Unsheathed

Lu Sui stood up from her chair, and as she did so, she latched onto Ren Lingcong’s hand, forcing her to stand up as well. It seemed that she knew her friend very well, and she wasn’t giving Ren Lingcong the chance to ignore Chen Ping’an.

”It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Young Master Chen,” Lu Sui greeted with a smile.

”You can just call me the second shopkeeper, Celestial Maiden Lu,” Chen Ping’an replied with a smile of his own.

Zhang Jiazhen, who was helping out in the shop, rushed over to their table, but he had only brought a bowl and no wine.

Lu Sui filled Chen Ping’an’s bowl with wine, then raised her own bowl, and Chen Ping’an did the same. However, they skipped the formality of touching their bowls to one another before downing the contents of their respective bowls in one go.

Ren Lingcong also took a sip of wine, but that was all, and she sat back down with Lu Sui.

Bai Shou was holding a chopstick in each hand to pick up a large clump of yangchun noodles, but he didn’t eat them. Instead, he took a side-eyed glance at Liu Jinglong before heaving an internal sigh.

In his eyes, Chen Ping’an and Lu Sui were a much better fit for each other, whereas for Lu Sui to fall for Liu Jinglong felt like an immortal flower thrown into a cabbage patch, or a delectable spirit fruit fed to a pig; it simply didn’t feel right. However, as soon as this thought entered his mind, he immediately threw down his chopsticks and joined his palms together in repentance.

I’m sorry, Big Sister Ning! Please forgive me! Lu Sui is not worthy of Chen Ping’an!

Earlier, Ren Lingcong and Lu Sui had been watching the battle together from the end of the street before encountering Qi Jinglong and Bai Shou. Both of them had closely observed Chen Ping’an’s clash against Yu Juanfu, and if it weren’t for what Chen Ping’an had said at the end about complete, unfettered freedom being granted only to those with sufficient power, Ren Lingcong wouldn’t even have come to drink at the shop.

In contrast with Chen Ping’an, Ren Lingcong was more accepting of a cultivator like Qi Jinglong, and her impression of Chen Ping’an was very ordinary. It wasn’t that she looked down on him for selling wine, seals, and folding fans. As a matter of fact, on one of her journeys, she had encountered immense peril, and all of the seniors and peers of her sect who had been with her had perished.

She was forced to fend for herself, and that had been a very difficult period of her life. Hence, not only did she not look upon the old tables and chairs in the wine shop with disdain, but it also reminded her of that arduous chapter of her life, in which she had to struggle and toil every day just to get by. However, there was something about Chen Ping’an that felt off to her, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on exactly what it was.

Perhaps it was the fact that he was too much like the people of the Sword Qi Great Wall, and that his disposition was completely different from the cultivators of the Majestic World. It could also be down to the fact that all of the swordsmen present, regardless of their background or cultivation base, treated Chen Ping’an like one of their own, something that Ren Lingcong and many of her seniors dearly wished for.

At the moment, Ren Lingcong could only say that she harbored no enmity toward Chen Ping’an, but she wasn’t interested in becoming friends with him, either.

After all, given that he was such a close friend of Liu Jinglong’s, Ren Lingcong had envisioned him to be a graceful young man who fit the immortal mold, but she had been left sorely disappointed. Aside from his attire, everything else about him went completely against her expectations.

As for how Chen Ping’an saw her, she didn’t care at all.

Even though there was enough space around the table, Lu Sui and Ren Lingcong still chose to sit on the same bench, and it seemed that all the women who were close friends behaved this way. Qi Jinglong didn’t think about this at all, while Chen Ping’an was perplexed. As for Bai Shou, this was a welcome sight as it allowed him to see both of the beautiful big sisters at once whenever they went out together.

Lu Sui spoke briefly about Yu Juanfu, showering the young woman with praise, while Chen Ping’an listened carefully to what she had to say.

Given that all of the remarks that Lu Sui had made on Yu Juanfu were positive, even if what she said was to somehow travel to the top of the city walls, her words wouldn’t cause any offense to Yu Juanfu and Ku Xia.

