Unsheathed

Chen Ping’an breathed a sigh of relief after Zuo You left without drawing his sword. He would be lying to himself if he said he wasn’t nervous, and he hurriedly placed the chair and stools back inside the shop before sitting down on the door threshold, waiting for Ning Yao and Die Zhang to return.

Zuo You had come silently, but he hadn’t concealed his sword qi on purpose when leaving.

Thus, more than half of the sword immortals at the Sword Qi Great Wall were most likely able to detect Zuo You’s trip away from the city wall.

In any case, Zuo You’s act of openly sitting at the entrance of the shop just then was a silent message in and of itself.

Before Zuo You’s arrival at the shop, the old scholar had actually activated a mystical ability and created a barrier, allowing only those at the shop to detect his presence. He had then retracted this barrier following Zuo You’s arrival.

Those in the scholarly lineage always worried about many things, but when they decided to act, they would always be extremely resolute. As a result, they would appear as unreasonable as could be.

When Ning Yao and Die Zhang returned, Chen Ping’an stood up and said with a smile, “Sorry for inconveniencing you, Miss Die Zhang. I had to host some guests here.”

Die Zhang smiled. “I won’t ask about the old mister’s identity, but why did Great Sword Immortal Zuo voluntarily come over to drink wine with you? I need to ask about this, lest all of the items in my shop mysteriously disappear in the future. Who would I complain to at that time?”

“Zuo You is my senior brother, and the person sitting in the middle just then was our master, Majestic World’s Scholarly Sage,” Chen Ping’an revealed.

His background and identity wouldn’t help him much at the Sword Qi Great Wall, as they would not help him avoid a single battle. He still had to fight those necessary battles, no matter what.

In any case, what Cui Dongshan had said was correct. He had won over his master and his senior brother through his own abilities, so there was no need to purposely keep their relationships hidden.

Die Zhang silently walked into the shop.

There was no way to continue this conversation.

Ning Yao sat beside Chen Ping’an on the door threshold and said in a soft voice, “Thankfully, the old great sword immortal was personally keeping an eye on the city wall just then, not allowing a single person to travel south for whatever reason. Otherwise, you would have faced immense danger in the next battle. The demon tribe has many schemes.”

“Master and Senior Brother Zuo are both aware of this,” Chen Ping’an reassured with a smile.

Ning Yao nodded and asked, “What are you planning to do next?”

“Cultivate in earnest, refine more Qi, strive to advance to the Abode Tier as soon as possible, perform advanced refinement on First and Fifteenth and transform them into bonded items, and temper my Vajra Body Tier at the same time,” Chen Ping’an replied. “Things will be much easier in battle after I advance to the Far Roaming Tier. However, my last two goals are very difficult to achieve at the moment, and just focusing on gathering bonded items of the Five Elements alone, this task already poses monumental difficulty.

“Bonded items of the metal element and fire element are exceptionally rare and can only be obtained through fortune, so if things truly don’t work out, I won’t try to purposely look for bonded items of superior grade. I need to build my bridge of immortality to face the next great battle first, after all.

“Ning Yao, you don’t need to persuade me one way or another regarding this matter. I’ve already gone over the pros and cons very carefully, and disregarding the other matters of cultivation and only focusing on bonded items, the grades of my three current bonded items are already enough to help me advance to the level of earth immortal and perhaps the Unpolished Jade Tier. I can’t have overly high ideals and expectations regarding this matter, since one indeed can’t walk too slowly on the path of cultivation.

“Otherwise, my spiritual energy will inevitably become scattered if I’m unable to advance to the Middle Five Tiers for a long time, yet my martial arts cultivation base has already reached the seventh tier. When I circulate my True Qi, it will, to a greater or smaller extent, collide with my spiritual energy and affect my combat power. So, in the meantime…”

Chen Ping’an frowned in worry as he said this, and he heaved a sigh before continuing, “I still need to learn sword techniques from Senior Brother…”

“Isn’t that quite good?” Ning Yao replied. “Senior Zuo is the most suitable and the most qualified person to teach you sword techniques. Don’t forget that your senior brother isn’t an innate sword talent either.”

