Unsheathed

Chapter 224: Talented Scholar and Beautiful Lady

Chapter 224: Talented Scholar and Beautiful Lady

On the tall stage in the middle of the lake, the old immortal demonstrated his incredible abilities again, using four yellow paper talismans to summon four beautiful women. They were all shapely and beautiful in different ways, and they were no inferior to the beautiful woman in colorful robes just then.

He then asked the well-prepared attendants and servants in the residence to carry a guqin and guqin table, a Go table and Go set, and a large desk and the four treasures of the study onto the stage. There was a dazzling array of items.

Mortal humans cared about firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea, while scholars and refined people naturally cared about guqin, Go, calligraphy, and painting. The latter group of people did no housework or hard labor, and their sleeves were filled with elegant and refreshing wind.

The old immortal pointed at the woman gracefully sitting in front of the Go table before cupping his fists and asking in a loud voice, "Are there any Go masters in Blusher Prefecture? If anyone manages to defeat her, then they'll be able to take this Go table and the two boxes of Go pieces that are worth 1000 taels of gold."

Nothing in this residence was cheap.

In any case, one naturally wouldn't dare to show off cheap and ordinary items in front of so many officials and wealthy nobles.

Colorful Garment Nation's Blusher Prefecture was especially fond of scholarly arts, so there were many people in the prefectural city who were passionate and skilled at Go. It wasn't long before an elder in azure stood up and walked toward the tall stage in the middle of the lake. Upon seeing this, some haughty Go players could only obediently sit back down. Judging from this, it was clear that the elder in azure was definitely the number one Go player in Blusher Prefecture.

The old immortal and the elder in azure acknowledged each other with a nod. The latter then walked to the Go table and sat down. Before starting the game, the two sides needed to decide who played first. Perhaps the elder was feeling conceited about his seventh rank, or perhaps he viewed himself as the elder among the two people at the same rank, so he immediately grabbed a handful of white pieces.

The woman who was transformed from a yellow paper talisman smiled faintly before bending down to retrieve two black pieces. After counting the white pieces, it was decided that the elder in azure would use black and play first[1].

A chorus of raucous cheers instantly rang out around the lake.

As one of the top-notch Go players in Colorful Garment Nation, the elder in azure was naturally the pride of Blusher Prefecture. As such, it was only reasonable for the guests around the lake to cheer for him. After all, they would naturally support their own.

The old immortal pointed toward the two women sitting behind the large desk. He pointed at the woman to the left and said, "Prefectural Overseer Liu, I heard that you've been worried about something recently. The newly constructed temple is still missing a couplet, so after she finishes writing one up, you can have a look at it and decide whether you want to use it or not. Your essays are brilliant and well-renowned throughout the imperial court, and your exquisite judgement will naturally allow you to make a good decision."

Prefectural Overseer Liu stroked his beard as he nodded and smiled. He appeared both reserved and pleased.

The old immortal then turned his attention to the general sitting beside Prefectural Overseer Liu in the waterside pavilion. He laughed loudly and said, "General Ma, you're a brave general with great merits, and you were once a member of the core forces who guarded the border of Colorful Garment Nation. You only returned after experiencing a hundred battles. Even though I'm from a foreign nation, I still have utmost respect for you. So, I'm going to humbly ask her to paint a snowy battlefield scene for you!"

The general downed the wine in his glass and roared with delighted laughter. "If the painting is good, and if it can truly capture the vast atmosphere of the battlefield, then I'll personally see you off for fifteen kilometers when you leave!"

The old immortal cupped his fists and thanked the general in advance. He then walked to the guqin table and retrieved a stick of incense from his sleeve. He placed the stick of incense in an empty copper censer and personally lit it up. Smoke wafted into the sky, and a purple aura drifted around the incense.

He nodded at the beautiful woman sitting in front of the guqin, and the latter gave a pleasant smile before lowering her head and starting to prepare herself mentally.

When the melodious and ethereal tune of the guqin sounded, the minds of the hundreds of guests around the lake immediately started to relax.

In the primitive past, sages invented the guqin to right the sounds of the world. The guqin could restrict lust and evil and right one's mind[2].

Sitting inside a corridor, Xu Yuanxia snacked on sunflower seeds as he clicked his tongue in wonder. "He's got quite a few tricks up his sleeves. However, they're all so gentle and mellow, so this is lacking some excitement."

