Having left the territory of the Joyful Union Mountain, Chen Ping An, with Pei Qian in tow, first paid a visit to the White Purity Manor at Wedge Ridge. He subtly hinted to the Vice General Bai Mao to keep that album of flowers and birds on a high shelf, suggesting he peruse it more often, as it might hold unexpected surprises. Next, they chose the nearest immortal ferry crossing, a place called Jiahe, and boarded a mountain ferry named “Phoenix Hairpin.” As dawn broke, the ferry docked at Wine Blossom Ferry, within the Kyonggi region of the Azure Apricot Kingdom’s Liu clan.

If a place dared to call itself Wine Blossom Ferry, it naturally wouldn’t lack fine wines and immortal brews. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the entire ferry crossing was permeated with the aroma of wine.

Fortunately, they were in an era of peace and prosperity, with verdant hills, clear streams, new and old friends alike. Everyone who went out was a wine-drinking, flower-gazing individual.

The streets were bustling with activity. Chen Ping An, or rather, one of his incarnations, surveyed the surrounding shops and casually asked, “Do you know if Bai Xuan has a secret, never-shown-to-anyone album?”

Pei Qian nodded, a slight twitch at the corner of her mouth. “I know. He compiled a heroes’ record. Bai Xuan has a lot of ideas; if his fist techniques aren’t enough, he makes up for it with numbers.”

First, there was Bai Shou from the Graceful Peak of the Great Emblem Sword Sect, and now Bai Xuan from their own Fallen Phoenix Mountain. What was it with those surnamed Bai? Were they all so arrogant?

Chen Ping An asked, surprised, “You even know about this?”

Pei Qian chuckled. “I can’t be bothered to lower myself to the level of a brat.”

Since her master had brought it up, she would let Bai Xuan off the hook for now, pretending not to know about this private matter.

But in reality, Pei Qian knew all the heroes in that album inside and out. Otherwise, she would definitely let Bai Xuan experience firsthand what true treacherousness of the martial world was like.

Chen Ping An sighed and corrected, “How can you say ‘lower yourself’? He worked so hard on it; we can’t let Bai Xuan’s efforts be all for naught.”

Pei Qian was taken aback. “Master, should I really beat him up to help Bai Xuan get what he wants?”

Chen Ping An said seriously, “How can you call it beating? It’s just sparring. But remember, don’t go too hard on him.”

Pei Qian understood, a radiant smile on her face.

Chen Ping An crossed his hands in his sleeves, walking with his head held high and chest puffed out, displaying a certain air of disdain. The young boy in straw sandals, while exuding an air of poverty, also seemed unusually mature, like a newly initiated disciple from an immortal estate, venturing down the mountain for the first time, unaware of the immensity of the heavens and earth.

Chen Ping An asked, “Do you know why, among the children I brought back from the Great Wall of Swords, only Bai Xuan didn’t become an apprentice?”

Pei Qian shook her head. “I really don’t know about this.”

Chen Ping An then roughly explained Bai Xuan’s lineage back in his hometown.

After listening, Pei Qian nodded and said, “Bai Xuan is still quite good.”

Back then, when she followed Cui Dongshan on his travels to the Great Wall of Swords, Pei Qian, still a little black charcoal, was only preoccupied with fear.

Looking back now, the sword cultivators she met on the city walls, on the road, and in the taverns, especially the female sword cultivators born and raised on the Great Wall of Swords, each possessed their own unique charm, regardless of their appearance.

Chen Ping An smiled. “One thing is another. That little bastard talks bad about me every other day since arriving at Fallen Phoenix Mountain, and he even thinks he’s saying nice things. Someone needs to keep him in check. It’s not good for me to say anything, lest people misunderstand that I’m feeling guilty, like I’m protesting too much.”

Bai Xuan just mentioned it casually, and Little Rice Grain just listened, and now everyone on Fallen Phoenix Mountain and at the Azure Ripple Sword Sect thinks they know what’s going on, right?

Pei Qian nodded. “Master, rest assured. I will teach him what it truly means to be tight-lipped, and at least make Bai Xuan understand how to be economical with words.”

