A fleeting encounter in the river of life, like drifting duckweed, often spins briefly before parting ways. The blind old Daoist, whose Daoist name was Xuan Gu Zi, maintained a constant silence, which made the little girl Jiu’er feel somewhat unaccustomed.

Although the lame boy was unwilling to hand over the snake gallstone, after some hesitation and struggle, he still actively gave it to his ill-tempered master.

The old Daoist took the delicate stone, held it in his palm, and gently stroked it for a moment. Uncharacteristically, he returned it to the boy. “Keep it yourself.”

The lame boy was bewildered as he took the stone, looking at little Jiu’er, who also shook her head, indicating that she couldn’t fathom her master’s thoughts.

The old man said softly, “Little cripple, this is your destiny. Your master cannot take it away. If I did, it wouldn’t be a good thing. Why do you think that boy named Chen Ping An wanted to use the post station to send a letter back to Longquan County? I reckon that if we get to that whatchamacallit Grand Duke, Grasshead shop, and if it was me, your master, instead of you who takes out the stone, our days there wouldn’t be so easy. We might not be deliberately made things difficult, but don’t expect to get a foothold smoothly, let alone find a mountain to attach ourselves to for cultivation.”

The lame boy gave an “oh” sound. He wasn’t one for scheming and didn’t like thinking about such problems.

The blind old Daoist rubbed the little girl’s head. “You two are truly blessed.”

Compared to her brother, little Jiu’er was more perceptive. She asked, “Master, are the backgrounds of that young lady and her group unusual?”

The old Daoist nodded. “That Longquan County was originally the Liju Pearl Cave Heaven above the Dali Dynasty, which took root after shattering. The Confucian Sage Qi Jingchun was stationed there for sixty years. Now these children carry books, each one smarter than the last. If they’re said to be traveling far to the Great Sui Academy, then who do you think their students are?”

The little girl was somewhat envious. “Students of the Confucian Sage, that’s really impressive.”

The blind old Daoist scoffed. “Otherwise, why would the Wind and Snow Temple Sword Immortal Wei Jin come to their rescue as the first thing after breaking through his seclusion? Besides, these children have a Yin God serving as their escort, who can even threaten the mountain source of that fierce female ghost. None of these children are easy to deal with.”

The old man sighed, “Their futures are limitless, truly limitless.”

The little girl was somewhat belatedly curious. She asked, “Since Master knew they had powerful protectors, why did you go to the trouble of telling them about the situation with the fierce ghost of Three Branch Mountain? They don’t need to worry at all.”

The old Daoist habitually reached out and pinched the little girl’s cheek, smiling. “Silly girl, that’s called benevolence without cost. Why wouldn’t I do it if I could be a good person without spending a single copper coin?”

The little girl timidly said, “But if they see through Master’s intentions, wouldn’t Master just be adding legs to a snake?”

The old Daoist was speechless. He shook his head and sighed, finally patting the little girl’s head. “Master needs to be nicer to you two in the future. All these years, Master has always been thinking about finding a huge bargain someday, being able to casually pick up a disciple with extraordinary talent on the roadside. I often disliked your poor backgrounds and irregular origins. Looking back now, it seems Master was blind to what was right in front of me.”

The little girl was somewhat frightened. This old Daoist was too unfamiliar. Her face turned slightly pale. “Master, are you possessed by a ghost? Jiu’er doesn’t even recognize you anymore.”

The old Daoist laughed heartily, then suddenly whispered, “Jiu’er, Master promised not to collect spirit spring within a year. Now, let’s discuss it. How about changing it from a year to half a year? Think about it, Master’s exorcism journey was truly fighting an uphill battle. Not only did I get beaten badly by that female ghost, but I also lost four words on my banner and gave away a *Search Mountain Picture*, an ancestral treasure of my sect. As disciples, shouldn’t you feel sorry for Master and show some filial piety?”

The little girl was relieved. This was the Master she knew. So, she said decisively, “Half a year it is!”

The lame boy carefully put away the stone, muttering, “The stone is already mine.”

The blind old Daoist was furious, cursing, “A dog can’t change its nature of eating sh*t!”

The little girl covered her mouth and snickered.

The little cripple also laughed along.

In a sparsely populated place, the Yin God revealed his true form, but his face was still blurred, his body shrouded in black smoke, emanating an eerie aura. He hoarsely said, “I failed to protect you and even caused you to be abducted to the female ghost’s mansion. I’m sorry.”

Chen Ping An didn’t know how to comfort people. After holding it in for a while, he finally managed to say, “Do your best.”

