On the practice field, the children were once again prostrate on the ground, each sporting bruises and swelling. Forging their sinews and bones at the beginning of their martial training was definitely not a comfortable experience. Indulging in comfort when one should be enduring hardship, and enduring hardship when one should be indulging in comfort, was not an option.

Having been born in the Great Wall of Sword Qi and entering this Cold-Avoiding Palace, having learned fist techniques and martial arts, one had to adapt to enduring hardship and learn a skill.

Not all hardships in the world lead to eventual reward. The Martial Courage, unique to pure martial artists, could only be tempered from the bitterness of the gall.

The Hidden Officer, clad in a long cyan robe, remained calm and composed, saying, “Rest for the time it takes two incense sticks to burn.”

Chen Pingan sat cross-legged, his hands resting on his knees, palms facing upwards, and began to close his eyes to gather his spirit. All the children struggled to rise, forming a circle, adopting the same posture as the young Hidden Officer, closing their eyes and slowly adjusting their breathing.

Chen Pingan opened his eyes, commenting on each person’s punches, pointing out the good and the bad, the strengths and weaknesses. He did not favor Jiang Yun, despite his highborn background from the Tai Xiang Lane’s influential clan and his strong martial arts foundation, and would scold him if a punch was delivered weakly. He did not neglect Zhang Pan from Copper Coin Lane, despite his naturally weak physique and slow progress in learning fist techniques, and would praise him when a punch was well-executed. Nor did he intentionally lighten his strength when guiding Sun Qu and the tomboy from Jade Scepter Lane, just because they were girls.

In short, Chen Pingan wanted all the children to firmly remember one principle: the fist exists in the present moment, and a pure martial artist must first confront their own weaknesses.

Learning fist techniques begins with learning to be a person. Those who impart knowledge, regardless of whether they bear the title of master or teacher, must first teach people. Teaching people is not merely lecturing on principles. Even a humble teacher in a rural school, a flattering word to a wealthy man, a scornful glance or cold laugh directed at a poor child, silently observed and remembered by the children, could negate a thousand lectures on virtue from the books.

There are truths to be found within and without books, and everyone can be a teacher.

Chen Pingan fell silent.

According to custom, it was time for the children to ask questions.

Xu Gong, the child from Dusk Shade Lane, was the first to ask, “Mr. Chen, the fist follows a straight line, which is surely the fastest. If practicing stance work is to strengthen our sinews and bones and temper our bodies, why are there so many fist forms?”

Chen Pingan raised a hand, delivering a punch, suddenly striking and then abruptly halting, “Xu Gong, are you saying that a straight punch is the quickest way to reach an opponent, is that right?”

Xu Gong began to doubt himself.

Jiang Yun chuckled, “One punch and they’re down.”

Everyone in the Great Wall of Sword Qi knew that the young Hidden Officer was most “tender and protective of women,” otherwise, how would he have earned the nickname “One Punch Knockout” regarding the Second Manager?

As for why he was so ruthless to the Flowing White from the Barren Desolate World, it must be because that female Sword Cultivator wasn’t as beautiful as Yu Juanfu.

However, Jiang Yun suddenly recalled the scene of Yu Juanfu having her head slammed against the wall, and sighed, feeling he might have wronged the Second Manager.

Xu Gong looked flustered. He didn’t mean that at all. He wouldn’t dare to be disrespectful to Mr. Chen in the slightest, he wouldn’t dare, and he didn’t want to.

In Xu Gong’s mind, Mr. Chen’s image was that of a god, flawless and without blemish. In private chats with his two best friends, they all admired him to the point of obsession. That was why, when Guo Zhujiu was storytelling over there, they were the three most unwavering believers.

Xu Gong, hailing from Dusk Shade Lane, knew he wasn’t a child of a great clan like Jiang Yun. Since he didn’t have Jiang Yun’s talent and background, he and his two good friends, Zhang Pan and Tang Qu, often secretly practiced stance work at night, often encountering that tomboy, Yuan Zaohua. However, they overdid it, and these guys almost injured their bodies’ vital energy with their excessive training.

