Unsheathed

Recently, the hint of a smile finally appeared on Sword Immortal Ku Xia’s bitter face.

Lin Junbi had caught two wisps of pure sword intent left behind by primordial sword immortals. These wisps of sword intent were extremely high grade, and with Lin Junbi’s impressive fated opportunity and skills, what deserved to be his would eventually become his. Even so, obtaining two wisps of sword intent instead of a single wisp in such a short amount of time still exceeded Sword Immortal Ku Xia’s expectations.

It most definitely wasn’t the case that sword immortals or those with high cultivation bases could forcefully obtain these mystical fated opportunities. A slight moment of carelessness, and one would trigger a violent backlash from a torrent of sword intents. Looking back at history, there were many examples of greedy and pitiful outsider sword immortals becoming surrounded by deadly sword intents, with the danger they faced no less than that of a foolish Abode Tier cultivator swaggering along the city wall with their abodes completely open.

Yan Lü and Jin Zhenmeng also reaped some rewards, with Yan Lü relying more on his luck than skill to obtain a wisp of effeminate sword intent. This was thanks to a strong affinity with his destiny and his Great Dao.

Meanwhile, it looked like Jin Zhenmeng had relied more on his Golden Core Tier cultivation base to retain that wisp of unrestrained sword intent.

As long as Sword Immortal Ku Xia didn’t become involved in worldly matters and focused only on matters pertaining to the sword, it could be said that his judgment was incredibly sharp. He was Zhou Shenzhi’s junior nephew, after all, so he would have been scolded until his sword heart shattered if he didn’t possess any outstanding ability.

In Sword Immortal Ku Xia’s eyes, the taciturn Jin Zhenmeng was clearly the type of junior who had lofty visions and grand ambitions, so it was no accident that the pure wisp of sword intent with immense killing intent had coincidentally chosen the mild-tempered young man. In fact, it was thanks to Jin Zhenmeng’s strong will that he had won over the sword intent.

The violent clash that had taken place inside Jin Zhenmeng’s acupoint, where the incoming sword intent had triggered a reaction from the sword qi in his body, had seemingly appeared dangerous and deadly. In reality, however, it had been a basic trial that could eliminate many of the imperfections in Jin Zhenmeng’s soul. If he had failed to pass even this trial, then Jin Zhenmeng could have only accepted his fate even if his cultivation base fell as a result.

Apart from Sword Immortal Ku Xia, the remaining prodigies from the Shaoyuan Empire were all yet to become sword immortals.

In fact, many of them would fail to become Upper Five Tier sword immortals in the future. Compared to the trivial matters in the city to the north, they were still able to accumulate some minor cultivation benefits even if they weren’t able to obtain fated opportunities like Lin Junbi, Yan Lü, and Jin Zhenmeng.

This would be no small matter once they returned to the Shaoyuan Empire in the Middle Earth Divine Continent. As they traveled the world outside the mountains, they could easily decide the life and death of people, and they could readily decide the glory or humiliation of entire clans.

It was expected for Lin Junbi to obtain a fated opportunity, and it wasn’t a big surprise for Yan Lü to obtain one either. However, even Jin Zhenmeng had obtained a huge fated opportunity now, so Sword Cultivator Jiang Guancheng couldn’t help but feel increasingly anxious. Many other prodigies from the Shaoyuan Empire shared the same feelings as him.

These talented sword cultivators hadn’t felt especially vexed about Lin Junbi obtaining the incredibly huge fated opportunities, but they had felt quite uncomfortable after Yan Lü’s success. And now that Jin Zhenmeng, someone who only had a shell of a cultivation base and no actual comprehension ability, had obtained a fated opportunity as well, Jiang Guancheng and the other prodigies could barely stand the situation for much longer.

Zhu Mei still couldn’t care less.

She would look for Yu Juanfu, whom she had nicknamed ”Zaixi Zaixi,” whenever she was free. They would chat casually, and it would almost always be the young girl talking and Yu Juanfu listening.

Whenever Yu Juanfu spoke more in a rare display, that would be to debate with Zhu Mei regarding whether it should be the teacher’s tablets or the teacher’s documents, and whether it should be the teacher’s blades or the teacher’s calligraphy brushes. Zhu Mei would purposely argue in bad faith, and she would eventually giggle and concede defeat after debating for a long time. As it turned out, she would view it as a victory if she managed to have Yu Juanfu speak more.

