Unsheathed

Chapter 396 (3): Collecting Water and the Bright Moon With a Bamboo Basket

Compared to the swirling undercurrents in the building where Jiang Mao was sitting, things were much more harmonious and joyful in a pavilion surrounded by lush green bamboo located elsewhere in the summer palace.

Jiang Yun, the tall and sturdy young man who had obtained the fated opportunity in the form of an iron chain from the Jewel Small World, and the person who lived in the small alley in Wasp Tail Ferry Station, was currently chatting with his older sister who had married into Old Dragon City.

Chief Military Governor Wei Liang was sitting beside them and chatting with the old maidservant who appeared quite listless at this moment.

Jiang Yun didn't know whether to laugh or to cry as he looked at his older sister's appearance.

The young woman raised a brow and asked, "What's wrong? Are you judging a book by its cover? I feel like this appearance is fairly beautiful."

Jiang Yun smiled and replied, "Big Sister, speaking from my heart, I have to say that your current appearance is the true antithesis of beauty."

The chubby young woman rolled her eyes and said, "Then I can't wait to see what kind of celestial maiden you're going to marry in the future. I'll provide you with some input at that time, lest you be tricked by a bewitching vixen."

Jiang Yun put his palms together in a prayer and begged for forgiveness, saying, "Please don't. Big Sister, I'm afraid that you'll scare my future wife away with your short temper."

The young woman was just about to retort him, yet Jiang Yun had already smartly changed the topic and asked, "Big Sister, what kind of person is Fu Nanhua?"

The young woman shook her head and replied, "Not bad, he's an alright person. We don't interfere with each other, and we simply treat each other with respect. It's as good as can be."

Jiang Yun roared with laughter and remarked, "Then I definitely have to find an opportunity to share a drink with this pitiful brother-in-law of mine. We can both share our grievances and complain for several days in a row without pause. In fact, we might even become friends."

The young woman didn't have any complaints, and she said, "You can do whatever you want."

She suddenly recalled something at this moment, and she asked in a quiet voice, "Your master went to look for treasures with his good friend, so did they succeed or not? If they did, then I can secretly travel to Wasp Tail Ferry Station with you. After all, I've yet to personally see the colored glaze golden body of a deceased Ascension Tier cultivator. We do have one at home, but the old ancestor always keeps it hidden, so I still haven't managed to catch a glimpse of it even after all these years."

She then continued, "If you help your big sister sneak over and take a look, then I can also give you a special present that I guarantee will make all of the young cultivators in the continent extremely jealous of you."

Jiang Yun waved his hands and replied, "Forget about it. My master also has a bad temper, so if I dare to do anything without permission regarding this colored glaze golden body, nothing else will matter, and my master will definitely try to skin me alive. I'm not joking.

"Back then, my master gave me two choices: either go to the Jewel Small World or go to the blessed land owned by the Divine Edict Sect to train. I was forced to choose one or the other. After I returned from the Jewel Small World, however, my master started to regret his words, saying that I also needed to go to the blessed land to train. In any case, I had already gone to the Jewel Small World, so why not make it a happy double? My master said that I should take advantage of my good fortune these two years, and that after obtaining a treasure in the small world, I might even find myself a beautiful wife in the blessed land..."

There was a troubled look on Jiang Yun's face as he said in helplessness, "There's no way to reason with such a shameless master."

The young woman sneered and said, "You don't realize how lucky you are. In the history of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, how many vagrant cultivators have managed to advance to the Upper Five Tiers? How many of them could win the sincere respect of the haughty Li Tuanjing? How many of them could become close friends with the strange old gang leader? You should be content with what you have. If you have time, you should hurry up and return home to offer some incense to our ancestors, thanking them for the good karma that they've accumulated."

Jiang Yun shook his head and replied with an apathetic expression, "Don't try to persuade me to return. I genuinely can't bring myself to go back to that place."

The young woman sighed and flicked Jiang Yun's forehead with her finger, saying, "You've always been so stubborn ever since you were a child. However, you're already an immortal in the mountains now, so are you still unable to let go of the past?"

Jiang Yun didn't reply.

He glanced at the old maidservant, and his older sister softly shook her head, signaling that he shouldn't ask about this.

As the two of them fell silent, Chief Military Governor Wei Liang and the old maidservant coincidentally started to discuss the Bamboo Sea Small World and Lady Qingshen.

Wei Liang looked around at the lush green bamboo surrounding the pavilion and said, "Virtuous people, noble people, and scholars are all fond of green bamboo. However, I want to chop down tens of thousands of stalks of this evil bamboo."

It was unclear whether he was serious or joking.

