"Then how did this key end up with Zhu Fengmu?" Huang Xiao asked.
"He stole the key, intending to sneak into the sacred grounds. When he was discovered, he fled with it," Zhu Fenglin said.
Zhu Fenglin then recounted the matter to Huang Xiao.
Only after hearing him out did Huang Xiao understand.
The matter was fairly simple.
Zhu Fenglin and Zhu Fengmu were brothers, both from a collateral branch of the Zhu Family.
Back then, Zhu Fengmu and a disciple of the direct line had fallen for the same woman, and their rivalry had been fierce.
In the end, the family decided to have them compete. Whoever forged the superior weapon would win the beauty's hand.
Zhu Fengmu had a talent for forging, but his rival was a disciple of the direct line, after all, and received far more resources than he did. Besides, his rival was no embroidered pillow, pretty but useless.
Thus, Zhu Fengmu felt his chances of winning were slim.
Zhu Fengmu had racked his brains to win the contest, but unfortunately, he had found no effective method.
When the proper avenues yielded nothing, he turned his thoughts to crooked schemes.
Perhaps it was heaven's will: Zhu Fengmu had been a disciple of the Grand Elder who kept this key.
After that Grand Elder went into seclusion, Zhu Fengmu conceived the idea of stealing the key.
No one in the Zhu Family had ever dared covet the key before, and the Grand Elder had been somewhat careless.
Furthermore, as his disciple, Zhu Fengmu faced few restrictions when entering or leaving his master's residence. In the end, he actually managed to steal it.
He then intended to use the key to enter the sacred grounds.
The Zhu Family's sacred grounds held countless treasures, including forging materials, ores,