The big-bearded martial artist had little knowledge regarding the scholarly arts of guqin, Go, calligraphy, and painting, so it was only normal that he was feeling a distinct lack of interest. He was more willing to watch those women brandish their swords. The woman in colorful robes and the eight young women in white had twisted their hips and vaguely shown off the curves of their supple bottoms. That was the kind of beautiful scene that he liked to watch.

The young scholar Liu Gaohua was also addicted to Go, so he was very interested in the game between the elder in azure and the young woman. However, he didn't have the right to enter the stage to watch the game, and he could only blame himself for being such an incapable descendant of an official.

Zhang Shanfeng was truly worried at this moment. After waiting for so long, Chen Ping'an was still yet to return from his trip to the toilet. He hadn't truly fallen into the toilet, had he? Ignoring the surrounding guests rolling their eyes at him, he gave Xu Yuanxia and Liu Gaohua a heads-up before standing up and heading off to look for Chen Ping'an.

The old immortal had a tranquil smile on his face as he stood with his hands inside his opposite sleeves. He appeared profound and enigmatic, and he observed everything that was happening around the lake. He knew that half of his plan had already succeeded.

————

Ma Kuxuan retrieved a small porcelain bottle as he walked along the street. After pouring two silver pills into his hand and tossing them into his mouth, he said in exasperation, "Master, you're like a ghost that can't stop haunting me."

By the looks of it, his master had been following him around the entire time during his travels and fights in the cultivation world. Ma Kuxuan felt extremely helpless and exasperated about this. However, he roughly understood his master's character; the man was a stubborn and pedantic person who would become unwavering once he set his mind on something.

Ma Kuxuan wasn't feeling guilty or anything. In fact, the old ancestor who had taught the secret techniques of the Militarian Sect to him and bestowed him with powerful immortal treasures had told him that apart from the mountain master's order, True Martial Mountain didn't have any genuine rules or regulations. Moreover, the sect master had already cultivated in seclusion for a hundred years, so order had long since become lax.

The man remained silent.

He had left True Martial Mountain this time in order to protect Ma Kuxuan as he went to seek trouble with the commander of the Sea Tide Cavalry. This pertained to the death of Ma Kuxuan's grandmother.

The empire that the Sea Tide Cavalry belonged to had coincidentally fought a brutal war with its mortal enemy not long ago. It had been an earth-shattering war. One empire had deployed its deity that measured 300 meters in height, while the other empire had also deployed a colossal bull that was responsible for guarding the nation. Apparently, it was an iron bull that immortals had used to suppress the waters in the ancient past.

The Sea Tide Cavalry had suffered heavy casualties in the war, and Ma Kuxuan's infiltration had also resulted in the death of three additional middle-ranked generals in a single night. After assassinating them, Ma Kuxuan had left without a care in the world.

Afterward, the Militarian cultivator hadn't rejected Ma Kuxuan's request when the young boy had said that he wanted to travel through the cultivation world to temper his physique. However, he had continued to secretly follow Ma Kuxuan around, lest anything untoward happen to the young boy.

Ma Kuxuan wiped his tears away and exhaled heavily. He then placed his hands behind his head and asked, "If — I'm saying if — Chen Ping'an had the opportunity to kill me, would you step forward to kill him first?"

The man finally replied, saying, "I don't dare, and I don't want to either."

He wouldn't dare to because of a certain person that had once barged into the palace of the Great Li Empire and severely damaged the White Jade Capital. That person clearly had a strong relationship with Chen Ping'an.

If it were only this, then some people would still feel the itch to target Chen Ping'an as time went on.

Unexpectedly, however, the transcendent sword immortal at the Upper Five Tiers had returned to the mortal world much sooner than anyone had expected. Even though he had been pummeled into the Majestic World by True Invincible, the second disciple of the Dao Ancestor, how many people in the world were even qualified to take a full power punch from this person?

He didn't want to because he had a fairly good impression of Chen Ping'an. If it weren't for the request of the sect, he felt like the young boy from Clay Vase Alley who had already comprehended the true intent of fist techniques was, in fact, more suitable than Ma Kuxian to become his disciple.

However, the sect leader had issued a strict decree during a critical moment of his seclusion, and he had ordered True Martial Mountain to take Ma Kuxuan as a direct disciple and treat this matter with utmost importance. He wouldn't accept a single mistake. Otherwise, he would hold those in charge accountable once he exited seclusion.

