Recruitment

Through Yang Xuan's introduction, Du Chengfeng, upon returning to the courtyard, also met the Wang-surnamed sharpening craftsman and Commander Liu, who had come specially.

Contrary to Du Chengfeng's expectations, neither Commander Liu nor the Wang-surnamed sharpening craftsman bore much of a military air. Though both wore swords, their broad robes and wide sleeves made them look far more like scholars holding scrolls than military officers.

Five wisps of neatly groomed beard hung from their fair faces. This had clearly been carefully tended; even standing three paces apart, Du Chengfeng could faintly catch a refined fragrance.

He knew his own courtyard well. That fragrance clearly did not come from his side.

Such a dilapidated little courtyard naturally clashed with these two elegant men, graceful as banished immortals. Yet neither seemed to mind much. Simply sitting there, they made half the room seem brightened by their presence.

Du Chengfeng and Yang Xuan could not help exchanging a glance.

Compared to these two distinguished men, whose noble status was obvious at a glance, their own attire was simply unbearable to look at. Yang Xuan was better off; leaning on a cane and looking old and frail, he could at least pass for a rural farmer. Du Chengfeng, wrapped in an old robe, looked every bit like a refugee.

Judging by their clothing alone, the divide between the two of them and these two nobles was as clear as the Jing and Wei rivers.

"You are Du Chengfeng? I've heard of you."

Just as Du Chengfeng was frowning to himself, Commander Liu spoke.

"You can sharpen blades?"

"Yes."

Du Chengfeng nodded lightly, neither servile nor overbearing.

Du Chengfeng was not surprised that Commander Liu knew of him. The Yang Clan had been helping him purchase weapons and spread his name, so that more Jizhou bladesmen would come to him to have their blades sharpened. There was no reason Commander Liu, who commanded all of Jizhou, would know nothing of him.

Then had Commander Liu come in person to recruit him?

"Since you possess the skill to sharpen weapons, would you be willing to serve under my command?"

Just as Du Chengfeng thought this, Commander Liu indeed spoke.

But Du Chengfeng shook his head.

With the Jizhou Governor's Office behind him, he could indeed borrow tremendous power. Yet this meeting had left him faintly uncomfortable. Although Commander Liu appeared courteous and eager to honor worthy men, and his words and manners felt like a spring breeze, Du Chengfeng still sensed that nearly imperceptible distance.

Since they were not family, there was no need to enter the same household.

After all, compared to a capable opponent, a poorly coordinated ally often brought far graver consequences.

"Commander Liu jests. Doesn't the army already have sharpening craftsmen? My humble skills still fall far short. I'd best not go causing trouble in the military camp."

Though humble in speech, Du Chengfeng had already declined the matter. In any case, he had gained some understanding of the soldiers of Ji Town. This war was destined to be a battle fought by him alone.

Commander Liu did not take offense, merely following Du Chengfeng's words as he continued.

"Since we are discussing sharpening craftsmen, then you should already know that I came here for two reasons. First, to have you serve in the army. Second, for that Broken Horse saber."

As he said this, Commander Liu raised a hand in indication. The Wang-surnamed sharpening craftsman stepped forward and began explaining the reason.

That five-foot saber had originally been made to military specifications, and private citizens were forbidden from possessing it. But its former owner, Liu Qingyun, had rendered meritorious service in clearing out horse bandits and dearly loved the blade, so the Governor's Office had simply turned a blind eye, treating it as a reward for Liu Qingyun's service in eliminating the bandits—but now that Liu Qingyun was dead, this Broken Horse saber, which could be considered a military weapon, naturally could not continue circulating among the common people.

"The other reason is a personal matter."

With that, the Wang-surnamed sharpening craftsman cupped his hands toward the south.

"While Liu Qingyun was still alive, he made a special journey to Yanzhou and asked my master, Ruan Shantao, to sharpen this saber. As this involves secrets of my master's lineage, this blade cannot be passed to outsiders. I ask this brave man to part with it."

"Mm..."

Du Chengfeng could not help falling silent.

He could roughly guess at these so-called secrets of the master's lineage. Perhaps they feared that other sharpening craftsmen might use the sharpening marks on the blade to reverse-engineer their sharpening methods?

All he could say was that this fellow craftsman surnamed Wang had a valid concern. After all, he himself had already copied that whole method of studying while sharpening blades until he understood it thoroughly—though environmental constraints had kept him from perfectly replicating it, he had memorized the entire process.

