Chapter 213

Two hundred and twenty-one, True Names, Sword Techniques, and People of Great Vitality

No way, even a gentleman guards against craftsmen, Two hundred and twenty-one, True Names, Sword Techniques, and People of Great Vitality "What a lunatic!"

Inside the cottage, Wei Shaoxuan was stunned for a long time before spitting out a curse in a low voice.

He picked up his teacup and drank it all in one gulp.

Even with the deep composure of this Sixth Young Master of the Wei clan, it was difficult to maintain his calm elegance.

That "Mad Emperor" who had already been buried in the dust of history and criticized by historians was even more crazy and outrageous than he had imagined.

"Back then, the Southern Dynasty imperial family cast one Xin Dingjian, which had already exhausted the resources of the Southern Kingdom and tried their best; the Mad Emperor was something else, adding another one in the Butterfly Creek Sword Furnace, casting two Tripod Swords at the same time?"

Wei Shaoxuan suddenly felt that compared to the Mad Emperor, he and his father were quite compassionate; well, the current Emperor was too.

It seems that everything needs a comparison.

Happiness comes from disparity.

"History books say that the Northern Dynasty casting that one 'Emperor Wen Huang' had already almost exhausted the national strength, and the world had just been unified; this Mad Emperor wasn't busy pacifying generals and ministers or winning over the hearts of the people, taking it slow, but instead was obsessed with Qi refining techniques and cast two more Tripod Swords. If this person doesn't destroy the country, who will?"

Wei Shaoxuan sneered; actually, he didn't think the Mad Emperor was wrong to scrape oil and water from the common people, but the key was that being bad was fine, but one couldn't be stupid. The way he ate was too ugly, and not elegant enough; exploitation also requires elegance:

"Heh, a lunatic who drains the pond to catch the fish."

Qiu Shenji nodded:

"The Xin Dingjian that was stolen should have been the one the Southern Kingdom imperial family hadn't finished casting back then; the Southern Kingdom imperial family had cast most of this sword, so the Mad Emperor should have prioritized casting it.

"It's just that, before this sword was stolen, whether it had already been finished casting, I don't know.

"My ancestor in the Qiu family who reached the rank of General of Chariots and Cavalry once said that the Mad Emperor was furious that day, blocked the news, and executed many people involved, including many precious sword craftsmen; blood and heads rolled into Butterfly Creek, staining the river water red for half a month, and it still wasn't washed clean...

"This lunatic, why execute sword craftsmen?" Wei Shaoxuan was curious.

"It seems there were sword smiths who colluded with the sword thieves, which led to the loss of the Xin Dingjian."

"Colluded?"

A look of contemplation appeared on Wei Shaoxuan's face.

These secret inside stories, long hidden in the dust of history, might not even be recorded in the secret treasury of the Wei Prince's Mansion; it is estimated that they were only passed down by families of military Qi refiners like his foster father.

"Does foster father know who the thieves were, daring to steal the Mad Emperor's sword?"

Qiu Shenji looked at him and shook his head:

"Sixth Young Master, don't think too much about it; it's been nearly a hundred years. Many Qi refiner forces know about this, and the clues that could be found were long ago searched by smart people. That Xin Dingjian, whether it was finished casting or not, has long since disappeared, and no one knows who stole it.

"However, it must have been a Qi refiner with considerable cultivation; the Mad Emperor offended many mountain Qi refiner forces back then, not to mention those top-tier Qi refiner forces that had supported the Southern Kingdom imperial family."

Speaking of this, Qiu Shenji glanced at the south outside the window, where there was a hidden upper sect.

Wei Shaoxuan nodded, sighed, and stopped asking.

He pondered:

"In that case, the Xin Dingjian embryo that the Liu family is supervising the casting of now is a new tripod sought after the Mad Emperor lost his sword?"

Qiu Shenji nodded slightly:

"When I read history books back then, I also had doubts about why the Mad Emperor was so slow to finish casting the sword; later, hearing this secret, I felt enlightened. Sure enough, a secret change occurred midway."

