Unsheathed

Chapter 550 (2): It’s a Pity the Sky Doesn’t Rain Money

Shen Lin was seemingly in a very talkative mood today, actively introducing the traditions and customs of the Dragon Palace Small World to Young Master Chen.

This was also what Chen Ping’an was most willing to listen to and learn about.

Indeed, this had always been the case ever since Chen Ping’an had embarked on his first distant journey with Little Baoping and the others.

Asking woodsmen for information in the mountains, asking boatmen for information in the rivers, and asking the locals for information in the cities and towns — Chen Ping’an had personally done all of this back then. Chen Ping’an wouldn’t have felt reassured even if Li Baoping — who had considered problems most earnestly and completed tasks most diligently— had wanted to share these duties and burdens with her junior uncle.

Afterward, Chen Ping’an had done the same while traveling around the various continents by himself.

Chen Ping’an would inevitably feel uneasy if he were in an unfamiliar place and unable to fully understand the area.

A large factor behind this was most likely the many troubles that Chen Ping’an had faced in the past: being stopped by the female ghost in the wedding dress, the disaster at the Flying Eagle Fortress, accidentally entering the Lotus Flower Blessed Land, and the killing intent that he had faced at Malicious Ghost Valley.

Chen Ping’an knew that if his mind became extreme regarding this matter, failing to change for the better, then this would become a barrier on his path of cultivation.

Chen Ping’an suddenly realized this after coming across Li Liu again.

This was because after comparing his own behavior to Li Liu’s speech and actions here, he discovered that he would never feel at ease unless he were sitting by himself in his ancestral residence in Clay Vase Alley. Even in his hometown, he would still be accustomed to the paranoid habit of knowing everything, regardless of how trivial the matters were. This was the case at the bamboo building in Downtrodden Mountain, and it was also the case at the two shops on Dragon Riding Alley. This was the reason why Chen Ping’an was so envious of those two immortal mystical abilities, the land-shortening technique and the immortal observation technique.

This realization had become especially glaring when Li Liu had casually said that if Mr. Chen couldn’t calm his mind, then he would only be going in circles no matter how far he traveled. Her words had jolted Chen Ping’an awake.

Chen Ping’an dared to say that he always knew what he wanted, where he wanted to go, and what type of person he wanted to become.

As he journeyed around the world and walked along the path of cultivation, however, it turned out that the many bumps and challenges hadn’t all been thrown at him by fate and destiny. Indeed, many of them had been invited by Chen Ping’an himself.

It was because of this that Chen Ping’an had sat on the roof ridge that night, looking around in a daze and not knowing how to take the next step.

He had promised that he would become a Vajra Body Tier martial artist and return to Stalactite Mountain in ten years.

He wanted to reconstruct his bridge of immortality and successfully refine five bonded items.

He wanted to become a genuine sword cultivator and strive to become a truly free great sword immortal.

However, human power had its limits, and the same went for mental power.

In any case, were these three major matters the limit of Chen Ping’an’s complicated thoughts? Were his worries as simple as having a debt of several thousand grain rain coins? Were his responsibilities as simple as a few personal matters?

There was a myriad of chaotic matters, some big and some small.

How should these matters be prioritised, and how should he use his energy and time to transform his principles into tangible actions?

Chen Ping’an subconsciously stopped in his tracks.

The water goddess of the Southern Fragrance Water Palace also came to a smooth stop.

Li Yuan had nothing better to do while walking behind the two people, so he had carefully looked over Shen Lin’s Dao robe that weighed at least three to four ounces, counting the number of inlaid jewels that were refined into minuscule sizes and special products of the Dragon Palace Small World. He had already counted more than nine thousand.

Shen Lin’s visit wasn’t Li Yuan’s idea, but rather, the temporary visit of that ruler of the martial world had caused the water goddess of the Southern Fragrance Water Palace to imperceptibly notice her presence. However, Shen Lin hadn’t dared to visit without permission, so she could only follow the traces and carefully find her way to the water official of the Plenty River following the disappearance of that vague feeling. Not only that, but she hadn’t dared to ask direct questions either, beating around the bush and giving Li Yuan a slight headache. Even so, he had continued to act stupid and play dumb. Regardless of how much he pitied this water goddess, Li Yuan still didn’t dare to reveal any secrets regarding such a major matter.

However, he was truly unable to withstand Shen Lin’s persistence and barrage of questions, so he could only come up with a solution that was relatively fair and didn’t use official authority for private affairs, leading her to Paddling Island. She was the leading deity of this small world, in any case, so patrolling the mountains and waters of the small world was naturally part of her responsibility. However, it was a shame that Mr. Chen — whom Li Yuan referred to as Young Master Chen — wasn’t wearing that “Three Feet Sweet Rain” jade tablet by his waist. He was still a young man, but he was shockingly experienced and careful. He was very cautious with his words, so Shen Lin would presumably have to leave without managing to get any answers.

