Unsheathed

“You can keep wearing it. It doesn’t serve much of a purpose for me right now, I was only wearing it earlier as a red herring to fool the bad people on this ship,” Chen Ping’an said with a smile.

The little girl shook her head in refusal.

Chen Ping’an could only relent, gently tugging on the collar of the robe before spreading his arms open, and the robe immediately draped itself over him.

Zhu Quan was quite impressed. He was looking quite handsome in this new white robe and the absence of his conical bamboo hat.

Chen Ping’an lifted the little girl up onto the railing, then also jumped onto it himself, and the two of them sat together side by side.

He then turned to Zhu Quan and requested, “Can you not eavesdrop on us for now? I won’t be long.”

Zhu Quan nodded in response.

Chen Ping’an cast his gaze toward the distance as he gently placed his closed fists on his knees.

“Did I scare you with what I said earlier?”

“Of course not! I’m a great water monster! I ain’t scared of anything!” the little girl scoffed with her arms crossed.

“I supposed you are indeed quite brave, given how you dared to smack me in the back of the head like that earlier,” Chen Ping’an mused.

A wide grin appeared on the little girl’s face, seemingly very pleased with herself.

“What do you think of the name Zhou Mili?” Chen Ping’an asked. “I’m renowned for being a good namer. Everyone always praises my naming abilities.”

The little girl was rather skeptical, but in her mind, having a name was better than just having a surname.

Chen Ping’an pulled out a flagon of wine from his minimization treasure, then removed the clay seal before taking a sip.

“There’s something that you have to keep in mind when I’m not with you: when it comes to evil-doers committing acts of evil, that doesn’t always come in the form of overt acts of evil, such as massacring innocents or terrorizing the masses. Instead, most of it will be like the yin winds blowing through the Yellow Wind Valley at night.

“You can walk through it just fine, but it feels very uncomfortable and unsettling. In the future, you have to be particularly mindful of the subtle evils that you can’t see or perceive. I’m not telling you this because I want to emulate the actions of evil-doers. Instead, I’m telling you this so that you can be more appreciative of the kindness in the world and realize that kindness is not to be taken for granted.”

Chen Ping’an pointed up at the second floor of the ship as he continued, “For example, in addition to the man who barged into you and kicked you, you also have to be wary of the young worker who tried to shove me, the one who wasn’t even a cultivator. In fact, you should be much more wary of him than of the administrator who sold you those newspapers.

“You also have to be more wary of the people beside that old woman. Not the young couple. Instead, you should take more heed of the seemingly unremarkable people around them. The more unremarkable and irrelevant they appear, the closer an eye you have to keep on them. Always be wary of the evils that aren’t so apparent.

“They could be smart and conniving evil-doers who conceal their intentions and hide behind others, or they could be complete fools who aren’t even aware of the evil nature of their actions. We have to think and consider more than them and do our best to be smarter than them.

“All of the things that pose obvious threats to us, such as flying swords, fist techniques, Dao robes, powerful artifacts… None of those things are the true dangers that we have to be mindful of.”

The little girl’s face was once again scrunched up in an expression of contemplation. This time, she didn’t pretend to understand. Instead, she really was doing her best to try and understand what Chen Ping’an was saying because she knew that he was telling her these things for her own good, even though she couldn’t quite understand how this was supposed to be good for her.

Chen Ping’an gave her a gentle pat on the head as he said, “I know you don’t understand, but I still can’t help but want to say it. Once you get to my hometown, my hope is that you’ll grow up a little before you go out traveling the world. You’re a great water monster, not a child from a poor family, so you don’t have to grow up too quickly. Just take it slow and grow up at your own pace, there’s no hurry.”

“I’ve memorized everything you told me,” the little girl said. “… Alright, I was lying, I only remembered most of it.”

“It doesn’t matter if you forget everything I’ve told you up to this point, but make sure to remember the things that I’m about to tell you next,” Chen Ping’an said as he took a sip of wine. “Firstly, my hometown is a place called the Dragon Spring Prefecture on the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent. I own many mountains there, one of which is called Downtrodden Mountain.

“I have a disciple called Pei Qian, make sure you don’t ever tell her that you’ve smacked me on the back of the head, and more than just once or twice, at that. Don’t be afraid of her, just do as I tell you. Tell her that I told her to remain diligent in her reading and making transcriptions, and that’s enough.”

After a brief pause, Chen Ping’an smiled as he continued, “You can also tell her that I miss her. Secondly, I have a student called Cui Dongshan. If you meet him and feel like he’s the biggest fool you’ve ever met, there’s no need to be afraid of him. If he dares to pick on you, then borrow a little accounts book from Pei Qian and write down everything he did to you.

