Unsheathed

Pei Qian diligently practiced fist techniques as she had in Downtrodden Mountain’s bamboo building back then. She was afraid of her master suddenly shooing her away one day. Downtrodden Mountain was very good, but it wouldn’t be good enough without her master around.

Grandma Bai was a bit unwilling to go hard during the training session today, and she presumably hadn’t eaten enough rice.

However, Pei Qian thought this was okay because she felt like she was on the verge of overcoming the barrier of the fourth tier! This caused Pei Qian to feel extremely happy, with a wide smile on her face as she talked quite a lot with Grandma Bai.

Pei Qian felt like she finally had a good excuse to stay at the Sword Qi Great Wall for longer. Unexpectedly, however, her master and Cui Dongshan walked down from the pavilion atop the Dragon Slaying Platform before she even had the time to run over and tell her master the good news. They walked to the training ground, and Chen Ping’an said that she could pack up and return home straight away.

Pei Qian looked at the big white goose, who could only shake his head in helplessness. Master had already made up his mind, so this junior brother was unable to persuade Master otherwise.

Pei Qian didn’t cry or shout or cause a ruckus, not daring to do so and not willing to either. She quietly accompanied her master, and she returned to her residence and packed up her belongings, carrying the small bookcase on her back and holding the hiking pole in her hand.

It was winter, so why was the sun shining so bright? Wouldn’t a large downpour be nice? That way, she could leave the Ning Residence a bit later. It would be fine even if she stood at the entrance to seek shelter for a while.

Cao Qinglang also appeared at the entrance with Mr. Zhong, with the former holding a hiking pole and carrying his luggage sack diagonally across his body.

Chen Ping’an left the Ning Residence with them, walking on foot as he accompanied them to the large gate guarded by the elderly Daoist nun from the Daoist Saber Room, as well as the old sword immortal.

However, Cui Dongshan left halfway, going elsewhere and saying that they could meet up at Stalactite Mountain’s Stork Inn.

Chen Ping’an stopped at the large gate and said, ”I’ll see you off here. Take care.”

Pei Qian stood there with her head lowered.

Cao Qinglang gifted his master a seal, which Chen Ping’an accepted with a smile.

Pei Qian looked up and said in a quiet voice, ”Master, I left some things on Big Sister Ning’s desk. Remember to tell her when she exits seclusion.”

Chen Ping’an nodded and replied, ”I’ll definitely remember. When you return to Downtrodden Mountain, don’t just focus on your own glorious deeds and other nonsense when you tell Nuanshu and Mili about the Sword Qi Great Wall, and make sure to give them a proper recount of what this place is like.”

The rims of Pei Qian’s eyes were red as she nodded and said, ”I’ll listen to Master’s instructions.”

This was very strange. In the past, it had always been her staying put and her master embarking on distant journeys, but this time, it was her master staying put and bidding her farewell as she embarked on the long journey home.

This made her feel even sadder.

This being the case, should she still leave Downtrodden Mountain to travel around the martial world by herself in the future? Master would appear quite pitiful if he were left alone at Downtrodden Mountain.

Chen Ping’an looked back, only to see a young girl sprinting over.

Pei Qian finally felt a little happier, thinking that her junior sister would have suffered a massive loss if she had actually dared not come over.

Guo Zhujiu suddenly ground to a halt before jumping forward and landing beside Pei Qian. There was a beaming smile on her face as she exclaimed, ”Senior Sister Shorty is about to part ways with Master! Cry! Hurry up and cry! You’ll feel better after you cry, especially since I’ll still be here to look after Master.”

Even if Pei Qian had wanted to cry, she would definitely be unable to cry now. She took off her small bookcase, which was actually empty, and handed it to Guo Zhujiu, saying, ”Let me make this clear first. Your senior sister is only lending this bamboo bookcase to you, not giving it to you. Don’t try to give me a damaged bookcase the next time we meet, and it’s best that it doesn’t even get a single scratch. I won’t lend it to you if you don’t agree.”

Guo Zhujiu accepted the small bookcase and immediately wore it on her back, nodding earnestly as she replied, ”You can feel completely at ease, Senior Sister. The small bookcase looks better on my back, and if it could speak and express itself, it would definitely be smiling widely at this moment, so wide that it wouldn’t even be able to say a single word. It would be basking in joy.”

