Unsheathed

Chapter 445 (3): Charcoal Basket Chilling People's Heart

Chen Ping'an bent down and lowered his head, shuffling the stove closer to himself and placing his feet on it. With the charcoal basket still in his hands, he leaned down on the table and dazedly took a nap.

He was half-asleep and half-awake, and it was as if he had gone back in time and returned to his hometown.

Dogs barking outside the firewood shed at midnight, the bawling of children disturbing people's sweet dreams, and the loud ironing of clothes by hunch-backed elders using wooden sticks.

Many people would find these sounds annoying.

Chen Ping'an had felt the same way when he was still at Clay Vase Alley, and he was given no option but to endure it.

However, these were all trivial matters at the end of the day.

They only became increasingly trivial as time went on, and thinking back to it now, Chen Ping'an actually felt a slight sense of nostalgia.

There was a crack as the charcoal basket fell to the floor, waking Chen Ping'an from his hazy nap. He picked up the charcoal basket and placed it beside the chair.

He then went to sleep.

It was already late at night when he woke up to the sound of someone knocking on his door.

Chen Ping'an walked over to open the door, and he almost couldn't stop himself from launching a torrent of abuse.

The person standing in front of him was surprisingly Liu Chongrun, the island master of Bejeweled Hairpin Island.

Chen Ping'an opened the door, yet he didn't step aside to let Liu Chongrun in.

Liu Chongrun raised an eyebrow and said, "What's this? You're not even going to let me enter?"

"If I let you enter, then how will I go to the Vermilion Chord Residence and face Ma Yuanzhi in the future?" Chen Ping'an retorted.

Liu Chongrun waved around the porcelain bottle in her hand and replied, "Do you want to discuss something this important at the door?"

Chen Ping'an frowned and asked, "Are you doing this on purpose?"

Liu Chongrun smiled widely and nodded in reply.

There was helplessness in Chen Ping'an's voice as he asked, "Just what in the world are you thinking, Island Master Liu? This isn't a reasonable way to do business, okay?"

"Don't try to speak reason with women," Liu Chongrun replied with a smile.

Chen Ping'an faltered for a moment before conceding with a bitter smile, "That's a reasonable assessment."

He stepped aside and let Liu Chongrun into his room, but he didn't dare to close the door. However, Liu Chongrun raised a foot and kicked backward, causing the door to slam shut.

Liu Chongrun lowered her head and glanced at the large bluestone slab before looking at the bookcase in the corner of the room and the six lengths of purple bamboo that were split in half lengthwise leaning diagonally against the well. In the end, she turned her attention back to the bluestone slab and asked, "Mr. Chen is hiding here all day long to muck around with these eerie things?"

Chen Ping'an nodded in response.

Liu Chongrun walked over to the table and glanced down at the stove, commenting, "What a rare item."

Chen Ping'an smiled and said, "If the common people see the extravagant treasures owned by wealthy people like you, they'll feel like those treasures are even rarer."

Liu Chongrun was a Golden Core Tier earth immortal who was purposely appearing weaker to everyone else in Bamboo Scroll Lake, and after sitting down, she placed her feet beside the stove and exclaimed, "Oh? It's actually quite warm. I'll also place one in the Treasure Light Pagoda when I get back."

"Have you made up your mind, Island Master Liu?" Chen Ping'an asked.

Liu Chongrun was still looking around in curiosity as she replied in a casual voice, "I've made up my mind. You're a bookkeeper who even Liu Laocheng personally escorted around, so how could I dare to make you wait? Wouldn't that be seeking death?"

"We might have to put aside this transaction between us for the moment," Chen Ping'an replied.

"Chen Ping'an, are you messing around with me?" Liu Chongrun fumed. "Who was it that ran to the Treasure Light Pagoda to propose a deal with me before? Yet, now that I've come here to give my response, you're starting to put on airs and make things difficult? What, you want to raise the price now that you've grabbed onto Liu Laocheng's coattail? Okay then, go on! Name your new price! Show me if you're shameless enough to ask for both money and me!"

Chen Ping'an stared at the princess from the destroyed nation and replied, "If it weren't for the fact so many island masters already came to visit Cyan Gorge Island, I wouldn't have allowed you to sit here and scold me tonight. Instead, I would have truly drawn a clear line between us. Are you truly oblivious to this, or are you just pretending to be ignorant?

