Chapter 4: The Blacksmith

"Young Lord, this old servant takes his leave."

"Wait."

The black-robed elder's form had just begun to fade when it gradually solidified once more.

"How do you intend to conduct the search?"

"Bingzhou has seventy-six commanderies and counties. This old servant can cover a thousand li a day, and with the Official Seal to mobilize the local offices, I can thoroughly investigate the entire province within a month. If nothing turns up even then, there is nothing more to be done."

Pei Su thought for a moment, then suddenly said:

"First look into someone within the Lin'an Governor-General's Office — a close attendant at Miss Liu's side..."

* * *

"Uncle Xiao, I'm back! Uncle Xiao?"

Zhao Lan crossed the cobblestone path and walked into the blacksmith's shop.

The place sat on a secluded street in the southern part of Lin'an Commandery, rarely visited, its eaves thick with dust and its walls mottled with age.

With the salary Zhao Lan earned at the Governor-General's Office, he could easily have set Uncle Xiao up somewhere decent in the bustling city — yet for the life of him, he couldn't understand why the old man refused.

"You're back..."

A low, deep voice rang out. Zhao Lan spotted the old blacksmith sitting in the dim room — clad in a coarse brown short jacket, straw sandals on his feet, his eyes weathered and profound — hammering away at iron on a crumbling brick.

"Uncle Xiao, I've already found a proper house in the city. With your skills, there's absolutely no need to stay in this godforsaken place..."

"Enough. Don't bring it up again."

The old blacksmith cut him off.

"How is the blade training coming along?"

"Heh heh! I'm just a hair's breadth away from the fourth tier of the Eight Wilds Blade Canon. I reckon it won't be long before I break through."

"Hmph! Arrogant. Those who reach the third tier of the Eight Wilds Blade Canon are as common as dirt, but those who break through to the fourth tier are one in ten thousand."

That bucket of cold water wiped the grin off Zhao Lan's face.

A doubt that had lurked in his heart for years surfaced once more.

Just who was Uncle Xiao, really?

Zhao Lan had originally been a wandering orphan in Yuzhou. His birth mother had been a singer at a High-class Brothel — she had died early. When he was six, Uncle Xiao had taken him in and brought him to Bingzhou. After that, Uncle Xiao spent his days as a blacksmith and his nights teaching Zhao Lan cultivation and blade techniques.

Though Uncle Xiao had never breathed a word about his past, Zhao Lan had long sensed that the old man's true strength was anything but simple.

At the very least, seven years ago when he had gone up the mountain to gather herbs, he had witnessed with his own eyes Uncle Xiao dispatch a hideous, terrifyingly powerful demon beast with a single stroke of his blade.

Two weeks later, word spread throughout Bingzhou that a nameless bladesman had slain the Unity Realm wolf demon that had ravaged seven commanderies and counties, surviving four suppression campaigns by the provincial forces.

Then there was three years ago, when an imperial inspector from the Imperial Capital visited Bingzhou. On either side of the inspector's carriage, every commoner knelt and kowtowed, their faces filled with reverence and fear.

Yet Uncle Xiao had merely watched from a distance, without a single trace of awe.

In that moment, Zhao Lan had become certain that Uncle Xiao was a reclusive master of extraordinary power — and as the disciple of such a master, he would naturally rise above others in the end.

That was the confidence behind his daring to harbor feelings for his mistress Liu Zhi, despite being nothing more than a lowly guard.

At the end of the day, he never considered himself to belong to the same class as the other guards and servants. He was destined to reach the pinnacle of cultivation — and who knew, perhaps he might even carve out his own territory like the Chen King of the North, becoming a marquis, a king, a chancellor!

"As for that Liu girl, you'd do well to cut ties with her sooner rather than later."

"Why?"

"Hmph! Her father governs an entire province and was once the renowned White-Feather General. Would he ever let his daughter marry down to someone like you?"

The old blacksmith cast a cold, mocking glance at Zhao Lan.

The look said it all: take a good look at yourself — a commoner with nothing to his name. How could you ever end up with a young lady of noble birth?

"Uncle Xiao, you think so too? You think I can't measure up to the Heir of the Northern Marquis — but I'm not afraid. As long as Little Sister Liu is willing to be with me, I'll face any hardship..."

Zhao Lan tilted his head:

"Besides, who's to say I won't accomplish great things in the future? Even the Chen King started out as a commoner..."

