Unsheathed

Chapter 642 (3): Cui Dongshan’s Piece of Blank Paper

Two people rode southward through the wind and snow, a master and his maidservant.

Their destination was Old Dragon City, which was located in the southernmost region of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, but the two steeds took a huge number of detours, visiting the Fox Nation controlled by Light Breeze City’s Xu Clan, passing through the Stone Brush Nation, and also paying a visit to Bamboo Scroll Lake.

The young man was dozing off as he sat on the back of his horse.

His maidservant only dared to ride behind him, most definitely not daring to ride beside the young man.

Clay Vase Alley’s Song Jixin had a maidservant, so Apricot Blossom Alley’s Ma Kuxuan wanted the same, hence his recruitment of a maidservant whom he called Shudian.

No matter how hard she wracked her brains, Maidservant Shudian wouldn’t be able to figure out that the true reason behind Ma Kuxuan sparing her life was actually this.

No one else launched sneak attacks or assassination attempts against Ma Kuxuan during their journey south, and this was because those who were willing to fight for her were all dead.

The Eastern Treasured Vial Continent was transitioning from a period of extreme chaos to a period of stability, but due to Ma Kuxuan never traveling by immortal ships and only traveling by horse — and disliking travel via the official roads — it was inevitable that they came across all kinds of people.

There were vagrant cultivators aimlessly wandering around, spirits and ghosts, apprehensive deities who were afraid of their shrines being categorized as illegal, many remnant officials and royal descendants of fallen nations who would suddenly cry and shout for no reason, and also descendants of clans that had suddenly gained power acting high and mighty as they proclaimed that the Great Li Empire would definitely do this and that.

Ma Kuxuan never hesitated when he killed people, and he simply acted on his whims.

If someone possessed a high cultivation base and Ma Kuxuan didn’t like them? Death. If someone possessed a lowly cultivation base? Also death. In fact, even those who weren’t cultivators at all would be killed by Ma Kuxuan.

After traveling with Ma Kuxuan for so long, Shudian still didn’t understand how this bloodthirsty prodigy was somehow able to camp in the wilderness or chat with woodsmen and farmers for a long time when he was in a good mood.

One time, Ma Kuxuan killed a group of wealthy young masters enjoying the snowscape in the mountains of the Stone Brush Nation. They had seen the beautiful Shudian, and they had thought that the two people holding the reins of their horses most likely weren’t cultivators, mistakenly viewing them as well-off individuals from the local region. On the other hand, they were all young masters from wealthy and powerful clans in the capital, so they quickly developed impure thoughts. The Stone Brush Nation had been ravaged by war, so it was very normal for travellers to suffer some small mishaps, right?

Ma Kuxuan had given Shudian two choices: Either she strip naked and allow them to toy with her, or she display the demeanor of an immortal and kill those young masters.

Shudian had become as pale as a sheet, with her face whiter than the pure snow.

Ma Kuxuan had become impatient, snapping his fingers and pushing one of the young masters off the cliff. The young master had flown off the cliff like a soaring bird, but his ”chirping” had sounded very pitiful. His companions had followed closely behind, with all of them climbing the mountain in fox fur coats before plummeting down the mountain to their deaths.

The mountain lord had hurriedly appeared and tried to stop Ma Kuxuan, pleading on behalf of those wealthy young masters. Ma Kuxuan had annihilated his godly body with a single smack, and the minor backlash of heaven and earth had shockingly retreated after arriving near Ma Kuxuan.

In the end, Ma Kuxuan had constrained Shudian’s cultivation base and tied her hands, after which he had dragged her down the mountain behind his horse.

Ma Kuxuan had only retracted his mystical ability after reaching the foot of the mountain. Shudian was a cultivator after all, so she hadn’t suffered any injuries from this rough treatment. However, she had appeared extremely dazed and disheveled as she sat in the snow.

Meanwhile, Ma Kuxuan had seemingly forgotten about his maidservant as he galloped forward on his steed.

Shudian had hesitated for a long time before navigating through the lashing wind and snow and catching up to Ma Kuxuan.

At the time, Ma Kuxuan had simply smiled and said, ”It’s true that I kill indiscriminately, but to say that I kill innocent people indiscriminately is a wrongful accusation.”

Hearing this, Shudian had somehow managed to muster the courage and shout through sobs, ”You’ve killed so many people, and many of their crimes didn’t deserve death!”