Sword Immortal Ku Xia was in a good mood, so after returning to the Sun Residence, he actively visited Sun Juyuan to drink together in an uncharacteristic display. However, he discovered that Sword Immortal Sun no longer held that immortal wine cup, instead drinking directly from the wine pot.

Sun Juyuan was seemingly unwilling to speak, so Sword Immortal Ku Xia said a few things from the bottom of his heart.

”I’m just a sword cultivator, and after entering the mountains to cultivate, my life has revolved around practicing the sword. So, there are many matters that I won’t deal with, partly because I don’t want to, and partly because I’m not able to.”

Sun Juyuan glanced at the sincere outsider sword immortal and nodded before replying, ”I don’t have any opinions about you, and even if I do, they’re fairly good opinions.”

Sun Juyuan was sitting in the corridor as always, and he slapped his knee and continued, ”Cultivators leave behind the noise and travel far away from the mortal world, choosing to reside by themselves. What else can they seek? This is already very good.”

”However, the large sects and immortal forces all become bustling after they achieve success, meaning that it’s no longer the case that people are cultivating in seclusion,” Ku Xia sighed with emotion and remarked.

”This is the fundamental reason why I’m unwilling to establish my own immortal force, only practicing the sword but not teaching any disciples. I’m afraid that I’ll end up with disciples whose sword skills ascend higher and higher, but whose characters plummet lower and lower. I’m bad at speaking reason to begin with, so won’t things become even worse at that time?

”On the other hand, my uncle master is doing very well. His sword skills are lofty enough, so regardless of what the characters of his disciples and grand-disciples are like, they’ll still have to obediently mull over my uncle master’s thoughts. There’s no need for my uncle master to explicitly teach them principles or reason.”

Sun Juyuan shook his head and leaned back against the wall, gently swaying his pot of wine as he said, ”Ku Xia, oh Ku Xia, you’re not even aware of your own uncle master’s strength, so I strongly encourage you not to establish an immortal force in your lifetime. You truly don’t possess the ability to do so.”

Sword Immortal Ku Xia’s good mood was immediately ruined by Sun Juyuan’s words, causing his face to become a bitter melon face again.

Sun Juyuan gazed into the distance and said quietly, ”It would be quite good if the immortals in the mountains of the Majestic World were all like you, speaking less but still getting things done.”

Ku Xia extended a hand and said, ”Give me a pot of wine. I also want to drink.”

Sun Juyuan flicked his wrist and tossed a pot of wine over.

And thus, Sword Immortal Ku Xia’s expression became even more bitter.

This was because Sun Juyuan had given him a pot of Bamboo Sea Small World Wine.

The Sword Qi Great Wall was a place that was very good at playing jokes. Even one’s life could be used to play a joke, so what kind of joke wouldn’t the sword cultivators dare to play?

However, the Sword Qi Great Wall was the Sword Qi Great Wall, after all. There wasn’t a complicated mess of written rules, but at the same time, there were various unfathomable and unwritten rules, rules that wouldn’t possibly exist anywhere else.

If a Middle Five Tier sword cultivator didn’t like the look of a sword immortal, then they might unleash a torrent of abuse at them, regardless of whether the sword cultivator was drinking wine or not. However, as long as the sword immortal ignored the sword cultivator, then everyone else would ignore them as well.

If, on the other hand, the sword immortal responded to the sword cultivator, then the latter could only face the former’s wrath.

The sword cultivators at the Sword Qi Great Wall wouldn’t look up to or look down on the outsiders who came here to practice sword techniques or enjoy the scenery, regardless of who they were disciples of and no matter what clan they hailed from. Everything would be proven with the sword.

Those who managed to win face at the Sword Qi Great Wall could be regarded as capable, while those who ended up losing face here could feel free to complain and express their displeasure once they returned home to the Majestic World. The latter would do well to never visit the Sword Qi Great Wall again for the rest of their lives, and those related to them would also do well to never approach Stalactite Mountain.

There were many sword immortals and sword cultivators who were alone with no family and friends before they fell on the battlefield, and if they didn’t leave behind a will, then all of their possessions would become ownerless.

If these cultivators left behind a will, on the other hand, then their possessions would be distributed according to their wishes. This was the case regardless of how many immortal coins they owned, and even if they were a sword immortal with an extremely valuable sword. Moreover, people wouldn’t fight for these inheritances even if the recipient were a Lower Five Tier sword cultivator.

Of course, people didn’t dare to fight for these inheritances on the surface, and they shouldn’t treat the Hidden Official and her subordinates as blind if they dared to make any moves in secret. Many clans had learned this lesson the hard way, almost managing to relocate to Taixiang Street or Ritual Baton Street before suffering severe damage due to their lowly actions.

