Chapter 239 Master Swordsmith's Work
The fighting at the foot of the mountain continued.
Halfway up the mountain, there stands a solitary sword-making workshop, where all is calm and still.
Outside the door of the Jia-character sword furnace room.
There were more than a dozen corpses lying in various positions, all dressed in blue servants' clothes.
The expressions on the faces of these trusted soldiers brought by Liu Zi'an before their deaths were either calm and normal, or astonished and surprised.
At that moment, seven or eight people stood among these piles of corpses, some wiping their daggers and waist knives, others bending over to work together to carry the bodies and throw them off the cliff.
The seven or eight remaining people outside the door were also dressed in blue servant clothes, but their faces were indifferent as they methodically finished up and cleaned up the scene.
Meanwhile... they also ignored the faint groans of pain coming from inside the door.
After the cleanup was completed, the eight servants in blue robes turned around and stood guard in front of the sword furnace room with their hands behind their backs.
At this moment, inside the sword furnace room they were guarding.
The groans of pain from the new head of the Liu family... no, he should be called the former head, Liu Zi'an, were gradually fading away, returning to silence.
The atmosphere inside the sword furnace room quieted down for a moment.
With a "plop".
Liu Zilin suddenly abandoned Liu Zian's body.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, he knelt on one knee before Wei Shaoxuan, burying his head and choking back tears:
"Thank you, Young Master Wei, for avenging my elder brother and cleaning up the unfilial descendants of my Liu family ancestors."
Wei Shaoxuan waved his hand:
"Get up, just do what you can."
He glanced again at the tearful Liu Zilin, then narrowed his eyes:
"Your two elder brothers are dead. From now on, you are the new head of the Liu family of Longcheng. You will continue to cooperate with our Wei family on behalf of the Liu family. It's a bit inappropriate for you to kneel down to me like this."
The tone was playful.
Liu Zilin immediately shook his head, clenched his fist and pounded his chest, saying:
"Young Master Wei has been kind to me and the Liu family. There is nothing to be grateful for by kneeling in gratitude. If Young Master Wei ever needs anything, please feel free to give the order! I will do anything, no matter how difficult or dangerous!"
Liu Fu glanced sideways at Liu Zilin.
Wei Shaoxuan smiled and nodded: "It is the Wei family, the Prince of Wei's residence."
I made a small correction.
Liu Zilin glanced at Wei Shaoxuan's expression, then immediately clasped his hands in a gesture of respect and corrected himself:
"Yes, yes, yes! I would gladly die for the Wei family and for the King of Wei!"
He paused, forced a smile, and said casually:
"Actually, it's all the same. Once Young Master Wei Liu reclaims this new Ding Sword and becomes famous throughout the world, wouldn't his name be linked to the Wei Prince's Mansion? Just wait a little longer... why worry about not becoming the head of the Wei family?"
"Alright, get up."
Wei Shaoxuan waved his hand to interrupt, laughing and scolding:
"You're already the head of the family, and you're still just flattering people? My father used to admire Liu Ziwen quite a bit. You should learn more from your deceased elder brother, especially in terms of being law-abiding."
He smirked and squinted, saying, "Don't you learn from your second brother again."
"Yes, yes, yes!"
Liu Zilin immediately stood up and followed closely behind Wei Shaoxuan.
Seeing this, Wei Shaoxuan's eyes flashed with satisfaction, and he was quite interested. He casually said:
"Liu Ziwen, Liu Zian, Liu Zilin... Ha, your father's naming of you is quite interesting, he just picked out whatever was missing, right?"
He chuckled and teased Qiu Shenji and Liu Fu inside the room, saying:
"As it stands, it's never been accurate. Hopefully, our young master Liu can be a little more accurate."
Liu Zilin lowered his head:
"I dare not accept such praise. I come from a small place and am just a shallow-water turtle. Young Master Wei is the real dragon among men, the worthy son of the Wei family! He is a hidden dragon in the abyss, and he will soon soar to the heavens!"
