Unsheathed

Chapter 420 (3): Unchanged

Xu Ruo shot a glance at the shop counter, and Dong Shuijing immediately understood his intentions and walked over to grab a pot of wine, placing it on the table in front of the Mohist cultivator.

Xu Ruo drank some rice wine, and the fragrance of the wine lingered in his mouth as he explained, "One needs to be hardworking when running a small business, and one naturally needs to remain hardworking even when one's business grows bigger. However, the importance of information will also grow greater and greater. You need to discover the details that everyone else glosses over, and you need to uncover the information hidden inside these details. There will eventually come a day when you can take advantage of this information.

"You don't need to feel resistant to this practice. Heaven and earth are vast, and telling you to uncover this information isn't telling you to go out and engage in harmful business. Engaging in positive business is always about being able to benefit all parties involved."

Dong Shuijing nodded in understanding.

"What do you think about the personalities displayed to you by Wu Yuan, County Magistrate Yuan, Kiln Supervision Official Cao, and Gao Xuan?" Xu Ruo asked.

"Prefectural Overseer Wu is gentle, County Magistrate Yuan is rigorous, Kiln Supervision Official Cao is relaxed, and Gao Xuan is carefree," Dong Shuijing replied slowly.

"Why do you say this?" Xu Ruo asked.

Dong Shuijing had the answers in his mind already, so he didn't hesitate at all as he answered, "Prefectural Overseer Wu's master, Imperial Preceptor Cui Chan, is displaying his impressive abilities right now, so Prefectural Overseer Wu has to remain grounded. He can't get ahead of himself and overstep the boundaries, lest he invite unwanted jealousy and conflicts.

"The Yuan Clan has always had a culture of care and rigor, and if I remember correctly, their clan precepts contain the phrase 'conceal wind and gather water.'[1] Many descendants of the Cao Clan are members of the border army, and their clan culture is also relatively relaxed and open.

"As for Gao Xuan, it's inevitable that he, a prince of the Great Sui Nation, feels slightly disheartened about being sent here as a royal hostage. Even if he feels furious on the inside, he's at least displaying a demeanor of calm and carefree on the outside."

"This is correct, but in reality, this is only the surface-level appearance," Xu Ruo said. "You're able to notice, and many other people are able to notice it as well. As such, this can't be regarded as information that will help you grow your wealth. You need to dig deeper and analyze further, and you need to consider the long-term state of the imperial court as well as the trend of the empire. This information might not help your businesses right now, but once you develop a habit of discovering this information, you'll ultimately be able to reap benefits for an entire lifetime."

"I understand," Dong Shuijing replied with a nod.

Xu Ruo smiled and continued, "I'm not a genuine saber-lending cultivator, so the things I can teach you are also very limited and shallow. However, you possess the talent to understand both simple and profound principles. I'll be visiting you less and less in the future, and in some sense, I can also be regarded as 'information' that belongs to you. I'm not trying to brag, but this is unique news that's quite significant. So, if you ever come across any insurmountable challenge in the future, you can naturally do business with me as well. There's no need to feel embarrassed about this."

Dong Shuijing nodded in response.

Xu Ruo retrieved a Peace and Safety Tablet and said, "With the current state of your business, you don't actually possess the right to own this Peace and Safety Tablet of the Great Li Empire. However, I've obtained several Peace and Safety Tablets over the years, and leaving them in my hands is completely useless. As such, I've decided to give all of them away. Just treat this as me having a discerning eye and having high hopes for you, and that I'll be seeking dividends from you in the future. Take a trip to the prefectural office tomorrow, and the local officials as well as the Ministry of Rites of the imperial court will make official records pertaining to your possession of a Peace and Safety Tablet."

Dong Shuijing didn't turn down Xu Ruo's offer, and he immediately accepted the Peace and Safety Tablet and carefully placed it into a pocket.

It wasn't an exaggeration to say that this Peace and Safety Tablet was worth as much as several cities.

Casting one's gaze across the vast northern region of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, countless emperors, officials, official immortals, vagrant cultivators, and deities hoped dearly to obtain a Peace and Safety Tablet.

"I hear that your future father-in-law went to the Parasol Leaf Continent and appeared in this small town, his hometown, when returning to the Northern Complete Reed Continent. Did you take this opportunity to visit him?" Xu Ruo asked in a teasing manner.

Dong Shuijing didn't know whether to laugh or to cry, and he replied in helplessness, "Uncle Li had already left the small town by the time I learned of his visit."

