Chapter 223

After walking another few dozen zhang, the troop split. The government office couldn't accommodate so many idlers, so Old Mo, the housekeeper, led the families of the support army to the designated post house to settle down; of course, more importantly, he sent Lady Ying and the others to the new home of the Xiazhou Chief Steward.

According to He Chunhua's prior arrangement, He Yue went to the government office, while He Lingchuan accompanied Lady Ying.

About a quarter of an hour later, Lady Ying and her son finally arrived at their new residence.

It was fifteen zhang behind the government office, convenient for the Chief Steward to go to work nearby. The residences of other officials were scattered around, the Dunyu County Magistrate also lived nearby, and there were two or three rows of official quarters directly behind.

He Lingchuan accompanied his mother and walked around inside and out. The servants began to move luggage, tidy up the interior, and sweep the courtyard; the originally empty residence immediately had a human presence.

The mansion had been prepared by the state government long ago; it was relatively clean, and a few servants had been arranged to stay and clean. As soon as Old Mo, the housekeeper, arrived, he gave these servants generous rewards and then sent them away.

The mistress of the house only wanted to use the staff brought from their hometown, though they would slowly recruit more later.

For Lady Ying, who had been looking forward to it the whole way, this official residence was a huge disappointment: not to mention comparing it to the Li family, even the silk merchant Hu's house they had passed earlier was twice as large as the Chief Steward's residence. The furniture inside was relatively old, and she didn't know how many hands it had passed through; although the wall plaster and roof tiles had just been repaired, the wind-and-rain corridor was still damaged, the bluestone in the courtyard was sunken or collapsed, and even the plants were growing too wildly and aggressively.

Lady Ying had sharp eyes and even found several wormholes in the legs of the table in the living room.

This was far below her expectations; it wasn't even as comfortable as the old house in Heishuicheng.

He Lingchuan saw her face getting darker and darker and quickly comforted her: "Mother, don't be angry. This place is too dilapidated; throw away what needs to be thrown, repair what needs to be repaired, change what needs to be changed, and buy what needs to be bought. Father won't be able to say anything, and aren't you just right to show off your skills? Does our family lack this little bit of money?"

The house they had in Heishuicheng was also something Lady Ying had managed bit by bit.

Perhaps women were born with a heart for decorating; Lady Ying thought that after her husband returned, she could complain to him, and then spend the next few months repairing the house to make it exactly as she pleased, and her mood slowly improved.

"Who are you calling old? How does our family not lack money? Your father has just arrived in Xiazhou, the expenses for socializing are high, but the income from a new official appointment is low; we should save where we can... Hmm, look, the ground in this garden has collapsed anyway, why not just dig a deep water cellar? In the summer, we can freeze some melons, fruits, and wine!"

A water cellar was a water pond, but very deep, at least a zhang deep. No matter how hot the summer was, the sunlight couldn't penetrate to the bottom, so the bottom of the cellar was still cold and cool, perfect for refrigerating food. In addition, it could store fresh water and be used as a fire hydrant.

Lady Ying said that after her husband was promoted, they had less money, which was also the truth. He Chunhua was an out-and-out local king in Qiansong County, with various sources of income, both above the table and hidden. Otherwise, with the eldest son spending money like water, how could the meager salary of a County Governor afford it?

As for being promoted to Xiazhou Chief Steward, it was just that he was new and it wasn't easy to reach out for money yet. An old hand like He Chunhua would definitely first figure out the various ways of the local area.

Someone like He Chunhua was not only not considered a corrupt official in the Great Yuan Dynasty but was actually a representative of capable, practical officials. At least he didn't dig three feet into the ground to suck the blood and marrow of the common people. Lady Ying was still very proud of this point.

She was also good to her eldest son this time; before her husband returned, she had already assigned He Lingchuan a courtyard to the east.

The brothers' living quarters were about the same size, which was also a little bit of her own bias.

Lady Ying went to get busy, and He Lingchuan walked into his own territory to take a look; the courtyard was smaller than the one in Heishuicheng, but it was enough for practicing martial arts. A row of peach trees by the wall had already grown into old stumps, and in the coming summer, he would have peaches to eat without leaving the house.

There was a large jujube tree in the courtyard, leaving only bare branches in winter. He Lingchuan pondered building a small treehouse on it in a few days for the medicine ape Lingguang to use.

The rock wolf followed him in, sniffing left and right, unable to shake off its canine habits. He Lingchuan kindly asked it: "Lu Xin, should I build you a small wooden house in the courtyard too?"

"Good..." Lu Xin was just about to agree when it realized something was wrong. "Not good! Do you take me for a dog? You want me to sleep in a doghouse?"

Wasn't a wooden house a doghouse? Facing its low growl, He Lingchuan shrugged: "Then you sleep in the parlor, go to the latrine for your business, and you are not allowed to do it in the courtyard! Also, you are not allowed to pee at the base of the wall!"

Lu Xin ground its teeth; this was too difficult for a wolf.

The facilities in the house were complete, but according to Lady Ying's temper, they were all to be thrown away and changed.

Old Mo, the housekeeper, had already sent people to deliver charcoal braziers, hot water, and tea trays.

He Lingchuan had just brewed himself a cup of hot tea when the courtyard gate rang.

"Proprietor, it's me."

He knew it was Li Fubo by the voice.

"The door isn't locked, come in yourself."

Li Fubo entered the hall, and He Lingchuan laughed: "Didn't you go to the government office to watch the excitement?" He had really wanted to go.

"No. The Lord has already gone, and he instructed me to come over first to handle matters for you."

