Chapter 17 With the guilty-looking Yu Jitang clearing the way for the born prodigy, Wu Chen…

With the guilty-looking Yu Jitang leading the way, Wu Chen and Lu Qing entered the Sword Casting Manor without any trouble.

The manager of the Sword Forging Manor, who came to greet them, learned that Wu Chen wanted to forge a weapon for Lu Qing, so he invited them to the Qiuqiang Pavilion. "This is where our Sword Forging Manor displays sample weapons. For every weapon forged by our Sword Forging Manor, we make a slightly smaller replica and place it here. Young Master Wu and Miss Lu, please take a look. Miss Lu, see if there's anything you like, and we can make it according to your preferences."

Although Qiuqiang Pavilion is called a pavilion, looking inside from the entrance, it seems bottomless, with various weapons displayed on the walls on both sides. All of them gleam with a cold light and exude a sharp, intimidating aura.

Lu Qing was shocked. "There must be several thousand of these, right?"

The manager said with great pride, "There are a total of 37,600 replicas here."

"They all have spirits?" Lu Qing felt her eyes were dazzled by the cold light, and she felt an urge to cry.

“Oh, no,” the steward explained with a smile. “Forging weapons with spirits is too costly; not everyone can afford it. To date, our Sword Forging Manor has forged 3,332 divine weapons with spirits. Keep walking inside; the replicas of those weapons are at the very back. But if you're just starting your cultivation, young lady, you only need to forge a suitable weapon. Many great figures who have made their mark on history used weapons without spirits. In the end, they could still achieve the state of oneness between man and sword.”

"Oh, oh. I see." Lu Qing looked around curiously.

The manager didn't seem to mind. Every first-time visitor to Qiuqiang Pavilion would spend a long time admiring the weapons. "You two are welcome to appreciate them to your heart's content. I've left a young servant outside to attend to you. If you need anything, just give him your instructions."

Wu Chen thanked him, and the steward left on his own.

Lu Qing's eyes were opened wide. Although Wu Chen's forging of weapons for her was just an excuse to enter this place, she really wanted to try them out. "I can touch them..."

"Is that right?"

Wu Chen laughed and said, "Why not? Although these are replicas, they are still made of metal and stone. You can touch them; they won't break."

"That's absolutely right!" Lu Qing excitedly stepped forward.

Wu Chen added, “There are over 30,000 items here. If you were to examine each one individually, it would probably take us ten days to half a month to leave this Qiuqiang Pavilion. Why don’t we start by appreciating the best weapons?”

"That's absolutely right!" Lu Qing's tone became even more sincere, and with her admiring gaze, Wu Chen was amused and smiled, then led her deeper into Qiuqiang Pavilion.

The deeper they went, the more biting the cold became. Seeing her shivering, Wu Chen stretched out his long arm and pulled her close. Lu Qing instinctively gripped his sleeve tightly.

The depths of Qiuqiang Pavilion are built inside the mountain. The oppressive feeling brought by the more than three thousand divine weapons is like the difference between a towering wave and a gentle stream compared to the outside. The cold air of the mountain mixed with the sharp edge of the weapons made it difficult for Lu Qing to breathe.

“Wu Chen,” Lu Qing suddenly clutched the front of her shirt, “I have a strange feeling.”

"What?" Wu Chen stopped and looked down at her.

Lu Qing stared blankly at the various divine weapons on both sides. "They feel very familiar, but I'm also very sure I've never seen them before. It's just a strange sense of familiarity, you know?"

Wu Chen thought for a moment and then let go of her hand.

Lu Qing asked nervously, "Where are you going?"

Wu Chen comforted her, "I'll stay here and not go anywhere." As he spoke, he took a strangely shaped weapon from the mountain wall and threw it at Lu Qing, "Catch."

Lu Qing inexplicably reached out and caught the weapon that looked like a stick. Holding it in both hands, he twisted it and broke the Divine Martial Chamber into two pieces.

Lu Qing pressed her lips tightly together in surprise, afraid that she would scream out.

Wu Chen then picked out another umbrella-shaped garment from the side. He walked up to Lu Qing and exchanged it with the weapon in her hand.

Lu Qing twisted the umbrella handle and drew out a slender sword that shone like autumn water.

"What's going on?" Lu Qing lowered her voice, her astonishment mixed with unbelievable joy. "Could it be that I'm a natural genius, self-taught?"

Wu Chen didn't hesitate to rebuke her, "You've got the wrong idea."

Lu Qing retorted, "What if it is?"

Wu Chen took the weapon, put it back in its original place, then walked back a short distance, found a genuine replica without a spirit, and handed it to Lu Qing.

Lu Qing took it, but it didn't feel familiar at all. She looked at it over and over for a while, finally giving up and handing it to Wu Chen. Wu Chen casually picked up another one and gave it to her. Lu Qing examined it carefully for a moment, then shook her head, "It's probably just a sword, nothing special, right?"

Wu Chen pinched the hilt with his hand, and the hilt immediately separated, revealing a sword within a sword.

Lu Qing looked into the depths of Qiuqiang Pavilion, then back to the entrance, completely baffled. He could only ask Wu Chen, "What's going on here?"

