Unsheathed

Chen Ping’an appeared slightly adrift at this moment.

Many years ago in the Jewel Small World, he had only been a young bumpkin wearing straw sandals as he stood behind the makeshift gate of the small town.

Standing outside the gate had been Cai Jinjian, Fu Nanhua, Light Breeze City’s Xu Clan, Sun Scorch Mountain’s Mountain-Moving Ape, and the little girl who had hollered about carrying Cloud Drape Mountain back home to use as her small garden.

That was the first time Chen Ping’an had interacted with travelers from outside the small town. Moreover, all of them had been cultivators from the mountains, individuals who were viewed as immortals by the common people.

Fortunately, there was a young girl among the outsiders who had said that the Great Dao shouldn’t be so narrow.

After Chen Ping’an arrived at Bamboo Scroll Lake…

His understanding of good and evil was brutally challenged and left completely bloodied, and it was only afterward that he discovered a large number of flaws in his mind. As it turned out, he was so precariously fragile.

For example, it was important for Chen Ping’an to recognize the fact that he was also an immortal from the mountains now. Or at least half an immortal from the mountains.

Otherwise, if he denied this fact and rejected his own identity simply because of the Mountain-Moving Ape’s existence, then this would inevitably manifest as a flaw in his Great Dao.

Back in the river of time in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land, Chen Ping’an had once constructed a golden bridge that spanned across the river. However, Chen Ping’an’s mind had very clearly told himself one thing.

If he truly set foot on the golden bridge, it would definitely collapse and send him plummeting into the river.

Chen Ping’an sighed and mused, “I turned my back to you once, and I also became lost in thought just now. I’ve already given you two opportunities, small catfish, but you still don’t dare to kill me?”

Tan Xue’s voice was cold as she replied, “Isn’t everything going according to your plans? Based on what you’ve said, the regulations are omnipresent, and there’s every possibility that you’ve hidden your regulations here. Perhaps you secretly set up a hidden formation, or perhaps your regulations are contained within this demon-binding chain that can innately suppress me. Everything is possible. In any case, you also said it yourself. How will it benefit me to kill you? I would lose a backer and a powerful shield for no benefit in return.”

Chen Ping’an smiled and asked, “Can this be regarded as my reasons getting through to you?”

Tan Xue’s face was filled with ridicule as she responded, “And are you going to say that people like me only pick and choose the reasons that we want to adhere to?”

Chen Ping’an lightly shook his head.

There was a fake smile on Tan Xue’s face as she said sarcastically, “What lesson does Mr. Chen have for me now? Tan Xue will listen with full attention.”

“You’re not a human, and you’re instead only a lowly beast,” Chen Ping’an said. “If I knew that things would turn out like this, then I wouldn’t have given you to the snotty little kid back in the Jewel Small World. I would have cooked you into a dish and enjoyed a hearty meal. That would have spared me from all this headache and debts to other people.”

Tan Xue smiled faintly and replied, “I refuse to become angry, and I insist on going against your expectations. I won’t give you the opportunity to perform delineations and severances against me.”

Chen Ping’an clicked his tongue in wonder and remarked, “Wow, you’re showing signs of growth. However, aren’t you suspicious about whether I’m bluffing right now?”

Tan Xue shook her head and replied, “We’ve already had an open and honest discussion with each other, and I was able to benefit greatly from the conversation. There’s also one thing that I’ve learned today: Mr. Chen is conducting himself as a good person and performing good deeds for the sake of himself. I definitely can’t bring myself to do these things. However, I can obediently stay by your side and refrain from committing any more crimes. I won’t give you a single excuse to target me. Won’t that make you feel even more disgusted and repulsed?

“You’re clearly very smart, Mr. Chen, but you also like to adhere to rules and speak reason with other people. If you kill me, Gu Can’s Great Dao will suffer severe damage, and his bridge of immortality will undoubtedly shatter as well. He isn’t as tough and tenacious as you are. He won’t be able to pick himself back up in a slow and steady manner, and it’s very likely that he’ll end up a useless and crippled person. Can Mr. Chen truly bear to do this?”

Chen Ping’an nodded and concurred, “That’s indeed the case. How can the snotty little brat compare to me? He doesn’t know what kind of person his mother truly is, he doesn’t understand how a beast with a connected Great Dao to him is thinking, he isn’t aware of how Liu Zhimao is controlling people beyond his ruthless iron rule, he doesn’t know how to truly win over Lü Caisang, and he isn’t even willing to spend a tiny bit of time to mull over whether the stupid Fan Yan is truly stupid or not. In fact, he’s showing absolutely no concern or thought about the most catastrophic possibility. How can such a Gu Can compare to me? He might be young right now, but he still won’t ponder these issues even if he’s given another ten or twenty years in Bamboo Scroll Lake.”

