Unsheathed

All of a sudden, Pei Qian discovered that her legs were unwilling to obey her. Perhaps she could begin school the next day? It was only a day, surely it wouldn’t matter. She snuck a glance behind herself, only to discover, much to her frustration, that Zhu Lian was still standing there. Just how much spare time did this old chef have on his hands? Didn’t he have to return to Downtrodden Mountain to cook?

There was already a young teacher in the school waiting for Pei Qian with a smile on his face.

Chen Ping’an had already notified the school of Pei Qian’s enrolment, and two of the senior teachers of the Dragon Tail Creek Chen Clan felt like this was an important matter, so they sent a letter back to their clan.

They were met with a response from Young Master Chen Songfeng, who simply instructed them to behave naturally. There was no need to try and appease Pei Qian, and she had to be subjected to the same rules as all of the other students, but a certain degree of lenience could be afforded to her.

Pei Qian wasn’t one to be timid around strangers. Otherwise, there was no way that she would’ve been able to wrap those veteran constables of Fox Town around her finger, ultimately having them return her respectfully to the inn without even daring to reprimand her.

The problem was that she simply didn’t like to study.

The young teacher introduced Pei Qian, referring to her as Pei Qian from Dragon Riding Alley.

After hearing this name, a burst of laughter instantly rang out from within the classroom. The young teacher’s brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this, and an older teacher immediately reprimanded the offending students to restore silence and order to the classroom. [1]

Pei Qian wasn’t bothered, and she quickly glanced over all of the students who had laughed at her, promising herself that she would get them back in the future.

She made her way to a vacant seat, then set her bamboo bookcase down beside the table and began to pretend to listen.

Pei Qian slogged her way through lessons’ worth of crushing drowsiness, and that was all that she could endure. After the second lesson concluded, she pounced on an opportunity to sneak away, making her way to the side entrance of the school, only to discover Zhu Lian sitting by the side of the street outside, snacking on some sunflower seeds.

Pei Qian forced a smile onto her face, then looked around to pretend as if she were looking for something before asking, “What are you doing here?”

“Waiting for you,” Zhu Lian replied with a smile.

“I thought this was a classroom, I must’ve taken a wrong turn,” Pei Qian said, then immediately turned to leave.

It seemed like she wasn’t going to be able to get away today.

Over the coming few days, Pei Qian continued to run into Zhu Lian whenever she tried to run away from school, and in the end, she could only resign herself to her fate.

Pei Qian was already quite old among the students of the school, but she was so small that she appeared roughly the same as her ten-year-old classmates.

Pei Qian began to grow accustomed to going to school. Whenever her teachers spoke, she would listen in a daze. Whenever the lessons were over, she would cross her arms and close her eyes to rest, ignoring all of her classmates. They were all complete idiots, so she felt no sense of accomplishment from swindling them.

On this day, Pei Qian’s mind had begun wandering once again when he she suddenly turned to a certain direction.

A short while later, a young man in a Confucian robe arrived, accompanied by several senior teachers.

The group didn’t linger, but Pei Qian noticed that the young man had taken a glance at her.

That day, at dusk, Pei Qian turned down an invitation from two of her female classmates, then rushed back to Dragon Riding Alley on her own with her bamboo bookcase on her back.

Upon her arrival, she discovered Zhu Lian in the backyard of the pastry shop, and he was joined by the young man that she had spotted at school earlier, with the two of them engaged in a pleasant conversation.

Pei Qian extended a respectful bow as she greeted, “Hello, Teacher.”

Chen Ping’an was a stickler for etiquette, so as his first-ever disciple, she also had to observe proper etiquette. Otherwise, people could be misled into believing that her master had been a bad influence on her.

“You must be Pei Qian. How are you finding school?” the young scholar asked.

Pei Qian put on an earnest expression as she replied in an enthusiastic manner, “It’s been great! The teachers are very knowledgeable, and they really should serve as virtuous and noble scholars in Confucian academies! My classmates are also all very hard-working, and I’m sure they’ll all be exceptional scholars in the future!”

Shi Rou had to suppress the urge to chuckle at the counter, while Zhu Lian made no effort to expose Pei Qian.

The young scholar was rather taken aback.

