Chapter 88: Taking the Stage

Chen Pingan glanced at the green bamboo scabbard at the uninvited guest's waist, feigning ignorance, and asked, "A swordsman?"

The man held a bamboo hat in one hand and lightly patted the hilt of his blade with the other, smiling, "I can't find a sword worthy of me just yet, so I'm using this as a substitute to humiliate all those who wield knives under heaven."

Hearing such a familiar tone, Chen Pingan felt a sense of relief, thinking that Liu Baqiao would likely become good friends with this man.

Behind Chen Pingan and Li Baoping, the father and daughter walked side by side. The girl, Zhu Lu, scoffed, unimpressed, "A Dragon King yawns and can suck in a river. What bluster! Father, is this guy's brain broken?"

Zhu He noticed that the man also carried a palm-sized, silver-white wine gourd on his other side, polished smooth with age. He whispered to his daughter, "Although I can't sense anything unusual about his aura, other than it being slightly more sustained than a normal person's, we still need to be careful. I may not have traveled far in my life, but I've heard plenty of Jianghu tales from our ancestors. They say when wandering the Jianghu, be wary of Daoist nuns, old monks, children, and drunkards. Furthermore, the less someone looks like a grandmaster, the more vigilant you should be."

The girl gave an "oh," both nervous and excited, wishing that the unimpressive man was an assassin, a perfect whetstone for her first foray into the world.

Chen Pingan asked, "Are you looking for me?"

The man grinned, "I'm escorting you to the border of the Great Sui Dynasty. Until then, we'll travel together for mutual protection."

Chen Pingan tentatively asked, "Do you know the blacksmith, Master Ruan?"

The man nodded, "Of course I know him."

Chen Pingan breathed another sigh of relief.

Before leaving the town, as part of their deal, Master Ruan had promised to ensure his safety until he reached the military stronghold of Yefu Pass on the border of Great Li.

Chen Pingan believed that Master Ruan would not break his word, especially since this man had appeared so early, almost right under Master Ruan's nose. Therefore, he probably wasn't from the three forces of Zheng Yang Mountain, Yunxia Mountain, or Old Dragon City. Moreover, the timely appearance of Zhu He and Zhu Lu also gave Chen Pingan a lot of confidence.

However, Chen Pingan feared the unexpected.

So he asked, "Then will you accompany me to see Master Ruan in the town before we head south? I just found out that although it's a detour, the east gate of the town leads to a post road suitable for ox carts and carriages, which is faster than crossing mountains and rivers."

The man smiled playfully, "So cautious? You lack the boldness of a true Jianghu child."

Without turning his head, Chen Pingan kept his eyes fixed on the man, but said in a low voice, "Zhu He, can you have Zhu Lu take Baoping back to town first? We're not in a hurry."

Zhu He immediately understood the situation and nodded, "That would be best."

Then Zhu He said to his daughter, "Lu'er, take Miss back first. Chen Pingan and I will keep this Brother A Liang company, whether it's for drinks or sparring, meeting is fate, and nothing is too much."

The little girl in the red cotton-padded jacket, held by Zhu Lu, didn't hesitate, didn't cry and demand to stay with her little martial uncle, only tugged at Chen Pingan's sleeve and softly said, "Be careful," before resolutely following Zhu Lu away. Li Baoping was decisive, while the fearless maidservant was full of disappointment, wishing she could switch places with her father.

Seeing this scene of parting, the man rolled his eyes, took down the wine gourd, leaned against the white donkey, took a sip of wine, and chuckled, "Just let that little girl take that little miss away. In an hour, the three of us old men can go to town."

Then the man raised the silver-white wine gourd in his hand, patted the donkey's back, looked at Zhu He, and asked with a smile, "You're also a formidable figure, don't you recognize this thing?"

He patted his head. "I forgot that your Glazed Pearl Grotto-Heaven has only just opened. It's no wonder you don't know. It's alright, it's alright, we can chat slowly, there's plenty of time."

