Chapter 791: Walking Sideways
The two reunited amidst green mountains and clear waters, no longer a boy and a girl.
Listening to Li Baoping's loud greeting, Chen Ping'an smiled and nodded, teasingly saying, "You can drink now without hiding it. Your little master uncle is also a drunkard."
Li Baoping grinned brilliantly. "Well, I'm an old maid now."
Chen Ping'an was speechless.
By common standards, Li Baoping should have said something like, "I'm an adult now, I can drink."
Only at this moment did Chen Ping'an recall that Li Baoping, Li Huai, and the others were no longer young.
But there was no helping it; in his heart, he always liked to see them as children. Actually, according to the customs of their hometown, back when they traveled far and wide, everyone should have been married long ago, and perhaps their own children would have reached the age of kiln worker apprentices.
Now, Li Baoping only needed to raise her eyes slightly to see Little Master Uncle. She blinked and said, "Fortunately, Little Master Uncle looks exactly as I imagined. So even if you hadn't called out, I would have recognized you at first sight."
Chen Ping'an reached out and patted Li Baoping's head, laughing. "In Little Master Uncle's eyes, aside from being a bit taller, you seem no different."
It seemed she was still that red-clothed little girl, huffing and puffing as she ran through the hometown streets with a locust tree branch on her shoulder.
Thinking this, Chen Ping'an didn't feel so melancholic anymore. He quietly gave up the idea of taking out his wine-gourd sword to drink.
Back when he was fourteen, and little Baoping was the only one traveling with him, Chen Ping'an would sometimes wonder—how could the little girl walk such long distances without getting tired? At least she could have complained a few times, but she never did.
Chen Ping'an couldn't help but smile, unable to restrain it no matter how he tried. He took out a small bamboo chair from his storage treasure and handed it to Li Baoping. The two of them sat together by the water. Chen Ping'an picked up his fishing rod again, baited the hook, and expertly cast it. Turning his head, he said, "There are more fishing rods."
Li Baoping sat beside him, gently shaking her head. Then she lifted her feet and tapped her shoes together. "It's enough to just watch Little Master Uncle fish. Freeloading and idling—lazy people have lazy luck."
At the feet of Chen Ping'an's bamboo chair, a rope tied to a submerged fish basket was held down by a large stone. Li Baoping stood up, crouched by the water, and pulled the woven bamboo fish basket out of the surface. She found plenty of fish inside—all golden carp unique to Yuanyang Islet. These golden carp weren't actually spiritual beings like water fairies; they just looked cute. With some ginger, scallion, and garlic, whether steamed or braised in soy sauce, they would definitely be delicious. Little Master Uncle had good cooking skills.
Li Baoping shook the fish basket in her hand, secretly swallowing her saliva, and asked in a low voice, "Little Master Uncle, did you bring all the seasonings for cooking fish?"
Chen Ping'an nodded with a smile. "Of course. Pots, pans, bowls, plates, cooking wine, spicy oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, scallion, garlic—not a single thing missing. When it comes to cooking skills, Little Master Uncle has only lost once in his life, and I must reclaim my honor."
Li Baoping grinned. She understood—it was back in the Huangting Kingdom, when they were invited to dinner by a retired court official. At the table, everyone wolfed down the food. Li Huai was the most ungrateful, complaining that Little Master Uncle's dishes were too bland and griping that he couldn't catch big fish. Fish the size of a palm—that's called a fish? Look at that fish head on the table—it's bigger than your whole fish! And look at this big plate, this broth...
That time, Little Master Uncle was unusually sulky.
Recalling this old incident, Li Baoping suddenly felt that Li Huai as a child deserved a beating. She would settle scores with him now!
Li Baoping put the fish basket back into the water and asked softly, "My brother is also traveling around here. Have you seen him, Little Master Uncle?"
Chen Ping'an said in his heart: "No, I've only been here a few days, staying at the Merit Forest with my teacher and senior brothers. Then I went to Wenjin Ferry in Panshui County town, met Aliang and Li Huai, and before I knew it, I was dragged to a meeting. During the meeting, I secretly asked Brother Mao and heard you were at Aotou Mountain. I just came here to fish not long ago. I planned to fish for another hour or so and then go find you."
Chen Ping'an unconsciously started to explain things in great detail.
Perhaps it was because, in front of Li Baoping, he, as Little Master Uncle, was used to this.
Actually, Chen Ping'an planned to take advantage of this rare opportunity to attend the meeting to do many things. For example, visit the Crouching Ground Peak's Fire Dragon True Person to thank him, and also go to the Zhixuan Peak's Yuan Lingdian to thank him for the gift during the previous ceremony.
He also needed to personally visit the head of the Yu Clan to thank him. Yu Panshui had once given Pei Qian a bamboo-yellow paper-knife, a priceless storage treasure. Besides that, Yu Panshui, the Retired Emperor of Xuanmi Dynasty, had financial traces both deep and shallow in Baoping Continent and Tongye Continent. According to Cui Dongshan, this Yu Meiren and the treasure basin of the Aiai Continent were both old friends who generously distributed wealth. Since that was the case, many things could be discussed openly, boundaries clearly drawn, saving a lot of trouble compared to burning incense at the last moment.
Old Man Yao once said, "Rather than burning incense when trouble arises, it's better to make more trips on the first and fifteenth of the month. Walking the long road usually makes it easier to get through the year-end hurdle."
