Unsheathed

Chapter 450 (1): Let’s Wait a While Longer

The planning and implementation of the congee stalls and medicine shops were already finished, so Ma Duyi and Zeng Ye initially thought that they would leave the city and continue their journey as normal, traveling to the border region of the Stone Brush Nation. There were two male yin entities who had been border soldiers before death, and their final wish pertained to returning to the border region. They could no longer enjoy life at home, but their hearts and souls still yearned to return home.

However, Chen Ping’an decided to stay in the prefectural city for an extra day. When evening arrived, he stood near the city gates and watched from a distance as the skinny and tanned young boy left the city. He then went to the small alley to look at the dog meat shop that had already shut down. On the walls beside the door were the two door gods from the Yuan Clan and Cao Clan of the Great Li Empire, with the scholarly god holding a ritual baton and the martial god holding a steel truncheon. Only after observing these two things did Chen Ping’an return to the inn.

Chen Ping’an had come across Guan Yiran, a cultivator accompanying the army of the Great Li Empire, again when standing near the city gates, and the latter had purposely walked away from the other subordinates and soldiers to stand with Chen Ping’an. Guan Yiran had asked in a quiet voice, “Are you fishing for a big one? Are you letting the tiger return to its mountain such that you can find the location where it cultivated into human form? And that way you can obtain one or two fated opportunities in the form of immortal treasures? Or perhaps you’re allowing the demon to leave just like this, treating this as an act of goodwill and the cultivation of good karma.”

Mountain spirits and water spirits successfully assuming human form indicated some form of huge fated opportunity. Either they accidentally entered an abandoned immortal abode, or they ingested some miraculous medicine that contained abundant spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Regardless of the reason, one could either find the location in the former case or directly refine the demon in the latter case. Both would allow one to obtain surprising riches.

Chen Ping’an had smiled and replied, “It’s the latter reason.”

There was disappointment in Guan Yiran’s voice as he said, “What a shame. If you didn’t appear, then my two colleagues who always complain loudly about being too poor to fill their bellies had already set their eyes on the small demon hiding in the dog meat shop. However, since you already interfered in the situation, I persuaded them to abandon their plans. This was only some additional benefit, after all, and we still have our normal military duties to deal with. Of course, we could have indeed worked together if you had chosen the former option.”

“Then haven’t I decreased your colleagues’ income by suddenly interfering in the situation? Will that make things difficult for you?” Chen Ping’an asked.

Guan Yiran smiled faintly and replied, “Even though my two friends and I are all cultivators, we’re more importantly members of the Great Li Empire’s army. So, your question and your concern are already enough. It’s rare to come across someone from home when traveling outside, so there’s often no need to be so polite. However, being polite is naturally the best, while not being polite won’t matter either. In the latter case, we can simply pretend to be strangers when we meet again, and we’ll deal with everything according to the laws of the Great Li Empire.”

“This is completely correct,” Chen Ping’an replied in sincere agreement.

Guan Yiran laughed heartily and said, “I’m very happy to meet such an impressive person from home in this place that’s so far away from home.”

Chen Ping’an cupped his fists and replied, “It’s inconvenient for me to reveal my identity right now, but I’ll definitely invite Brother Guan for a drink if the opportunity arises in the future.”

Guan Yiran, the martial secretary from the Great Li Empire, lightly struck his chest plate with his fist and replied, “Then I’ll remember your promise! Let me say this first. When I save my brothers on the battlefield, it’s okay for them to owe me a life. However, no one can owe me wine and not give it to me, not even the heavens!”

This was a chance encounter between two people from the same nation in a foreign land, and both their initial encounter and their farewell were filled with satisfaction.

After Chen Ping’an had walked far away from the city gates, two cultivators wearing specially made light armor from the Great Li Empire’s arsenal slowly walked over. One was a sturdy young man, and one was a slender and frail-looking young woman.

The young woman looked at Guan Yiran, who seemingly wanted to continue his conversation with the young man in azure cotton robes, and she asked in curiosity, “Yiran, losing so many immortal coins so early in the New Year isn’t a good omen, so why are you still so happy?”

Guan Yiran chuckled and replied, “Can I not be happy? My happiness is worth more than a thousand taels of gold.”

“That young cultivator was able to give the small demon one lesser heat coin without any hesitation at all,” the sturdy young man said. “He asked for nothing in return, and he even went as far as to purposely see the small demon off to the city gates. In addition, he also set up congee stalls and medicine shops in the city beforehand, and according to our intel, this wasn’t a one-off. Rather, he’s been doing this everywhere.

