Chapter 158 Inviting You to View the Sword
Early in the morning, the spontaneous market that had formed inside the sword shop should have been bustling with activity.
Today, however, the atmosphere is strangely quiet.
However, quite a few people arrived, including many unfamiliar faces from the sword shop.
Uninvited guests including Xie Lingjiang, Shen Xisheng, and Yan Liulang.
People from the Liu family, including Liu Zian and Liu Zilin, came.
They were all standing in front of an ordinary breakfast stall.
The former group watched with curiosity as an old man and a young man sat at a greasy dining table in front of them.
The latter stood at the back, Liu Zian's face was silent, and Liu Zilin's eyes were solemn.
At the dining table, the young magistrate and the old craftsman sat facing each other. The young magistrate smiled and greeted the kitchen staff with a few words.
A moment later, the cook, with a slightly cautious smile, placed a bowl of steaming noodle soup on the table, her hands resting on a rag.
"My lord, please enjoy your meal."
The young magistrate reached for his chopsticks, turning his head with a smile as he said:
"Excuse me, is this Sister Cheng? Aqing mentioned you to me, saying that she has been working at the breakfast stall for the past two years and is very grateful for your help. She had to leave without saying goodbye a while ago because of some family matters, and she felt very sorry."
"It's alright, it's alright. It's good that Sister Qing is alright. We were all a little worried about her when we didn't see her for the past few days. We're just glad she's doing well out there."
Sister Cheng's smile widened slightly. She wiped her hands on her apron, glanced at the hastily served noodle soup, and asked, "Would you like some chopped green onions, sir?"
He's a kind-hearted person and doesn't stand on ceremony.
But the person who rushed to the Liu family early in the morning to offer warmth was even more kind-hearted than her.
"Scallions? That's a must." Ouyang Rong said with a smile.
Sister Cheng hurriedly ran to the kitchen, scooped up a spoonful of chopped green onions, and returned to sprinkle them into the bowl.
Ouyang Rong skillfully stirred the scallion noodle soup, smiled, and turned his gaze from Sister Cheng's happy departing figure to the silent old craftsman opposite him, saying:
"Sir, is your surname Wu? Do you have your given name?"
The old swordsmith shook his head.
Whether it was an answer or a refusal, I didn't know, and I just kept eating my noodles with my head down.
Ouyang Rong glanced at the old man's messy beard and his fingers, which looked like withered, yellowed wood.
His attire was similar to that of the old craftsmen he had encountered along the way when he led his men into the sword shop.
Ouyang Rong smiled wryly, raised his hand, and beckoned behind his shoulder. He then lowered his head to drink his soup and eat his noodles.
Thump—!
Accompanied by a soft sound.
Something new appeared next to the pot of yellow wine on the table.
Xie Lingjiang stepped forward and placed a long sword with an ancient-looking scabbard horizontally on the dining table.
The old swordsmith raised his bark-like eyelids.
Ouyang Rong asked without looking up:
"Excuse me, was this forged by Master Wu? I heard from my junior sister that it's a fine sword, one that even Qi cultivators would covet."
The old swordsmith lowered his head and ate his noodles, remaining silent for a long time.
The two brothers, Liu Zian and Liu Zilin, who were still dressed in mourning clothes, noticed the familiar longsword on the table that seemed to be called "Moon Maiden," and their expressions changed slightly to varying degrees.
Xie Lingjiang glanced at the two of them coldly.
At the table, the old swordsmith tilted his head back and drank the scallion noodle soup. Before putting down the bowl and getting up, he suddenly spoke.
"That blue paper butterfly flower, was it a gift from you?"
The old man's voice was a little hoarse, as if he hadn't spoken in a long time, and he sounded somewhat rusty.
Ouyang Rong seemed surprised that he would suddenly bring up this question, and nodded, saying, "It's a birthday gift for her."
The old swordsmith turned around, and as usual, tossed a few copper coins onto the table, got up, and left.
The wine jar on the table remained untouched, nor was the long sword drawn.
Yan Liulang and the others, supporting their swords, silently took a step forward.
The young magistrate, who was still sipping his soup with his head down at the table, raised his hand and waved it slightly behind him.
Yan Liulang and the other constables stepped aside to make way for the old swordsmith, who walked through the crowd with his hands behind his back as if no one else was there, and left the morning market.
Xie Lingjiang and the others watched the old man's back disappear into the distance, then turned back to look curiously at Ouyang Rong's back as he continued eating noodles at the table.
Ouyang Rong tilted his head back and drank the noodle soup in one gulp, making a soft "thump" sound that seemed quite loud in the quiet breakfast stall.
He put down his bowl and placed a few copper coins on the table.
He silently got up, picked up the wine pot, and took the long sword.
The young magistrate also passed by the crowd gathered in front of the breakfast stall, following the direction the old swordsmith had gone.
The old man and the young man remained silent throughout the entire process.
The entire room was eerily quiet.
Immediately, Xie Lingjiang, Shen Xisheng, Yan Liulang and other companions who came with them, as well as Liu Zian, Liu Zilin and other members of the Liu family, all subconsciously followed behind Ouyang Rong.
Liu Zian glanced at Ouyang Rong's back and a certain spot on Xiaogushan Mountain in the distance.
His expression was complicated. He wanted to take a step forward to get closer to Ouyang Rong, but Xie Lingjiang stopped him.
Xie Lingjiang's eyes were cold.
Liu Zian paused and chuckled awkwardly, while Liu Zilin's forehead was covered in sweat.
Ouyang Rong seemed oblivious to the commotion behind him and continued forward, following the old swordsmith.
The old swordsmith did nothing to stop the visitors who came later.
