Unsheathed

Chen Ping’an visited the wine shop ten days after the incident, and even though it was close to New Year, there was no festive atmosphere at the Sword Qi Great Wall. This was in stark contrast to the Majestic World.

Thanks to the second shopkeeper, Shopkeeper Die Zhang was becoming increasingly renowned at the Sword Qi Great Wall. She also learned much about doing business from Chen Ping’an and became increasingly adept at dealing with customers. Put simply, Die Zhang was more confident and able to act more shamelessly now.

If someone asked, “Shopkeeper, you’re not going to treat the customers to some free wine today? You’ve earned so many immortal coins from us, so you need to treat us at least once, right?”

Die Zhang would respond, “Do sword immortals like you need assistance or handouts when killing demons or drinking wine?”

Boos would ring out from all of the tables, but Die Zhang was able to remain completely unfazed now.

After greeting Die Zhang and some customers he was familiar with, Chen Ping’an grabbed a small stool and went over to sit at the intersection of the small alley and the street. However, no one walked over to listen to his fantastical stories today, as many children hesitated and took a detour when they saw the young man in azure.

Apart from the little boy carrying the ceramic money pot being locked at home by his parents and Zhang Jiazhen needing to work elsewhere to earn money, the remaining children didn’t dare to come.

They didn’t necessarily think that Chen Ping’an was a bad person, but he had ultimately punched someone to death at the wine shop. Some of the children and some of their elders had personally witnessed this.

This was human nature, and Chen Ping’an wasn’t surprised at all, much less disappointed. After sitting there for a while and basking in the warm sunshine of late winter while snacking on roasted seeds, he picked up the small stool and returned to the wine shop. He didn’t help serve customers; instead, he sat behind the counter and worked the abacus as he went over the accounts book. Finding a moment of spare time between serving wine and snacks, Die Zhang walked over and hesitated for a moment before saying, “Business hasn’t been impacted.”

Chen Ping’an closed the accounts book and lightly ran his hand across the abacus, looking up and asking with a smile, “Have you been itching to ask me whether that person was truly a spy for the demon tribe? And regardless of the truth, you want to hear a clear answer from me, seeing that you’re Ning Yao’s and my friend?”

Die Zhang shook her head without hesitation and replied, “No, I don’t want to ask this. I already have an answer in my mind.”

Chen Ping’an deftly worked the abacus and said slowly, “If the difference in strength is immense, or if the opponent is profoundly calculating, then one can only accept the outcome even if one loses. The heart will have to accept the outcome even if the mouth doesn’t. I’ve lost under these circumstances before, and more than once. Those were miserable losses, but I benefited greatly from reviewing them afterward.

“What’s frightening is those schemes that can be seen through with a single glance, yet are still able to succeed and genuinely repulse people. The culprits aren’t striving to achieve any sort of victory, and they’re instead just toying around with others.”

There was something else that Chen Ping’an didn’t say. The Savage World was going to unleash its full strength to attack the Sword Qi Great Wall very soon, and this assault wouldn’t be too far away, even if it wasn’t the next battle. That being the case, they could wantonly burn some of their insignificant pawns in the city to the north.

This would also serve as a reminder to some of the critical pawns that were hidden even deeper.

Chen Ping’an glanced outside the wine shop and continued, “Someone is making preparations behind the scenes, so if I become careless and think that the schemes at the Sword Qi Great Wall are completely inferior to the schemes at the Majestic World, I’ll eventually get wounded if not killed, perhaps even affecting those around me. The mastermind behind the scenes is taking my personality into account when targeting me, and they’ve realized that I like to avoid mistakes when doing things. As such, they’re purposely allowing me to enjoy small win after small win.”

Die Zhang smiled and commented, “Small wins? Pang Yuanji and Qi Shou would stomp their feet and curse if they heard this. Ignoring Qi Shou, Pang Yuanji definitely wouldn’t come here to drink anymore. He wouldn’t even want to purchase the cheapest drink.”

Chen Ping’an chuckled and replied, “That was indeed just a small win. Pang Yuanji and Qi Shou know this, the spectating sword immortals know this, and those who need to know this also know this. Even though that young man was purposely provoking me, many of his points were actually fair, seeing that I’m not a genuine sword cultivator and not native to the Sword Qi Great Wall.

