Chapter 828: Free and Unfettered
After a late-night snack, Chen Ping'an took Ning Yao for a stroll, a nighttime tour of the capital. They didn't say they had to go anywhere in particular; they just picked lively streets and wandered aimlessly. Vendors with pushcarts passed by constantly—some selling chilled desserts made from lotus root and water chestnuts. These carts were often followed by a few gluttonous children. The commerce in the capital was prosperous, with specialized merchants running large and small ice cellars. Every winter, they would chisel and store ice blocks, selling them in summer and autumn.
On the Sword Qi Great Wall, the two had also walked together like this, but back then, it was hard to call it a leisurely stroll.
Passing by a small martial arts academy, Chen Ping'an couldn't help but laugh. "After the battle at the auxiliary capital was over, the four grandmasters newly selected in the Bottle Gourd Continent—because Pei Qian was the youngest and a woman, and she was ranked just behind Song Changjing—her fame surpassed mine, her master's."
Martial arts academies were everywhere in the city. Many martial artists from various sects made a living here. If they could make a name for themselves in the capital, it would be much easier to spread their branches and establish halls in the local prefectures and counties later. Chen Ping'an knew of one boxing master from an academy. In the early days, at the auxiliary capital, after waiting for days and nights like guarding a tree stump for a rabbit, he finally got a chance to spar with Grandmaster Zheng. Although it was just four punches, and that young but martial-virtue-abundant "Zheng Money-Spender" let him have three punches first, the Golden Body Realm martial artist, who vomited white foam after one punch, returned to the capital. He brought with him a large amount of silver, and the capital's youths and wastrels, demanding to learn from him, almost broke down the academy's threshold. It was said that this boxing master had even enshrined the bag of gold leaves that Grandmaster "Zheng Qingming" had paid him as medical expenses. Every morning, the first thing he did when he got up was not walking the post or practicing punches, but offering incense.
Ning Yao seemed about to speak, then stopped.
Chen Ping'an asked, "Do you want to talk about Pei Qian already being a sword immortal?"
Ning Yao kept her promise and said nothing.
Chen Ping'an walked slowly with his hands in his sleeves. "I actually knew about it long ago. I noticed the clues back in the Cloud Cavern Blessed Land. But Pei Qian always hid it; probably she had her own concerns, so I deliberately didn't call her out. After all, not just anyone could casually receive Zhou Cheng's sword intent gift on the Sword Qi Great Wall. So it's a bit surprising that Pei Qian conceived and nurtured a destined flying sword, but not too strange."
Chen Ping'an had one sentence he didn't say: Pei Qian was, after all, his first disciple.
Ning Yao finally spoke. "Pei Qian will soon be a genuine Golden Core Realm sword immortal."
Chen Ping'an was startled, then kept smiling. He took off the gourd from his waist, preparing to take a sip to celebrate.
Unexpectedly, Ning Yao continued, "Pei Qian's destined flying sword is extremely unusual. It can split into seven. Accidentally, it innately possesses multiple destined divine abilities. This is very rare. In history, it's countable on one hand. As for which senior sword immortals had similar flying swords—since you like remembering such things, you'd know better than I. So whether by the old rules of the Sword Qi Great Wall for defining flying sword grades, or by your new ranking at the Summer Pavilion, whether for dueling or battlefield assault, Pei Qian's as-yet-unnamed flying sword should be able to rank as Grade A."
Extremely, accidentally, rare. These were words coming from Ning Yao's mouth.
Chen Ping'an, feeling disheartened, hung his gourd back on his waist without taking a sip.
Chen Sanqiu's destined flying sword, "White Deer," possessed two exceptional innate divine abilities, one of which was related to literary fortune.
In the ten-thousand-year history of the Sword Qi Great Wall, sword immortals with two or three destined flying swords were far more numerous than those with a single flying sword possessing two or three divine abilities. On paper, the two situations seemed similar, but in reality, they were as different as heaven and earth.
For example, the young girl Zhao Mu, who trained under Xie Songhua, had two destined flying swords, "Torrential Rain" and "Rainbow." And Yao Xiaoyan, whom Chen Ping'an brought to Fallen Mountain, even had three: "Spring Gown," "Spider Web," and "Rainbow Gown." However, Yao Xiaoyan's flying sword abilities were all focused on defense, nurturing the physical body, so the grades were not high. But privately, Chen Ping'an was certain that among the nine sword immortal seedlings, the relatively timid Yao Xiaoyan was not the one who would reach the highest realm or have the greatest killing power in the future, but she was definitely the one most likely to enter the Upper Five Realms without any suspense.
