The Blacksmith Shop

In Cold Mountain City, at the Fragrant Pavilion.

Miao Daqing was awakened from his pleasant dream by a family steward. The plump man struggled to rise from his warmth, and despite his immense annoyance, he still met with the steward.

"Speak, what is it?"

The middle-aged steward's face was devoid of color, and his eyes flickered with terror. The moment Miao Daqing finished speaking, he dropped to his knees and said with a trembling voice, "Master, our Miao Family... is finished."

Miao Daqing was stunned, then his face contorted in anger. He kicked the steward and cursed, "Steward Xin, you're not even old yet, have you lost your mind? While our Miao Family isn't the absolute top-tier noble family in Cold Mountain City, we're still considered a second-rate family, right? Finished? Finished your grandpa! If you don't speak properly, I'll kill you."

The middle-aged steward scrambled back to his knees before Miao Daqing, wailing, "Master, everything I say is the truth! Your Tong Family has gone mad, a large number of powerful individuals are attacking our Miao Family shops, slaughtering our Miao Family martial artists, and all the wealth in the shops has been plundered. Now, only our main family residence hasn't been attacked by the Tong Family."

The Tong Family?

Miao Daqing's pupils contracted. He suddenly remembered the arrangements he had made earlier. He grabbed the middle-aged steward by the collar, lifting him from the ground, and asked angrily, "Why is the Tong Family attacking our Miao Family shops? I sent people to kill that brat surnamed Ye precisely to curry favor with your Tong Family. Did something go wrong?"

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged steward's limbs turned cold, and he said in horror, "Master, the Tong Family just spread the word that Ye Tong of the Precious Medicine Workshop is a friend of the Tong Family, someone under their protection. Anyone who dares to harm Ye Tong will face the Tong Family's furious retaliation. How could you send people to kill Ye Tong? Isn't that declaring war on the Tong Family?"

"What?"

Miao Daqing released him, staggering back several steps, a chill spreading through his heart.

Trying to curry favor failed, and instead, I kicked a horse's leg?

Miao Daqing felt like crying but had no tears. As he turned to grab the clothes he hadn't put on yet, the room door boomed open, and several figures burst in. On the bed, two beautiful girls from the pavilion screamed in fright, cowering under the covers.

"Patriarch Miao, enjoying yourself?"

Tong Siyuan, with his hands behind his back and a chilling murderous intent on his face, stepped into the room and stared fixedly at Miao Daqing, giving the impression that he would kill at the slightest disagreement.

Miao Daqing's body trembled, and his plump face showed a look of fear. He quickly stepped forward a few paces and said obsequiously, "Patriarch Tong, you're joking. I just heard from my family's steward about you... Forget it, it was my own doing. I intended to please you, but I received the wrong information. It turns out that Ye Tong is your Tong Family's friend. All the mistakes are mine. I hope you'll be merciful and forgive our Miao Family this time."

Tong Siyuan glanced at him coldly and walked to a wooden chair inside, sitting down. Miao Daqing, with keen eyesight, followed and poured him a cup of tea, carefully handing it to him. Tong Siyuan then said indifferently, "Mistakes must be paid for. The fact that I came here to find you instead of leading an attack on your Miao Family residence is giving you a chance."

"Yes, yes, yes."

Miao Daqing's heart relaxed, and he asked, "Patriarch Tong, please state your terms. I, Miao Daqing, will do my best to satisfy them."

Tong Siyuan nodded. "As expected of the head of the Miao Family, you know how to bend and stretch. But offending Ye Tong, let alone you, even our Tong Family, still lost millions in wealth. Decide for yourself how much compensation you're willing to pay. I'm just warning you, don't let me lose face at the Precious Medicine Workshop."

What?

The Tong Family compensated Ye Tong of the Precious Medicine Workshop with millions in wealth?

What a joke!

The Tong Family was the top noble family in Cold Mountain City, with vast family influence and numerous powerful experts. It was said they had dozens of experts in the Innate Realm alone. Would their Tong Family fear a mere Precious Medicine Workshop? Fear a young man?

Tong Siyuan, with his sharp mind, noticed Miao Daqing's surprise and sneered, "Ignorance is truly terrifying. You probably don't know who the original owner of the Precious Medicine Workshop was, do you? But you must have heard the name Poison Demon Huo Lanqiu, right? The original owner of the Precious Medicine Workshop was Huo Lanqiu."

What?

It was that Poison Demon?

A chill ran through Miao Daqing's heart, and his face turned ashen.

Tong Siyuan said calmly, "The ones who killed the Miao Family experts you sent to the Precious Medicine Workshop were the first, second, and third leaders of the War Tiger Adventurer Team, as well as Chu Lao Jiu, who manages trade. Their relationship with Ye Tong is extremely close. Do you think you could defend yourselves if the War Tiger Adventurer Team attacked your Miao Family?"

"This..."

Miao Daqing shivered, almost falling to the ground.

I know my own family's capabilities!

