Tea Mountain Commoners

Yongping 14th year, summer.

Fifteen-year-old Yan Nu sat upon a large boulder outside Tea Mountain Fort, gazing toward the north while waiting for Grandpa to return.

He was bare-chested and barefoot, a stalk of grass tucked between his lips.

Every day he spent a spell in a daze right here, simply because the view was best from this spot. If anyone returned to the fort, they could be seen here first thing.

Last month he even heard that the Tu Fa Clan had pushed to the northern bank of the Ji River, while the troops of the Governor of Qingzhou, Gou Xi, stood in opposition on the southern bank.

He didn't even know where the Ji River was, knowing only that Grandpa was within Gou Xi's army.

Grandpa had been sent off to the battlefield a full year ago. He had never parted from Grandpa for such a long time, and simply hoped he would return soon.

Crack! Suddenly a whip lashed across Yan Nu's back, raising a bloody red welt.

He still had many similar welts upon his body, yet he seemed long since accustomed to it.

"You wretched commoner, told to fetch water and you still dare slack off?" The steward of Tea Mountain Fort always wore a fierce expression when dealing with him, solely because Yan Nu'er was always beaming and grinning, unlike other commoners who were respectful and fearful.

"The water is finished fetching." Yan Nu's entire face radiated brightness.

Crack! Another whip came down.

The steward raged, "How could it be finished! The Fort Master gave the order that water must be stored constantly without stopping. Don't you know that? Could the spring eye on Tea Mountain have dried up!"

Yan Nu nodded earnestly, "Indeed."

The steward was astonished, followed by several more whips coming down, lashing Yan Nu until his skin tore and flesh split, hurting him so he bared his teeth, yet Yan Nu'er's face stubbornly refused to show even a shred of dread.

Yet the more he acted this way, the more annoyed the steward grew, lashing him a few more times until a group of militia martial artists from Tea Mountain Fort came riding horses over in a rush.

"Strange! Strange! The spring eye on Tea Mountain has actually dried up!"

"It never dried up during past droughts, and now it's the rainy season! Could there be malevolent entities or demonic creatures?"

The militia discussed amongst themselves, riding like the wind into the fort.

The steward stopped his whipping and blanked for a moment. He hadn't expected the Tea Mountain spring eye to actually have dried up?

Seeing that Yan Nu'er was still sitting on the large boulder without moving, he fumed, "Humph! Then you still can't slack off! Go to blacksmithing for me right now! The smelting and forging grounds are still short of hands. If three hundred catties of steel aren't checked and accepted by tonight, don't even think about eating."

Yan Nu gave a cheeky laugh, "Alright, alright, why get so angry? I'll go help you blacksmith."

He coaxed him like a child, which made the steward extremely displeased, and he lashed him once more from behind, "What a pure retard!"

Yan Nu didn't even look back. Under the steward's disgusted gaze, he returned to the fort and went to help in the sweltering smelting and forging grounds where countless artisan households were sweating like rain.

The sound of hammering was everywhere here. There were three hundred artisans working day and night without rest, smelting iron and forging weapons.

The Fort Master had said that all the shipped iron ore must be fully smelted, and the more weapons forged, the better.

In this chaotic era, Hu barbarians, mountain bandits, and even wandering starving refugees all had the potential to threaten the fortified manors of powerful clans, so weapons and equipment were naturally better in abundance.

"Yan Nu'er is here, come over here and help me." The man shouting with a heavy hammer was drenched in sweat.

"Hey! Uncle Hong, what should I do?" Yan Nu hurried over.

"You're just responsible for quenching, you can't wield this hammer!" Uncle Hong's large iron hammer weighed a full forty catties, smashing heavily onto the glowing red iron with every single strike. Such an action had to be repeated countless times, alongside quenching, tempering, and repeated hammering; only after a hundred refinings could it become steel.

"Good!" While quenching the forged iron, Yan Nu cast a glance at the sky.

The sky was growing late, and he guessed that he very likely wouldn't get dinner tonight, so he sucked the grass from his lips into his belly, thinking that he still stored a lot of dried grass under his bed and could enjoy a fine meal if he felt hungry at night.

Ever since he was small, he could eat grass, and digest it all at once. According to what Grandpa told him, back when he was still an infant without breast milk, he survived purely on eating grass.

Through the following fifteen years of wandering displacement and bitter hardship, the grass he ate exceeded the meals he ate; it was no exaggeration to say he grew up eating grass.

Aside from that, he didn't dread the cold snow, nor fear boiling water.

Even further, he wasn't afraid of stones smashing down, nor steel, and blades cutting against his body couldn't even break his skin.

It wasn't that his skin was thick and tough either... Ordinary iron, or even wooden thorns, could harm him, but conversely, the hundred-refined steel used by martial artists could not.

These matters were known only to him and Grandpa. Grandpa said this was caused by his innate divine strangeness, and after being slashed by a powerful martial artist when he was an infant, he stopped being afraid.

I miss Grandpa so much. I don't know when the world will be at peace and let Grandpa come back.

