Unsheathed

Chapter 658 (2): Flipping Through the Old Lunar Almanac

Beside a thatched cottage in Yellow Lake Mountain, winding streams flowed through the deep mountain.

Taking a rest between cultivation sessions, the blind old Daoist priest walked out of his thatched cottage and sighed with emotion. Following Brother Chen Lingjun's departure to embark on a distant journey, no one else came here to have boasting contests with him. Things were truly very lonely.

Saying that he was relocating to Yellow Lake Mountain to cultivate in seclusion was nothing more than an excuse to leave Dragon Riding Alley's Burclover shop and move slightly closer to Downtrodden Mountain. Afterward, when he returned to Dragon Riding Alley, his status as a guest elder would already be as good as set in stone. That being the case, would the neighboring shopkeeper in the pastry shop still dare to look down on him in the future? Would their status not be inferior to his?

Jia Cheng suddenly felt a slight sense of fear and panic.

He could detect a faint ripple in front of him, and some guests had seemingly come to visit.

Jia Cheng mustered his courage and said, "Dear guests, it's slightly inappropriate to come without an invitation and to enter without warning, no?"

Liu Chicheng's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

There were times when looking at a person's appearance, soul, aura, and other qualities could be deceiving. One might fail to recognize a particular person even when standing right in front of them.

Looking closely at some finer features, however, the clues would become evident. For example, the blind old Daoist priest's posture, the angle of his bent fingers when he formed hand seals, and so on.

Moreover, Liu Chicheng's senior brother hadn't said anything before tossing him and Gu Can over here, causing Liu Chicheng's mind to immediately shift to that "what if." He prostrated on the ground and exclaimed in a quivering voice, "This disciple pays his respects to Master!"

Jia Cheng felt slightly sheepish. Where had this self-proclaimed disciple suddenly come from?

Liu Chicheng's forehead was pressed against the ground as he lamented in an aggrieved voice, "I've been severely bullied by my senior brother, Master. He first kicked me out of White Emperor City because of a small matter, and he idly watched on when I was hunted by the sword-wielding Great Heavenly Master from Mount Longhu afterward. In the end, this pitiful disciple of yours could only remain trapped in the measly Eastern Treasured Vial Continent for one thousand years, completely ignored by everyone. My senior brother isn't showing any care for his junior brother, so I beseech Master to uphold justice for me..."

Liu Chicheng genuinely wasn't making a fool of himself, given that his master had always pampered his closing disciple. Of course, this was also the reason many of his senior brothers and senior sisters harbored a sense of hostility toward him in the depths of their hearts.

The blind old Daoist priest almost jumped up and down and cursed out loud. White Emperor City? A Great Heavenly Master from Mount Longhu? What absolute nonsense was this? Was this any way to lie to a fellow Daoist cultivator? With how preposterous these lies were, Jia Cheng would be blind to find himself a disciple like this!

Jia Cheng suddenly faltered when this thought crossed his mind. Hang on a second... He was genuinely blind...

Gu Can was seriously impressed with Liu Chicheng's shamelessness. He would mention his senior brother, the city lord of White Emperor City, whenever he came across a mighty figure, yet was starting to seek help from his master now that he had genuinely come across his senior brother?

Gu Can raised the Mountain Scouring Album in his hand and said in a solemn voice, "I'm returning this to its original owner, Old Senior."

Jia Cheng naturally opened his eyes, sighing with deep emotion when he saw the scroll. "To think that I took such a person as my first disciple... I truly didn't flip through the old lunar almanac."

He then faltered again, shaking his head lightly to get rid of his strange thoughts. He then blinked vigorously, with the bright sky and all matter between heaven and earth entering his eyes. He had cultivated a strange lightning technique from his immortal force before, and he had paid a huge price for going down that unorthodox path, first injuring his internal organs before going completely blind. He had already been blind for many years.

He became adrift, and the blind old Daoist priest retreated once again, with his mind shrinking into a state of hazy unconsciousness as someone else took over.

