Unsheathed

“Is it Ruan Xiu?” Chen Ping’an asked.

Wei Bo smiled and nodded in response.

“Why did you feel the need to come here to inform me of her arrival?” Chen Ping’an asked. “Given her personality, she’ll be sure to come to the bamboo building.”

A wounded look appeared on Wei Bo’s face upon hearing this, as if he had committed an act of kindness, only to be met with ingratitude.

“All I’m doing is meeting her! It may be nighttime, but everyone’s watching, and there’s nothing going on between us anyway! Aren’t you supposed to be the Northern Mountain God? How do you have so much free time on your hands?” Chen Ping’an continued in an exasperated manner.

Wei Bo pointed at the entrance of the mountain, then at Chen Ping’an as he declared in a justified manner, “My Northern Mountain has been split up into the inner courtyard and the outer courtyard. Right now, a meeting is to take place between the two biggest landowners of the inner courtyard, so of course I have to present!”

Chen Ping’an paid no further heed to Wei Bo as he departed to welcome Ruan Xiu.

Now that he was aware of her arrival, he was obligated to greet her as the owner of Downtrodden Mountain.

As opposed to accompanying Chen Ping’an, Wei Bo remained on the cliff as he murmured to himself, “Is there really nothing between them? He seems very casual about all of this…”

Pei Qian was ecstatic to hear that the friendly and benevolent Big Sister Ruan Xiu had come to visit, and she skipped to her feet before rushing after her master, only to crash headfirst into a rippling curtain of water. She stumbled unsteadily on her feet and discovered that she was back at the stone table.

She looked around and noticed some faint ripples in the air around her, and she turned to Wei Bo with a vexed look as she grumbled, “Mr. Wei, don’t you feel embarrassed using petty tricks like this as a mountain god?”

“Why are you trying to get involved?” Wei Bo asked in an exasperated manner. “To give you an analogy, if your master wishes to sleep, would it be appropriate for you to wander back and forth in his room while carrying a large lantern?”

Pei Qian crossed her arms and stroked her own chin as she fell into deep thought.

After a brief silence, she asked in a serious manner, “He still hasn’t officially married her, so wouldn’t it be unfitting for them to sleep together? I heard that Master Ruan is quite advanced in age, and his eyes don’t work so well anymore, so he doesn’t like seeing Big Sister Ruan together with my master.

“How about you and I pay the Dragon Spring Sword Sect a visit to have a good chat with Master Ruan? When the next morning comes around and the deed is done, she’ll be my mistress whether she likes it or not! When it comes to money and mistresses, it’s always a case of the more the merrier!”

Of course, this was a joke from Pei Qian. Her master wasn’t here, and Wei Bo wasn’t the type to tattle on her, so she felt comfortable to say whatever she wanted to him.

While her flippant remarks on Ruan Xiu’s relationship with her master were nothing more than a joke, Ruan Xiu was genuinely her favorite in the entire Dragon Spring Prefecture. Pei Qian felt a genuine connection to her, and not just because she had seen Cui Dongshan’s river of time picture scroll.

She had felt a sense of affection toward Ruan Xiu from the moment that they had first met on Downtrodden Mountain. Whenever she looked at Ruan Xiu, she was greeted by the sight of an incredibly warm image.

As opposed to the bone-chilling scenes that she saw whenever she gazed upon Cui Dongshan, Ruan Xiu was like a sea of bright, red flames in her eyes, one that was capable of incinerating mountains and evaporating seas.

In her eyes, Ruan Xiu was a regal woman seated high up on a throne, resting her chin on one hand while surveying the earth below. She held a radiant sun that she appeared to have plucked straight out of the heavens in her other hand, and she was gently twisting it around between her fingers as it gave off countless rays of dazzling light in all directions.

However, this was a secret that Pei Qian hadn’t even revealed to the little girl in pink. The only person that she was planning to divulge this secret to was her master.

Wei Bo was beginning to develop a headache from exasperation, but thankfully, Cui Chan’s grandfather emerged from the bamboo building in a timely fashion, and Pei Qian immediately sat back down onto her stone stool before turning to ask the little girl in pink if she had any sunflower seeds.

