Leaving the Yang family’s apothecary, Chen Pingan paid a visit to the old schoolhouse, neither abandoned nor in use, standing outside the window with his umbrella, gazing inside.

He seemed to hear the sound of reading aloud, just like when he was a child, squatting by the wall, listening to the teacher’s lectures.

Leaving the old schoolhouse, he went to the new schoolhouse established by the Chen clan of Dragon Tail Creek, far grander than the old one. Chen Pingan stopped outside the paifang archway, turned, and departed.

Walking through the area commonly known as Crab Alley in his hometown, Chen Pingan looked up, circling around, at the four plaques inscribed by the Sage himself, the Confucianist’s “Righteousness before Yielding,” the Buddhist’s “Seek Not Outside Yourself,” the Daoist’s “Great Words are Naturally Simple,” and the Military Strategist’s “A Qi Ascending to the Heavens.”

After the shattering and fall of the Li Zhu Grotto-Heaven, the Great Li Dynasty used secret techniques to imprint them layer by layer, stripping away all the spiritual essence contained within the words. These opportunities, he wondered, would fall into whose hands?

During this, he looked up at the character “Xi” (希, hope), and recalled what Cui Dongshan had said in his letter. Chen Pingan’s expression became obscured, his thoughts drifting.

Afterward, he passed by the Iron Chain Well, now purchased by a private individual, becoming a forbidden area, no longer allowing the local people to draw water, surrounded by a low fence.

Chen Pingan then thought of the young man from Fengwei Ferry who obtained the iron chain, a disciple of Liu Laocheng from Gongliu Island, a tall, gentle-natured youth in black robes. Not only did he think so, but even Pei Qian felt that the young man was a good person, so he must truly be good. Later, Chen Pingan dared to venture onto Gongliu Island, thanks to him. He felt that Liu Laocheng, who could teach such a disciple, couldn’t be rotten to the core. As it turned out, Chen Pingan’s gamble paid off, but the scheming and rivalry with Liu Laocheng, even after all this time, still made Chen Pingan feel lingering fear.

Chen Pingan suddenly smiled. For some reason, standing outside the fence looking at the well, he felt a bit like he did back in Upside-Down Mountain, looking at the “Heavenly Gate” leading to the Sword Qi Great Wall from afar. There was a sword-bearing man sitting on top of a stone monument, and a young Daoist acolyte sitting on a futon reading a book. Chen Pingan, having traveled to various places, felt that the only place that could compare to his small town in terms of hidden dragons and crouching tigers was Upside-Down Mountain. As the largest mountain-shaped seal under Heaven, it was indeed Dao Laoer’s masterful feat, reaching the heavens.

Chen Pingan looked up at the sky.

After retracting his gaze, he went to take a distant look at the Wen and Wu Temples, each dedicated to the ancestral founders of the Yuan and Cao families, one located on Old Porcelain Mountain, the other in God Burial Mound, both very particular choices.

Chen Pingan did not approach the ancestral temples, especially Old Porcelain Mountain, which he had never frequented since childhood, keeping a great distance. However, he spent a long time wandering around the newly renovated God Burial Mound. Many Bodhisattvas and Heavenly Official statues had been restored to their former glory by the skilled craftsmen of the Great Li Dynasty, each one re-erected. However, it was not yet fully completed, and many craftsmen were still busy on high wooden scaffolding.

It was said that the Great Li Dynasty planned to further expand the Wen and Wu Temples, and then house the Buddhist Bodhisattvas and Daoist Heavenly Officials in separate temples. At that time, the Wen and Wu Temples here, although county-level ancestral temples, would be the most magnificent and spectacular Wen and Wu Temples in the entire Great Li Dynasty. It would surely attract great incense offerings, with a constant stream of dignitaries and nobles coming to burn incense and pay their respects to the gods.