“I can’t lie in the sickbed and drink medicine at the Ning Residence every few days, can I?” Chen Ping’an replied in helplessness.

Ning Yao chuckled and said, “That’s okay. I learned how to brew medicine from you back in the Jewel Small World, but I’ve never had the opportunity to use this skill.”

Chen Ping’an tried to restrain himself once, twice, and three times, but he eventually couldn’t help but say, “It’s not like I haven’t seen you brew medicine before. I wouldn’t dare to drink the medicine even if you dare to brew it.”

Ning Yao clicked her tongue and remarked, “Tsk, you’re speaking quite tough after acknowledging your senior brother.”

Chen Ping’an immediately put on a pitiful expression and relented, “I’ll drink it. I’ll pretend it’s wine and drink it.”

Die Zhang shook her head in envy as she looked at the couple in the doorway.

Chen Ping’an recalled something, and he turned around and proposed with a smile, “Miss Die Zhang, how about we split the profits forty-sixty if I help the shop bring in money?”

“Will that be too little for you?” Die Zhang asked with a smile.

“Then how about thirty-seventy?” Chen Ping’an replied. “Miss Die Zhang, you truly like to take big risks when it comes to doing business. It’s no wonder that your shop is doing so… well…”

Die Zhang was rendered speechless with anger.

There was a look of amused schadenfreude on Ning Yao’s face.

Chen Ping’an smiled and said, “Even immortals will struggle to make money at this miscellaneous shop.”

He chuckled. “I knew that I would be staying at the Sword Qi Great Wall for an extended period this time, so I brought some extra wine of the ordinary ilk from my hometown. How about we open a small wine shop together? We don’t need to be afraid of customers having nowhere to sit as long as we place a few additional chairs and tables outside. If the wine is good, then it will taste good even if they drink it while squatting down.”

“You already admitted that it’s ordinary wine from the markets, so even if there are a lot of alcoholics here, there will ultimately come a time when the wine runs out, even if they’re willing to buy this wine,” Die Zhang said in curiosity. “In any case, selling the wine for a high price can easily ruin the shop’s reputation. I’m not shameless enough to scam other people.”

Chen Ping’an retrieved a verdant green bamboo leaf that was lush and filled with spiritual energy, replying, “The price of the wine will rise astronomically after I put this in the wine pot. Of course, this will be the first-grade wine sold by our wine shop. For the second-grade wine, we’ll put a few bamboo leaves in a large wine vat. In addition, I also have this.”

He opened his hands, revealing a wine insect that he had “borrowed” from Wei Bo because talking about his transactions with a friend like Wei Bo would hurt their feelings. Wine insects were extremely rare and precious creatures, even in Majestic World. It was only thanks to hosting three Night Travel Banquets and giving some subtle hints that some mountain or water god had finally parted ways with the wine insect with great reluctance. In fact, this deity had only been willing to offer up the wine insect after Wei Bo subtly hinted that they wouldn’t need to attend the fourth Night Travel Banquet as compensation.

Chen Ping’an was brimming with confidence as he continued, “I’ve already done some tests, and wine improved with wine insect alone still can’t be regarded as a very good wine — it’s still very lacking compared to those exorbitantly expensive immortal wines. However, adding the bamboo leaves will completely transform the wine’s flavor.

“So, we need to purchase as much cheap and ordinary wine as possible before we open our wine shop. The more we buy, the better, and we can store them away and only open our doors for business when we have enough wine. We probably can’t get a bargain if we go and purchase wine ourselves, and we’ll likely draw suspicion if we buy too much. This being the case, we can give Yan Zhuo and Chen Sanqiu a cut of the profits. A small percentage will do, and there’s no need to give them too much. They’re already rich enough as it is, unlike us two poor people.”

