Chapter 127 Mirror Flower, you underestimate us women.

"Guan Ye." Ji Fang called out to Guan Ye, who was walking towards A Jiu, grinning to reveal a set of white teeth, "Come to me first, you can't hold on any longer."

Guan Ye chuckled, turned and walked towards Ji Fang, holding a handful of things in each hand and pointing them at the red sun in the sky. The crowd gathered around and whispered among themselves, wondering whether Guan Ye could truly see the truth or was just putting on an act.

"Guan Ye is looking at the strange patterns." Lou Cangyu couldn't stand the doubts others had about Guan Ye.

"Strange patterns?" Feng Shisan became interested. He had never heard of this term before. "Tell me about it, tell me quickly."

Lou Cangyu stepped out of the crowd, sword in hand. “Unusual patterns are what are commonly known as sword patterns. When iron ore is forged with heavy hammers, the blade can form various unusual patterns. An ancient sword appraiser once said: ‘A sword without patterns is a flawed sword.’ But…” Lou Cangyu’s gaze swept toward Guan Ye, who was observing the sword in the sunlight, “A sword with unusual patterns is not necessarily a good sword. If the sword patterns resemble opposing clouds, it is also a flawed sword. Guan Ye is looking at the sword patterns.”

The crowd clicked their tongues in admiration as they looked at Lou Cangyu with newfound respect. Xingguo Dafang was a place teeming with hidden talents and should not be underestimated.

Pei Bi watched Lou Cangyu's retreating figure with a sigh. Pei Yuan coughed softly, "After all, he is a descendant of the Lou family, and the blood of a blacksmith still flows in his veins."

"What does 'clouds and qi in opposite directions' mean?" Ji Fang listened, feeling confused.

Guan Yelian compared the swords Ji Fang was holding, pointing to the one in her hand and saying, "The opposing energy flow means the sword's patterns are not smooth. It looks crooked and twisted. A good sword's patterns should be intertwined and connected, forming a unified whole, with dense and clear lines that are interwoven but not chaotic." As she spoke, she handed the sword closer to Ji Fang, "Take a look and see if it's as I described?"

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, even if Ji Fang didn't understand, he had to put on a show. He took the sword with his head held high and chest out, imitating Guan Ye's posture as he looked up at it in the sunlight. His eyes gradually widened. "It's real, it's real. The patterns on this sword are so clear, it doesn't seem to have been forged, it's like it was hand-painted." Ji Fang compared it with several other swords, but none of them could compare to the sword that Guan Ye had left behind.

"Master Guan," Ajiu said, raising the tenth sword in her hand and presenting it to Guan Ye, "Don't forget there's more here."

"I can't forget it." Guan Ye smiled and readily accepted the sword. The blade was dazzling, with flowing light and long, intricate patterns. Its structure was even better than the previous one. "You, Ajiu, have the best sword in your hands."

Ah Jiu chuckled softly, her dark eyes shining like stars as she gazed at Guan Ye. "Just a casual squeeze, and we got the best one. It seems our luck has turned."

"First comes the sword, then comes fortune." Guan Ye raised the sword above his head. "The sword in my hand is the best one forged in this workshop. It can be presented to the Emperor in the Zetian Palace and unsheathed before him."

Tomorrow. Pei Yuan waved his sleeve and shouted, "Swordsmen of Xingguo Ward, heed my command! Tomorrow, you shall accompany me to the palace to present your swords to the Emperor."

"A treasure is hidden in the furnace, and the lonely island is always bright at night; if you want to know that the heavens will shake, listen to the clang of the sword." Xiao Ma recited the poem that Pei Yuan shouted when the meteorite was melted.

"You still remember the brothel owner's poem?" Feng Shisan wanted to memorize it, but his brain wasn't cooperating.

The shopkeeper's poem? Lou Cangyu listened and silently memorized every word: "A precious artifact is hidden in the furnace, and the lonely island is always bright in the night."

—If you want to know when the heavens will strike, listen for the clanging sound of a sword.

Neifang

In the inner workshop's forging yard, a hundred fine steel swords were also lined up. Chen Ao tapped his head. Xingguo Workshop's sword presentation was tomorrow, and these hundred swords from the inner workshop were like chicken ribs. If they were accused of forging without imperial decree and wasting materials, the inner workshop would have a hard time recovering. He glanced at Wushuang calmly wiping the top-grade swords, her eyes devoid of emotion. Chen Ao had no idea what she was up to.

"Tomorrow, when the sword is presented to the Emperor at Xingguofang, the Inner Palace should also be qualified to be present."

Wushuang suddenly spoke, startling Shen Ao into a daze before he said, "The inner workshop is a regulation of the imperial court. Even when swords are presented by the outer workshop, they must be reviewed by the inner workshop. But... what if the inner workshop's regulations are abolished one day..."

