Chapter 869: Blossoms in Succession

Chapter 869: Blossoms in Succession

Back then, when Chen Ping'an borrowed a few books from the Imperial Observatory, he didn't return to the Echo Chamber or the inn. Instead, he went directly to the top of the capital's outer city wall, where he spotted a ferry suspended above the border of the capital region. Two strands of dragon aura emanating from it were exceptionally thick—the true dragon Zhigui and the vassal king Song Mu. It was like seeing two great lanterns swaying in the yard next door on Clay Vase Alley in the dead of night; impossible to miss.

Chen Ping'an took another step and landed directly on this heavily guarded ferry. At the same time, he pulled out his third-rank fenggong token and held it high.

A fully armored general, one hand resting on his saber, along with several military cultivators accompanying the ferry, had already formed a semicircular encirclement, clearly prioritizing the expulsion of visitors. Only when they saw the token issued by the Great Li Ministry of Justice did they hold off from attacking immediately.

The general asked in a deep voice, "Who goes there?"

The cultivator before them, dressed in a blue scholar's robe, looked completely at ease.

He seemed familiar, but they couldn't quite place him.

An elderly cultivator with a kindly face said, "I'm afraid I'll have to trouble the immortal master to state your name for the ferry's records."

With one hand hidden in his sleeve, he quietly pinched a golden talisman. "As for whether the honored fenggong can remain on the ferry, I still can't guarantee anything."

Given that the vassal king Song Mu, the imperial prince Song Xu, and the Vice Minister of Rites Zhao Yao were all on board, no one could afford to be careless.

Chen Ping'an announced his identity: "Chen Ping'an of Fallback Mountain."

The general was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood. He asked, "The Peak Master Chen who almost did in those bastards at Sunshine Mountain?"

Chen Ping'an was also taken aback for a moment before smiling and nodding. "If nothing unexpected happened, then yes, that should be me."

Sunshine Mountain, that chaotic and corrupt immortal sect, only put up money, never really put in any real effort, and certainly didn't contribute manpower. Besides a handful of swordsmen who showed up at the Old Dragon City battlefield, those so-called sword immortal seeds were really just going down the mountain for sightseeing, going wherever it was safe. The Great Li military, especially the generals leading troops, saw this clearly and naturally held Sunshine Mountain in contempt. So, that ceremony at Fallback Mountain had been deeply satisfying.

The general was all smiles now. He waved his hand, dispersing the encirclement, then cupped his hands and said, "Peak Master Chen isn't carrying a sword today, so I didn't recognize you just now. Protecting the ferry is my duty. My apologies for any offense. I'll immediately have my subordinates report to the Prince of Luo."

Song Mu's enfeoffment was in Luo Province. The ancient Luo River was also one of the sources of the later Great Central River.

This general was usually a man of few words, but today he was all smiles and even proactively introduced himself. "My name is Liao Jun. I served under General Su, starting as a foot soldier, a lowly rank, not worth mentioning. I'm friends with Guan Yiran, but I missed the chance to meet Peak Master Chen back then at the Book-Scarcity Lake. I've often heard Yu Shanfang and Qi Qi mention Peak Master Chen—unmatched drinking capacity. After a drinking session, if there's even one person still sitting, it means Peak Master Chen hasn't had his fill yet."

Actually, it was a strange thing. By rights, when Chen Ping'an boarded the ferry, he hadn't deliberately used any concealment technique. Since Liao Jun had seen that mirrored spectacle, he absolutely shouldn't have failed to recognize the young peak master of Fallback Mountain.

This was the result of Lu Chen's Dao techniques. Chen Ping'an hadn't fully digested that Dao charm and Dao energy yet, causing him to walk through the human world like an untethered empty boat, his human form and the world keeping their distance, like well water and river water not interfering. So, in terms of his "Dao appearance," outsiders naturally saw him as if through a mist. Only when Chen Ping'an announced his sect and name did he become, in their eyes, someone they suddenly remembered. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to see through the clouds. This was even more true earlier, when the Dao Ancestor, riding his ox, had visited the small town. If the Dao Ancestor didn't want anyone to know his whereabouts, then heaven wouldn't know, earth wouldn't know, and no one would know.

Chen Ping'an transmitted his voice with a smile, "My drinking capacity is average, but my drinking manners are decent. Not like some people, full of tricks, their hands shaking as soon as they lift the bowl. Every time they leave the table, there's enough spilled drink at their feet to raise fish."

Liao Jun found this incredibly satisfying and laughed heartily. He had suffered quite a bit at Guan Yiran's hands. Using sound condensation, he spoke in secret to the young sword immortal, who had such a witty manner of speaking: "I figure our Physician Guan must have come from Yichi Alley. That's why he thinks the liquor from Book-Scarcity Lake tastes bad, not as good as the horse piss he's used to."

Zhigui, dressed in a snow-white long robe, stood by the top-level railing of the ferry, squinting at the man in blue whom she had parted from at the Great River Temple.

She was annoyed by Chen Ping'an's approachability, his tendency to be kind to everyone.

It seemed like he could chat with anyone. People like that always seemed to find something good in everything.

If it were a pretense, that would be one thing. But it wasn't.

