Unsheathed

Cui Chan hopped off the well and walked back to the Boundary Pavilion. He stopped outside and became motionless. Because the Autumn Reed Inn didn\'t want people to investigate the old well without authorization, the Boundary Pavilion only had a single entrance and exit on the western side.

Right now, Cui Chan was standing on the eastern side with a slightly dazed look on his face. In the end, he gritted his teeth and placed his hands on the railing of the pavilion, exerting his full strength to climb up and flip himself onto the long bench inside the pavilion. He panted heavily as he lay on the bench.

Yu Lu and Xie Xie became slightly alert when they saw this, and they simply treated this as the imperial preceptor of the Great Li Empire playing tricks and toying with them. They were extremely wary of falling into his traps.

To put things bluntly, Yu Lu and Xie Xie wouldn\'t dare to do anything even if Cui Chan stood still and handed a saber to them. In fact, they wouldn\'t even dare to accept the saber.

In Xie Xie\'s eyes, Chen Ping\'an was only able to treat Cui Chan with such indifference because of his ignorance and lack of understanding of Cui Chan\'s status. Chen Ping\'an had never witnessed the true world of cultivators before, and this meant that he didn\'t understand the profound importance and meaning behind battles between cultivators, the opening and closing of temples, and the notion of attaining Dao and achieving immortality.

Once the first disciple of the Scholarly Sage, Cui Chan was also the imperial preceptor of the Great Li Empire and a Qi refiner at the peak stage of the 12th tier. Any one of these identities was as impressive and profound as a towering mountain. These were identities so magnificent that they could completely suppress and stifle a person.

Now, however, the feeble Cui Chan was lying on a bench inside the pavilion and panting like a dog. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "As you guys can see, I\'ve suffered an unexpected misfortune recently. Not only have I lost all of my cultivation and become extremely weak, but I\'ve even lost the ability to use my pocket treasure. I\'ve become a weak and defenseless bugger. So if you two have any grievances or resentment toward me, then now is the best time for you to act. This is a once-in-a-blue-moon opportunity, and it\'s an opportunity that you\'ll never get again in the future."

Cui Chan turned around to gaze at the territory of the Great Li Empire that lay beyond this inn and beyond this nation. His voice was feeble as he cursed, "You\'re enjoying the benefits, yet I\'m suffering the consequences. Fuck your grandpa, imperial preceptor of the Great Li Empire. Oh, hang on, that would be my own grandpa as well..."

Cui Chan continued to mutter and curse under his breath. Even though he had failed to become Chen Ping\'an\'s student, interacting with Li Huai for so long during their journey had indeed allowed him to become more skillful and smooth when it came to cursing others. Would you look, he was even cursing himself right now!

Xie Xie was accustomed to the imperial preceptor\'s eccentric behavior, so not only did she not think that Cui Chan had gone crazy, but she instead became increasingly cautious and apprehensive of him.

Cui Chan sat up straight and leaned on the railings, placing his arms horizontally on top of them at the same time. He was coincidentally sitting in between Yu Lu and Xie Xie.

He sighed and said, "You two think that Chen Ping\'an isn\'t afraid of me because he\'s ignorant of how lofty the mountains are and how deep the rivers are. This is..."

Cui Chan paused for a short moment before laughing loudly and finishing, "Correct."

After saying this, he looked at them and continued, "However, this is only half of the reason. Those who are ignorant are fearless, right? Yet, there\'s one area where you two are inferior to Chen Ping\'an. He has a clear conscience, so he doesn\'t have anything that he needs to be afraid of. What about you guys? One of you has mysteriously become a sixth tier martial artist through reading books. And right now, you\'re currently enduring humiliation and shouldering heavy responsibility after having your empire destroyed. As for the other one, you\'re a brilliantly talented Qi refiner who harbors intense resentment and hatred toward your enemies. However, you feel like you still have a lot of time and opportunities in the future.

"Thus, Chen Ping\'an dares to attack me if he feels like it\'s necessary, but what about you two? You continue to hesitate and feel apprehensive. Perhaps you feel like it\'s easy for me to say this. After all, I am Cui Chan, and the two of you do indeed need to thank me for being able to stay alive."