The two of them were very close friends, and the little girl in pink immediately pulled out a large handful of sunflower seeds before handing them to Pei Qian, who munched on them in silence as she lowered her head to avoid eye contact with Cui Chan’s grandfather.

She was still rather fearful of the old man, and she had almost suffered nightmares after hearing the little girl in pink speak about the horrific training that Chen Ping’an had been subjected to. That was why she was constantly wandering around outside Downtrodden Mountain, trying to stay as far away from the old man as possible.

“Go to bed,” Cui Chan’s grandfather instructed, and the two girls could only do as they were told.

There were several small residences constructed not far away from the bamboo building, and Pei Qian and the little girl in pink were staying in a courtyard together as neighbors.

Cui Chan’s grandfather cast his gaze toward the entrance of the mountain as he sneered, “The fact that he dared to come and see me while carrying a sword on his back tells me that his personality hasn’t changed much.”

Wei Bo smiled as he asked, “Would it have been rather concerning for you if Chen Ping’an hadn’t dared to come up to see you with his sword?”

Cui Chan’s grandfather burst into laughter upon hearing this.

“What do I have to be concerned about? At the very most, it would only take me a few more punches to pound him back into the same little runt that he was before. There are no principles under the heavens that can’t be pounded into someone. There are only two possible scenarios: either they understand with just a single punch from me, or it takes two punches for them to come around.”

“Aren’t you supposed to have come from a clan of scholars, Mr. Cui?” Wei Bo asked with a wry smile.

“I was indeed the former leader of the Cui Clan, but so what? Was I able to become an academy sage or raise my descendants to become sages? It’s exactly because I’ve pursued the scholarly path that I’m aware of the hardships and drawbacks of being a scholar,” Cui Chan’s grandfather replied in a self-deprecating manner.

Wei Bo fell silent as he stood atop his cliff with his robes flapping around him in the night breeze, giving him the appearance of an ethereal deity.

“Why did Ruan Qiong suddenly change his mind and decide not to take the immortal ferry station left behind on Ox Horn Mountain? Why has he passed off something so lucrative to you and Chen Ping’an instead?” Cui Chan’s grandfather asked.

“I thought you wouldn’t care about such matters,” Wei Bo said in a surprised manner.

“That bastard, Zhu Lian, is always intentionally bringing up these matters while playing connect five with the children here. I was almost unable to resist the urge to swat him down the mountain in annoyance on quite a few occasions!” Cui Chan’s grandfather grumbled.

Wei Bo was extremely fond of Zhu Lian, and he only wished that they had met sooner.

He genuinely believed that if he had met Zhu Lian a few years earlier, then the knot in his heart would’ve been undone a few years sooner, and he wouldn’t have passed her by for the final time on that small path on Go Table Mountain without even daring to take a glance at her. Instead, he would’ve left Go Table Mountain long ago to be by her side.

Even though they were destined not to be able to be together, he was an immortal mountain god, so he should’ve been closer to her and watched over her lifetime after lifetime, rather than hiding on Go Table Mountain, constantly wondering what could’ve been.

As for why Zhu Lian didn’t want to learn martial arts from Cui Chan’s grandfather, that was something that Wei Bo had never asked about.

“Regarding the purchasing of mountains, I had two candid conversations with Sage Ruan in private,” Wei Bo explained. “On one hand, Sage Ruan rented those mountains from Chen Ping’an for several hundred years, and of course, that was a mutually beneficial deal.

“Chen Ping’an would be able to avoid attracting too much attention and envy to himself by keeping only Downtrodden Mountain and True Jewel Mountain, while Sage Ruan will be able to expand his sect with the newly acquired mountains. However, after that, Chen Ping’an experienced a rapid rise, and self-preservation was no longer a concern for him, so Sage Ruan began to feel that the deal had become unfairly skewed in his favor.

“At the time, he had done Chen Ping’an a great favor, but given how things had turned out, it appeared that Chen Ping’an had been given the short end of the stick, and that was why Sage Ruan had been willing to pass off the ferry station to him.