Chen Ping'an looked up and transmitted his voice with a laugh, "As a newly appointed Water Lord of the Four Seas, escorting goods as a water god is a matter of duty. Aren't you afraid the Confucian Temple will hold you accountable? If I remember correctly, the ranks of gods on the Great Li Golden Jade Registry aren't exactly ironclad positions anymore."

After that Confucian Temple conference, various measures had been continuously announced through the landscape gazettes, spreading across the nine provinces of the Bright World.

Regarding the evaluation, promotion, and demotion of landscape gods, in the secular dynasties below the mountains, part of the authority to enshrine gods had been surrendered to the Confucian Temple, more like the Ministry of Personnel's Merit Assessment Department in a court. On the Great Li side, the Iron Character River Water God, Yang Hua, who filled the temporarily vacant position of Marquis of Eternal Spring, was a lateral transfer; his divine rank was still third grade, somewhat like a capital official being transferred to a provincial post in the landscape bureaucracy. But being able to go out and govern a region as a high-ranking official was a sign of importance.

That old flood dragon from the Fengshui Cave of Bountiful Continent's Qiantang River had just filled the position of Linli Earl among the three dukes and marquises of the Qi River, which was certainly a promotion. The old flood dragon from the Yellow Court Kingdom, whose true name was Cheng Longzhou, had been transferred to become the academy head of a Confucian academy, going to the Great Fu Academy in Tung Leaf Continent.

Each had their own fortune.

Zhigui sneered coldly, "If I remember correctly, Peak Master Chen doesn't hold a position in the Great Li Ministry of Rites. Could it be that during that conference, the Confucian Temple rewarded you with a high-ranking, substantive post matching your literary vein status after discussing your merits? So you can have such a wide scope of authority now?"

Chen Ping'an smiled and said, "We were neighbors for many years, so a word of advice isn't out of line. You should change that habit of not listening to good advice in the future."

"Having read a few books, you should also change that habit of being a presumptuous teacher. If you ask me, you were more likable back when you hadn't studied at all."

Zhigui smiled and said, "Those were the good old days. Getting scolded at the Ironshod Lock Well would make me angry for days."

Both had come from the simple, honest folk of the "younger generation" of the Pear Blossom Cave Heaven, and in terms of verbal sparring, they could be considered from the same ancestral hall.

Zhigui narrowed her golden eyes and transmitted her voice, asking, "Fourteenth realm? Where did you get that?"

She was already in the Flying Ascension realm.

As the only true dragon in the world, and a Flying Ascension great cultivator bearing the dragon-tiger fortune, her eyesight was naturally better than most mountain-top cultivators.

Chen Ping'an said, "Borrowed it from someone. Someone you happen to know as well."

Zhigui snorted in disdain, clearly not believing Chen Ping'an's explanation.

She suddenly narrowed her long, slit-like eyes. "Lu... Daoist?!"
Close to uttering his full name directly.

She seemed to have found a handle on him, tapping her finger lightly on the railing. "Tsk, tsk. You've even learned to turn enemies into friends. They say a girl changes eighteen times by adulthood, but that's just about appearance. Peak Master Chen, on the other hand, has changed even more. Truly worthy of being a frequently traveling Peak Master Chen. Indeed, once a man gets wealth, he becomes impressive."

Chen Ping'an was unfazed. "Do you know of the gentleman Sanshan Jiuhou?"

Zhigui smiled slyly. "What if I do, what if I don't?"

One of her jade-white hands had veins bulging on the back. Clearly, she both hated the gentleman Sanshan Jiuhou to the bone and was terrified of him to the core.

True Pearl Mountain was the location of the "Pearl" that the true dragon Zhigui had carried in her mouth back in the day. That stream, which locals called Dragon Whisker Creek and was later elevated to a river, was one of the authentic "dragon whiskers." Together with the town's main street, the two dragon whiskers were one hidden, one visible. Furthermore, Fortune Street and Peach Leaf Lane were respectively a dragon neck and a section of dragon spine. Every mansion on Fortune Street was a suppressing talisman, while every peach tree in Peach Leaf Lane was like a dragon-binding nail, working together to trap a true dragon with exposed sinews and bones in place, unable to move a single inch.

The dozens of dragon kilns in the town, painstakingly selected by experts as the acupoints of a dragon, were said to have been unceasingly fired for a thousand years. For Zhigui, this was no different from an unending great fire refining her. Every firing was like dumping boiling oil and water into a wok, pouring karmic fire into her soul.

Chen Ping'an reminded her, "Don't forget who it was that allowed you to escape the Ironshod Lock Well back then and later walk freely through the human world in a human skin and physique."

According to the earliest rules set by the sages of the Three Teachings and One School in the Pear Blossom Cave Heaven, this had been an act of extraordinary grace, and also bordered on overstepping authority.

Zhigui blinked her eyes. "Of course it was because Qi Jingchun was negligent in his guardianship. What else could it be?"

Chen Ping'an put his hands in his sleeves, tilted his head slightly, and made a gesture of listening intently. He smiled and said, "What did you say? I didn't hear clearly. Say it again?"

Zhigui leaned against the railing and said with a giggle, "Who do you think you are? Do I have to repeat myself just because you tell me to?"

Having been neighbors for so many years, she knew Chen Ping'an's character very well.

