Unsheathed

Chapter 330 (2): Traversing Mountains and Rivers, Encountering Yao and Stopping

Chen Ping'an made himself a large bamboo case as he and Pei Qian continued to trek through the mountains. Theoretically speaking, this bamboo case could fit the luggage sack and many other things. However, Chen Ping'an still insisted on Pei Qian carrying the luggage sack and holding the bamboo fishing rod. In addition to this, he also crafted her a small and handy hiking pole.

The mountains undulated far into the distance, and the long rivers stretched beyond the horizons. Compared to their hasty travels in the beginning, when Chen Ping'an had seemingly wanted to leave Parasol Leaf Continent and return to Eastern Treasured Vial Continent as soon as possible, they were now slowing down and returning to a steady pace.

However, this still exhausted Pei Qian, who continued to grumble day after day. Compared to the time when they had just met, however, Pei Qian no longer complained in such a direct and offensive manner. Perhaps it was due to reading some books, or it was borne from the fear of being abandoned by an angry Chen Ping'an, Pei Qian had now learned to speak in a roundabout manner when she complained.

Chen Ping'an turned a deaf ear to her complaints, and this caused Pei Qian to sulk even more.

Afterward, the two of them witnessed many sceneries that allowed Pei Qian to significantly broaden her horizons. For example, they came across countless fireflies one autumn night, and it was as if the sky was dotted with innumerable small lanterns.

While Chen Ping'an wasn't watching, Pei Qian used her hiking pole to attack them with ferocity, filling the air with cracking sounds and covering the earth with broken corpses. She immediately stopped when Chen Ping'an looked back, acting as if she hadn't done anything at all. She lowered her head and pretended that she was just earnestly walking forward.

They also walked through an incredibly strange forest. The soil was fertile and the branches were spread out, and there were surprisingly the shriveled corpses of countless birds and beats hanging on these branches.

Pei Qian was so terrified that she had only dared to walk while holding onto Chen Ping'an's sleeve. Before entering the forest, Chen Ping'an retrieved a Yang Energy Illumination Talisman and tossed it into the forest. The talisman made from ordinary talisman paper immediately caught on fire, but it burned very slowly. Seeing this, Chen Ping'an directly entered the forest.

Pei Qian begged Chen Ping'an to give her a talisman to protect herself, yet Chen Ping'an completely ignored her request. He said that if she was afraid, then she could loudly recite the sagely principles from that book. Doing this could also ward off evil.

Pei Qian was a little skeptical of this, yet she still recited the contents of that book at the top of her lungs as she tightly gripped Chen Ping'an's sleeve and walked forward.

In reality, that Confucian book was quite thin. Pei Qian had learned all of the characters in the book already, and had also finished reading the book. She had asked for a new book so that she wouldn't need to reread the same book again and again. Doing so was incredibly boring, after all.

However, Chen Ping'an had stubbornly refused her request. Not only did he force her to read the book again and again, but he even forced her to read it out loud. She would start reading in the morning when Chen Ping'an started to practice standing meditation, and she would still be reading in the evening when Chen Ping'an was also still practicing standing meditation. In the end, she was genuinely able to memorize the entire book.

The dense forest remained calm all the way until they walked out from the other end.

Pei Qian's forehead was dripping with sweat, and her voice was hoarse. This was, of course, from the exertion of loudly reciting the Confucian book for so long.

Only after Chen Ping'an and Pei Qian had walked more than five kilometers into the distance did the towering trees in the dense forest started to violently thrash about as if venting their fury.

Afterward, the two of them had also passed a valley where colorful butterflies fluttered beside a large pool under a waterfall. That was a spectacular and dazzling sight.

While Chen Ping'an was cooking, Pei Qian swiftly killed a dozen or so butterflies and picked the most beautiful one to place inside her book. In the end, Chen Ping'an punished Pei Qian with a solid knuckle to her forehead, so forceful that she squatted down and wailed in agony. Her forehead was swollen, and she sulked the entire time while eating.

One time, the two of them also came across a woodsman chopping wood in the mountains. The woodsman invited them to his home for a meal, and Chen Ping'an initially wanted to give him some money for the food. However, the honest and simple woodsman and his family refused to accept any money no matter what. In the end, Chen Ping'an was left with no option but to relent.

