Chapter 27: Second-Tier Soldier-Register

"The day before yesterday at dusk, just as we were about to close, Wang Er from the front street came in waving a silver note, repeating he wanted to pawn it for good, ninety-five taels, in the end, we gave him ninety-three taels!"

"How's that for a novelty? In the few hundred years of Gao Liu County, I've never heard of anyone pawning a silver note, but Qiu Mou has certainly broadened his horizons…"

In the Brocade Pawnshop, Qiu Da gathered up the statement and shook it out:

"That thief was far too careful. Wang Er had his brain damaged by a high fever as a child, he recognizes no one but his parents. The lead is cut off again."

"What a thief!"

Qin Xiong's face darkened.

Over a dozen days ago, upon learning Qian Bao had been robbed, he had immediately sent people to keep watch on Tongda Ticket House, and also dispatched men to the few shops inside and outside the city that could break a hundred-tael silver note.

But he hadn't expected this move.

Who could have imagined someone would pawn a silver note?

Doing nothing and losing seven taels—seven taels of silver, enough for a family of five to live on sparingly for two whole years!

"Since the lead is cut off, Qiu Mou is powerless as well. Those brothers of mine, I'll pull them back."

Qiu Da tucked away the statement, his smile not reaching his eyes:

"My condolences, Qin Xiong."

"…"

Qin Xiong's face twitched, murder in his heart. With a dark expression, he summoned the few ruffians waiting outside the door.

"Boss, the brothers went and asked around. That Li Yuan spends every day in the forging room, didn't step out once the day before yesterday, but Liang Liang Ashui, no one's seen him since he returned to the city…"

"Li Yuan, Liang Liang Ashui!"

Qin Xiong took a deep breath. As he left, he cast a long look at the Brocade Pawnshop's signboard, then swept his sleeves and strode off with a dark face.

"Fierce outside, hollow within, the ways of a ruffian never change. Even if he's cultivated internal force, he's still a ruffian!"

Glancing at Qin Xiong's retreating back, Qiu Da gave a cold snort and left the pawnshop.

"Captain Qiu."

A government office runner hurried over, his expression slightly tense:

"That Yu Zhen has come again, he's right at the government office gate now, saying he wants my lord to come see him."

"The blade-bearer Yu Zhen? Is Nian Jiu still in the city?"

Qiu Da's face tightened slightly, he dared not delay:

"Let's go!"

……

……

The night was slightly dark, and from the weapons forge came the faint clanging of hammering on iron.

"Brother Li, I'm here!"

Wang Hu pushed a cart loaded with iron ingots and called out before even entering the yard.

Clang!

In the forging room, Li Yuan set down his hammer and called out:

"Brother Wang, just leave them outside the door."

"Alright!"

Wang Hu answered.

"Your forging method is progressing well. In a few more days, you should be able to try crafting a blade."

Most of the forges in the room had their fires banked, only the one Li Yuan was using was lit. Zhang Ben offered his critique:

"Your control of force and heat isn't seasoned enough. These next few days, beyond your hammer work, you can smelt more pig iron. Inner court disciples smelting iron earn seven qian of silver per thousand jin—not much, but it can help with household expenses…"

"Yes!"

Li Yuan agreed, saw the old gentleman back, then rubbed his hands together and hauled all the pig iron ingots from outside the door into the forging room.

"All set!"

Looking at the thousand-plus jin of pig iron ingots before him, Li Yuan's heart swelled with joy.

That day, after circling once outside Yuanda Ticket House, he had left the inner city. After another two days passed, it was only on the evening of the day before yesterday that he picked a moment when no one was around and slipped out.

In the end, with a skewer of candied hawthorn, he coaxed Wang Er into pawning the silver note for good at a pawnshop in the outer city.

Inside and outside Gao Liu County combined, there were seven or eight pawnshops, doing all sorts of business—grain, rice, oil, salt, clothes, worn shoes, anything could be pawned. But pawning a silver note? He guessed there wasn't.

"Though I lost a bit, the win is in the safety. Advancing the Soldier-Register is the top priority; the side branches can't be worried over too much."

Seven taels of silver plus a skewer of candied hawthorn—Li Yuan wasn't so stingy as to begrudge it. Though it had stung a little at the time, he hadn't hesitated.

He took the Six Harmonies Boots from the gray stone platform and poured out the ten-plus taels of silver inside, along with that dull-yellow lump of gold.

