Blacksmith Shop

The group arrived at the ruins of what had once been living quarters.

So-called ruins of living quarters meant this had once been a place where people lived, but for special reasons, it had ultimately been sealed away.

Upon entering, Liu Chengchao frowned.

"It seems these residential ruins were also sealed by the mountain."

Clearly, this had once been a small village.

But in the end, it had been buried beneath the dust of history.

"Everything here has been severely damaged. We can only make out the rough outlines," Liu Chengchao said from the side.

It seemed that when the Wolf Guard had been wiped out, falling boulders from the mountain had sealed this small village inside as well.

Wang Jiao asked from beside him, "This village must have suffered an undeserved calamity, right?"

Such a tiny village had almost no impact on the great tide of history.

Just then, a man ran over, excitement written across his face. "Old Liu, we found something interesting here."

"Oh?" Liu Chengchao was surprised.

Could they have found some artifacts here?

If so, that would be an unexpected delight.

Everyone hurried after the young man.

Soon, a dilapidated ruin appeared before the others.

Wang Jiao immediately asked, "Old Liu, what was this ruin in the past?"

Old Liu bent down. On the ground lay several rusted chunks of iron, along with quite a few square stone blocks.

"This should have been a Blacksmith Shop," Liu Chengchao concluded after some thought.

"A Blacksmith Shop?" Wang Jiao paused slightly. "If I remember correctly, Old Liu once said that during the fall of the Wolf Guard, a blacksmith with the Hei surname treated a military officer's external injuries.

"Is there some connection between that blacksmith with the Hei surname, this Blacksmith Shop, and Heize?"

"This... can't be concluded for now." Liu Chengchao shook his head.

There was far too little evidence.

Just then, Wang Jiao seemed to spot something, and delight appeared on her face. "Old Liu, are there words written up there?"

Everyone looked over.

Ahead stood a stone stele, upon which faint traces of writing could be seen.

Liu Chengchao and the others immediately gave the stele a simple cleaning.

There were quite a few words carved into it.

The writing was all from the Great Feng Dynasty.

It shared the same roots as the writing of present-day Great Xia, though there were subtle differences.

"Hei Family Blacksmith Shop." Liu Chengchao's heart trembled.

The Hei surname again?

Could the two truly be connected somehow?

"Hei Family Blacksmith Shop?" Light shone in Wang Jiao's beautiful eyes. "Could this Hei Family Blacksmith Shop be connected to Heize?"

Liu Chengchao did not answer immediately. His gaze remained fixed on the stone stele.

There was more writing on the back of it.

It was still being cleaned, and he could not see it clearly yet.

At that moment, the stele was completely cleaned, and the final inscription appeared before everyone.

Liu Chengchao looked at the final three characters. "Liu Xiu left this."

Seeing a new discovery, Wang Jiao immediately asked, "Who was Liu Xiu?"

"There was a Liu Xiu in the Great Feng Dynasty, known as the Spear King.

"He was the General of Martial Guard, and also the teacher of Emperor Fengxing, who had been the crown prince at the time.

"Great Feng's ability to hold back the Wolf Clan back then had much to do with Liu Xiu.

"Historical records state that Liu Xiu obtained the Wolf Clan's troop deployment from one of his disciples," Liu Chengchao said slowly.

At the same time, his heart was somewhat shaken.

The information that had emerged now seemed capable of being linked together.

Wang Jiao seized upon a crucial piece of information. "Old Liu, who was Liu Xiu's disciple?"

Anyone capable of obtaining the Wolf Clan's troop deployment was certainly no ordinary person.

"I don't know." Liu Chengchao shook his head. "Liu Xiu had six disciples. The most famous among them was Emperor Fengxing.

"The other disciples all died while resisting the Wolf Clan's invasion, and their names are unknown."

"Do you think Heize might have been Liu Xiu's disciple?"

Suddenly, Wang Jiao's eyes lit up.

"This Blacksmith Shop belonged to Heize's family.

"He was accepted as Liu Xiu's disciple, then finally came here with Liu Xiu's secret orders to resist the Wolf Guard?

"Otherwise, why would Liu Xiu make a special trip to leave a stone stele at a Blacksmith Shop on the border?"

Liu Chengchao shook his head. "If that were the case, why did Heize never appear in the history books?

"He defeated the Wolf Guard's most elite forces and was also Emperor Fengxing's junior fellow disciple.

"Most importantly, if he had been Liu Xiu's disciple, then he must have already died in battle.

"Since he died in battle, he could not have overshadowed his ruler through excessive merit. There was no need for Emperor Fengxing to conceal news of Heize."

Even as Liu Chengchao spoke, he was only half-convinced.

Because this matter itself was filled with something strange.

"Old Liu, it looks like the ruins of a Shrine of Life and Death have been discovered ahead. There are quite a few murals inside!"

"What?" Liu Chengchao froze.

He knew of Shrines of Life and Death.

In history, those who had rendered enormous contributions would have a Shrine of Life and Death built for them.

For example, during the Dafeng Period, Xiaoxian sent troops to surround Taiyuan. By Xiaoxian's usual practice, once they captured a city, they would certainly massacre it.

Taiyuan's defending general, Zhong Daowen, held Taiyuan for three months without surrendering.

In the end, Xiaoxian's troops withdrew.

Taiyuan City then built a Shrine of Life and Death to commemorate Zhong Daowen.

The ruins of a Shrine of Life and Death had appeared here?

Could it be related to Heize?