Unsheathed

Chapter 391 (3): To Save or Not to Save

When Chen Ping'an slowly opened his eyes, he discovered that he was already using his palms instead of his two fists to stand on his hands. He then looked outside the window, and he realized that it was already late into the night.

Chen Ping'an lightly smacked the floor and flipped around, soaring through the air before dropping to the floor in a perfectly straight stance. He pushed open the door and walked outside, and saw that Zhu Lian was sleeping soundly beside the table in the courtyard. The bright moon and a few twinkling stars decorated the sky above.

Zhu Lian smiled and stood up, explaining, "Young Master, you seemed to have entered an extremely beneficial state that the Daoists refer to as 'obtaining intent and losing sense of form.' I didn't dare to disturb you, so I allowed you to stay in that state for the past two days. Because of this, Pei Qian ran over to spar with me three times. In the end, I locked her in her room. Until just now, she was standing on a chair and observing your room for a long time again. She was waiting for you to wake up and light a candle or something. Well, that didn't happen, so she went to sleep."

Chen Ping'an was astonished, and he asked, "It's already been two days?"

Zhu Lian nodded with a smile.

Chen Ping'an sat down with Zhu Lian, and he remarked with emotion, "No wonder it's said that sixty years pass in the blink of an eye for cultivators in the mountains."

"That's indeed the case," Zhu Lian concurred. "Martial artists like us are much more straightforward. We practice fist techniques, eat, sleep, and kill our foes once we open our eyes."

Chen Ping'an pretended not to hear the last bit about killing people, and he asked, "Have there been any changes in the Lion Garden recently?"

Zhu Lian shook his head and replied with a smile, "It's been calm and peaceful, with the flowers fragrant and the moon radiant. Sadly, there's no chance to see the grand debate between Buddhism and Daoism in the capital. I think that it's quite a pity."

"Even if you want to travel to the capital to attend that grand event... you're still not allowed to leave the Lion Garden," Chen Ping'an said with a serious expression. "Things will become far too risky if you aren't here to help."

Zhu Lian pushed for some additional benefits, swaying the almost empty pot of osmanthus wine in his hand and asking with an extremely wide smile, "Then reward me with another pot of wine, Young Master? After drinking this osmanthus wine, the wine in the Lion Garden truly tastes no different from plain water."

Chen Ping'an immediately shot that down. "Stop trying to get your hands on my osmanthus wine. I only have two pots remaining, and even I don't want to drink them now."

"Beautiful sceneries at the perfect time, and rich wine along with a beautiful woman—it's always been very difficult to achieve these pairings," Zhu Lian lamented.

Chen Ping'an changed the topic to the proper matters. "Clans that perform good deeds for generation after generation will definitely be protected by their hidden virtue. This statement isn't false. If my guess is correct, then the extraordinary feng shui of the Lion Garden and the upstanding nature of the Liu Clan should have given birth to an incense person.

"At the same time, there should also be a mountain lord to protect the area. It's a shame that I don't possess Cui Dongshan's cultivation base and mystical abilities, so I'm unable to summon the mountain lord to ask about the situation. Otherwise, we could have learned more about this fox demon."

Zhu Lian glanced toward the main room and suggested, "Then how about I head over to ask Shi Rou?"

"She wouldn't purposely conceal this ability from us if she could achieve this... right?" Chen Ping'an asked with a puzzled expression.

Zhu Lian glanced at Chen Ping'an and drank the last sip of osmanthus wine in his pot. "Allow this old servant to be blunt, Young Master. You more or less know the worst people next to you might do, but you're still overly optimistic when it comes to judging the character of other people. This is... unlike your disciple, who is able to observe everything clearly and in great detail. Of course, this is also because you exhibit incredible self-restraint and conduct yourself as a noble person."

Chen Ping'an pondered for a moment before nodding and replying, "Then I'll ask Shi Rou tomorrow. At the very least, I'm more or less able to tell whether someone is telling the truth."

Zhu Lian shook his head and said with a smile, "Why wait until tomorrow? Why not today? You are her master, and you've also bestowed a great fated opportunity upon her. That being the case, is it not okay to ask a few questions? As far as I am concerned... Think of me as an infatuated man viewing a beautiful woman. I naturally have to love and cherish her, and even speaking too harshly would be a crime.

"However, you shouldn't view her in the same gentle way. Taking into account Shi Rou's personality, she's the kind that will rebel and cause trouble if she isn't smacked or scolded for three days. Young Master, you must understand that there are many dim people in the world, and they all fear power but fail to respect virtue. They're not as bright as Pei Qian."