"Tomorrow, I will trouble the manager to arrange for me to appear before the Emperor with my sword in the name of the Inner Palace," Wushuang coldly interrupted.

Shen Ao pretended to be hard of hearing, "Carrying swords to the Emperor? You mean these one hundred fine steel swords?"

Wushuang put down her sword. "Otherwise, what good things are hidden in the inner workshop?" Seeing that Shen Ao was a little embarrassed, Wushuang said in a low voice, "It was agreed with you that the fine steel sword was forged. The sword has been forged, so of course it should be put to good use. Are we going to leave it in the storeroom to collect dust? Don't we have enough useless things in the inner workshop?"

"You..." Shen Ao's face turned pale with anger, pointing at Wushuang but unable to utter a word of curse, "Have you ever thought about how to explain having a hundred swords and the Emperor questioning the Imperial Workshop?"

"Foolish." Wushuang's face showed a sneer. "Weapons are not only divided into superior and inferior, but also into cost. A country's weapons often number in the tens of thousands. If I can win a tens of thousands order with only a few hundred, how will Manager Shen thank me?"

A hundred against a thousand? Shen Ao's narrow eyes suddenly lit up as if he understood. "You...are you confident?"

Wushuang flicked her sword, the sound of the blade echoing endlessly. Chen Ao no longer questioned her, glanced at Wushuang again, and turned to walk out of the Jingwu Pavilion.

Seeing Shen Ao leave the inner quarters, the coachman waiting at the street corner raised his whip and reined in the horse with a "whoosh," bringing the carriage to a steady stop outside the inner quarters. Just as Shen Ao was about to get in, a young man was hiding under the eaves of an inner quarters building in the night. The cold wind was blowing, and the young man kept rubbing his palms together. As if he had noticed that someone had discovered him, the young man lowered his head and curled up even tighter.

"Who is he?" Shen Ao felt that this person looked familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before.

“They’re from Xingguo Ward,” the guard outside the door said. “They’ve come looking for Miss Wushuang several times.”

People from Xingguo Ward? Shen Ao suddenly stopped thinking. He remembered that the boy under the eaves was a swordsman from Xingguo Ward, the swordsman whose sword was broken by Wushuang on Lingbo Platform.

Shen Ao dared not underestimate Wu Shuang any longer. He was worried about Xingguo Fang's arrival when he received news that the female swordsman had descended from the sky. She could actually cut Xingguo Fang's sword in half... Most importantly, she wanted Xingguo Fang to never recover more than anyone else. All Shen Ao wanted was for Xingguo Fang to go back to where it came from. As for Wu Shuang, although she didn't say it, Shen Ao could see that every time Xingguo Fang was mentioned, a hatred that she herself couldn't even perceive would overflow in Wu Shuang's usually calm eyes.

No one knows where Wushuang came from, and no one knows why Wushuang hates Xingguofang. A visitor from a deserted island, does he also have unknown enemies outside? Shen Ao was puzzled, but too lazy to think about it. Hate is good. I'm just afraid that Wushuang doesn't hate the Pei family enough. If he leaves a way out for Xingguofang, he will leave trouble for the inner district. Protecting the inner district is also protecting himself.

“Look at the sky…” Shen Ao looked up at the sky and saw that the dense clouds were gathering and there was a wind. He couldn’t help but pull his mink robe tighter around himself. “It’s going to snow. I’ll go back and warm up a pot of old wine. How wonderful that would be.”

Seeing the carriage disappear around the street corner, Lou Cangyu leaned out. Before he could speak, the guard opened the inner gate for him. "Miss Wushuang instructed that the inner gate is always open for you."

"She really said that?" After their unpleasant parting last time, Lou Cangyu was worried that Wushuang would never see him again. Lou Cangyu's heart warmed, and before the guard could reply, he strode into the inner chamber.

Stepping into the foundry, the sight of a hundred finely crafted steel swords in formation astonished Lou Cangyu. Then, seeing Wushuang standing proudly in the center of the formation like a goddess descended to earth, Lou Cangyu stopped in his tracks, not daring to overstep his bounds. Hearing Lou Cangyu's approaching footsteps, Wushuang slowly turned around, half her face faintly visible in the night. Her face… Lou Cangyu's gaze remained fixed on Wushuang's profile. Time seemed to surge within him; this feeling was both familiar and strange. This was the face that made Lou Cangyu sigh with regret, and also the dream he could never reach.

The first snow fell softly, the sword formation swirling with snow mist. Wushuang raised her face, as beautiful as a winter plum blossom, her green robe and fur coat making her appear like a white fox in the snow, her eyes clear and cold, shining like stars. Lou Cangyu stared blankly, not daring to breathe loudly. In an instant, the sky was no longer the sky, the earth was no longer the earth, and all things in heaven and earth became an illusion.