He heard that Lady Gui was also here now. Chen Ping'an planned to ask about some matters regarding Sheyue, to help Liu Xianyang settle something. Maybe soon they could drink at the wedding. No one should compete with him, Chen Ping'an, for organizing the wedding banquet. The hometown custom of eavesdropping under the window couldn't be abandoned; it had to be kept.
He also needed to reason with a certain martial arts grandmaster of the Daduan Dynasty, using the method the other was good at.
But these big and small matters, compared to Little Baoping, could all come later.
Chen Ping'an suddenly lifted his rod, leaning forward, extending his arm as the bamboo pole and fishing line curved into an arc. He began to carefully play the fish, his body on the small bamboo chair swaying left and right.
Mountain immortals fishing by the water were like qi cultivators drinking at a banquet.
If they used techniques or divine powers, it would spoil the scenery. As the most famous angler in the world, the Stopping Realm martial artist Zhang Tiaoxia, once said, "If you're so capable, why not just move the rivers with mountain techniques? The whole river would be yours. What's a few hundred or thousand catties of fish? Are you going to fill your storage treasures and sell them for money? Do you run a restaurant or a fish market?"
Li Baoping watched the tug-of-war intently and casually said, "I've been traveling with Mr. Mao from the Sword Qi Great Wall to this place. I was staying with Sister Yu earlier, but she got busier and busier, having to receive guests every day, so I took my leave."
Chen Ping'an nodded and suddenly asked with a smile, "How is the chess skill of that Chess Saint Jiang of the Shaoyuan Dynasty? Can he beat the City Lord of Baidi City?"
Chen Ping'an had long heard of this Jiang Longxiang. Back in the summer retreat palace, he had often asked Lin Junbi about this man's legendary deeds.
Chen Ping'an knew that the other had been recognized as a child prodigy and had become famous for his chess skills. He went to the capital and beat one chess attendant each year for seven years, eventually being hailed as the second best in Shaoyuan, second only to the national master Chao Pu. Later, in a vassal state of the Shaoyuan Dynasty, a young man named Zhou Dongjiang appeared. Though two generations younger than Jiang Longxiang, Zhou Dongjiang was proud and arrogant, claiming before the age of twenty that he had reached the height of "two-move handicap," meaning Jiang Longxiang could at most let him have two moves before the outcome became uncertain. Jiang Longxiang insisted that this junior's skill was still at "three-move handicap." They eventually dueled at Kuaizai Pavilion, producing the Kuaizai Pavilion chess manual. Though it was a handicap game, both played with great deliberation and miraculous skill, and people called it "Jiang's Dragon, Zhou's Tiger."
This Chess Saint Jiang, renowned across half a continent, probably still didn't know that the young Hidden Official of the Sword Qi Great Wall had "admired him for a long time."
Li Baoping chuckled, "Anyway, he dragged Lin Junbi to defend the challenge but refused to play against Lin Junbi. Later, when Fu Jin really climbed the mountain, he quickly yielded his seat to Yu Qingqing and disappeared. He didn't even watch the game. When Fu Jin left, he reappeared to help Yu Qingqing review the game. 'Here's wonderful, there's immortal, that move's unreasonable and improper...' Judging by his tone, don't even mention Little Baidi; even if City Lord Zheng personally climbed the mountain, he'd manage a draw."
Chen Ping'an grinned. "Otherwise, what did you think? Our Chess Saint Jiang back in Shaoyuan Capital beat one chess attendant a year for seven years without a single loss. That was all a display of skill. He had to accurately assess skill levels, carefully select opponents, and have enough cheek. Off the chessboard, he's a grandmaster among grandmasters. Then he quickly finds wine, gets himself disheveled, and in front of everyone, drunk, declines the emperor's offer of a chess attendant position. What a wild scholar, how heroic, full of backbone. If I were the emperor of Shaoyuan, I'd gift him a gold plaque reading 'Iron Shoulder Bearing Righteousness.'"
Li Baoping nodded. "Then I'll add a couplet: On the chessboard, dragon strides and tiger steps; in officialdom, flowing clouds and running water. Plus a horizontal scroll: Invincible Under Heaven."
All the top, middle, and bottom parts were complete.
Chen Ping'an couldn't help laughing. "If Little Master Uncle isn't mistaken, when Chess Saint Jiang reviewed the game with Yu Qingqing, there must have been a few people around who acted surprised."
Li Baoping laughed heartily. "Exactly, not surprising at all."
While chatting and playing the fish, Chen Ping'an finally successfully reeled in a black fish weighing over twenty catties. The fish basket was a bit small. Since the day's catch was sufficient, Chen Ping'an didn't bother. Besides, black fish meat was average, not really delicious, but thick-fleshed with few bones, better for smoked fish or pickling. Chen Ping'an crouched by the bank, expertly removed the hook, gently held the black fish's back, waited a moment, then let go. The fish, seeing light and choking on water, suddenly flicked its tail, splashing water, and quickly swam to deeper water.
Chen Ping'an looked up and smiled at Li Baiping. As if to say, "See that? That's the big fish Li Huai's been longing for."
Li Baiping raised both hands and gave two thumbs up.
Chen Ping'an sat back on the bamboo chair and smiled. "How about we take a trip to Aotou Mountain?"
Li Baiping's eyes lit up. "Put a sack over his head and hit him with a club?"
Chen Ping'an chided, "How could a scholar do such a thing? It's that traveling on mountain roads at night isn't easy. Someone might stumble, and we couldn't support them properly—good intentions leading to bad outcomes."
Li Baiping said seriously, "Yes, yes."
Then she clapped her fist into her palm. "Then I need to change clothes. Do good deeds without leaving a name."
