Unsheathed

Chen Ping'an emerged from the Jingzhe Residence and made his way into the bamboo forest, holding a green bamboo hiking pole that looked perfectly in sync with the environment around him.

After a brief hesitation, he summoned the talismanic boat before setting off for the Luminous Jade Cliff. A pouch of immortal coins had already been prepared for him at the Jingzhe Residence by the Spring Dew Garden to cover his living expenses and any purchases that he made on Old Locust Street during his stay.

However, he had left the pouch untouched this entire time. While it was good to follow the customs and rules of the places that he visited, he had his own set of rules to abide by as well, and sometimes, one had to take precedence over the other.

Upon his arrival at the Luminous Jade Cliff, Chen Ping'an spotted Liu Zhiqing wading through a stream beneath the spring with his boots off and his sleeves and pant sleeves rolled up, picking out pebbles from the streambed. Whenever he caught sight of one to his liking, he would pick it and toss it into the spring with unerring accuracy without even raising his head.

Chen Ping'an reverted the talismanic boat back into a talisman before stowing it up his sleeve, yet Liu Zhiqing's head remained lowered as he said in a hostile voice, "Don't say anything, I don't want to hear you speak right now."

Clearly, he didn't believe that a miser like Chen Ping'an would follow through on their agreement and actually return all of the pebbles to the spring. However, that was only a secondary reason for this undertaking. The main reason was that now that he had committed to honing his mental state, he was taking to the task with the outlook of a perfectionist.

He would've already been back in the Golden Crow Palace by now, but on the way back, he couldn't shake the nagging sense of vexation at the fact that the spring was missing its pebbles, so he returned to the Luminous Jade Cliff. He had just bid farewell to Chen Ping'an on Old Locust Street, so he couldn't go back again and urged him to immediately return the pebbles to the spring. Hence, he had no choice but to undertake the task himself.

Chen Ping'an removed his boots before wading into the stream. He picked up a vibrant pebble and was just about to toss it into the spring when he was stopped by Liu Zhiqing.

"That one won't do. Its color is too vibrant."

Chen Ping'an ignored him and tossed the pebble toward the spring anyway, only for Liu Zhiqing to swat it back into the stream with a sweep of his sleeve before snapping in an angry manner, "Did you not hear me?"

"Alright, alright, I was just trying to help, but it looks like my help isn't appreciated. Let's each mind our own business from now on."

Chen Ping'an reached into the stream to pick up the same pebble, then dried it with his hands before gleefully stowing it away into his minimization treasure. These pebbles were all worth their weight in gold, so they were very much welcome additions to his collection.