Chen Ping’an was extremely calm and nonchalant as he spoke these words.

He leaned back into his chair, his hands warm and cozy as he continued, “The world is extremely strange in this way. I killed an eel demon, yet I was actually riddled with bad karma as a result. On the other hand, Gu Can has killed so many innocent people in Bamboo Scroll Lake, yet he surprisingly managed to kill some people who truly deserved death. Of course, this was only a very small number of people, but disregarding some significant karmic consequences, he’s actually managed to increase his good karma.

“I truly don’t know whether to laugh or to cry about the strange place that is Bamboo Scroll Lake. If I don’t target the mortals and only target the vagrant cultivators, perhaps my good karma will at least cancel out my bad karma even if I massacre every single one of them? Of course, I don’t dare to say this with certainty, and it’s nothing more than a speculation that I came up with when I was bored.”

Didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry…

This was a saying that Bamboo Scroll Lake could continue to ruminate over again and again.

This went for both living people and dead people.

Tan Xue maintained the smile on its face as it replied, “I’m not Mr. Chen, so I couldn’t care less about these messy problems. As for insulting me and calling me a beast, you’re free to do so as long as it makes you happy. After all, I am indeed a beast.”

A brilliant smile spread across Chen Ping’an’s face, and he said, “In the past, I never thought that I was a good person, not when I was still in my hometown, and not even when I embarked on two long journeys. Even though two people who were very important to me both called me a foolishly kind person, I still refused to believe this was the case.

“After arriving at the godforsaken Bamboo Scroll Lake, however, I feel like I’ve almost become a sage of morality. To hell with the state of this place, and to hell with the rules of Bamboo Scroll Lake. Have the people here become addicted to eating shit?”

The young bookkeeper spoke slowly, and even though he was asking a question, his tone almost didn’t fluctuate at all. It was as if he were simply telling a small joke.

Tan Xue covered her mouth and giggled, saying, “If Mr. Chen is so capable, then why don’t you repeat this to Gu Can? I’m deaf to your reasons, and they’ll go in one ear and come out the other. Gu Can’s mind is unstable right now, so why doesn’t Mr. Chen pick a sunny day after a bout of snow to sit down on some small bamboo chairs with the snotty little kid? You can speak and he can listen, just like what took place at the dinner table that day. Gu Can is most likely willing to listen to your reasons now. Even though he might not take them seriously, he’ll at least be willing to sit down and listen.”

Chen Ping’an nodded and replied, “I’ll consider this. We’ve chatted for quite a while now, so have you forgotten what we were discussing in the beginning?”

Tan Xue nodded and said with a smile, “It’s the winter solstice today, so I’ve come to invite Mr. Chen to eat dumplings with Gu Can and his mother.”

Chen Ping’an also nodded again, replying, “And as for me, I promised Gu Can that I would give you one thing. Here, take it.”

It was the jade tablet with the words, “nourishing the noble spirit.”

Tan Xue frowned upon seeing this. Something tugged at its mind, and it didn’t reach over to accept the jade tablet. Instead, there was a puzzled expression on Tan Xue’s face as it allowed the jade tablet to hang in front of its body.

The small catfish’s heart suddenly jolted, and sure enough, subtle changes started to take place on the bluestone slab on the floor. Not only that, but the demon-binding chain also disappeared from the table in a flash, rapidly wrapping around its waist.

Tan Xue chuckled coldly in response.

However, it felt as if it had been plunged into a glacial pit in the very next moment.

Tan Xue looked down before looking back up.

An extremely thin golden thread extended from the opposite wall all the way to its chest, with a peerlessly sharp pseudo-celestial tool now stabbed through its body.

Chen Ping’an retrieved a porcelain vial and poured out a secret alchemical pill from the Water Palace, swallowing it in a single gulp before lightly placing the vial on the table. He raised a finger to his lip and signaled for Tan Xue to be quiet, after which he warned, “I suggest you stay silent. Otherwise, you’ll die straight away.”

Tan Xue didn’t dare to move at all. A pseudo-celestial tool was pierced through her heart right now, and even a Nascent Tier cultivator at the peak of their powers would suffer severe wounds if they took such a hit.