"You could have easily stayed at Bejeweled Hairpin Island and waited patiently, and what you're doing now is nothing more than gilding the lily and dragging Bejeweled Hairpin Island into the mess. If I fail, then to say nothing of moving your force outside Bamboo Scroll Lake, you won't even be able to keep your current wealth and power! Liu Chongrun, let me ask you this one more time: Just what in the world are you thinking?"

Liu Chongrun smiled and replied, "I've already experienced and overcome my country and home being destroyed once before, and there's no longer an opportunity for me to experience my country being destroyed again. It's at most my home being destroyed, so what is there to be afraid of?"

Chen Ping'an suddenly sensed something, causing him to look toward the door.

Liu Chongrun was slightly astonished. Perhaps Chen Ping'an was genuinely a Golden Core Tier sword cultivator like the rumors said? Otherwise, how could he possess such sharp senses?

An uninvited guest was sneaking around outside, acting much like a debauched man who liked to eavesdrop on other people.

Chen Ping'an winked at Liu Chongrun before saying in a cold voice, "Let me repeat myself again, Island Master Liu, I won't accept any female cultivator from Bejeweled Hairpin Island to act as my personal maidservant! This has got nothing to do with the amount of immortal coins or whatnot..."

However, Liu Chongrun didn't play along at all, instead lamenting in grief, "Chen Ping'an, who would have thought that you're also such a heartless man? I completely misjudged your character!"

After saying this, Liu Chongrun abruptly stood up and threw open the door, soaring away without a second word.

Chen Ping'an looked on with a dazed expression.

He summoned his courage and stood up, walking over to the doorway where the ghost cultivator, Ma Yuanzhi, quickly walked over with a giddy smile.

Chen Ping'an was just about to explain the situation when Ma Yuanzhi surprisingly patted him on the shoulder with a delighted smile, saying, "There's no need to explain anything, I'm already aware of the situation. The princess was purposely trying to anger me and make me feel jealous. Chen Ping'an, I owe you one for this. You'll be the biggest contributor when the princess and I become Dao partners in the future!"

Ma Yuanzhi rubbed his hands together, laughing heartily as he walked away.

Chen Ping'an was transfixed to the spot, murmuring to himself, "Will that really work?"

He couldn't help but click his tongue in wonder.

Walking over to the dock and squatting down, Chen Ping'an made a snowball and pondered for a moment before deciding to build a snowman. After using a few scraps of charcoal for the snowman's nose and eyes, he clapped his hands for a job well done.

After thinking for a bit, Chen Ping'an decided to build another snowman beside the first, one that was slightly more slender.

Only then did he feel satisfied.

In the past, Chen Ping'an had been truly clueless about romantic relationships between men and women, only doing whatever came to his mind. Even his two long journeys and his trip through three hundred years in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land didn't help, instead making him feel even more confused.

This was especially the case regarding the Lotus Flower Blessed Land's Zhou Fei, who was actually the Jade Tablet Sect's Jiang Shangzhen. Chen Ping'an couldn't understand Zhou Fei's situation no matter how he thought about it. Why were so many talented women in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land willing to go to the Spring Tide Palace and loyally serve such a man? Not only that, but their feelings for him were actually genuine.

Right now, he was finally able to understand this a little.

This was similar to grasping one key skill that allowed one to grasp all other skills.

If someone were unreasonable, yet they were also powerful enough to suppress and bully all other people, then those close to the person would instead feel very safe and at ease.

There were many such people: in the mortal world, in the imperial court, in the cultivation world, inside and outside the mountains, in the past, and in the future.

The Spring Tide Palace's Zhou Fei was notorious in the cultivation world of the Lotus Flower Blessed Land, so how had he managed to win the hearts of so many talented women? This was one of the reasons.

People both loathed and worshipped powerful individuals.

This was a fundamental part of human nature.

This wasn't to say that all of the women in the world were the same. Rather, focusing specifically on the women who were in the Spring Tide Palace, it was as if there were an intangible and continuous echo in the depths of their minds, an enchanting echo that sounded like the most sincere mantras of monks and the most persuasive arguments of Confucius scholars. This echo continued to tell them that if they wholeheartedly handed themselves over to Zhou Fei, he could actually obtain more possibilities for them in the future.