Cui Chan massaged his back and said with a troubled expression, "In fact, my back hurts like hell."

He then looked at Yu Lu and asked, "Why don\'t the two of you wholeheartedly follow me in the future? What do you say?"

Yu Lu smiled faintly and replied, "After leaving the group of prisoners, I\'ve already been following Lord Imperial Preceptor the entire time. And I even feel like things have been going quite well. This long journey to seek knowledge has been a spectacular one, and it\'s far more interesting than sitting in the Eastern Palace and pretending to be a bookworm and listening to those boring teachers. If Lord Imperial Preceptor can explain some difficult concepts and principles to me in your spare time, then I\'ll feel like my life is very complete and full."

Cui Chan pointed briefly at the tall young boy and said, "Chen Ping\'an is extremely cautious and reserved because he\'s a frog that has suddenly jumped out from the bottom of the well. As such, he\'s alarmed and afraid of everything that he sees. You, on the other hand, are someone who is genuinely shrewd and calculating. You look like a scheming person, and I truly want to punch your smiling face sometimes."

"Is my situation any better compared to Chen Ping\'an? Aren\'t I also a frog at the bottom of the well?" Yu Lu asked in resignation.

"Wealth and fortune invites calamity; challenges and hardships enable success. I\'ll gift this sagely advice to you for free. Take it and ponder it carefully," Cui Chan replied casually.

Having already read countless books, Yu Lu asked in curiosity, "Which sage in the Confucian temple offered this teaching?"

Cui Chan pointed at himself and replied, "Me!"

Yu Lu was rendered speechless and even more exasperated.

Cui Chan retrieved a pebble from his sleeve and lightly tossed it toward the wind chime hanging from the eaves. He missed once, twice, and then three times.

He shot a glance at Xie Xie before pursing his lips and saying, "I truly want to toss you over instead. That way, the wind chime will definitely ring."

As she sat there, the young girl remained unmoving and expressionless like a clay Bodhisattva.

Cui Chan smiled and said, "Xie Xie, you genuinely want to kill me, yet you feel like you only have a single opportunity. Because of this, you tell yourself that you definitely need to come up with a comprehensive plan first. You don\'t want to die for nothing. Yu Lu is smarter than you, and he feels like it won\'t make a big difference whether I\'m killed or not."

The young Cui Chan sighed and continued, "Let\'s consider the four other children, Chen Ping\'an, Li Baoping, Lin Shouyi, and Li Huai. In terms of ranking your impression of them from best to worst, Yu Lu\'s should go Lin Shouyi, Li Baoping, Chen Ping\'an, and Li Huai.

"As for Xie Xie, it should go Li Baoping, Li Huai, Chen Ping\'an, and Lin Shouyi."

Cui Chan then pointed his thumb at himself and said, "As for me, the order is Li Huai, Li Baoping, Lin Shouyi, and Chen Ping\'an. The one I like the most is Li Huai, a silly boy who enjoys silly good fortune. This is because he poses the smallest threat to me. When it comes to Li Baoping, a radiant and spirited little girl, how can people dislike her, especially bad and scheming people like me? Just looking at her gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling inside. As for Lin Shouyi, he isn\'t unlikeable, but I\'ve already seen far too many prodigies who are similar to him. As such, I can\'t develop any great interest in him."

Cui Chan squinted his eyes and chuckled, "Yu Lu dislikes Li Huai the most, and this is because you detest his personality of mucking around and waiting to die. You can\'t understand how such irresponsible and purposeless people can exist in the world. Of course, there\'s also his slobbish and unclean nature. On the other hand, you like Lin Shouyi the most because you\'re subconsciously treating yourself as the prince of the Lu Empire, and the prosperity of an empire is dependent on having ambitious pillar talents such as Lin Shouyi.