“With me serving as a middleman, the imperial court of the Great Li Empire, the Cloth Wrapper Shop on Ox Horn Mountain, and Chen Ping’an were able to come together to seal the deal. The Great Li Empire would prefer it if I were on good terms with Sage Ruan, so they were happy to see this deal through.”

“On the other hand, Ruan Qiong clearly wishes to avoid owing Chen Ping’an any favors. By his logic, the less he owes Chen Ping’an, the more ashamed Chen Ping’an would be to seduce his daughter, isn’t that right?” Cui Chan’s grandfather chuckled.

Wei Bo offered no response.

Indeed, this had become a major headache for Ruan Qiong.

Wei Bo and Cui Chan’s grandfather exchanged an amused smile before both of them cast their eyes toward the foot of the mountain.

It was certainly not a common sight to see an almighty sage be placed in such a difficult predicament.

“I’ll go console Sage Ruan,” Wei Bo said.

Cui Chan’s grandfather nodded in response.

“It’s not uncommon to see mortal parents be so concerned for and invested in their children, but the fact that a sage like him is doing the same has certainly earned him some respect from me.”

Wei Bo vanished from the spot in a flash.

He was the master of all things in the territory of the Great Li Empire’s Northern Mountain, and his status was even more legitimate than that of Ruan Qiong.

Even with the remaining four mountains of the Great Li Empire finalized, Wei Bo was still going to be the one who presided over the largest territory out of the gods of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent’s Five Mountains.

Geographically speaking, the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent was quite long from south to north, but much narrower from east to west, so the Eastern Mountain and the Western Mountain were at a natural disadvantage compared with their northern and southern counterparts.

The foundation of the Great Li Empire was still in the north, which was home to the capital city and all of the Song Clan’s ancestral properties, so the Northern Mountain was held in slightly higher regard than the Southern Mountain.

Hence, even if the Song Clan were to move south in the future, it most likely wasn’t going to move southward of the Colorful Garment Nation and the Water Combing Nation in one go because Lake View Academy was situated there, and the Song Clan wouldn’t want to fracture its empire into northern and southern halves.

This was why by the time the Great Li Empire’s forces reached the coastline of the South Sea in Old Dragon City, the only mountain god that was capable of competing with Wei Bo was the Central Mountain God.

Chen Ping’an and Ruan Xiu encountered each other halfway up Downtrodden Mountain.

Upon catching sight of Ruan Xiu, Chen Ping’an stopped in his tracks to wave at her, and she quickly joined him before the two of them scaled the mountain together.

Their reunion felt natural and comfortable, without any of the distance that may arise between a pair of friends that had been apart for a long time.

“I saw you in action on Hibiscus Mountain from Cyan Gorge Island back in Bamboo Scroll Lake. You certainly created quite a spectacle,” Chen Ping’an said with a smile.

Ruan Xiu was slightly embarrassed to hear this, and she replied, “I was on a southbound journey with a bunch of Great Li Empire sticky rod officials. After that, I met with Cui Dongshan, who claimed to have been your student, then made a trip to the Plum Glaze Nation.”

Chen Ping’an nodded as he replied, “I also paid a visit to the Plum Glaze Nation with a friend, and I saw the battlefield that you left behind near the Spring Flower River while pursuing those swordsmen of the Luminous Vermilion Empire.”

Ruan Xiu offered no response.

She had no recollection of this Spring Flower River, and she never bothered to remember such things. During the course of this southbound journey, she had witnessed many people and places while passing through the Stone Brush Nation by horse-drawn carriage after disembarking from the immortal ship, but she still didn’t remember much.

Back on Hibiscus Mountain, she had made an executive decision to kill that young boy, despite the fact that he possessed immense martial fortune, and as compensation, she had sought out those three candidates again for the Great Li Empire’s sticky rod officials during the course of the return journey back up north.

She had gotten along with those three children quite well, but in the end, she didn’t even remember their names. What she did remember, however, were many of the special delicacies of Green Parasol City.

“My father recently purchased Golden Stalk Mountain not far north of here, and it’s quite close to Downtrodden Mountain and Gray Veil Mountain. My father is planning to construct a new forge there, and construction is being carried out overnight, so I decided to pay a visit to the mountain tonight.

