Unsheathed

Chapter 215: Eyebrow Filling

The deathly pale and hunch-backed old woman was staring blankly at Chen Ping'an's group.

The scholar who had knocked on the door had a very cowardly personality, and he didn't even dare to look directly at the old woman as he hid behind his companion, internally kicking himself for being so eager to step forward and knock on the door.

The scholar was quite an avid reader of various types of different books, and he had read no lack of stories concerning all manners of ghost and spirits, the majority of which fell into two categories. The first category contained the spirits that were very beautiful and alluring, such as the seductive fox spirits that lured in passing scholars.

The second category contained spirits that were ghastly in appearance, and at night, their residences would appear to be standard courtyards, but if one were fortunate enough to live to the next day, then they would discover that they had actually spent the entire night in an abandoned graveyard.

The scholar holding the torch was a little more courageous than his companion, and he jostled his large bookcase up and down to adjust its position on his back while rubbing his hands together for warmth as he forced a smile onto his face and asked, "Would you be able to take us in for a night, Madam?

“The rain is too heavy, and our friend here has already fallen unconscious from the cold. If we can't find a warm place for him to stay, he may not be able to make it through the night. Saving lives is one of the best deeds one can do, so please take us in out of the kindness of your heart."

The old woman wore a stern expression as she said something in the local dialect, and she seemed to have been asking a question.

The scholar could only offer an explanation using the same dialect.

The old woman turned her gaze toward Chen Ping'an, then suddenly asked in the official dialect of Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, "You're a martial artist?"

Chen Ping'an nodded in response.

The old woman then directed her gaze toward the hilt of the peach wood sword that was strapped to Zhang Shan's back. In his conscious state, his breathing had become deeper and more even than when he was conscious. This was one of the remarkable things about Qi refiners.

Everything they did strove toward a return to simplicity, and that sometimes had rather surprising outcomes. Upon noticing the peach wood sword, the old woman's eyes narrowed slightly as she asked, "And your friend is a Daoist?"

Chen Ping'an nodded once again.

Finally, the old woman turned her attention back to the uneasy umbrella-holding scholar as she asked, "Are you a scholar?"

The scholar shook his head in response. "I haven't made any notable achievements in the imperial examination, so I wouldn't dare to call myself a scholar."

The old woman pursed her lips, then slowly hobbled out of the way as she said, "Seeing as you're all legitimate young men, you can come in and stay the night, but make sure to stay in your rooms and don't go walking around anywhere without permission. Please visit fr𝐞𝐞w𝒏.𝒸𝑜𝔪 website to read fastest update

“Otherwise, if you alert my master to your presence, then you'll have to bear the consequences on your own. There are braziers in the rooms that you can light yourselves, and there's no need to ask permission before you light them. You're all guests, and my master isn't so stingy that he would be bothered by the loss of some firewood."

After Chen Ping'an and the others had stepped into the courtyard, the old woman looked around outside momentarily, then quickly shut the gate. The thick and heavy gate was made to appear as light as a feather in her hand, and it was swung shut with ease.

This was quite a large estate with four sections, and Chen Ping'an's group was assigned to stay in one of those sections. There, they were told that they were forbidden from going into the courtyard in the back. The rooftops of the estate bore engravings of all types of beasts, birds, and scenery, while the window frames had also been intricately crafted. The ground in the courtyard was paved with azure and red bricks, making it very clear where the main paths were.

There were also corridors tucked under the eaves that sheltered one from the rain during storms like this one.

Upon stepping into one of the corridors under the eaves, the old woman completely vanished into the shadows. Right at this moment, there was a flash of lightning, and the two scholars caught a glimpse of the old woman's deathly pale smiling face, a sight so terrifying that they almost passed out on the spot before hurriedly making their way into the nearby room.

Still spooked by what they had just seen, the two scholars, who had the surnames of Chu and Liu, didn't dare to go to bed on their own, so they could only stay together in the same room for now. The scholar with the Liu surname set down his oil paper umbrella, then lit a lamp to read some sagely scriptures in order to calm his jangling nerves.

The scholar with the Chu surname was a bit more courageous. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been aware of this estate's existence. He set down the torch and began to fiddle with the brazier, pulling some fire sticks that were wrapped tightly in oil paper from his bookcase. With those, he was able to quickly light a fire, and the room began to gradually warm up.

After that, he inspected his surroundings momentarily, then patted the bed in the room to find that the blankets were slightly damp and were giving off a slightly rank and moldy odor. This was only to be expected.

