Unsheathed

Chapter 656 (2): At the Private School

Apart from the two groups of people consisting of Li Huai and Song Jixin, two lofty officials unexpectedly graced the small town with their presence.

There was the diligent and pragmatic Prefectural Overseer Yuan, and there was also the carefree and unrestrained Kiln Supervision Official Cao.

Neither was accompanied by subordinates; one purposely left them behind, and the other had none to begin with.

They were around the same age, both from pillar clans, and, in reality, both had been students of the Great Li Empire's old Mountain Cliff Academy.

Similar to Prince Yu Lu of the fallen Lu Empire, however, neither of them had personally seen Mr. Qi before, nor had they enjoyed the fortune of listening to his teachings.

Kiln Supervision Official Cao leaned against the window, and the vermilion wine gourd hanging by his waist was only crafted from ordinary materials. However, the small wine gourd had accompanied him for as many years as he had been in the small town, with the wear over the years causing the surface of the wine gourd to become smooth and shiny. This was an item that Kiln Supervision Official Cao adored and wouldn't sell for any amount of money.

Looking at the prefectural overseer who had shed his official garb and put on an azure robe, Kiln Supervision Official Cao remarked in astonishment, "Prefectural Overseer Yuan, you are an incredibly busy person, having to run around like a spinning top all day long. Your feet never leave the ground, your bum never touches a seat, and the onlookers will become dizzy as if they've drunk too much wine, even if you yourself don't become dizzy. Just how many official matters will be delayed by your trip to the Locust Yellow County?"

Prefectural Overseer Yuan's expression remained calm and indifferent as he replied, "Speaking with you is what delays official matters."

The Great Li Empire's Yuan Clan and Cao Clan were the most renowned pillar clans in the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, and the reason for this was very simple. The door gods plastered on the entrances of more than half the residences in the continent were the old ancestors of the two pillar clans, and these two old ancestors further had gold statues erected in the scholarly temple and martial sage temple of the Locust Yellow County, allowing them to enjoy incense offerings as accompanying deities.

Kiln Supervision Official Cao grabbed his vermilion wine gourd and took a sip of wine, squinting his eyes as if his life were complete whenever he enjoyed a drink.

Prefectural Overseer Yuan was standing as straight as an arrow, which was in stark contrast to the lazy posture of Kiln Supervision Official Cao. The descendant of the Yuan Clan, who enjoyed an outstanding reputation in the imperial court of the Great Li Empire, continued, "Kiln Supervision Official Cao, I wonder when you drunkenly leave home and shakily stumble back, do you become slightly more sober when you see the portraits of your old ancestor plastered on the front doors?"

Kiln Supervision Official Cao was renowned for his lack of ego and his love of wine. He didn't like to drink in large gulps, and he preferred to drink slowly and take small sips, making it appear as if he were drinking from morning to night. His journey of life was a journey to purchase wine, and stopping along the way, he was able to chat and speak nonsense with anyone.

Fortunately, the kiln supervision office located in the small town was a serene place that didn't manage anything. It technically fell under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites, so even the Ministry of Personnel in the capital had no right to interfere in its operations. In reality, however, the officials in the capital of the Great Li Empire were all extremely clear about whether the Ministry of Rites could truly control the Dragon Spring Prefecture's kiln supervision office.

Kiln Supervision Official Cao had specifically told his subordinate official to grade the officials in his office as "good" or "very good" when assessing their political performance.

If those assessed as "good" brought him some good wine, their performance could naturally be bumped up to "very good."

On the other hand, those who were assessed as "very good" last year but didn't bring him some good wine would drop to "good" this year.

The rules in the kiln supervision office were as simple as this, so simple that the officials were all dumbstruck, regardless of their positions and ranks. However, a wide smile would quickly spread across their faces. Just how difficult was it to find such a good superior?

Kiln Supervision Official Cao didn't act egotistically because of his official position, and as time went on, the residents in the small town realized that the young kiln supervision official genuinely wasn't just pretending to be personable. As such, they also started to care less and less about his official position.

