Unsheathed

Another spring arrived.

A young woman in green and a young boy in white didn’t return north with everyone else, instead jumping off the immortal ship when they passed Red Candle Town.

Afterward, the two of them returned to Dragon Spring Prefecture on foot.

They were none other than Ruan Xiu and Cui Dongshan.

Cui Dongshan was extremely bored as they sat in a bookstore in Red Candle Town, so he found an excuse to purposely mess around with some customers.

One of the customers became extremely flustered, and he had no time to care about the extremely beautiful young lady standing beside the young pretty boy as he exclaimed, “Am I not allowed to envy the good lives of other people? Am I not allowed to chuckle at the bad fortune of other people? Just who do you think you are? Do you have any right to dictate my feelings?”

Cui Dongshan chuckled and replied, “Okay, okay, okay, these habits of yours are very good, so make sure not to change them. Don’t change them, okay? I’m not your mother or your father, so why would I persuade you to change these good habits?”

Ruan Xiu didn’t find this boring, nor did she find it interesting.

Upon seeing Ruan Xiu retrieve her silk pouch and start to eat desserts again, Cui Dongshan hurriedly led her away and grumbled in a low voice, “Can you not eat these things in front of me? I feel panicked whenever you take out your desserts.”

Ruan Xiu’s eyes lit up, and she asked, “You know about those things?”

“I’m a powerful cultivator who almost advanced to the Ascension Tier, after all, so my vision and observation skills still remain even if I’m in a very miserable state right now. I’m also the person who best understands your roots, so how can I not know?” Cui Dongshan replied in helplessness.

Ruan Xiu smiled faintly in response.

What could she do when she wanted to eat the true delicacies of this world yet wasn’t able to? She had come up with a small trick to eat some other snacks. After all, eating something was better than eating nothing at all.

The two of them continued to walk toward their destination, passing Go Table Mountain along the way.

They stopped at the mountain peak, and Cui Dongshan gazed into the distant south.

The so-called emperor of the Great Li Empire was actually the former emperor.

This news couldn’t be contained for much longer, and it wouldn’t be long before everyone in the central region of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent learned of the emperor’s death.

Among the princes of the Great Li Empire’s Imperial Song Clan, Song He naturally possessed the most renown and influence. As for Prince Song Mu who had seemingly appeared from out of nowhere, he had no relationships and no support in the imperial court.

The Imperial Clan Court was extremely afraid to reveal this secret, so no one dared to say a single word about it. Someone might have felt an urge to say something before, but they would have already evaporated from the world. Several elders of the Imperial Clan Court had failed to endure through the scorching summers and freezing winters over the past few years, dying of “sickness” or other “natural causes.”

Following the premature death of the emperor…

The truth was only known by three people: the imperial concubine who was the mother of the two princes and who had been banished to the Palace of Eternal Spring, the temporary ruler Song Changjing, and Imperial Preceptor Cui Chan.

One was the rightful spouse of the former emperor and had given birth to two princes with the legitimate imperial bloodline, one controlled the entire army of the Great Li Empire, and one had provided all of the strategies of the Great Li Empire for the past one hundred years.

The three of them maintained the delicate balance of the imperial court as well as the fine equilibrium between those in the mountains and those outside the mountains.

There wouldn’t be any issues before they conquered the Luminous Vermilion Empire.

After they conquered the enemy empire, however…

There would be significant issues.

The imperial concubine would without a doubt do everything in her ability to help Song Mu, the son whom she had raised and watched grow up. In reality, Song He could be regarded as that old bastard’s in-house disciple as well.

As for Song He — or Song Jixin as those in the small town knew him — he was a disciple of Qi Jingchun.

However, only a single person would truly decide who became the new emperor of the Great Li Empire — Song Changjing.

If Song Changjing were dissatisfied with simply being a temporary ruler and wanted to become the emperor himself, the old bastard in Cui Chan would most likely be willing to agree to this. After all, both he and the young Embroidered Tiger had considered and planned for this possibility in the past.

Judging by the current situation, however, Song Changjing didn’t have any ambition of becoming the emperor. Otherwise, he would have been able to take off his armor and put on the royal dragon robe a long time ago.