Ever since the beginning of spring this year, it had been raining virtually constantly in Colorful Garment Nation, so the blankets in a vacant guest room naturally weren't going to be in the ideal condition. In any case, it was already very fortunate that they had a place to stay at all, and the scholar certainly wasn't going to criticize the estate owner over something like this.

The scholar with the Chu surname was quite handsome with a tall and slim figure, and his hair was bound neatly within an azure bandana. There was a disposition of righteousness about him, and as he inspected his surroundings, he discovered that the window frames were very intricately crafted with things like bats and carp engraved onto them, all of which had positive connotations of luck and prosperity.

All of a sudden, he leaned in closer to the window to find that there were some traces of red paint on a slightly wider wooden sill between two of the windows. The red paint was rather unclear, but he could just barely make out the fact that it was spelling out some text.

As the room gradually warmed up, the scholar with the Liu surname was also becoming more courageous. He set down the book in his hand, and upon noticing that his companion was staring at the window, he cast his gaze toward the same direction, only to spot a burst of bright red light beside the window, which illuminated the face of the ghastly old woman, who declared in a raspy voice, "It's already quite late, so you should both go to bed."

The sudden emergence of the lantern-bearing old woman almost scared the pair of scholars to death.

The old woman had just made her way over from the room directly across from this one, and Chen Ping'an had also been reading inside and seen the old woman through the window, yet his reaction was nowhere near as panicked and distressed.

The old woman shook her head as she hobbled away while chuckling to herself, "Looks like scholars really are cowards."

In the other room, Chen Ping'an was standing near the window, and he said in a quiet voice, "She's gone."

Zhang Shan had regained his consciousness as soon as he entered the estate, and he was instantly reinvigorated upon taking a Yang Restoration Pill washed down with a swig of the wine from Chen Ping'an's gourd. Originally, he had been unwilling to waste a pill, but he had suddenly felt a flash of demonic Qi in the area, and he didn't dare to conserve his pills any longer. After all, his life was more precious than a single light snow coin.

Zhang Shan sat up on the bed, dressed in a new and dry Daoist robe as he leaned down beside the brazier, using the fire inside to warm his hands. As he did so, he said in a quiet voice, "Let's take turns on lookout duty tonight, Chen Ping'an. Otherwise, I won't be able to rest at all. I can't shake the feeling that something's not right about this place."

The lamp on the table wasn't very bright, so Zhang Shan held his cup between two of his fingers as he tilted it toward the brazier, using the light of the flame to carefully observe the pair of five-colored roosters as he mused, "These cups are extremely renowned, so of course I've heard of them.

“I come from Complete Reed Continent in the north, and during my travels, I once saw a pair of martial artists gamble exorbitant amounts of wealth using these cups. It's a very remarkable thing. I hear that all you have to do is fill the cup most of the way with wine, then inject a wisp of spiritual energy into the wall of the cup, and the two roosters would begin fighting to the death on their own.

“Apparently, even 10th tier Sages are unable to predict the outcomes of the cockfights in advance. Hence, any cockfighting cups that make it out of Eastern Treasured Vial Continent instantly have their prices spike up by hundreds, sometimes even thousands of times. The cockfighting cups of Complete Reed Continent are one of the important items required to board the Kun ship at the ferry station in Southern Stream Nation."

A proud look appeared on the face of the scholar with the Liu surname, and he smiled as he nodded in response. "I don't know anything about spiritual energy, but what I do know is that the Qi refiners of our Colorful Garment Nation like to use these cups for entertainment purposes. After pouring some wine into the cups, all they have to do is squeeze the cups between their fingers for a moment, and the roosters inside would immediately spring to life before fighting to the death.

“As for why these cups are considered to be so precious, I once read from some historical chronicles that the five-color soil used to fire these cockfighting cups is a unique type of soil that'll quickly lose all of its unique properties upon leaving Colorful Garment Nation, and that's how cockfighting cups became unique to our nation."

Zhang Shan nodded in response with a contemplative expression, thinking to himself that if anyone could establish a monopoly over this five-color soil, then they would surely be able to reel in massive profits.

Chen Ping'an was quite willing to believe this claim. Due to his past pottery firing experience, he was very familiar with the properties of soil. The kiln workers of the Dragon Spring Prefecture had worked in pottery firing for generations, and that required them to develop a thorough understanding of soil. As a result, Chen Ping'an had heard many fantastic and wacky stories about soil from them.

