Unsheathed

Chapter 389 (2): Spirit of a Scholar

Pei Qian held the calligraphy brush in one hand as she sat on Chen Ping'an's shoulders, and she used her other hand to scratch her head in hesitation. She stayed like this for a long time, not daring to write a single character. Chen Ping'an didn't urge her to hurry up either.

Zhu Lian snickered and said, "Gallant Heroine Pei Qian, why don't you just write 'Fierce and Unyielding Fence-Sitter, Swaying and Disloyal Money Loser?' This will be both accurate and practical. In fact, this is just like how those gallant heroes in the martial arts novel that I gave you all loudly announce their names and titles after they hack evildoers to death.

Your name and title will definitely spread far and wide, impressing everyone in the cultivation world. When we arrive at the capital of the Azure Phoenix Nation, perhaps everyone will cup their fists and respectfully refer to you as Gallant Heroine Pei Qian. Just how remarkable would that be?"

Pei Qian turned around and puckered her face, exclaiming, "Zhu Lian, if you continue to laugh at me like this, then I'll cry in protest!"

Chen Ping'an raised a leg and gave Zhu Lian a good kick, scolding him with a smile, "You're an elder, yet you're still acting so immaturely. All you do is bully Pei Qian."

Zhu Lian laughed loudly and replied with a nod, "Since Young Master has spoken, I'll let her off the hook this time. I get angry whenever she starts to nitpick at my food once she's stuffed like a balloon."

Shi Rou couldn't stand this old man and the little girl.

For example, they had occasionally left the official road and trekked across mountains and waters before, taking them across some secluded villages in the mountains. When they came across dogs barking at them, strangers in the area, the little girl would raise her hiking pole and sprint over to unleash her Deranged Demon Sword Techniques, causing plumes of dust to rise into the air. The little girl would run even quicker than the dogs.

Meanwhile, the old pervert would get so bored that he would help corner the dogs for the little girl. After the dogs lay down on the ground with their tails between their legs, Pei Qian would squat down and forcefully place her hand on their heads, glaring at them and asking, "What's wrong, little doggy? Are you still going to bark at me or what? Hurry up and apologize to Gallant Heroine Pei Qian! Otherwise, I'll beat up your dog head!"

When the villagers and their children saw this, they would immediately curse and run over to rescue their dogs. At these moments, Chen Ping'an would lead the charge and be the first to flee. Pei Qian and Zhu Lian would follow closely behind him.

Shi Rou was extremely baffled by their behavior. Was this fun or meaningful in any way?

However, the usually serious and upstanding Chen Ping'an seemed rather... delighted when he fled with Pei Qian and Zhu Lian?

Pei Qian was a little child, so that was one thing. But one of the two men was the master of Demon King Cui, while the other was a Far Roaming Tier grandmaster. Did they not feel embarrassed when they engaged in such childish acts?

One time, they had come across a large white swan by the riverside, and the old pervert encouraged Pei Qian to walk over to challenge the bird to a fight. After a while, however, Pei Qian started to yell and holler as she ran away from the swan.

The swan had pecked her backside several times, and Pei Qian's entire forehead was filled with sweat when she ran to Chen Ping'an's side. She sighed and remarked that the swan was far too powerful, so much so that she couldn't defeat it at all.

Chen Ping'an didn't laugh any less than Zhu Lian.

Shi Rou always felt like she was completely incompatible with the three other people. In fact, she even wondered to herself whether it would have been better if she had stayed by Cui Dongshan's side.

Pei Qian finally raised the calligraphy brush and started writing at this moment. However, transcribing texts at the table was one matter, and writing on the wall was another matter altogether. Her first stroke, a horizontal line, was already squiggly and crooked. Pei Qian drew a sharp breath, and she raised a hand to wipe the sweat from her face. However, she still gritted her teeth and wrote a few characters with a pitiful expression—Harmony Between Heaven and Earth.

Pei Qian leaned back after writing the first half of the phrase, yet she felt like her characters were very awkward no matter how she looked at them. Indeed, these characters weren't even fifty percent as good as the characters that she usually wrote when transcribing texts. She knew that Old Cook Zhu Lian was definitely laughing at her in secret without even needing to look at him. He was definitely thinking that she was writing as if she were assisted by ghosts, not gods.

Pei Qian hesitated for a long time, and she eventually decided to leave things as they were. She wasn't going to write the second half of this phrase.

She moved the tip of the calligraphy brush slightly downward, dipping it in some ink before writing, "Pei Qian and Master were here."

Job finished!

Pei Qian was feeling relatively satisfied. Her handwriting was only so-so, but the contents of her writing were very good.