Initially, Chen Pingan entrusted Ruan Xiu to help, spending money to do this, repairing the statues and building shelters. However, it was soon taken over by the Great Li government, and thereafter, no private involvement was allowed. Chen Pingan had thrown three gold essence copper coins into three of the originally collapsed statues. Although Chen Pingan urgently needed these items now, he had no intention of tracing the clues. If they were still there, it would be fate, three portions of goodwill. If they were accidentally found by children or villagers, becoming their unexpected wealth, that would also be fate. However, Chen Pingan thought the latter possibility was more likely, after all, in recent years, the local people had searched high and low, turning everything upside down, scraping the ground, all to find ancestral treasures and rare and precious materials, and then take them to Niujiao Mountain’s Baofu Studio to sell for money, and then go to Longquan County to buy luxury mansions, adding maids and servants, each living a comfortable life that they would never have dared to dream of in the past.

Chen Pingan didn’t think it was wrong for them to do this, but he just felt that even if they wanted to sell, they should have waited a little longer, the price would only be higher. It was the same with immortal artifacts, selling a few years later could increase several times over.

Why did Niujiao Mountain’s Baofu Studio, like Qingfeng City’s Xu family, take the initiative to withdraw from Longquan County, abandoning a costly immortal ferry port, and giving it away to the Great Li Song family for nothing?

At first, Chen Pingan felt that Baofu Studio had bet wrong, betting on the Zhu Ying Dynasty. Now it seemed that it was very likely that it had purchased too many small town treasures at low prices, and the immortal money earned had become so much that even Baofu Studio itself felt uneasy. Therefore, when the situation in the central part of Baoping Continent became clear, Baofu Studio weighed the pros and cons, using an immortal ferry port to exchange a talisman from the Great Li iron cavalry for its various shops. It was also equivalent to continuing the relationship with the Great Li Song family, and in the long run, Baofu Studio might even earn more.

Chen Pingan felt that his idea was probably the truth.

Doing shady business with the government made money fast, but it also disappeared fast, ultimately not the right path. As for how to do legitimate business, Chen Pingan naturally didn’t know now. Presumably Sun Jiashu of Old Dragon City and Liu Chongrun of Zhuchai Island knew the rules inside better. He could ask them when he had the chance in the future.

The layout of God Burial Mound had changed a lot. Returning to the old place, many places he wanted to go to were inaccessible, but places he couldn’t go to in the past now had pavilions and viewing platforms.

Chen Pingan rested in a small pavilion with upturned eaves.

Among the many helpers of the craftsmen, there were many Lu氏 (Lu Family) remnants who had migrated to Longquan County in the past. Chen Pingan had seen many convicts in the past. When the Mountain God Temple and incense-burning paths were built in Luopo Mountain, there were convicts among them. Compared to the group of remnants who were busy working at God Burial Mound now, most of them were teenagers and young adults, still not speaking much, but they no longer had the kind of heart-death ashes of the past. Probably, year after year, they each eked out a small hope in the hard days.

Yu Lu, Xie Xie, one a prince of the fallen Lu氏 Dynasty, one a heaven’s chosen of the immortal families in the mountains, can not be said to be fish that escaped the net, but were actually chess pieces selected by both Cui Chan and the Great Li Empress, a behind-the-scenes exchange of deals, which resulted in them both becoming students of the Cliff Academy of the Great Sui Dynasty. Yu Lu and Gao Xuan were very close, a bit like fellow sufferers, one exiled to a foreign land, one serving as a hostage in an enemy country.

As for Xie Xie, he was indeed terribly bullied by Cui Dongshan in the past few years.
However, just as the old man Cui wouldn’t interfere in matters between Chen Ping’an and Pei Qian, Chen Ping’an wouldn’t presume upon being Cui Dongshan’s “teacher” to dictate or criticize.

How to bestow kindness upon others is a profound and intricate art.

The words “I thought” cannot mend all the consequences brought about by good intentions gone awry.

The area where he once fought Ma Kuxuan had undergone a dramatic transformation, now inaccessible to outsiders. Wei Bo had mentioned that the Immortal Cemetery and Old Porcelain Mountain were open for daytime visits without restriction, but at night, Yin-Yang and Moist scholars would appear to set up formations, responsible for connecting the mountain’s roots and water veins, making nighttime strolls unsuitable.