The man pointed to the old willow tree that spanned the stream, "Shall we go over there and chat?"

Chen Pingan and Zhu He exchanged glances, thinking this was best, as they could observe the situation.

The man led the white donkey behind Chen Pingan and Zhu He, reaching the old willow tree. He released the reins, letting the donkey graze freely, walked onto the willow tree, went all the way out from the stream bank along the trunk, and finally sat down, putting on his bamboo hat again. He raised the silver wine gourd, about to tilt his head back and drink, suddenly turned his head, held out the gourd, and asked with a smile, "Anyone want a sip? Sharing is better than enjoying alone. This is Kui Gang Immortal Brew, two taels of silver per tael, the favorite of all wealthy men in the Great Sui. I've traveled north, drinking and drinking, and tasted no less than a hundred kinds of wine, but this Immortal Brew is the most authentic."

Chen Pingan shook his head. "I don't drink."

Zhu He also shook his head. "My martial arts haven't reached mastery yet, I dare not drink alcohol."

The man shook his head, looking at them, his face full of regret. "So neither of you are men of passion. I recently met a young hero, he was truly dashing..."

The man suddenly noticed that Chen Pingan and Zhu He had strange expressions. He was a little puzzled, but didn't want to lose his demeanor as an expert, so he took a sip of wine to hide his confusion.

Chen Pingan coughed lightly. The man asked, "What is it?"

Chen Pingan pointed with his finger to the outermost part of the crooked-necked old willow tree.

The man frowned, turned his head to look, and saw two legs blocking his view. The man's face instantly froze. He suddenly looked up and saw a middle-aged man with a blank expression, weighing at least one hundred and fifty or sixty catties, standing lightly on the slender willow treetop. The man's elusiveness startled the bamboo-hatted man so much that he couldn't sit still and fell into the stream, utterly embarrassed.

The one who came was none other than the Military Strategist Sage, Ruan Qiong. As Old Yang had said, he had no interest in the movements within a thousand miles, unless it was a provocation that broke the rules like Cui Chan's, only then would Ruan Qiong take action to cast sword. Ruan Qiong didn't think anyone would dare to attack Chen Pingan within a hundred miles, that would simply be slapping his face. But a Military Strategist Sword Cultivator's face, at the eleventh floor, was heavier than the face of a dynasty. So Ruan Qiong simply didn't bother to pay attention to the scenery here. A straw-sandaled boy and a naive little girl traveling together, how could it be worth him personally watching?However, Ruan Qiong's attention was captivated by an object.

Someone flashed the item, and Ruan Qiong immediately sensed the immense sword energy contained within, pure and boundless. It felt exceedingly familiar, carrying a sense of intimacy and sorrow. Regarding this matter, Ruan Qiong had heard tales of it during his years of cultivation within the sect, although he had never witnessed it firsthand. Hence, he immediately rushed from the blacksmith shop.

Seeing the man's bearing, even less impressive than a common village teacher, Ruan Qiong felt no mockery, but rather a hint of solemnity. He asked, "Could you be Wei Jin of the Immortal Ascension Platform?"

The man who had fallen into the stream thrashed about, finally managing to stand upright. After retrieving the wine gourd from the water, he removed his bamboo hat and shook it, looking up at the culprit with annoyance. "I'm called A Liang."

Ruan Qiong stared down at him, his gaze scrutinizing. "May I trouble you for a sip of wine?"

The man tossed the wine gourd high towards Ruan Qiong. "Why not? Just remember to return it."

Ruan Qiong caught the gourd, took a drink, and smiled. "It's not Five Yellow Wine?"

The man became instantly irritated at the mention. "The price went up."

Ruan Qiong laughed heartily, tossed the gourd back, and asked, "Why did you arrive so quickly? I thought it would take at least a week or so."

The man who called himself A Liang trudged ashore, muttering, "Is it your business? Just because you are a Sage doesn't mean you can tell me what to do."

Ruan Qiong asked, "Would you like to sit for a while at my shop? My daughter admires you greatly."

