Song Jixin smiled as he continued, “Now that I’ve gotten a chance to meet you and state my request, I’ve done everything I came here to do. By the way, Zhi Gui is waiting for me beside the entrance of the academy at the foot of the mountain, would you like to come with me to see her?”

“I’ll pass,” Chen Ping’an replied with a shake of his head.

Song Jixin continued, “Right now, making breakthroughs for Ma Kuxuan is becoming as regular an event as getting diarrhoea from food poisoning is for the average mortal. As a result, he’s already being referred to as the second Wei Jin of Wind Snow Temple. In terms of renown, Apricot Blossom Alley is able to compete with our entire Clay Vase Alley just because of him. Isn’t that infuriating?”

Chen Ping’an offered no response to this.

Song Jixin raised two fingers as he continued, “I was originally planning to tell you two things as compensation for agreeing to help with the mountain god temple on Downtrodden Mountain, but now that I’ve met you, I’ve come to realize that I still don’t like the look of you, so I’ll only tell you one of those two things.

“Recently, our Great Li Empire has begun to display signs of overextension, which could lead to catastrophic consequences further down the line, and as a result, many powers from other nations that have purchased mountains are beginning to jump ship. In particular, some of the sects near the central region of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent are planning to sell their mountains at heavily discounted prices, and a few deals have already been made in secret.

“In one of those deals, Ruan Qiong purchased three mountains at once, one of which was none other than Ox Horn Mountain. If you can get back in time, perhaps you’ll be able to capitalize on this trend. Right now, only grain rain coins are needed to purchase these mountains.”

“When did this happen?” Chen Ping’an asked.

“I only just heard about this from Xu Ruo on the way here, and apparently, it happened about ten days ago. Prior to that, no one had been willing to sell their mountains. On the contrary, everyone was practically dying to move their entire sects to the Dragon Spring Prefecture. I heard that Cloud Drape Mountain has been ridiculously busy the past few years, and almost all of its visitors went there to try and suck up to Wei Bo.

“It’s really quite remarkable that Wei Bo has the patience to deal with all of them in an amicable fashion. If I had been in his shoes, I would’ve been throwing up in disgust long ago!” Song Jixin scoffed with a roll of his eyes.

“I’ll see what I can do,” Chen Ping’an replied with a nod.

“There’s no need to see me off,” Song Jixin said with a smile.

“I wasn’t planning to,” Chen Ping’an replied.

Song Jixin burst into laughter upon hearing this.

“Some things about you haven’t changed, after all.”

With that, Song Jixin departed, making his way back down to the foot of the mountain, and Chen Ping’an watched as he faded away into the distance.

Upon reaching the entrance of the academy, Song Jixin smiled at Zhi Gui as he said, “Let’s go.”

“You seem to be in a fine mood, Young Master,” Zhi Gui remarked.

“I’m very happy to see that Chen Ping’an is doing really well for himself,” Song Jixin replied with a wide smile.

“I see,” Zhi Gui said.

Song Jixin turned to take a glance back at Mountain Cliff Academy, then asked, “Are you really not interested in taking a stroll through the academy? If you want, I can accompany you.”

“I’m not interested,” Zhi Gui replied with a shake of her head.

Song Jixin heaved a forlorn sigh, then asked, “Do you think both of the imperial preceptors will side with my brother?”

An amused smile appeared on Zhi Gui’s face as she replied, “You’ve already asked me that question many times, Young Master.”

A resigned look appeared on Song Jixin’s face as he sighed, “That’s because I’m really not confident. My uncle isn’t willing to tell me anything, and the two imperial preceptors are so mysterious. Right now, I have zero foundation in the capital city, I’m even more impoverished than Chen Ping’an was back on Clay Vase Alley!

“At the very least, he had an ancestral residence there, while I have nothing. Out of all of the people that matter, no one is willing to bet on me unless they champion a high-risk, high-reward philosophy.”

“You still have me, Young Master,” Zhi Gui consoled.

Song Jixin smiled as he raised his hands up high, with the backs of his hands facing the heavens, while his palms were facing down at himself.

“In any case, I’m just a puppet that they can manipulate as they please. Even Chen Ping’an has been able to enjoy a meteoric rise, why can’t I do the same?”

Zhi Gui was still in her maidservant attire, but her clothes were a little fancier than back when she was living on Clay Vase Alley. Her figure was becoming more alluring by the day, and she smiled as she said, “Isn’t it a little bit degrading to be comparing yourself to him?”

Song Jixin struck the palm of his own hand with his fist as he praised, “Now that makes me feel much better about myself!”