Before leaving the woodsman's home, Chen Ping'an told Pei Qian to thank the woodsman for the meal. The skinny little girl had eaten quite a lot, yet she was still unwilling to express any gratitude. However, when she noticed the look in Chen Ping'an's eyes, she immediately bowed in respect and thanked the woodsman for the meal.

After leaving the undulating mountain ranges, the two of them came across a large river where Pei Qian witnessed ship haulers dragging a large ship along for the first time. The men shouted slogans as they marched forward under the scorching sun, and the sight caused Pei Qian's eyes to widen in shock.

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Afterward, she secretly chuckled in delight, thinking that there were truly quite a lot of miserable people in the world. However, she quickly wiped the smile from her face, afraid that she would be punished again if Chen Ping'an saw her reaction.

She only collected slightly less firewood than last time, yet Chen Ping'an still punished her by only allowing her to eat a single small bowl of rice. This Chen Ping'an was truly difficult to please... Sure enough, rich people all deserved a good beating. When she used her hiking pole to secretly master a peerless sword technique, she would definitely beat Chen Ping'an up until he cried for his mommy and daddy. Hmph, could he still glare at her at that time?

As they continued to travel, they had to adapt to the conditions and eat whatever was available.

Pei Qian suddenly wanted to fish while walking along the banks of the river, and she asked Chen Ping'an to help her make a fishing rod. However, Chen Ping'an ignored her request. As a result, Pei Qian was forced to grab a hatchet and chop some strong and thick bamboo for herself.

After finally chopping it down, however, Pei Qian had realized that this kind of bamboo wasn't suitable for making fishing rods at all. Instead, it was probably more suited to making poles used to steer boats. In the end, she picked a thinner stalk of bamboo with a sullen expression on her face.

Fortunately, the miserly Chen Ping'an didn't take things too far, and he still agreed to give her a fishing line and a fishing hook. The two of them then sat down and fished not too far away from each other. Chen Ping'an caught fish after fish, and he even caught a large carp that was the length of Pei Qian's arm. Meanwhile, Pei Qian failed to catch even a single fish. In fact, not even a small prawn took her bait.

Perhaps the fish in the river also discriminated against people? Perhaps they were also looking down on her? Pei Qian was so angry that she wanted to dive into the river to smash all of the fish and crustaceans to death with her bamboo fishing rod.

However, Pei Qian still beamed with joy when eating the big pot of fish soup that night, and she nervously asked Chen Ping'an for a third bowl of rice. She claimed that she had exerted all of her energy while fishing during the day, so she needed to eat more rice to replenish her energy. She also said that she would drink less fish soup and not fight Chen Ping'an for it.

Pei Qian initially thought that Chen Ping'an would refuse her request, yet he surprisingly nodded and granted her a third bowl of rice, allowing her to eat to her heart's content. Pouring fish soup onto rice... There wasn't a more fragrant delicacy in the world. At the very least, this was the case for Pei Qian, whose belly now couldn't be fuller.

Afterward, she fished with Chen Ping'an again on some other day, and she still cast her line and swung her fishing rod in a random manner. Just like the first time, she failed to get a single bite on her bait.

As for Chen Ping'an, he caught a huge azure fish after a difficult struggle that lasted at least fifteen minutes. Pei Qian rolled her eyes while watching him run back and forth along the river bank. He was a cultivator skilled in both sword techniques and immortal techniques, so did he not feel embarrassed being toyed around by some stupid fish?

Looking at her incredibly steady fishing rod, Pei Qian complained about the fish in the water not giving her any face at all. She sighed and blamed the heavens for not giving her the opportunity to display her impressive skills.

In the end, she planned to never fish again in her life. She was given no reward after showing so much patience and putting in so much effort, so what was the point of trying again and again?

While having lunch that day, Chen Ping'an surprisingly talked to her about some fishing skills and techniques.

Pei Qian understood everything, yet she was still unwilling to learn from Chen Ping'an. Only when Chen Ping'an said that he would personally teach her next time had Pei Qian relented and not thrown her fishing rod away.

She had then asked in a hesitant voice, "Fish soup does taste good, but I'm getting a little bored of it after eating it every single meal. Why don't we eat something else?"

