Chapter 137: Widow

In the back courtyard of Shen Bing Fang, the forging workshop.

Still bustling with heat and noise, over a dozen muscular forge masters, bare-chested, hammered away at weapons with clanging strikes.

Facing Facing Cang Luo scanned the room, spotted Master Lu and Wang Zhonghu studying something at their workbench; he ignored them, then quickly spotted Zhang Han, who was still silently engraving a formation.

Zhang Han noticed Facing Facing Cang Luo at once and nodded to him.

Facing Facing Cang Luo nodded back, but was slightly startled—impressed by the strength of the other's yuan consciousness; he hadn't spoken, had merely glanced, yet Zhang Han had already sensed him.

Facing Facing Cang Luo silently shook his head and quickly walked toward Zhang Han, planning to retrieve his items, ask a few questions, then immediately return to Xuantian Sect.

As for becoming a guest forge master at Shen Bing Fang and earning money by selling design blueprints, he was now hesitating.

His master was fake, and his own strength was pitiful—he always felt like dancing on a razor's edge.

If someone developed improper designs for these blueprints, he wouldn't even know how he died...

As Facing Facing Cang Luo pondered this, he suddenly halted, slowed his steps, and frowned toward the workbench where Master Lu and Wang Zhonghu stood...

At that moment, Lu Zheng and Wang Zhonghu were forging a longsword—a new design they had conceived overnight and rushed to forge that morning.

The blade was about four feet long, two inches wide, nearly half an inch thick, with a hilt wide enough for two hands—a heavy sword suited for warriors who practiced broad, sweeping martial techniques.

At first glance, it seemed ordinary, just another heavy sword—but Facing Facing Cang Luo suddenly spotted three deep air-grooves carved into the blade's surface!

"Damn!"

"Disgusting!"

"Plagiarist!"

"Shameless! I haven't even left yet and you're already pirating my design!"

Facing Facing Cang Luo cursed inwardly fiercely but didn't approach to expose or accuse—he dared not.

They were Rank 6 forge masters; even if they spent little time on cultivation, they were still Wu Zun cultivators—if he angered them, one finger could obliterate him.

Facing Facing Cang Luo seethed in silence, walking straight toward Zhang Han without a word. Master Lu glanced at him, a flicker of shame crossing his face—but it vanished instantly, replaced by a cold ruthlessness...

"Brother Cang!"

"Brother Zhang!"

Zhang Han set down his engraving knife and bowed to Facing Facing Cang Luo.

Facing Facing Cang Luo returned the bow, then cut straight to the point: "Has the formation for the external attachments on the war cart been engraved yet?"

Zhang Han pointed to a pile of oil-paper-wrapped items beside him and smiled: "All done. Want to test the formation's effect?"

Facing Facing Cang Luo shook his head and smiled: "No need—I trust your skill..."

After exchanging a few polite words, Facing Facing Cang Luo asked: "Brother Zhang, do you have any device or formation that can continuously emit a strong light source, about the size of a fist, and is controllable?"

"And do you have any coating or method to solidify leather armor—making it resistant to ordinary blades and swords, without reducing its toughness or elasticity?"

Zhang Han didn't hesitate—Facing Facing Cang Luo's questions were simple—but just as he opened his mouth, He Guan appeared, forcing him to fall silent.

With He Guan present, he had no right to speak.

He Jiu gripped Facing Facing Cang Luo's hand tightly and grinned warmly: "Younger brother, don't rush off—stay for a meal, let's drink three hundred cups together? Afterward, I'll personally escort you back to Xuantian Sect."

At these words, many forge masters and apprentices turned their heads, all puzzled.

Who was He Guan talking to?

The man wore the robes of an outer disciple of Xuantian Sect—and he'd been here yesterday. Yet He Guan called him "younger brother"?

And he wanted to invite him to dinner? What was going on?

Xuantian Sect was powerful, but Shen Bing Fang was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot—why treat an outer disciple with such... smiling deference?

Wasn't it different yesterday?

Last night, Wang Zhonghu said this guy couldn't even afford the forging fee—how did he become a big shot today?

What kind of world is this? The debtor's become the master?

In a nearby pavilion, Lu Zheng and Wang Zhonghu also froze. What's going on with He Jiu? Why is he being so courteous to that kid?

He Jiu ignored the curious stares and pressed on warmly: "Younger brother, Brother Cang..."

Facing Facing Cang Luo, unable to pull his hand free, snapped coldly: "He Guan, show some respect. I'm not into that. Let go—I'm leaving."

He Jiu didn't understand "into that," but he sensed it wasn't a compliment; seeing Facing Facing Cang Luo was angry, he released his hand—but still tried to persuade.

Facing Facing Cang Luo ignored him, bid farewell to Zhang Han—who stared in shock—and picked up the external attachments, then walked out. He'd ask about the headlights and tires another time.

Seeing him leave, He Jiu panicked but dared not physically stop him—afraid of utterly offending him.

"What do I do? When will the master arrive? A master who can build mechanical carts... I can't miss him again!"

He Jiu thought for a moment, then suddenly said: "Younger brother, our mistress is coming—why not wait? Have a meal with her before you go?"

Facing Facing Cang Luo paused slightly. Mistress? The female head of Shen Bing Fang?

"No time!"

Facing Facing Cang Luo muttered, walking out without looking back.

He Guan called after him: "Our mistress is a famed beauty of Danyang County! Many have begged for a glimpse and failed..."

