Unsheathed

Chapter 556 (1): What’s Most Moving in the Mountains?

Yuan Lai preferred reading and studying, and he didn’t really enjoy practicing martial arts. It wasn’t that he couldn’t endure pain and face hardships, but rather, he simply wasn’t as interested in martial arts as his older sister.

They accompanied their master, Lu Baixiang, to Downtrodden Mountain again, but both he and his sister were still unable to record their names in the genealogical records of the ancestral hall. This was because the young mountain master was once again not present. Yuan Lai didn’t think much about this, but his older sister, Yuan Bao, felt very angry, convinced that their master was being slighted.

Apart from practicing fist techniques, walking meditation, and sparring with his sister every day, Yuan Lai would spend most of his free time reading. Yuan Bao wasn’t interested in reading, and she had privately spoken to Yuan Lai one time, explaining the grand principle of how they needed to cherish their fortune now that they had such a good master. Yuan Lai had accepted her viewpoint, but he had still wanted to speak some of his own principles and thoughts. However, he hadn’t dared to say anything upon seeing his sister’s cold expression and the tightly gripped wooden staff in her hand.

The wooden staff was the only item left behind by their deceased father, who had worked as an armed escort. Yuan Bao viewed the wooden staff as the Yuan Family’s family heirloom, and it was something that should have been passed on to Yuan Lai. However, she felt like Yuan Lai was too soft and mild, lacking spirit and bravery ever since he was young. He didn’t deserve to own the wooden staff.

Yuan Bao naturally preferred the immortal force led by their master, where things were lively but the rules were strict. The immortal force was based at the old home of a demonic force in the martial world of the Luminous Vermilion Empire, and their master had first gathered together a group of rogues and bandits near the border before gradually recruiting a number of weird and wonderful people who had concealed their identities.

There were elders who radiated with a bookish aura and remained calm and carefree even when they ate coarse food and drank terrible wine, there were young disciples dressed in ordinary clothes who frowned when they saw large servings of meat and would only be willing to eat after hesitating for a long time, and there were taciturn men who would surprisingly shed tears as they gazed at their sabers.

Yuan Lai preferred Downtrodden Mountain.

Because there was a young lady named Cen Yuanji at Downtrodden Mountain.

She also practiced fist techniques earnestly like his older sister, but she was more beautiful than Yuan Bao and also much gentler.

Yuan Lai knew that Cen Yuanji would walk up and down the steps of Downtrodden Mountain two times in the morning and at night, so he would keep an eye on the time and stroll to the mountain shrine at the peak of the mountain a bit earlier, wandering around for a while before sitting down on the steps to read.

Today, Yuan Lai once again sat on the top step and read under the moonlight. Miss Cen would be practicing fist techniques and arriving at the peak of the mountain in approximately one hour. She usually rested for fifteen minutes before making her way back down. During the rest period, Miss Cen would occasionally ask Yuan Lai what book he was reading, and he would explain to her using his pre-prepared response. For example, what the title of the book was, where he had purchased it from, and what it was about. Miss Cen would never become impatient or annoyed, and she would focus her gaze on him as she listened. Yuan Lai didn’t dare to take more than a single glance at her eyes, but he often couldn’t help himself but do so.

Miss Cen’s eyes were like the radiant moon.

There was a single moon in the sky, and everyone who looked up would be able to see it.

However, only Yuan Lai could catch the radiant moon shining in Miss Cen’s eyes when he gently glanced over.

For some unknown reason, Yuan Lai’s older sister was also performing the elementary walking meditation and ascending the steps with Miss Cen today.

Yuan Lai felt slightly troubled and uneasy, worried that his straightforward sister would reprimand him for being lazy and unproductive in front of Miss Cen. If that were the case, then would Miss Cen still be willing to talk to him and ask him what book he was reading in the future?

Yuan Bao and Cen Yuanji arrived at the top of the mountain together, pausing their fist training as they chatted and laughed. Both of them were beautiful and had their unique strengths, but if Yuan Lai had to pick, Cen Yuanji was naturally the more beautiful of the two.

Yuan Bao had sparred with Cen Yuanji in private before, with each of them enjoying some victories and suffering some losses. Both of them had only just started practicing fist techniques recently, and they promised each other that they would advance to the fabled Vajra Body Tier together in the future.