Chen Pingan maintained his punching posture, then raised his left hand, using his right arm as a path, pointing out, from the right fist to the wrist, forearm, shoulder, and then to the back, waist, and loins, highlighting each acupoint and explaining in detail the pure Qi circulation “pathway” of this straight punch, the subtle changes in every sinew, every bone, every muscle, with no omissions, explaining everything to the children in a clear and detailed manner. During this time, he also demonstrated the changes in fists and palms, breaking down each technique, including back elbow strikes, head-butting elbows, and shoulder charges, explaining their subtleties, how to generate power, and why to generate power, with thorough and accessible explanations.

After retracting his fist, Chen Pingan rested his hands on his knees, smiling, “So, fist techniques are at the bottom, fist intent is in the middle, and fist law is in the heavens.”

Jiang Yun, uncharacteristically, didn’t try to undermine him, frowning, “Fist techniques are the lowest? But I think fist pillars and fist stances all come from fist techniques, they’re very important.”

Chen Pingan smiled, raising a fist, twisting his wrist, changing the fist to a palm, the palm hovering just an inch above the ground, and then suddenly slamming down on the practice field.

The earth shook, and all the children jumped up almost simultaneously, each to a different height, their bodies swaying and staggering.

Then, as if suppressed by a charm, they landed with a thud, each struggling to breathe, feeling almost suffocated, their backs arched, unable to straighten up.

“Fist techniques are at the bottom, only in terms of position, a certain order, not that they are unimportant, quite the contrary, all fist laws start from the bottom, layer upon layer of fist stances rising higher, ultimately allowing our fist law to soar high in the heavens.”

Chen Pingan withdrew that invisible fist law intent, and all the children immediately felt relieved. Chen Pingan said to Yuan Zaohua and Zhang Pan, “Learning fist techniques requires constant mindfulness and caution, this is what the fist principle means by ‘the master leads you in, the disciple must be attentive.’ Yuan Zaohua, Zhang Pan, you two did well just now, showing that you were practicing stance work during the break, although you didn’t jump high, your seated postures were the most stable. Jiang Yun, although you jumped the lowest, your posture was scattered.”

Jiang Yun rolled his eyes, thinking that he was already used to the damned Hidden Officer making sarcastic remarks.

Zhang Pan, who was usually shy, looked excited.

The tomboy’s eyes were firm, and she pursed her lips tightly. After learning fist techniques, the little girl had changed greatly. Years ago, at the Great Wall of Sword Qi, when she first met the Second Manager, who had not yet become the Hidden Officer, she was a little girl who was the leader of a group of children, and her personality was actually much more outgoing.

Chen Pingan’s gaze swept over the crowd, and he leaned forward slightly, saying slowly to everyone, “Learning fist techniques is not just about throwing punches on the practice field. Breathing, footwork, diet, even noticing a flying bird, you may find it tiring at first, but it will become second nature. The human body is a small world, full of countless treasures, all your own. Unless one day you need to fight to the death, then no one can take them away.”
Chen Ping’an narrowed his eyes and said, “Then here’s the question. Once your fists become strong, and you decide to throw a punch, to settle a score with someone fairly, how do you do it?”

Jiang Yun shouted loudly, “Knock them down with one punch!”

Chen Ping’an smiled slightly, “You little rascal, haven’t you had enough?”

Jiang Yun crossed his arms, and said with a serious face, “My Lord Hidden Official, this time I’m not joking around. When a martial artist throws a punch, he has to have the air of being the best under heaven. Anyway, the martial dao I pursue is that anyone who opposes me will be half-scared to death before my punch even lands.”