Ning Yao leaned against the doorframe of the shop as she looked at Chen Ping’an, who was especially spirited and energetic as he talked about business.

Die Zhang felt slightly hesitant. This wasn’t about whether or not they should purchase cheap wine — she no longer had any doubts about this, and she was confident that they could make money. It was simply a question of how much money they could make. Moreover, they would be earning money from those wealthy sword cultivators and sword immortals, and Die Zhang didn’t feel an iota of guilt about this. These cultivators and immortals would be drinking wine regardless.

What Die Zhang was hesitant about right now was the same thing as before — dragging Fatty Yan and Chen Sanqiu into this business venture. According to her original intentions, she would rather earn less money and face a higher cost price than ask her friends for help. If it weren’t for Chen Ping’an mentioning that they could take a cut of the profits, Die Zhang would have rejected his suggestion outright.

Chen Ping’an was in no hurry, and he placed the wine insect inside his sleeve and returned the bamboo leaf to his minimization treasure. There was a large pile of bamboo leaves and bamboo branches inside, with Chen Ping’an having brought all of them to the Sword Qi Great Wall. He smiled faintly and said, “Miss Die Zhang, please excuse me for being blunt, but you truly need to fix your attitude when it comes to doing business. Speaking business, it’s correct not to involve your friends if you feel like the profits and losses of the venture are uncertain. However, it will be inconsiderate of us not to involve our friends if we’re certain that the business venture is definitely going to profit.

“Anyhow, it’s also okay if Miss Die Zhang genuinely feels like my suggestion is inappropriate. In that case, we can simply open a smaller wine shop, meaning slightly higher cost, less stock, and less profit. We can discuss this matter again once we’ve earned enough money, and there’s no need to feel concerned about pushing things back.”

Die Zhang was seemingly facing a new dilemma now, worried that Chen Ping’an would hold a grudge against her if she turned down his genuinely good idea.

Chen Ping’an smiled and asked, “Then it’s a deal? A thirty-seventy split in my favor?”

Die Zhang smiled and replied, “Fifty-fifty. Both the wine and the shop are equally as important.”

“Isn’t it also a wine shop if I grab a few tables and chairs and casually place them in some empty space on the street?” Chen Ping’an retorted.

“I refuse to believe that Ning Yao can stand losing face like this. Even if Ning Yao doesn’t mind, can you, Chen Ping’an, truly bring yourself to embarrass her?” Die Zhang interrogated.

Chen Ping’an was left slightly speechless.

Ning Yao was just about to say something.

“Ning Yao!” Die Zhang hurriedly exclaimed. “We’ve been friends for so many years, so you can’t forget about your friend after finding yourself a partner!”

Ning Yao had initially wanted to say that she wouldn’t even mind helping out and hollering to sell wine, so would she mind setting up a wine shop on the streets using some random tables and chairs?

However, Ning Yao didn’t have the heart to say this after hearing Die Zhang’s frantic remark.

And thus, she eventually haggled with Chen Ping’an to get a forty-sixty split in Chen Ping’an’s favor.

Chen Ping’an’s reason was that he had won four battles in a row, allowing this street to become renowned throughout the Sword Qi Great Wall. As such, his selling wine would bring great repute to the wine shop at no cost, allowing them to attract more customers.

Die Zhang was truly quite impressed by his shamelessness and his ability to make money.

In the end, however, she still asked, “Chen Ping’an, are you really not worried about losing face for the Ning Residence and the Yao Clan’s elders by selling wine and making some small money like this?”

Chen Ping’an smiled and shot back with a question of his own, asking, “Have you forgotten about my background, Miss Die Zhang? I don’t steal, don’t rob, don’t cheat, and don’t scam, so each copper coin I earn is a result of my ability.”

Ning Yao held back a smile.

Chen Ping’an was in love with money, so if the shop opened but failed to attract customers in the beginning, he would go as far as to sell wine to the old great sword immortal.

