Unsheathed

The mountain and streams were beautiful, and the location of the mountain abode was furthermore like the eye of a dragon, breathing life into the entire area.

However, the cultivator who had created this abode was no longer present, and the abode was now occupied by mountain ghosts and spirits.

Chen Ping’an and “Zeng Ye” ventured into the mountain abode.

Their vision opened up after one hundred or so steps, and what lay before them was a large and brightly lit stone cave. There were approximately a dozen mountain spirits who were yet to fully assume human form, and there was a great demon from the mountain sitting on a tall throne.

If this great demon stood up, he would probably measure six meters in height. His physique was like a small mountain, and he was suited in golden armor and wearing a yellow robe, with a crown sitting crookedly on his head.

There were two beautiful and scantily clad women leaning against the throne and massaging the great demon’s calves, and sitting on a sandalwood official hat chair beside the throne was a man dressed in azure robes and smiling in an amused manner.[1]

Be it the human or the demon, it was as if they were both waiting for the two idiots to walk into the trap by themselves.

The great demon in golden armor and yellow robes had the body of a human and the head of a leopard — his true form — and he was leaning lazily against the back of his throne as he swirled a huge wine cup in his hand. When sanguine drops of wine fell to the ground, he would lightly raise a foot and step on one of the seductively beautiful women’s heads, causing the latter to immediately prostrate and lick clean the wine. When they looked up again, their faces would be filled with intoxication.

The man in azure turned around and gave a thumbs up, praising, “My lord, you truly possess an incredible aura as if you’re a general observing the snow through a wine glass!”

The great demon cracked a grin and replied, “Observe the fucking snow? Where is there snow? To say nothing of my abode, even the snow outside has long since stopped.”

The man in azure smiled and pointed at one of the beautiful woman’s voluptuous breasts, explaining, “My lord, you simply need to look down to see the silky smooth snow.”[2]

The great demon laughed heartily upon hearing this.

The entire abode instantly became lively and loud.

“Are you finished chatting?” Chen Ping’an asked.

The domineering great demon narrowed his eyes and replied, “Are you in that much hurry to enter a pot of boiling oil?”

Chen Ping’an nodded and replied, “Yes, I still need to make haste and continue my journey, so I am indeed in quite a bit of a hurry.”

The man in azure smiled and mused, “The world is gripped with chaos, so an early death can lead to an early reincarnation?”

Chen Ping’an nodded again, concurring, “That makes a lot of sense.”

One hour later…

Chen Ping’an left the mountain abode with the true Zeng Ye.

The ghost general who chose to remain at the Guqin Craft Mountain Abode saw the two of them off to the entrance of the abode.

As for what had occurred inside the stone cave in the past hour…

The Sea Observation Tier great demon in yellow robes and golden armor was as dead as could be, while the man in azure — a genuine human and the great demon’s strategist — had died even before the great demon. Not only that, but his soul had also been completely engulfed by the ghost general.

The two beautiful women were also humans, and after the secret technique on them was lifted, one chose to serve the new owner of the mountain abode while the other chose to commit suicide by slamming her head into the stone wall. According to her agreement with Chen Ping’an, however, her soul was collected and allowed to stay in a room in the Colored Glaze Pagoda previously occupied by the ghost general.

As for the mountain spirits and ghosts, some were killed while some were spared.

In reality, Bookkeeper Chen from Cyan Gorge Island had spent less than ten minutes executing the great demon and his minions. He had spent the rest of the time looking through their crimes and determining their punishment.

“We’ll return to take a look before we leave Bamboo Scroll Lake, and Zeng Ye will also return to check in on the situation in the future,” Chen Ping’an said to the ghost general.

The ghost general nodded and replied, “I’ll stay here to cultivate in peace, and I won’t disturb any mortal humans. The Stone Brush Nation is engulfed in war and chaos right now, so malicious ghosts and evil spirits that are usually hard to find will definitely be more abundant.”

“What about ten years later or one hundred years later?” Chen Ping’an asked.

The ghost general was slightly taken aback.

“You should strive to become a mountain god even if you have to start off as an illegitimate mountain god not recognized by the imperial court,” Chen Ping’an suggested.

The ghost general felt great admiration for Chen Ping’an as he cupped his fists and replied, “I definitely won’t forget the great opportunity bestowed upon me by Mr. Chen!”

Chen Ping’an didn’t say anything else, simply descending the mountain and walking away with Zeng Ye.