“However, it was a shame for him that his words were completely predictable, making it very difficult for him to defeat me. I was able to defeat Qi Shou and Pang Yuanji before because I was more unpredictable.”

Die Zhang sighed and said, “Chen Ping’an, do you know that you’re terrifying?”

It was as if two people were playing a game of Go, yet one player was always able to guess the other player’s moves. How would the other player feel?

Some things had already taken place, but there were still some matters that Chen Sanqiu, Fatty Yan, and the others weren’t aware of. For example, when asking Die Zhang to retrieve a piece of paper for him to write on, Chen Ping’an had smiled and said that the person who walked into his trap would definitely be a young person without a high cultivation base, yet had definitely traveled to the battlefield to the south before.

As such, this person could garner more empathy from the many sword cultivators at the Sword Qi Great Wall, causing them to feel a sense of sympathy and pity. At the same time, this person could also incite shared hostility toward him.

Perhaps this person would even be a so-called ordinary person with an amazing reputation in their hometown, kindly helping their neighbors all year round. The mastermind wouldn’t need to fan the flames following the death of this person, and they simply needed to sit back and watch things unfold. Otherwise, they would be completely looking down on the inspectors appointed by the Hidden Official of the Sword Qi Great Wall.

Whispers would naturally form at the base level of society before slowly spreading through the streets and alleys, restaurants and wine shops, all kinds of other shops, and eventually the large and wealthy clans, as well as the many sword immortals. Some people would ignore this, while some people would quietly commit it to memory. Of course, Chen Ping’an had described this as the worst-case scenario, one that wouldn’t necessarily play out. In any case, things wouldn’t become too bad, given that the mastermind behind the scenes was only treating this as a small test.

Die Zhang had initially been worried that Chen Ping’an would get angry at her words, but he surprisingly continued to smile in a natural and relaxed manner, almost as if he had anticipated this comment from her as well.

This was the second time that Chen Ping’an had received a comment like this.

“The fact that you’re saying this to my face means that you genuinely view me as a friend.” Chen Ping’an nodded and continued, “Also, it’s only right that my enemies should feel terrified.”

“I feel slightly more at ease with you by Ning Yao’s side,” Die Zhang said.

“I’ll also feel more at ease if you’re still willing to say the same thing after the next large-scale battle in the south,” Chen Ping’an replied with a smile.

Die Zhang’s expression suddenly became solemn.

Chen Ping’an nodded and continued in a quiet voice, “Indeed, this is also an intentional act from those masterminds behind the scenes. Firstly, they wanted to confirm whether the new arrival, Chen Ping’an, the disciple of the Scholarly Sage and the son-in-law of the Ning Residence, would truly ascend the city wall to fight alongside the sword cultivators.

“Secondly, would he dare to leave the city and venture to the battlefield in the south to fight against the demons? And thirdly, what kind of balance would he strike between fighting conservatively to stay alive and fighting ferociously with all his power?

“Would he choose to stay safe above all else, or would he be willing to die for his honor and the honor of the Ning Residence? Of course, the best-case scenario for the masterminds would have been me dying as a brave martyr on the battlefield to the south. If they were in a good mood, they might have even instructed some people to praise me.”

There was a look of amusement on Chen Ping’an’s face as he asked, “You’re treating the chair that my master sat on as a family heirloom, keeping it safe in the wing room of your small residence, so do you think any random person can sit on the small stools that were on either side of the Scholarly Sage?”

Heavy emotions weighed on Die Zhang’s mind as she grabbed a pot of wine, cracked open the clay seal, poured out two bowls, and then took a large swig. She appeared despondent and silent.

Chen Ping’an raised his wine bowl and took a sip of wine, saying with a smile, “Don’t drink too much. We might be the shopkeepers, but we still need to pay for the wine.”

Still holding the wine bowl, Die Zhang wanted to say something, but she couldn’t help but hesitate.

“You still have questions? Feel free to ask,” Chen Ping’an said.

“Was the person who stood up first a paid actor?” Die Zhang asked in a quiet voice.