“I’ll get him back for you when I return home next. There’s also an old chef called Zhu Lian. If you encounter any trouble, you can go to him. There are many more people on Downtrodden Mountain, like… Forget it, you can get to know them yourself once you reach the Dragon Spring Prefecture. Zhou Mili…”

The little girl was busy memorizing everything that she had been told, and she immediately turned to Chen Ping’an upon hearing him call out her new name.

Chen Ping’an scrunched up his face, putting on the same contemplative expression that she always wore whenever she was thinking.

The little girl rolled her eyes.

He was copying her, yet it wasn’t a convincing impersonation at all.

Chen Ping’an threw his head back to finish the rest of the wine in the flagon in one go, then wiped the back of his hand across his mouth before bursting into laughter.

He was unable to help himself and said some things to Zhou Mili, but there were also some other things that he had refrained from telling her.

Back when he first left the small town, there were many things that he didn’t understand and couldn’t figure out. Even though he had only just begun practicing fist techniques at the time, he was more focused and had his eyes solely on the path ahead.

By the time he set off on his journey to Stalactite Mountain, he had already practiced his fist techniques for close to a million repetitions, but he had been sorely disappointed after hearing those thoughts and inner voices in the Flood Dragon Trench.

In Bamboo Scroll Lake, he almost met his demise on many occasions, but ironically, he was cast into the deepest depths of despair when his life was under the least threat.

From there, he had returned home, then visited the central region of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, and now, he was on the Northern Complete Reed Continent.

Cai Jinjian, Fu Nanhua, the mountain-moving ape of Sun Scorch Mountain, River Severing True Lord Liu Zhimao, the old flood dragon of the Flood Dragon Trench, Ding Ying of the Lotus Blessed Land, the Ascension Tier Du Mao, Liu Laocheng of Palace Willow Island, Gao Cheng of Skeleton Wall City…

Before he knew it, he had already traveled over vast distances.

He had learned fist and sword techniques, and now, he was also a cultivator.

“It’s about time that we left, Chen Ping’an,” Zhu Quan suddenly said. “Mortals cannot handle being in a small world where the river of time is stagnant for too long.”

Chen Ping’an hurriedly turned and patted Zhou Mili on the head as he said, “In that case, I’ll be leaving this great water monster of Mute Lake to you, Sect Leader Zhu. Please take her to the Ox Horn Mountain ferry station of the Dragon Spring Prefecture for me.”

Zhou Mili tugged on his sleeve with an uneasy expression.

Chen Ping’an immediately realized what her concerns were, and he cupped a hand over his mouth as he leaned down to whisper into her ear, “Don’t worry, she’s a Unpolished Jade Tier immortal. She’s really powerful!”

Zhou Mili had only ever heard of Golden Core Tier and Nascent Tier earth immortals, so she had no idea what the Unpolished Jade Tier.

She hurriedly cupped a hand over her own mouth as well, then whispered back, “How powerful? More powerful than Patriarch Yellow Wind?”

Chen Ping’an nodded in confirmation.

“What should I call her?” Zhou Mili asked.

“Just call her Big Sister Zhu. That’s definitely better than calling her Sect Leader Zhu or Aunt Zhu,” Chen Ping’an replied.

“What if I don’t have enough money to travel on an intercontinental ship?” Zhou Mili asked.

“In that case, just owe her for now,” Chen Ping’an replied.

“Wouldn’t that be rude?”

“It’s fine. Big Sister Zhu is really wealthy, even wealthier than the two of us combined.”

“But I’m still a little afraid of her.”

“Then just pretend not to be afraid.”

Zhu Quan couldn’t help but massage her own glabella in exasperation, wondering how this unlikely duo had come together.

In the end, Zhou Mili hoisted her bag of belongings onto her back. She wanted to give them to Chen Ping’an, but he refused to accept them.

“Is your name really Chen Haoren?” she asked.

Chen Ping’an shook his head and smiled as he replied, “My name is Chen Ping’an, Ping’an as in safety.”

Zhou Mili was being held in Zhu Quan’s arms, and two of them departed with the other two Flax Robe Sect patriarchs. Of course, the mess here had already been cleaned up. Gao Cheng was feared for much more than the fact that he was an Unpolished Jade Tier spirit presiding over the Malicious Ghost Valley.

While the flow of time had been stagnant, the two patriarchs had already examined all of the passengers on the ship one by one to verify that Gao Cheng didn’t have any more hidden tricks. Even if there were, they were confident that given Chen Ping’an’s abilities and astuteness, he would be able to look after himself just fine after their departure.

