Unsheathed

Afterward, Chen Ping’an and Sui Jingcheng didn’t purposely conceal their tracks. However, because Sui Jingcheng needed to cultivate during specific times of the day, Chen Ping’an purchased a horse-drawn carriage for their journey to the capital of the Five Mountain Nation, acting as the chariot driver. Sui Jingcheng voluntarily told him about the critical cultivation methods of Upper Lofty Mystical Mystery, explaining the different phenomena that arose when cultivating at different times. For example, her eyes becoming watery as if there were steam, her eyes experiencing piercing pain as if there were arcing lightning, her organs trembling loudly, and so on.

In reality, Chen Ping’an wasn’t able to provide her with any suggestions regarding these matters. At the same time, Sui Jingcheng was also an amateur who had relied on herself to cultivate this technique for close to thirty years. She wasn’t facing any detrimental issues as a result of this, and her skin was instead smooth and silky, with her eyes also being bright and clear. Judging from this, she was most likely on the right track.

They traveled both day and night, and their journey to the capital of the Five Mountain Nation was calm and peaceful.

This was similar to when Chen Ping’an had accompanied Li Huai and the other children to the Confucian academy in the Great Sui Nation. They had experienced bumps and harmonious times, but they had experienced even more trivial matters in the mortal world.

For example, Li Huai had only dared to piss and shit if he was accompanied by Chen Ping’an, especially during the night. Even if Yu Lu were guarding the second half of the night, with Chen Ping’an already fast asleep after guarding the first half of the night, Li Huai would still shake the latter awake and have the bleary-eyed Chen Ping’an venture far away with him, keeping him safe as he held his pants or held his bum. This had remained the same way during the entire trip, and Chen Ping’an had never scolded Li Huai for his behavior, nor had Li Huai ever thanked Chen Ping’an for his company.

However, it was indeed the case that children from small and remote places weren’t very accustomed to saying “thank you” to other people. This was similar to how scholars were indeed quite allergic and unwilling to utter the words “I was wrong.”

At the end of the day, however, it had been clear to everyone that Li Huai had genuinely cared about Chen Ping’an the most out of everyone in the group back then. Even after so many years, and after studying at Mountain Cliff Academy for so long, Li Huai was still like that cowardly little child who was aggressive at home when he faced Chen Ping’an. Whenever he came across difficult situations, the first person whom he thought of would always be Chen Ping’an, not his parents or his older sister who were far away on another continent. Of course, he felt reliance on the former and longing for the latter, though both of these feelings were equally as strong and sincere.

Meanwhile, even though Sui Jingcheng was an amateur cultivator, she still needed to eat and she was also a female. As such, things were still quite troublesome.

Taking these matters into mind, Chen Ping’an had purposely stayed behind for one more day when purchasing the horse-drawn carriage at a prosperous county city before. When they settled down at an inn, Sui Jingcheng had felt a strong sense of relief having camped in the wilderness and eaten poorly for an extended period of time. She had borrowed some silver coins from Chen Ping’an, saying that she was going to buy a few items. In the end, she had changed into a brand new dress and also purchased a new veiled hat to conceal her appearance.

Chen Ping’an wasn’t going out of his way to accommodate Sui Jingcheng, and in reality, he was in no rush to reach his destination anyway. He had a rough idea of what route he wanted to take already, and accompanying Sui Jingcheng to the capital of the Five Mountain Nation wouldn’t delay him from reaching the Green Oriole Nation before autumn.

One evening, Chen Ping’an sat on a stone cliff beside a turbulent river and retrieved his fishing rod. The sand and dirt in the river were whipped up, but the large rocks remained unmoving. Yet, it was in this environment that Chen Ping’an surprisingly managed to catch a black carp weighing five or so kilograms.

As the two of them drank fish soup, Chen Ping’an told Sui Jingcheng about the extremely peculiar black carp that existed in a lake atop the mountains at the Parasol Leaf Continent. Once these black carp reached one hundred years of age, a black stone of varying sizes would appear in their mouth. These black stones were extremely pure, and after crushing them and drying them out under the scorching sun using a secret technique, the resulting powder would be an extremely coveted raw material for cultivators who specialized in drawing talismans.