"Xie Xie looks like she\'s familiar with Lin Shouyi, with the two of them often playing Go together. In reality, however, she feels so jealous that she\'s almost about to go crazy. They\'re both cultivation prodigies, so why is Lin Shouyi able to enjoy a smooth-sailing journey while she has to suffer calamity after calamity, so much so that it\'s extremely likely that her Great Dao and bridge to immortality will be severed?"

Yu Lu remained silent.

Xie Xie\'s expression was extremely dark and ashen.

Cui Chan roared with laughter and asked, "So, why do none of us like Chen Ping\'an? Yet, why do Li Baoping, Lin Shouyi, and Li Huai, three young and inexperienced children, like Chen Ping\'an the most? Why is their feeling toward Chen Ping\'an the complete opposite to ours? Isn\'t this very interesting and worth contemplating? Yu Lu, Xie Xie, if one of you can offer the answer that I think is correct, then I\'ll give you guys an item that you\'ll find very useful."

"Because the three of them have developed a habit of subconsciously turning to Chen Ping\'an whenever they come across an obstacle or a fork in the road," Xie Xie replied slowly. "They feel like Chen Ping\'an is the fairest person when it comes to dealing with these matters. Moreover, he\'s willing to put in the effort and make necessary sacrifices. To the three of us, however — ignoring Lord Imperial Preceptor\'s personal plans and ambitions — this kind of seemingly easy-going and kind-hearted mortal is truly far too ordinary and unremarkable."

Yu Lu shook his head and remarked, "Chen Ping\'an isn\'t as easy-going as he appears."

Cui Chan clicked his tongue and judged, "You two are just as incorrect as each other, and it\'s truly adorable how foolish you two are. In fact, why don\'t I get the two of you to marry each other? We have a talented man and a beautiful woman... Oh, hang on, it should be a handsome man and a talented woman. How about it?"

Yu Lu and Xie Xie didn\'t reply. They knew that Cui Chan was simply making a joke at their expense.

Cui Chan rubbed the jade pendant hanging from his waist between his thumb and index finger and explained, "You two are completely unaware of the fact that Chen Ping\'an is like a mirror. He\'s someone who will allow those beside him to see their own shortcomings more clearly than normal. Thus, if one interacts with him for an extended period of time, one will definitely encounter issues if their mind was already troubled or blemished to begin with.

"There was once a foolish young girl called Zhu Lu who was ruthlessly forced onto a perilous path. I call her foolish because she was unaware of her own stupidity. After doing something bad, however, she was still confused and unaware of the situation. This is called being foolish and evil at the same time. They\'re both females, yet Zhu Lu is far inferior to Her Majesty, the empress of the Great Li Empire. The smartest aspect of Her Majesty is the fact that she\'s well aware of the bad things that she\'s doing. At that time, she said to me, \'Do you think I\'m unaware of all the bad things I\'m doing?\' It was because of this casual remark that I decided to ally with her."

Cui Chan pointed at himself and continued, "According to the secret explanation of some enlightened saint from the Daoist Sect, each person has two heartstrings hovering above their hearts, one good and one evil. Just as Chen Ping\'an believes, some things are correct just because they are, while some things are wrong just because they are. This won\'t change regardless of who performs the actions and who tries to explain the situation.

"What\'s interesting about this is the complexity and difficulty of worldly matters, in the sense that one can seldom avoid committing many small sins for the sake of doing a great good. Take, for example, Confucian disciples who are unwilling to go against their conscience. Perhaps they\'ll be unable to maintain their positions in the imperial courts, and perhaps they\'ll even fail to climb high up the ranks in the Confucian schools and academies. In the end, they might have no option but to hide inside the Confucian libraries and divorce themselves from reality. This way, however, they\'ll be of little benefit to the outside world that continues to march forward.

"After staying in the Confucian libraries for too long, some of these scholars become extremely stubborn and pedantic, and they\'re completely unable to accept any blemish or shortcoming in a person\'s moral character. They readily criticize and denounce anyone whom they view as imperfect. Ironically, however, they\'re completely powerless against those powerful beings who are thoroughly sinister and immoral. In the end, they have no option but to fade into obscurity, leading to a complete collapse of etiquette and morals."

