Chapter 23

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Chapter 23: Short of Money

Watching the red flame dancing and burning on his palm, an excited expression appeared on Lou Yun\’s face. Fusang Fire—this was heavenly fire—and now it had been subdued by him, belonged to him, and was under his command.

After playing with it for a while, Lou Yun withdrew the Fusang Fire back into his body and turned toward Chang Xiang: \"Brother Chang, since I have chosen \’Devour Weapons\’ to cultivate, and now I also possess heavenly fire, shouldn\’t you teach me how to forge weapons?\"

\"Hmm,\" Chang Xiang nodded. \"I was also just thinking of giving it a try to experience the power of the Fusang Fire. Actually, the skill of forging weapons relies on practice making perfect; the more you forge, the more naturally you\’ll grasp the knack.\"

\"You are currently at the beginner one-star magical weapon level. If you wish to upgrade to beginner two-star, you must have your Dream Emperor Sword devour a beginner two-star common weapon.\"

\"First, you need materials. I have none ready here. I\’ll tell you, you find them yourself. After you get them, we can start forging.\"

\"Logically, a low-level common weapon like beginner two-star naturally requires no very special materials. However, since your forging isn\’t for use but for devouring to boost your magical weapon level, it shouldn\’t be too inferior either—just average will do. Your magical weapon has metal and fire attributes, with fire as primary and metal as secondary. Wood generates fire; hmm, go get one Taoli Stone, one first-grade spiritual crystal, and one beginner one-star wood attribute beast soul!\"

With every material name Chang Xiang announced, Lou Yun\’s mouth opened a bit wider. Not to mention the Taoli Stone—even the lowest-grade spiritual crystal and beast soul were quite pricey. And this was merely average material; what would slightly better stuff be like?

Yet Chang Xiang completely ignored Lou Yun\’s expression and went on, \"That\’s settled for now. The Taoli Stone is the main material—use it to craft the common weapon. The beast soul and spiritual crystal are auxiliary materials—adding them will amplify the common weapon\’s power. Go prepare; call me when you\’re ready!\"

Once finished, Chang Xiang vanished, leaving Lou Yun alone sitting there stunned.

Chang Xiang made it sound simple, but actually gathering all three materials was genuinely difficult. If Lou Yun hadn\’t bought those three second-grade spiritual crystals earlier, purchasing these three might not have been an issue. But now his money was gone—what could he use to buy them?

He couldn\’t bring himself to ask the family for funds. After all, now that Lou Tianming wasn\’t the clan head anymore and could do little, not contributing labor, the Lou Family\’s goodwill of supporting him generously was enough—they couldn\’t possibly provide extra money. Besides, he\’d just joined the Elite Hall, done nothing yet, so naturally had no income.

If Lou Qian were here, he could\’ve borrowed from her. But now, Lou Qian was gone too.

Lou Yun descended the back mountain, his face clouded with worry, pondering where to scrounge up money the whole way. He had truly never grasped money\’s importance before. Clearly, he\’d need to earn more cash in the future—not solely for forging weapons—but with ample funds, he could also quicken his cultivation speed.

Thus, preoccupied, Lou Yun returned to his room. Suddenly, everything darkened before his eyes. Jerking his head up, he was startled to see his father beaming at him: \"Yun\’er, why do you look so troubled after going out? What\’s up, tell your dad!\"

So engrossed in his money worries, Lou Yun hadn\’t noticed his father was still there. Hastily pasting on a grin, he shook his head repeatedly: \"Nothing, nothing—what troubles could I possibly have?\"

After speaking, he raised his head to see his father still smirking silently at him, evidently unconvinced. With no choice, Lou Yun confessed, scratching his head awkwardly: \"Truly no big deal—it\’s just that I want to buy some things and am short, short of funds.\"

Lou Tianming burst out laughing: \"I\’d imagined something monumental! If you\’re broke, just say so—why be shy with your father? Here\’s ten thousand gold. Anyway, I saved this stash for you—take it now!\"

He reached out and handed Lou Yun a small diamond-shaped stone.