Chen Ping’an smiled and stood up, “Alright, I’ll teach you. Now that you mention it, I’m reminded of a fist-asking match. Back then, I was at the sixth realm facing a tenth realm opponent. Now you use your third realm to face my seventh realm. The difference is four realms in both cases, so don’t say I’m bullying you.”

Jiang Yun immediately stood up.

Chen Ping’an pointed to the corner of the training ground, “You go stand over there by the wall first.”

Jiang Yun swaggered over, his back to the crowd. In truth, the boy was gritting his teeth, wishing he could slap himself. He could only tell himself to not lose face, even if he lost the match.

Chen Ping’an walked to the other side of the training ground, then suddenly changed his mind, “Everyone go over there together, stand in a row, don’t lean against the wall, three steps away from the wall.”

These children’s future lives would not be orderly, only encountering enemies with similar or slightly higher realms.

Whether it was himself or Granny Bai, suppressing their cultivation to teach boxing could help the children temper their muscles and bones, and sharpen their martial dao step by step. But on the path of cultivation, such good fortune doesn’t exist. No one wants to be someone else’s whetstone; most people want to step on stepping stones to ascend to the peak.

Chen Ping’an had demonstrated the aura, stance, and spirit of a peak third to seventh realm punch to them one by one.

Granny Bai had also personally demonstrated punches of the eighth, ninth, and tenth realms.

However, the children, including Jiang Yun, felt that although Granny Bai, who had fallen from the tenth to the ninth realm, currently had a higher realm, the vague “meaning” of the punch itself was more fascinating when displayed by the young Hidden Official.

However, previous martial practice was just practice, and the children were only spectators.

Today, Chen Ping’an wanted the children to stand in opposition to him, and personally experience that punch.

Back in the Northern Reed Continent, Senior Gu You blocked his path.

And asked for a fist-match.

The punch came without warning, and he was unprepared to receive it. Gu You’s sudden punch came suddenly, and Chen Ping’an was almost helpless.

Chen Ping’an stopped, calmed his mind, and was completely lost in himself, as if there was no one in front of him.

Jiang Yun, facing Chen Ping’an from afar, had sweat forming on his forehead. He subconsciously reminded everyone, “We all have to stand firm, no one can retreat, no one can lean against the wall. Even if we’re scared and wet our pants, we have to stand still!”

The little girl from Jade Tablet Street, Sun Qu, said in a trembling voice, “I’m already scared.”

Sun Qu, like Jiang Yun, was initially the least willing to learn boxing, because she had a younger sister named Sun Zao, who was a sword cultivator.

Yuan Zao whispered, “Then just focus on standing your ground and don’t think about anything else!”

Chen Ping’an didn’t rush to throw a punch.

This was even more torturous for the children standing by the wall. Since they were going to be stabbed sooner or later, it was better to get it over with than to have the other party slowly sharpening their knife to scare them.

A’liang said, “Guo Zhujiu, your master is teaching others boxing, but he’s also practicing boxing himself, and cultivating his heart in the process. This is a good habit. ‘Creating a Daoist temple in a snail shell’ isn’t entirely a derogatory term.”

Chen Ping’an had learned too many boxing techniques in the past, and needed to take this opportunity to reflect on them and refine them into one. Or, occasionally, he wouldn’t think about anything, just like how ordinary people use sleep as a form of rest, to calm his mind here. Teaching boxing, practicing boxing, cultivating his heart, and the occasional trip to the Cold Drought Palace, seemed like one thing, but were actually three things.

Teaching and feeding punches to these martial arts seeds of the Sword Qi Great Wall, more importantly, was to try to give all the children a relatively stable path of cultivation, which was originally a real distraction for a Hidden Official responsible for the direction of the war. But in the end, the result was not a loss.

Guo Zhujiu had taken off his book box and placed it beside his feet early on, and had been imitating his master’s punches from beginning to end, never idle. Hearing Senior A’liang’s words, he stopped his fist and stood still, saying, “Master has so much knowledge, I will learn it all, one by one.”