Lu Sui was aware that Yu Juanfu was an extremely talented martial artist, so the fact that Chen Ping’an was able to come out on top in their first battle without throwing a punch was a clear testament to his abilities.

Chen Ping’an was listening attentively to Lu Sui as the latter was subtly revealing some secrets to him. The information from the Spring Banner Inn was definitely reliable, and clearly, as mutual friends of Qi Jinglong, Lu Sui wanted to see Chen Ping’an emerge victorious from his second battle against Yu Juanfu.

Ren Lingcong had no interest in hearing Lu Sui’s appraisal of Yu Juanfu, and most of her attention was focused on the swordsmen drinking nearby. This was a wine shop on the Sword Qi Great Wall, so she had no idea about the cultivation bases of the swordsmen present.

Back in the Majestic World, even on the Northern Complete Reed Continent, where the customs and traditions were most similar to those of the Sword Qi Great Wall, it was easy to see the power hierarchy in a gathering based on where people were seated.

The problem with this wine shop was that there were so many customers that there weren’t enough benches to go around. As a result, some were forced to squat by the side of the road to drink wine and slurp down yangchun noodles, but from the greetings that were exchanged, Ren Lingcong was shocked to discover that one of those squatters was a Nascent Tier swordsman!

Even on the Northern Complete Reed Continent, Nascent Tier swordsmen were rare and revered, yet here on the Sword Qi Great Wall, they were being denied even the basic amenity of a stool!

Nascent Tier swordsmen would be esteemed guests of the rulers of any of the mortal empires on all of the Majestic World’s continents, and they would be showered with respect and hospitality.

What was even more bewildering to Ren Lingcong was that the old swordsman in question spoke to Chen Ping’an like an old friend, swearing profusely as he accused Chen Ping’an of scamming him out of all of his hard-earned money.

Chen Ping’an excused himself for a moment from Lu Sui, then turned to the old swordsman and told him to piss off. As he did so, he took a subtle glance in a certain direction, and the Nascent Tier swordsman turned in the same direction to see another man who was also eating and drinking while squatting by the side of the road. The old swordsman’s attitude instantly took a complete turn, and he hurriedly apologized to Chen Ping’an, telling him that this was all a misunderstanding.

He declared that he had no one to blame but himself for making unsound bets, and that Chen Ping’an was the epitome of morality and scruples, someone who would never scam others out of even half a copper coin. He also praised Chen Ping’an’s wine for being the best value-for-money immortal wine under the heavens. After that, the old man paid for his wine before immediately fleeing the wine shop.

As he ran, he turned back to spit onto the ground, then yelled that Chen Ping’an’s conscience had fallen onto the ground, urging Chen Ping’an to come and pick it up before a dog made away with it. Everyone in the wine shop gave a collective cheer, and it seemed that someone had finally articulated their thoughts on Chen Ping’an. In fact, one of the patrons of the wine shop was so enthused that he ordered another flagon of wine to celebrate.

Ren Lingcong felt like all of the swordsmen here were very strange. They were completely shameless, and they all spoke and behaved in completely inexplicable ways.

Chen Ping’an remained unbothered, but the thought of having to write a poem for the old bastard immediately soured his mood a little.

Thus, he turned to Qi Jinglong with a smile, then asked, ”Have you had the urge to write any poetry lately, Jinglong? We can exchange some pieces and see who’s the better poet.”

His intention was naturally to steal Qi Jinglong’s poetry and either give it to the old swordsman or inscribe the pieces onto seals or fans.

”I lack the literary nous for poetry, and I have nothing to share,” Qi Jinglong replied with a smile.

Chen Ping’an turned to Bai Shou and advised, ”Tell your master to read more books from now on.”

”Do you take me for an idiot?” Bai Shou scoffed with a roll of his eyes.

Liu Jinglong already reads more than enough books! If he starts reading more, he’ll force me to do the same! Graceful Peak is where I, Great Sword Immortal Bai Shou, practice my sword techniques, not where I go to read! I’m going to be renowned far and wide for my swordsmanship, not how many books I’ve read!