Actually, when she met her elder brother Li Xisheng back then, he had said she no longer needed to adhere to the family rule of wearing red clothes.
But Li Baiping had never thought to change. Some habits, once changed, you keep not getting used to.
Children born and raised in the Pearl Lipper Cave Heaven originally had no strong feelings about leaving home. They thought they'd spend their whole lives in that place, never really accepting their fate or not. Ancestors were like that; born there, it seemed they'd live their whole lives there and never go far. Every Qingming Festival, families would visit graves, bringing a piece of fat meat, a piece of rice cake, and a piece of tofu, all on a white porcelain plate. Old people, adults, and children would take at most an hour's walk through the mountain paths to visit all the graves. If they met people on the road, elders would exchange a few words, and children would play and laugh. At each grave, the elder would mutter about who was buried there. Some impatient adults wouldn't even bother, just put down the plate, press a piece of red paper with a stone, burn incense, say a few random words. Many poor young men wouldn't even bother asking their ancestors for blessings to get rich; they'd begged year after year, remained poor year after year, and begging was useless. They'd pick up the plate, urge their children to kowtow quickly, and move on to the next grave. If it rained during Qingming, the mountain paths would be muddy, hard to walk, and they'd have to stop the children from kneeling and getting their clothes dirty, which would be a hassle for the wife to wash.
The farthest departure in the children's minds used to be when their grandfather or father went to the dragon kiln outside town to fire porcelain, or went into the mountains to cut firewood and burn charcoal, rarely seen. Closer was when their mother went to work as a cook or embroiderer in the big houses on Fulu Street or Taoye Alley. Even closer was when school ended each day and they went home with classmates, saying goodbye to the day's cooking smoke and the daytime, and when the oil lamp went out at night, saying goodbye to the day.
Birth, aging, sickness, death—all happened in their hometown. They attended weddings and funerals, crying and laughing, until they attended their last, and their life came to an end.
Then the cave heaven fell to the ground, took root, became a blessed land. The door opened, and separations began to multiply.
The old people of the town were okay, at most they couldn't resist their juniors' persuasion, sold their ancestral homes, got a large sum of silver, and moved to the state capital. Young men with capital, lucky to have ancestors' graves emitting auspicious smoke, either started businesses, traveled far, drank at banquets, or didn't come home, calling friends to drink and gamble on flower boats. They didn't know how to earn money anyway; mountains of gold and silver fell from the sky. But spending money, no one needed to teach them; everyone was talented.
About twenty years, one generation. They thought the money that would take generations to spend was squandered overnight. The kiln-firing skills passed down for generations were also abandoned, returned to the old dragon kiln masters of the past. When everyone was poor, they were used to hardship and didn't find it too hard. There were always poorer neighbors. If the harvest was bad, or the dragon kiln had problems, or defective products increased, someone would definitely be too poor to open the pot, needing to borrow rice from relatives and neighbors. But after enjoying blessings and truly understanding the beauty of the glamorous world, it became especially unbearable.
Sometimes, whether a dragon kiln's porcelain turned out well just depended on fate once the saggars entered the kiln. Even the most experienced old master, carefully watching the kiln temperature, couldn't guarantee the quality or quantity of the finished pieces. Hence the old saying, "Heaven governs, earth governs, man does not govern."
It seemed that the porcelain mountain of their hometown was like many people's lives.
Chen Ping'an subconsciously reached for his wine gourd, only to realize there was no Sword-Nurturing Gourd hanging at his waist.
Li Baoping asked curiously, "Little Master Uncle, why aren't you carrying a sword today? Earlier I looked up and saw you heading to the Merit Forest, and it seemed you had a sword on your back. Even though there was a concealment spell and I couldn't see clearly, I recognized you at once. Traveling on the Sword Qi Great Wall, Mr. Mao told me privately that the most prized immortal sword, Taibai, was split into four pieces on Fuyao Continent, and one piece went to the Sword Qi Great Wall. Mr. Mao wasn't too sure, but Li Huai said he'd bet his butt that it must have gone to Little Master Uncle."
Chen Ping'an hummed in acknowledgment. "Yes, Little Master Uncle got that piece of Taibai sword tip and reforged it into a longsword. That's the one I was carrying earlier. But right now, my true body isn't here; I'm still attending another important meeting, so I didn't bring the sword. As for what's happening with Little Master Uncle now, it's all a bit confusing."
Unless one was a Flying Ascension cultivator, they couldn't casually eavesdrop on Chen Ping'an's thoughts.
Chen Ping'an smiled. "If I were Brother Mao, I'd test Li Huai with a few difficult questions from the books. When he couldn't answer, I'd say, 'Using your brain to think things through is worse than using your butt.'"
Li Baoping nodded vigorously. "That's exactly what Mr. Mao did. Li Huai has thick skin anyway; he doesn't care."
Then she added, "It's good that Little Master Uncle isn't carrying a sword. Otherwise, sitting would be inconvenient. You'd have to take it off and lay it across your knees, but that would make fishing troublesome. You can't hold it all the time, and putting it at your feet would be even worse."
Chen Ping'an smiled. Still the familiar little Baoping.
She always had many strange ideas and odd questions.
Many things outsiders cared about deeply only got an "oh" from her. But many things people didn't care about at all got many "ahs" from her.
On their travels back then, little Baoping once asked him, "There's only one real moon in the sky, but how many fake moons are there in the human world? We have to count the ones in rivers, wells, water vats."