A wide smile stretched across Chen Ping’an’s face as he shook his hand and replied, “No, he wasn’t.”

He then pointed at Die Zhang and continued, “Shopkeeper, you can feel at ease and continue to do business. You’re genuinely not cut out for scheming and plotting. If I hired a paid actor, would I not be treating all of the sword cultivators at the Sword Qi Great Wall as naive fools who know nothing more than practicing sword techniques, especially those sword immortals who were observing from afar?

“There are some matters where it seemingly looks like we can attain perfection and reap more benefits, but in reality, we definitely can’t act too deliberately. Doing so would instead be a blemish. Take me, for example. My initial objective was simply to avoid defeat, so killing that person was already a form of breaking even. However, I would have drawn needless ire and condescension from others if I had pushed further and tried to gild the lily.”

Die Zhang heaved a heavy sigh, raising her wine bowl with a complicated expression and repeating what Chen Ping’an had said earlier. “Let us drink away the ugly filth of the world!”

Chen Ping’an smiled and raised his wine bowl, touching it with Die Zhang’s as he said, “Thanks for the treat, Shopkeeper Die Zhang.”

————

There was a winter palace in the west of the city, used by the Hidden Official to shelter from the cold. There was a summer palace in the east of the city as well, and both palaces weren’t very big. However, the expenditure for maintaining them was colossal.

The Hidden Official was hiding in the winter palace and standing on an exquisite royal chair in the main hall, an immortal item from the Majestic World’s Flowing Dawn Continent. The grains of the red wood were like flowing water and drifting clouds.

There were two other native sword immortals in the main hall, both of whom served the Hidden Official. The man was called Zhu An, and the woman was called Luo Shan; both were relatively old Unpolished Jade Tier cultivators.

Apart from them, there was also a Nascent Tier cultivator responsible for summarizing and reporting intelligence, and right now, he was giving a detailed account of the commotion at the wine shop. Everything about the deceased Sea Observation Tier sword cultivator had been investigated, from his ancestry to his cultivation lineage, friends, senior acquaintances, and so on. Everything was reported in detail to Sword Immortal Zhu An. As for the Hidden Official, she had never been interested in these matters.

Also present in the main hall was Pang Yuanji, as well as a noble scholar from the Confucian Sect. The noble scholar was called Wang Zhai, and he had some ties to the previous Confucian sage who had overseen the Sword Qi Great Wall.

The Hidden Official paced around the chair with her eyes closed, and it looked as if she were sleepwalking as her body swayed around and her hands tugged on her twin braids.

Sword Immortal Zhu An flipped through the intelligence report in his hands as he listened to his subordinate’s report. Fine details were extremely important, so the intelligence report was naturally very wordy and long. This was also the reason why the Hidden Official never touched these intelligence reports.

Sword Immortal Luo Shan was wearing a round-collar brocade robe and a resplendent red flower hairpin.

Noble Scholar Wang Zhai was similar to an imperial censor in an imperial court of the Majestic World, so he didn’t have the right to explicitly become involved in these intelligence matters. However, he could provide suggestions and counsel if it were absolutely necessary.

In the words of Lord Hidden Official, they needed to at least give these outsiders holding a royal sword the opportunity to say a few words. As for whether she listened, however, that would be completely up to her mood.

After listening to the intelligence reports, Wang Zhai said, “The fact of the matter is that no concrete evidence exists to prove that Huang Zhou was a spy for the demon tribe. That being the case, might Chen Ping’an be accused of killing an innocent person? Taking a step back, this matter should have been handled by us even if Huang Zhou were truly a spy for the demon tribe. And if he wasn’t a spy, and if the conflict was simply one of ego between young people, then is this not a case of disregarding human life?”

Pang Yuanji frowned and didn’t say anything, keeping his head down to drink instead.

As the only direct disciple of the Hidden Official, there were many times when his words were even more effective than those of Zhu An and Luo Shan, two senior sword immortals. However, Pang Yuanji wasn’t fond of becoming involved in these troublesome matters, and he preferred to focus his full attention on cultivation.