There was a gentle mountain breeze that brought with it the refreshing fragrance of trees and flowers of early spring.

Cui Dongshan narrowed his eyes.

He was truly suffering great misfortune. His carefully planted flowers weren’t growing, yet his casually planted willow was already providing shade.[1] Back at the Great Sui Nation’s Mountain Cliff Academy, he had casually discussed the notion of sequence disorder with his master. However, he had ended up almost falling to the Great Dao of that stinky Daoist priest.

Cui Dongshan gave himself a forceful slap.

There was also the plot that Old Man Yao had hidden incredibly well, and this was a plot that Old Man Yang was definitely involved in. As a result, this was a plot that had far-reaching effects.

Cui Dongshan gave himself another forceful slap.

Ruan Xiu had already grown accustomed to this.

Cui Dongshan glanced at the mountain cliff and pondered for a moment before abandoning his idea. He wouldn’t die if he jumped down, but he would most certainly embarrass himself.

He suddenly bared his teeth and swung his arms, letting loose a torrent of abuse and cursing, “So be it if I lose, you old bastard! Both Master and I are willing to accept this! However, you shouldn’t have gone against your conscience to call this a contest between gentlemen or whatever bullshit! Qi Jingchun is already dead, and my master has now suffered such a miserable loss. Not only did he fail to obtain anything at Bamboo Scroll Lake, but he even suffered extremely heavy losses.

“In any case, you’re actually playing a game of Go with a dead person! A contest between gentlemen? Contest my ass! Get the fuck over here and let me slap you silly, you fucking pig! Let me see if you truly grunt like a hog…”

Ruan Xiu smiled with squinted eyes.

Cui Dongshan gulped and clasped his hands behind his back, looking up at the sky and saying nonchalantly, “The moon is so round tonight.”

As it turned out, there was an elder in Confucian robes standing right beside him. This person was none other than Imperial Preceptor Cui Chan.

Cui Dongshan slowly turned around and asked with an innocent expression, “Why did you come over here? What a coincidence, huh?”

Cui Chan chuckled coldly and replied, “What’s wrong? You’re not going to remark that we’ve encountered each other again amid the falling flowers of late spring?”

Cui Dongshan summoned his courage and went all out, pointing at Cui Chan’s face as he jumped up and down and shouted, “What do you want, Old Bastard? Are you dissatisfied with what I said? What did I say wrong? If you can point it out, then I’ll adopt your surname and you can become my grandson!”

Ruan Xiu shook her head upon hearing this.

She had seen people seeking death before, but it was truly rare to see someone daring to seek death in so many weird and wonderful ways.

Cui Chan surprisingly ignored his younger self. This was in contrast to their encounter in the tall building at Pond Water City where he had still at least paid a little attention to Cui Dongshan.

Cui Chan looked toward the north before shifting his gaze and looking toward the west, asking, “Do you know where the true Go board actually is?”

Cui Dongshan frowned and replied, “The Middle Earth Divine Continent? Has the old scholar figured something out?”

Cui Chan scoffed in ridicule and said, “You’re nothing more than a frog at the bottom of a well right now.”

Cui Dongshan turned around to massage Cui Chan’s shoulders, exclaiming, “Oh my! As an old bastard who’s climbed to the top of the well, can you please explain this to me, a frog that’s still at the bottom of the well?”

Cui Chan shook his robes and pushed away Cui Dongshan’s hands, replying slowly, “The Go board between Qi Jingchun and me is the world, all of the worlds. What’s a foul and chaotic Bamboo Scroll Lake in the scheme of things?”

As immature as Cui Dongshan was, even his heart couldn’t help but jolt at this moment.

Meanwhile, Ruan Xiu was too lazy to think about these things.

“This is all I’m going to say, and you can just keep waiting,” Cui Chan said indifferently. “However, even someone like you will have to wait for many years before you finally understand the crux of this plot. In fact, even as someone who’s a subject of this plot, Chen Ping’an will take a very long time to understand things. It might even be that he never understands what he did all those years ago, not even until death.”