In the past, war on the Sword Qi Great Wall was continuous; there was no patience to wait for a genius sword immortal to grow slowly and gradually.
But a flying sword with more than two innate divine abilities was indeed, as Ning Yao said, countable on one hand. Over ten thousand years, the archives of the Summer Pavilion recorded less than ten. Without exception, the owners of these swords later became sword immortals with outstanding killing power and remarkable military achievements.
The most famous among them was the Flying Ascension Realm sword immortal, Zong Yuan.
That Zong Yuan whom many young sword immortals would later tease: "Zong Yuan isn't as good as me."
He only had one flying sword, but it possessed an incredible four innate divine abilities—crucially, three offensive and one defensive, fitting together seamlessly.
But what truly earned Chen Ping'an's admiration was that Zong Yuan, through fierce battles year after year and diligent sword tempering, had gradually found the other three dao-accordant divine abilities for his sword, which had originally been ranked only as Grade C, Upper. In fact, the first sword ability was not remarkable at all. In the end, Zong Yuan became the sword immortal who fought alongside the Great Sword Immortal for the longest time.
Chen Ping'an said, "Back then, for some unknown reason, the Great Sword Immortal had me bring those children back to the Haoran Heaven. Do you want to take them to the Ascending City? I'll handle the relations with the Middle Earth Confucian Temple."
After all, he had a teacher, and someone who knew the Sage of Rites.
Besides, the Sage of Rites himself had said, if there's trouble, go to the Confucian Temple often to complain and cry out grievances; don't be too thin-skinned. Whether something works or not, just make sure to say 'hard work.'
Ning Yao shook her head. "Since it was the Great Sword Immortal's arrangement, let them stay at Fallen Mountain to practice swordsmanship. On this Haoran side, just one Dragon Elephant Sword Sect isn't enough."
Mi Yu and Cui Wei were both sword immortals from their hometown. Oh, and there was also Sui Youbian, a female sword immortal at the Nascent Soul realm. She had the same surname as Sui Jingcheng from the Floating Lotus Sword Lake—quite a coincidence.
Chen Ping'an nodded. Those children would stay at Fallen Mountain for now. When the Colorful Heaven opened again, the nine sword immortals could choose to stay or leave—all up to them. Chen Ping'an would welcome them regardless.
At first, Chen Ping'an had wanted to take them as direct disciples, but later Cui Dongshan suggested that these children shouldn't be too young with too high a seniority. It was best to let them train on the mountain and descend for experience as third-generation registered disciples of Ji Se Peak. Chen Ping'an adopted this suggestion.
Suddenly, Ning Yao said, "Someone is watching from afar. Not going to deal with them?"
On a distant rooftop sat six people, all young Earth Immortals. Their cultivation auras were extremely steady—they were obviously veteran fighters. In the entire Bottle Gourd Continent, aside from Fallen Mountain, no other sect could simultaneously possess six such young prodigies laden with fortune. So, unsurprisingly, they were dead warriors meticulously cultivated by some secret agency of the Great Li Dynasty.
Chen Ping'an had sensed this long ago but shook his head. "Since they have no killing intent, let them be."
In the Bottle Gourd Continent, there were three places where outsider cultivators, no matter how powerful, should not take their own realms too seriously.
One was naturally the Dragon Prefecture territory of the old Li Zhu Cave Heaven—White Emperor City's Liu Chicheng would definitely have a deep impression of that.
Another was near the Great Dyke, the auxiliary capital of Great Li, where National Master Cui Chan had left a replica of the Jade Capital. The person now presiding over that sword formation for Great Li was unknown. For the immortal sects of the Bottle Gourd Continent, the strangest thing was that after this sword formation moved south, it never moved back north to the Great Li capital. Perhaps doing so would cost the Great Li Ministry of Revenue too much, or more likely, the National Master had other intentions. This made the relationship between the Great Li Emperor and the vassal king Song Mu even more clouded. Could it be, like Song Changjing and the late emperor, that the brothers were truly harmonious and intimate?
