Unsheathed

Was Sui Xinyu a bad person? Of course not. As Hu Xinfeng had said, he was a passable official and an exceptional Go player. His only flaw was that he liked to avoid trouble a little too much, to the point that he was willing to compromise on morality.

Even Hu Xinfeng didn’t think that he deserved to die. Of course, unbeknownst to him, his answer to that question had just saved his life a second time. This, coupled with the flash of humanity that he had displayed on the verge of death earlier, made up for the three times that he had attacked Chen Ping’an, but if he were to answer the next question wrong, then he would still end up dead anyway.

If Hu Xinfeng had escorted Sui Xinyu safely to and from the capital of the Great Seal Script Empire, and he hadn’t been forced to show his true colors earlier in the pergola, then he would’ve remained the reputable hero that he had always been.

Just as Du Yu of the Ghost Axe Palace had said, only in crises of life and death did true heroes come to the fore. Having said that, it was often the case that such true heroes perished in said life and death crises, so did it really that they had ended up with a heroic reputation?

There had been three important players in the game at the pergola, namely the clueless Sui Xinyu, the scheming Cao Fu, and Yang Yuan, who, in hindsight, had most likely been an accomplice to Cao Fu, helping him put on this act.

Out of the three men, Yang Yuan possessed the worst reputation, but he had spared the life of a scholar that he could’ve crushed like an ant. In fact, he praised Chen Ping’an for displaying some backbone while mocking Sui Xinyu for his cowardice.

Hu Xinfeng was seated across from Chen Ping’an. The medicine had stopped his bleeding, but he was still in immense pain.

“Let’s say there was a wandering hero that encountered a group of evil-doers,” Chen Ping’an suddenly said. “He killed the leader of the evil-doers, but he deemed the transgressions of the others to not be deserving of death, so he merely punished them before departing, while the victims that he saved knelt down and kowtowed to him in gratitude. Do you think that hero is a man of virtue?”

“Man of virtue my arse!” Hu Xinfeng blurted out without thinking.

He then slapped himself in admonishment before hurriedly amending, “What I meant to say is that I don’t believe him to be worthy of the title of a man of virtue. If he were a local hero, then his treatment of the situation would’ve been adequate. The leader of the evil-doers is dead, while the others have been punished and most likely wouldn’t dare to target the same victims again.

“However, if that hero was a traveler that was merely passing through and doesn’t ever return, then who’s to say that the victims that he saved wouldn’t suffer an even more terrible fate following his departure? Perhaps it was only a robbery to begin with, but the desire for retribution could easily escalate the situation into one in which the victim’s entire family is murdered in cold blood.

“In that scenario, would that hero not at least be partially to blame? I think so.”

Chen Ping’an nodded in response, then asked, “What would you do if you were that hero?”

“I would make sure that the lesson that I teach to the evil-doers has lasting consequences,” Hu Xinfeng replied. “I wouldn’t be in a hurry to leave. Instead, I would stay for a while to torment the evil-doers that I deem to be undeserving of death. Sometimes, in order to truly drive a lesson across to evil-doers, you have to sink to their level.

“Otherwise, the lesson will be forgotten before too long. I will make sure to strike fear deep into their hearts. Ideally, I would traumatize them to the point that they get recurring nightmares, that even the mere thought of committing further evil deeds would have them break into shivers and a cold sweat. Only then can I say that the victims have truly been saved.”

“It almost sounds as if you had this answer prepared,” Chen Ping’an remarked with a smile. “You must’ve done similar things quite often in the past, I presume.”

Hu Xinfeng was sweating profusely from the intense pain that he was in, and he wiped a hand across his forehead as he hurriedly nodded and replied, “I did do some things along those lines back in the day, but I stopped after I started a family and my own gang. I no longer had the time to do such things, and there was also a chance that meddling in other people’s business could land me in trouble.

“When I was all by myself, I could just move from place to place on a whim, but with an established family and gang, I have to be more careful in the fights that I pick. The waters of the martial arts world may not be ubiquitously deep, but it certainly is very murky.

“As the saying goes, revenge is a dish best served cold, and there’s no lack of stories of people being killed in acts of vengeance decades down the line by the descendants of those they’ve wronged in the past.”

Chen Ping’an nodded as he said, “You’re a fairly wise man. In the future, when you encounter high-stakes situations in which your mental state is cast into disarray, make an effort to suppress the evil intent in your heart. Ultimately, it comes down to what you said earlier. The waters of the cultivation world are deep and murky, so it’s best to proceed with caution.

“You’re doing quite well for yourself, so make sure you don’t carelessly throw your life away. Ideally, try to avoid situations that will force you to choose between good and evil. Human nature is not something that should be tested more than necessary.”