For example, Old Man Yao had once told him that all clay had its own fate, just like humans. Some was molded into Bodhisattvas to be worshiped and revered, some was made into fine porcelain to be used by imperial clans, and some was made into crude pots and jars used in the households of common folk.

After having some wine, the scholar with the Liu surname had become slightly inebriated, with a hint of redness creeping onto his cheeks. His mood had improved significantly, and he smiled as he said to Zhang Shan, "I can tell from the peach wood sword on your back that you're a cultivator. Would you be able to make these roosters in these cups spring to life? If so, we could make some bets and have some fun. What should we bet on?"

It was clear that the scholar was a completely different person under the influence of alcohol, and he appeared to have also been a gambler at heart.

The scholar with the Chu surname sighed as he dissuaded, "You've already had enough to drink, so you should go to bed, Brother Liu."

Zhang Shan also hurriedly replied, "A cockfighting cup is worth a lot of money, so let's not waste one here."

The scholar with the Liu surname downed his cup of wine in one go, then hurled the cup viciously into the wall, shattering it into countless pieces as he chortled, "We have to toil away and work ourselves to the bone in order to afford things like this, yet they continue to outlive us long after we're dead. How absurd is that? How much is a cockfighting cup worth?

“Only two taels of silver in Colorful Garment Nation, but how much is a Jinshi title worth? That's far more expensive. At the very least, I can't afford one..." [1]

An awkward look appeared on the face of the scholar with the Chu surname, and he explained, "Brother Liu always likes to ramble about ridiculous things when he's drunk, so please don't mind him."

Chen Ping'an merely smiled and continued to drink in silence.

In the end, the scholar with the Liu surname was helped back to his room by his companion, with Zhang Shan escorting them to the door.

Meanwhile, Chen Ping'an remained seated as he took a glance at the entrance of the room.

————

Under the heavy rain, a burly man with a thick beard and a saber strapped to his waist was wading through the mud, arriving in front of the estate before knocking on the gate.

The old woman stood on the other side of the gate as she asked in a raspy voice, "Can I help you?"

"I'm here for shelter!" the man yelled.

"You speak with the demanding arrogance of someone who's not here to seek shelter from the rain," the old woman said in a snide voice.

"What? Are you telling me that there's no place for a single man like myself to stay in this entire estate?" the man snapped.

"We do have room for you to stay, but my master won't be pleased with someone as arrogant and demanding as yourself," the old woman sneered. "My master is not a very accommodating person, so if you irk him, not only will you be able to stay the night, you may even end up having to stay longer than you bargained for."

The individual strands of the man's beard resembled hard nails, and he gripped onto the hilt of his saber as he glowered at the old woman with a menacing expression. "Cut the chit-chat and let me in! If I stay in this rain any longer, I'm going to fall sick. How am I going to go to the brothels if I get sick? Those little vixens will suck me dry in seconds, then laugh at me for my lack of stamina!"

The gate slowly swung open as the old woman sighed, "It's much better to be laughed at than to lose your life."

The man bristled slightly upon hearing this, then quickly burst into laughter as he replied, "This body of mine has accumulated over three decades' worth of Yang energy, so I ain't scared of shit! Not only will demons and spirits be too scared to face me, even if their ancestors come out to play, they'll run for their lives when they see me!"

The man made his way into the courtyard as he spoke, and his brows furrowed slightly as he inspected his surroundings.

The old woman slammed the gate shut once again, and all of a sudden, a loud crack rang out outside.

As it turned out, the head of one of the stone lions outside had fallen onto the ground and shattered into pieces, but the noise was completely drowned out by the sound of the ongoing storm.

————

In the affluent clans of some of the nations in the southern part of Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, many women lived in boudoirs, and some of the more strict families would even remove the staircases leading to the upper floor, essentially trapping a woman in a makeshift tower until the day that they were meant to be wed.

In one of the sections of the estate was one such boudoir, and despite the fact that it was very late at night, there was a man filling out the eyebrows of a woman, who was laying on a reclining chair.

The man was gently working at the woman's brows with an eyebrow pencil, but the woman's face was nothing more than a severely mangled mass of decaying flesh, through which many sections of bone were revealed. There were even maggots visibly squirming in her flesh, yet...also visible was her faint smile.

1. It's probably no surprise to all of you that corruption existed even in ancient times, and it's said that wealthy families purchasing scholarly titles was quite a common occurrence. Of course, this is a serious crime, but that wasn't much of a deterrent for the wealthy and powerful. ?

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