Hearing this, Chen Ping'an had replied, "Sure thing! Then go and find something else."

Pei Qian had played dumb and said, "I'm still too young, so I have the heart but not the strength."

The next day, Chen Ping'an didn't use his fishing rod, and he used Pei Qian's fishing rod instead. After waiting for a long time, he ignored all of the small fish and only raised the fishing rod with vigor when a large fish weighing three to four kilograms bit down on the bait. The fishing rod immediately bent into a beautiful arc.

Pei Qian, who had been yawning the entire time, immediately gaped in excitement. Chen Ping'an told her to make haste and grab the fishing rod so that she could reel in this big fish. Pei Qian immediately jumped up and grabbed the fishing rod. However, Chen Ping'an could barely bring himself to look at the following scene.

Pei Qian tightly gripped the fishing rod with both hands, hugging it tightly as she gritted her teeth and yanked back with all her might. It was clear that she hadn't taken any heed of Chen Ping'an's lessons yesterday—how to slowly lead the fish around, how to wind and unwind the fishing line, how to wait patiently and weaken the fish, how to make the fish choke on water a few times, and so on. She had tossed all of this out of her mind, and she was now trying to drag the fish to shore with her brute strength.

This should have been a calm and relaxing fishing experience, yet Pei Qian somehow managed to transform it into a battle between human and river.

The azure fish wasn't small, it was strong and it was still swimming in the river. On the other side of the struggle, Pei Qian was still inexperienced and lacking in strength. In a moment of carelessness, the skinny little girl stumbled forward and was surprisingly dragged into the river along with her fishing rod.

Pei Qian had once laughed about Chen Ping'an spewing nonsense and saying that fish would choke on water. How was this possible? Now, however, it was her turn to choke on water. Pei Qian didn't know how to swim, yet she became extremely stubborn at this moment and unexpectedly refused to let go of her fishing rod.

In the end, it was Chen Ping'an who dragged her from the river and brought her back to the bank. Meanwhile, Pei Qian's fishing rod had been dragged away by the big azure fish.

Pei Qian didn't wail in a heart-wrenching manner this time. She just stood on the river bank and sobbed in silence.

The fish had escaped, so there was naturally no fish soup to drink tonight. Her fishing rod had also been snatched away. Even though Pei Qian knew that there were dry rations to eat, enough to keep her from starving, and there would be rice as well, she still couldn't stop herself from feeling an inexplicable sense of grief.

Chen Ping'an helped her wipe the tears and river water from her face. However, he didn't say anything to console her.

He was reminded of those times in his own childhood, the times before he had met Liu Xianyang who was skilled at fishing. He hadn't understood the intricacies of fishing, and he had known nothing about picking the right time and choosing the right location. Thus, he had often returned home empty-handed. When the blazing sun hung high in the sky, he would often sit there until his skin burned with pain. Perhaps this was similar to what Pei Qian was feeling right now.

They naturally had nothing but rice and pickled vegetables for their next meal.

Pei Qian changed into dry clothes in her small tent, but she was in very low spirits as she ate. Chen Ping'an smiled and asked, "Why did you suddenly become so brave? Were you not afraid of drowning to death?"

Squatting beside him with her head lowered as she ate rice, Pei Qian's voice was muffled as she replied, "You were standing right there and watching over me, no?"

Chen Ping'an rewarded her with a knuckle to the forehead. Pei Qian immediately looked up and fumed, "Why did you hit me? I'm almost about to die from sadness over here!"

"Eat your rice," Chen Ping'an chuckled.

Pei Qian humphed coldly and turned around to look at the river. The fishing rod which she had personally made with much difficulty was gone for good. This caused her to feel a little sad.

"You can have my fishing rod," Chen Ping'an said.

Pei Qian felt slightly puzzled. However, it didn't look like Chen Ping'an was joking, so she cracked a grin and said, "Then I'll kindly allow you to borrow my fishing rod all the time in the future. I'm a very generous person, after all."

Chen Ping'an couldn't help but chuckle in anger.

Why wasn't Pei Qian willing to use her smarts on reading books and learning characters?