Halfway down the mountain, Chen Ping’an retrieved a Fox Skin Beauty Talisman and allowed Ma Duyi to return to the living world.

She immediately started to chat with Zeng Ye.

Chen Ping’an shook his head in helplessness.

They continued to travel north with few stops in between, and compared to the busy official roads that they had traveled on in the southern region of the Stone Brush Nation, they were now doing their best to pick smaller roads as they ventured north.

One evening, the three of them arrived at a provincial city just as the city gates were about to close, hurriedly making their way inside after their travel documents were carefully scrutinized by the strict guards.

This important and “injury-riddled” provincial city in the north had already been conquered by the heavy cavalry of the Great Li Empire, but the Great Li Empire hadn’t left behind too many troops to guard the city, with only one hundred odd cavalrymen. To say nothing of guarding the city, there weren’t enough troops to even guard the city gates. In addition to this, there was only a group of scholarly secretaries accompanying the troops as well as some martial secretaries responsible for protecting them. After entering the city, Chen Ping’an and his companions wandered through almost half of the city before finally finding a small inn to stay at.

The reason for this was very simple. Firstly, the intense battle had only just finished, and the city was yet to recover from the large number of deaths and injuries. Afterward, there had also been serious incidents of assassins attempting to kill scholarly officials of the Great Li Empire. Secondly, it was going to be New Year’s Eve in two days. The vitality of the city was very low to begin with, meaning that business was naturally very bad. Add to that the New Year, and it could be said that Chen Ping’an and his two companions were already very fortunate to find a place to stay.

The next day, Zeng Ye was possessed by a male entity, and he led Chen Ping’an to a force in the cultivation world that was based inside the provincial city. This force was only third rate in the cultivation world of the Stone Brush Nation, but to the local residents of the provincial city, it was still a lofty and indomitable existence.

The male yin entity was a local resident before death, and both he and his older sister had depended on each other to make ends meet. However, the son of the powerful force’s leader took a fancy to his sister, and in the end, both she and her fiance — an impoverished scholar with no fame and success — were found drowned to death in a river one day. Her clothes were disheveled, yet who dared to take another glance at a corpse floating in the river? Her fiance had suffered an even worse fate, and it appeared as if his legs had been broken before he was drowned to death.

Afterward, a young boy had spent all of his savings to bury his older sister and her fiance whom he already viewed as his brother-in-law. He had then secretly left the provincial city, wandering around before eventually arriving at Bamboo Scroll Lake and becoming an errand boy in an immortal abode. He hadn’t possessed any cultivation aptitude, and he hadn’t even possessed the talent to practice martial arts. Just like that, he had eventually passed away, following the footsteps of his older sister and brother-in-law.

“Zeng Ye” stood in front of a large door, above which the plaque had already been changed.

The male yin entity had already been downcast and dejected when walking over, and this discovery made him appear even more despondent.

The tragedy that changed his life had taken place thirty years ago.

However, this was only a minor issue. They had asked the innkeeper for directions before leaving the inn, and the old man had sighed with emotion and said that all of the men in that clan and all of the martial artists in that force were upright and admirable heroes. However, it was a shame that good people would often suffer tragic fates, with all of them now dead. There were more than one hundred men in that force, and they had resolved to guard the provincial city even if it meant death. Following their deaths, there were almost no males left in the force apart from children.

There was utter agony on “Zeng Ye’s” face, and he squatted on the ground with his hands wrapped around his head as he continually murmured, “How can this be…? How can this be…?”

Chen Ping’an squatted down beside him, remaining calm even as “Zeng Ye’s” expression became increasingly twisted and sinister. He simply sipped his wine in silence.

“Zeng Ye’s” eyes gradually regained clarity after a moment, and he started to sob and eventually ended up with his head lowered and his hands on the ground. He breathed heavily, and he was already unable to cry anymore.

Only then did Chen Ping’an open his mouth and say, “I feel like I was in a similar state to you when I was at my lowest point. I felt like I was a dog or even inferior to a dog. At the end of the day, however, we’re still humans.”

Chen Ping’an smiled pitifully and continued, “Of course, I pushed through it in the end. Even though I don’t eat shit, I was able to enjoy a lot of bullshit fortune. I was much more fortunate than you.”

“Zeng Ye” panted heavily, sitting down on the ground and extending a hand as he asked, “Mr. Chen, can I drink some of your wine? I’ve never drank any wine in my life.”