This clearly sounded like hyperbolic flattery, but surely he could trust the words of a child, right? Chen Songfeng couldn’t just turn a cold shoulder to Pei Qian’s brimming enthusiasm, so he could only smile and nod in response, unsure of what to say.

Pei Qian extended a respectful bow, then rushed back to her room and gently closed the door as she began making her daily transcriptions, something that she put much more effort into than listening to her teachers.

After completing her inscriptions, Pei Qian discovered that the guest had already left, while Zhu Lian was still seated in the courtyard with many items held in his arms.

Pei Qian showed off her Deranged Demon Sword Techniques with her hiking pole, then asked, “Why did he come to see you? Did he come to drop off some money?”

“Oh? How did you know?” Zhu Lian chuckled.

“Can I have a share?” Pei Qian asked.

“No.”

Zhu Lian was holding three boxes in his arms, and he showed them off to Pei Qian as he said, “These were sent to our Downtrodden Mountain by Liu Xianyang, a friend of your master’s who’s currently studying on the Southern Whirl Continent. He also sent a letter, which states that one of these boxes contains a book that harbors a gust of extremely precious book-flipping wind.

“The second item is an immortal treasure fan crafted from divine cloud bamboo, capable of subjugating all ghosts and spirits that arise from underground, and it’s meant for Gu Can, who he says is a coward. The final item is an ink devouring fish of an extremely high caliber, and he’s decided to have the young master raise it after learning that the young master had acquired a mountain.”

“This Liu Xianyang is a good man! As expected of my master’s best friend, he’s clearly a man of immense heart and generosity!” Pei Qian praised with a vibrant smile.

“Not only is he a friend of the young master’s, he’s also quite a smart man. It looks like his journey to the Southern Whirl Continent hasn’t gone to waste. Occasional correspondence like this is necessary from time to time. Otherwise, after being apart for so many years, they won’t even know what to talk about with each other the next time they meet,” Zhu Lian said with a smile.

“Can I have a look at the book-flipping wind and the ink devouring fish?” Pei Qian asked.

“The book-flipping wind must be left untouched until the young master returns to Downtrodden Mountain. As for the ink devouring fish, it’s quite costly to raise, so I’ll raise it for now, and you can take a look at it the next time you return to Downtrodden Mountain,” Zhu Lian replied as he rose to his feet.

“Is Liu Xianyang paying for the ink devouring fish’s maintenance, or will we have to pay?” Pei Qian asked.

Zhu Lian smiled as he replied, “He told the young master to foot the bill in his letter. He says that the young master is a very wealthy man now, so this amount of expenditure shouldn’t be a concern to him.”

“Easy for him to say!” Pei Qian snapped. “Hurry up and return the ink devouring fish! Right now, the two shops that Big Sister Shi Rou and I are looking after only make fewer than twenty taels of silver a month!”

“How about you go tell your master that yourself?” Zhu Lian proposed.

Pei Qian immediately put on a smile as she replied, “It’s alright, sending letters via flying sword is too expensive. Master may not be able to bring himself to reprimand Liu Xianyang, so I’ll do it in Master’s stead.”

“You’re going to reprimand Liu Xianyang? All you’ll do is suck up to him like you do everyone!” Zhu Lian chuckled in amusement.

Pei Qian sat down onto the steps in a glum silence, and Zhu Lian paid no heed to her.

This was how children always were, happy one day, upset the next.

After that, Downtrodden Mountain received several more groups of visitors, and even Zhu Lian was rather taken aback.

One of those groups of visitors consisted of Lu Baixiang and a pair of children.

At the time, Zhu Lian had been sunbathing with Zheng Dafeng at the entrance of the mountain.

Lu Baixiang wasn’t unfamiliar with Zheng Dafeng, so he dragged over a stool and sat down beside the two men, much to the befuddlement of his twin disciples.

The two children revered their master like a deity, yet this hideous old man and this hunch-backed man that was equally as hideous didn’t seem to fear or respect their master at all.

The boy didn’t display too much of a reaction to this, but the girl with the wooden spear slung across her back was clearly not very pleased as she observed the two insolent men with a cold gaze.

Lu Baixiang paid no heed to her, nor did the two men beside him.

As it turned out, Lu Baixiang had traveled to the south of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent’s central region, and he had taken a bunch of bandits under his wing, all of whom had previously been elite soldiers of the Luminous Vermilion Empire’s southernmost subsidiary nation.