Granny Bai stood to the side and said softly, “If the young master throws this punch, I estimate that many children will collapse on the spot.”

A’liang smiled, “Being able to truly know where the fist is superior is a good thing.”

Back then, Senior Gu You, as the patriarch of the Mountain-Shaking Boxing Manual, saw that this pure martial artist from another continent happened to have a martial dao foundation based on Mountain-Shaking Boxing, so Gu You, as a tenth-realm martial artist, delivered a peak ninth-realm punch.

Chen Ping’an took a step forward, silently.

Taking six steps forward, in an instant, it was as fast as lightning. The entire training ground began to vibrate with ripples, and all directions were filled with rich boxing intent.

Sun Qu, who hoped to resist the fear in her heart by standing her ground, was immediately knocked back to reality after the training ground shook. Her stance was unstable, her state of mind was even more chaotic, and her face was full of horror.

After feeling the overwhelming boxing intent, Jiang Yun gave a light shout and stepped out heavily, opening his stance, using his own boxing intent to resist the boxing intent of heaven and earth. Seeing that Sun Qu was about to fall to the ground, Jiang Yun gritted his teeth, moved sideways, his face full of pain, and still stood in front of Sun Qu. After all, she was a little girl, and he, as a big man, had to protect her.

Xu Gong and Yuan Zao shouted almost at the same time, “Six-step stance!”

All the children had a tacit understanding and almost simultaneously advanced instead of retreating, wanting to use stance against stance.

A gale swept across their faces, and boxing intent pressed down on them.

It was not something they could achieve by advancing instead of retreating. At most, after taking two steps, everyone staggered back.

Sun Qu didn’t know how she mustered a bit of courage, and actually bypassed Jiang Yun in front of her, choosing to face that punch herself.

In an instant.

Including Jiang Yun, everyone was leaning against the wall, each with a pale face, sweating profusely, and some children with weak bodies had already fallen to the ground leaning against the wall.

Chen Ping’an stood in the center of the training ground, one hand behind his back, and the other hand clenched into a fist and placed on his abdomen, slowly exhaling a breath of stale air.
Quickly turning his head, he wiped away the blood flowing from his nose. Even delivering just half of this seemingly divine punch with his current physique was quite strenuous.

Chen Pingan turned his head and smiled, “Alright, everyone, that’s enough practicing for today.”

All the children were still dazed, not yet having regained their senses.

Chen Pingan remained silent for a moment, then suddenly chuckled, “After that punch, I have to say, my eye for selecting martial arts seeds is truly remarkable. In the future, when you journey through the world on your own, if you encounter martial artists of your generation, you can confidently say that your martial arts instructor was Bai Lian’shuang, a Tenth-Realm martial artist from the Great Wall of Sword Qi; the one who fed you punches was Chen Pingan from the vast world; and the one who watched you practice was the swordsman, A Liang.”

After bidding farewell to Granny Bai, Chen Pingan and A Liang left the Cold-Sheltering Palace on foot with Guo Zhujiu.

A Liang said, “Zhujiu, just now your master mentioned the person watching the practice, he only mentioned me, forgetting about you. Are you sad?”

Guo Zhujiu looked puzzled and said, “Master mentioned it, didn’t he? Senior A Liang, didn’t you hear it?”

A Liang was stunned, “How could I not have heard it?”

Guo Zhujiu said with a straight face, “I said it in my heart for Master.”

A Liang praised, “Zhujiu, this sword heart of yours is truly extraordinary.”

Chen Pingan laughed, “A Liang, how about the Eighteen Halts of Sword Qi? Can you teach it to my disciple?”

A Liang said helplessly, “I said I would teach her earlier, but Zhujiu didn’t care for it.”

A Liang smoothed his hair, “But Zhujiu said that my appearance and boxing skills are both good, such heartfelt words deserve Uncle A Liang shamelessly imparting this ultimate skill. But there’s no rush, I’ll visit the Guo residence later.”