Chen Ping'an had to say he didn't know. Little Baoping pressed on, asking when Little Master Uncle would know the answer. The answer was still "I don't know."
Another time, Chen Ping'an was sitting by the campfire keeping watch, and little Baoping pointed at the nearby river and said, "In a long, long river, there are people standing upstream, midstream, and downstream. How many moons can the three of them see in the water? Little Master Uncle, you should know this one."
Chen Ping'an thought hard for a long time but couldn't come up with an answer. The little red-clothed girl sat beside him, leaning against her small bamboo box, arms crossed, shaking her head and sighing. Little Master Uncle was a bit dumb, but he was the Little Master Uncle she had carefully chosen—what could she do?
Chen Ping'an had actually been paying attention to the activities on both sides.
Birds of a feather flock together.
One group of anglers were young men from powerful families down the mountain; the other group were registered immortals from the mountains.
Both groups chatted freely among friends without much restraint, discussing non-confidential matters, so they didn't use mind-to-mind communication like Chen Ping'an and Li Baoping.
Those who could be brought here by family elders or mountain patriarchs were certainly not simple—they were outstanding disciples of noble clans or direct disciples of grand sect patriarchs.
Now, here, encountering a cultivator below the fifth realm was harder than meeting a fifth realm immortal.
Earlier, before Li Baoping appeared, both groups clearly had no interest in Chen Ping'an, probably mistaking the angler who didn't qualify for the meeting for some not particularly outstanding noble scion or a sect disciple away from his patriarch.
Through their casual conversations, which they didn't mind being overheard, Chen Ping'an roughly identified their identities.
On the left: the Xie clan of Miyun from the Aiai Continent, the Qiu clan of Yuzhou from the Liuxia Continent, and the Zhu clan of Xianxia from the Shaoyuan Dynasty. These three families were all millennia-old noble clans of great wealth and status.
For instance, the Xie clan, besides generations of high officials, was also very rich, but because there was the Liu clan that was wealthier than all, they didn't stand out as much.
Chen Ping'an remembered Senior Song Yushao saying one of his regrets in life was never visiting Yuzhou in Liuxia Continent, because he heard the hotpot there was the best in the world.
But Old Senior Song also said maybe it was good not to go; if he did go to Yuzhou and then returned home, no hotpot would taste good anymore, which would be frustrating. So he decided to never go to Yuzhou and keep it as a fond thought.
Thus, Chen Ping'an had a particularly deep impression of Yuzhou.
These young men and women from famous families had set up long, low tables covered with immortal fruits full of spiritual energy. They spread mats on the ground, had maids help set up stoves to brew tea, and some noble scions reclined with wine cups, reciting poems. They did everything except fish properly.
On the right, there was a female sword cultivator from the Meishan Sword Sect. She looked no more than a hundred years old and was a Golden Core sword cultivator with an impressive aura.
It was said that the mountain gate had a phenomenon of Dragon Beard Clouds, hanging down like waterfalls and dragon beards. There was also an Inverted Green Peak standing by a lake, with the mountain's reflection in the water, creating a strange immortal site where the truth was in the water and the illusion on the shore. Climbing the mountain was like entering water; what cultivators saw was the scenery of the lake.
Chen Ping'an took a few extra glances at her.
Mainly because this female sword cultivator had a small, exquisite copier inkstone hanging at her waist, inscribed with a popular poem about the sword in running script.
Because of the copier inkstone, Chen Ping'an thought of his disciple Guo Zhujiu. Guo Zhujiu seemed to be the only peer who could make Pei Qian feel helpless—ask Bai Shou of Pianran Peak how rare that was.
Also present was an immortal from Meihua Nunnery, with a treasure-vomiting mink lying on her shoulder. This little creature was not only a natural piggy bank but also, after eating money, could produce more money, a rare and fortuitous find.
Meihua Nunnery had the scenic wonder of "Ten Thousand Plum Blossoms Flying Like Snow." Its rouge and powder were popular throughout all continents of Haoran, both on and off the mountains.
A young scion from the Lotus Flower City, a major northern sect of Jinjia Continent, had a sect city built on a giant lotus leaf. The lotus bloomed once every three hundred years, each bloom lasting a hundred years. Whenever the lotus flowered, it formed a natural city-protecting grand formation that even sword immortals couldn't break. Legend said this lotus was something from the Dao Ancestor's Lotus Small Cave Heaven. How it came to Lotus Flower City was a matter of debate. One of the most mystical explanations was that the Dao Ancestor picked the lotus and, for some unknown reason, threw it into Haoran Heaven.
Another relatively more credible story was that Old Patriarch Sun of the Great Xuan Du Observatory, after lending his sword to the Most Proud Man in the World, they drank together and got dead drunk. The old immortal traveling through Haoran had unfathomable Dao powers. He took out a seed of a Purple-Gold Lotus, watered it with wine from his cup, and instantly a lotus emerged from the water, graceful and tall, then suddenly bloomed, huge as a mountain.
There was a young man who wore a flower in his hair and liked to look at people sideways. Many of his emotional changes showed on the corners of his lips.
It was said that in the dynasty of the Song clan of Zhuolu, from emperors and ministers to peddlers and porters, everyone wore flowers in their hair, a popular custom both at court and among the people.
When one entered the mountains to cultivate and reached a high level, as long as one paid attention, one would increasingly find that the people around them were either acquaintances or known by reputation.
Was it useful? Probably not very meaningful. Most people would just pass by, never to meet again, mere passersby on the path of life, like the martial artist Huang Shi from a ruined immortal mansion, the little fox in the deep mountains outside Jingzhou City of Meiyou Kingdom, the young man at the dog meat shop in Shihao Kingdom, and Sun Dengxian, whom Chen Ping'an sincerely called "Great Hero."