Xu Ruo smiled and asked, "Do you want to know how your rival, Lin Shouyi, is doing at Mountain Cliff Academy?"

"Yes, I do," Dong Shuijing replied with a nod.

Xu Ruo smiled and remained silent.

"How much money?" Dong Shuijing directly asked.

Xu Ruo reached over and caused a pot of rice wine to fly over from behind the counter and into his hand, replying, "He's yet to reach the Upper Five Tiers, but he's rapidly gaining renown in the capital of the Great Sui Nation already. If you don't work hard and allow Lin Shouyi to advance to the Upper Five Tiers first, then you'll essentially be allowing huge amounts of fated opportunities to rush toward him. Perhaps he'll be able to earn hundreds of thousands of taels of gold and silver with a single snap of his fingers. At that time, it's very possible that he'll end up overtaking you."

Dong Shuijing hesitated for a moment before saying, "I naturally don't want to lose to Lin Shouyi. However, how much or how little one earns has no bearing on some matters."

Xu Ruo smiled and stood up with the pot of rice wine in his hand, replying, "Having is better than not having, and having more is better than having less. There are many problems that money seemingly can't resolve, but at the end of the day, it's simply the case that one doesn't have enough money yet."

Dong Shuijing also stood up, asking, "Mr. Xu, why is it that you still haven't told me about the true purpose of saber-lending cultivators even until today? Why have you only taught me some Commercialist techniques?"

Xu Ruo chuckled and retorted, "Only?"

Dong Shuijing was slightly puzzled.

Xu Ruo didn't say anything else as he left the wonton shop.

Dong Shuijing cleaned the table and dishes and closed his shop for the day, after which he descended the mountain and returned to the prefectural city of the Dragon Spring Prefecture.

The young man viewed himself as someone who reeked of copper, and he treated the stars and moon as his cloak as he walked through the night.

————

At the Dragon Spring Sword Sect, Sect Leader Ruan Qiong had recently taken in a dozen or so unofficial disciples, causing the previously empty mountains to finally become a tad more lively.

Many outsiders engaged in spirited discussions, speculating how many of these unofficial disciples Sage Ruan Qiong would eventually take as in-house disciples.

It was thanks to the Great Li Empire's Imperial Song Clan regarding Ruan Qiong, the sword-forging sage, very highly that he had temporarily taken so many unofficial disciples. The imperial court had especially chosen a dozen talented children and teenagers and even dispatched a squad of one thousand elite cavalry to guard them, bringing them to the entrance of the Dragon Spring Sword Sect located at the foot of a mountain.

Ruan Qiong had been forging a sword at the time, so he hadn't descended the mountain to greet them. Instead, the group of new disciples had been greeted by a young man in black who had just advanced to the Golden Core Tier, and fervent expressions had appeared on the unofficial disciples’ faces when they learned that the man in black was a genuine Golden Core Tier earth immortal. In reality, Ruan Qiong's position as a sage, the accompanying group of elite cavalry from the Great Li Empire, and the sect-level status of the Dragon Spring Sword Sect had already left very deep impressions in the unofficial disciples' minds.

It was said that cultivating and becoming an immortal in the mountains was a path that was filled with unknowns and dangers. Thus, if one could join the Dragon Spring Sword Sect and win the fancy of Sage Ruan Qiong, eventually becoming his in-house disciple, then that would imply having a smooth sailing journey to at least the Middle Five Tiers.

Of the twelve unofficial disciples, one was appraised to be an extremely rare innate sword talent. It was without a doubt that they could nurture a bonded flying sword in the future.

Another three children had the aptitude to become earth immortals, while the remaining eight children were all cultivation talents who possessed the aptitude to potentially reach the Middle Five Tiers.

Judging from this, it was clear that the Great Li Empire's Imperial Song Clan was going all out to assist Ruan Qiong.

Because Ruan Qiong was still forging swords, he only met his unofficial disciples a single time after they arrived at the Dragon Spring Sword Sect. After taking note of their cultivation talent, he left the responsibility of teaching them to his direct disciples. In the future, there would be a continuous selection process among these unofficial disciples. To the Dragon Spring Sword Sect, whether or not one possessed the talent to become a Qi refiner was only the first step. In Ruan Qiong's eyes, a person's cultivation talent and character was even more important.

It was only after entering the mountains that the twelve unofficial disciples discovered that Sect Leader Ruan Qiong actually had a daughter called Ruan Xiu. She liked to wear green clothes, and she always tied her hair into a ponytail. She was the type of person that one couldn't forget after taking just a single glance.