A Liang pointed at himself, smiling. "Me? Your daughter has good taste, then."

Ruan Qiong seemed to have long known of this man's eccentricity. "Could it be that you are responsible for the Dragon Spine Mountain matter this time?"

A Liang waved his hand. "Not me. Someone else is."

Ruan Qiong looked at the bamboo-hatted man, who seemed uninterested, and suddenly smiled. "Could it be that you encountered that little Daoist nun on your way north?"

A Liang's expression remained unchanged. "What are you talking about? I don't understand."

Ruan Qiong sighed inwardly, ceasing his probing and saying nothing more.

Ruan Qiong's sect, the Wind and Snow Temple, had a famous sword cultivator, young and talented, who rarely stayed within the sect. Even within the Wind and Snow Temple, some did not know his name. He had been chosen by an elder of the Wind and Snow Temple during a mountain pilgrimage, and taken as a secluded disciple. This made his seniority extremely high. When he first came to the mountain, he was barely of age. Many centuries-old cultivators had to obediently call him "Grandmaster." Later, the Wind and Snow Temple's revitalizing elder failed to break through, and, coupled with the decline of talent in this lineage, the young sword cultivator grew even more distant from the Wind and Snow Temple.

This man often wandered the martial world for seven or eight years, only occasionally appearing in the sect on the anniversary of his master's death. He still came and went alone, never greeting anyone, even when he returned to the Wind and Snow Temple. It was said that he had long obtained an invaluable sword-nurturing gourd, but instead of using it to nurture his flying sword, he wasted it by filling it with hundreds of gallons of fine wine, spending at least half the year in a drunken stupor. Thus, he was known as the Drunken Sword Immortal. When drunk, he would be carried by a snow-white donkey, going wherever the donkey led.

Before Ruan Qiong left the Wind and Snow Temple, he heard that this man had, for some reason, fallen in love at first sight with a young Daoist nun who was hailed as having the "greatest fortune in the entire continent," and was unable to free himself from it. However, the beautiful Daoist nun had no intention of finding a Daoist partner, and this became an amusing tale on the mountains of the Treasure Bottle Continent.

Ruan Qiong thought for a moment. "In that case, I'll have to trouble you to send them to the Great Li's Wild Man Pass."

The man nodded.

Ruan Qiong cupped his fist in farewell, his figure vanishing in a flash.

Only the willow branches swayed gently.

Zhu He carefully asked, "A Liang... Senior, are you an immortal from the Wind and Snow Temple?"

The man led the donkey, saying lazily, "I'm not familiar with the Wind and Snow Temple."

Zhu He smiled, not at all embarrassed.

Martial artists generally did not have good impressions of Qi Refiners, but they still had to give a thumbs up to the cultivators of the Wind and Snow Temple and True Martial Mountain.

Previously, Zhu He might have thought that this man's tone was arrogant and his demeanor affected, but after Saint Ruan Qiong's visit, Zhu He looked back and saw that this ordinary-looking bamboo-hatted man was truly hiding his abilities, a great immortal hidden in plain sight. He estimated that the green bamboo-sheathed long saber must be a divine weapon that would shock the world as soon as it was drawn.

A Liang took a large gulp of wine to warm himself and said to Chen Ping An, "That little girl is back."

Chen Ping An turned around and saw not only Li Bao Ping and Zhu Lu returning the way they came, but also two familiar faces and a mule with heavy luggage hanging on both sides.

Li Huai and Lin Shouyi.

Chen Ping An trotted over. Li Bao Ping looked unhappy, and Zhu Lu said in a clear voice, "We met these two children on the way. They said they wanted to go to Cliff Academy with the young lady. Our ancestor just showed up to say hello and told me to come back and find you."

Chen Ping An didn't ask Zhu Lu who her so-called ancestor was, but looked at the sly Li Huai and the down-on-his-luck young master Lin Shouyi.

Li Huai stuck out his neck and said, "If I don't follow you for food, am I supposed to be a beggar in town?"

