Forging in the Courtyard, Xiao Yan Comes Calling

The Jia Ma Empire.

In a small courtyard in the southern part of Wutan City.

Clang! Clang! Clang...

Beside a blazing furnace, a young man swung a hammer, striking a red-hot iron billet over and over.

The ringing blows mingled with the roar of the furnace, each fall of the hammer sending a shower of sparks flying.

Even with sweat covering his forehead, his cheeks flushed scarlet from the heat, and his arms aching and numb, the young man never stopped. His eyes remained fixed on the iron billet.

Before long, beneath his hammer, the billet finally took on the rough shape of a long saber.

Without daring to delay, he gripped the blade blank with his tongs and carried it to a large barrel filled with oil.

He lowered it into the barrel, and a sizzling sound immediately rang out.

Then he removed the quenched blade blank and inspected its quality, nodding in satisfaction.

After setting it beside the courtyard wall, he wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. Admiring the row of weapon blanks propped against the wall, he could not help smiling.

"Whew..."

"Finally finished today's quota."

Zhou Changqing let out a deep, hot breath and glanced at the sky. Seeing that it was already around half past three in the afternoon, he muttered to himself.

Then he looked himself over. Covered in greasy black stains, his hands red, he shook his head and headed to the kitchen to heat some water.

Only after bathing and changing into clean clothes did Zhou Changqing return to the courtyard.

Seated at the stone table, he gazed at the azure sky and took small sips of green plum wine, savoring his rare daily moment of leisure.

A little courtyard retreat, Green Plum Wine, flowing white robes—a picture of carefree contentment.

It was hard to imagine that this young man, whose looks had reached the half-step Reader realm and whose flowing white robes made him seem like an immortal banished from heaven, was the grime-covered blacksmith from moments before.

Setting down his wine cup, Zhou Changqing gazed into the distance, countless thoughts drifting through his mind.

"Judging by the timing, Old Xiao should be about to take off, right?"

At that thought, envy and helplessness flickered across Zhou Changqing's face.

We're both transmigrators, both reborn on the Dou Qi Continent. So how come Old Xiao was born a young master, while I ended up a miserable orphan?

If my kindhearted adoptive parents hadn't taken me in, I probably would've croaked fifteen years ago.

Fine, I could live with that.

After all, you don't get to choose your birth.

But we're both geniuses with souls unlike ordinary people's. Why did Old Xiao get lucky enough to meet Yao Lao?

Sure, his Dou Qi got sucked away for three years, but didn't Old Xiao eventually return like a dragon king and slap every last person who looked down on him in the face?

Unlike me—an ordinary family, and stuck at the very beginning of Dou Zhe without the slightest progress because I don't have a cultivation method.

Relying on my family's ancestral smithing craft, who knows how long it'll take to save enough money to buy one?

Same kind of person, completely different fates.

I never should've reread Battle Through the Heavens while crossing the road in my previous life. Otherwise, a bolt from a clear blue sky wouldn't have sent me to the Dou Qi Continent in one careless moment.

If that hadn't happened, I might still be lounging under the air conditioning, playing on my phone, enjoying the wonderful life of watching pretty women push the limits of what they could show.

Instead, I'm forging iron all day for the lowest-grade cultivation method, working harder than an ox or a horse.

Whenever he thought of how Old Xiao would soon begin his rise, showing off and slapping faces as he clawed his way to the pinnacle of life—

Zhou Changqing could not help looking utterly dejected.

Creak...

"Oh? Old Zhou, you've started drinking? Why didn't you wait for me? And what's with that look, like you've eaten shit? Something happen?"

Just as Zhou Changqing was still immersed in his own world, the sound of the door opening interrupted his thoughts.

Then a faintly teasing voice drifted over from the courtyard gate.

Looking up, Zhou Changqing saw a young man in black robes with a red underlayer strolling toward him with a smile.

"Piss off. I wouldn't eat you. And you really know how to time things, don't you? Always showing up at this hour to mooch food and drink."

Dark lines creased Zhou Changqing's forehead as he cursed irritably.

The young man paid Zhou Changqing's words no mind. He walked over to the stone table, sat down, and deftly poured himself a cup of Green Plum Wine, savoring it with delight.

As the clear wine went down, sweet and sour flavors mingled with a faint bite on his tongue. Its fragrance filled his mouth, and his whole body involuntarily relaxed.

Smack...

Smacking his lips, the young man closed his eyes to savor the aftertaste. Then he looked at Zhou Changqing with a shameless grin that practically begged for a beating. "Gotta say, Old Zhou, your family's Green Plum Wine really has something special. It's miles better than the stuff sold outside."