Sui Jingcheng was easily astonished by what she heard.

The two of them occasionally played Go with each other as well, and Sui Jingcheng was finally able to confirm that this senior sword immortal was indeed terrible at playing Go. He was extremely strong in the early game, with his moves brilliant and flawless, yet his moves would gradually get worse and worse from that point on.

Sui Jingcheng had played very seriously during their first game, and this was because she had been convinced that the senior sword immortal had definitely been holding back during the game in the pavilion.

Afterward, however, she accepted the fact that Chen Ping’an was simply very bad at Go.

The senior sword immortal had truly just memorized some early game formations.

Fortunately, he didn’t feel embarrassed or humiliated, and after losing ten games in a row, he would still humbly ask Sui Jingcheng about some of her brilliant moves. Sui Jingcheng naturally didn’t dare to hide anything, and in the end, she picked out two Go manuals when wandering around a bookshop in some prefectural city. One book was called Late Game Manual, and this book especially talked about the determination of life and death of various offensive and defensive formations.

Meanwhile, the other book detailed a number of different set formations. Chen Ping’an had given Sui Jingcheng some gold coins and silver coins in the county city back then, telling her that she could keep these to use as she pleased. Thus, she still had some money remaining after purchasing the two Go manuals.

When traveling at night one time, they passed a graveyard in some desolate area, and Chen Ping’an suddenly stopped the carriage and told Sui Jingcheng to come out. He then lightly tapped her forehead with two fingers, asking her to focus her gaze on a certain place. Sui Jingcheng lifted up the thin veil of her hat, only to see a white fox carrying a skeleton on a grave as it bowed at the moon. She asked Chen Ping’an about why this was, but the senior sword immortal also replied that he didn’t know. He had witnessed many fox spirits transforming into beautiful women to tempt wandering scholars before, but this was his first time coming across a fox spirit carrying a skeleton and bowing at the moon.

The horse-drawn carriage continued to trundle forward.

Having heard the commotion, the white fox carrying the skeleton immediately vanished with a flash. A short moment later, a shapely woman walked in a seductive manner as she appeared on the side of the road in front of them. Chen Ping’an ignored her presence, while Sui Jingcheng, who was sitting outside the carriage, felt slightly angry. She took off her veiled hat and revealed her true appearance, causing the seductive woman to look as if she had been struck by a bolt of lightning, muttering and cursing under her breath as she turned around to leave. Sui Jingcheng raised an eyebrow and put on her veiled hat, hanging her legs over the side of the carriage and swaying them back and forth.

“Why are you getting annoyed with a fox spirit?” Chen Ping’an asked with a smile.

“To transform into a woman and seduce men… No wonder people in the mortal towns and markets like to use the term ‘seductive vixen’ to scold other people. I’ll definitely teach these fox spirits a lesson when I master some immortal techniques in the future.”

Chen Ping’an smiled and said, “Not all fox spirits are like this. Some are mischievous, yet they’re also kind-hearted at the same time. I’ve also heard about the Heavenly Master Residence of the Middle Earth Divine Continent’s Mount Longhu having a fox spirit guest elder. She wanted to show gratitude to the elderly heavenly master for using his Heavenly Master Seal to stamp her fur and allowing her to hide from the formidable heavenly tribulation when she advanced to the Upper Five Tiers back then, so she’s remained at Mount Longhu this entire time to protect the disciples of the Heavenly Master Residence. In fact, she even helps these disciples temper their Dao Hearts.”

Sui Jingcheng silently committed this matter from the mountains, which sounded even more inconceivable than some fantastical novels, to memory. However, her final thought was that the fox spirit at Mount Longhu might not be as beautiful as her anyway.