With this goody-two-shoes, anyone could say whatever they wanted without restraint. He had been accustomed to being given dirty looks and stabbed in the back since he was a child, a pitiful wretch. There was no need to worry about him holding grudges or seeking revenge. Ordinary people might not even believe in good people getting good karma, but he believed in evil getting its due. He hadn't been afraid of ghosts since he was a child, yet he was a coward who didn't dare to do a single bad thing or harbor a single malicious thought, except when it came to certain things crossing the line.

Back when Zhigui first saw Liu Xianyang, she had disliked him. The true dragons of the world were born with reverse scales. Because Liu Xianyang's ancestors had mastered the arts of disturbing, raising, and beheading dragons, Zhigui felt a hatred for him that originated from the very essence of the Great Way.

At that time, Liu Xianyang was just an ordinary mortal, completely ignorant of this, and had been set up by Tian Wan on a blind date. He only thought Zhigui looked down on him for being poor.

Song Jixin came out of the cabin, accompanied by the Great Li imperial prince Song Xu, Vice Minister of Rites Zhao Yao, and that girl who had been rummaging through boxes with great success. But as soon as Yu Yu saw that blue-robed sword immortal who always smiled but killed without blinking, her face immediately fell.

Although the Chen Ping'an in front of her wasn't that Chen Ping'an, that Chen Ping'an was still, ultimately, him.

In those few fights, he had grabbed her, spun her around, and delivered a heart-stopping elbow strike that made her spew blood... or he would press his hand against her face and casually rip out all her souls.

And among the Great Li Earth Branch cultivators, she had gotten off relatively lightly. A few had fared even worse.

Thinking about these unpleasant memories from the past, Yu Yu felt that there still wasn't enough alcohol on the ferry.

Song Jixin asked with a smile, "You looking for me?"

Chen Ping'an countered, "Weren't you the one looking for me?"

Song Jixin nodded. "Then let's go inside and sit down to chat."

Zhao Yao and the other two wisely stayed behind, letting the two neighbors from Clay Vase Alley catch up in private.

In a room, Chen Ping'an and Song Jixin sat facing each other. Zhigui stepped over the threshold but didn't sit down. She stood behind Song Jixin. She was a maidservant, after all. Back in their hometown, according to custom, women generally didn't sit at the table during meals. And once a woman was married, she didn't even get to participate in ancestor worship or tomb-sweeping.

Song Jixin cut straight to the point. "Don't kill anyone. That's my bottom line. Otherwise, no matter what the cost, I will contend with you and Fallback Mountain."

Chen Ping'an said, "Song Mu, you need to understand one thing first. It's not me making things difficult for her, but her making things difficult for me."

Zhigui smiled. "Young Master is overthinking things. How could a good person kill anyone? At most, they might lecture you on a few principles, teach you a small lesson, and then be on their way."

Song Jixin stared fixedly at Chen Ping'an, shaking his head. "Repay kindness with kindness, repay enmity with enmity. Repaying kindness with enmity makes one a petty villain; repaying enmity with kindness makes one a hypocrite. This isn't my principle; it's the teaching of the Supreme Sage."

Chen Ping'an turned to Zhigui and said, "Outsiders shouldn't be here."

Zhigui shook her head like a rattle-drum. "First, I'm not an outsider. Second, I'm not even human."

Song Jixin said, "Zhigui, leave us for a moment."

Zhigui pouted, and her form dissipated into thin air.

Chen Ping'an suddenly raised one hand, two fingers together forming a sword gesture.

The next instant, Zhigui was forcibly ejected from the room and back onto the top-level corridor. She pressed her thumb against her cheek, where a faint bloody scratch, caused by the sword energy, had appeared.

Sure enough, it was the legendary Fourteenth Realm!

Song Jixin poured two bowls of tea, used one finger to push one of the white porcelain tea bowls lightly towards Chen Ping'an.

This tea set, on the table, came from the Dragon Province Kiln Supervision Office.

Less than a quarter of an hour later.

Chen Ping'an was back at the prow of the ship.

Only a dejected-looking Great Li vassal king remained, staring blankly at the tea bowl in front of him.

Zhao Yao had been waiting for Chen Ping'an's return and transmitted his voice, asking, "The other two sword cultivators?"

Actually, the first time Zhao Yao had gone to see Chen Ping'an, he hadn't been without worry. He couldn't help but fear that Chen Ping'an would want to complete the Celestial Sword Taibai.

Chen Ping'an said, "Sword cultivator Liu Cai, from the Barren Wastes, Feiran."

Zhao Yao frowned. "How could it be Feiran?"

Chen Ping'an shook his head. "I don't know. You can ask him yourself later. He's currently cultivating at the Grand Mystic All-Viewing Temple and is already a sword cultivator."

Zhao Yao smiled bitterly. "He's in the Jade Marvel realm now, and you want me to fly to the Green Obscurity World? That would take forever. It would be more practical to wait for Mr. Bai to return to the Bright World."

Chen Ping'an smiled. "Since you could break the rules to return from the Five Colors World, it's possible you could break the rules to travel to the Green Obscurity World for a pilgrimage."

Zhao Yao was momentarily speechless.

Chatting with this grudge-holding fellow was truly not pleasant.

Zhao Yao made a polite offer. "Want to return to the capital together?"