It was because of this that True Martial Mountain had sent him to Jewel Small World. While fighting over Ma Kuxuan with the Golden Boy and Jade Girl from Divine Edict Sect, the Militarian cultivator had also been unwilling to take a backward step the entire time. In fact, he had appeared extremely stubborn and unruly, aggressive even.

With that said, it was actually incorrect to view the man as Ma Kuxuan's master, even in name only. The Buddhist Sect had lecturer monks, ascetic monks, missionary monks, guardian monks, and so on. In the same vein, the Militarian cultivator's true role was the Dao guardian of Ma Kuxuan. He was responsible for protecting Ma Kuxuan as the latter progressed through his journey of comprehending the Great Dao. As such, it wasn't important whether Ma Kuxuan's Great Dao aligned with his or not.

"But you may kill Chen Ping'an. Well, that's if you have the ability," the man suddenly added.

The man naturally wasn't encouraging Ma Kuxuan to do this. Instead, he was simply stating a fact.

Ma Kuxuan sneered and replied, "If I have the ability to? Why wouldn't I have the ability to?! Other people might not know how many immortal treasures are in my pocket treasure, but you know it very well."

The man smiled and countered, "You have immortal treasures, but your opponent doesn't have any?"

Ma Kuxuan cracked a grin and said with a scornful expression, "So what if he has immortal treasures as well? Can they compare to mine? To say nothing of the golden immortal molt passed down through the generations in True Martial Mountain, just the two heroic spirits guarding my soul are akin to the most destructively powerful sword cultivators. As long as my opponent isn't at the Middle Five Tiers, so what if they stab me hundreds or thousands of times with their flying sword? Will they be able to harm a single hair of mine?"

"Then why didn't you use them? Why did you insist on getting beaten up so badly?" the man asked.

"This fight was far more interesting than those small skirmishes on True Martial Mountain. How can I willingly use those crappy immortal treasures to defeat that person and have him suffer a confused death? This goes against my personality, and I'm not willing to bully Chen Ping'an like this either.

"So, I'm going to comprehensively defeat him in the area that he views as his greatest asset and advantage. Isn't he a pure martial artist who possesses an innate advantage in terms of physique? Then I'll use my physique that's been tempered by Militarian cultivation methods to fight with him head-on. Master, did you truly think I was unaware of the strangeness and power of Chen Ping'an's fist technique simply because I confined our fight to a small area?"

Ma Kuxuan smiled and continued, "I was well aware of this. Otherwise, I wouldn't have purposely avoided Chen Ping'an's fist technique the first time around. However, when I thought about it, why did I need to avoid the fist technique of a third tier martial artist? Since this was the case, would I also need to avoid the attacks of sixth tier martial artists and ninth tier grandmasters in the future? Even if I become more powerful and possess the upper hand in terms of cultivation base, will I still need to avoid the attacks of End Tier grandmasters like Song Changjing?"

"Then what's your answer?" the man asked.

Ma Kuxuan looked back. The two of them had already walked very far, and they were soon about to arrive at the city gate. The young boy with the wooden sword case was already nowhere to be seen. Ma Kuxuan retracted his gaze, and a look of determination appeared in his eyes as he replied, "If I'm fighting against other people in the future, then I can decide whether or not to avoid their most powerful attacks depending on the situation. This won't matter as long as I win in the end. However, I can't accept this if it's against that person! I insist on using my physique as a fifth tier Qi refiner to fight against him, a third tier martial artist!"

The man didn't offer a response.

Ma Kuxuan frowned and asked, "Why is Chen Ping'an's physique so powerful even though he's only at the third tier? Even though I didn't do too well in terms of tempering my physique, having spent more of my time and effort to recruit ancestral heroic spirits of True Martial Mountain, my so-called 'not too well' is only in comparison to myself. How does Chen Ping'an possess such an unreasonably powerful physique?"

The man shook his head and replied, "Everyone has their own fated opportunity. Do you think you are able to obtain all of the good things in the world?"

Ma Kuxuan snickered and said, "As long as it's within my vision or reach, then all of the good things in the world should belong to me and only me!"

The man dismissed this with a smile.

