Chapter 878: Fourteen Taels of Silver
In the courtyard of the Ren Yun Yi Yun Tower, the old scholar drank himself into a stupor, saying that he wanted to go somewhere, that he had long wanted to pay a visit in person to express his thanks. He also said that this place had been the origin of his money pouch, allowing him to assemble a rather decent set of the Four Treasures of the Study for the first time in his life, truly making him feel like a scholar engaged in learning within a study.
Chen Ping'an knew where his teacher was going and did not follow.
The old scholar left the courtyard and traveled south out of the capital alone.
Once, in a humble alley of a small country in the Central Continent Divine Land, a big and a small, master and apprentice, whenever they were too poor to even open their cooking pot, with nothing to do but idle about, and even reading couldn't fill their stomachs, they would stand by the door from time to time, eagerly awaiting the arrival of a letter from the youth. In truth, they didn't care much about what was written in the letter. What they were waiting for was not the letter itself, but the tuition fee that came along with it—the payment for the youth's apprenticeship with the local scholar. Money was a hero's courage. Occasionally, during festive occasions, such as the birthday of the Saint of Sages, the employer far away in Bottle Gourd Continent would also send a festival gift to the nominal "West Seat Teacher," a red envelope containing a variable amount of silver.
The first time the impoverished scholar ever handled a banknote was when he received an extremely generous festival gift.
That time, he received the youth's letter. It was only a light, thin envelope. The scholar shook it vigorously. Not only was there no broken silver, there wasn't even the sound of a single copper coin. The scholar was dumbfounded. The youth squatted by the door, hands tucked into his sleeves, feeling quite guilty inside. It wasn't that his family had no money, but his grandfather begrudged him for running away from home on his own, traveling so far so recklessly, directly from Bottle Gourd Continent all the way to Central Continent Divine Land, and finding only a scholar with a Xiucai degree as his teacher. In truth, with the foundation of the Cui clan of Bottle Gourd Continent, finding a gentleman or worthy scholar from an academy to be a family tutor wouldn't have been difficult. So the Cui family's side was extremely stingy with the money each time.
The scholar, who wasn't old back then, didn't complain about his student. He accompanied the youth, squatting by the threshold, and instead comforted the youth. "No one is to blame. It must be because my scholarship is not profound enough, causing displeasure among your elders."
Because at the end of the previous letter, the youth's grandfather had given a policy question of several dozen characters for the imperial examination, meant to test the scholar's true knowledge.
The scholar burned the midnight oil, forcing himself to produce an answer of over a thousand words. He felt completely drained of all his learning. He was truly not skilled in such matters. If he had been skilled, he would have passed the Jinshi examination long ago, wouldn't he? When the youth's reply was sent out, the scholar actually regretted it immediately. He was truly worried that future tuition and festival gifts would vanish along with the postal courier.
The youth snatched the envelope from his teacher's hand, crumpled it into a ball with force, and threw it at the wall opposite the alley. The envelope rolled back to their feet. Furious, the youth was about to get up and stomp on it, but the teacher grabbed his arm. The youth said in a huff, "Such a broken home, who cares about going back. I'm never going back."
"Don't speak in anger."
The scholar pulled the youth back to his original spot, tapped his head, bent down, and walked over to pick up the envelope from the ground. He gently smoothed it out, opened it, and saw two sheets of paper. On one was the family letter. Aside from some usual elder's advice, at the end was a line: "This teacher of yours has average scholarship, only the Xiucai degree, most likely genuine. His calligraphy is not bad."
And on the paper below that was a real banknote, a full hundred taels.
The scholar grinned from ear to ear. Beside him, the youth's smile was radiant.
After that, the scholar managed to save up some more silver. The poor scholar who had previously worked as a teacher in a charity school had a home that was once so poor it only had a large collection of poorly carved books. Encouraged by his student, he opened a private school himself, officially able to accept disciples and teach lessons, transitioning from teaching elementary knowledge to transmitting the Confucian classics. This was actually the thing the scholar himself most yearned for. Spending every day discussing "zhi hu zhe ye" with a bunch of children in open-crotch pants wasn't a satisfying feeling. Was it because he felt unworthy of the sages' learning within him? Get real! It was because it didn't earn enough money!
In the years that followed, the scholar took on a few more students. Among his four direct disciples, the eldest was always the money bag, having been with the scholar the longest. The second was a bit of a simpleton who just coasted along and ate. The third had nothing but a set of muscles and also had no money in his pocket, yet had a huge appetite. For those few years, the scholar always felt a bit cheated. Fortunately, the eldest disciple somehow brought back a child—smart, clever, looking at him just made you like him from the bottom of your heart. He clearly seemed like a seedling for scholarship. The most talented first disciple seemed quite averse to the imperial examinations and was stubborn in temperament, so there probably wasn't much hope there. Whether a Jinshi official would emerge depended on this youngest disciple. If not favoring him, who else would they favor?
