Unsheathed

Inside the top floor of the tall building in Pond Water City, Cui Dongshan was still sitting within a barrier of golden lightning.

He heaved a soft sigh.

Cui Chan leaned down slightly as he looked at the two picture scrolls on the floor, saying with a faint smile, “Are you very disappointed that even the final wisp of hope in your heart has been crushed? You shouldn’t have this kind of mindset where you place all of your hopes in someone else.”

Cui Chan most likely knew that Cui Dongshan wouldn’t respond, so he continued to muse, “These two critical death traps are tied together: the principles that Chen Ping’an has slowly learned, and the sinister nature that Gu Can has naturally developed. You might think that the critical factor lies with Gu Can, mistakenly believing that this young child will suddenly come to his senses once Chen Ping’an uses emotion and reason to touch his heart.

“Ignoring the fact that these principles and reasons are difficult to expound, Gu Can won’t change his innate nature even if his relationship with Chen Ping’an is extremely close. This is just how Gu Can is. Clay Vase Alley is only so big, so how could I have not noticed Gu Can’s extraordinarily heavy Bone Qi? In fact, even Liu Zhimao failed to lift the little boy up.

“Cui Dongshan, are you underestimating yourself — Cui Chan — a little too much? And because of this, you dared to come up with your plots without understanding Gu Can’s true nature? People like us can only make a maximum of one mistake and no more than that, especially not in the same way again. However, I can’t blame you for this, as people always like to grab onto that tiny wisp of hope when they reach a dead end. This is simply human nature. In reality, we already knew this about Gu Can when we were still one person. I saw it, so you naturally saw it as well. You’ve simply become flustered and confused right now.”

Cui Chan pointed at the picture scroll where Chen Ping’an was secretly tailing the horse-drawn carriages and asked, “Do you know where you made an even bigger mistake?”

Cui Chan answered his own question, saying, “When Qi Jingchun comprehensively turned against us in that old residence in the small town back then, he said that he would cause our cultivation base to fall again and again if we dared to target Chen Ping’an again in the next sixty years. Qi Jingchun naturally wasn’t making an empty threat, and both you and I are keenly aware of this fact. After we became two people, however, the remnant youth in you was rebellious and unwilling to believe this fact, right?

“As a result, you stood at the bottom of the well at that inn and were almost killed by a wisp of Chen Ping’an’s sword qi as he stood at the mouth of the well. Afterward, you chose to take another extreme, starting to believe Qi Jingchun’s threat without a sliver of a doubt. This is the last wisp of hope in your flustered and chaotic mind’s lake, isn’t it, Cui Dongshan?”

The corners of Cui Dongshan’s mouth twitched as he listened to Cui Chan’s analysis.

Cui Chan remained calm and composed as he gazed at the picture scrolls, and he said to himself, “Qi Jingchun is like a ghost that continues to haunt us, but he’s truly as dead as can be already. That being the case, why don’t we logically consider this problem again? Let’s assume that Qi Jingchun’s Go skills are divine, with his foresight so incredible that he was already able to foresee this calamity at Bamboo Scroll Lake.

“Thus, Qi Jingchun separated out a wisp of his soul before his death and placed it at someplace in Bamboo Scroll Lake. However, have you ever considered this before? Just what kind of scholar is Qi Jingchun? He had extremely high hopes for Zhao Yao, yet he was willing to have Zhao Yao peacefully continue on his journey of seeking knowledge through the world even if it meant that Zhao Yao would no longer be able to inherit his scholarly lineage.

“Following this logic, how do you think the incomplete soul of Qi Jingchun will respond to the current situation? Will he be hiding in some corner and watching Chen Ping’an, simply hoping that Chen Ping’an can live on and enjoy a peaceful and carefree life? Perhaps he sincerely hopes that Chen Ping’an won’t need to carry so many troublesome burdens on his shoulders in the future? Even you’re feeling sorry and distressed for your new master, so do you think Qi Jingchun feels the same way?”