The Yin God smiled sadly. “No matter what, I am to blame this time. Especially because I coveted personal cultivation, I implicated you and caused you to fall into such a situation. My conscience is truly uneasy. If something happened to you, even if I smashed the mountain source here afterward and died with that female ghost, it would be meaningless.”

Li Bao Ping smiled. “When I was little, my eldest brother liked to tell me strange stories. Once, he told a story about a City God, saying that the way they evaluated merit was different. I remember it very clearly, it’s called *Intending good without reward, unintentional evil without punishment*. Human power has its limits. If you have done your best and been conscientious, you don’t need to feel too guilty. Otherwise, being human is tiring, and being a ghost is also tiring.”

The Yin God was speechless. It was awkward to be taught a lesson by a little girl, even if she had shown the demeanor of a *junzi* (gentleman) before.

The little girl fell into her own world again, somewhat annoyed, hitting her palm with her fist. “Big brother always told these bizarre things. At the time, I only listened to them as interesting stories. If only I had paid more attention.”

Chen Ping An wanted to say something but hesitated.

The Yin God looked at Chen Ping An and smiled. “Can we talk alone?”

Chen Ping An nodded, letting Lin Shouyi and the other two go ahead.

The Yin God waited until Lin Shouyi and the others had walked about half a mile away before speaking. “I was arranged by the old man Yang from the medicine shop to protect Li Huai.”

Chen Ping An scratched his head. “I thought you were here to protect Bao Ping or Lin Shouyi.”

The Yin God smiled. “Li Huai’s father, Li Er, almost beat the Prince Song Changjing to death. He’s very powerful. Once, Li Er found the old man Yang, saying that his wife had been bullied and that he was going to go to the old ancestor of that family to settle the score. He insisted on leaving Liju Pearl Cave Heaven. The old man Yang couldn’t refuse, so he had to agree. Later, I heard that a celestial mountain gate with a not insignificant foundation in Bao Ping Continent was forcibly torn down the ancestral hall by Li Er using his fists, and all the way from the foot of the mountain to the top.”

Chen Ping An opened his mouth wide.
Isn’t Li Er known as the most useless man in the west of town? Even his own son, Li Huai, has always thought so.

Chen Ping’an asked, puzzled, “Why doesn’t Li Er tell Li Huai?”

The Yin God seemed to be in a better mood after Li Er was mentioned, “Li Er is very stubborn. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have married Li Huai’s mother.”

Chen Ping’an laughed heartily, “Then when Li Huai finds out the truth, he’ll be overjoyed.”

The Yin God asked, “You don’t plan to tell Li Huai this? Back in Pillow Station, you told Bao Ping the truth directly, even though A Liang advised you not to rush.”

Chen Ping’an walked forward slowly, “When it comes to my own affairs, if I think it’s right, of course, I can make my own decisions. But since Li Huai’s father doesn’t want to tell his son, why should I, an outsider, tell Li Huai the truth? Just because I think it would make Li Huai happier? That’s not right.”

The Yin God nodded, thinking that it was no wonder Li Er back then didn’t favor those heaven’s-chosen, but valued this Mud Bottle Lane boy more, even breaking the rules to send the golden carp along with the Dragon King Basket to Chen Ping’an.

Chen Ping’an suddenly stopped and asked, “Because I have good eyesight, and I was worried you were a bad guy, I remember clearly. The first time Yin God Senior appeared, you looked at me first, then at Li Huai. Why is that? Was it just a coincidence? If you don’t want to answer, Senior can pretend I didn’t ask.”

If the Yin God were still alive, his mouth would definitely be dry, and he’d be sitting on pins and needles.

He never imagined that Chen Ping’an would be so observant. Back then, his gaze was fleeting and hidden not too shallow.

But thinking about Chen Ping’an’s performance along the way, the Yin God felt relieved. Perhaps this was why Chen Ping’an could win people over.

Even if Lin Shouyi has now entered the Middle Five Realms and become a true immortal, Li Bao Ping still wouldn’t listen to him, nor would Li Huai. As for the Yin God himself, he probably wouldn’t be an exception. In his eyes, Lin Shouyi was still just an extremely clever and talented young junior.

This feeling was strange.

It seemed that the Mud Bottle Lane boy had an aura of “assurance” and “righteousness.”

If the boy said something was wrong, the others in the team would feel that it was wrong.

If the boy said something was feasible, then it could be done.

But the strangest thing was that the boy never deliberately flaunted any of his strengths.

On the contrary, he would humbly ask the little girl who called him Little Martial Uncle to teach him how to read and write. He never treated Li Huai like an ignorant child and was willing to chat with Lin Shouyi and listen to him talk about the outside world.

The Yin God finally laughed, “I won’t answer that question for now. Anyway, don’t worry, I won’t harm you.”

