Chapter 56: Nodding

Walking amongst the desolate mounds and tombs haunted by foxes and rabbits, the sword-bearing man suddenly halted before a grave. He approached an unassuming earthen mound and knelt, brushing away the creeping vines that obscured the tombstone, revealing its true face. The inscription was faded, only fragments discernible. The man sighed, "The divine order crumbles, ritual and music flourish. The contentions of the hundred schools are about to begin."

The man rose and saw his disciple, not yet formally inducted into the True Martial Sect with ancestral rites, facing the direction from which they came. Blood trickled from the boy's mouth, ears, and nose, making his dark face appear especially ferocious. The boy raised his arm to wipe himself haphazardly, then continued to stare in that direction.

The man said, "Ma Kuxuan, according to your stated reason, you learned that the foreign girl, with a single flying sword technique, joined forces with the Grand Sui Dynasty's prince and eunuch in the alley to kill your first master. This left you with an unresolved inner knot, so you had to exact revenge before leaving the small town. I found this plausible and did not stop you, letting you bear the consequences of your actions. After all, for a cultivator, encountering such a nemesis is both a crisis and an opportunity."

But the man's tone grew stern, refusing to show favoritism despite his disciple's remarkable talent. "However," he emphasized, "why did you target that peer from Mud Bottle Alley? I have already told you that True Martial Sect's military strategists, especially those of the sword path, must never wantonly kill the innocent!"

The boy answered irrelevantly, "Are military strategists the most able to disregard karmic retribution, fate, and fortune?"

The man nodded. "Looking back over a thousand years of history, those who could turn the tide were mostly our military strategists of great virtue. It is not because I am a military strategist that I deliberately praise the wise men of the past."

The man stared at the boy, not intending to let him off easily.

If Ma Kuxuan was bloodthirsty and bullied others by virtue of his power, why would he recruit such a disciple for the True Martial Sect?

Military strategists in secular dynasties relied on battlefield slaughter to improve their cultivation. They were already the closest to the line between life and death. Once they could not guard their inner selves, they would easily fall into demonic paths. Imagine, a cultivator with military power in their hands, how easy would it be to massacre a city or destroy a country?

The military strategists and Confucians were the two pillars that supported the peace of the dynasties below the mountains. Once a respected military strategist was morally corrupt, the higher their cultivation and the higher their status in the imperial court, the greater the impact on the entire secular dynasty. In history, there were many such examples. How difficult it was to win the hearts of the people, and how easy it was to lose them. Although this was said by a Confucian sage, military strategists were not short of Confucian generals who had read widely and deeply believed in this.

The boy perhaps sensed the gravity of the atmosphere but was not eager to argue. He stretched out his hand, gently covering his ear. The movement aggravated his wound, causing him to wince and inhale sharply. After a moment, he withdrew his hand and looked at the bloodstain on his palm. He said, "That guy is called Chen Pingan. His father died when he was very young. That man was a famous kiln worker in the town, with excellent skills and an honest character. Then he suddenly died violently, and his body was never found. Although my grandmother always refused to admit it, I remember clearly that it was during a stormy night with lightning and thunder. I was woken up by the thunder and then found that my grandmother was not beside me. As soon as I pushed open the door, I saw my father running back furtively, both surprised and scared, with a strange look. My mother was slapping my father's back hard, laughing so hard that she could not close her mouth, overjoyed."

The boy subconsciously frowned, trying hard to remember the bleak scenes of his childhood. "Only my grandmother did not speak, seeming not too happy, but instead, she scolded my father severely, 'Did you think that because the child's father died, you would have a chance to marry her? Why don't you take a piss and look at your own virtue! The Chen family in Mud Bottle Alley has been a single heir for several generations. Are you not afraid of harming one person and eventually causing the whole family of three to be unable to survive? By then, this branch of the Chen family will be cut off. Are you not afraid of incurring the retribution of their ancestral spirits? To put it mildly, do you really not know the temperament of that woman? Would she be willing to remarry you?' My father then smiled shamelessly, probably thinking that since he had already done it and would soon receive his reward, he would not pretend to be remorseful in front of his family. My grandmother finally pointed at my mother's nose and scolded her fiercely. My mother was not in a good mood either. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law almost had a fight in the main hall. My father was the kind of person who liked the new and tired of the old. The town neighbors of his generation did not like him. At that time, of course, he helped his wife and not his mother. Finally, my grandmother sat on the ground, hitting her chest hard, crying and complaining to that plaque, saying that the Ma family had recruited such an unlucky woman into their home, you will not rest in peace."

The man followed the boy's train of thought and asked, "Are you trying to take the ethereal karmic retribution, the sins committed by the previous generation, all upon yourself, hoping that your grandmother and your parents can die peacefully?"