Cui Chan chuckled and continued, “Of course, I don’t deny the fact that I would have remained apprehensive even if Qi Jingchun had genuinely split his soul into three parts back then. Now, however, if he dares to show himself and reveal any clues to me, then I won’t give him the opportunity to open his mouth to speak. I won’t give him the chance to say even a single word.”

Cui Dongshan turned around and dazedly stared at Cui Chan, the older and more mature version of himself. “Say, why do I have to end up like the current you?” he asked.

Cui Chan smiled faintly, shifting his finger to the carriage and replying, “What you said just now… Chen Ping’an will most likely say something similar to Gu Can when he comes face to face with him: ‘Why did you become the type of person that you hated most back then?’”

Cui Chan didn’t so much as glance at Cui Dongshan and the slightly quivering golden lightning field as he continued slowly, “Disregarding the fact that you’re completely unable to kill me, this death trap will still remain a death trap even if you somehow manage to kill me. This is unchangeable just like the great trend of the world. So, why don’t you sit here obediently and make the most of this opportunity while I still have some time and haven’t returned to the Great Li Empire yet? Cui Dongshan, you can always ask me for explanations regarding the many matters that you don’t understand.”

When Cui Chan stopped speaking…

…The room fell completely silent.

As if recalling something amusing, Cui Chan smiled and said, “Since you’re not asking any questions, then let me ask you a question instead. How do you think Chen Ping’an will feel if Gu Can responds to his question like this? Gu Can might appear confident and justified as he replies, ‘I don’t feel like I’m wrong. If you’re so capable, then why don’t you beat me to death, Chen Ping’an?’ Or perhaps he’ll reply, ‘Chen Ping’an, where were you when Mom and I were being bullied by those bad people at Bamboo Scroll Lake?’”

Cui Dongshan’s vision was blurry as he dazedly stared at the old man in Confucian robes, the other part of him that had unwaveringly walked to his current position and status.

Cui Chan smiled faintly and said, “In reality, everyone will feel loneliness of varying degrees once they grow older, regardless of whether they read books or not. Some smarter people might vaguely sense that heaven and earth and the entire world are not silent and motionless at some sudden instant in time. Some who reflect on their conscience will receive a hazy answer filled with guilt and remorse.

“Do you know what this is called? You don’t, because I only discovered the answer in the past few years. Cui Dongshan, you’re trying to move against the current, yet you’re getting pushed back again and again. If I don’t say it, then you won’t ever understand it. This is called a person’s conscience of heaven and earth. However, this kind of feeling definitely won’t allow a person to enjoy a better life. Instead, it will only make one feel increasingly troubled and uncomfortable. This is the case regardless of whether the person is good or bad.”

Cui Chan paused for a brief moment before continuing, “Oh, that’s right, while you were whiling away your time at the Great Sui Nation’s Mountain Cliff Academy, I told the old divine lord about the ideas that we came up with back then, helping him untie a small knot in his heart. Think about it, someone like the old divine lord needs to spend almost ten thousand years to overcome a single obstacle in his mind, so how long do you think it will take Chen Ping’an? Moreover, if it were me instead of you, I definitely wouldn’t have sobbed uncontrollably simply because of Chen Ping’an’s unintentional reply of ‘think about it again,’ a completely different reply from what the old scholar said back then. Yes, just like how you’re sobbing right now.”

Cui Dongshan raised an arm and covered his eyes.

“You don’t even have the ability to scold me and call me an old bastard anymore,” Cui Chan chuckled. “By the looks of it, you’re truly heartbroken and almost as pitiable as Chen Ping’an. However, there’s no rush, and your master will only become more pitiable and heartbroken than you in a moment.”

Cui Dongshan leaned back and fell onto the floor, with his tears and snot mixing together as he sobbed.

