Unsheathed

“Has the Deity Night Travel Banquet at Cloud Drape Mountain concluded already?” Chen Ping’an asked.

The river god nodded and replied, “You might not have expected this, but three formal gods of the Great Li Empire’s previous Five Mountains visited Cloud Drape Mountain to attend the banquet. In addition to them, there were also many deities from the vassal states of the empire. There’s never been such a grand Night Travel Banquet since the founding of the Great Li Empire.

“Mountain God Wei, the host of this banquet, was truly outstanding in his elegance. I’m not bragging about my superior for the sake of it, and Mountain God Wei’s divine aura was truly far too unexpected and outstanding. Many female deities became attracted to him at first sight, and they continued to linger around, reluctant to leave, even when the Night Travel Banquet concluded.”

The river god of the Embroidered Flower River seemingly felt wholehearted admiration toward Wei Bo, the familiar mountain lord of Go Table Mountain.

Chen Ping’an was reminded of Downtrodden Mountain, where he was unexpectedly treated as a pervert and libertine by someone. On the other hand, just take a look at Wei Bo!

After taking a seat in the brightly lit main hall, the river god waved his hand and dismissed the small number of ghost entity maidservants.

He retrieved two pots of wine containing the water fortune essence of the Embroidered Flower River, tossing one to Chen Ping’an and enjoying one himself.

The river god was clearly an old acquaintance of Lady Chu, and he didn’t beat around the bush as he frankly told Chen Ping’an why he was hosting him this time. He didn’t have the unrealistic expectation of Chen Ping’an putting aside his grudges and becoming friends with Lady Chu, but he hoped that Chen Ping’an wouldn’t fight to the death with her.

Afterward, the river god gave a detailed recount of Lady Chu’s relationship with that scholar from the Great Li Empire, describing how she was once a kind young woman who was deeply in love with the scholar. However, the river god also didn’t shy away from the many brutal things that Lady Chu had done after mistakenly thinking that she had been betrayed by her lover. The pitiful corpses that were planted in the backyard and treated as “flowers and plants” by her were still untouched, even until today. There was a thick aura of resentment as the yin souls refused to disperse, and it was very likely that the large majority of them would never be freed from their misery.

The river god also appeared mournful as he talked about the tragic fate of the scholar, with his expression solemn as he drank a sip of wine and said, “Before the recent rise of the Great Li Empire, scholars with slightly more ambition were all subject to cold gazes and discriminatory treatment. The more talented a scholar was, the more they would be targeted and suppressed. This scholar is one such example, and one of the people who preyed on him back then was a descendant of a powerful clan in the Great Sui Nation. And now, this person is still a high-ranking official in the imperial court!”

The river god looked outside the hall and said with emotion, “This is a muddleheaded matter, so how can we speak reason and solve it fairly?”

After drinking a sip of wine, Chen Ping’an replied slowly, “If one insists on speaking reason, it’s indeed possible for one to do so. One simply needs to understand the principle of sequential order and take things one step at a time. However, there’s a critical condition to this, and that’s the fact that the person speaking reason needs to be capable of shouldering the inevitable consequences.”

The river god smiled and asked, “Why don’t you give it a go? Miss Chu is deeply involved in this situation, so it’s understandable that she can’t see things clearly. However, you’re only semi-involved in the matter, and you’re half a spectator as well. If you’re willing to speak reason and deal with this matter, then I’ll owe you a huge favor. ”

Chen Ping’an shook his head and replied, “I don’t have the drive to do that, nor do I have the reason to do that.”

The river god hadn’t been hopeful to begin with, so he didn’t feel any disappointment to speak of. Even so, he felt like this was a slight pity. He raised his wine pot and said, “Then let’s just drink wine.”

Chen Ping’an also raised his wine pot in response. This was good wine and probably fairly expensive as well, so he planned to drink less of it as a way of making money. A penny saved was a penny earned, after all.

Apart from Lady Chu, there was actually not much else for the two of them to talk about. As such, it wasn’t long before Chen Ping’an stood up to bid farewell. The river god of the Embroidered Flower River personally accompanied him to the “entrance” which was a mountain and water barrier.

After Chen Ping’an cupped his fists and bid farewell, the sword on his back flew out of its scabbard with a clang, following which the young man jumped on the sword and soared into the sky, disappearing into the distant sea of clouds in a carefree manner.

Even though the river god had already witnessed Chen Ping’an’s demeanor as a sword immortal through an observation technique before, he still couldn’t help but feel slightly astonished when he saw it again from up close.

Chen Ping’an landed outside Red Candle Town and entered on foot, passing the relay station that he had stayed at before. He stood still and looked at it for a moment before continuing forward. He first observed the Fu Inlet from a distance before making his way to River Viewing Street, the street that intersected Mountain Viewing Street.