Unable to revisit the “battlefield ruins” where he risked his life against Ma Kuxuan, Chen Ping’an felt a tinge of regret. He walked slowly along a familiar route that often appeared in his dreams. Halfway there, Chen Ping’an crouched down, picked up a handful of soil, paused for a moment, and then continued on his way. He went to the sword-forging workshop that hadn’t been moved to Divine Show Mountain. He heard that a woman expelled from the Wind and Snow Temple had recognized Ruan Qiong as her master and was cultivating here, also guarding the “family business.” She had even cut off the thumb of her sword-wielding hand to prove to Ruan Qiong that she had severed ties with the past. Chen Ping’an walked slowly along the Dragon Beard River, knowing he was destined not to find another snake gallstone. Opportunities were fleeting. Chen Ping’an still had a few top-grade snake gallstones, five or six perhaps? As for the ordinary snake gallstones, once abundant, now only a few remained.

Chen Ping’an didn’t return to Fallen Mountain. Instead, he crossed the stone arch bridge that had been stripped of its railings and restored to its original state, going to find the small temple. Back then, many names were written on the temple walls, including his own, Chen Ping’an, along with Liu Xianyang and Gu Can, all clustered together at the top of a blank space. The ladder was stolen by Liu Xianyang, and the charcoal was brought by Gu Can from home. But when he arrived, he found that the small temple where people rested was gone, as if it had never existed. He then remembered that it had probably been taken into Yang the Elder’s possession. He just wondered what secrets lay within.

Returning to the banks of the Dragon Beard River, Chen Ping’an went downstream. The road on the opposite side had been widened into one of the Dragon Spring County post roads. It was the road Chen Ping’an took when he first left home for a long journey. In the beginning, he was only accompanied by a little girl in a red cotton-padded jacket.

He took care of the little girl all the way, passing through green hills and clear waters.

But in truth, wasn’t it the little girl who silently supported the mind of the mud-legged young junior uncle, allowing him to travel far from home and never give up?

Chen Ping’an passed a water god shrine that had been incorporated into the orthodox system by the Great Li Dynasty. It had almost no incense offerings and its status was strange, seemingly only having a golden statue and a shrine, not even as good as the licentious shrines in other countries’ regions. Because it didn’t even have a proper plaque, few people could figure out whether it was a river god temple or a river hag shrine at the bottom of the divine hierarchy. However, the river god temple on the Iron Talisman River further down was built magnificently. The people of the small town would rather travel an extra hundred miles to burn incense and pray to the Iron Talisman River Goddess. Of course, there was also a most important reason. According to the old people of the small town, the statue of the goddess in the shrine looked too much like an old aunt from Apricot Blossom Lane when she was young. The old people, especially the old women in the streets and alleys, would seize every opportunity to tell their younger generations not to go to burn incense, as it was easy to attract evil.

Chen Ping’an did not enter the shrine and continued on, intending to walk all the way to the Iron Talisman River God Temple.

The Iron Talisman River was now a top-tier river of the Great Li Dynasty, with a revered divine status. Therefore, the ceremonial standards were extremely high, much higher than the Embroidered Flower River and the Jade Liquid River. If Dragon Spring were not just a county, then it would not be County Governor Wu Yuan, but rather the regional governor, who would personally come here every year to worship the river god, praying for favorable weather and no droughts or floods for the people of the jurisdiction. In contrast, for the Embroidered Flower and Jade Liquid rivers, it was enough for the local prefect to personally visit the river god temple. Occasionally, when busy with affairs, having subordinate officials to worship was not considered an offense.

After Chen Ping’an walked away, inside the shrine without a plaque behind him, the clay statue with sparse incense offerings rippled, water mist filled the air, revealing the face of a young woman. She sighed and frowned, her face full of worry.

