Chapter 216 Bleeding, If You're Going to Die, Die Between Heaven and Earth

“Wushuang…” Lou Cangyu raised his head, his eyes suddenly lighting up the moment he saw Wushuang. But when he saw Mu Lexiu beside Wushuang, Lou Cangyu dared not look directly at him and lowered his head in frustration.

Mu Lexiu slowly approached the group. "Ajiu? The palace is your refuge. Why don't you stay in the palace and instead come out to get involved in these troubles? Or do you... believe that your father will protect you and that it doesn't matter what you do?"

Mu Chenbi inwardly scoffed, but his expression remained calm. "If a friend has a grievance to redress, I've come with him. Second Prince, this is a matter of public sentiment, not a matter of right and wrong."

Mu Lexiu, unusually, did not show any anger. He turned to look at Wushuang beside him and said, "Is this what you wanted me to see?"

Wushuang responded in a low voice without any expression, "For many years, no one in Jin has dared to beat the drum and cry out for justice. Very few people can pass through the three trials alive. This is a rare opportunity, so of course I have to bring Your Highness to see it." Wushuang's starry eyes swept over the blood-stained bench and the still-burnt charcoal, and then landed on the dying Feng Shisan.

"Looks like we're too late." Wushuang's voice was filled with regret. "We missed the first two good shows. We haven't even seen the fire-walking scene yet."

Mu Lexiu chimed in, "Yes, I haven't seen it either, and we can't let them go through that again..."

"But at least we didn't miss the most exciting part." Wushuang's voice was like a silver bell, possessing a magical power that was impossible to refuse. "Rolling on a board of nails? This is the board of nails prepared by the government office?"

Mu Lexiu approached the nail board with interest and gestured with his hand, "It's only a few inches long. Just lying down on it will take half your life." He then looked at Feng Shisan, who was covered in blood, "He only has half a life left. If he tries to force his way through the third level, he'll just have to wait to collect his corpse."

Wushuang bent down and reached out to touch the nail board. The prefect, thinking she was someone the Second Prince cherished, stepped forward and stopped her, saying, "The nails are sharp, young lady, don't hurt your hand."

Lou Cangyu suddenly looked up, a buzzing in his ears—"This sword is too sharp, be careful not to hurt your hand." On the Lingbo Platform, Wushuang's fingertips were about to touch his sword when he told her that.

With eyes no size, like crescent moons, she said, "You're quite amusing. I'm a swordsman too; how could I not understand this?"

Lou Cangyu suddenly felt a sense of anticipation. How would Wushuang respond today? Lou Cangyu did not receive a response from Wushuang. Mu Lexiu said disdainfully, "Do you know who she is? She is Wushuang, the Wushuang who is unparalleled in the world. She is the person in the Great Jin who knows the most about casting and the most about minerals. How could she not know the sharpness of iron nails?"

Lou Cangyu felt a chill in her heart. Her back, which had only been straight for a few days, began to feel dejected. The Second Prince was right. She was Wushuang, the top blacksmith in the Great Jin Dynasty, a highly skilled person who was favored by the prince. She was someone that Lou Cangyu could never catch up with. The prince, who was of noble birth, was someone that Lou Cangyu could summon and dismiss at will with a flick of her finger. Lou Cangyu, Lou Cangyu... In Wushuang's eyes, what are you?

"Is there nothing decent left in Rongdu?" Wushuang stroked the steel nails. "Or has the government office been without any major cases for a long time, so they're deliberately leaving a loophole to give themselves something to do? Can someone really die from rolling on these nails?"

"This nail won't kill someone?" Guan Ye was horrified. Why did Wushuang have to show up and stir up this mess instead of staying in the inner quarters? Did she want Feng Shisan to die even faster?

"Guan Ye," Wushuang suddenly called out, "You're quite sharp. You could tell there was something wrong with this nail board at a glance, but you didn't say anything. It's a good thing I came."

He then reached out his hand to Mu Lexiu, "Do you have your things with you?"

Mu Lexiu's lips curled into a smug smile. With a wave of her hand, a guard behind her respectfully presented a brocade box. Mu Lexiu caressed it with affection. "Wherever I am, this is where it is. What, you still have the leisure to admire this with me?"