Then there was this Great Li capital itself. As the nation's premier place, it had five City God temples within the city. The Capital City God Temple was naturally the foremost temple in the capital and the headquarters for thousands of City God temples across the Great Li Dynasty. Every year, prefectural and county City God officials from all over would come here for roll call and meetings. However, the Land God temple with the "Capital" prefix was not in the capital but in the southern auxiliary capital.
Additionally, the capital had many hidden estates within the city. Some had official government backgrounds but didn't reveal their identities; others had mountain origins but didn't display any immortal airs. In less than half an hour of leisurely strolling, Chen Ping'an had spotted several places that were "deep waters."
During their walk, Chen Ping'an and Ning Yao passed a small Daoist temple. The facade was modest, the red paint peeling, showing the passage of years. There were no Daoist Guardian Deity posters on the door, only a very new-looking small plaque reading "Capital Daoist Bureau." The couplets hung on the sides were quite arrogant: "Pine and cypress golden court, land of nourishing truth; Long embrace the ancient, spiritual emptiness of cultivation."
In the night, there were no carriages or horses at the temple's entrance. Chen Ping'an glanced at the stone stele standing below the steps. The person who erected it was "Wu Lingjing, disciple of the Three Caverns, Senior Great Daoist of the Capital, Master of the Chongxu Hall, from She Prefecture."
Ning Yao couldn't discern much meaning, so Chen Ping'an explained. The opening four characters, "Disciple of the Three Caverns," indicated the erector's dao lineage. "Daoist" was a new official post established by Great Li, responsible for assisting the Ministry of Rites in selecting supplementary Daoists who were proficient in scriptures and observed strict rules, issuing degrees, and relaying to the Ministry of Personnel for filing. As for "Senior Great Daoist," it had even more background. The Great Li court set up the Chongxu Bureau, attached under the Ministry of Rites, overseeing the nation's Daoist affairs, also in charge of sacrifices to the Five Peaks and the Water God, and matters of Daoist registers and degrees in the capital and various prefectures. This Master of Chongxu Hall, Wu Lingjing, from She Prefecture in Great Li, was presumably the head of the Chongxu Bureau in the capital, so he was qualified to carry the title "Senior Great Daoist," managing dozens of Daoists across Great Li. In short, with the Chongxu Bureau in place, the Divine Declaration Sect need not intervene in all Daoist affairs within Great Li.
Chen Ping'an thought for a moment but couldn't recall any Upper Five Realms cultivator from the Bottle Gourd Continent named Wu Lingjing.
In short, this small little place was responsible for all Daoist affairs in the Great Li capital, keeping all Daoists in the city in check.
In addition, the Great Li court also established a Sutra Translation Bureau. Emperor Song He, in recent years, had granted a young monk from a vassal state of Great Li the identity of "Tripitaka Master," opening a translation field in the capital. In less than ten years, Great Li had gathered dozens of Buddhist dragon-elephants, translating over eighty scriptures and treatises. In the Western Buddhist Kingdoms, monks who obtained the Tripitaka Master identity were called Buddha Sons, each proficient in scriptures, Vinaya, and Abhidharma. Thus, monks who participated in the Three Teachings debates were invariably accomplished monks with the Tripitaka Master identity.
But such an inconspicuous stone stele, in the eyes of those well-versed in officialdom's rules, would carry profound implications.
Ning Yao asked casually, "Is Great Li trying to foster its own Buddhist and Daoist lineages within the court?"
Chen Ping'an nodded. "That's the inner reality, but they won't make it too obvious. So the Daoists and monks in the capital's Chongxu Bureau and Sutra Translation Bureau don't receive court salaries. Their ranks are all nominal and not high. A prefectural Daoist is only a sub-fifth-rank official. In terms of official status, they are far inferior to prefectural education commissioners. Even according to Great Li laws, local Daoist and Buddhist administrators are not considered part of the pure-stream officialdom."
By relying on the Chongxu Bureau and the Sutra Translation Bureau, they gradually broke the boundary between the mountain and the mortal world, as if moving government offices to the mountains.
Moreover, in Great Li's coastal prefectures, the maritime ban was fully lifted, and Maritime Trade Bureaus were established everywhere to trade with the world.
Beyond the Dragon Prefecture Kiln Supervisory Office, six Weaving Bureaus and Dyeing Offices were also set up.
