Unsheathed

An elegant and refined louchuan with two levels sailed from the tumultuous White Swan River into the calm Iron Plate River.

There was a beautiful yet aloof woman dressed in palace attire standing at the bow of the ship, and beside her was a personal maidservant as well as three men of different ages and completely different looks.

One of the old men smiled bitterly and said, "Milady, we might not be welcome at the Purple Sun Residence."

The old man and the two other men were all guests of the beautiful lady. The three men had known each other for a long time, and their temperaments were all compatible with each other. The friendship between gentlemen appeared indifferent but was pure like water, and the temporary alliances that they formed were always for the sake of slaying demons and safeguarding Dao. For example, they had pursued and captured a fox spirit that had wreaked havoc for one hundred years at Centipede Ridge thanks to intel provided by the beautiful lady. This was completely different from the transactional relationship between the Purple Sun Residence and the incense temple which was as sweet as wine.

There was a hint of anxiety in the beautiful lady's eyes, but she could do nothing but breathe a soft sigh.

The maidservant standing beside her had already accompanied her for more than one hundred years, and she was able to absorb incense essence even though she was a water ghost, a yin entity. She had suffered injustice and drowned to death, yet she had also enjoyed fortune because of this tragedy, having been granted an opportunity to embark on the path of cultivation.

The maidservant could be regarded as a confidant of the beautiful woman, so she naturally had the right to speak at this moment. "The current circumstances have forced us to do this," she said in a soft voice. "The Cold Food River and the Imperial River have already obtained Peace and Safety Tablets from the Great Li Empire's Imperial Song Clan, and only our White Swan River has been left behind and given the cold shoulder. This isn't necessarily worrisome, and we can simply choose to not interact with the imperial court of the Great Li Empire. However, during Milady's visit to the capital, the emperor seemingly implied that the White Swan River might face a huge calamity in the future. In other words, we can't avoid this situation even if we want to."

"Huge calamity?" the old man asked in puzzlement.

The maidservant was also filled with anxiety, with her tone becoming slightly somber as she explained, "The emperor hinted to us that the wretched river god of the Imperial River has already obtained a Peace and Safety Tablet. Even so, he still wanted more, and he was surprisingly so shameless as to run to the Jewel Small World's Cloud Drape Mountain where he was seemingly able to leverage some secret relationship to meet with Wei Bo, the formal god of the Northern Mountain.

"After twisting the facts, it's extremely likely that the imperial court of the Great Li Empire will take action against the White Swan River. The Spirit Charm Sect that has already sealed off their mountains serves as a precedent. The emperor was also helpless against this, and he's powerless to stop the barbarians from the Great Li Empire from sowing chaos and causing trouble."

"That river god is indeed renowned for his incredible shamelessness," the old man said in exasperation.