Chapter 371: The First Month
After Li Er arrived at Old Dragon City, the situation there truly became clear. Although this tenth-refining martial artist only showed his face at Dust Pharmacy for a moment, it could be said to be the final word. The four major surnames, including the Sun family, might still be unaware, but the subsequent development of events was merely a matter of going through the motions. The abacuses and account books of Old Dragon City would continuously move northward, drawing closer and closer to the iron cavalry of the Great Li Song clan, which had already stationed itself in the middle of Treasure Bottle Continent.
In response, the Fu family, the Fan family, and Dust Pharmacy—among these three—were the first to know the answer.
On the day Li Er left, the Fan family group came swaggeringly to pay New Year's greetings. Chen Ping'an knew them all. Not only the siblings Fan Junmao and Fan Er, but also Aunt Gui from Osmanthus Island and her sole direct disciple, Jin Su—the young Osmanthus maiden who had once served Chen Ping'an on his way to Hanging Mountain. Finally, there was the old Golden Core sword cultivator Ma Zhi, who had fed Chen Ping'an with his sword for a period of time. Aunt Gui almost never came ashore; Osmanthus Island made two trips between Old Dragon City and Hanging Mountain each year, yet even many elders of the Fan clan ancestral hall had never seen her face in their lives.
That old outlander whom Zhu Lian considered "deeply learned in reading books" had originally thought today would be another dull day—he wouldn't even get to see that woman surnamed Sui. He never expected to see so many women at once. The old man, who had been sitting at the pharmacy door cracking melon seeds, almost claimed to be the shop assistant of Dust Pharmacy, bustling about with great diligence. After crossing the high threshold of the shop, Aunt Gui glanced at the strange old man; the old man happened to look back at her. Suppressing her doubts, Aunt Gui gave a slight smile. The old man thought to himself, "Although this lady is of average appearance, her temperament is gentle. She is truly the first choice for an ordinary man to marry home to raise children and teach the family. No wonder Jiang Shangzhen's eldest son, whom he just fathered but never raised, wanted to use the sect's reputation to pressure her, hoping that the Fan family would sell him Osmanthus Island, that cross-continent ferry that had opened a mature route to Hanging Mountain."
Aunt Gui, however, could not discern the old man's depths. She only vaguely felt that the old man had "a body free of defilement, qi light and agile, and a spirit full and robust." If he was temporarily at the Earth Immortal realm, he must have the talent to reach the Upper Five Realms in the future. After all, even among Earth Immortals, there were high and low, and distinctions as great as heaven and earth.
Chen Ping'an trotted out to welcome Aunt Gui. For this elder, Chen Ping'an had always harbored gratitude, unrelated to her status or cultivation.
That time when he took Osmanthus Island to Hanging Mountain, passing through Dragon Trench and encountering a great calamity, Chen Ping'an had entered a momentary state of clarity and emptiness. Like a Buddhist observing all beings' minds, it caught him off guard. He felt that almost the entire world was filled with malice, and he sank into a period of depression in the small courtyard. After that, when he thought of Osmanthus Island, only two warmths remained: one was the Fan family painter who had drawn three pictures for him; the other was Aunt Gui, who had seen all worldly affairs yet always maintained a peaceful state of mind.
Fan Er went through the motions of visiting Zheng Dafeng's residence, only to find that the exquisite portrait was no longer hanging on the wall.
Chen Ping'an sat outside in the main hall chatting casually with Aunt Gui and the others.
Inside the room, Zheng Dafeng coughed and said nonchalantly, "Conserve energy and cultivate virtue... In the future, we should do fewer such unscrupulous deeds."
Fan Er initially thought it sounded like Mr. Fan's tone, but the more he listened, the more wrong it felt. Immediately annoyed, he said regretfully, "It's also my painter's fault for arbitrarily twisting my meaning. My original intention was that a graceful lady is a gentleman's good match. Since Mr. Zheng so admires Miss Sui's elegance, I, as a disciple, had to do something. So I told the painter about Miss Sui's divine appearance and asked him to create an ink-wash freehand portrait..."
Zheng Dafeng was gratified—this disciple was truly graduated.
Sui Youbian stood at the door at some point, her face full of sarcasm. "This Fan family painter is truly a master of painting, able to paint so vividly based only on Mr. Fan's few words."
Jin Su, who had been silent, frowned.