“If it were any other cultivator from the mountains, I don’t believe that they would possess such kindness and benevolence. However, after observing this person’s words and actions, everything seems to be consistent and reasonable. I feel like Yiran didn’t do anything wrong. This person is a fellow countryman, so it won’t be a bad thing if he becomes a friend worthy of drinking with us.”

The young woman was surprisingly carrying a giant sword even though she was so slender, and she grumbled, “Tch, men are all the same. You all like to puff yourselves up at your own cost when you come across someone who slightly suits your taste. Is there any need?”

“Miss Qi, I’ll become unhappy if you speak about us men like this,” Guan Yiran replied with a serious expression. “I’m far richer than Yu Shanfang, so do I need to puff myself up at all? Back then, who was it that said that even the farts of profligate descendants from wealthy clans like me reek of copper?”

“What can you expect from a hog but a grunt?!” the young woman who was as slender as a spring willow exclaimed in anger. She furiously punched Guan Yiran in the shoulder, causing him to stumble back several steps. She then turned around and returned to the city wall.

Guan Yiran grimaced as he rubbed his shoulder, a bitter smile on his face. This punch truly hurt. Meanwhile, the sturdy young man called Yu Shanfang looked on in amusement.

The young woman was a Militarian cultivator from the Wind Snow Temple. Most Militarian cultivators from True Martial Mountain were mid to high-ranking martial officials in the army of the Great Li Empire, and the young woman with the surname Qi had the opportunity to become one too. However, she had chosen a different path, and the border army of the Great Li Empire wasn’t surprised by her decision. Such choices were common among Militarian cultivators from the Wind Snow Temple, with many of them preferring to become lone wanderers when they left the mountains. Some female cultivators also chose this path, and they would often become the personal subordinates of some important generals.

Yu Shanfang placed an arm around Guan Yiran’s shoulders and said in a low voice, “Yiran, I’ve known you for at least seven or eight years already, and after all these years, I still feel like you’re the child of a general from the capital, one from a middling clan. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been tossed to this shitty place by your clan, and for almost three entire years at that. Not only that, but you’ve always been the lowest-ranked type of accompanying cultivator as well. You have to understand that your capital accent has pissed off a lot of people already.

“On the other hand, Qi Qi has only known you for two years, yet she’s already seen through your status and background during this expedition south, insisting that you’re the descendent of a wealthy clan. Why is this? We’re brothers who have shat in the snow and had our bums frozen off together, yet even we find it hard to believe that you’re the descendent of a wealthy clan. Perhaps the two of you have already…”

Yu Shanfang allowed Guan Yiran to break free, after which he pushed his thumbs together and made faces at Guan Yiran.

There was exasperation on Guan Yiran’s face as he replied, “Who doesn’t know that Qi Qi has already admired Sword Immortal Wei Jin, her junior uncle from another branch in the Wind Snow Temple, for a very long time?”

He then sighed and continued, “Moreover, I already have a fiancee, and to tell you the truth, she is indeed from a wealthy clan in the capital. However, I’ve never seen her before. This might sound funny, but only when I lift up her red veil during our wedding will I finally know what my wife looks like.”

“Which deeply unfortunate young woman has ended up matched with you, a crude cultivator from the border army?” Yu Shanfang asked in curiosity.

“Who mocks their own brother like this?” Guan Yiran huffed as he placed a palm on the hilt of his saber, one that was standard among all of the soldiers in the army. He walked along the streets of this foreign nation with Yu Shanfang, looking around at the houses that were almost all decorated with the two door gods of the Great Li Empire. There were few pillar clans in the Great Li Empire, so the Yuan Clan and the Cao Clan were without a doubt large clans among large clans in the nation.

In reality, however, there were two other pillar clans that could rival the Yuan Clan and the Cao Clan. It was just that one was in the mountains and seldom became involved in mortal matters — this was the Yu Clan. The other was present in the imperial court, and it never became involved in matters pertaining to the border army. Their ancestors had migrated from Yi Province to the capital more than two hundred years ago, and the direct descendants of the clan would return to their ancestral hometown to pay respects to their ancestors every single year. This was an event that even the Ministry of Rites of the Great Li Empire regarded with great importance.

In fact, even the imperial preceptor had once smiled and said to the emperor that during that period of time one hundred years ago when eunuchs had interfered in political affairs, external relatives had seized power, regional rulers had rebelled, and cultivators had wantonly robbed the nation, leading to the most chaotic and tragic times in the history of the Great Li Empire, it was thanks to the immense effort of this clan in studiously patching things up for the nation that the Great Li Empire had avoided shattering into one million pieces.

