Don't Put All Your Eggs in One Basket

As the Yang Clan began running about in all directions, Du Chengfeng started getting busy as well.

The first thing, naturally, was to gather up all the blades and spears scattered across the courtyard. Tossing them aside after sharpening them under the moonlight had certainly looked dashing, but this was his own yard in the end. He still had to pick them up one by one.

Fortunately, there were not that many weapons. The main issue was that the pile included several dozen war hammers and maces. Those things had no edges, so Du Chengfeng had no idea how to sharpen them for the time being. He could only pile them in the house and leave them there as decorations.

And that was why Du Chengfeng had asked the Yang Clan to find him more weapons.

Leaving aside the gap left by those several dozen maces and hammers, even if all of them were replaced with swords he could sharpen, the number would still be far too small. After this single night, he had already learned a great many survival skills from the people of the Northern Desert Grasslands through those weapons. One could even say that he had become a true Northern Desert warrior.

But if he wanted to defeat Hexi Qing with only this much strength, he still fell far short.

On the one hand, he did not have enough weapons. On the other, most of what he had sharpened before had belonged to the Hu men who had died in battle. That had indeed taught him much about the customs of the Northern Desert, even their ways of thinking and fighting. But Hexi Qing, a man of the Northern Desert himself, only understood such things even better.

Which meant that if he wanted to defeat Hexi Qing, he had to master techniques that Hexi Qing did not know.

"Brother Du, I've finished making what you asked for."

Just as Du Chengfeng was cleaning the courtyard, Carpenter Li from next door pushed open the gate and came in.

In Carpenter Li's hands was a long wooden bench.

Unlike an ordinary bench, this one had a slot fitted into its top. Du Chengfeng took it and tried it out; it held a whetstone perfectly.

"The stand for operating the corundum grinding wheel is a little complicated. I'm still figuring that one out, but I'll have it in your hands in two days at the longest, one day at the soonest."

"You've gone to a lot of trouble. This is excellent."

After sitting on the bench to test it, Du Chengfeng could not help admiring Carpenter Li's craftsmanship.

Perhaps this was the brilliance of something handmade and tailored to its user. Unlike the cheap secondhand stool he had bought from Carpenter Li before, this long bench custom-made for him was remarkably comfortable. Even when he had to bend slightly to sharpen a blade, he would not feel tired. It was clear that Carpenter Li had put far more care into this bench than his casual words suggested. To make it this comfortable, he had to understand Du Chengfeng's posture and habits while sharpening blades extremely well.

"Very good. Truly very good."

Once he realized that, Du Chengfeng was even more delighted.

Though it was only a wooden bench, it would greatly improve his sharpening efficiency!

For someone like him, preparing to embark upon the path of sharpening blades, this bench was practically the equal of a peerless sword that fit a martial artist's hand like an extension of his arm!

"Thank you so much, old brother. You really put your heart into this."

Du Chengfeng rose to his feet and carried the first piece of furniture in the shabby little courtyard into the house.

"How much? I mean, including that stand in a couple of days."

"No money, no money."

Carpenter Li waved his hands again and again.

"It's just a bench. It's not worth much. Besides, Brother Du, you killed so many Hu men before and kept my whole family alive. That's a life-saving debt. I'm only making a few things for you..."

"Hey, hey, don't say that. Old brother, you're treating me like a stranger."

Du Chengfeng shook his head at Carpenter Li's words.

Not to mention that when he had first come to the village as an outsider, Carpenter Li had already looked after him. This little courtyard, too, had only been bought so cheaply because Carpenter Li had helped him. As for saving lives... he had been blinded by slaughter with Sha Qi all over him at the time. It was not as though he had consciously risked his life to protect Yang Family Fort. How could that count?

"Besides, there's no point in me having so much money."

Du Chengfeng glanced at the several chests of gold, silver, and treasures sent by the Yang family and let out a sigh.

He had not wanted to accept these things in the first place. After all, his relationship with the Yang family was not that good, let alone close enough to accept their valuables—yet there had been no way around it. They had invited him to a meal, but he had not gone; that was once. Later, they had sent wine and meat, but he had thrown them away; that was twice. If he refused these valuables too, then three attempts at apology would have been returned untouched. That old man named Yang Xuan would probably have been scared to death on the spot.

So, if only to put the Yang family at ease while they worked for him, he could only accept everything reluctantly.

It was rather ironic. He had always wanted to build something from nothing through his own efforts, yet his greatest source of income all along had been compensation for emotional distress.

Several large chests of gold, silver, and treasures had instantly made Du Chengfeng financially free.

But they were no longer what he wanted.

Before this, his goal really had been to make money. No matter what kind of world it was, having money in hand made life easier. He could buy a larger courtyard, replace his furniture with better pieces, perhaps keep two dogs, or raise a cat.

But now, staying alive came first.

With money, one needed a life to earn it—and a life to spend it. If he could not defeat Hexi Qing when the man came seeking revenge, then no matter how much wealth he had, it would all become Hexi Qing's spoils of war in the end.

So he had to spend the money in his hands as quickly as possible. Gold, silver, and treasures were meaningless in his current situation. He had to swiftly convert these funds into combat power that belonged to him, so that when Hexi Qing came for revenge, he would have the strength to fight him.

"So, Brother Du... um, how exactly did you know that the armored Hu man had an elder brother?"

After hearing Du Chengfeng's reasoning, Carpenter Li scratched his head.

"You told me before that you sharpened it out of an axe, but isn't that a little too... Brother Du, if that Hu man's elder brother really is so formidable, couldn't you just head south? Hide farther away. He couldn't possibly go all the way south to look for you..."

"That's not how it is."

The moment Carpenter Li said that, Du Chengfeng knew his earlier explanation had been wasted.

He had originally wanted to urge Carpenter Li to leave early and retreat south himself, but it now seemed that Carpenter Li simply could not understand his current circumstances. After sharpening that axe, Du Chengfeng could be said to understand Hexi Qing better than anyone. He could therefore be certain that, to avenge his brother, that iron-hearted man would hunt him to the ends of the earth.

But only he, who had seen those memories, knew this. Carpenter Li knew nothing of it. This man, who had spent his whole life in Yang Family Fort, understood weapons and Sha Qi only as far as "that stuff is terrifying."

So he needed strength.

Whether it was to defend his own little courtyard or to protect this old brother who knew so little of the world, he needed strength.

"Anyway, put these things away first. We can talk about the Hu men later."

Du Chengfeng took some gold and silver from a chest and forcibly stuffed it into Carpenter Li's arms. Then he took some more and put it into his own clothes.

"By the way, old brother, you said last time that weapons could be bought at the market. Where was that again?"

Thanks to Dream of Writing Books for the recommendation vote, and thanks, everyone, for pointing out typos. When I write quickly, these problems do happen. If you spot a typo, please mention it in the chapter comments, and I'll correct it right away.