Chapter 688

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Chapter 688: The Swordsmith

When the two of them got out of the car, they had already arrived at a remote village. The surroundings were desolate, with only a few small houses scattered about, and there wasn’t a single passerby in sight.

“Is it really this remote?” Lin Qiye asked in surprise.

“His personality is somewhat reclusive; he doesn’t like to live in crowded places,” Yukigami Haruhi said as she led the way forward. “We got out here because the driver only dared to take us this far. Beyond this point, it’s just barren mountains and graveyards. We still have to walk a bit further into the mountains.”

“What exactly is the background of this swordsmith?”

“According to legend, when the great deity of the nation, the Okuninushi, commissioned the creation of nine cursed blades, he invited the most skilled swordsmith from the human world, Koyuki Yuki, to assist the few national deities who excelled in this craft.

After Koyuki Yuki collaborated with the other deities to forge the nine cursed blades, he believed it to be the most stunning work of his life. He then requested the Okuninushi to allow him to become the soul of the last blade, hoping to exist eternally with the cursed blades in this form, completely merging with his creation.

Later, the Okuninushi granted his request.

After Koyuki Yuki infused the first eight blades with their souls, he pierced his own heart with the ninth blade, plunging into the lava below. Through a certain ritual, he merged his soul with the blade, ultimately becoming the soul of the ninth blade.”

Lin Qiye pondered, “So, the creator of the cursed blades became the soul of the ninth blade, which is why the ninth blade has the power to repair the other cursed blades?”

“Exactly, but this is only theoretical. As the blade’s soul, he cannot personally forge or repair the other eight blades. Therefore, each successor of the ninth blade is a skilled craftsman,” Yukigami Haruhi continued, “The swordsmith we are looking for is the current master of the ninth cursed blade.”

“But didn’t you say the cursed blades can’t be broken? Why would they need repairs?”

“You’ve asked a good question,” Yukigami Haruhi sighed helplessly. “Precisely because the cursed blades themselves are indestructible, the ninth blade’s ability to repair them seems particularly redundant. Up until now, it has hardly been used, and since this blade itself has no offensive capabilities, this is also why the ninth blade has gradually faded from the view of the ‘Pure Land.’

Unless there are some extremely special circumstances that cause damage to the soul of the cursed blade, only then would someone seek out the master of the ninth blade to request repairs…”

“Then how did you find him?”

“My master brought me here to find him years ago.”

“I see.”

Lin Qiye followed Yukigami Haruhi as they climbed the mountain step by step. The sky in the distance gradually darkened, and the deep forest in the mountains became increasingly black. The occasional abandoned graves they passed by also took on a sinister air.

Of course, such an environment would have no effect on Lin Qiye and Yukigami Haruhi.

Even if something unclean were to jump out, they wouldn’t mind drawing their swords and acting as a ghost-hunting team.

The two walked along the mountain path for quite a while, passing by one graveyard after another. When the tokens at their waists began to glow faintly, they finally saw a few glimmers of light deep within the forest ahead.

It was a small traditional Japanese house, not small in size, but it looked quite aged. The deep gray exterior walls surrounded the entire house, covered in dense cobwebs and cracks. A few faint lights flickered from within the walls, drifting in the pitch-black night sky, adding an inexplicable sense of eeriness against the backdrop of the surrounding deep forest.

This place certainly didn’t seem like a normal person’s residence…

Lin Qiye and Yukigami Haruhi reached the door, and the latter gently knocked. After a moment, the door slowly opened.

A burly figure wrapped in black cloth stood behind the door, with deep-set eyes and a gaunt, zombie-like appearance. A gray long sword hung at his waist. The moment Lin Qiye saw his face, he thought a resident from one of the nearby graveyards had crawled out to open the door for them.

His spiritual energy swept over the figure, confirming that he was indeed alive, and he let out a slight sigh of relief.

The zombie-like man… no, the person’s dead fish-like eyes scanned Lin Qiye and Yukigami Haruhi, finally lingering on Haruhi for a moment before his hand relaxed on the sword hilt.

“It’s you…” he rasped, “Knocking on my door in the middle of the night, I thought I was seeing ghosts.”

Lin Qiye:…

Probably even if a ghost knocked on the door, it would be the ghost that got scared, right?

“Anyway, you don’t sleep at night, so it shouldn’t be considered a disturbance, right?” Yukigami Haruhi raised an eyebrow.

“…Come in, it’s pitch black outside, quite frightening.”

The man opened the door, stepping aside to let them in. He then closed the door behind them and locked it with a fist-sized iron lock before turning to walk into the house.

He led them through a dimly lit wooden corridor, the floorboards creaking under their feet. On either side were dark rooms, covered in dust, seemingly unused for a long time.

Lin Qiye watched as he led them past the reception room and directly into an open courtyard. The courtyard was filled with heavy tools for forging, and a furnace stood in the center, with flames still flickering inside.

The man pulled out two small stools from somewhere, blew off the dust with his mouth, and set them on the ground.

“Sit down. Want some tea? I don’t have any.”

Lin Qiye:…

“No, thanks.” Yukigami Haruhi casually sat on one of the stools, glancing around. “It hasn’t changed at all in four years.”

“He is the master of the ninth cursed blade, Koyanagi Yoshiki. This is my friend, Asanagi Qiye,” Yukigami Haruhi briefly introduced them. Lin Qiye smiled politely at him.

Koyanagi Yoshiki didn’t respond, just stared blankly at Yukigami Haruhi, his dead fish eyes looking increasingly frightening in their deep black sockets.

“Do you need something?”

“…Yes.”

Yukigami Haruhi turned to Lin Qiye, “Where’s the blade?”

Lin Qiye came back to his senses, took the black box from behind him, placed it on the ground, and opened it. Inside lay two broken sections of a snow-white long sword, quietly resting there, shimmering with a chilling light in the reflection of the furnace’s flames.

Before coming, Lin Qiye had summoned the “White Slash” in advance and placed it in the box designed for straight swords.

“Take a look and see if you can repair this blade,” Yukigami Haruhi said.

Koyanagi Yoshiki approached the black box, crouched down, and slowly picked up the two sections of the long sword. Suddenly, vitality radiated from his dead fish eyes as he carefully examined the blade.

After a long while, he nodded.

“No problem, give me five days.”

Hearing his confident tone, Lin Qiye was somewhat surprised; it seemed this swordsmith indeed had some skill.

Yukigami Haruhi didn’t seem surprised by this and spoke again, “Once it’s repaired, could you also imbue it with a blade soul?”

Koyanagi Yoshiki was taken aback.

He stiffly turned his head, “Are you joking with me?”