Chen Ping'an shook his head. "I'm going south to revisit a few old places."

Zhigui's expression was indifferent. She narrowed her golden eyes, looking down at Chen Ping'an, and transmitted her voice: "The you now, will disappoint people."

Chen Ping'an put his hands in his sleeves, looked up at the woman, and didn't explain anything. There wasn't really much to say to her anyway.

But upon hearing Zhigui's words, Chen Ping'an smiled instead.

At the very least, in all these years away from home, following Song Jixin through various wanderings, she had, in the end, not disappointed Mr. Qi.

During the great war, she had neither defected to the Barren Wastes World. Instead, she had actively left the land and fought a great battle against the old throne seat, Crimson Consort, blocking that water law divine ability intended to flood Old Dragon City, for which she had suffered several blows to the head from the Moving Mountain Ancestor, Zhu Yan.

After the war ended, she hadn't recklessly headed for the Void to try and establish herself independently in the unregulated Barren Wastes World.

She hadn't fought with Dame Dandan of Lucurong Keng over the title of Water Movement Master. Whatever her thoughts, she hadn't made a big scene and broken ties with the Confucian Temple.

Most importantly, she hadn't harmed Song Jixin. Since she could steal dragon qi from Song Jixin on Clay Vase Alley back then, she could now just as easily feed dragon qi back to the vassal king Song Mu.

If she did that, it would affect the fortune situation of the entire continent and could very well lead to the Great Li Song clan splitting the country in two, eventually forming a north-south stalemate.

Chen Ping'an turned around, took his hand out of his sleeve, and cupped his hands to the armored general in farewell.

After that guy left, Zhigui returned to the room and found Song Jixin somewhat lost in thought. She casually sat down and asked, "Didn't come to an agreement?"

Song Jixin remained silent for a long time. Then he stood up and said, "Not going to the capital. I'm going to the Barren Wastes World."

The Cliff Academy of the Great Sui Dynasty.

Brother Mao had already stepped down as vice academy head. After the Confucian Temple conference, he was no longer the Great Sui Minister of Rites concurrently serving as the Academy head. A new academy head from another continent had come.

Chen Ping'an appeared at the top of a mountain on the academy grounds called East Mountain. He stood on a tree branch, looking out at the imperial palace. The former prince, Gao Xuan, was now the new emperor of Great Sui.

Back then, when the small town was a mixed bag of people, the first bag of gold essence copper coins Chen Ping'an had gotten, strictly speaking, came from Gao Xuan. Together with the two bags Gu Can had left him, he had just managed to gather three types: one bag of offering coins, one of welcoming spring coins, and one of suppressing evil coins. These three bags of gold essence copper coins were actually opportunities Chen Ping'an had missed. The earliest was the loach he gave to Gu Can, and later, when he met Uncle Li and was negotiating the price, Gao Xuan arrived later but bought the golden carp first, snatching it right out from under Chen Ping'an, along with a free Dragon King Creel.

Later, this member of the Great Sui Yiyang County Gao clan came to the Great Li Dynasty as a hostage for the alliance between the two nations and studied for many years at the Linlu Academy on Cloud-Shouldering Mountain.

At Cliff Academy, Gao Xuan often went fishing with Yu Lu. He was also quite familiar with Bao Ping, Li Huai, and the others.

Chen Ping'an hesitated for a moment but decided against going to the Great Sui imperial palace to find Gao Xuan. The newly enthroned emperor was busy with imperial rescripts in the study.

That elderly eunuch, secretly called "Inner Chancellor" by the Great Sui officialdom for two reigns, was standing guard at the door. Then, an appointed cultivator named Cai Jingshen went to have an audience with His Majesty.

Chen Ping'an wasn't very familiar with him. Cui Dongshan and Uncle Li seemed to know him quite well.

After that, he just took a stroll by the academy's lakeside for a while before disappearing again to continue his travels.

A relatively large immortal ferry crossing was located on the border between the Southern Brook Kingdom and the Ancient Elm Kingdom. The ferry docked on a large lake called the Spring-Announcing Lake.

According to Zhang Shanfeng's explanation back then, in ancient times, there was a goddess in charge of announcing spring, managing the world's flora. But a tree within the Ancient Elm Kingdom always failed to follow its appointed times of withering and thriving. So the goddess issued a divine decree, forbidding this tree from becoming enlightened, making it extremely difficult for it to become a spirit and take form. Hence, the later saying "elm knot doesn't get enlightened," meaning someone is thick-headed.

If Chen Ping'an remembered correctly, that southerner with the surname Chu had indeed been only at the fifth realm back then. This was indeed highly inconsistent with its long years of existence.

Cultivators on the mountains had the concepts of "nominal age" and "actual age," which were calculated differently from ages below the mountain. So this ancient elm tree spirit was a classic case of having grown old in nominal age for thousands of years but being very immature in actual age.

At that time, Chen Ping'an had read few books and had a shallow perspective. He had initially mistaken it for a member of the Ancient Elm Kingdom's royal family. Otherwise, just based on the surname Chu, plus the allusion Zhang Shanfeng had mentioned, and the fact that it claimed to be from the Ancient Elm Kingdom, he should have guessed.

For all spirits and monsters in the world, once they succeed in taking form, their true names are of utmost importance.

