Unsheathed

According to the traditions of the small town from the Jewel Small World, every family needed to place their brooms upside down on the first day of the New Year. One shouldn't embark on distant travel either.

Chen Ping'an asked Ma Duyi to guide Zeng Ye in his cultivation. The three of them had become quite familiar with each other after traveling together for the past while, so after some consideration, Chen Ping'an had decided to hand the paper recording the secret ghost cultivation technique to Ma Duyi at the end of last year. She was free to read and practice this technique, and she could ask Zeng Ye if she had any questions. They were both cultivators, but the difference in their aptitude was clear at a single glance. Ma Duyi had started practicing the secret technique later than Zeng Ye, yet she was able to overtake him in no time. Barely a month had passed, yet she was already giving him advice and helping him through roadblocks.

Thankfully, Zeng Ye was accustomed to this situation and didn't see anything wrong with it. Not only was he not deflated, dejected, or jealous, but he even became increasingly earnest in cultivation, striving to make up for his shortcomings through hard work.

Chen Ping'an was quite happy about this. Being able to accept fate but also daring to challenge fate was a very valuable trait for cultivators to have. As long as Zeng Ye persisted, it wouldn't be a wild wish for him to become a late bloomer and achieve great success later in life.

Chen Ping'an was sun basking in the quiet and deserted courtyard of the inn today, and he opened up the bookcase that had been dropped by the fleeing convoy, recording each book that was inside. He thought to himself that if the opportunity arose in the future, he would ask Zeng Ye to return these books to their original owners. The stamps in the books all contained two stamps with the characters "Flowing Water Staying Clouds" and "Rugged Old Man," so it most probably wouldn't be too difficult for Zeng Ye to follow these clues and find the scholarly clan that had fled south.

Noon arrived, and Chen Ping'an received another messenger flying sword from Cyan Gorge Island, with the letter saying that there was a messenger flying sword from the Great Li Empire's Dragon Spring Prefecture waiting for him at Bamboo Scroll Lake. Because he wasn't present, the messenger flying sword could only be temporarily placed in Cyan Gorge Island's sword chamber. Liu Zhimao asked Chen Ping'an what he should do, and Chen Ping'an replied with the address of his current resting, asking Island Master Liu to personally travel over to deliver the messenger flying sword.

Liu Zhimao arrived at the inn in the provincial city on the same night, personally handing to Chen Ping'an the messenger flying sword that had come from the formal god of the Great Li Empire's Northern Mountain.

Chen Ping'an didn't open the messenger flying sword from Cloud Drape Mountain in front of Liu Zhimao. The island master was a Nascent Tier earth immortal with the potential to reach the Upper Five Tiers, and he was also skilled in a huge number of mystical abilities. The two of them were only allies due to mutual benefits, and the relationship between them wasn't so good that they could treat each other as trustworthy friends.

They sat opposite each other in a room in the inn.

Liu Zhimao didn't beat around the bush, saying frankly, "I've secretly undone the restrictions on Vermilion Chord Residence's Hong Su already according to the suggestions you made prior to your departure. However, I didn't send her to Palace Willow Island to show goodwill to Liu Laocheng. Liu Laocheng is also allied with Mr. Chen right now, and even though the friend of a friend isn't always a friend, the relationship between Cyan Gorge Island and Palace Willow Island has already thawed somewhat thanks to Mr. Chen.

"Tan Yuanyi especially paid a visit to Cyan Gorge Island, and it's clear that he's already feeling a growing sense of respect for Mr. Chen. Thus, I personally came here not only to deliver the messenger flying sword from the Great Li Empire to Mr. Chen, but also to give you a small present. Please don't refuse the present, Mr. Chen, just treat this as a New Year's gift from Cyan Gorge Island. This has always been a tradition of Cyan Gorge Island, with each guest elder receiving a present in the first month of the New Year."