Unsheathed

Over at the Spring Dew Garden ancestral hall, the atmosphere was rather strange. Some people were looking very grim and concerned. This group included several elderly figures who were rarely seen outside the ancestral hall, as well as several guest elders cultivating at the Spring Dew Garden.

There were also some who were merely spectating, and they weren’t in a particularly bad mood. For example, there was Tang Xi, the owner of the Nightglow Grass Hall, who had always occupied the chair at the very end of the ancestral hall, and also Song Lanqiao’s mistress.

The two of them had never been particularly close with each other, but in this moment, they exchanged a glance and a nod, and both of them could see their own amusement mirrored in one another’s eyes.

There were also some who didn’t quite know what to make of the situation, such as Tan Ling.

Song Lanqiao had sent two flying sword letters in succession back to the ancestral hall. In the first letter, he reported that an outside cultivator of an unfathomable cultivation base had boarded his ship. It was an extremely handsome, white-robed young man, and upon arriving at Skeleton Shoal on the Flax Robe Sect’s intercontinental ship, the first thing that he did was rain down a barrage of immortal treasures upon Skeleton Wall City without any warning.

Gao Cheng had chosen not to retaliate, indicating that he was quite wary of the culprit. In the second letter, Song Lanqiao proclaimed that the unfathomable cultivator in question referred to Chen Ping’an as his teacher. He also reported that the young man had a very strange and erratic personality, and that if a battle were to break out between the two, then Chen Ping’an would surely stand no chance.

Tan Ling presented the two letters to everyone, and after they had made the rounds and returned to her grasp, she gently tucked them up her sleeve as she said, “I have already personally sent a flying sword letter to Wood Garment Mountain to inquire about this person’s identity, but I have yet to receive a response.

“Do any of you have any good ideas on how we should handle this situation? We can’t just place all of our hopes in the Flax Robe Sect because this person is clearly on good terms with Wood Garment Mountain. Also, I think Mr. Chen is the swordsman who released his flying swords alongside Sword Immortal Liu of the Great Emblem Sword Sect in the Sacred Lotus Nation last year.”

Her declaration was met with complete silence.

The Spring Dew Garden was considered to be a figurehead among the second-rate immortal powers of the Northern Complete Reed Continent, ranking alongside the likes of the Lightning God Manor and Lion Peak. Furthermore, it had a very good reputation and a wide network of connections, and it also possessed a strong foundation.

The only thing that kept it from becoming a first-rate immortal power of the continent was the lack of an Unpolished Jade Tier cultivator at the helm. The Spring Dew Garden was in a very awkward situation because Tan Ling simply didn’t possess the aptitude and wherewithal to reach the Upper Five Tiers in this lifetime.

In the absence of an Upper Five Tiers cultivator among their ranks, the duo of Chen Ping’an and this supposed student of his potentially posed a cataclysmic threat to the Spring Dew Garden, and any misstep here could lead to its destruction.

“What do you think of Mr. Chen, Tang Xi?” Tan Ling asked.

Tang Xi’s chair was situated at the very end of the ancestral hall, closest to the entrance, and he took a moment to carefully formulate a response as he gently massaged the armrest of his chair, then replied, “I am unable to glean his cultivation base, and I also know next to nothing about him in terms of personal information. However, one thing I can speak on is his business dealings, and I can say that he’s a very fair and scrupulous businessman.”

This was the first time that Tang Xi’s words had been taken so seriously in a meeting between the members of the Spring Dew Garden’s ancestral hall.

“Young Master Chen is a very well-mannered and likeable young man,” Song Lanqiao’s mistress chimed in with a smile. “Perhaps none of you are all that familiar with him, but I’ve really taken a liking to him. He went out of his way to visit me twice, and he’s gifted me with a spirit tool and some tea leaves from the Rainbow Sparrow Residence. I’ve been thinking about what I should give him in return the next time he comes to visit.

“I can’t just make him leave empty-handed thrice! Young Master Chen even said himself that good things come in threes, so I should wait until his third visit before reciprocating him all at once. Unfortunately, I’m just an impoverished old woman, and I fear that any gift I can offer to him would be inadequate. In that case, I would not only be embarrassing myself, but I would also be putting our Spring Dew Garden to shame.”

Clearly, this was a very pointed remark with some heavy implications behind it.

“There’s no need for you to fret over something like this, Junior Sister Lin,” Tan Ling said with a smile. “You can choose a fitting gift from our ancestral hall today to present to Mr. Chen the next time he comes to visit.”

