Unsheathed

Chapter 21: The Eagle Hunting the Snake

Upon returning to his senses, Fu Nanhua immediately inspected his surroundings in a meticulous fashion, even going as far as to inspect the rooftops of the surrounding houses. After ensuring that there were no further threats in the immediate vicinity, he quickly took a deep breath, and he didn't stride forward, nor did he retreat.

He reflexively made a grab for his jade pendant once again, only to grasp onto thin air, and he hurriedly recited an incompletely Daoist mantra. This wasn't a mystical ability, it was simply something that he was doing to help himself calm down. If his heart were analogous to a small boat floating on a lake, then this mantra served as an anchor for the boat.

He began to turn to the side so that his back was facing a wall, then strode laterally to the crossroads between the two alleys. Every muscle in his entire body was tensed up, and he was in a defensive posture, not daring to let down his guard even for a split second. He was staring intently into the alley, where Chen Ping'an was standing next to Cai Jinjian, who was laying in a puddle of her own blood. His body was arched forward slightly in an aggressive posture, and he was also staring intently back at Fu Nanhua.

It was a tense confrontation between the two men, and Fu Nanhua wanted to know why Chen Ping'an had done what he did, while Chen Ping'an was simply trying to survive. Cai Jinjian had been Chen Ping'an's only target, but with Fu Nanhua also on the scene, Chen Ping'an reflexively adopted an aggressive posture, more so out of self-preservation than anything else.

"You killed her?" Fu Nanhua asked, even though the answer was obvious.

Chen Ping'an remained silent as he continued to hold onto the murder weapon, which was a porcelain shard that was slightly smaller than the palm of his hand. The exposed tip of the porcelain shard was extremely sharp, and his hand was covered in blood. It was unclear whether the blood belonged to Cai Jinjian, or was the result of the porcelain shard piercing into the palm of his hand.

After looking around to ensure that there was no one else nearby, Fu Nanhua was struck by a sense of absurdity, but at the same time, he also felt as if a heavy load had been lifted off his shoulders. In the end, his gaze fell upon Cai Jinjian. Even in her terrible condition, her natural beauty was still very apparent. Her voluptuous chest was rising and falling ever so slightly, while blood was gushing incessantly out of her neck and mouth.

Her life was about to come to an end, but due to how resilient her body was from her years of cultivation, she was going to suffer a more painful and prolonged death than the average person would in her condition.

A faint smile appeared on Fu Nanhua's face, but there was a bone-chilling gleam in his eyes as he asked, "Why did you kill her? There was no bad blood between you and her. Did you kill her just because she played a prank on you in Clay Vase Alley? Since when did this town become such a lawless place? Have you not heard of the concept of an eye for an eye? If you kill someone, then you have to pay with your life. This is a rule that's set in stone and rings true no matter where you go."

Chen Ping'an remained silent as if he were mute, and Fu Nanhua began to slowly advance toward him in a resolute and steady manner, paying no heed to what Chen Ping'an was thinking.

He knew that there was no saving Cai Jinjian. This wasn't Dawn Cloud Mountain, where immortal energy was available in great abundance. This was an immortal prison where all mystical abilities were restricted, and the only way that she could be saved would be if an almighty terrestrial god or a golden arhat were willing to sacrifice a majority of their cultivation base to capture her soul and revive her from the dead.

Unfortunately for Cai Jinjian, such a massive blessing was not going to fall upon her. The Sage in the town had a very important duty, resembling a deity that ruled over the town, and there was no way that he would interfere with the natural order just to save someone's life.

On the path of cultivation, there were always cases where exceptional prodigies perished under unexpected circumstances. It wasn't exactly a commonplace occurrence, but it definitely wasn't all that rare, either.

If one could attain immortality by simply progressing at a slow and steady rate, avoiding all risks while enjoying all of the benefits of cultivation, then the ultimate goal of immortality would be far too easy to come by for it to have any substantial meaning.