Bai Shou had seen Liu Jinglong’s book collection in his thatched cottage, and he felt like he wouldn’t be able to read through it all even if he dedicated his entire life to the task.

”Are you not an idiot?” Chen Ping’an countered.

Bai Shou picked up a chopstick with a menacing expression as he threatened, ”You do know that swordsmen can use anything as a flying sword, right?”

”Don’t imitate certain people while you’re eating,” Qi Jinglong reprimanded, but there was an amused smile on his face.

Bai Shou was happily slurping down yangchun noodles. The taste wasn’t anything to write home about, but it was free, so he had to take full advantage and have a few extra bowls.

Meanwhile, Lu Sui was beaming from ear to ear.

Qi Jinglong, at this moment, was one she particularly liked.

”Each person only gets one free bowl of yangchun noodles in my shop. After that, you have to start paying, so you might want to slow down a little, Sword Immortal Bai,” Chen Ping’an advised with a smile.

Bai Shou raised his head, then asked in a barely coherent voice through a mouthful of noodles, ”Aren’t you the second shopkeeper?”

”That’s right,” Chen Ping’an confirmed with a nod. ”I made all the rules.”

Not only was Bai Shou not enraged, but he also felt a hint of sympathy for Chen Ping’an. Whenever he thought of the fact that Chen Ping’an had to live in such a tiny residence in the massive Ning Manor, he was struck by a pang of sorrow.

”Are you working so hard to earn money because you can’t afford a betrothal gift?” he asked in a quiet voice. ”If worst comes to worst, I’ll just have to lay down my pride and ask Big Sister Ning to marry you first. If you don’t have a betrothal gift for her, then she can just withhold your dowry for now. Besides, I feel like Big Sister Ning isn’t the type to get hung up over such minor details, so I think you’re putting too much pressure on yourself.

“It is indeed a little shameful for a man to try to marry someone when he can’t even afford a betrothal gift, but Big Sister Ning chose you over everyone else, so I’m sure she’d be willing to put up with that. Talking about this is making me sad, so that’s all I’m going to say on this matter.”

With that, Bai Shou raised his bowl and threw his head back to chug down its contents in one go. He then shuddered at the wine’s sharp and aggressive flavor before setting the empty bowl back down onto the table in a somber silence.

Chen Ping’an was left scratching his head. He couldn’t actually follow through on his threat and twist Bai Shou’s head off, so he was beginning to miss Pei Qian. If only she were around to punish Bai Shou in his stead.

***

Sword Immortal Tao Wen was squatting by the side of the road, enjoying some yangchun noodles. He wore his usual sullen expression, which seemed to have been a permanent fixture from birth. Some of the swordsmen in the shop offered to give up their seats to him, but he refused and squatted down by the side of the road with a flagon of the cheapest Bamboo Sea Small World wine and a dish of pickled vegetables. Shortly into his meal, it occurred to him that the pickled vegetables were a little too salty for his liking.

Thankfully, a young boy quickly arrived to bring him a steaming bowl of yangchun noodles. The diced spring onions sitting on top of the noodles presented such a delectable sight that Tao Wen couldn’t even bear to eat them. Whenever he picked up some noodles with his chopsticks, he would always make sure to brush the spring onion aside so that they could stay a little longer in his bowl.

They had made an absolute killing on this occasion. After splitting the profits, Tao Wen had ended up with around seven to eight grain rain coins.

Virtually no one had anticipated that Chen Ping’an would be able to secure victory with just a single punch, so almost everyone had lost out on their bets.

In the very beginning, Tao Wen had also been skeptical. After all, Yu Juanfu was no slouch, and all pure martial artists possessed exceptional physical constitutions. It was often the case that a sparring match between a pair of pure martial artists could drag on for dozens, even hundreds of blows, without a decisive outcome. It wasn’t like a battle between swordsmen, which was often decided in an instant.

