Chapter 268: A Myriad of Complicated Matters in the World

Chapter 268: A Myriad of Complicated Matters in the World

There was a large mountain hanging upside down somewhere in the world.

The peak of the mountain pointed at the South Sea.

Chen Ping'an sat on the branch of the ancestor osmanthus tree and dazedly gazed at this stunning scene. Ning Yao had set off from here to journey across Majestic World.

He had heard that Southern Whirl Continent was the closest continent to Stalactite Mountain, so would Liu Xianyang come here to take a look in the future?

Osmanthus Island still needed to travel for approximately half a day before it would truly enter the territory of Stalactite Mountain. All kinds of ships came and went around them, and there were giant turtles with stone tablets on their backs, clams with crystalline and translucent shells drifting on the sea, kun ships that were even larger than that owned by Ceremony Mountain slowly descending, a collection of iridescent clouds bringing with them countless oriental magpies, rows of immortal cranes and azure birds tugging along a tall building, and so on. Osmanthus Island didn't seem the least bit out of place among them.

Chen Ping'an suddenly turned around and looked down.

He saw that young girl again, her figure lithe, her appearance beautiful, a pearl hairpin in her hair, a dress on her body, and a colorful ribbon around her waist...

However, Chen Ping'an's skin was crawling, and he felt extremely uneasy. In fact, this feeling was even more intense and direct than when he had seen Liu Chicheng dressed in pink Daoist robes in front of the rundown temple back then.

This was because Chen Ping'an could see this beautiful girl's Adam's apple.

He didn't detest this, but he was indeed very unaccustomed to it.

Chen Ping'an suddenly scratched his head and stared directly at the man who liked to dress like a woman. The uneasiness in his heart vanished, transforming instead into a hint of nostalgia.

Back when he was an apprentice in the dragon kiln, Chen Ping'an had been acquainted with a man whom others always ridiculed as a sissy. That man was timid, and he had walked in a very feminine manner. When speaking, he had also liked to throw flirtatious glances and make orchid-shaped fingers.

In the dragon kiln managed by Old Man Yao, this man had naturally faced the most discrimination. If he finally saved enough money to buy a pair of new shoes, it was guaranteed that they would be stepped on and dirtied by the other kiln workers on the same day. However, he wouldn't dare to say anything, and he would simply suffer in silence.

Logically speaking, both he and Chen Ping'an should have sympathized with each other, given that Chen Ping'an was also discriminated against in the dragon kiln. Strangely, however, the man who always sobbed and cried would immediately become very brave in front of Chen Ping'an. He would always taunt Chen Ping'an and speak to the young boy in a very unpleasant manner. However, Chen Ping'an had never paid any heed to him.

On quite a few occasions, the man had been caught by Liu Xianyang, Old Man Yao's official disciple, while taunting Chen Ping'an. Liu Xianyang had directly slapped him and sent him spinning on the spot, causing him to immediately shut up and behave.

Afterward, the man would secretly bring some snacks and desserts to Liu Xianyang's room, wrapping them up in a manner even more exquisite than shop attendants. He had most likely been apologizing to — and perhaps sucking up to — Liu Xianyang, someone who was destined to become the future manager of the dragon kiln.

The paper cuttings decorating the windows in the dragon kiln had also been made by him. He had endured many late nights by himself to create these, and even the women in the streets and alleys would feel that their works were inferior. If this person were genuinely a woman, just how brilliant would his needlework be?

Chen Ping'an had naturally detested the barb-tongued sissy back then. However, he had also been afraid of severely wounding the man in a single punch if he were unable to hold back. At that time, the young boy had already traversed all of the mountains and rivers surrounding the small town with Old Man Yao. Chopping wood and burning charcoal had also become extremely familiar tasks. Not only that, but he had also practiced breathing techniques taught to him by Old Man Yang since very early on. As such, his strength had already been equivalent to, if not greater than, strong young men.

In the end, the feminine man had made a huge mistake when guarding the night one time. He had unexpectedly extinguished the flames in a dragon kiln. Terrified by this, he had fled during the night. Having some smarts, he hadn't dared to run toward the small town, and he had instead fled deep into the mountains and forests.

If such grave mistakes were committed in some shop in the market, it would be a mistake severe enough to warrant death. Upon learning of this, Old Man Yao had immediately sent dozens of strong young men after that bastard with a dark expression. Chen Ping'an, who was extremely familiar with the mountain paths, was naturally part of the group.