In an elegant private room of a long-established restaurant at Wine Blossom Ferry, a scholar in a Confucian robe standing by the window immediately took a few steps back. After stopping, he seemed to hesitate whether to return to the window, but in the end, he turned around and sat back down, took a swig of wine, and picked up a chopstick of food, chewing slowly and deliberately. As if lost in thought, a smile gradually returned to the young man’s face. It was as if the Chen Ping An on the street looked somewhat unfamiliar, very different from the Chen Ping An of similar age, the real Chen Ping An, in his memory.

Inside the room, Han Qiaose had cast an illusion spell, and the maid Lingyan had changed her attire once again.

Han Qiaose glanced at Gu Can’s expression, while Lingyan got up directly and walked to the window, taking a peek. She saw a young boy in straw sandals carrying a sword on his back, and a young woman with a bun hairstyle. She understood; it was an old friend reuniting but not acknowledging each other.

Pei Qian immediately sensed the roving gaze from above and looked up. She met the gaze of the overly beautiful female cultivator.

Lingyan frowned, feeling strange. Just by being glanced at by that female martial artist, she suddenly felt like she was naked.

As expected of Pei Qian.

Such a young peak martial artist, truly frightening.

Pei Qian used sound transmission, saying without moving her lips, “Master, there’s a female cultivator in the restaurant. Her state of mind is a bit strange, the scene is cold and gloomy, with countless white bones hanging in the air. She doesn’t seem like a benevolent person.”

Chen Ping An asked, “Does she harbor any murderous intent?”

Pei Qian replied, “Not at all.”

Chen Ping An frowned. “Could she be a hidden demon from the Wildlands?”

Pei Qian thought for a moment. “A bit like it. Master, how about I go to the restaurant to investigate?”

Chen Ping An nodded. “Be careful.”

Pei Qian hesitated.

Chen Ping An smiled. “Master is still capable of protecting himself.”

Just then, Han Qiaose appeared at the window, smiling and saying with her mind, “Official Hidden, long time no see. Why not come up for a chat?”

Chen Ping An looked up and saw the White Emperor City immortal female cultivator, temporarily removing the illusion spell, Zheng Qian’s junior sister, Han Qiaose.

He understood. Han Qiaose was unlike her junior brother Liu Chicheng, who liked to make a name for himself and stir up trouble. She was the kind of enlightened individual who lived in seclusion and focused on cultivation.

Since she appeared in this foreign land, she must be traveling with someone returning home.

Chen Ping An nodded and entered the restaurant with Pei Qian. He found Gu Can already standing at the staircase in the lobby. Chen Ping An walked up to him and said softly, “Why did you come?”

Gu Can stepped aside, letting Chen Ping An go up the stairs first, and then followed. He didn’t use mental communication, but lowered his voice and said, “Just came to take a look.”

Pei Qian deliberately slowed her pace, allowing Gu Can to walk up the stairs first. After answering Chen Ping An’s question, Gu Can turned his head with a smile and cupped his fist to Pei Qian, thanking her silently.

Pei Qian just grinned.

In fact, Pei Qian had never harbored any ill will towards this guy who was treated as family by her master, but who also caused her master so much suffering, deep down.
Though it was their first meeting, Gu Can held a favorable impression of Chen Ping’an’s nominal chief disciple, Pei Qian, based solely on hearsay.

Chen Ping’an ascended the stairs, inquiring, “Are you heading towards Hehuan Mountain for the spectacle?”

Gu Can chuckled, “Just looking for something to do, wanted to watch from afar. Alas, I missed it all – not even a whiff of the leftovers.”

Chen Ping’an slowed his pace ever so slightly, prompting Gu Can to immediately retract, “Forget I said anything.”

Ling Yan, perched on the railing of the tavern’s top floor, clicked her tongue in amusement at the scene below.

Simultaneously, she noticed the former Hidden Official and the young woman behind her master glance up.

Ling Yan merely smiled, remaining silent, maintaining her original posture. So what if you’re a martial artist in the Stillness Realm? You’re no Cao Ci!

I’ve heard you fought Cao Ci four times in a row and lost every single one.

Is this what it means to be a disciple of the Hidden Official? To imitate in every way?

