Chapter 330 (2): Traversing Mountains and Rivers, Encountering Yao and Stopping

Chapter 330 (2): Traversing Mountains and Rivers, Encountering Yao and Stopping

Chen Ping'an made himself a large bamboo case as he and Pei Qian continued to trek through the mountains. Theoretically speaking, this bamboo case could fit the luggage sack and many other things. However, Chen Ping'an still insisted on Pei Qian carrying the luggage sack and holding the bamboo fishing rod. In addition to this, he also crafted her a small and handy hiking pole.

The mountains undulated far into the distance, and the long rivers stretched beyond the horizons. Compared to their hasty travels in the beginning, when Chen Ping'an had seemingly wanted to leave Parasol Leaf Continent and return to Eastern Treasured Vial Continent as soon as possible, they were now slowing down and returning to a steady pace.

However, this still exhausted Pei Qian, who continued to grumble day after day. Compared to the time when they had just met, however, Pei Qian no longer complained in such a direct and offensive manner. Perhaps it was due to reading some books, or it was borne from the fear of being abandoned by an angry Chen Ping'an, Pei Qian had now learned to speak in a roundabout manner when she complained.

Chen Ping'an turned a deaf ear to her complaints, and this caused Pei Qian to sulk even more.

Afterward, the two of them witnessed many sceneries that allowed Pei Qian to significantly broaden her horizons. For example, they came across countless fireflies one autumn night, and it was as if the sky was dotted with innumerable small lanterns.

While Chen Ping'an wasn't watching, Pei Qian used her hiking pole to attack them with ferocity, filling the air with cracking sounds and covering the earth with broken corpses. She immediately stopped when Chen Ping'an looked back, acting as if she hadn't done anything at all. She lowered her head and pretended that she was just earnestly walking forward.

They also walked through an incredibly strange forest. The soil was fertile and the branches were spread out, and there were surprisingly the shriveled corpses of countless birds and beats hanging on these branches.

Pei Qian was so terrified that she had only dared to walk while holding onto Chen Ping'an's sleeve. Before entering the forest, Chen Ping'an retrieved a Yang Energy Illumination Talisman and tossed it into the forest. The talisman made from ordinary talisman paper immediately caught on fire, but it burned very slowly. Seeing this, Chen Ping'an directly entered the forest.

Pei Qian begged Chen Ping'an to give her a talisman to protect herself, yet Chen Ping'an completely ignored her request. He said that if she was afraid, then she could loudly recite the sagely principles from that book. Doing this could also ward off evil.

Pei Qian was a little skeptical of this, yet she still recited the contents of that book at the top of her lungs as she tightly gripped Chen Ping'an's sleeve and walked forward.

In reality, that Confucian book was quite thin. Pei Qian had learned all of the characters in the book already, and had also finished reading the book. She had asked for a new book so that she wouldn't need to reread the same book again and again. Doing so was incredibly boring, after all.

However, Chen Ping'an had stubbornly refused her request. Not only did he force her to read the book again and again, but he even forced her to read it out loud. She would start reading in the morning when Chen Ping'an started to practice standing meditation, and she would still be reading in the evening when Chen Ping'an was also still practicing standing meditation. In the end, she was genuinely able to memorize the entire book.

The dense forest remained calm all the way until they walked out from the other end.

Pei Qian's forehead was dripping with sweat, and her voice was hoarse. This was, of course, from the exertion of loudly reciting the Confucian book for so long.

Only after Chen Ping'an and Pei Qian had walked more than five kilometers into the distance did the towering trees in the dense forest started to violently thrash about as if venting their fury.

Afterward, the two of them had also passed a valley where colorful butterflies fluttered beside a large pool under a waterfall. That was a spectacular and dazzling sight.

While Chen Ping'an was cooking, Pei Qian swiftly killed a dozen or so butterflies and picked the most beautiful one to place inside her book. In the end, Chen Ping'an punished Pei Qian with a solid knuckle to her forehead, so forceful that she squatted down and wailed in agony. Her forehead was swollen, and she sulked the entire time while eating.

One time, the two of them also came across a woodsman chopping wood in the mountains. The woodsman invited them to his home for a meal, and Chen Ping'an initially wanted to give him some money for the food. However, the honest and simple woodsman and his family refused to accept any money no matter what. In the end, Chen Ping'an was left with no option but to relent.

Before leaving the woodsman's home, Chen Ping'an told Pei Qian to thank the woodsman for the meal. The skinny little girl had eaten quite a lot, yet she was still unwilling to express any gratitude. However, when she noticed the look in Chen Ping'an's eyes, she immediately bowed in respect and thanked the woodsman for the meal.

After leaving the undulating mountain ranges, the two of them came across a large river where Pei Qian witnessed ship haulers dragging a large ship along for the first time. The men shouted slogans as they marched forward under the scorching sun, and the sight caused Pei Qian's eyes to widen in shock.

Afterward, she secretly chuckled in delight, thinking that there were truly quite a lot of miserable people in the world. However, she quickly wiped the smile from her face, afraid that she would be punished again if Chen Ping'an saw her reaction.

She only collected slightly less firewood than last time, yet Chen Ping'an still punished her by only allowing her to eat a single small bowl of rice. This Chen Ping'an was truly difficult to please... Sure enough, rich people all deserved a good beating. When she used her hiking pole to secretly master a peerless sword technique, she would definitely beat Chen Ping'an up until he cried for his mommy and daddy. Hmph, could he still glare at her at that time?

As they continued to travel, they had to adapt to the conditions and eat whatever was available.

Pei Qian suddenly wanted to fish while walking along the banks of the river, and she asked Chen Ping'an to help her make a fishing rod. However, Chen Ping'an ignored her request. As a result, Pei Qian was forced to grab a hatchet and chop some strong and thick bamboo for herself.