After that, the scholar finally lived a good life he had never dared to dream of before.
Even his own writings were published in book form. Although sales at the bookstores were mediocre and not many copies were sold in the end, for a scholar engaged in learning, it meant that the matter of "establishing words" had found its place. The scholar dared not hope for more.
Besides the third disciple, Jun Qian, actually Cui Chan, Zuo You, and Qi Jingchun had all grown from youths into young men under the scholar's watch, year after year.
Many years later, the scholar also became an old scholar, and finally took on a last closed-door disciple, Chen Ping'an.
As for the so-called "learning of the Literary Sage," it was startlingly extraordinary, rarely matched. As for the "Literary Sage's contribution to the Confucian lineage, having a heaven-propping, sea-spanning merit."
Whether praise or criticism, the old scholar never took it too seriously. If you wanted to praise or criticize, you each had your own reasons. It didn't stop him from being a teacher, being a master to those few students.
But the one thing the old scholar could not tolerate was his students being wronged. "I may just be a Xiucai, but I'll show you how a Xiucai can stir up trouble right here at the Confucian Temple."
The Beacon Scourge of Haoran, who had produced extraordinary results like variegated clouds, after betraying his master and defecting from the Literary Sage lineage, hid his identity and wandered for many years in the Haoran Heavenly Realm. He eventually chose a barbaric northern territory in his home continent, Bottle Gourd Continent, as his foothold, becoming the Great Li Nation's National Teacher, intending to spread the learning of practical achievements throughout a nation, or even a whole continent.
After Cui Chan returned to Bottle Gourd Continent back then, he never once returned to the Cui clan.
The old scholar knew why: half of Cui Chan's feeling was guilt, half was anger.
In the foreign Great Li Capital, National Teacher Cui Chan named his own book tower "Ren Yun Yi Yun."
The old scholar came to the top floor of a Cui clan book repository. Above the top floor, there was still a small attic accessible only by ladder.
The old scholar went to the window and looked out.
People saw birds chasing clouds, but could never catch them.
This time, Cui Dongshan was willing to volunteer, requesting to be the Sovereign of the Lower Sect. That was a good thing.
Dongshan rises again. [Note: Cui Dongshan's given name "Dongshan" literally means "eastern mountain," carrying the connotation of "rising again from the east."]
Chen Ping'an and Xiao Mo walked out of the alley, heading together towards the inn.
Xiao Mo had been carefully observing this Great Li Capital all along.
This was the capital of a nation in the Haoran Heavenly Realm, the foremost place of goodness.
Perhaps this was what the younger generation had once envisioned for a city down the mountain.
Xiao Mo asked, "Young Master, are there many Fourteen Realm cultivators in the Haoran Heavenly Realm nowadays?"
Chen Ping'an shook his head. "Regardless of which realm, there have never been many above the Ascension Realm."
If one looked at cultivators not divided by realms, but only as humans and demons, one would find that the number of Fourteen Realm cultivators is pitifully small, each for their own reasons.
The existence of the Three Religions' Patriarchs.
Bai Ze's seizing of true names.
Chen Ping'an planned to open a tavern on that night boat in the future, welcoming guests from all directions.
Whether one could drink for free depended entirely on one's own ability.
Regarding the name of the Lower Sect, Chen Ping'an had actually thought up a whole basketful.
This was probably the awkward part of being too good at naming things.
Furthermore, regarding the matter of the Destiny Porcelain, there needed to be a resolution.
Anyway, it was a matter of fourteen taels of silver.
At the inn not far away.
The master and mistress were not in the capital. Cao Mutou said he was going to Nanzun Ward to find a fellow graduate of the same imperial examination year who worked in the Court of State Ceremonial, to catch up. The Literary Sage's old scholar said he was going to sun himself by the door and wait for someone. Pei Qian was alone, walking in the courtyard. The courtyard had a small door opening onto the southeast corner, and it was a two-section dwelling. It was actually an ancestral property of Old Steward Liu, specially used to entertain wealthy guests who didn't lack silver, such as those who came to the capital to seek official positions or connections. Since it was close to Yichi Lane and Chier Street, the dwelling had eastern and western wing rooms. The main house was currently empty. Cao Qinglang lived in the eastern wing room, and Pei Qian lived in the western wing room opposite.
Pei Qian appeared to be strolling, but was actually practicing her stance, reaching a state of complete mastery. She no longer needed to deliberately focus on the structure of the stance itself, or the prolongation of her breathing, but every circulation of true qi by a pure martial artist was a great change in the rain and drought, the brightness and darkness of the day and night within the small world of the human body.
This was like an old heavenly lord governing heaven and earth, intentionally controlling the changes of seasons and weather across the myriad mountains and rivers.
