Unsheathed

Inside the top floor of the tall building in Pond Water City, Cui Dongshan was still sitting within a barrier of golden lightning.

He heaved a soft sigh.

Cui Chan leaned down slightly as he looked at the two picture scrolls on the floor, saying with a faint smile, "Are you very disappointed that even the final wisp of hope in your heart has been crushed? You shouldn't have this kind of mindset where you place all of your hopes in someone else."

Cui Chan most likely knew that Cui Dongshan wouldn't respond, so he continued to muse, "These two critical death traps are tied together: the principles that Chen Ping'an has slowly learned, and the sinister nature that Gu Can has naturally developed. You might think that the critical factor lies with Gu Can, mistakenly believing that this young child will suddenly come to his senses once Chen Ping'an uses emotion and reason to touch his heart.

"Ignoring the fact that these principles and reasons are difficult to expound, Gu Can won't change his innate nature even if his relationship with Chen Ping'an is extremely close. This is just how Gu Can is. Clay Vase Alley is only so big, so how could I have not noticed Gu Can's extraordinarily heavy Bone Qi? In fact, even Liu Zhimao failed to lift the little boy up.

"Cui Dongshan, are you underestimating yourself — Cui Chan — a little too much? And because of this, you dared to come up with your plots without understanding Gu Can's true nature? People like us can only make a maximum of one mistake and no more than that, especially not in the same way again. However, I can't blame you for this, as people always like to grab onto that tiny wisp of hope when they reach a dead end. This is simply human nature. In reality, we already knew this about Gu Can when we were still one person. I saw it, so you naturally saw it as well. You've simply become flustered and confused right now."

Cui Chan pointed at the picture scroll where Chen Ping'an was secretly tailing the horse-drawn carriages and asked, "Do you know where you made an even bigger mistake?"

Cui Chan answered his own question, saying, "When Qi Jingchun comprehensively turned against us in that old residence in the small town back then, he said that he would cause our cultivation base to fall again and again if we dared to target Chen Ping'an again in the next sixty years. Qi Jingchun naturally wasn't making an empty threat, and both you and I are keenly aware of this fact. After we became two people, however, the remnant youth in you was rebellious and unwilling to believe this fact, right?

"As a result, you stood at the bottom of the well at that inn and were almost killed by a wisp of Chen Ping'an's sword qi as he stood at the mouth of the well. Afterward, you chose to take another extreme, starting to believe Qi Jingchun's threat without a sliver of a doubt. This is the last wisp of hope in your flustered and chaotic mind's lake, isn't it, Cui Dongshan?"

The corners of Cui Dongshan's mouth twitched as he listened to Cui Chan's analysis.

Cui Chan remained calm and composed as he gazed at the picture scrolls, and he said to himself, "Qi Jingchun is like a ghost that continues to haunt us, but he's truly as dead as can be already. That being the case, why don't we logically consider this problem again? Let's assume that Qi Jingchun's Go skills are divine, with his foresight so incredible that he was already able to foresee this calamity at Bamboo Scroll Lake.