Hence, prior to entering the town, Fu Nanhua was already prepared for the worst, steeling himself to fight for his life if it became necessary to do so, However, he certainly hadn't anticipated that his temporary ally would be killed in such an abrupt and brutal fashion right under the nose of a Sage. In fact, this was the first time that he had ever experienced something like this. There were no powerful immortal treasures used, nor any earth-shattering mystical abilities deployed.

In what seemed like no more than the blink of an eye, Cai Jinjian had been slain by the lowliest of peasants. Fu Nanhua was astonished by what he had just witnessed, and he was struggling to come to terms with this absurd reality. If they had been anywhere outside of this town, it would've been the greatest of honors for an ant like Chen Ping'an to even catch a glimpse of Cai Jinjian from afar.

Fu Nanhua wore a solemn expression as he declared, "I am unable to save Celestial Maiden Cai, nor am I able to kill you in order to avenge her, but if word were to spread that I simply stood by and did nothing after witnessing you murdering my ally in cold blood right in front of my very eyes, then the reputation of our Old Dragon City would be swept to the ground! Hence, I must teach you a lesson no matter what. As for what Dawn Cloud Mountain is going to do in response to the tragic passing of Celestial Maiden Cai, that's something for you to worry about."

This grandiose speech from Fu Nanhua was intended to be heard by the Sages overseeing this place. He was laying out his reasons to the Sages in advance in order to claim the moral high ground so that he would be justified in punishing Chen Ping'an. There was also a chance that at some point in the future, the esteemed elders of Dawn Cloud Mountain were also going to be made aware of what he had said here, and he wanted to make it seem as if he had done everything he could for Cai Jinjian.

Otherwise, given how he had already made up his mind to kill Cai Jinjian, he really should've been thanking Chen Ping'an for doing the job in his stead. Thanks to Chen Ping'an's bold and reckless actions, Fu Nanhua had been saved a great deal of hassle, and despite his solemn expression, he was internally ecstatic.

Fu Nanhua continued to approach Chen Ping'an as he said, "Judging from your movements just now, it seems like you possess explosiveness that's superior even to the average grown man. That is quite a rare trait in someone as young as yourself. If you hadn't done what you just did, perhaps you could've joined an army.

“Given your courage and resolve, with some luck, perhaps you could've caught the fancy of a powerful militarian cultivator or a high-ranking general and been rewarded with a body refinement cultivation method. If such an opportunity had come your way, you could've undergone a complete transformation after two or three decades."

While Fu Nanhua was advancing toward Chen Ping'an, the latter began to slowly retreat while still facing the former.

The tall and handsome Fu Nanhua was giving off a natural regal aura as he made his way down the alley.

Fu Nanhua extended a hand forward with the palm facing down, and it was hovering around waist height as he smiled and mused, "It's a pity that you simply aren't blessed by good fortune. Otherwise, if you had been able to follow the path that I just envisioned for you, the height of your achievements could've reached about here... Well, no, even then, that would've been impossible for you."

Fu Nanhua was very much amused by his own joke, and his smile grew even wider. Right as he took another step forward, he suddenly stopped so that his foot was suspended around half a foot above the ground, and he concluded, "My apologies, I meant that this could've been the height of your ceiling."

It was difficult for Fu Nanhua not to be ecstatic. After entering the town, he had made a deal with Song Jixin that had reaped him far greater rewards than he had originally anticipated.

After that, Cai Jinjian, who could've very likely become a hindrance on his path to pursuing the Great Dao, had been killed right before his very eyes. Not only were his hands clean of her blood, he could take the two pouches of gold essence copper coins in her possession free of charge, and perhaps he would even be able to find a couple of secret treasures from Dawn Cloud Mountain on her body.

Even if those treasures weren't the best that Dawn Cloud Mountain had to offer, they definitely wouldn't have been far from that caliber. He was confident that Cai Jinjian wouldn't have entered the town without any treasures to protect her. As an example, he was carrying a pair of extremely powerful treasures himself. Aside from that Old Dragon Rainbringer, which was nothing more than a red herring, the other treasures in his possession were just about the best that Old Dragon City had to offer.

Hence, there was a popular saying among shady and disreputable cultivators, which was that there were sure to be rewards to be reaped from burying the dead.