The small world was lifted, and the flow of time on the ship returned to normal.

All of the passengers on the ship could only see Chen Ping’an sitting on the railing with his back to everyone, looking out into the distance while gently patting his own knees.

On the second-floor observation deck, the martial artist by the name of Ding Tong standing beside Wei Bai had a horrified look on his face, and Wei Bai was just about to put an end to his life.

However, before he could do so, Chen Ping’an raised a hand as he said, “No need, I’ll come kill him myself when I feel like it.”

Wei Bai duly obliged, cupping his fist in a respectful salute as he smiled and said, “I am Wei Bai of the Iron Warship Residence. It’s an honor to make your acquaintance, esteemed sword immortal.”

The martial artist, Ding Tong, was completely rooted to the spot, as if he were in a daze in the wake of his close brush with death.

Chen Ping’an was silent for a moment, then turned to Ding Tong with a smile as he remarked, “Surely that wasn’t enough to actually scare you, right, Gao Cheng?”

Ding Tong’s aura instantly changed, and he smiled as he jumped down from the observation deck to land on the railing beside Chen Ping’an.

“How did you know?” he asked as he sat down on the railing.

“It was just a blind guess,” Chen Ping’an replied with a smile. “It’s never a bad idea to highly evaluate the enemy’s intelligence.”

“So what you were saying about coming to me only after you’ve traveled the entire Northern Complete Reed Continent, did you intentionally say that for me to hear under the assumption that I was still here?” Gao Cheng asked.

Chen Ping’an nodded in response.

Gao Cheng burst into laughter as he clenched his hands into tight fists and cast his gaze into the distance.

“If only everyone in this world were people and ghosts like us!”

“When did you take control of him?” Chen Ping’an asked.

Gao Cheng shook his head in a seemingly wistful manner as he sneered, “You want to know if he truly deserves to die, right? It seems like you and I are not the same, after all.”

Chen Ping’an pulled out two flagons of wine, tossing one to Gao Cheng while keeping the other for himself.

He removed the clay seal from his flagon, then took a large swig of wine and mused, “So many Gao Chengs perished on the battlefield all those years ago. How many more Gao Chengs must perish for Gao Cheng to stand up from the piles of bodies?”

Gao Cheng took a sip of wine, then smiled as he replied, “Indeed.”

“That’s why we all need to read more books,” Chen Ping’an suddenly remarked.

Gao Cheng casually tossed the flagon of wine into the clouds below, then asked, “How was the turtle jelly?”

Chen Ping’an heaved a faint sigh.

“Are you able to split just a single mortal form into so many pieces? That is truly remarkable. No wonder so many cultivators are so desperate to see the view at the mountain summit, even if it costs them their lives.”

Gao Cheng spread a hand open, and a black vortex appeared over the palm of his hand. Extremely faint specks of light could be seen within the vortex, resembling a revolving galaxy of stars.

“There’s no hurry. Have a good think, then decide whether you want to hand over your flying sword for me to take back to Skeleton Wall City.”

Chen Ping’an patted his Sword Nurturing Gourd, then caught First between his thumb and index finger before placing it into the vortex on top of Gao Cheng’s hand.

Gao Cheng closed his hand into a tight fist, then turned away as he remarked, “Killing you is very difficult, but swindling you certainly isn’t. If I were to split off too many souls and mortal forms, it would be too difficult for me to remain concealed under the scouring gaze of those two Unpolished Jade Tier cultivators from the Flax Robe Sect, particularly in the river of time.

“Just the fact that Zhu Quan is able to oppose the Malicious Ghost Valley shows that she’s no slouch.”

Chen Ping’an displayed no reaction to this.

Gao Cheng’s hands remained clenched into fists as he said, “Throughout my life, there are only two people who’ve earned my respect, the first of which is my old corporal, who taught me how to not die and how to desert the battlefield. He lied to me his entire life, telling me that he had a beautiful daughter.

“Only in the end did he find out that he had nothing, that his wife and children had all passed away long ago. The second one is that Bodhisattva. I am unable to take this flying sword with me right now, nor do I need to. Once you’ve traveled the entire Northern Complete Reed Continent, you’ll return it to me yourself.”

Gao Cheng spread his hand open to reveal First hovering above it in a completely still manner.

Faint plumes of smoke then came seeping out of Ding Tong’s orifices before slowly dissipating into nothingness.

Chen Ping’an was in a momentary daze as First returned to his Sword Nurturing Gourd.

Ding Tong shuddered as he snapped back to his senses, only to discover that he had somehow ended up on the railing right next to Chen Ping’an.

“You’re here to see the scenery too? What a coincidence,” Chen Ping’an said with a faint smile.