Old Wang came to the desk with a smile.
He did not open the wooden box right away. Instead, he ran a hand over its exquisite surface.
Then he said,
"Xiao Jiang! I had this wooden box carved by Gu Chunfeng, the most famous master carver in our Mountain City. He also designed the scabbard and hilt. This sword can absolutely be called one of the finest among swords, the pinnacle of modern craftsmanship.
"I hope that in your hands, Xiao Jiang, it will be able to realize its true value."
Old Wang was clearly a sword lover himself, not merely the owner of a sword-forging factory.
"Don't worry, Old Wang. I forge weapons to deal with those things. As long as it is sharp enough, I'll use it to cut down every evil spirit and demonic scourge."
Old Wang nodded.
"Good!"
With that, he carefully unfastened the metal clasp.
The wooden box opened.
The instant it opened, a silver-white longsword lay within, bearing Damascus cloud-flow patterns.
The blade was slender and straight, its cloud-flow lines graceful and symmetrical.
The silver-white guard was triangular, also adorned with flowing-cloud patterns, while the hilt bore engraved net-like cloud motifs.
It had not yet been sharpened, yet I could already sense its icy chill.
Beside the longsword lay its scabbard.
The scabbard was also silver-white and covered in cloud-flow patterns. It formed a perfect whole with the sword, matching it beautifully.
Looking at the sword and scabbard in the case, Old Wang introduced them.
"These patterns are Damascus patterns forged through countless hammerings. And this time, the Damascus pattern came out resembling drifting clouds. It's exceptionally beautiful."
As he spoke, Old Wang lifted the sword.
"The sword is one hundred and ten centimeters long, three centimeters wide, and half a centimeter thick. The