Chapter 100 Side by Side, I'm Willing to Help You Achieve Your Wish

Guan Ye suppressed the sudden surge of tension in her heart, "This thing... I've never seen it before, let alone used it, and I've never even heard of it, but..." Guan Ye coughed a few times, choking on her own saliva, "The art of casting is profound and extensive, and once you understand one principle, you can understand everything. With a little thought, it's not hard to guess the purpose of this thing. It's just a blower, is it that hard to figure out?"

The phrase "Is it hard to see?" sounded like a mockery of his own ignorance. Mu Chenbi's ears burned, and when he looked up, he met Guan Ye's provocative raised eyebrow. Their eyes met, and both of them felt a little awkward. Guan Ye tilted her head to look out the window, and Mu Chenbi hurriedly lowered his phoenix-feather eyelashes again.

“I forgot you’re from Xingguo Ward.” Mu Chenbi broke the silence. “You were born and raised in this century-old weapons workshop, so of course you can see that.”

Guan Ye bit her lip, her gaze still lingering on the window. "You're not bad, are you? You do recognize the materials in the warehouse."

"What do you mean by 'also count'?" Mu Chenbi stood up, holding the spiral blower, sweat beading on his smooth forehead. "I recognize them all."

Guan Ye chuckled. Mu Chenbi suddenly realized that she was teasing him, and he had actually fallen for her trick. The redness from his ears spread to his wheat-colored face, and his whole face became hot.

Guan Ye broke the spiral blower off his hand, touched it carefully, and said, "One day, I will make a bigger and better one. It's a real pity that this thing is not of great use."

Mu Chenbi observed her earnest expression. The young girl possessed the art of forging and aspired to master it. When she spoke of forging, she seemed to be enveloped in a radiant light, no longer a lowly sword slave being ordered around, but a master forger with profound skills and lofty ambitions. Yes, Guan Ye, the great master forger Guan, Mu Chenbi thought, and suddenly couldn't help but smile.

"What are you laughing at?" Guan Ye frowned angrily, taking it as mockery. "You don't believe I can do it?"

Mu Chenbi's smile vanished, his expression suddenly turning serious. "You can definitely do it."

"Then what are you laughing at?" Mu Chenbi's sudden seriousness made Guan Ye's heart pound.

"Laugh at you..." Mu Chenbi's expression softened like a gentle breeze rippling across a pond, "The way you say these words is unlike your usual self, more like that of a remarkable blacksmith."

Guan Ye pondered his words and couldn't help but ask again, "When we were on Canglang Island, I said I wouldn't be a sword slave forever, and they laughed at me, saying that no woman forges swords and they didn't believe I could do it."

"That's because they're ignorant." Mu Chenbi scrutinized Guan Ye. She was so beautiful that she shouldn't be associated with such a hard job as blacksmithing. She should have a carefree life, cherished and pampered by those who love her. But... even if such a life awaited her, she would choose another path. This path was arduous and difficult, yet far more magnificent and grand. Guan Ye would surely forge her own path.

Looking into Guan Ye's resolute eyes, Mu Chenbi secretly vowed that no matter which path she chose, no matter how arduous it was, he would help her to the very end.

“Of course there are female blacksmiths in this world.” Mu Chenbi flung open his robe and took a few steps back. “Where you are standing, there once lived a remarkable female blacksmith. Perhaps the spiral bellows in your hand were made by her.” As soon as he finished speaking, Mu Chenbi realized something. He had visited Tianhu Workshop many times at night in order to find traces left by Lu Chaoge. He thought everything had disappeared, but little did he know that what he was looking for was right under his nose, but he had never noticed it.

Guan Ye looked down and said, "Speaking of the spiral air-blowing method, it was something that Miss and I came up with together." Her father said that the spiral air-blowing method was something he and Lu Chaoge came up with together. Lu Chaoge could do it, and Guan Ye, you can definitely do it too.

"I definitely can do it."

“Xingguo Workshop’s future endeavors should not be limited to military equipment,” Mu Chenbi added. “You just said that if it were to forge a large number of military equipment or tools, it would be willing but unable to do so.”

Seeing that Mu Chenbi still remembered her casual remark, Guan Ye's cheeks flushed slightly, and a surge of emotion welled up in her heart.

"The ambition to revitalize the nation is not limited to military strength, but also requires great skills to strengthen the country. Agricultural machinery and industrial machinery are just as important as military equipment." Mu Chenbi lowered his brows and fell into thought. "Jin has been suffering from a lack of machinery for a long time. Guan Ye, we have too much to do."

"Guan Ye? Guan Ye..." Seeing Guan Ye looking stunned, Mu Chenbi approached and called out a few times.

"I'm here." Guan Ye suddenly snapped back to reality, seemingly having absorbed little of what she'd heard, and patted her chest, declaring, "I'll do it!"

Mu Chenbi gently placed his palm on her shoulder, staring into her eyes and said, "The road ahead is long and arduous, and it is not something you can accomplish alone. I am willing to walk alongside you, clear the obstacles for you, and help you achieve your goals."

Guan Ye glanced at his hand on her shoulder and said, “It’s a long and arduous task, and it’s not something that the two of us can accomplish, nor can Xingguofang alone achieve it. But I, Guan Ye, am willing to give it my all and be a vanguard.”

"Hahahaha." Mu Chenbi laughed heartily, staring intently at Guan Ye. He slowly raised his palm, his eyebrows furrowing as if he had thought of something. He carefully examined the objects piled up in the room, but could not find the one he was looking for.