Die Zhang fell silent for a long time before whispering, “I feel like our wine shop will be cheating people.”

Chen Ping’an waved a hand and boasted without shame, “We’ll clearly display the price, and the customers can either take it or leave it. There won’t be any need to worry about the sales avenues in the future, and to be blunt, it will be completely up to our mood whether we want to sell wine or not.”

Die Zhang felt slightly more at ease after hearing this.

It had always been Die Zhang’s dream to become rich and buy a big house, but she had enough self-awareness to realize that finding the right business opportunity to earn money truly wasn’t her strong suit.

Die Zhang initially thought that Chen Ping’an and Ning Yao would return to the Ning Residence after they finished the negotiations and reached a deal, but Chen Ping’an unexpectedly stood behind the counter and grabbed an abacus. This puzzled Die Zhang greatly, and she asked, “Aren’t we just purchasing some wine to build stock? This is a very simple task that I’ll be capable of handling.”

There was a genuinely stunned expression on Chen Ping’an’s face. He wasn’t feigning shock this time, and he asked with a frustrated chuckle, “Do there exist such simple business transactions in the world?! Miss Die, I’m already starting to question my decision to partner with you! Just think for a moment. We first need to choose a restaurant or a wine shop with relatively poor business to purchase wine from, right? At that time, how should we haggle for a better price, and how can we get a discount if we purchase in bulk? How can we say the right things to the right people? Do we not need to think over these matters first?

“How can we lock in a contract to prevent our supplier from going back on the agreement and refusing to sell us wine after they see the success of our wine shop? Even if they back out, there needs to be a clause in the contract detailing the compensation they owe us if they choose to go down this path. There are many different considerations and a great deal of fine details to iron out, and I surmise that you definitely won’t be able to discuss these details and close out a deal by yourself.

“So be it. I’ll put on a face mask afterward and have you sit beside me to observe — I’ll demonstrate the process to you first. In any case, what I mentioned was only the rough outline regarding how to purchase wine from other people. The other aspect is opening a new shop. We need to invite some wine drinkers to act like so-called passers-by to create some atmosphere and excitement, so what kind of sword cultivators at what cultivation base should we invite? Do we not need to work through this and privately promise them a certain number of pots of high-grade bamboo leaf wine, wine that will be incredibly difficult to purchase in the future?

“And which sword immortal should we ask to make loud and nonsensical proclamations about purchasing all of our wine? Who would be more suitable for this, and who can do this without appearing suspicious and clearly in cahoots with us? Do we not need to mull over these matters? Thinking a bit further, how should we clearly and fairly split the profits with our alcoholic friends in Fatty Yan and Chen Sanqiu after we make money? We’re doing small business here, so we definitely can’t sell wine on credit. We need to plan everything out as early as possible, don’t you think…?”

Die Zhang became completely deflated, feeling increasingly uncertain as she listened to Chen Ping’an go on and on from behind the counter. In the end, Die Zhang started to feel like… maybe she truly wasn’t cut out for doing business?

Why did she suddenly feel like doing business was even more difficult than practicing sword techniques?

Ning Yao smiled faintly and snacked on roasted seeds as she stood beside the counter.

When Chen Ping’an finished, Die Zhang said in a meek voice, “Chen Ping’an, how about we split the profits thirty-seventy in your favor? I’m fine with just thirty percent.”

Chen Ping’an was just about to nod and accept Die Zhang’s offer.

However, he was immediately struck by Ning Yao’s elbow, causing him to immediately smile and reply, “There’s no need. We can split the profits fifty-fifty as we discussed in the beginning. There needs to be sincerity when doing business.”

Chen Ping’an turned to his side and signaled to Die Zhang with his eyes. He had already shown sincerity, so it was only right for Miss Die Zhang to show some sincerity as well, right? They should each take a backward step and settle at a forty-sixty split in Chen Ping’an’s favor again.