Ten thousand gold! This was no insignificant sum!

Lou Yun stared blankly at the little stone before him. He knew this rock was called money jade, a savings token issued by Spirit Weapon Star\’s premier bank. With this jade, one could withdraw cash at any of the bank\’s branches or even make direct payments in certain shops.

It was no surprise the Lou Family had money jades. But Lou Tianming having one? That was baffling—since jades were strictly barred from personal custody and must be centralized in the Lou Family\’s treasury. Was this jade secretly embezzled and hoarded by his father? But his dad was no such person!

Seeing Lou Yun\’s look, Lou Tianming guessed his son\’s thoughts and couldn\’t help chuckling: \"Relax—this cash isn\’t stolen by your old man. I earned it while traveling abroad way back—totally above board. It was stored away for you—go spend it without a worry!\"

Lou Yun grinned and, without ceremony, took the money jade. Rubbing it softly, he thought this was more than just ten thousand gold—it carried his father\’s deep affection: \"Thanks, father!\"

Lou Tianming smiled warmly: \"Yun\’er, though I\’ve no clue about your cultivation, I\’ve always had faith in you. I won\’t intrude on your affairs. Whatever you believe is right—go for it. Your father backs you forever. If hit by hardship, tell me—I\’ll move mountains to help!\"

\"Hmm!\" Lou Yun nodded emphatically, his eyes growing faintly moist.

\"Right, get busy—I won\’t disturb you. Oh, and don\’t forever bury yourself in cultivating. When free, visit your old brother—I can see he\’s sincerely your friend. Life needs authentic bonds!\"

\"Got it, father—I\’ll go tomorrow!\"

After bidding his father farewell, Lou Yun heaved a long sigh. The money woe was at least temporarily solved. But he\’d still need to earn more down the road. Though ten thousand gold sounded hefty, it only bought a single four-grade spiritual crystal when spent.

The following day, Lou Yun left home very early. Since the spiritual crystal and beast soul were low-grade, buying them wasn\’t hard. As for the Taoli Stone—Lou Yun had read in texts that you had to search places coexisting peach and plum groves; it wasn\’t rare—yet unexpectedly, he combed all Lingjiang City but found none.

But this didn\’t stump Lou Yun. He knew there was one place he\’d surely find it, and he was also planning to catch up with Xu Yangteng anyway. So he turned around and headed toward Xu Yangteng\’s common weapon shop.

A long line snaked outside the common weapon shop entrance, each person\’s face wearing an expression of piety and yearning. Seeing this, a thought suddenly struck Lou Yun: there really were many people who needed common weapons. Opening his own common weapon shop would likely be a good way to earn money.

However, as soon as the idea surfaced, Lou Yun dismissed it. In the same trade, it was all rivals; how could he, as a friend, steal Xu Yangteng\’s business? Besides, he would be leaving Lingjiang City half a year from now.

The thought of leaving Lingjiang City made the idea of starting a shop flicker back to life within him. That\’s right, he could open a shop in another city. After all, it was a way to make money. He\’d spend some time properly thinking it over later.

Lou Yun didn\’t join the queue. To prevent any misunderstandings, he nodded and smiled politely at the waiting people. \"I need to speak with Xu Yangteng.\"

Although the crowd didn\’t recognize Lou Yun, there was only one person in all of Lingjiang City who dared to call Xu Yangteng \’Elder Brother Xu\’. Combined with Lou Yun\’s appearance and attire, they easily guessed his identity.

Approaching the door, Lou Yun called out as softly as he could, \"Elder Brother Xu!\"

Xu Yangteng\’s young attendant happened to walk out just then. He recognized Lou Yun and his face lit up with excitement. \"Uncle Lou! It\’s you! Master talks about you all the time! Hurry! Come in! Come in!\"

Actually, Lou Yun had just turned sixteen; this boy really should have called him \’Brother\’. But since Lou Yun referred to Xu Yangteng as \’Elder Brother\’, the boy\’s address naturally followed suit, raising Lou Yun\’s perceived seniority.