Using the word-breaking method of Master Xu of Shining Mound, the character Chu has "forest" on top and "foot" on the bottom. The bottom component, "pi," is interpreted as "foot." Two trees make a forest; a tree with feet beneath it. That Ancient Elm Kingdom's national master used this character as his surname.

Chen Ping'an looked up at the sky above the ferry crossing.

The Ancient Elm Kingdom, Grand Abundance Prefecture.

The royal surname of the Ancient Elm Kingdom was also Chu. The ancient elm tree spirit, who used the pseudonym Chu Mao, had been serving as the kingdom's national master for quite some time.

Right now, Chu Mao was dining. A large table was filled with exquisite dishes, along with a pot of fine tribute wine from the imperial palace. Two young maidservants were attending to him. Truly a divine being living a divine life.

Judging by the effort he put into his meals, one could tell he was a connoisseur.

Of course, this national master had been very polite back then too. Wearing a suit of snow-white armor formed from a Warrior's Inner Core, he had vigorously slapped the breastplate in front of him, begging Chen Ping'an to throw a punch at that spot.

That was Chen Ping'an's first time seeing a Warrior's Inner Core. It seemed to be a second-grade treasure from the Ancient Elm Kingdom's royal vault.

He was the same breed of hero as Du Yu of the Ghost Axe Palace, whom Chen Ping'an had met later in the Northern Abyss Continent. One begged you to hit him; the other let you have three moves.

Chen Ping'an stood at the doorway, slightly releasing a trace of his cultivator's aura.

Chu Mao put on a stern face and sneered, "A guest is a guest, so why be furtive?" Without turning his head, he continued picking up food with his chopsticks.

A Cave Dwelling realm cultivator. Not a low realm. Quite bold.

A man in a blue scholar's robe, hands tucked in his sleeves, appeared at the doorway, smiling. "National Master Chu, it's been a while."

Chu Mao frowned slightly and slowly turned his head. But when he saw the man's appearance and figure, the national master immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

As for the two maidservants attending to the national master's meal, they were still unaware of the gravity of the situation.

They just thought the man in blue who had climbed over the wall was remarkably bold. And, well, quite handsome to look at.

Chu Mao had to support himself on the table with one hand to stand up unsteadily. He took a few steps back, first straightened his collar, then pulled a jade token from his sleeve and hung it at his waist. Finally, he made a deep bow and said, "Ancient Elm Kingdom qi refiner Chu Mao greets the Clan Leader Chen."

His eyes weren't blind. During that mirrored spectacle at Sunshine Mountain, he had watched it with great enjoyment and had done plenty of drinking.

As for the "Peace and No Trouble" token Chu Mao had, issued by the Great Li Ministry of Justice, it was naturally of the lowest rank.

But Chu Mao racked his brains and couldn't guess why such an unattainable sword immortal would come to the small Ancient Elm Kingdom.

Chen Ping'an pulled out a token from his sleeve. "What a coincidence. I have one too."

He hadn't realized this fenggong token had so many uses.

Chu Mao immediately changed his tune. "It's truly unbelievable that I have the honor of being a Great Li appointed cultivator alongside the Sword Immortal Chen. Before this, I was foolishly hoping to exchange it for a second-class appointed position. But now, even if Great Li were to reward me with a first-class token, I would have to refuse."

Chen Ping'an stepped over the threshold. With a twist of his wrist, he produced a vermilion gourd-shaped sword-nurturing gourd and said with a smile, "You said it yourself back then—if I ever passed by the Ancient Elm Kingdom, I had to come visit you. Even going to the imperial palace for a drink would be fine. You even suggested I should pick a snowy night, that we could sit on the palace rooftop, drink, and watch the snow without worry. Even if the emperor found out, he wouldn't chase us away."

Back then, Chu Mao had claimed that his relationship with the Chu royal family was one of mutual support and mutual wariness. Looking back now, those were words of genuine conscience.

Chu Mao stood rooted to the spot, speechless, as if struck by a thunderbolt.

How could this blue-robed sword immortal in front of him possibly be that young boy from back then?!

It had only been a few decades! At that time, his unexpected encounter with the young sword cultivator, how could their fight be considered... evenly matched?!

And besides, you, a fifth-realm sword immortal master, couldn't you just let a small Viewing Sea realm spirit like me off like a farthing? Why dig up old grudges and needlessly damage your immortal grace?

Chen Ping'an pulled up a chair and sat down. He smiled at one of the maidservants. "Miss, would you mind bringing me an extra set of chopsticks and a bowl?"

Chu Mao was about to scold the clueless dumb bird a few times, but he noticed the sword immortal looking at him with an ambiguous smile. Chu Mao immediately said to the maidservant in a gentle tone, "Remember to bring a few more jars of good wine."

After sitting down, Chen Ping'an asked casually, "Have you had any dealings with that White Deer Daoist lately?"

He couldn't help but remember that White Deer Daoist, one of Chu Mao's allies from back then.

He arrived quickly, but fled even faster.

When things looked bad for Chu Mao, he had summoned the Qin Mountain God and the White Deer Daoist for reinforcements. Who would have thought that the White Deer Daoist, who had just landed gracefully on the veranda, would immediately touch the ground with his toe, transform his horsetail whisk into a white deer mount, and come and go in a flash, tossing out a line, "Goddamn, a sword cultivator!"

