Chapter 168 I Won't Let the Young Master Lose, Even Alone

"Guan girl, what are you thinking about?" Wanqi Xi waved his paw at Guan Ye, who was staring blankly at the stone tablet. "The place next to the Immortal Cave is a geomantically auspicious spot. Do you want to find a good place for yourself?"

"Shut your mouth." Ajiu glanced coldly at Wanqixi. "No one will fight you for the place you want. You can lie down there yourself."

"Hahahaha." Wan Qixi laughed maniacally, "Who doesn't grow old and die? The so-called 'thousands of generations' is nothing but a pile of bones; in the end, it's all for naught." Seeing Guan Ye's melancholy expression, Wan Qixi stopped laughing, "The matter is all settled, aren't you leaving?"

Guan Ye took a deep breath and turned around, suddenly looking at a grave not far away. There were no weeds around the grave, and it was surrounded by a circle of small yellow flowers with fresh petals, which should have been placed there in the last two days.

"Let's go." Ajiu grabbed Guan Ye's wrist. "What are you looking at?"

“Look at that grave…” Guan Ye pointed to the mound of graves surrounded by small yellow flowers.

Ajiu looked in the direction she was pointing and said gently, "Perhaps it was the anniversary of the deceased's death a few days ago, and the family paid their respects then."

Guan Ye seemed to sense something was amiss and took a few more steps closer to the grave. Wan Qixi sniffled and followed curiously. Guan Ye said, "The yellow flowers show the family's thoughtfulness, but why isn't there a tombstone on this grave?"

"Do you know how much silver a tombstone costs?" Wan Qixi held up two fingers. "Two strings of copper coins, two hundred coins." As soon as the words left his mouth, Wan Qixi knew something was wrong. A tomb in the Xianrendong Cemetery cost ten taels of silver. They had already spent ten taels, so why would they be reluctant to part with a mere two hundred coins?

“Perhaps,” Ajiu also noticed the unusual situation, “it’s because the tomb’s owner has a special identity…and it’s inconvenient to show it to others.”

“Even Song Er got a monument…” Wan Qixi swallowed his words and didn’t continue.

Guan Ye looked down at the yellow flowers at her feet, then suddenly clasped her hands in a fist and bowed deeply to the grave mound. "It is fate that I am passing by. Whoever you are, please accept Guan Ye's bow."

Ajiu smiled with her eyes lowered, then bowed to the grave mound along with Guan Ye, and took Guan Ye's wrist in her hand, "Let's go."

"Tch." Wan Qixi scoffed, took a few steps, then turned around and, as if possessed, cupped her fists towards the yellow flower mound. Why did she have to imitate Guan Ye? Wan Qixi pinched her leg. Did that brat smear her heart with lard?

After walking for a while, Guan Ye noticed the footsteps behind her were getting farther and farther away. She turned around and saw Wan Qixi walking towards the other end of the Immortal Cave. "Wan Qixi?" Guan Ye called out to him, "You're still doing business in the Ghost Market? You've gone the wrong way."

"You brat, why are you meddling in my business?" Wan Qixi raised her arm without turning her head. "Wherever I go, you just go your own way."

“That Wan Qixi… he’s really a strange person.” Guan Ye watched him lower his raised arm. “You might think he’s blinded by greed, but Song Mian has only been with him for a short time, and he’s handled things with both loyalty and compassion…”

Ajiu turned Guan Ye's head, his dark eyes approaching hers meaningfully. "Take a closer look. Wan Qixi isn't ugly. The more you see him, the more you realize he has a certain air about him."

"Mu Chenbi said the same thing," Guan Ye blurted out. "You noticed it too?"

A sour taste rose in Ajiu's throat. He flung his hand away and strode off. Guan Ye followed him unhurriedly, pondering as she continued, "Do you think he might be hiding something too? During the sword duel before the Emperor, his moves were wide and sweeping, wielding the sword with such precision. Ajiu? Ajiu?" Guan Ye snapped out of her reverie, looking up to see Ajiu already quite a distance away. Guan Ye jogged to catch up, "Are you listening?"

Ah Jiu slung his longsword over his shoulder, his dark eyes gleaming with an unstoppable sharpness. "Alright, I'll spar with him another day and see if his broadsword is stronger or my sword is."

