Unsheathed

However, by the time the flying sword circled around and returned to Chen Ping'an's grasp, Xiao Shuye had already fled the scene.

At this point, there was no doubt in this mind that Chen Ping'an really was that Golden Core Tier swordsman from the Golden Scale Palace.

Chen Ping'an drifted back down onto the mountain path, gently fanning himself as he smiled and said, "This should be about the time when you burst into tears of gratitude and thank me profusely. I would then tell you that there's no need to thank me before making an elegant departure, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to go a little off-script here."

He made a grabbing motion with one hand, and the bamboo hiking pole that he had plunged into the earth beside the mountain path earlier flew into his grasp on its own. He then used it to point at Sui Xinyu as he said, "What can I say about you scholars? You're not bad people, but you're not good people, either.

“It wouldn’t be right to call you smart, but calling you stupid isn't incorrect, either. You're all really frustrating people, you know that? No wonder you would entrust your life to someone like Hu Xinfeng. I advise you not to denounce him for his earlier actions. When you think about it, you two are really birds of a feather, so neither of you has the right to denounce the other."

He pointed at the young boy and continued, "This one has potential, but if he continues to remain in this type of household, then eventually, he's just going to become another old assistant minister who is a great Go player, but a less than stellar human being."

He then pointed at the girl as he admonished, "Jealousy toward those close to you is a dangerous emotion that you must rid yourself of."

Finally, he turned to Sui Jingcheng as he smiled and said, "To be honest, I had a decent impression of you before forcibly swept me up in your mess. Out of everyone I encountered today, you are the closest to a good person, and you're also very smart. Of course, given the perilous situation that you were in, it's understandable that you decided to take a gamble.

“In any case, you weren't incurring much risk. If the gamble paid off, you would've saved yourself and successfully escaped from the trap set by those two. Even if your gamble had turned out to be an imprudent one, and Cao Fu didn't actually harbor any ill will toward you, you would've only left an innocent Cao Fu heartbroken.

“In either scenario, you don't stand to lose anything. I must say, your gambling luck is truly exceptional. However, have you considered that there's another possible scenario in which we all lose? I could've died. Back at the pergola, I was just a mere mortal, yet I never endangered any of you. I didn't try to pretend that I had any ties with any of you, nor did I ask to borrow the sum of silver that Yang Yuan and the others demanded of me.

“My situation didn't improve, while your situation didn't worsen, right? Your name was Sui Jingcheng, right? Ask yourself this: even if someone like you were to become an immortal like Cao Fu, would you necessarily be any better than him? I think not."

Chen Ping'an's voice trailed off here, and with just a single step, he was over a hundred feet away. With another step, he was completely out of sight, leaving the suspended copper coins to fall to the ground.