Although she had no romantic feelings for Fan Er, he was still the "undisputed candidate" for the future head of the Fan family, and Osmanthus Island was now registered under Fan Er's name. This sword-bearing female martial artist, according to Chen Ping'an, was one of his retainers—a family guest official in nicer terms, a guard or attendant in harsher ones. But now that Old Dragon City was changing, Aunt Gui had advised her to speak and act cautiously. Although the woman surnamed Sui showed disrespect to Fan Er, Jin Su was somewhat displeased but still said nothing. On today's New Year visit, it was not her place to speak—Jin Su knew this well, even though she was the sole disciple of "Lady Gui," one of Old Dragon City's Earth Immortals.
Jin Su's attention was mostly on Chen Ping'an.
"One should look at a man with new eyes after three days' separation"—that probably referred to this fellow. He was no longer the young wine-lover of yesteryear. The earthy aura and youthful naivety had faded, replaced by... a kind of composure.
In his hair bun was a white jade hairpin, he wore a snow-white long robe, carried that familiar vermilion wine flask at his waist, had grown much taller, sat with an extremely upright posture, and when speaking with others, he liked to meet their eyes with a sincere smile that contained no trace of pretense.
Then Jin Su also noticed a small, dark charcoal-like figure standing beside Chen Ping'an. This scrawny little girl had extremely large eyes that darted around very quickly, sneaking peeks at Jin Su and even more at her master, Lady Gui.
Jin Su smiled at her.
Pei Qian grinned back at her.
In Pei Qian's eyes, all these beautiful, delicate elder sisters—from Yao Jinzhi to Sui Youbian to the one before her—were all big bags of money. She had heard from Zheng Dafeng that there was a kind of little thing in the world called a "wealth-moving imp," one of the spirit creatures. Pei Qian felt that she was quite similar.
Sure enough, Jin Su had come in a hurry and hadn't brought any New Year's money, nor had she expected to encounter such a little girl. But Lady Gui had long prepared an exquisitely embroidered small sachet. It was clearly not ordinary—the sachet itself emitted wisps of snowy white spiritual energy, and from within seeped bits of tender green light, fragrant and pleasant. Chen Ping'an roughly guessed it was the natal osmanthus leaf from Osmanthus Island's ancestral osmanthus tree, so he dared not accept it. Pei Qian's ability to read people had improved; seeing that Chen Ping'an was unwilling to accept this New Year's gift, she could only smile foolishly and shake her head.
Lady Gui insisted on giving Pei Qian a meeting gift. Chen Ping'an couldn't refuse, so he had to let Pei Qian accept it. Naturally, he would keep it for her. Without Chen Ping'an needing to say anything, Pei Qian accepted the sachet respectfully with both hands, bowed in thanks, and even began to speak clever, auspicious words—wishing Lady Gui happiness, longevity, health, eternal youth, and so on. Lady Gui found it pleasing, rubbed Pei Qian's little head, and said, "Your master Chen Ping'an already has a house registered under his name on Osmanthus Island, and there's also a small separate courtyard called 'Moon Palace' on the ferry. I'll just give that to you."
Pei Qian's eyes widened—she was genuinely startled. What was this? Were all ladies in the world so generous when giving gifts, offering a house upon first meeting? Did all women become more and more lavish as they aged?
Chen Ping'an smiled bitterly. "Aunt Gui, I really can't accept this house. No."
Lady Gui glared at him. "I'm giving a house to Pei Qian. What does it have to do with you?"
Chen Ping'an coughed. "Pei Qian."
Pei Qian immediately straightened her back and said in a childlike but serious voice, "One day as a teacher, forever as a father. I dare not disobey my master's command, or else I would be unrighteous and unfilial."
Lady Gui found it amusing. She glanced at Chen Ping'an and asked with a smile, "Did you teach her that?"
Chen Ping'an felt mortified. "She probably reads books and copies characters every day, so she learned it from the books herself?"
Pei Qian flattered, "It's because my master teaches well!"
Chen Ping'an smiled and gave her a gentle knock on the head.
Pei Qian clutched her head, looking aggrieved and bewildered.
After seeing Lady Gui and her group out of the alley, Chen Ping'an walked side by side with the old Golden Core sword cultivator Ma Zhi on the last stretch of the road, seeking advice from this Fan family retainer on sword-nurturing and sword-refining techniques. Ma Zhi naturally responded candidly.
The ninth day of the first month.
Old Dragon City had a custom called "The Heavenly Lord's Birthday." Every household needed to prepare flower candles and vegetarian dishes, and in places without overhead coverings—like courtyards, patios, street corners—they would worship the heavens and pray for blessings.