His voice suddenly stopped. He noticed that Uncle Xiao's hammering hand had stilled at some point, and the old man was staring straight at him, his weathered, deep eyes carrying an expression of utter disbelief.

It was the first time he had ever seen the ever-unruffled Uncle Xiao wear such a look.

"Wh... what's wrong, Uncle Xiao?"

"You just mentioned — the Heir of the Northern Marquis?"

"Uh, we're not supposed to let that slip at the Governor-General's Office... ah well, it doesn't matter. The Heir of the Northern Marquis paid a visit to Lin'an Commandery today — yes, that very Young Lord whose name is known throughout the realm!"

The old blacksmith lowered his head. The hand holding the hammer trembled almost imperceptibly.

"Oh? And what business brings the Young Lord here?"

"Word is that our Lord Liu of Bingzhou used to serve under the Northern Pacification Marquis, so he must have come to pay a visit on his father's behalf. Uncle Xiao? Uncle Xiao? Why are you spacing out? What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing."

The old blacksmith rose to his feet — tall and powerfully built, half a head taller than Zhao Lan.

"I'll be off then, Uncle Xiao. The Governor-General's Office has drills to run later!"

With that, Zhao Lan turned and left.

"Lan'er."

Zhao Lan looked back and caught a glimpse of Uncle Xiao's face, half-hidden beneath his hood.

"You worry that the Heir of the Northern Marquis will compete with you for the Liu girl. That concern is unnecessary."

"Thank you for your confidence in me, Uncle Xiao. I'll definitely—"

"Because even if the Liu girl climbed for ten thousand years, she still couldn't reach Jiumu. She wouldn't even be fit to be a concubine."

Zhao Lan stood there, dumbstruck.

* * *

"That Elder Wu — not only does he say little, he smells strange too."

After the black-robed elder departed, the young maidservant Banxia stood at Pei Su's side and pursed her lips.

Though she was a maidservant, she was Pei Su's maidservant — her standing within the Pei household was quite high, and across all of Great Jin, there were few people she truly looked up to.

Her loyalty lay not with the Pei Clan, but with Pei Su alone.

"Elder Wu is a death warrior kept by the clan. Put it this way — below the Heaven-Man level, he has no equal."

Pei Su's voice was as light and calm as a breeze, as though he were describing something trivial.

But had any outsider heard those words, their souls would have trembled. A Heaven-Man referred to the Dharma Manifestation Realm — the very pinnacle of cultivation. Across the entire world, such figures were vanishingly rare; every single one bore a thunderous reputation, either a grandmaster of a great sect or a general of royal standing.

When Dharma Manifestation does not emerge, Heavenly Palace reigns supreme!

Any Heavenly Palace Realm cultivator would be treated as an honored guest in any faction — an absolute pillar of strength.

They could not fathom what kind of foundation it would take for a Heavenly Palace Realm cultivator to willingly serve as a death warrior, as a servant. Just thinking about it was enough to make one's scalp crawl.

* * *

Lin'an Governor-General's Office.

After returning from the blacksmith's shop, Zhao Lan looked up and spotted Liu Zhi and Liu Yun walking out of the courtyard together.

He hurried forward:

"Miss Liu!"

Liu Zhi was dressed in fine, elegant clothes, chatting with Liu Yun as they walked. When she saw Zhao Lan rushing over, she gave a faint nod, her gaze not lingering on him for even a moment.

It was Liu Yun who spared him a brief glance.

After the two had walked away, Zhao Lan lowered his head and thought to himself:

Don't worry, Little Sister Liu. I'll make you acknowledge me!

* * *

"Hey, Brother — do you think this outfit of mine will catch the Young Lord's eye?"

Liu Yun was a man of few words and a reserved nature. Under Liu Zhi's eager gaze, he slowly replied:

"That guard just now... the way he looked at you seemed a little unusual..."

Liu Zhi frowned, unsure why Liu Yun was bringing that up, and simply said:

"You mean Zhao Lan? I noticed he was young and had already reached the Profound Origin Realm, so I took him on — but now that you mention it, you're right. I'll transfer him to the garrison troops in a couple of days, before he starts getting any unrealistic ideas."

Liu Yun nodded thoughtfully:

"Indeed. One must never entertain unrealistic ideas..."

Liu Zhi was about to nod in agreement when she suddenly turned her head, as though she had caught something in his tone, and snapped —

"Liu Yun, what exactly are you implying?!"