Die Zhang nodded before turning to Ning Yao with an innocent expression and saying, “Ning Yao, Chen Ping’an is secretly winking at me. I’m not sure what this means.”

Chen Ping’an suffered another blow from Ning Yao’s elbow, causing him to grimace in pain as he raised a thumb at Die Zhang and remarked, “Miss Die Zhang is indeed a quick learner when it comes to doing business.”

They discussed many more details.

Die Zhang carefully committed everything to memory.

Chen Ping’an and Ning Yao left the small miscellaneous shop, and as they walked along the street and passed by the wine shops, Chen Ping’an smiled and said, “These shops will all be our competitors in the future.”

“Thank you,” Ning Yao said in a soft voice.

“I was doing what I needed to,” Chen Ping’an replied with a smile.

Ning Yao hesitated for a moment before asking, “Die Zhang likes a noble scholar from a Confucian school in the Middle Earth Divine Continent — are you able to straighten her out?”

Chen Ping’an smiled wryly and said, “There are some things I can help with, but I truly can’t help with this kind of matter.”

Ning Yao clasped her hands behind her back and praised slowly, “Don’t you have a very good understanding of romantic relationships?”

“O’ great conscience of heaven and earth! I don’t understand this at all!” Chen Ping’an replied in a resolute voice.

***

Die Zhang’s small residence, which was hidden inside a small alley, was already filled with a great number of large wine vats. She didn’t have enough money left to purchase more wine, and even though Chen Ping’an still had ten grain rain coins in his possession, he naturally couldn’t use a grain rain coin to purchase goods like a fool. Doing so would be encouraging the wine sellers to raise their prices as much as possible. This being the case, he asked Ning Yao for a large pile of snowflake coins.

Chen Ping’an and Die Zhang visited all of the restaurants and wine shops that sold poor quality wine at the Sword Qi Great Wall, and this was wine that wouldn’t sell very well in the streets and alleys here. This was one strange aspect of the Sword Qi Great Wall. The sword cultivators who could afford wine weren’t willing to drink this poor-quality wine, and only those drunkard sword cultivators who owed too much wine money would pinch their noses and drink this inferior wine.

Meanwhile, the proper immortal wine sold by the restaurants and wine shops was truly as expensive as flying swords. Immortal wine here was far more expensive than immortal wine at Stalactite Mountain, which was only a single gate away, and this caused even sword immortals to feel extremely vexed. This was especially the case since travel between Stalactite Mountain and the Sword Qi Great Wall had become subject to stricter control. It was becoming increasingly difficult for the alcoholics of the Sword Qi Great Wall to enjoy life.

Chen Ping’an bent down and opened up a wine vat, inside of which the wine insect was currently soaking. It was leisurely swimming around like a small fish, appearing drunk as it enjoyed itself to the fullest.

Each vat of wine needed to host the wine insect for three days to transform into fine wine, and inside these vats were also a few bamboo leaves as well as a single bamboo segment. The wine wasn’t named Verdant Bamboo Leaf as Die Zhang had suggested, nor was it named Bamboo Branch Wine as Ning Yao had suggested. Instead, Chen Ping’an had named it Bamboo Sea Small World Wine, also known as Azure Divine Mountain Wine, and wouldn’t take no for an answer.

He even caused Die Zhang, who was accustomed to doing business with a clear conscience, to gasp with absolute shock.

Seeing this, Chen Ping’an had spoken in a meaningful and heartfelt manner, saying that the bamboo leaves and bamboo branches were truly from the Bamboo Sea Small World. As for whether they were from Azure Divine Mountain, he could enquire about this when the opportunity arose in the future. In the off chance that they weren’t, they could simply drop the alternate name of Azure Divine Mountain Wine.

Apart from preparing to open a wine shop to earn some money, Chen Ping’an would also make sure to refine Qi for twelve hours at the Ning Residence every single day. He would occasionally refine Qi for upwards of fourteen to eighteen hours.