Cui Chan was expressionless as he said, “If I remember correctly, the first time that we suffered such a pitiable mindset was a very long time ago, when we were still on the top floor of the scripture library in our hometown, the one where Grandpa removed the stairs. We were around the same age as your host body’s current age, and we were so angry that we challenged Grandpa by purposely tearing a page from the sagely scripture that he admired the most, using it to wipe our bum after we took a shit.

“When Grandpa saw the soiled page that we threw down the scripture library, he didn’t fly into a fit of rage, nor did he angrily scold us. In fact, he didn’t say anything at all. Instead, he simply put the stairs back before leaving.”

Cui Chan smiled and continued, “In reality, I only told the old divine lord half of the relevant matters. That is, the weak and fragile human nature possesses hidden strength, what future generations have described as so-called empathy, synaesthesia, and compassion. These hidden strengths can encourage people to perform actions that are unimaginable and foolish in the eyes of those paramount and apathetic deities who possess flawless mindsets. This is the case no matter how powerful or talented an individual person is.

“For example, people will righteously sacrifice themselves for the sake of others, feel happiness, anger, joy, or grief because of the emotions of others, choose brutal deaths for the sake of someone they only just met, emit blinding radiance because of a small flame in their hearts, sing loudly and vigorously as they march toward death, and willingly allow others to use their corpses to ascend even further.

“They’ll help future generations take another step up the mountain, eventually reaching the mountain peak and the jade pagodas where they can dismantle everything! They can annihilate the deities that peer down on the world and treat the fortune of the human race as incense fortune and food!”

Cui Chan smiled again, explaining, “However, this is only half the story. The other half of human nature is a person who is innately unscrupulous and will stop at nothing for the sake of survival. No matter how lowly and insignificant this person is, they’ll view themself as a unique and important being. Thus, countless such individuals yearn to live on, to live longer, and to live better. We’re oblivious to the fact that we already know about the critical principles.

“Influenced by the nature instilled in us by the deities when they were raising and training us, we compete and fight for the critical principle. Since only one such principle exists, we can only snatch it from other people to nurture and grow our own. This kind of pursuit is endless and eternal.”

Cui Chan pointed at Chen Ping’an and the carriage, saying, “Gu Can might not know about Chen Ping’an’s struggles and difficulties, just like how Chen Ping’an might not have known about Qi Jingchun’s thoughts back then.”

The old man in Confucian robes retracted his finger and asked with a smile, “So, why don’t you guess something? When Qi Jingchun held an umbrella for Chen Ping’an as they walked along the street outside the Yang family’s medicine shop for the very last time, Qi Jingchun already offered the reasons for Chen Ping’an to not feel guilty in the future. However, I feel like there’s one matter that’s worth considering. Back then, had the young boy from Clay Vase Alley already guessed that he was the critical Go piece used to trigger Qi Jingchun’s death?”

Cui Chan turned around, smiling as he shook his head.

Cui Dongshan had already blocked off all of his senses.

Cui Chan continued to observe the two painting scrolls, musing to himself, “Old scholar, what would you say if you saw these matters? Mhm, you would tug your beard and remark, ‘Not good at all!’”

Cui Chan suddenly smiled in ridicule and exclaimed, “Casting one’s gaze over the extremely large Parasol Leaf Continent, there’s surprisingly only Xun Yuan who isn’t blind. How truly inconceivable.”

Cui Dongshan was lying ramrod straight on the floor like a dead person.

Cui Chan turned back around and wondered out loud, “Which sentence did you write on that piece of paper in the brocade pouch? This is the only thing that I’m curious about. Don’t play dead. Even if you’ve sealed your bridge of immortality, I know that you can still guess my thoughts. I know that you’re at least this smart, Cui Dongshan.”

Cui Dongshan remained unmoving, insisting on playing dead until the very end.

————

On the busiest street in Pond Water City overflowing with people, a place that was the least likely choice for an assassination, there broke out an intense and heart-stopping assassination attempt.