Wei Shaoxuan was silent for a while, then suddenly laughed and chanted softly:

"Pity the one who presses the gold thread year after year, only to make wedding clothes for others..."

He turned his head again, his face full of emotion:

"However, foster father, imagine if there hadn't been this sword-stealing incident, with the Mad Emperor's Qi refining cultivation back then, and the Great Sui army possessing multiple Tripod Swords, even if heroes rose together, who the world would ultimately belong to wouldn't be certain.

"After all, one 'Emperor Wen Huang' had already made the heroes of the world at that time tremble with fear; even that Emperor Wen Huang Taizong had to avoid its edge on the battlefield...

"But history has no 'ifs'; in the end, dust returns to dust, earth returns to earth, and the Great Sui's mandate and Tripod Swords all belonged to the Great Gan.

"'Emperor Wen Huang' was also added a character by the Great Gan monarch and renamed 'Emperor Wen Huang'... It really is the irony of fate.

"By the way, foster father, you are often in the northern border army; have you seen that 'Emperor Wen Huang'? What does it look like?"

Qiu Shenji nodded slightly.

Hearing this, a look of awe flashed in the depths of his eyes.

That's right, the Great Zhou, or rather the previous Great Gan, also had Tripod Swords.

Although Emperor Wen Huang Taizong of the Great Gan forbade future generations from casting Tripod Swords again, there was no rule against using swords that had already been cast in history.

The most world-famous Xin Dingjian of the current Great Zhou Dynasty, which succeeded the Great Gan, is 'Emperor Wen Huang'.

It's just that it's hard to find a sword-wielder who meets the sword's "vitality conditions," and this object is also a heavy national treasure, not belonging to any private family or surname; there is already a set of extremely mature official Qi refiner systems surrounding its use.

In times of necessity, it executes Qi refiners who dare to offend imperial power, and is borrowed by the most elite battle formations of the Great Zhou border army to sweep across thousands of troops and expand territory.

Even the Wei clan, which holds power over the government, cannot misappropriate it privately.

Qiu Shenji still remembers that day in the northern border when the sky was clear, the sun was shining, and the yellow sand filled the sky; as far as the eye could see ahead, enemy cavalry were densely packed, rushing toward them like a black tide from the horizon, about to swallow the right flank of the Gan army.

At a certain moment, a sword came from the east.

The black tide that had been rushing forward was cut in two by a straight steel wire laid horizontally, as plain and simple as cutting tofu; the black tide was cut into upper and lower pieces of tofu, falling to the ground and shattering into pieces.

Looking out, it was a straight line of death; those who dared to cross it by even half a step had their upper and lower bodies separated, people and horses overturned, and even the sandstorm passing through was cut in two.

That fresh and thick bloody smell carried by the west wind, even after more than ten years, Qiu Shenji still remembers it vividly, and at this moment, his nose seems to be able to smell it faintly.

It is called 'Emperor Wen Huang', but killing people is not elegant at all, just like Emperor Wen Huang Taizong of the Great Gan who was invincible in military force.

In the recent Yingzhou Rebellion, if the Wei clan could have used a Xin Dingjian to suppress it, there wouldn't have been this mess afterward!

And the Wei Prince's Mansion strongly suspects that the Yingzhou Rebellion was not just a rebellion of mutinous soldiers, but might have had the secret help of Qi refiners, and it might even be related to the rival Xiang Prince's forces... although there is no evidence yet.

Qiu Shenji was silent for a moment, then nodded slightly:

"'Emperor Wen Huang' has a somewhat special true appearance; I don't know why, but since the 'Scholar' was cast in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the swords cast by the sword smiths of the Craftsman Dao lineage began to deviate from the norm, saying it's neither a sword nor a tripod, and I don't know how to describe it...

"However, Sixth Young Master will soon have a chance to see it. This time, when we take the sword back, we need to borrow the rare sword technique of 'Emperor Wen Huang'. The Prince has arranged it for you; go back and observe it once... This is an opportunity exchanged for a lot of the Prince's Mansion's human resources and favors."

