Unsheathed

Securing a batch of scholarly fortune from the Confucian temple in the capital of the Great Sui Nation was vital to the foundation of Chen Ping'an's cultivation, but Mao Xiaodong wasn't in a hurry, instead taking Chen Ping'an on a slow and leisurely stroll toward the Confucian temple.

Along the way, Mao Xiaodong asked Chen Ping'an to share some of the interesting stories from his previous journeys. The majority of the two long journeys that Chen Ping'an had embarked on had been spent traversing through areas of wilderness, so he hadn't actually encountered many Confucian temples and martial sage temples. As Chen Ping'an shared the stories from his travels, he casually brought up his good friend, the wandering hero, Xu Yuanxia.

Despite his rugged appearance, he had a talent for the arts, and after leaving the military to travel the world, he had made records of all of the scenic locations that he had passed through, as well as illustrations of the ancient wooden buildings from various nations.

Mao Xiaodong was quite impressed and told Chen Ping'an that Xu Yuanxia could come to his academy to serve as an unofficial teacher in the future. He could tell the students about the majestic scenery that he had witnessed and the diverse cultures that he had experienced, and the academy could even run an exhibit for his handmade illustrations.

At this point, Xu Yuanxia had already returned to his hometown, but Chen Ping'an promised Mao Xiaodong that he would send a letter to Xu Yuanxia, inviting him to make a journey to Mountain Cliff Academy.

The largest and most prestigious Confucian temple in the capital was situated in the northwest, so the two of them had to traverse through close to half of the entire capital city from Eastern Splendor Mountain to get there.

Along the way, Mao Xiaodong treated Chen Ping'an to some lunch in a small restaurant deep within a crude alley. Despite its less than ideal location, the restaurant was not short on customers, and it was particularly renowned for its home-brewed rice wine.

According to Mao Xiaodong, not only did the restaurant's owner personally pick out the finest glutinous rice for each batch of wine that he brewed, he would also travel out of the city with his son to the Pine Wind Spring thirty kilometers away to collect water.

The two of them would take turns carrying the water, and they would set off at the crack of dawn before returning late at night. It was the combination of the meticulously selected glutinous rice and the arduously acquired water that gave rise to this exceptional rice wine that had avid drinkers from all over the capital flocking to this tiny restaurant.

As he left the restaurant, Chen Ping'an purchased a large jar of rice wine, then made his way into a deserted alley before pouring the wine into his Sword Nurturing Gourd, following which he stored the empty jar into his minimization treasure.

At the moment, the minimization treasure was filled with an assortment of miscellaneous items, including clothes, books, stationary, cooking utensils, tools, medicine... Essentially, it was like a portable variety store.