Yuan Lai was sitting nearby, too distracted to read but also unwilling to leave just like this. His face flushed slightly red, and he only dared to prick up his ears to listen to Miss Cen’s crisp and melodic voice. This was enough to satisfy him.

The two young women sat beside each other, with Yuan Bao talking about her master’s mystical martial arts capabilities as well as his remarkable talent in musical instruments, calligraphy, and painting. He was impressively skilled in all areas.

Cen Yuanji also talked about Mr. Zhu’s various strengths, describing how he was amicable and kindly and capable of cooking a large table’s worth of delicious dishes.

Yuan Lai looked further down the mountain and saw three young girls, with the leader being the tallest among them and also the strangest. Her name was Pei Qian, and she was an incredibly rowdy person. She never held back when speaking with his master or Senior Zhu Lian, and she was as daring as could be. Afterward, Yuan Lai had asked his master about Pei Qian, finally learning that she was the opening disciple of the young mountain master. Moreover, she had left her hometown together with his master and three other martial artists in the past, traveling a great distance from the Parasol Leaf Continent to the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent’s Downtrodden Mountain.

Downtrodden Mountain had yet to construct a proper ancestral hall, but the little girl in pink, who was always able to produce a handful of roasted seeds, was already maintaining her own genealogical records. Her name was recorded as Chen Ruchu, but she had told them that they could also refer to her as Nuanshu, explaining the origin of this name as taking the first character and the last character of the poem, “Warm sunshine of spring subtly invites the trees and flowers to sprout, the lush green valleys also become gentle and cosy; Dew lightly moistening the golden outfits of the orioles, when in the morning they dance among the trees.”[1]

The young girl in black carrying a hiking pole on her shoulder appeared slow and silly, and during Yuan Lai’s first encounter with her, she had asked him whether he had heard of the Northern Complete Reed Continent’s Mute Lake before, and whether he was aware of the great water monster that resided there.

Cen Yuanji immediately felt a slight sense of fear and discomfort when she saw Pei Qian.

Yuan Bao wasn’t very willing to entertain “small mountain” atop Downtrodden Mountain. Chen Ruchu was okay, being a very clever and thoughtful child. However, Yuan Bao truly couldn’t bring herself to like Pei Qian and Zhou Mili, feeling like they had been dropped on their heads as babies. The two young girls always liked to do very strange things.

There weren’t many people in Downtrodden Mountain and Dragon Riding Alley, but there were surprisingly three “mountains” coexisting with each other. There was Senior Steward Zhu Lian, Mountain God Wei Bo of the Northern Mountain, and Gatekeeper Zheng Dafeng. After staying at Downtrodden Mountain and interacting with them for a long time, Yuan Bao felt like these were no ordinary people.

Pei Qian and the group of children could somewhat be regarded as a small mountain.

Shopkeeper Shi Rou of Dragon Riding Alley’s pastry shop seemingly had a close relationship with the Burclover shop’s master and two disciples.

Chen Lingjun, who liked to dress in green, would often wander around by himself, not belonging to any one of the various “mountains.”

Yuan Bao had asked Cen Yuanji about the young mountain master before, but Cen Yuanji had also been unable to explain things clearly, simply stating that the mountain master wasn’t a bad person and didn’t have the ego of a mountain master. However, he liked to delegate tasks to everyone else while he traveled around the world all year round, resulting in Mr. Zhu having to spend his time and effort dealing with all kinds of big and small matters.

Pei Qian didn’t have much to talk about with Yuan Bao and Yuan Lai either, so she led Chen Ruchu and Zhou Mili outside the mountain god shrine to play. If Yuan Bao, Cen Yuanji, and other outsiders weren’t present, Song Yuzhang, who was ridiculed as a golden-headed mountain god by his deity colleagues, would show himself and listen to Pei Qian recount some interesting stories that she had heard from the old cook and Cloud Drape Mountain. Song Yuzhang would also recount some trivial experiences from the past, when he was still alive and working as a kiln supervision official. Pei Qian enjoyed listening to these small and trivial stories.

After they walked further away from Yuan Bao and the others, Zhou Mili suddenly stood on her tippy-toes and whispered in Pei Qian’s ear, “I feel like the young girl called Yuan Bao is quite slow and naive.”

Pei Qian shot a glare at Zhou Mili and exclaimed, “As the right guardian of Downtrodden Mountain, how can you speak behind someone’s back like this?!”