Guo Zhujiu exchanged a glance with Chen Pingan, and they smiled knowingly.

Master, you understand.

Master, I understand.

Guo Zhujiu dared not linger, as she had snuck out by climbing the wall today and needed to return home.

After bidding farewell to her master and Senior A Liang, the little girl, carrying her walking staff and small bamboo box, ran off.

A Liang and Chen Pingan headed to Diezhang’s wine shop.

A Liang asked, “After the death of Sword Immortal Tao Wen, was the amount of immortal money exchanged with combat merits a bit too much?”

Chen Pingan didn’t conceal anything and said, “I also took some out.”

The wine shop, the gamble, all the immortal money that Chen Pingan had earned from the drunkards and gamblers at the Great Wall of Sword Qi over the years, plus the income from selling those seals and folding fans through the Yan Family’s shop, not a single snowflake coin was left. All of it was returned to the Great Wall of Sword Qi in the name of Sword Immortal Tao Wen’s inheritance. Of course, it wasn’t that Tao Wen wanted Chen Pingan to do this, but that Chen Pingan had intended to do so from the very beginning.

This was also the reason why Tao Wen was willing to entrust his affairs after death to the young Hidden Official.

To enter the eyes of a Sword Immortal, it could never be based on how much money one earned or how many beautiful words one spoke.

A Liang asked again, “That much immortal money is not a small sum, you just casually placed it on the table in the courtyard, allowing the sword cultivators to take it themselves, are you not worried? Is the Hidden Official lineage monitoring the situation over there?”

With the great battle temporarily over, the matter of sword cultivators nourishing their swords was of utmost importance. The way sword cultivators consumed money was notoriously unreasonable.

This was also why there were so many financially strapped Sword Immortals at the Great Wall of Sword Qi.

The higher the grade of one’s natal flying sword, and as a sword cultivator’s realm increased, apart from the few wealthy families on Tai Xiang Street, no one dared to say they had too much money.

Only when they weren’t at a bottleneck in their cultivation would sword cultivators have some spare cash to casually drink and gamble with.

So perhaps the vast majority of sword cultivators who went to Tao Wen’s residence to take money would only take what they currently needed, but it was also certain that some sword cultivators would secretly take more immortal money.

Chen Pingan shook his head and said, “No one is monitoring the situation there. Tao Wen didn’t care about these things, and I don’t either. It’s not a business transaction, there’s no need to be too calculating.”

A Liang nodded, “That’s how you should think, be more carefree.”

Chen Pingan took off the white jade hairpin from his hair.

A Liang took it and immersed himself in it, then chuckled in amusement, “What a crafty old scholar, he even deceived me back then.”

Chen Pingan didn’t even bother using heart-to-heart communication, and directly said, “In the previous duel with Li Zhen, I relied on this hairpin to turn the tide, otherwise, I wasn’t a sword cultivator at the time, I couldn’t have won against Li Zhen.”

The restrictions on the white jade hairpin had already been opened, so A Liang naturally saw everything clearly.

Chen Pingan said, “The passage of time within is completely opposite to many blessed lands and paradises. It’s roughly the equivalent of one month inside to one year outside.”

The white jade hairpin was an extremely strange blessed land, not large in area, only able to accommodate at most a hundred people living inside. The spiritual energy was also average, not considered a geomantic treasure at all, and to be precise, it wasn’t suitable for cultivators to cultivate in.

A Liang sighed, “The old scholar put so much thought into it.”

The old scholar had put in painstaking effort for his disciple, Qi Jingchun.

Hiding here, using it as a study was fine. One could read in peace, and after a hundred or several hundred years, the world might change, and perhaps the next time they returned to the vast world, it would be a completely different situation.