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Chen Ping'an couldn't help but chuckle and say, "The sun is truly rising from the west today... You're actually praising Pei Qian now?"

Zhu Lian sighed with emotion and replied, "She's sinister in a pure sense, yet she's also good in a pure sense. How could I dislike such an interesting little child?"

The door of the main room opened, revealing Shi Rou.

She walked over to Chen Ping'an and Zhu Lian, taking the initiative and saying, "Mr. Cui indeed taught me a mystical technique to summon mountain lords. However, I'm afraid that it will cause too much commotion and make that fox demon feel a sense of apprehension, causing it to develop killing intent against us."

Chen Ping'an smiled and replied, "That's a reasonable explanation. But I want to ask you two questions on that matter. First, are you more afraid of the fox demon targeting you, or are you more afraid of it targeting the three of us? And second, since you know this mystical technique and are able to summon the mountain lord, then why didn't you say so earlier, even if you were hesitant to use it?"

Zhu Lian smiled with squinted eyes and fanned the flames even further, remarking, "Young Master has hit the nail on the head."

There was hesitation in Shi Rou's eyes.

Chen Ping'an waved a hand and said, "Both you and I are clearly aware of the answer. Don't let this happen again. Otherwise, I'll simply ask you to leave this immortal body and return to the talisman. Once the sixty-year contract is up, I'll naturally give you freedom as we agreed to before."

There was an ice-cold expression in Shi Rou's eyes.

Zhu Lian grinned mischievously and took out a brocade pouch from his sleeve. Fom it, he took out a folded paper horse and said, "Lady Shi Rou, Mr. Cui handed me this pouch before leaving, telling me to take it out when his master became angry due to your actions. He said that he would put in some good words for you. Oh, that's right, he also told me to hand this piece of paper to you first. It's up to you whether you reveal the contents or not."

With that, he sat aside and watched, but the killing intent in his eyes was plain and clear for Shi Rou to see.

Even when noble people perform good deeds without seeking something in return, it's far from guaranteed that they won't end up in harm's way. This is because occasional favors bring gratitude, while constant help breeds grudges.[1] This is especially the case when people with a vile character are on the receiving end.

This time, the one who had received a huge fated opportunity wasn't necessarily a very sinister being. In fact, it was entirely possible that Shi Rou used to be a good-natured yin entity in the past. However, there are many intricacies and fine details in one's mind, and once these things are magnified countless times by external factors, some initially small blemishes eventually become massive flaws.

One's virtue failing to match one's position is a common cause of calamity.

Shi Rou's emotions fluctuated strongly, and her entire body shuddered slightly when she opened up the folded paper horse. She clenched her hands into fists, tightly gripping the strip of paper. Her voice quivered as she said to Chen Ping'an, "This servant understands her mistakes. I'll heed Master's instructions and summon the mountain lord to ask them some questions?"

Chen Ping'an wasn't especially angry at Shi Rou for her sudden change of mind, and he simply nodded. "The fox demon has already come here and provoked us first, so it won't cause any harm for you to summon the mountain lord and ask them some questions now."

Shi Rou put the strip of paper in her sleeve before striding forward in a powerful manner and forming seals with her hands. As she walked, a ray of golden light flew out of her glabella, while a wisp of yin energy murderous aura rose from the soles of her feet. After silently reciting the last line of the mantra, "Blowing and transforming the staff head into thunder; stomping and giving rise to the Five Mountains," she forcefully stomped her foot. The projection of an ancient talisman flashed across the ground of the small courtyard.

Shi Rou took a deep breath and retreated a few steps.

Water-like ripples appeared on the surface of the ground where she had been standing, and a disheveled-looking old woman suddenly leaped out from the earth and tumbled across the ground. There was a verdant green willow branch ring on her head, and there were five black ropes tied to her neck, wrists, and ankles, leaving five extremely deep imprints in her flesh.

The old woman was unable to stand up, so she remained curled up on the ground as she looked up at Shi Rou, who had dragged her out of the dungeon. "Powerful Esteemed Immortal, please save the Lion Garden!" she begged in a pitiful manner.

"You're praying to the wrong person," Shi Rou said with a cold expression.

The old woman with a willow ring on her head turned her head slightly, causing the rope around her neck to tighten even further. However, she paid no heed to this, and she eventually settled her gaze on the young man in white who had a sword on his back. "Young Esteemed Immortal, please make haste and save Liu Jingting's youngest daughter, Liu Qingqing. She's been hypnotized by that fox demon's demonic technique, and she doesn't actually love him at all!

