Unsheathed

Eagles soared through the sky, crows cawed on the dead branches.

The previously wide and smoothly paved official road was already in tatters, forcing a convoy of horse-drawn carriages to endure an extremely bumpy journey.

Located to the northwest of the Luminous Vermilion Empire, the Stone Brush Nation was the largest vassal state of the empire and was renowned throughout the central region of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent for its abundant fertile fields and bountiful yields. Because of this, it was a huge provider of grain and other produce for the Luminous Vermilion Empire.

Even though the Stone Brush Nation was also a vassal state, they had chosen a completely different path to the Yellow Court Nation, a vassal state of the Great Sui Nation. From the emperor to the imperial court, pillar officials, and the large majority of border generals, almost everyone in the Stone Brush Nation chose to fight head-on against the heavy cavalry of the Great Li Empire.

Flames of war raged throughout the entire Stone Brush Nation, with the battles to the north of the capital being especially intense and tragic since the new year. Right now, the capital of the Stone Brush Nation was already completely surrounded by enemies.

Not only were the ordinary citizens of the Stone Brush Nation worried, but even the surrounding vassal states that were smaller in size and much weaker in military strength were filled with anxiety.

Of course, there was no shortage of so-called smart people who surrendered to the Great Li Empire’s Imperial Song Clan right from the very beginning, choosing to spectate the wars from afar and waiting to laugh at the victims. They hoped that the unstoppable heavy cavalry of the Great Li Empire could take things one step further and directly massacre everyone in the cities, executing those officials of the Stone Brush Nation who were foolishly loyal to the Luminous Vermilion Empire.

Perhaps the Great Li Empire would even thank them, traitors of the Stone Brush Nation, since it was with their help that the heavy cavalry had managed to obtain numerous weapon arsenals, treasuries, and large cities without shedding a single drop of blood.

The bumpy ride over the broken official road caused many carriage drivers in the convoy to grumble endlessly in complaint. In fact, many of the strong young men who were carrying bows and sabers felt like their bodies were going to fall apart as well. Everyone was sore and listless, yet they still forcefully mustered up some energy to scan the surroundings for danger, lest they be ambushed by rogues and bandits.

There were seventy to eighty strong young men who were skilled at archery and riding, and almost all of them carried the stench of blood, reflecting the fact that they had endured a difficult southward journey due to the chaos caused by the raging war.

They were genuinely putting their lives on the line in order to earn some silver. In fact, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that they might suddenly lose their heads when they were out pissing one day.

During their journey, the most dangerous and deadly battle hadn’t been caused by the bandits formed from the refugees. Instead, three hundred soldiers of the Stone Brush Nation had surprisingly disguised themselves as bandits and treated the convoy of merchants as a big and juicy victim.

The battle had been intense, and almost half of the mercenaries who had already signed death waivers were either injured or killed. In fact, it was thanks to a hidden immortal among their employers that the outcome hadn’t been worse. Otherwise, their entire convoy would have been captured and destroyed by the soldiers.

As the convoy traveled to Bamboo Scroll Lake, a place viewed as a tiger’s den by the mortal empires, they needed to travel through the middle of the Stone Brush Nation in order to reach the border in the north. Even though the mercenaries had been paid a huge sum of silver, they still didn’t dare to walk through the border pass and cross the border. They refused to do so regardless of how much silver they were offered.

Thankfully, the dozen or so merchants from a foreign nation accepted this and said that they would allow the mercenaries to turn around and leave once they reached the Thousand Bird Border Pass. Afterward, it was entirely up to the merchants whether they obtained immense wealth at Bamboo Scroll Lake or died halfway and funded a prosperous New Year’s celebration for some bandits. In any case, their safety was no longer the responsibility of the mercenaries.

Their journey through the war-torn nations was truly like a journey through hell on earth.

The notion of starvation stretching across thousands of kilometers of land was no longer a mere concept that scholars read in the books.

As the horse-drawn carriages trundled forward, the merchants would often come across thatched stores that were filled with shouting and wailing as humans were sold for consumption. In the beginning, some people were unwilling to personally hand their children over to the butchers and onto the chopping boards, so they came up with an idea to swap their emaciated children with other parents first before selling these children to the human butchers.

Many starving refugees gathered together and wandered around the Stone Brush Nation like zombies and ghosts, mindlessly rushing toward any location that might have some food. The beacon towers, relay stations, and temporary forts built by the wealthy clans all had blood spilled on their lands. Some of them even had corpses that they didn’t yet have time to dispose of.

The convoy of horse-drawn carriages had once trundled past a large fort protected by five hundred strong young men from the clan, and the merchants had spent an exorbitant sum of money to buy a piddling amount of food. A brave young man from the clan had been envious of a bow owned by a mercenary for the merchants, so he had struck up a conversation and pointed at a row of shriveled heads stabbed onto the wooden wall outside the fort.