During that journey to the Northern Juzhou, she had been practicing her stance every moment, unwilling to just wander aimlessly. This allowed Pei Qian to begin developing her own unique insights into stance practice.
Stance without form, fist with divine intent.
This was not a low evaluation; it was given by Li Er, not something Pei Qian claimed for herself.
Therefore, after feeding fists on Lion Peak, Li Er also taught Pei Qian a breathing and qi-nurturing method passed down from his own master. It was a circulation of pure true qi, specifically used to regulate muscles, bones, flesh, and blood.
The fist principles Li Er ultimately taught Pei Qian were extremely vast.
When the stance was raised, it was like countless mountains, majestic and unmoving. When the divine intent moved, it was like countless great rivers surging and flowing.
This was the excellent pattern of mountains and water mutually depending. As long as one reached the pinnacle of fist techniques and went to the end of the martial path, then a pure martial artist would no longer be a vessel of divine protection with a single fist intent, but "the body is the divine hall, the self is the divine being."
This was the true apex of the Ultimate Realm, the so-called "Divine Arrival" after the two layers of Qi Sheng and Gui Zhen.
Pei Qian learned very quickly. As soon as she was taught, she understood. The key was that she could apply her learning in the minutiae of daily life.
That's why Li Er told Pei Qian a very honest truth: if you set aside temperament and nature, her aptitude for martial arts was even better than her master's.
Upon hearing this, Pei Qian felt not a trace of joy, but instead a pang of guilt. So much so that she felt that this Senior Li Er, who was a fellow townsman of her master, had extremely high skill in teaching and feeding fists, but his speech was a bit off-key.
Inside the courtyard, besides Pei Qian, there was also a young girl who had dreamed of the martial world since childhood, a native of the capital. She was Old Steward Liu's precious daughter, named Liu Chai, with the childhood name Tai Mi. At that moment, she was sitting on a stool nearby, with a washbasin and cloth at her feet.
The girl usually helped with some household chores, like sweeping the courtyard and rooms, washing and drying bedding. She earned some wages from her father to save up and buy those privately printed books by booksellers, the chivalrous biographies, vernacular detective stories, and tales of the strange that smelled of ink. It often made the girl sigh, "I'll never finish buying all the fresh stories, and I can never earn enough copper coins!"
Whether by her formal name or her childhood name, the girl really didn't seem like the daughter of a small merchant family. Old Steward Liu had had a daughter late in life. He worried about the girl's needlework, which didn't take after her mother at all! And she was crazy and boisterous all day long. He feared she wouldn't be able to marry, yet when he thought of her marrying someday, he couldn't help but feel anxious. Anyway, the girl's two older brothers were both doing well and were filial. Plus, the girl was still young, far from the age when matchmakers would start hovering. So Old Steward Liu wasn't in a hurry.
The girl had originally intended to use the pretext of taking a rest here to secretly learn something from that older sister.
All out-of-towners who stayed at the inn had their household registration records at the counter, but the girl didn't go to check them. Martial arts children who galloped on horseback and performed righteous deeds had to act openly and uprightly.
She only knew that this young lady was the direct disciple of the out-of-town wandering swordsman, the green-robed swordsman.
A female Xia! She herself would become one someday.
But Liu Chai saw that the young woman had her eyes closed, almost as if she were sleepwalking.
After some hesitation, the girl asked softly, "Big Sister, what is your surname and name?"
Pei Qian opened her eyes and said, "Zheng Qian."
The girl's eyes sparkled. "What a great name! The same name as that Grandmaster Zheng whom I admire the most!"
In the martial world, there were two kinds of legends. One said that Grandmaster Zheng was as beautiful as a flower, with a slender figure, yet possessed earth-shattering, ghost-weeping strength.
Another martial world rumor was even more extraordinary, saying that Zheng San Qian [Note: "San Qian" means "Scattering Money," a nickname], though a young woman, was ten feet tall, robust and powerful, with broad shoulders and a thick waist. With just a couple of punches, demonic sword cultivators or demonic martial artists would be reduced to dust.
The girl seemed to think of a very interesting thing and couldn't stop laughing. It took her a moment to stop. "Could it be that Sister Zheng Qian has a martial alias, called Pei Qian?"
Her family's inn was just a few steps from Yichi Lane and Chier Street, so she often heard bits of news from the mountains and the martial world. During the recent arena match near the Fire God Temple, she also heard a rumor that this Zheng Qian actually had the real name Pei Qian, and came from a place called Luopo Mountain. As for more divine anecdotes and martial world tidbits, the surroundings were too noisy at the time, and she couldn't hear clearly even when she strained her ears.
Pei [compensation] Qian? Zheng [earning] Qian? It seemed both names were at odds with money.
Pei Qian smiled, saying nothing.
The girl also smiled, finding her own statement a bit amusing.
"Sister Zheng Qian, have you ever read a certain landscape travelogue? A few years ago, it sold extremely well. I acted too late and didn't get a copy. I'm so regretful I could die."