The thing Ning Yao worried about was still Chen Ping'an's scattered fragments of his destiny porcelain. She asked, "That woman—if she neither clashes with you nor bows her head, just rolls around making a scene, refusing to hand over the destiny porcelain no matter what—determined not to reason with you, only putting on an act of 'I dare you to kill me,' then what? Fallen Mountain can't really kill the Great Li Empress Dowager, can it?"
Chen Ping'an said, "Then I'll watch her make a scene first—cry, complain, threaten suicide. After she's done, we'll sit down and talk properly. If negotiations fail, let her carry on. I'm good at waiting. So the only thing you need to do might make you uncomfortable—just cover your nose and watch the theater. I'll tell you now: if you get impatient, just leave the palace and wander the capital alone, leaving me there. Besides, who can't throw harsh words to scare people? If she really annoys me, I'll threaten to abandon Fallen Mountain's holdings, even if it means moving all the peaks, including Ji Se Peak, out of the Bottle Gourd Continent, just to kill her."
Here, Chen Ping'an smiled. "You don't know this: after you all left, I'd occasionally chat with Dragon Lord and Li Zhen and the others. It was actually quite interesting."
Ning Yao nodded. "It's not bothersome; I'll just watch the fun."
In dealing with the world and establishing oneself, one of the greatest difficulties is to avoid misunderstandings with those around you.
For close people to stay together without growing weary, you need this "clearly understood." Because of all sorts of accidents or trivial matters, you don't suddenly seem to become someone else one day. In fact, many misunderstandings come from one's own muddling. Chen Ping'an was very good at this since childhood. Later, when he traveled far to the Sui Dynasty with Li Huai and the others, even Li Huai didn't need Chen Ping'an to say anything to know what kind of person he was. Later, on the Sword Qi Great Wall, whenever something important related to Ning Yao came up, Chen Ping'an always spoke plainly, didn't hide anything. He would rather she got angry on hearing it than he use vague language.
You can't always accommodate others in everything in life. Otherwise, the kind-hearted person will only remain kind-hearted their whole life. Often, the kind-hearted person's clear conscience makes those close to them suffer.
Chen Ping'an said softly, "When we return to the Colorful Heaven in the future, don't be always thinking about doing more for the Ascending Realm. Almost enough is fine. The capable should work more, but there must be a limit."
Ning Yao smiled.
Probably everyone in the several worlds would think it inevitable, proper, and natural that Ning Yao would advance to Jade Pure Realm, become the first Upper Five Realms cultivator of the Colorful Heaven, then Immortal Realm, then Ascending Realm. At the same time, whatever amazing feats Ning Yao accomplished, whatever incredible achievements she made, they would also be taken for granted, needing no elaboration.
Chen Ping'an didn't think so.
Why should his Ning Yao have to work so hard?
Weren't all those Executioner and Spring Court sword immortals just lazy good-for-nothings lying around enjoying themselves? Disagree?
In the future, when he goes to Ascending City, he'll bring two big baskets of arguments and have a good talk with them.
Afterwards, Chen Ping'an talked about Guo Zhujiu. Hearing that she had become much more steady in temperament, he felt a bit pained instead.
Silly child, silly child, because every child eagerly looks forward to growing up, thinking it would be more fun.
But some children don't really want to grow up; they just have to.
Then they talked about Yu Lu and the others. When he heard that Li Huai had become a wise man in the academy, Ning Yao was a little puzzled, saying he had finally seen the light in reading?
Chen Ping'an couldn't help rubbing his brow and only said four words: "It's a long story."
But now that he was back home, he definitely had to go to the backyard of the Yang Family Herbal Pharmacy. Li Huai said Old Man Yang had left something there for him to see.
Yu Lu had long been a Far Roaming Realm martial artist. Xie Xie, on the other hand, had been stuck at the Golden Core Realm bottleneck for years, mainly because of the dragon-nail wounds he suffered earlier.
The two often traveled together, but Chen Ping'an didn't think they liked each other that way—probably they were just friends.
Of course, in matters of marriage in this world, and the stirring of emotions, there were often sudden turns of the head quietly happening.
Lin Shouyi had served as a temple priest by the Great Dyke, considered half an official in Great Li, but heard that his relationship with his family over the years had still been somewhat strained.
It wasn't that Chen Ping'an cursed him, but Lin Shouyi looked like he was destined to be a lifelong bachelor—on the cultivation path, he was just too focused.
Among the old classmates, only Shi Jiachun, with her little braids, had been the first to move with her family to the capital and then naturally married, managed her household, and raised children.