Zhou Mili hung her head in a sickly manner.

However, Pei Qian quickly grinned and continued, “Is there any need for you to say that she’s slow and naive? It’s fine as long as we know in our minds.”

A wide smile spread across Zhou Mili’s face.

Pei Qian reached over and patted Zhou Mili’s head, bending down slightly and saying with a kindly expression, “You eat so much rice every day, one bowl after another, so why aren’t you growing any taller?”

Zhou Mili stood on her tippy-toes and puffed out her chest.

Pei Qian gently pushed Zhou Mili down and consoled, “One’s ambition isn’t limited by one’s height.”

Zhou Mili couldn’t wipe the smile from her face.

Pei Qian extended her hands and grabbed Zhou Mili’s cheeks, closing the mouth of Mute Lake’s great water monster with a smack as she warned, “Mili, you’re already the right guardian of Downtrodden Mountain, and everyone from Mountain God Song to Zheng Dafeng at the foot of the mountain and the people at the two shops at Dragon Riding Alley are aware of your position. You’re extremely renowned already, and the loftier your position is, the more you need to perform self-reflection every day. You can’t become conceited, and you can’t bring shame to my master. Do you understand?”

Chen Ruchu looked toward Gray Veil Mountain in the north. This gigantic mountain also belonged to them, and it, along with Ao Back Ridge, had already been leased to Bamboo Scroll Lake’s Bejeweled Hairpin Island.

“It seems like Mr. Zhu needs to travel outside for a long time this time,” Chen Ruchu said in a quiet voice.

Pei Qian nodded and concurred, “He needs to visit quite a number of places, and I heard that the furthest he needs to travel is Old Dragon City, which is located in the southernmost region of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent.”

She then retrieved a money pouch from her sleeve and continued, “I’ve mentioned this before, but Aunt Gui, the person who gave me this money pouch, is a deity from Old Dragon City. Her smile is extremely beautiful.”

“Can I take a peek at the money pouch?” Zhou Mili asked.

Pei Qian handed it over and said, “Be careful with it. It’s filled with priceless treasures.”

“It’s so heavy,” Zhou Mili remarked as she accepted the money pouch.

Pei Qian pursed her lips and humphed, “This is called wealth!”

Pei Qian jumped onto the railing atop the mountain, emulating her master as she slowly threw punches in a smooth and flowing manner.

It was as if there were a dull boom each time she stopped and shook her sleeves.

All of the dust on the railing was instantly shaken off when she stomped her foot lightly.

However, it was a pity that the three people on the stone steps had already descended the mountain.

————

A group of people boarded an immortal ship at Ox Horn Mountain, leaving the old territory of the Great Li Empire and traveling toward the central region of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent.

In reality, the entire continent was already ruled by the Imperial Song Clan of the Great Li Empire.

Liu Chongrun put on a face mask from Zhu Lian, giving her a mediocre appearance. She sat in front of the makeup table in her room and gently stroked her hair with her fingers, not knowing whether to laugh or to cry.

However, she still felt uneasy when she thought about this trip to search for treasures. As a princess who had sat behind curtains and listened to the political discussions of the imperial court in the past, it would naturally be easy for Liu Chongrun to find the water palace and the dragon boat. However, bringing them back to the Dragon Spring Prefecture would be a huge challenge. Regarding this, Zhu Lian had said that those in the mountains naturally had brilliant plans, so Liu Chongrun should take things one step at a time and trust that bookkeeper from Cyan Gorge Island. Since Chen Ping’an was willing to hand Downtrodden Mountain over to Zhu Lian to look after, this old man most likely wasn’t all talk and no action.

Zhu Lian sat cross-legged inside Lu Baixiang’s room, with a pot of wine on the table as well as a porcelain cup and a plate of soybeans. He drank the wine slowly.

Lu Baixiang sat opposite him, not showing any signs of wanting to drink.

Cui Dongshan’s letter had briefly mentioned Wei Xian, saying that he had started off as an accompanying cultivator for General Cao Jun.

He had accumulated a decent amount of military merit, having already been bestowed the position of military merit official by the imperial court of the Great Li Empire. This gave him a stepping stone to become a proper official in the future.

Right now, each of the four picture scroll martial artists from the Lotus Flower Blessed Land was walking their own path.