Even so, he still could not hand over this Broken Horse saber.

He did not know when Hexi Qing would arrive. Every additional weapon he possessed meant another measure of fighting strength. Moreover, the Broken Horse saber differed from the ancestral Yang Clan treasure saber he usually used. Its extraordinary five-foot length could greatly compensate for his disadvantage when facing Hu cavalry charging on horseback.

After all, this blade was called Broken Horse. That was precisely what it was meant for.

Yet directly refusing would clearly be somewhat inappropriate. The other party had invoked his master's lineage; if Du Chengfeng still refused, it would inevitably make him seem as though he coveted their craftsmanship.

So after a brief moment of thought, Du Chengfeng simply took out the great axe he had obtained from Hexi Xuan.

"I understand how you feel, but I've recently encountered a calamity... or rather, all of Jizhou will soon face one."

As he spoke, Du Chengfeng pushed the axe forward.

"You are also a sharpening craftsman. Once you see this, you should know what I mean."

"These patterns... they are in the style of the Grassland Royal Court."

The Wang-surnamed sharpening craftsman had keen eyes indeed, recognizing the origins of the great axe at once.

But just when Du Chengfeng happily thought they could understand one another, the Wang-surnamed sharpening craftsman gave him a puzzled look.

"So what does that have to do with the calamity you mentioned? Just because of this axe in the style of the Hu?"

"Huh?"

Du Chengfeng froze.

"You can't see anything at all?"

"What is there to see?"

Hearing Du Chengfeng say this, the Wang-surnamed sharpening craftsman's face had already darkened with displeasure.

"Are you making a fool of me?"

"This..."

Du Chengfeng could not speak for a long while.

He had originally thought that since he could see a weapon's past experiences through sharpening it, other sharpening craftsmen would naturally be the same. Everyone should have had no real difference.

But now it seemed... that was not the case?

"Utter nonsense!"

Upon hearing Du Chengfeng's defense, the Wang-surnamed sharpening craftsman immediately shook his head again and again.

"I, Wang, have studied the books of sages for more than thirty years, and countless tens of thousands of weapons have passed through my hands. Yet I have never heard of anyone who could discern a weapon's past experiences merely from the nicks in its edge."

As he spoke, the Wang-surnamed sharpening craftsman simply drew the sword at his waist and tossed it before Du Chengfeng.

"Since you claim to possess such skill, then tell me what this sword has experienced!"

"I..."

Du Chengfeng frowned tightly as he looked at the longsword before him.

It was not that he did not want to prove his claim through sharpening. The main issue was that this sword did not contain even a trace of Sha Qi.

In other words, this sword had never killed anyone.

Without killing or drawing blood, the sword had never needed sharpening in the first place. Tossing him such a sword was the real mockery.

So, should he kill?

Before he knew it, Du Chengfeng's hand had already gripped the axe haft.

There were fewer than three paces between them. A single Dragon-Form Great Cleave would split open the Wang-surnamed sharpening craftsman. As for Commander Liu, even if he rose and fled at top speed, he would still be within the range of Du Chengfeng's Tiger Leap.

Moreover, compared to his own fitted fighting clothes, the broad robes and wide sleeves of these two men were ill-suited to combat. If they truly fought, he could take both their heads within a single breath.

And for him, all that required was the lift of a hand...

"Master Wang, I think you are making things rather difficult for this brave man."

Just as scarlet threads of blood were gradually creeping into Du Chengfeng's eyes, Commander Liu, who had not spoken for some time, rose to his feet. He picked up the sword and examined it from top to bottom.

"This sword has never seen blood. It has no need of sharpening at all, so how could this brave man possibly sharpen it?"

"Commander, he was the one who first made such outrageous claims."

The Wang-surnamed sharpening craftsman shrank back slightly, yet still argued his case.

"I merely... Hk, hk-hk-hk."

Before he could finish, the Wang-surnamed sharpening craftsman suddenly could no longer make a sound. Only great mouthfuls of bloody foam poured from his throat, quickly staining those broad robes and wide sleeves crimson.

For the sword he had just thrown out had already been thrust entirely into his neck.

Commander Liu pulled out the longsword and let the sharpening craftsman's corpse collapse to the ground like garbage, without sparing it even a glance.

Then he reversed the sword hilt and offered the bloodstained longsword to Du Chengfeng.

"Come, brave man. This sword has now killed and seen blood. It can be sharpened."

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