Wushuang opened the brocade box, and Guanye tilted her head to look. She saw that she didn't know what was inside the box, but it actually emitted a faint cold light. Guanye looked at Mu Chenbi suspiciously. Mu Chenbi took a few steps forward and saw Wushuang take out a scroll from the box. Suddenly, he remembered something and realized that this was the reason.

"What is that?" Guan Ye asked anxiously.

Mu Chenbi gently pressed Guan Ye's hand, "In the face of right and wrong, Wushuang's mind is as clear as a mirror. She is here to help Thirteenth Young Master."

With a flick of her fingertips, Wushuang revealed a scroll, and the silhouette of a woman in flowing robes came into view. The figure was bathed in blue light, exuding a metallic texture, sparkling and shimmering as if sculpted from crystal. Under the sunlight, it was so dazzling that it was impossible to look directly at her.

"Mineral color..." Lou Cangyu murmured softly, opening his hand as if possessed—the green in his palm was gone, but the Milky Way would never be erased.

"The Vajra Kunwu Stone, unparalleled in its strength and sharpness." The unparalleled soft words lingered in his ears, and the scene from that day was also engraved in Lou Cangyu's mind, never to be forgotten.

Wushuang hadn't lied to herself. Lou Cangyu's inner fire was reignited. With thousands of precious stones, they weren't just for forging swords. The scroll painted with mineral pigments possessed a grandeur that rivaled divine weapons.

This was the first time Guan Ye had seen a painting made with mineral pigments. According to the "Casting Classic", minerals can not only be refined into products, but can also be ground according to their properties. The resulting mineral pigments are bright and colorful, and are extremely precious materials.

My father mentioned that Lu Chaoge also knew the art of grinding. In her spare time, she would try grinding the leftover ore in the workshop. Although she had never painted any pictures, the powder was colorful and quite interesting.

"Mineral color." Guan Ye blurted out. Looking more closely at the woman in the painting, although only her back was obscured, she vaguely felt as if she had seen her somewhere before.

Mu Lexiu glanced at him coldly and arrogantly, "You even know about a mere blacksmith?"

"Don't underestimate her." Wushuang said unhappily, "Didn't Your Highness hear that she claims to be the daughter of Guan Xiaotian, the number one blacksmith in the world? Guan Ye is not some insignificant blacksmith; she has real skills."

Mu Lexiu snorted softly, his eyes then fixed on the blue glowing figure on the paper, "Still not as good as someone else."

Guan Ye approached the scroll, her fingertips gently touching it. In the exchange of glances with Wushuang, she understood everything. "This thing... Wushuang, do you... do you... want to... send Feng Shisan on his way?"

Wushuang raised the scroll and taunted Feng Shisan with a smile: "Feng Shisan of Xingguo Ward boasts that he has a body of steel and iron. Then let's see how thick your skin is and how hard your bones are. This painting was made with Qingyan stone. Qingyan is rough and wear-resistant, making it the best whetstone. The nail boards in the government office have not been used for many years and have long been dull. Why don't we use my Qingyan stone to sharpen them even more? What do you all think?"

The surrounding crowd looked at each other, none daring to speak up. Feng Shisan glared angrily at Wushuang and roared, "Your grandpa isn't afraid of death, but I have no grudge against you. Why are you interfering in my deathbed?"

Wushuang, holding the voucher, leaned down and stared intently at Feng Shisan. Pointing to her own face, she said in a low voice, "Looking at this face, you have the nerve to say that we have no grudge against each other?"

Feng Shisan's body twitched, and he felt a chill run through him as if he had fallen into an icy pool. "You... are not her."

"Then who am I?" Wushuang's voice was ghostly as she brought the portrait in the scroll close to Feng Shisan's eyes. "You've seen her before, haven't you?"

The woman in the painting is slender and graceful, her clothes flowing gracefully as she stands proudly. She seems familiar, yet not quite. There are very few eligible young women on Canglang Island. Doesn't Feng Shisan know whether he has seen her before or not?

"Guan Ye," Wushuang called out, "Why don't you come with me?" Seeing that Guan Ye remained silent, Wushuang deliberately added, "If you refuse, the Second Prince will punish you for knowing the truth but not reporting it, and for attempting to cover it up."

