Unsheathed

Chapter 333 (2): Complicated Matters in a Small Place

The sturdy man couldn't help but feel angered as he looked at the calm young boy, and this was because he had already grown accustomed to those submissive and obsequious commoners in Fox Town. Now that he was facing someone who didn't yield and flatter him—and most importantly, someone who happened to be quite handsome as well—he felt a strong urge to teach this young brat a lesson.

Ma Ping would make the young boy understand who the leader of Fox Town was. Even tigers that left the mountains would have to obediently sit down in front of him, and even dragons crossing the rivers would have to obediently lay coiled before him. No one else was allowed to flirt with Innkeeper Jiu Niang.

"I've heard that there are ghosts haunting the town again? Who was possessed this time?" Jiu Niang suddenly asked.

Ma Ping instantly lost all motivation to pick on Chen Ping'an upon hearing the mention of this troublesome matter. He tossed the travel documents and passport back to the pretty boy before drinking a mouthful of wine and replying in a rough and low voice, "It's so fucking sinister and puzzling this time. The ghosts and spirits always targeted outsiders in the past, yet they're actually targeting a local resident of the small town this time.

"You're familiar with Old Man Liu who only has a single arm, right? That old geezer who owns the joss paper shop and often helps others look at feng shui? Well, he's gone completely mad now. It's so cold right now, yet he still insists on running around the streets naked during the day. Not only that, but he complains about being too hot as well.

"We had no option but to chain him up, and he filled his entire house with piss and shit in just a few days. The smell is simply unbearable. He finally regained a sliver of sense today, and he's finally stopped mumbling about all these weird things as well. Say, that's why we hurried over here today. We wanted to ask you for a few bowls of green plum wine to muster some courage and wash away some bad luck."

Jiu Niang frowned and asked, "How have things come to this? Didn't you spend a hefty sum to invite that grandmaster over from the prefectural city? Didn't he give you a stack of immortal talismans? How did you brag about this back then? I remember you saying something like 'One talisman summoned, ten thousand ghosts pushed back.'"

Ma Ping turned his head and violently spat on the ground, replying, "Grandmaster my ass! That guy was nothing but a scammer. He completely screwed us over, and Constable Han has been making my life difficult because of this."

The sturdy man exhaled and squeezed out a smile, and reached over in a bid to touch Jiu Niang's slender hand. However, the innkeeper quietly pulled her hand back and didn't allow him to succeed. Ma Ping smiled with squinted eyes and asked, "What do you think about me, Jiu Niang? At the very least, I'm someone with power and influence in Fox Town, right? I make enough money, and I also come from a clean background. Not only that, but I also practice martial arts and have too much energy to spend. Are you not attracted to this? Jiu Niang, don't be embarrassed, Big Brother Ma isn't that type of stubborn and pedantic person. I don't care about your past."

Jiu Niang replied with a cold chuckle.

Afterward, Ma Ping used the excuse of being drunk in an attempt to touch her several more times, yet Jiu Niang was able to successfully evade his advances each time. Ma Ping and his two subordinates ordered an entire table of food, and they stuffed their faces until grease dripped from their mouths.

By the looks of it, they were clearly here with ulterior motives. In the end, they even refused to leave, and the three of them went upstairs to sleep instead. They said that they would return to Fox Town tomorrow.

Chen Ping'an had moved to the neighboring table right at the very beginning, and Jiu Niang walked over to sit beside him as the lame young boy cleaned up the mess on the other table. She heaved a long sigh, and seemed slightly exhausted as she explained with a bitter smile, "Ma Ping is a constable in Fox Town, and his family has done this job for generation after generation. This job has some weak relationships with the government offices, yet just how big is Fox Town?

"Even the highest-ranking so-called officials in the town are nothing more than informal officials. The remainder are simply petty officials who can't even be regarded as officials. Yet, each of them is more arrogant and egotistical than the other."

Upon hearing the commotion outside, Pei Qian quietly opened her door and squatted by the stairs, poking her head between the railings on the second floor to secretly look at the two people downstairs. In the end, it took her a lot of effort to pull her head back out.

She jogged downstairs, and was just about to approach the restaurant tables when she heard the innkeeper complaining about how difficult it was to deal with the petty people in the officialdom. She said that the constables would often come to the inn for free food and free drink, so she could only sacrifice this money to buy herself peace and safety. Otherwise, what else could she do?