"He's a great demon who not only possess a profound cultivation base, but also uses extremely underhanded and sinister methods to achieve his aims. He wants to steal all of the Liu Clan's inheritances and scholarly fortune and transfer it to Liu Qingqing, a rebellious act that stands in complete opposition to the proper principles. Moreover, how can Liu Qingqing, a young mortal woman, possibly accept and sustain all of these things...?"

The black rope around the old woman's neck continued to tighten, so much so that she could no longer speak anymore. However, some color returned to her face after a lush green leaf on the willow ring withered and fell.

Even after hearing this, Chen Ping'an was still in no hurry to sever the five loops that looked like demon-binding chains. He said, "But I'm aware that fox demons view romantic relationships with paramount respect and reverence. Since that fox demon is an earth immortal, it doesn't make any sense for him to be acting in such a perverse manner. How do you explain this?"

The old woman, the mountain lord of this area, shook her head and replied, "I don't dare to speak falsehoods in front of you Esteemed Immortal—I don't know why this is either. I can't think of a logical explanation no matter how I rack my brains. However, the changing feng shui in the Lion Garden can't be faked!

"The second son of Liu Jingting initially had the best chance of bringing glory and honor to the Liu Clan, yet his hope of entering the officialdom has been comprehensively crushed. But the Liu Clan possesses abundant ancestral blessings and hidden virtue, and they're also fortunate enough to have an ancestor serving as an immortal in the underworld. Taking all of this into account, Liu Qingshan shouldn't have suffered such a great calamity..."

The old woman was once again stopped from speaking due to the tightening black rope around her neck. Another willow leaf withered and transformed into ashes.

Chen Ping'an exchanged a glance with Zhu Lian, and the latter gently nodded in response, signifying that the old woman wasn't lying.

He patted his Sword Nurturing Gourd, yet only First soared out with a brilliant radiance, severing the five black ropes that were restricting the old woman one by one.

The sword spirit had left Chen Ping'an three Dragon Slaying Platforms, and he had allowed his two gluttonous flying swords to devour two of them. In the end, he had sold some thin remains of a Dragon Slaying Platform to Sui Youbian.

Because of this, the two flying swords were much sharper now compared to before.

The old woman was finally granted freedom, and she stood up shakily and said with tearful gratitude, "My old eyes failed me just then, so please allow me to respectfully greet Senior Sword Immortal again!"

"There's no need to be so polite," Chen Ping'an said with a shake of his head.

However, the old woman suddenly fell to her knees and refused to stand up, sobbing, "I implore you, Senior Sword Immortal, please make haste and deliver justice on behalf of the heavens. Since you were able to rescue this old woman and you have superior grandmasters as subordinates, and since you're a sword immortal who's able to shatter all techniques with a single slash, it should be a simple task for you to save the Lion Garden..."

Chen Ping'an was just about to say something.

However, the old woman looked up and stared intently at him with an aggrieved expression, continuing, "The Liu Clan has produced loyal officials for seven generations, so can you truly bear to see this scholarly clan be destroyed overnight? Can you bear to see that great demon act with wanton impunity?!"

Zhu Lian furrowed his brows. The old woman was making the same request as the incense provider, yet the way they went about things couldn't be more different.

Shi Rou also felt displeased.

For once, the hunchbacked old man and the beautiful skeletal ghost were of the same opinion.

The old woman loudly kowtowed a dozen or so times before looking up and staring intently at Chen Ping'an again, pleading, "I implore you, Senior Sword Immortal, please unleash your strength and slay that great demon! The descendants of the Liu Clan will definitely remember your great deed and offer incense to you for generation after generation!"

Zhu Lian's expression became dark, and he was just about to say something. However, Chen Ping'an waved his hand at the hunchbacked old man, signaling that he would deal with the situation.

Chen Ping'an reached over to help the old woman up, saying, "You should stand up to speak."

However, the old woman pushed his hand aside and continued to kowtow. "If you aren't willing to help, then so be it if I die right here, right now. I might as well kowtow until I die."

Chen Ping'an had no option but to quietly squat down, carefully considering what to say next.

Zhu Lian stood still, yet the tips of his feet were dragging along the ground. It was clear that he wanted to launch a kick to shatter the godly body of the old woman. To say nothing of mountain lords, even some low-level mountain gods and river gods—and perhaps even formal gods of the Five Mountains from some tiny nations—would be completely obliterated by a few kicks from an eighth tier martial artist.

