Refining Grass to Transform Qi

Uncle Hong started forging iron with his full attention after seeing Yan Nu become proficient.

They toiled, sweating like rain, until dusk began to fall.

Counting from breakfast, it had been a full five hours. Of course, Yan Nu had arrived midway, so he had only actually worked for four hours.

Even so, they produced fifty-two jin of refined steel! This was because Yan Nu became more and more skilled towards the end, and his speed increased.

In contrast, he performed below par, not even reaching twenty jin by the end of the day.

"Alright, alright, take a break," Uncle Hong said, seeing the steward arrive for inspection. He knew it was time for dinner.

The servants in the fort had two meals a day, one in the morning and one in the evening. After a day of heavy physical labor, they were all starving and dizzy.

"Can we finish it?" Yan Nu put down his hammer, only to see his palms were bloody and mangled.

"Probably... Hey, your hand!" Uncle Hong noticed Yan Nu's injuries and immediately realized they were caused by the hammer handle's recoil and friction.

This was actually a normal occurrence. Uncle Hong's hands were covered in calluses, and he was used to it, so he was fine.

Yan Nu was young, and coupled with the immense power of each hammer blow, the recoil force was even greater.

"Does it hurt?"

"It hurts!" Yan Nu told the truth.

Not only were his palms injured, but his arms and even his lower back muscles were strained, and his shoulders were numb, aching and stinging, with all sorts of discomfort.

After all, True Qi was True Qi, and strength was strength.

With insufficient bone and muscle strength, relying purely on the burst of True Qi made the hammer blows more powerful, causing him to twist his own muscles.

He didn't know how to use True Qi to protect himself. Each swing of the hammer was a real torment to his bones and muscles. After four hours, the load was too great!

Uncle Hong checked and found the injuries to be extremely severe. Knowing his situation, he chided, "Your bones and muscles are injured, why didn't you stop earlier?"

"Uncle Hong, you said we had to complete the quota so the steward would tell me Grandpa's news," Yan Nu said with a grin.

Uncle Hong inwardly cursed himself for talking too much. He had watched this child grow up since he was a few years old and knew he was truly stubborn.

He had only said it casually. In reality, even if they completed the quota, the steward would at most be happy and reward them with a good meal, not necessarily answering every question.

"Sigh, I'll ask for you."

A large group of artisans gathered before their respective furnaces, arranging the finished products.

The steward was followed by several militia, who inspected them one by one. When he reached Uncle Hong's furnace, he was startled! It was over seventy jin?

"Well, you old Hong, you've been slacking off before, haven't you?"

Uncle Hong quickly replied, "No, no, we just had an exceptional performance today..."

"Tomorrow, I'll increase your quota!" the steward grunted and moved on.

Uncle Hong felt a bit helpless. He still hadn't mentioned Yan Nu's True Qi.

He knew Yan Nu was an honest child. If he said he hadn't learned martial arts, he definitely hadn't.

This made his True Qi very suspicious. Perhaps... he had secretly picked up some miraculous elixir from the pharmacy at the training grounds years ago and eaten it?

If that were the case, it would be a great disaster.

He had been beaten half to death just for being caught taking medicine for an illness. If the nobles found out that some miraculous elixir was missing, wouldn't they skin Yan Nu alive?

"You're all doing quite well, two hundred and ninety-two jin..."

"But the Fort Master instructed us to produce three hundred jin a day, and you still haven't met the target! Do you still want to eat?"

The steward began his usual lecture. The others were first astonished at the amount, then hurriedly said, "We want to, we want to! Please, Steward, give us a meal."

"Steward, please show some mercy."

"I don't want to starve to death."

"We beg you, we'll definitely complete the quota tomorrow!"

The many artisans displayed their own skills, wiping away tears as they pleaded.

The steward then put on a reluctant expression and said, "Fine, it's much more than last time, and you've all worked hard. I'll go and explain to the Fort Master first and beg him to give you another chance."

Everyone knew he was just putting on an act, but they could only offer him all sorts of flattering words.

But just then, Yan Nu suddenly shouted, "We've met the quota! This makes it three hundred and two jin!"

"Hmm?" The steward frowned.

The others looked over in panic. Who was it? Who was so straightforward?

As long as there was food, wasn't that enough? Whether the quota was met or not had nothing to do with them. They wouldn't get a single jin more no matter how much they refined.

"Yan Nu'er!" the steward glared. "What do you know! If I say it's not enough, it's not enough!"

Uncle Hong hadn't expected Yan Nu to run over and re-weigh it while the steward was lecturing.