Only when Pei Qian was fast asleep in the depths of the night would Chen Ping'an silently practice the six-step walking meditation and the techniques from the Proper Sword Scripture while keeping watch.

They arrived at a small town where they replenished some necessities. Chen Ping'an also bought Pei Qian some new clothes, causing her to become absolutely ecstatic. They stayed in a small inn at night, and Pei Qian happily rolled around in her bed. It had been a very long time since she had last slept in a bed. However, she suddenly noticed a white cat lying on the windowsill and staring at her.

Pei Qian jumped off her bed and shouted, "Are you looking for trouble? You actually dare to glare at me?"

She then grabbed her hiking pole that was resting against the table and jabbed it at the white cat.

For once, she was actually right—the white cat really was here to start trouble. Not only was it not scared away by her attacks, but it even jumped around nimbly on the windowsill, dodging everything easily. It occasionally bared its teeth and hissed at Pei Qian as well.

Pei Qian panted heavily, leaning on her hiking pole and widening her eyes in anger as she roared, "From where have you come, vile demon?! I can spare your life if you hurry up and reveal your name!"

Pei Qian was naturally doing this for fun.

However, the white cat surprisingly shot a glance at her before saying in human tongue, "What a crazy little girl. Is there something wrong with your brain?"

The white cat turned around and leaped out of her room, disappearing without a trace.

Pei Qian was absolutely terrified, and immediately tossed her hiking pole away and ran next door to furiously knock on the door.

Chen Ping'an opened the door, and Pei Qian immediately exclaimed in a quivering voice, "There was a cat that could speak human tongue!"

"I know," Chen Ping'an replied with a nod.

Looking at the completely unsurprised Chen Ping'an, Pei Qian couldn't help but ask in a dazed voice, "We're not in the mountains anymore, yet spirits and demons still exist here?"

Chen Ping'an returned to his seat beside the table and picked up the immortal book that he had purchased from Stalactite Mountain. "Many spirits, ghosts, and supernatural entities exist in the towns and cities. This isn't strange at all. Most of these beings won't disturb ordinary mortals, and some wealthy families might even raise some interesting spirits.

"For example, some noblewomen will raise all kinds of miniature spirits in their makeup kits. Some spirits will have wings, allowing them to fly around and apply makeup for their owner as if they're normal maidservants."

Pei Qian sullenly sat down on the opposite side of the table, resting her arms and head on its surface as she asked, "Won't this scare them to death? I was almost scared to death just then..."

Chen Ping'an smiled and replied, "All kinds of strange and peculiar matters exist in the myriad worlds. You'll grow accustomed to this once you travel through more mountains and rivers."

"Is that so...?" Pei Qian sighed with emotion.

"That old man brewing tea on the mountain peak and that woman washing her hair by the stream were both spirits from the mountains," Chen Ping'an revealed casually. "However, neither of them desired to harm mortals, and they just yearned for a normal human life. Didn't you get along very well with both of them?"

Pei Qian widened her eyes and gaped in shock.

To say nothing of the old man's kindly and amiable nature, that beautiful big sister had even used a leaf to play a tune for her after washing and combing her hair.

Pei Qian's brow furrowed and her face scrunched up in fear.

"Only the two of them weren't human. Everyone else that we encountered were humans just like you and me," Chen Ping'an chuckled.

During their trip, they had also come across local officials supervising commoners as they paved roads and built bridges, descendants of wealthy families and renowned literati traveling around and sightseeing, and high-ranking courtesans dressed in expensive clothes and ornaments. The latter had caused Pei Qian's eyes to light up in envy. After all, it was as if these women were wearing money!

They had also come across some travelers from the cultivation world who had sat high atop their mighty horses and peered down at them with haughty expressions while asking for directions. This had infuriated Pei Qian greatly.

"What about that little guy?" Pei Qian suddenly asked.

She was referring to the little lotus spirit.

"It's not willing to see you," Chen Ping'an replied with a smile.

Pei Qian stood up and went to her room to grab that book from her luggage sack. She then returned to Chen Ping'an's room where she sat down and also started to read.

She didn't dare to return to her room as she was afraid that the white cat would return to exact revenge. Her sword skills were still a bit lacking right now, so she wasn't confident that she could subdue demons and eliminate fiends.