Pei Qian said, "I've seen it."
Her master's landscape travelogues, both inside and outside the books, Pei Qian, as the senior direct disciple, had seen quite a few.
The girl asked curiously, "Are you practicing boxing?"
"It's easy to throw a punch but hard to practice stance. One difficulty is learning the steps before learning the boxing; another is the persistent effort of dripping water wearing through stone."
Pei Qian continued her stroll. "Mm," she acknowledged. "My master said that practicing fists hard for two or three years can be lost in just two or three days of neglect."
The girl jumped up. "I know that fist principle! Whenever I pass by the martial arts hall, I can hear the crackling sounds of sleeves fighting inside, or people going 'hmm, hah' with their mouths, and then suddenly stomping a foot, making the ground bang. According to the boxing manual, that's called 'bones twisting, sinews turning like firecrackers,' right? As the old saying in the boxing manual goes, 'Fist like a tiger descending a mountain, foot like a dragon entering the sea!' Sister Zheng Qian, look at my stance. Does this count as getting started?"
Pei Qian had nothing to say, nor could she pour cold water on the girl, so she just pretended not to hear the girl's nonsense.
As for the girl wandering around there foolishly, Pei Qian watched it... with great familiarity. It was similar to when she herself was little.
Thinking about how her master, Old Cook Wei Hailiang, and the others used to look at her back then, Pei Qian felt a bit embarrassed.
The problem was that she had stopped performing the set of crazy sword techniques she invented as a child, but Xiao Mi Li had learned them.
Seeing that the girl showed no signs of stopping, Pei Qian had to stand still and speak up. "It's easy to learn boxing but hard to practice it. It's easy to learn the frame but hard to learn the intent. What does it mean to 'enter the hall and ascend the chamber'? It means winning a portion of fist intent for your body, allowing martial artists to have divine assistance. The greater skill is the person controlling the fist, not blindly following the fist. It's like commanding a deity: the entire fist intent, all eighteen weapons, are picked up casually, and everything naturally becomes an extension of your arm. Understand?"
The girl nodded vigorously. "Totally! Not at all!"
Pei Qian smiled. "There are thousands of boxing frames, hundreds of martial arts schools' principles, but only one fist method."
The girl was baffled. "What does that mean?"
Pei Qian squinted and smiled. "Facing no one in front, in martial arts there is no second."
Her master had said it himself: in everything one can yield, but on the path of martial arts climbing, one cannot give way. When asking someone for a fist fight, there should be no one in front of you. When climbing to the top of martial arts, it should be as if no one else is around.
And Grandpa Cui had said a similar reasoning.
The girl's face flushed red, her heart yearning for it. "Overbearing! Absolutely!"
Pei Qian asked with a smile, "Why do you want to walk the martial world so much?"
The girl sat back down on the stool without hesitation. "Martial arts children are so free! They don't have to get married, and they can meet all sorts of strange people and things. The best is to travel the martial world with a big pouch full of gold melon seeds and gold leaves, stop at a tavern by the roadside, dismount, drink a cup of wine, toss out a big silver ingot, and say, 'Boss, settle the bill!' How heroic! That's how it's written in the books!"
Pei Qian said with a smile, "When you're out and about, besides clicking immediately with someone new, don't be too eager to be generous. First, not revealing wealth is a martial world rule. Second, true people in the martial world live a life licking blood off a knife's edge; it's not easy to earn money. In the books, when a great hero gets slashed with a knife, he doesn't even frown. He just bandages the wound and continues on his way. You might not even need to turn a page of the book before the great hero has healed his wounds and is chatting cheerfully over a drink at another tavern. But 'tendons and bones take a hundred days to heal' is a principle even a schoolboy knows."
The girl was stunned for a moment.
Pei Qian hesitated for a moment, then said, "Try to slap yourself as hard as you can."
The girl was dumbfounded upon hearing this.
Was this a con artist?
Is this how you teach boxing?
But seeing that the young woman didn't look like she was joking, the girl, as if possessed, really did slap herself hard, making herself jump up from the pain.
Looking at the indifferent Zheng Qian, the girl drooped her head. "It's no good, is it."
Pei Qian smiled. "Anyway, it's much better than I was back then."
Back in Old Dragon City, the female Daoist Huang Ting had once pulled and pinched Pei Qian's tendons and bones, making the little charcoal cry out loud enough to shake the heavens.
That made someone's heart ache so much that he immediately said, "No more boxing, no more boxing."
The girl made up her mind. "Zheng Qian, I've thought it through. From today on, I won't practice martial arts or learn boxing anymore!"
Pei Qian was a bit surprised.
Forget it. She really wasn't cut out to be a teacher, a so-called preacher. It was pretty much the same bleak situation with the mute boy A Man. This nominal first direct disciple of hers got along far better with the steward Shi Rou, who was clearly closer to him than she was. When it came to her master, A Man didn't show any good expression at all, being as frugal with words as a mute.
