Unsheathed

Chapter 395 (1): A Bowl of Chicken Soup, I Don't Know

After leaving the small path that led to the Lion Garden, they walked past a small lake that had a large patch of lush reeds. After taking a turn, they could then take a fork road and enter an official road that led to the capital of the Azure Phoenix Nation. Upon exiting the path that took them by the lush reeds, however, what they saw was an ox-drawn carriage with several travel-worn passengers.

The ox-drawn carriage had just entered the small fork road off the official road, and this was a small road that was both narrow and bumpy. The carriage jumped up and down as a result, and the man in azure sitting at the back was almost thrown off the carriage as a result. He was shaken silly, and it was as if his entire body were almost about to fall apart.

The person driving the ox carriage was a young boy who looked like a scholarly attendant, and he had most likely been urged by his master to hurry up the entire time. He was probably at an age where he was more prone to being careless as well, and this was in addition to the fact that he was quite a novice at driving ox carriages.

As a result, the ox giddily sprinted onto the small road without a care in the world. Unexpectedly, there was a group of people walking out from the small road accompanied by lush reeds that led to nowhere but the Lion Garden. Not only that, but the person walking in front was actually a little girl who was holding a hiking pole and happily skipping forward. As such, would the ox-drawn carriage not cause a fatal result if it rammed into the little girl?

The young scholarly attendant was extremely flustered, and the man in azure sitting behind him was even more alarmed. The former flailed around in an attempt to fix the situation, while the latter shouted loudly in warning. And thus, Pei Qian opened her eyes wide and stared at the ox-drawn carriage violently swinging back and forth as the old ox sprinted forward and dragged the two idiots straight into the lake filled with reeds.

In reality, Pei Qian had dashed out of the way right from the very beginning, and she was already standing on a dense thicket of reeds. In other words, she would have been safe even if the ox-drawn carriage had continued to charge forward on its original trajectory. It definitely wouldn't have struck her.

In any case, people were diving into the lake to go swimming this early in the morning? Or perhaps they were two immortals, and the ox could actually drag the carriage across the surface of the water? Perhaps it could exude an extraordinary immortal aura? After all, hadn't she also ridden a yellow earth bull before? It was indeed very mysterious, and she had felt very safe and stable on its back even when it had climbed mountains and crossed rivers.

However, this didn't appear to be the situation right now, and the man in azure and the young scholarly attendant were both screaming in shock as the ox-drawn carriage crashed into the lake with a loud plop. Water splashed everywhere, and they quickly disappeared without a trace.

Pei Qian shuffled over and looked down the small path that had been bulldozed through the reeds by the ox-drawn carriage. However, there was nothing to see, as the ox-drawn carriage had directly charged into the water.

Pei Qian pinched her chin and fell deep into thought. She had heard about something called a water-repelling jewel before, and immortals from the mountains could easily enter rivers and seas to hunt flood dragons if they possessed this treasure. Wading through the water would be like walking on dry land.

Zhu Lian and Shi Rou rushed over to rescue the two people and the ox.

Chen Ping'an grabbed Pei Qian's ear and scolded, "I told you to be careful and to watch where you were going."

Pei Qian stood on her tippy-toes and loudly begged for mercy, explaining, "How could I have known that the ox would refuse to walk in a straight line and choose to stumble around like a drunk person instead? It stumbled left and right, and it eventually stumbled itself into the lake. Ow, ow, ow, it hurts...!

"Master, I genuinely stepped aside to let it pass already... Moreover, Master has seen ox-drawn carriages and mule-drawn carriages before as well. Aren't they all extremely slow? However, this ox-drawn carriage was quite fearsome and domineering, and it looked like it wanted to leap into the air and soar through the sky..."

Chen Ping'an let go of Pei Qian's ear and instructed her to stand still. The little girl obeyed, baring her teeth and gently massaging her ear at the same time. It truly hurt very much.

Sure enough, Zhu Lian had jinxed the situation again, telling her not to get carried away with herself or whatnot.

Meanwhile, Chen Ping'an breathed a soft sigh of relief. After entering the lake, Zhu Lian and Shi Rou managed to quickly fish up the two people, their ox, and their carriage, bringing everything back to the bank.

