The Mindset of a Madman

Commander Liu, who governed Jizhou, had a bit of a problem.

Of course, Du Chengfeng was not referring only to his brain, but to his behavior. Killing Wang Gaocheng with a single sword stroke had certainly been satisfying, but it also meant that a massive rift had opened between the Jizhou Governor's Office and the Great Chen court.

Could it be that I'm actually living in a den of rebels?

Du Chengfeng had entertained that suspicion for a time.

Yet during the conversation that followed, Du Chengfeng came to realize that Commander Liu's ideas might have been even crazier than he had expected.

"If the Hu can fight their way south, why can't we fight our way north?"

That was the attitude Commander Liu displayed during that conversation, and it was also why Wang Gaocheng, the polishing craftsman assigned to the army, had to die—Commander Liu had originally intended to make all preparations in secret. After all, provoking a border conflict without authorization would draw the court's hostility upon Jizhou. But if they truly captured something and secured the benefits, then once the military achievements were reported, the court would have no choice but to hold its nose and accept it.

But that was precisely where the problem lay. After arriving, Wang Gaocheng had done absolutely no work, spending every day talking empty metaphysics. Not only had he held up the Jizhou Governor's Office's preparations, he had even made Commander Liu suspect at one point that his plans had been exposed and that the court was preparing to deal with him.

Now, however, having learned that Wang Gaocheng was simply stupid, Commander Liu was considerably relieved.

Before Commander Liu left, though, Du Chengfeng still asked another question that he cared deeply about.

"You actually believed what I said? You really believed I could see memories through the process of sharpening blades?"

That was right. This question had lingered in Du Chengfeng's mind ever since he had polished Broken Horse's long saber. And when he polished that imperial-bestowed Ceremonial Class Sword and experienced Wang Gaocheng's memories, the doubt only grew stronger.

No matter how slow he was, Du Chengfeng had already realized that his method of sharpening blades was likely vastly different from the mainstream methods practiced throughout Great Chen. Their lines of thought had been entirely different from the very beginning.

In an environment where everyone was thinking about how to "suppress Sha Qi," his way of blending with Sha Qi was practically heretical.

Naturally, he himself did not think there was anything wrong with it. If anything, he felt that his own method was more convenient and more effective. But when it came to communicating with outsiders...

Would anyone really believe the intelligence he obtained from the memories of weapons?

"Does it matter whether I believe you or not?"

Facing Du Chengfeng's question, Commander Liu questioned him in return.

"The Hu will certainly come south anyway, and trash like Wang Gaocheng certainly won't be of any use in a war... True, you were the one who gave me the information, but I was still the one who made the decision."

At those words, Du Chengfeng could not help but regard Commander Liu more highly.

In his initial estimation, Commander Liu and the entire Jizhou Governor's Office together had amounted, more or less, to a bunch of useless fools. After seeing part of Wang Gaocheng's experiences and witnessing Commander Liu's acting, he had only raised that assessment to: somewhat capable, but still insane.

But now, just from that bearing alone, Du Chengfeng could vaguely sense it.

If Hexi Qing really did come attacking, Commander Liu might truly become an asset in that battle.

But an asset was an asset. Once they truly came to blows, he would ultimately still have to rely on himself.

Fortunately, this time, he finally had an ample supply of goods.

"The entire armory of the Jizhou Governor's Office... Can I really polish all of it?"

Just thinking of that arsenal filled with weapons gave Du Chengfeng a surge of security.

These were all veteran weapons that had once gone onto the battlefield and killed enemies. Who knew what kinds of killing arts they carried?

So after practicing several sets of Tiger-and-Dragon Two Forms and running a few laps while carrying a wooden beam, Du Chengfeng took a bath and fell into a deep sleep.

To fully experience a weapon's history, he would certainly need to stay full of energy. Before opening up the Jizhou Arsenal, Du Chengfeng planned to first put himself in peak condition.

And this exercise before bed would also help him sleep more soundly.

That day, Du Chengfeng rarely adjusted his routine and switched to sleeping at night.

Du Chengfeng slept soundly enough.

But the Yang family in the fortified manor could not sleep at all.

"How could this happen..."

"How could it be like this..."

When Yang Xuan returned to the fortified manor in a daze, the Yang Clan members still did not know what had happened. But as Yang Xuan explained the matter, they all came to understand its severity.

Du Chengfeng had actually established a connection with Commander Liu of Jizhou.

According to their original plan, they had intended to first keep Du Chengfeng settled in Yang Family Fort, then spread word of his identity as a polishing craftsman. That way, swordsmen from all paths would gather, and Yang Family Fort would swiftly prosper—yet with a mighty dragon crossing the river like Commander Liu now involved, things were completely different.

Since Du Chengfeng had agreed to the Governor's Office's outsourced work, he would naturally go to the Jizhou Arsenal to sharpen blades. The Governor's Office had demand, and Du Chengfeng wanted to sharpen blades. The two sides were simply a match made in heaven.

So what was left for the Yang family in all this?

"This..."

The Yang Clan juniors who had originally been preparing to make a profit all hung their heads in despair.

Du Chengfeng was already like a living ancestor to them, while Commander Liu was an important figure whom Yang Family Fort could not afford to offend. With the two sides joining forces now, they truly had no way to deal with it.

"So why do you have to find some way to deal with it?"

Just as everyone in the ancestral hall was sighing and lamenting, a voice came in from the doorway.

"Why must you rely on an outsider?"

"...Sanlang is talking mad nonsense again. Hurry and take him back."

Yang Xuan did not even need to raise his head to know that Yang Sanlang had arrived.

Several Yang Clan juniors stood up, preparing to take Yang Sanlang away. At least after all this time, everyone had grown accustomed to Yang Sanlang's madness.

But this time, Yang Sanlang struggled with all his might and refused to move a single step.

"I'm not crazy! I've always been perfectly clear-headed!"

Clinging desperately to the ancestral hall's doorframe, Yang Sanlang shouted at the top of his lungs.

"You're the ones who are truly crazy, putting the safety and future of all Yang Family Fort in the hands of an outsider who can come and go whenever he pleases! Now that outsider is leaving, and he's taking our Yang Clan's ancestral treasured saber with him. What will you do? What can you do?"

"We... uh?"

Only then did the Yang Clan members realize that if Du Chengfeng truly connected with Commander Liu and went to the Jizhou Governor's Office, the Yang Clan's treasured saber would inevitably be taken away as well.

Then what would Yang Family Fort gain?

It seemed they would gain nothing. Not only would they get nothing at all, they would even lose the ancestral treasured saber they had kept hidden at the bottom of their chest.

Thinking about it that way... Yang Sanlang's words actually seemed to be the clearest-minded ones?

"Then what can you do?"

Yang Xuan could not help frowning as he stared at Yang Sanlang.

"The saber is in his hands. Can you get it back?"

"Uncle, it isn't a matter of whether we can get it back. We must get it back."

Taking a deep breath, Yang Sanlang gritted his teeth.

"Whether by stealing it, deceiving him, taking it by force, or making me lower my head and admit my mistakes, bow in apology, kneel before him and kowtow—if necessary, even if it costs me my life, it does not matter."

"That is the ancestral treasured saber of the Yang Clan of Jizhou. This saber must remain in Yang Family Fort."

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