Unsheathed

Chapter 324 (2): So That's How It Is

Chen Ping'an, who was sound asleep on the roof ridge, was woken up with a start by the huge commotion coming from outside the capital. He gazed toward the south, only to see two bursts of spectacular sword light intertwining and clashing, causing brilliant rays of light to shoot through the air.

There was Yu Zhenyi's colored glaze flying sword, and also Huang Ting's sword from the copper mirror.

Chen Ping'an didn't return to his room to retrieve Lasting Qi, and instead retrieved a sword and a saber from Fifteenth. The sword was Deep Infatuation, which had previously belonged to Dou Zizhi, and the saber was Halting Snow, which had been passed down from generation to generation in the Flying Eagle Fortress.

He fixed the two blades to his left and right hip respectively, then leaped forward, his figure appearing as nimble and elusive as clouds and mist.

Zhong Qiu was already standing atop the city wall, and it wasn't long before Chen Ping'an arrived beside the imperial preceptor of Southern Garden Nation.

"They're fighting so soon?" Chen Ping'an asked.

Zhong Qiu nodded and replied, "Huang Ting is a cultivator from your world to begin with, so her grasp on spiritual energy is naturally far superior to ours."

"Does she think that she'll be unable to defeat Yu Zhenyi if she gives him more time to voraciously absorb the spiritual energy?" Chen Ping'an asked.

"Of course not," Zhong Qiu replied in exasperation. "If that were the case, then Huang Ting would have stepped forward to challenge him long ago. According to Huang Ting, she was purposely waiting for Yu Zhenyi to absorb as much spiritual energy as he could. Only then would she come here to challenge him. This way, Yu Zhenyi won't have any excuses when he loses to her."

Chen Ping'an was genuinely unable to understand the actions and thoughts of this Daoist nun from Peace and Tranquility Mountain. This was a life-and-death battle where each ounce of power was needed, so how was she treating it with such astonishing disregard?

Take, for example, Chen Ping'an. When fighting with Ma Xuan, the pipa woman, and Smiley Face on the street, he had concealed his true strength time and time again while also feeling out the power level of this blessed land. He had then plotted against Bird's Eye View Peak's Lu Fang, and had finally fought and defeated Zhong Qiu and Ding Ying in the end. Which step hadn't been calculated and careful? Which punch hadn't been measured and stable?

Even though he couldn't understand Huang Ting's actions and thoughts, this didn't stop Chen Ping'an from feeling a slight sense of admiration and envy toward her. Traveling through the cultivation world, if one could reach such a lofty level where one no longer needed to care about life and death, then it seemingly made sense that one should be... utterly fearless in the face of death.

Chen Ping'an told Zhong Qiu that he was looking for books related to constructing bridges. Hearing this, Zhong Qiu smiled and said that he would help the young boy.

In addition, there was also that matter relating to the pipa woman and the impoverished scholar with the surname Jiang.

To the imperial preceptor of a nation, searching for a scholar staying in the capital and attending the imperial examination was a very simple and minor task. However, Zhong Qiu didn't agree to help straight away, and he asked, "Are you sure you want to see that scholar?"

"I'll make that decision in the future," Chen Ping'an replied.

Only then did Zhong Qiu nod and agree to help.

The two of them looked toward the ruins of Bull Mountain, where Yu Zhenyi and Huang Ting—two of the three most powerful superior grandmasters in the world—were engaged in an increasingly intense battle.

Oftentimes, a single burst of murderous sword light would stretch for dozens or even more than one hundred meters in length.

Perhaps the safest place in the world at this moment was the city wall where Chen Ping'an and Zhong Qiu were standing side-by-side.

Thus, closely protected by the imperial guards, Empress Zhou Shuzhen, Crown Prince Wei Yan, Princess Wei Zhen, and a white-haired old general climbed onto the city wall and made a beeline for the two elites.

Zhou Shuzhen naturally didn't dare to act high and mighty in front of Zhong Qiu, so the two of them made some polite small talk with each other. Meanwhile, Wei Zhen couldn't help but tremble with fear when she saw the imperial preceptor. This couldn't be helped.

Zhong Qiu was one of her respected teachers, and also the one who had punished her with a cane for the first time in her life. Back then, the little girl's face was filled with tears and snot as she ran to her parents, whom she found playing Go with each other.