Ma Kuxuan grinned. "I really don't have much affection for my parents, only my grandmother. She doesn't want to go to the True Martial Sect with me either, saying that she will definitely be buried next to Grandpa's grave in this life. If she went to that True Martial Sect, which is who knows how many thousands of miles away, firstly, it would trouble me, her grandson, to carry a jar home, and secondly, she heard that after a person dies, the yang realm road before entering the earth is extremely difficult to walk. She said that she had already suffered enough when she was alive and didn't want to suffer after death."

The man said, "Understandable, but not reasonable. Only this once, and never again."

Ma Kuxuan curled his lips, his face indifferent, neither shaking his head nor refuting, but also not nodding or agreeing.

The man smiled, rubbing salt into the boy's wound. "How did it feel to be beaten to the ground by a peer?"

Ma Kuxuan said angrily, "If that woman hadn't secretly given him a knife, would I have lost to Chen Pingan?! From beginning to end, I only used 70% of my strength! If it wasn't for wanting to play cat and mouse..."

The man lightly mocked, "Play cat and mouse? Get real, weren't you thinking of killing Chen Pingan with 70% strength, while also letting that girl lower her guard, killing two birds with one stone. Pretty good thinking."

The boy's face turned slightly red. He stiffened his neck and said indignantly, "Whose master are you?!"

The man laughed heartily.

The two resumed their journey towards the small town. The boy asked, "Compared to that Zheng Yang Mountain, is True Martial Mountain higher or lower?"

The man smiled and asked, "Do you want to hear the truth or a lie?"The boy's eyes darted around, "What about the lies?"

The man replied, "Then it's about the same height."

The boy sighed sorrowfully, feeling like he had truly encountered misfortune, recognizing two masters, one mysteriously dying in Dragon Lane in the town, and the other with limited abilities and countless rules.

The man laughed, "Although Righteous Sun Mountain is nominally the root of swordsmanship, its position in the hearts of cultivators in Eastern Treasure Bottle Continent is far inferior to that of its mortal enemy, Wind and Thunder Garden. Therefore, Righteous Sun Mountain is not regarded as a first-rate sect force. Of course, this is just a superficial facade. In fact, Righteous Sun Mountain has a deep foundation, but after that grievance occurred, one person in Wind and Thunder Garden's swordsmanship far surpassed his peers, being too stunning and brilliant, forcing Righteous Sun Mountain to endure humiliation and bear the burden for hundreds of years..."

Ma Kuxuan said angrily, "No matter how much you praise Righteous Sun Mountain, it won't change the fact that True Martial Mountain is inferior to Righteous Sun Mountain."

The man smiled, "Ma Kuxuan, you've misunderstood. The gap between Righteous Sun Mountain and our True Martial Mountain is probably about the size of another Righteous Sun Mountain."

The boy was stunned for a moment, then understood the man's implication and smiled, "That's more like it!"

The man reminded him, "The sect is the sect, and you are you."

The short boy laughed, "You've also misunderstood! I mean, since True Martial Mountain is so high, then when I become proficient in martial arts in the future, I'll save time and effort when I want to spar with people, so I won't be surrounded by a bunch of embroidered pillows and wine bags!"

The man smiled without comment, "Wouldn't it be more convincing if these bold words came from a boy from Mud Bottle Lane?"

The boy angrily said, "Is that how you act as a master? Be careful, if you get beaten to death in the future, I won't avenge you!"

The man reached behind his back, patted the scabbard, and smiled, "Apart from this sword, your master is all alone. When I die, my Dao will vanish. What's the use of you avenging me?"

The boy asked doubtfully, "Isn't there still True Martial Mountain, your sect?"

The man kept him in suspense, "True Martial Mountain is different from other sects in Eastern Treasure Bottle Continent. You'll understand once you ascend the mountain."

The tiger tally at the man's waist lightly jumped. The man pressed down on the tiger tally for a moment, then quickly said in a deep voice, "We must return to the town quickly! As a military strategist, I can foresee good fortune and avert disasters, and predict the future, almost instinctively."

The boy rolled his eyes, "Even if the town is turned upside down, and the outsiders and townspeople kill each other until blood flows like a river, what does it have to do with me? We agreed, I can promise not to treat human life like grass, but I will definitely not do anything heroic or help the distressed."

The man's expression was solemn. He grabbed the boy's shoulder and ordered, "Don't speak, hold your breath!"

The two figures flashed and disappeared. In the next moment, they had already appeared dozens of feet away. They repeated this, like a series of skipping stones that the boy Ma Kuxuan threw on the stream.