After finding that bookstore from the past, Chen Ping’an was pleasantly surprised to be able to see the same shopkeeper as before. The young shopkeeper was dressed in black and holding a folding fan in his hand, sitting on a small bamboo chair with his eyes closed as he rested his mind. There was a small and exquisite teapot in his other hand, and he hummed a tune as he leisurely enjoyed some tea, tapping his fan against his knee as he did so. He made no effort to drive any sales.

Just like before, the handsome young shopkeeper was unwilling to even open his eyes as he said lazily, “The prices are written clearly for all of the books in the store. Sales are mutually consensual, and everything is up to your tastes and appraisal skills.”

Many years ago, Chen Ping’an had spent nine taels and two coins to purchase the new-looking book, Severed Water Cliff, for Li Huai. However, this was actually an old book, and it had surprisingly given birth to some scholarly spirits. Li Huai was truly able to enjoy a fool’s luck no matter where he went.

Back at Earth Dragon Mountain’s Green Beetle Shop, Chen Ping’an had actually taken a fancy to that female clay statuette with a veil straight away. Judging from its craft and style, it was extremely likely that it belonged to the set of clay figures owned by Li Huai, with all of them being made by an immortal in White Emperor City. Even if “Maidservant Qingcai of the Green Beetle Shop” — who hadn’t concealed her sword intent well enough — hadn’t given the clay statuette to Chen Ping’an as a present, he would have still thought of some way to make the statuette his. As for the imperial pine soot ink stick from the Divine Water Nation, Chen Ping’an genuinely hadn’t possessed enough immortal coins to purchase it at the time. As such, he planned to ask Wei Bo, formerly a mountain god of the Divine Water Nation, whether it was worth purchasing this treasure when he returned to Downtrodden Mountain.

However, this wasn’t Chen Ping’an’s reason for visiting the bookshop. In reality, this young shopkeeper — a water spirit from the Rushing Tranquil River assuming human — had already ascended to the heavens in a single step, rising from a person leisurely wandering around the streets to the formal river god of the Rushing Tranquil River, an esteemed position conferred to him by the imperial court of the Great Li Empire.

Not only this, but he was the first formal god of the Rushing Tranquil River since the founding of the Great Li Empire. In this sense, it could be said that he was genuinely a carp jumping the dragon gate.[1]

Just like the river god of the Embroidered Flower River, this young river god could also be regarded as a neighbor of Chen Ping’an’s now. To cultivators from the mountains, the short stretch of mountains and waters between them was just like the distance from Clay Vase Alley to Apricot Blossom Alley.

Chen Ping’an wouldn’t try to deliberately win over this river god, as there was no need to do so and no benefit in doing so. However, visiting the bookstore to greet him since he was passing by was completely reasonable and the respectful thing to do.

When despondent, one definitely needed value oneself and take oneself seriously. When successful, one definitely needed value others and take others seriously.

Chen Ping’an had found these principles on the muddy paths of Clay Vase Alley, and he couldn’t toss them aside just because he had walked further along the path of cultivation and ascended higher up the mountains.

Chen Ping’an chose a few expensive books that could roughly be categorized as complete editions before suddenly turning his head and asking, “Shopkeeper, what kind of discount can I receive if I decide to buy all of the books in your store?”

The young shopkeeper who looked like a handsome young master opened his eyes and huffed, “I rely on this small store to have a place to rest and eat, so what will I do with a sack of silver coins if you buy everything? Should I go to the Fu Inlet to drink flower wine? With my good looks, it’s hard to say who will be getting the better end of the deal. What kind of discount can I give you? How about negative ten percent off? How about negative twenty percent off? Do you still want to buy everything?!”

Chen Ping’an nodded and said with a smile, “I’ll buy it all.”

The young shopkeeper placed his teapot on the narrow tea table beside him before opening his folding fan with a crack, lightly rocking it back and forth as he replied with a faint smile, “No deal!”

Chen Ping’an could only give up, paying thirty or so taels of silver to purchase a few ancient books instead.

After receiving the silver, the young shopkeeper smiled widely as he saw Chen Ping’an off at the entrance of the bookstore, saying, “You’re always welcome to visit again.”

Looking at the young shopkeeper’s expression, Chen Ping’an immediately knew that he had paid overs for the books.

————

After Chen Ping’an left River Viewing Street, the young shopkeeper returned to his seat and closed his eyes for a short moment. He then stood up and closed the bookstore, following which he went to the river bank.

Red Candle Town was an important trade hub near Dragon Spring Prefecture, and it was where the Embroidered Flower River, the Fine Wine River, and the Rushing Tranquil River converged. The imperial court was carrying out major construction projects throughout the area, leaving the town dusty and noisy. If everything went as expected, Red Candle Town would not only become a part of Dragon Spring Prefecture, but it would quickly rise to become the center of a new county, where the county office was located. Meanwhile, Dragon Spring Prefecture would also rise from a prefecture to a province.