The materials for advancing the Soldier-Register to the second tier were all ready.

"This is practically my entire fortune!"

He shut the great doors of the forging room. In the glow of the red-hot furnace fire, Li Yuan's heart was both thrilled and aching.

After this, all he'd have left on him were those few pearls, twenty taels of silver, and an IOU for one tael of gold.

"It shouldn't make me pass out like when I received the register, right?"

Li Yuan muttered to himself, but his hands didn't stop. He arranged all the materials neatly, away from the furnace fire, and pressed his right palm close:

"Advance, Soldier-Register!"

Hum!

Even prepared as he was, Li Yuan was still shaken by that tremendous roar that seemed to come from the depths of his soul—his vision went black, his skull ringing with a drone.

In a daze, he felt as if he had plunged into a bottomless abyss, unable to see anything, unable to grasp anything, only an unknown, terrifying whisper at his ear filling him with immense dread.

Pfft!

Li Yuan staggered and nearly sat down on the furnace, his head splitting with pain, as if something were trying to crawl out from inside his skull.

"Do I really have to go through this every single time?"

Leaning against the wall, Li Yuan slid down to sit on the floor, kneading his temples, his face weary. After resting for quite a while, he finally closed his eyes.

Hum~

In the dim void, Li Yuan stood atop the grey Dingxin Dingxin Shitai, which had doubled in size. He looked around; all he could see was the faint, ghostly glow of the Soldier Register.

The surrounding darkness was thick as ink, terrifying.

"What's this place outside? Those roars, those colors, those whispers I heard—where did they come from?"

Standing on the Dingxin Dingxin Shitai, Li Yuan scanned the ink-like void. The chill rising in his heart made him dare not look any longer, as if some terrifying presence lurked within the darkness.

【Second-Grade Soldier Master: Li Yuan】

【Number of Weapons Controllable: 2】

On the Soldier Register, which ringed the Dingxin Dingxin Shitai like a curtain of stars, two 'stars' lit up—one controlled a sickle-blade, the other stood empty.

"Second grade!"

Once the pain eased a little, Li Yuan began sorting through the memories that had appeared out of nowhere in his mind.

"Advancing the Soldier Register to third grade requires a thousand jin of wrought iron, a hundred taels of silver, ten taels of gold, one tael of red gold? That's a massive jump…"

Opening his eyes, Li Yuan's teeth ached, and his whole body was sore and stiff.

"I can control the Grand Craftsman's Hammer now!"

Rubbing his sore wrist, Li Yuan happened to glance at the Grand Craftsman's Hammer tucked in a corner—and froze at the sight.

From two or three meters away, he could actually see a faint blue glow emanating from the hammer's head.

"Is this a hidden benefit of advancing to second grade?"

Li Yuan's eyes lit up. He scrambled to his feet and looked around the forging room, discovering that any forging hammer within two meters of him gave off a faint glow.

Beyond that distance, he couldn't see it.

"This is quite convenient."

Li Yuan vaguely felt that there might be other benefits after the Soldier Register advanced to second grade.

But right now his head ached terribly, and all he wanted was to sleep.

Still, he forced himself to tidy up the forging room a bit. A thousand jin of pig iron vanishing into thin air would be no small trouble if anyone noticed.

"About right?"

After tidying up—mainly moving the wrought iron he'd hidden in the corner over to the furnace—Li Yuan finally picked up the Grand Craftsman's Hammer and headed back to the central courtyard.

……

That night, Li Yuan slept deeply. When he opened his eyes, the sun was already high; since entering the weapons forge, it was the first time he'd slept so long.

But the headache and exhaustion from the night before had been swept clean, and his energy was abundant once more.

At the bedside lay two hammers. The moment Li Yuan opened his eyes, he grabbed both hammers without a moment's hesitation.

"The sickle-blade is good, but I can only control two weapons. To control the Grand Craftsman's Hammer, I first have to control these unranked forging hammers and push my forging skill to the Minor Accomplishment level…"

The Soldier Register had just reached second grade, yet Li Yuan was already thinking about third grade—the weapons he could control were simply too few, nowhere near enough for his needs.

"After I control the Grand Craftsman's Hammer, can I swap out that unranked forging hammer? The sickle-blade's boost is far greater…"

Li Yuan muttered to himself, choosing to control both great hammers at once.

"Control!"

(End of Chapter)