Chen Ping'an was still rather suspicious of A'Liang, but he had to admit that A'Liang was a very interesting person.

He had a donkey that he never rode, he was constantly bickering with Li Huai, and he was determined to swindle Lin Shouyi into drinking alcohol, telling him that fine wine and beautiful women were the best things that this world had to offer. 

He would also always walk circles around Chen Ping'an during the latter's walking meditation sessions, telling him that if he could reach full mastery of this fist technique, then he was going to be an extremely formidable martial artist, able to pummel anyone that he pleased. 

However, he then told Chen Ping'an that violence was never the answer, and that if Chen Ping'an wanted to make it far in life, then he would have to replicate A'Liang by using his looks and his charisma to make others bend to his will.

In addition to that, he would also boast to Zhu He about how his swordsmanship was unmatched, and that whenever he drew his sword, even he was terrified of himself, let alone his opponents. Zhu He merely smiled and nodded in response, but Zhu Lu refused to believe him, insisting that he showed them his abilities with that bamboo saber of his. 

She didn't ask him to demonstrate any devastating sword techniques, all she asked was that he cut down a tree with around the same diameter as the average bowl, and she would concede that she had been wrong about him.

In response, A'Liang told her that this was not a good day for him to show off his sword techniques, and that even though he was already such a master swordsman that he could use anything as a sword, he had to be in the right mood to display his sword techniques. After all, was a powerful swordsman really a powerful swordsman if they didn't have some strange idiosyncrasies? 

Apparently, he was only interested in showing off his sword techniques on days with strong wind, heavy snowfall, or pelting rain. For example, during heavy rain, he would be able to demonstrate how his sword was so fast that it could slice through the air without catching a single drop of rain.

Zhu Lu spat on the ground in disgust, then turned to run away, and A'Liang wasn't bothered by this in the slightest. Instead, he merely turned to Zhu He and remarked that his daughter had a rather foul personality. He also promised Zhu He that if no one wanted to marry Zhu Lu because of her terrible temper, then he would be willing to grant Zhu He the enormous honor of becoming his father-in-law.

From that time onward, Zhu He no longer tried to engage in conversation with A'Liang, leaving him to drink alone in a slightly dejected fashion.

It just so happened that a few days later, as they were approaching the Iron Talisman River, light rain began to fall from the sky. It wasn't a heavy storm, by any stretch of the imagination, but there was definitely rain, nonetheless.

A'Liang was focused on walking along while dragging his donkey behind him when all of a sudden, Zhu Lu stopped him in his tracks. A perplexed look appeared on his face, following which he quickly realized what she wanted, and he said, "Oh, you want me to...