"I..." Guan Ye bit her tongue. Compared to Wu Shuang's quick wit, her own mouth seemed clumsy. "What do you want me to do?"

With a flick of his wrist, Wushuang swung the scroll, and the other end of the scroll was flung towards Guan Ye. Guan Ye caught it, and the two of them turned the scroll around. The woman in the painting was now covered with a board of nails.

"Peerless." Mu Lexiu saw through their intentions and said regretfully, "What a pity to waste such a precious painting, how could you bear to part with it?"

Wushuang didn't even look at him. "Your Highness, rest assured, once this matter is settled, I will create an even better one for you."

Mu Lexiu's eyes showed regret. "Even if there were a better one, this one would be ruined by the nails, irreversible. Wushuang, is this the only way?"

Guan Ye saw a trace of sorrow flash across Wu Shuang's cold face, but her words were still resolute and impossible to refuse, "What is Wu Shuang? Your Highness cannot be too greedy. There is only one thing that can be held in your hand. If it is destroyed in an instant, how can there be a rebirth?"

Mu Lexiu knew that no one could change Wushuang's decision, so he turned his back with his hands behind his back, unable to bear to watch.

"Guan Ye, don't have any selfish thoughts, come on."

Guan Ye and Wu Shuang exchanged glances and nodded. They gripped the scroll tightly, letting the mineral-colored image on the silk rub against the steel nails on the board. A hissing sound rang out, and all who heard it sighed at the cruelty of this act. It wasn't enough to kill people; they wanted them to die quickly.

"Damn it." Feng Shisan spat a mouthful of bloody foam onto the ground.

Mu Chenbi watched the two's movements intently. He had been familiar with the "Casting Classic" since childhood and knew that Qingyan stone was an excellent whetstone. Tools sharpened by this stone would become instantly sharp and could draw blood. However... Mu Chenbi could tell that although the mineral paint used in the painting was also greenish-blue, it was not Qingyan stone, but... Guan Ye asked if he had any Kunwu stone with him.

Wushuang could fool others, but he couldn't fool Guan Ye and Mu Chenbi, who were experts in casting.

After the last row of steel nails was polished over the scroll, the entire nail board became much shinier. The magistrate squatted down and tapped it, then beckoned someone to try it. The unlucky yamen runner on the side reluctantly poked it with his finger, cried out in pain, and held up his bleeding finger.

"It's really sharp!" someone shouted. "It's good that the man died quickly."

"Pah!" Feng Shisan cursed. "The world is going to the dogs. Are you even speaking human language?"

Lou Cangyu bent one knee, rolled up his sleeve to reveal half of his arm, and ran it along the steel nails, leaving bloodstains on his smooth skin. Just as he was about to get up, Lou Cangyu suddenly stopped, weighed the sword in his hand, and drew it out in one swift motion. The blade flashed, and he swung it straight at the steel nails on the board. He had been deceived once, and he would never be deceived by anyone again.

"Lou Cangyu," Wushuang called out to him. Lou Cangyu's sword froze in mid-air, hesitant, unsure whether to advance or retreat. "Are you afraid I'll sabotage things? In front of everyone, if I dared to undermine the court, I'd be asking for trouble. Do you want to see one person die, or... everyone die?"

Lou Cangyu slowly sheathed his sword, stood up and returned to the side, turning to look for Wushuang Xingmou. The beauty stood proudly, but did not look at him.

"Have you rested enough?" the magistrate asked Feng Shisan. "Let's begin."

Feng Shisan limped to the nail board, not even glancing down at the steel nails that gleamed coldly. His large, copper-bell-shaped eyes swept over Mu Chenbi and Guan Ye, he clenched his fist and pounded his chest, grinning to reveal a mouthful of big teeth.

Before anyone could react, Feng Shisan had already crashed to the ground, his feet pushing off as he rolled onto the board of nails. The sharp nails pierced his flesh like countless swords cutting into his body. Feng Shisan told himself that as long as he rolled fast enough, the excruciating pain wouldn't catch up with him. He wasn't afraid to die; he wanted to die between heaven and earth, not on this filthy board.