Ning Yao vacated the pavilion at Dragon Slaying Cliff, spending more of her time practicing sword techniques at the training ground in the Minute Small World instead.

When Chen Ping’an rested, he would hold Sword Immortal and squat at the foot of the small mountain, earnestly tempering the blade of the sword.

Fatty Yan and Dong Huafu would occasionally come over to visit, and whenever the former got the chance, he would insist that Chen Ping’an spectate his Deranged Demon Fist Technique. Fatty Yan would muse whether practicing the sword had inhibited his extraordinary martial arts talent, and Chen Ping’an would naturally nod and reply in the affirmative. Not only that, but Chen Ping’an’s reasons for his agreement would always be new and fresh, something that Chen Sanqiu found even more unbearable than Fatty Yan’s fist technique.

One time, Dong Huafu truly couldn’t stand it anymore, and as he watched Fatty Yan’s repulsive performance on the training ground, he had asked Chen Ping’an whether the latter was speaking sincerely when he provided affirmation to Fatty Yan. Perhaps Fatty Yan was truly a martial arts prodigy? Chen Ping’an had smiled and replied that Fatty Yan was, of course, not a martial arts prodigy. Only after hearing this had Dong Huafu felt slightly more at ease. Listening to their conversation, Chen Sanqiu had heaved a long sigh and slapped his forehead, lying down on the long bench.

Meanwhile, a young girl whose sleeves were filled with desserts would arrive at the entrance of the Ning Residence almost every single day, shouting that she wanted to become a disciple and learn martial arts.

One time, she was dragged into the residence by Ning Yao and given a stern beating, and only then did she give it a rest for a single day. Unexpectedly, however, the young girl visited the following day again, though she had learned her lesson and immediately ran away after shouting that she wanted to become Chen Ping’an’s disciple and learn martial arts. She could sprint back and forth several times a day, and this wasn’t an issue for her since she had nothing better to do anyway.

Ning Yao eventually lay in waiting and blocked her path, twisting her ear and dragging her into the Ning Residence. She let the young girl enjoy Fatty Yan’s fist technique performance on the training ground, saying that this was the martial arts taught by Chen Ping’an. This being the case, did she still want to become Chen Ping’an’s disciple and learn martial arts from him?

Tears brimmed in the young girl’s eyes, with her lips trembling as she replied that she still wanted to learn fist techniques even if this was the situation.

She quietly wiped away her tears, choking back sobs as she commented in realization that this was the principle her mother had talked about. Only those who could endure the most difficult hardships would rise to become the most extraordinary people.

Ning Yao was out of ideas, so she dragged Chen Ping’an over to personally deal with this situation. Chen Ping’an was discussing a matter of great significance with Grandma Bai and Grandpa Nalan, but Ning Yao didn’t explain the situation at all as she led the confused Chen Ping’an to the training ground. When he arrived, he was greeted by the sight of the young girl kneeling down to become his disciple.

She wasn’t an unfamiliar face, seeing that she had been the loudest and made the most fuss during his four battles on the street before. It had been impossible for Chen Ping’an not to notice her.

It wouldn’t be appropriate for Chen Ping’an to casually help the young girl up, so he hurriedly stepped to the side and avoided her bow before asking in helplessness, “Don’t kowtow just yet. What’s your name?”

The young girl hurriedly stood up and replied in a loud voice, “Guo Zhujiu!”[1]

Chen Ping’an nodded in response before raising his left hand and performing some calculations. He then heaved a long sigh and remarked, “How unfortunate. Your name isn’t suitable, so I’m temporarily unable to take you as a disciple. We can discuss this again in the future.”

There was a look of sincerity on Guo Zhujiu’s face as she replied, “Master, how about I go home and ask my parents to change my name? I also don’t like this name very much, and I’ve already tolerated it for many years.”