He quickly said, "Yan Nu'er is an idiot, a simpleton, everyone knows that. Steward, please don't take it to heart."

"Ah... yes, yes..." everyone chimed in.

The steward raised his head and said, "Yan Nu'er, I told you, if the inspection doesn't reach three hundred jin, you won't get to eat. I keep my word! You'll go hungry today!"

"And you all too, tomorrow I want to inspect three hundred and fifty jin!"

After speaking, he waved his sleeve and left. How much he inspected was all up to his whim.

Yan Nu muttered, "There's clearly enough..."

Uncle Hong quickly pulled him back, "Stop talking, go back to your room and sleep. Be careful you don't get whipped again. Elder Jiang isn't here, just listen to me!"

Seeing that he mentioned Grandpa, Yan Nu had no choice but to give up, but he was still indignant. He returned to the furnace room, picked up the heavy hammer, and began to forge again!

"What are you doing?"

"Tomorrow's quota is three hundred and fifty jin. I'm starting now, and I'll definitely make the count!" Yan Nu said firmly.

Uncle Hong was dumbfounded, "You... are you really that stupid!"

"What does it matter to us if you refine more steel? As long as everyone doesn't fall below two hundred jin, we'll have food to eat. Why do you care how much he says!"

Yan Nu retorted, "Uncle Hong, didn't you say... if the quota is met, the Steward will tell me Grandpa's news?"

"I..." Uncle Hong was speechless, then sighed, "I was wrong, I shouldn't have spoken. Yan Nu... no matter how much you forge, if the Steward says it's not enough, then it's not enough!"

Yan Nu blinked, then still hammered away with all his might, "What if it works? I want to try."

Uncle Hong was helpless, knowing that nothing he said would work, so he could only leave to eat.

Night fell, and in the rows of blacksmith shops, only Yan Nu's hammering could be heard.

Besides forging, he had to stoke the furnace, quench, and temper. He completed all the processes by himself.

However, Yan Nu soon couldn't swing the hammer anymore. He had been forging iron for four hours during the day and already felt drained. His so-called True Qi seemed to have been depleted.

Still, he forced himself to swing the hammer, forging bit by bit, with extremely low efficiency.

When Uncle Hong returned and saw him like this, he couldn't help but sigh, "Stop forging. If you continue, your body will be ruined."

"Uncle secretly brought out a few Steamed Buns. Eat them quickly and go to sleep."

"Thank you, Uncle." Yan Nu was indeed too tired to swing the hammer, so he stopped and ate the buns.

After eating, he felt a surge of satisfying fullness, and his energy instantly surged. He had always been like this since he was young, digesting Steamed Buns and grass extremely quickly.

But unlike before, he also noticed that there was True Qi in his body again...

Yan Nu suddenly realized. It was his first time using True Qi. He had been worrying about what to do when his True Qi ran out just now, but now he knew that he could recover it just by eating his fill.

He still had a lot of dried grass stored in his room; he would eat it all later!

"Uncle Hong, next time if I don't have food, don't steal buns for me."

Servants doing heavy manual labor were still provided with enough food. The rations were definitely enough to eat, otherwise, they couldn't do the heavy work. The only requirement was to eat at the designated spot and not to hoard.

If caught, it meant one hundred lashes, and those with weak physiques could be beaten to death.

Uncle Hong didn't care, "It's fine. I'll steal a little, they won't notice."

"Who told you to call me Uncle? Sigh, if my son hadn't starved to death, he'd be about your age."

He said with some emotion.

This chaotic world, with its wars, famines, droughts, floods, and diseases... one after another.

Rebel armies, mountain bandits, Hu Barbarians, Monsters, Evil Spirits... wave after wave.

He had fled all the way from Jizhou, and only he remained alone from his entire family. How could he not be grief-stricken! And most of the unfortunate people in the fort were the same!

Uncle Hong wiped away his tears and suddenly sighed, "Yan Nu'er, about your Grandpa, do you want to hear some of my honest thoughts?"

"Yes!" Yan Nu nodded desperately.

Uncle Hong said bitterly, "Elder Jiang, and many of the old people in Tea Mountain Fort, were thrown out like discarded pawns... The Hu Barbarians were approaching Qingzhou with great force, and the Governor Gou Xi ordered all the noble clans to send troops to join forces and resist them."

"But all the noble clans paid lip service and did things perfunctorily. Especially our Zhang Clan, which had its fortified manor breached before and held a deep-seated hatred for the Governor. Why would they help? They even wished the Hu Barbarians would defeat the Governor thoroughly! So they deliberately sent the old and weak... perhaps to set up the Governor, and also to get rid of the old people they deemed useless."