If Chen Ping'an remembered correctly, Shi Jiachun's son and daughter were now apparently at the age to be considering marriage.
Thinking of this, Chen Ping'an couldn't help turning his head to look at Ning Yao.
Some things, no matter how hard one person tries, are ultimately futile.
They stopped at a small bridge over flowing water. Both sides were lined with brilliantly decorated restaurants and eateries. Countless banquets and drinking parties were going on. Drunken guests were constantly being helped out.
Chen Ping'an took Ning Yao to sit on the relatively quiet steps by the water. For no particular reason, he thought of Zong Yuan and Chou Miao—two sword immortals, one old, one young—both very similar.
One he had only seen in the secret archives of the Summer Pavilion and heard about at banquets. One he had spent time with daily, someone who could definitely have become a peak Great Sword Immortal.
Zong Yuan was probably the sword immortal with the best reputation in the history of the Sword Qi Great Wall. It was said he wasn't overly handsome, had a gentle temperament, didn't talk much, but wasn't a recluse either. When speaking with others, he would listen more and talk less, and there was always genuine warmth in his eyes. Moreover, when Zong Yuan was young, his talent in sword practice wasn't extraordinary. He broke through realms one after another, neither quickly nor slowly, inconspicuously. In the most perilous and severe siege battle in history, Zong Yuan, sword in hand on the city wall, beheaded two Flying Ascension cultivators.
If he hadn't died in battle, Zong Yuan could have carved two characters. If that war hadn't happened, Zong Yuan would definitely have become a Fourteen Realm sword immortal.
After Chen Qingdu, Dragon Lord, and Guan Zhao, before Dong San'geng, Chen Xi, and Qi Tingji rose, he was the pillar of the Sword Qi Great Wall.
For ten thousand years, the Sword Qi Great Wall stood between heaven and earth, never lacking successors.
And later, Chou Miao, who entered the Summer Pavilion and became part of the Hidden Official lineage, Chen Ping'an over the years had never dared think about much.
Ning Yao asked, "What are you thinking?"
Chen Ping'an said, "The old sword immortal Zong Yuan is admirable."
He took off his gourd and drank silently. Chou Miao didn't have to die.
Ning Yao said, "There's a saying now—without Zong Yuan, there would be no later Sword Qi Great Wall; without you, there would be no Ascending City as it is."
On the Sword Qi Great Wall, aside from Chen Qingdu, sword immortals always addressed everyone by their name outright. It wasn't considered disrespectful.
Chen Ping'an took out his gourd and said self-deprecatingly, "Which bastard under Qi Shou is deliberately trying to disgust me with such words?"
He laughed in mock anger. "You think I'm not in Ascending City, do you? Just wait."
Ning Yao shook her head. "It was first said by an old Nascent Soul cultivator. Later, it gradually spread, and many people accepted it."
Chen Ping'an took a sip of wine. The river looked like a silk ribbon embroidered with red lantern patterns. He mocked himself, "Maybe because we're far away, those who like us will like us more, and those who hate us won't hate us as much."
On the flagstone road behind them, an old man was teaching a young junior about learning. He said: When you get to the banquet later, how to sit, the rules for ordering dishes, how many cold dishes, how to order the main courses—don't ask if the host likes or dislikes something, only ask if there are any dietary restrictions. As for the aged liquor we brought ourselves, don't say much, and don't put it on the table. The host is a lover of good wine; when the wine is poured, he will naturally know what it is and what year it is from one sip. When toasting the host, hold the cup with both hands, and never raise it higher than the host's cup. If the host says 'as you wish,' don't take it literally. At the table, drink more, and while you must speak, speak less. You've read the host's collected works, so talk more about the content of the books. About official matters, don't pretend to know what you don't. As for the other guests, don't be overly attentive, but don't be negligent. Not all of these senior officials in the court are petty-minded; they are more interested in seeing whether you youngsters understand the rules and whether you can behave properly in society...
The young man, just entering officialdom, listened intently, nodding lightly from time to time, but inevitably there was some lingering student's pride. When the old man wasn't looking, he frowned slightly and sighed, probably feeling that a scholar's integrity would be drunk away at the banquet, cup after cup.
Chen Ping'an turned his head and watched, listened. These crude rules, of course, he had long understood.
In fact, this young official just entering government service was still lucky—he had a mentor willing to teach everything.