Besides the wound on his back from Ma Kuxuan's stone, Chen Pingan didn't have many external injuries. But that didn't mean that Chen Pingan was feeling good. The most troublesome thing was still his left palm. Touching stones and catching fish in the water slowed down the healing process. This time, after fighting with Ma Kuxuan, fist to fist, it was even worse. So when he tore off the old cotton strips, Chen Pingan could only open a pouch at his waist, take out a porcelain bottle, and drink the thick medicinal soup inside. It was the prescription Yang's store gave him back then. It wasn't effective for anything else, but it could relieve the pain.

After Ning Yao took back the ancient-looking clothes-pressing knife, she cut off a large piece of her inner shirt sleeve, tore it into strips, and helped Chen Pingan, who was covered in cold sweat, to bandage the wound. She asked, "Is Yang's store's folk remedy really effective?"

Chen Pingan lightly shook his left hand, squeezing out a smile, "Very effective. It really hurt just now. I've only felt this kind of pain twice before."

Ning Yao scolded, "You can see the bone in your palm, how could it not hurt? Do you really think you've cultivated into the indestructible diamond body of a Luohan, or the undefiled body of a Daoist True Lord? I told you not to be so strong! Fighting to the death with that Ma Kuxuan, didn't he say one-on-one? Okay, he can fight the two of us one-on-two, no problem. Even I, the dignified Ning Yao, don't feel ashamed, but you're addicted to being a hero. Otherwise, you can fight the Mountain Moving Ape of Righteous Sun Mountain one-on-one later, and I'll continue to clap and cheer for you?"

Chen Pingan was just about to reason with her about his views and reasoning.

The girl suddenly glared at him, and the boy immediately nodded, "Miss Ning is right."

Ning Yao glanced at him angrily, "You're saying it with your mouth but not with your heart, do you think I don't know?"

Chen Pingan chuckled, his eyes constantly sneaking glances at the clothes-pressing knife in her hand. At first glance, it was petite and cute, but upon closer inspection, it was sharp and cold.

The boy felt that this clothes-pressing knife, and its owner, seemed to be the opposite of each other.

Ning Yao had Chen Pingan raise his right hand and gently placed the clothes-pressing knife back into the scabbard tied to his arm, warning, "Don't take an inch, don't have any improper thoughts about this knife!"

Chen Pingan said helplessly, "Miss Ning, you're overthinking it."

Ning Yao suddenly pointed to the broken-armed Spirit Officer statue from before, "Do you know what kind of stone that black stone seat is made of?"

Chen Pingan nodded, "I know, Miss Ning, you've asked the right person. As long as we follow the stream and go deep into the mountains, we have to walk a long way, I estimate at least half a day, before we can see a black stone cliff. It's all made of this kind of stone, it's very hard. You can't even smash off a bit of gravel with a hammer, let alone chop it with a wood knife. There are also several sunken, long, strip-shaped grooves on the stone cliff, with a bit of a slope and not flat. Every time Grandpa Yao passes by there, he makes me take out the wood knife to sharpen it. And I have to say, after sharpening, the wood knife really becomes bright and shiny, very different from before."

Ning Yao rubbed her forehead, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, "Used to sharpen the wood knife for cutting trees and splitting firewood..."

Chen Pingan's eyes lit up, "Is it valuable?!"

Ning Yao said unhappily, "No matter how valuable it is, can you get even a tiny bit of that whole stone cliff? I'm telling you, even ordinary gods can't do it! Unless it's a Great Sword Immortal with great killing power, and they're willing to sacrifice a divine weapon, then they can split off two three-foot-long stone strips, which sword cultivators specifically name 'Dragon Slaying Platforms', and each one is of course worth a city."

Chen Pingan fell into deep thought.

Ning Yao suddenly also brightened up, "Isn't there a ready-made sword-sharpening stone right under the Spirit Officer statue? It's so big, it can just be split into two Dragon Slaying Platforms."

Chen Pingan hurriedly dissuaded her, as if his butt was on fire, "Miss Ning, we can't tear it down and move it home! That Spirit Officer is already aggrieved enough, if we also take away his foothold..."Ning Yao abruptly stood up, scoffing, "Snatch?! Do you think I'm that kind of person?"

Then, Chen Ping An followed the girl toward the Daoist spirit officer statue. Standing before the clay figure, Ning Yao stepped forward. Her hands rested on the sword and saber hilts. With a heroic spirit, she raised her head and shouted, "My name is Ning Yao! If you grant me this three-foot space beneath your feet today, I, Ning Yao, vow to repay you a hundredfold, a thousandfold when I become a Sword Immortal in the future!"

Chen Ping An gaped, wondering if that would even work.

As expected, the clay statue remained motionless.

The girl didn't give up. She continued, "You're unwilling to give it, huh? Then, how about I, Ning Yao, borrow it? I'll pay it back."

