Tea Mountain Commoners

In the fourteenth year of Yongping, during summer.

Yan Nu, fifteen years old, sat on a large rock outside Tea Mountain Fort, gazing north, waiting for Grandpa to return.

He was bare-chested and barefoot, a blade of grass dangling from his mouth.

Every day he would sit there in a daze for a while. It was because this spot offered the best view. If anyone was returning to the fort, he could see them from here the earliest.

Last month, he had heard that the Tu Fa Clan had pushed to the northern bank of the Ji River, while the army of Gou Xi, the Governor of Qingzhou, was in a standoff on the southern bank.

He didn't know where the Ji River was. He only knew that Grandpa was in Gou Xi's army.

Grandpa had been sent to the battlefield a year ago. He had never been separated from Grandpa for such a long time. He just wished he would come back quickly.

"Crack!" Suddenly, a whip lashed across Yan Nu's back, leaving a bloody red mark.

He had many similar marks on his body, but he seemed long accustomed to them.

"You lowborn, you dare slack off when I told you to fetch water?" The steward of Tea Mountain Fort always treated him with a fierce expression. This was because Yan Nu'er was always cheerful and playful, unlike other lowborns who were subservient and fearful.

"I've finished fetching the water," Yan Nu said with a bright smile.

"Crack!" Another whip came down.

The steward roared, "Finished? Don't you know the Fort Master ordered us to keep storing water without stopping? Has the spring eye on Tea Mountain run dry?!"

Yan Nu nodded seriously, "Yes."

The steward was stunned, and then several more whips descended, tearing Yan Nu's skin and flesh. He grimaced in pain, but Yan Nu'er refused to show any fear on his face.

But the more he acted like this, the more enraged the steward became. He whipped him a few more times until a group of Tea Mountain Fort militia and martial artists came galloping from a distance.

"Strange! Strange! The spring eye on Tea Mountain has actually run dry!"

"It didn't dry up even during the great droughts of previous years, and now it's the rainy season! Could it be some evil spirit or demonic creature?"

The militia discussed amongst themselves as they rode into the fort like the wind.

The steward stopped whipping and was momentarily stunned. He hadn't expected the spring eye on Tea Mountain to actually be dry.

Seeing Yan Nu'er still sitting motionless on the large rock, he angrily said, "Hmph! You still can't slack off! Go back to the ironworks! The forging area is short-handed. If you don't produce three hundred catties of steel by tonight, you won't get any dinner."

Yan Nu chuckled, "Alright, alright. Why get so angry? I'll go help you forge iron."

He spoke as if coaxing a child, which made the steward extremely displeased. He whipped him again from behind, "You truly are an imbecile!"

Yan Nu didn't look back. Under the steward's disdainful gaze, he returned to the fort and entered the bustling forging area, where countless artisans were sweating profusely.

The sound of hammering iron filled the air. Three hundred artisans worked day and night, smelting iron and forging weapons.

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

In this chaotic world, Hu Barbarians, mountain bandits, and even wandering famine refugees could threaten the fortified manors of powerful clans. More weapons and equipment were always better.

"Yan Nu'er is here, come help me quickly," the man swinging the hammer shouted, drenched in sweat.

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

"You just handle the quenching. You can't swing this hammer!" Uncle Hong's large iron hammer weighed forty catties. Each strike landed heavily on the red-hot iron. This action had to be repeated countless times, along with quenching, tempering, and repeated hammering. Only through a hundred refinements could steel be made.

"Okay!" Yan Nu quenched the forged iron while glancing at the sky.

The sky was darkening. He guessed he might not have dinner tonight, so he swallowed the grass he had been chewing and thought about the dry grass stored under his bed. He could have a good meal if he got hungry later.

He had been able to eat grass since he was young and digest it immediately. Grandpa had told him that when he was still an infant and had no mother's milk, he had survived by eating grass.

In the fifteen years that followed, through displacement and hardship, he had eaten more grass than rice. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he grew up on grass.

Besides that, he was also unaffected by the cold snow and boiling water.

He wasn't even afraid of being hit by stones, nor could steel or knives break his skin.

It wasn't that his skin was particularly tough... ordinary iron, or even wooden thorns, could injure him. However, the refined steel used by martial artists could not.

Only he and Grandpa knew about these things. Grandpa said it was due to his innate divine nature. After being cut by a powerful martial artist as an infant, he was no longer afraid.

"I miss Grandpa so much. I wonder when the world will be peaceful and Grandpa can return."

