Buying a Sword

"All things with spirit had qi; those with qi had luck. Corpse Ghouls were born from Nether Energy, so naturally they carried luck as well."

"Understood. Many thanks!"

Lu Zheng donated another string of Merit Money, then took his leave.

"Master, that Young Master was so generous. And I could see that his Yang Energy was abundant. That Corpse Ghoul might seek him out again. If he were to suffer a ghostly calamity, wouldn't that be a terrible pity?"

"It's fine. Not only did he escape it once yesterday, so he might not encounter it again, but even if that Corpse Ghoul truly found him again, my Peace Talisman could ward off one calamity for him."

Daoist Priest Mingzhang shook his head. "Could it be that I should search wildly through the county town for it? It is a great county with tens of thousands of people, and that Corpse Ghoul has the Painted Skin Technique. Where am I supposed to find it?"

"Uh, Master, you aren't using this Young Master as bait, are you?"

"Don't talk nonsense. Young Master Lu's eyes held divine light. When he heard that ordinary people could also deal with Corpse Ghouls, he had already calmed down."

Daoist Priest Mingzhang said thoughtfully, "Perhaps I won't even need to act this time."

"What? Could it be..."

On the way home.

Lu Zheng swayed with the carriage, leaning against the compartment wall with his arms folded as he thought.

All things succeeded when planned beforehand and failed when not. Even if he wanted to adapt slowly, gradually establish himself, then acquire luck and seek opportunities for cultivation, little by little merging into the reality of this world to see whether he could truly live forever—

Still, he had only just arrived in this world. In the short term, he seemed to have no way to cultivate.

Then he had no choice but to consider the possibility of truly encountering an accident.

Rather than letting three strands of Light of Luck gather dust inside the Jade Seal, he might as well increase his combat strength against unexpected situations.

Though he could travel back to the modern world and flee at any time, that would consume luck. If he made thorough preparations and that Corpse Ghoul truly came knocking, he would not let its luck slip away either.

He had gone out early today and had not spent much time at White Cloud Temple, so Lu Zheng returned home shortly after noon.

After sending Uncle Li back to rest, Lu Zheng locked his bedroom door from the inside, then turned and traveled back to the modern world.

He turned on his phone, searched for Embroidered Spring Blades, looked for shops, and set his location to Sea City.

He washed up, changed clothes, hailed a taxi, and set off! Even in the car, Lu Zheng did not idle around. He kept searching online for practical saber techniques.

The basic movements of traditional Chinese saber techniques were mostly chopping, hacking, intercepting, scooping, thrusting, hanging, sweeping, lifting, pressing, concealing, carrying behind the back, pushing, bracing, leading, and over a dozen others.

Images and videos of those movements could all be found online.

They might look plain and unremarkable, but they had all evolved from real combat—the greatest skill appeared effortless.

The saber arts of every school and sect were simply techniques developed by combining these basic movements with each family's unique experience, forming their own styles of saberplay.

It was only because modern firearms had risen that martial arts had been reduced to performance routines. The ability ancient masters gained through painstaking practice of every move—randomly combining them and adapting to the situation—had long since been lost.

Don't say martial arts were useless. Think about it: with the same physical fitness, you could only throw Turtle Fists, while the other person could concentrate his strength with skill or use a weapon, with more than a dozen follow-up variations waiting for you.

Did the result need further explanation? Don't compare it with those modern frauds. Talking about martial arts while setting aside physical fitness and combat experience was pure hooliganism.

In wuxia novels, even a young prodigy fresh out of the gate could be knocked flat by an experienced street punk with a brick. Let alone reality?...

Lu Zheng absorbed the basics of saber techniques all the way there and soon arrived at his destination.

Ten Thousand Ren Ancient Sword Hall.

It specialized in selling antique weapon crafts.

But... although they were crafts, the materials were genuine. They simply had not been sharpened.

If placed in ancient times, every one of them would have been a peerless divine weapon worth a fortune.

After all, China's industrial strength had long since changed beyond recognition. Could steel for making swords possibly be harder to refine than steel for making submarines?

Though the Great Jing Dynasty could cultivate immortality and refine qi, it did not have blast furnaces for steelmaking.

Therefore...

If the Corpse Ghoul did not come, then so be it. But if it came, Lu Zheng would make sure one slash settled its account.

"Hello, welcome!"

The sweet voice instantly shattered the mood. The momentum Lu Zheng had just built up immediately leaked away.

Why were there two girls in qipaos standing at the entrance of an ancient sword hall? Did having beauties nearby stir up men's desire to buy weapons?

You sold swords and sabers, not... huh, you really did have spears?

Ten Thousand Ren Ancient Sword Hall was not small. All kinds of swords and sabers were displayed everywhere.

It truly deserved its claim of selling sword-and-saber crafts. Those colors, those patterns...

This one showed twin dragons competing for a pearl; that one bore the sun, moon, and stars. Some patterns were only on the scabbards, while others were carved directly onto the blades.

They were genuinely beautiful, but suitable only for admiration. Using them in a fight would be nothing less than squandering heaven's gifts.

There were quite a few customers in the shop, but most were passersby and tourists simply there to admire the items. The salespeople were accustomed to it. They only occasionally stopped tourists from taking pictures and showed no impatience.

How did they make money, anyway? Then Lu Zheng glanced at the Longquan Sword before him and understood.

Name: Gilt Nine-Twist Coiling Dragon Sword

Material: Traditional hundred-fold refined steel

Forged by: Hand-forged by an intangible cultural heritage swordsmith

Price: 188888

Tsk, tsk. Truly particular! "Hello." After making a round of the shop, Lu Zheng approached a pretty young saleswoman.

"Hello, what do you need?" The young woman's eyes lit up.

In a shop like this, those who took the initiative to ask usually intended to buy. Her commission was coming.

"Do you have an Embroidered Spring Blade that can actually be used in combat?"

The young woman revealed an expression of just as expected. "Rest assured, the Embroidered Spring Blades in our store are all forged from high-carbon steel, basically the same material as military knives from various countries..."

"Don't try to fool me." Lu Zheng immediately cut off her self-promotion. "Military knives are short, so they are hard and brittle. Traditional sabers are long and need greater toughness. They use two different kinds of steel."

Young saleswoman: (°ω°)

Was that so?

"This gentleman is an expert." A magnetic voice sounded.

Lu Zheng turned around. It was another middle-aged man.

"You are?"

"I'm the owner of this store."

What was with it? Were all bosses middle-aged men these days?

"Hello. I'm no expert. I just searched around online a little."

This Stabbing Technique...

Young saleswoman: /(ㄒoㄒ)/~~My commission is gone...

The owner smiled and shot the young woman a glance. She walked away, aggrieved.

"Sir wants to buy a saber?"

Lu Zheng nodded. "An Embroidered Spring Blade. One that can be used for real combat and blade-on-blade clashes."

The Embroidered Spring Blade was a type of waist saber. Thanks to the great fame of the Ming Dynasty Embroidered Uniform Guard and the portrayal in two films, it was truly renowned far and wide.

"Real combat and blade-on-blade clashes?"

The middle-aged owner bared his teeth. There was still demand for that in modern times? What did he want to do? "Can you do it?"

"Of course." The owner explained, "It is only because this is the modern era. If these were placed in ancient times, every sword and saber in my shop would be a peerless divine weapon."

Lu Zheng nodded. It was just as he had guessed.

"Then, can it be sharpened?"

Owner: ()!!! So what exactly were you trying to do? Thanks to Fellow Daoist Just Playing and Not Quite Understanding for the hundred-reward support.