Like master, like disciple. Back in Sword Saint Song Yushao's villa in the Water Combing Nation, Chen Ping'an had also done quite badly when leaving his mark on the stone cliff behind the waterfall.

Chen Ping'an didn't force Pei Qian to write anything else. He put her down and asked Zhu Lian, "How about you write something as well?"

Zhu Lian rubbed his hands together, replying with a chuckle, "I'll pass. It's been so many years since I last held a calligraphy brush, so I'm definitely out of practice now. There's no need to make a laughing stock of myself."

Even so, Chen Ping'an still handed the calligraphy brush to Zhu Lian.

Zhu Lian wasn't an indecisive person, so he no longer hesitated after accepting the calligraphy brush.

After witnessing the little girl's calligraphy prowess, none of the temple attendant, the incense provider, or Shi Rou had any high hopes for Zhu Lian. Moreover, the hunchbacked old man always referred to himself as an old servant, so even if he were a servant from a wealthy noble clan who had read some essays and learned the basics of calligraphy, how skilled could he possibly be?

However, Chen Ping'an was well aware of Zhu Lian's capabilities.

Before going completely insane in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land, Zhu Lian had once been known as a refined young master who could put otherworldly immortals to shame.

Zhu Lian wrote an impressive poem from the Lotus Flower Blessed Land, using cursive script to write the one hundred or so characters. There weren't many characters in this poem, yet each character was filled with meaning and impact. Rendered on the wall, the poem looked like drifting clouds and flowing water, appearing astonishingly impressive.

The temple attendant was someone who understood good calligraphy when he saw it, so he murmured, "Linked together like an indomitable mountain range, yet spread apart like pervasive wind and rain; rapid like flashing lightning, and ferocious like a nimble hawk.[1] This is an exceptional work, and this person is definitely a hidden giant of the literary world."

Zhu Lian liked to write using little ink and a relatively dry calligraphy brush, so he had barely dipped his brush in ink while writing on the wall. As a result, his writing had flowed in a rhythmic manner, and it could be said that he had written the poem in one go.

Even Shi Rou had to concede that the old pervert was indeed very good at calligraphy. This was simply intolerable!

Zhu Lian handed the calligraphy brush to Chen Ping'an and said, "Young Master, I took the liberty to display my crude skills to pave the way for something better. Please don't laugh at my performance."

Chen Ping'an didn't know whether to laugh or to cry, and he thought to himself, Zhu Lian, aren't you pushing me into a fire pit by saying this?

Sure enough, the three people from the river guardian temple were filled with eager anticipation.

However, Chen Ping'an knew that they were setting themselves up for disappointment.

Zhu Lian wasn't displaying crude skills to pave the way for something better, and the three people from the river guardian temple would soon understand the concept of having a precious gem in front and a pile of rubble afterward.

In the beginning, Chen Ping'an had wanted to follow his thoughts and transcribe some phrases from his bamboo slips.

However, Zhu Lian smiled faintly and suggested, "Young Master, why don't you write some of your thoughts as well? There are hills and valleys in your mind, so expansive that they're filled with originality and creativity. That being the case, why imitate your predecessors?"

Chen Ping'an thought for a moment, and he stood still and held a clenched fist to his abdomen. He then raised the calligraphy brush and wrote using the same regular script as always. There was nothing remarkable about his writing, and it could only be described as diligent and proper.

There was complete silence after Chen Ping'an finished writing his two sentences.

Chen Ping'an smiled wryly as he returned the calligraphy brush.

The temple attendant and the incense provider led them out of the river guardian temple.

While seeing the visitors off, the temple attendant was filled with anxiety as he mentioned Assistant Minister Liu once again.

As it turned out, after the great Confucian scholar of the Azure Phoenix Nation had resigned and gone home to live in seclusion, a strange event had taken place in the Lion Garden—one of the ten most renowned gardens in the Azure Phoenix Nation—at the end of winter last year.

An elusive fox demon had started to cause trouble, harming the youngest and yet-to-be-married daughter of Assistant Minister Liu and causing her to become completely besotted with him. She had initially been a beautiful young woman in her prime, yet the fox demon, which presented itself as a handsome young man, had caused her to become a pitiful little thing that was nothing but skin and bones.

The fox demon had a lofty cultivation base, yet it was also very eccentric in nature. It didn't kill other people, and it was instead very talented in a literary sense. It was proficient in the three teachings, and during a discussion on Dao with Assistant Minister Liu, it had actually rendered the renowned official speechless. Afterward, the old assistant minister had exhausted all of his clan's wealth to hire many immortals from the mountains, asking them to vanquish the demon in his home.