The almost nonexistent incense offerings made her unable to help but complain against heaven and earth. But after cursing for a while, she lost the spirit she used to have when scolding people in Apricot Blossom Lane. Truly, hunger cures all ailments.

Chen Ping’an quickened his pace, walking faster and faster.

Finally, he began practicing the six-step stance. He had stopped practicing the three fist stances of the Mountain Shaking Manual for three whole years, and he was slightly rusty.

According to the old man Cui’s expert assessment, Chen Ping’an’s physical condition was a mix of good and bad. The good was that his martial artist’s physique, dormant for three years in the Bamboo Scroll Lake, still had a solid foundation. The Fire Dragon True Man of Northern Club Reed Continent’s three “guidances” from the air were extremely beneficial. Otherwise, Chen Ping’an would have likely walked into Green Gorge Island and left Bamboo Scroll Lake on a stretcher.

However, the path of cultivation was full of trials and tribulations. After shattering the golden scholarly mind, the aftereffects were immense. Back then, he had created natal treasures of the five elements as the key to rebuilding the bridge of longevity.

The higher the rank, the greater the connection. After the collapse, the higher you climb, the harder you fall. This was similar to the sword immortal’s grace that the old man Cui had witnessed time and time again, which would poke holes in Chen Ping’an’s state of mind. Rebuilding after shattering was even more difficult. Therefore, refining the third natal treasure had become an urgent matter.

Therefore, in the secret letter left in the bamboo building, Cui Dongshan changed his original intention and suggested that his teacher, Chen Ping’an, choose the soil from the Great Li’s New Five Peaks for the five elements earth natal treasure, which Chen Ping’an had initially given up on. Cui Dongshan did not elaborate on the reasons, only saying that he wanted his teacher to trust him this once. As the “national teacher” of Great Li, once he annexed the entire Treasure Bottle Continent and it became part of Great Li, he would naturally have already planned which five mountain peaks to choose as the New Five Peaks. For example, in Great Li’s Dragon Spring County, Mount Pi Yun would be promoted to the Northern Peak. In the entire Great Li, the number of people who knew about this, including the late Emperor Song Zhengchun, could be counted on one hand.
The Central Peak was none other than the old Central Peak of the Zhu Ying Dynasty. Not only that, but the mountain deity who had been forced to change allegiance due to the prevailing circumstances was still able to maintain his ancestral temple and golden statue, taking things a step further by becoming the Central Peak of an entire continent. In return, this “as-is” deity had to help the Song Clan of Great Li stabilize the mountain and river fortune of their new dominion. Any cultivator within its jurisdiction could receive the protection of the Central Peak, but they must also be subject to its constraints. Otherwise, they should not blame the iron cavalry of Great Li for turning hostile and even dismantling its golden statue.

The heroic Moist Xu Ruo was personally responsible for this matter, stationed near the mountain temple.

When the time came, Ruan Qiong would also leave Dragon Spring County and head to the new Western Peak, not too far from the Wind and Snow Temple. The new Western Peak, named Ganzhou Mountain, had never been among the local Five Peaks, and this elevation could be considered an ascension to heaven in a single bound.

A group of first-class Great Li enshrined cultivators, all earth immortals of the Golden Core and Nascent Soul realms, would go to the new Eastern Peak, named Qi Mountain, to patrol the border together, preventing any remnant cultivators from the fallen kingdoms, resisting to the bitter end, from infiltrating and destroying the local landscape at the cost of their lives.

As for the Southern Peak, Fan Junmao would be the proper mountain deity there.

Regarding the selection of the location for the new Southern Peak of Great Li, Cui Dongshan kept it a secret, saying that the master could wait and see, and then would understand what “accumulating soil to form a mountain” meant.

Therefore, Cui Dongshan frankly stated in his letter that he would take this opportunity to dig up soil from the roots of the other four new peaks early on. “Is what a scholar does considered stealing?” Besides, even if the master ultimately still did not want to select the five-colored soil from the mountains as his next natal treasure, the basket after basket of rare soil should at least fill a dimension artifact. This was a considerable sum of “Minor Heat” money, not to be missed while the security was lax. As for Wei Bo of the Northern Peak, since you and the master were of one mind, what was the need for formality?

