Unsheathed

Chapter 133(2): (2): Traveling Together

Chen Songfeng faltered slightly upon hearing this, then asked, "Did you come to Dragon Spring County because you want to take the talisman from that river goddess?"

"Do I seem like that type of person to you?!" Liu Baqiao asked in an indignant fashion.

Chen Songfeng was even more perplexed to hear this. "If you didn't come here to meet that river goddess, then what are you doing here?"

Liu Baqiao heaved a faint sigh as he replied, "I was on the way back to the Wind Lightning Field, but I decided to come back here. I heard many stories about Dragon Spring County, one of which was that your Chen Clan had founded a new school here, so I thought I'd come and see you."

Chen Songfeng smiled as he said, "Initially, I was very resistant to the idea of teaching here, and I wanted nothing more than to leave and never come back. However, my mindset has improved quite a bit since then, and I often tell myself that this is just a test to hone my character."

Liu Baqiao nodded in response. "Being able to teach in such a peaceful setting is certainly not a bad thing. By the way, did you hear about the incident that started around Red Candle Town and ended in the capital city of the Great Li Empire?"

Chen Songfeng nodded in response. "Of course I've heard all types of stories about that incident, but everyone in my clan has their own version of the story. The insider information that they've received from different sources are all conflicting with one another, and no one is certain about exactly what happened."

"Have you forgotten that I was in the capital right as all of this was happening?" Liu Baqiao chuckled. "Do you want to hear the truth?"

Chen Songfeng shook his head in response. "No. I'm not a cultivator, so I have no interest in hearing about matters related to immortality."

In the past, Chen Songfeng had gone on long journeys to further his education on multiple occasions, so he was certainly not just a weak and frail scholar. However, during that trip into the mountains with Chen Dui, he was unable to even keep up with the thin and impoverished Chen Ping'an, and as a result, Chen Dui had kicked him out of the group for slowing everyone down.

Liu Baqiao was eager to tell the story, so he was naturally quite displeased that Chen Songfeng wasn't interested in hearing about what happened, and he scoffed, "You're only a young man, yet you're like a jaded old man with no interest in anything. It's no wonder that Chen Dui looked down on you so much."

Chen Songfeng immediately burst into laughter. "Hey, don't make this personal! A gentleman never strikes below the belt."

A mysterious look appeared on Liu Baqiao's face as he asked in a low voice, "I have a piece of astonishing news about Stalactite Mountain. Do you want to hear it?"

"Tell me!" Chen Songfeng urged without any hesitation.

"Didn't you just say that you're not a cultivator? Why are you interested in something like this?" Liu Baqiao jibed.

A weary look appeared on Chen Songfeng's face as he replied, "All of the news that comes out of Stalactite Mountain has something to do with that world, and what goes on in that place could alter the entire state of our world.

“Even though our Eastern Treasured Vial Continent will be least affected by what goes on in that world, the sooner we learn about what's going on over there, the sooner we'll be able to adopt the correct measures in response. Even if we'll only be able to benefit slightly in the end, it would still be better than doing nothing and letting the opportunity slip through our fingers."

Liu Baqiao was powerless to do anything about this. Everyone had their own problems to deal with, and no matter how thoughtful words of consolation from someone else could sound, ultimately, they weren't in the same situation, so they could say whatever they wanted, and Liu Baqiao didn't want to be the type of friend that could only offer moral support through words.

Instead, Liu Baqiao wanted to be a true friend, the type who never showed up when everything was going well in a friend's life, but in that friend's time of need, he would turn up by their side to support them before they had even called out for help.

Once that friend's problems were resolved, there was no need for them to thank him, and even if he were to die while helping them resolve their problems, there would be no need for them to feel any guilt.

Liu Baqiao pointed a finger in the northeastern direction as he said, "To be honest, I don't know a whole lot myself. All I know is that the majority of the swordsmen on the northeasternmost continent in our world, which is the final territory that belongs to swordsmen, were summoned urgently to Stalactite Mountain by the two sword immortals there.

“For some reason, while those swordsmen were passing over the sky above Jewel Small World, the two sword immortals briefly withdrew their concealment technique, and that was what allowed our Eastern Treasured Vial Continent to witness the spectacular sight of countless swordsmen flying over the heavens like a swarm of locusts."

"A swarm of locusts? That's not a very flattering analogy," Chen Songfeng chuckled.

"How is that not a flattering analogy?" Liu Baqiao countered. "Think about it, could there be a more appropriate analogy? In the wake of a locust swarm, not even a single blade of grass is left standing. How badass is that?"

Chen Songfeng hesitated, but ultimately decided to be forthright to Liu Baqiao and revealed a secret to him. "Chen Dui told me that roughly once every 100 years, a battle would take place at the foot of that city wall."

Liu Baqiao nodded in response, and he was clearly already aware of this. "That's why I've always wanted to go there. Even if I can't make any meaningful contributions on the battlefield, at the very least, I'll be able to improve my swordsmanship through battle.

