Unsheathed

In no more than four hours, Li Baoping had led Pei Qian on a tour of the entire academy. If it wasn't for the fact that she had to serve as a tour guide and tell Pei Qian about all of the places that they passed through, the tour would've been completed within half the time.

In the end, Li Baoping took Pei Qian to that enormous tree on the summit of the Eastern Splendor Mountain. The two of them climbed up the tree one after another, then stood on the same branch as they looked out into the distance.

From their vantage point, Li Baoping pointed out all of the noteworthy places in the capital city, such as which restaurants had the best food and which places were the most fun to visit, and she did so with such confidence and self-assurance that it was as if the entire capital city were her own backyard.

Pei Qian snuck a glance at Li Baoping, and she could imagine the latter standing here on her own, eagerly waiting for her junior uncle to visit.

The two of them sat down onto the branch, and Li Baoping pulled out a red handkerchief, which she unwrapped to reveal a pair of soft and delicate pastries, one each for the two of them.

Pei Qian told Li Baoping that she wanted to do some exploring on her own in the afternoon, and the latter nodded in agreement.

She told Pei Qian that an esteemed elderly scholar with a resounding reputation was going to be visiting the academy this afternoon to teach a lesson. Apparently, he was very renowned for his exegesis of a certain Confucian classic.

Seeing as Chen Ping'an was busy and couldn't go with her on a tour of the capital, she decided that she was going to attend the lesson to see if this old scholar from the distant south was actually as knowledgeable as everyone proclaimed.

Pei Qian didn't even know what exegesis meant, and she asked in a timid manner, "Will you be able to understand him, Big Sister Baoping?"

Li Baoping nodded in response, then shook her head as she replied, "Even though I've already made so many transcriptions, there are still many things that I don't understand in the books that I've transcribed.

“The teachers of the academy have told me not to try and bite off more than I can chew, and that even if they answer my questions, I won't be able to understand their answers anyway, but how will they know if I can understand their answers or not if they won't even tell me their answers?