The rules were very simple. Those who weren’t educated properly and dared to snatch the inheritances would be punished by death. At the same time, the most powerful member of their clan would be beaten half-dead by Luo Shan or Zhu An, and if these two weren’t strong enough, then the Hidden Official would be very happy to assist.

Their life would be spared, seeing that they still needed to participate in the large-scale battles and slay more demons. However, they needed to be the last to retreat, and the punishment would be considered served if they managed to return alive. Of course, they didn’t need to dream about receiving any funds or settlements from the sword market, the garment market, and the alchemical pill market.

This was a place where even sword immortals wouldn’t have proper burial grounds, so how could there possibly be door gods, couplets, and celebrations during the New Year? This was simply impossible.

After hundreds, thousands, and then tens of thousands of years, all of the sword cultivators were now accustomed to the thatched cottage on the great wall. They were accustomed to the old great sword immortal who almost never left the city wall.

It was as if the lunar almanac didn’t exist if the old great sword immortal didn’t flip through it. More accurately, it was almost as if the lunar almanac had never existed in the first place.

————

Noble Scholar Wang Zhai of the Etiquette Sage’s lineage visited the wine shop today, purchasing wine here for the first time.

However, the noisy sword cultivators and customers appeared quite unwelcoming to the noble scholar.

One reason was his status as a reputable scholar in the Majestic World, and another reason was the rumor that Wang Zhai had too much spare time, always targeting the second shopkeeper for him killing the young man with a single punch that time, and insisting on giving him moral lectures. In fact, he was putting in even more effort than the inspection sword immortals belonging to the Hidden Official’s lineage.

The sword cultivators found this very strange. So be it if disciples of the Second Sage and the Scholarly Sage were fighting violently with each other, but why was the lineage of the Etiquette Sage getting involved? Were they kicking the disciples of the Scholarly Sage while they were down?

Wang Zhai was unfazed as he purchased some wine and took his leave. He didn’t eat a bowl of yangchun noodles or a plate of pickled vegetables, nor did he squat on the side of the street to drink like those sword cultivators. Wang Zhai smiled in his mind, thinking that the second shopkeeper truly should have treated him to this pot of wine.

Wang Zhai didn’t return the same way that he had come, instead choosing to make his way to the secluded alley corner with his pot of wine.

There should have been a young man in azure sitting on a small stool here, and Wang Zhai stopped and said with a small chuckle, ”When knowledgeable noble scholars compose texts or establish theories, being fair and just is the most important, and being meticulous and detailed would be even better.”[1]

Wang Zhai recalled something before leaving the Sword Qi Great Wall, and he made his way back to the wine shop and found a blank safety tablet, writing down his name on the frontside and a statement on the backside, reading: Treat others with lenience, treat oneself with strictness; persuade others with reason, restrain oneself with morality; this will bring peace to the world, and offer people true safety.

After writing this, Wang Zhai hung up the safety tablet and had a look at the contents on the neighboring safety tablets. He didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. There was a safety tablet that might very well be gilded in gold in the future, and the sword immortal from the Golden Armor Continent had written sincerely: The second shopkeeper never tricks his customers, he’s the impressive drinker called Chen Ping’an.

This was clearly a sword immortal who didn’t plan on leaving the Sword Qi Great Wall anytime soon.

There was also another safety tablet, which the second shopkeeper would most definitely praise as reflecting the good conscience of a kind person. The comment on this safety tablet read: The scholarly lineage possesses deep knowledge and even more impressive shamelessness. I’ll treat Second Shopkeeper to truly good wine when you visit the Flowing Dawn Continent in the future.

This was clearly written by someone who was planning to leave the Sword Qi Great Wall and go to Stalactite Mountain, much like Wang Zhai.

”If he saw this comment, he would remark, ’Such a good person is only a Nascent Tier sword cultivator? This can’t be right. The Unpolished Jade Tier would be too low, and the Immortal Tier won’t be too high,’” Wang Zhai murmured to himself.

He then smiled faintly and continued, ”However, these words are only amusing and welcome when they come from the mouth of the second shopkeeper. If I spoke those words, that would be akin to a wrinkly old lady applying thick makeup to her face. Quite pointless and repulsive.”

Not all of the outsiders could integrate with the Sword Qi Great Wall like Chen Ping’an and be viewed as family by the local sword cultivators.

