"Whoa! Your 'Miracle' really is convenient. No wonder the army recruits so many talented people like you."
As Angie Turner wiped away his sweat and drank some water, he watched Li Xing's miraculous forging method.
It had all started
with a demonstration Uncle Angie Turner had given during a break from work.
What Angie Turner hadn't expected was for Li Xing to declare on the spot after watching that he had completely mastered the forging "Miracle."
And so, under Angie Turner's incredulous gaze,
Li Xing used his skill, and Angie Turner was utterly convinced.
"Honestly, did you learn forging before?"
"I've seen it done, but I never actually studied it!"
Responding to Uncle Angie Turner's doubts,
Li Xing couldn't help recalling the relaxing short videos he had watched while resting after work, before he transmigrated.
Aside from the ones that those in the know would understand, Li Xing had found that the videos he watched most often to unwind were forging competitions, hoof trimming, woodworking tips, Ode Biao tunes, and the amazing repairs and forging done by craftsmen in a certain "iron neighbor."
Although Li Xing hadn't learned and mastered the operations in those videos during his education, he was very familiar with the basic principles behind them.
Rather than a lack of understanding, Li Xing lacked practice.
And the farmer class skill in this world happened to skip the practice stage!
So, for someone like Li Xing, who understood the theory but had grand ambitions and little ability, it was like a fish in water, like a tiger growing wings, like the Buddha's Palm...
In Li Xing's eyes, perhaps it was precisely those relaxing short videos he had watched before that allowed this skill to serve him better, faster, and more effectively now.
Seeing how efficient Li Xing's Miracle was, Angie Turner tried handing some of his armor orders over to him.
After seeing the results of Li Xing's "Void Forging" with his own eyes, Angie Turner inspected them and broke into a smile.
"I thought I'd be working day and night in the smithy to finish this season's orders, just like before. I never expected the day when I could finish them while sipping a little wine to come so soon."
Looking at Angie Turner's happy smile,
Li Xing immediately noticed a glimmer of tears mixed into Uncle Turner's smile this time.
"Not bad! The quality of this armor meets my requirements. It even exceeds my standards a little."
Angie Turner was thrilled as he held the armor forged by the "Miracle" in his hands.
"Uncle, you..."
Faced with Li Xing, who didn't know how to comfort him, Angie Turner merely smiled calmly.
"Young man, you don't need to feel sad for me. I knew this day would come long ago. I'd even prepared myself for it much earlier."
"Miracles were unfair things to begin with. Once, I might have envied you for possessing a Miracle. But I wouldn't anymore.
"For me, forging stopped being a way to make a living long ago. Now it's part of my life. I may not have a 'Miracle,' but I can still appreciate the beauty of forging.
"In the end, this seemingly unfair thing is also part of fairness."
And so, after Li Xing finished his work for the day, he left the smithy.
"Is this seemingly unfair thing ultimately part of fairness too...?" As he walked down the road, Li Xing pondered Uncle Angie Turner's insight.
Outside the door of Aniekra's house.
"Why? Lucy, hasn't it been a long time since you washed up too, just like me?"
Faced with Aniekra clinging to her and acting coquettishly, Lucy tried to persuade her with a helpless look.
"You think I don't want to?
"Uncle Angie Turner announced it at the town meeting last night, and didn't I tell you about it too?
"The town is on alert now. Since you're among the elderly, weak, women, and children, you have to be accompanied by strong people when you go out, and there have to be at least four people.
"How could we possibly meet that requirement right now? So stop being willful."
In response to Lucy's advice, Aniekra hugged her arm and murmured softly,
"But Lucy, aren't you a strong person? We only need to find two more people. Don't we?"
When Lucy heard that, her blood pressure instantly shot up.
She gave Aniekra a thorough "mauling" and said,
"That was before! And do you even know what we're going to do? Can we just find two people like that? And what if we run into bandits? Tell me! Come on, tell me!"
Perhaps Lucy was simply too bold, or perhaps Aniekra's house was so remote that few people came by. At this hour, with the sun high in the sky, she alone dared to take liberties with a respectable woman in broad daylight.
What? Lucy was a woman!
Oh, then it was fine. She could take all the liberties she wanted. What was that sound?
"Do people in this world all play this hard?"
But after Li Xing voiced his spontaneous thoughts on the scene, the two women frolicking together immediately noticed his remark.
Lucy quickly shielded Aniekra behind her and looked warily at the man before her.
"When did you get here? What are you here for?"
Faced with Lucy's questioning, Li Xing, who stood in the middle of the path to Aniekra's house, scratched his head awkwardly.
"I arranged with Aniekra this morning to come and have some shoes made. I only just got here, but then I saw you two... Speaking of which, what were you two doing?"
Hearing Li Xing's words, Aniekra spoke softly from behind Lucy, confirming his account.
"That's right. After making the arrangement with me this morning, Mr. Li Xing just grabbed a pair of shoes and left. He said he was busy with work and in a hurry..."
Looking at Li Xing standing in the middle of the path, Lucy put her hands on her slender waist after getting confirmation from the person behind her.
"Nothing. We were just playing around as friends!"
Like hell I believe you! Your face is bright red even as you say that. Who are you trying to fool?
As Li Xing thought this, his expression plainly said she could keep making things up, but he wasn't buying it.
Seeing his expression, Lucy changed the subject.
"What are you doing here? Now that you've finished work, why aren't you coming to my house to pick up Little Jerry? Do you expect me to take him to your house?"
When Lucy brought up Little Jerry, Li Xing looked surprised.
"How did Little Jerry end up at your place?"
"Heh! Thanks to a certain someone, everyone in town now knows that whenever smoke comes out of the smithy's chimney, Little Jerry will be at my house."
Just as the two faced off,
Aniekra suddenly poked her head out from behind Lucy and looked at Li Xing.
"I've got it! We can just have Mr. Li Xing take us out of town, Lucy!"