"Who can compare to you?" Guan Ye muttered softly, her voice as light as a feather falling to the ground, yet clearly heard by A Jiu. A triumphant smile appeared on A Jiu's lips as she swung her arm behind her back and offered it to Guan Ye. Guan Ye's wrist had barely touched the ground when A Jiu grabbed it. The wilderness was desolate, but they were no longer alone.

On the hillside, Luo Yichen cautiously peered at Mu Chenbi's face, watching his master's emotions shift from affection to longing, from anticipation to sorrow. His phoenix eyelashes rose and fell, fell and rose again, their ups and downs quite a sight to behold.

The two had almost disappeared from sight, but Mu Chenbi still showed no sign of leaving. Luo Yichen wanted to urge him several times, but he didn't have the courage to say it. The cold wind was blowing in the suburbs, but it didn't seem as cold as Mu Chenbi's face. Guan Ye was like a ball of fire, but unfortunately, this ball of fire was only willing to burn for A Jiu.

"Your Highness..." Luo Yichen blinked hard, "Your Highness..."

"Why are you rushing me?" Mu Chenbi, lost in her emotions, was somewhat displeased. "I'll leave later."

"No, Your Highness." Luo Yichen pointed to the cemetery down the slope. "Look at that person, that person in the bushes, isn't that Xiao Ma, the swordsman from Xingguo Ward!"

Mu Chenbi was completely preoccupied with Guan Ye and didn't care about Xiao Ma or Lao Ma. He glanced impatiently in the direction Luo Yichen was pointing. The wind blew and the trees swayed, casting dappled shadows. There was no one there. Frustrated, Mu Chenbi flicked his sleeve and said, "Return to the palace."

"It really does look like a little horse." Luo Yichen squinted, trying to get a better look. Seeing Mu Chenbi turn to leave, he didn't bother to look closely and rushed after him. "Why are you leaving so suddenly? Wait for me!"

Beside the ancient tree, Xiao Ma leaned against the trunk, his forehead against the hilt of his sword, and sighed softly. At the base of the tree, there were still some small yellow flowers that hadn't been used up. Xiao Ma's wrist trembled, and the petals that were stuck to his fingertips fell and scattered into the damp soil.

As he left… Xiao Ma’s eyes welled up with tears. Mei Shiyu told him that in the cemetery near Xianren Cave, there was a solitary grave without a tombstone, easily found at a glance. This was the burial place of Xiao Ma’s grandfather, Ma Yi. The bodies of condemned prisoners, even if someone collected them, could only be hastily buried; those whose bodies were left unclaimed were simply dumped on the mass graves. Mei Junhe, the old patriarch of the Mei family, said that Old Master Ma was a dignified man, and that he should not lose his dignity even in death. So he spent a lot of money to secretly collect Ma Yi’s body and found a place for Ma Yi to rest in peace.

Having left Rongdu, he probably wouldn't be coming back. Before heading to Fengqi Mountain, Xiao Ma shook off the shadow guards who were following him and sneaked to the cemetery where his grandfather was buried. He was about to pay his respects when he realized that today was also the day of Song Mian's funeral. The yellow flowers had just been laid out when the group carried the coffin down to bury Song Mian. Xiao Ma couldn't show himself and could only hide in the shadows.

Mei Shiyu is right. Although the lonely grave has no tombstone and not a single weed on the mound, it is clear that it is often maintained. To the east of the cemetery is the Mei family's ancestral grave, which is not far from the lonely grave in Mayi. The deceased can see each other and look after each other in the afterlife.

“Grandpa…” Xiao Ma wiped his eyes. “Grandson Ma Lin is leaving.” Xiao Ma sighed and looked up at his grandfather’s final resting place. He touched the object hidden deep in his arms and strode towards Phoenix Perch Mountain without looking back.

In Xingguo Ward, all the thousand miscellaneous copper swords guarding the imperial tombs have been put into the furnace. After more than ten days of intense fire, they have been melted into a thick, hot slurry. The blacksmiths then use ancient methods to separate the brass. Once the slurry solidifies and is forged into blocks, it can be delivered to the Salt and Iron Bureau.

“There are a full twelve hundred catties of brass here,” Huangpu Ying showed to Pei Yuan.

"How come there are still quite a few extra?" Pei Yuan asked suspiciously.