Wang Zhai felt slightly happy for Chen Ping’an, but he also felt slightly sad at the same time.

He hesitated for a moment before adding another line of tiny characters on his safety tablet, writing: It’s up to each person to act with virtue, and I strive to act virtuously, so virtue is at hand. Here’s wishing that those with such a mindset can be free from trouble and worry.[2]

Wang Zhai noticed a young boy who had come here to collect wine standing nearby. His name was Jiang Qu, and he was from Raincoat Alley.

Wang Zhai turned around and said to the young boy with a smile, ”Tell the second shopkeeper that the wine tastes okay. He can strive to sell more and make money in a proper and justified manner.”

Jiang Qu smiled bashfully and nodded earnestly in response.

Wang Zhai downed the contents of the wine pot in a single gulp before casually placing the empty wine pot on the counter. He laughed heartily and strode out of the wine shop, cupping his fists at the numerous sword cultivators sitting at the tables and squatting on the side of the street and saying, ”Who dares to buy my sword or wine? But ten thousand cups can be drunk free of charge.”

He was met with silence, and this was completely within his expectations. He laughed loudly and continued, ”Then let me offer something more direct. Here’s hoping that when the present sword immortals come here to drink in the future, an entire sea of wine can be consumed, yet the shopkeeper won’t accept a single immortal coin.”

No one accepted these well-wishes.

Someone snickered and said, ”Esteemed Noble Scholar, you haven’t poisoned the wine, have you? No matter how poor Second Shopkeeper’s character is, he won’t stoop as low as to do something like this. You’re a noble scholar, so you shouldn’t frame Second Shopkeeper like this.”

Wang Zhai didn’t say anything in retort, and he smiled in response as he walked away. After walking far away, he raised a hand high into the air and gave a thumbs up, saying, ”It’s my great pleasure to be acquainted with so many sword immortals.”

Spirited discussions immediately swept through the wine shop.

”Was he possessed by Second Shopkeeper? Or was he the second shopkeeper in disguise? This kind of tactic is taking things too far. Way too far.”

”Second Shopkeeper is far too impressive, even able to influence a noble scholar from the etiquette lineage and transform him into a friend?”

”He can be regarded as a scholar who still has some conscience left.”

Noble Scholar Wang Zhai left the wine shop and walked through the small alleys, retrieving a simple seal that appeared as white as jade. This was a seal that Chen Ping’an had privately given him, containing not only characters on the side but even the date it was made.

The characters on the side read: The road muddy and the people weary, the heroes who slay criminals aren’t recorded in the books. True scholars are not frivolous, their deeds like towering boulders that soar into the sky.

The seal-script characters read: So, you’re a noble scholar.

————

Pei Qian finally came to her senses.

She came to a belated realization, so she wanted to practice more fist techniques to make up for all the time she had wasted.

She soaked in the medicinal baths again and again, after which she would lie in bed to recuperate. Once she recovered, she would visit Grandma Bai to continue practicing fist techniques.

Grandma Bai was unwilling to go too hard on the Ning Residence’s future son-in-law, but she was very happy to go hard on this young girl.

It wasn’t that Grandma Bai didn’t like Pei Qian, but quite the contrary, Pei Qian was Grandma Bai’s favorite among Chen Ping’an’s several disciples.

The young girl appeared cowardly on the surface, but she actually possessed the strongest determination and grit in her eyes.

No longer grounded at home, Guo Zhujiu often visited the Ning Residence to wander around. She would go to the training ground to watch Pei Qian get beaten down from the beginning to the end, and when Pei Qian was finally unable to pick herself back up, Guo Zhujiu would sprint over to gently carry the wounded Pei Qian on her back.

When Guo Zhujiu was occasionally bored and with nothing better to do, she would also ask Mr. Zhong about fist techniques.

When Pei Qian woke up today, she saw that Guo Zhujiu was already sitting on the door threshold. The young girl accompanied her senior sister and chatted with her, helping her relieve boredom and pass time.

As for whether Senior Sister Pei Qian actually wanted to chat with her, Guo Zhujiu didn’t care about this at all. After all, her senior sister was definitely willing to chat with her. When they became tired from chatting, Guo Zhujiu would hold up her lush green inkstone and exhale onto it, showing it off to her senior sister.

Bai Shou walked past the Ning Residence again today, and even though the gates were open, did he dare to challenge that person’s temper? He briskly walked away.

Noticing this, Guo Zhujiu lowered her voice and asked, ”Senior Sister Shorty, do you feel that Bai Shou likes you?”