In truth, back then, Chen Ping'an could hardly be considered a sword cultivator at all.

For a flying sword, whether or not it had a lifebound divine ability was of the utmost importance.

And as for Chu Yi and Shi Wu, the two flying swords that had accompanied Chen Ping'an the longest, he had yet to discover their lifebound divine abilities even now.

Chu Mao grew even more anxious. He sighed. "Daoist White Deer was slightly injured in that previous war. He's now wandering other continents to relax. He said that after he finishes traveling the nine continents of the Bright World, he must go to the Sword Qi Wall to see for himself and broaden his horizons. He'll shamelessly offer a toast to the fallen sword immortals. The Daoist also said that before, he didn't appreciate the goodness of the Sword Qi Wall. It was only after fighting such a bitter war, where immortal masters on the mountain registers died at the drop of a hat, in droves, that he realized the Sword Qi Wall had helped guard ten thousand years of peace for the Bright World. What spirit, what difficulty."

Actually, back when Chu Mao returned to the Ancient Elm Kingdom's capital, he had dispatched a group of assassins—two pure martial artists and two wild cultivators of the mountains and marshes—to assassinate that young sword immortal. But they had all vanished without a trace, a meat bun thrown at a dog, never to return.

So, over these many years, Chu Mao had never gone to the Rouge Province of the Colorful Garment Kingdom to seek revenge. He had conceded the loss. Don't mess with anyone, especially not a sword cultivator.

Chen Ping'an asked with a smile, "With the National Master Chu's roots in the Great Dao, why didn't you side with the Barren Wastes fiends back then?"

Chu Mao smiled wryly. "I'm a spirit, not a beast."

Chen Ping'an raised his wine bowl. "Bottoms up."

Chu Mao quickly raised his cup with both hands, waiting for the blue-robed sword immortal to drink first before tilting his head back and draining the wine in one go.

Chu Mao refilled the cup and quickly said some pleasantries that cost nothing. "If Sword Immortal Chen didn't have his own mountain sect and couldn't get away, otherwise, he'd be as carefree as that great sword immortal Wei of the Wind and Snow Temple. If he had gone to the Sword Qi Wall, with his talent, he'd certainly be no less accomplished than the Great Sword Immortal Wei."

Chen Ping'an raised his wine bowl, leaned forward, and clinked it against Chu Mao's cup. He said with a smile, "Enmity and enmity should be settled separately. Today, having drunk this wine, let's consider the past settled. But there is one thing I need to thank you for."

It was about the time he had played the traveling merchant, picking up money. It had been an auspicious start.

The young sword immortal didn't say what it was, and Chu Mao certainly didn't dare to ask.

Finally, after the young sword immortal took his leave with a smile, Chu Mao still felt as if he had been through a lifetime.

On a secluded mountaintop near a mountain god's shrine, with an open view perfect for sightseeing, three women had spread a rug from the Colorful Garment Kingdom. It was laden with wine and various pastries, fruits, and melons.

As the old saying in the jianghu goes, beauties in the mountains are either ghosts or spirits.

Of course, there were also the most sought-after goddesses of destitute scholars.

The young girl was happily rolling around on the rug.

Ha ha, it's really true that everything is hard at the start, but once you start, nothing is hard.

Rich, I'm finally rich! The old lady is finally well-off! No more living under someone's thumb and reading their expressions!

It was none other than the mountain goddess Wei Wei, who had brought two shrine maidservants here to drink.

In the early years of her promotion, all her savings had been spent on building the shrine, throwing money at it to make it look rich and grand. She had no experience at first, having been used to being one of the Four Evils of the Comb Water Kingdom who robbed travelers. How was she supposed to know how to be a mountain goddess? It was her first time, like a virgin bride getting into a bridal sedan chair. It simply hadn't occurred to her to economize.

She had humbled herself to an outrageous degree, having to temporarily borrow incense offerings from the city god just to maintain the landscape's fortune. Because she owed so much in incense debt, the city god of the county town called her "Granny" whenever he saw her, looking even more miserable than she did, saying he had already tightened his belt to the breaking point. He wasn't pretending; he had indeed been implicated by her. But the city god of the prefecture wasn't as considerate, slamming the door in her face. When she got to the provincial capital's City God Temple, which governed the underworld of the entire province, any random clerk there could give her a cold shoulder.

The landscape bureaucracy was truly hard to navigate.

Even when Wei Wei was still a female ghost, she had complained about the world: it was hard for humans to survive, and hard for ghosts to exist.

She never imagined that even after finally becoming a mountain goddess who enjoyed incense offerings, she would still be financially strapped at every turn.

The turning point came after a visit from that blue-robed sword immortal. The mountain shrine's fortunes began to change for the better.

Wei Wei had even privately given a name to that section of mountain road near the neighboring shrine: "The Watershed."

Taking advantage of Wei Wei's absence from the shrine, Chen Ping'an sat down on the long bluestone slab outside the shrine. He listened from afar to the mountain goddess and her two female shrine attendants recounting the twists and turns of her trip to the capital, listening as if to a storyteller.