One evening, they trundled past an ancient local shrine. It was said that the nearby river had been extremely turbulent all year round back then, preventing the commoners from crossing even if they had boats. Afterward, a primordial immortal had drawn talismans on a piece of paper and summoned stone rhinos to jump into the water to suppress the water demons, allowing the river to become calm from then on.

Sui Jingcheng and Chen Ping’an entered the shrine together to offer incense. The shopkeepers of the incense shop were a young couple, and when Sui Jingcheng and Chen Ping’an arrived at the dock afterward, the former noticed that the young couple had caught up to their carriage, falling to their knees and starting to kowtow for some unknown reason. They pleaded for the two immortals to give them a ride and take them across the river.

Chen Ping’an nodded and agreed to their request, with the four people and the horse-drawn carriage eventually boarding a gigantic ship to cross the river. After disembarking on the opposite bank, the young couple asked to get off the carriage after it slowly trundled several kilometers forward. Sui Jingcheng was sitting inside the carriage with the young couple, and she discovered many strange things as the three of them shared the slightly cramped space.

The young couple had been drenched in sweat when the carriage and the ship had been crossing the river, and it was as if they were afraid of falling into the river and drowning at any given moment. They had held hands and leaned against each other, appearing as if they were resigned to death. This had caused Sui Jingcheng to feel extremely worried, mistakenly thinking that there were still demons and spirits causing trouble in the river, potentially capsizing the gigantic ship at any moment. However, she immediately felt much more at ease when she recalled that the senior sword immortal was sitting outside the carriage.

The young couple once again fell to their knees and kowtowed after getting off the carriage, surprisingly paying their greatest respects by kneeling three times and kowtowing nine times.

Seeing the senior sword immortal remain silent, Sui Jingcheng also remained standing in the same spot as she accepted the grand show of respect. When the young and teary-eyed couple stood up, the senior said in a soft voice, “The impartial Dao will naturally protect ghosts and spirits that do good deeds and accumulate virtue.”

Sui Jingcheng found everything to be very strange. When the young couple heard this, it was as if they had been pardoned, yet it was also as if they had obtained sudden enlightenment. They surprisingly wanted to kneel down and sincerely kowtow again.

However, Chen Ping’an reached forward to hold the young man up this time, saying, “You can leave now. The mountains are vast and the rivers are long, and the Great Dao is full of hardships and difficulties. The two of you are on your own now.”

The young couple didn’t follow the official road, and after leaving the official road and walking for a while, they turned around and once again paid respects to Chen Ping’an and Sui Jingcheng, with the young man bowing and the young woman curtsying.

Afterward, the carriage trundled onto a small path, and Sui Jingcheng, who was just about to ask about the background of the young couple, suddenly widened her eyes in astonishment as the path in front of them rippled, revealing a deity in golden armor standing there with an iron spear in his hand.

Chen Ping’an stopped the carriage and gracefully jumped onto the road, cupping his fists in greeting before asking, “Have we caused trouble for Esteemed Water God by taking initiative and acting without your permission?”

The water god, who had a serious expression and was dressed in golden armor, shook his head and replied with a smile, “It was because of my responsibilities and the restrictions of the regulations that I was unable to bend the rules and let them pass before. That young couple deserved the fortune of being protected by your virtue, allowing them to cross the river after waiting bitterly for one hundred years.”

After saying this, the deity in golden armor turned to his side and lightly thrust his iron spear into the ground, saying, “This minor god respectfully farewells Young Master.”

Chen Ping’an cupped his fists again, smiling as he bid farewell and returned to the carriage, slowly trundling past the water god of the river.

Sui Jingcheng remained silent for a long time before quietly asking, “Senior, is this a sign of achieving success in cultivation? Even a deity in golden armor who has lived for a long time was willing to clear the path and respectfully bid farewell to Senior.”

Chen Ping’an sidestepped the question and replied slowly, “You have to understand that the mountains have people other than Cao Fu, and the cultivation world has people other than Xiao Shuye. Rather than verbally explaining some matters to you, it’s better that you see and experience these matters for yourself.”

