Chapter 120
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Chapter 120: Toy
Shi Niu drove the carriage steadily, navigating through the narrow path before quickly merging onto a wide, flat road. At this time, there were still few officials and vehicles on the road, so Shi Niu urged the horses to pick up speed.
The three carriages behind were also in pursuit, but it soon became evident that their drivers lacked skill. The three carriages were quickly left far behind.
Shi Niu seemed unaware of this and continued to push the horses harder, thoroughly enjoying this long-lost feeling. Fortunately, the attentive Qiu Tong noticed this and stopped him. Shi Niu, feeling a bit embarrassed, said: “It’s been a long time since I drove a carriage. I got a bit carried away. I’ll slow down next time.”
Shi Niu reduced the speed, allowing the carriages behind to catch up. Great Aunt Qin, inside the carriage, frowned and said: “Shi Niu, while it’s right to travel quickly, you must ensure the safety of the Villa Owner. If you drive like this, who will protect the Villa Owner?”
Shi Niu wasn’t too pleased with this comment and replied: “If we encounter enemies, how can we rely on those on the back? Isn’t it still up to us to put in the effort?”
Great Aunt Qin smiled and said: “It’s always difficult to reason with someone like you. In the martial world, it’s not just about force but also about using your brain. As the ancients said, it’s easy to dodge an obvious attack but hard to guard against a hidden arrow. It’s better to be cautious.”
Shi Niu, feeling a bit intimidated and respectful towards Great Aunt Qin, stopped arguing and carefully controlled the speed of the carriage, making sure the carriages behind didn’t have to strain themselves to catch up.
After traveling for a while, they had moved far from Pingyang City. The official road had fewer pedestrians and more vehicles.
The roadside was lined with fields, and villages occasionally appeared in the distance.
Under the bright sun, the land was bathed in warm light, and it was another beautiful, clear day.
Seemingly in high spirits, Shi Niu began singing as he drove the carriage: “Sister, you man the boat, and Brother will walk on the shore…”
Shi Niu’s voice was as booming as his physique, and everyone in the four carriages could hear him. They couldn’t help but look at him with newfound respect, surprised that such a rough man could have such a gentle side. The eyes of several female disciples also softened with warmth.
However, it wasn’t long before Shi Niu’s shortcomings became apparent. It turned out that he only knew this one song, and he sang it over and over again from morning until night. Alas, even the most delicious food would become tiresome if eaten every day, let alone these few simple lines of a song.
By the time evening came and they were looking for a place to stay, everyone except Shi Niu was mentally exhausted.
The most important thing for a long journey was to arrange food and accommodation. Fortunately, this route had been traveled by Qiu Tong some time ago, and before leaving the villa, they had already planned out the route, rest stops, and lodging. They just needed to follow the plan.
That night, they stayed at an inn in a small town. Although it was an inn, it was far better than the places Zhang Xiaohua had stayed in before.
The people from Huanxi Villa had reserved the inn’s only small courtyard, which made the chubby innkeeper smile so much his eyes narrowed into slits. Everyone was busy both in front and behind the scenes, worried about offending the rare and distinguished guests.
Unfortunately, as soon as the villa’s people entered the courtyard, two disciples stationed themselves at the gate, preventing anyone from coming in or out. Even the innkeeper was kept outside, and all the food for the group was bought by designated personnel in the town. The innkeeper left outside felt a pang of regret as he realized he had missed out on a considerable amount of income. However, considering the generous payment from the villa, he quickly let go of his complaints.
Though it was late, the villa’s staff proved their capability. Soon, they returned from the town with a large amount of supplies. With the help of accompanying chefs, they quickly prepared two or three tables of food. Zhang Xiaohua was not a member of the sect, so he could not join Ou Yan and others in the main hall for dinner. Instead, he ate simply in a small room with the rest.
After dinner, lanterns were lit all around the courtyard. The courtyard was quite large with many rooms, and Zhang Xiaohua surprisingly ended up sharing a room with He Tianshu. As Zhang Xiaohua was about to read by lantern light, He Tianshu called him and said: “Zhang Xiaohua, do you want to go out with me?”