A perplexed look appeared on Hu Xinfeng’s face.

He felt as if he were about to die again.

Is this a final lecture before he sends me to the afterlife?

“What’re you still doing here? Are you trying to stick around to see if I’ll change my mind and decide to kill you, after all?” Chen Ping’an chuckled with a dismissive wave. “Or have you been inspired after watching my game against Sui Xinyu? You can’t beat him in a fight, so you want to crush me in a game of Go to get one back over me, is that right?”

“Not at all, Exalted Immortal Chen. I’ll be leaving now if that’s fine with you,” Hu Xinfeng said with a wry smile.

Chen Ping’an raised an eyebrow as he asked, “Didn’t I already say that you could leave? Do I have to beg you to go?”

Hu Xinfeng hurriedly shook his head in response, then struggled to his feet before limping away as quickly as he could, his pain tolerance boosted by his survival instincts.

Chen Ping’an smiled as he turned his gaze to the Go board. The stones on the board represented Hu Xinfeng and all of the other noteworthy people that had gathered at the pergola from earlier.

He didn’t see much point in reviewing the situation, so with a sweep of his sleeve, he returned the stones on the board to the porcelain jars, not bothering to separate them into black and white before doing so. After that, he placed the stones that had been on the Go board in the pergola earlier onto back onto the board with another sweep of his sleeve.

He stared at the stones, supporting his chin with one hand while fanning himself with the other.

Setting aside its level of depth and complexity, the situation that had unfolded in the small town on the summit of the Magnificent Peak was actually very similar in nature to what had taken place back home.

Following a long silence, he packed the Go board and Go stones back into his bamboo case. After that, he stowed away his conical bamboo hat, hiking pole, and bamboo case, then trapped his folding fan and his Sword Nurturing Gourd back to his waist.

From there, he plastered a Stele Carrying Talisman to his own body and began traveling in a covert fashion.

There were some things that he had to verify for himself and also some things that he had forgotten to say earlier.

In reality, it wasn’t of much importance whether he said those things or not. For many people in the world, the transition from seeing someone else as a joke, only to be later regarded as a joke themselves was too much to bear. Instead of looking inward at their own flaws, they would be filled with resentment toward others and the state of the world.

Over time, some of these people got over their resentment and gained some new perspective from the experience, while others continued to wallow in toxicity and resentment, taking pleasure in inflicting hardships upon others as a means of making them feel better about themselves. These people saw themselves as strong and superior to others, but in reality, they were more laughable and pathetic than anyone.

The four members of the Sui Clan were continuing to make their way down the mountain on horseback, each absorbed in their own thoughts.

Sui Wenfa was the first to break the silence, asking, “Auntie, that Cao Fu was actually a bad person, and Yang Yuan and his clique were sent by him to put on an act for us, right?”

“Go ask your grandfather,” Sui Jingcheng sneered. “He’s just as good a judge of character as he is a Go player.”

Sui Xinyu gave a cold harrumph.

Sui Wenyi was looking completely broken and dazed, swaying unsteadily on the back of her horse, almost falling off on several occasions.

“Wenfa, Wenyi, you two go ahead a little. I have something to discuss with your aunt,” Sui Xinyu said.

Sui Wenfa called out to his dazed sister, and the two of them went ahead, but they didn’t dare to stray too far, stopping roughly twenty meters away from their aunt and grandfather.

Sui Xinyu tugged on his reins to slow his horse a little, keeping pace with Sui Jingcheng as he said with a concerned look on his face, “Right now, Cao Fu is a cultivator, and that old man is an even more formidable martial artist than Hu Xinfeng, perhaps someone that’s even on the same level as Senior Wang Dun.

“What are we supposed to do, Jingcheng? I know you blame me for being blind to Cao Fu’s nefarious intentions, but right now, our main focus should be to figure out how we’re going to survive this crisis.”

“Cao Fu wouldn’t dare to target us again anytime soon, but we still have to travel close to five hundred kilometers until we get back home. Unless that sword immortal with the Chen surname shows up again, it’s very unlikely we’ll be able to return home alive. In fact, we most likely won’t even be able to make it to the capital,” Sui Jingcheng replied in an indifferent manner.

“That conniving bastard!” Sui Xinyu yelled in a furious voice. “I’ll forgive him for pretending to be a weak scholar back at the pergola, but why is it that he was still so lackadaisical even after revealing his true identity? If he’s a legendary Golden Core Tier sword immortal, then why didn’t he just kill Cao Fu and Xiao Shuye? He’s doomed us by allowing those two to get away!”

Sui Jingcheng whipped off her veiled hat to reveal her stunning features, then cast her gaze directly forward with a neutral look on her face, as if none of this had anything to do with her and scoffed, “You say that after we left him to die back at the pergola?