Yan Nu muttered as he quenched the red-hot iron block, his thoughts drifting to the place called Ji River.

"Hey! Be careful not to get burned!"

Uncle Hong suddenly shouted a reminder. Yan Nu snapped back to attention, realizing his hand was submerged in water. The bucket of water had been used for quenching several times and was almost boiling.

"Oh, I'm fine." Yan Nu quickly pulled his hand out. Grandpa had warned him to avoid revealing his peculiarities to outsiders as much as possible.

However, he was naturally bad at lying, so he usually made sure to do things when no one was looking. This time, he had simply been lost in thought.

Fortunately, Uncle Hong didn't have time to pay attention to him. Thinking he was just enduring the heat, he said, "It burned you, didn't it? Go quickly and soak it in cold water!"

Yan Nu obeyed and did as he was told. After returning, he continued quenching.

Uncle Hong chatted with him while hammering iron, "Don't get distracted. Missing your Grandpa, huh? Elder Jiang is a centenarian here. Heaven bless him, he'll be alright."

"Is there any news?" Yan Nu asked hopefully.

Uncle Hong pursed his lips and sighed, "Who knows? Logically, after a month, there should be news from the front lines, but I suppose only the nobles receive it... It's been a while since any merchants or refugees have come. Where would we lowborns get such distant news?"

Yan Nu suddenly realized, "So that's how it is. Then I'll go ask the nobles!"

After he finished speaking, he dropped what he was doing and was about to leave.

Uncle Hong was startled and quickly grabbed him, "You're such a fool!"

"If you ask like that, they won't tell you... How about this, you work hard, and I'll ask for you, okay?"

He helplessly appeased Yan Nu, knowing that this kid would really dare to ask the nobles.

As long as Yan Nu was shown a path, he would definitely take it. He was incredibly bold.

Back then, when Elder Jiang was seriously ill, he told Yan Nu that there was medicine in the storeroom of the training grounds. This kid immediately broke in and took the medicine back to treat Elder Jiang, and was almost beaten to death by the nobles.

He deeply regretted his loose tongue and from then on treated Yan Nu like his own nephew.

"The steward should know too, but that guy... If we finish our quota for iron forging, and then ask him, he'll definitely tell us," Uncle Hong said confidently, though he wasn't entirely sure in his heart.

Yan Nu said enthusiastically, "Oh? That's great! Then I want to forge iron too. I must complete today's quota no matter what."

Seeing him want to forge iron again, Uncle Hong pouted, "This is a forty-jin heavy hammer, and you have to swing it with one hand. How can your skinny arms handle it?"

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

Uncle Hong found it amusing, then he thought of the steward's fierce expression and said, "Alright, you can try. But let's be clear, if you don't finish the quota, I won't ask! When we finish it, we'll go ask together, okay?"

"Okay!"

Seeing Yan Nu agree, Uncle Hong smiled and immediately cleared a spot for him, placing a heavy hammer on the anvil, looking like he was waiting to see a joke.

Yan Nu, imitating him, clamped a piece of red-hot iron and placed it on the anvil. He gripped the hammer handle with his right hand and lifted it forcefully.

Without even settling into a horse stance or using his waist, he swung the heavy hammer with brute force! Then he stumbled backward with the hammer...

Uncle Hong quickly caught him and burst into laughter, "Silly kid, that won't work. If you exert force like that, you'll just injure yourself."

Yan Nu, unconvinced, chuckled, "Then how should I exert force? Teach me!"

Uncle Hong grinned, "Do you really want to complete the quota? Forget it, I won't tease you anymore. Actually, forging three hundred jin of steel in a day is impossible."

"Although I can forge twenty jin a day, not everyone has my strength and skill. Out of three hundred artisans, most are apprentices like you who are just making up the numbers, and some have to forge weapons. Those who truly refine steel in a day only manage to forge about two hundred to two hundred and thirty jin."

"The steward deliberately sets the target at three hundred jin to make us fear him. When we can't meet the target, he'll still give us food, and we'll all have to be grateful to him."

"Of course, the quantity can't be too little either. If the steward really dislikes someone, he'll use it as an opportunity to withhold their meals."

Yan Nu didn't care about that and stubbornly said, "I want to forge too, I can definitely forge three hundred jin! Teach me, Uncle Hong."

Uncle Hong ignored the first part of his statement and nodded, "Alright. Although your strength isn't enough, you can learn the technique first, and later you can switch to a heavier hammer."

His entire family was dead, so he treated Yan Nu'er like his own nephew and was naturally willing to teach him if he wanted to learn.