There was an eighth tier sword cultivator from the Luminous Vermilion Empire, an eighth tier martial artist, and a Golden Core Tier formation cultivator who had already set up his formations.

This was a flawless setup. However, the outcome greatly disappointed the spectators.

Firstly, the assassination attempt was far too sudden, and secondly, the conclusion arrived far too quickly.

The second horse-drawn carriage exploded apart, revealing an open collar lady who was wearing a veiled hat.

She allowed the bonded flying sword of the eighth tier sword cultivator to pierce through her heart as she killed the lunging Wing Formation Tier martial artist with a single punch. She dug the martial artist’s heart out, gripping it tightly in her hand and swallowing it with a single gulp as she leaped away.

She then caught up to the sword cultivator, striking him in the back with a punch and brutally cracking his Militarian Golden Crow Armor. She then pierced his chest with her fingers and once again dug out a heart, hovering in midair and not looking at the corpse that was plummeting to the ground. She allowed the nascent soul of the sword cultivator to flee into the distance with its golden core.

This was something that she had discussed with her master before. There would be no more fun to be had if she killed all of them in a single go.

In fact, this so-called open collar lady was none other than Gu Can’s small catfish.

It had secretly advanced to the Nascent Tier already.

The combat power of a Nascent Tier flood dragon was equivalent to that of a ninth tier martial artist plus a Nascent Tier cultivator.

However, the small catfish wasn’t an ordinary flood dragon, and it was instead one of the few remaining descendants of five True Dragons.

It walked over to the first carriage, still carefully chewing on the eighth tier sword cultivator’s heart as it did so. This was a fine delicacy, a scrumptious meal that was incredibly difficult to come across in Bamboo Scroll Lake.

Gu Can was still wearing his dark green official garb as he jumped down from the horse-drawn carriage, and Lü Caisang followed closely behind him.

Gu Can arrived in front of the small catfish and reached over to wipe the corners of its mouth clean, complaining, “Small Catfish, how many times do I need to tell you? You’re not allowed to eat in such a crude manner! Do you still want to sit at the dining table and eat with Mom and me in the future?!”

The small catfish smiled bashfully and turned its head to the side in embarrassment.

A cold chill ran down Lü Caisang’s spine.

Gu Can swaggered over to the Golden Core Tier formation cultivator who was standing at the side of the street and not daring to move a single muscle. The people in the surroundings had already receded like a falling tide.

The formation cultivator wasn’t frozen to the spot in fright because of a weak will.

Rather, the gaze of that wretched beast had already locked onto her, meaning certain death if she dared to move.

Gu Can placed his hands inside his opposite sleeves, walking in a circle around the Golden Core Tier formation cultivator who looked like an ordinary woman. In the end, he stood in front of her and lamented, “Ahhh, it’s a shame that your appearance is so shabby, Aunty. Otherwise, I could have spared your life.”

The woman immediately fell to her knees with a thud, begging, “Gu Can, please spare my life! I’m willing to serve you in the future!”

Gu Can smiled and remained silent, seemingly weighing up the pros and cons.

The small catfish was no longer wearing its veiled hat, yet it was still dressed in the uniform given to open collar ladies when they traveled outside. It burped in satisfaction, after which it hurriedly covered its mouth.

Gu Can turned around and shot a glare at the small catfish.

He then turned to Lü Caisang and asked with a smile, “How was it? You didn’t follow behind my ass and eat dust for nothing, did you?”

There was a dazzling smile on Lü Caisang’s face as he nodded in response.

If he wasn’t like this, then he wouldn’t have been the biggest young devil in Bamboo Scroll Lake before Gu Can’s rise to the top.

Gu Can twisted his neck and chuckled, “Lü Caisang, why don’t you repeat to this aunty the rules that I announced to the entire Bamboo Scroll Lake in the past?”

