Unsheathed

An elegant and refined louchuan with two levels sailed from the tumultuous White Swan River into the calm Iron Plate River.

There was a beautiful yet aloof woman dressed in palace attire standing at the bow of the ship, and beside her was a personal maidservant as well as three men of different ages and completely different looks.

One of the old men smiled bitterly and said, “Milady, we might not be welcome at the Purple Sun Residence.”

The old man and the two other men were all guests of the beautiful lady. The three men had known each other for a long time, and their temperaments were all compatible with each other. The friendship between gentlemen appeared indifferent but was pure like water, and the temporary alliances that they formed were always for the sake of slaying demons and safeguarding Dao. For example, they had pursued and captured a fox spirit that had wreaked havoc for one hundred years at Centipede Ridge thanks to intel provided by the beautiful lady. This was completely different from the transactional relationship between the Purple Sun Residence and the incense temple which was as sweet as wine.

There was a hint of anxiety in the beautiful lady’s eyes, but she could do nothing but breathe a soft sigh.

The maidservant standing beside her had already accompanied her for more than one hundred years, and she was able to absorb incense essence even though she was a water ghost, a yin entity. She had suffered injustice and drowned to death, yet she had also enjoyed fortune because of this tragedy, having been granted an opportunity to embark on the path of cultivation.

The maidservant could be regarded as a confidant of the beautiful woman, so she naturally had the right to speak at this moment. “The current circumstances have forced us to do this,” she said in a soft voice. “The Cold Food River and the Imperial River have already obtained Peace and Safety Tablets from the Great Li Empire’s Imperial Song Clan, and only our White Swan River has been left behind and given the cold shoulder. This isn’t necessarily worrisome, and we can simply choose to not interact with the imperial court of the Great Li Empire. However, during Milady’s visit to the capital, the emperor seemingly implied that the White Swan River might face a huge calamity in the future. In other words, we can’t avoid this situation even if we want to.”

“Huge calamity?” the old man asked in puzzlement.

The maidservant was also filled with anxiety, with her tone becoming slightly somber as she explained, “The emperor hinted to us that the wretched river god of the Imperial River has already obtained a Peace and Safety Tablet. Even so, he still wanted more, and he was surprisingly so shameless as to run to the Jewel Small World’s Cloud Drape Mountain where he was seemingly able to leverage some secret relationship to meet with Wei Bo, the formal god of the Northern Mountain.

“After twisting the facts, it’s extremely likely that the imperial court of the Great Li Empire will take action against the White Swan River. The Spirit Charm Sect that has already sealed off their mountains serves as a precedent. The emperor was also helpless against this, and he’s powerless to stop the barbarians from the Great Li Empire from sowing chaos and causing trouble.”

“That river god is indeed renowned for his incredible shamelessness,” the old man said in exasperation.

A tall and sturdy man was standing slightly further away with his arms crossed, gazing at the Iron Plate River. Even though he had successfully advanced from the peak stage of the fifth tier to the sixth tier of martial arts two years ago, he had to admit that the Yellow Court Nation was an absolute mess right now. He had initially been filled with energy and vigor and planned to join the border army after advancing to the sixth tier, yet he couldn’t help but feel slightly disheartened at this moment.

The thundering hooves of the northern barbarians were wantonly trampling across the territory of the Yellow Court Nation, never needing to notify or seek permission from their emperor beforehand.

Even more unacceptable than this was the fact that the imperial court, the scholarly officials, the generals, the commoners, the cultivation world, and even the mountains were almost devoid of outrage and indignance. Everyone was prioritizing their own interests, wracking their brains and pulling out all stops to ingratiate themselves with the officials of the Great Li Empire who were encamped in the Yellow Court Nation. In fact, the seventh-rank officials of the Great Li Empire shockingly enjoyed even more prestige and power than the second-rank pillar officials of the Yellow Court Nation! Their words carried even more weight!

Meanwhile, the matter that had ultimately caused the tall and sturdy man to abandon his original intention of joining the border army was a piece of news that had spread out from the capital of the Yellow Court Nation.

When hunting the fox spirit with his friends back then, they had fallen into a trap set by their opponent in Centipede Mountain Range. The fox spirit referred to herself as Lady Qing Ya, and she was skilled at using cruel dual cultivation techniques on her victims. However, the great bear demon that should have appeared to help its mistress unexpectedly didn’t show up for whatever reason, instead choosing to leave the fox spirit for dead. It was thanks to this that the tall and sturdy man had managed to successfully capture the fox spirit with his friends, providing meritorious service to the imperial court of the Yellow Court Nation.

The fox spirit was bound using secret techniques, causing it to lose more than half of its mystical abilities. Afterward, it was imprisoned by the imperial court and especially used to suppress the prison that housed vagrant cultivators, spirits, and demons.

At that time, the tall and sturdy man had celebrated and enjoyed wine with his friends at the residence of the White Swan River’s river god.

However, it wasn’t long before rumors spread throughout the entire capital, claiming that the fox spirit which should have been skinned alive and had its tendons ripped out as a warning to other fiends had actually been recruited into the harem of the emperor, becoming one of his beautiful concubines.

The tall and sturdy man had become incandescent with rage.

He had traveled to the river goddess’ residence with his two cultivation friends this time, and the river goddess of the White Swan River standing at the bow of the ship had plainly told them the truth.

The rumors were true.

The Yellow Court Nation was facing perilous danger, yet the emperor of the nation was seemingly enjoying life to the fullest?