However, Chen Ping’an had assured Tao Wen with absolute confidence of the outcome, and he promised that if he couldn’t win in a single punch, then Tao Wen would get to enjoy free wine from his shop of the equivalent value to the losses that he incurred from running his betting station. Tao Wen was no idiot, and he immediately lost interest in running a betting station.

Thus, Chen Ping’an made a compromise, telling him that should things go awry, he would be willing to cover Tao Wen’s losses in full with immortal coins. However, under that new agreement, any profits would be split 70:30 in Chen Ping’an’s favor, while the original agreed-upon split was an even 50:50. Tao Wen felt like this was an acceptable arrangement, and he didn’t even bother to negotiate.

If Chen Ping’an really could defeat Yu Juanfu with just a single punch, then he would be sure to make a ton of profits from his betting station. However, Chen Ping’an decided to further sweeten the deal, proclaiming that Tao Wen deserved another ten percent cut of the profits just because he was a venerable sword immortal.

Thus, Chen Ping’an made a new proposal of splitting the profits 60:40. Tao Wen naturally wasn’t going to refuse, and he declared that even if he incurred a loss, he wouldn’t release his flying sword. Instead, he would only smash all of the tables in the wine shop.

Squatting beside Tao Wen was a young gambler who was sighing incessantly to himself. He had placed a bet on the battle between Chen Ping’an and Yu Juanfu, only to lose everything. He had already been quite bold, betting that Chen Ping’an would be able to win the first battle within ten punches, but never had he imagined that Yu Juanfu would surrender after gaining what had seemed like a massive advantage with her first punch.

With his financial state in complete ruin, the young swordsmen didn’t even buy any wine on this day. Instead, he freeloaded a bowl of wine off a friend of his, who had made slightly less losses than he had. In addition, he was dining on two free dishes of pickled vegetables and a free bowl of yangchun noodles to try and somewhat make up for his losses.

”You should gamble less from now on, Cheng Quan,” Tao Wen advised. ”There’s no way you’ll be able to beat the bookmakers in the long run, and even if you’re going to gamble, don’t expect to truly earn significant sums of money from it.”

Cheng Quan had been very familiar with Tao Wen ever since he was a child. The two of them lived on neighboring alleys, so it could be said that Tao Wen had been a constant presence in the entirety of Cheng Quan’s life up to this point. Tao Wen was a very strange sword immortal. He was always alone, never attaching himself to any of the prominent clans in the city, and while he was happy to work with other sword immortals on the battlefield, he would always return to being a recluse after returning to the city.

He lived in a moderate-sized ancestral residence, and even though he was currently single, his circumstances were even worse than those of a single man who had never married before. In the past, he had to deal with a wife who had gone insane many years prior to her death. Year after year, she continued to waste away, and by the time she departed from this world, even an immortal wouldn’t have been able to save her. Tao Wen didn’t seem to have been very saddened by her passing. He continued to drink in moderation, and he never got drunk.

”I don’t want to gamble like this, either, Uncle Tao, but nurturing my flying sword is really tough,” Cheng Quan sighed in a resigned manner. ”I’ve reached a key bottleneck, and even though overcoming it won’t allow me to make a breakthrough in my cultivation base, it’s still an extremely important bottleneck. I’m really short on money right now. Over these past few years, I’ve barely gone out drinking or visiting the Mirage Market at all. I really don’t enjoy gambling, but I have no choice.”

Cheng Quan cast his gaze toward the city walls in the south, then continued in a forlorn voice, ”Who knows when the next battle is going to begin? My aptitude is mediocre, and even though I possess a bonded flying sword of a decent caliber, it’s constantly being hindered by my cultivation base. During every battle, I can only remain on the city walls, thereby limiting the number of demons I can kill and the amount of money I can earn.

“If I can overcome this bottleneck, the attack range of my flying sword will increase significantly to at least around two kilometers. That way, I’ll be able to kill more demons even on the city walls, and only then will I be able to earn money fast enough to have any hope of reaching the Golden Core Tier. The few lesser heat coins that I had were nowhere near enough, so I had to take a big gamble.”