Chapter 51: Sewing Needle

Chen Mu gave He Ying a slender weapon.

It's not actually long, just about the length of an arm.

"Is this... a sword?"

He Ying took the weapon in her hand; it felt extremely light, almost weightless, yet the texture was excellent.

This is clearly a short sword with its sheath attached.

He Ying gripped the hilt, which was only as thick as a thumb, and slowly drew the blade.

The smooth stainless steel reflected the sunlight streaming in from outside the window, dazzling to the eyes.

At first glance.

It looks a bit like the foil used in fencing.

But upon closer inspection, the blade is actually flat overall, with edges on both sides, extremely sharp, while the middle is thick; the cross-section resembles a diamond shape.

The blade is straight, about as thick as a finger, and the tip at the front is extraordinarily sharp—stabbing into stone would pose no problem.

"How beautiful."

He Ying couldn't help but praise it.

This exquisite little sword seems tailor-made for her—light and lethal, killing without a trace; once she becomes proficient, she might not truly be able to achieve what Sun Yuan boasted—killing one person every ten steps, leaving no trace for a thousand miles—but still.

Moreover, the sheath was also given careful thought.

The entire sheath is covered with holes, looking more like it was made from iron mesh.

"How is it?"

"Great, thanks."

"The main use of this sword is thrusting; I deliberately made the diamond cross-section resistant to breaking, but the edges on both sides are also very sharp, easily slicing a throat; still, try not to use it for chopping, or it may bend and break."

"Mm-hmm, thank you so much—I've always liked Arya's needle." He Ying said with a smile.

"Needle?" Chen Mu wondered.

"It's the weapon of Arya Stark, the little daughter of the Stark family—just such a delicate short sword."

Seeing Chen Mu still looking clueless, He Ying asked again: "Have you never watched *A Song of Ice and Fire*?"

"Oh, heh, I've heard of it, but haven't watched."

Besides studying, Chen Mu's free time is almost all spent working to earn money; he has no time to watch TV dramas, though he's heard the fame of *Game of Thrones*, he's never actually watched it, so naturally he doesn't know the name "needle."

"What a pity; it's a great show."

"Yeah, I'll watch it when I get the chance."

As they spoke, they both suddenly seemed to realize something and fell silent, no longer mentioning the topic.

He Ying turned her face, unable to resist lightly waving the small sword.

Occasionally she used her fingers to nimbly spin it in a circle.

Although she isn't as obsessed with weapons as boys—able to imagine herself a great hero just by picking up a stick—He Ying, who has always loved sports, has also fantasized about becoming a revered heroine, coming and going without a trace, sleeves fluttering.

Now that this short sword is in her hand, it feels like she's one step closer to her fantasy.

Seeing her look entranced, Chen Mu also felt a sense of accomplishment and said: "Last night I suddenly thought, since we're going out today, we should add some safety precautions; I saw your combat style is agile, so I thought this kind of light weapon would suit you better."

"Thank you; I saw Dong Junwei and Tang Jing's short swords yesterday, and to be honest I'm envious, but I felt embarrassed to ask you for one." He Ying said while smiling, lovingly stroking the blade.

Chen Mu had already made weapons for everyone a few days earlier.

But to be honest.

He hadn't paid much attention then.

As Tang Jing said, when they encounter enemies, their first choice is naturally grenades; close-combat weapons aren't very useful for them, especially the girls.

So he gave the boys long weapons like spears, and for the girls, limited in strength, he casually made a few broad-bladed short swords, suitable for beginners to chop.

He thought that would be enough.

Who would have thought that Tang Jing, who had just said close-combat weapons were useless, would turn around and come to Chen Mu, asking him to make her short sword prettier.

Chen Mu was stunned at that moment.

This thing is for fighting; what's the use of being pretty?

But since Tang Jing proposed it, and it's just a small request, he naturally wouldn't refuse, especially since he also needed to practice his Special Ability.

So Chen Mu spent nearly half an hour following Tang Jing's various bizarre requests before finishing the short sword.

After finishing, he looked at it.

It was utterly flashy.

The sword's basic structure hadn't changed much—just the hilt was carved to be more ergonomic—but the blade and sheath suffered; they were carved with dragons and tigers, all kinds of patterns, all designed by Tang Jing herself.

The problem is, these decorations can't be seen unless you look up close; obviously it's just self-amusement.

After finishing with Tang Jing, Dong Junwei came again.

Chen Mu originally thought that with Dong Junwei's aloof personality, she wouldn't like such flashy things, but after hearing her request, he found this Class Monitor even more demanding than Tang Jing.

Aside from the floral and bamboo carvings, she also asked Chen Mu if he could engrave her name on the hilt.

Chen Mu was stunned at that moment.

He had never before used his ability to engrave proper Chinese characters.

After thinking, he decided to give it a try.

The result showed that this kind of fine, detailed work was much harder than large-scale transformations.

Especially Dong Junwei's troublesome name—so many strokes; after much persuasion, he convinced the Class Monitor to compromise, engraving only "Junwei," but even that took Chen Mu over twenty minutes, and the characters came out crooked and uneven in depth.

Fortunately, Dong Junwei didn't mind; she happily took the sword and left. Chen Mu watched from afar as she went to join Tang Jing, the two holding their short swords and comparing them, seemingly trying to see whose was prettier.

As the saying goes, "If the beam is not straight, the rafters will be crooked." With these two unreliable role models, others followed suit, all asking Chen Mu to modify their weapons.

Chen Mu began to regret making weapons for them, but since he had already made weapons for Dong Junwei and Tang Jing, it would be unfair to treat others differently.

Finally, even Wei Dalei came over, mumbling that he wanted to carve his name on the Wolf-tooth Club; Chen Mu had already decided to give him a new weapon, so he refused and kicked him away with one foot.

Last night before bed, He Ying saw Dong Junwei's short sword left in the room, indeed feeling envious; she couldn't help borrowing it to play with for a while, thinking that once she got familiar with it she would ask Chen Mu to make her one, and the next morning she received her own weapon.

Moreover.

It is quite obvious.

This weapon was tailor-made for her by Chen Mu.

Chen Mu smiled and said, "The class monitor's weapons are purely for decoration, but yours, matching your ability, should be able to exert considerable power."

"I think so too."

He Ying thanked him again and then asked, "Why is this sword sheath mesh-like?"

"Mainly to make it lighter; also to increase friction between the sheath and the palm for a quicker draw, and besides, it won't retain water."

"Even a sword sheath has so many particulars." He Ying sighed.

"Just made it casually."

Chen Mu smiled and said, "Use it for now; if anything needs adjustment, just let me know. As the saying goes, 'To do a good job, one must first sharpen one's tools.' With a more handy weapon, your help to the whole team will be greater."

"Mm."

He Ying, like a child who has just received a gift, obediently asked, "Then may I make a request now?"

Chen Mu generously replied, "No problem."

He Ying carefully asked, "Could you also carve my name on the hilt?"

Chen Mu: "……"