True student pride is not about knowing nothing and stubbornly opposing all old rules and customs.
It's about understanding many things first, then not caring, and dealing with the world without any smoothness, according to one's own preferences.
Later, a middle-aged man led two young women slowly past. Different drinking parties—the man was still instructing them on face-to-face matters, though they were all Qi refiners. The two women seemed unwilling, with some fear inside. As registered immortal masters, they really didn't want to be involved in these so-called social drinking parties in the mortal world. What was a deputy director of the Ministry of Rites in the Great Li capital to them? Moreover, they feared that this senior from their sect might agree to some illicit transactions. Although they cultivated in the mountains, they had heard of some dirty dealings in the mortal world. They were afraid that the young and energetic deputy director might be attracted by their looks and, drunk, have some designs on them, or even get handsy at the table. Even more frighteningly, their senior might go along with him and abandon them.
The man smiled wryly and patiently continued to explain to them about tonight's banquet—it was a rare opportunity. And that young, promising deputy director had an excellent official reputation. If not for his clan being near their mountain, it would be a pipe dream to get him to drink with them tonight. This fellow townsman, only in his early thirties, was already a deputy director of a department in the Ministry of Justice...
Chen Ping'an withdrew his gaze.
Ning Yao rested her chin on one hand, watching the river.
In the same posture, she switched hands.
Chen Ping'an stood up, carrying his gourd, bent over, moved to sit beside her on the other side.
Ning Yao murmured, "Childish."
Chen Ping'an smiled and didn't reply, just took small sips of wine.
Ning Yao was silent for a moment, then asked curiously, "We didn't really try to hide our entry into the city. Apart from those young men and women watching from afar, why hasn't a single person come to meet us? Not even anyone spying on us from the shadows?"
Chen Ping'an smiled. "That means the Emperor hasn't yet decided how to interact with us. If it were just me, he wouldn't be so troubled."
The Great Li court never indulged any peak cultivator. This wasn't because the Song clan was arrogant, but because they had the confidence.
However, Ning Yao was an exception.
The first person of the Colorful Heaven, an Ascending Realm sword immortal, the Ning Yao of the Sword Qi Great Wall.
If Great Li provoked her, even ignoring Ning Yao herself, in the near term, it would mean provoking the sword immortals of the Northern Juzhou, and in the long term, the Dragon Elephant Sword Sect of Qi Tingji and Lu Zhi.
Chen Ping'an said, "The Great Li Song clan gave me the first move on the chessboard, waiting for me to place my first stone. For example, if I go straight to the palace, it would be like the former kiln apprentice from Mud Vase Alley turning over the table to settle old scores. If I go to Thought-Late Alley to find Patrol Marshal Cao, I'm a businessman negotiating a deal. If I visit my old friend Guan Yiran to reminisce, I'm a registered immortal master touring the mountains. If I go to the ruins of the Old Cliff Academy, I'm a direct disciple of the Wen Sheng lineage. No matter where I go, the palace will have countermeasures. But since we're just wandering, maybe the Emperor and Empress Dowager will have to eat a late-night snack with us."
Chen Ping'an paused, then laughed. "So later, we'll stay at my senior brother's mansion."
Ning Yao turned her head, a questioning look in her eyes.
She didn't want to think too much tonight.
Chen Ping'an explained softly, "Equivalent to telling Great Li: I do things with restraint, so you must return the favor. Anyway, no one needs to play games."
"Jade in the mountain makes the grass lush; pearls in the deep make the shore not barren."
These were words from his teacher's writings, widely circulated, and they would be passed down through generations. Like a dream—his teacher was a sage from the books.
And when Chen Ping'an stood in this capital, he found traces of his senior brother Cui Chan's enlightenment everywhere.
The reason Bottle Gourd Continent was still Bottle Gourd Continent was that his two senior brothers, through a century of painstaking effort, had continuously gathered people's hearts, causing heroes to rise throughout the continent, so that they could together turn the tide.
So Chen Ping'an, as the junior, would not recklessly destroy this good situation, but not because Fallen Mountain feared the Great Li Song clan.
Chen Ping'an laughed. "We'll rest there, and I'll also look through the library for any rare editions and move them to Fallen Mountain."
Ning Yao asked, "Stealing books?"
Chen Ping'an set down his gourd, crossed his arms, and chuckled. "A junior brother borrowing a few books from his senior brother—how can that be counted as stealing? It's a matter of whoever objects having no sense, isn't it?"