Murmuring, Yan Nu quenched the glowing red block of iron, his thoughts already drifting to that place called the Ji River.

"Hey! Careful not to get burned!"

Uncle Hong suddenly shouted a warning. Yan Nu snapped back to his senses, discovering that his hand was submerged in water; that bucket of water had gone through several rounds of quenching and was practically boiling.

"Oh, I'm fine." Yan Nu hurriedly pulled his hand out. Grandpa had warned him to try not to display his weirdness around outsiders.

However, by nature he didn't know how to lie, so he generally paid attention to keeping out of people's sight, and just now, he had completely zoned out.

Fortunately, Uncle Hong didn't have time to mind him either, thinking he was putting on a tough front, and said, "Got burned, didn't you? Go soak it in cold water right away!"

Yan Nu obediently did as told, and returned to continue quenching.

While hammering iron, Uncle Hong chatted with him, "Don't space out. Missing your Grandpa, are you? Elder Jiang is our fort's oldest living elder; Heaven bless him, he'll be fine."

"Is there news?" Yan Nu asked expectantly.

Uncle Hong curled his lips and sighed, "Who knows? Logically speaking, it's been a month, and news should have been sent back from the front lines, but I reckon only the great ones received it... It's been many days since any merchants or refugees came. Where would we wretched commoners get news from so far away?"

Yan Nu realized suddenly, "So that's how it is, then I'll go ask the great ones!"

With that said, he actually dropped his things and made to go.

Uncle Hong got a fright and hurriedly grabbed him, "You really are a fool!"

"If you go asking like that, they won't tell you... How about this, you work properly, and Uncle will help you ask, alright?"

He coaxed Yan Nu with utmost helplessness, knowing that this kid really would dare to go ask the great ones.

As long as a path was pointed out to Yan Nu, this kid would definitely go do it, possessing immense daring.

Back then when Elder Jiang fell gravely ill, he told Yan Nu that there was medicine in the training ground's storehouse, and as a result, this kid directly broke in to take medicine and bring it back to treat Elder Jiang, ultimately getting whipped by the great ones until he almost died.

He deeply regretted running his mouth, and ever since then, he treated Yan Nu like his own biological nephew.

"The steward probably knows too, but that fellow... Once we finish our blacksmithing quota and go ask him, he'll surely tell us." Although Uncle Hong spoke with certainty, deep down he wasn't very sure.

Yan Nu said with full drive, "Oh? That's great, then I want to blacksmith too, and no matter what, today's quota must be finished."

Seeing him want to blacksmith again, Uncle Hong curled his lip, "This is a forty-catty heavy hammer, and you have to swing it one-handed. Which way do your little arms cut it?"

Yan Nu stubbornly said, "How will I know if I don't try?"

Uncle Hong felt amused, then thinking of the steward's fierce visage, he said, "Alright then, I'll let you try. First things first, if the quota isn't finished, we aren't going to ask! The day it's finished, we'll go ask together, deal?"

"Deal!"

Seeing Yan Nu agree, Uncle Hong smiled, immediately cleared a spot for him, placed a heavy hammer right on the anvil, and put on the expression of someone watching a joke.

Yan Nu imitated the posture, clamped a piece of glowing red iron onto it, gripped the hammer handle with his right hand, and lifted with force.

Without even settling into a horse stance or using waist strength, he hoisted the heavy hammer purely with brute strength! Then his whole body fell backward along with the hammer...

Uncle Hong hurriedly caught him and laughed heartily, "Silly boy, that won't work. Exerting force like that will only pull a muscle."

Yan Nu refused to accept it, gave a cheeky laugh, "Then how do you exert force? Teach me!"

Uncle Hong bared his teeth, "You really want to finish the quota? Forget it, I won't tease you. Actually, finishing three hundred catties of steel in a day is impossible."

"Even though I can forge twenty catties a day, not everyone has my strength and craft. Out of three hundred artisans, a large half are just making up numbers like you as apprentices, and others have to forge weapons. Actual steel smelting all day long only nets about two hundred to two hundred and thirty catties."

"The steward purposely hands down a target of three hundred catties to make us fear him. When the goal isn't met come time, he'll still hand out food, and we'll all have to feel deeply grateful to him."

"Of course, the quantity can't be too small either. If the steward genuinely finds someone unpleasing to the eye, he'll seize the chance to dock their rations."

Yan Nu didn't care about this at all, stubbornly saying, "I want to forge too, I can definitely forge enough to reach three hundred! Teach me, Uncle Hong."

Uncle Hong ignored the first half of his words and nodded, "Alright too. Though your strength isn't enough, you can learn the technique first and gradually switch to a heavy hammer later."

His entire family had died out, and treating Yan Nu'er like a biological nephew, naturally he would teach whatever was asked to be learned.

Before long, Yan Nu was holding a small hammer and learning alongside, soon looking quite decent.

While hammering iron himself, Uncle Hong taught him and corrected his movements at the same time, soon making their postures and actions almost synchronous.