Even though the Southern Fragrance Water Palace enjoyed the highest standing among all mountain and water gods in the small world, it didn’t necessarily have much legitimacy. This was because no mortal nation or empire had any ability to appoint deities to the water palace, and the mountain masters of the Confucian academies largely wouldn’t become involved in this matter either.

For example, Sage Zhou Mi of a Confucian academy had instructed a noble scholar to deliver ten appointment edicts to the ancestral hall of the Water Dragon Sect soon after assuming his position. These edicts pertained to the various deity positions of the Southern Fragrance Water Palace, with only the space for the names left empty.

The noble scholar asked Sect Leader Sun Jie to pass these edicts to the Southern Fragrance Water Palace in the Dragon Palace Small World, and the intention of this was very clear. The “small imperial court” at the water palace was already very bloated, so Shen Lin could decide how to deal with this matter herself. Zhou Mi had come to the Northern Complete Reed Continent to obtain knowledge, not to deal with these messy matters.

Shen Lin had quickly repaid the favor, not only leaving several of the critical deity positions untouched, but even abolishing many nominal positions that had only been created due to ancient customs and etiquette. In the end, she had adhered to the positions listed in Sage Zhou Mi’s edict to leave ten formal deity positions recognized by the Confucian Sect in addition to the original twenty or so water deities of the Southern Fragrance Water Palace.

In the beginning, Southern Sect Leader Shao Jingzhi, who had a very close relationship with the Southern Fragrance Water Palace, had privately persuaded Lady Shen to not follow this path, abolishing more than a dozen deity positions for no good reason. After all, Sage Zhou Mi had already made it abundantly clear that he wouldn’t interfere with the operations of the water palace, so was there any need to take things this far? After Zhou Mi left the Confucian academy and pummeled the powerful cultivators who had spoken in a vile manner, however, Shao Jingzhi had paid another visit to the Southern Fragrance Water Palace, admitting that she had almost caused trouble for Lady Shen.

Shen Lin noticed that the young man beside her was dazed and absent-minded.

She didn’t find this disrespectful, especially since a cultivator being able to relax their mind so much was a formless display of trust.

Chen Ping’an quickly pushed aside his messy thoughts and apologized, “I’m sorry, Lady Shen, my mind was wandering a bit just then.”

Shen Lin smiled and shook her head.

She was already planning to leave, so she invited the young man to visit the Southern Fragrance Water Palace if he had time.

Chen Ping’an nodded and said he would.

He couldn’t help but feel a bit exasperated at this moment. Li Liu had told him that she was going to visit the main city and then return to Paddling Island, but following her departure, she had most likely left the Dragon Palace Small World and even left the Water Dragon Sect.

Chen Ping’an asked Li Yuan about this, with the water official replying that he didn’t know.

Shen Lin bade farewell and took her leave, walking toward the shore with mist rising from her feet. She arrived atop her carriage in an instant, turning it around and rapidly dashing into the distance. After traveling several kilometers, the entourage seemingly entered a path underwater, with the carriage, the maidservants, and the officials all vanishing in a flash.

Li Yuan retracted his gaze. However, he was actually feeling a slight sense of pity in his heart.

If this young man were slightly smarter — or slightly less smart, depending on how one looked at it — then he would have realized that Shen Lin wasn’t simply inviting him to visit the Southern Fragrance Water Palace. She would definitely thank him with valuable gifts, ones that couldn’t be turned down no matter what. In addition, these gifts would be completely reasonable and justified, and they would at least be a paramount treasure of the water palace. In other words, a paramount water element treasure that was bordering on the level of pseudo-celestial tools.

In reality, these gifts wouldn’t technically be for the young man, and they would instead be like tributes meticulously chosen and prepared by the local officials, offered to the owner of that “Three Feet Sweet Rain” jade tablet. If Young Master Chen were willing to accept this gift, then not only would Shen Lin not feel pained to part with the paramount treasure, but she would even feel increasingly grateful to him for accepting the gift. If he displayed even the slightest appetite for more, then Shen Lin would be willing to go as far as to demolish half of the Southern Fragrance Water Palace. Even so, she would definitely still thank him with valuable gifts.

However, it was a shame that Mr. Chen had silently let slip this fated opportunity.

Was there any cultivator in the world who was displeased about having too many valuable immortal treasures? Was there any deity in the world who was unhappy with receiving too much incense essence?

Probably not, right?

It was too bad that Li Yuan couldn’t say anything to inform Chen Ping’an, or else he might make matters even worse for the severely decaying Shen Lin if he accidentally gilded the lily. At the same time, he might also cause trouble for himself, a measly water official.

Chen Ping’an also saw the carriage off with his gaze, silently observing the quick flash of complicated expressions on the face of the water official standing beside him.

Li Yuan retrieved a secret letter and said, “Mr. Chen, this is the reply letter from your hometown. The Water Dragon Sect didn’t notice anything regarding the delivery of your letter and the receipt of this letter.”