Chen Ping’an entered the room, glanced at the bowls and chopsticks on the table, and chose a chair to sit on. Pei Qian took her seat beside him.

Han Qiao Se went straight to the point, “Does your Fallen Mountain have any military texts I could borrow? No matter their depth or fame, I’m willing to borrow them from you, Chen-xiansheng. If you don’t think we’re close enough for that, I’m willing to buy them – one Grain Rain coin per book, the more the merrier. I don’t care about the edition; a printed copy is fine, a transcribed copy works too, even a draft would be preferable. My main concern is that printed editions might contain errors or omissions.”

Chen Ping’an observed the female immortal, who seemed to be making a serious request, and smiled, “Certainly, as long as Immortal Han doesn’t think it’s a waste of money.”

His Fallen Mountain’s collection of books was quite extensive, and Qing Tong’s Demon Suppressing Pagoda in Tongye Continent also housed some priceless, unique copies. If Han Qiao Se had strict requirements for the editions, perhaps it would be a difficult task, but since printed and transcribed copies were acceptable, earning this immortal’s money would be quite easy.

One Grain Rain coin per military treatise? She was practically giving away money!

Especially the various military texts within the Lotus Root Blessed Land – each one was a unique and priceless copy to the rest of the Vast Sky.

However, Chen Ping’an surmised that Han Qiao Se’s quest for military texts was at the behest of her senior brother, Zheng Juzhong, likely related to her prolonged inability to “ascend.”

Han Qiao Se laughed heartily, “Back in the Sword Qi Great Wall, didn’t you say, Chen-xiansheng, that money is nothing? It’s just a pity that you’re not the one buying the drinks today. When I reach the Ascension City of the Five Colors World, I’ll be sure to drink there and see if it can help me break through!”

Han Qiao Se spoke as if in riddles, leaving Ling Yan utterly confused.

This female cultivator from the Wilderness, whose Daoist name was “Spring Evening,” was naturally unaware of the recent meeting at the Zhongtu Literary Temple, where, before the eyes of numerous sages and heroes of the Vast Sky, the Sage of Rites revealed a small tavern in the Sword Qi Great Wall, along with the couplet and horizontal inscription above its door.

The tavern was small, but the couplet was ambitious, and the inscription was now a popular topic among many of the Vast Sky’s drinkers: “Those who drink my wine may break through.”

Pei Qian sat up straight, but would occasionally cast sidelong glances, in her signature style, at the female cultivator.

Gu Can smiled and introduced, “We in the Treasure Bottle Continent have Earthly Branch cultivators; she is one of the Heavenly Stem cultivators from the Wilderness, nominally under the jurisdiction of Zhou Qinggao. Her demonic true name is Zi Wu Meng, Daoist name Spring Evening. I’ve renamed her Ling Yan for convenience during her travels in the Nine Continents of the Vast Sky. For the next century, Zi Wu Meng will be by my side as a servant, attending to my daily needs.”

Zi Wu Meng’s eyes were filled with resentment. *My good master, why are you telling such secrets to the Sword Qi Great Wall’s last Hidden Official? Aren’t you afraid he’ll suddenly attack and beat me to death on the spot?*

Everyone knew that the young Hidden Official possessed a strange ability to sew the true names of great demons onto his person. It was said that a Jade Purity Realm demon cultivator was torn apart for merely passing by the city walls.

Gu Can continued, “As for what happens after the century is up, whether she can return to the Wilderness depends on her own fate.”

Zi Wu Meng smiled faintly, “Summer days, winter nights, even so, I remain content.”

Chen Ping’an chuckled, “You even know the *Ge Sheng* chapter. Using it here, though, is a bit inappropriate.”

Zi Wu Meng smiled radiantly, “Not only the *Ge Sheng* chapter, which speaks of sharing the same quilt in life and the same coffin in death, but also several poems and essays lost to your Vast Sky’s historical records – I know them all.”

Gu Can explained, “She has delved into almost any text related to love between men and women.”

Chen Ping’an smiled, “Since Daoist Ling Yan’s knowledge is so vast, how about I act as a go-between and have the Literary Temple invite you to the Merit Forest to teach?”