Shi Rou had initially viewed the old woman's actions with disdain, and there was now a cold smile on her face as she glanced at the seemingly helpless Chen Ping'an.

She thought to herself that Chen Ping'an had brought this troublesome situation upon himself.

The squatting Chen Ping'an and the standing Zhu Lian turned around and looked up at the curved eaves at almost the exact same moment, resting their gazes on the Daoist nun who was once again standing there with her fishtail hat and Dao saber.

She glanced at the local mountain lord who had been freed from the restrictive black ropes by First and sneered, "How pathetically naive and crude. No wonder you failed to save the Lion Garden that's intricately linked with your own fate."

She then glanced at the vermilion wine gourd, and she raised her arm and put her index finger and middle finger together, drawing them across her eyes and making them turn gold. Appearing much like a deity who was peering down at the mortal world, she said in realization, "Oh, so it's a high-grade Sword Nurturing Gourd. No wonder you managed to easily sever those crappy ropes."

"You're here to kill the demon but not save the people?" Chen Ping'an asked.

"So what if I am?" the Daoist nun retorted.

Chen Ping'an smiled and replied, "Then you focus on killing the demon, and I'll take responsibility for saving the people."

The Daoist nun from the Daoist Saber Room hesitated for a moment before responding, "This is the best option."

The old woman was overjoyed upon hearing this, but still remained kneeling on the ground as she straightened her back and grabbed Chen Ping'an's arm. Hope and eagerness filled her eyes, and she said, "Senior Sword Immortal, let's head over to the young lady's residence to save her straight away. This old woman will lead the way."

There was no need for Chen Ping'an to help her up this time, and it was instead the old woman who stood up by herself and tried to drag him along with her as she walked toward the entrance of the courtyard. However, she quickly discovered that the young sword immortal was standing still and as immovable as a mountain. She couldn't help but frown slightly and ask, "Esteemed Immortal, why aren't you moving? Saving people is like putting out a fire. If we're too slow, then..."

Chen Ping'an was unfazed as he explained in a gentle voice, "I still need to wake my disciple up and have her stay together with me. Otherwise, it's possible that the fox demon might seize the opportunity to cause harm to her. Moreover, it isn't right to wantonly enter Liu Qingqing's residence by myself. At the very least, I need to notify Assistant Minister Liu first. These two matters won't delay us for too long..."

Before Chen Ping'an could even finish speaking, however, the old woman had already started to grumble in dissatisfaction, complaining, "Senior Sword Immortal, you're a cultivator from the mountains, so is there any need to pedantically follow these overly complicated rules and customs? You can simply ask someone to stay behind to take care of your disciple. As for Liu Jingting, his clan is facing imminent destruction right now, so why care about these trivial matters? We can simply inform him about everything after we save his daughter. In any case, that bookworm will thank us all the same. Will he dare to complain about these trivial matters?!"

Zhu Lian looked at the side of the old woman's face. Behind his back, his palm popped and crackled as it clenched into a fist.

"Have you heard about those that a noble person won't save?" Chen Ping'an suddenly asked.

The old woman was stunned into silence. She was slightly afraid at this moment.

However, Chen Ping'an's next action allowed the extremely anxious old woman to breathe a huge sigh of relief. He asked Zhu Lian to make haste and explain the current situation to Liu Jingting. He then asked Shi Rou to wake Pei Qian up.

Chen Ping'an gently patted the dirt from the old woman's sleeve. While looking down, he said in a soft voice, "Please rest assured, Old Granny, I will save the young lady. However, I hope that you and the Lion Garden can also help others facing the same misfortune in the future."

—————

By the time they arrived in front of Liu Qingqing's residence, Zhu Lian was also back, telling them that Assistant Minister Liu had agreed to their proposal.

Seeing this, Chen Ping'an walked inside and headed upstairs. The drowsy Pei Qian simply walked behind Chen Ping'an. She still had a yellow paper talisman on her forehead, but she wouldn't feel especially afraid as long as she was with her master.

Shi Rou followed closely behind them.

Zhu Lian remained downstairs, not making a move even though the others had already walked inside. He simply looked at Chen Ping'an walking up the stairs.

The hunchbacked old man craned his neck and scratched his head, feeling like Mr. Cui's master was truly walking at a very lofty height.

1. It is said that constant help breeds grudges because the help becomes normalized and expected. Thus, those being helped might end up detesting those helping them if the help eventually stops or becomes insufficient. ☜