"Handle matters?" He Lingchuan didn't react for a moment.

"Planting the blade."

He Lingchuan slapped his forehead: "Even the Marquis of Songyang is more concerned than I am!"

This proprietor was indeed big-hearted. "The precious blade needs to be left undisturbed for half a month, and it must not be moved during that time. Is it convenient here?"

"Right here." He Lingchuan rubbed his hands, unable to hide his excitement. "Come, let me witness the blade-planting technique of the Songyang Mansion."

Li Fubo first took out something and handed it to him: "This is repaired; please pass it on to your father."

He Lingchuan took a look; it was the walnut boat, formally called the Mustard Seed Boat, which he had used last time to suppress Dong Rui's ghost ape and had broken.

"Repaired so quickly? Truly worthy of Master Li!" Praise didn't cost anything, and he could say it as soon as he opened his mouth.

Li Fubo smiled: "This was repaired by our Lord himself."

He Lingchuan let out a long "Oh": "I will definitely pass it on."

He thought to himself that his mother would definitely be upset.

Li Fubo took a copper furnace out of his storage ring, threw it on the ground, and chanted two secret incantations.

The palm-sized copper furnace turned into one that was over a person's height.

He Lingchuan was no longer surprised by this kind of technology from the Songyang Mansion.

"Proprietor, please step back a few paces."

He Lingchuan stepped back as instructed, and Li Fubo patted the furnace body; the lid folded open in four directions, and immediately, a fierce, hot air rushed toward his face. He Lingchuan was still a zhang away from the furnace, but he felt the heat rolling. In such a spacious room, the temperature had risen by at least five degrees.

One had to know that this was still the effect of Li Fubo controlling the furnace temperature; otherwise, if the true fire had swept out, the wooden bed and counter would have been ignited instantly.

The lid folded open, and the furnace body became a platform, convenient for the craftsman to operate.

He Lingchuan saw the piece of gold mud at the first glance.

At this time, its color had changed from red gold to black with dark gold, and there were some faint green and goose-yellow spots in some corners, as if it were a charcoal pile in the countryside that had been visited by cats, dogs, and geese... It was completely unlike its beautiful appearance before.

But as Li Fubo controlled the fire and it came up, the most intuitive change was that its volume had increased by more than double, and although it remained in a solid state, small lava bubbles occasionally emerged on its surface, with dark red liquid flowing slowly inside, and even red light leaking out from the cracks in the mud shell.

Simply put, it was like a piece of lava that wouldn't stop burning inside.

He Lingchuan humbly asked for advice: "How do I operate it? Where is the Zhi gold?"

"The Zhi gold has already melted into the gold mud, along with seven other raw materials," Li Fubo said seriously. "Two of them were specifically instructed by the Lord. As for the specific formula, please forgive me for not being able to speak clearly."

"The Zhi gold has already melted?" He Lingchuan wondered. "I thought the essence of gold was the hardest thing in the world, and it couldn't be melted without ten days or half a month of borrowing the thunder and lightning."

"True gold fears no fire," Li Fubo smiled slightly. "Unless there is a catalyst."

Afterward, he took out two fist-sized pieces of Zhi gold and handed them to He Lingchuan: "These are the remaining materials; please keep them safe."

Don't look at these so-called scraps; they were still several times more expensive than gold of the same volume.

He Lingchuan took them and put them away.

From this, one could see that Li Fubo was big-hearted; he hadn't even asked He Lingchuan to witness the melting of the Zhi gold before he did it. Young Master He had indeed said that he would control the whole process, but without seeing the gold melt, who knew if Li Fubo had skimmed off some and lined his own pockets?

After all, the Zhi gold He Lingchuan had bought was so large, and it was taken to be melted; no one would know if he stole a piece or two.

"You already know that I started melting the Zhi gold from Ru County; the dark fire simmering and forging could not be interrupted, and it took a lot of effort to bring it onto the carriage." Li Fubo pointed to the burning gold mud. "Zhi gold is the most important material for planting the blade; it must be completely fused into the medium of gold mud before it can be absorbed by the precious blade. Now its temperature has dropped rapidly, you can plant it."

"How do I plant it?"

Next, He Lingchuan removed the wrapping from the hilt and cleaned the surface of the hilt with the liquid Li Fubo handed him.

He didn't know what that was, but after it was poured on, it hissed and made a sound, cyan smoke rose, and the hilt was etched with thousands of holes, like a honeycomb.

He Lingchuan felt a pang of heartache, but Li Fubo said: "Bleed, and coat the hilt."

This step was called "feeding the blade," and it had to use the master's own fresh blood.

It wasn't heart blood, so it was easy to handle; He Lingchuan took a small knife to prick his ring finger, and fresh blood dripped onto the hilt, pouring into the small holes.

"Spread it evenly."

He Lingchuan did as instructed, but soon discovered that the hilt was like a sponge, actually absorbing the fresh blood completely.

That speed could only be described as ravenous.

He simply made a large cut on his arm to increase the blood flow.

The broken blade was also unceremonious, drinking as much as it could, not minding at all that it was draining him dry.

Li Fubo also watched without blinking.

He Lingchuan fed it for a long time, feeling a chill in his heart, and couldn't help but say: "Hey, is this normal?"

"Not normal." Li Fubo's answer made He Lingchuan's heart jump. "The other precious blades I've planted used at most twenty percent of this amount of blood. But we've come this far, you might as well satisfy it."

So bloodthirsty, and a precious blade that thirsted for its master's blood—this was the first time he had seen one.

(End of chapter)