Unexpectedly, however, all of the immortals had suffered the same fate, regardless of what force they were from, how experienced they were, whether they were official immortals or not, and even if they were powerful yet notorious vagrant cultivators. All of them had been toyed with and disgraced by the fox demon. Either their weapons were snatched away by the fox demon, or their immortal treasures were stolen. In the end, these immortals had to beg the fox demon in private for their weapons and immortal treasures back.

Chen Ping'an had read about this in the reports that Hundred Flower Garden, the immortal inn in the prefectural city, had provided to guests every day. He hadn't paid much attention to it at the time, but he was aware that the Lion Garden was offering a handsome reward for whoever managed to vanquish the demon. As long as someone succeeded, Assistant Minister Liu was willing to give them three old relics passed down in the Liu Clan.

When they were about to reach the entrance of the river guardian temple, the incense provider couldn't help but sigh with emotion, remarking, "Assistant Minister Liu is one of the rare few officials who are honest and upright. The traditions and values of his clan are also very impressive, and I was fortunate enough to interact with a descendant of the Liu Clan a few years back. That young scholar was indeed courteous and respectful, and his demeanor reflected the outstanding traditions and values of the Liu Clan."

The temple attendant sighed and replied, "That's exactly right. The same goes for the descendant of the Liu Clan who's working as a county magistrate nearby. He's worked diligently for the past four years, and he's accomplished many things that everyone in the region is genuinely able to see with their own eyes. If the young scholar you came across was simply courteous and polite, then this county magistrate is genuinely governing to benefit the people. Ah... I wonder what the situation in the Lion Garden is like right now. I hope that someone has already managed to shoo that fox demon away."

A cold chill ran down Pei Qian's spine as she listened to this.

In fact, she almost retrieved a talisman to stick on her forehead.

There was an amused smile on Zhu Lian's face.

So that's how it is, huh? You want us to enforce justice on behalf of the heavens?

Shi Rou naturally wished to avoid troublesome situations such as this.

A fox demon that could wantonly cause trouble around the capital of the nation definitely possessed a high cultivation base. Thus, what would they do if the fox demon were a Golden Core Tier great demon? Moreover, what would she do if Zhu Lian purposely pushed her into a perilous situation at that time, choosing to stand aside and watch instead of helping her? Would she truly step forward to become a shield for Chen Ping'an after he impulsively rushed over to help?

Chen Ping'an didn't say anything the entire time. After walking out of the temple, he cupped his fists and respect and bade farewell to the temple attendant and the incense provider.

Afterward, he continued on his journey to the capital of the Azure Phoenix Nation.

"Ghosts and deities pry on prominent and wealthy clans," Chen Ping'an suddenly commented.

"Correct," Zhu Lian smiled and replied with a nod.

After Chen Ping'an and his companions left, there were no more worshippers or visitors in the river guardian temple.

A faintly discernible scholar shrouded in elegance and flowing golden light walked out from a godly statue and arrived at the corridor of the fourth courtyard, standing under the wall on which Chen Ping'an and his companions had composed their works.

The temple attendant was slightly flustered, and he persuaded in an earnest voice, "Esteemed River Guardian, there are not enough incense offerings right now, so you shouldn't remain outside your divine statue for too long."

Deities of mountains and waters needed to draw on the power of incense essence if they wanted to form a godly body and travel outside their statues.

Formal mountain gods enjoyed abundant incense offerings, so forming a godly body and traveling outside their divine statues was naturally not an issue at all. However, deities of smaller temples such as this river guardian temple needed to carefully manage their expenditure of incense essence.

Having assumed the appearance of a middle-aged Confucian scholar, the river guardian smiled upon hearing the temple attendant's words.

A rare expression of relief spread across his face, and he looked up at the sky before saying in satisfaction, "My temple is too small, while the ambition of the scholar is too grand. I'm feeling slightly inebriated as if I've just had some rich wine to drink. How fortunate! How delightful!"

The temple attendant was at a complete loss. He had no idea what was going on.

However, he discovered that the esteemed river guardian no longer had an anxious and depressed expression as always. Not only was there a glow of vigor and spirit between his brows, but the golden light circling around him also appeared to be far more condensed than before.

The temple attendant suddenly turned around to look at the wall.

He didn't look at the poem written in cursive script.

Instead, he looked at the two lines of character written in straight and proper regular script.

Moon in the sky, moon in the world, moon on my shoulders as I travel with my bookcase, moon in my eyes as I lean on mountain railings, moon that regains its shape as I scoop water with a bamboo basket.

Wind in the mountains, wind beside the waters, wind under my feet as I fly on my sword, wind between the pages as I read sagely texts, wind that one day brings us reunion.

1. This is a line from the History of Yuan, one of the official Chinese historical works known as the Twenty-Four Histories of China. The original text describes the skillful command of an army. ☜