Huangpu Ying shook his head and said, "I thought it was just that a few swords had too much brass, but after melting them, I found that every single one of them had too much brass. According to the proportions in the inner workshop, and considering the losses from melting the swords, it should have been less than 800 catties. How could there be so much extra?"

Pei Bi listened with a tense expression. He was a swordsman by trade and didn't know much about casting techniques, but he knew that the most important thing in casting was the proportion of materials. All things have different properties and characteristics. Too much or too little of any of these can have a big or small impact on the casting. It's like a Chinese medicine prescription. Too much licorice will make it sweeter, but if any key ingredient is out of proportion, the medicinal properties will change drastically, and the treatment will be like poisoning, which can be fatal.

"What will happen if there's too much brass?" Pei Bi couldn't help but ask.

“Yes…” Huangpu Ying glanced nervously at Pei Yuan, unsure whether she should continue.

Pei Yuan's hawk-like eyes were unfathomable, clearly unable to fathom the mystery. Huangpu Ying approached him and whispered, "Master, this matter... we should report it to the Salt and Iron Bureau immediately..."

"Don't rush to report to the Salt and Iron Bureau." As she spoke, Guan Ye arrived at the furnace and saw Huangpu Ying standing there. Guan Ye looked at the still bubbling molten liquid and said calmly, "There will be losses in forging. It's not too late to report after everything is calculated."

Huangpu Ying suddenly realized, "Master Guan is indeed very thoughtful. The big festival is just a few days away. I was too impatient."

After everyone dispersed, Pei Bi noticed Guan Ye staring at the brass slurry as if deep in thought. He leaned closer and hesitated before asking, "How come there's so much extra copper? What will happen to the sword if too much brass is mixed in?"

Guan Ye stretched out her palm to feel the temperature of the liquid, "It will be like... Lou Cangyu's sword on Lingbo Terrace, which was cut in half with a single blow."

Pei Bi's expression changed drastically. "On Lingbo Platform... our swords have been tampered with." As soon as he said this, Pei Bi felt a chill run down his spine. Tampered with... the sword that was broken by the Inner Palace's Wushuang using Kunwu Stone... the Flowing Gold Sword that made Pei Chong hate it a hundred years ago... and... the imperial weapon with 500 catties of copper in front of him... could it also have been tampered with?

Cang Yu committed suicide, Pei Chong fled, what will these thousand tampered swords bring to Xingguo Workshop? Or... they have already stirred up a bloody storm, what will be the fate of them once they fall into Xingguo Workshop's hands?

“Guan Ye…” Pei Bi’s voice was hoarse, “Why… is it us?”

"Do you remember what Young Master Pei said?" Guan Ye withdrew her hand.

"Young Master said..." Pei Bi tried hard to recall what Pei Chu had said. At that time, Pei Chu was immersed in the grief of losing Jiang Muyun, and his words sounded like curses. Pei Bi quickly forgot them after hearing them, how could he dare to keep them in his heart?

"Thinking about it now, Young Master Pei was right. He wasn't crazy or stupid. He had already foreseen the fate of Xingguo Ward." Guan Ye turned her back and looked up at the sky. The sun was setting. Was Pei Chu also watching the same sunset by the sea at this moment?

"Rongdu, the capital of the emperor, is a place of unpredictable events and hidden talents. Do not overestimate yourself or Xingguo Ward. Today, Xingguo Ward has nothing to offer to the nobles of the capital except a dead furnace."

"When your great-grandfather asked you to take the broken sword away, did he tell you why the Golden Sword was like this? What did he comprehend during his twenty years of seclusion?"

"Father doesn't really think that the meteorite was melted in the furnace where people were sacrificed, does he?"

"I'll bet you my whole life that you'll come back."

I bet you'll come back... You don't really think the meteorite was melted down in the human sacrifice furnace, do you...?

Pei Bi felt as if he had been hit on the head with a stick. He suddenly remembered everything Pei Chu had said, each sentence echoing in his ears as if trying to pull him into the deep, turbulent seabed.

Young Master Pei saw through everything. What he couldn't have foreseen was that no one could win the final bet, and returning to Canglang Island... it seemed... no one would make it back alive...

"I will not let the young master lose."

Guan Ye seemed to see through Pei Bi's thoughts. She suddenly turned around and glanced at Pei Bi, then hurriedly left, leaving Pei Bi with only an affirming look.