Chen Ping’an had unknowingly arrived at the solemn Jiang River God Temple.

The incense here was not too vigorous, not as popular as the Buried River Water God Temple, where more than a thousand pilgrims were waiting outside late at night, eagerly waiting to enter the temple to burn incense. After all, the population around Dragon Spring County was still small. When Dragon Spring was upgraded from a county to a prefecture, and the Great Li court continued to immigrate people here, one could imagine the lively scene of this Great Li Jiang River God Temple at that time.

Chen Ping’an hesitated for a moment and stepped inside. The ancient cypresses were lush, mostly transplanted from the mountains to the west.

When he reached the main hall, Chen Ping’an stepped over the threshold and looked up at the painted clay statue, four zhang high, lifelike, with colorful ribbons swirling around it, as if about to ascend.

The height of the golden statue largely meant the position of a deity in the mountain and river records of a kingdom.

Like the ancestral temple Chen Ping’an passed by earlier, the statue was only a little over one zhang high.

Chen Ping’an knew the secrets here.

The Jiang River God’s original name was Yang Hua. She was once the personal maid of the Great Li empress, holding an ancient sword with a golden tassel. However, later, for some unknown reason, she gave up her human body, died, and became a deity, the spirit of this river. She endured great pain in the water, and when she fashioned her golden statue, she once attracted strange phenomena. The quality of the golden statue was extremely high, which made the Great Li court extremely重视. First, the river was elevated to a river, and then the Water God was directly promoted to the highest position among the Jiang River Gods.

Chen Ping’an neither requested incense nor made any respectful gestures. After staying for a while, he left the main hall and walked out of the vast temple, returning the way he came.

From beginning to end, the Jiang River God Temple was silent, with only wisps of incense smoke.

This time, Chen Ping’an did not bother Wei Bo. By the time he walked back to the Fallen Mountain, it was already dusk on the second day. During this time, he also visited several mountain peaks along the way. He had obtained several bags of golden refined copper coins that year, and Ruan Qiong suggested that he buy mountain peaks. Chen Ping’an took the surveying and mapping map drawn by the Kiln Affairs Supervision Department and traveled all over the mountains, finally choosing five mountain peaks, including Fallen Mountain and True Pearl Mountain. Looking back now, it was like a lifetime ago.

After Chen Ping’an climbed the mountain, he first went to the bamboo building. The monk could run away, but the temple couldn’t. He couldn’t hide from the old man every day. Besides, he couldn’t escape if the old man really wanted to beat him.

Chen Ping’an wrote several letters on the first floor, planning to send them to the Cliff Academy, Liu Zhimao and Gu Can of Qingxia Island, and the villa where Song Yushao of Shushui Kingdom was located. Among them, the letter to Gu Can also needed to help deliver a message to Liu Chongrun of Zhuchai Island. As for the flying sword message sent to Liu Zhimao, it mentioned the situation of Hong Su, the female official of the Spring Court Prefecture.

Liu Zhimao survived a great disaster, and now he has not only safely walked out of the water prison on Gongliu Island and returned to Qingxia Island, but also transformed into an enshrined guest of the Yu Gui Sect’s lower sect, ranking third. The many forces in the Book Slip Lake that kicked Qingxia Island when it was down will probably suffer. As for the disciples and enshrined guests within Qingxia Island, they will probably suffer even more, such as Tian Hujun, the Golden Core cultivator from Su Lin Island, a clever man whose every plan was based on the premise that his master, Liu Laocheng, would die.

Therefore, the old saying that it is wise to leave a way out is still very reasonable.