The old man looked down and tugged at his Daoist robe, after which he turned around and glanced at the Grand Secretary Archway of the Locust Yellow County. His gaze shifted again, sweeping over True Jewel Mountain and all of the dragon kilns. His expression became complicated, and he fell deep into thought, ignoring Liu Chicheng and not looking at Gu Can either.

He spread his hand and looked closely at the patterns on his palm for a brief moment, eventually murmuring, "A small dream in this lifetime, now awake from my slumber. Lu Chen has misled me gravely."

The old man strode forward, while the blind old Daoist priest remained standing still and asleep.

He recovered his true appearance, becoming a gaunt and tall old man. It was still vaguely discernible that he had most definitely been a handsome man with an extraordinary disposition during his youth.

His cultivation path was like a dazzling meteor shooting through the sky of the Majestic World, rising rapidly and falling even quicker, especially compared to the calmly meandering river of time.

Because of this, very few people in the Majestic World were aware that the city lord of White Emperor City was actually his disciple, despite this being such a significant matter.

The old man was Jia Cheng, but he was also far more than just Jia Cheng. However, the Jia Cheng standing behind him would be nothing more than just Jia Cheng in the future.

He had only done a single thing in his lifetime, yet this was a feat that the entire world knew of.

He had unleashed his sword and killed all flood dragons.

He had killed all True Dragons in the world bar one.

Simply because of the sword strikes of a single person, several pages had been torn from an old lunar almanac of the Majestic World!

When the old man appeared, the gigantic python in Yellow Lake Mountain, which had once lost to Gu Can's small catfish in a battle over water fortune, was seemingly suppressed by the Heavenly Dao. It violently sank to the bottom of the lake, where it lay still and shuddered in fear, feeling a strong urge to bury its head in the mountain roots.

The old man glanced at Gu Can and accepted the Mountain Scouring Album, placing it inside his sleeve before patting the young man's shoulder. He then nodded and said with a faint smile, "You're a good talent with strong aptitude. Then I'll take you as a disciple in my master's stead."

Liu Chicheng looked as if he had been struck by lightning. He collapsed to the ground, no longer wailing hysterically as he sat there in a daze.

This shouldn't be the case! This definitely couldn't be the case!

Once Gu Can gained this status, it was entirely possible that Liu Chicheng might enter the afterlife before Brother Dragon Uncle in the very next moment!

The man in white materialized before them.

The old man shot a sideways glance at him and said, "I, your master, am essentially half-crippled now, so I won't be able to defeat my opening disciple. Even so, our relationship as master and disciple still exists. What's wrong? Are you not willing to accept this? You want to betray your master? Just like I didn't teach you sword skills, I didn't teach you blasphemy either."

The man in white remained silent, yet a vague hint of killing intent emanated from his body.

However, the old man surprisingly took things even further, completely ignoring the killing intent from the city lord of White Emperor City as he continued, "What are you standing there in a daze for? Hurry up and greet your uncle master!"

The man in white didn't exhibit any respect and reverence as a disciple, and he simply asked, "Are you sure you're doing this for the benefit of Gu Can?"

Gu Can fell to his knees and lowered his head, saying in a solemn voice, "Gu Can pays his respects to Grandmaster."

The old man laughed heartily.

He transformed into a ray of sword light and instantly soared hundreds of kilometers away, traveling to the Northern Complete Reed Continent to meet up and muck around with Brother Chen Lingjun.

The next time they met, however, he wouldn't recognize Chen Lingjun, and Chen Lingjun wouldn't recognize him either.

The man in white looked up at the ray of northbound sword light and said with a smile, "Master does treat his closing disciple slightly better."

Liu Chicheng breathed a sigh of relief. Thank heavens Gu Can had only become his junior brother.

Otherwise, if Gu Can had become his senior, the young man could do all manners of heartless things with his merciless temperament.