“Bad people need to be punished by other bad people, made to suffer until they regret doing bad,” Luo Shan said indifferently. “There’s indeed no need to worry about any taboo when speaking at the Sword Qi Great Wall, and even Lower Five Tier cultivators can scold Dong Sangeng with no issues, given that Dong Sangeng himself doesn’t mind. Of course, they’ll simply be asking for death if Dong Sangeng lashes out in anger.

“That Chen Ping’an was clearly waiting for others to run over and challenge him, so if Huang Zhou were smarter, he should have relented after seeing the first piece of paper held up behind Chen Ping’an. Is it important whether he was a spy for the demon tribe or not? He died because of his own stupidity, so he can’t blame Chen Ping’an for reacting too severely.

“As for Chen Ping’an, does he genuinely think he’s a sword cultivator at the Sword Qi Great Wall? How impudent! I’ll instruct someone to especially keep track of Chen Ping’an’s performance in the next large-scale battle in the south.”

“You can afford to speak less regarding this matter, Luo Shan,” Zhu An said with a stern expression.

Sword Immortal Luo Shan had experienced some conflicts with the couple from the Ning Residence in the past, leaving both parties unhappy.

Regarding Luo Shan’s assessment of the situation, it couldn’t be said that she was speaking for Chen Ping’an. At most, she was suggesting fifty canes for each person, although half of these canes would land on the body of a deceased person.

Wang Zhai had participated in one large-scale battle during his seven to eight years at the Sword Qi Great Wall, but he hadn’t been involved in much of the action, and he had instead acted like more of a military supervisor and battlefield recorder.

The Hidden Official had said that since he was a noble scholar, he was definitely someone who had read many scriptures and books. At the same time, he was definitely soft and frail, so he shouldn’t become involved in those violent battles. Wang Zhai had been incensed upon hearing this, and he had even reported the matter to a Confucian sage. This was to no avail.

Luo Shan smiled and asked, “Then what do you suggest, Sword Immortal Zhu An? Should we call Chen Ping’an over to ask for his opinion? He’s a disciple of the Scholarly Sage, and he also has a senior brother who’s divinely skilled at swordsmanship watching over him from the city wall.”

There was a cloudy expression on Zhu An’s face.

According to the rules, he naturally needed to ask Chen Ping’an for his opinion.

However, that young man was too skilled at speaking and interacting with others, and his backers were also far too powerful.

“The Scholarly Sage is no longer the Scholarly Sage, and Chen Ping’an should also act in adherence with the rules and etiquette since he’s a disciple of the Confucian Sect. He shouldn’t kill people on a whim. I would say the same thing even if that old man, who no longer has a position in the scholarly temple, were present. This junior is able to question Chen Ping’an if it’s troublesome for my two seniors,” Wang Zhai said.

“Where should we question him? Here? Or at the Ning Residence?” Zhu An asked.

Wang Zhai understood the sword immortal’s insinuation, so he relented and said, “I can visit the Ning Residence, lest we make things too embarrassing for Chen Ping’an.”

Luo Shan pursed her lips before saying, “That sounds better. Otherwise, I would need to worry about Great Sword Immortal Zuo hurrying over immediately after Chen Ping’an.”

Pang Yuanji sighed and put away his wine pot, saying with a faint smile, “Ordinary sword cultivators might ponder about whether Huang Zhou was a pawn of the demon tribe or not, but are we not aware?”

“I’m only sticking to the facts,” Wang Zhai said. “Huang Zhou was widely praised in the Sword Qi Great Wall’s Dayu Ridge Alley, and I carefully went over his performance on the battlefield as well. It can be said that he fought with his full strength. Let me be very frank. Sword cultivators like Huang Zhou might not possess a high cultivation base and might not kill many enemies on the battlefield, but they make up the foundation of the Sword Qi Great Wall.

“I dare say that many ordinary sword cultivators will feel disillusioned if this matter isn’t properly addressed and is simply glossed over. Being fair in reward and punishment is an ironclad rule of the Sword Qi Great Wall, but are we going to dismiss this fact because Chen Ping’an is a sage’s disciple and a great sword immortal’s junior brother?”

After saying this, Wang Zhai looked toward Zhu An and Luo Shan with a resolute expression, with the noble scholar’s demeanor seeming like he would refuse to back down even if he were opposed by tens of thousands of people.