To her dismay, one said that she deserved the caning, while the other said that she hadn't been caned hard enough. Afterward, Princess Wei Zhen feared Imperial Preceptor Zhong as if he were a vicious tiger.

Since the old general could accompany the empress and her two children, it could be presumed that he was a reputable old man with meritorious service. Sure enough, Zhong Qiu addressed him by name. "Lü Xiao, why have you come here as well?"

The old general was dressed in a suit of armor, and appeared full of energy as he humphed coldly and replied, "More than half of the soldiers stationed outside the capital are good young men personally trained by me. What's wrong with retiring and returning home? I might not be able to fight on the battlefield anymore, I concede this, but I haven't lost my ability to deploy troops and appoint generals! So be it if you people stopped me from leaving the capital, but are you even going to stop me from farewelling the soldiers now?!"

The old man slammed his hand down on the city wall and said in frustration, "You grandmasters from the cultivation world are flying here and flying there all the time, so can you just stop and give it a rest for a while? One battle after the next, you people never stop fighting and never stop causing huge commotions. More than half of the residents in the capital can't even get a good night's sleep anymore.

"This is especially the case with that otherworldly immortal dressed in the white robe or whatnot. People have praised him to the high heavens, and they make him sound like such a mystical and profound person. What do they say? Even Old Demon Ding was defeated by him, and he's an extraordinarily handsome young man to boot.

"In fact, even my grandson and granddaughter keep nagging me and asking me whether I'm acquainted with him. One wants to become the disciple of Esteemed Immortal Chen, and one wants to witness a true hero of the cultivation world. I'm acquainted with his bloody grandpa, I am! If I see that person in white robes, I'll definitely jab my finger in his face and scold him to death! To say nothing else, just his name alone is quite mediocre..."

Zhong Qiu forcefully suppressed his laughter.

The old man raised his eyebrows in anger, and was just about to let loose a torrent of abuse. However, Zhong Qiu waved his hand and said, "That's enough. Her Majesty, the prince, and the princess are all here, so calm down and don't have your angry spittle fly everywhere, Lü Xiao."

The old general shut up in dissatisfaction.

Chen Ping'an didn't say anything, and he thought to himself that this old general was truly an honest and frank person. It was just that he was too short-tempered.

Lü Xiao caught the young boy looking at him, so the angry old general glared back and interrogated, "What are you looking at, young boy?! You dare to laugh at me?!"

Chen Ping'an didn't talk back to him, and simply grabbed his wine gourd and took a swig of wine.

The old general mistakenly thought that Chen Ping'an was a member of the cultivation world, and was most likely an extraordinary young martial arts talent, especially since he was able to stand together with Zhong Qiu. At the same time, his character definitely wouldn't be bad.

Thus, Lü Xiao was sincere and earnest as he said, "Young boy, just looking at you, it seems likely you have a slightly bookish aura. It's clear that you'll make an excellent student and scholar. I'm not trying to flaunt my age and seniority or anything, but I, Lü Xiao, am incredibly skilled at identifying talent. I sincerely encourage you to leave the cultivation world.

"I don't have extravagant hopes for you to provide meritorious service on the battlefields in the future, nor do I need you to loyally sacrifice yourself in battle. Instead, you simply need to learn from Imperial Preceptor Zhong. Of course, you only need to learn from his scholarly and noble side. After all, what's so good about being a dogshit grandmaster or whatnot...?"

Chen Ping'an was rendered speechless. He could only force a smile and nod awkwardly before taking another swig of wine.

Apart from being short-tempered, the old general was also quite blunt and harsh with his words. In reality, however, he was still a fairly kind-hearted person.

Princess Wei Zhen secretly covered her mouth and giggled.

She was well aware of Chen Ping'an's identity. Indeed, the two of them had already met once at the restaurant in Champion Scholar Alley.

However, Old General Lü only knew that the young person who had killed Old Demon Ding was dressed in white robes and was skilled in sword kinesis and immortal techniques. He clearly wasn't aware that the person whom he wanted to jab his finger at and scold him to death was standing right before him.

As much as the old general detested the cultivation world, upon witnessing the brilliant rays of sword light flashing across the ruins of Bull Mountain and the mighty bursts of Qi soaring into the skies, even he couldn't help but secretly remark, "That's the power of true immortals!"