There was a sense of lingering fear in the young scholarly attendant's mind, and he immediately burst into tears as he sat down on the reeds bulldozed by the ox-drawn carriage just then.

The old ox shook its body after arriving on the bank, and its tail coincidentally whipped across the young scholarly attendant's head. This caused the young boy to stop crying.

The man in azure was around thirty years old, and he didn't look too old for his age. After being rescued and dragged to the bank, he bowed in gratitude to Shi Rou.

Chen Ping'an walked over, cupping his fists in greeting and apologizing to the two people.

The man in azure felt extremely ashamed, and he hurriedly bowed in apology again.

In the end, the eyes of the man lit up after he wiped the water from his face, and he asked Chen Ping'an, "Are you Young Master Chen, the person who saved the Lion Garden along with the Daoist nun and the other esteemed immortals?"

Chen Ping'an nodded in reply, and he asked in an uncertain voice, "Are you County Magistrate Liu?"

The man in azure laughed heartily and replied, "Indeed, I'm Liu Qingfeng, the older brother of Liu Qingshan."

Liu Qingfeng was Assistant Minister Liu's eldest son, and he was currently serving as the county magistrate of a region. He wasn't hugely successful and advancing in leaps and bounds per se, but he could very much be regarded as a scholar who was enjoying a smooth-sailing career in the officialdom.

Compared to his father, Liu Jingting, who had reached lofty heights in the imperial court and enjoyed a brilliant reputation in the scholarly world, however, Liu Qingfeng appeared very mediocre and ordinary. When Liu Jingting was at Liu Qingfeng's current age, he had already been on the verge of becoming the assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, a third-rank position in the imperial court of the Azure Phoenix Nation.

In addition to this, Liu Jingting was publicly recognized as the leader of the literary world and the embodiment of decorum as well. Looking at the current state of his eldest son, Liu Qingfeng, however, it quickly became apparent why people remarked in emotion that the assistant minister's son didn't live up to his father's lofty name.

One had to realize that Liu Jingting would definitely receive the highest-grade posthumous title from the imperial court after he passed away[1]. This was without a doubt. Regarding what character would come after "scholarly"—whether that was upright, loyalty, or the slightly inferior dutiful or accomplishment—everything was possible. Both characters needed to be specially bestowed by the emperor, and they couldn't be decided by the officials of the imperial court alone.

In the beginning, most officials in the imperial court had felt like the first character, Upright, was the most likely choice. After Liu Qingshan became crippled, however, many of them cooled their expectations. After all, very few people in the history of the Azure Phoenix Nation had received the posthumous title of Scholarly Upright[2]. In the end, many officials felt like even receiving the posthumous title of Scholarly Loyalty wasn't a guarantee[3].

Chen Ping'an called Pei Qian over.

The little girl had been standing still as if frozen by an immortal talisman just then, yet she immediately ran to Chen Ping'an's side upon hearing him call her name, feeling extremely relieved as if she had been pardoned from severe punishment. She bowed and apologized to Liu Qingfeng and the young boy, and she loudly admitted to her long list of mistakes.

In reality, however, Pei Qian didn't feel like she had made any big mistake. She even grumbled in her mind that Liu Qingfeng was far too incapable. However, her master was angry at her, so what could she do? To say nothing of offering an apology that wouldn't cost her anything, she could only listen to Chen Ping'an even if she were forced to take out her silver coins or even valuables from her treasure box to offer as compensation.

Liu Qingfeng hurriedly waved his hands and stood up for Pei Qian, and only then did the little girl feel slightly better. She felt like this scholar who had become a county magistrate was fairly smart and understanding.

Afterward, Liu Qingfeng naturally asked Chen Ping'an and his companions to return to the Lion Garden with him. However, after hearing Chen Ping'an say that he still wanted to head to the capital to see whether he could catch the tail end of the debate between Buddhism and Daoism, Liu Qingfeng felt too embarrassed to persuade him otherwise.

Chen Ping'an first helped Liu Qingfeng repair his ox-drawn carriage, and only after doing this did the two groups of people part ways and go in opposite directions.

