Li Ping'an used his cane to lift the fine saber Chen Shun had dropped.
The blade was long and narrow, its edge thin as paper and gleaming like silver.
A touch told him it was a fine blade of thoroughly tempered steel.
"Roar!!"
The tiger let out a roar.
The next instant, its figure abruptly vanished into thin air.
Standing nearby, Chen Shun and the others saw only an afterimage before it was less than half a foot from Li Ping'an.
It's over!
Chen Shun's heart went cold.
The tiger opened its great, blood-red maw, intent on swallowing Li Ping'an's head in a single bite.
An aura of death emanated from this man, a sensation beyond description.
It made the tiger deeply uncomfortable.
"Whoosh!!"
There was nothing but the piercing sound of air being cleaved.
In that instant, everyone seemed to see a wheel of light trace an arc through the air.
The tiger scattered a rain of blood in midair.
It crashed to the ground, dead beyond any doubt.
Scalding drops of blood struck Chen Shun's face, jolting him awake.
A heavy reek of blood washed over him.
Shocked by the sight before him, Chen Shun involuntarily stepped back.
Li Ping'an produced a rag from somewhere. Holding the saber in his right hand, he wrapped the cloth around his left.
He slid the blade across his cloth-wrapped hand, wiping away the blood.
Then he turned and walked back, slipping the saber into the scabbard at Chen Shun's waist.
The tiger's sudden attack had cost the Peace Escort Agency three escorts at once.
Chen Shun's junior martial sister, Yin Yin, was gravely injured. Fortunately, she had practiced martial arts since childhood, or a single swipe from the tiger would have killed her on the spot.
Still, without timely treatment, her life could well be in danger.
The caravan therefore rested only briefly, wrapping up the bodies to take with them.
They hurried out of the Redwood Forest.
After all, no one knew whether another identical tiger might spring out from somewhere.
Fortunately, after pressing onward as fast as they could, they reached the nearest relay station at noon the next day.
Yin Yin received treatment as well, and her life was out of danger for the time being.
Only then did everyone recover from the events of the previous night.
"Mr. Li, we truly owe you everything this time.
"Ah, it was all my fault for not listening to your warning.
"Fortunately, Mr. Li put aside our earlier offense and came to our aid..."
Hu Er went on and on.
His form of address had changed from Young Master Li to Mr. Li.
It carried a greater measure of respect.
Li Ping'an was feeding the ox. "It's all right," he said mildly.
Just then, Chen Shun came over, supporting the injured Yin Yin.
"Thank you for helping us, Mr. Li. We were young and hotheaded and ignored your warning. Our regret came too late.
"Please don't hold it against us. We will surely repay your great kindness."
After experiencing that brush with death the night before, Chen Shun had matured considerably.
Most importantly, the strength Li Ping'an had displayed had taught him a new lesson.
Beyond every master stood another; beyond every heaven lay another sky.
In his future travels through the martial world, he must never judge anyone by appearances.
Yin Yin also said, "I was ignorant. Please don't blame me, sir."
The young girl was thin-skinned. Remembering how she had behaved before,
she wished she could find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.
Now her face was crimson, her head bowed.
"It's all right." Li Ping'an's tone remained mild.
He was neither proud nor impatient, showing neither arrogance nor anger.
It was as though nothing had happened.
Chen Shun looked at Li Ping'an with even greater admiration. He was exactly like the hidden masters in storybooks.
Though Yin Yin's life was no longer in danger, her injuries were severe.
She certainly could not continue escorting the caravan.
Chen Shun had no choice but to leave a few people to care for Yin Yin, planning to bring her back to Luoshui City to recuperate on their return journey.
At noon the next day, the caravan set out again.
After a day's travel, they finally reached their destination.
Li Ping'an was temporarily lodged in a fairly luxurious inn.
The surroundings were pleasant, and the cook was skilled.
Its only shortcoming was that the wine did not taste very good.
More precisely, it was a sauce-aroma liquor with a distinctive flavor.
Li Ping'an preferred something stronger.
When Chen Shun learned of this, he brought two flasks of liquor to Li Ping'an that very evening.
Li Ping'an took a slight sniff, and a powerful aroma of liquor greeted him.
"Good liquor."
Seeing that Li Ping'an was pleased, Chen Shun was delighted. "My father brought this back from the grasslands on an escort job. It's called Hundred-Mile Fragrance. Folks also call it Stupefying Donkey."
Li Ping'an took a small sip.
It was sweet and fiery on his tongue. After he swallowed,
it felt as though a ball of flame were burning in his belly, heating his entire body.
"Fine liquor indeed."
Chen Shun poured Li Ping'an another cup. "I'll drink with you today as an apology."
Three rounds of drinks and five courses of food later,
Chen Shun was already thoroughly drunk, his words slurred.
His face was red and his neck flushed, as though he might collapse unconscious onto the table at any moment.
Li Ping'an's face was a little red as well.
The sensation was so pleasant that he could not bear to disperse the alcohol with the true qi in his body.
He drained his cup and poured himself another.
"Moo!"
Old Ox called out, indicating that he wanted another cup too.
Li Ping'an stroked Old Ox's head. "The liquor may be delicious, but don't drink too much."
Old Ox gazed reproachfully at Li Ping'an. He clearly wanted to keep the last cup for himself, yet he was trying to fool Old Ox with that talk of not drinking too much.
Li Ping'an smiled and sighed. "You old ox, you do love your drink."
With no other choice, he shared half the last cup with Old Ox.
Man and ox drank the final cup together.
Li Ping'an deftly picked up his erhu and played a little tune.
He had played this piece countless times already, and it came effortlessly to his fingers.
When one rendition ended, he began another.
He had no idea how much time passed or how many times he played it.
Accompanied by the lingering melody, Li Ping'an drifted off to sleep.
When he awoke again, it was already broad daylight outside.
[Ding-dong! The Moon's Reflection on the Second Spring LV2 (9000/10000)] [Congratulations, host. You have obtained the saber technique: Draw-Sword Technique * Diagonal Rising Draw] [Proficiency (20%)]
The system's voice sounded in his mind for the first time in a long while. This time, the reward was once again a saber technique.
As usual,
Li Ping'an took his cane into the courtyard to test it.
Just then, Chen Shun emerged, having sobered up.
He happened to witness the scene.
In an instant, the gentle breeze in the courtyard was repelled by a mysterious force and dispersed completely.
A streak of white light shot like lightning toward a large tree several yards away.
Chen Shun thought he would see the tree come crashing down.
But nothing happened. Chen Shun looked closer.
A falling leaf had been precisely sliced apart.
Chen Shun sucked in a breath of cold air.
And what Li Ping'an held was no divine weapon, merely a wooden stick.
It was no different from a stick used to stoke the fire at home. This was far beyond anything the escorts back home could do.
If I could learn a move or two...
Chen Shun's eyes lit up.
The following day, the caravan set off back to Luoshui City.
The return journey went much more smoothly, with nothing worth mentioning along the way.
Four days later, everyone finally made it back to Luoshui City.
Before you continue