"The Governor must have understood their intentions, and would definitely send the old and weak troops to die first, to prevent them from fleeing and demoralizing the troops in the subsequent battle."

"That Zhang Clan... never intended for Elder Jiang and the others to return."

Yan Nu said firmly, "Grandpa will definitely come back!"

Uncle Hong hesitated, seeing that even with such hints, the child still held onto hope with such innocence, he sighed, "If... if there's news from the front line, I just hope you can stay calm... don't think about revenge."

"Good child, you have a fiery temper. When you were twelve and boldly took medicine, I knew you feared nothing..."

"But those Nobles have countless followers under them, and the Fort Master is even more skilled in martial arts. What will you use to fight them?"

Yan Nu asked as if listening intently, "What will I use?"

"Use... Sigh, I mean you have nothing to fight them with!"

Uncle Hong said with some amusement, "Not to mention the hundreds of Militia in the fort, even though you have some True Qi, the experts in the fort all have years of pure Cultivation. The Fort Master and the three Instructors are first-class experts. How can you possibly defeat them!"

Yan Nu's face was filled with excitement, "How can I defeat them?"

"I..." Uncle Hong sighed, "I'll ask you again, have you really never learned martial arts?"

Yan Nu shook his head.

"Then back then, when I told you there was medicine in the training room, did you eat anything yourself?"

Yan Nu continued to shake his head.

"I just don't get it, where did you get this True Qi from, kid! Were you born with it?"

Yan Nu looked bewildered.

"Born with True Qi? Never heard of such a thing, highly unlikely. So Yan Nu must have had some fortunate encounter when he was young. I'll probably have to ask Jiang Shouyi about this... but then again, that's impossible." Uncle Hong mused to himself.

Ever since he'd known Yan Nu, he'd never seen him use True Qi, nor had he practiced any martial arts.

He had only taught him the most basic breathing and Qi circulation techniques today.

This meant that Yan Nu had indeed possessed True Qi within him all along without realizing it. If he hadn't learned to circulate his Qi today, it might have remained buried forever.

"Alas, Uncle Hong's skills are too crude, just inherited blacksmithing techniques. They can't compare to those true martial arts that refine essence into Qi. I can't teach you..."

"You'd best find a master among the experts in the fort. Hmm... let Uncle think carefully... Yan Nu'er, you can go back for now."

Uncle Hong was wholeheartedly trying to do what was best for Yan Nu, but Yan Nu's situation was special. He feared the complicated minds of the fort's martial artists and dared not make a hasty decision.

Yan Nu didn't have such complex thoughts; his mind was filled with forging 350 catties of steel.

To forge steel, he needed True Qi. To restore his True Qi, he needed to eat. To eat, he needed to go back and get the dried grass he had collected under his bedding.

"Uncle Hong, get some rest. Yan Nu will head back now." He left obediently.

Uncle Hong was very pleased, thinking he had convinced Yan Nu to give up blacksmithing. He had no idea Yan Nu was just going back to get grass! He happily walked back to his own house.

Yan Nu didn't live in the same place as him. After all, he wasn't originally a craftsman, only helping out occasionally. He lived in the lowest-tier menial servant quarters.

The area was dim and damp, with dozens of people sleeping in one thatched hut.

Either the menial servants hadn't returned yet, or they came back and collapsed into sleep, numb and without communication.

Yan Nu pulled out two large bundles of dried grass from under his mattress, stuffed a handful into his mouth, and returned to the blacksmith shop.

This was fermented sheep grass, which sheep loved to eat, and he loved it too. Other types of straw, like rice or wheat straw, wouldn't do.

"Mmm!" Yan Nu ate the grass heartily in the blacksmith shop, chewing it a few times before swallowing.

After eating over a pound, he drank a bowl of cold water and felt refreshed and full of energy.

He was filled with vigor. As soon as the iron turned red, he began to strike: one hammer! Two hammers! Three hammers! ...

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

As he circulated his Qi and exerted force with his hammer swings, the True Qi surged within him!

He didn't stop, finishing the quenching and tempering before continuing to strike, repeating the process, his heavy hammer swinging non-stop.

Sweating profusely, his will focused, he forged ingot after ingot of steel.

He drank when thirsty and ate when hungry. With the supplement of dried grass, his True Qi was inexhaustible.

Yan Nu became increasingly proficient, and his True Qi was consumed faster. The dried grass quickly ran out.

But it was fine. When his True Qi was depleted again, he could just pick some more. This kind of grass grew everywhere!