Second Aunt Huang dared to jokingly scold him, and those like Big Eyes Liu, who had moved to the provincial city, also dared to refer to Kiln Supervision Official Cao as their brother. After returning to the provincial city, they would tell everyone that they were good friends with Kiln Supervision Official Cao.

In fact, even the little children wearing open crotch pants liked to play with the idle Kiln Supervision Official Cao. If they became unhappy and complained to their dad, it was most likely that nothing would happen. If they cried and complained to their mom, however, then some of the shrew women even dared to get physical with Kiln Supervision Official Cao.

Kiln Supervision Official Cao was already very fluent in the dialect of the small town, and he actually felt more uncomfortable using the official dialect of the Great Li Empire now.

He shot a sideways glance at Prefectural Overseer Yuan, with whom he was extremely familiar, and he replied, "You are most diligent when it comes to adhering to etiquette, so I wonder if you get on your knees and kowtow whenever you see portraits of your old ancestors used as a door god."

If the two of them hadn't visited the small town to train, with this place being the starting point of their journey through the officialdom, Prefectural Overseer Yuan Zhengding definitely wouldn't have spoken a single word to Kiln Supervision Official Cao. Kiln Supervision Official Cao Gengxin would have most likely spoken to Yuan Zhengding anyway, but his words definitely wouldn't have been so graceful and restrained.

Yuan Zhengding remained silent for a brief moment before asking, "Do you still have the face to visit Chi'er Street in the future with how lazy and irresponsible you are?"

Cao Gengxin swirled his wine gourd around and replied with a grin, "Walking around with my face? What a humorous remark, Prefectural Overseer Yuan. The next time I visit the capital and come across someone who dares to say that your only shortcoming is your slight lack of humor, I'll make sure to walk over and reward them with two slaps across the face."

"Do you still remember Guan Yiran and Liu Xunmei?" Yuan Zhengding asked. "If I remember correctly, these two descendants of generals both liked to follow you around when they were little."

Even though these two people didn't have very high official positions right now, they could both be viewed as being on equal standing with Yuan Zhengding and Cao Gengxin. Most importantly, when it came to their journey through the officialdom in the future, it appeared as if Guan Yiran and Liu Xunmei had already overcome some major barrier.

This pertained to the transformation of their identities as scholarly officials and martial officials.

Cao Gengxin smiled faintly and said, "Since you don't recognize me, please don't claim that you recognize my words."

Yuan Zhengding feigned astonishment and asked, "Oh? Then dare I ask who you are?"

Cao Gengxin sipped some wine and replied, "I'm Drunkard Cao when I haven't had enough to drink, and I'm Great Wine Official Cao once I've drunk my fill."

"Sure enough, you're the one delaying my official matters," Yuan Zhengding remarked with a smile.

Cao Gengxin shook his head and said, "I've come here to take a look at Mr. Qi's direct disciples, and I especially need to obtain some rice wine from Brother Dong, the type where I don't need to owe a debt. You are different, and you've come here to curry favor with a prince. The difference between us is immediately evident. I'm like mud in an impoverished alley that soils everyone's shoes, while you're like a copper mirror hanging high above the entrances, displaying noble integrity and upright justice."

"You've merely learned how to run your mouth after all these years?" Yuan Zhengding asked with a frown.

"Have you mastered this skill?" Cao Gengxin asked in retort.

"I'm not playing around!" Yuan Zhengding stated in a solemn voice.

Cao Gengxin put away his small wine gourd and cupped his fists in respect, pleading for forgiveness as he replied, "Please continue to make the most of your abilities and ascend to lofty heights, Prefectural Overseer Yuan. Don't concern yourself with a lazy loafer such as me."

Yuan Zhengding sighed in his mind.

He greatly disliked this person's demeanor, but in the depths of his heart, Yuan Zhengding still hoped that this descendant of the Cao Clan could take things more seriously regarding his ascension up the ranks in the imperial court.

Of course, Yuan Zhengding's main focus was to benefit himself.

This was the case in the imperial court, in the literary world, in the martial world, and also in the mountains.