There were many things that he didn't say and many principles that he didn't explain, but this didn't mean that Ma Kuxuan was correct. There were also many words of praise that he didn't offer, but this didn't mean that Ma Kuxuan hadn't done well enough.

Dao guardians simply needed to guarantee that the person they were guarding could walk higher and further along their path of the Great Dao. They simply needed to be protected from premature death.

As for Ma Kuxuan, he was destined to walk very high and very far.

As for how high and how far exactly, and which historical figure he could rival, many mighty figures hidden in the background of Eastern Treasured Vial Continent were watching on with eager anticipation.

As they walked, Ma Kuxuan eventually held a hand to his abdomen and a hand to his face, cursing, "It hurts so fucking much!"

————

Chen Ping'an forcefully replenished his Qi and didn't allow his concentration to falter. After doing this, he swept his gaze around to look for the so-called assassin. There was no corpse on the street, so he could only jump onto the wall and dash forward with his back slightly bent. He suddenly stopped after a while, and he lightly jumped to the ground. This was where he and Ma Kuxuan had first confronted each other.

There was a pile of ashes sitting here, and there was also a small white bowl and a charcoal-like piece of ebony resting on top of the ashes. Chen Ping'an didn't walk over, and he remained still in the same spot as he focused his gaze. The true appearances of the Five Mountains were painted on the outside of the exquisite white bowl. However, he couldn't detect anything special about the piece of ebony.

This assassin had most likely been killed in an instant by the Militarian cultivator from True Martial Mountain. The Militarian cultivator had then used a secret technique to disintegrate the assassin's corpse into a pile of ashes. However, he hadn't destroyed the two precious treasures owned by the assassin, and he had instead purposely left them lying here. Perhaps this was the Militarian cultivator's way of apologizing to him?

Chen Ping'an hesitated for a moment before walking over and squatting down. He picked up the piece of ebony that was only a foot long. It was quite hefty, and it surprisingly weighed four to five kilograms. He then picked up the small white bowl and spun it around in his hands. Examining it carefully, he saw that there were names written next to the drawings of the Five Mountains. If Chen Ping'an remembered it correctly, these were most likely the Five Mountains of Ancient Elm Nation.

It wasn't difficult for Chen Ping'an to guess the assassin's identity. This was most likely someone sent by the scholar with the surname Chu from the ancient residence. According to his claims, even the emperor of Ancient Elm Nation only enjoyed the same standing as him. Before dying, his body had also transformed into rotten wood, clearly a sign that he had used a substitution technique to avoid death. He had made a threat as well, saying that he would definitely cause trouble for Chen Ping'an in the future.

Afterward, things had become simple and clear when Yang Huang had explained the situation regarding his wife and her female elm wood core. The foundation of Scholar Chu's Great Dao had been his body which was transformed from a section of ancient elm, as well as the female elm wood core of the female ghost from the ancient residence. It was due to this that the tree spirit had used the term "again and again" after being suppressed by Chen Ping'an.

Since these were relics left by his mortal enemy, Chen Ping'an didn't feel a shred of guilt when taking them. Not only that, but he even started to grumble about how poor the assassin was. How did they have so few possessions? Why didn't they have a few dozen snowflake coins on them?

Chen Ping'an placed the small white bowl and the hefty piece of ebony in his pocket treasure. He was truly unable to walk much further, so he dragged himself another dozen or so steps to a tall and sturdy apricot tree next to the wall. He leaned against the wall and slowly sat down. He then retrieved a clean shirt from Fifteenth and carefully wiped off his blood.

After all, he couldn't run back to the lakeside corridor with his body drenched in blood after saying that he was going to the toilet, could he? Not only would Xu Yuanxia and Zhang Shanfeng feel suspicious of him, but even the other guests in the corridor would very likely create a scene. Today was a lively and bustling day, so Chen Ping'an didn't want to become the center of attention. He didn't want to cause trouble for Liu Gaohua either.

Chen Ping'an was able to endure hardships and withstand pain, but this didn't mean that hardships and pain were any less uncomfortable. His internal organs were wounded quite heavily during his life-and-death battle with Ma Kuxuan inside the circle, so all he wanted to do right now was to sit down and not think about anything.

The performance on the tall stage in the middle of the lake was still ongoing, so Chen Ping'an could still hear the applause and delighted shouts of the guests around the lake. However, his sight was blocked by a corridor and the packed guests, so he was unable to see the spectacular performance directed by the old immortal. He couldn't do anything about this, so he decided to glance up and look around instead.