The old scholar’s earliest intention was most likely to drag things out until the Barbarian World attacked the Great Wall of Sword Qi. The Confucian school would open up the passage to the fifth world, adding a vast new world. With a larger chessboard and more territory for placing pieces, the hope for his disciple Qi Jingchun to gain a foothold would be greater.

The old scholar had probably made his plans when he left the Forest of Merit. He was willing to use the merit and virtue of opening up a world in exchange for a place for his disciple Qi Jingchun to stand in the human world.

Chen Pingan slowly said, “The teacher was such a teacher, so how dare I treat my own disciples and students perfunctorily now. Senior Brother Mao once said that the most nerve-wracking thing in the world is to impart knowledge, teach skills, and educate people. Because you never know which of your words will be remembered by a student for a lifetime.”

A Liang returned the white jade hairpin to Chen Pingan.

Chen Pingan put it back in his hair.

Eight small seal characters, *Yan Nian Junzi, Wen Qi Ru Yu.* (Thinking of the noble one, warm like jade).

A Liang held his hands behind his head, basking in the warm sun.

The young man beside him, in a long blue robe, with a white jade hairpin in his hair, wearing a pair of cloth shoes with a thousand layers of soles, and a sword-nurturing gourd hanging from his waist.

Chen Pingan suddenly asked, “A Liang, were you injured in the two consecutive fights?”

A Liang had left the city twice. The first time was fine, even the Sword Immortals guarding the city had seen a general outline.
However, on the second return to the battlefield, a Great Demon of the Throne Realm went all out, isolating Heaven and Earth.

Chen Ping’an couldn’t help but feel a little worried.

Unexpectedly, A Liang shook his head and said, “I wasn’t seriously injured. I just used some of my trump cards. Next time I go to the battlefield, I’ll definitely be targeted to death. It’s like the natal abilities of your two flying swords. If outsiders don’t know them, they’re key to victory. Once they know, it’ll be difficult to succeed next time. After all, we’re not wandering around the vast world, always encountering unfamiliar faces. The battlefield of the Great Wall of Sword Qi is both vast and small. I’m an old acquaintance with those Great Demons. I know their general methods. We’re resisting the entire Wilderness World, and the problem is that they don’t lack magical artifacts and immortal soldiers. Even if they don’t have them themselves, they can borrow them.”

Chen Ping’an was surprised and said, “This isn’t seriously injured?”

A Liang smiled and said, “Want me to show you a trick? After you’ve seen it, you’ll know why I can retreat unscathed.”

Chen Ping’an looked around. “Let’s not do it on the street.”

A Liang complained, “There’s no one around. What’s the point of showing off when it’s just you and me staring at each other?”

Chen Ping’an nodded and said, “If you dare to display it, I dare to learn it.”

A Liang stopped and gently tapped the ground with his toe.

Chen Ping’an didn’t understand and stopped, waiting with anticipation.

Suddenly, from the second floor of a tavern not far away, someone shouted angrily, “Damn you, pay back the money! I’ve seen people rigging bets, but I’ve never seen anyone running away and refusing to pay after losing!”

For a time, the tavern customers cheered loudly, knocking on bowls with chopsticks, slapping tables, and booing.

Chen Ping’an folded his hands in his sleeves, looking calm and collected, a small scene.

A Liang stretched his neck and shouted back, “I’m not paying back the money. I’m just helping you save it. Saving money is saving wine. You still have the nerve to scold me?”

The old sword cultivator was speechless for a moment.

Getting anxious, the old sword cultivator was about to spit in the damned guy’s face.

Unexpectedly, A Liang lightly stamped his foot.

A golden character appeared at the tip of his toe. Then, the characters strung together to form a small circle around A Liang’s feet.

All were the teachings of the sages.

Starting with a sentence from the Confucian Sage, the first circle.

Then, the supreme truth of Yin and Yang, as explained by the Daoists.

After that, there were Confucian classics about Heaven, Earth, and Man, followed by a larger circle, which contained different articles and poems about the changing seasons.

The Five Elements.