Was it useless? Not necessarily. Among the crowd might be hidden individuals like Song Lanzhuo on Broad Way, Liu Zhimao on Narrow Path who was willing to make way and let each go their own way, or Ma Kuxuan on Single-Plank Bridge who only allowed one to pass.
Or just because of Chen Ping'an's appearance, the old Confucian scholar Wang Yuanzhang on the night boat and the sword immortal Fu Lingqing, sect master of Tongye Sect, though separated by life and death, could still meet as if from afar.
As for the previously glimpsed Drunk-Face Lady who turned away without greeting when she saw him, Chen Ping'an simply pretended not to notice.
That was fine. Because Drunk-Face Lady seemed to have a young flower goddess from Baihua Blessed Land following her. Otherwise, if they met, what could they say? "Nice weather today," "Have you eaten?"
After Li Baoping appeared, both sides started whispering and discussing animatedly.
A guest elder of the Xie clan, sitting cross-legged on a cushion, an old sword immortal in Jade Puppet realm, had earlier seen the red-clothed woman and couldn't help exclaiming, "What an excellent cultivation foundation! The sun is bright, clouds and mists protect on all sides, jade substance and golden appearance, mind and spirit unified—close to the Dao."
The old man didn't use mind-to-mind speech.
A handsome young man from the Qiu clan hesitated and said, "Seems like that Li Baoping from Shanya Academy."
Because Li Baoping had once debated with Yuan Pang, and the Confucian scholars of Shanya Academy on Baoping Continent were indeed quite conspicuous at the Rites and Music Academy.
A plump young woman casually glanced at the oddly dressed man in green who was comically reeling in a fish and smiled. "Since she calls him Little Master Uncle, he must be from Baoping Continent—maybe a gentleman or worthy of Shanya Academy? Otherwise, the Yunlin Jiang clan doesn't have such a person."
The Great Li Dynasty's Song Changjing, the Yunlin Jiang clan, the Shengao Sect.
From Baoping Continent, only these three groups had come to the Confucian Temple. Song Changjing of Great Li had come alone. This martial artist, said to have already reached the Eleventh Realm, had become famous worldwide.
The Shengao Sect was a Daoist sect; everyone wore Daoist robes and fish-tail crowns.
As for the man in green having a dimension object, it wasn't worth much surprise.
What was strange was that inside the dimension object, he actually had two ordinary green bamboo chairs.
Chen Ping'an eventually paid most attention to the flower-wearing young man.
Not because his Chief Zhou in Lotus Flower Blessed Land had an illegitimate son nicknamed Flower Wearer.
But because this guy's look at Li Baoping was improper. The other noble scions, when they first saw Li Baoping, might also be amazed, but they wouldn't be as covert and sneaky as this one, as if he was already scheming in his heart, ready to act at any time.
Chen Ping'an silently took note.
Everyone loves beauty; it's human nature. Seeing a beautiful woman and taking a few more glances is nothing. In the Sword Qi Great Wall's wine shops, openly staring at passing women was common. Not just stares—often whistles from bachelors here and there. But that kind of gaze wasn't from sword cultivators having evil intentions; it was like the foam on a bowl of wine—gulped down and gone. But some gazes were like the slug in the Green Luan Kingdom's Lion Garden—sticky and greasy. People with such eyes often hunted for prey on their turf, waiting for an opportunity.
Chen Ping'an continued to subtly sense the flower-wearing young man's qi fluctuations.
Li Baoping was silent for a long time, then said quietly, "Little Master Uncle, I wasn't present for either of the two incense offerings at the Ancestral Hall of Fallen Mountain. I'm sorry."
Chen Ping'an waved dismissively and said gently, "It's nothing. What's there to apologize for? Little Master Uncle has reserved a place for you to study at Fallen Mountain and Zhaodu Ridge. Yu Lu and Xie Xie already chose Zhaodu Ridge and grabbed two houses early on, without any courtesy with me. But let me tell you a secret: Weixia Peak and Yuanmu Peak—there are two spots that are truly scenic and quiet. I've deliberately kept this from outsiders, and no one's rushed to build mansions there because I secretly marked them out. Later, I'll take you to have a look; if you pick one, I'll have someone build a mansion and a study building. Weixia Peak is better for sunrise and sunset, but Yuanmu Peak's sea of clouds is even slightly better than Fallen Mountain's. On clear days, you can see the lake near the Yellow Lake Mountain, clouds rolling and unrolling—all beautiful. So I suggest you choose Yuanmu Peak. I plan to pave all the mountain paths of Yuanmu Peak with long, large bluestone slabs, lined with bamboo railings on both sides. Along the way, there's a very high cliff wall with a pine tree at least a thousand years old. Among the pines, vines connect trees and the wall, winding like giant salamanders. I'll then invite a master to carve a plaque on the cliff. If I could get Su Zi or Liu Qi to write the inscription, that would be best—but it's hard, since it's not as simple as asking for a calligraphy piece; the two seniors would need to visit Fallen Mountain as guests. If that doesn't work, Little Master Uncle will have to ask your two uncles to do it. Anyway, Yuanmu Peak is a particularly suitable place for scholarly study in a study. The heavenly wind is clear and crisp, comes suddenly, and the wind chimes in the study tower all ring—sounds nice, doesn't it? When you get tired of reading, you can step out of the study building and look at the distant scenery. Over the years of traveling, Little Master Uncle has bought you many books. Just at the southernmost Qu Mountain Ferry of Tongye Continent, I bought a whole sackful, over a hundred catties—all precious books that came out of commandery-level noble families."
