His mind returned to the Demon Suppressing Tower on Tongye Continent. Chen Ping'an opened his eyes, rose to his feet, and saw that tall old gentleman again. Silently, Chen Ping'an cupped his hands in salute.
The first time, the gentleman had taken him to the summit of Sui Mountain. The second time, as the last Yin Guan, Chen Ping'an had represented all the sword cultivators of the Sword Qi Great Wall at the riverside council.
Earlier, in the small town of his hometown, Chen Ping'an had only met the Dao Ancestor. He had not been able to meet Venerable Master Confucius or Buddha.
At Sui Mountain, Chen Ping'an had met Venerable Master Confucius for the first time. Afterward, the gentleman had asked him what he thought. There was nothing to hide from his teacher, so Chen Ping'an had told the truth: if he happened upon Venerable Master Confucius wearing Confucian robes in some market alley, he would wonder whether the old gentleman had... roamed the jianghu in his youth.
The old scholar had laughed happily for a long while, saying that it was a good assessment—an excellent one.
The moment Chen Ping'an saw his teacher's expression and look in his eyes, he knew trouble was brewing. He worried that his teacher would go to the Temple of Literature afterward, or get drunk with Jingsheng Xiping and spread the story everywhere, so he had made his teacher promise not to tell outsiders. The old scholar had agreed verbally, but in truth, not only Jingsheng Xiping of the Forest of Merit, but even the one chief and two deputy leaders of the Temple of Literature, Old Master Fu, Old Mister Li, and many others already knew this assessment. Outsiders? There were hardly any outsiders in the Temple of Literature now. In particular,