Ning Yao said casually, "Mi Li said Pei Qian said Zheng Dafeng said that you have a good friend in Old Dragon City, Fan Er, and you two made an agreement?"
Chen Ping'an laughed heartily. "Fan Er? He was ignorant and reckless in his youth, always having strange ideas, but I thankfully dissuaded him."
Chen Ping'an had never visited a brothel in his life.
Only once, passing by a pleasure district in the southern country's capital, he got a taste of that unavoidable powder-and-perfume atmosphere.
Ning Yao remembered something. "I broke that jade token of Zhu Huang's that was presiding over the Sword Summit Formation earlier, didn't I?"
Chen Ping'an smiled. "Actually, it's a good thing. If you hadn't broken it, I would have found an opportunity to do it myself. Without the constraints of Full Moon Peak's Xia Yuancui and Autumn Cloister's Tao Yanbo from both sides, and with Yan Chu's defection, Zhu Huang, as the sect leader, will become the sole voice at First Thread Peak, dominating Zhengyang Mountain. The internal strife at Zhengyang Mountain will soon stop. Now, for at least a few years, Zhu Huang loses the biggest advantage of a Sword Summit Formation immortal and is just a peak master of First Thread Peak, a Jade Pure Realm sword immortal. This creates more variables."
Chen Ping'an tilted his head and gulped a mouthful of wine, wiped his mouth, and continued, "Tao Yanbo will certainly seek refuge with Xia Yuancui, looking for a way to break Autumn Cloister's predicament. For example, forging a private contract to 'rent' their own sword immortals to Full Moon Peak. Maybe even encourage that Senior Xia to compete for the sect leader position. As compensation, the lockdown on Autumn Cloister would be lifted early. As for Yan Chu, that fence-sitter, he will certainly fan the flames, seeking greater benefit for himself and Water Dragon Peak. Once the sect leader of the lower sect is chosen as Yuan Bai, it will cause even greater variables on Zhengyang Mountain, more chaos, delicate and complex. It will take Zhu Huang at least thirty to forty years to settle these internal troubles."
Chen Ping'an wiped his left hand casually. "In the Lotus Flower Blessed Land back then, the old temple master's theory of meridians wasn't a panacea that worked for everything, but it was definitely the best mountain-chopping axe for traversing rivers and mountains."
He hung his gourd back on his waist, reached out a hand, plucked a reflection of a lantern from the river, condensed it into a small, exquisite lantern, and suspended it in the air. The lanterns, each in its place, hovered, curving in a line, like a path. Then he plucked two strands of thin water flow from the river and placed them on either side of the lanterns.
Chen Ping'an said, "Most people will step onto this path because it's obvious and easy to walk. If large-scale, this is the general trend, destiny."
Then he pointed to the gaps between two lanterns. "The ups and downs of people's hearts within this period, the various changes brought by different life journeys—you don't have to scrutinize them. Besides, even if you try to manage, you might not be able to; it could even backfire. There will definitely be people who can walk out of this path, but that's fine. For Zhengyang Mountain, that's a real good thing, and it's what I have truly been expecting."
This was something Chen Ping'an had learned from Zheng Juzhong and Wu Shuangjiang. One was skilled at calculating the threads of people's hearts; the other was expert at dissipating the ten thousand things via dissolution of the physical form.
Chen Ping'an thought for a moment, then said, "For example, back in the town, Zhengyang Mountain was determined to get that sword scripture, and the Breeze City was after the Monkey Armor. That was inevitable on life's path. If I take myself as an example... say, the Mountain-Crushing Fist Manual for Gu Can—that was one lantern. The Chen Ping'an from Mud Vase Alley, getting that manual, would definitely learn the fist for self-preservation."
Ning Yao said, "And the wooden man from your neighbor Song Jixin's house—you would definitely put it together and have me explain the meridians for you, right?"
Chen Ping'an nodded. "That's the logic. Many accidents are actually inevitable. But a series of inevitabilities can also produce the improbable and accidental."
Ning Yao frowned deeply, her expression worried.