Before long, Yan Nu was learning with a small hammer on the side, and he quickly looked the part.

Uncle Hong forged iron while teaching him, correcting his movements. Soon, their stances and movements were almost synchronized.

Seeing how quickly he learned, he was pleased, "You always seem a bit foolish, but I didn't expect you to have some talent for forging iron."

Unexpectedly, as soon as he praised him, Yan Nu said, "Did I learn it? Give me the heavy hammer quickly!"

Uncle Hong was exasperated, "You've only just learned this much? Never mind that your strength isn't enough, even if you grow for a few more years, it won't be enough. You still need to learn how to regulate your breathing and circulate your energy! Did you really think you could swing it all day with brute force?"

"What is regulating breathing and circulating energy?"

"Let's start with the simple stuff. Watch my breathing... inhale... exhale..."

Yan Nu imitated him. At first, he didn't feel anything, but as he gradually grasped the rhythm, his breathing became more and more rhythmic. He vaguely felt a powerful surge of energy within him, gathering from his limbs and bones.

Uncle Hong, unaware of his internal state, continued to explain, "Circulating energy is a painstaking process. Practice slowly, coordinate your movements with the forging, imagine there's a stream of energy within you, circulating from your heels to your waist and then to your arms, over and over again... If you practice for three to five years, you might be able to handle the heavy hammer..."

Yan Nu listened and then began to swing the hammer using the force and breathing techniques he had learned.

"Bang!"

The three-jin small hammer in his hand smashed down hard on the anvil, scattering sparks! The sound was like a great bell!

Uncle Hong was startled and quickly looked over. He saw Yan Nu was extremely focused. Following the technique he had learned, he rotated his arm with the force and swung the hammer again.

"Bang!"

Uncle Hong found it incredible. He had been forging iron for so many years and of course knew the terrifying impact of Yan Nu's hammer strikes at that moment. The explosive power far surpassed his own.

"Bang! Boom!"

With the third strike, the wooden handle directly shattered. The hammerhead shot out with a swish, smashing a large hole in the earthen wall of the blacksmith shop!

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

Uncle Hong was stunned, not knowing where Yan Nu got such strength. He recalled carefully; the speed of his swing wasn't fast, but the force was astonishing!

"This situation is very much like..."

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

Yan Nu'er immediately settled into a horse stance and swung the heavy hammer. However, his strength was indeed insufficient, and he was about to fall again. But he took a deep breath and, relying on the explosive power of the energy circulating within him, fiercely swung the heavy hammer down!

"Boom!"

Under the immense sound, the red-hot iron block was directly flattened. Rippling shockwaves could faintly be felt emanating from the point of impact.

Seeing these shockwaves, Uncle Hong finally realized, his face aghast, "Yan Nu'er, you actually have True Qi?"

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

Uncle Hong pointed to his hammering: "Practice it for a few years, and you'll truly have a force within you, which can transform into power..."

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

Uncle Hong was speechless: "No, no, True Qi is cultivated over years of practice. My method of generating force must be combined with hammering, and through repeated tempering like this, True Qi will slowly emerge. I've been forging iron for ten years and only have a little. How could you have it after just starting?"

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

Yan Nu was bewildered: "Did I learn it?"

Uncle Hong said anxiously: "You definitely learned it, why are you asking me? If you haven't learned martial arts, you can't have True Qi!"

Yan Nu said "Oh," then smiled: "Can I forge iron now?"

"..." Uncle Hong was a bit speechless and said: "Your True Qi is even deeper than mine, of course you can. In fact... you should find some instructors to learn martial arts. If you're accepted, you won't have to be a menial servant anymore."

Yan Nu said to himself: "I don't want to learn martial arts, I just want to forge iron. Let's quickly finish today's quota together!"

With that, he continued to forge the iron block, which rang with a bang bang sound.

Seeing his stubbornness about forging iron, Uncle Hong could only continue to guide him: "Hey, one hammer, two hammers, three hammers, four hammers... Alright, alright, you can flip it over, hey, that's right... one hammer, two hammers, three hammers... Take it to temper..."

With each instruction, Yan Nu hammered faster and faster.

Yan Nu's strength was more than enough, even better! After half an hour like this, he had forged six jin of steel!

"So fast! If you can keep this up, you'll forge sixty jin in five hours!"

Uncle Hong clicked his tongue. He was a beginner, yet his output was a full three times his own! He felt like his ten years of forging iron experience was a joke.