Chen Ping’an was completely unfazed by Tan Xue’s pitiful state, and he silently digested the alchemical pill and absorbed its spiritual energy before saying in a slow voice, “Today is the winter solstice, and according to the customs of my hometown, families should gather together to enjoy a meal of dumplings. I spoke to Gu Can before, and I also calculated the approximate recovery speed of Nascent Tier flood dragons like you. At the same time, I’ve also been keeping an eye on Gu Can’s physical state. With these pieces of information, I determined when you would return to shore.

“I also remember the approximate dinner time of the Spring Courtyard Mansion, and I additionally considered the fact that you most likely wouldn’t be willing to show yourself in front of the cultivators of Cyan Gorge Island. As such, you would potentially use the mystical ability of earth immortals to come here and knock on my door. With this in mind, I took action at just the right time, ingesting three Qi-replenishing pills about fifteen minutes before you arrived.

“As for you, you don’t understand my true abilities, and you’re instead relying on your cultivation base as a Nascent Tier cultivator. You’re even more unwilling to carefully investigate my bonded water palace, so you were completely oblivious to the fact that I can now manipulate Sword Immortal to the peak of my capability. Of course, this requires some slightly larger sacrifices, but no matter, everything is worth it. For example, I was only scaring you just then when I told you that you would die straight away if you dared to move. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have had enough time to replenish my spiritual energy. Right now, however, you’ll truly die straight away if you dare to move.”

Chen Ping’an stood up and walked around the study table, waving his hand and causing the jade tablet to fly up from the floor and into his palm.

He grabbed the jade tablet lightly, and it was as if he were completely unafraid of Tan Xue putting up a last-ditch struggle and launching a vicious counterattack. He walked forward just like that, stopping several paces in front of the small catfish and asking with a smile, “Your Nascent Tier cultivation base is but an empty shell, with your true power only rivaling that of Golden Core Tier cultivators. I seriously don’t know who gave you the courage to openly display killing intent toward me. So be it if you displayed killing intent, but do you have the power to support and carry through your killing intent?

“Now look at me. I started to plot against you almost immediately after I arrived at Cyan Gorge Island, and I started to truly put a plan into action after my battle with Liu Laocheng when I realized that you were even more stubborn and unteachable than Gu Can. Since you entered the room, I’ve been speaking reason to you from the beginning to the end. After all, one has to speak reason no matter what. Is speaking reason useless? No, I think it’s very useful. However, the method of speaking reason differs depending on whether the other party is a good person or a bad person. Many good people fail to understand this, and it’s because of their lack of understanding that they suffer so many hardships and receive such unfair treatment from the world.”

Chen Ping’an extended a hand, but he didn’t do so to grab the hilt of Sword Immortal.

Instead, he placed his palm on the pommel and pushed the sword deeper, bit by bit, inch by inch.

The sword blade continued to slide through Tan Xue’s body.

“In fact, I wouldn’t have been able to truly kill you even after ingesting that alchemical pill,” Chen Ping’an revealed. “However, the situation has changed now, and I should be powerful enough to genuinely kill you. If you don’t believe me, then why don’t you put up a struggle and try to break free? Don’t the cultivators in Bamboo Scroll Lake like to gamble with their lives?”

Chen Ping’an waited for a moment, after which he smiled and remarked, “You’re not very smart at all. However, your luck has been quite good.

“Do you know why I’ve never told you and Gu Can the name of this sword? It’s called Sword Immortal, as in terrestrial sword immortal. So I purposely refrained from revealing its name to you.

“Just think about it, what place produced the most sword immortals in ancient times in the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent?

“It was the ancient Shu Nation.

“But why did it produce so many sword immortals? Because there were many flood dragons roaming the nation, and they were the best whetstones for sword immortals wanting to sharpen their blades.”

In the end, Chen Ping’an said, “So, you’ve made the correct choice to not gamble with your life. Even if I didn’t ingest that final alchemical pill, this sword would have still been itching to immediately shatter your heart after having a taste of your blood. I wouldn’t have needed to expend any spiritual energy or mental energy to control it. In fact, I ingested that final alchemical pill for the sake of controlling this sword and holding it back from immediately killing you.”

Tan Xue felt ice-cold, and there was a look of pity and pleading on its face.

Chen Ping’an turned his head and pricked his ears, asking, “You also want to speak your reason?”

However, he quickly straightened his body and placed his hand inside his opposite sleeves, saying with a smile, “But have you asked me whether or not I want to listen to your reasons?”