————

Lin Shouyi sat in his ancestral residence, feeling uneasy no matter how he calmed his breathing and gathered his attention. He could only enter the ancestral hall, where the memorial tablets had already been relocated to the capital of the Great Li Empire, and only then did he feel slightly more at ease.

Lin Shouyi held three sticks of incense and paid his respects to his ancestors.

Only after doing this did he turn around and leave the ancestral hall. After closing the door, however, he immediately discovered an old Confucian scholar standing beside him.

Just how intelligent was Lin Shouyi? He immediately bowed in respect and said in greeting, "Mountain Cliff Academy's Lin Shouyi pays his respects to Uncle Master."

Cui Chan smiled and replied, "I don't deserve such honor, seeing that I no longer belong to the lineage of the Scholarly Sage."

Lin Shouyi bowed a second time after standing straight, saying, "Lin Shouyi of the Great Li Empire's Lin Clan pays his respects to Imperial Preceptor."

Cui Chan nodded in acknowledgment and said, "Your performance was outstanding during your first distant journey in the past. You were the first to notice A'Liang's extraordinary nature, and you were the first to obtain a fated opportunity. These weren't easy feats. Having that person act within the framework of the rules and regulations this time was also a result of your steady and rigorous scholarly studies coming to fruition and providing you with a stroke of inspiration."

Cui Chan strolled around the empty courtyard with Lin Shouyi, and he told the young man to be at ease as he walked shoulder to shoulder with him.

"Your father has some hidden grievances, so he won't actively say many things to you in this lifetime," Cui Chan revealed. "He was the first person to reveal the secrets of the bonded porcelain to Chen Ping'an's father, and he had naturally done so with good intentions. In fact, he even revealed the consequences to Chen Ping'an's father. The gulf between their statuses was huge, yet they immediately became very good friends.

"Thus, your father helped his friend clean up the mess afterward, or else it would have been very difficult for Chen Ping'an to survive. This was the reason why Chen Ping'an gifted you the Mountain Scouring Album during that distant journey to the Confucian academy — this was partially influenced by preordained fate.

"However, your father has worked hard with unspoken intentions, and he doesn't want you to have too many ties with Chen Ping'an, lest you be swept up by the great trend and suffer an early death before you even have the opportunity to grow up. This is why he appeared so cold and indifferent to your distant journey to the Great Sui Nation's Mountain Cliff Academy."

Lin Shouyi was stunned.

"Do you find this difficult to believe?" Cui Chan asked. "Then think carefully about this. Your father worked as a deputy for three different kiln supervision officials, so can he possibly be a simple person? Will he truly care so much about the notion of legitimate children and illegitimate children?

"Kiln Supervision Official Cao only visited a single person after he left the former emperor's imperial study and before he traveled to the Locust Yellow County. Do you know who this person was? It was your father, who's unassuming and keeps a low profile in the capital. As for your classmate, Shi Chunjia, how did her Shi Clan eventually overcome their difficult period? The Shi Clan is oblivious, and they even grumble and feel slight resentment toward your father. However, do you think your father minds this?"

Cui Chan held one hand behind his back and retrieved an item with his other hand, continuing, "Shi Chunjia feels nostalgic and cares about past relationships, so you also feel the same way. And with you feeling the same way, all of your past classmates also feel the same way. Bian Wenmao has great ambition but limited talent, but he genuinely treats Shi Chunjia well, despite his wife coming from a relatively lowly background.

"You understood this, so you're willing to help this member of the Great Li Empire's Imperial Hanlin Academy if he encounters any difficulty in the future. You'll choose to step forward and do something, even if you aren't experienced enough and might make some mistakes. In that case, will your father sit still and do nothing?

"Each thread will connect and intertwine, coming together to form a net. However, don't forget that you aren't unique in this regard — you can choose to act in this manner, and other people in the world can also do the same. A particular cultivation base will attract a particular karmic fate. Higher cultivation bases might appear very useful during ordinary times, but they're also the most useless during the most critical moments. So, let me ask you this, Lin Shouyi: Are you still willing to stick your nose in these matters?"