Chen Ping’an shook his head and said, “That won’t do. I look at fate when I take disciples, and the first aspect is to look at someone’s name. If a person’s name isn’t suitable, then I’ll need to wait for three years before looking at whether the timing is suitable. You’ll still have an opportunity at that time.”

Guo Zhujiu felt extremely annoyed and disappointed, stomping her foot hard before running away. As she ran, she hollered that she was going to flip through the lunar almanac to pick an auspicious date three years in the future.

Yan Zhuo and Chen Sanqiu were transfixed with shock as they stood there, with their eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

Guo Zhujiu was a strange child, and she had acted weirdly ever since she was little. She definitely couldn’t be dismissed as stupid, and she was actually an extremely talented innate sword talent, one who was regarded as a future pillar of the Guo Clan. However, she most definitely couldn’t be praised as smart, seeing that the young girl had made a joke of herself too many times to even keep count. She was very literally the source of good laughs for those on the same street as Chen Sanqiu and the others.

When she was little, Guo Zhujiu liked to run around with a bed sheet draped over herself, and she would never enter through the main door when she barged into people’s houses. She liked to wander across the roof ridges and wall perimeters, and if it weren’t for Dong Bude beating her enough times and forcing her to change, Guo Zhujiu would have most likely still been acting the same way now. There was also a rumor that the Lord Hidden Official had actually chosen two potential candidates, Pang Yuanji and Guo Zhujiu.

Chen Ping’an was clearly in disbelief as he murmured, “Is she for real?”

Chen Sanqiu smiled wryly and replied, “That depends on whether or not Guo Zhujiu shows up again tomorrow.”

Chen Ping’an looked at Ning Yao.

“It’s difficult to say,” Ning Yao said.

Chen Ping’an didn’t think much about this matter, and he continued to discuss the important matters with his elders.

Chen Ping’an naturally wouldn’t rush the old great sword immortal regarding the latter acting as a matchmaker and visiting the Yao Clan to propose a marriage.

Inside the wing room where Chen Ping’an was staying, Grandma Bai smiled and asked, “What was the matter?”

Chen Ping’an smiled and replied, “It was that young girl, Guo Zhujiu, again. She wants to become my disciple and learn martial arts, but I made up some excuses and turned her down.”

“Taking an unofficial disciple with no effort would have actually been quite good,” Nalan Yexing said in amusement.

Chen Ping’an smiled bitterly and shook his head, saying, “I can’t be too casual about such a major matter.”

“The Guo Clan has always been friends with the Ning Residence, and there has never been a break in our relationship,” Grandma Bai said.

Chen Ping’an faltered for a moment before turning to Grandma Bai with an inquiring look in his eyes.

Grandma Bai nodded and replied, “They’re the only ones. Following the clan leader’s passing, the entire Guo Clan visited the Ning Residence to pay their respects. Afterward, the clan leader of the Guo Clan bluntly disagreed with the Qi Clan’s sword immortal regarding the matter pertaining to Dragon Slaying Cliff. Otherwise, if it were a young girl from any other clan causing a ruckus like this, Young Mistress wouldn’t have dragged her into the Ning Residence two times. In saying this, you don’t need to treat the young girl’s request to become your disciple and learn martial arts too seriously.”

“I’ll give some serious thought to this matter related to Guo Zhujiu,” Chen Ping’an said in a solemn voice.

Nalan Yexing smiled and said, “There’s no hurry. Why don’t we talk about Young Master Chen’s fourth bonded item? Young Master Chen will truly understand the concept of cultivation once his bridge of immortality is erected. Before that, you can just barely become a sword cultivator even though you don’t possess the aptitude of an innate sword talent. You shouldn’t underestimate this notion of ‘just barely,’ as there exists a huge gulf between Qi refiners who are sword cultivators and Qi refiners who aren’t. Young Master Chen can feel free to discuss this matter privately with the old great sword immortal.”

1. Zhujiu (竹酒) literally means bamboo wine. ☜