Unsheathed

Liu Zhimao suddenly chuckled in anger and said, "It was Liu Laocheng before and it's Mr. Chen now, so by the looks of it, it's truly unsuitable for me to stay at Bamboo Scroll Lake. It's time for me to move out, what with people thriving on change and all that. If Mr. Chen can truly obtain a Peace and Safety Tablet for me, then I'll definitely repay the favor handsomely!"

Chen Ping'an paid no heed to this promise. Perhaps Liu Zhimao was sincere in his offer, but the intentions of the speaker were of little importance. Most importantly, the listener couldn't take these offers too seriously. Worldly matters were unpredictable, and the sincere offers of today might crumble due to the events of tomorrow.

Even an innately good person like Zeng Ye could go astray and mistakenly think that Chen Ping'an could be fully relied on simply because he was a good person. Afterward, he had started to daydream about the bright and beautiful future: gaining a Dao guardian, becoming master and disciple, advancing to the Middle Five Tiers, attaining the Great Dao, and most certainly visiting Thatch Moon Island again to visit his master as well as that evil-hearted ancestor...

Perhaps Zeng Ye would never find out that this subtle change in his mindset had surprisingly astounded Chen Ping'an, the bookkeeper next door and the "powerful cultivator" who was able to remain unfazed even in front of Liu Laocheng. Chen Ping'an had suddenly felt a pang of terror.

Because of this, Zeng Ye's life which could have indeed gone on an upward trend had almost started to tumble onto a downward slope again.

Chen Ping'an was even able to predict that if things truly played out like that, then Zeng Ye would be extremely justified when he blamed the heavens and other people on the day that Chen Ping'an finally came to a realization.

There was only one thing that he didn't know. Zeng Ye was already backed into a corner where he no longer had any choices, yet he couldn't even pass the test pertaining to Chen Ping'an that he had to face. Since this was the case, could he truly pass other challenges even if he were given alternative opportunities?

Would he rely on luck? Or would he rely on fate? Or perhaps he would rely on the unexplainable favor of some mighty figure?

Chen Ping'an had never thought that his manner of interacting with the world and its people was definitely the most suitable for Zeng Ye.

However, almost every single person in the world would face the same kind of challenge, a challenge called "having no other choice."

Chen Ping'an was no exception.