Zhang Xiaohua was taken aback and replied: “It’s so late already. Why go out now?”
He Tianshu smiled and said: “Of course, there’s a reason. Are you coming or not?”
Zhang Xiaohua frowned, suddenly thinking of Ma Jing. Could Captain He also have such peculiar habits?
Zhang Xiaohua advised: “Captain He, we’ve been traveling all day. Aren’t you tired? It would be better to rest early. Besides, I’ve heard those places aren’t very clean, so it’s better to avoid them.”
He Tianshu was momentarily stunned, then he laughed heartily, giving Zhang Xiaohua a playful knock on the head, and said: “You little rascal, you know quite a bit. It’s true that scholars are clever. Before learning to read, Zhang Xiaohua wouldn’t have known these things.”
Zhang Xiaohua rubbed his head and said, feeling a bit aggrieved: “So what if I know? It’s better than you going there, right?”
He Tianshu smiled and said: “Where did your mind wander off to? I think it’s still early. As the ancients said, ‘The fist should never leave the hand, and the tune should never leave the mouth.’ Since today you haven’t practiced your martial arts, would you like to practice your fist techniques? We can go out and stretch our muscles a bit.”
Only then did Zhang Xiaohua understand what He Tian Shu meant and feel a bit embarrassed. He said: “Forget it, it’s already so late. I wanted to go to bed early.”
He Tianshu replied: “Zhang Xiaohua, when it comes to practice, you should understand that the best times are during the hours of Zi, Wu, Mao, and You. Zi is when Yin and Yang alternate, which is the most suitable time for internal energy cultivation. Even if you don’t practice internal skills, practicing martial arts during these times is beneficial. Well, whether you come or not is up to you.”
[TL_Note: Zi- 11 PM to 1 AM; Wu – 11 AM to 1 PM; Mao – 5 AM to 7 AM; You – 5 PM to 7 PM]
Zhang Xiaohua hesitated for a moment and said, “Captain He, I usually go to bed early and haven’t stayed up until midnight. But since I haven’t practiced either at noon or tonight, I’ll come with you.”
So, He Tianshu led Zhang Xiaohua out. Outside the small courtyard, some disciples were on guard. After He Tianshu spoke to them, they left the courtyard.
Just as they exited the courtyard, they encountered the chubby innkeeper. Seeing someone coming out, the innkeeper approached with a smile. When he heard that He Tianshu was looking for a place with trees, he was taken aback and took a while to direct them, even offering to send a servant to guide them.
He Tianshu, of course, preferred not to have anyone follow them and declined the innkeeper’s offer. He then led Zhang Xiaohua out of the inn. Zhang Xiaohua wasn’t good at remembering routes and hadn’t paid much attention to the directions given by the innkeeper. With Captain He leading the way, he didn’t have to worry about it.
However, it wasn’t long before Zhang Xiaohua sensed something was off. He Tianshu hesitated at every street corner before moving forward, and Zhang Xiaohua began to suspect that He Tianshu might be lost.
Sure enough, after walking a few more streets, He Tianshu stopped and asked Zhang Xiaohua: “Are we on the right path?”
Zhang Xiaohua rolled his eyes and said: “You’re the one leading, how should I know if we’re right? Besides, I’m naturally directionally challenged. I can’t even remember the way from the herb field to the villa, let alone this unfamiliar place.”
He Tianshu gave a wry smile and said: “It seems we’ll need to ask someone for directions.”
But at this time, it was getting late, and the streets were nearly deserted. No one knew where He Tianshu led them, it was pitch black, and there was no one around to ask for directions.
He Tianshu looked around and pointed to a small lantern in the distance. “Let’s go over there and see if we can find someone to ask. If not, we’ll just head back to the inn.”
Zhang Xiaohua naturally had no objections and followed He Tianshu towards the lantern.
When they reached the light, they discovered that it was a small weapons shop. To their surprise, it was still open at this late hour, which puzzled He Tian Shu.
He Tianshu entered the shop. Although it wasn’t pitch dark inside, there was only one oil lamp providing limited light. However, as soon as they walked into the shop, they were greeted by the strong smell of alcohol. They saw that a blacksmith, dressed in work clothes, was sound asleep at the counter.