But Dust Pharmacy had no natives of Old Dragon City. Yet Zheng Dafeng did it more elaborately than the Old Dragon City residents. The man who hadn't even paid much attention to the New Year personally prepared flower candles, fruits, and his own vegetarian dishes, set up three incense tables of varying heights in the backyard patio, lit three sticks of incense, and performed the three kneels and nine prostrations ritual. This scale was smaller than the secular dynasty's monarchs' heaven-worshipping ceremonies but much grander than ordinary people's worship of the heavens.
The Zhao-surnamed Yin Spirit even stood with hands at his sides, his demeanor respectful. He did not burn incense or offer it, but he performed the kneeling ritual meticulously.
Pei Qian crouched under the eaves, watching with great interest. Chen Ping'an glanced at it and didn't look further. This actually involved secrets about Zheng Dafeng and the Yin Spirit, but since Zheng Dafeng himself didn't hide it, Chen Ping'an pretended not to notice.
He went to the counter to continue as the temporary shopkeeper and accountant. Chen Ping'an was already prepared; soon he could go to the sea of clouds to officially refine that Water Character Seal.
As for what half-immortal weapon Fu Qi would bring out, it was worth looking forward to.
In the end, it was Du Mao and the Indus Leaf Sect that had implicated the Great Li Emperor. The latter's ambition lay in the northward movement of Old Dragon City's various forces, not in actively provoking him, Chen Ping'an, or Zheng Dafeng.
However, the Great Li dynasty clearly underestimated a flying-ascension realm Great Cultivator—the cost of leaving the mountain illegally, and the rewards he sought. So no matter how many gold essence copper coins the Great Li Emperor gave, Chen Ping'an would only accept them, feeling it was never enough.
The pouch of gold essence copper coins that Zheng Dafeng had given him earlier had all been "eaten" by the Jin Li Dharma Robe. The golden dragon embroidered in the center of the robe, holding in its mouth a "Li Pearl" of unknown material, had become increasingly rich in spiritual energy. Not only was it restored to new, but the robe's quality had improved again. According to the Zhao-surnamed Yin Spirit, as long as it kept eating gold essence copper coins, this Jin Li could definitely become a half-immortal weapon dharma robe.
Chen Ping'an was not too happy about this. On one hand, he begrudged the hard-earned gold essence copper coins; on the other, Zheng Dafeng had long said that once a martial artist reached the Three Realms of Deity Refining—Golden Body, Far Journey, and Mountain Peak—external objects of mountain immortals would become more and more useless, even a burden.
The tenth day of the first month.
Old Dragon City had a folk custom called "Stone Does Not Move," as well as the story of "The Mouse Marrying His Daughter."
Although Pei Qian was very afraid of ghosts and monsters, she especially loved hearing these stories.
Pei Qian had already learned to copy books earlier each day, no longer dawdling until bedtime. This was probably also related to Chen Ping'an now supervising her copying every day.
During a break from copying, Pei Qian suddenly asked Chen Ping'an a question. She said that the book advised, "Do not eat fish in March, and do not strike birds in spring." So in the future, could she not fish in spring?
Chen Ping'an didn't answer at the time. He smiled and told Pei Qian to finish copying first. After Pei Qian wrote the last character, Chen Ping'an, who had been silently pondering for a long time, said to her, "This is a saying that encourages people to do good. But when a person still needs to struggle to survive, they can't afford to heed such things, and they definitely shouldn't care about them. However, if a person has food and clothing, believes in Buddhism, and has this compassionate heart, then they can do it. But if someone sees others starving and catching fish and birds in spring to fill their stomachs, and then goes to tell them this principle, that would be wrong. Without even compassion for others, how can one talk about mercy for the myriad things of heaven and earth? So in the end, the principle is still the same, but things have their order."
Pei Qian nodded, saying she roughly understood.
Chen Ping'an smiled. "If you don't understand, then you don't understand. First, remember it in your heart, and slowly ponder it."
Pei Qian laughed out loud. "Just now I was lying. I still don't understand."
So in the first month, Pei Qian got another knock on the head.
That day, at Dust Pharmacy, the clouds were light and the wind gentle. Pei Qian watched Chen Ping'an practice the Six-Step Pile Walking in the courtyard.
Chen Ping'an suddenly stopped, called Pei Qian to the front of the shop, and asked the Zhao-surnamed Yin Spirit to help seal off a small isolated space.
Only then did he begin to teach Pei Qian the oral formula, circulation path, and the most subtle transitions of the Sword Qi Eighteen Pauses. Then he took out a diagram, densely labeled with the names of the body's qi vaults and acupoints, pointing them out to Pei Qian one by one.
