The Blacksmith Woman

Originally, he had no intention of letting his daughter enter this trade.

Blacksmithing was too bitter, too dirty, and too exhausting. For a woman to do this was like pushing herself into a fiery pit. If her hands grew as rough as tree bark and her arms as thick as thighs, what man would dare to marry her?

That was why he had made Su Na focus on reading and cooking since she was a child.

But this girl was a stubborn one.

She would find books prickly the moment she picked them up, and she could set the kitchen on fire just by trying to cook. The only thing she truly had a talent for was forging.

At five, she could help work the bellows; at ten, she could distinguish between dozens of types of ore; and at fifteen, while Su Li was taking a nap, she secretly forged a dagger.

Although the dagger was a bit ugly, its hardness and toughness actually reached the passing grade.

Su Li had stared at that dagger for a long time in silence.

In the end, he threw the dagger back into the furnace to be remelted and dropped a single sentence: "You want to learn? Then don't complain about being tired."

That learning lasted for five years.

Now, Su Na was already a famous female blacksmith in the surrounding villages.

Even though the reputation didn't sound great—people called her the "blacksmith spinster who can't get married"—if any family wanted a sturdy farm tool, they still had to obediently come and wait in line.

"Alright, take a break."

An aged voice drifted from the inner room.

Saina walked out.

At fifty, Saina was truly old.

Her hair had turned mostly white, and her body had become hunched.

Years of toil and several childbirths had drained her vitality. She walked slowly now, and if she moved even a little too fast, she would struggle to catch her breath.

She carried a basin of washed plums in her hands, walked over to the recliner, and tucked the largest, reddest one into Su Li's mouth.

If an outsider were to see this scene, they would be left speechless.

Because Su Li... still looked the same.

He was fifty years old, yet he looked at most like he was in his early thirties.

His skin was so taut it made people jealous, and the muscles on his body hadn't sagged in the slightest. Standing together with Saina, they didn't look like a married couple; they looked more like mother and son.

Or perhaps like a young gigolo kept by a wealthy widow.

Saina looked at her husband's ageless face, her eyes always filled with a hint of panic and inferiority.

She subconsciously touched her own wrinkled cheeks.

"Su Li..." Saina whispered.

"Hmm?" Su Li chewed the plum, the sweet and sour juice bursting in his mouth.

"Do you... dislike me?" Saina had asked this question no fewer than eight hundred times over the past few years.

Su Li rolled his eyes.

He reached out, grabbed Saina's rough hand, and rubbed it against his own face.

"Dislike what? Dislike that your cooking is delicious? Or dislike that you gave me two good children?"

Su Li's voice wasn't loud, but it was reassuring.

"Besides, my face is a natural defect; it just doesn't grow old. You're just following the laws of nature. Neither of us should dislike the other. In this life, I've set my heart on you. When we're both too old to move, I'll still need you to push me out to sunbathe."

Saina smiled. She smiled so hard that the wrinkles on her face bloomed like flowers.

She knew that while Su Li had a sharp tongue, he was honest at heart. If he said he didn't dislike her, then he truly didn't.

"Dad, Mom, can you two stop showing off your affection in broad daylight?"

Su Na, who was forging nearby, couldn't take it anymore and threw her hammer onto the ground. "I'm exhausted, and on top of that, I have to eat this bowl of dog food. I can't work like this!"

"If you don't want to work, then go get married," Su Li retorted sharply. "The butcher's son from the head of the village came to propose again yesterday. He said he doesn't mind that you're strong; he said it's perfect for helping him hold down the pigs."

"I'm not marrying that butcher!" Su Na picked up the hammer and took all her frustration out on the iron block. "He smells like pig manure; it's disgusting. If I marry anyone, it'll be a knight like Big Brother!"

At the mention of her older brother, the atmosphere in the courtyard stagnated for a moment.

It had been ten years since Su Xiaochui left.

Aside from a letter sent home every six months to report that he was safe, along with a few Gold Coins tucked inside for living expenses, he hadn't returned even once.

Word was, he was doing quite well at the academy.

Word was, he had already passed the primary assessment and become an official squire.

Word was, he had caught the eye of a baron and was going to be the captain of the man's guard.