Chen Ping’an offered his Sword Nurturing Gourd to the male yin entity and replied, “There’s more than enough wine for you. The only potential issue is whether you can handle so much wine.”

“Zeng Ye” reared his head and took a huge swig, following which he immediately broke into a fit of violent coughing. His entire body trembled, and he was just about to hand the wine gourd back to Chen Ping’an.

However, Chen Ping’an had already retracted his hands and placed them inside his opposite sleeves, squatting there as if he were a most ordinary resident of the provincial city. It was as if he were sunbasking on a warm and sunny winter’s day.

He shook his head and suggested, “Why don’t you take another swig? Perhaps you’ll understand the joy of drinking wine once you become accustomed to the taste.”

Sure enough, “Zeng Ye” raised the wine gourd and took another swig. However, he frowned deeply before wiping his mouth and shaking his head, saying, “I still don’t like the taste.”

Chen Ping’an accepted the Sword Nurturing Gourd, taking a swig of wine himself before retying the wine gourd to his waist.

“Zeng Ye” sat on the ground and took a glance at the residence, with his expression becoming pained once again. He wanted to speak several times, yet he swallowed his words each time. In the end, he buried his face in his hands.

Chen Ping’an turned around and asked, “What’s wrong? Perhaps you want me to record the names of the people from this clan so that they can also be included in the Heavenly Worship Ceremony and the Liberation Rite of Water and Land in the future?”

He shook his head lightly and continued, “I won’t agree to that. I’ll write down your name, and I’ll also write down the names of your older sister and your brother-in-law. However, I won’t write down a single one of their names. I’m not acquainted with a single one of them, after all, while I’m most definitely acquainted with you.”

“Zeng Ye” choked up and asked, “Am I very stupid?”

“Yes, very stupid,” Chen Ping’an replied with a nod.

“Zeng Ye” wiped away his tears, with his expression becoming determined as he said, “A good-for-nothing like me doesn’t have the face to visit my older sister and my brother-in-law’s graves to offer incense and wine to them. Mr. Chen, can you please pay respect to them and offer them incense and wine in my stead? In any case, I’ve already told Mr. Chen the location of their graves, so… I won’t be visiting them myself.”

“Are you sure?” Chen Ping’an asked in a gentle voice. “You have to understand that you’ll never get to make up for this in the future.”

“Zeng Ye” nodded and replied, “I’m sure.”

Chen Ping’an nodded in response.

“Mr. Chen, when you visit their graves, can you please tell my brother-in-law that you’re a friend of mine?” “Zeng Ye” suddenly asked.

Chen Ping’an nodded and replied, “No problem.”

In the end, “Zeng Ye” insisted on kowtowing to Chen Ping’an to thank him.

Chen Ping’an didn’t agree to this.

However, “Zeng Ye” insisted on doing so, saying that he wouldn’t be able to depart in peace otherwise.

Chen Ping’an was dazed and speechless as he looked at the young boy whose real name was Zhou Guonian.[3]

————

On New Year’s Eve…

On a small mountain ridge located several kilometers away from the provincial city…

There was someone offering incense and wine in front of a small grave.

The young outsider in azure cotton robes truthfully recounted the events to the grave, even revealing the fact that Zhou Guonian had asked him to pretend to be his friend.

In the end, Chen Ping’an looked at the small gravemound and said in a soft voice, “For you to have a little brother like him, for you to have a brother-in-law like him, and for me to have a friend like Zhou Guonian… This is a most wonderful thing.”

————

Late at night, inside the inn in the provincial city…

It was dinnertime on New Year’s Eve.

The three guests didn’t spend any money to eat New Year’s Eve dinner at the inn, causing the innkeeper to feel slightly disappointed.

Chen Ping’an simply asked the innkeeper for a stove and a bag of charcoal, and Ma Duyi and the downcast Zeng Ye accompanied him all the way until midnight.

There was no chatter as they sat around the stove.

Afterward, Ma Duyi and Zeng Ye returned to their respective rooms.

Sitting in a foreign nation, Chen Ping’an stayed up by himself until the next morning.

Another year passed just like that.

1. Official hat chair refers to yokeback armchairs. ☜

2. Snow in this context refers to the women’s skin being snow-white. ☜

3. Guonian (过年) literally means to celebrate the New Year. ☜