Blacksmith Shop

The paper crane flew up from Liu Xu's palm, flapping its wings as it danced around her, rising and falling.

Encircled by the paper crane, Liu Xu, dressed in white, seemed like an immortal banished from the heavens, her otherworldly aura magnified without limit.

Especially with the white veil over her face, which only deepened her air of mystery.

After flying for a while, the paper crane landed once more in Liu Xu's palm.

Liu Xu lightly tapped the paper crane's head with her fair index finger and smiled. "Go on, little fellow. Find some clues."

Paper Crafting Essentials—Paper Crane Tracking.

This was a secret art from the Paper Crafting Essentials, but not entirely.

Paper Crane Tracking used one's energy as a guide, while Liu Xu used Divine Essence as the brush and Righteous Qi as the guide.

That was what set Liu Xu apart from ordinary scholars.

She was a scholar, yet after reading the Paper Crafting Essentials, she had comprehended all sorts of strange things.

Take Paper Crane Tracking, for instance. This should have been the signature skill of a Paper Figure Maker, yet she could use it in a different way.

In truth, Liu Xu could not use everything from the Paper Crafting Essentials either. She could only use the parts she had altered beyond recognition.

Some things could not be altered, so she could not use them.

For example, even for something as simple as making paper figures, she could not substitute Divine Essence for the required materials.

But even just this made her far stronger than ordinary scholars.

After the paper crane left, Liu Xu did not sit idle.

She rummaged through the cabinet again and took out a sheet of paper, spreading it flat across the table.

She lifted her brush and held it above the paper, but did not bring it down for a long while.

Those eyes like a starry sky slowly closed. After roughly two breaths, the brush finally moved.

Throughout the entire process, Liu Xu kept her eyes closed, letting her hand guide the brush as it traced and sketched across the paper.

She was not writing words. What appeared on the paper were line after line of thin strokes.

From a distance, it looked more like a map.

A moment later, Liu Xu stopped.

She set the brush aside, and the paper was now covered in countless lines.

"Found it." Without giving it much thought, Liu Xu picked up the paper and pushed open the door.

Outside, several maids had been watering the flowers. When the door suddenly opened, they jumped in fright.

One of the maids wore a puzzled expression.

Wasn't the Second Miss staying in her room at this hour? Why had she suddenly come out?

The maid merely thought it over before preparing to step forward.

Liu Xu made a gesture for her to stop and said, "I want to go for a walk."

With that, she took the sheet of paper and strode away on her long legs.

As her white veil fluttered, Liu Xu had already left, leaving behind only several dumbfounded young maids.

Following the directions recorded on the paper, Liu Xu hurried all the way there and finally stopped before a building.

Looking at the weathered signboard, Liu Xu's brows furrowed even deeper.

Beneath her white veil, her faintly visible red lips bit down lightly.

"Why is it a Blacksmith Shop?"

The worn signboard, the waves of heat that drifted out from time to time, and the constant clang-clang of hammering all made it clear beyond doubt that this was a Blacksmith Shop.

A pile of ashes lay on the ground, left behind by the burned paper crane. It proved that this was the paper crane's final destination.

Though Liu Xu was puzzled, she still walked inside, recalling the paper crane's guidance.

The moment she entered, a wave of heat rushed into her face.

"What does this young lady need?" The proprietress, a woman in her forties, stepped forward with a smile.

Liu Xu came back to her senses. Looking at the smiling proprietress, inspiration suddenly struck her.

The victim had blade wounds, as well as round wounds the size of peanuts. They had to have been caused by concealed weapons.

The paper crane had led her here, so... could someone have commissioned concealed weapons here?

With that thought in mind, Liu Xu asked, "Has any strange person come by recently and asked you to make something unusual?"

The question came abruptly. She took out a piece of broken silver and handed it to the proprietress.

The proprietress accepted it with a beaming smile, tucked the silver away, and shook her head. "No. We generally only make farm tools here. No one has ever commissioned anything besides farm tools."

"Are you sure?" Liu Xu asked again.

The proprietress thought carefully once more and said, "Miss, we have always forged farm tools. If someone suddenly wanted something else made, we would definitely remember it clearly. We are absolutely certain about this."

Liu Xu fell into thought.

As Liu Xu pondered, the proprietress placed one hand behind her back and clenched it into a fist.

After a while, seeing that Liu Xu was still standing inside, the proprietress could not help asking, "Miss, do you need anything made?"

Liu Xu came back to herself and said she did not.

How strange. Paper Crane Tracking had clearly led her here, so why was there not a single clue? What the proprietress had said made sense too. If someone had forged something besides farm tools, they surely would have noticed.

Then why was there nothing? Liu Xu felt a headache coming on and decided to leave first.

After leaving the Blacksmith Shop, she headed straight for the Liu Residence.

Seeing that it was already getting late, she decided to return and sort out her thoughts first.

After Liu Xu left, someone emerged from the room.

He had a sturdy build and held an iron hammer. He was the Blacksmith Shop's blacksmith, as well as the proprietress's husband.

"A scholar. From Nanhua Dao." The blacksmith spoke as soon as he came out, his voice muffled.

"Yes, a scholar from Nanhua Dao. It seems the person who previously had Iron Beads forged here is no simple man either. The recent murder cases may be connected to him." The proprietress walked to the counter, poured herself a cup of water, and drank it.

"What do you plan to do?" the blacksmith asked.

The room fell silent.

The proprietress set down her cup. After a long while, she finally spoke slowly.

"The authorities are still hunting us, so we cannot do that kind of business lately. We earn too little from the work you do by hand. Since that person has secrets, why not make a haul from him?"

"Don't let the boat capsize in a gutter. If our guess is right, that man has more than a dozen lives on his hands." The blacksmith's voice was thick and heavy.

"The authorities are after us, so we cannot go out and find newborn infants. Without silver, the human traffickers will not sell them to you either. You need fresh blood to make sinister artifacts, and I need flesh and blood to make yin food." The proprietress walked to a corner and lightly tapped the wall.

There was a hidden compartment behind the wall. As the proprietress tapped it, the wall opened.

Inside were heaps upon heaps of pale bones, enough to send chills down one's spine.

Judging by their size, they all belonged to newborn infants.

The proprietress pointed at the skeletons inside, then turned and said, "You cannot buy these things without money, and the authorities are watching closely. Can they just appear out of thin air?"

The blacksmith fell silent. After a long time, he finally squeezed out a sentence. "No matter what, proceed carefully. And do not try to extort that scholar. Angering Azure Cloud Academy would be no small matter."

"I naturally have my own methods. You only need to cooperate with me." The proprietress smiled.

The hidden compartment closed, and the room returned to normal.

The next day.

Xu Bai rose early. Looking at the progress bar, which had increased by a small amount, he was overjoyed.

Today was another pleasant day. Especially with the progress bar rising, he felt even happier.

It would be great if the progress bar could increase just by sitting around.

Xu Bai thought.

"Eat, then keep grinding!"

After thinking for a while, he cast aside that unrealistic idea.

After washing up simply, Xu Bai pushed open the door and let the sunlight stream in.

The sun shone brightly, and the weather was clear.

Just as he was about to step outside, he stopped halfway through lifting his foot.

At his feet lay a letter.