Pei Qian was extremely amused by this. A wide grin spread across her face, and she tried her very best to contain her laughter. However, she was eventually unable to hold it in, and she clutched her stomach and roared with laughter, exclaiming, "Spending money to buy peace and safety, spending money to buy Ping'an...[1] Ahahaha, I can't... I'm going to laugh to death! Ahahaha, even my tummy is starting to hurt now..."

Chen Ping'an stood up and walked beside Pei Qian, asking, "Does it still hurt now?"

With her ear twisted, Pei Qian immediately stopped laughing, and there was a hint of pity in her voice as she replied, "My tummy doesn't hurt anymore, but my ear hurts now..."

Jiu Niang was extremely puzzled, and she had absolutely no idea what the mischievous skinny little girl was laughing about.

Chen Ping'an said goodbye to Jiu Niang, and he dragged Pei Qian to the stairs by the ear. Pei Qian cocked her head and stood on tippy-toes, and she shouted that she wouldn't dare to laugh about this anymore.

Only after walking all the way upstairs did Chen Ping'an let go of Pei Qian's ear and walk toward his room. However, he didn't forget to turn around and warn, "You're not allowed to casually wander outside without my permission."

Pei Qian rubbed her ear and nodded in understanding.

After Chen Ping'an shut his door, Pei Qian stood beside the railings and coincidentally locked gazes with the innkeeper who was looking up. Pei Qian humphed coldly and skipped back to her own room, closing her door with a loud bam.

The sun began to set outside the inn, with its last rays of radiance illuminating a young girl on horseback galloping over. Her hair was tied in a ponytail, and she appeared to be thirteen to fourteen years old. She was beautiful and seemed gentle, yet she also possessed an aura of strength and incisiveness. There was a bow on her back and a saber by her waist, and she casually dismounted her horse and left it outside the inn, clearly not worried that it would run off on its own.

The man in azure was still squatting by the door and playing with the emaciated dog.

The young girl glanced at the man, yet she didn't give him a second thought. She walked into the inn and looked around, and felt slightly displeased when she saw the astonished innkeeper. She stopped and said to Jiu Niang, "Grandpa asked me to deliver a message to you. Don't leave the inn for the next while, as things are starting to become dangerous and uncertain."

Jiu Niang no longer appeared seductive as she faced the young girl, and she was so dignified and refined that she seemed much like a noble daughter from a wealthy clan. She raised a finger to her lips, warning the young girl that there were potential eavesdroppers nearby. She then said in a quiet voice, "Lingzhi, I'm already accustomed to staying here."

"You don't know what's good for you!" Yao Lingzhi exclaimed in anger.

Jiu Niang smiled and asked, "Do you want to drink some green plum wine?"

The young girl's face lit up in fury.

Drink wine?!

Jiu Niang realized her slip of the tongue, and she couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed and ashamed.

"Give me a room. I'll leave tomorrow. I'll give you some time to think over this carefully," Yao Lingzhi said coldly.

The lame young boy trembled in fear as he led Yao Lingzhi to the second floor of the inn. After seeing the meaningful look in the innkeeper's eyes, he purposely picked the cleanest and most refined room for the young girl.

After the light and nimble footsteps finally vanished from the corridor, Chen Ping'an refocused his attention on the picture scroll and stacked his six remaining grain rain coins together.

He tossed them into the picture scroll one by one.

Chen Ping'an stood up and retreated several steps after the third grain rain coin vanished into the picture scroll.

A hunchbacked old man stumbled out from the picture scroll.

He jumped down from the table and looked at Chen Ping'an with a squinted smile. He then turned around and reached over to stroke the picture scroll, yet his hand touched nothing but thin air. Even Pei Qian had secretly touched the picture scrolls before, yet this picture scroll was seemingly close yet boundlessly distant for the old man.

It was ethereal and intangible; it was untouchable.

Zhu Lian wasn't angered by this, and he instead chuckled and said, "Just as I expected. Young Master, is this an immortal technique of Majestic World?"

"You could say that," Chen Ping'an replied with a nod.

This hunchbacked old man appeared vastly different from the rumors. He didn't appear like a crazed martial arts maniac at all.