Pei Qian extended a hand and instructed, ”Give the bookcase back.”

Guo Zhujiu sidestepped this command and instead proposed, ”Senior Sister, why don’t you lend me your hiking pole as well? The small bookcase and the hiking pole make a perfect pair, and I’ll definitely wear the bookcase and carry the hiking pole every single day. Thud, thud, thud! I’ll drive the hiking pole into the bluestone slabs and dirt roads of the streets and alleys, only stopping after I’ve traversed all of them.”

There was an aggrieved expression on Pei Qian’s face. She was lending her small bamboo bookcase to her junior sister already, yet Guo Zhujiu was trying to take a mile after being given an inch. Was this how a junior sister should act? Thus, Pei Qian immediately turned around to look at her master.

Chen Ping’an smiled and said, ”The next time you meet Guo Zhujiu, you can take the small bookcase back before lending her the hiking pole.”

Pei Qian raised an eyebrow at Guo Zhujiu.

”Okay then,” Guo Zhujiu said with a nod.

She then dragged Pei Qian aside, with the two young girls starting to quietly chat with each other. Guo Zhujiu gave Pei Qian a small wooden container, saying that this was a present for her senior sister for paying homage to the mountains. Pei Qian didn’t dare to carelessly accept this present, so she turned her head to look at her master again. Chen Ping’an smiled and nodded in response.

”Mr. Zhong, there’s no hurry to return to the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent after you arrive in the Majestic World, and you can take them with you and travel around the Southern Whirl Continent first. I have a friend called Liu Xianyang who’s currently studying at the Pure Confucian Chen Clan,” Chen Ping’an said to Zhong Qiu.

”However, Cui Dongshan most likely won’t accompany you and the others, as there are many things he needs to attend to at home. So, remember to borrow more immortal coins from him when you arrive at Stalactite Mountain. There are many beautiful and enjoyable things when traveling, and just enjoying the scenery of the mountains and rivers isn’t enough.”

Zhong Qiu smiled and replied, ”I’ve already borrowed money from him once, so borrowing money from him again isn’t a big deal.”

”I didn’t really consider Mr. Zhong’s martial arts cultivation during this trip to the Sword Qi Great Wall, and I apologize for that,” Chen Ping’an said.

Zhong Qiu shook his head and replied, ”Don’t speak such nonsensically polite words in front of me in the future.”

Hearing this, Chen Ping’an didn’t make any more polite remarks.

In the end, Zhong Qiu said, ”No matter how good a principle is, there are still times when it is unsuitable. It’s not that the principle itself is wrong, but rather, people face far too many challenges and unexpected circumstances. The same type of rice can nurture and raise all kinds of different people, but at the end of the day, how many people like those bowls of rice, and how many people genuinely think about the taste of the rice?”

Chen Ping’an nodded and said, ”I’ll ponder more about it.”

Zhong Qiu wanted to say something, but he couldn’t help but hesitate. He wanted to say some words of comfort and reassurance, but looking at the young man in azure, he felt like this seemingly wasn’t necessary. Thus, he decided against saying those words.

Pei Qian quietly said, ”Master,” before falling silent.

With the small bamboo bookcase on her back, Guo Zhujiu started to count on her fingers, most likely counting how long it would take before her senior sister started to cry.

Pei Qian saw Guo Zhujiu’s actions out of the corners of her eyes, and she no longer had the effort to feel sad. This young girl was truly far too annoying.

Cao Qinglang bowed in respect and bid farewell to his master.

Chen Ping’an lightly waved his hand before placing his hands inside his opposite sleeves.

After seeing everyone off, Chen Ping’an accompanied Guo Zhujiu to the entrance of the city before jumping onto his talismanic boat and making his way to the city wall.

”They’ve all left?” Zuo You asked.

Chen Ping’an nodded in response.

”If you’ve got something to say, then spit it out,” Zuo You said with a frown.

Chen Ping’an was starting to miss having Pei Qian and Cao Qinglang around. His senior brother would speak to him more politely when they were present.