This was the strange nature of worldly matters. Spectators wanting a good show all preferred close battles between mortal enemies, and they were willing to give more attention to such conflicts. On the other hand, it wasn't necessarily very good for a particular person to charge forward by themselves and leave everyone else behind to eat dust.

In reality, the responsibility of the kiln supervision office was actually very big.

Yuan Zhengding felt extremely envious.

The kiln supervision office was responsible for guarding against thieves, and it also had the power to arrest thieves.

The kiln supervision office had the power to investigate the Four Families and Ten Clans of the small town, namely the Song Clan, Zhao Clan, Lu Clan, Li Clan, Chen Clan, Shi Clan, and so on. On the surface, the kiln supervision office was only responsible for overseeing the production of imperial porcelain wares, but in fact, it had the power to oversee just about anything.

If Kiln Supervision Official Cao so desired, he could investigate the Yang Family's medicine shop, the Northern Mountain — Cloud Drape Mountain — Forest Deer Academy, the Dragon Spring Sword Sect, Downtrodden Mountain, all of the immortal forces to the west of the small town, the private school established by the Dragon Tail Creek Chen Clan, the scholarly temples and martial sage temples in the province, prefectures, and counties, the city god pavilions and city god temples, the various deities belonging to the Iron Talisman River, the Rushing Tranquil River, the Embroidered Flower River, and the Fine Wine River, Red Candle Town, governors and overseers, large clans, innocent families, impoverished individuals, and cultivators, even if they possessed Peace and Safety Tablet.

Kiln Supervision Official Cao could investigate whatever and whomever he wanted. The Ministry of Justice of the Great Li Empire wouldn't stop him or hold him accountable — it didn't dare to.

However, Kiln Supervision Official Cao, who had been appointed by the former emperor, was seemingly choosing to ignore everything.

Yuan Zhengding was both happy and worried. He was happy that his neighbor, who should have become his mortal enemy in the imperial court of the Great Li Empire in the future, was so incompetent. On the other hand, he was worried that the young and ambitious emperor would view Cao Gengxin as an eyesore, eventually growing tired of his incompetence and going as far as to ignore the Cao Clan's face to replace him with someone else.

When Yuan Zhengding smoothly climbed up the ranks and became the governor of Dragon Province in the future, genuinely becoming an official who wielded great power and influence, he would instead feel cautious and constrained if the kiln supervision official were someone else. After all, the lessons of the past would be vivid in everyone's memory, so the newly appointed kiln supervision official would most certainly be diligent and strict.

Ma Kuxuan and Maidservant Shudian stood near the private school.

They had exchanged glances with Cao Gengxin and Yuan Zhengding, but neither party was showing any intention of greeting the other.

They had never been people walking on the same path.

"My grandma liked to scold people when she was alive, especially to people's faces," Ma Kuxuan said. "If she didn't dare to scold someone to their face, then she would scold them behind their back. There were only three people whom she didn't dare to scold, with one of them being the private school's Mr. Qi. My grandma said that Mr. Qi was a genuinely good person."

Ma Kuxuan pursed his lips and crossed his arms, leaning back and resting against a yellow clay wall as he continued, "People in my hometown all like to speak without restraint."

He smiled and said something strange, remarking, "Can yer 'andle 'at?"

Shudian didn't understand him at all. He was most likely speaking a common saying using the local dialect.

However, Shudian did know that the local dialect was largely flat with no inflections.

Ma Kuxuan didn't humiliate her in a rare display, and he instead made some small talk as he smiled and explained, "What this means is listening to the words of other people is like carrying a shoulder pole. Are we able to handle that weight?"

A young man walked out from his ancestral residence in Clay Vase Alley, stopping and standing still for a long time when he passed Chen Ping'an's ancestral residence.

Gu Can had initially planned to travel directly to the provincial city, but after thinking for a moment, he decided to make his way to the private school.

Meanwhile, a tall and burly young man stepped off an intercontinental ship traveling north from Old Dragon City to the Northern Complete Reed Continent, setting foot on Ox Horn Mountain's ferry station.

Ruan Xiu smiled and waved in greeting, saying, "Hello, Liu Xianyang."