Cui Chan retracted his gaze from the two pondering youths. Raising one hand to draw a line and lowering his other hand to draw a line, he continued, "The line on top is good and the line below is evil. Everyone has two heartstrings, and my heartstring that represents good is extremely high up, so high that it can almost reach the heavens. As a result, there aren\'t many good people in my eyes.

"However, my heartstring that represents evil is extremely low down. What this means is that I\'m willing to interact and cooperate with almost anyone, using them to achieve my goals. I won\'t feel any guilt or remorse because of this. The distance between you two\'s heartstrings is nowhere near as great as mine. However, the distance between them definitely isn\'t small either."

Cui Chan lowered his left hand and held the thumb and index finger of his right hand very close together, leaving only a miniscule gap. He squinted his eyes and looked down at his two fingers, saying, "Chen Ping\'an\'s heartstring that represents good is very low, so to him, doing good deeds is only natural and right. This is why others view him as a foolishly kind person. However, you have to realize that having a low threshold for good deeds doesn\'t imply that Chen Ping\'an is truly as easy-going and tolerant as he appears. This is because his heartstring which represents evil is only very slightly below his heartstring which represents good. Thus, he\'ll be extremely determined and resolute once he forms his opinion and decides to do something. For example... killing me.

"In fact, the two of you should be well aware of the fact that regardless of how you look down on Chen Ping\'an, the two of you — and me as well, of course — can never become his friend."

"I can try," Yu Lu suddenly said.

Xie Xie sneered when she heard this.

When she caught sight of Yu Lu tilting his head upward and directly facing the young imperial preceptor out of the corner of her eyes, however, Xie Xie was reminded of the time when she was threatened by Cui Chan while standing on top the large tree branch and forced to seek out Chen Ping\'an to explain martial arts to him in simple terms.

The young girl felt extremely ashamed and awkward when she recalled this.

Immediately afterward, she recalled that skinny figure that had been standing on the branch and facing the gentle mountain breeze.

Xie Xie suddenly felt a mysterious sense of sadness. Once upon a time, she had also possessed such kind of unsullied mind. Her gaze had also been looking forward the entire time.

"After saying so much and wasting so much breath, what point am I trying to make to you two?"

Cui Chan started to wrap things up and deliver the final conclusion. He stood up and chuckled, "The point I\'m trying to make is, you two stupid fools need to show some sincere respect to my teacher in the future, understand?"

Yu Lu and Xie Xie exchanged a glance for the second time today.

"Two pitiable bastards who don\'t know good from bad and don\'t know the profoundness of heaven and earth!"

Cui Chan suddenly flared up in rage for no apparent reason. His expression was extremely dark, and he strode forward before throwing a punch and striking Yu Lu\'s face. "You\'re nothing more than a worthless prince who became a prisoner and almost had characters carved onto his face! Do you know how many emperors and princes the Great Li Empire has executed? You want to try? You\'re a bastard who\'s changed his surname and betrayed his ancestors, so do you have the right to even try?!"

Yu Lu was slightly flustered. After being punished by a solid punch, he didn\'t dare to strike back or show any signs of displeasure. He was simply dazed by the young imperial preceptor\'s actions.

Cui Chan turned around and walked up to Xie Xie, throwing a slap at her face. "And you\'re nothing more than a little bitch whose clan has been completely destroyed. Do you know how many terrestrial gods have died by my hands?"

The innately proud and haughty Xie Xie instinctively raised her hand to grab Cui Chan\'s wrist, preventing him from striking her face. However, she immediately regretted her action. Sure enough, a terrifyingly ferocious aura exploded from Cui Chan\'s body. His gaze was intense as he stared at Xie Xie, and the young girl was so scared that she immediately let go of his wrist. Cui Chan glanced down at his bright red and slightly swollen wrist before throwing a vicious slap at the young girl\'s face. "You two pathetic things dare to look down on Chen Ping\'an?! He\'s my teacher!" he yelled in a harsh voice.

One slap after another, Cui Chan viciously slapped Xie Xie four or five times.