In any case, the stubborn old general didn't let slip any opportunity to lecture the young boy who had mistakenly gone down the wrong path. He turned to Chen Ping'an and persuaded, "Do you see that? That's the true power and demeanor of grandmasters. Just how many years will it take for you to reach such a level? Perhaps you won't succeed even if you're given one hundred years, right?

"So, I encourage you to abandon your pursuit of martial arts and turn to scholarly study instead. If you think things through one day and decide to abandon the brush for a military career instead, then that will naturally be even better. If I'm not six feet under at the time, then come and look for me, and I'll personally make recommendations for you. You can pick whichever elite army of Southern Garden Nation you want to join!"

Spittle flew through the air as the old general spoke with passion.

Chen Ping'an wiped his face and sighed. In the end, he had no option but to introduce himself, saying, "My name is Chen Ping'an."

The old general chuckled and replied, "So what if you're Chen Ping'an? It's not like your surname is Zhong or whatever. Which high-ranking official in Southern Garden Nation am I not familiar with—"

However, the old general suddenly stopped speaking at this moment. He then put on a stern expression and nodded slowly, raising a thumb and playing dumb as he praised, "What a brilliant name!"

Afterward, the old general acted as if nothing had happened at all. He silently walked over to stand beside Zhong Qiu. He then silently shuffled elsewhere, eventually walking over to Crown Prince Wei Yan, who was standing the furthest away.

At that moment, Lü Xiao decided that he would practice the virtue of silence for a while.

Chen Ping'an observed the battle taking place at the ruins of Bull Mountain for a while longer before saying, "If you'll excuse me, I'll take my leave."

No one objected or stopped him.

Approximately fifteen minutes later, Zhong Qiu noticed some signs from the intense battle in the distance and remarked with a smile, "The battle was still fifty-fifty just then, but the momentum has already shifted now."

Just like Crown Prince Wei Yan, Zhou Shuzhen was unable to fully understand the battle and determine who possessed the advantage.

Old General Lü Xiao and Princess Wei Zhen naturally felt even more confused.

"Imperial Preceptor, he's going to leave just like that?" Lü Xiao asked in bewilderment.

Zhong Qiu smiled and replied, "Given that Chen Ping'an was willing to appear on the city wall tonight, then Yu Zhenyi won't dare to act too wantonly."

After saying this, Zhong Qiu gazed toward the capital and sighed in his mind.

Didn't you say that you wouldn't care about these matters anymore?

————

The sky was still dark when Chen Ping'an silently returned to the courtyard in the small alley.

The little lotus spirit had been curled up in Chen Ping'an's Dao robe, Golden Sweet Wine, for the past few days. It appeared increasingly calm and peaceful, so Chen Ping'an decided not to retrieve his Dao robe for the moment.

After entering his room, Chen Ping'an discovered that the breathing of the little guy was becoming more and more stable. It had also shifted to a different sleeping posture, so Chen Ping'an helped to tuck in the corners of the Dao robe.

Chen Ping'an walked out of his room and looked at the skinny little girl sitting on a small stool. She was leaning against the building door and sleeping, and from the visible frown on her face, she was probably dreaming of something not very pleasant.

In fact, Chen Ping'an could vaguely tell from the little girl's sleeping posture that she was filled with vigilance and mistrust toward this world.

Chen Ping'an clenched his hands into fists and gently rested them on his knees, quietly sitting there and waiting until the first light of dawn.

The old Daoist priest suddenly appeared beside him without any warning. The old man was standing, while the young boy was sitting.

The old Daoist priest cut straight to the chase and said, "Since you're carrying Chen Qingdu's sword, Lasting Qi, I bent the rules and allowed you to enter the Lotus Flower Blessed Land with your complete physical body and soul. As for why you came here, I know that as well. Simply helping you reconstruct your bridge of immortality isn't too difficult. However, there naturally doesn't exist such a simple and perfect solution in the world."

The old Daoist priest pointed at Cao Qinglang's room before continuing, "I heard your conversation with that little boy, and your explanation regarding good and bad as well as sequential order allowed me to understand your relationship with that old scholar. After all, I was the first person in the world to learn of the old scholar's theory of sequential order. And he still has the face to mislead others with his mess of a theory!"