Chen Ping’an trotted forward and turned his head to smile, “If I didn’t trust you, Senior, I wouldn’t have asked the question.”

The Yin God slowly faded away, sighed, and thought, traveling with these kids is so tiring.

In fact, that maid, Zhu Lu, with her terrible temperament, would be considered a remarkable genius in ordinary aristocratic families of the mortal world. But in this team, from beginning to end, she was directly left behind by a difference of hundreds of thousands of miles. In every aspect, she couldn’t compare at all.

Further south, it seemed to be Dragon Whiskers Creek and Iron Talisman River first, and then Embroidered Flower River and Tranquil Rive. There would be more water than mountains. But for the next day and a half, it was as if all the “water luck” had been used up. It was even hard to find a mountain stream. There was water, but it was all undrinkable stagnant pools. There were more sickly willow saplings, not tall or lush, and mostly crooked. Flies were everywhere along the way, making people feel uncomfortable all over.

Li Huai was a little scared because the blind old Daoist with the jinxed mouth said they would soon pass through a ghostly place called Three Branch Mountain, with evil ghosts and Yin Corpses as the evil ghost’s underlings.

Thinking of this, Li Huai felt depressed. His painted wooden puppets and clay figurines were too small. Even if they came to life, their fighting skills would probably be lacking. Besides, the five clay figures given by the white-clothed swordsman, no matter how he warmed them up, wouldn’t come to life. Could he be a liar who didn’t want to give him good things but couldn’t let go of his image as a swordsman, so he deliberately drew a pie in the sky for him?

In the twilight, Chen Ping’an stopped to build a stove and cook. Li Huai familiarly ran to collect a large pile of dry branches, then squatted aside and complained to Chen Ping’an, “Chen Ping’an, I think Wei Jin of the Snow Wind Temple isn’t as good as A Liang.”

Chen Ping’an ignored him.

Li Huai took out his painted wooden puppet and a clay figurine from his book box, used the puppet to bully the sword-wielding clay figurine severely, then made the latter kneel and beg for mercy, shouting, “Female ghost, please spare me! I, Wei Jin, know I’m wrong…”

Chen Ping’an was dumbfounded and had to explain, “Wei Jin is a very good person.”

Li Huai rolled his eyes, waved his hands, and continued to let the painted wooden puppet ravage the clay figurine.

Lin Shouyi sat on a rock not far away, looking at the “Searching the Mountains” painting, and said, raising his head, “If I’m not mistaken, Wei Jin seems to look down on you, or rather, he’s least optimistic about you.”

Li Bao Ping, who was silently tidying up her small book box, was furious, “Is there such a thing?”

Chen Ping’an, squatting and preparing to cook after lighting the firewood pile, said, “What does him looking down on me have to do with him being a good person?”

Li Huai was shocked, “Chen Ping’an, what are you thinking? Can someone who looks down on me still be a very good person? He must not be that good a person!”

Chen Ping’an busied himself in an orderly manner, saying to himself, “Wei Jin is such an amazing person, and he’s called a Land Immortal, but when he talked to us, he was still polite and willing to reason with us children. Do you think all the immortals on the mountain are like that? No. Before I left town, I met immortals who killed people based on their mood and only talked about their own reasons, and there was more than one.”
The boy spoke lightly of past events fraught with peril, unwilling to elaborate. He continued, “To earn respect, you must rely on yourself. If you are good at farming, can skillfully shape pottery, possess the greatest strength for chopping wood and burning charcoal in the mountains, and are unafraid to fight for water between alleys, daring to be at the front, then respect will naturally follow.”

Chen Ping’an glanced at them, “This is in our hometown. Later, when Baoping arrives at the Great Sui Academy, if she excels in her studies, and there’s Lin Shouyi, who became a Qi Refiner at a young age, they will certainly earn respect. As for you, Li Huai… wait until you’re older. There’s no rush now.”

Li Huai grew anxious, “Chen Ping’an, you may not be in a hurry, but I am!”

Chen Ping’an asked, “Can you wake up early every day to walk the stakes and practice boxing with me?”

Li Huai replied without hesitation, “Of course not!”

Chen Ping’an asked again, “Then how about teaching you the Sword Furnace stance?”

Li Huai looked disgusted, “Why learn that? I’m so young.”

Chen Ping’an said helplessly, “Now you know you’re young? Then why were you in such a rush with me at the beginning?”

Li Huai was dumbfounded. He thought for a long time but still couldn’t find an answer. Finally, during dinner, as everyone sat together, Li Huai picked up a piece of pickled vegetable, took a large mouthful of rice, and asked, “Do you think there are any shortcuts in this world, like a method that can turn you into an immortal overnight? A Liang said there weren’t any. I should have asked Wei Jin before he left if he knew any. What if A Liang didn’t know, but he did? Then I’d be set. This time when I go to the Great Sui for studies, I’ll ride a flying sword, zooming back and forth faster than Chen Ping’an walking the stakes, like the wind! You’ll all be eating my dust!”