Zi Wu Meng looked speechless.

Gu Can smiled knowingly.

He remembered that back home, Chen Ping’an never seemed to utter harsh words to anyone.

Chen Ping’an looked towards Han Qiao Se, inquiring with his eyes – was it really appropriate to have such a dangerous person by Gu Can’s side?

Han Qiao Se replied, “Zi Wu Meng has made two vows, and with my senior brother watching over things, nothing will go awry.”

Han Qiao Se was willing to befriend anyone who genuinely cared for Gu Can.

Therefore, Han Qiao Se proactively offered Chen Ping’an a toast. Chen Ping’an accepted the wine, hesitating, then decided against saying anything.

He feared that Zheng Juzhong intentionally used Zi Wu Meng as a whetstone to temper Gu Can’s Dao heart, so sooner or later, great suffering would await Gu Can. And no matter how meticulously Gu Can planned ahead, preparing in advance, it would be futile. In short, the more Zheng Juzhong valued Gu Can as his direct disciple, the less smooth Gu Can’s path to cultivation would be.

In such matters, Chen Ping’an, who was Cui Chan’s junior brother, certainly had a lot to say.

But since Gu Can was now a record-bearing cultivator of White Emperor City, Chen Ping’an had to abide by the established rules of the mountain and refrain from meddling.

Actually, Chen Ping’an feared overstepping and causing Zheng Juzhong to increase the “stakes,” adding even more pressure on Gu Can’s Dao heart.

Zi Wu Meng wore an expression of genuine terror.

The female cultivator’s heart churned. *When have I ever met Zheng Juzhong?!*

Gu Can said, “The reason our group was able to escape the predicament in the Wilderness was mainly due to Cao Ci. I must admit he deserves the most credit, at least half. I only managed to help him a little at the end, by accidentally recalling a reminder from my teacher, and was fortunate enough to break the stalemate.”
Ziwu Meng heard this and felt a lingering fear.

Trapped in a formation with neither the favor of heaven nor the advantage of terrain, Cao Ci, who had broken through on the battlefield and was blessed with martial luck, ultimately delivered a punch that seemed capable of cleaving the heavens, a fist aimed directly at Ziwu Meng.

Chen Pingan nodded, “Mister Zheng’s thoughts are like a divine oracle.”

In the Longchun Grotto Heaven dojo of the Azure Canopy Sword Sect, Chen Pingan, who was truly secluded in the mountains for the first time to cultivate and seek the Dao, had once made an extremely bold deduction and assumption. He wondered which individuals might contend with him for the Great Dao if he ever reached the fourteenth realm.

Zheng was not among those hypothetical adversaries. He dared not even consider Zheng.

Han Qiao’se spoke with a hint of admonishment and complaint, “Xiao Can, don’t make such a grand feat and a tremendous accomplishment sound so trivial. If it weren’t for you, Xu Yuan and that Little Celestial Master of Dragon Tiger Mountain, and Chun Qing, none of them would have been able to leave the wild lands alive.”

Chen Pingan had already heard the general details of that narrow encounter from Lu Chen, including the matter of Gu Can bringing Ziwu Meng along.

Gu Can chuckled, “It’s all thanks to that hometown locust leaf sachet, which has always been as useless as a chicken rib. Fortunately, Zhao, Xu, and Cao are all common surnames.”

Before leaving his hometown as a child, the dark and skinny grass-sandal-wearing boy from Mud Bottle Alley had privately instructed the little snot-nosed kid to hide that locust leaf sachet well.

Chen Pingan changed the subject and asked, “I heard you fought with Cao Ci?”

Gu Can nodded, saying casually, “Just for fun.”

Chen Pingan asked, “Cao Ci not only reached the Divine Illumination realm, but also delivered a Dao-opening punch of the eleventh realm?”

Gu Can nodded, “To help us open the path, Cao Ci, in coordination with Jiang Shangzhen’s natal flying sword, delivered a punch that did not match his own realm, and was severely injured.”

Chen Pingan frowned and asked, “Will it leave any aftereffects?”

Gu Can replied, “I asked Cao Ci about it afterward, and he personally said it wouldn’t.”