Wei Xian joined the army, Sui Youbian became a Qi refiner and was cultivating at the Parasol Leaf Continent’s Jade Tablet Sect, Lu Baixiang had established his own force in the martial world, and only Zhu Lian had chosen to remain at Downtrodden Mountain.

Upon receiving Zhu Lian’s secret letter before, Lu Baixiang had immediately prepared three immortal treasures as well as a chest of immortal coins, with these immortal coins coming from refugees of the Luminous Vermilion Empire who were paying to avoid death. However, Chen Ping’an had sent a response letter from the Dragon Palace Small World to Downtrodden Mountain afterward, following which Zhu Lian didn’t accept the hard-earned treasures from Lu Baixiang. Not only that, but he even gave Lu Baixiang ten grain rain coins instead.

At the same time, Zhu Lian told Lu Baixiang that it was okay to grow his force and recruit members, but it was best that he didn’t become involved in the resurrection attempts of those refugees. After all, the next mission for the heavy cavalry of the Great Li Empire was inevitably to target these threats that had managed to slip through the cracks. Chen Ping’an only provided a suggestion in his letter, and he didn’t command Lu Baixiang to follow his instructions.

Lu Baixiang was also present when Zhu Lian and Liu Chongrun discussed how to search for the treasures, but he only listened and didn’t provide any input.

Zhu Lian killed three birds with a single stone.

He helped Downtrodden Mountain confirm whether or not it was worth becoming long-term allies with Liu Chongrun and Bejeweled Hairpin Island.

Bejeweled Hairpin Island now owed Downtrodden Mountain a significant favor.

And Liu Chongrun also owed the young mountain master an additional ten percent of the profits from this trip.

Of course, Downtrodden Mountain, Chen Ping’an, and Zhu Lian wouldn’t covet these favors, and if Liu Chongrun and Bejeweled Hairpin Island sought to return these favors through their business transactions in the future, Downtrodden Mountain would naturally have ways to make it up elsewhere.

Liu Chongrun most likely still wasn’t aware that her decision back then had decided the fate of Bejeweled Hairpin Island’s direct disciples, regarding whether they could remain at Ao Back Ridge to cultivate.

If she had been blinded by greed and insisted on taking huge risks after learning of the many hidden dangers of searching for the two treasures, then the situation right now would naturally be very different.

Lu Baixiang smiled and commented, “If Liu Chongrun made the incorrect decision, then you, Zhu Lian, would have essentially been gilding the lily and causing trouble for yourself. If you found that Liu Chongrun wasn’t a suitable ally for us, then what would Downtrodden Mountain have done about the water palace and dragon boat that should have been obtained by us? Would Downtrodden Mountain have retrieved them or not? If not, then we would have lost fifty percent of the shared profit for nothing. If we retrieved it, then our ties with Liu Chongrun and Bejeweled Hairpin Island would have inevitably grown closer, introducing many hidden dangers for Downtrodden Mountain.”

Zhu Lian pinched a few golden-yellow stir-fried soybeans and popped them into his mouth, crunching down on the crispy skin as he smiled with squinted eyes and replied, “If? Hasn’t that ‘if’ disappeared now?”

Lu Baixiang shook his head, clearly disagreeing with Zhu Lian’s actions and assessment.

If he were to manage this matter, then everything would have already been settled upon receiving Cui Dongshan’s response letter. Of the water palace and the dragon boat, one would definitely need to be transported to Downtrodden Mountain. Everything would have been straightforward and clear-cut.

As for the other matters, such as the rights and wrongs of Liu Chongrun and the cultivators of Bejeweled Hairpin Island in the future, these were all minor things. This was because Lu Baixiang was confident in the speed of Downtrodden Mountain’s progress, something that would quickly elicit admiration from the cultivators of Bejeweled Hairpin Island.

At that time, they wouldn’t dare commit wrongdoings even if they wanted to. Even if a cultivator from Bejeweled Hairpin Island did commit a crime that they viewed as colossal, Downtrodden Mountain’s Lu Baixiang could easily erase the culprit with a casual wave of his hand.

1. This is a line from Liu Yong’s poem, 黄莺儿·园林晴昼春谁主. Liu Yong was a Chinese poet during the Northern Song Dynasty. Nuan (暖) corresponds to warm, and Shu (树) corresponds to tree. ☜