”Senior Brother, if I wanted you to agree to Master and leave the Sword Qi Great Wall, then I shouldn’t have turned down the old great sword immortal’s proposal, and instead should have agreed to light a bonded candle inside Downtrodden Mountain’s ancestral hall,” Chen Ping’an said in a quiet voice. ”If I did that, then at the very least, you wouldn’t need to worry about me and stay here for my sake.”

”You’re only saying half of what you want? Who taught you this? Our master?!” Zuo You asked. ”The old great sword immortal has already told me everything. You’re not even a sword cultivator, so you won’t be able to understand the speed of my sword strikes no matter how you wrack your brains. Who gave you the courage to think about all this nonsense?

”Do you remember what you said to Yu Juanfu before? Perhaps that was only a comment for other people and not for yourself? After working so hard to obtain the principles in your heart, you’re now treating them like wine, seals, and folding fans that can be casually sold for money? If you ask me, I’d say that it’s better to not learn these bullshit principles then.”

Chen Ping’an was rendered speechless.

Senior Brother Zuo You never said a lot to him, yet he was saying so much today, so it looked like his senior brother was truly very angry at him.

However, none of this mattered.

Chen Ping’an had prepared a response already, and he replied, ”No matter how busy Master is, he’ll definitely visit Downtrodden Mountain more often now that Pei Qian, Cao Qinglang, and the others are there. Regarding how you teach sword techniques, I’m sure that your juniors will explain this to Master, and Master will definitely be happy when he hears about this.”

It was Zuo You’s turn to be rendered speechless.

Chen Ping’an changed the topic and asked, ”Are there many people in the Savage World who have yet to forget the Sword Qi Great Wall?”

Zuo You nodded and replied, ”Naturally. However, it’s still of little use.”

”There are two sages from the Confucian Sect and the Buddhist Sect guarding the two ends of the great wall, and there’s also a sage from the Daoist Sect guarding the skies. Is this for the sake of preventing the Sword Qi Great Wall from being polluted and corroded by the fortune of the Savage World?” Chen Ping’an asked.

”This is not an easy task for the three sages,” Zuo You replied. ”The Confucian sage, who was once a talented Buddhist monk, joined the lineage of the Second Sage after losing a debate to Master back then, and his knowledge is extremely deep and profound. So, don’t think that the lineage of the Second Sage is pathetic or whatnot.

”Scholars like us are most afraid of our interests being damaged, and that often causes us to feel frustrated and lay blame in an irrational manner. And don’t be so naive as to believe that all of the disciples from the lineage of the Etiquette Sage are virtuous scholars and noble scholars simply because Noble Scholar Wang Zhai also belongs to the lineage of the Etiquette Sage.”

Chen Ping’an shook his head and replied, ”I won’t see the trees and miss the forest. I won’t ignore the bigger picture.”

Noble Scholar Zhong Kui from the Parasol Leaf Continent hailed from the lineage of the Second Sage, after all.

”Did Cui Dongshan say anything before he left?” Zuo You asked.

”Only some trivial matters,” Chen Ping’an replied with a shake of his head.

Zuo You fell silent for a long time before slowly saying, ”Apart from Master, no one else saw the young Cui Chan back then. When the others and I saw him, he was already around the same age as you are now.”

”I maintain my belief that the world will slowly become a better place,” Chen Ping’an suddenly said.

”That’s how it should be,” Zuo You said with a smile.

Chen Ping’an turned around and remarked, ”Senior Brother, you would actually be much more handsome than the Wind Snow Temple’s Wei Jin if you smiled more often.”

”Isn’t that the case even if I don’t smile?” Zuo You retorted.

Chen Ping’an smiled faintly and replied, ”I agree, but I don’t know about Wei Jin.”

Zuo You nodded and said, ”I’ll ask him later.”

”You also need to observe whether Wei Jin is sincere or not when he answers your question,” Chen Ping’an added.

Zuo You nodded and said, ”That makes sense.”

The two of them gazed into the distance together.

Those with whom they were familiar had all traveled afar.

Just like today, when Chen Ping’an’s friends and disciples had embarked on the long journey home.

Not long ago, Qi Jinglong had also left the Sword Qi Great Wall along with Bai Shou and some other young cultivators from the Great Emblem Sword Sect.