Upon saying this, the old Daoist priest chuckled coldly and revealed, "After learning of this, I decided to increase the level of difficulty a little bit, which is what led to you being encircled by those cultivators. It was also because of this that Ding Ying was able to trap that pocket treasure of yours.

"If you were too weak and ended up dying here, I wouldn't have made things too difficult for you either. I would have only kept you here for a few decades at most. Afterward, I would have let you leave exactly the same way that you came. You wouldn't need to worry about your physical body or soul. I might not get along with the old scholar, but I won't stoop as low as to take my anger out on you. However, some rules naturally can't be broken."

"I see," Chen Ping'an said with a bitter smile.

The old Daoist priest sniggered and continued, "Afterward, a mighty individual from the School of Naturalists—an extremely mighty individual, mind you—interfered in a somewhat ambiguous manner. However, I tolerated his actions and didn't make a fuss because he stepped just above my bottom line.

"On the other hand, his disciple who has an innate yin and yang physique was far too flagrant. He possessed Fan Wan'er twice and tried to warn you about the situation as well as how to leave the Lotus Flower Blessed Land. Because of this, I deactivated the remaining two immortal treasures in your possession."

"It was that paper human town and... Northern Jin Nation?!" Chen Ping'an exclaimed.

"So you aren't completely stupid!" The old Daoist priest chuckled. "Both of these places were clues left behind by that person. It was quite interesting. As for why he was willing to interfere... Have you suffered at his hands before?"

Chen Ping'an's forehead was covered in beads of cold sweat. He felt a sense of fear that originated from the depths of his soul.

Seemingly minor on the surface, matters that decided life and death would often arrive swiftly and decide one's fate in an instant.

It was as if Chen Ping'an had been walking along a realm filled with white mist, unable to see anything clearly. A single misstep, and he would have plummeted down a cliff. Not only that, but there would have been someone standing by the cliff and watching him fall with a cold gaze.

That person...

Chen Ping'an only remembered him at this moment.

He was that honest-looking man whom he had brushed past in the Flying Eagle Fortress. In fact, that man had even smiled at him.

Moreover, he was the man who had sold tanghulu in the small town when Chen Ping'an was still little! He was that kind and smiling man!

Chen Ping'an had felt a slight sense of familiarity about him back in the Flying Eagle Fortress, yet he hadn't been able to recall anything no matter how he wracked his brain.

What Chen Ping'an remembered wasn't that person's appearance. Instead, what he remembered was that person's unique smile.

From Jewel Small World to Parasol Leaf Continent...

Chen Ping'an wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"You finally remember who it is? Then do you understand the situation now?" the old Daoist priest asked.

Chen Ping'an nodded and replied, "I understand now. He kindly warned me about the situation because he didn't want me to enter the Lotus Flower Blessed Land, a place he has no control over. However, he's afraid of you, Old Senior, so he didn't dare to act too brazenly."

"Mhm, you're a tiny bit better than stupid," the old Daoist priest said. "However, you're only half correct. That person harbors no ill intent toward you. Otherwise, with your miserable luck, how could you have possibly found the little lotus spirit?

"I can resolve this situation, so others can naturally resolve it as well. However, why have you only just learned of the truth? Don't you find this strange?" the old Daoist priest asked.

Chen Ping'an shook his head and replied without hesitation, "I don't find this strange. I wouldn't have found it strange in the past either. However, that would have been a result of my naivety. In any case, linking this journey through the Lotus Flower Blessed Land to the two long journeys that I completed in the past, I'm now able to understand many of my past encounters and interactions. As a result, I'm even less inclined to find this strange."

"Mhm, you're fairly clever now," the old Daoist priest said with a nod.

"When can I leave the Lotus Flower Blessed Land?" Chen Ping'an asked.

"You should be asking when you can leave Southern Garden Nation," the old Daoist priest answered with a chuckle. He didn't leave Chen Ping'an hanging this time, and he immediately continued, "I'll show you around this world when the matter in the capital of Southern Garden Nation comes to an end."

Chen Ping'an grabbed his wine gourd and held it in mid-air, not drinking any wine. He couldn't suppress his curiosity anymore, so he mustered his courage and asked, "Why?"

The old Daoist priest chuckled and replied, "This old senior's Dao power is as lofty as the heavens. I obviously feel very bored."