Chen Pingan breathed a sigh of relief.

With Cao Ci’s character, as long as he was willing to speak, he would definitely tell the truth.

Although after their parting at the Confucian Temple, he had fallen from the first level of Returning to Truth to the Qi Consummation realm, Cao Ci had risen from the first level of the Truth realm to the Divine Illumination realm, and the distance between them had widened considerably.

Even if the distance between them was likely to continue to widen, making it difficult to walk side by side again, Chen Pingan sincerely hoped that Cao Ci would advance bravely and diligently on the path of martial arts, ever further and higher.

Even if he couldn’t keep up with Cao Ci’s pace, it was Chen Pingan’s own lack of ability, and he didn’t want Cao Ci to be hindered from reaching the peak of martial arts due to some accident.

Chen Pingan asked, “Did you go home after returning to the Treasure Bottle Continent this time?”

Gu Can shook his head and truthfully said, “I landed near the Old Dragon City ruins and went to Shujian Lake first. I met Senior Sister Tian Hujun and Zhong Su of Huangli Island. I heard from Tian Hujun that there was even a place called Joy Union Mountain on the Treasure Bottle Continent, so I was a bit curious. But I arrived late. I heard that Celestial Sovereign Cao Rong had already left, so I went to the Taoist temple of Guardian of the Nation Cheng Qian, and also met the Ancestral Master Xiangjun of the Spirit Flight Palace. After we agreed, they were willing to part with it, and I bought the Joy Union Mountain area with money. I owe the Spirit Flight Palace a favor.”

Chen Pingan nodded, “Since you’ve met them and bought it, and the matter is settled, then don’t wander around outside. Go home early.”

Gu Can gave a grunt of agreement.

He simply took off his boots, sat cross-legged on the chair, took a sip of wine, his eyes gleaming.

Gu Can was a completely different person depending on whether or not he was around Chen Pingan.

It was true, as the old saying goes, that heroes and valiant figures are most afraid of seeing their neighbors.

It’s like someone who grew up wearing open-crotch pants, and who, with good fortune, made a name for himself outside, and achieved great things. When they return to their hometown, what’s the point of showing off in front of familiar neighbors?

After drinking the wine hastily, Han Qiao’se was considerate and suggested going for a walk at the ferry outside the tavern.

After leaving the tavern, she asked Gu Can and Chen Pingan to stroll alone, while she took Pei Qian and Ziwu Meng to wander elsewhere, telling Pei Qian that if she saw anything she liked, she could just take it, without asking the price, and she would pay for it.

The two walked along a riverbank in Wine Flower Ferry. Gu Can asked in a mental voice, “Can I help with the thing you want to do?”

Gu Can didn’t ask if Chen Pingan needed help.

Because Chen Pingan naturally didn’t need his help.

It was like this in the past, and even more so now.

Chen Pingan asked, “How did you guess?”

Gu Can smiled, “You’re so careful in your actions, you wouldn’t just casually travel as an avatar.”

Chen Pingan nodded, “This is a private feud between me and the Ma family of Apricot Blossom Lane. You don’t need to interfere. Just focus on your own affairs first.”

Gu Can said softly, “I guessed right. It really is that matter?”

Chen Pingan raised his hand, bent two fingers, probably wanting to give him a flick on the forehead, but after hesitating, he released his fingers. It was as if he wanted to pat Gu Can’s head, but in the end, he lowered his hand and gently patted the scholar’s shoulder.

Chen Pingan habitually said in his hometown dialect, “There are many old neighbors who have moved to the state city. If you meet them on the road, remember to address them according to their seniority and take the initiative to greet them. Don’t go around casually offended people.”

Gu Can was a little unwilling, but still nodded, “I know, I know.”

Chen Pingan looked at Gu Can.

He knew he couldn’t fool him. Gu Can was full of helplessness and had to guarantee, “I’ll do what I say.”