The last letter was written to Zhong Kui of Taiping Mountain in Tongye Continent and needed to be sent to Old Dragon City first, and then sent across the continent by flying sword. Other letters could be successfully delivered within the continent as long as they were not too remote or belonged to mountains with weak forces. It’s just that the flying swords of the Sword Room are now firmly controlled by the Great Li military, so it is still necessary to flaunt Wei Bo’s banner. There’s no other way. If it were Ruan Qiong, there would be no need to go to so much trouble. In the end, the Fallen Mountain has not yet become a powerful force.

After writing the letters, he found Pei Qian and Zhu Lian and asked them to send them to Niujiao Mountain.

Pei Qian was in high spirits.

She wanted to call Qingyi Little Boy and the pink-skirted girl to travel together, for sharing the joy was better than enjoying it alone.

However, Chen Ping’an stopped them. Pei Qian had to go down the mountain with the old chef, but asked her master if she could lead the Qu Huang horse. Chen Ping’an said yes, and Pei Qian swaggered out of the courtyard.

She originally thought that she could only ask her master for a little donkey when she ventured into the Jianghu next time. She didn’t expect to be able to ride a tall horse now. Maybe she shouldn’t bother venturing into the Jianghu in the future. Isn’t wandering around the Fallen Mountain on horseback also considered venturing into the Jianghu? And she doesn’t have to encounter so many bad people she doesn’t like. She can run back to the Fallen Mountain when she’s hungry, and she doesn’t have to worry about food or clothing. This kind of Jianghu may be small, but she likes it very much.

Zheng Dafeng was no longer on the mountain. He said he was going to settle a few accounts in Dragon Spring County and then come to live on the Fallen Mountain. It was estimated that Zheng Dafeng owed a lot of money to restaurants and inns, so he borrowed money from Zhu Lian. As for whether he would pay it back and when, only God knew.
The young maiden named Cen Yuanji stood in the courtyard, flustered, her face flushed crimson, unable to look directly at the down-on-his-luck young mountain master of Luopo Mountain.

Chen Ping’an, of course, didn’t mind the misunderstanding. To be honest, he had initially indulged in a bit of wishful thinking, mistaking Zhu Lian’s words for a prophecy. He hadn’t expected the innocent girl to deliver such a blow. Chen Ping’an even felt a twinge of disappointment.

It wasn’t that Chen Ping’an was truly lecherous, but what man wouldn’t appreciate being regarded as handsome and pleasing to the eye?

Chen Ping’an didn’t intentionally give Cen Yuanji the cold shoulder. He reiterated the words he had spoken outside the Cen family gate in Longquan County. Now that she had arrived at Luopo Mountain to learn martial arts, there had to be rules. It was best to clarify everything with Zhu Lian first, and then within the bounds of those rules, she could say or do whatever she pleased without fear. Moreover, even if she were punished in the future and felt she was wronged, she shouldn’t worry. She could come directly to him, Chen Ping’an, to reason things out. No one would stop her. If she was right, Chen Ping’an would acknowledge her logic.

Cen Yuanji nodded, somewhat dazed, and remained silent.

She felt both relieved and worried. Relieved that Luopo Mountain wasn’t a dragon’s den or a tiger’s lair, but worried that, aside from the old immortal Zhu Lian, the young mountain master, the mountain master’s first disciple, and the two green-clad and pink-skirted little book servants were all very different from the mountain-dwelling cultivators she had imagined. The only one who resembled her image of an immortal, “Wei Bo,” wasn’t even a cultivator from Luopo Mountain.

As for the old man named Shi Rou, he was taciturn and even stranger, giving her the creeps.

Cen Yuanji sighed inwardly. Never mind, she’d just focus on practicing martial arts.

Chen Ping’an, accompanied by the green-clad boy and the pink-skirted girl, walked toward the stone table on the cliff near the bamboo building.

The pink-skirted girl sat beside Chen Ping’an, on the north side, so as not to obstruct his view of the south.

The green-clad boy sat opposite Chen Ping’an. He reached out his hand, and the pink-skirted girl produced a handful of melon seeds. Having spent so much time with Pei Qian, who loved to munch on melon seeds, she had become somewhat like a melon seed vendor.