“However, after I raised that idea, I quickly received a response from the Wind Lightning Field via flying sword, and everyone from my master, to my grandmaster, to my senior brothers called me an idiot for considering such a thing."

Chen Songfeng was very amused to hear this, and he began chortling with mirth.

"By the way, is Chen Ping'an still in the town?" Liu Baqiao suddenly asked.

Chen Songfeng shook his head in response. "He's no longer here. Speaking of him, he's become a real high-profile figure in the town. I heard that he purchased four mountains for himself, and one of them, Downtrodden Mountain, recently just had a mountain god assigned to it by the Great Li Empire's imperial court, so he's well and truly one of the wealthiest people in the town right now.

“You've always been quite fond of him, haven't you? If you ever meet him again, you can get him to treat you to a meal."

Liu Baqiao wiped his lips as he replied, "Those pickled vegetables that he brought last time were great. At the time, I almost died from how salty they were, but after having so many delicacies for every meal at the capital, I'm really beginning to miss the taste of those pickled vegetables."

"Then you should try having those pickled vegetables for every meal!" Chen Songfeng scoffed. "You'll miss the delicacies of the capital in no time!"

"Ideally, I'd still have those delicacies for every meal and only have an occasional meal of pickled vegetables," Liu Baqiao chuckled. "Otherwise, I'll become an emaciated sack of skin and bones, and it would be really awkward if I run into Celestial Maiden and she mistakes me for a walking skeleton."

"There's something that I've never been able to wrap my head around. Given your background and cultivation base, no matter how outstanding Su Jia of Sun Scorch Mountain is, as long as you set aside the bad blood between the Wind Lightning Field and Sun Scorch Mountain, surely the two of you would be a perfect match, so why is it that you don't even dare to speak to her?" Chen Songfeng asked.

Liu Baqiao considered this question carefully, then replied, "Perhaps it's because I'm afraid that she won't like me once she meets me."

Chen Songfeng became even more perplexed upon hearing this. "But if you never even meet her, she still won't ever like you."

Liu Baqiao turned to Chen Songfeng with a wide grin as he explained, "That's different. As long as I don't meet her, I'll still be full of hope and anticipation for our fated meeting."

"What a pitiful mindset to have," Chen Songfeng sighed with a shake of his head. "Are you not afraid that the next time you meet her will be at her wedding?"

Liu Baqiao shuddered as if he had been struck by a bolt of lightning, and he slung an arm around Chen Songfeng's neck as he threatened in a menacing voice, "Chen Songfeng! Do you have a death wish?! Esteemed gods and celestial matchmakers, please ignore his nonsensical ramblings. He's just a kid who doesn't know what he's saying!"

————

Upon crossing the border, one would've officially left the Great Li Empire.

Prior to reaching Great Sui Nation, one had to pass through Great Sui Nation's subsidiary Yellow Court Nation, and that comprised a journey of roughly 600 kilometers.

The citizens of the Great Li Empire were generally quite fluent in the Great Li Empire's official dialect, but they were often not very familiar with Eastern Treasured Vial Continent's official dialect. In contrast, virtually everyone in Great Sui Nation and the Yellow Court Nation could speak the continent's official dialect, with only slight regional differences in inflection.

A horse-drawn carriage was slowly trundling along at the rear of a group, and Yu Lu was serving as the coach driver, while Cui Chan was constantly sleeping day and night inside the carriage.

As for Xie Xie, she had already completely integrated herself with Chen Ping'an's group, and she had become rather detached from Yu Lu and Cui Chan. She would often play games of go with Lin Shouyi, but as opposed to calling it a contest, it was much more accurate to refer to their games as one-sided beatings.

Despite her unremarkable appearance, Xie Xie was an exceptional go player who was consistently able to crush Lin Shouyi on the go board with ease. She was also able to chat about all types of strange and wacky subjects with Li Huai, as well as perform battle simulations with him using painted wooden dolls and clay figures.

Despite the age gap between the two of them, they thoroughly enjoyed each other's company. The only one of the children in Chen Ping'an's group that Xie Xie didn't like to speak to was Li Baoping, and of course, the feeling was very much mutual.

Chen Ping'an was quite polite to both Xie Xie and Yu Lu, but he continued to stoically ignore Cui Chan. Along the journey, Cui Chan had employed all types of shameless strategies to try and get Chen Ping'an to accept him as his student, and he was only stopping just short of throwing his arms around Chen Ping'an's leg and bawling his eyes out.

He even tried to bribe Li Huai, Li Baoping, and Lin Shouyi with presents, asking them to put in a good word for him with Chen Ping'an. However, all of his efforts proved to be futile.

In the end, his frustration had gotten the better of him, and he issued an ultimatum to Chen Ping'an, telling Chen Ping'an that if he continued to refuse to accept him as his disciple, then he was going to kill Chen Ping'an before putting an end to his own life.

In the face of Cui Chan's threat, this was Chen Ping'an's response: "You can do whatever you want. Your name is Cui Dongshan, and my name is Chen Ping'an. There will only be one tombstone, and the one that survives out of the two of us will engrave the other person's name on the tombstone."

