Purple Steel Bow

"Thanks, Brother Feng. Here's the rest of the payment. Please count it."

Shi Mu nodded, took one or two silver notes from his sleeve, and handed them over.

"Haha, do you think I'd ever doubt you, Brother Shi? By the way, are you really not planning to take the Martial Academy entrance test this time?" Feng Li laughed heartily. He accepted the notes without even looking at them, then asked tentatively.

Beside him, Gao Yuan couldn't help listening intently for Shi Mu's answer.

"When will the entrance test be held? Has the date been set yet?" Shi Mu didn't answer right away. Instead, he asked a question of his own.

"The test ceremony will begin at noon seven days from now, when Guangling Valley opens. I hear that not only will the heads of the city's major families be there, but the prefect and a host of other officials will attend as well," Feng Li replied without hesitation.

"In that case, I probably won't take the test this time. After all, the Martial Academy's Pulse-Seeking Envoy personally pronounced me useless. If I went, I'd only give people the chance to laugh at me. Besides, the Jin Family's Spirit Qi Pill has already been given to someone else. Without sensing qi, I'm not even eligible to take the test," Shi Mu said calmly.

"That really is a pity. If the Pulse-Seeking Envoy hadn't examined you back then, with your strength, you'd have had no trouble passing the test once you sensed qi," Feng Li said regretfully.

"It's fine. Even if I can't reach Houtian, I can still practice martial arts at home. I just won't be able to cultivate those advanced techniques. Besides, with what I have now, even if I can't become rich and powerful, I'll still have enough to live comfortably for the rest of my life." Shi Mu seemed completely unconcerned.

"It's best that you can take it so well, Brother Shi. We won't bother you any longer, then," Feng Li said, nodding as he rose to take his leave.

An hour later, the two Black Fox Society leaders were riding along a road about a mile from the estate.

"Brother Feng, that kid's already a cripple. Why are we still helping him? And why did you insist on delivering the things yourself?" Gao Yuan, who had barely spoken at all while they were at the estate, finally couldn't hold back his complaint.

"Third Brother, I don't know why, but when I heard he'd sent word asking us to help find those things, I suddenly grew curious about how he was doing. That's why I brought you along to make this trip," Feng Li replied unhurriedly.

"Heh, now that you've seen him, what's your conclusion?" Gao Yuan asked with a chuckle.

"If I'm not mistaken, Shi Mu hasn't truly given up on the martial path. If that's the case, there's no need for us to make an enemy of him. After all, Lord Yue Tai, the Duke of Suppressing Barbarians, whose fame resounds across Great Qi's frontiers, was once a renowned 'cripple' too. But he had one fortuitous encounter after another and eventually became a true Xiantian powerhouse. Later, when the Barbarians invaded, he slew thirteen Barbarian Tribe Totem Warriors in one breath with a single thousand-pound great blade. That was how he was granted the title of duke, and he guarded the Three Frontier Provinces for a hundred years," Feng Li said gravely.

"Brother, you're putting Shi Mu on the same level as Duke Yue. Aren't you giving him too much credit? Lord Yue Tai was only sickly as a child. He didn't have a crippled meridian. Besides, there's no need for us to give him that Purple Steel Bow. Only military officers of lieutenant rank and above are allowed to carry one. We paid a fortune to bribe a logistics supervisor who was about to retire just to get this bow out of the military stores as scrap," Gao Yuan said, pursing his lips.

"Third Brother, no matter how good the Purple Steel Bow is, it's still just a dead object. Neither of us can even draw it, so what use is it to us? Shi Mu wants a good bow, so this is the perfect chance to give it to him. It's easy to add flowers to brocade, but sending charcoal in a snowstorm is hard," Feng Li said slowly.

"If you think so highly of him, then fine. Besides, however you look at it, that kid did our society a big favor back then. Let him have the bow," Gao Yuan replied helplessly, still unconvinced.

Feng Li smiled but said nothing as he rode along.

After Feng Li and the others left, Shi Mu carried the two large bundles back to his bedroom. He opened one on the table, revealing a rectangular wooden case several feet long.

With a motion of his hand, he flipped open the case. Inside lay two gleaming weapons, one long and one short.

The longer one was a saber about three feet long, with a slightly curved edge and an unusually long hilt that made up nearly a third of its total length. The shorter one was only about a foot long, slender and exceedingly thin, resembling a strange, narrow dagger. It looked incredibly sharp, and a small iron ring sat at the end of its handle.

Shi Mu carefully examined the two weapons, then abruptly slapped the tabletop with one hand.

"Bang!"

The thin dagger sprang up from the table, and he caught it in one hand.

A pair of sharp whooshes cut through the air.

The dagger quivered, then became a blur of cold light, whirling over Shi Mu's hand. For a moment, the room was filled with a chilling gleam that made one's hair stand on end.

Shi Mu gave his arm a slight shake. The dagger reappeared in his hand, then instantly sliced through the corner of the table.

Without a sound!

The corner dropped away as if it had been cut from tofu.

Shi Mu looked pleased.

It seemed Blacksmith Ma hadn't fooled him. The dagger really had been forged with a large amount of Cold Iron. Otherwise, it could never have been this sharp.

Shi Mu raised his other hand and picked up the saber. He swung it a few times with one hand, then nodded slightly. Suddenly, he thrust the dagger in his other hand into a flat slit in the saber's hilt and gave it a slight twist.

"Click!"

The dagger fit seamlessly into the saber's hilt. From the outside, there was no sign of any change.

This was the true form of the Sun and Moon Blades.

Shi Mu swung the saber around for a while before finally returning it to the wooden case, still eager to keep practicing. Then he opened the other bundle. Inside was a pale-purple longbow, more than half as tall as a man.

His expression shifted. He picked up the purple bow and weighed it in his hand. It must have weighed fifty or sixty pounds.

The bow felt cool to the touch. Its surface was covered in exquisite fish-scale patterns, and it seemed to have been forged from some kind of metal. The bowstring was a translucent, milky white, apparently made from some kind of beast sinew, but faint points of silver glimmered within it, as if silver threads had been woven through.

"This is..."

Shi Mu suddenly remembered something. He held the bow in one hand, gripped the string with the other, and pulled hard.

"Pfft!"

Even with Shi Mu's current strength, he could only draw the purple bow a little more than halfway.

"The Purple Steel Bow!"

Shi Mu blurted out, visibly shaken.

He released the string. It snapped back with a sharp whistle, then trembled and rang with a clear, dragonlike cry, making the entire room hum.