The man with the case on his back said with cold eyes:

"On this trip to Longcheng, there are two things that must be obtained; besides the Xin Dingjian itself, it is the true name of the Xin Dingjian. The true name is only known to the sword smith who personally casts the sword, and it is also of top priority.

"That's why I warned Sixth Young Master not to offend that old gentleman for the time being."

"I understand."

Wei Shaoxuan nodded lightly, as if he had already understood this in his heart. He suddenly asked:

"Why is foster father so certain that we must use the sword technique to subdue this Xin Dingjian? What if I happen to be a person of great vitality that it is close to? Can we bypass..."

"Perhaps."

Qiu Shenji said casually, turning his head to look out the window.

Seeing his foster father's expression, Wei Shaoxuan's mouth twitched; this tone sounded like perfunctory talk.

However, he felt his foster father's reaction was normal; his foster father had always been cold and realistic, how could he pin his hopes on the ethereal and low-probability identity of a person of great vitality?

It was better to honestly use the other safe method that Qi refiners had explored for thousands of years.

Wei Shaoxuan let out a long breath, stood up and walked around the room, murmuring:

"What should that old sword smith gentleman be called? I remember he seemed to have a name, he called himself 'Wu Ming' or something."

Qiu Shenji shook his head: "That sounds like a pseudonym. Most sword smiths have isolated personalities and eccentric temperaments."

Wei Shaoxuan smiled:

"I think so too, but this old gentleman's identity and experience are interesting.

"According to what Liu Ziwen revealed back then, before the Mei family was exterminated, this old gentleman was once an outside-surname registered disciple of the Gu Yue Sword Shop, and came into contact with some of the Mei family's sword-casting techniques, but later, it seems he had a quarrel with the Mei-surname teachers, a dispute over some concepts, and completely broke away, left the sect, and never returned—of course, looking at it now, this quarrel should have been related to the Xin Dingjian.

"But foster father, the interesting part comes later."

Wei Shaoxuan clapped his folding fan and turned his head to say leisurely:

"More than ten years ago, Liu Ziwen set a poisonous trap and exterminated the entire Mei family, but he was careless and one Mei family disciple escaped through a tunnel with the Xin Dingjian embryo. Liu Ziwen was anxious, offered a huge reward in the Jianghu, and searched everywhere, but couldn't find the person for a long time. But foster father, then guess what?"

Qiu Shenji looked sideways, his eyebrows raised slightly.

Wei Shaoxuan grinned, revealing three white teeth, his smile bright:

"Liu Ziwen did nothing; this old gentleman returned alone with the head of the escaped Mei family disciple and the Xin Dingjian embryo, sought Liu Ziwen to cooperate, and made three chapters of agreement: ignore worldly affairs, only focus on casting the sword. Liu Ziwen saw his sincerity and agreed to cooperate.

"What a sword-casting fanatic, what a betrayal of his master and ancestors; no wonder he is a wild man with no name or surname. This old gentleman's personality is too much to my taste, I must see him properly the day after tomorrow!"

Wei Shaoxuan clapped his hands and laughed.

Qiu Shenji's expression was thoughtful.

Liu Zian and Boss Li left the cottage together and went directly down the mountain from the temple.

However, he did not immediately return to the Liu family mansion or the Gu Yue Sword Shop.

Inside the carriage, Liu Zian chatted and laughed with Boss Li all the way, building a close relationship.

By the afternoon, Liu Zian specially took Boss Li to visit the Zhe Yi Canal.

The Liu family also had investments here, although they were like a big sucker.

Liu Zian took Boss Li to observe the new canal, and by the way, arranged for the invitation of various distinguished guests from Jiangzhou on the fifteenth of this month, and contacted the representatives sent by the county government, appearing very humble and sincere, without a trace of the ferocious indignation he had shown in the cottage at Donglin Temple in front of Wei Shaoxuan not long ago.

Liu Zian bid farewell to everyone and returned to the carriage; Boss Li, who was waiting, stared at him with a pair of green eyes, his expression quite strange.