Cui Dongshan no longer appeared frivolous anymore, with his expression serious as he said in a solemn voice, “Then I look forward to the final outcome, Cui Chan!”

Cui Chan disappeared in a flash.

Cui Dongshan heaved a long sigh.

Ruan Xiu continued to make her way to Dragon Spring Prefecture.

There was almost no conversation between them as they walked.

A light drizzle started to fall after they entered the territory of Dragon Spring Prefecture.

Cui Dongshan seemingly became happy all of a sudden, and he extended a hand to catch the rain as he murmured, “Your hometown decorated with apricot blossoms and spring drizzle, only to welcome Master back.”[2]

————

In the mountains to the south of Bamboo Scroll Lake…

Another four seasons passed.

Yet, the group of people only just finished their journey.

Compared to the previous two trips, however, there was now an additional person in Gu Can.

As a result, their journey had become slower and increasingly difficult.

In comparison, their conflicts with the sinister cultivators and ghost cultivators had felt quite muted.

The Luminous Vermilion Empire was already covered in the flames of war.

During this journey, even Zeng Ye was able to notice something strange.

There were many mountain spirits, ghosts, beasts, and demons roaming the mountain ranges, yet almost all of them would feel slightly afraid if Mr. Chen appeared in front of them and experienced some minor fluctuations in his mind. Some of the more cowardly beings would immediately retreat and flee.

Gu Can became increasingly taciturn, yet the look in his eyes became increasingly firm.

During their journey, Gu Can had experienced hesitation, internal conflict, and fury. In fact, there were two occasions where he had almost chosen to give up.

Mr. Chen changed from his azure cotton robe into an azure shirt and then back into his azure cotton robe. He didn’t speak much, and when he stood next to Gu Can, he would sometimes speak and sometimes remain silent.

Mr. Chen would throw his fists and draw his sword at the ghost cultivators and vagrant cultivators who killed people to steal their treasures.

His physique was clearly frail and his soul was clearly unstable, yet his fists and blade were still extraordinarily quick when he attacked.

He kept pressing forward.

Even his pseudo-celestial tool called Sword Immortal gradually became very docile. When Chen Ping’an drew this sword, it would always slowly circle around its owner a few times like an obedient little bird before it needed to return to its scabbard.

The end of the year approached once again.

On their return journey, they finally experienced heavy snowfall.

Spring arrived, and they returned to Bamboo Scroll Lake amid the spring breeze.

On some tall mountain, they could vaguely see the deep green lake in the distance.

“Chen Ping’an, let me travel by myself afterward,” Gu Can suddenly said.

Chen Ping’an turned around and looked at the determined eyes of Gu Can, asking in a gentle voice, “Are you sure? You might die. I can accompany you for one more year.”

“This is already enough!” Gu Can replied with a shake of his head.

Chen Ping’an patted the young boy’s head.

“However, if you’re killed by someone one day — I’m saying if — then I’ll definitely restrain myself and endure it first. However, when I become strong enough, I’ll definitely kill their entire family and dig up the graves of all of their ancestors. In any case, you won’t be able to watch over me and scold me anymore at that time,” Gu Can said.

Chen Ping’an smiled in helplessness.

Meanwhile, Zeng Ye and Ma Duyi were terrified by what they heard.

One had to realize that Gu Can’s cultivation speed was astonishing after he set his mind on cultivation. In fact, his cultivation speed was so fast that Ma Duyi felt like she was nothing more than a cripple on the path of cultivation. Meanwhile, Gu Can wasn’t walking along the path of cultivation, but he was instead sailing forward quickly on an immortal ship.

This was made clear by the fact that Gu Can was already at the Abode Tier. Not only that, but he was imminently about to break through again.

Chen Ping’an bid farewell with Gu Can and the others, riding off by himself and saying that he was going to continue north. Perhaps he would take an immortal ship one day to return to Dragon Spring Prefecture a little quicker.

It was only Chen Ping’an and his horse.

He traveled along the borders of Bamboo Scroll Lake and entered the territory of the Stone Brush Nation.

Passers-by would often see a sword-carrying wanderer dressed in azure traveling with his horse. They were both as thin as a stick, yet the eyes of the young man were surprisingly bright and piercing.