Ma Kuxuan had smiled and replied, ”Those who died despite being innocent aren’t anywhere near as fortunate as you. Not only are you alive, but you can even shout so loudly.”

In the end, Ma Kuxuan had looked up at the sky and said with a faint smile, ”Heaven and earth need to thank me for killing people like this.”

Shudian had become utterly despondent, sobbing and murmuring in a quiet voice, ”You’re a madman. An absolute madman.”

Ma Kuxuan had yawned and continued to lazily ride forward.

Shudian had quietly told herself that she couldn’t die. She definitely couldn’t die! She needed to personally witness this madman getting what he deserved for his crimes. Someone like Ma Kuxuan would definitely be punished by the heavens!

Afterward, she had discovered that the madman was seemingly in a fairly good mood.

In reality, Ma Kuxuan had started to smile more after passing Bamboo Scroll Lake.

While traveling through the large mountains with many vagrant cultivators and itinerant cultivators to the south of Bamboo Scroll Lake, Ma Kuxuan had even had the leisure to visit a certain mountain. Sitting in the master seat, he had become increasingly happy after asking about a few things.

That person from Clay Vase Alley had stayed here for almost three years, and he had apparently faced many hardships and challenges.

This made Ma Kuxuan feel very satisfied.

Ma Kuxuan made a snowball before turning around and casually throwing it at Shudian’s head. She didn’t dodge, and the snowball exploded across her face, affecting her vision ever so slightly.

Ma Kuxuan stretched lazily and said with a smile, ”I never had a snowball fight with anyone in the small town. Actually, that’s not entirely correct. I was involved in snowball fights, and I would mysteriously be struck by snowballs all the time. Looking at their delight, I was also happy.”

Maidservant Shudian felt a cold chill take over her body when she thought about the small town, which was once the Jewel Small World.

Her suffering today was all because of her trip to the Jewel Small World.

Ma Kuxuan waved his hand, gesturing for her to keep up.

”The Jewel Small World opened once every sixty years, and you were part of the last group to ever enter. Do you not have any thoughts about this?” Ma Kuxuan asked.

However, he quickly answered his own question, saying, ”You probably haven’t thought about this before. You just go with the flow, never thinking about stepping onto the shore.”

”I have thought about it before,” Shudian said.

Ma Kuxuan turned around and remarked with an amused smile, ”Oh? You actually have a brain?”

”Your ambitions are loftier than the heavens, so what’s the purpose of humiliating me in a myriad ways?” Shudian asked.

Ma Kuxuan completely ignored her foolish question, instead asking, ”Do you remember the group of cultivators who entered the Jewel Small World before you?”

Shudian remained silent.

Ma Kuxuan reached forward and started to form a snowball in his hands, continuing, ”The final time the imperial court of the Great Li Empire opened the doors of the Jewel Small World to visitors, which person among the first group of treasure-seekers who entered the small town was an ordinary person? You and the others who arrived slightly later were also meticulously handpicked by the late emperor of the Great Li Empire and Embroidered Tiger. No one was useless trash, with the exception of you, of course.

”You’re genuinely useless trash from head to toe. However, the Sea Tide Cavalry that was annihilated because of you was initially of some use to the Great Li Empire.”

Ma Kuxuan shook his head and lamented, ”However, it’s a pity that they were unfortunate enough to come across me.”

Shudian sobbed pitifully and said in a tragic voice, ”You said before that a person should take responsibility for their own actions. Moreover, you were in the wrong first, and you purposely affected my cultivation in a negative manner back then. Even if I committed a huge wrong afterward, why did you massacre so many people instead of killing just me?”

Ma Kuxuan’s thoughts had already traveled elsewhere, and he paused for a moment before turning around and asking, ”What did you say just then?”

Shudian fell silent again.

Ma Kuxuan didn’t mind this at all. After all, things wouldn’t be fun if her Dao Heart truly shattered for good.

”How about I recruit a disciple who will definitely be attracted to you? And then he can exact revenge for you in the future?” Ma Kuxuan suddenly asked.

Shudian was taken aback.

Ma Kuxuan was beaming and buoyant, seemingly finding this thought very interesting as he continued, ”What do you think? I can guarantee that I won’t kill him before he makes his move and attempts to kill me. I won’t kill you afterward either, so you can simply sit back and enjoy the show. I’ll give you one warning, however. Don’t let him win your heart too easily, and certainly don’t treat this as real and fall for him in the process.