Li Baoping asked with a stern face, “Who’s eating dust?”

Li Huai swallowed, looked at Lin Shouyi, then silently turned to Chen Ping’an. Finally, feeling dejected, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration. He quickly picked up the painted wooden puppet from the ground, “It will! She’s now my top general! She’s the biggest, the prettiest, the most experienced, and has accompanied me, Li Huai, on the longest journeys. Those five dirty little mud figures can only be ranked as B, C, D, E, and F.”

Lin Shouyi smiled and asked, “What about the little things you keep in the book ‘Cliff of Broken Water’?”

Li Huai shook his head, “Them? I don’t like them much.”

Li Baoping revealed the truth, “It’s because you don’t like reading, so you don’t want to see them because you have to open the book first.”

Li Huai wore an expression of “What did you say? I didn’t hear you clearly.”

Chen Ping’an looked up at the distant Three Branches Mountain, which was slightly taller, and asked, “After we pass Three Branches Mountain and reach the town market, what do you want to buy?”

Li Baoping chirped, “Uncle, I want to buy some miscellaneous books. Teacher Qi said that all the schools of thought outside of Confucianism have their own classics, and we should read more of them. Teacher said that stones from other mountains can polish jade.”

“Chen Ping’an, if possible, I’d like to buy a chess set, even the cheapest one will do.”

“Li Huai, what about you?”

“Give me money, and I won’t buy anything. Is that okay? I want to save it up. My mother taught me that it’s good to have money in your pocket!”

Chen Ping’an asked, “What do you think?”

Li Huai chuckled, “I’m just hoping for a lucky break. What if you, Chen Ping’an, have a change of heart?”

Chen Ping’an chuckled.

Li Huai’s smile instantly froze, and he quickly changed the subject, “Didn’t that old Taoist tell us not to walk through Three Branches Mountain after dark?”

Lin Shouyi shook his head, “I’ve discussed it with Chen Ping’an and the Yin God Senior. If we travel at night and the evil spirit comes out to harm people, we’ll suppress it. At first, the Yin God Senior will stand by and let me try to repel it with talismans and lightning techniques, mainly to give me some experience. If the evil spirit hides and doesn’t come out, then so be it, and we’ll continue on our way.”

As night fell, the group slowly ascended the mountain. Three Branches Mountain wasn’t high, but the terrain was gentle, and the slopes were vast. Chen Ping’an deliberately detoured. There were many mass graves on the mountain without descendants to add soil, but there were also many graves with descendants who had cleaned them up, erected tombstones, and scattered some partially burned paper money in front of the stones.

It took less than an hour to cross Three Branches Mountain. Aside from the slightly cold night wind, there was nothing strange about it.

Lin Shouyi felt a bit disappointed, but he didn’t force anything.

After that, the journey to Yefu Pass on the border of Great Li was even smoother.

After passing through a small town market, Li Baoping bought five or six miscellaneous books, including travelogues, Buddhist and Taoist classics, and literary notes.

Lin Shouyi bought a chess set. After teaching Chen Ping’an the rules, they often played whenever they had time, because Li Baoping couldn’t sit still and wanted to drop seven or eight pieces on the board at once, always complaining that Lin Shouyi played too slowly. As for Li Huai, he was simply too lazy to think. However, the one who played chess with Lin Shouyi the most was surprisingly the Yin God.

Li Huai, probably due to having spent nearly ten taels of silver on a broken book back in Red Candle Town, didn’t buy anything this time.

Although Chen Ping’an wanted to practice swordsmanship a bit, he didn’t really start, except for occasionally taking out the locust wood sword from his basket.

In Chen Ping’an’s view, the most urgent task was to practice his fist techniques first! Only when he felt he could spare the energy would he start practicing swordsmanship. Chen Ping’an had only practiced half of the breathing method A Liang taught him, and he couldn’t go any further after the sixth pause.

Although he couldn’t practice swordsmanship for the time being, A Liang had said that the eighteen pauses were what many sword cultivators had painstakingly figured out. Diligently practicing the eighteen pauses would be a good foundation for future swordsmanship practice. Thinking this way, Chen Ping’an felt full of energy and strength.

Whenever he had free time, whether on the branches of a tall tree on a mountain peak or on the edge of a cliff overlooking the water,

the boy would stand alone, forming hand seals, and practice in silence, observing the mountains when there were mountains and listening to the water when there was water.