These shriveled heads were used to deter troublemakers, and the young man had squatted down and chuckled to the mercenary that summer was the most annoying because flies were aplenty and the risk of plagues also became far greater. On the other hand, things would become far less troublesome once winter arrived and it started to snow.

After saying this, the young man had grabbed a rock and thrown it at the wooden fence, accurately striking a shriveled head. He had then glanced at the mercenary who was looking at him with an expression of approval, feeling extremely proud as he did so.

In fact, there was a young woman in green clothes and wearing a ponytail that the young man had taken a strong fancy to, and it was because of this that he had chatted with the mercenary and shown off his skills. The young man simply wanted to show off in front of the beautiful big sister.

However, it was a shame that the young woman in green didn’t so much as glance at him from the beginning to the end. This left the young man feeling very dejected and disappointed. After all, how good would it have been if such a divine beauty had appeared among the death-seeking refugees? She definitely would have survived, and as the grandson of the clan leader, he would have eventually been given a turn with her one day even if he wasn’t the first in line.

However, the young man knew that it was impossible for such a beautiful and healthy young woman to appear among the starving refugees. There were occasionally some women, yet the large majority of them were emaciated and severely tanned, making them look like starving ghosts. Their skin was also extremely rough and ugly.

There was another slightly older young woman with a sword on her back standing beside the big sister in green, yet her looks were far inferior to that of her companion. Especially when it came to their figures, the gulf between them was like the gulf between heaven and earth. If the latter had appeared by herself, the young man would have indeed been attracted to her as well. Standing beside the young woman in green, however, the young man didn’t have any time or effort to waste on her.

The convoy of merchants continued to travel south.

They often came across refugees who wielded sharpened wooden poles and blocked the road, while those who were a little smarter — or hadn’t been starved into such desperate measures, to be precise — would ask the merchants for some food before letting them pass.

The merchants naturally ignored these refugees, continuing to travel forward without giving in to their demands. Generally speaking, the refugees would immediately scatter in fear once the mercenaries drew their sabers and bows.

There were some refugees who would continue to charge forward with bloodshot eyes, wanting to cause chaos and steal some food and other necessities in the process. However, the mercenaries were all martial artists from the cultivation world, and they weren’t citizens of the Stone Brush Nation either. Not only that, but they had also become numb to slaughter and bloodshed after traveling south through the broken nation, especially since so many of their brothers and friends had been killed as well.

Thus, the mercenaries also harbored dark thoughts in the depths of their hearts, hoping that the refugees would charge forward to their deaths. That way, they could charge forward on their horses and slash down with their sabers, venting the bubbling anger in their hearts. Some of them would also have archery competitions, with a shot through the eyes yielding the most points, a shot through the neck yielding fewer points, and a shot through the hearts yielding the least points. If a mercenary only managed to hit their target on the abdomen or legs, they would definitely be laughed at and ridiculed by their companions.

Right now, there were relatively few people in the convoy, with only ten or so merchants and mercenaries in total.

Apart from the young woman in green who rarely showed herself, there was also the young woman who carried a sword on her back and was missing the thumb on her right hand as well as a young man in black who seldom spoke or smiled. The three people appeared to be a group, and they always stuck quite close to each other whenever the convoy stopped to rest or set up camp.

The leader of the merchants who cared more about money than their own lives was an old man wearing an azure changshan. It was said that his surname was Song, so the mercenaries all liked to refer to him as Scholar Song. Scholar Song had two subordinates, with one carrying a raven staff diagonally across his back and one carrying no weapon at all. Both of them were around the same age as Scholar Song, and it was clear that both of them were martial artists from the cultivation world.

Apart from them, there were three other people who were smiling on the surface yet had ice-cold expressions in their eyes. One was an ordinary-looking woman, and the other two were a grandfather and his grandson.

The mercenaries felt like apart from Scholar Song, everyone else in the group of merchants carried a big ego and didn’t like to speak.

At night, they settled down at a rundown relay station that had already been abandoned by the petty officials. Everything of value had naturally been stripped clean as well.

The young woman in green squatted down on top of a semi-collapsed mud wall outside the relay station.

The sword-carrying young woman who never left her side stood at the foot of the wall and said in a quiet voice, “Senior Sister, we only need to travel for a little more than half a month before we can cross the border and enter the territory of Bamboo Scroll Lake.”

The young woman in green appeared slightly absent-minded as she nodded in response.

Scholar Song slowly walked out of the relay station and lightly kicked the young man who was sitting on the door threshold. Afterward, he approached the collapsed mud wall by himself, and the sword-carrying young woman immediately spoke using the official dialect of the Great Li Empire, saying respectfully, “I pay my respects to Palace Minister Song.”