She was inexplicably familiar with top-tier weapons, but completely unfamiliar with weapons without spirits.

Wu Chen silently repeated "spirit" several times in his mind, probably because the key was still with this spirit. "Don't bother thinking about it. If there are no clues, you won't figure it out even if you rack your brains."

Lu Qing gritted his teeth, "A scholar can be killed but not humiliated."

Wu Chen laughed out loud, and before she could bite again, he quickly said, "Alright, alright, I was wrong. Go and see what kind of weapon you like. Since we're here, let's forge a divine weapon before we leave, so we won't go back empty-handed."

The surprise came too suddenly. She thought Wu Chen was just using this as a pretext, but it turned out he really wanted to forge a weapon for her. A smile welled up in Lu Qing's eyes. Afraid of laughing too smugly, she tried hard to control herself, so she looked rather affectionate. "Wu Chen, you're so good to me. What will I do if I can't find someone better than you in the future?"

The pearl's glow illuminated her delicate face, and her large, watery eyes seemed to truly hold countless emotions. Wu Shen knew that her words didn't mean anything by them, yet he still couldn't suppress his heart fluttering. He raised his hand, covered his mouth and nose with his sleeve, and coughed lightly twice, "Little girl, you're not allowed to say such things again."

"Why? That's what I think, why can't I say it?" Lu Qing asked curiously.

Wu Chen coughed twice more. "You can say it in front of me, but you can't say it when other people are around."

Lu Qing wanted to say that the "Book of Rites" didn't say that. But seeing the gentler look in Wu Chen's eyes than usual, she smiled and remained silent.

The two continued deeper into Qiuqiang Pavilion. Along the way, Lu Qing disassembled and played with the divine weapons, while Wu Chen explained the ingenuity of their designs to her.

They didn't know how much time had passed before they reached the innermost part. But at the deepest part of Qiuqiang Pavilion, instead of the Sword Forging Manor's most prized creation, there was a portrait of a person enshrined.

Unlike typical black and white portraits, this portrait is painted with a blend of colors, and the hair, skin, and clothing are all incredibly lifelike.

The portrait depicts a strikingly beautiful man and woman standing side by side. Strangely, however, the portrait is unsigned.

Wu Chen and Lu Qing looked for a long time but couldn't figure out anything.

Just then, a series of rapid clanging sounds came from outside.

Wu Chen took Lu Qing's hand and decisively walked outside.

Standing at the entrance of Qiuqiang Pavilion, they saw several people leaping along the mountain path, heading towards the summit of Zhujian Manor. Many more, however, stopped what they were doing and looked back in astonishment towards the summit.

For example, the children waiting at the entrance of Qiuqiang Pavilion.

Wu Chen then asked him, "What happened?"

The child looked completely bewildered, and even asked him in return, "Was that the sound of the clapper just now?"

Wu Chen patiently replied, "Exactly."

The child seemed incredulous. "Master once said that the sound of the cloud clapper meant something serious had happened. If there were nine soundes of the cloud clapper, all the chief stewards of the manor would need to rush to the summit immediately."

So what major event has occurred at Sword Forging Manor that requires all the chief stewards to go there immediately?

Wu Chenyi pulled Lu Qing's hand, "Come on, let's go take a look."

Aren't you afraid of being kicked out?! Lu Qing thought for a moment, then remained silent. It wasn't her who would lose face anyway.

The sound of the gong sent a chill down the spines of everyone at the Sword Forging Manor. The two of them had been traveling for some time, only being stopped when they were almost at the summit. "Who dares to trespass?"

The young man blocking the road looked extremely suspicious.

Wu Chen calmly cupped his hands in greeting. "I am Wu Chen, a divine servant of the Divine Palace. I just heard that something terrible has happened at the manor. I have a companion, also a divine servant of the Divine Palace. We were worried about his safety, so we came to check on him."

The shrine's reputation was too great, and the priest was likely the next high priest; how could the young man not have heard of it? But with such a major incident in the manor, he dared not let them pass so easily. "Priest Priest, please wait a moment."

He left another companion to wait there while he ran to the summit to inquire.

Just then, a young couple also quickly came towards the summit. Their faces were somber and their eyes were red, as if they had just been crying.

Upon seeing Wu Chen and Lu Qing, two strangers standing there, both of them were taken aback. "Who are you?"

Wu Chen bowed and said, "Divine Palace, Wu Chen."

The two immediately straightened their posture and respectfully bowed to Wu Chen, saying, "Greetings, Lord Wu."

Wu Chen remained calm and composed. "And who are you two?"

The man then said, "I am Tie Zhilan, the son of the manor lord. This is my wife, Du Xiaoyu."

Wu Chen said, "So it's Young Master Tie and his wife. I wonder what major event has happened. There's something I can do to help."

Tie Zhilan forced a smile. "It shouldn't be anything serious. However, Lord Wu is an honored guest, and we have been negligent in our hospitality. Xiaoyu, you stay here and help me entertain Lord Wu. I'll go check on him and come right back."

Mrs. Tie, Du Xiaoyu, gave her husband a deep look, "Go in peace."

Given the complexity of her expression, Lu Qing strongly suspected that she had omitted the word "death."

A note from the author:

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