Facing Facing Cang Luo froze again, then turned back with sudden amusement: "He Guan, what are you implying? Is your mistress a widow? Looking to take on a live-in... husband?"

He was joking—but He Jiu's face darkened slightly as he nodded, then added: "Our mistress is the master of Shen Bing Fang—Lady Shen.

She's been seeking a worthy husband. Younger brother, why not give it a try?

No! Let your master try?"

Zhang Han: "..."

Facing Facing Cang Luo: "..."

Are you serious? I just joked—and I hit the mark? She's a widow, and she's the master of Shen Bing Fang?

No wonder—such a huge weapons factory run by a woman with long hair and short wisdom, tolerating Rank 6 forge masters to plagiarize, disrespecting intellectual property... a company led by such a person won't go bankrupt—it just won't grow.

Facing Facing Cang Luo said coldly: "Not interested. I don't play the kept man. I rely on myself—I don't need a rich woman to support me, and neither does my master."

Having said that, Facing Facing Cang Luo flicked his sleeve and departed.

Behind him, numerous smiths and laborers, including He Jiu, Lu Zheng, Wang Zhonghu, and Zhang Han, suddenly froze, staring straight at his retreating back.

He Jiu was stunned because Facing Facing Cang Luo had shown no interest in the Mistress, while Lu Zheng and the others were stunned by He Jiu's words.

After a moment of silence, Lu Zheng roared, "He Jiu, what nonsense are you spouting? When did the Mistress say she wanted to recruit a... husband?"

"And what did you just say? The Mistress wants to keep him for a meal? Could it be that she truly means it?"

As he spoke, Lu Zheng appeared before He Jiu, unleashing a fierce aura. His clothes fluttered without wind; his right hand pointed into the void, and a sudden burst of hardening energy lifted He Jiu off the ground, immobilizing him.

He Jiu was only at the Martial Spirit Stage 1 cultivation level, utterly powerless to resist. His body was crushed and restrained by Lu Zheng's Gang Qi, causing immense pain!

At this moment, Lu Zheng, the Grade Six Smith who usually projected the demeanor of a Grandmaster, was gone; in his place stood the powerful cultivator at Martial Sovereign Stage 2!

The reason he stayed in the Shen Family, in the Shen Bing Fang, was for Shen Ru, the family head, and to seize the Shen Bing Fang.

Alas, after so many years, he had still failed to succeed.

Shen Ru's strength was not weak; she was already at the Wu Zong Stage 9 cultivation level. Although he possessed the cultivation of a Wu Zun, his combat power was low, and a direct confrontation might not see him victorious against her.

Most crucially, that woman's social maneuvering skills were extraordinary; she moved effortlessly among the major powers of the Danyang Commandery, mastering the art of using one's strength against another.

Otherwise, a mere woman like her could never have sustained the Shen Bing Fang or preserved the legacy left by her late husband; it would have been devoured until not even a bone remained.

Thinking of this, Lu Zheng roared again, "He Jiu, is what you said true or false? Why does this old man know nothing of it?"

He had seen Shen Ru just last night; at that time, he had spoken of Facing Facing Cang Luo's master as utterly worthless, insisting there was no need to hire him as a guest smith.

Although Shen Ru had not fully followed his advice, deciding instead to hire the man with a monthly payment of one high-grade Yuan Stone, she had shown no other intentions.

How, then, did it become recruiting him as a live-in... husband in He Jiu's account? The two had never even met!

Held captive and unable to move, He Jiu struggled to say, "Grandmaster Lu, please put me down first; I will explain slowly..."

Lu Zheng glanced at the surrounding crowd. Seeing them staring at him, he realized he had been a bit impulsive. He snorted coldly and set He Jiu down.

He Jiu quickly said, "Grandmaster Lu, you misunderstood. I was deceiving that young man, merely to keep him here."

Lu Zheng was confused, asking, "Deceive him? Why keep him here?"

He Jiu's face looked somewhat grim; his bones and tendons had been injured by Lu Zheng's Gang Qi. He took a breath and said, "The Automaton Chariot! The Automaton Chariot! That young man's master truly knows how to build Automaton Chariots!"

"I kept him here to wait for the Family Head to arrive, so she could speak with him personally. We must invite his master, or at least see if we can obtain the method for building Automaton Chariots!"

"Grandmaster Lu, just think: if the Shen Bing Fang possessed the ability to build Automaton Chariots..."

Lu Zheng paused, interrupting, "You are deceiving this old man! That young man's master knows nothing of arrays. You say he can build Automaton Chariots? He Jiu, am I really so easily fooled?"

He Jiu urged, "Grandmaster Lu, I am not deceiving you. That young man brought the Automaton Chariot; it is placed right at the entrance of the Shen Bing Fang. If you do not believe me, you can go see for yourself!"

Having finished speaking, he handed the twenty weapon design schematics that Facing Facing Cang Luo had offered as collateral to Lu Zheng, then left the backyard to chase after Facing Facing Cang Luo, fearing he might leave.

Lu Zheng ignored the departing He Jiu. Looking at the schematics in his hand, he was shocked once again.

Regarding these designs, he had to admit that, aside from the lack of array markings, they were far superior to his own!

"Could it be that the young man's master truly knows how to build Automaton Chariots? Could he be a Mo School Automaton Master?"

Lu Zheng pondered thoughtfully. After a moment, he too quickly left the backyard; whether it was true or false, one would know upon seeing it.

Wang Zhonghu, Zhang Han, and the others exchanged glances and followed them out. As smiths and array masters, they were naturally curious about the Automaton Chariot as well.