“Surely that’s inappropriate!” Song Lanqiao’s mistress exclaimed with a fake smile. “I can’t be such a burden to our Spring Dew Garden. Honestly, if I sell off all of my possessions, then borrow some money from that good-for-nothing disciple of mine, I should be able to scrounge together enough for an immortal treasure.”

Tan Ling’s expression remained unchanged as she smiled and said, “There’s no need to trouble Song Lanqiao. He’s been working diligently for all these years, looking after the immortal ship, and I’m sure he already has enough on his plate.”

Song Lanqiao’s mistress feigned a look of realization as she exclaimed, “You have such a good memory, Senior Sister Tan! I suppose this must be the difference between a Nascent Tier cultivator like you and a mere Golden Core Tier cultivator like myself. I had almost forgotten that I even had a Golden Core Tier disciple like Song Lanqiao!”

All of the sly old foxes in the ancestral hall instantly perked up slightly at his facetious remark. It sounded like the old woman was planning to use this as an opportunity to drag her disciple into the ancestral hall.

This was not a trivial matter.

However, to everyone’s surprise, the old woman continued, “Let’s not mention that toiling disciple of mine. He simply wasn’t born to live the high life.”

She then turned to Tang Xi as she lamented, “Guest Elder Tang here leads an even more difficult life than Song Lanqiao. He works so hard and has done so much for our Spring Dew Garden, and yet, he’s still sitting so close to the door. Half of our Spring Dew Garden’s business goes through the Nightglow Grass Hall.

“In fact, if I recall correctly, even the chairs in this ancestral hall were crafted using funds supplied by the Nightglow Grass Hall. We’ve been benefiting from his hard work for far too long without giving any compensation in return. If you ask me, Tang Xi and I should swap positions. I should be the one moved to the entrance so that I’ll no longer be an eyesore to everyone here.”

Tang Xi immediately rose to his feet, then cupped his fist as he extended a deep bow and opposed, “That won’t do at all! I am but a businessman whose cultivation aptitude is mediocre at best. Even though my business is doing alright, I’ve only been able to achieve everything I have off the back of the Spring Dew Garden.

“My aptitude may be lacking, but one thing I’ve never lacked is self-awareness. It is already an immense honor for me just to have a seat in the ancestral hall at all. To ask for anything more would be incredibly ungrateful on my part!”

“Even if you’re not thinking for yourself, think about your daughter, Tang Xi,” the old woman urged. “She’s about to marry into the Iron Warship Residence Wei Clan soon, but the Wei Clan and the emperor of the Great Guan Empire have always looked down on you for your lowly status in our Spring Dew Garden.

“Perhaps you have the tolerance to bear such degrading remarks, but even as an outsider, it pains me to hear people belittle you so. I have no congratulatory gifts that I can offer to you, so the only thing I can do is swap positions with you in order to elevate your status slightly.”

Even though Tang Xi wasn’t the one in charge of the money in the Spring Dew Garden, he was widely renowned as the Spring Dew Garden’s chief money-maker. Despite his lack of status and authority, his business acumen earned him a great deal of respect from everyone in the Spring Dew Garden.

Clearly, Tang Xi and the old woman had arrived at some type of mutual understanding, and they were intentionally putting on a show for everyone else.

One of the senior figures present was in charge of the ancestral hall’s finances, and there was a very disgruntled look on his face as he scoffed, “Aren’t we coming up with a plan to deal with Sword Immortal Chen and his student? Why are we suddenly talking about the impending marriage of Guest Elder Tang’s daughter?

“The ancestral hall is a place where important matters are discussed, not a place to gather and exchange small talk and discuss trivial nonsense! If we keep getting sidetracked like this, we’ll be here for hours without even addressing the matter at hand!”

“So you’re saying the marriage of Tang Xi’s only daughter and the resulting alliance between the Spring Dew Garden and the emperor of the Great Guan Empire are just matters of trivial nonsense?” the old woman countered with a smile. “Ah, yes, I suppose to someone as powerful and authoritative as yourself, all of this is indeed just trivial nonsense.”

“Don’t try to put words into my mouth!” the old man snapped as he slammed a furious hand down onto the armrest of his chair. “You think we don’t know what you’re up to? Are we all just a bunch of blind and clueless fools in your eyes?!”

“So you’re not blind and clueless? My mistake, Senior Brother Gao,” the old woman said with a sneer.