Pei Qian walked over to the girl, raised her palm, and gently rubbed the girl's cheek. The redness and swelling soon dissipated. She said with a smile, "The person you're looking for isn't far from you, so you don't need to go into the martial world to find him."
The girl rubbed her own face, completely unable to understand what the other was saying, but she only knew that the Zheng Qian in front of her was definitely a female Xia. She shouted loudly, "Sister Zheng Qian, I want to learn boxing!"
Pei Qian smiled and shook her head. "I'm still not very skilled myself. I can't teach you any profound boxing techniques."
Besides, learning boxing was truly too bitter.
Cao Qinglang had been chatting with Old Steward Liu at the counter for a long time and came over to discuss something with Pei Qian. Seeing her "teaching boxing" to someone, he stopped and stood quietly in the distance in the corridor.
Since his little senior brother [Note: Cui Dongshan] and his master had both advised him to retain the position of Compiler-in-Chief at the Hanlin Academy, Cao Qinglang, being no stubborn sort, gave up his plan to resign from office.
Chen Ping'an arrived at the residence with Xiao Mo. Cao Qinglang made a deep bow. "Greetings, Master."
Chen Ping'an smiled and nodded.
Gentle and refined, polite, with a radiant spirit.
This showed the excellent atmosphere of their Luopo Mountain.
Liu Chai saw the out-of-towner and immediately took her leave from Pei Qian, picked up her washbasin, and left the residence.
Chen Ping'an said to Cao Qinglang, "Let's talk about something outside. It concerns you."
Cao Qinglang immediately went to the main house and brought out two chairs and a long bench.
He and Pei Qian could sit on the long bench.
The master and the unfamiliar guest could sit on the chairs.
The veranda under the eaves was spacious enough for them to sit facing each other.
Xiao Mo thanked him and then sat up straight.
After Chen Ping'an sat down, he noticed Pei Qian's oddity and asked, "What's wrong?"
Although Pei Qian felt guilty, she still answered honestly. "Earlier at the inn's entrance, I couldn't help it. I secretly peeked at that little girl's state of mind."
Chen Ping'an smiled and nodded. "So you saw it, just saw it."
Pei Qian looked surprised and asked doubtfully, "Master isn't angry?"
Chen Ping'an shook his head. "In the past, the rules were strict and the discipline was tight because I was worried about you going astray. Now, there's no need to be so restrained. The martial world is dangerous, and people's hearts are unfathomable. You need to protect yourself."
At the age when rules needed to be established, Chen Ping'an was unambiguous with Pei Qian, fearing she might learn boxing and throw punches without any restraint or consideration. But when Pei Qian grew older and developed a clear understanding of right and wrong, she couldn't be bound too tightly by rules and couldn't be completely inflexible.
Pei Qian said, "Master, don't worry. Every time I walk the martial world in the future, I'll try my best not to make mistakes. If I do, I'll correct them."
This was the first time Pei Qian had spoken to her master like this since she grew up.
It was hard to imagine that the Pei Qian before them was the little hedgehog who used to secretly compile the "Chestnut Collection" back in the day, stinging everyone she met. It was also hard to imagine that she was the "hardworking and enduring" little charcoal who would pester Wei Xian and Lu Baixiang, insisting they each give her twenty years of internal energy.
Every principle was like a ferry crossing.
Perhaps only when one eventually reached that ferry crossing and witnessed some people and events with their own eyes would they truly understand.
And some of the sages' teachings in books, the old folks' sayings, the words and actions outside books, were like roadside pavilions along the journey.
Chen Ping'an said with a smile, "Alright, Master believes you."
Then Chen Ping'an smiled and introduced Xiao Mo. "Both are my disciples and students. Pei Qian, a Summit Realm martial artist."
"Cao Qinglang, the second-place graduate of the Great Li imperial examinations."
Chen Ping'an then introduced Xiao Mo to the two of them. "His Daoist name is Xi Zhu. He currently uses the alias Mo Sheng. He is a swordsman from a foreign land, with no low realm. Of course, after all, he is a friend I made after a fight that didn't end in a split. 'No fight, no friendship,' as they say. In the future, Mo Sheng will cultivate and practice his sword on Luopo Mountain, with the same background as your Uncle Liu. You can call him Senior Xi Zhu in the future. On this return trip home, he will be included in the landscape registry of Jise Peak and serve as a named honorary guest of Luopo Mountain."
The young man and young woman had calm expressions, without any pretense.
The martial artist rose and cupped her fists, the scholar made a deep bow.
It seemed they had no emotional reaction whatsoever to Senior Xi Zhu's demonic background. They were very accustomed to it.
Xiao Mo didn't even need to use any innate divine ability to clearly perceive the sincere intentions of the young couple before him.