Under Lu Baixiang’s leadership, they had taken over a mountain, the obscure lair of a demonic sect that had isolated itself from the world and possessed a sizable amount of wealth. It was also during this time that Lu Baixiang had taken these twins as in-house disciples.

The girl with the wooden spear on her back was called Yuan Bao, while her brother’s name was Yuan Lai. He had a warm and benevolent personality, and he possessed immense aptitude for martial arts, but his personality far inferior to his sister’s when it came to suitability as a martial artist.

Lu Baixiang decided to bring his two disciples to Downtrodden Mountain to broaden their horizons, and it was up to them whether they wanted to return to the cultivation world or remain on the mountain.

Lu Baixiang was a little disappointed to hear that Chen Ping’an had just departed for the Northern Complete Reed Continent. He had been looking forward to sharing a drink with Chen Ping’an.

Lu Baixiang’s plan was to stay on Downtrodden Mountain for around a month.

There was no lack of accommodation on the mountain, and Zhu Lian told Lu Baixiang to pick out whichever residence he liked, while he had to stay and chat with Zheng Dafeng.

Lu Baixiang smiled as he rose to his feet to depart. Zheng Dafeng invited Lu Baixiang to come and share a drink with him when he had the time, and the latter assured him that he would do so.

The girl by the name of Yuan Bao gave a cold harrumph, while her brother, Yuan Lai, was a little shy and timid.

A myriad of emotions welled up in Lu Baixiang’s heart as he scaled the mountain. He was naturally experiencing many more thoughts and emotions upon his return to the Jewel Small World than his two disciples.

Yuan Bao was trudging along with a cold and hostile expression.

Yuan Lai had always been very afraid of his sister, and he didn’t even dare to walk along beside her. Instead, Lu Baixiang was leading the way, with Yuan Bao trailing along behind him, while Yuan Lai brought up the rear.

Lu Baixiang continued walking along as he smiled and said, “That old man’s name is Zhu Lian. Right now, he’s a Far Roaming Tier martial artist.”

Yuan Bao felt like she had to have misheard him.

“As for that hunch-backed man that was ogling you, his name is Zheng Dafeng. When I met him in Old Dragon City, he was a Mountain Summit Tier martial artist, and he was just one step, perhaps even only half a step away from reaching the tenth tier,” Lu Baixiang continued.

Yuan Bao pursed her lips tightly.

“I didn’t tell you this to say that you should be afraid of them, and I don’t feel inferior in any way compared with them. I am very confident that I will reach the pinnacle of the Martial Dao someday. I just want to tell you that there are many powerful people in this world, so if you want to be able to get away with talking the talk, then you have to be able to walk the walk.

“Otherwise, you’ll be nothing more than a joke. I don’t care if you embarrass yourself, and you can even embarrass me here and there, but if you do so too often, I will teach you your place in the world.”

A determined look appeared on Yuan Bao’s face as she declared, “Rest assured, Master, someday, I will be sure to convince you that you made the right decision to take me under your wing!”

Yuan Lai had to suppress an amused smile. His sister had always been fiercely competitive since a very young age.

All of a sudden, Lu Baixiang turned around to look down at Yuan Bao, exerting immense pressure upon her as he said, “I can tolerate just about anything else, but remember this, and remember it well: if you encounter someone by the name of Chen Ping’an in the future, make sure to treat him with respect and etiquette.”

A fine sheen of sweat surfaced on Yuan Bao’s forehead as she nodded and replied, “Yes, Master!”

With that, Lu Baixiang’s trio settled on Downtrodden Mountain. Due to the absence of the mountain master, Yuan Bao and Yuan Lai’s inclusion in the genealogical records would have to be delayed.

Lu Baixiang treated this matter the same way as Zhu Lian had, marking down his two disciples as disciples of Downtrodden Mountain.

After that, another master and disciple trio arrived on Downtrodden Mountain.

It was the blind old Daoist priest, the lame young man with the banner on his shoulder, and the round-faced girl with the nickname of Little Jiu’er.

However, the three of them had visited the pastry shop on Dragon Riding Alley first before being led to Downtrodden Mountain by Pei Qian.