Cyan Gorge Island had been plagued by many surprise attacks and assassination attempts in the past, yet Gu Can had surprisingly told the enraged River Severing True Lord Liu Zhimao to not follow the clues and pursue the masterminds hiding behind the scenes for whatever reason.

However, their enemies and the vagrant cultivators who had hired assassins purely due to their dislike of Gu Can’s wanton troublemaking weren’t brainless fools. They eventually stopped risking their lives or wasting money, and they no longer sent people on a one-way trip to Cyan Gorge Island.

Lü Caisang shot a sideways glance at the woman, saying with a faint smile, “Regarding all provocations and assassination attempts outside Cyan Gorge Island, the first esteemed guest to make an attempt will be punished by death. The second person to make an attempt will be executed along with a close relative, making them a couple in death. The third person to make an attempt will be executed along with their entire family. If they don’t have family, then the family of the mastermind will be executed. If even the mastermind is a pitiful person with no family, then the closest friends and so on will be executed. To put it simply, we can’t have the culprits suffer a lonely journey to the underworld.”

Gu Can nodded and turned around to once again look at the woman who had an expression of fear and despair. He pulled one hand out from his sleeve, raising three fingers and saying, “Why charge toward a futile death like this? Revenge is a dish best served cold, and even one hundred years won’t be too long to wait. However, you people are indeed right in the sense that who would dare to challenge me in one hundred years’ time? The three of you are far too incompetent.

“I remember an assassin at Cyan Gorge Island two years ago who was truly quite impressive. He wasn’t especially strong, yet his method was very effective, unexpectedly hiding in the toilet and unleashing a sword strike at me. He was truly a fucking genius. If it weren’t for the small catfish’s mouth being too quick, I was actually reluctant to punish him with death!”

Gu Can kept his other hand inside his sleeve, and the three fingers on his hand were still raised as he continued, “Before your assassination attempt, I’ve already faced three attempts on my life outside of Cyan Gorge Island. Like I said to the person before you, he needed to have a nice little reunion with his entire family. They needed to reunite regardless of where they were living.

“The first culprit was punished by death, the second culprit was punished by death along with the death of a close relative, and the third culprit was punished by death along with the death of their entire family. This is the fourth time now, so what should the punishment be again?”

The small catfish gulped and replied, “Execution of the entire clan.”

Gu Can feigned realization and remarked, “Yes, that’s right, that’s indeed what it was.”

He then retracted his fingers and placed his hand back inside his sleeve, bending down slightly at the same time. This was the good thing about speaking with women. They were often shorter than him, so he wouldn’t need to crane his neck and look up as he spoke. This saved a lot of effort.

Gu Can chuckled softly and said, “Your entire clan is going to be executed. However, there’s actually nothing to be scared of, as this is nothing more than a big reunion. During normal times, you people won’t be able to have a full reunion even when it’s New Year or some other important festival.”

At this moment, a middle-aged man carrying a sword on his back and a wine gourd by his waist suddenly walked out from under the eaves of some building not far away from here.

He directly walked toward Gu Can.

Lü Caisang turned around, narrowing his eyes as killing intent radiated from his body.

Gu Can also turned around, smiling and saying, “Don’t worry, let him walk over.”

Lü Caisang hesitated briefly before ultimately yielding and stepping aside.

The “middle-aged man” with the surname Chen walked in front of the young boy dressed in dark green official garb.

The small catfish that had already assumed human form suddenly took a backward step.

Gu Can had a mental link with the small catfish, and he had only just furrowed his brows when that person slapped him across the face.

“Say that again?” the person said.

Lü Caisang’s jaw dropped when he saw this.

Almost everyone in the street had the same reaction.

The person immediately raised his palm again, viciously slapping Gu Can once more as he raised his quivering yet stern voice and shouted, “Gu Can! Say that again?!”

Gu Can turned his head and spat a mouthful of blood on the ground. He then cocked his head to the side, with a look of delight in his eyes even though his face was red and swollen. “Haha! Chen Ping’an, you’ve finally come!”