Already standing, Xiao Mo slightly bent his waist, cupped his fists, and said with a smile, "I am only a few years older. There's no need to call me 'Senior.' Why not follow the Young Master's example and just call me Xiao Mo directly? I prefer the latter."
Then Xiao Mo began to feel inside his sleeves.
He had prepared two meeting gifts.
Chen Ping'an said with a smile, "Forget it, forget it."
Having a wealthy Chief Zhou on Luopo Mountain was already more than enough.
Moreover, unlike Jiang Shangzhen, who had a blessed land in the Cloud Grotto, every time Xiao Mo handed out a gift, his family foundation thinned by a fraction.
Xiao Mo insisted, "Young Master, they are just small tokens of appreciation, not particularly valuable gifts."
"Miss Pei and Little Master Cao are the Young Master's most cherished direct disciples. It just wouldn't be right in terms of either sentiment or reason if I didn't give any gifts. The Young Master has already declined the Dharma robes. This time, why not allow me to put on a bit of an elder's airs with them?"
Chen Ping'an had no choice but to nod.
Xiao Mo would certainly get along very well on Luopo Mountain, feeling right at home, and wouldn't fare worse than Chief Zhou.
Skillful at urging drinking was a skill for competing with others at the table.
Enjoying toasting, never dodging a drink, and seeking out more wine on his own—that was seeing one's character through one's drinking style.
It truly matched the old saying: birds of a feather flock together. Xiao Mo was very much like himself.
His drinking character was very strong; it was just his skill at urging others to drink that was a bit lacking.
Back in the day at the tavern, the second manager was famously good at dodging fists but not dodging drink.
As for the latter half of the gamblers' and drunkards' saying, "Anyway, he's down after one punch," the ramblings at the drinking table shouldn't be taken seriously.
Pei Qian and Cao Qinglang both looked at Chen Ping'an at the same time.
Chen Ping'an nodded again.
Only then did Pei Qian and Cao Qinglang accept the gifts.
Chen Ping'an could tell at a glance what they were: two storage treasures of a rank higher than the "Chi Wu" type, "Small Paradise" treasures.
Such mountain treasures, let alone ordinary cultivators, even Chen Ping'an, a "Bundle Merchant," did not own a single one.
The two of them thanked Senior Xi Zhu.
Xiao Mo smiled without speaking. Seeing that they didn't seem to intend to sit down, Xiao Mo then sat down.
These two children had excellent upbringing and manners.
Could it be that Fellow Daoist Lu was deceiving him? Had he deliberately described the formerly simple and honest Old Pearl Grotto Heaven as a most perilous dragon's pool and tiger's den? Was he intending to give him a surprise?
Xiao Mo couldn't help but say through his heart voice, "Young Master, Miss Pei is very young. She's almost an Ultimate Realm martial artist?"
This little girl, so respectful towards her master. Fellow Daoist Lu was certainly joking around with him again.
Chen Ping'an did not reply through his heart voice but spoke aloud with a smile. "Pei Qian is indeed very young, but in the Cloud Pattern Dynasty of the Barren Wasteland Heaven, there was a woman named Bai Ren who was about the same age. She had already reached the Ultimate Realm by the age of fifty. And Lu Chen said that the female National Teacher of the Green God Dynasty was even younger when she reached the Ultimate Realm."
Pei Qian nodded.
But Cao Qinglang could clearly and distinctly see the smug pride on his master's face.
In truth, when Chen Ping'an had borrowed the Fourteen Realm cultivator Lu Chen earlier, before leaving the Great Li Capital, he had already noticed the peculiarity in Pei Qian. It made him, as the master, not know whether to laugh or cry.
Because Pei Qian was currently in an extremely subtle state.
She was suppressing her realm!
This was something that even Chen Ping'an had never heard of.
A pure martial artist's realm breaking couldn't be decided by oneself. Whether one could break the bottleneck wasn't up to oneself; it required perseverance. Once the bottleneck was broken, not ascending in realm wasn't up to oneself either. Moreover, if one could break the realm, which pure martial artist under heaven would be like Pei Qian?
However, Xiao Mo was used to seeing battles of life and death, mostly among peak-level battles, so he wasn't surprised by many things.
Now, Xiao Mo was instead more curious about Cao Qinglang.
Pei Qian was currently practicing boxing solely to suppress her realm.
She wanted to choose a certain place and a certain day to finally enter the Ultimate Realm.
Chen Ping'an came straight to the point and directly told Cao Qinglang about Cui Dongshan's idea.
Cao Qinglang's answer was simple. "Master, actually, this is for the best. Earlier, because I saw that Master and Little Senior Brother seemed to have made a decision, I forced myself to agree to be the Sovereign of the Lower Sect."
