Chapter 80

"Hmm." He Chunhua shook the notebook in his hand, "Loot taken from his body."

The Heishuicheng army, with the help of the Great Wind army spirits and monsters, killed Sun Fuping; He Chunhua would never give up the opportunity to loot the former State Preceptor's relics.

He Yue was curious: "What else is written in the notebook?"

"Supernatural spells, elixirs, and strange items—what is called demon arts." He Chunhua put away the notebook, "I originally wanted to see if there were any records of military secrets."

He Lingchuan was also curious: "Are there any?"

"No."

After eating and drinking his fill, He Lingchuan stood up to take his leave.

Just as he walked out of the garden, Uncle Hao followed him and said sincerely: "Many thanks, Young Master."

He Lingchuan knew he was thanking him for killing Nian Songyu and avenging the Kite Demon, so he waved his hand indifferently: "A small matter! That dog-son surnamed Nian also wanted to kill me, but unfortunately, he didn't get his wish."

The days that followed were calm and peaceful.

He Lingchuan returned to being an idle rich second generation; he had people treating him to food and drink, and a whole crowd of fox friends and dog companions. As long as he went to a teahouse or opera house, people would inevitably surround him, praising Young Master He for being brave and invincible—breaking into restricted areas, saving teammates, and killing rebels—all things ordinary people couldn't do.

In the past few days, Zeng Feixiong and the other officers who returned from the adventure had all received generous rewards. Once they had money, they naturally went to spend it in the marketplace—sharing joy is better than enjoying it alone—so this story became increasingly bizarre and strange in the word-of-mouth retelling of the crowd.

Of course, the two men Sun and Nian were described as wretched and cunning, the kind with sores on their heads and pus on their feet, while the He father and sons were wise and martial, leading the Heishuicheng army to challenge the Sand Season and fight the vengeful spirits of Panlongcheng, and still returning in triumph.

He Lingchuan was very certain that the number of young ladies and wives casting flirtatious glances at him on the street had increased by more than twofold.

Heroes love beauties, and how could beauties not love heroes? It's a pity, though, that the cultivation art he practices doesn't allow for breaking the vows.

This day, Zeng Feixiong introduced him to a blacksmith shop, which was said to have been passed down for five generations; the weapons of Heishuicheng officers were all customized and maintained here.

He Lingchuan went in and laid out the broken blade: "Can you fix it?"

The proprietor of this shop was a red-faced man with a thick beard, who was moved the moment he picked up the broken blade: "A good blade, very fierce! I've been in this business for over ten years, and this is the first time I've seen such a fierce weapon; even though it's broken in two, it still looks like it wants to devour someone."

Seeing the two men looking a bit bewildered, he explained: "This is the blade's heart not dying; just like a toothless tiger, it still has sharp claws and a strong physique, and ordinary people still can't beat it."

He didn't touch the blade edge but sniffed twice: "This blade has eaten at least several hundred people."

"Probably five or seven hundred." He Lingchuan laughed, "This is the sword of Zhong Shengquan, the Commander of Panlongcheng."

Only then could Zeng Feixiong get a word in: "This is the eldest son of the He Mansion."

Young Master He's heroic deeds had spread throughout Heishuicheng like they had legs. Who would have thought that the blacksmith, not to mention not knowing, would wave his hands repeatedly after hearing it: "Forgive me, but I cannot repair this treasure. Not to mention me, I'm afraid no one in the entire Heishuicheng—no, the entire Qiansong County—can do it."

He Lingchuan's face didn't look good: "What do you mean?"

Perhaps because their auras matched, the more he looked at this blade, the more he liked it, and he didn't want it to sit idle.

To put it snobbishly, just by the label "Old Collection of Zhong Shengquan," once repaired, it would be worth a fortune.

"Legend has it that divine artifacts have spirits. Although this blade hasn't reached that tier yet, it has drunk too much human blood, and with fierce energy entwined, it has gained a little bit of ignorant spirituality over time; this is called the blade heart, or blade eye." The blacksmith picked up the precious blade and pointed to the broken edge for the two to look closely, "Look at the cross-section; isn't it warm and moist, as if mercury is flowing?"

He even shook the blade body twice.

Zeng Feixiong watched without blinking, then nodded repeatedly: "Indeed!"

He had touched no fewer than dozens of weapons, and this was the first time he had seen such a mercury-like cross-section.

"The saying 'blades have no eyes' refers to ordinary weapons; if they break, they break, and you can just re-forge and patch them, or at worst, melt them down and recast them." The blacksmith smiled bitterly, "But once this precious blade is melted down, the blade heart cultivated over time will be gone; if it's just repaired, it will never accept ordinary iron. It not only needs the master's blood but also requires Kunwu Gold."

"Kunwu Gold?" He Lingchuan felt the two words were somewhat familiar, and after carefully searching the original self's sea of consciousness, he actually found relevant information: "The Kunwu Gold that legend says is only produced in the Kunwu Mountains and is used exclusively for casting divine weapons?"

The original self had heard storytellers talk about it in the teahouse, more than once or twice.

"Exactly. I haven't heard of any place in Qiansong County that has such a treasure."

He Lingchuan tapped his fingers on the table, looking troubled.

Just when Zeng Feixiong thought he was going to give up, Young Master He took a short pestle out of his bosom: "Take a look, does this work?"

Zeng Feixiong was greatly shocked: "Isn't this State Preceptor Sun's personal staff?" Is this young master trying to damage one intact treasure to repair another?

He reminded him carefully: "Young Master, this staff is worth a fortune." Even the County Governor was a bit reluctant when he gave it away.

He Lingchuan scoffed: "So what if it's worth a fortune? If I can't use it, why keep it?"

He and He Yue had both carefully read and tested the page of instructions He Chunhua gave them, but the staff was too arrogant and showed no response to any commands.

Its previous master was the State Preceptor; having seen the best, its standards for choosing a master naturally rose. With Sun Fuping's ability, if it weren't for the State Preceptor status becoming invalid, if it weren't for the Panlong Secret Realm suppressing his cultivation, if it weren't for being repeatedly ambushed by He Lingchuan and the others with siege crossbows, and if it weren't for the Great Wind army spirits joining the battle, how could the Heishuicheng army led by He Chunhua have taken him down? As for the treasure choosing a new master, it clearly didn't want these two weaklings as masters.

He Lingchuan certainly wouldn't indulge such a high-and-mighty bad habit.

If he can't have it, he'll destroy it; isn't it better to use it on a broken blade that suits him? He shoved the pestle into the blacksmith's hand, "Look closely, is this beast head Kunwu Gold?"

On the adventure, Sun Fuping's attendants had boasted that the State Preceptor's staff head was cast with Kunwu copper, a treasure that money couldn't buy. He Lingchuan guessed that this was Kunwu Gold.

Of course, these attendants had already been chopped up by He Chunhua, but their words still rang in his ears.

The blacksmith was also surprised by Young Master He's financial power; the thing he casually took out was a small goal that commoners couldn't achieve in several lifetimes.

He took the precious pestle and observed it carefully, then took out some potion from somewhere, dripped a few drops on it, and rubbed it repeatedly. After identifying it for a long time, he looked up and said: "Young Master, this is indeed Kunwu Gold, but it cannot be used here."

"Are you playing with me?" Before, he said it couldn't be repaired without Kunwu Gold, and now that he has Kunwu Gold, it still can't be repaired.

(End of chapter)