As the snow cleared and the night deepened, Wushuang raised her eyes to look at Lou Cangyu, a smile seemingly spreading in her eyes, revealing an innocent look to the swordsmen of Xingguofang.

"You've come."

The sound of the swordsmanship startled Lou Cangyu, who walked into the sword formation as if possessed. He was willing to endure a hundred swords piercing his heart with that one cry.

"You finally did it." Lou Cangyu looked around at the steel sword array. The hundred fine swords gleamed in the snow, and at first glance, they were in no way inferior to Guan Ye's Golden Sword.

"You think I can't do it?" Wushuang retorted.

Lou Cangyu shook his head, "I've never thought that way. You can definitely do what you want to do."

Wushuang handed the sword in her hand to Lou Cangyu, "If... I want you to be my swordsman, can you do that?"

"Be her swordsman..." Lou Cangyu was somewhat lost in thought. Wushuang said that she wanted Lou Cangyu to be her swordsman.

Wushuang lowered her sword with a hint of disappointment. "I can't do what I want to do without your help."

Lou Cangyu lowered his eyes with self-deprecation, not daring to look into Wushuang's eyes again. "The Lou family has followed Xingguo Fang for a hundred years, starting from my great-grandfather. The Fang master also took me in as his adopted son. I know that others laugh at me for forgetting my ancestors. They don't call me Pei Cangyu, but Lou Cangyu. But no matter what my surname is, I have received the favor of Xingguo Fang. My mother and elder brother are still on Canglang Island... In this life... I can only be a swordsman of Xingguo Fang."

After listening to Lou Cangyu's rambling, Wushuang's bright eyes darted around his innocent face. Finally, she couldn't help but burst out laughing. This laugh startled Lou Cangyu, who stared blankly at Wushuang, seemingly unaware of whether he had said something wrong.

"Are you... laughing at me?" Lou Cangyu asked helplessly.

Wushuang touched Lou Cangyu's slightly parted lips with her fingertip, "Yes, I'm laughing at how silly you are. I was just teasing you, and you actually said so much."

Lou Cangyu breathed a sigh of relief. Apart from not being able to be her swordsman, he didn't care what he did for her.

"How is my sword?" Wushuang swung it gracefully past the sword formation surrounding them. "You are a skilled swordsman, you understand swords, I want you to tell the truth."

Lou Cangyu stretched out his hand to Wushuang, "What you hold in your hand must be a top-grade one. I only need to appraise this one."

Wushuang smiled and readily handed over the sword, saying, "I didn't misjudge you. You are skilled with swords and also know some forging techniques."

"I only know a little." Under the silvery light of the snow, Lou Cangyu carefully examined the peerless steel sword. "Compared to being a blacksmith, I would rather be a swordsman, able to travel the world with my sword, or stand before the emperor."

Wushuang strolled closer to him, tilted her head to examine the fine steel sword, and breathed softly into Lou Cangyu's ear, "Which is better, my sword or Guan Ye's?"

"If you ask me, they're evenly matched..." Lou Cangyu's voice trembled, "Won't you be unhappy...?"

Wushuang pulled off the sword hilt, her delicate brows furrowed, and said, "Is it so difficult to appraise a sword? I just want to hear the truth. Tomorrow, my fine steel sword will be presented to the Emperor. If you lie to me today, aren't you trying to harm me?"

"How could I harm you?" Lou Cangyu's face flushed red with anxiety, and he couldn't help but grasp Wushuang's wrist, as if afraid that she would turn away from him. "Guan Ye's Golden Sword was made under her supervision, and she handled every single one of them. Today, during the sword appraisal, she even selected the best one. Your Steel Sword is no less than hers, but... Guan Ye's Golden Sword was made for the Eagle Guard, while the Steel Sword has its own strengths. There's no need to compete with Guan Ye for this moment."

Wushuang didn't pull her wrist away. She looked up and met Lou Cangyu's sincere eyes, her delicate eyebrows suddenly relaxing. "Hearing you say that, I'm relieved. Flowing water doesn't compete for the first place, but for its endless flow. What's the point of me competing with Guan Ye for a moment?"

Seeing that Lou Cangyu still didn't quite understand, Wushuang laughed and said, "What? Do you think I'm jealous of Guan Ye and insist on surpassing her in sword forging?"

"—Isn't that right?" Lou Cangyu cautiously observed Wushuang's expression.

Wushuang drew her sword and swung it at the falling snowflakes. The sharp tip caught a drop of the snow, and with a slight turn of her wrist, she revealed it to Lou Cangyu. "You underestimate us women too much."