Chen Ping'an said with a smile, "Our Luopo Mountain is not a one-man show. For such a major matter, it's perfectly normal for you to have your own thoughts. You should have told me directly at the time... Forget it, this time the Master didn't think it through. I'll pay more attention in the future, and you should too."
Cao Qinglang nodded. "I'll remember."
Chen Ping'an was somewhat regretful. "Originally, you could have been the youngest Sovereign in Haoran's history."
Cao Qinglang didn't know what to say about this matter.
In the past, the Confucian Temple was strict. A Qi Practitioner serving as a Sect Sovereign had to be at the Jade Purity Realm; that was an iron rule.
For a wild cultivator to enter the Upper Five Realms before the age of forty was simply a pipe dream.
Even for a registered immortal master with a deep foundation and an orderly lineage, it was as difficult as reaching the heavens to become a Jade Purity Realm cultivator at that age; there were only a handful in Haoran's history.
Moreover, even if there were such a cultivation genius, for one thing, a favored child of heaven with such excellent talent wouldn't be allowed to waste precious cultivation time on trivial mountain affairs. The loss would outweigh the gain. For another, within large sects, even with a Lower Sect, such a young Jade Purity Realm cultivator was not directly suitable to be the Sovereign of the Lower Sect. A Qi practitioner's seemingly unstoppable success on the path of cultivation could very well be a series of stumbling blocks and setbacks amidst a mountain of trivialities.
When it came to himself, Chen Ping'an almost never had any particular requirements. On the contrary, while traveling the martial world, he was not that worried about "dropping realms."
But when it came to Pei Qian and Cao Qinglang, it was completely different.
For example, when Cao Qinglang achieved the second-place graduate status, Chen Ping'an, beyond his joy, couldn't help but grumble inwardly. "My student, how could he only be the second-place graduate and not the top scholar?"
So much so that during this visit to the capital, Chen Ping'an had to restrain himself to avoid secretly going to the Ministry of Rites archives to dig out the new top scholar's court examination policy essay. He wanted to see if it was his proud student's paper, but perhaps due to the calligraphy not being quite in the standard "Hall style," the older essay readers had misjudged it, or Emperor Song He had deliberately lowered his ranking.
Cao Qinglang said, "Master, I just found Xun Qu. He said the Master is very approachable, not the kind who pretends to have no airs, but truly has no airs."
"Xun Qu is not the type to flatter anyone, nor did he deliberately ask me to relay this to the Master. For him to say this willingly, he must truly admire the Master from the bottom of his heart. He also said that if he becomes a high official in the future, he wants to be like the Master, able to make everyone feel like a spring breeze when getting along with them."
Chen Ping'an said with a smile, "That's good. It means Xun Xu Ban [Note: Xun Qu's official title] didn't feel he chose the wrong Master."
Chen Ping'an could somewhat understand the feeling of Fiery Dragon True Person.
When traveling outside, being mistaken for the Fiery Dragon True Person of Crouching Peak, the former Grand Heavenly Master of Dragon Tiger Mountain, or being regarded as Zhang Shanfeng's master, there was actually a subtle difference between the two.
Chen Ping'an said softly, "I've been thinking about a problem for some time. I won't discuss the problem itself for now. When the right time comes later, I'll come back to you to review it. In short, on Luopo Mountain, I might still have to manage more things, big and small. If I see something and feel it's not right, I'll intervene. But regarding the Lower Sect, I might let go more in the future. So when you are by Dongshan's side, there might be all sorts of disagreements, even arguments. At that time, he will be the Sovereign, and also your Little Senior Brother. You can think about this matter before you go to Tongye Continent."
Chen Ping'an shook his head. "Not 'might,' it's a certainty."
Cao Qinglang nodded. "Master, actually, I'm not afraid of arguments. As long as it's not a dispute over personal pride, it can be a way to learn from each other's strengths and make up for each other's weaknesses, to examine flaws and fill gaps."
Chen Ping'an hummed in acknowledgment. "Remember, it's not just with your Little Senior Brother. When encountering many matters, liking to reason and being good at reasoning are one thing. But you must always consider others' emotions. Emphasize asking about the cause, not the result. Don't fully approve or deny someone based solely on whether the result is good or bad. Encountering a problem and solving it—that is cultivation."
Having said this, Chen Ping'an spread his hands, clapped them lightly together, and then held his palms facing each other. "When we praise someone for having a sense of propriety, it actually means maintaining a proper, appropriate distance. Too far, and it's alienation; too close, and it's easy to be overly demanding of others. So we must give all those close to us some leeway, even a margin for error. As long as it doesn't involve major matters of right and wrong, there's no need to cling to it. People who are meticulous often unintentionally demand perfection. The problem is that we are completely unaware, but those around us have long been deeply hurt."
"As the old saying goes, 'A person who is broad-minded must have subtle plans.' In fact, the reverse is also a good principle: a person skilled in subtle planning should also have a broad-minded heart."