It was as if Pei Qian had been struck by a bolt of lightning as she exclaimed, ”What?!”

”You didn’t notice?” Guo Zhujiu asked in astonishment. ”If I go and ask Bai Shou, do you believe me when I say that he’ll definitely deny that he likes you? However, you’ve definitely heard of this saying before: The words of men are like ghosts that claim to sunbathe in the morning.”

Pei Qian no longer had the time and effort to focus on Guo Zhujiu’s additional remarks, and it seemed like Bai Shou would suffer the same fate no matter if he accepted or denied the accusation made by Guo Zhujiu. Pei Qian slammed her fist into the bed and exclaimed, ”How infuriating!”

Guo Zhujiu lowered her head and scrubbed her inkstone, sighing again and again as she lamented, ”I also know another common saying that goes: A married lady is like spilled water. That being the case, Senior Sister will belong to the Great Emblem Sword Sect in the future, and your seat in the ancestral hall in Master’s hometown will become empty. If that’s the case, then won’t we lack a leader apart from Master? How worrisome...”

”Don’t you dare dream about usurping my position!” Pei Qian shouted in anger. ”There’s a piece of paper with my name stuck on that chair, and no one else is allowed to sit on it apart from Master!”

”Then we’ll talk about this later; there’s no hurry,” Guo Zhujiu said with a nod.

”Why doesn’t Bai Shou like you instead?” Pei Qian suddenly asked.

Guo Zhujiu looked up and replied with a serious expression, ”He’s not blind, so why would he be attracted to me instead of my amazing Senior Sister?”

Pei Qian crossed her arms and replied with a chuckle, ”That’s hard to say.”

Guo Zhujiu smiled broadly and said, ”I was only kidding just then, Senior Sister. Whoever believed me will trip and fall when they walk.”

Pei Qian pursed her lips.

She then asked, ”Guo Zhujiu, when are you going to visit Downtrodden Mountain to play with me?”

Guo Zhujiu appeared slightly listless as she replied, ”My words don’t count, and I can’t do anything about my parents being so strict.”

Pei Qian fell silent for a moment before smiling and saying, ”Their words might sound unpleasant, but their intentions are good, so you have to listen to them even if you don’t want to. In any case, your parents and elders won’t scold you too much even if they go all out. They can’t bring themselves to do so.”

Guo Zhujiu thought for a moment before nodding and saying, ”Okay.”

After falling silent for a moment, Guo Zhujiu glanced at the hiking pole that was resting on the table. Seizing the opportunity while her senior sister was sound asleep before, she had grabbed the hiking pole and scrubbed it clean, using her spit, her sleeves, and even her cheeks in the end. She had truly been as sincere as could be.

”Senior Sister, can I borrow your bamboo bookcase to carry for a while?” she asked.

”Why? Give me a good reason,” Pei Qian replied.

”Because it looks good to carry! Don’t you think before you speak, Senior Sister? Your brain is quite sharp, so why isn’t it working now?”

Pei Qian felt like it was extremely tiring to talk with Guo Zhujiu.

”Senior Sister, is stinky tofu truly that delicious?”

”It’s incredibly fragrant!”

”Will your farts also become fragrant after you eat stinky tofu?”

”Don’t you find yourself annoying, Guo Zhujiu?!”

And thus, Pei Qian was treated to the sight of the young girl sitting on the door threshold and continuing to soundlessly move her mouth.

Guo Zhujiu continued to amuse herself in this manner even after Pei Qian purposely looked away, and she became even more spirited after Pei Qian accidentally stole a glance.

”Alright, you can speak again. Being annoyed by you is better than suffering a big headache,” Pei Qian said in exasperation.

”If I’m unable to speak with Senior Sister one day, then you need to feel annoyed whenever you think of me. The more I annoy Senior Sister now, the more you’ll remember me in the future,” Guo Zhujiu suddenly said.

Pei Qian was dazed and speechless as she looked at the smiling young girl.

A young man in azure sat down on the door threshold, and he waved a hand and gestured for Pei Qian to remain lying down in bed.

Chen Ping’an sat beside Guo Zhujiu and said with a smile, ”You’re still young, so you’re not allowed to say these things. Even Master isn’t saying these things, so how can my disciples say these things?”

1. This is a line from Night Chats by the Fireplace (围炉夜话), written in the late Qing Dynasty by Wang Yongbin. ☜

2. The first sentence is a modified quote from the Analects of Confucius. ☜