And so, a strange scene unfolded on the road from the early market to the mountainside of Xiaogushan.
The old swordsmith walked at the very front.
Ouyang Rong followed behind.
Further back were the rest of the group.
The group of people arrived quietly at an old sword furnace halfway up Little Lonely Mountain.
The old swordsmith enters the furnace.
Ouyang Rong and the others looked up curiously at the seemingly abandoned sword furnace, and then followed them inside.
Inside the sword furnace.
Yan Liulang looked around and saw that it seemed no different from the other sword furnaces he had searched with his men before.
It just looks a bit messier and older.
The black smoke used to blacken the bricks and tiles on the ceiling of the sword furnace.
besides.
Only one person and one furnace.
The old swordsmith sat reclining in a rocking chair, with a seemingly unlit forge behind him.
The old swordsmith took a piece of blue folded paper from the cabinet beside him and handed it back to Ouyang Rong, who was looking around the room.
What is this?
Ouyang Rong took the blue origami, looked down at it, and couldn't help but ask a question.
He certainly recognized the blue butterfly flower he had folded by hand, and he was not surprised that the old swordsmith had brought him here to retrieve it.
The only unexpected thing was that the pattern on the blue origami changed.
It was no longer the butterfly flower he had previously pieced together with blue Pythagorean paper pieces; these blue Pythagorean paper pieces seemed to have been removed and reassembled into a new shape.
arc.
Or, to put it another way, a curved surface.
On the blue origami.
It is a strange curved surface.
An indescribable curved surface.
Just as Ouyang Rong frowned slightly and examined the sword closely, the old swordsmith stared at him for a moment, then suddenly asked:
"Is this paper art called Iris Folding?"
Ouyang Rong was taken aback, glanced at him, and nodded:
"What Ah Qing told you? That's right, it was an iris fold. And this one... you refolded it, sir? Hmm, you're quite good at applying what you've learned..."
The old swordsmith didn't reply, but looked at the blue arc he had pieced together over the past few days.
Ouyang Rong's eyes continued to be drawn to the new origami patterns.
Iris folding is actually not a very sophisticated paper art.
It's more like a simple mathematical geometry problem.
It simply involves using basic geometric shapes, such as the small pieces of paper that are called Pythagorean theorem (which are actually triangles), to create curves or curved surfaces.
Previously, Ouyang Rong used this paper art to piece together the curves of the petals of a blue butterfly flower.
The old man in front of me had disassembled his original blue butterfly flower.
He simply imitated the iris folding technique he had learned, using all the small Pythagorean-shaped pieces of paper to piece together an arc.
If he had previously pieced together a whole butterfly flower from small pieces of paper...
Now, the old man is using small pieces of paper to piece together a single "petal" from a butterfly flower.
The curved surface of this "butterfly flower petal" is extremely pure.
It is unlike any curve that naturally forms in the world.
Unlike the moon in the sky, the leaves on the ground, the fish swimming lightly in the water, or the curved surfaces of a woman lying on a bed.
It is implemented entirely using basic triangles.
Ouyang Rong found it quite beautiful, a pure mathematical and geometric beauty.
However, it's estimated that only he, an "outsider," could appreciate the beauty of this world. But no, it seems that this was made by the old craftsman in front of him.
Ouyang Rong couldn't help but glance at the old swordsmith's calm expression, and nodded:
"it's beautiful."
Upon hearing this, the usually composed old swordsmith revealed a slight smile at the corner of his mouth.
It's like an iron tree blooming.
At the very back of the crowd, Liu Zian and Liu Zilin, who were subtly surrounded by Yan Liulang and the others, looked at each other in bewilderment.
The two brothers had never seen the old swordsmith smile since they met him; it was as if they had seen a ghost in broad daylight.
Ouyang Rong continued to examine it for a while, touching it with his fingertips, then put down the blue origami in his hand and asked:
"The old man wanted to ask me to return it to Aqing."
The old swordsmith composed himself and nodded slightly.
Ouyang Rong shook his head:
"No need. I folded a new one for Aqing last time, and Aqing said he gave this one to the old gentleman, so there's no need to return it to him."
As he spoke, he handed the blue origami back to the old swordsmith, who accepted it without refusing.
Ouyang Rong suddenly stood up.
finally.
Having silently observed the sword-making furnace for quite some time, he pointed to the closed iron gate of the sword-making furnace behind the old swordsmith.
Ouyang Rong asked:
"Sir, what's in here?"
The entire room fell silent.
Shen Xisheng, Xie Lingjiang, Yan Liulang and the others all focused their gazes on the quiet sword-forging furnace.
Liu Zian couldn't help but advise:
“Your Excellency, this sword-making furnace hasn’t been lit and has been shut down for a long time. Old Mr. Wu is a veteran of the sword shop. When he was young, this furnace was still in operation, and he has a deep affection for it, so he just stays here to tend to it…”
"Open it."
Ouyang Rong ignored him, keeping his eyes straight ahead, and said softly.
Liu Zian's breathing suddenly became heavier, and he suppressed his emotions, forcing a smile:
"Didn't the magistrate come to find the missing female worker? She couldn't have gotten lost in the furnace..."
"What if they kill someone and burn the body?"
Yan Liulang added coldly, which immediately silenced Liu Zian. However, the scene in front of him the next second made the second head of the Liu family shrink his pupils.
Under Ouyang Rong's calm gaze...
The old swordsmith calmly turned around, walked to the forge, and reached out to open the round iron door of the forge...
In the sword-making furnace,
It was completely empty.
Everyone was stunned.
I wrote this while enduring a toothache. This chapter is a bit short. I'm making a promise: I'll add another chapter around 6 PM!
(End of this chapter)
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