"Mr. Wei, it won't be good for you to start chopping bamboo here and ignore our old ancestor who wants to debate knowledge with you, will it?" Jiang Yun's older sister asked in amusement.

Wei Liang smiled and replied, "I'll be far too eye-catching if I sit over there, and that will be a violation of my duty as an official."

Jiang Yun's older sister was just about to throw another one or two barbs at the chief military governor.

However, Wei Liang smiled with squinted eyes and said, "Little Jiang, do you remember when I carried you around when you were still a little baby? Time truly flies, and in the blink of an eye, the tanned baby girl in the cot has already grown up and gotten married."

The young woman glared at him and retrieved a piece of raw ginger, something that she had liked to snack on ever since she was young. She then took an angry bite.

Wei Liang roared with hearty laughter.

Jiang Yun was extremely impressed.

————

Recently, many people started to leave the Lion Garden located near the capital. After the demon was vanquished, many outsiders left, and some people originally from the Lion Garden left as well.

Liu Qingya, Liu Jingting's eldest daughter who had been stuck at her childhood home for a long time, was the first to hurriedly leave with her husband. Once bitten, twice shy, and it was indeed the case that her husband had been absolutely terrified by their experience.

Afterward, the two teachers Fu Sheng and Mr. Liu also left together.

Following them, it was Liu Jingting's second son, Liu Qingshan, and Daoist Nun Liu Boqi who left. The two of them were preparing to embark on a long journey on horseback, and they planned to travel north and visit Lake View Academy first.

Immediately afterward, Liu Jingting's youngest daughter Liu Qingqing and her maidservant, Zhao Ya, set off for an immortal force in the mountains. Liu Qingqing's older brother, Liu Qingfeng, took leave from the imperial court to personally accompany them into the mountains. The immortal force was located roughly three hundred kilometers away, and it wasn't exactly close to the capital of the Azure Phoenix Nation. When Liu Jingting was still assistant minister, he had also forged a fairly good relationship with this immortal force.

Thus, apart from an abundant amount of presents, he also asked Liu Qingfeng to deliver a letter that kindly asked for the immortal force to accept his daughter even if her aptitude was poor and even if she didn't have talent for cultivation. She could stay as an unofficial disciple and cultivate for a few years.

In reality, even though Liu Jingting was no longer the assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, it wouldn't be difficult for his daughter Liu Qingqing to enter any immortal force in the Azure Phoenix Nation as long as he was still alive. In fact, even the letter would be unnecessary.

As the two horse-drawn carriages slowly trundled forward, Liu Qingqing also started to smile more and more. Because of this, Maidservant Zhao Ya naturally became much happier as well.

Most of the time, Liu Qingfeng would stay in his carriage to read. When they arrived at relay stations along the way, he would come out from his carriage to interact with the locals and manage some relationships. This wasn't as simple as being polite and courteous. After all, regardless of whether these people were minor local officials or petty officials, and no matter how low-ranking their positions were, which of them wasn't astute and tricky to deal with?

Liu Qingfeng was the county magistrate and their superior, and these officials could easily discern whether he was treating them with genuine respect or false politeness. Thus, Liu Qingfeng didn't appear like the lofty eldest son of Liu Jingting, the leader of the Azure Phoenix Nation's scholarly world, at all as he interacted with them. Everyone had a good impression of him, and he became a topic of small talk among the various relay stations along the way.

Liu Qingqing was still a young woman, so it was only normal that she didn't understand the deeper implications behind her older brother Liu Qingfeng's actions. However, the observant Zhao Ya couldn't help but sigh in admiration, feeling like Young Master Liu Qingfeng in the Lion Garden was a completely different person from County Magistrate Liu Qingfeng in the outside world.

After arriving at the immortal force located among green peaks, everything went smoothly as Liu Qingqing visited the immortals and became a disciple.

After helping his younger sister settle down, Liu Qingfeng didn't leave the mountains straight away. Instead, he was led to the top floor of a tall scenic-viewing building near a cliff where he saw an old Confucian scholar in azure robes standing in front of the railings and enjoying the scenery. Standing beside the old Confucian scholar was a handsome-looking young master.

Liu Qingfeng sighed in his mind and pushed his complicated thoughts aside, bowing in greeting and saying, "Liu Qingfeng pays his respects to Imperial Preceptor Cui."

The old Confucian scholar was none other the Cui Chan, the imperial preceptor of the Great Li Empire.

He had surprisingly come to the Azure Phoenix Nation in person.

Cui Chan smiled and made a lifting motion with his hand, gesturing to Liu Qingfeng that there was no need to be so polite. He then pointed at the person standing beside him and introduced, "This is Li Baozhen from Dragon Spring Prefecture. He's the current leader of the southeastern division of the Great Li Empire's Green Ripple Pavilion, and the two of you will be frequently working with each other in the future."