Chen Ping’an said earnestly, “It’s not right that you still don’t have formal names. Luopo Mountain might become a sect someday, perhaps even have an ancestral hall. However, you should keep your true, innate names well hidden. I haven’t asked you about them all these years, and I won’t in the future. Even if Luopo Mountain becomes a true cultivation mountain in the future, it still won’t demand them. I can say this now: if anyone ever gossips about it and makes a fuss, you can tell me, and I’ll have a word with them. But for names that can be recorded on the ancestral hall’s genealogy in the future, you’ll need to have some. So, do you have any nicknames you like?”

For mountain and river spirits and demons, the so-called innate name must be carefully engraved somewhere in the heart-lake, heart-chamber, or heart-field.

Especially after transforming into human form, this name is indispensable, equivalent to “announcing it to the world,” like the name of a newly established nation.

Esoteric knowledge stated that if a spirit or demon refused to be “recorded,” it would be rejected by the Grand Dao of the Vast World, encountering constant hardship. Many mountain and marsh spirits far from the human world, unaware of this principle, found it extremely difficult to achieve enlightenment. Without anyone informing them of this on their cultivation path, they stumbled and bumbled for hundreds or thousands of years, remaining nameless and slowly breaking through realms, unrecognized by the Vast World – a fundamental reason for their lack of progress.

However, once a cultivator obtained a spirit or demon’s true name, it would be like grasping a major weakness.

Therefore, Chen Ping’an had never inquired about the green-clad boy’s and pink-skirted girl’s true, innate names.

Chen Ping’an suddenly smiled, brimming with confidence. “If you can’t think of any yourselves, it’s fine. I can help you come up with names. I’m good at that.”

The green-clad boy, who had been shaking his head and munching on melon seeds, looked as if he had been struck by lightning. He dropped the melon seeds on the table, propped his hands on the stone surface, and wailed, “Absolutely not! I can think of a name slowly on my own. Master, you’re already working so hard; please don’t trouble yourself any further…”

Even the pink-skirted girl, the one closest to Chen Ping’an, her chubby little face turned stiff.

Chen Ping’an glanced at the green-clad boy, then at the pink-skirted girl. “Really? You don’t want my help? You’ll miss this chance, so don’t regret it later.”

The green-clad boy quickly rubbed his cheeks and muttered, “Damn, a narrow escape.”

The pink-skirted girl, afraid of upsetting her master, pretended not to be so happy, keeping a straight face.

Chen Ping’an, still not giving up, tentatively asked, “On the way back, I came up with some good names. How about you listen to them first?”

The green-clad boy was on the verge of tears. “Master, I’ve heard that a scholar’s knowledge diminishes with use. Four swords, the first and fifteenth of the month, vanquishing demons and monsters… your learning and talent must be almost exhausted already, Master. Please save it up.”

The green-clad boy slammed his head on the stone table, feigning death. But, feeling bored, he occasionally reached out to grab a melon seed, tilting his head slightly to sneakily crack it open.

Chen Ping’an sighed. “Alright then. If you ever regret it, just tell me.”

The green-clad boy, his face pressed against the table, made a face at the pink-skirted girl.

The pink-skirted girl covered her mouth and giggled.

Chen Ping’an smiled gently and ruffled her little head.

On the journey back, Chen Ping’an had ridden his horse, carefully reading the beautiful words on the bamboo slips, all for the sake of giving these two little ones good-sounding names.

What a pity. The hero had no place to display his talents.

After discussing the serious matters, the two little ones excused themselves and scurried away.

Chen Ping’an chuckled helplessly.

Sitting there alone, he picked up the melon seeds the green-clad boy hadn’t finished, one by one, and cracked them open.

The matter of him signing the mountain contract with the Song clan of Great Li would involve a Ministry of Rites Vice Minister.

Chen Ping’an clapped his hands and pulled out the Night-and-Day Wandering God True Form Talisman, feeling somewhat hesitant.