"What are you still looking for?" Guan Ye asked, seeing through her.

"—An old sword." Mu Chenbi confirmed that the item he was looking for was not in the room. "Perhaps, it cannot even be called a sword."

Guan Ye took it out from her bosom and handed it to Mu Chenbi, saying, "Is this it?"

Mu Chenbi froze in shock. In Guan Ye's hand was the unsharpened short sword that he had accidentally stepped on. "You've kept it with you?"

Guan Ye gently stroked the rounded edges of the short sword and nodded, saying, "I really like this sword. Rather than letting it go unnoticed and never see the light of day, I'd rather keep it with me."

Mu Chenbi drew the short sword from her hand. The blade was slightly warm, seemingly still carrying the girl's body heat. Guan Ye had sharp eyes. She had collected many old things that no one cared about, but who knew if these old things would one day astound the world?

"How can an unsharpened sword protect you?" Mu Chenbi's voice was deep. "Shall I sharpen your sword for you?"

Mu Chenbi spoke sincerely, and the light in his eyes was gentler than Guan Ye had ever seen before. Guan Ye neither agreed nor refused. She turned and walked out of the open doorway, picked up a bright stone in the courtyard, and poured clear well water on it.

Mu Chenbi stepped forward, sword in hand. He pressed the unsheathed blade against a bright stone. The moment the blade touched the stone, its hidden sharpness was revealed. With another touch, it pierced through armor like a meteor. The deep, dark gold color seemed to burst forth. Mu Chenbi held the sword before his eyes. "Indeed, it is a rare and fine sword."

How could the weapons forged by my father be bad? Guan Ye was stunned for a moment, afraid that Mu Chenbi would notice something was wrong. She looked up at the bright red sun in the sky, her eyes moistened by the sting.

Mu Chenbi raised his sleeve to shield Guan Ye from the sun, his phoenix-feathered eyelashes lowering slightly. "The sun is too strong; your eyes are red." He then handed the short sword back to her. "From today onward, he will truly protect you."

"Thank you."

"You don't need to thank me," Mu Chenbi said, feigning displeasure. "I kept it from you first, and I haven't apologized yet. Don't laugh at me, but that day I rushed to Xingguo Lane early... because I wanted to tell you the truth first. I was really afraid... you'd be angry with me and never speak to me again..."

Guan Ye was amused by his serious demeanor, and sheathed her short sword, saying, "I consider you a friend. Between friends, there's no need to talk about being angry. If I were truly angry with you, I wouldn't have brought you here."

"Then there's no need to thank me," Mu Chenbi coaxed gently. "Can you do that?"

Guan Ye turned around and locked the old house door. "Thank you for today, we'll talk about it another day."

Stepping out of the backyard, Mu Chenbi saw a group of blacksmiths working feverishly. He hadn't seen such a scene in a long time. After inspecting each kiln, he couldn't help but admire them. Why were the blacksmiths so listless in the inner workshop? But in Xingguo Workshop, they were all working like they were on steroids. They even enthusiastically invited Guan Ye to give them some pointers. Guan Ye flicked her palm over the flame, waited a moment, and then made a "start" gesture. The blacksmiths immediately understood, and the prototype sword was taken out of the furnace. Guan Ye took the fire tongs, held the red-hot prototype sword, and walked to the well. She puffed out her cheeks and blew away the ash and sparks on the blade. She placed her palm two inches from the blade, closed her eyes, and felt the scorching sword energy. When she estimated it was about right, she signaled the sword servant to fetch some cold water and immersed the prototype sword directly in the water. Hissing white smoke suddenly rose up.

As the white smoke dissipated, Guan Ye picked up the fire tongs, and the nascent sword revealed its perfect color. Guan Ye tapped it a few times with her knuckles, and the blacksmith nodded repeatedly, "That's right."

"Wonderful!" Huangpu Ying clapped his hands and said, "The swords we forged today had to be reforged several times. Either they weren't heated enough or they were overheated. They were just a little bit off. Master Guan, how did you manage to do that? Teach us!"

Guan Ye didn't hesitate. She clasped her hands together, and dozens of blacksmiths surrounded her. Mu Chenbi stood behind her with great interest. Guan Ye's tall and confident figure, like a red sun, illuminated his eyes.

“You masters are all experienced and know that the time for forging iron is important. Not only the firing process, but also the cooling of the iron is equally important.” Guan Ye picked up a newly forged sword and gestured with it.

"Why not just let the molten sword cool down on its own?" someone asked doubtfully.

"Stop it." Huangpu Yingchao threw a pebble at the man. "Listen to what Master Guan said."

Mu Chenbi suppressed a laugh and squeezed forward into the crowd, getting closer to Guan Ye.

Guan Ye's voice was clear and resonant as she continued, "A newly forged sword can undergo normalizing, annealing, tempering, and quenching. Normalizing, as the master craftsman just mentioned, means letting it cool on its own. That's not impossible, but what we're forging is just an ordinary, unremarkable piece." Guan Ye then looked at the person who had spoken earlier. "We are master craftsmen, so naturally our standards are higher. Don't you all agree?"

"Of course!" everyone said in unison. "Xingguo Workshop is sure to produce masterpieces."

Guan Ye raised an eyebrow and met Mu Chenbi's deep eyes, which were smiling at her. He had a long sword at his waist and for a moment looked just like Ajiu. Guan Ye was a little dazed. She blinked and looked again. The face was bright and dazzling. He was not Ajiu. He was Crown Prince Chenbi.