On the other side, Ouyang Rong, after joining the group to stab Liu Zi'an, took A Qing's hand and stood in front of them, together in a corner of the room.
During this time, he silently listened to the conversation between the young man dressed as a nobleman from the Wei family and Liu Zilin—a conversation that, to him, was extremely informative.
Ouyang Rong lowered his head and squinted, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve.
At that moment, seeing Liu Zilin bowing and scraping obsequiously, he curled his lips into a mocking smile.
"why are you laughing?"
Liu Zilin glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, then suddenly turned his head and glared fiercely at Ouyang Rong.
“Laughing at a shallow-water turtle.” Ouyang Rong nodded with a smile, speaking honestly.
Liu Zilin's face flushed red. He drew his knife and charged forward, stabbing Ouyang Rong in the stomach with the hilt. Holding the knife to his neck, he threatened fiercely:
"Take another look?!"
Ouyang Rong, with his hands bent like a bow over his stomach, rolled his eyes back, still staring at the furious Liu Zilin, and said in a serious tone:
"If you're going to behead someone, hurry up. What's with this 'take another look' request? I've never heard of such a stupid request. Are you talking to these little brats fighting?"
The young magistrate, who was coughing up blood and laughing, now had a line of blood appear between his neck and the blade as he turned his head, and it was getting deeper and deeper.
"Oh, I almost forgot."
He ignored it, his smile remained unchanged, and he even nodded emphatically:
"Now you're a turtle with a master, unlike ordinary wild ones. You have to be careful and watch your master's expression."
“I was captured by your master, but he didn’t kill me directly. You coward, you’re not sure what to do, so you want to find out your master’s attitude first, whether it’s right or wrong.”
"Hey, if you've been lying low long enough, even the dumbest turtle will grow a little smarter. Young Master Liu is being modest. You're not just a shallow turtle anymore. You're a real good turtle now, ready to go into deeper waters."
With his underwear completely exposed, Liu Zilin's forehead veins bulged.
The hand gripping the knife handle tightened suddenly.
He wanted to cut it down.
Then, loosen it slightly.
Bang--!
"Hmm!"
He gripped the hilt of his knife with his hand and delivered another heavy punch to the stomach of the composed Ouyang Rong.
However, Ouyang Rong's shrimp-bow posture looked more like he was laughing heartily while clutching his stomach, and he was looking at him with disdain.
The muscles in Liu Zilin's nasolabial folds twitched slightly.
For some reason, he really, really disliked Ouyang Lianghan's eyes, especially when they looked at him.
Even though the boy was looking up at Liu Zilin from below, Liu Zilin felt as if he were the one being looked down upon.
You deserve to die, Ouyang Lianghan!
Liu Zilin's face was contorted with rage, and he looked as if he were about to draw his sword and kill someone.
"Alright."
Wei Shaoxuan's voice came through.
Liu Zilin instantly withdrew his hand, coldly snorted at Ouyang Rong, who was smirking, turned around on the spot, and respectfully bowed his head:
"Young Master Wei and Mr. Qiu are truly remarkable, capturing this boy alive! To my shame, my family and I have been wronged by him many times before, yet we were powerless to help. That's why I was a bit emotional upon seeing him..."
"It's alright, I can understand."
Wei Shaoxuan smiled and waved his hand.
However, he glanced sideways at the irritable Liu Zilin in front of him, his eyes unreadable.
Liu Zilin dared not move an inch.
Looking away, Wei Shaoxuan walked up to Ouyang Rong, clapped his hands with his folding fan, and asked calmly:
"My godfather told me that you led a bunch of reckless people up the mountain carrying a bunch of Burning Heaven Shark Oil. Are you planning to blow up the sword furnace? To destroy everything in the process?"
Ouyang Rong got up, brushed off the dust, and didn't say anything.