People in the mortal world experienced reunions and partings, as did cultivators and immortals in the mountains.

————

Another year snuck past at the Sword Qi Great Wall, with spring arriving and the flowers blooming again.

This time, Ning Yao was cultivating in seclusion for a long time, almost as if she had forgotten about summer and winter. In fact, this was most normal for cultivators.

Fan Dache was still yet to break through, but his Dragon Gate Tier foundation was becoming sturdier and sturdier. At the same time, he also became very well acquainted with the Ning Residence and the Yan Clan.

Enjoying the tutelage of his clan’s chief guest elder, Yan Zhuo’s sword skills also improved in leaps and bounds.

Meanwhile, Chen Sanqiu was still a carefree young master who always felt like the walls would shuffle over to support him after he became slightly inebriated.

Dong Huafu continued to purchase things without spending money no matter where he went.

Business at Die Zhang’s wine shop was still booming, with more and more safety tablets appearing on the walls.

It was said that Qi Shou had also entered seclusion, and there was a very big chance that he would become a Nascent Tier sword cultivator when he exited seclusion.

Pang Yuanji frequently visited Die Zhang’s wine shop to purchase wine, especially since it had recently released a new type of wine that was extremely spicy. It was slightly more on the expensive side, with a single pot of wine costing three snowflake coins. Thus, not only did sales of the Bamboo Sea Small World Wine — which cost one snowflake coin each — not decrease, but they actually increased instead.

However, Pang Yuanji didn’t lack money, and his friend, Sword Immortal Gao Kui, also enjoyed spicier wine. Because of this, Pang Yuanji always felt like he was responsible for half the sales of this new wine. It was a shame that Shopkeeper Die Zhang had learned from the second shopkeeper, becoming increasingly stingy and being unwilling to give a discount of even a single snowflake coin regardless of how much wine a customer purchased at once.

In fact, she would even grumble about Pang Yuanji purchasing so much wine — what about the other sword immortals? Pang Yuanji owed her a favor, seeing that she was willing to sell so much wine to him.

Pang Yuanji felt extremely troubled. It didn’t matter what kind of wine he drank, but Gao Kui was now addicted to wine despite having no money. Gao Kui had now reached a critical moment of nurturing his bonded flying sword, and he had quickly gone from a wealthy person swimming in money to a poor bastard who could barely afford food. This was extremely common at the Sword Qi Great Wall. Sword cultivators would either have heaps of spare money, or they would have not even a single copper coin. Not only that, but they would need to borrow money from those around them.

Right now, Pang Yuanji was most interested in when the stinky tofu shop would open and start selling the snack.

For some unknown reason, the two shop attendants in the wine shop were no longer the two young boys from Spirit Rhino Alley and Raincoat Alley, and instead, it was one young boy, one young girl, and a dark-skinned little child. They were all neighbors of Shopkeeper Die Zhang, and the most dextrous of the three was surprisingly the little child.

The alcoholics and gambling addicts all liked to tease the little child, especially since the child had a huge temper despite his young age and small stature. No one was allowed to drink wine on credit regardless of whether they were a sword immortal or not, and the little child would roll his eyes at whoever dared to take extra pickled vegetables and yangchun noodles. He would still carry the pickled vegetables to the tables or to the roadside, but he would make his dissatisfaction very clear.

From last winter to this spring, the second shopkeeper largely stayed at home and seldom ever showed himself. Only Guo Zhujiu was occasionally able to see her master due to visiting the Ning Residence all the time. Whenever she saw her master, she would ask why her senior sister still wasn’t returning yet. The feelings between her and the small bookcase were deepening as time went on, and the next time she saw her senior sister, the bookcase would definitely open its mouth and say that it wanted to stay with Guo Zhujiu.

Over at the Ning Residence, Nalan Yexing felt slightly anxious, and he asked Bai Lianshuang whether their future son-in-law was being too hasty and reckless by practicing sword techniques in this manner. Was this truly okay? Nalan Yexing could barely bring himself to attack Chen Ping’an with his sword.

Grandma Bai was also anxious, but the young mistress was cultivating in seclusion, so who could she discuss this with? And thus, she told Nalan Yexing to pay a visit to Chen Ping’an’s senior brother on the city wall.