Things were busy in the mountains, and the same could be said for the officials outside the mountains. This was especially the case for those near Cloud Drape Mountain, with countless deities racking their brains in an attempt to enter this mountain. One needed to understand that deities didn’t simply rely on their temples and gold statues to oversee their territories, and they also needed to have good relationships with some immortals from the mountains, officials from the imperial court, and cultivators from the mountains. Using this, they needed to continually expand their networks and build their relationships. Thus, as the two main hubs of the new province, the rapid rise of Cloud Drape Mountain and Dragon Spring Prefecture was destined and unstoppable.

The young shopkeeper in black used an illusion technique after arriving at the bank of the Embroidered Flower River, and after stepping into the water that was the “softest” among the three rivers, he casually walked along the surface of the river.

The nature of the three rivers was vastly different, with the Embroidered Flower River being the softest and richest in spiritual energy. The Rushing Tranquil River was fast-flowing and ferocious, while the Fine Wine River behaved the complete opposite of what its name suggested, being the shortest river with the most unpredictable nature. The distribution of spiritual energy was uneven throughout the river, with the area where the river god residence was located having the best feng shui.

This couldn’t be overlooked, because if a Golden Core Tier earth immortal was lacking a place to cultivate and coincidentally wanted to choose one of the three rivers, they would naturally choose to become a guest elder of the Fine Wine River. In the mountains, this was described as ten thousand taels of gold not being enough to purchase a small grotto world.

The young shopkeeper was the river god of the Rushing Tranquil River, with the Embroidered Flower River being the territory of his colleague. As such, his decision to enter the Embroidered Flower River’s territory could be viewed as overstepping the boundaries unless he were paying a visit to the river god residence. However, the water spirits responsible for patrolling the Embroidered Flower River weren’t surprised at all when they saw the river god in black, and they instead grinned widely as they swam over to make small talk with him.

This wasn’t because the new river god of the Rushing Tranquil River was an easygoing person, but rather that the water spirits of the Embroidered Flower River were deliberately doing this to disgust him. The river god in black didn’t stoop to the same level as them, and he spoke little and didn’t show much displeasure, simply saying that he was heading to Steamed Bun Mountain which was located where two branch streams converged.

Once the river god in black swam far away but not too far away, the water spirits who were suited in armor and holding weapons immediately burst into laughter, speaking wantonly as they taunted the river god for being unworthy of his position. They jeered that the river god had also been a water spirit in the past, and it was through currying favors with others that he had taken a crooked path and been fortunate enough to become a mountain god. This was in contrast to the esteemed river god of the Embroidered Flower River who had been appointed to his position thanks to his meritorious service both during his life and following his death. In comparison, how pathetic was this carp swishing his tail for pity points?

The river god in black arrived at the mountain lord temple that was located on the lone island in the river, a place that neither the water spirits from the Fine Wine River nor the Embroidered Flower River cared about. The city gods of the counties and prefectures on the banks of the rivers were even less willing to pay any attention to this place, and they viewed the mountain lord of Steamed Bun Mountain, the lowest-ranked deity in the genealogical records of the nation, as a stubborn and unpleasant being.

The small temple was relatively deserted with little incense offerings, and it was just barely hanging on by a thread. The local residents didn’t like worshipping and offering incense here, especially with how much effort it took to take a boat over here. Moreover, there were many temples here thanks to the convergence of the three rivers, so what difference did it make who they worshipped and offered incense to? In addition, which deity wasn’t higher ranked than this measly mountain lord?

The young river god in black stepped over the door threshold, arriving in front of a short and disheveled man who was sitting on the divine altar. An incense boy in vermilion clothes was wailing loudly in an old copper censer, and he plonked down on his bottom and started to forcefully smack the incense ash, causing it to go all over his body. He lamented about his situation loudly, not forgetting to complain about the lack of fight from his master.

The river god in black was accustomed to this already, and it was, in fact, quite strange for a mountain lord temple to give birth to an incense person. The incense boy in vermilion clothes was extremely bold, and he never showed any respect as a subordinate and also liked to wander around outside when he had nothing better to do. When he was bullied by fellow incense people in the city god temples, he would come back home and vent his frustrations on his master, often saying that he would definitely find a better censer to reincarnate into in his next life. He was truly a strange and wonderful being on this lone island.

The disheveled man didn’t so much as glance over even though he knew that a great river god was visiting.

On the other hand, the incense boy in vermilion who was only as tall as a palm immediately jumped up and leaned over the side of the censer, exclaiming loudly, “Mr. River God, why have you suddenly thought of us two pitiful insects today? Sit, sit, sit, there’s no need to be polite, and you can treat this as your own home. Our place is small and we receive little incense offerings, so we don’t even have fruit or hot tea to welcome you with. This is truly a slight to Mr. River God. My apologies, my apologies…”

The disheveled man slammed his palm down, directly pushing the incense boy in azure into the censer. This way, he would shut up and stop bothering everyone.

1. “A carp jumping the dragon gate” (鲤鱼跳龙门) means to make a significant advance. ☜