Lin Shouyi was still cold and said, "Fortune favors the bold."

Li Bao Ping snorted. "You can start from the East Gate and go to the academy yourselves. Why should Little Master Uncle and I bring you two burdens?"

Li Huai raged, "Li Bao Ping! We are comrades who have shared life and death!"

Lin Shouyi wasn't as shameless as Li Huai and said frankly, "Li Huai and I can't even reach the border of the Great Li, let alone Cliff Academy."

Chen Ping An nodded, gently put his hand on Li Bao Ping's head to stop her from speaking, and then asked, "Then are Shi Chunjia and Dong Shuijing sure they're not coming?"

Lin Shouyi explained, "Someone from the Lucky Money Shop will take Shi Chunjia to the capital. Dong Shuijing heard that the town's village school will reopen, so he's filling in for your short-term job at the blacksmith shop."

Chen Ping An looked at the three school children, Li Bao Ping, Li Huai, and Lin Shouyi, and smiled. "Then let's set off together."

A Liang led the white donkey back from the stream and, seeing Li Huai and Lin Shouyi, looked unwilling. "It's fine to bring a cute little girl, but what about you two brats?"

Li Huai burst into abuse. "Who do you think you are?!"A Liang, without changing his expression, replied, "I am your long-lost father, your biological father."

Li Huai was struck as if by lightning, staring intently at the strange man.

The man, on the other hand, felt uneasy under the gaze. Could it be that this little bastard's parents really had an unspeakable story?

Li Huai swiftly changed his original dazed expression, tugged at the corner of his mouth, and glanced sideways at the man in the bamboo hat with a look of disdain, muttering, "Trying to play with me?"

The man was rebuffed and clicked his tongue, saying, "Oh, shallow water breeds many turtles."

Li Huai held the back of his head with both hands and chanted, "Not listening, not listening, turtle chanting scriptures."

Chen Ping'an suddenly asked, "A Liang, why do you speak our town's dialect?"

The man smiled and said, "Go ask Ruan Qiong."

Chen Ping'an looked at him and suddenly smiled, "Never mind."

The man pointed a finger at Chen Ping'an and admonished, "It's not good for someone so young to have such heavy thoughts."

A Liang, who claimed to be a swordsman but carried a saber, and his white donkey.

Chen Ping'an and Li Bao Ping, each carrying a basket on their back, Li Huai and Lin Shouyi, their hands empty, and Zhu He and his daughter Zhu Lu, walking at the rear.

Seven people of disparate backgrounds journeyed south together.

Because A Liang, who came from the same place as Master Ruan, said that the road here wasn't difficult and following the Iron Talisman River south, they would soon see the Dali post road being built day and night.

However, for the remainder of their journey, stopping and resting, A Liang was still willing to listen to Chen Ping'an's suggestions.

During a rest, Li Huai ran up to the man in the bamboo hat, not at all shy, and put his hands on his hips, asking, "Hey! A Liang, is your donkey a male or female?"

The man didn't dislike the child, but he was a little annoyed, "None of your business."

"Can I ride it?"

"I'm not even willing to ride it myself, why should you? Do you really think you're my own son?"

"If you give me the donkey, I'll have my mother remarry you later, how about that? Of course, if my mother doesn't agree, don't blame me, the donkey still has to belong to me."

"Get lost, you and your mother!"

"A Liang, I'm not saying, but you have to change your temper in the future."

Li Huai put his hands behind his back, shook his head, and sighed as he left.

Leaving behind a man in a bamboo hat with wide-open eyes.

By the stream, two figures walked towards the blacksmith shop. One was Ruan Qiong, and the other was an old man with white hair and a ruddy complexion. The latter was the old ancestor mentioned by the maid Zhu Lu, the true backbone of the Li clan, one of the town's four major families.

The Li family, which placed great hopes on Li Bao Ping, their precious jewel, would not only allow that father and daughter to serve as bodyguards. If Master Ruan hadn't shown up today, the Li family's old ancestor, who had achieved success in Qi training, would have escorted them all the way to Yefu Pass.