Lou Yun felt a touch awkward himself, but the boy had already dashed off inside to report.

Moments later, Xu Yangteng\’s booming voice could be heard from within. \"So my brother Lou is here! Come in, come in!\"

Immediately after, Xu Yangteng himself appeared in front of Lou Yun, grabbed his arm, and practically dragged him through the door. \"Brother! You finally came!\"

True to his nature, Xu Yangteng was all set to push aside his business. Lou Yun quickly intervened, though. He understood the customers\’ desperate need to buy common weapons and insisted Xu Yangteng serve them first. He himself was in no hurry and could wait until Xu Yangteng finished.

Since Lou Yun asked, Xu Yangteng naturally complied. However, he changed tack: he had everyone file inside to pick out the common weapons they wanted. They were to leave their money and go. In other words, his two peculiar rules were suspended for the day.

This way, everyone managed to buy a common weapon. Naturally, everyone understood this was all thanks to Lou Yun. Silently, goodwill towards Lou Yun surged among them. From that day on, Lou Yun had officially earned the people\’s hearts in Lingjiang City.

Finally, after seeing the last customer off, Xu Yangteng immediately instructed the boy, Huzi, to prepare some food and drink. He was determined to have a good, long talk with Lou Yun.

Despite his young age, Huzi was quick and efficient. In no time at all, he had the meal ready. The two sworn brothers then started toasting each other, chatting happily as they drank.

Although this was only their third meeting, it felt like they were old friends reuniting after many years. They spoke without hesitation, discussing absolutely everything. Their meal lasted from noon until evening.

During their conversation, Lou Yun learned much more about skilled weapon makers from Xu Yangteng, deepening his understanding significantly.

\"Brother, do you also want to become a skilled weapon maker?\"

\"Yes, I\’m quite interested in forging weapons too!\"

\"That\’s exactly right! Hehe, if you didn\’t become a skilled weapon maker, it would truly be a waste of talent.\"

\"You flatter me, Brother Xu. Oh, actually, there\’s something I wanted to trouble you with…\"

Xu Yangteng waved a dismissive hand. \"Why be so polite with me? Speak plainly! Your business is my business!\"

\"Well, I\’m currently trying my hand at forging weapons, but I\’m missing a key main material: Taoli Stone. I can\’t find it anywhere in all of Lingjiang City.\"

\"Haha, of course you can\’t find it! That\’s because all the materials in Lingjiang City suitable for forging weapons are right here with me!\"

Whether it was the drink or sheer excitement, Xu Yangteng\’s face flushed red. Looking exceedingly pleased with himself, he spoke and then turned over his wrist. Nestled neatly in his palm were three perfectly arranged rings.

Lou Yun knew these were no ordinary rings; they were specialized tools for storing objects. For simplicity, people called them storage common weapons.

Storage common weapons contained separate spaces within them. These spaces varied in size: the largest were said to be boundless, while the smallest were still as big as a house. The ability to forge storage common weapons was a significant reason why skilled weapon makers held such a special status.

After all, no one wants to lug around heavy bundles when traveling. With a storage common weapon, you could throw everything inside and simply wear it when going out—easy and effortless.

The styles of storage common weapons were diverse, though rings were the most common.

\"Brother, look! These represent my entire worldly possessions. Here, take this one as a gift. It holds the Taoli Stone you need inside.\"

Xu Yangteng picked up a black ring and offered it to Lou Yun. Lou Yun hastily waved his hands in refusal. \"Brother, I can\’t possibly accept something so precious!\"

At this, Xu Yangteng instantly put on a stern face. \"Precious? Nonsense! If you refuse it, you\’re looking down on me!\"

Lou Yun was torn between tears and laughter. Knowing Xu Yangteng\’s temper, refusal might genuinely spark anger. He stopped standing on ceremony and accepted the black ring.