Chen Pingan patiently exhorted, “I didn’t ask you to force a smile to those rotten drunks who don’t act like people. There’s no such principle in books or in life. How can you repay virtue with resentment? Those people have had no upbringing since they were little. Now that they’ve grown up and are getting old, they’re still full of bad intentions, no matter what they drink or eat in their whole life. Not only you, but I also get angry when I see them. How many times have I been to the state city in all these years? It’s just so I don’t have to see them and get upset. So I’m just saying that you can be polite to those old neighbors from the early years who were still decent, especially those who were kind to your family. If you see their younger generations, children, you can give them a red envelope or something. Keep a stack of red envelopes in your sleeves. No need to put in god money. They probably all know that your family’s wealth is not small and is connected to the mountains. So if there are only a few copper coins in each red envelope, it’s too stingy and might be an insult, so it’s better not to give it. Perhaps putting two gold leaves in each red envelope would be more appropriate…”
Hearing the long-lost, incessant chatter, Gu Can cradled the back of his head, nodding gently or offering an occasional “Mmm.”

Chen Pingan paused his words.

Gu Can said, “Hard times can only be endured, there’s no magic to it. But once you have money and live the good life, there are more rules. If the family’s values are good, even if they don’t show at first, the descendants will eventually prosper, avoiding poverty and enjoying good fortune in their later years. It’s not just a theory, it’s a fact. Just look at our hometown, in just thirty years, so many families suddenly got rich and moved to the state capital. Whether they will remain poor or become permanently wealthy is already becoming clear.”

Chen Pingan nodded. “It’s good that you think this way.”

Gu Can asked, “Do you know the root of Ma Kuxuan’s Dao? It seems he comes from the ancient Department of Thunder? And is Ma Kuxuan’s divine status possibly even higher than that old coachman who oversees the Department of Thunder’s Execution Office?”

Chen Pingan said, “If Ma Kuxuan wants to repay his father’s debts, let him.”

Ma Kuxuan was already in the capital of the Jade Proclamation Kingdom.

Gu Can said, “You might also need to be careful of Yu Shiwu from True Martial Mountain, who is of a very high generation. My master said that apart from True Martial Mountain, the Lotus God Shrine located at the bottom of Yong Province in the Azure Heavens, and an ancient temple in the Western Buddhist Kingdom called Fire Glow Temple on Mount She, might experience strange phenomena in the near future.”

Chen Pingan said, “You don’t need to overthink these matters of the high peaks. Just knowing the inside story is enough.”

Gu Can felt a bit stifled. “Chen Pingan, I’m at least a Jade Pure Realm cultivator who is still young with a promising future, and I’m about to take office as the master of a sect.”

Chen Pingan smiled. “White Emperor City is the location of the true ancestral shrine, and your senior brother Fu Jin is the master of the upper sect, right?”

Gu Can sighed.

When it came to reasoning, it was always difficult with Chen Pingan, even from childhood.

Gu Can asked, “When will you meet with Ma Kuxuan?”

Chen Pingan said, “Not long. Around the time of the Qingming Festival this year.”

Gu Can recalled something and said, “I remember that Ma Kuxuan used to be accompanied by a protector, who brought him out of the Li Zhu Grotto-Heaven and back to the sect. This person’s seniority in the True Martial Mountain Ancestral Hall is average, and his cultivation level is also mediocre, so everything seems normal. But if you consider Ma Kuxuan’s identity and look back at this protection, you’ll find that it’s actually a very strange matter.”

Chen Pingan said, “I met that person before, and my impression of him was good. He seemed like a righteous cultivator. Perhaps his secret protection of Ma Kuxuan all the way back to True Martial Mountain was more of a reluctant act ordered by the sect.”

Gu Can said, “Just mentioning it as a reminder. As for the truth, I believe it will all come to light sooner or later.”

Chen Pingan said with a serious expression, “Since the speaker is intentional, the listener needs to be even more attentive.”

Gu Can said helplessly, “You’re scolding me again.”

Chen Pingan laughed. “Wait until the day you attain enlightenment and ascend to immortality, then see if I dare to criticize you.”

Gu Can smiled self-deprecatingly.

In fact, when Chen Pingan was at the Sword Qi Great Wall, he once entrusted a Hao Ran sword immortal with whom he had a good personal relationship to deliver two secret letters to Liu Chicheng of White Emperor City.