”Of course, this might change the trajectory of things, and it’s possible that he’ll eventually grow tired of you. At that time, he might choose to kill you to express his loyalty to me. Will that be a case of two people dying for love? Will the two of you be trying to make me feel disgusted?

Shudian stared intently at the madman.

Cultivators severed romantic relationships and had very few desires.

However, how many cultivators would be as extreme as the young man in front of her?

Ma Kuxuan pursed his lips and said, ”Tell me when you’ve thought this through, and I’ll definitely satisfy your wishes.”

He weighed the snowball in his hand and gazed into the distance. Lashing winds and swirling snow made the path ahead hazy, with heaven and earth also radiating a murderous aura.

Ma Kuxuan’s thoughts drifted away again.

When the country bumpkin from Clay Vase Alley had run to the gate of the small town to collect letters from Zheng Dafeng before, Ma Kuxuan had actually left Apricot Blossom Alley and watched him from a distance.

Thus, Ma Kuxuan had naturally witnessed the same scenes as Chen Ping’an.

Jiang Yun, a descendant of the Cloud Forest Jiang Clan and the only direct disciple of Liu Laocheng, previously the only Upper Five Tier vagrant cultivator in the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, had obtained the fated opportunity of the Iron Lock Well.

Prince Gao Xuan of the Great Sui Nation had purchased the golden carp from Li Er, and he had even received a Dragon King Basket for free. Afterward, Gao Xuan had served as a hostage following the signing of an alliance between the Great Sui Nation and the Great Li Empire, subject to the whims of others as he studied at Cloud Drape Mountain’s Forest Deer Academy. He was most likely going to become the emperor of the Great Sui Nation in the future.

There was also Fu Nanhua, Old Dragon City’s next city lord.

Then there was Dawn Cloud Mountain’s Cai Jinjian, with Dawn Cloud Mountain one of the few immortal forces in the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent that used Buddhist cultivation techniques. Not only that, but it was one of four sects-in-waiting now.

Cultivators in Dawn Cloud Mountain were well versed in the laws of Buddhism and the processes of hosting religious ceremonies in temples, and many of them had left the mountain to assist officials from the Great Li Empire’s Ministry of Works, rebuilding temples in various vassal territories of the Great Li Empire. Was this not impressive?

Meanwhile, Sun Scorch Mountain’s old ape had guarded a little girl called... What was her name again? Tao Zi? She was very young at the time, but she already appeared very much like a cultivator from the mountains.

There was the mother and son from Light Breeze City’s Xu Clan.

Afterward, by betrothing a direct daughter to a mistress’ son, they had eventually formed a marriage alliance with the Pillar Yuan Clan of the Great Li Empire. And now, the Xu Clan was also a sect-in-waiting.

There was Ning Yao.

There was Gao Xuan, the eunuch accompanying him, Jiang Yun, Fu Nanhua, and Cai Jinjian.

There was also the mountain-moving ape, the lady from Light Breeze City’s Xu Clan, and her son wearing a bright red Dao robe.

Back then, the young boy from Clay Vase Alley delivering letters to earn money was standing in the small town on one side of the gate, while these people had been standing outside the small town on the other side of the gate.

It was very likely that none of them, whether those in the small town or those outside, had imagined that so many debts of gratitude, grudges, and other relationships would eventually form between them.

Ma Kuxuan’s biggest regret back then had been Light Breeze City’s Xu Clan being too lenient and the bastardly old ape being even more impotent. The former had failed to kill Liu Xianyang, and the latter had failed to kill Chen Ping’an.

Ma Kuxuan sighed and said, ”Those below the pinnacle of the mountains can come up with schemes possessing both depth and precision as long as they have some brains. What they lack is a loftier vision, and this is what intelligent people resent the most. They can see their goal, but they can’t reach it no matter what.

”They suffer from bad fate, so what can they do?

”Clay Vase Alley’s Song Jixin was once slandered as the illegitimate son of the kiln supervision official, but in the blink of an eye, he became a royal prince of the Imperial Song Clan, now assuming the position of a feudal lord. However, this is nothing more than Song Jixin enjoying good fate.”

Ma Kuxuan lightly tossed the snowball up and down as he mused, ”And to think that I need to serve this fool who enjoys good fate... My fate isn’t exactly great.”