The old apricot tree beside him had a large crown and many branches. There were many blooming apricot blossoms, and the tree enjoyed many wisps of spring breeze.

Different people were indeed very different from each other.

Ma Kuxuan had also come from the small town, but he was the kind of person extremely indifferent toward things that he didn't care about. For example, he had never cared about other people calling him a retard and stepping on his new shoes to make them dirty. When it came to things that he did care about, however, he couldn't accept other people being better than him, not even by a single bit.

On the contrary, Liu Xianyang would choose to directly give up when he realized that Chen Ping'an had surpassed him. For example, he had chosen to give up on bow-making, trap-laying, and so on.

As for Gu Can, the snotty little kid from Clay Vase Alley, he had hoped for Chen Ping'an to become even more skilled and capable. That way, he could also share in the honor by following behind Chen Ping'an.

Of course, apart from these people's innate personality, their actions also depended on the closeness or distance of their relationship with other people.

Chen Ping'an grabbed his Sword Nurturing Gourd and took a swig of liquor. A burning sensation tore through his acupoints, making him feel even worse than before. However, this was the strange nature of the world. Even though this was incredibly painful, Chen Ping'an couldn't help but want to drink more as he grimaced and bared his teeth. He didn't drink in large mouthfuls, however, but rather in small sips.

For poor drunkards, even liquid left over from the distillation process was a divine delicacy. As for the shaojiu[3] in Chen Ping'an's gourd, it would've been considered a delicious liquor even to people of much more refined taste.

He felt slightly stifled and aggrieved after his battle with Ma Kuxuan today, but even more delighted and satisfied.

Even though Ma Kuxuan had been careless, allowing Chen Ping'an to have a draw with him, Chen Ping'an had never viewed victory or defeat with much importance anyway. Just like A'Liang said, one needed to avoid death and live on if one wanted to enjoy life.

Chen Ping'an felt like A'Liang's words were unrefined, but the meaning behind them was far from unrefined.

And thus, Chen Ping'an raised his wine gourd high above his head. He shook it slightly and immediately faltered. A sullen expression spread across his face as he lowered his wine gourd in annoyance. At the same time, he swallowed the grand rhetoric and rousing declarations that had already reached the tip of his tongue.

As it turned out, there was no liquor left.

Chen Ping'an lowered his head and retied his wine gourd to his waist. He suddenly recalled something, and he communicated with Fifteenth with his mind. It wasn't long before an embroidered bag appeared in his hands. Opening it, he saw three pieces of peach cake. He leaned down to sniff it, and he determined that it hadn't gone off at all. Pocket treasures were truly mystical, and even after so long, it had kept the peach cakes almost as fresh as when he had received them on Downtrodden Mountain.

Chen Ping'an held the bag in one hand and used his other hand to grab a peach cake. He put it in his mouth and chewed carefully. At the same time, he rested his head against the wall and looked up at the many apricot blossoms decorating the tree.

After eating an entire piece of peach cake, Chen Ping'an was reluctant to eat more. He carefully put the embroidered bag away.

There was a radiant smile on his face. The peach cakes from my shop are so delicious!

His first thought was to give these cakes to Ning Yao for her to try. Chen Ping'an foolishly chuckled to himself for a while as he daydreamed about their reunion. However, he suddenly slapped himself and scolded himself, "Are you stupid?"

————

There was no medicinal water prepared by Wei Bo for Chen Ping'an to bathe in, so his speed of recovery was incredibly slow compared to before. In fact, the difference in speed was like the difference between walking and flying on a sword. However, walking wouldn't be an issue after he rested for a while.

Just as Chen Ping'an was about to stand up and return to the corridor, he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps traveling over from a distance. One set of footsteps was heavy, while one set of footsteps was light. It was most likely a man and a woman.

Chen Ping'an thought for a moment before deciding to stay where he was. He was hidden by the apricot tree, so he could stand up and leave after these two people passed by.

However, what happened next left Chen Ping'an stunned and speechless. The man was seemingly not from Colorful Garment Nation, so he conversed with the woman using the official dialect of Eastern Treasured Vial Continent. After arriving in a shadowy location near the apricot tree, they embraced each other and started to breathe heavily.