Liu Xianyang briskly walked over and exclaimed with a dazzling smile, "Miss Ruan!"

Ruan Xiu nodded in acknowledgment and tossed him a sword tablet, something that would give him the right to fly in the jurisdiction of Dragon Province.

In reality, Liu Xianyang was set to become a direct disciple of the Dragon Spring Sword Sect's ancestral hall in a few years.

He had only been lent to the Southern Whirl Continent's Pure Confucian Chen Clan for twenty years.

Liu Xianyang accepted the sword tablet and bid farewell to Ruan Xiu, directly soaring into the sky and flying to his ancestral residence. He then visited a grave near the dragon kiln before finally returning to the small town.

He waited at the end of Clay Vase Alley and gave Gu Can a beating.

Gu Can didn't fight back.

A young woman in red was playing hopscotch above the sea of clouds, and she also changed her mind at this moment, calculating the time and deciding against going to the capital of the Great Li Empire. She turned around and returned to the small town.

She looked down and landed near the private school.

Ruan Xiu visited the pastry shop to grab some desserts, enjoying them as she also made her way to the private school.

And thus, the lively private school became even more bustling and lively.

Bian Wenmao left the prefectural office and arrived on a street near the private school in his horse-drawn carriage. He pushed aside the curtain and looked over, and he was astonished to discover Kiln Supervision Official Cao and Prefectural Overseer Yuan standing together.

He weighed up the pros and cons before deciding not to walk over to make polite small talk, seeing that the two descendants of the empire's pillar clans were already chatting with each other. He put down the curtain and instructed the carriage driver to move the carriage elsewhere.

As for the other people near the private school, Bian Wenmao had already interacted with some of them, while others were unfamiliar faces.

Bian Wenmao was simply waiting for Shi Chunjia to leave the private school, following which they could return to the capital of the Great Li Empire together.

A frail-looking scholar surprisingly regretted his decision, eventually deciding to tread carefully as he entered the small town and wandered around with Brother Dragon Uncle.

He was drawn in by the commotion at the private school, and Liu Chicheng gritted his teeth and silently told himself that he was only going over to take a look. He wouldn't cause trouble. Even if a shitty little brat from this small town mysteriously jumped up and slapped him across the face, he would endure this and respond with a smile!

And thus, Liu Chicheng and Chai Bofu were greeted by the following scene.

The youths in the private school started to leave at around the same time, so there was a certain moment when they were all within the field of vision of those standing on the street.

There was Ruan Xiu, the young woman with a ponytail and dressed in green.

There was Li Baoping, the young woman wearing a bright red jacket.

There were Li Huai, Lin Shouyi, and Dong Shuijing.

There were Yu Lu and Xie Xie.

There was Ma Kuxuan.

There were Song Jixin and Zhi Gui.

There were Liu Xianyang and Gu Can.

Whether briefly or for slightly longer, these people all glanced at Liu Chicheng, who was standing still like a signpost on the street.

This was especially the case for Gu Can, who had an amused smile on his face.

Liu Chicheng's skin crawled as a feeling of immense regret washed over him. He shouldn't have come here. He definitely shouldn't have come here.

If there were no one around, Liu Chicheng would have given Brother Dragon Uncle a nice crisp slap across the face already. He had made a foolish decision, so didn't Brother Dragon Uncle know to dissuade him? Just what kind of friend was he?

Chai Bofu's cultivation base was gone, but his judgment skills were still intact. Moreover, he was surprisingly showing more spine than Liu Chicheng at this moment. His life was worthless now, so these people could punish him as they pleased.

Liu Chicheng humbly sought advice, asking, "Brother Dragon Uncle, how many days can you survive if you're to live here?"

Chai Bofu was rendered speechless.

He felt increasingly stifled as the group of people walked away from the private school and approached the street.

Liu Chicheng no longer spoke using his mind's lake, speaking out loud as he smiled faintly and said to Brother Dragon Uncle, "Are you aware that I'm close friends with Chen Ping'an?!"

Chai Bofu thought for a moment before nodding and replying, "I am too."