The handsome young man bowed to Liu Qingfeng and said, "Greetings, Mr. Liu."

Liu Qingfeng had no option but to return the gesture.

Speaking fluently in the official dialect of the Azure Phoenix Nation, Li Baozhen said, "Mr. Liu, my horizons have been significantly broadened after my southward trip to the Azure Phoenix Nation. There are far too many remarkable individuals, and the Daoist priest from the White Cloud Daoist Temple is just one example. His cultivation base is lowly, yet he actually dares to integrate with Dao and extract profound secrets. Not only that, but he actually succeeded in surmounting that immense gulf that even Nascent Tier earth immortals find extremely difficult to cross. However, his actions were far too eye-catching, so it's most likely up to the Cloud Forest Jiang Clan whether his actions result in fortune or misfortune."

Liu Qingfeng smiled but didn't say anything.

Was this an opening gambit?

Li Baozhen was truly young and filled with unrestrained vigor.

Li Baozhen waited for Liu Qingfeng to respond, yet upon seeing him smile in a mild manner, he also started to smile.

Cui Chan glanced at Liu Qingfeng before smiling faintly and saying, "Liu Qingfeng, the two of you won't need to stress about the significant matters in the Azure Phoenix Nation, the Fortune Mountain Nation, and the Lofty Sky Nation in the future. When it comes to minor matters, however, make sure to teach Li Baozhen well."

Liu Qingfeng nodded in understanding.

There was a relaxed expression on Li Baozhen's face as he smiled faintly and extended a deep bow, saying, "Then I'll be in your care, Mr. Liu."

————

In the river guardian temple where Chen Ping'an had composed a work on the wall...

A group of generous worshippers had arrived recently, and they were also staying right inside the temple.

There were two people and a yellow bull.

The temple attendant was extremely anxious and afraid as he accepted incense money from them.

The young boy in white had a birthmark on his glabella, and he was especially fond of walking through the corridors and observing the stone tables.

He was none other than Cui Dongshan, and it was unknown why he had decided to remain in the Azure Phoenix Nation.

Night fell, and the round moon was hanging high in the sky when Cui Dongshan asked the temple for a bamboo basket. He walked away to scoop up a basket of water, and it was already very mysterious that not a single drop of water was spilled. However, even more mysterious than this was the reflection of the bright moon on the surface of the collected water. The bright moon swayed with the water, and it remained as bright and adorable as before even when Cui Dongshan walked into the shadows of the corridor.

Cui Dongshan sat down after arriving at a certain corridor, and he put the bamboo basket beside him before gazing up at the moon.

He was accompanied by only the water in the bamboo basket and the moon on the surface of the water.

Cui Dongshan's mind drifted away with his thoughts.

Buddha was worried about the suffering of all beings, and the Paramount Sage was anxious about the Confucian teachings becoming inaccessible and only available to those who were already well-off.

What about the Dao Ancestor?

It was said that he was observing that singularity.

Perhaps this pertained to Wang Zhu who had been trapped at the bottom of the well, or perhaps it also pertained to that old man in the Yang Family's medicine shop.

Of course, it was also possible that in the eyes of the Dao Ancestor who possessed Dao power loftier than one could imagine, everyone in the world could exist as that singularity?

Cui Dongshan rubbed his cheeks and retrieved two ordinary jujube wood scrolls from the minimization treasure inside his sleeve. He then unfurled the scrolls and had them hover in front of him.

On one of the picture scrolls, there was an old scholar dressed in worn-out clothes.

The old scholar was sitting in the middle of a bench, and a twenty-year-old Cui Chan was sitting by his side. On the other side were the young Zuo You and Qi Jingchun.

There were four people sitting on the bench, making it look relatively squished.

Someone's head had barged into the picture scroll that should have belonged to the old scholar and his three disciples, and this person's head was cocked to the side with a beaming smile. Not only that, but he had even raised two fingers.

Elsewhere in the picture scroll, there was a large figure squatting in the corner with his back facing everyone else.

On the other picture scroll was the person whose head had barged into the first picture scroll.

He was standing in the center with his arms spread apart, and the young Zuo You and Qi Jingchun were each grabbing one of the man's arms and hanging in the air with their knees bent. There were wide grins on both of the young boys' faces.

The young Cui Chan was standing behind the man with a relatively more reserved smile, but it was clear that he was also smiling in sincere happiness.

————

Cui Dongshan thought to himself, when could he, Chen Ping'an, and that tanned little girl also leave a picture scroll like this?