This Persian merchant seemed to have remembered the layout of the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

"Master Liu and your brother really have a deep relationship, like brothers; even for revenge, you are so forbearing and carefully planned, when it was clearly a matter of one little finger from Mr. Qiu, eh."

Liu Zian smiled lightly and didn't answer.

By evening, Liu Zian waved his hand and finally sent away the Persian merchant who was lingering and seemingly supervising him.

Just as he boarded the carriage, the smile on the face of this new head of the Liu clan disappeared without a trace.

It was gloomy enough to drip water.

"Hurry back to the sword shop!"

A low whisper came from inside the carriage, and the carriage accelerated...

The old sword smith had been quite free these past few days, as if he had nothing to do, with much less work on his hands, and often ran to the grass outside to blow in the wind and drink wine.

The old sword smith's alcohol tolerance had also increased recently; the yellow wine he entrusted to buy from Sister Cheng at the breakfast shop every day had silently changed from one jar a day to three jars.

This led the very warm-hearted Sister Cheng to specially exhort him that drinking hurts the body after serving him a bowl of hot soup this morning.

The old man turned a deaf ear, still keeping his dark, wrinkled face that kept people at a distance.

Halfway up Little Gu Mountain, the old sword smith walked out of the sword furnace room with two jars of yellow wine and came to the edge of the cliff on the grass.

He tilted his head and drank one jar by himself.

He slowly sprinkled the other jar on the grass in front of him.

The old man looked at the endless Butterfly Creek flowing under the mountain and the lights of ten thousand homes in the small Jiang Nan county town on the opposite bank with a dazed expression.

He grew up here, was an unregistered apprentice in the sword furnace here, and was going to cast a Xin Dingjian that betrayed his sect here.

When people get old, they easily reminisce.

The old sword smith's gray, withered lips murmured:

"What a Butterfly Creek; back in the Pre-Qin period, the Yue maiden beheaded a dragon at the Dragon Head Terrace on the west bank, and later the Mad Emperor almost beheaded all the sword smiths of the Craftsman Dao lineage, their heads rolling into the surging waves... Does this creek like watching living creatures lose their heads so much?"

"Old gentleman, it's bad!"

At this time, Liu Zian hurried to the mountainside and said to the old sword smith who seemed to be blowing in the wind to sober up:

"That Wei clan young master from Luoyang doesn't look easy to deal with, and he even brought a top-grade military Qi refiner as a protector..."

The old sword smith restrained his expression and turned sideways with the wine.

"Oh." He nodded.

"Old gentleman, am I truly without fate, not a person of great vitality?" Liu Zian suddenly asked.

"No."

The old sword smith sipped his wine, looked at his slightly gloomy face, and asked:

"Why, are you afraid? Want to give up on the plan we agreed on?"

"How could that be."

A smile appeared on Liu Zian's face, and then he asked with a serious tone:

"Does the old gentleman really have a sword technique to give me?"

The old sword smith said faintly: "I happened to get one, I'll give it to you."

Joy appeared in the depths of Liu Zian's eyes, but then his tone was a bit: "Why is the old gentleman helping me so generously?"

"We already agreed; you kill Liu Ziwen, and I give you a sword. I only cast swords in this life; who the sword-wielder is, a Wei clan disciple or you, I don't care."

The old man said truthfully.

Liu Zian looked at him and let out a slight breath.

His eyes flickered slightly.

According to the past events Liu Zian knew, those grievances were between the old sword smith and Liu Ziwen.

Liu Zian returned to Longcheng later to supervise the sword casting and killed people for the old sword smith; the grievances really didn't involve him.

Liu Zian pondered for a while, then suddenly frowned: "Where did the old gentleman's rare sword technique come from?"

The old sword smith glanced at him, and the little finger holding the wine pot pointed casually into the distance.

Liu Zian turned his head, his expression stunned:

"This..."

The direction the old man pointed was exactly Donglin Temple on Little Gu Mountain, where Liu Zian had been today.