A wry smile appeared on Tang Xi’s face as he watched in silence. This new ally of his was being a little too forward and aggressive, so it would be unwise of him to fan the flames even further. Instead, it was much better for him to simply wait and observe for now.

“Of course, these are not trivial matters, and they’ll all be discussed in due time once the current crisis has been averted,” Tan Ling interjected. “As a matter of fact, we’ll discuss those topics today, but not right now. Firstly, we need to try to ascertain the date of departure for Mr. Chen and his student. Secondly, we need to come up with a plan for how we can mitigate risk and avoid danger as much as possible during this time.

“As for whether we can turn this crisis into an opportunity and befriend the two of them, that is not something that we hope for, nor should it be made a priority. Lastly, who’s going to be the one to approach them? We need to select someone, whether it be Song Lanqiao or someone else.

“However, let me make this clear in advance: Regardless of whether the outcome is positive or negative, the person sent to approach them should be rewarded for undertaking the task. Even if the outcome is less than desirable, no one is to complain or criticize that person. Anyone caught doing so will be punished in accordance with the rules of our ancestral hall.”

Tan Ling paused here momentarily, then smiled as she continued, “If everyone comes to the conclusion that I should be the one to personally approach them, then I will gladly do so, as long as that’s the decision reached by the ancestral hall. If I do a less-than-stellar job, then all of you can openly criticize me to my face. As the mountain master of the Spring Dew Residence, I will sincerely accept all valid criticism.”

Around fifteen minutes later, Tang Xi departed from the ancestral hall, while everyone else waited anxiously for his return.

“In times of crisis, in particular, it becomes abundantly clear which people are actually useful, and which ones may as well not exist at all,” the old woman chuckled.

Tan Ling’s brows furrowed slightly at this scathing remark, while the old man erupted into fury, “You wanna say that again, Lin Cuo’e?!”

“What are you, deaf?” the old woman countered.

“Gao Song, Lin Cuo’e, both of you shut up!” Tan Ling snapped.

The two of them fell silent, but one was fuming, while the other wore a cold sneer.

Tan Ling heaved an internal sigh. Gao Song and Lin Cuo’e had once come very close to becoming Dao partners, and their relationship was an incredibly complex one.

“Should I use an observation technique to check on what’s happening at the Luminous Jade Cliff, Mountain Master Tan?” a guest elder of the Spring Dew Garden suddenly offered. “That way, if things go awry, we can be prepared in advance.”

The old woman sneered. “We’ve got a deaf one already, now we’ve got a blind one!”

Tan Ling and the guest elder paid no heed to Lin Cuo’e’s insults, and the former shook her head as she replied, “That’s most likely not a good idea. At the very least, this student of Mr. Chen’s is a Nascent Tier cultivator, and there’s a very good chance that he’s an Unpolished Jade Tier senior.

“If he’s only at the Nascent Tier, then perhaps we could get away with it, but if he’s at the Unpolished Jade Tier instead, then no matter how careful we are, he’ll be sure to notice, and that’ll place Tang Xi in great peril.”

The old woman sneered. “Hasn’t Tang Xi always been considered to be an outsider of the Spring Dew Garden? There are quite a few people in this ancestral hall right now who would like nothing more than for him to drop dead so they can seize his estate! If we get Tang Xi killed, surely Young Master Chen and his student will be appeased, and the Spring Dew Garden will get to claim his estate! It sounds like a great plan to me!”

The guest elder could only shake his head with a wry smile.

Tan Ling was finally unable to rein in her temper any longer, springing to her feet as she glowered at the harsh old woman and snapped, “Lin Cuo’e! Do you want to help Song Lanqiao claim a spot in the ancestral hall or not?!”

“Alright, alright, I’ll be quiet,” the old woman said with a chuckle. “In the past, I never had the chance to make my voice heard in this ancestral hall. Now that I’ve been given such an honor, I couldn’t help but want to run my mouth a little. As long as that disciple of mine can enter the ancestral hall, even if he only gets a little stool right by the entrance, I promise that you won’t get another peep out of me ever again.”

Lin Cuo’e cast her gaze out of the ancestral hall as she spoke, and Tan Ling was about to reprimand her a little more to ensure that she didn’t step any further out of line, but she was unable to bear the thought of doing so as she gazed upon Lin Cuo’e’s old and wizened face.

Furthermore, she agreed with Lin Cuo’e in that it was about time that people started pulling their weight in the Spring Dew Garden ancestral hall.

Hence, in Tan Ling’s eyes, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing that Tang Xi, Song Lanqiao, and Lin Cuo’e had forged an alliance.