“At the very least, he saved us once, and that’s already more than we could ask for after how we treated him, yet now, you turn around and blame him for not doing a good enough job? What happened to the morals and virtues of our Sui Clan? Have they been eaten by a dog?”

Sui Xinyu was almost unable to suppress the furious urge to lash out at his daughter with his whip.

He lowered his voice as he hissed, “Right now, our top priority is to figure out how we can survive this ordeal! What right do you have to be criticizing me? This crisis wouldn’t have befallen our Sui Clan at all!”

“You’re right, I agree,” Sui Jingcheng replied with a nod.

Sui Xinyu was unable to suppress his rage any longer, striking his heartless daughter with his whip.

Sui Wenfa and Sui Wenyi hurriedly turned away upon witnessing this from afar. The latter clasped a hand over her own mouth as she silently wept, while the former was completely rooted to the spot, feeling as if his world were collapsing around him.

Sui Jingcheng remained completely unfazed, with only her brows furrowing slightly as she said, “At the very least, I’m still half a cultivator. If you injure me, our slim chances of survival could be erased entirely, and we would truly be doomed then. You’ve reigned supreme in our nation’s Go world for several decades, surely you can at least see one step ahead to the consequences of your actions.”

Sui Xinyu raised his whip once again, almost striking his daughter across the face this time, but in the end, he lowered his arm in a defeated manner as he sighed, “Forget it. Let’s all just wait to die then.”

Sui Jingcheng was silent for a moment as she scoured her surroundings, then said in a quiet voice, “The worst-case scenario for us right now would be if Cao Fu and Xiao Shuye were still following us from afar. Our only chance at survival is to bet on the best-case scenario on the opposite end of the scale, which is that Sword Immortal Chen is traveling in the same direction as us.

“Given his travel route that we saw earlier, that;s a possibility. However, don’t get your hopes up. I think that as long as Cao Fu and Xiao Shuye stay out of Sword Immortal Chen’s line of sight and only focus on targeting us, Sword Immortal Chen most likely won’t care whether we survive or not. Unfortunately, he’s clearly disappointed in us, and both you and I are to blame.”

A self-deprecating look appeared on her face as she sneered, “We really are father and daughter. Then there’s also that niece of mine. Birds of a feather really do tend to flock together.”

“Now’s not the time to be spouting nonsense like this!” Sui Xinyu snapped.

Sui Jingcheng heaved a faint sigh as she refocused her attention on the matter at hand.

“We have to somehow find a way to bluff that Sword Immortal Chen is following us in secret. That way, Cao Fu and Xiao Shuye wouldn’t dare to attack us again for fear of losing their lives.”

Sui Xinyu’s eyes immediately lit up as he exclaimed, “That’s a great idea! Let’s devise a plan to make the act as convincing as possible.”

However, Sui Jingcheng herself was much less optimistic.

“Even if Cao Fu is initially fooled by our bluff, it would be very easy for him to see through our ruse. If this is something that even I can think of, then I’m sure Cao Fu will eventually also figure it out.”

“What do you mean? How could he call our bluff at no risk to himself?” Sui Xinyu asked.

“He could just get Yang Yuan to come after us again,” she replied with a wry smile.

“We’re doomed!” Sui Xinyu exclaimed in despair.

All of a sudden, tears began streaming down Sui Jingcheng’s face, and she put on her veiled hat again as she turned her head to the sight and sobbed, “You’re right, Father. I am the one to blame for all of this. If it wasn’t for me, none of this would’ve ever happened. Perhaps I would’ve already married a scholar in a distant land long ago, and you would’ve been able to live out your retirement in peace.

“Your journey to the capital of the Great Seal Script Empire with Hu Xinfeng would’ve been safe and smooth, and perhaps you wouldn’t be able to secure a top-ten finish, but you’d still get to take part in the long-awaited Go tournament. You’ll get to buy some new Go manuals to take home, and perhaps you’ll send a few to me and my husband…”

Sui Xinyu was silent for a long while, following which a bleak smile appeared on his face as he sighed, “Don’t beat yourself up, you foolish girl. You’re not to blame for chasing your own happiness. Sometimes, fate simply has other plans for us.”

The two of the slowly continued onward on horseback.

In the distance, Chen Ping’an had his back resting against the trunk of a tree, and he was gently fanning himself as he looked up at the sky with a faint smile and mused, “She truly is an exceptionally shrewd woman, and her gambling luck is just as good. She’s even more cunning than Yao Jinzhi of the Parasol Leaf Continent.

“If she cultivates under Cui Dongshan for some time, she’ll be sure to have countless cultivators under the heavens dancing over the palm of her hand. My interest has been piqued once again.”