Yu Shanfang interlocked his fingers and stretched them outward, causing his joints to pop loudly. Different people had different fated opportunities, and Yu Shanfang who could be regarded as half a vagrant cultivator had climbed up the ranks one step at a time, all the way from a low-ranked scout to a martial secretary.

“Truth be told, there are times when the brothers and I feel like you’re a bit different from us when we drink and chat together,” Yu Shanfang said casually. “However, we can’t explain what about you is different. There’s nothing we can do about this, and we can’t compare to the descendants of the generals who have been squeezed into the army. After all, we all have terrible eyesight and observation skills thanks to washing our eyes with sandstorms on the border every day. We can’t compare to those descendants of officials and nobles at all.”

Guan Yiran smiled and revealed, “I only make three types of friends. Those who dare to risk their lives on the battlefield, scholars who are genuinely upright in the imperial court, and cultivators from the mountains who… are genuinely good people.”

There was a look of slight melancholy on Guan Yiran’s face as he continued, “However, it’s a shame that the first and third type of people don’t seem to live very long. Death on the battlefield goes without saying, and after experiencing life and death all these years, farewelling our brothers who are our best friends, we’ll no longer sob like little girls anymore when death comes knocking again.

“As for the third type of people, I was once acquainted with a young man called Yu Yin, someone the same age as me whom I admired greatly. How good was this person? He was so good that I felt like… regardless of how terrible the world was, it would be enough as long as he was standing in front, speaking reason and working to make a change. One would feel happy as long as one looked at his figure walking further and further forward.

“However, such a good cultivator like him died such an unworthy death. For the sake of the bigger picture, his clan who had extremely high hopes in him and the imperial court of the Great Li Empire both chose to reduce the major problem to a minor one, and the minor one to nothing at all. I feel like this is wrong, but will those paramount beings listen to the words of a measly person like me? No, they won’t, even if… my surname is Guan.”

Yu Shanfang chuckled and retorted, “So what if your surname is Guan? Is that very impressive? It’s not like you’re from Cloud Stay Prefecture’s Pillar Guan Clan. Your profile in the military documents clearly states that you’re from the capital. Are you not aware of our general’s personality? He already did everything in his ability to figure out your background, and he told us that you’re from a third-rate general’s clan in the capital. To say nothing of being neighbors with a pillar clan or a head minister’s clan in Yichi Alley, your clan doesn’t even have the right to buy a small courtyard in Chi’er Street where many generals live.

“What, perhaps you have some blood relationship with Cloud Stay Prefecture’s Guan Clan? Our general’s former comrade and biggest opponent, General Liu, once mysteriously discovered that a young and seemingly unremarkable scout in his ranks was actually a descendent of a second-rate general’s clan in the capital. One of his ancestors was a second-rank great general, and this ancestor had even been bestowed with an esteemed and coveted title. Our general feels like he’s been one-upped by General Liu, so he always dreams about there being the descendent of a first-rate general’s clan among his subordinates. It’s absolutely hilarious.”

Guan Yiran hesitated for a moment before saying, “If I die one day, perhaps our general will cry and laugh as he scolds me.”

“Say what? You’re genuinely a descendent of Cloud Stay Prefecture’s Guan Clan?” Yu Shanfang asked in astonishment.

Guan Yiran nodded and replied, “I’m the great-grandson of the main branch. Even though my great-grandfather isn’t a cultivator, I can’t help that his physique is extremely strong. He’s more than one hundred years old, yet he can still drink half a liter of wine and eat an entire kilogram of meat every meal. Even the imperial preceptor was surprised when he witnessed this back then.”

Yu Shanfang rolled his eyes and said, “Like I would believe you! If you’ve met Imperial Preceptor Cui before, then I’ve even met the emperor before!”

Guan Yiran chuckled and replied, “I’ve said what I wanted to say, so it’s up to you whether you believe me or not. In any case, that’s got nothing to do with me.”

“Are you really from that Guan Clan?” Yu Shanfang asked with a hint of suspicion.