After finally chopping it down, however, Pei Qian had realized that this kind of bamboo wasn't suitable for making fishing rods at all. Instead, it was probably more suited to making poles used to steer boats. In the end, she picked a thinner stalk of bamboo with a sullen expression on her face.

Fortunately, the miserly Chen Ping'an didn't take things too far, and he still agreed to give her a fishing line and a fishing hook. The two of them then sat down and fished not too far away from each other. Chen Ping'an caught fish after fish, and he even caught a large carp that was the length of Pei Qian's arm. Meanwhile, Pei Qian failed to catch even a single fish. In fact, not even a small prawn took her bait.

Perhaps the fish in the river also discriminated against people? Perhaps they were also looking down on her? Pei Qian was so angry that she wanted to dive into the river to smash all of the fish and crustaceans to death with her bamboo fishing rod.

However, Pei Qian still beamed with joy when eating the big pot of fish soup that night, and she nervously asked Chen Ping'an for a third bowl of rice. She claimed that she had exerted all of her energy while fishing during the day, so she needed to eat more rice to replenish her energy. She also said that she would drink less fish soup and not fight Chen Ping'an for it.

Pei Qian initially thought that Chen Ping'an would refuse her request, yet he surprisingly nodded and granted her a third bowl of rice, allowing her to eat to her heart's content. Pouring fish soup onto rice... There wasn't a more fragrant delicacy in the world. At the very least, this was the case for Pei Qian, whose belly now couldn't be fuller. Vissit novelbin(.)c.om for updates

Only when Pei Qian was fast asleep in the depths of the night would Chen Ping'an silently practice the six-step walking meditation and the techniques from the Proper Sword Scripture while keeping watch.

They arrived at a small town where they replenished some necessities. Chen Ping'an also bought Pei Qian some new clothes, causing her to become absolutely ecstatic. They stayed in a small inn at night, and Pei Qian happily rolled around in her bed. It had been a very long time since she had last slept in a bed. However, she suddenly noticed a white cat lying on the windowsill and staring at her.

Pei Qian jumped off her bed and shouted, "Are you looking for trouble? You actually dare to glare at me?"

She then grabbed her hiking pole that was resting against the table and jabbed it at the white cat.

For once, she was actually right—the white cat really was here to start trouble. Not only was it not scared away by her attacks, but it even jumped around nimbly on the windowsill, dodging everything easily. It occasionally bared its teeth and hissed at Pei Qian as well.

Pei Qian panted heavily, leaning on her hiking pole and widening her eyes in anger as she roared, "From where have you come, vile demon?! I can spare your life if you hurry up and reveal your name!"

Pei Qian was naturally doing this for fun.

However, the white cat surprisingly shot a glance at her before saying in human tongue, "What a crazy little girl. Is there something wrong with your brain?"

The white cat turned around and leaped out of her room, disappearing without a trace.

Pei Qian was absolutely terrified, and immediately tossed her hiking pole away and ran next door to furiously knock on the door.

Chen Ping'an opened the door, and Pei Qian immediately exclaimed in a quivering voice, "There was a cat that could speak human tongue!"

"I know," Chen Ping'an replied with a nod.

Looking at the completely unsurprised Chen Ping'an, Pei Qian couldn't help but ask in a dazed voice, "We're not in the mountains anymore, yet spirits and demons still exist here?"

Chen Ping'an returned to his seat beside the table and picked up the immortal book that he had purchased from Stalactite Mountain. "Many spirits, ghosts, and supernatural entities exist in the towns and cities. This isn't strange at all. Most of these beings won't disturb ordinary mortals, and some wealthy families might even raise some interesting spirits.

"For example, some noblewomen will raise all kinds of miniature spirits in their makeup kits. Some spirits will have wings, allowing them to fly around and apply makeup for their owner as if they're normal maidservants."

Pei Qian sullenly sat down on the opposite side of the table, resting her arms and head on its surface as she asked, "Won't this scare them to death? I was almost scared to death just then..."

Chen Ping'an smiled and replied, "All kinds of strange and peculiar matters exist in the myriad worlds. You'll grow accustomed to this once you travel through more mountains and rivers."

"Is that so...?" Pei Qian sighed with emotion.

"That old man brewing tea on the mountain peak and that woman washing her hair by the stream were both spirits from the mountains," Chen Ping'an revealed casually. "However, neither of them desired to harm mortals, and they just yearned for a normal human life. Didn't you get along very well with both of them?"

Pei Qian widened her eyes and gaped in shock.

To say nothing of the old man's kindly and amiable nature, that beautiful big sister had even used a leaf to play a tune for her after washing and combing her hair.

Pei Qian's brow furrowed and her face scrunched up in fear.

"Only the two of them weren't human. Everyone else that we encountered were humans just like you and me," Chen Ping'an chuckled.

During their trip, they had also come across local officials supervising commoners as they paved roads and built bridges, descendants of wealthy families and renowned literati traveling around and sightseeing, and high-ranking courtesans dressed in expensive clothes and ornaments. The latter had caused Pei Qian's eyes to light up in envy. After all, it was as if these women were wearing money!

They had also come across some travelers from the cultivation world who had sat high atop their mighty horses and peered down at them with haughty expressions while asking for directions. This had infuriated Pei Qian greatly.

"What about that little guy?" Pei Qian suddenly asked.

She was referring to the little lotus spirit.

"It's not willing to see you," Chen Ping'an replied with a smile.

Pei Qian stood up and went to her room to grab that book from her luggage sack. She then returned to Chen Ping'an's room where she sat down and also started to read.

She didn't dare to return to her room as she was afraid that the white cat would return to exact revenge. Her sword skills were still a bit lacking right now, so she wasn't confident that she could subdue demons and eliminate fiends.