Two days later, the feminine man had been tied up and marched back to the dragon kiln. Old Man Yao had then immediately broken his hands and legs, beating him so severely that his flesh had been mangled and his bones had been revealed.

The group of men who had found him was the group that he always flattered the most.

No one had felt any sympathy for this feminine man who had caused such a huge disaster. Even if they had, they wouldn't have dared to show it on their faces. After all, Old Man Yao had almost never been this angry before.

Before having his arms and legs broken, the feminine man had already wet his pants in fright. Afterward, he had shaken uncontrollably upon being forced to lie on the ground. When the beating started, he had screamed hysterically with tears and snot streaming down his face.

As the beating continued, the feminine man had been like a fish being cut alive on a chopping board. The feminine man was indeed a sissy, after all, and he had never shown an ounce of manliness and backbone from the beginning to the end, all the way until he finally fainted.

In the end, the feminine man had surprisingly survived the merciless beating. He had stubbornly lived on, laying on a sickbed for almost half a year to recuperate.

During this time, many apprentices in the dragon kiln had taken turns looking after him, with Chen Ping'an naturally being no exception. However, many people had been dissatisfied with this difficult task, so they had sought out Chen Ping'an and asked him to take their place, what with Chen Ping'an being the most agreeable person in the dragon kiln.

In the end, it was actually the young boy whom the feminine man disliked the most who had wound up looking after him the most. The two of them had refused to engage in any conversation with each other, highlighting the mutual dislike between them.

Chen Ping'an had simply gathered ingredients and cooked medicine for him every day, while the feminine man had occasionally become adrift and dazedly stared at the old paper cutting on the window that was losing their color after being punished by the wind and rain. Perhaps he had been dreaming of a day when he could finally leave the bed again. At that time, he would definitely find some spare time between work to replace this paper cutting with a beautiful and brand new paper cutting that was a brilliant red color.

However, the bedridden feminine man who had survived his severe beating and gritted his teeth to return from the brink of death had still ultimately died.

He had been killed by a single comment.

That had been a casual comment by a kiln worker. Chen Ping'an had been cooking medicine by the door at that time, with his back facing the kiln worker and the feminine man. The former had chuckled and remarked that during the day of the beating when the feminine man's clothes were torn to shreds, his pale bottom had truly looked like that of a woman.

Chen Ping'an hadn't felt like this comment was extremely inappropriate.

After all, the men in the dragon kiln had taunted the feminine man with much more vicious comments than this before. Moreover, the feminine man had almost never argued with other people, most likely because he didn't dare to. Indeed, the most he would do was probably curse them behind their back, saying something like, "You dare to taunt me? Do you want me to blow up the graves of your ancestors?"

However, it was after hearing this seemingly mundane comment that the feminine man — who could already sit up by himself — had surprisingly chatted a lot with Chen Ping'an on that day. It had mostly been him speaking, while the taciturn young boy had quietly listened. When talking about paper cutting, Chen Ping'an had sincerely praised his skills and remarked on the beauty of his work. The feminine man had smiled upon hearing this.

On that night, the feminine man whose courage was even tinier than that of a needle's eye had unexpectedly used a pair of scissors to stab himself in the throat. Not only that, but he hadn't forgotten to cover himself with a blanket, preventing those who entered his room from immediately seeing his final posture of death.

In fact, no one had dared to collect his corpse and bring it out of the room. Truly, the scene was far too inauspicious.

Fortunately, Chen Ping'an was already accustomed to death befalling those around him, so he hadn't paid much heed to the inauspicious nature of the situation. In the end, he had dragged Liu Xianyang around with him and busily sorted out the mess. He hadn't felt especially sad during this time, nor had he obtained any kind of enlightenment.

Only when wake-keeping had Chen Ping'an sat by himself in an empty and eerie mourning hall. He hadn't felt any fear, and he had sat beside the stove and murmured, "Since you didn't like being a man in this life, then you should reincarnate into a woman in your next life."

In fact, during their idle chatter on that fateful day, the feminine man had asked Chen Ping'an why he had let him go even though he had been the first one to find him. Not only that, but the young boy had even pointed out a small path leading deeper into the mountains.

Chen Ping'an had replied that he was afraid of Old Man Yao beating the feminine man to death if he were caught. At that time, with the feminine man's sesame-sized courage, he would only dare to exact revenge on him and not anyone else.

The feminine man had smiled very happily upon hearing this.

Thinking back to it now, the feminine man's smile had, in fact, been fairly ugly. This chapter is updated by nov(e)(l)biin.com

However, the young boy genuinely didn't feel any disgust toward it.