Wei Shaoxuan scanned him up and down:
"I'm quite curious, does the old gentleman have a grudge against you, or does he dislike the Liu family and therefore hate them as well? Why would he want to blow up this Jia-class sword furnace for no reason? Is it because he doesn't like me and the Wei family and wants to ruin our plans?"
Ouyang Rong looked up, his expression calm:
"Next time you get this broken sword, please find a secluded spot so as not to disturb the villagers' work and sleep. Is it really that fun to deal with floods and life-or-death struggles all the time?"
“Not everyone has to accommodate you,” he said.
Wei Shaoxuan laughed loudly, pointed at Ouyang Rong, and said to everyone in the room, "Interesting, a good official!"
He chuckled twice, then suddenly turned to Qiu Shenji, who was watching coldly from the sidelines, and said:
"No wonder my godfather couldn't just kill such a good official."
Wei Shaoxuan looked slightly troubled, sighed, and shrugged:
"That's the downside of Qi cultivators. Those hundred or so reckless civilians who weren't afraid of death were the same; we could only knock them unconscious and subdue them. They're such a nuisance. If they want to die, they should just go die somewhere else..."
"This isn't a battlefield, nor is it the martial world. It would easily dirty my godfather's hands. Those pressure points are no joke, especially as you climb higher. Unless you're like those mad sorcerers, giving up all hope and running off to the shores of the North Sea..."
Upon hearing this, Ouyang Rong turned his head, frowned, looked at the unfathomable Xianbei man in front of him, and pursed his lips.
There are some things about Qi cultivators that my junior sister hasn't mentioned, perhaps because she thought he wouldn't need them.
Qiu Shenji shook his head slightly:
"Killing one or two is no big deal. It's just fighting and killing in the martial arts world. We can find some special methods to offset it. They're not some legendary celestial beings from the divine land, so there's not too much karma involved."
"The reason I didn't kill the ringleader is that the old man sent word to me to bring him back alive."
Qiu Shenji turned to look at the old man in hemp clothing who was sitting on a rocking chair, watching the play and sipping wine with great interest.
Upon hearing this, Ouyang Rong looked quite surprised. He glanced at the old craftsman he had met once before and wondered why he had saved him.
Wei Shaoxuan, Liu Zilin, and the others frowned.
He looked at her with a somewhat suspicious gaze.
Unexpectedly, the old swordsmith raised the wine jar, shook the turbid wine inside, and said:
“You’ve got it wrong, kid. I asked you to bring this little girl named Exiu with the character ‘Yue’ on her forehead.”
The old man said indifferently:
"She used to work at the sword shop and bought a lot of yellow wine for me. It was cheap and affordable, so I owe her a favor. I'll try to repay her a little before I leave."
"So we only need to keep this one alive."
"You can do whatever you want with that brat named Ouyang Lianghan, just don't make a mess of my house."
Ouyang Rong: ...
Wei Shaoxuan and others: ...
"Uncle!" Ah Qing's delicate face was streaked with tears. "Please, please, save my husband..."
"Not familiar with it."
The old swordsmith shook his head, his eyes fixed straight ahead.
He paused, then added:
"I've heard you mention that your mother is quite old. Go home and stay there to take care of her. Don't run around like you did today. Remember that."
The old man became unusually talkative when it came to buying wine.
Wei Shaoxuan, Qiu Shenji and the others were not too surprised, after all, today was special and this old gentleman had no children.
Wei Shaoxuan, having seen the Buddha through to the West, nodded and assured him:
"Don't worry, sir, I won't kill her. I'll escort her down the mountain with courtesy."
He suddenly changed the subject:
"Sir, it's noon!"
The old swordsmith nodded casually, pointing to a wooden sword case lying quietly on the table, and said:
"The sword is inside."
Wei Shaoxuan was puzzled: "But there is no sword in the box."
The old swordsmith chuckled softly:
"Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Is seeing really believing? If you don't even have this much understanding, how are you any different from that fool Liu Zi'an?"