The young girl was so terrified that she didn\'t even dare to lessen the impact of his strikes using her cultivation. It wasn\'t long before her face became red and swollen, with blood seeping from the corners of her mouth.

Filled with killing intent, it seemed as if Cui Chan was still angry and intent on dealing more punishment. He was just about to look for something to use as a weapon, yet he suddenly saw a familiar figure running over at this moment. He immediately froze to the spot with a startled expression.

The uninvited guest only had enough time to shout, "Breakfast..."

However, he immediately saw Cui Chan\'s act of violence toward Yu Lu and Xie Xie. Hurriedly swallowing the word "time", he started to furiously charge toward the young Cui Chan.

The aura radiating from the young boy in straw sandals was a killing intent even more intense than Cui Chan\'s.

Cui Chan was petrified, and he scrambled to crawl over the railings of the pavilion before running over to the old well. As he ran, he didn\'t forget to look back and shout, "Chen Ping\'an, what are you playing at?! I\'m simply disciplining my slave and maidservant, so what the hell does this have to do with you...? Hey, let\'s discuss things in a civil manner, okay? I\'ll apologize to you, okay? Can we stop and speak some reason?"

After sprinting into the pavilion, Chen Ping\'an bent his knees slightly and launched himself into the air, quickly flying over the railings like a soaring sparrow. After landing on the ground outside, he continued to sprint toward Cui Chan.

Knowing that it would be extremely difficult for him to escape from Chen Ping\'an this time, Cui Chan decided to give up and make a final stand instead. He stood on top of the old well and said in a tragic and quivering voice, "Chen Ping\'an, if you truly want to beat me to death today, then I might as well jump into the well and commit suicide! It\'s up to you whether you believe me or not!"

Chen Ping\'an continued to sprint forward.

Cui Chan was just about to jump into the well. Chen Ping\'an frowned upon seeing this, and he ground to a sudden halt.

Cui Chan had already stepped forward, and in this moment of life and death, it took him great effort and difficulty to finally retract his leg. His body swayed back and forth, and his life was hanging by a thread.

With his current physique, he would definitely suffer a miserable fate if he jumped into the well that was filled with the remnant power of Chen Ping\'an\'s sword qi. Even if he didn\'t drown or freeze to death, and even if he were rescued and dragged back up by Chen Ping\'an, he would still suffer severe wounds to his vitals. He would end up more dead than alive.

From this, it was abundantly clear that the young Cui Chan was genuinely afraid of Chen Ping\'an.

Chen Ping\'an carefully observed Cui Chan. After a long while, he finally said, "Breakfast time."

Cui Chan carefully jumped down from the well. However, he still didn\'t dare to walk forward, and he explained in grief and indignation, "I was disciplining them for your sake just then. Yu Lu and Xie Xie look down on you from the bottom of their hearts, and I was fighting against this injustice and telling them to be more respectful to you in the future. How was I wrong? You\'re treating my good intentions as ill will instead!"

Chen Ping\'an chuckled coldly and replied, "Stop trying to use me as an excuse. You\'re simply a leopard that can\'t change its spots!"

After saying this, Chen Ping\'an turned around to leave. When he passed the pavilion, his voice was much gentler as he said to Yu Lu and Xie Xie, "Lin Shouyi and the others have already finished playing their game of Go. It\'s time for breakfast now."

Cui Chan didn\'t become angry, and he instead chuckled as he followed Chen Ping\'an from a distance. He swayed erratically as he ran, and his two large sleeves flapped back and forth. "As expected of my teacher. He\'s far smarter than those two fools."

His expression immediately changed when he passed the pavilion, and he scolded, "What are you two still standing there like idiots for? It\'s time to eat!"

Yu Lu smiled faintly as always as he walked out of the pavilion and down the steps. He turned around and asked, "Are you okay?"

Xie Xie nodded with teary eyes.

The tall young boy pointed at the corners of his mouth. Xie Xie immediately came to her senses, and she turned around to wipe the blood from the corners of her mouth.