While passing by Cai Jinjian's body, Fu Nanhua didn't even take a single glance at her.

Instead of feeling fearful from the scent of blood in the air, it only served to evoke a sense of excitement within him.

With Fu Nanhua making his way toward Chen Ping'an, while the latter continued to back away, a gap of around a dozen meters was maintained between them.

All Fu Nanhua had to do was ensure that Chen Ping'an couldn't escape from the alley. Otherwise, it would be next to impossible for him to catch Chen Ping'an, given that he had grown up his entire life here and knew the layout of the town like the back of his hand.

Furthermore, the lifeless body of Cai Jinjian was a prime example of what the unassuming Chen Ping'an was capable of. If he allowed Chen Ping'an to get away and catch his breath, there was a chance that he could end up following in Cai Jinjian's footsteps.

It seemed like Fu Nanhua was a hunter that was casually stalking his prey, but in reality, he was adjusting the rhythm of his own body. After all, ever since he had officially embarked on the path of cultivation at nine years of age, he had never had to win a battle that was purely a physical brawl.

Of course, he wasn't going to fight Chen Ping'an to the death as that would be extremely foolish. Having already secured a fated opportunity from Song Jixin, there was another one waiting for him in the form of Cai Jinjian. However, Chen Ping'an was very volatile and unpredictable, and he had to ensure that the boy would be bedridden for the near future so that he wouldn't be able to meddle any further in his plans.

With that in mind, Fu Nanhua suddenly smiled and asked, "What was your name again?"

Even though Chen Ping'an's hand was still bleeding profusely, the look on his face was as resilient as the weeds in the wilderness, and he offered a response completely unrelated to Fu Nanhua’s questions. "Don't try to trick me. I have really good eyesight, so I can tell that the way you're looking at me now is the exact same way that she was looking at me while she was talking to me in Clay Vase Alley."

Fu Nanhua faltered slightly upon hearing this, and he was feeling very impressed by Chen Ping'an as he chuckled, "How interesting."

Fu Nanhua appeared to be quite casual and relaxed in his speech and demeanor, but in reality, he had been keeping tabs on Chen Ping'an's profusely bleeding left hand this entire time.

The fact that it was still bleeding indicated that he hadn't relaxed his grip on the porcelain shard even for a second, and the average person would've most likely already dropped the shard, unable to bear the agony.

Earlier, Fu Nanhua had only been lamenting Chen Ping'an's ill fortune in jest, but now, he was beginning to realize that Chen Ping'an really could've had a bright future ahead had his circumstances been more fortunate.

In Fu Nanhua's eyes, it was about time that he made a move, so he asked one final question that he was interested in. "The fact that you killed her so decisively must've meant that someone told you what she did to you earlier. I'm not curious about who that person is. Instead, what I want to know is how a child like you, who grew up your entire life in this town, was able to get over the mental hurdle so quickly and kill someone with... such a clear conscience.

“Do you understand what I'm asking? Even back when I claimed my first kill, I began trembling after the adrenaline and excitement faded, and I had to recite calming mantras for a very long time before I felt slightly better, yet you did it as if you were simply taking a stroll or having a meal. It just doesn't make sense..."

Chen Ping'an's face had been completely devoid of expression this entire time, but all of a sudden, a look of shock and horror appeared on his face as he stared past Fu Nanhua, as if Cai Jinjian had suddenly returned from the dead.

The cautious and careful Fu Nanhua reflexively turned around, but after turning halfway around, it dawned on him that he had been tricked.

By the time he turned back around, Chen Ping'an was already nowhere to be seen!

As it turned out, in the same instant that Chen Ping'an had put on that shocked and horrified expression, he had immediately begun charging at Fu Nanhua. After taking three steps, he took off forcefully using his left foot, launching himself high up into the air, then pushed off from one of the walls that lined the alley using his right foot. As a result, he was able to rapidly change direction, pouncing at Fu Nanhua with his left hand raised up high.

In that instant, he truly resembled an eagle that was hunting a snake.