The Hidden Official opened her eyes and stood on the edge of the chair, rocking back and forth like a roly-poly toy. She didn’t spare the noble scholar so much as a single glance as she said in a lazy voice, “If there are ten thousand people like Huang Zhou in the city, then the old great sword immortal would scold me for failing my duty if I only managed to kill nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine. He would punish me by forbidding me to drink wine for however many years again.”

Zhu An and Luo Shan immediately stood up after she spoke.

The Nascent Tier sword cultivator appeared even more solemn, as if he were listening to an imperial edict.

The Hidden Official covered her mouth and yawned, remarking, “Have your brains all been scrambled after a few large-scale battles in a row? If that’s the case, then drink more water and eat more rice, and stop focusing on nothing but sword practice, sword practice, and more sword practice. That’s a surefire way to fry your brain. Things are still okay for you, but some people have broken their brains from reading too many books. I can’t save them.”

Noble Scholar Wang Zhai was unfazed.

The Hidden Official nodded to herself and continued, “Even though I’ve never liked Chen Ping’an, I feel like he’s comparatively much more pleasant to the eye. Sigh, I wonder why this is? Why?”

She pointed at Luo Shan and said, “Why don’t you tell me?”

“The moon tonight is beautiful,” Luo Shan replied with a smile.

“Fair point,” the Hidden Official said with a nod.

Wang Zhai stood there without moving.

The Hidden Official was quite impressed with this scholar’s shamelessness, and she signaled to Zhu An with her eyes, following which the latter immediately came up with an excuse to lead Wang Zhai away from the main hall.

Luo Shan also left with the Nascent Tier sword cultivator.

Only the Hidden Official and her disciple remained in the main hall.

Pang Yuanji smiled and asked, “Master, does the Second Sage’s lineage detest the Scholarly Sage’s lineage this much?”

The Hidden Official waved her hand and beckoned Pang Yuanji over to the royal chair, and when he walked over, she immediately grabbed his cheek and gave it a solid twist, scolding, “Yuanji, you’ve scrambled your brain the most from practicing sword techniques!”

Pang Yuanji didn’t need to act too properly in front of his master, so he broke free from her small hand and massaged his cheek as he said in helplessness, “Please enlighten me, Master.”

The Hidden Official rolled her eyes and lamented, “How did I find myself such a stupid disciple? Did you really think that Wang Zhai was targeting Chen Ping’an? He was trying to tie us together to vouch for Chen Ping’an’s innocence. How did you not see through such a simple ploy? In any case, I insist on opposing him, and a smarty-pants like Chen Ping’an won’t be affected at all.”

Pang Yuanji carefully mulled over this for a moment before nodding in response. He also felt slightly angry, what with Wang Zhai actually daring to scheme against his master.

However, the Hidden Official waved a hand and said, “This is nothing. Wang Zhai is clearly suspicious of the Dong Clan and suspicious of us as well. To be more precise, Wang Zhai is suspicious of everyone apart from Chen Qingdu and the three sages overseeing the Great Wall. For example, Wang Zhai is also suspicious of me, the Hidden Official. Do you think the Confucian sage who lost to me is a pushover who would leave with his tail between his legs and appoint an utter fool to the Sword Qi Great Wall to lose face again?”

Pang Yuanji smiled bitterly and replied, “I’m not good with these types of things.”

The Hidden Official formed a sword seal with her hands, nonsensically waving it around as she said, “Why would you need to be good at these things? You’re destined to become the next Hidden Official, someone whose sword can whoosh out and kill many people.”

“But Master, you are very good at these things,” Pang Yuanji remarked.

“Because I’m your master,” she replied.

“Fair point,” Pang Yuanji conceded with a nod.

The Hidden Official jumped up in irritation and scolded, “How shameless! Are you copying my words? Pay up! Wine will also suffice as payment!”

Pang Yuanji tossed his master a pot of Bamboo Sea Small World Wine, which the Hidden Official placed in the miniature small world inside her sleeve. Like ants moving nests, she was secretly accumulating a stock of wine. She couldn’t drink any now, but she could store them for later, no?