————

They enjoyed a sumptuous breakfast prepared by the Autumn Reed Inn. Li Huai\'s belly was round and full, and the heartless little boy was completely unaware of the strange atmosphere lingering over the breakfast table.

The old scholar looked at Chen Ping\'an and chuckled, "Let\'s go, I\'ll take you for a stroll through this prefectural city\'s bookshops. We can chat casually, and if it\'s possible, you can even treat me to a drink."

He then turned to the eager Li Baoping and asked with a smile, "Want to join us?"

The little girl nodded eagerly and replied, "Let me get my little bookcase first!"

Lin Shouyi stayed in the inn and continued to practice breathing techniques according to the secret techniques recorded in the Recite Atop Clouds Scripture. Li Huai was too lazy to move, and he didn\'t feel any desire to go window shopping today either. He simply reminded Chen Ping\'an to buy some delicious snacks for him. Meanwhile, Cui Chan said that he had some personal matters to deal with, and that he was going to visit the owner of the inn to see if they could get a discount. Yu Lu and Xie Xie returned to their own rooms.

In the end, only three people left the Autumn Reed Inn — the old scholar, Chen Ping\'an, and Li Baoping. After passing Flowing Cloud Water Alley, the old scholar led the way as they searched for bookshops.

Li Baoping continued to show off her bookcase to the old scholar, running in circles beside him and asking him if her little bookcase looked good. The old scholar naturally nodded and said that it looked amazing.

After mulling over it for a long time, Chen Ping\'an finally couldn\'t help but ask, "Scholarly Sage, are you angry at me?"

The old scholar had almost praised Li Baoping\'s bamboo bookcase to heaven and back, and upon hearing this, he smiled and replied, "Are you referring to the fact that you rejected the offer to become my final disciple? No, I\'m not angry at all. I\'m a little bit disappointed, but after pondering about it, I feel like this is for the better. Qi Jingchun\'s original intention, and A\'Liang\'s intention when he traveled with you, was not necessarily to give you anything. And there\'s also that time when I secretly took away your jade hairpin. At the end of the day..."

The old scholar spread his hands and continued, "This is so that you, Chen Ping\'an, can remain as just that, Chen Ping\'an. You won\'t have too many complicated relationships, and you\'re simply a young boy from Jewel Small World\'s Clay Vase Alley. Your name is Chen Ping\'an, and you\'re accompanying Li Baoping and the others as they journey far to seek knowledge. It\'s that simple."

The old scholar smiled and explained, "That mischievous A\'Liang who likes to fool around finally treated something seriously for once. He helped you guys out by encouraging the Great Li Empire and other mortal organizations not to bring additional difficulties to you and the three children. Before that, Qi Jingchun already succeeded in convincing... the people above not to interfere with the situation.

"However, my arrival forced your good-tempered Big Sister Immortal to show herself. This created some small difficulties. But you don\'t need to be afraid of this, because this old man still has some skills up his sleeves. I definitely won\'t create any extra trouble for you guys. This is just a matter of speaking reason to scholars, after all, and this is something that I\'m good at."

The old scholar patted Chen Ping\'an\'s shoulder and said, "You can seek knowledge in peace in the future."

He then smiled and remarked, "This is how a young person\'s shoulder should be. Avenging the destruction of one\'s empire or clan and upholding the notion of righteousness? These things can wait. One should first carry the gentle breeze and the bright moon, the long grass and the flying warblers. What rests atop a young person\'s shoulder should be these beautiful things."

Li Baoping\'s eyes lit up, and she raised a thumb at the old scholar and praised, "Scholarly Sage, that was a beautiful remark!"

The old scholar laughed heartily. He lightly patted his belly and replied, "Why, of course! My belly is filled with knowledge!"

Chen Ping\'an took a deep breath as he watched the joyfully chatting old scholar and little girl. He couldn\'t feel what was on his shoulders, but he could already feel the warmth in his heart.

1. Long grass and flying warblers is a description derived from a sentence in Qiu Chi\'s (Southern Liang Dynasty) letter. This is a description of Jiangnan\'s scenery at the end of spring. ☜