He knew exactly how much power his Miao Family possessed. Although they could barely be considered a second-rate family in Cold Mountain City, the War Tiger Adventurer Team was not to be trifled with. Those individuals were ruthless, constantly living on the edge of death, all desperate outlaws. If they launched a collective attack on his Miao Family, it would be difficult to defend.

"Five hundred thousand taels of Blue Silver!"

"Our Miao Family is willing to offer five hundred thousand taels as atonement, hoping to gain the forgiveness of Patriarch Tong and Ye Tong."

"This amount is one-third of our Miao Family's wealth; now, it probably accounts for half of our Miao Family's wealth."

Tong Siyuan was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected Miao Daqing to have such courage. Five hundred thousand taels of Blue Silver was nothing to his Tong Family, but it was likely a considerable sum for the Miao Family. Although his words were somewhat exaggerated, five hundred thousand taels of Blue Silver probably represented about one-fifth of their Miao Family's wealth.

Tong Siyuan said, "I'll wait for you at the Tong Family for two hours. If I don't see the Blue Silver or bank notes within this time, have your Miao Family members bring your head to see me!"

"Certainly, certainly."

Sweat beaded on Miao Daqing's forehead and trickled down his cheeks.

The rumors spread by the Tong Family had thrust Ye Tong into the spotlight. Previously, almost everyone in Cold Mountain City had never heard of Ye Tong, and they knew very little about the Precious Medicine Workshop.

A seemingly insignificant nobody had gained the friendship of the Tong Family, which made countless people envious and jealous. Many were inquiring about who Ye Tong really was, but the information they exchanged was meager. Even if some people found out a little in the medicinal materials market, it was only fragmented.

However, there was one family that was very familiar with this name, even hating its owner, and that was Butcher Zhang's family. But the rumors released by the Tong Family directly dissolved the hatred of Butcher Zhang's family towards Ye Tong. They couldn't afford to provoke someone protected by the Tong Family!

Ye Tong was completely unaware of these events. Even as night fell, he left the Precious Medicine Workshop alone and went to a blacksmith shop in a nearby district.

"Closed."

Clanging sounds came from inside the blacksmith shop, but the attendant at the door, with an impatient look, tried to shoo Ye Tong away like he was swatting a fly.

Ye Tong remained silent. As a tael of Blue Silver was flicked out by him, he quietly watched the young attendant's impatient expression.

The young attendant's eyes lit up, his attitude changing faster than flipping a book. A smile spread across his face, tinged with fawning. He asked cheerfully, "Young sir, are you here to forge weapons, or to buy directly? Our blacksmith shop has all sorts of items, a wide variety of types, and our quality is well-known. We guarantee your satisfaction."

Ye Tong said, "I need your most skilled master here. I need to forge something, and the price is negotiable."

The young attendant was taken aback and eyed Ye Tong suspiciously. "The most skilled master in our blacksmith shop is Master Tielang. The weapons he forges can be called divine weapons. However, he rarely takes on forging work anymore, unless it's something that interests him, or a weapon with an extremely high price."

Ye Tong emphasized, "I've said it before, the price is negotiable."

The young apprentice was silent for a moment, then nodded and said, "Follow me! Remember, stay quiet behind me. If Master Tielang is willing to accept the task, then you can discuss the details with him. If he's not willing, don't say anything extra. Master Tielang really dislikes people who use flowery language."

"Okay!"

Ye Tong nodded in response.

The backyard of the blacksmith shop was quite large. Besides the forging rooms on both sides where iron was being worked, the spacious courtyard was filled with weapon racks displaying all sorts of weapons and tools. The sounds of hammering and striking came from the dozen or so forging rooms on either side.

"Sui Er, who is this?"

A gruff voice called out, and a burly man built like a tower, holding a hammer, blocked their path.

The young apprentice quickly said, "Big Brother Daqiang, this is a distinguished guest who has come to have ironware forged. He insists on asking Master Tielang to do the work, so I brought him in."

Duan Daqiang glanced at Ye Tong, then showed a look of disdain. He coldly snorted and asked, "What kind of ironware do you want forged? My master doesn't take small jobs."

Ye Tong calmly replied, "The price is negotiable."

Duan Daqiang's brow twitched. He then raised the hammer in his hand and said in a deep voice, "Speak! What are you forging? I'll forge it for you."

Ye Tong asked, "Are you the most skilled blacksmith in this shop?"

"This..."

Duan Daqiang was left speechless. With his master present, how could he dare to claim to be the strongest?

Seeing his expression, Ye Tong calmly said, "I need the strongest blacksmith. If you're not willing to take on this big job, I can leave right now."

"I'd be interested to hear what kind of big job it is."

A resonant voice called out, and a spirited, bald old man walked out from a room inside. His eyes were sharp and piercing, and he sized Ye Tong up.

Ye Tong asked, "Are you the strongest blacksmith here?"

"I suppose so!"

Master Tielang said with a smile.