The old man smiled and nodded in acknowledgment, saying, “There’s no need to be so polite, Miss Xu. It’s almost as if you’re regarding me as an outsider.”

Scholar Song was a palace minister, not a doctor who worked in some pharmacy.[1]

The refined and elegant old man in azure robes was none other than the palace minister of the Ministry of Rites’ Ritual Office.

In vassal states like the Yellow Court Nation and the Stone Brush Nation, such a position was nothing more than a slightly more important minor official. Considering just the Ministry of Rites alone, the position of palace minister was inferior to assistant minister and even more inferior to head minister. In fact, a palace minister might one day have their position snatched by other assistant officials and external officials who enjoyed similar statuses.

In the Great Li Empire, however, the position of palace minister in the Ministry of Rites was an extremely important one. In fact, Palace Minister Song was one of the three most powerful palace ministers in the Great Li Empire. His official rank wasn’t high, being at the fifth rank, but his influence and power were far greater than what his rank implied. Apart from his ordinary responsibilities as the palace minister of the Ministry of Rites, he was also responsible for assessing and promoting the mountain and river deities of the empire.

The Great Li Empire had always held off on assigning a river god to the Rushing Tranquil River, yet a river spirit called Li Jin had suddenly appeared from out of nowhere, going from the shopkeeper of a bookstore in Red Candle Town to the great river god of the Rushing Tranquil River overnight. It was said that he had achieved this monumental rise thanks to his relationship with Palace Minister Song, allowing him to become a lofty deity and enjoy incense offerings from the mortal world.

The two young women were none other than Ruan Xiu and Xu Xiaoqiao, disciples who had left the Dragon Spring Sword Sect to train in the outside world.

As for why they needed to venture so far away from the Great Li Empire, even Xu Xiaoqiao and Dong Gu felt very surprised. Meanwhile, Senior Sister Ruan Xiu didn’t mind at all.

Seeing that Palace Minister Song seemingly wanted to discuss something with Ruan Xiu, Xu Xiaoqiao took the initiative and left.

Palace Minister Song walked over to the collapsed mud wall before sitting down cross-legged and saying with a faint smile, “I need to thank Miss Ruan for her magnanimity.”

Ruan Xiu put away her handkerchief, hiding it inside her sleeve as she shook her head and replied in a muffled voice, “There’s no need to thank me.”

Palace Minister Song smiled and asked, “Miss Ruan, forgive me for asking this, but do you not care, or are you simply enduring it?”

“Is there any difference?” Ruan Xiu asked.

The old palace minister nodded and replied with a serious expression, “If it’s the former, then I won’t take the extra step to do something unnecessary. After all, this old geezer also went through a period of admiring beautiful women during his youth, so I’m aware that young men like Li Muxi can’t help but be swayed.

“If it’s the latter, then I can make some suggestions to Li Muxi or his grandfather. Miss Ruan, you don’t need to worry about this being an unreasonable request of them. This southward journey is an official trip requested by the imperial court, so people must adhere to the necessary rules. Miss Ruan won’t be taking things too far by enforcing these rules.”

“It’s okay, he can look if he wants. It’s not like I can control his eyes or anything,” Ruan Xiu replied.

Palace Minister Song couldn’t help but chuckle in speechlessness.

There were two martial artists from the cultivation world accompanying Palace Minister Song on this trip, one of them being a Vajra Body Tier pure martial artist who was transferred from the army on short notice. When a high-ranking spy from the Green Ripple Pavilion had gone to the general’s tent to ask for the martial artist, it was said that the general with dazzling military merit had directly smashed his cup and cursed in anger. Of course, he had still ended up handing the martial artist over.

The other martial artist was also at the seventh tier, and he was the leader of a large force in the cultivation world of the Great Li Empire.

As for the three other people, they were sticky rod officials who had been gathered together at short notice. The grandson was called Li Muxi, and he was a cultivation prodigy who was extremely skilled in the fields of talismans and formations. His grandfather, father, and he were all sticky rod officials of the Great Li Empire, but his father had been killed in a conflict not too long ago. Thus, this long southward trip was an official trip for the grandfather and grandson, yet it was also one that contained some private grudges.

There were two tasks that they needed to complete on their southward trip to Bamboo Scroll Lake, with one being non-secret and not exactly minor either. Palace Minister Song from the Ritual Office was the leader of the group, and even the three disciples from the Dragon Spring Sword Sect needed to listen to his instructions and abide by his commands.

Many years had passed without any conflict-related deaths amongst the sticky rod officials of the Great Li Empire, yet two of them had died in quick succession during autumn this year. A Golden Core Tier cultivator with a hidden identity and from a foreign nation had secretly taken a disciple away. His disciple, a young man, was relatively unique, not only being an innate sword talent but also possessing some martial fortune. This had attracted the attention of several martial sages from the province.