Internally, the blind old Daoist priest was feeling rather uneasy, and he felt like the journey here had been wasted after learning that Chen Ping’an wasn’t on the mountain. However, after speaking with Zhu Lian, he felt much more at ease, and it felt like his future had been secured. At the moment, he still wasn’t an honorary elder of Downtrodden Mountain.

Instead, he was only considered a guest elder who received a salary, and he was going to be staying at the Burclover shop on Dragon Riding Alley. As for his disciples, they would only receive guest elder status after reaching the Middle Five Tiers, but prior to that, Downtrodden Mountain would provide them with some financial support, allowing them to take out loans of reasonable sums.

It was both a business transaction and a favor.

Even an old blind man like him could see a glorious path ahead for himself and his disciple, and he felt like a blissful man that had just drunk a large bowl of refreshing wine on a hot summer’s day.

Even as he left Downtrodden Mountain, he felt as if he were on cloud nine.

Despite his best efforts at dissuasion, Zhu Lian insisted on escorting them all the way down to the entrance of the mountain.

From there, Pei Qian served as their guide back to Dragon Riding Alley. She didn’t feel like this trip was arduous at all, and she had also gotten to reunite with Little Bai for a chat.

As she departed, she turned to take a glance back at Zhu Lian, only to discover that he was slowly ascending the mountain with his hands clasped behind his back.

She scratched her head with a puzzled expression. A young man with a set of blurry facial features had appeared atop the tall building in Zhu Lian’s heart.

Lotus Flower Blessed Land, capital of the Southern Garden Nation.

A tall and fair-skinned young boy was walking through an alley in the rain, holding an old oil-paper umbrella above his head.

He was going to visit his teacher, Imperial Preceptor Zhong Qiu, to borrow some books to read, books that were unique copies that couldn’t be found anywhere else in this small world.

Zhong Qiu had been very candid with him and told him that it would be down to fate whether he would be able to secure one of the top three positions in the imperial examination. After all, he was still too young, and both the emperor and the imperial court still had some doubts. However, he should definitely at least be able to secure a high rank outside the top three.

Hence, he was no longer dedicating all of his time and effort into preparing for the imperial examination. Instead, he had begun reading through many ancient books of a wide range of subject matters.

Zhong Qiu had given the boy permission to access that part of his private collection after speaking to him about his chances in the upcoming imperial examination.

Right at this moment, an acquaintance that the boy hadn’t seen in many years stepped into the alley.

He was extremely handsome, and there was a smile on his face as he gazed upon the young boy.

He had one hand clasped behind his back while gently fanning himself with a folded fan in his other hand.

It was Lu Tai, the vastly renowned Young Master Lu of the Lotus Flower Blessed Land.

A bright smile appeared on the young boy’s face as he quickly approached Lu Tai.

Over the years, Zhong Qiu had always displayed a great deal of concern on the odd occasions that Lu Tai was brought up in conversations. He hadn’t been seen since leaving the capital city, and to Zhong Qiu, they shared a very complicated relationship, one in which they were neither friends nor enemies, but it could also be said that they were both friends and enemies.

However, to the boy, Lu Tai was an extremely important figure that he admired and respected.

“It’s been ten years since we last met, hasn’t it, Little Qinglang?” Lu Tai mused.

Cao Qinglang lowered his umbrella as he extended a respectful bow to Lu Tai, then raised his umbrella above Lu Tai’s head as he smiled and said, “I’ve heard many stories of your feats in the cultivation world over the years, Mr. Lu.”

Indeed, Lu Tai had truly accomplished some astonishing feats over the past decade.

Lu Tai had already united the entire demonic orthodoxy, and his disciples had become either almighty demonic cultivators, celebrated border generals, or imperial preceptors.

Not long ago, Lu Tai had issued an official challenge to the most powerful being in this world, Immortal Yu Zhenyi, who was said to have already been on par with Ding Ying.

Ten years was not a short time, but it wasn’t a particularly long time, either, and Lu Tai had certainly been busy over these ten years.

In contrast, Cao Qinglang had been content to study and cultivate in peace, continuing to stay in his ancestral residence throughout the past decade.

Lu Tai waved a dismissive hand, indicating that there was no need to hold up an umbrella for him.

Cao Qinglang duly obliged, stepping away to hold the umbrella over his own head.

There was never any need for excessive courtesy when it came to Lu Tai.

The two of them were walking down the street together when Lu Tai smiled and asked, “Do you have any future plans?”