In reality, this letter weighed quite heavily in the hand.

This was due to mountains and waters being different from each other.

This letter had the intricate restriction of a formal mountain god.

Thus, it was inevitable that the letter would feel slightly “hot and heavy” in the hands of a water official.

Chen Ping’an accepted the secret letter and smiled knowingly when he saw the four large characters on the envelope: For Master To Open.

It was clear that his opening disciple had written this, with her calligraphy style taking after her master. The characters were straight and proper, and it was evident that Pei Qian had been extremely focused when writing these four characters.

Chen Ping’an placed the secret letter into his sleeve.

Li Yuan was just about to bid farewell. After all, Li Liu had said before that Mr. Chen was going to cultivate in peace here, and no one was allowed to disturb him.

The water goddess of the Southern Fragrance Water Palace, visiting the island and entering for a moment, already caused Li Yuan to feel slightly uneasy and afraid. However, he thought to himself that the young man strolling around with an umbrella most probably wasn’t classified as “cultivating in peace,” right?

Rain quickly started to fall again following Shen Lin’s departure from Paddling Island.

Chen Ping’an raised his umbrella, and Li Yuan said with a smile, “There’s no need to mind me, Mr. Chen.”

Chen Ping’an wanted to say something, but he couldn’t help but hesitate. He quickly pushed aside his urge to ask those questions.

What was the benefit of knowing Lady Shen’s approximate rank in the Dragon Palace Small World? Was he truly going to pick up this thread to another matter?

There seemingly wasn’t a need to do so.

Li Yuan couldn’t conceal his aging aura, and the godly body of the Southern Fragrance Water Palace’s Lady Shen was also on the verge of collapse. Chen Ping’an had only just arrived here, so if he picked up one or two threads that were buried deep beneath the water and learned of the truth, did he need to become involved if these matters aligned or clashed with some of his principles? There were many external matters that he could choose to ignore, so if he insisted on getting involved and causing headaches for himself, was this the opposite extreme to those cultivators who completely ignored all external matters?

Chen Ping’an felt like he needed to make sense of this fundamental matter. To him, this was a significant task of cultivating the heart.

With this in mind, Chen Ping’an actually felt slightly envious of those people who had extremely firm “Dao seeking hearts” right from the very beginning.

Disregarding good and evil and only focusing on one’s true self…

For example, Lin Shouyi had immediately taken a fancy to the Recite Atop Clouds Scripture.

And the young girl, Zhu Lu, had a very clear goal and an extremely resolute mind.

“Mr. Chen, you appear to have some questions on your mind?” Li Yuan asked.

This was nonsense.

After all, a cultivator who didn’t have worries and questions on their mind wouldn’t waste their time walking around with an umbrella whenever it rained. Not only that, but Chen Ping’an would frequently stop as well, with his mind feeling restless and distracted. From time to time, he would also retrieve his hiking pole and seemingly write or draw talismans on the ground.

“I was just getting a bit impatient waiting for the reply letter from my hometown. It’s nothing,” Chen Ping’an replied with a smile.

Li Yuan didn’t ask anything else.

Chen Ping’an returned to his residence after bidding farewell to Li Yuan, closing his oil-paper umbrella and leaning it diagonally against the wall outside. The heavy downpour was yet to subside.

After lightly shaking off the rain on his body and entering his room to sit down, Chen Ping’an opened the envelope and took out two letters, but he didn’t open them.

The first letter was from Zhu Lian, carefully describing Downtrodden Mountain’s current situation, as well as the situation of the Dragon Spring Prefecture and its surroundings. The other letter was from Pei Qian; it only addressed some small, trivial matters.

In reality, Chen Ping’an was already informed of a brilliant piece of news upon receiving the letter: Wei Bo had already successfully broken through. Otherwise, the secret letter wouldn’t have contained a restriction unique to Cloud Drape Mountain.

Instead of reading the letters, Chen Ping’an stood up and left the room, standing under the eaves and watching the rain connect heaven and earth.

When it rained, one could avoid the rain at home, seek shelter in a foreign land, walk through the rain with an umbrella, or be struck by the rain.

Chen Ping’an turned around and looked at the oil-paper umbrella that was leaning diagonally against the wall.

Perhaps some principles and reasons were like the oil-paper umbrella. There was no need to use it when the sky was clear and bright.

It only needed to be opened when rain fell from the sky.

However, no one knew when it would rain, so should a person always carry an umbrella with them just in case? This was a difficult choice, especially since carrying an umbrella all the time would be extra weight and baggage, no matter how minor. Moreover, carrying an umbrella when the sky was clear was sure to draw strange looks from everyone else.

In any case, cultivators in the mountains didn’t need to carry umbrellas to repel rain.

Chen Ping’an felt slightly troubled as he scratched his head.

Mulling over this question, his final thought as he turned around and returned to his room was that it would have been great if this heavy downpour were a downpour of grain rain coins. It would have been good even if it were a downpour of snowflake coins.