After entering the official road, Zhu Lian smiled and commented, "I feel like Assistant Minister Liu's eldest son, Liu Qingfeng, is more suited to being an official than his younger brother, Liu Qingshan."

Chen Ping'an didn't offer a comment on this.

Liu Qingshan appeared more bookish and scholarly, and he was also more talented and full of strategies. In addition, he was more upright and noble in character as well. On the other hand, his older brother Liu Qingfeng didn't appear to be as outwardly impressive, and he instead appeared to be a very mellow person.

Even though the two brothers were very different, Chen Ping'an felt like the world needed both kinds of scholars. That was all. As for which brother would reach loftier heights in the future? At the end of the day, they were both members of the Lion Garden's Liu Clan, no?

"Pei Qian, do you know what the most admirable thing about County Magistrate Liu is?" Chen Ping'an asked

"He has a good temper and isn't very egotistical even though he's an official?" Pei Qian replied instinctively.

Chen Ping'an shook his head and said, "No, it was his sincere intention to move out of your way even if it meant putting himself into danger."

Pei Qian nodded with an expression that reflected both understanding and confusion. "Master, I'll remember this. Just like the books and bamboo slips that I laid out in the Lion Garden to bask in the sun, I'll recall these matters from time to time and toss them around in my head."

Chen Ping'an nodded and patted her head, not saying anything else.

Zhu Lian smiled and suggested, "Young Master, I'll spar with you and help you train in the future?"

"Sure thing," Chen Ping'an replied without hesitation.

Zhu Lian then turned to Pei Qian and explained, "See that? That was a sincere response that came from the bottom of his heart. It's important to note that when pure martial artists spar with each other, holding back and going easy will lead to absolutely no benefits. If we want the training to be effective, then I'll have to unleash my true strength. And if I unleash my true strength, then my fists will naturally possess killing intent, and my body will naturally radiate with a murderous aura.

"If I were harboring ill intentions and a desire to kill Young Master to begin with, then I would be able to conceal these things very well. Even so, Young Master still chose to trust this old servant. This is called offering a sincere response from the bottom of one's heart..."

Pei Qian was still a little confused, and she pondered carefully for a moment before asking, "Old Cook, you always mumbled to yourself when reading in the Lion Garden every day, saying that there was no money in your pockets and panic in your mind. That being the case, wouldn't you feel a sharp pang of pain in your heart if you failed to purchase those juicy novels in the capital because of this?

"You also said that the spring palace illustrations or whatnot from the Azure Phoenix Nation were the best in the entire Eastern Treasured Vial Continent[4]. As such, you couldn't enter the mountain of treasures but leave with empty hands. Otherwise, that would be a huge shame...

"Tell me the truth, are you trying to swindle silver coins from my master so you can run off to buy those novels and spring palace illustrations?"

There was a look of embarrassment on Zhu Lian's face as he rubbed his hands together and remained silent.

Chen Ping'an quickly made a decision and announced, "You can spar with me and help me train, but you won't receive any silver in return!"

"But Young Master, we left the Lion Garden with quite a bountiful yield!" Zhu Lian said with an anxious expression. "Even though this old servant didn't help very much this time, heaven and earth can both attest to my loyalty to Young Master!"

"You explain," Chen Ping'an said to Pei Qian.

Pei Qian cleared her throat and declared in a loud voice, "No silver for you! Silver that has entered my master's pockets is silver no more!"

Walking behind them, Shi Rou couldn't help but sigh in grief in her mind.

Would you look? No matter how the environment changes, their nature will always remain the same. The three of them were at it again.

1. Posthumous titles were given starting from the Western Zhou period (1047-771 BC), and such titles were a way to pass judgment on a person's life. ☜

2. The posthumous title of Scholarly Upright (文正) was one of the most coveted by scholarly officials from the Song Dynasty onward. However, very few people in history were bestowed this title by the emperor. Note also that 文 and 正 can mean much more than simply scholarly and upright. There are more than a dozen qualities attributed to each character/ ☜

3. During the Qing Dynasty, the posthumous title of Scholarly Loyalty (文忠) was second to only Scholarly Upright ☜

4. Spring palace illustrations (春宫图) refer to traditional erotic art. ☜