Chapter 48.2

ji qingzhou thought that the blacksmith was confident. it never occurred to her that he was unsure every time. however, she could tell from the blacksmith’s posture, from the joint force formed by the tightness of his muscles and the bow of his body, this last hammer must be very heavy.

it was just the last blow. if the hammering force was too heavy this time, the sword on the forging platform would be broken. ji qingzhou felt sorry for the material, so she opened her lips and took a step forward, wanting to make a sound to stop him.

but then something occurred to her so she just closed her mouth and backed away.

shen rongyu, who was standing beside her, noticed her mini movements. the hand he hid in his sleeve gently touched the back of ji qingzhou’s hand.

“too heavy or too light?” shen rongyu asked her in a low voice — he knew that ji qingzhou had the answer, but she didn’t dare to say it. she was always so cautious.

“five points heavier,” ji qingzhou gave an accurate statistic.

“boss yang, your strength is five points heavier,” shen rongyu conveyed ji qingzhou’s meaning to the owner of the blacksmith shop.

hearing shen rongyu’s words, boss yang instantly relaxed the strength he originally accumulated.

“fellow daoist shen, it’s you.” only now did he recognize his visitor. however, he still hesitated dropping the hammer in his hand to forge the sword. “but how could it be five points heavier? the strength i used before wasn’t heavy enough…”

“just trust me.” shen rongyu said to him, “if it fails, i will purchase the unfinished sword.”

“you have that divine sword. how could you take a fancy to a work i did for entertainment?” boss yang laughed, but he still reduced his strength by five points according to shen rongyu’s prompt.

after the last hammer, the unfinished sword produced a clank, and he quickly dipped the sword in the water prepared beside him. a sizzle soon followed, then white steam rose up. it was a success.

“this…” boss yang couldn’t believe it. he turned his head at shen rongyu, only to find that he had brought a companion with him.

ji qingzhou sized him up. boss yang had a beard that hid the clear outline of his face, but his eyes were sharp. she only glanced at them, then lowered her head to avoid his scrutiny.

“you also brought a young lady. when you first entered the sect, you were as young as her, did i remember right?” boss yang teased, “many years ago, i sought you in xuanyun sect to sell swords, but you refused my lead. that encounter was interesting to say the least. however, after all these years, you actually know that i opened a shop here to live out in retirement.”

in fact, shen rongyu didn’t know, but when he accompanied ji qingzhou to the market that day without knowing the directions, he took advantage of ji qingzhou’s time in the fitting room and scrutinized the structure of the entire market. only then did he discover boss yang’s shop.

he nodded and said, “i saw it when i came to the market last time, so i thought of coming here to find a magic weapon.”

“you have burial snow. what other magic weapon do you need?” boss yang was in a jovial mood, having successfully forged the sword in his hand. he thus started chatting with shen rongyu.

“it’s not for me,” shen rongyu replied gently.

ji qingzhou sensed that boss yang’s probing eyes fell on her. she pursed her lips and only lowered her head, not daring to raise it.

“she’s only at the 6th stage of qi refining…” boss yang couldn’t believe his eyes. “doesn’t xuanyun sect buy middle-grade magic treasures for their disciples? the ones i have here…she can’t —” she might not be able to wield it.

shen rongyu interrupted him, “the magic treasure her master gave her isn’t quite handy.”

“it’s been more than a year since she started, and she’s still only at the 6th stage of qi refining. is she still a direct disciple?” boss yang felt that he couldn’t understand xuanyun sect at all.

“yes.” shen rongyu warned him, “she only brought 2000 middle-grade spirit stones.”

“this—” you can’t even afford to buy a box that holds a magic treasure here. boss yang only uttered one word before shen rongyu’s sharp eyes shushed him.

seeing that ji qingzhou was still looking down at her own toes and not paying attention to him, shen rongyu shook his head wordlessly at boss yang. there was a detached smile on the corner of his lips, but he accurately conveyed his intention.

“that amount of spirit stones is enough to purchase one…two pieces.” boss yang immediately changed the word. he knew shen rongyu had the money, so he naturally would not let go of the opportunity to do business.

“zhuozhuo, let’s go and have a look,” shen rongyu called ji qingzhou after negotiating with him.

ji qingzhou turned her head and glanced at the sword that boss yang took out of the water. after being forged, the sword gleamed with its own brilliance. good thing the materials used to forge the sword weren’t wasted.

“fellow daoist shen, when did you learn how to forge swords? it was your last minute reminder that made me successfully forge this sword,” boss yang led them inside the shop and asked as they walked.

shen rongyu replied unhurriedly, “someone doesn’t want the materials of the sword to be wasted.”

“huh?” boss yang didn’t capture shen rongyu’s implication. he just mentioned it casually. it was not surprising that shen rongyu displayed such an ability. if ji qingzhou reminded him, he would have explored it in depth.

they stepped into the blacksmith’s shop together, only to find that there was a cave inside. across the corridor in the yard, there was a bamboo forest, where the autumn wind blew and the bamboo leaves rustled.

a wooden house stood at the end of the bamboo grove. boss yang opened the door, and revealed the interior filled with all kinds of magic treasure in different shapes. if magic treasures were gathered together and there was no way to isolate their aura, the lives of cultivators living nearby would be affected.