Afterward, Chen Ping’an stopped riding his horse and instead slowly traveled north on foot.

The emaciated horse quickly regained weight and energy, yet its owner was still as thin as before.

On this day, Chen Ping’an led his horse along a dirt road, walking past a rapeseed field that stretched for as far as the eye could see.

Chen Ping’an stopped walking, and his horse stopped at almost exactly the same time as if in tacit understanding.

Chen Ping’an sat beside the field, and his horse paced back and forth beside him.

He scratched his head and grabbed his Sword Nurturing Gourd, taking a swig of wine before raising the gourd and saying, “Mr. Qi, you’re truly not in this world anymore, right? I thought I could see you one more time.”

Chen Ping’an started to chuckle.

This was also fine. If Mr. Qi saw his miserable state right now, perhaps he might even lose his position as Mr. Qi’s junior brother?

————

During a windy and snowy night one year, on a boardwork located on a mountain cliff…

After Master Bai and his maidservant parted ways with that young boy, and after Master Bai severed one tail of his maidservant…

A middle-aged Confucian scholar with graying sideburns appeared on the boardwalk, waiting for Master Bai with a faint smile.

At the time, Master Bai smiled and remarked, “So that’s how it is, huh? You didn’t appear when I looked for you, yet you’re appearing now that I’ve given up hope.”

The maidservant — a great fox demon that was wearing a palace dress — trembled with fear, quickly scurrying very far away from the two people.

Before parting ways, the Confucian scholar in azure robes condensed some water fortune into an orb and gently offered it to Bai Ze, saying with a faint smile, “Something will happen in a few years time — it might be two to three years or three to four years, and I don’t dare to say with certainty right now. So, can I please ask that Master Bai take a look at this orb whenever you have free time? You can make a decision after you see that event.”

Bai Ze was slightly puzzled, but he still accepted the small water orb, nodding and agreeing to the middle-aged scholar’s request.

This was because the scholar was none other than Qi Jingchun.

Thus, after arriving at the Middle Earth Divine Continent and standing on the banks of the large river near White Emperor City, Bai Ze had said to the mountain master of the School of Rites, “I need to observe things for a little more.”

On the island that was completely isolated and alone in the vast sea…

After watching Zhao Yao leave, the middle-aged scholar handed that proudest scholar in the world a bowl of water.

He smiled faintly and said, “You’re thoroughly disappointed in the world, so I insist on making a bet with you.”

The proud scholar smiled and replied, “I wouldn’t accept this bet from anyone else, but I’ll accept it because it’s you, Qi Jingchun.”

And thus, the proud scholar refused to grant an audience to the mountain master belonging to the lineage of the Second Sage after Qi Jingchun took his leave.

He also wanted to wait and see.

In the end, there had been one final reunion and one final farewell at the Colorful Garment Nation.

Qi Jingchun had smiled at the young boy and said that he would accompany him in performing a fist stance.

The young boy started to throw punches.

Qi Jingchun gracefully threw punches beside the young boy, saying slowly in his mind, “Thank you for your hard work, Junior Brother. I’m sorry for placing such a huge burden on your shoulders.”

At that moment, the young boy had thrown punches in sadness.

He wasn’t aware that tears were streaming down the guilt-ridden Mr. Qi’s face, the person whom he respected the most.

————

This spring…

In the Middle Earth Divine Continent…

Bai Ze left the Mighty Suppressing Pagoda and made his way to the orthodox scholarly temple of the Confucian Sect.

The proudest scholar in the world embarked on a distant journey with his sword, with his carefree nature unparalleled. Not a single sword immortal in the world could rival him in this regard.

Meanwhile, there was a young man sitting on horseback in the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent. However, he had surprisingly fallen asleep at this moment.

Flowers blooming in the fields, Master returning home slowly.

1. This means to be unsuccessful when trying, but to be successful when not trying. ☜

2. This is a line from Yu Ji’s poem, 《风入松·寄柯敬仲》. Yu Ji was an official, scholar, and poet of the Yuan Dynasty. ☜