The lithe and radiantly beautiful "young girl" standing under the osmanthus tree was already seething with rage. To have someone so boldly stare at her — or more precisely, him — like this... If he weren't afraid of damaging the osmanthus tree and causing unnecessary trouble, he would have immediately summoned his two bonded flying swords to stab this lecherous bastard to death.

Chen Ping'an came to his senses and also realized his unintentional act of rudeness. He cupped his fists and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I was a bit distracted just then."

The young man narrowed his peach blossom eyes seemingly filled with the colors and radiance of spring. He then brought his index finger and middle finger together and made a stabbing motion at Chen Ping'an before wagging them slightly back and forth. His action was as provocative as could be.

Instead of keeping his head turned, Chen Ping'an decided to directly turn his entire body around. He patted the empty space beside him on the tall branch and chuckled, "As an apology, I'll allow you to sit here and enjoy the view of Stalactite Mountain on Lady Gui's behalf."

The young man clasped his hands behind his back and looked up with his face delicate and tender as the spring breeze. He smiled and asked, "Do you like men? Or do you like both men and women as long as they're beautiful enough?"

The young classmates who had left the Great Li Empire together were destined to no longer spend all their time together after arriving in this academy.

Indeed, Li Huai had already made two new friends: a cowardly child from a powerful clan in the capital and an extremely courageous rascal from a poor family. They were both slightly older than Li Huai, and the three of them would always play together and go crazy. They enjoyed themselves immensely.

Meanwhile, Lin Shouyi was now obsessed with cultivation, and he would always travel between the scripture library, his dormitory, and the classrooms. He read all the books he could, and he stood out from the crowd.

Yu Lu had a close relationship with Prince Gao Xuan from Great Sui Nation, and the two of them eventually became good friends. Gao Xuan became increasingly fond of visiting the academy to fish with Yu Lu.

Apart from attending classes, Xie Xie seldom ventured out of her dormitory. She willingly acted as a maidservant for Cui Dongshan.

After Li Baoping read another letter from her junior uncle, the little girl appeared to be downcast for a very long time.

On this day, she skipped class again and was as agile as a small cat as she nimbly climbed atop the large tree located on the peak of the East Mountain. She sat on a branch and leaned on the tree trunk. Her self-crafted wooden badge with the characters "alliance leader of the martial arts world" was hanging around her neck, and she had engraved the characters "commands all lords" afterward because she had felt like the badge still wasn't impressive enough.

Afterward, she hadn't been able to stop herself from engraving more and more impressive phrases onto the wooden badge. These were all grand phrases from the cultivation world that she had copied from the story books. For example, "invincible, I lament the lack of rivals in my life," and so on.

A spirited and handsome young boy in white stood on a branch beside her. He gently bounced up and down with the movement of the branch, and there was a smile on his face as he asked, "What's wrong? Are you angry about something?"

With the arrival of summer, the little girl was now wearing a red shirt and a long red skirt instead of a thick red jacket. "I'm not angry," she replied in a sullen voice.

"Do you feel like Li Huai, Lin Shouyi, and the others are growing more and more distant from you?" Cui Dongshan asked.

"It doesn't matter if they grow more distant from me," the little girl huffed in reply. "After all, I never liked interacting with them even when we went to school together in the small town."

"Then you're unhappy about the injustice that my teacher is facing?" Cui Dongshan asked with a knowing smile.

"Mhm." The little girl was a straightforward person, and she nodded boldly and acknowledged this.

Cui Dongshan rested his hands behind his head and said with emotion, "Everyone grows up, and growing up will inevitably cause one to pick up some new things and discard some old things. In this process of picking things up and discarding things, in the blink of an eye, one quickly grows old."

"They're even willing to discard Junior Uncle?!" the little girl fumed.

Cui Dongshan turned around to look at the furious little girl. He smiled faintly and replied, "Why wouldn't they be willing to? In any case, my teacher won't become angry even if he learns of this. That being the case, what are you getting all worked up for? There's absolutely no need."

The little girl angrily crossed her arms.

Cui Dongshan turned back around to gaze at the capital of Great Sui Nation. "In the future, you might become very good friends with someone, and the two of you will share many intimate conversations together as you grow up. However, she might get married one day, and she'll eventually like her husband more than you. You might also come across a teacher who's even better than Qi Jingchun, and you might one day feel that Mr. Qi's knowledge wasn't the most profound in the world.