The Great Li Empire had been determined to recruit the young man, and even the imperial preceptor had regarded this matter with importance after hearing news of it.

Perhaps it was karma, but what happened afterward was quite absurd and ironic. The young man had first been found by the sticky rod officials of the Great Li Empire, and the three officials who had discovered his talent had taken turns to watch over him and provide him with guidance. They had given it their all for four years, yet the Golden Core Tier cultivator who had been hiding his strength had suddenly leaped out from some unknown place and directly killed two of the sticky rod officials before snatching the young man and fleeing south.

During his escape, he managed to successfully avoid two traps, showing just how cunning and slippery he was. He also possessed impressive combat power, and the young man also displayed his astonishing disposition and aptitude as he fled. In fact, he had provided the Golden Core Tier cultivator with huge help both times.

In the end, intelligence gathered by the Green Ripple Pavilion showed that the Golden Core Tier cultivator and the young man had fled to Bamboo Scroll Lake, disappearing without a trace after entering this area.

When it came to this kind of pursuit, it wasn’t just the Great Li Empire that would use all of its strength and resources. Indeed, none of the immortal forces in the mountains would be foolish enough to underestimate their opponents, and those who were more experienced and powerful would all seek to use their full strength to resolve the issues as soon as possible. They wouldn’t act like those incompetent generals who continued to feed the flames, sending forth wave after wave of subordinates to die in vain and support the growth of their enemy, eventually nurturing an enemy that posed an existential threat to them.

The elderly Golden Core Tier cultivator was skilled at battle, and he was also enjoying a geographical advantage at Bamboo Scroll Lake. Thus, the team led by Palace Minister Song couldn’t simply be regarded as a team with two Golden Core Tier cultivators. Rather, the team could cooperate to achieve a combat power rivaling that of powerful Nascent Tier cultivators.

Regarding this point, Dong Gu and Xu Xiaoqiao had privately pored over the details many times, leaving them quite confident in their assessment.

Otherwise, if anything untoward were to happen to their senior sister, both Dong Gu and Xu Xiaoqiao could say goodbye to their status as opening disciples of the Dragon Spring Sword Sect. It was only reasonable that they could no longer stay at Divine Elegance Mountain.

As for the other matter that only Palace Minister Song was aware of, this was a secret that pertained to relatively fundamental matters.

It pertained to the ownership of the entire Bamboo Scroll Lake.

Even he needed to act according to the instructions of his superiors.

Even the island master who had secretly established himself at Bamboo Scroll Lake for more than eighty years was nothing more than a stone on the Go board.

After leaving the Great Li Empire and traveling south, there was one minor matter that Palace Minister Song found quite interesting.

The young man, Li Muxi, was completely unable to comprehend what he was seeing and hearing as they traveled south, especially as they traveled through the Stone Brush Nation in horse-drawn carriages. In fact, he even complained about the main culprit in the depths of his heart. That was, he complained about the Great Li Empire, the empire that he called home.

Perhaps in Li Muxi’s eyes, there wouldn’t be so many dead and starving commoners if it weren’t for the heavy cavalry of the Great Li Empire marching south, or if they had been less brutal and cruel as they engaged in countless battles as they advanced. The raging war brought calamity to the commoners, and the innocent men and women were all reduced to a miserable state where they seemed like neither humans nor ghosts.

On the other hand, Li Muxi’s grandfather was indifferent to the tragic scenes. However, the “young” cultivator didn’t explain anything to his grandson.

“I heard that there’s a child from Clay Vase Alley living at Bamboo Scroll Lake right now?” Ruan Xiu asked.

Palace Minister Song nodded and replied, “His surname is Gu, and he’s a child who enjoys immense fated opportunities. Liu Zhimao, the River Severing True Lord who rules over the strongest force at Bamboo Scroll Lake, took him as a closing disciple. Gu Can himself also brought a so-called large catfish to Bamboo Scroll Lake, but that was in fact a flood dragon that possesses Nascent Tier combat power.

“Gu Can now relies on his subordinate to cause trouble throughout the islands, and he’s made a huge name for himself even though he’s still very young. Indeed, even the Luminous Vermilion Empire has heard about this little boy and his subordinate at Bamboo Scroll Lake. I was chatting with Mr. Xu one time, and Mr. Xu chuckled and remarked that Gu Can was essentially a natural-born vagrant cultivator.”

Ruan Xiu raised her hand and looked at the slumbering fire dragon on her wrist that looked much like a bright red bracelet. She then lowered her hand and fell into contemplation.

1. The phrase for palace minister (郎中) can also mean doctor. ☜