The Blacksmith's Daughter

Originally, he hadn't planned on letting his daughter take up this trade.

Blacksmithing was too hard, too dirty, too exhausting. For a woman, it was like throwing herself into a fire pit. Her hands would grow rough as tree bark, her arms thick as her thighs. What man would ever dare marry her?

So from the time she was little, he'd had Su Na study and learn to cook.

But the girl was stubborn, too.

Books might as well have been red-hot irons to her, and she could set the kitchen on fire just trying to cook. But when it came to blacksmithing, she truly had a gift.

At five, she could already help work the bellows. By ten, she could tell apart dozens of different ores. At fifteen, while Su Li was napping, she secretly forged a dagger.

The dagger was a little ugly, but its hardness and resilience somehow met the minimum standard.

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

In the end, he tossed it into the furnace to be reforged and left her with a single sentence: "Want to learn? Then don't complain about being tired."

She'd spent five years learning.

Now Su Na was a well-known female blacksmith for miles around.

It wasn't exactly a flattering reputation—people called her "the blacksmith's wife who couldn't get married"—but whenever someone needed a handy farming tool, they still came to line up obediently.

"All right, take a break."

An elderly voice came from the inner room.

Saina emerged.

At fifty, Saina had truly grown old.

More than half her hair had turned white, and her back had begun to stoop.

Years of hard work and several pregnancies had drained her vitality. Now she had to walk slowly, and even a slight increase in pace left her short of breath.

She carried a basin of washed plums over to the recliner and popped the biggest, reddest one into Su Li's mouth.

If outsiders saw this scene, they would be left speechless.

Because Su Li... still looked the same.

He was fifty, but looked no older than his early thirties.

His skin was so taut it could make people jealous, and his muscles hadn't gone slack either. Standing beside Saina, he didn't look like her husband. They looked more like mother and son.

Or like a pretty young man kept by a wealthy widow.

Whenever Saina looked at her husband's ageless face, there was always a hint of fear and insecurity in her eyes.

She unconsciously touched her wrinkled cheek.

"Su Li..." Saina called softly.

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

"Will you ever get tired of me?" She'd asked him that question at least eight hundred times over the past few years.

Su Li rolled his eyes.

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

"Tired of what? Your good cooking? Or the two wonderful children you gave me?"

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

"Besides, there's something wrong with my face. I was born this way—I don't grow old. You're just following the natural order of things. Neither of us should be judging the other. I've chosen you for this whole life. When we're both too old to move, you'll still have to push me out to sunbathe."

Saina smiled, her wrinkles blooming across her face.

She knew Su Li had a sharp tongue, but a good heart. If he said he didn't mind, then he truly didn't.

"Dad, Mom, could you two stop being all lovey-dovey in broad daylight?"

Su Na, who was hammering away nearby, couldn't take it anymore. She tossed her hammer onto the ground. "I'm exhausted, and now I have to watch you two feed me this dog food. I can't do this anymore!"

"If you can't do it, then go get married," Su Li retorted gruffly. "The butcher's son from the head of the village came to propose yesterday. He said he didn't mind you being strong. You could help him hold down the pigs."

"I'm not marrying that butcher!" Su Na picked up her hammer and took out all her frustration on the iron. "He reeks of pig shit. I'd rather marry a knight like my big brother!"

At the mention of her eldest brother, the atmosphere in the courtyard grew slightly tense.

Su Xiaochui had been gone for ten years.

Apart from a letter every six months to let them know he was safe, with a few Gold Coins enclosed as living expenses, he hadn't come home even once.

They'd heard he was doing well at the academy.

They'd heard he'd passed the beginner's assessment and become an official apprentice squire.

They'd heard a baron had taken a liking to him and wanted him to serve as captain of his guard.

All these rumors had come from Su Li, who'd gone to the city to ask Old Jack, the One-Eyed Dragon, for information.

Old Jack was even older now. His one eye was nearly swollen shut, but he was still just as well-informed. Of course, his fees had gone up, too.

"I wonder how that boy's doing now." Saina sighed, gazing at the winding path beyond the courtyard gate. "It's been ten years, and he still hasn't come home to see his mother."

"A man's ambitions lie far and wide. What would he come back for? To learn cooking from you?" Su Li said stubbornly. "As long as he doesn't die out there, that's good news."

Even as he spoke, his hand unconsciously brushed the letter he'd received not long ago, tucked inside his clothes.

The wax seal on the envelope showed a crossed sword and shield.

It was the Knight Academy's emblem.

But this letter was thicker than the others.

Su Li hadn't dared open it.

He was an old hand at life, but he was also a coward.

A thick letter sent at a time like this could mean wonderful news—perhaps the boy had been made a noble—or it could be... his personal effects.

He was afraid.

He'd lived his life with a clear understanding of things and had learned to take fame and fortune lightly, but his children were still his weak spot.

"Dad, the bar of refined iron is ready." Su Na's voice pulled Su Li back from his thoughts.

Su Li stood and walked over to the anvil.

The rough piece of iron, once as big as a washbasin, had now been hammered into a palm-sized square ingot. Ripples like water covered its surface, the hallmark of hundred-refined steel.

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

"Ding—"

The tone rang clear, its resonance lingering.

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

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

This time, he didn't find fault.

"It's done." Su Li set down the steel ingot. His voice carried a hint of relief, along with the solemnity of passing something down.

"From today on, the master hammer is yours."

Su Na froze.

She looked at the great iron hammer Su Li had used for thirty years. Its handle had been polished smooth and gleaming, while its head was covered in scars but still as heavy as a mountain.

"Dad... you..."

"What about me?" Su Li stretched. His bones crackled all over. "It's time I got some rest. Keep swinging this old body around and it'll fall apart. From now on, you're in charge of the work in this shop."

With that, Su Li left his daughter standing there in a daze and walked toward the soundproof little room built just for him, hands clasped behind his back.

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

Saina answered cheerfully and went into the kitchen.

Only Su Na remained in the courtyard, staring blankly at the great iron hammer.

After a long while,

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

The hammer's weight made her feel steadier than ever before.

Su Li returned to the room and shut the door.

His usually straight back immediately slumped.

Leaning against the door, he shakily pulled the letter from his clothes.

The envelope was still warm from his body.

"F-rank..." Su Li gave a self-mocking smile. "If I managed to raise a knight in this lifetime, they ought to raise my rating to at least D-rank, shouldn't they?"

He went to the table and, in the glow of the setting sun filtering through the window, used his letter opener to slowly pry apart the wax seal.

He unfolded the letter.

It was only a thin sheet of paper.

But something fell out of it.

A badge.

Made of pure copper, it bore the carving of an eagle with outstretched wings.

Su Li's pupils abruptly shrank.

This was... an official military badge from the Orenda Kingdom.

His foolish son hadn't merely become a squire.

The boy had enlisted.

And he was heading to the front lines.

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

"Dad, Mom. Your unfilial son is sorry. The fighting at the border is fierce, and the Baris Empire's magic cannons are too powerful. The commander said that if we can hold Graystone Fortress, he'll give me a title, too. Then I'll be able to bring you both to the city and let you enjoy a comfortable life. Don't worry. Your son, Su Xiaochui, respectfully writes."

Su Li's hand trembled, and the letter drifted to the floor.

Outside, the sound of hammering rang out again.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The sound was full of vigor, full of hope.