Unsheathed

The planning and implementation of the congee stalls and medicine shops were already finished, so Ma Duyi and Zeng Ye initially thought that they would leave the city and continue their journey as normal, traveling to the border region of the Stone Brush Nation. There were two male yin entities who had been border soldiers before death, and their final wish pertained to returning to the border region. They could no longer enjoy life at home, but their hearts and souls still yearned to return home.

However, Chen Ping'an decided to stay in the prefectural city for an extra day. When evening arrived, he stood near the city gates and watched from a distance as the skinny and tanned young boy left the city. He then went to the small alley to look at the dog meat shop that had already shut down. On the walls beside the door were the two door gods from the Yuan Clan and Cao Clan of the Great Li Empire, with the scholarly god holding a ritual baton and the martial god holding a steel truncheon. Only after observing these two things did Chen Ping'an return to the inn.

Chen Ping'an had come across Guan Yiran, a cultivator accompanying the army of the Great Li Empire, again when standing near the city gates, and the latter had purposely walked away from the other subordinates and soldiers to stand with Chen Ping'an. Guan Yiran had asked in a quiet voice, "Are you fishing for a big one? Are you letting the tiger return to its mountain such that you can find the location where it cultivated into human form? And that way you can obtain one or two fated opportunities in the form of immortal treasures? Or perhaps you're allowing the demon to leave just like this, treating this as an act of goodwill and the cultivation of good karma."

Mountain spirits and water spirits successfully assuming human form indicated some form of huge fated opportunity. Either they accidentally entered an abandoned immortal abode, or they ingested some miraculous medicine that contained abundant spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Regardless of the reason, one could either find the location in the former case or directly refine the demon in the latter case. Both would allow one to obtain surprising riches.

Chen Ping'an had smiled and replied, "It's the latter reason."

There was disappointment in Guan Yiran's voice as he said, "What a shame. If you didn't appear, then my two colleagues who always complain loudly about being too poor to fill their bellies had already set their eyes on the small demon hiding in the dog meat shop. However, since you already interfered in the situation, I persuaded them to abandon their plans. This was only some additional benefit, after all, and we still have our normal military duties to deal with. Of course, we could have indeed worked together if you had chosen the former option."

"Then haven't I decreased your colleagues' income by suddenly interfering in the situation? Will that make things difficult for you?" Chen Ping'an asked.

Guan Yiran smiled faintly and replied, "Even though my two friends and I are all cultivators, we're more importantly members of the Great Li Empire's army. So, your question and your concern are already enough. It's rare to come across someone from home when traveling outside, so there's often no need to be so polite. However, being polite is naturally the best, while not being polite won't matter either. In the latter case, we can simply pretend to be strangers when we meet again, and we'll deal with everything according to the laws of the Great Li Empire."

"This is completely correct," Chen Ping'an replied in sincere agreement.

Guan Yiran laughed heartily and said, "I'm very happy to meet such an impressive person from home in this place that's so far away from home."

Chen Ping'an cupped his fists and replied, "It's inconvenient for me to reveal my identity right now, but I'll definitely invite Brother Guan for a drink if the opportunity arises in the future."