Nalan Yexing felt like this was a good suggestion. After making his way over, however, he found that Chen Ping’an’s senior brother was even more brutal, saying that Chen Ping’an could go to the city wall to practice sword techniques with his senior brother if Senior Nalan felt like this was taking too much time and delaying his return to the Immortal Tier.

Nalan Yexing left the city wall with a dark expression. Grandma Bai was waiting for him at the entrance of the Ning Residence, and upon learning of Zuo You’s attitude, she almost couldn’t resist the urge to charge over to the city wall. Nalan Yexing was only able to stop her after persuading her for a long time.

Nalan Yexing felt secretly happy after stopping Bai Lianshuang, and this was because Zuo You had referred to him as Senior Nalan. This was extremely satisfying, so he would treat himself to some wine. Chen Ping’an couldn’t blame Grandpa Nalan for being too ruthless when practicing sword techniques tomorrow, as he wouldn’t be able to control the power of his flying sword after drinking too much wine.

The heat of summer slowly rolled in after several downpours and drizzles of spring rain.

On this day, Chen Ping’an sat in the pavilion by himself, with his sleeves rolled up as he rested against a column and took a nap in the cool shade.

Atop the city wall, Zuo You opened his eyes and stood up, placing his hand on the hilt of his sword as he peered into the distance.

To the south of the city wall, yellow sand billowed into the air and blotted out the sun and the sky, stretching thousands of kilometers as it aggressively surged over.

The sandstorm was surprisingly taller than the city wall, and it appeared much like a large wave as it directly crashed toward the Sword Qi Great Wall.

On the two ends of the great wall, the monk on the straw mat and the Confucian sage both extended a hand at the same time, lightly pushing their palms toward the white mist.

A Daoist sage carrying a snow-white horsetail whisk was sitting cross-legged high up in the sky, and when the old Daoist priest gazed forward, what he saw was the sea of clouds beneath him opening up layer by layer.

A young girl wearing a braid was initially yawning, leaning on the city wall and dazedly staring at a pot of unopened wine. She happily rolled around a few times at this moment, with a bright glimmer in her eyes as she hollered in a childish voice, ”Those below the Unpolished Jade Tier, retreat from the city wall! Those in the north who possess a high enough cultivation base, come over to make up the numbers!”

Chen Qingdu slowly walked out of his thatched cottage, with his hands clasped behind his back as he walked to Zuo You’s side and nimbly jumped onto the parapet, asking with a smile, ”Are you saving your sword qi to eat later?”

Zuo You remained silent, and even though his sword stayed in his scabbard, he no longer suppressed his sword qi in a painstaking manner as he walked forward.

Beyond the Sword Qi Great Wall, the tsunami of yellow dust suddenly disintegrated into smithereens as if hitting an invisible wall, unable to push any closer to the great wall.

Not only that, but the invisible wall of sword qi continued to move south, forcing the tsunami of yellow dust to retreat dozens of kilometers.

In the end, the sky cleared up again, giving an unobstructed view of the south.

Rays of brilliant sword light lit up in the city to the north, dashing to the city wall in the south.

In the end, a sea of sword immortals arrived atop the city wall of the Sword Qi Great Wall.

There were Chen Qingdu and Zuo You.

There was also Dong Sangeng, the Hidden Official, Chen Xi, Qi Tingji, Nalan Shaowei, the old deaf guy, and Lu Zhi.

Then there was Yue Qing, Ning Lianyun, Wu Chengpei, Zhou Cheng, Mi Hu, Mi Yu, Sun Juyuan, Gao Kui, Tao Wen, and Guest Elder Sword Immortal Li Tuimi of the Yan Clan...

In addition to these sword immortals, there was also the Northern Complete Reed Continent’s Han Huaizi, the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent’s Wei Jin, the Southern Whirl Continent’s Yuan Qingshu, Duckweed Sword Lake’s Li Cai, the Shaoyuan Empire’s Ku Xia, and so on...

Chen Qingdu looked into the distance and said with a chuckle, ”They’ve grown much bolder after receiving the support of that old bastard. There are quite a few new faces. Mhm, a lot of them have come, and those who have a seat in that rat hole have almost all made their way over.”