Cui Chan made a gentle pushing motion with two fingers, seemingly isolating himself from these threads of events.

Lin Shouyi pondered for a short moment before replying, "Things have already come to this, and they're staring me right in the face, so I need to properly deal with them one by one."

He sighed and continued, "I'll stick my nose into fewer matters in the future."

Cui Chan smiled knowingly and said, "You haven't let your father down. He cried and shouted and acted shamelessly to have me come up with this good name for you."[1]

Lin Shouyi suddenly stopped and bowed again, summoning his courage and asking in a quivering voice, "Dare I ask, Uncle Master, why did you stand idly and let Mr. Qi sacrifice himself back then?"

This question had weighed on Lin Shouyi's mind for a long time, making him feel extremely vexed. He had to get it off his chest.

Lin Shouyi decided to ask this question today even if it meant offending the imperial preceptor, who wasn't willing to admit his status as the young man's uncle master!

Cui Chan was unfazed by this question, and he clearly wasn't angry about the young man overstepping his boundaries. Instead, he felt slightly pleased about Lin Shouyi's question as he responded, "What would be so special and valuable about speaking grand reasons if there isn't a huge price to pay? What's the purpose of reading and studying if some things can't be said?

"Without reading and studying, it's very difficult for people to possess the innate habit of not shirking moral responsibilities, a very foolish habit indeed. Books also come in different genres and categories, and are the texts of the Confucian Sect not sagely works?"

Cui Chan lightly patted Lin Shouyi's shoulder and continued with a smile, "So, living in this world, one should spend more time scolding half-assed scholars and spend less time criticizing sagely texts."

He looked around and revealed, "During your distant travel back then, Chen Ping'an already noticed your terrible impression of your father while interacting with you. Because of this, when Chen Ping'an had the confidence and ability to flip through his old grudges, including many grudges relating to Apricot Blossom Alley's Ma Family, he couldn't help but hesitate and stop when he reached the matters pertaining to Lord Lin of the kiln supervision office.

"This was precisely because Chen Ping'an trusted you, so he was afraid of those rumors being false, and he was even less trusting of a person with whom he had never interacted or observed. He was most afraid of your image in his mind becoming bloody and bruised once he uncovered the truth. This is called once bitten, twice shy. The lessons at Bamboo Scroll Lake were far too brutal, so he truly wasn't willing to experience a repeat of that in his hometown."

Cui Chan smiled and continued, "This was a case of Chen Ping'an being mistaken, but it was also a good thing at the same time. Otherwise, with his temperament, Downtrodden Mountain would have experienced significant conflict with the Great Li Empire's Imperial Song Clan and suffered heavy damage once he started to display his stubbornness. This would have been the case even if he eventually uncovered the truth and could breathe a sigh of relief, having cleared you and your father of any wrongdoing.

"However, he would definitely still be investigating this matter in his hometown, making many enemies and suffering immense damage. And that being the case, he naturally wouldn't become the Sword Qi Great Wall's Lord Hidden Official or whatnot. At the same time, Light Breeze City's Xu Clan, Sun Scorch Mountain, and many other immortal forces would seize the opportunity to stomp on Downtrodden Mountain with their full strength, beating it while it was down."

Cui Chan paused for a moment before saying to Lin Shouyi, "You don't need to return to Mountain Cliff Academy for the moment. Ask Li Baoping, Li Huai, and the others who still has the 'Qi' character from back then. You can then gather these 'Qi' characters together, including yours, and you can look for Cui Dongshan and hand these characters to him. After doing this, you can travel to Bamboo Scroll Lake and retrieve the bamboo slips that Chen Ping'an threw into the lake."

Lin Shouyi didn't understand the purpose behind this, but he still nodded and agreed to Cui Chan's instructions.

Cui Chan looked up at the brilliant flash of sword light vanishing into the distance. Inviting a mighty being was easy, but seeing off a mighty being was difficult. That person had finally left.

1. Shouyi literally means guarding the one. ☜