These "words" were all things Su Li had gathered by going into town to ask Old Jack, the one-eyed man.

Old Jack was even older now, his single eye barely able to stay open, but his information was still as reliable as ever. Of course, his fees were also much higher.

"I wonder how that boy is doing now." Saina sighed, looking at the winding path outside the courtyard gate. "It's been ten years, and he hasn't even thought to come back and see his mother."

"A man's ambitions lie in the four corners of the world; what's he coming back for? To learn how to cook from you?" Su Li retorted, his voice stubborn. "As long as he doesn't die out there, that's good news."

Despite saying that, Su Li's hand subconsciously brushed against the letter tucked inside his tunic, which he had received not long ago.

The wax seal on the envelope bore the image of crossed swords and a shield.

That was the emblem of the Knight Academy.

But this letter was thicker than any he had received before.

Su Li didn't dare to open it.

He was a seasoned veteran, yet also a coward.

A thick letter sent at a time like this could only mean one of two things: either it was incredible news, like the boy being granted a title, or... it was a collection of personal effects.

He was afraid.

Though he had lived his life with clarity and viewed fame and fortune with indifference, these ties of kinship were, in the end, his greatest weakness.

"Dad, that piece of refined iron is finished." Su Na's voice pulled Su Li back from his thoughts.

Su Li stood up and walked over to the anvil.

The piece of raw iron, originally the size of a washbasin, had been forged into a square ingot the size of a palm. Its surface bore ripples like water—the hallmark of hundred-refined steel.

Su Li picked up the steel ingot and flicked it with his finger.

"Ding—"

The sound was clear and resonant, the echo lingering in the air.

"How is it?" Su Na looked at him with anticipation, like a child waiting for praise.

Su Li weighed the ingot in his hand, then looked at Su Na's calloused hands.

This time, he didn't pick any faults.

"It's done." Su Li set the ingot down, his tone carrying a trace of relief and the solemnity of passing on a legacy.

"From today on, this master hammer belongs to you."

Su Na froze.

She looked at the heavy iron hammer that Su Li had used for thirty years. The handle had been polished to a shine, and though the head was covered in scars, it remained as heavy and immovable as a mountain.

"Dad... you..."

"What about me?" Su Li stretched, his bones popping and cracking. "It's time for me to rest. If these old bones keep swinging, they'll fall apart. From now on, you call the shots in this shop."

With that, Su Li ignored his daughter, who stood stunned in place, and walked with his hands behind his back toward the soundproof room he had built.

"Old woman, I want braised pork for dinner. Add extra sugar."

Saina replied with a smile and headed into the kitchen.

In the courtyard, only Su Na remained, staring blankly at the heavy iron hammer.

After a long while.

She took a deep breath, gripped the handle with both hands, and hoisted it high above her head.

The sheer weight of it gave her a sense of stability she had never felt before.

Su Li returned to his room and closed the door.

His back, which had been held straight, instantly slumped.

He leaned against the door, his hands trembling as he pulled the letter from his tunic.

The envelope was still warm from his body heat.

"F-rank..." Su Li laughed at himself. "If I could raise a knight, surely my rating would have to go up to D, right?"

He walked to the table and, using the fading sunset light filtering through the window, used a letter opener to carefully pry away the wax seal.

He unfolded the paper.

It was only a single thin sheet.

But something fell out from inside.

A badge.

It was made of pure copper, engraved with an eagle spreading its wings.

Su Li's pupils contracted sharply.

This was... an official military rank badge of the Orenda Kingdom.

His foolish son hadn't just become a squire.

The boy had joined the army.

And he was on the front lines.

The crooked handwriting on the letter stung Su Li's eyes:

"Father, Mother. Your son is unfilial. The fighting at the border is intense, and the Baris Empire's magitech cannons are too fierce. The commander says that as long as we hold Graystone Fortress, he will grant me a title. When that happens, I can bring you both to the city to live in comfort. Do not worry. Your son, Su Xiaochui, bows."

Su Li's hand shook, and the letter fluttered to the floor.

Outside the room, the sound of hammering began again.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

The sound was full of vitality, full of hope.