Little Master Uncle said so much at once. Li Baoping listened carefully, her beautiful eyes narrowing into crescent moons.
Li Baoping asked, "Little Master Uncle, during all those years on the Sword Qi Great Wall, did you ever celebrate your birthday?"
Chen Ping'an was startled for a moment, then shook his head with a smile. "Either forgot or didn't have time. No, I haven't."
When he was young in his hometown, Chen Ping'an never had the habit of celebrating his birthday.
Liu Xianyang didn't either—he thought it was a hassle. Only Little Snot could have fish meat on her birthday. And on the day before Gu Can's birthday, Chen Ping'an would always drag Liu Xianyang into the mountains and water.
Chen Ping'an changed the subject. "I heard from Cui Dongshan about that young Jiang Taigong named Xu Bai, right? Little Master Uncle saw him during the meeting earlier."
Actually, Chen Ping'an had asked a lot about Li Baoping after returning home twice, so he knew many things. How she had fared in the academy over the years, her visit to the Fox Kingdom, meeting Pei Qian at the Yu Clan in Central Earth Divine Continent. Even when he was at the Merit Forest, he didn't forget to ask his teacher about Little Baoping's affairs, like the details of her debate with Yuan Pang. For that, Chen Ping'an spent two days at the Merit Forest flipping through many library books. The result of that debate left Chen Ping'an, as Li Baoping's Little Master Uncle, unable to help much.
Li Baoping sighed. "He's a nuisance. My brother scolded him once, and he calmed down a bit."
Chen Ping'an suppressed a smile and nodded. "Only a candidate for the top ten young talents—really not good enough for our Baoping, far from it."
Li Baoping rolled her eyes, leaned back in her bamboo chair, and didn't want to mention Xu Bai anymore.
She was the only one among that group of children who had traveled far and studied Confucian qi refinement methodically.
As for consulting Lin Shouyi and Xie Xie about immortal techniques, or asking Yu Lu about fist techniques, Li Baoping seemed only interested.
Chen Ping'an asked, "During your travels over the years, have you been bullied?"
Li Baoping shook her head. "No, not really."
Chen Ping'an smiled. "Little Master Uncle's swordsmanship is still mediocre, but climbing mountains and crossing rivers is physical work, so my fist techniques are passable. I can't beat a Flying Ascension cultivator, but I can still handle an Immortal realm cultivator."
"Wait, I remember now—there was one!"
Li Baoping suddenly slapped the chair and turned to Little Master Uncle with a smile. "It was at the edge of the Fox Kingdom in Qingfeng City. I did encounter something. Gu Can was there too; he was very chivalrous, which was surprising."
Chen Ping'an asked suspiciously, "What do you mean?"
Li Baoping was about to talk about this topic when she blinked and said telepathically, "My brother is coming."
Chen Ping'an turned to look. It was Li Xisheng.
Moreover, Li Xisheng and Li Baoping communicated mentally, and Chen Ping'an didn't detect any sign of it.
That was a good thing.
Both stood up from their bamboo chairs. Li Baoping smiled. "Little Master Uncle, there are acquaintances."
Chen Ping'an smiled but said nothing.
That group of people slowly approached. Besides Li Baoping's elder brother Li Xisheng, there was Zhou Li from the Shengao Sect who had come to the Central Earth upper sect.
Lady Gui, followed by an old boatman. Calling him an old boatman was due to his age; he looked like a middle-aged man with a wooden expression.
He Xiaoliang, the sect master of Qingliang Sect, and Gao Jianfu, an Infant Soul cultivator from Shengao Sect. They were once the golden boy and jade girl of Shengao Sect, and both had appeared in the Pearl Lipper Cave Heaven back then.
Except for Zhou Li, Chen Ping'an indeed knew them all, none of them strangers.
After they approached, Chen Ping'an bowed with joined hands to Li Xisheng, then smiled and called out, "Aunt Gui."
Lady Gui smiled and nodded.
Chen Ping'an cupped his hands to Zhou Li and said, "Greetings, Mr. Zhou."
It was said that this man would be the next sect master of Qingxuan Sect. Qingxuan Sect, in Central Earth Divine Continent, was only slightly less prestigious and profound than the mountain where Fu Lu Yu Xuan resided and the Heavenly Master Mansion of Longhu Mountain. Mainly because the current sect master of Qingxuan Sect had been in a life-or-death seclusion for too long—six hundred years. As the upper sect of Shengao Sect, Qingxuan Sect's "orthodox lineage" was the lineage of the Great Master of the White Jade Capital, another unsolved Daoist mystery that puzzled outsiders.
For some reason, Zhou Li had not attended the several Confucian Temple meetings.
Chen Ping'an hesitated for a moment, then still addressed him as "Mr."
Zhou Li smiled and returned a Daoist salute, saying telepathically, "Long have I heard of the Hidden Official's great name; fortunate to meet you today."
He Xiaoliang smiled and said, "Chen Ping'an."
She only spoke his name.
But as she spoke, He Xiaoliang used an immortal technique to isolate a small world.
Was this unintentionally revealing something? Or deliberate?
Chen Ping'an said, "Sect Master He."
He only responded with a title.
The old boatman nodded and said on his own, "You, young one, have turned out well. I didn't misjudge you back then. Otherwise, I'd have to scold you today."