The two realized that the shopkeeper wasn’t diligent but had simply gone to bed early and forgotten to close the shop.
The shop was filled with various swords and other items, presumably crafted by the blacksmith. He Tianshu wasn’t in a hurry to wake the shop owner, instead, he picked up a steel knife with interest. It wasn’t unusual, just as scholars might browse in a bookstore when they see one, even if they don’t intend to buy, they would still look through a few books. Similarly, martial artists entering a weapons shop would naturally want to inspect a few weapons. It wasn’t about pretension but a common inclination.
However, after examining the steel knife, He Tianshu’s casual demeanor became more focused. He hadn’t expected the quality of the weapons in this seemingly random shop to be quite good.
He Tianshu began to seriously select, hoping to find something even better.
Zhang Xiaohua, on the other hand, wasn’t interested in these items. The streets were very quiet, and the shop was relatively lively with the sound of snoring and the presence of a figure, so he casually wandered around and looked.
He Tianshu, being a swordsman, was naturally interested in the steel swords.
He examined the swords from one end of the rack to the other but didn’t find anything better. The quality of the swords was quite good, but compared to the sword He Tianshu used himself, they were still a bit lacking. It was hard for him to consider buying one. When he reached the end of the rack, he saw a dagger-like item on the bottom shelf. It was black and hard to see clearly, so he bent down and picked it up. The dagger felt cold and somewhat heavy in his hand. As He Tianshu brought it closer to his eyes, he realized it wasn’t an ordinary dagger.
Rather than a dagger, it resembled a small sword. Unlike regular daggers, which have a wooden handle and a sharp blade, this dagger had a design similar to a longsword. The handle and the blade were made from a single piece of metal. However, the proportions were unusual, the handle was smaller than a typical sword, while the blade was much shorter than usual. He Tianshu carefully touched the blade and found it was not sharpened. He frowned, what was this?
Was it a child’s toy?
He looked up, about to call the shop owner awake, but saw Zhang Xiaohua idly wandering around. He then looked back at the small sword-like item in his hand and called out: “Zhang Xiaohua, come over here. I have something interesting to show you.”
Zhang Xiaohua walked over and looked at the item He Tianshu handed to him, puzzled. “Captain He, what is this? It looks like a toy sword, although it’s larger than the ones I played with as a child.”
He Tianshu smiled and said: “It’s probably just something the blacksmith made for fun. If you like it, I’ll buy it for you to play with.”
Zhang Xiaohua didn’t take it and replied: “I’m not a child anymore. If you’re going to buy me something, it should be a real sword.”
He Tianshu said: “But you haven’t learned any sword techniques. Why buy a real sword? Besides…”
He trailed off, initially intending to say, can you still use a sword with your hand? But realizing that this might hurt Zhang Xiaohua’s feelings, he quickly stopped.
Zhang Xiaohua, not understanding, asked: “Besides what?”
He TianShu quickly covered up, saying: “Besides, I don’t even know how expensive a real sword might be. I need to think about it.”
Zhang Xiaohua snorted and turned to leave, saying: “If that’s the case, I don’t want the toy either.”
However, as he turned, he accidentally knocked a sword off the rack, which fell to the ground with a loud clatter.
The sleeping blacksmith, startled by the noise, suddenly looked up and shouted: “Catch the thief!”
When he saw He Tianshu holding the small sword and Zhang Xiaohua standing there, he quickly wiped the drool from his mouth, walked over with a smile, and said: “I’m sorry, sir. Did you find something you like? I must have been dreaming just now. Please forgive me.”
Zhang Xiaohua bent down, picked up the fallen sword with his left hand, and held it, saying: “If you hadn’t woken up, we might have just taken this sword.”
The blacksmith laughed and said: “You two have such impressive demeanor; how could you be those kinds of people? Just joking, just joking.”
Despite the dim lighting in the shop, it was clear that the blacksmith had an exceptional eye. He could still see the extraordinary temperament of others.
The blacksmith looked at the small sword and said: “You truly have an eye for fine things. This is our shop’s treasure, passed down for a hundred years. Since you’ve taken an interest in it today, I’ll have to part with it despite the pain.”