Ning Yao didn't forget to wink at Chen Ping An, "I'm borrowing, not snatching, understand?"

Chen Ping An vigorously shook his head, honestly replying, "No, I don't!"

Ning Yao was about to explain the distinct difference between "snatching" and "borrowing" to the blockhead Chen Ping An when Chen Ping An suddenly shouted, "Careful!"

As he spoke, Chen Ping An moved, pulling Ning Yao behind him.

It turned out that the spirit officer statue, weathered by a thousand years of sun and wind, had finally collapsed on this day, falling forward and shattering completely. There was no surviving arm or leg, and even the once-lifelike bearded head was reduced to pieces.

From the earth it came, to the earth it returned.

As if its journey in the mortal realm had truly come to an end.

Moreover, the strangeness of this event lay in the height of the spirit officer statue and the distance between the young pair and the stone base of the statue. The former was much greater, so logically, Chen Ping An and Ning Yao, even if they weren't crushed, would at least be severely hit. But in the end, the clay statue turned into dust that only reached their feet.

The knowledgeable Ning Yao swallowed hard, feeling a little guilty. Looking down at the flying dust, she muttered, "You're too stingy, aren't you? If you don't want to lend it, you have to self-destruct with me?"

Chen Ping An suddenly shook his head and said, "That's the Bodhisattva nodding its head. It's agreeing to you."

Ning Yao stood side by side with the young man, looking at the dust and debris, then at the bare black Dragon Slaying Platform in the distance. Finally, she turned to look at Chen Ping An and tentatively asked, "Are you sure?"

Chen Ping An smiled and said, "I'm sure!"

Ning Yao believed him without a doubt.

Even she herself didn't know why.

Finally, led by Chen Ping An, Ning Yao helped move the clay debris into a pit that had been dug out next to them and covered it with soil.

Chen Ping An lowered his head and silently said, "Whether human or deity, let them rest in peace."

Ning Yao also lowered her head and whispered, "Rest in peace."

After doing all this, Ning Yao curiously asked, "Chen Ping An, is this a local custom in your town? A tradition passed down from your ancestors?"

Chen Ping An shook his head and said, "No, it's just what I feel should be done."

Ning Yao raised an eyebrow.

Chen Ping An smiled and asked, "Miss Ning, don't you feel comfortable after doing all this?"

Ning Yao also shook her head, "No feeling."

Chen Ping An scratched his head, looked at the black stone seat, and asked, "It's called the Dragon Slaying Platform?"

Ning Yao nodded. "Martial artists might call it a whetstone, or a sword sharpening stone. Mountain sword cultivators call it the Dragon Slaying Platform."

Ning Yao turned to look southwest. Her eyes were dazed, and she whispered, "My hometown calls it a sword sharpening stone too. Everyone has one, but the sizes vary. Generally, they're only the size of a fist. Some sword cultivators whose families have declined and whose cultivation is low only have a grain-sized whetstone, yet they still value it more than their lives. It exists. My family has one too, it's very big..."

Chen Ping An softly asked, "How big?"

The girl murmured, "Bigger than your Mud Jar Lane house."

The young man's face was filled with shock, then boundless envy. "Miss Ning, your family is really rich! And with such a big whetstone, you don't have to worry about it being stolen. That's great. Unlike me, who finally saved up a little money, I can't sleep soundly no matter where I hide it."

The homesick girl's melancholy vanished, and she smiled, "Half of this whetstone is yours!"

The young man waved his hand, "What would I do with it? I do have a wood chopping knife, but it doesn't need such a precious whetstone. Every time I sharpen the knife, I'll feel sorry for it, why bother? So, you can have it all, Miss Ning. By the way, aren't you thinking of asking Master Ruan to help you forge a sword? You can use the other half as payment..."

Ning Yao helplessly said, "Chen Ping An, are you really stupid or just lacking a brain?"

Chen Ping An thought for a moment and smiled, "Miss Ning, just think of me as a pushover."

Ning Yao suddenly pointed at the young man, wearing a look of sudden realization, and smiled with narrowed eyes, "Chen Ping An, be honest! Are you plotting something, thinking of turning 'Miss Ning' into your wife in the future, then everything will be yours? That little calculation of yours is clattering away, impressive!"

The young man was on the verge of tears. His mouth twitched. What was it that Song Jixin said before? "If you want to condemn someone, you can always find a charge?"

Ning Yao laughed loudly, "Look at how scared you are, I'm just joking."

Chen Ping An sighed, feeling a bit tired.

Ning Yao suddenly said seriously, "Careful! My flying sword is already on its way back!"

Chen Ping An looked as if he was facing a formidable enemy.