In reality, this was indeed true in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land where the ceiling of martial arts was very low. Their decisions were indeed correct. In fact, even if the Lotus Flower Blessed Land's Spring Tide Palace were relocated to the Parasol Leaf Continent, and even if Zhou Fei was now Jiang Shangzhen, this phenomenon still held true.

Of course, this was unless Jiang Shangzhen offended someone like Du Mao or Zuo You.

This was similar to how Gu Can's words and actions were able to completely convince the young boy himself and even those around him.

Gu Can's principles were flawless in his own eyes, so even Chen Ping'an, someone whom Gu Can held so dear, was unable to persuade him otherwise. This was until Gu Can and Tan Xue came across Palace Willow Island's Liu Laocheng.

If someone didn't like to speak reason, then perhaps they could enjoy a very carefree and satisfying life within the confines of certain rules. However, the pursuit of the Great Dao was an endless journey, so there would eventually come a day when they would come across someone even more powerful, so powerful that they could easily kill them with a single punch.

In this sense, Chen Ping'an's encounter with Du Mao was partly coincidental and partly inevitable.

On the other hand, Gu Can's encounter with Liu Laocheng was wholly inevitable. However, Liu Laocheng had appeared earlier than expected, so early that Chen Ping'an was completely caught off guard.

No matter what, just like Liu Laocheng had said on the boat, no one knew whether their fate with others would be good or bad, regardless of whether they themselves were good or bad.

If Gu Can's encounter with Liu Laocheng were viewed as inevitable, then what about Chen Ping'an's dilemma in Bamboo Scroll Lake?

Chen Ping'an had come to Bamboo Scroll Lake and completely trapped himself in an unsolvable situation, bringing hardship unto himself when he didn't need to. Was this not inevitable as well?

It was one and the same.

In fact, this was only one of many inevitabilities that would continue to appear in the future, each different and unique in its own way. These inevitabilities were quietly waiting for Chen Ping'an to discover them, some good and some bad.

This aligned with the Daoist Sect's so-called notion of fortune and calamity not being predetermined, but instead being summoned by one's actions.

However, pertaining to the complex matter of speaking reason or not speaking reason...

...It was only recently that Chen Ping'an had come to a realization. He had finally understood something when he had stopped his boat in the middle of the lake and tapped his bowl with chopsticks before getting full with cold wind.

That was, the most interesting thing in the Majestic World was that the most powerful individuals were the Paramount Sage and the Etiquette Sage, and the two of them were coincidentally also the best at speaking principles and reason in the world.

Chen Ping'an was deeply disappointed in the human heart after arriving at Bamboo Scroll Lake, and a small flicker of hope was rekindled in his heart afterward. However, ignoring all these matters, it was at that specific instant that Chen Ping'an suddenly started to somewhat like this world.

He thought to himself that if he managed to visit the Northern Complete Reed Continent, Stalactite Mountain, and the Sword Qi Great Wall in the future, then he definitely needed to visit the Middle Earth Divine Continent in the future as well. Afterward, he would visit the Scholarly Sage and discuss with him his experiences and hardships over the past few years. When that time came, he would definitely accompany the old scholar for some wine, no longer making him feel lonely as he drank by himself.

In fact, he would even muster the courage to ask the old scholar if he could meet with the two even older scholars. Of course, he could wait until the two sages had spare time.

A smile spread across the face of the young bookkeeper as he thought about these seemingly wanton and impolite matters.

What difference would it make whether the world was good or bad? Was this very important? Yes, it was indeed very important.

However, was it of paramount importance? Not necessarily.

It was already late at night when Chen Ping'an squatted down to look at the two snowmen who were standing side by side, a dazzling smile on his face. He then made a face at them and asked, "Am I right, Mr. Chen and Miss Ning? Huh? Why aren't you replying? Stop being so lovey-dovey with each other, okay? I know how much you guys like each other..."

————

The year was drawing to a close, and the New Year was just around the corner. However, it was at this time that the bookkeeper of Cyan Gorge Island left with a tall and sturdy young boy called Zeng Ye, embarking on his third distant journey.

Moreover, he directly left Bamboo Scroll Lake and exited through the southern border pass of the Stone Brush Nation, continuing to travel north.

On this day, he stayed the night in a Daoist enforcer temple.