And so, under the clumsy acting of Master of the Green Mountain Pavilion and Zhang Lai of the Flying Cloud Martial Arts School, the protection fee paid monthly by every merchant on Chiming Street rose by one tael of silver.
Everyone was furious but dared not speak. No matter how bitterly they complained, they knew that against the Flying Cloud Martial Arts School and the Green Mountain Martial Arts School, merchants like them could change nothing.
Some merchants who could not afford the increased protection fee—or simply refused to be squeezed dry any longer—chose to leave. Some left the street, while others left Sheng Tian altogether.
Time slowly passed. Winter neared its end, and the temperature had reached its bitterest point.
During this time, Li Qing persisted in his martial training, tempering his physique every day. Through the steady accumulation of days and months, the Outer Strength throughout his body grew increasingly robust.
Business at the blacksmith shop gradually improved as well. At first, only neighbors came to him to forge ordinary ironware like kitchen knives. But with the year-end drawing near, someone finally came to have a longsword forged.
The visitor was a martial arts student from the Green Mountain Martial Arts School named Zhong Hui. A smile often hung on his sallow face.
"Master Li, I usually hear that you forge kitchen knives and iron pots for people. Can you forge the longsword I want?" Zhong Hui asked with a smile.
Li Qing did not answer with words. He walked to the rear wall of the blacksmith shop and lifted the curtain draped over it.
Whoosh!
A row of weapons gleaming with cold, sinister light hung upon the solid wall.
Sabers, spears, swords, halberds, axes, battle-axes, hooks, and forks!
One could tell from their texture alone that every weapon was a fine piece, each one carefully forged by Li Qing.
Zhong Hui of the Green Mountain Martial Arts School was stunned by the weapons on the wall, staring at them wide-eyed and tongue-tied.
Li Qing patted the dust from the curtain and said with a smile, "How about it? Feel at ease now?"
Upon hearing these words, Zhong Hui nodded repeatedly, his head bobbing like a chick pecking at grain.
"At ease, at ease. Completely at ease!"
Ever since Li Qing's Ancient Profound Hammer Technique had steadily improved, his blacksmithing had become even better. With an ordinary lump of iron, every strike of his Peerless Hammer was equivalent to more than ten strikes from an ordinary blacksmith.
Combined with the enhancement of a martial artist's Outer Strength, every weapon he forged was exceptional. If the materials were more carefully selected, they could even be comparable to some renowned divine weapons of the martial world!
"Tell me. How heavy, how long, and what kind of longsword?"
Zhong Hui hurriedly replied, "I want a horse-chopping saber, around fifty jin in weight. Any heavier and I won't be able to wield it. It should be sharp, preferably, and about this long."
With the other man gesturing with both hands and feet, Li Qing more or less understood his requirements for the saber. A rough image had already formed in his mind.
"Eighteen taels of silver. Pay half as a deposit first, then the other half after it's forged," Li Qing said without even raising his head.
This price truly was not expensive. With Li Qing's current skill, a meticulously forged weapon tempered through a thousand hammers and a hundred refinements would sell for dozens, even hundreds, of taels outside—and that would still be considered cheap.
But Li Qing was not simply doing this for money. More importantly, forging weapons could earn him lifespan, which was why he had set the price so low.
Yet Zhong Hui seemed quite strapped for cash. Even eighteen taels of silver made him frown deeply.
"Haha, Master Li, do you think you could lower it a little? We're all neighbors, after all," Zhong Hui said awkwardly, scratching his head.
Li Qing replied in an indifferent tone, "It's precisely because we're neighbors that I'm only charging you eighteen taels. Otherwise, if someone else asked me to forge a weapon, I wouldn't even bother without several dozen taels."
Qi Kang, who sat to one side watching the snowy scenery in utter boredom, could not help but sneer. "If you have no money, why forge a weapon? You have money to study martial arts at a martial arts school, but no money to buy a saber?"
Ever since what had happened with the Green Mountain Martial Arts School, Qi Kang's impression of those people rushing to martial arts schools to hand over money and learn martial arts had fallen to rock bottom. He found every person from the Green Mountain Martial Arts School unpleasant to look at.
He had even become withdrawn himself, having lost all hope in this world. Every day, he remained gloomy and depressed.
"Shut up!" Li Qing frowned and rebuked him.
At these words, Qi Kang turned his head away and said nothing.
Zhong Hui did not particularly mind Qi Kang's mockery. He gave a bitter smile and said, "It's fine, Master Li. There's no need to blame your apprentice."
"I'll tell you the truth. I only have twelve taels of silver on me right now. I can keep just one tael for myself and use the remaining eleven as the deposit. Once the saber is forged, I'll pay you another ten taels within seven days!"
His voice carried both pleading and urgency, as though he were in a great hurry.
This made Li Qing rather curious, and he casually asked, "Hasn't Sheng Tian been fairly peaceful lately? Why are you in such a rush to get a saber?"
Zhong Hui's expression twisted with hesitation. After thinking it over, he finally said, "Sigh, there's no harm in telling you, but Master Li, you must never leak this information again!"
He looked around, then lowered his voice. "A tomb from the previous dynasty was discovered at Little Cui Ridge outside the city. It is suspected to be the burial site left behind by a once-famous Internal Energy expert. Prince Yu's Mansion has paid heavily to hire us martial arts school enforcers to explore the tomb!"
"Not only that, Prince Yu's Mansion will not take a single coin from the gold and silver treasures in the tomb. They only want the martial arts inheritance left behind by that Martial Arts Master!"
At this point, Qi Kang, who was sitting in front of the blacksmith shop, pricked up his ears.
"But people from the Nine Lotus Sect seem to have set their sights on that Martial Arts Master's tomb as well. And the news seems to have leaked out. There may be others from the martial world coming to muddy the waters, so I came to have you forge a weapon for self-defense."
"Master Li, rest assured. Once this matter is over, if I get some wealth from that tomb, together with the reward from Prince Yu's Mansion, I'll definitely be able to pay the full price for the weapon!"
Only then did Li Qing nod and say, "I see. Brother Zhong, since you've put it this way, it would seem rather heartless of me to refuse."
"Hahaha, not at all, not at all. Master Li, you're too polite."
And so, the two reached this deal. Zhong Hui left behind the eleven taels of silver he had on hand, then cupped his fists and departed.
Li Qing watched Zhong Hui's retreating figure. After a long while, he finally said in a deep voice, "Qi Kang, bring the iron!"
Only after quite some time did Qi Kang react. He patted his backside and brought over the iron ingots.
"Master, that tomb at Little Cui Ridge..." Qi Kang asked tentatively, watching Li Qing's expression.
However, Li Qing's answer disappointed him once again.
"Prince Yu's Mansion has its eyes on it, and the Nine Lotus Sect is watching like a tiger eyeing its prey. Do you think that tomb is something I can covet?" Li Qing said calmly.
At these words, Qi Kang lowered his head in disappointment.
He knew that once his master made a decision, no one could change it.
During this time, no matter how desperately he begged, Li Qing had refused to teach him martial arts. It truly left him in despair.
But he also knew that Li Qing treated him very well. Li Qing had never shortchanged him in food or lodging, and he genuinely taught him how to forge iron.
Everything was good, except he was far too Zen-like—he was practically a monk who had left the secular world!
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