Some of the young men were secretly delighted, but they didn't dare to let their feelings show. At the same time, these junior disciples in the Dragon Spring Sword Sect also liked to refer to Ruan Xiu as Senior Sister Ruan.

Ruan Xiu was amicable toward everyone, yet she was not especially close with anyone. She had told them several times that they didn't need to call her Senior Sister, yet she was still unable to change their habit. That being the case, she dropped the matter and allowed them to call her Senior Sister if they wanted.

As time went on, the unofficial disciples who had already made great strides yet started to feel more and more pressure gradually discovered that Senior Sister Ruan was actually the strangest individual in this already very strange sect.

Other people never saw Senior Sister Ruan cultivating, and she would either stay in her residence all day or she would be helping the sect leader forge swords in the restricted areas. Otherwise, she would be leisurely wandering around the mountain. Apart from Divine Elegance Mountain where the sect was located, she would also wander around some mountains that were located relatively far away. This included Treasured Scripture Mountain, Rainbow Cloud Mountain, and Immortal Herb Mountain, three mountains that neighbored Divine Elegance Mountain.

It was only a long time after the unofficial disciples joined the sect that they found out that these three mountains surprisingly didn't belong to the Dragon Spring Sword Sect. Instead, the sect had leased these mountains from someone for three hundred years.

Apart from wandering around the mountains, Ruan Xiu also spent some time feeding the courtyard full of hens and chicks. From time to time, she would glance at the Golden Core Tier disciple from afar as he explained the methods of cultivation, the unique meditation techniques of the Dragon Spring Sword Sect, and a high-grade sword technique that was apparently from the Wind Snow Temple. Ruan Xiu never joined the group of listening disciples, and she would instead sit far away with a small mountain of desserts on the cloth in her lap. She would then stand up and leave after taking her time to enjoy her desserts.

Some of the smarter and more astute disciples would notice their Second Senior Brother, the Golden Core Tier cultivator, heaving a soft sigh of relief every time Senior Sister Ruan left.

Apart from Senior Sister Ruan Xiu and Second Senior Brother who was essentially half a master to them, there was also Third Senior Sister who lived by herself beside the Dragon Whisker River as well as Fourth Senior Brother Xie, someone who had naturally long eyebrows. Senior Brother Xie was quite young, yet he never smiled or showed any friendliness toward them. Yet, it was none other than Long Eyebrows Xie who was responsible for maintaining rules and order in the sect.

In the beginning, some disciples had complained about Senior Brother Xie being too cold-hearted and strict, not showing any leniency at all toward his fellow disciples. Afterward, however, they heard a small snippet of news from the small town that made them feel as if they had been struck by lightning.

Senior Brother Xie's ancestral residence was located in Peach Leaf Alley, and an old ancestor from his clan was still alive and healthy. Not only that, but this ancestor was actually a Daoist Heavenly Lord in the Northern Complete Reed Continent.

He was a twelfth tier immortal.

Before entering the mountains, only a few of the twelve unofficial disciples were aware of the fact that earth immortals were split into Golden Core Tier cultivators and Nascent Tier cultivators.

As for the cultivation tiers after the Nascent Tier, none of the twelve unofficial disciples had heard of them before. In fact, they had mistakenly believed that the Nascent Tier was the highest possible tier for Qi refiners.

After they joined the sect, their Second Senior Brother, one of Ruan Qiong's opening disciples and the oft-unsmiling Golden Core Tier cultivator, roughly explained the different cultivation tiers of Qi refiners to them. Only then did they learn about the Upper Five Tiers and the existence of the Unpolished Jade Tier and Immortal Tier.

When they learned of these facts, all bar a few naive or simple-minded children started to view Fourth Senior Brother Xie in a very different light. In fact, they barely dared to breathe too loudly when they saw their stern-looking senior brother.

Fourth Senior Brother Xie would only smile when he was interacting with Senior Sister Ruan Xiu, and he was also the only person in the sect who didn't refer to her as Senior Sister. Instead, he referred to her as Big Sister Xiuxiu.

Even so, Ruan Xiu didn't seem especially friendly toward him either.

This caused many of the young disciples to feel much better.

No one was receiving special treatment from Senior Sister Ruan Xiu, so they naturally didn't need to feel disappointed about anything.

1. To conceal wind and gather water (藏风聚水) means to gather fortune in an area. ☜