This was the sword qi formula that A Liang had revised.
On the Sword Qi Great Wall, only a small group of younger sword cultivators, including Ning Yao, had learned the Sword Qi Eighteen Pauses that A Liang had corrected and perfected.
Since Pei Qian couldn't endure the hardships of martial arts training, they might as well try this path that didn't tax the body much but relied on sword talent. As for how far she could go, Chen Ping'an had no great expectations.
Pei Qian's memory was even better than Chen Ping'an's—the four people from the Scroll Painting had long witnessed this.
So after teaching her twice and explaining all the precautions, Chen Ping'an told Pei Qian to take the diagram and study it on her own.
At dusk that day, Pei Qian guiltily found Chen Ping'an, saying she was indeed a bit stupid. With such a tiny, sesame-seed-like matter, she had practiced for so long but only managed to reach the third pause of sword qi, and couldn't go any further.
Chen Ping'an gave her another knock on the head and said sternly, "When learning something, don't aim too high; keep your feet on the ground!"
Pei Qian said "oh," then scurried back to her room to continue "playing with fire."
She could already control that small stream of fire, directing it wherever she wanted. It ran extremely fast through those so-called acupoints and meridians, and was very well-behaved. The fourth pause of sword qi was still beyond her, but "if this place won't keep me, there's always a place that will," so she would just go play somewhere else!
She had no idea that in the front shop, Chen Ping'an was alone, muttering to himself for a long time.
The eleventh day of the first month.
Dust Pharmacy received a rare visitor who had traveled a long distance.
It was Huang Ting, the female Daoist of Taiping Mountain.
When she saw a certain outlandish old man crouching at the door cracking melon seeds with two idlers, she froze on the spot.
The old man winked at her vigorously.
Huang Ting rubbed her brow. You, the immortal realm old patriarch of the Jade Gui Sect, what are you doing here making trouble?
Huang Ting had no choice but to pretend she didn't recognize the old man.
In terms of seniority, the old man crouching at the door was half a generation above the Heavenly Lord of her Taiping Mountain, and roughly the same generation as Du Mao of the Indus Leaf Sect.
In terms of cultivation, Du Mao was now a pile of dust, his great path collapsed, with no spirit left to speak of. This old man, as the number one immortal realm combatant on Indus Leaf Continent, had seen the Jade Gui Sect rise to become the number one immortal clan on the continent without doing anything, and his own status had risen accordingly.
Truly an old man who knew how to enjoy lying down and receiving blessings.
Huang Ting neither disliked this senior from the mountains nor thought particularly highly of him—their temperaments were worlds apart.
Seeing Chen Ping'an, who was greatly surprised, Huang Ting said straightforwardly, "Following clues and some intuition, I found an ancient side palace deep in the earth's veins. Following the route, I stood on that Dragon-Locking Platform, but I still couldn't find that old beast who betrayed his master. It was as if he had completely vanished from the Haoran World. Later, the sect master sent a flying sword message saying there was no need to search. I hurried back to the sect, and then I received that direct lineage token of our patriarch hall you mentioned. The Heavenly Lord, Da Fu Academy, and a Yin-Yang school cultivator concluded that the recent turmoil in central Indus Leaf Continent was caused by that Nascent Soul cultivator from our Taiping Mountain who had once carried the Dao crown but fell. Our Taiping Mountain naturally felt deep shame and embarrassment. The Heavenly Lord couldn't face anyone, so he sent me to rush to Old Dragon City, hoping to catch you in time. I have nothing else—just to apologize to you. Taiping Mountain has suffered heavy losses and truly has no strength to 'smack its face to look fat.' Actually, the Heavenly Lord planned to give some compensation as a token, but I stopped him. Chen Ping'an, if you want to curse, curse me. Don't blame Taiping Mountain for being unkind or petty. In the past, we would never have acted this way."
Huang Ting paused, a rare bitterness in her tone. "The demons from the Well Prison scattered in all directions. Our fellow disciples went down the mountain to subdue demons. This war... it was truly too brutal."
Chen Ping'an felt heavy-hearted. "I can imagine."