"Furthermore, you must always tell yourself that no one is a clay bodhisattva without a hint of temper. Everyone has their own emotions. Emotions themselves are a form of reason. Many times, when you seem to be reasoning with someone, and when you truly see it clearly and don't feel like you're just tolerating it, that is when our cultivation of the mind has truly achieved success."
Chen Ping'an clasped his hands in his sleeves and asked with a smile, "Let me ask you, is it good to stick to the facts?"
Cao Qinglang answered without hesitation, "Very good."
Chen Ping'an asked again, "Have you ever thought that sticking to the facts, even if one side is reasonable, is still denying the other party?"
Cao Qinglang was taken aback. After thinking it over, he nodded. "Indeed."
Chen Ping'an said, "So sticking to the facts itself is a good thing. But once the party who is in the right thickens their neck, bulges their eyes, and raises their voice, what will be the result? It's obvious. The reasoning itself is correct, but the act of reasoning has failed."
"True communication and reasoning require first learning to acknowledge the other party."
"You need to first achieve a calm state of mind yourself, and then use many instances of acknowledgment to clarify the one or two negations you truly want to express."
"Of course, all your words must still be sincere and cannot be false. This point is extremely important, and should be placed even before 'calm state of mind.'"
Cao Qinglang thought about it carefully for a moment, then nodded. "Master, I understand the order of priority you've set forth on this matter."
Chen Ping'an smiled, hands still in his sleeves. "Think again. See if there's anything missing?"
Cao Qinglang began to ponder deeply.
Pei Qian sat on the long bench nearby, wanting to speak but hesitating.
Chen Ping'an looked at Pei Qian and nodded with a smile.
Pei Qian plucked up her courage and said, "Master, this seems like... a principle that only the strong can clearly articulate."
"For instance, what if the party who is not in the right has a higher status? The moment someone tries to reason with them, they become impatient, immediately thicken their neck, and bulge their eyes. What then?"
"For instance, within a household down the mountain, or in a mountain sect, the Mountain Lord, the Sect Sovereign, the Law Keeper, or other power holders—if they don't reason like this? It seems Master's principle would be very difficult to articulate."
"Master, I'm just saying it casually."
The more Pei Qian spoke, the less confident she became, her voice dropping lower and lower.
In the end, Pei Qian scratched her head, looking embarrassed. "I shouldn't have interrupted."
Chen Ping'an, however, gave Pei Qian a thumbs-up. "Exactly. That is the crux of the matter."
Then he asked, "So, Pei Qian, Cao Qinglang, do you think you can become strong? Or do you hope to become strong? Or do you consider yourselves strong now? Is the distinction between strong and weak measured against me? Is it compared to the temporarily low-realm Xiao Mi Li, or the still-young Bai Xuan? Or compared to whom?"
Pei Qian's eyes lit up, and she nodded vigorously. "I understand!"
Cao Qinglang stood up and made a deep bow to his master, but without any words.
Pei Qian felt it wasn't appropriate for her to stand up and make a fist-in-palm salute like Cao Qinglang, so she gave him a glare.
Flatterer!
No one in Luopo Mountain hides their sycophancy as deeply as this guy!
Chen Ping'an muttered to himself, "In all worldly affairs, do not seek outside."
Cao Qinglang suddenly asked, "Master, are you worried that in the future, many people on Luopo Mountain and in the Lower Sect will act and speak too much like you?"
Chen Ping'an smiled knowingly. As expected, he was his proud disciple. He nodded. "I do have such a concern."
When a sect's founding patriarch's personal imprint is too distinct, it naturally leads to the subordinates imitating their superiors. This way of doing things has both advantages and disadvantages.
But Chen Ping'an still hoped that whether it was today's Luopo Mountain, or the future Lower Sect in Tongye Continent—even if a distinction eventually arises between direct disciples of the ancestral hall, inner sect disciples, and temporarily unregistered outer sect cultivators—each person's life could be different, each with its own beauty.
Xiao Mo sat to the side, listening intently from beginning to end. He was deeply impressed by his Young Master's approach: orderly, deconstructive, meticulous, and then reintegrating as one. He increasingly felt himself to be a crude person, with much to learn from the Young Master. But with the Young Master, he probably would truly have to learn without end.
Chen Ping'an stood up and said, "Both of you go back to Luopo Mountain first and wait for me there."
Pei Qian looked a bit worried.
She had already roughly discerned her master's current situation.
Chen Ping'an waved his hand and left the inn with Xiao Mo.
Earlier, during his southern travels, Chen Ping'an had crafted a wooden lunchbox made from timber sourced from Yuzhang Commandery. Now, he planned to go out and buy some pastries in the capital, along with a jug of wine. The total expenditure would come to fourteen taels of silver.
Then, he would take a trip to the Great Li Imperial Palace.
If the toast was declined, he would have to drink the penalty.