"I just can't get enough of it, brother. How about parting with the recipe and giving it to me? Then I wouldn't have to run over here every time I wanted a drink, and you'd get some peace and quiet too, right?"

"Hey, you little punk. Eating my food wasn't enough—you want to take things home too?"

Zhou Changqing laughed in exasperation, spat, and cursed, "Go play with your balls somewhere else. Don't even think about it!"

"What, you think flapping your lips a couple of times is enough to get my recipe for free, Old Xiao?"

"This is an ancestral recipe! How'd your face get so damn thick?"

Xiao Yan showed none of the anger someone being cursed at ought to have. Shamelessly pouring himself another cup of Green Plum Wine, he chuckled. "You're the one who won't give it to me, so don't blame me. I'll just keep coming over to mooch drinks."

"Damn it! As long as you leave my recipe alone, come over all you want. But could you bring some snacks next time? You show up empty-handed every time. Even I'm embarrassed for you."

"Heh. As long as I'm not embarrassed, someone else gets to be."

Faced with Xiao Yan's shamelessness, Zhou Changqing could only gaze across that boundless ocean of cheek and sigh helplessly.

Exactly what you'd expect from someone who sneaked into a little girl's room at four years old to "feel her up."

His skin really is thicker than a City wall!

And so the two drank, trading jokes and insults.

Before they knew it, evening had arrived, and the sky was gradually darkening.

"Old Zhou, I'm honestly starting to envy you. A little courtyard, a pot of wine, not a care in the world. You're practically living an immortal's life."

Xiao Yan gazed at the reddened sun, half of which remained above the horizon. The amber light fell across his youthful face, delicate and pleasing to the eye, illuminating his slightly flushed cheeks and the faint uncertainty in his eyes.

After a sip of wine, Xiao Yan murmured self-mockingly, "Unlike me. Every day back at the clan, I have to deal with ridicule from every direction."

"Tsk... When they used to hold me up on a pedestal, everyone bowed their heads and smiled at me. Now that I've fallen, it's like all their old flattery has become a stain on their honor."

"As if they won't rest until they've ground me into the dust."

Watching Xiao Yan's spirits suddenly sink, Zhou Changqing remained silent, quietly listening as his friend poured out his heart.

As a friend who had known him for three years, Zhou Changqing dearly wanted to tell him—

You're about to take off, you little punk!

Not only will your Dou Qi stop disappearing, you'll take a Peak Dou Zun—the continent's "number one" Alchemist—as your teacher.

From then on, it'll be sparks and lightning all the way until you become the first Dou Di in ten thousand years!

Unfortunately, he could not say it.

First, he could not explain how he knew the future. Second, Yao Lao was awake right now. It would be bad if saying anything aroused his suspicions.

Come to think of it, when he first met Xiao Yan, Yao Lao had not yet begun absorbing the boy's Dou Qi.

Back then, Xiao Yan had been only twelve, brimming with confidence and outrageously arrogant. Heaven came first and he came second—he swaggered like nobody else mattered.

He had been nothing like the mature, steady young man he was now, with his astonishing ability to withstand pressure.

Their first meeting had been quite a coincidence, too.

When Zhou Changqing was twelve, he went out to buy supplies at the nearby Xiao Family Market and inadvertently caught the attention of a "golden finger"—a pickpocket.

The pickpocket was an old hand with exceptionally deft techniques. He had stolen Zhou Changqing's money pouch without even touching him.

Although Zhou Changqing's spiritual perception was much stronger than an ordinary person's, the market was crowded, and the pickpocket seemed to possess an innately feeble presence. As a result, he had not noticed.

Xiao Yan happened to witness it all on his very first patrol of the Marketplace.

Although Xiao Yan was arrogant then, he had not abandoned the values he had developed in his previous life.

Unable to stand by and watch, Xiao Yan ordered his attendants to seize the pickpocket and give him a vicious beating, then returned the money pouch to Zhou Changqing.

Naturally, Zhou Changqing thanked him profusely.

Without Xiao Yan, he would probably have had nothing but the northwest wind to live on for the next half month.

That was how Zhou Changqing crossed paths with the protagonist of the Battle Through the Heavens World.

Later, thanks to Zhou Changqing's "thank-you feast," the two became friends.

Both were modern people from Earth, so their values were naturally much alike, and they got along very well.

Although Xiao Yan did not know Zhou Changqing was a transmigrator, that did not stop him from accepting him as a friend.

Later, when Xiao Yan fell from grace, Zhou Changqing never showed even the slightest disdain. Instead, he continued inviting him over to drink as usual.

That moved Xiao Yan deeply, and he came to regard Zhou Changqing as one of his only two true friends.

The author bows his head to all you esteemed readers here! Please keep reading! Please bookmark!

(End of chapter)