Huang Ting suddenly laughed. "Indus Leaf Continent has had the worst luck. First, they provoked a sword immortal who cut off Du Mao's path to flying ascension. Before they could catch a break, a tenth-refining martial artist came, fighting from the foot of the mountain all the way to the summit, dismantling their patriarch hall. From start to finish, aside from dodging a few attacks from a few Jade Pu realm cultivators of the Jade Gui Sect, that man stood still for all the Middle Five Realm cultivators, letting their attacks hit him like a tickle. I found it quite amusing. Jiang Shangzhen of the Jade Gui Sect was even happier—he set up a pavilion ferry boat hovering over the Indus Leaf Sect, laid out a grand feast, and entertained guests from all directions."
Chen Ping'an quickly took a sip of wine to calm himself.
Zheng Dafeng, Zhu Lian, and the outlandish old man all eavesdropped on these tidbits, sneaking glances at Huang Ting.
In terms of looks alone, Huang Ting—who had returned to the Haoran World with the fleshly body of a banished immortal from Lotus Flower Blessed Land—surpassed Sui Youbian, Fan Junmao, and Jin Su in brilliance.
Chen Ping'an asked Huang Ting about her plans afterward. She said she had originally wanted to travel to the Central Earth Divine Continent, but the Heavenly Lord absolutely refused, saying that if she dared go, he would hang himself. He gave her a choice between Treasure Bottle Continent and North Juju Continent. Huang Ting said bluntly that she thought Treasure Bottle Continent was too small, while North Juju Continent had sword cultivators as numerous as ox hairs. There, she could hone her sword and perhaps even break through to the Jade Pu realm. After all, she couldn't let that sword cultivator Wei Jin, who came from a small place like Treasure Bottle Continent, make all the sword cultivators of Indus Leaf Continent lose face.
Huang Ting was a woman of action. After finishing their talk, she prepared to fly north on her sword.
But she happened to catch sight of Pei Qian practicing an "ultimate sword technique" in the courtyard. Remembering that she still owed Chen Ping'an a favor, Huang Ting felt a bit uneasy. Upon learning that Pei Qian was Chen Ping'an's "first direct disciple," she asked the little girl if she wanted to learn the fastest sword technique and saber technique on Indus Leaf Continent.
Pei Qian asked, "Will it hurt?"
Huang Ting laughed heartily. "No pain."
Pei Qian turned to look at Chen Ping'an, who nodded with a smile.
So Huang Ting stayed an extra day, teaching Pei Qian a sword technique and a saber move.
The White Ape Carrying Sword Technique and the White Ape Dragging Saber Form.
Before leaving, Huang Ting patted Pei Qian's little head, then pinched the charcoal-black little girl's cheek with her fingers, shaking her head and saying regretfully, "Such a clever child—why did you grow up so plain-looking?"
This left Pei Qian deeply wounded.
She remained gloomy all day. Even with that yellow paper talisman stuck to her forehead, she was still listless.
Looking at Pei Qian like this, Chen Ping'an thought of that little girl in the red cotton-padded jacket who liked to call him "Little Master Uncle."
In the eyes of everyone at Cliffside Academy, that little girl in the red padded jacket was a bit strange. Every day, she would bustle about alone, carrying a small bamboo box. She went to the school alone and left alone. She climbed mountains, trees, and rooftops, up and down. Otherwise, she would crouch alone by the lake, staring at the fish, blankly watching them swim back and forth with their tails. Whenever she had the chance, she would leave the academy to roam the streets and alleys of the capital. She wandered back and forth, inside and outside the academy, always alone. People who watched her for a long time felt she was a bit lonely.
But strange as she was, she had proper manners. Whenever she met the academy's teachers and scholars on the road, she would always stop abruptly, bow, and greet them. Then, with lightning speed, she would whisk away and run off.
At first, those teachers and scholars would stop, just beginning to smile and offer some earnest advice when the red figure would already be gone. Later, they got used to it and just smiled in acknowledgment. In the end, they would smile and shake their heads, continuing on without stopping.
Li Baoping felt that her life at Cliffside Academy was acceptable.
She rarely saw Li Huai and Lin Shouyi anymore. And she saw Yu Lu and Xie Xie even less. Even when she did see them, there didn't seem to be much to talk about.
After her conversation with Cui Dongshan on that treetop at the mountain summit, she no longer took these things so seriously.
They didn't miss her Little Master Uncle as much anymore—that was fine. The portions they lacked, she would make up for by thinking of him more herself.
Day by day, the year turned. Even the first month was almost over.
Soon it would be the Lantern Festival, with red lanterns hanging high. The little girl missed home—her parents, grandfather, her two older brothers.
And of course, her Little Master Uncle.
Little Master Uncle hadn't sent any letters to the academy in a long time.
That made Li Baoping a little sad.