"One day in the future, you might also encounter... an impressive young boy who's even better than your junior uncle. At that time, you'll discover that your current worry and sadness is only temporary and nothing very important. You'll drink one or two sips of wine, and all of this worry and sadness will flow away just like that..."

Cui Dongshan suddenly turned around and exclaimed in astonishment, "Little Baoping, you actually didn't offer a retort? If you don't say something, then I'll run out of things to say!"

The little girl scrunched up her pretty little face and replied, "I'm busy feeling sad!"

Cui Dongshan chortled with laughter as he fell back and coincidentally lay sideways on a thin branch. He held his head up with a single hand and gazed at the little girl in red.

One day in the future, this little girl would grow taller and taller, and her round little face would also become skinnier and sharper. Her eyes might still be as watery as always, and they might still be pure and filled with energy. She might still be dressed in red, and she might ride a horse along the river banks and drink wine in the mountains. However, she would probably come across joyful events and sad events as well, right?

Cui Dongshan heaved a faint sigh.

He felt slightly anxious.

If such a good girl genuinely ended up liking his teacher, that would indeed be a very worrisome thing.

If one day she unexpectedly didn't like his teacher anymore, that might be an even more disappointing thing.

Cui Dongshan turned his body and closed his eyes. He then crossed his legs and went to sleep.

As for those chance encounters and diverging relationships, Cui Dongshan was thoroughly aware of them even though his body was young. After all, those experiences and challenges were all accumulated in his heart. His awareness of them was no inferior to that of the Great Li Empire's Imperial Preceptor Cui Chan.

There was one thing that he hadn't told the little girl.

He — Cui Dongshan — as well as the old Cui Chan, Zuo You, Mao Xiaodong, and the others, including Qi Jingchun, had all enjoyed shade under the old scholar in the past. They had slowly grown up, and in the end, they had all hoped to walk out from that incredibly large patch of shade. Those who succeeded continued on their way. Those who failed, however, saw their hearts slowly change.

The little girl nearby put her wooden badge away and carefully retrieved a painting from her clothes. It was a painting of Chen Ping’an standing under an osmanthus tree and smiling at her.

Her worries were immediately washed away, and a smile stretched across her face as she happily said, "Junior Uncle truly looks so handsome after learning to drink. When I grow older, I'm definitely going to adventure around the cultivation world with Junior Uncle!"

Li Baoping became more and more excited thinking about this, and she turned around and asked loudly, "Cui Dongshan, is it difficult to drink?"

"You're not allowed to drink!" Cui Dongshan replied resolutely.

"Why not?!" Li Baoping fumed.

"Teacher isn't willing to scold you at all, but he'll directly beat me to death!" Cui Dongshan replied in a sulky voice.

Li Baoping sighed and shook her head, saying in pity, "How pitiful..."

Cui Dongshan stole a glance at the little girl who had a beaming smile on her face. "Little Baoping, please hide your smile of pleasure away when trying to console others in the future."

Li Baoping feigned grabbing a seal and stamping it down.

Cui Dongshan sighed in grief and muttered, "My good intentions are repaid with ungratefulness..."

————

Between Stalactite Mountain and the vast sea, there were numerous paths that hovered in midair like ribbons of clouds and water. These were paths that allowed intercontinental ships to arrive at the mountain. In fact, the many intercontinental ships that could fly through the air also had to descend to the sea and take these paths. They weren't allowed to directly approach Stalactite Mountain.

Osmanthus Island momentarily stopped at a dock located beneath one such path. After symbolically handing over a document similar to a clearance document, they were exempt from paying the astronomical toll usually required. The island started to drift toward Stalactite Mountain following the angled river path.

Stalactite Mountain measured 50 kilometers in radius. However, as a lone mountain above the sea, it controlled a vast region around the mountain.

A tall and sturdy Daoist with the appearance of a middle-aged man stood atop some cliff face. There was a skinny old Daoist priest with the demeanor of a transcendent being standing behind him with a fly-whisk in hand, and all of the strands of the fly-whisk were golden and silver whiskers of flood dragons. "Teacher, do you need this student to take action and destroy Osmanthus Island?" the old Daoist priest asked in a quiet voice.

"I agreed to the bet, so I'm willing to accept the loss. There's nothing embarrassing about this. I'm not your grandteacher, after all, someone who hasn't suffered a single defeat in his life," the tall and sturdy Daoist replied with a smile.

While the Great Heavenly Lord in Stalactite Mountain spoke, a Daoist priest was smashed into the mortal world from the heavens beyond heavens, in the Heavenly World, with a single punch.