Guan Yiran smiled and nodded, saying, “I’m telling you the truth. Remember how I took leave and returned to the capital during New Year three years ago? Qi Qi said that she once traveled around the capital with her Dao mentor during the first month of the New Year. Perhaps I was going from door to door to wish people a Happy New Year in Rain Flower Street or Chi’er Street back then, so Qi Qi was able to unintentionally catch a glimpse of me. However, there are very strict rules in those two areas of the capital, so Qi Qi wouldn’t have dared to follow me. Of course, Qi Qi wasn’t acquainted with me back then, so she wouldn’t have needed to investigate my background anyway.”

Yu Shanfang silently raised an arm, acting furtively as he tried to stroke Guan Yiran’s head.

Guan Yiran cocked his head and dodged Yu Shanfang’s hand, asking, “What are you trying to do? Have you gone crazy thinking about women? Are you hallucinating and thinking that I’m Qi Qi?”

Yu Shanfang rubbed his hands together and replied, “I’ve yet to touch a mighty figure in my life, so I want to touch you to tick this off my list. Tsk, tsk, tsk, the Pillar Guan Clan! I’m definitely going to get you drunk tonight and touch you to my heart’s content! I’ll even call our brothers over to touch you one at a time.”

“If you dare to do something so debauched, then I’ll go and marry your younger sister whom you always describe to be like a celestial maiden. I’ll then call you brother-in-law every single day,” Guan Yiran said with a cheeky grin.

Yu Shanfang immediately kicked Guan Yiran in the backside.

Guan Yiran didn’t dodge his kick.

The two of them continued to walk forward together.

Yu Shanfang suddenly sighed and said, “You should reveal this to our brothers when they leave the world for good, even if it’s in secret.”

Guan Yiran fell silent for a moment before shaking his head and replying, “I can’t bring myself to say it.”

“Understandable,” Yu Shanfang said with a melancholy nod.

Guan Yiran suddenly smiled and said, “If I die on the battlefield one day and the truth is revealed, then both you and our general can at least pat your chests and brag about this to the other armies of the Great Li Empire.”

“Don’t go dying on us,” Yu Shanfang said with a shake of his head.

Guan Yiran also shook his head, saying slowly, “I can’t die simply because I was born into the esteemed Guan Clan from Yi Province? There’s no such rule in the Great Li Empire.”

Yu Shanfang smiled and replied, “You’re mistaken. I feel like however you regarded Yu Yin back then is how I regard you now. Even if you become a high-ranking official in the imperial court of the Great Li Empire in the future, and even if you become comfortable in the capital and no longer don armor, while I’m still fighting with the army and perhaps as far away from you as can be, I’ll still feel… relieved. Mhm, I’ll feel relatively relieved.”

Guan Yiran nodded in response.

“There’s something I don’t understand. Why do descendants of generals, whether from a big clan or a small clan, all like to conceal their identities and become unremarkable reconnaissance soldiers in the army?” Yu Shanfang asked in curiosity.

Guan Yiran smiled and replied, “Every descendent of a general in Yichi Alley and Chi’er Street who wants some face will hope to become a genuine reconnaissance soldier at some point in their life. They won’t rely on the fame and achievements of their ancestors, and they’ll rely on their own ability and hard work. They’ll hack off the heads of their enemies and hang them on their saddles.

“When they return to Yichi Alley and Chi’er Street in the future having served their time as scouts in the army, they can beat up the bastard descendants of those head ministers from Yichi Alley if they ever get into conflicts with them. Of course, this is as long as they aren’t too unreasonable. Afterward, they won’t need to worry about causing trouble for their elders or clan — they definitely won’t face any trouble. This has always been the case, starting from my grandpa’s generation all the way to my generation.”

Yu Shanfang clicked his tongue in wonder and remarked, “Seriously?”

Guan Yiran stomped his foot and said with a faint smile, “And that’s why the iron hooves or the Great Li Empire’s heavy cavalry are able to march across these lands.”

“Say, Yiran, is it possible that you might become the first descendent of Cloud Stay Prefecture’s Guan Clan to obtain an esteemed posthumous title for martial generals in the future?” Yu Shanfang asked in a quiet voice.

“Thank you for your blessings, thank you for your blessings.”

Guan Yiran hurriedly bowed in mock gratitude, saying in jest after he stood up straight, “But why can’t it be a posthumous title for a military governor?”

Yu Shanfang patted Guan Yiran’s shoulder and lectured, “You should keep a low profile and speak more modestly since you’re already a descendent of the Guan Clan. Otherwise, just your capital accent is already enough to piss off other people, so how will you cope in the future? Won’t you be treated like a woman and touched by me and the brothers every day in the future?”

Guan Yiran stroked his chin and said, “Indeed, that’s a very good point. I suppose you’re right.”