Lady Gui turned her head.
The old boatman immediately shut up.
This Gu Qinglong, or Xian Cha, had been absent from Central Earth Divine Continent for a long time. When he reappeared, he didn't disappoint. At Panshui County town, he made a name again with a battle, scolding all of Zheng Juzhong, Han Qiaose, Liu Chicheng, and Fu Jin in just a few words.
Not to mention Daoist techniques, but in verbal sparring, it seemed he had taken down the entire Baidi City.
And crucially, Gu Qinglong managed to walk away unscathed, with Han Qiaose and Liu Chicheng showing up at the gate, yet he suffered no harm.
Chen Ping'an had met and talked with this old boatman before, at Osmanthus Island back then.
At that time, Chen Ping'an was still a young boy and almost taught the old boatman some knowledge.
Even though Chen Ping'an now knew the old boatman's identity—Lu Chen's unregistered senior disciple—he still held no ill feelings. He could distinguish right from wrong, and thus favors and grievances.
Li Xisheng smiled. "We'll continue our walk. Don't let us disturb your fishing."
Deliberately or not, Li Xisheng only communicated telepathically with Little Baoping.
The group departed.
Chen Ping'an and Li Baoping sat back on their chairs.
Li Xisheng walked far away and shook his head. Well, once she had her Little Master Uncle, she forgot her brother. Little Baoping didn't turn her head even once.
He Xiaoliang turned to look at the man in green sitting on the bamboo chair. There was an indescribable smile in her eyes.
Beside her, Gao Jianfu was heartbroken and wanted to drink, but it seemed he had already been drinking.
Watching the blue sky and moving white clouds, a heartbroken man woke in a drunken stupor.
Gu Qinglong carefully called out a nickname: "Gui."
Lady Gui, always dignified, replied with one word: "Scram."
He had finally managed to speak, hadn't he? Gu Qinglong was almost flattered. He shuffled his feet, rubbed his hands, and answered with a laugh, "Got it."
The reason Gu Qinglong had said a few nice words earlier, besides Lady Gui being present, was that he truly regretted it. He shouldn't have told the young man back then, "Don't ruin my great Dao." Instead, he should have sincerely consulted the young man about the ways of love between men and women. Otherwise, how could a mud-legged fellow who wasn't even handsome have tricked Ning Yao at such a young age? So Gu Qinglong's earlier words were to lay the groundwork. He planned to find Chen Ping'an privately later and even treat him to a drink, call him Brother Chen, whatever.
Li Xisheng telepathically asked with a smile, "What do you think?"
Zhou Li smiled and answered, "Speak little, avoid idle anger; quiet cultivation can prolong life. Additionally, his remarkable point is that in dealings with people, he neither seeks the joy of sudden acquaintances nor suffers the tedium of long companionship."
At the farther end of Yuanyang Islet, the young girl nicknamed Ruifeng'er couldn't help asking again, "Sister Drunk-Face, who is that man? Why do you seem so afraid of him? You clearly know him, so why are you avoiding him?"
Now that the green-clothed figure was far away, Drunk-Face Lady smiled and said, "Afraid of him? Just joking."
The girl suddenly realized, "Sister Drunk-Face, don't tell me you like him?"
Drunk-Face Lady was stunned. She quickly reached out and covered the silly girl's mouth. "Don't talk nonsense!"
If that guy heard it, she'd have to pay the price with at least another plum garden.
Like him? Wouldn't that be like asking fists and swords from that dark-hearted, smiling Hidden Official?
If she wasn't careful, she'd really be beaten to death or tricked to death by him.
By the river, Chen Ping'an caught another golden carp and put it into the fish basket.
Both sides cast sidelong glances.
Not because they coveted the carp.
But because both groups took this chance to size up the young man in green again.
He had called Lady Gui "Aunt Gui."
And had been praised by the famously notorious Gu Qinglong: "You've turned out well, I didn't misjudge you—no scolding needed."
That clearly was the tone of a mountain elder speaking to a half-junior relative.
He also seemed to know He Xiaoliang of Beiju Continent, calling her "Sect Master He."
Unless mistaken, He Xiaoliang appeared to be smiling?
This was different from the rumors in the landscape gazettes of earlier years.
He Xiaoliang was the direct disciple of the Third Master of the White Jade Capital, and an Immortal realm cultivator capable of establishing a sect in Beiju Continent.
Of course, He Xiaoliang was indeed extremely beautiful.
And it was said she was solely devoted to cultivation, with no interest in romance. Even Xu Xuan, the only disciple of the Beiju Continent grand sword immortal Bai Shang, doted on her, but He Xiaoliang, annoyed by his relentless pursuit, directly fought and seriously injured him, completely disregarding Bai Shang's face, leading to a mortal enmity between their sects. Bai Shang had even reportedly declared that He Xiaoliang would never break into the Flying Ascension realm.
Both men and women took extra glances at He Xiaoliang. Men looked more, feeling her ethereal, otherworldly aura, thinking that making such a woman one's Dao companion would be better than being a mandarin duck or an immortal. Women looked more, perhaps to see if one glance at He Xiaoliang would diminish their own beauty a bit.
Regardless, both groups couldn't help but regard the young fisherman more highly.
After all, knowing so many great cultivators.
Li Baoping said, "Little Master Uncle, Sister He still looks as young as when we first met. Maybe even more beautiful?"
Chen Ping'an shook his head. "I didn't notice."