It turned out the three of them had "carefully" selected a scholar heading to the capital for the imperial examinations. It had been a huge and troublesome undertaking, and they had waited a long time. If Chen Ping'an hadn't warned them beforehand, and they had only focused on the scholarly seeds within their own mountain territory, the mountain shrine would probably have been so strapped it couldn't even afford to keep the stove going by now.

In the beginning, that scholar hadn't even wanted to take the mountain path at all, always just going around the mountain shrine. What to do? They followed Chen Ping'an's advice: go down the mountain and appear in his dreams!

According to Wei Wei's estimation, the scholar's skill in the civil service examination arts wasn't bad. Given his own literary fortune, getting a "similar to metropolitan graduate" degree was a sure bet, as long as he didn't mess up in the examination hall. To get a proper second-class metropolitan graduate degree was somewhat more risky, but not entirely impossible. With the added boost of literary fortune that Wei Wei could grant, lighting a large red landscape lantern behind the scholar, he might indeed be able to enter the second class.

But that scholar's appearance was really quite crude, ugly as a weed.

At first, one of Wei Wei's maidservants was reluctant, finding the scholar too ugly, saying she really couldn't... bring herself to do it.

This so enraged Wei Wei that she pulled the maid's ear and scolded her for being clueless. It was just entering his dreams. "Bringing herself to do it"? Do what? It wasn't like she was going to have a dream of clouds and rain with him.

After a clumsy attempt at entering a dream, fortunately, it was the scholar's first time encountering such a thing. Otherwise, the whole charade would have been full of holes. Even Wei Wei thought it was horrible to watch. Later, she gritted her teeth, obtained a landscape registration, and descended the mountain as a goddess. She tried to avoid waterways as much as possible and cautiously made her way to the capital. That so-called "high court official" that Chen Ping'an had mentioned, without naming him, the two of them understood perfectly. Wei Wei was very familiar with this guy, who now wielded immense power. But after Wei Wei became the mountain goddess, they had both tacitly agreed to draw a clear line between them.

That guy wasn't an easy nut to crack, nor was he sentimental. He spoke in circles and used official jargon, saying things like "the civil service examination system is a great affair of state, not suitable for interference; it would break the rules."

Originally reluctant to bring up Chen Ping'an, Wei Wei had no choice but to invoke the name of this sword immortal.

Well, well.

The three words "Chen Ping'an" were simply the best miracle cure in the world.

Although the guy only said, "Don't get your hopes up too high," Wei Wei understood the ways of the world well enough. The scholar's metropolitan graduate degree was as good as settled. As for being among the top three in the first class, Wei Wei didn't dare to hope for that. She just didn't want him to be at the bottom of the metropolitan graduates.

In the end, the scholar directly obtained the top position in the second class. To the scholar, it was like a dream.

When Wei Wei and her two maidservants heard this fantastic news, they felt much the same.

As soon as the newly minted metropolitan graduate had some free time, without a second word, he raced on horseback straight to the mountain shrine. He offered incense and kowtowed, his eyes brimming with tears, filled with utmost piety.

It was at that moment, watching that wisp of pure incense offering rise within the shrine, that Wei Wei suddenly had a glimmer of understanding.

It seemed she instantly grasped a whole chain of principles, truly understanding how to serve as a landscape deity.

Chen Ping'an sat on the bluestone bench beside the ancient pine, holding his sword-nurturing gourd, slowly sipping his wine.

Over at Wei Wei's, she burst out laughing, "Our lady-killing Master Chen, his underworld slang is even smoother than ours. Truly, you can't judge a book by its cover."

She casually mentioned a few things about that landscape travelogue, laughing uncontrollably.

Chen Ping'an rolled his eyes.

He wouldn't lower himself to her level.

All over the landscape near the shrine, countless fist-sized red lanterns had been hung. These were symbols of the mountain god's protection, small and exquisite.

Some were in front of grand mansions, others in cramped back alleys.

A single seed of goodness, if it can truly blossom and bear fruit, has the potential to create a whole field of flowers.

When one thing goes well, everything goes well.

On the border between the two kingdoms, there were no longer the Four Evils of the Comb Water Kingdom, causing mischief and harming people. This was originally a place of scenic beauty and strategic importance, with both lofty peaks suitable for exploring secrets and easy terrain for sightseeing. Otherwise, Wei Wei wouldn't have chosen this spot for her shrine. With its many stories of strange occurrences and beautiful landscapes, and an official road passing through the shrine's territory, now that the world was at peace again, more and more scholars and ladies were coming for outings, spring excursions, and sightseeing. Wanderers of the jianghu, traveling scholars, merchants escorting goods, people from all walks of life—the mountain shrine's incense offerings grew and grew.

A major donor who was a devout Buddhist came to the shrine, donating a considerable sum of "oil money."

So, Wei Wei built a small temple within her territory. She even specially hired a temple keeper to restore the dilapidated Buddha statues that had long been collected, gilding some and painting others. In short, not a single tael of the major donor's money was embezzled.

That major donor from the provincial capital had specifically chosen the fifteenth day of the first lunar month to burn the "first incense." He arrived on the fourteenth to wait, looked over the temple, and was very satisfied. Rich people might be muddled about other things, but when it comes to making and spending money, they're the hardest to fool. So, he could tell at a glance that the mountain shrine was run with care. He was very generous and simply took out another large sum of silver to donate to the shrine. It was a reciprocal courtesy.