The Twelve Divisions of the Day.

The Twenty-Four Solar Terms.

The fundamental knowledge of the seventy-two sages worshiped in the Confucian Temples of the Central Land.

Circles of golden characters, from the inside out, layered upon layer, countless in number.

The opening or concluding words of countless scriptures and classics from the Three Teachings and the Hundred Schools of Thought, the generous words of hundreds and thousands of poets, virtuous men, famous ministers, generals, sword immortals, and heroes, all manifested as characters.

Chen Ping’an looked down, and the golden characters appeared too quickly. Each sentence contained too much meaning, so much so that even Chen Ping’an felt overwhelmed.

In an instant, the entire city was filled with dense golden characters.

Chen Ping’an even saw many beautiful sentences that he had once inscribed on bamboo slips.

He saw words from many Buddhist scriptures and Legalist classics, and the characters that Li Xisheng had drawn on the bamboo building walls.

A Liang slightly moved his mind, the phenomenon disappeared, and he smiled, “You only need to learn the general idea. After all, no one can become another person, and there’s no need to do so. I, A Liang, am A Liang, Xiao Qi is Xiao Qi, and you, Chen Ping’an, are Chen Ping’an.”

Chen Ping’an nodded.

A Liang then turned to look at the second floor. “What were you shouting about just now?”

The old sword cultivator said sincerely, “A Liang, do you want to drink? It’s on me.”

A Liang said, “What the hell do you take A Liang for? Am I the kind of person who owes money and still begs people for wine?!”

But his eyes were fixed on the old sword cultivator, showing no intention of leaving.

“Of course not!”

The old sword cultivator said righteously, waving one hand vigorously. A friend quickly tossed him a pot of wine. The old sword cultivator caught it and gently threw it out of the building with both hands, “A Liang, my brother, how long has it been since we met? I’ve really missed you. When you have time, I’ll set up a big table at Second Shopkeeper’s wine shop and we’ll drink our fill!”

After Chen Ping’an and A Liang, who had gotten a free pot of wine, left.

Back at the tavern, the old sword cultivator sat down and stroked his beard, laughing, “In the entire Great Wall of Sword Qi, who can collect debts like me, making A Liang put on such a big show to avoid paying? You guys are benefiting from it, so I won’t pay the bill today. Who’s going to settle it?”

A Liang walked on the road, drinking the immortal wine that someone insisted on giving him. He suddenly said, “Have you told Ning Yatou about that important matter?”

Chen Ping’an nodded and said, “I told her everything about the cause and effect. I think the closer you are to someone, the clearer you should explain things.”

A Liang laughed and said, “No wonder you’re the only one in the Wen Sheng lineage who isn’t a bachelor. There’s a reason for it.”

Chen Ping’an smiled and didn’t respond.

When they arrived at the wine shop, the business was booming, far better than elsewhere. Even though there were many wine tables, there were still no empty seats. Many people were squatting and sitting by the roadside, drinking.

A Liang squatted with Chen Ping’an by the roadside, drinking, with a bowl of noodles and a small plate of pickled vegetables in front of them.

The surroundings were noisy. The big and small drunkards who came to this shop were all carefree. If they weren’t, they probably wouldn’t be repeat customers. So, they didn’t take A Liang and the young Hidden Official too seriously and didn’t stand on ceremony.

A Liang held his wine bowl, picked up a piece of vegetable, and shuddered. It was really salty. He quickly rolled up a large mouthful of plain noodles.

Listening to some guys boasting that the food and wine here were great, some people who had just been brought here to drink gradually felt that the taste of the wine was really good.

A Liang wondered, “Are people working as shills for free these days?”

Chen Ping’an held the wine bowl with both hands, sipping the wine in small sips. After drinking a sip, he looked at the bustling crowd on the street.

Coming and going, stopping and walking, leisurely and hurried.

The people around him might leave tomorrow. The travelers might return home tomorrow.