Night arrived, and the horse-drawn carriage stopped at a quiet and uninhabited location. The senior sword immortal spent some extra time and effort in a rare turn of events, cooking a large pot of braised pork belly with bamboo shoots.

Sui Jingcheng couldn’t be bothered thinking about why the bamboo shoots were so fresh even though it was already the middle of summer, nor could she be bothered thinking about why they hadn’t been retrieved from the bamboo case.

Sui Jingcheng felt like this young-looking senior was in a very good mood after crossing the river with the young couple.

Sui Jingcheng had asked the senior sword immortal about his age before, but he had ignored her question in the beginning. Afterward, Sui Jingcheng was genuinely unable to suppress the curiosity in her mind, so she had asked the same question in a roundabout manner two more times. Only then did the senior sword immortal reveal that he was approximately three hundred years old.

This allowed Sui Jingcheng to become more determined in her pursuit of Dao.

They traveled past a bustling prefectural city near Sweeping Villa today, and they coincidentally came across a religious festival.

There were similar stalls set up at a certain distance from each other, with most shop owners filling the ground in front of their stalls with clay dolls and porcelain miniatures. A single copper coin was enough to purchase a bamboo ring from the stall owners, while two copper coins were enough to purchase a large willow ring. The streets and alleys of the prefectural city were overflowing with people. There were some adults helping their children throw bamboo rings and willow rings, and if they managed to land the rings on the clay dolls or the porcelain miniatures, then the children beside them would exclaim in delight and jump with joy.

Chen Ping’an smiled and asked, “Are there so few people in the cultivation world of the Five Mountain Nation?”

Sui Jingcheng didn’t understand the purpose of this question, so she simply replied, “The scholarly culture is stronger in the Five Mountain Nation, and it’s because of this that everyone in the imperial court, including a scholarly official like my father, felt a sense of shared glory following the rise of Senior Wang Dun. He hoped to become acquainted with Senior Wang Dun through his relationship with Hu Xinfeng.”

Only after the carriage traveled a fair distance away did Sui Jingcheng finally understand the purpose behind the senior’s question.

If there were many martial artists, then perhaps the stalls at the religious festival would perhaps still exist, but there definitely wouldn’t be as many of them as there were now. Otherwise, the stall owners could very easily lose money if they were unfortunate enough to have a few martial artist customers. It wouldn’t be like the current situation, where the stall owners were all able to make money, with the only difference being how much each of them was able to make.

Sui Jingcheng couldn’t help but sigh with emotion.

Perhaps these were some of the clues and traces hidden in the world.

If it weren’t for the senior sword immortal, perhaps she would have never considered these matters in her entire life.

Not thinking about these matters wouldn’t have been a loss, and she would have continued to live and cultivate as she always had. On the other hand, contemplating these matters didn’t necessarily seem to have any immediate benefits.

It was no wonder that the senior sword immortal had once said that contemplating sequences of events, speaking reason, and mulling over worldly matters was no easy or relaxing task.

When passing a melon field one time, Chen Ping’an stopped the carriage and squatted down beside the ridges in the field, staring dazedly at the lush and adorable watermelons.

Thinking back to his childhood in the small town, many people would lift their bamboo buckets out of the Iron Lock Well under the old locust tree. Meanwhile, some elders would be telling their old stories, while children munched down on cold and refreshing watermelons. The shadows of the locust tree provided shade, and the hearts of the people were also cooled and refreshed.

Sui Jingcheng jumped down from the carriage and asked in curiosity, “Even immortals from the mountains like Senior will develop an urge to eat watermelons?”

Chen Ping’an remained silent for a long time before finally replying, “If I’m able to act according to my whims one day, being able to secretly eat a watermelon and run away, then that will signify true success in cultivating my mind. Only then will the negative effects of that stick of tanhulu on my mind have been completely erased.”

Sui Jingcheng found this remark even stranger than some of the strange events she had encountered recently. She couldn’t make heads or tails of it no matter how she racked her brain.