There was always a faint and kindly smile on Zhu Lian's face, yet it was this person who had almost flipped the cultivation world of the Lotus Flower Blessed Land upside down. On the contrary, his successor Ding Ying, who had inherited the title of strongest in the world, had possessed the extremely evident aura and demeanor of a superior grandmaster. However, this was definitely influenced by Ding Ying's tall and sturdy build, his unsmiling nature, and his impressive silver-colored lotus flower hat.

Standing in front of Chen Ping'an, Martial Arts Maniac Zhu Lian appeared nothing like a superior grandmaster.

Compared to Wei Xian, who buried all of his thoughts in his mind, Zhu Lian was seemingly more candid and accepting of his fate.

"Now that I've arrived in your world, I'll need to spend several days just to accustom myself to the flow of Qi in Majestic World," Zhu Lian said in an open and honest manner. "It's very difficult to say when I'll be able to return to my peak cultivation base. Mhm, according to the cultivation tiers of this world, I should be at the sixth tier of pure martial arts right now."

After saying this, Zhu Lian chuckled in self-ridicule and continued, "I might advance in a single burst of cultivation, but I might also hit a roadblock and remain stuck at this cultivation base for a long time. In fact, the spiritual energy of this world might even draw the True Qi from my acupoints and slowly eat away at my cultivation. In any case, I have a feeling that apart from the barrier to the seventh tier, I won't face much difficulty advancing to the eighth tier and ninth tier of martial arts in the future."

Zhu Lian was extremely honest with Chen Ping'an.

He was indeed far more straightforward than Wei Xian, that quiet and taciturn person.

Zhu Lian walked to the window and pushed it open, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "This seventh tier of martial arts is similar to martial artists in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land turning their acquired power into innate power," he murmured to himself. "This is the most difficult barrier to overcome. After advancing to the seventh tier, however, I believe that any further advance will simply be a case of slow cultivation and accumulation. I don't dare to claim that I'll definitely advance to the ninth tier, but it certainly won't be too difficult for me to advance to the eighth tier."

Zhu Lian turned around and continued with a faint smile, "Of course, I'll have a chance to fight to a draw with ordinary seventh tier pure martial artists once I grow accustomed to the abundant spiritual energy in this world. I won't be suppressed by their higher cultivation base, and I won't be so weak that I'll have to stand there and wait for death. In terms of those at the same cultivation base as me, I'll have an incredibly high chance of winning unless it's against someone like you, Young Master."

"There only exists a barrier at the seventh tier?" Chen Ping'an murmured to himself.

Zhu Lian walked back to the table and lightly tapped it with a single finger, saying, "Young Master, I'm willing to loyally serve you for thirty years. However, I wish that you give me freedom after that. What do you say?"

Chen Ping'an shook his head and replied with a smile, "I don't know how to do that."

Zhu Lian was taken aback, and he fell completely silent as he stared at the picture scroll.

Chen Ping'an speculated that these picture scrolls were similar to the bonded porcelains in Jewel Small World. What did it matter even if one advanced to the Unpolished Jade Tier and became an Upper Five Tier cultivator? Their life would still be in someone else's hands.

Chen Ping'an smiled upon thinking of this.

Wei Xian was utterly drunk and unconscious as he lay in bed, and he mumbled in his sleep, "No killing intent radiating from the body, yet murderous intent raging through the heart—such is the demeanor of a ruler."

Someone knocked on Chen Ping'an's door, so he put away the picture scroll and three remaining grain rain coins and was just about to walk over to answer. However, Zhu Lian surprisingly walked over to answer the door for him.

Pei Qian blinked before quickly sprinting past Zhu Lian and hiding behind Chen Ping'an.

Zhu Lian closed the door before turning around and chuckling, "Your aptitude is truly very impressive, little girl. Are you Young Master's daughter?"

Pei Qian nodded earnestly in reply.

However, Chen Ping'an shook his head as he turned around and asked, "Is something the matter?"

Pei Qian glanced at Zhu Lian before shaking her head.

Zhu Lian was a tactful person, so he smiled and asked, "Young Master, is there somewhere for me to stay?"

"After you walk out, it will be the second room to your right. However, Wei Xian is already staying there, so I can ask the innkeeper for another room if you don't want to stay with someone else," Chen Ping'an replied.

"There's no need to be so particular when traveling through the cultivation world," Zhu Lian said with a wave of his hand.

He then rubbed his chin in thought and asked, "Young Master, you chose the founding emperor of Southern Garden Nation first?"