One of the letters was addressed to Liu Chicheng of the Azure Glazed Pavilion. Besides the polite opening and closing remarks, the end of the letter requested Liu Chicheng to pass on the second “family letter” to junior brother Gu Can after Gu Can reached the Nascent Soul Realm and before he prepared to enter seclusion to break through. Therefore, it should not be sent too early, nor too late.

However, Zheng Juzhong deliberately intercepted it, keeping it from Gu Can.

Zheng Juzhong also instructed his junior brother Liu Chicheng to pretend he never received the letter.

Even though his senior brother didn’t say anything about bearing the consequences, Liu Chicheng naturally didn’t dare disobey. His senior brother always did things without explaining the cause and effect to anyone.

As a junior brother, how could he say anything? Senior brother was the greatest thing in the world.

Gu Can said, “I heard that Liu Xianyang is already a Jade Pure Realm sword immortal and the second sect master of the Dragon Spring Sword Sect.”

Chen Pingan smiled. “Is he a bit stronger than you?”

Gu Can twitched his lips. “He’s older than all of us.”

Thinking back to the past.

Whether it was the roadside pavilion or the small temple in their hometown, Gu Can took out charcoal, Chen Pingan was responsible for setting up the ladder, and Liu Xianyang used charcoal to write their three names on the highest part of the wall.

Probably no one would have thought, maybe even they themselves, that they would have today’s situation.

Gu Can said, “I originally thought that buying the Joy Mount territory would earn me a scolding. So I didn’t dare to greet you proactively before.”

Actually, some heartfelt words, after growing up, are different from saying whatever you think as a child. Gu Can didn’t dare to be so direct anymore.

If they were still at Book Brief Lake, Gu Can would say, “Our enemies, every single one of them, I remember them all. I will definitely dig up the ancestral graves of their ancestors for eighteen generations. If I can’t find eighteen generations, I’ll help them add them to their family tree one by one. After completing this matter, I’ll build a few outhouses next to them. Anyone who goes there to defecate can pay money. The descendants whose ancestral graves were dug up, as long as they are willing to squat in the outhouse, will be paid double. If they think it’s too little, I’ll increase the price… I, Gu Can, will definitely do what I say!”

Gu Can actually sighed. After all, they couldn’t go back.

Hometown and native place were ultimately different.

Chen Pingan said, “What’s there to scold about such a thing?”

Gu Can said aggrievedly, “Isn’t it because I’ve been scolded by you too much, and I’ve developed psychological trauma?”

Chen Pingan said, amused, “Knowing that you’ve always been persistent in doing things since you were a child, that’s good, but don’t be so hot-tempered.”

Gu Can said in a low voice, “Here it comes, right?”

Chen Pingan slapped the back of Gu Can’s head.

Gu Can just chuckled.

Chen Pingan said softly, “Everyone is cultivating, and it’s inevitable that we’ll be separated often. Let me nag you a few more words today. A man should first be responsible for himself, then take responsibility for his entire family and larger clan. Finally, if he’s willing, he can do something meaningful for this world. If something is meaningful and also makes the person doing it feel interested, that’s even better. Since you’re someone who is preparing to become the sect master, you must think before you act, plan before you move. Occasionally, when you encounter difficulties, you might as well take a step back.”

Whether Gu Can listens to the reasoning, whether he does what he hears, is his own business, but whether he speaks, is Chen Pingan’s obligation. A life path with meaningful words and reasonable actions is the essence of reason.
Gu Can remained silent for a long while.

Finally, using his hometown dialect, Gu Can softly asked, “When… when will you finally be able to live a little easier?”

Chen Ping’an suddenly raised his voice, also speaking in their local tongue, and glared, “Then just let me worry less! As someone surnamed Gu, don’t do things without thinking them through!”

Gu Can habitually wrinkled his nose.

Chen Ping’an suddenly reached out, gently patting Gu Can’s arm, and said, “That journey to the Wild Desolate… you did well.”

The little snot-nosed kid from the old alleyway had already grown into a jade-like, elegant youth.

Perhaps never expecting to hear such a word of praise from Chen Ping’an.

The gentle and refined Confucian scholar, a man like fine jade, gave a brilliant smile.