Wei Shaoxuan frowned, turned his head, and looked at his godfather for instructions.
Qiu Shenji pondered: "The details of the creation of each cauldron and sword are only briefly mentioned in official and unofficial histories..."
He said to the old swordsmith, "However, to turn the illusory into the real, there must be something to 'fill the illusory'."
The old swordsmith scoffed, "This is the sword case. Otherwise, why would I have sent you all over the country searching for the Mo family's sword case?"
Wei Shaoxuan and Qiu Shenji clashed.
The wine soaked the old swordsmith's unkempt, white beard. He put down the wine and, slightly drunk, said:
"A newly born cauldron sword can only reveal itself after recognizing its master."
"Apart from those with strong personalities, the conditions for recognizing a master are... ninth rank, sword technique, and a true name, and one can appear in the world."
After saying that, he bent down, pulled out a Sanskrit Buddhist scripture from under the table that was used to prop up the table legs, and casually tossed it to Wei Shaoxuan:
“The sword technique of the ‘poor scholar’,” he said casually.
This unconventional and whimsical move, typical of a powerful figure, left everyone stunned.
Wei Shaoxuan's eyes lit up suddenly, without any suspicion: "Thank you for your guidance, sir!"
The old swordsmith shook the wine jar once more, placed it back on the table, looked up at the sky with a dejected expression, and sighed in vain.
"There is no wine to drink. I shall leave."
The old man stood up abruptly and waved impatiently at the crowd:
"Hurry up, hurry up, I have nothing left to give you. See you out, see you out."
Upon hearing this, everyone retreated to the doorway.
Qiu Shenji suddenly asked:
"I would like to ask the old gentleman one last time, how many cauldrons and swords are there left to be forged?"
"Was the sword stolen from the Mad Emperor ever forged into a cauldron?"
The old swordsmith didn't answer, but only glanced at the familiar Moonlight Longsword that the man had casually forged before, which was hanging at his waist.
At this moment, everyone retreated.
The room was empty.
The furnace was empty.
The old man in hemp clothing stood in front of the empty stove, turned his head and glanced at the crowd who had stopped in front of the door and were watching coldly.
He laughed in surprise:
"I know what you're waiting for. The swordsmith knows too much about the cauldron sword he forged. Only by seeing him die with his own eyes can the sword wielder be truly at peace and truly possess the cauldron sword. Hahahaha..."
"But the most frustrating thing is that before this, whether they were kings and generals or mythical Qi cultivators, everyone had to ask the swordsmith for help."
Everyone fell silent.
The old man's expression suddenly changed, and he asked:
"Are you all wondering about its real name?"
All eyes were fixed on him.
The old swordsmith smiled and said:
"My sect once had an ancestral precept: myths are born from the mortal world, and so it is with my sword-forging, therefore..."
"It's called craftsmanship."
"An ordinary...craftsman's work."
The old swordsmith was facing the young men and women by the gate.
I don't know who he was giving the instructions to, or... was he saying it to everyone?
In fact, the old swordsmith had once liked two words that a young county magistrate had proposed.
justice.
What a fair deal!
Everyone has an equal opportunity.
Before the empty furnace, the old swordsmith bowed his head, patted the dust off his clothes, and picked up a red lotus sword seal from the table.
“Master, junior brother, old friend of the Mei family, I have come.”
The old man in hemp clothing, without looking back, threw himself into the furnace.
His hunched body, like a dandelion in the wind, turned into flying fluff in a extinguished furnace.
Only ashes remained.
From then on, there were no more swordsmiths in the world who mastered the art of forging swords with the Lulu sword.
The sword-making technique of Lulu, which was developed by thousands of craftsmen when the First Emperor forged the second bronze sword in the world a thousand years ago, was lost.
At the door, Wei Shaoxuan, Liu Zilin, Ouyang Rong, A Qing, and the others looked both excited and surprised upon hearing this.
"Craftsmanship?"
(End of this chapter)
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