Chen Ping'an nodded and warned, "I hope the two of you don't get into conflict with each other."

Zhu Lian smiled and replied, "I sincerely admire Wei Xian, someone who can oppose an entire army by himself. I can't even offer a toast to him fast enough, so how can I possibly start trouble?"

Zhu Lian walked out and gently shut the door behind him.

When there was only a small crack remaining, Zhu Lian suddenly asked, "Dare I ask, Young Master, how many coins did you spend on me?"

"Seventeen grain rain coins," Chen Ping'an replied.

"I caused you to waste too much money, Young Master," Zhu Lian said with a smile.

Pei Qian was still worried after the old man left, so she walked over to lock the door. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.

"You're not scared of Wei Xian who always has a stern expression, yet you're scared of Zhu Lian who appears so kind and amicable?" Chen Ping'an asked.

"I don't know, I'm just scared of him," Pei Qian replied in a soft voice.

"What's the matter?" Chen Ping'an asked.

"I feel like the innkeeper isn't a good person. Not only that, but there's also a lame boy and a hunchbacked old man. Just how strange is that? This isn't an unscrupulous inn that targets its guests, is it? The storyteller under the bridge told stories about unscrupulous shops and inns before. He said that these places love to drug their guests and use their flesh to make human meat steamed buns."

Chen Ping'an chuckled in anger and instructed, "Stop thinking about all this nonsense. Hurry up and go back to your room to read."

Pei Qian could only sigh and return to her room.

Chen Ping'an was no longer in the mood to unfurl the two remaining picture scrolls, one which contained Lu Baixiang and one which contained Sui Youbian. Chen Ping'an didn't really dare to bring the former to life, as he was afraid that bringing Lu Baixiang to life would be easy, but trying to keep him under control would be difficult. As for the latter, he definitely didn't dare to bring her to life.

Chen Ping'an thought about Pei Qian's attitude toward Wei Xian and Zhu Lian.

In reality, her intuition wasn't wrong at all.

When Wei Xian looked at people, it was as if he were peering down at them from a lofty position. This was understandable, as he was once the emperor of a nation, after all.

When Zhu Lian looked at people, it was as if he were a living person looking at a lifeless corpse. There was gloominess in his eyes, and they appeared as deep and dark as a bottomless pool. The smile on the old man's face couldn't be taken seriously.

The man in azure sat on the door threshold of the inn and gazed up at the spectacular iridescent clouds of dusk that were lingering over the horizon. He gently patted his knee, and he would mumble about something each time he took a swig of green plum wine from his wine pot.

"Witnessing dragons in a sea of clouds, encountering deers deep in the forest, there sit beautiful women beside plum blossoms, there walk gallant individuals on the battlefield, there live renowned scholars in impoverished alleys..."

There was a loud thud.

The man in azure was struck by someone, causing him to faceplant into the ground. However, he didn't forget to hold his pot of wine up, preventing it from spilling.

As it turned out, the lame young boy had kicked him in the back. "Is there any end to this?! Are you addicted to this or something?! I've already put up with you for so long!"

The man in azure appeared extremely disheveled as he picked himself up from the ground and patted the dirt from his body. "Do you know who I am?" he asked in a solemn voice.

The lame young boy felt slightly diffident as he looked at the impoverished scholar who appeared a little different than usual. However, he still mustered his courage and shouted, "Yeh, and who are you?"

"How do you refer to Jiu Niang?" the man in azure asked in a serious tone.

The lame young boy faltered for a moment before replying, "Innkeeper, of course."

"Then how should you refer to the innkeeper's husband?" the man in azure continued.

The lame young boy was almost about to go crazy with rage.

He sprinted outside and swung both his arms and legs, chasing and striking the bastard scholar. All he knew about the scholar was his surname, Zhong.

The man in azure held his wine pot high in the air as he ran around and dodged. He continued to drink as he did so, and he was inevitably struck by a few of the lame young boy's chaotic attacks. However, these were mere tickles to him.

The sun dipped under the horizon.

There had once been a prophecy about this scholar in azure.

However, even the scholar with the surname Zhong hadn't taken this prophecy seriously.

The prophecy read: "The myriad ghosts in the world have nothing to fear if Scholar Zhong doesn't leave the mountains."

1. The Ping'an (平安) in Chen Ping'an's name literally translates to peace and safety. ☜

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