He Tianshu, smiling, brushed off the dust on the small sword and said; “Is this how the shop’s treasure is treated? Why isn’t it covered up or anything? Also, what’s the point of this treasure? Is it a dagger? Why isn’t it sharpened? Is it a sword? Why is it so small?”
The blacksmith was at a loss for words and awkwardly replied: “Alright, I’ll tell the truth. This is from a hundred years ago when my great-grandfather was still alive. An elderly man with a white beard left it in our shop, claiming it was a treasure from the immortal realm. Just feel its weight, ordinary metal wouldn’t be this heavy.”
He Tianshu continued to smile and said: “I find it strange. If it’s really something valuable, why didn’t the old man pawn it instead of leaving it here? Anyway, I was actually considering buying a real sword, but now I’m not interested.” As he spoke, he was about the put the small sword back on the rack.
The blacksmith quickly stopped him, saying: “Alright, sir, you’re quite perceptive. I’ll be honest, this is a toy I got from the countryside. It seemed heavy, so I thought of melting it down to make a weapon, but it wouldn’t melt no matter what, so I just threw it there. I intended to sell it to children, but it’s too heavy for that. It’s been lying around for years. If you’re interested in other weapons, I’ll give you this toy for free if you buy more.”
He Tianshu curled his lips and said: “Buy more? This shop is so out of the way, how much business can you really have? Besides, I’m only one person. How many swords could I buy? However, since your craftsmanship seems decent, I’ll take a look.”
He handed the small sword to Zhang Xiaohua, who held it with his right hand being careful with his movements. Indeed, as the blacksmith had said, it was quite heavy, no wonder children couldn’t play with it. Then he handed the real sword he was holding to He Tianshu.
He Tianshu examined the sword Zhang Xiaohua gave him and said: “This sword is actually quite good. What’s the price?”
The blacksmith, seeing that He Tianshu was interested, said: “Sir, you truly have a discerning eye. This is our shop’s treasure…” He hesitated when he saw He Tian Shu frown and quickly corrected himself: “Oh, I misspoke. This is something my grandfather made. It’s been here for many years. Given your keen eye, I’ll offer it to you for twenty taels of silver.”
He Tianshu smiled and asked: “Is your grandfather Ou Yezi?”
The blacksmith was taken aback and replied: “No, he isn’t.”
He Tianshu said: “If it were Ou Yezi, I would buy it for even two thousand taels, let alone twenty. But since it isn’t, twenty taels is too much.”
The blacksmith asked: “Then how much silver do you think is appropriate?”
He Tianshu replied: “Two taels are sufficient.”
The blacksmith was furious and said, “Are you trying to send a beggar away? That shows no sincerity at all.”
After saying that, he pretended to snatch the sword away.
He Tianshu did not make a move and allowed the blacksmith to take hold of the sword, but the blacksmith did not actually take it away. Instead, he said: “If you really have sincerity, you should offer a bit more.”
Zhang Xiaohua, observing the exchange between the two, found it rather dull and began to examine the small sword in his hand.
Despite being covered in dust, the small sword looked dark overall, with a faint reflection here and there. Zhang Xiaohua, curious, brushed the dust off the sword with the palm of his left hand.
However, as soon as his left hand touched the sword, he felt a peculiar sensation, as if the sword were somehow connected to his left hand. When he withdrew his hand, the sensation vanished instantly.
So Zhang Xiaohua moved the small sword from his right hand to his left. The moment he held it in his left hand, he experienced a deep sense of connection, as if the small sword were an extension of his left hand or as if the small sword had grown of his left hand. It was a strange feeling. He used his right hand to brush off the remaining dust and inspected the sword closely, but he couldn’t find anything unusual. The sword was made of dark metal and did not reflect much light, only occasionally showing a glimmer, which he couldn’t be sure was due to the lighting.
Regardless of whether the small sword was a toy or a dagger, Zhang Xiaohua decided that he must have it.
At this moment, the negotiation between the blacksmith and He Tianshu was nearing its end. He Tianshu proposed: “Let’s do this, we won’t drag this out. Let’s both make a concession and settle on seven taels of silver.”