Chen Ping'an turned around, gently smoothed her brow, and said softly with a laugh, "The old saying 'three years old predicts the old' is only generally true; it doesn't necessarily decide a person's whole life. No one is fated to become a certain someone. There are no predetermined things in the world. Even that Zou Zi who sold candied hawthorns back then didn't really target the young me to specifically make things hard for a child. To be precise, Zou Zi was waiting for a choice and some results, then would wait and see. This doesn't conflict with the principle I always tell myself: good fortune and calamity have no doors, only man invites them. Later, I read the Yai Sage's saying that was similar: 'All things are prepared within me.' During an earlier chat with my teacher in the Merit Forest at the Confucian Temple, he said this saying of the Yai Sage was excellent and showed deep consideration."
"Back then, many people who watched the Li Zhu Cave Heaven's affairs from behind the scenes didn't necessarily get personally involved. They simply placed bets everywhere, fanned the flames, or at most dug riverbeds, led lakes, built dams. It's like us buying a bunch of calligraphy and paintings at a cheap price, then thinking the person's fame will grow, the price will rise, and someday we can sell them for a sky-high price, easily reaping huge profits. Old Man Yang back then was the banker in our hometown. For Ma Kuxuan, Song Jixin, Liu Xianyang, Gu Can, Zhao Yao, Xie Ling, and so on—he might have placed bets differently, in a silent way. Then, if someone could take a higher step at some critical moment, others would continue betting. If not, they might become obscure, die out on the path, take a completely different life path. Likewise, Senior Brother Cui Chan placed bets on Wu Yuan, Wei Li, Liu Qingfeng, Wei Liang, and many others. Among them, Liu Qingfeng wasn't necessarily destined to become the later Minister of Rites of the Great Li auxiliary capital."
"When I was fourteen, just before I left my hometown, when Liu Xianyang faced that catastrophe, I had no one to turn to. If at that time, when I passed the Covered Bridge, I hadn't seen you, and if I had the chance to start over, I would definitely have chosen another life—become the self who accepted that string of candied hawthorns, maybe become a kiln apprentice, spend a lifetime making ceramics, and live a peaceful life."
"But me today would certainly not choose that. Even if I had the chance, I would choose to come here by the same path. As for the future..."
Too many things were beyond his control.
Ning Yao asked softly, "What about the future?"
Chen Ping'an's eyes were resolute. He smiled and said, "In the future, even if I had ten thousand different choices, I wouldn't pick any other."
Ning Yao's eyes brightened, and she nodded lightly.
After that, Chen Ping'an led Ning Yao to a certain place, weaving through streets and alleys with familiar ease, never needing to ask directions. It was as if he were walking around his own mountain.
They passed by Thought-Late Alley, where many families of hereditary headwear and tassels—the prestigious and wealthy—lived. Not far away was Sigh-Child Street, almost entirely filled with military families. The ancestral houses of the Yuan and Cao clans were in Second Child Alley and Mud Vase Alley. Guan Yiran and Liu Xunmei's mansions in the capital were also on these two streets. They were famously like "one radish, one hole." Even when rewards were granted for merits, many new faces entered the central government, they still couldn't find a place in Thought-Late Alley and Sigh-Child Street.
At the entrance to a quiet alley, two Qi refiners appeared, one old and one young, blocking their way.
Their realms weren't high—one Nascent Soul, one Dragon Gate.
The old man said indifferently, "No matter who you are, take another route."
Chen Ping'an pointed into the alley and laughed, "I'm the junior disciple of the master of that house inside."
Then he added, "I'm here to read some books."
The young man sneered, "Junior disciple of the National Master? Why don't you say you're his senior brother?"
Who didn't know that Great Li's National Master, Embroidery Tiger Cui Chan, had cut ties with the Wen Sheng lineage over a hundred years ago? Where would a junior disciple come from? It seemed that cheats in the capital these days had quite some guts and many tricks.
The old man seemed like a reclusive hermit who didn't care about worldly affairs. He waved his hand. "Go away quickly."
Chen Ping'an was a bit helpless. How did the Great Li court put these two in charge of this place?
So he turned to Ning Yao and asked, "Should we find a nearby inn?"
Ning Yao didn't care. Sneaking into the mansion wouldn't have been difficult for them anyway.
In contrast to the bright daylight elsewhere in the capital, this street was heavily shrouded in night. Chen Ping'an said out of nowhere, "Pure freedom requires sacrificing humanity."
Ning Yao looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"
Chen Ping'an laughed. "Nothing."
Then he took an elbow to the ribs, winced, and after finding an inn, they asked and were told only one room was left. Chen Ping'an sighed mournfully and prepared to pay.