“While I was there, I saw the clouds near Downtrodden Mountain being scattered by someone, and I was worried about Pei Qian, so I decided to come and check on her,” Ruan Xiu explained.

Chen Ping’an remained silent as he fought back an amused smile.

Perhaps other people were unaware of how accomplished a martial artist Cui Chan’s grandfather was, but Wei Bo and Ruan Qiong were definitely aware of this better than anyone else aside from Old Man Yang.

Generally speaking, whatever Ruan Qiong, Ruan Xiu also knew.

A sheepish smile appeared on Ruan Xiu’s face. She had never been a good liar, and she was always very awkward on the few occasions that she did lie. Her father had never been fooled by any of her lies, and he always liked to expose her on the spot, but Chen Ping’an was much more considerate of her feelings.

As opposed to taking Ruan Xiu to the bamboo building, the two of them made their way to the mountain summit together.

Strangely enough, Chen Ping’an had never been to the mountain god temple on the mountain summit, even though he was the owner of Downtrodden Mountain.

The two of them continued to make small talk about trivial matters as they scaled the mountain, discussing topics like the renovation of the immortal tomb, the business of the two shops on Dragon Riding Alley, and the nest of chickens and that dog that Chen Ping’an had requested her to look after in his stead.

As they drew close to the mountain god temple, Chen Ping’an opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off by Ruan Xiu, who stopped in her tracks and cast her gaze into the distance as she smiled and said, “I know what you want to say.”

Chen Ping’an sat down onto the stone step with a tranquil expression. The step that the two of them were on was basked in moonlight, while the path was lined with ancient trees. The moonlight cascaded down the stone steps like a flowing stream filled with the shadows of the nearby trees, presenting a dream-like spectacle to behold.

After a brief silence, Chen Ping’an began in a candid manner, “It seems like no matter what I say, it’s going to be wrong, but it’ll be even more wrong if I don’t say anything. Ideally, I’m simply being too self-centered and have completely misjudged your feelings. No man is going to be unhappy about receiving the affection of a woman, that’s simply a part of human nature.

“There are many men who intentionally strike up entanglements with other women even though they already have a woman that they like. It’s not in my place to say that those men are wrong. I’m sure many men take joy in this and even admire other men who are able to capture the hearts of many women, but that’s not something that I want to do.

“It would be a disservice both to you and Ning Yao. However, if I’ve completely misunderstood your feelings, then that would be best, but even if I have to risk making you angry and spoiling our friendship, I still have to lay things out candidly and make sure that we’re on the same page. You have helped me greatly over the years, and I remember everything that you’ve done for me.

“Even in the presence of Ning Yao, I have no reservations about expressing my gratitude to you. One cannot forget their roots, and no matter how much time passes, certain acts of kindness must be remembered and repaid as much as possible. Of course, I also have a great deal of affection for you, but not in the romantic sense.

“If my past words or actions have somehow led you to misunderstand my feelings, then the fault solely lies with me, not you, and it would sadden me greatly if I had unwittingly led you on.”

Chen Ping’an’s words were completely inoffensive and devoid of sharp edges, just like a smooth rock in a stream, but ultimately, it was still a rock, and it was just as firm and unshakeable.

Looking at the sullen and guilty look on Chen Ping’an’s face, Ruan Xiu was also left feeling a little sad.

He had finally returned home, yet he was sad yet again, and because of her, no less.

As for things like love and romance, Ruan Xiu wasn’t as hung up over such matters as he imagined, and she didn’t even bother to consider things like right or wrong.

If I like you, then even the gods can’t get in my way.

If I don’t like you, then even the gods can’t convince me otherwise.

In her mind, it was all very simple.

She was a very lazy girl, and to her, whether she liked or disliked someone didn’t even have much to do with the subject of her affection or distaste.

However, she didn’t divulge this to Chen Ping’an.

Instead, she sat down beside Chen Ping’an on the stone step and asked, “Would things have turned out differently if you had met me first instead of Ning Yao?”