Unsheathed

Trees flourished and flowers bloomed following the arrival of spring, yet it was now almost impossible to see a single royal descendant going on a spring outing in the northern region of the Stone Brush Nation.

The three steeds continued to travel north, stopping and starting numerous times as they did so. Before they knew it, summer had already arrived.

They decided to rest on a small path winding through a mountain ridge near a border pass of the Stone Brush Nation today, and Zeng Ye was busy preparing a meal while Ma Duyi was putting on makeup in front of a mirror. She was humming a song, and she appeared to be in a fairly good mood. The small and green copper mirror in her hand was a spirit tool that she had obtained for a low price, and it was a relatively rare Sun and Moon Radiance Arc Design Mirror.

Ma Duyi had spent less than two taels of silver to purchase this mirror after haggling with a stall owner who had very poor appraisal skills. According to the elderly ghost cultivator who was responsible for appraising treasures for Zeng Ye and Ma Duyi, this mirror could sell for at least forty to fifty snowflake coins at immortal ferry stations.

Chen Ping'an sat beside them and flipped through his so-called ledger book, inside of which the large majority of names already had a faint vermilion mark under them. This mark signified the successful completion of their final wishes. However, the final wishes of some other ghosts and yin entities could only be set aside for the moment. In reality, however, both Chen Ping'an and the deceased individuals were well aware that these final wishes would very likely become "long-cherished but unfulfilled wishes," to borrow the concepts of Buddhism. These wishes would be extremely difficult to fulfill regardless of whether one was alive or dead.

This was a knot in the hearts of the yin entities, and some of these knots became tangled knots that couldn't be undone. Overcome with grief and fury, some yin entities couldn't control their emotions and eventually experienced an explosive rise in rage and hostility, almost transforming into malicious ghosts on the spot. In the end, they could only rely on the Heart Purification Talismans plastered around the Hall of the Underworld to maintain their final slivers of reason.

The "thrifty" Ma Duyi didn't complain about Mr. Chen drawing up Heart Purification Talismans again and again, immediately replacing those that had lost their spiritual energy. This was a continuous drain on their immortal coins, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call this activity a bottomless abyss for money.

They came across many defeated and scattered soldiers of the Stone Brush Nation as they traveled north, and many of these soldiers would come together to form groups of wandering bandits in the mountains and forests, gathering and dispersing on a whim. These wandering bandits furiously attacked and pillaged the army provisions of the Great Li Empire, and for the sake of living on and carrying out the lofty sense of justice in their hearts, some of the bandits were forced to turn their blades toward the common people of the Stone Brush Nation.

Three bouts of heavy snow had descended at the end of last year, and coupled with the chaos of war, few people remained in the northern region of the Stone Brush Nation. There were only three hundred to four hundred wandering bandits and steeds at most, yet there was only a pitiful amount of food to go around the region. Moreover, the families in the smattering of impoverished cities on the border of the nation were hoping to rely on this food to survive until the next harvest time. As such, they couldn't afford to feed the defeated soldiers of the Stone Brush Nation.

And thus, it was inevitable that conflict arose between the two parties, with one side trying not to starve to death and one side trying to stay alive to fight against the existential crisis gripping the nation. As time went on, the rift and conflict between the two parties continued to grow and worsen.

Chen Ping'an and his companions had come across one such conflict that almost resulted in bloodshed. As the two sides argued, a young soldier dressed in tattered armor almost swung his saber at a skinny old man's shoulder. However, Chen Ping'an suddenly dashed over and grabbed the standard anti-cavalry sword of the young soldier, causing the dozens of defeated soldiers to immediately charge over. Chen Ping'an stomped his foot in response, and the soldiers and horses of the Stone Brush Nation were sent stumbling and rearing. Chen Ping'an then tossed away the anti-cavalry sword in his hand, having it return to the scabbard of the young soldier. The powerful impact of the landing sword caused the young soldier to stumble back several steps.