The woman's mouth was gently denying the man's advances, but her hands were saying something else entirely. The man was also a shameless person, and he was running his lips all over the woman's face and neck. It was very likely that his hands were doing improper things as well.

Chen Ping'an felt slightly uneasy. What should he do? Call out to warn this pair of illicit lovers? Or hope that they would stop after a while and leave?

It was best not to become involved with these matters and watch on for too long. Otherwise, if he were caught, he would be marked as a filthy peeping tom even if he wasn't.

He hesitated for a moment before ultimately deciding to stand up and cough.

The young woman standing close to the apricot tree shrieked and hid behind the man.

The man strode around the apricot tree and glared at Chen Ping'an, whose face was unclear at this moment. Seeing that this was a skinny young boy who wasn't especially tall, the man immediately felt a strong sense of confidence. "Don't be scared! I won't abandon you even if this rapist who's coveting your beauty beats me to death! If he wants to target you, then he can do it over my dead body!"

The young woman broke into sobs. However, it was unclear whether this was out of fear or because she was moved by the man's words. She rested her shoulder against the man's wide and warm back and murmured in deep emotion, "Mr. Liu, you're so good to me."

Chen Ping'an faltered upon seeing this. He wasn't angry, and he simply didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. Perhaps these two people had been whipped in the head by cow tails when they were younger?

However, remaining in a deadlock like this wasn't helpful to anyone, so Chen Ping'an could only find himself an excuse. He pretended to be embarrassed as he said, "Young Master, Young Mistress, please don't misunderstand. I arrived here earlier than the two of you. This is my first time in this residence, and I don't know where the toilet is. So, I could only..."

However, the man immediately cut him off with a loud roar. "Lecher! Rapist! Hurry up and tighten your belt! What are you trying to do? How repulsive! How can there be such perverted and debauched people in the world?!"

At the same time, he didn't forget to comfort the terrified young woman standing behind him. "Don't worry, Miss Liu[4]. Just hide behind me. Don't dirty your eyes by looking at this kind of person."

In the end, the man secretly winked and pulled a face at Chen Ping'an. His expression was smug, and his face looked as punchable as could be. It was as if his face were saying, "I'm going to play the role of a hero saving a beauty today, so I'm going to take advantage of this situation and win over this young lady. Little brat, hit me if you dare!"

Chen Ping'an looked at him.

He was a fairly handsome young man. His figure was slender, and his face was like jade. He looked like a typical frail scholar. It was no wonder the big-bearded martial artist always muttered that there weren't many good and honest scholars in the world, and that there were too many blind and foolish beauties in the world. These beauties were actually uninterested in him, Xu Yuanxia, and they were instead interested in those frail and sickly scholars!

Chen Ping'an stepped forward and instantly arrived before the young scholar. One slap later, the young scholar collapsed to the side, unconscious before he even hit the ground.

The jaw of the young woman fell open in shock. There was a dazed look in her eyes, and she wanted to shriek in terror. However, she didn't dare to, and she could only forcefully suppress her urge. She was afraid that this violent thug would kill her as well.

At that time, wouldn't she and her new lover become a pair of dead mandarin ducks[5]?

However, weren't talented scholars and beautiful ladies supposed to face disapproval from their parents instead? After overcoming all kinds of obstacles and challenges, weren't they supposed to ultimately obtain happiness and become a couple? The novels never talked about talented scholars and beautiful ladies being brutally beaten to death by thugs and rapists!

Chen Ping'an strode forward and left. He adjusted the wooden case on his back, and he didn't take a single backward glance at the talented scholar and beautiful lady.

1. This describes the process of who goes first in a game of Go. The person with the higher rank (or seniority if at the same rank) grabs a handful of white pieces. The other person grabs one or two black pieces to guess whether there is an odd or even number of white pieces, respectively. If they guess correctly, they use the black pieces and go first. ?

2. From 'Bai Hu Tong', a Confucian text based on the White Tiger Hall Conference held in 79 CE. ?

3. Aka Baijiu. Colorless Chinese liquor typically coming in between 35% and 60% alcohol by volume. ?

4. Different character from Mr. Liu (? vs ?). ?

5. In traditional Chinese culture, mandarin ducks are believed to be lifelong couples, unlike other species of ducks. Hence they are regarded as a symbol of conjugal affection and fidelity. ?