Seeing him learn fast, he felt gratified, "Usually seeing you act so silly, kid, I didn't expect you to have some talent for blacksmithing."

Who would have expected that right after the praise, Yan Nu said, "Have I learned it? Quickly give me the heavy hammer!"

Uncle Hong grew anxious, "Where have you even learned to this point? Don't say your strength isn't enough; even if you grow a few more years, it won't work. You still have to learn breath-regulation and Qi circulation! Do you really think you can swing all day relying on brute force?"

"What is breath-regulation and Qi circulation anyway?"

"Start with the simple stuff first. Watch my breathing... inhale... exhale..."

Yan Nu imitated the same. At first he didn't feel anything, but as he gradually grasped the rhythm, his breathing grew more and more and rhythmic, vaguely feeling a majestic surge of internal Qi stirring inside his body, summoned out from his limbs and skeletal frame.

Uncle Hong didn't know the situation inside his body and kept explaining away, "Qi circulation is a persistent millstone effort. Practice slowly, coordinate with the exertion of the hammering action, and imagine a stream of Qi inside your body cycling round and round from your heels to your waist and then to your arms... Practice for three to five years, and you can probably move on to the heavy hammer..."

Hearing this, Yan Nu began swinging the hammer using the exertion and breathing he had learned.

Clang!

The three-catty small hammer in his hand smashed fiercely onto the anvil, sparks flying in all directions! The sound was like a great bell!

Uncle Hong got a fright and hurriedly looked over, only to see Yan Nu looking extremely focused. Following the learned trick, he turned his arm along with the momentum and swung another hammer.

Clang!

Uncle Hong felt it was inconceivable. Having hammered iron for so many years, he naturally knew the terror of this hammer strike from Yan Nu right now, its explosive force far surpassing his own.

Clang! Boom!

With the third strike, the wooden handle directly shattered, the hammer head flying off with a swish and smashing a huge hole straight into the blacksmith shop's earthen wall!

"Look, Uncle Hong, I learned it! This small hammer isn't handy, I can switch to the heavy hammer now!" Yan Nu said joyfully.

Uncle Hong watched dumbfounded, not knowing where Yan Nu got this strength from. Thinking back carefully, the speed of swinging the hammer wasn't fast, but the force was simply astonishing!

"This kind of situation is very much like..."

Uncle Hong pondered for a moment, handed him a heavy hammer, and said, "Try again."

Yan Nu'er immediately planted his horse stance and swung the heavy hammer. Yet his strength was indeed insufficient, and seeing he was about to topple over again, he suddenly sucked in a deep breath and, relying strictly on the explosive power of an internal stream of Qi running through his body, swung the heavy hammer ferociously, smashing it down with all his might!

Boom!

Amidst the massive sound, the glowing red block of iron was directly flattened, and where they crossed, shockwaves vaguely blasted outward.

Catching sight of this shockwave, Uncle Hong finally realized, his facial expression filled with shock, "Yan Nu'er, you actually have true Qi?"

"What true Qi?" Yan Nu didn't understand.

Uncle Hong pointed at his hammer strike, "After practicing breath-regulation for a few years, a stream of Qi will truly form inside your body, which can transform into force..."

"Oh, wasn't this what Uncle Hong just taught me? I learned it." Yan Nu said.

Uncle Hong was somewhat speechless, "No, no, true Qi is trained out over long months and years. My breath-regulation method must coordinate with the hammering action, and through repeated tempering like that, true Qi will slowly be born. I've hammered iron for ten years, and only then gained some. You just learned this, how could you have it!"

"You... you must have learned martial arts since you were little!"

Yan Nu was blank, "Did I learn it?"

Uncle Hong urged anxiously, "You definitely learned it, why are you still asking me? If you hadn't learned martial arts, it would be impossible to have true Qi!"

Yan Nu uttered an "oh", then revealed a smiling face, "Then can I blacksmith or not?"

"... " Uncle Hong was somewhat speechless, saying, "Your true Qi is even deeper than Uncle's, of course you can, even... you ought to go find a few instructors to learn martial arts. If you get taken in, you won't need to be a menial servant in the future."

Yan Nu went on his own accord, "I don't want to learn martial arts, I just want to blacksmith. Let's finish today's quota together quickly!"

With that said, he continued forging and beating the iron block, clang clang ringing out.

Seeing him stubborn about blacksmithing, Uncle Hong had no choice but to continue guiding him, "Hey, one hammer, two hammers, three hammers, four hammers... Alright, alright, time to fold the surface, hey right... One hammer, two hammers, three hammers... Take it to be tempered..."

Under the guidance of strike after strike, Yan Nu struck faster and faster.

Yan Nu's force was completely sufficient, and even better! After half an hour of this, he had forged six catties of steel!

"So fast, if you can keep this up the whole time, you can forge sixty catties in five hours!"

Uncle Hong clicked his tongue in wonder; he had just started learning yet his yield was triple his own! He felt like his ten years of blacksmithing skill was a joke.

p.s: Sorry.