Cui Chan had been completely stumped by this response, and he was so furious that he felt as if he were about to explode. He had considered slapping Chen Ping'an to death, but as soon as the thought sprang into his mind, his hands would become red and swollen due to the effects of some type of unknown mystical ability from the old scholar, and it would be as if his palms had been whipped repeatedly by a feather duster.

On this day, dusk was quickly approaching as the horse-drawn carriage slowly traveled along the mountain path. Cui Chan had lifted the curtain of the carriage, and for once, he wasn't sleeping. Instead, he was sitting behind Yu Lu as he said in a loud voice, "Esteemed Brother Chen Elder Chen Patriarch Chen, this mountain is called Horizontal Mountain, and we have to be careful when passing over it.

“This place once belonged to Later Shu Nation before it fell into the hands of Yellow Court Nation, and according to 'The Records of the Shu Nation', a historical account written by a literary master of Later Shu Nation, there's an Azure Maiden Temple on Horizontal Mountain. In front of the temple is an ancient cypress tree that's been around for countless years, and it's said to be able to grant any wish, which is why a temple was constructed there.

“According to legends, an official of a previous dynasty met his demise while protecting the empire, and all of his relatives and servants fled for their lives, but his daughter refused to leave, instead slitting her own throat with a sword. Her blood seeped into the roots of the cypress tree, and as a result, her soul resided within the tree.

“After that, many strange events have taken place in this area, but it's said that all of those events had positive outcomes, so there's no need to be afraid. Just treat it as a tourist attraction to see along our journey."

Despite Cui Chan's reassurance, Chen Ping'an was feeling rather anxious. In the wake of the bridal ghost incident, he couldn't help but feel a little fearful whenever he heard about stories concerning ghosts and spirits.

Not only was Chen Ping'an a little spooked by this story, Li Baoping, Li Huai, Lin Shouyi, and even the Yin god were all feeling rather apprehensive.

Hence, before night fell upon the mountain, they continued to travel onward without pause, then chose a plot of empty land halfway up the mountain as their campsite for the night.

After a simple yet filling meal, Li Baoping began to read through her beloved travel journal under the light of the campfire. Lin Shouyi generally refrained from bringing out his copy of "Recite Atop Clouds Scriptures" in front of Yu Lu and Xie Xie.

Instead, he would flip open the "Mountain Scouring Album" gifted to him by the blind old Daoist priest and pore over the vivid and life-like images of the mountain ghosts and spirits. As for Li Huai, he continued to fiddle around with his little toys. Generally speaking, only Xie Xie was willing to play with him, and this day was no exception.

In a rather unexpected turn of events, Yu Lu took the initiative to challenge Lin Shouyi to a game of go, and Lin Shouyi naturally wasn't going to refuse. Furthermore, he was very intrigued by the prospect of being able to play a new opponent. During his previous games against Xie Xie, there had simply been far too much of a skill disparity between the two of them.

While the games were in progress, Lin Shouyi had done a good job of keeping his emotions in check, but whenever Xie Xie left him to review the games on his own, he would still feel a little dejected. However, when playing against the more mild and gentle Yu Lu, Lin Shouyi discovered that his playstyle was quite similar to his personality.

It was very gentle and consistent, with no unsightly blunders, nor any particularly exceptional moves that caught the eye. His game was very solid, and Lin Shouyi lost both of the games that he played against Yu Lu, but only by the slightest of margins. On both occasions, even after Yu Lu had played his final move, the state of the game was still evenly matched, with no clear winner to be seen.

During the games played between the two boys, Cui Chan had taken a glance at the go board, only to immediately roll his eyes and lose interest, unable to bear watching any longer. However, after walking around for a while, he found nothing better to do, so he could only return to the go board time and time again, where he would either stand behind Lin Shouyi and roll his eyes incessantly, or stand behind Yu Lu and do the same.

In the end, he was unable to suppress the urge to say something, and while Lin Shouyi was reviewing the games on his own, Cui Chan said, "Yu Lu looks like a kind and honest boy on the surface, but he's actually a cunning little rascal! He was intentionally going easy on you the entire time to ensure a close contest!

“Have you not noticed that at all? Do you want to beat Yu Lu and Xie Xie? All you need is a tenth of my skills and expertise and I guarantee you that you'll be able to win every single game you play against those two!"

Lin Shouyi looked up with a smile as he replied, "Come talk to me after you've become Chen Ping'an's student."

However, at the same time, Lin Shouyi couldn't help but take a glance at Yu Lu out of the corner of his eye, in response to which Yu Lu gave him a faint smile with a clear and pure look in his eyes, then lowered his head as he continued to organize his belongings, an activity that he never seemed to grow bored of.

Cui Chan could only pound his own chest in indignation and frustration.

In the distance, Chen Ping'an was standing on a horizontal branch of a large tree. The branch beneath his feet was slightly bowed under his weight, and he gently exhaled as he closed his eyes to practice his daily standing meditation.

The mountain breeze was caressing his cheeks, and it was as if the mountain were whispering to him, but he remained still and silent.