Wei Bo had said that although the Li clan of Fortune Street had a decent foundation, the Li clan’s ancestor had forced his way through the Golden Core bottleneck, ascending to the Nascent Soul realm in one fell swoop, which had depleted a great deal of the family’s resources. Moreover, this “extremely young” Nascent Soul cultivator, relative to other cultivators, had become accustomed to the small world of the Hidden Dragon Jewel Cave after the restrictions were broken. The benefits of the past had now become a calamity in the Vast World. His foundation was too shallow, his realm too high, resulting in a perilous situation of seawater flowing backward, requiring the consumption of immortal money to build dikes and prevent the constant invasion of Yin Sha turbid Qi.
Furthermore, the Li Clan is currently taking over a dilapidated mansion belonging to the descendants of a fallen noble in the capital of Great Li, expenses of this nature being immense. Thus, the Li family is truly short on silver at present.

The original four major families and ten prominent clans of Fortune Street and Peach Leaf Lane in the small town have undergone a great transformation.

Some have already moved away and vanished without a trace. Some have sunk into obscurity, their silence masking either the amassing of power or the hidden wounds sustained in secret schemes. And some families, not originally ranked among them, such as the Xie Clan of Peach Leaf Lane, which produced the long-browed beauty, thanks to the appearance of an ancestral patriarch, Xie Shi, a Heavenly Sovereign of the Northern Ju Continent, is now a leading clan in Peach Leaf Lane.

Upstairs on the second floor, the old man said, “Starting tomorrow, practice your fists.”

Chen Ping An responded and stood up, heading to the small pond behind the bamboo building. The pond water was crystal clear. Since Wei Bo had created this pond, the source of the living water was no small matter, flowing directly from Mount Pi Yun. He then tossed the golden lotus seed into it.

Chen Ping An squatted beside the pond, gently patting the ground with his hand, and said with a smile, “Come out.”

A little lotus person emerged from the soil, without a speck of mud on its body, giggling and tugging at Chen Ping An’s azure robe, instantly sitting on Chen Ping An’s shoulder.

Chen Ping An had already spoken to Wei Bo, asking him to help look after the little lotus person. Wei Bo’s eyes were dazed at the time, and he simply nodded.

Chen Ping An watched the small pond for a while, though of course, no flower bloomed.

Chen Ping An stood up, carrying the little lotus person towards the first floor, which served as Chen Ping An’s formal residence.

Many items remained here. When Chen Ping An was not on Fallen Mountain, the pink-skirted girl would clean everything until it was spotless, and she would not allow the azure-robed boy to enter casually.

Chen Ping An sat at the table and suddenly smiled. Still clad in azure, why not act as an accountant once more? Carefully tally the family’s current possessions?

The little lotus person jumped onto the table and began running around, inspecting whether the items and books on the table were arranged neatly. It scrutinized everything meticulously, and if anything was out of place, it would gently move it, the little fellow being extremely busy.

Chen Ping An suddenly noticed a seal box on the table. Opening it, he found a personal seal inside, which he had not carried with him during his travels. By chance, it could be considered the treasure of Fallen Mountain.

Chen Ping An raised the seal high, on which three characters were engraved in seal script.

Chen Shi Yi. (陳十一)

Chen Ping An simply gazed at those three ancient seal characters.

Chen Ping An placed the seal horizontally on the table, rested his chin on his folded arms, and stared at the seal script on the bottom of the seal.

Chen Ping An sat up, twisted his wrist, and controlled his mind, “retrieving” the Water Character Seal, his natal treasure, from his natal Water Mansion, and gently placed it beside the other.

The two seals were finally no longer solitary.

Chen Ping An leaned back on the table again, muttering to himself, “I hope that one day, when someone tries to reason with me unreasonably, they will first ask my fists and sword whether they agree. But now my fist techniques are not high, and my swordsmanship is not accomplished. Half of the ten-year agreement has already passed. What to do?”

At that moment, the sword immortal within the sheath on his back, like a dragon having its eyes dotted in, echoed on the wall.