When the river goddess entered the capital to have an audience with the emperor, the fox spirit had indeed been standing right beside the emperor. However, it had become docile and submissive, and thankfully the emperor hadn’t been foolish enough to undo all of the restrictions placed on it by the guest cultivators.

The river goddess who had once experienced a short-lived romance with a previous emperor of the Imperial Hong Clan had frowned slightly upon seeing this, especially since the current emperor wasn’t known for being a lustful person.

However, the times had changed, and he was the emperor of the nation, after all. Thus, it hadn’t been appropriate for her to say anything about this.

Moreover, as the formal goddess of the White Swan River, she had already stood atop her divine altar and gazed through the curling wisps of incense smoke for hundreds upon hundreds of years, allowing her to see the myriad forms of people. As such, she was already unfazed by these absurd mortal matters.

The emperor was presumably under too much pressure right now. The Great Li Empire’s Imperial Song Clan had recognized the Yellow Court Nation as a vassal state, but what if a young member of the Imperial Song Clan suddenly ran over one day and told him to piss off from the throne?

Since that was the case, how could he relieve this pressure? Perhaps sexual relief was the only answer.

In reality, the river goddess was aware of the frustration pent up in the tall and sturdy martial artist, Sun Dengxian’s, mind.

However, there were some things that she couldn’t say.

Because once she said these things, the so-called pure friendship between gentlemen and the long-forged feelings of goodwill would evaporate like smoke.

The Yellow Court Nation was being forced into these decisions by the unstoppable trend of the world. If the Imperial Hong Clan of the Yellow Court Nation didn’t submit to the northern barbarians of the Great Li Empire, then were they truly going to go to war for the sake of their face and honor? Were they going to throw straws against the wind and anger the Great Li Empire? Were they going to risk being easily trampled by the heavy cavalry of the Great Li Empire?

At that time, not only would the emperor of the Yellow Court Nation become a prisoner, but how many ordinary citizens of the Yellow Court Nation would be displaced or killed by the brutal war? A few hundred thousand? Or a few million? The nation would be flipped upside-down, mountains and rivers would change colors, and the nation would be riddled with scars. At that time, no one in the Yellow Court Nation would be able to enjoy peace.

Did the innocent citizens of the nation ask for many things in life? They simply wished for sufficient food, clothes, and shelter all year round. They wanted to stay warm during the winter, and they wanted to keep their bellies from grumbling all the time. Satisfying these requirements would already give them a hard-to-come-by feeling of peace and stability.

The river goddess insisted on paying a visit to the Purple Sun Residence, and she had even dragged the three men along with her as well. Of course, she was well aware of the displeasure that Sun Dengxian was feeling because of this.

However, she had no option but to do this.

In fact, she even needed the three men to act as her guards, lest the unpredictable old ancestor of the Purple Sun Residence suddenly decide to imprison her. The three men naturally wouldn’t be able to offer any tangible help to change the situation if it came to that, but they could at least make the Purple Sun Residence hesitate a little more before acting.

The river goddess could only hope that this trip would be smooth sailing and successful. When she returned to her residence, she would then naturally repay Sun Dengxian and the others.

They fell increasingly silent after sailing into the Iron Plate River, and when they sailed past the incense temple, the elderly river god appeared on the bank of the river and bowed in respect to the river goddess, being that he was a subordinate.

However, his words were quite unpleasant to the ear as he asked with a wide smile, “Oh my, you’re truly a rare and esteemed guest, River Goddess. What brings you here to patrol this subordinate’s Iron Plate River today? What suggestion do you want to make? If you’re still unwilling to release the Iron Plate River’s marine general, then this subordinate doesn’t dare to complain. However, this marine general is now an unofficial disciple of the Purple Sun Residence, so perhaps you want to go against the flow and visit the Purple Sun Residence to settle your previous grievances?”

The river goddess remained silent as the louchuan continued to sail forward.

The elderly river god of the Iron Plate River was unfazed by this, and he turned around to look at the louchuan that was continuing to sail forward as he earnestly waved goodbye and added one last bucket of fuel, shouting, “Let me tell you an amazing piece of news, River Goddess. The Purple Sun Residence’s Cave Spirit True Lord has returned to the sect already, so with you being a formal river goddess, I’m sure that the sect will definitely open its gates to warmly welcome your arrival. In other words, you’ll be fortunate enough to see the true lord in person. Please take care, River Goddess, and if you have time when you make your way back to the White Swan River, you definitely have to stop by this subordinate’s incense temple.”

After the louchuan sailed far away…

The elderly river god violently spat into the Iron Plate River and cursed, “Just who do you think you are, acting so aloof and mighty? Your background and origin are unclear, and it was because you offered your body back then that you were able to obtain the White Swan True Body. You slept with a former emperor of the Yellow Court Nation for a night, and you relied on your skills in bed to obtain the position of river goddess. Yet, you think you have the right to negotiate with the old ancestor of the Purple Sun Residence?

“You’ve never given the sect a single snowflake coin in the past few hundred years, yet you’re frantically trying to make up for it now? Haha, unfortunately for you, the old ancestor personally leads the sect and makes all decisions. Otherwise, if a filthy woman like you is willing to sacrifice her body and shamelessly climb into bed with the sect master, then he might truly be wooed and tricked by you… Haha, how incredibly satisfying!”

The elderly river god turned around and swaggered back to the incense temple.

However, he suddenly gulped and smiled to himself in a creepy manner, thinking to himself what the skin of the river goddess’ godly body would feel like once she removed her palace attire.

If the White Swan River suffered a calamity, then perhaps he would genuinely get a chance to have a taste?