Cao Qinglang moved his oil-paper umbrella back slightly so that he could look up into the sky as he replied, “I want to leave the Lotus Flower Blessed Land and go see Mr. Chen.”

“That’s not going to be easy,” Lu Tai said with a smile. “Reading books alone isn’t going to be enough to get you there, and even if you learn Imperial Preceptor Zhong’s fist techniques and the scattered immortal mantras that he’s gathered for you, it’s still not going to be enough.”

“All my lofty aspirations can be achieved in the books that I read,” Cao Qinglang replied with a smile.

“You certainly resemble him in your naivete,” Lu Tai chuckled.

A hint of childishness befitting his age finally peeked through as Cao Qinglang asked in a joyful manner, “Do I really resemble him?”

“Is resembling him something worthy of being proud of?” Lu Tai jibed. “Back in his and my hometown, you would be considered to possess exceptional cultivation aptitude, while he only had the potential to become an earth immortal. To put it in simple terms, even if he were to fulfill his full potential, he would only be slightly more powerful than the current so-called immortal Yu Zhenyi.

“You were too young back then, and the Lotus Flower Blessed Land wasn’t as abundant with spiritual energy as it is now, making it less hospitable for cultivators. That’s why he appeared almost like a deity here, but it’ll be much more difficult for him to replicate his past feats now.”

Cao Qinglang shook his head as he pointed up at the highest point in the sky, his eyes glowing with excitement and reverence as he declared, “In my heart, Mr. Chen stands beyond even the heavens!”

Lu Tai couldn’t help but burst into laughter upon hearing this, amused that there was a little idiot in this world that admired Chen Ping’an so greatly.

A serious look then appeared on his face as he said, “Are you aware that ascension is still an extremely risky endeavor in your hometown?”

Cao Qinglang nodded as he replied, “If I were to fail someday like my predecessors, then I’ll have to trouble you to tell Mr. Chen that I’ve been doing very well these past years, but I really missed him.”

Lu Tai heaved a faint sigh, then closed his folded fan and gave Cao Qinglang a firm knock on the head with it as he snapped, “Go and tell him that yourself!”

“This is where you differ from Mr. Chen,” Cao Qinglang complained in a resigned manner as he rubbed his own head.

The Skeleton Shoal ship had already ascended once again after docking at the Palace of Eternal Spring, but the guests still hadn’t arrived.

Chen Ping’an wasn’t concerned as he continued to practice his fist techniques.

Right as the intercontinental ship was about to leave the territory of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, Chen Ping’an opened the door of his room, and a petite woman in a palace dress strode over from the walkway, joined by the new emperor and someone that was even more familiar to Chen Ping’an, namely Xu Ruo.

After opening the door, Chen Ping’an extended no greeting toward the trio, merely pretending as if he didn’t know them.

He reentered his room, then stood beside the table instead of taking a seat.

After the three visitors entered the room, the woman made her way to the other side of the table, then smiled as she extended a hand and said, “Please sit, Young Master Chen.”

Meanwhile, the young emperor remained silent as he observed Chen Ping’an with a pleasant smile.

“Long time no see, Chen Ping’an,” Xu Ruo said.

Chen Ping’an cupped his fist in a salute as he replied, “Indeed, Mr. Xu.”

The atmosphere in the room was very strange and uneasy.

The woman concealed her smile behind her hand as she said, “What are we all doing, standing around like stiff boards? Let’s all sit down.”

However, after the four of them sat down, the atmosphere tensed up once again.

Xu Ruo had already closed his eyes to rest, while Song He was looking around with mild interest.

This was his first time setting foot on an intercontinental ship, and initially, it had been a rather intriguing sight, but the novelty had quickly worn off.

The empress who had become the empress dowager smiled as she said, “Thank you for looking after Mu’er for all those years on Clay Vase Alley. I hope he wasn’t too much of a pain to deal with.”

“He was fine,” Chen Ping’an replied with a smile, speaking in a tone that was neither disrespectful, nor respectful in the slightest.

Of course, his internal grumblings were far less polite and pleasant.

A faint, undetectable smile played on Xu Ruo’s lips for a moment before fading away in a flash.

1. Reminder that Pei Qian (裴钱) is a homonym with 赔钱, which literally means losing money, hence the reaction. ☜