Wei Wei had once been a ghost. It wasn't that she had never seen money; she had dealt mostly with immortal money. But matters of incense offerings really couldn't be converted using immortal money.

That major donor, whose appearance was utterly unremarkable, was simply a mortal who had earned his money below the mountain. But a sincere principle he stated at the time left a deep impression on Wei Wei.

"It's not that I'm performing a good deed by giving alms to others. Rather, it's that others are bestowing a karmic connection upon me."

The Great Li Dynasty's secondary capital, Luo Jing.

His Majesty the Emperor had yet to visit this secondary capital.

The old Minister of Rites of the secondary capital, Liu Qingfeng, was extremely old, bedridden with illness, and had long since stopped going to the office.

In fact, in the Bright World, many dynasties had precedents of two capitals, three capitals, or even more secondary capitals.

Now, in various government offices here in Luo Jing, not just the Ministry of Rites, civil officials from other departments were also advising that the two capitals, North and South, should both be regarded as true capitals, without distinction between primary and secondary.

Undercurrents were surging, ah.

Two kinds of intentions, one way of expressing them.

Today, the old man heard a long-unfamiliar address: "Mr. Liu." He opened his eyes, focused his gaze, and took a careful look at the uninvited guest who had appeared out of thin air. With some slight difficulty, he nodded and said with a smile, "Compared to the cautiousness of those days, you're much more at ease now. That's a good thing. Have a seat."

Liu Qingfeng sat up, grabbed a pillow, and leaned against it.

There was actually a maidservant in the warm pavilion.

Chen Ping'an found a chair, set it down lightly, and sat not far from the bedside, his hands resting on his knees. He said softly, "Mr. Liu, just lie down and talk."

Liu Qingfeng chuckled. "I'll have plenty of time to lie down later. No hurry now."

Chen Ping'an was speechless for a moment, then smiled wryly.

Liu Qingfeng pointed towards the writing desk. "Concerning how a court should deal with corrupt officials, no need to say more. Beyond the two matters of national military affairs, it's the top priority. And our Great Li has done exceptionally well in this regard. However, certain ways of being an 'honest official' have less obvious drawbacks. It's hard for me to hold a brush anymore. So, while I'm still alive and have the strength to dictate, I'm getting someone to write for me. I'm hastily putting together a memorial. I argue that an official who doesn't seek wealth can become arrogant and see himself as infallible, acting harshly. This is not the 'doctrine of the mean' taught by the sages."

Chen Ping'an nodded. "I once saw a similar argument in a small travelogue collection. It said that corrupt officials are only responsible for thirty percent of a country's ruin, while this type of 'honest official' is responsible for seventy percent of the disasters that befall it."

"That's an exaggeration. But it's understandable. If you don't say a few extreme or harsh things, who would listen or read?"

"By the way, I've read that chapbook. I helped a woman change her name. 'Cui Huan' isn't as elegant as 'Huan Cui,' after all."

Chen Ping'an smiled knowingly and nodded slightly. "So Mr. Liu really has read it."

That travelogue hadn't sold well in Bountiful Continent and had long since stopped being reprinted.

This showed just how wide-ranging the old Minister Liu's reading was and how good his memory was. That was probably what was meant by "vast knowledge and strong memory." And the old man wasn't even a qi refiner.

"The most satisfying part would be where the character in the book helps this courtesan escape her miserable fate, handling both the public and private aspects thoroughly, layer by layer, leaving no loopholes?"

Chen Ping'an nodded again. "Just as Mr. Liu says, that's exactly it."

Liu Qingfeng smiled. "Handling a good deed perfectly, leaving no worries for the beneficiary. Even if it's just something in a book, for readers like us, turning to that page brings a feeling of comfort."

Chen Ping'an could only nod obediently again.

Liu Qingfeng was silent for a moment, then said, "Liu Qingshan and Liu Boqi will be in your care from now on, Mr. Chen."

Chen Ping'an said, "Mr. Liu, just rest assured."

Liu Qingfeng smiled. "If there are unforeseen circumstances and you can't take care of them, don't feel guilty. If you can't do that, then forget it. Let's not make things difficult for each other. You don't need to bear that worry, and I won't put that worry on myself."

Chen Ping'an smiled. "You can be at ease."

Liu Qingfeng glanced at Chen Ping'an and joked, "It's good to go up the mountain and cultivate to become an immortal."

Chen Ping'an hesitated, then started to speak, but stopped.

Liu Qingfeng waved his hand. He knew what this young sword immortal wanted to say. "An unarmed scholar like me can endure some small hardships, but I absolutely cannot endure pain. Geez, flesh peeling off, bones wasting away... just thinking about it makes my scalp tingle. Besides, I don't have the desire for it. Even if there were a shortcut to becoming a landscape deity, I wouldn't take it. Others might not understand, but you should."

Chen Ping'an didn't argue further.

After the old man coughed a few times, he suddenly called out, "Chen Ping'an."

Chen Ping'an said, "Mr. Liu?"

The old man looked at this mountain sword immortal, who still seemed very young, eyes as clear and bright as when turning to the most satisfying page in a book. He closed his eyes and murmured, "Though the world shifts like wind and rain, my heart remains clear as day."