The old man said with a wry smile, "Master Ruan, is this the helper you invited from the Wind and Snow Temple? He really looks..."

Ruan Qiong said bluntly, "Doesn't look like an expert at all, but rather like a street ruffian, right?"

Ruan Qiong slowly said, "When I took the wine gourd to drink, I carefully investigated it. The natal sword energy within the sword-nurturing gourd still had vitality, confirming that he was a true disciple of the Wind and Snow Temple. Moreover, the Divine Platform lineage of the Wind and Snow Temple has few members to begin with. Wei Jin especially dislikes associating with others and has a cold temperament, preferring to wander the world, with a somewhat strange personality, which is easy to explain. Although there are insidious methods in the world to kill and then successfully seize natal objects, Wei Jin's cultivation is definitely not low. To successfully seize the sword-nurturing gourd and that wisp of sword energy from him..."

Ruan Qiong smiled, "Then even if I, Ruan Qiong, were to take action today, I wouldn't be able to stop that person from doing what he wants to do."

The old man sighed, "You can't say that. If the Three Teachings hadn't taken away the suppressing object, and the formation was still in place, Master Ruan wouldn't have to be so restrained."

Ruan Qiong thought for a moment, "I still need to meet with the people from the Salamander Stream lineage of the Wind and Snow Temple later to understand the situation. They're not far from here either. It's just that regarding the matter of the Dragon Spine Mountain dividing the Dragon-Slaying Platform, it's not convenient to speak directly in front of the people from True Martial Mountain. During this time, if there are any accidents in the town, please have Elder Li find Xiu Xiu and have her send a flying sword message."

The Wind and Snow Temple and True Martial Mountain were the two major military ancestral halls of the Eastern Treasure Bottle Continent, one in the south and one in the north. The relationship between the two sides had always been neither good nor bad, generally belonging to the principle of "the well water does not violate the river water." Of course, in critical moments involving major issues, they would definitely abandon sectarian prejudices and choose to join forces against the enemy.

True Martial Mountain focused more on the development of the secular dynasties below the mountain. The Dali Dynasty had many True Martial Mountain cultivators, and the overthrown Lu Dynasty and the Sui Dynasty under the command of the Gao clan also had shadows of True Martial Mountain cultivators, mostly close attendants of generals or middle-ranking military officers in positions of power.

The Wind and Snow Temple tended to mind its own business, traveling to and from various ancient battlefield ruins, somewhat similar to wandering knights-errant in the martial world. They possessed superb martial arts and followed their hearts. If they were happy, they would slay demons and eliminate evil and act chivalrously. If they were unhappy, they would seek out others to compete in Taoist techniques and swordsmanship, often breaking into mountain gates uninvited. Whether the master agreed or not, they would have to fight them first before discussing anything else. However, these eccentric fellows from the Wind and Snow Temple did not fight for fame, nor would they kill people. Therefore, even if they were beaten to a pulp by a cultivator from the Wind and Snow Temple, they did not have to worry about airing their dirty laundry.

Regarding the flying sword matter, the old man asked doubtfully, "Master Ruan, my house also has several good-quality messenger flying swords..."

Master Ruan smiled and waved his hand, "They're different, quite different."

The old man immediately understood and said with embarrassment, "Talking about flying swords in front of Master Ruan is making a fool of myself, making a fool of myself."

Ruan Qiong suddenly sighed softly, "The trees want to be still, but the wind won't stop."

A petite yet plump woman in palace attire was walking in Mud Bottle Lane.

Three figures followed far behind her: a burly middle-aged man with a resolute expression, an old man with a pale face and no beard, who seemed to have weak eyesight, always squinting, and a young woman carrying a long sword, the string of golden sword tassels curled up on her full breasts.

The woman finally stopped in front of the courtyard door of Song Jixin's house and smiled, "Stealing spring couplets is something only Cui Chan would do."