He just inexplicably thought of the women on his own Fallen Mountain, like the diligent post-walking Cen Yuanji and the sharp-edged Yuan Bao. These two female martial artists were also no longer young and still unmarried. As for women, they needn't worry about marriage; even if they had a few crow's feet at the corners of their eyes, it wouldn't stop men from liking them. And his mountain's feng shui—everyone was good-looking. Zhu Lian, Jiang Shangzhen, Mi Yu, Cui Dongshan, Cao Qinglang, Yuan Lai—that's without even including Mountain Lord Wei and the guest elders. Sword techniques, fist techniques, zither, chess, calligraphy, painting, dressing up—what couldn't they talk about? What weren't they good at? It was just that the mountain master earned money most shamelessly; otherwise, if Mirror Flower Water Moon was opened, the immortal money of Baoping Continent would flood into Fallen Mountain like a dam burst.
And female martial artists, once they broke into the Qi Refining realm, could not only temper their physiques but also nourish their souls. Although it wasn't as effective as cultivators in the middle five realms for maintaining youth, the effect was still obvious. When they reached the Golden Body realm, there would be additional benefits. Tongye Continent's Pusan Huang Yiyun was quite old, but didn't she still look young?
However, on his own mountain, Yuan Lai already liked Cen Yuanji, and Yuan Bao secretly admired Cao Qinglang. Chen Ping'an had heard about this when he returned home.
Even Little Mili had discovered it and privately reported to the good mountain master that every time Cao Qinglang was present, Big Yuan Bao would talk especially loudly and deliberately avoid looking at him. Who was she fooling? Though she didn't look, her heart was full of Cao Qinglang.
So now, was Yuan Bao the only one who thought she was the only one who knew about her feelings?
Li Baoping smiled and asked, "Little Master Uncle, thinking about happy things?"
Chen Ping'an nodded. "Thinking about how to make money for the mountain."
Li Baoping remembered something. "I heard there's a big hawk-nosed peddler on Yuanyang Islet with a thriving business. Little Master Uncle, if you have time, you can go check it out."
Chen Ping'an smiled. "If I have time, I will. Well, we'd better bring Li Huai along."
Chen Ping'an immediately took out a yellow paper talisman from his sleeve, brushed it with his hand, causing a flash of spiritual light. He silently chanted, and the talisman transformed into a small yellow paper crane, which flew away gracefully.
It went to find Li Huai in Panshui County town, calling him to meet at Yuanyang Islet.
The old man sitting cross-legged on the cushion opened his eyes again as he saw the message crane fly away. He let out a soft "eh," obviously a bit surprised. Why wasn't it a Golden Body realm martial artist but rather an earthly immortal-level talisman cultivator?
Could it be a member of the Pusan Ye clan of Tongye Continent?
The noble scion lying down drinking raised his cup and drank it all. Ah, his poetic inspiration surged. He laughed and recited a poem aloud.
"The yellow crane one song, tower beyond tower;
The fishing rod kills time, wine kills sorrow.
Immortal brew dispels the intoxication in mountains,
Then one feels light, feathered, ascending to heaven."
Chen Ping'an suddenly felt that this kind of doggerel was best done sparingly. Indeed, the speaker enjoyed it, but the listener cringed.
Li Baoping: "..."
Chen Ping'an telepathically said to the flower-wearing young man, "Seen enough?"
The young man was slightly surprised. After a moment's hesitation, he smiled and said, "What are you talking about? I don't understand."
Chen Ping'an said, "I advise you to control your eyes and sincerely restrain your heart. When walking on the mountain, judge actions and intentions alike."
The young man raised a finger and lightly flicked the flower pinned in his bun—a gift from a fate-lord flower goddess of Baihua Blessed Land, obtained not by his own face but through his sect's patriarch.
Chen Ping'an said no more.
The young man leaned back, then stared straight at the red-clothed woman who had caught his eye. If only she weren't a disciple of the academy.
Maintaining that pose, he smiled at the man in green and asked, "What, just a few glances, and you want to fight and kill? Who do you think you are?"
Chen Ping'an turned his head with a grin.
The young man raised a hand and gently tapped his own neck, laughing telepathically, "Come on, throw a talisman here. I sincerely beg you, how about it?"
An ignorant country bumpkin. Just because he knew Lady Gui and Gu Qinglong, and could barely exchange a few words with Zhou Li and He Xiaoliang, he thought he could walk sideways in Central Earth Divine Continent?
Li Baoping asked, "Little Master Uncle, what's wrong?"
Chen Ping'an put down the fishing rod and smiled. "Someone begged me to hit him. He almost scared me to death."
He hadn't been schemed to death by Wen Hai Zhou Mi, nor chopped down by the sword cultivator Dragon Lord, but here he encountered a top expert.
Li Baoping blinked. "Raised on arsenic?"
Chen Ping'an smiled but didn't reply.
These words weren't said telepathically.
So both groups heard them.
The flower-wearing young man sneered and stretched.
Then, a flying sword meant to save someone was caught between both hands of the green-clothed man and casually thrown into the water. A blocking spell was grabbed by the green-clothed man's hand, the gathered creation of his palm condensing into a ball.
As for the flower-wearing young man, he was grabbed by the neck by the green-clothed man who appeared behind him, lifted high, and flung far away. The young man's body shot like a thunderbolt straight to the opposite bank of the river, skipping like a stone across the water.
The green-clothed man appeared even more mysteriously, shrinking the earth and moving mountains without any ripples of qi, instantly appearing on the opposite bank. He stepped on the flower-wearing young man's neck, then kicked him back, sending him skipping across the water again, returning him to his original spot, exactly the same place.