At the end of the hour of the Tiger, the first light of dawn broke through.
Qin Tiexin gripped the Edgeless Saber's hilt with both hands and completed the eighth cycle of the "Sinew Stretching Form." Every muscle in his body was stretched taut as a fully drawn bowstring. Sweat had long since soaked his clothes and was dripping from his trouser cuffs. He drew a deep breath of the biting morning air, preparing for the final "Closing Form: Residual Warmth Returns to Origin"-slowly drawing in his surging Qi and Blood and strength, returning them to his Dantian.
Just as his old strength was spent and new strength had yet to arise, with his attention turned inward and every pore relaxed-
"Whoosh!"
An exceedingly faint whistle, almost swallowed by the wind and his own breathing, hurtled toward him from behind and to one side!
Qin Tiexin had not even had time to hear it, but the instinct for danger honed through years of forging iron and tempering his body sent every hair on his nape standing straight up! A bone-piercing chill suddenly slithered up his spine like a venomous snake!
Danger! From behind!
Almost simultaneously, a thunderous shout exploded from the mouth of the alley:
"Look out-!"
It was General Li's voice!
Qin Tiexin had no time to turn, nor could he see what was coming. In that hairbreadth moment, he reacted almost instinctively-he neither tried to dodge (there was no time anyway) nor stopped his closing movement. Instead, using the natural slight turn of his waist and the Edgeless Saber being drawn back by his arms, he made an extremely small yet utterly precise adjustment, lifting the broad, thick, black blade diagonally upward, barely placing it between the back of his head and his neck!
He had only just made that tiny adjustment-
"Clink!" "Clink!"
Two sharp, brief metallic clashes rang out almost simultaneously! General Li's saber, hurled with its sheath still on, had struck two dark blue-green glints out of the air with perfect precision!
But there was still a third!
"Whoosh-!"
That almost imperceptible whisper of wind was already upon him!
"Clang-!!!"
A duller yet far more harrowing impact exploded behind Qin Tiexin's head!
His arms jolted violently around the hilt. A sharp, icy impact traveled through the heavy blade of the Edgeless Saber, numbing the webs of his hands! The point of impact lay right on the edge of the blade he had just adjusted, barely half an inch from the back of his head!
Qin Tiexin spun around, his gaze flashing toward the source of the hidden weapons-the Heavenly Craft Workshop's roof, diagonally behind him! A blurred gray figure flickered past the upturned eaves with astonishing speed, vanishing behind the roof ridge in an instant.
"After him!" General Li's cold, urgent command came from the alley's mouth. "Commandant Sun, check on Qin Tiexin!"
Before the words had faded, Li Zhenwei launched himself from his horse like a hunting leopard. His toes touched the alley wall, and he soared upward, racing toward where the gray shadow had disappeared! He did not even have time to retrieve the saber he had thrown.
Qin Tiexin's heart pounded, cold sweat seeping from his temples. He looked down at where the Edgeless Saber had been struck-only a white speck slightly larger than a needlepoint remained on its black blade, almost impossible to see. On the dirt beneath it lay a silver needle as fine as a hair and about an inch long. Its tip was deep blue, gleaming ominously in the strengthening morning light.
The other two that had been knocked away were nowhere to be seen.
They had aimed for the back of his head! If not for General Li's warning and interception, if not for his inexplicable impulse to block with Edgeless... the consequences would have been unthinkable!
Shock and fury surged into his heart. The Heavenly Craft Workshop! Them again!
He hesitated no longer. Without even stopping to collect the poisoned needle as evidence, he lifted the immensely heavy Edgeless Saber in one hand, strode out of the backyard, pulled open the shop door, and charged toward the Heavenly Craft Workshop's main entrance!
He had barely rushed out when he saw General Li speeding back from the other end of Soot Alley-the direction of the Heavenly Craft Workshop's back entrance. His face was livid; he had clearly lost the fugitive.
"General Li!" Qin Tiexin went to meet him.
Li Zhenwei's blade-sharp gaze swept swiftly over Qin Tiexin. Only after seeing that he was unharmed did he breathe a little easier, but that relief immediately turned into even fiercer anger. Without looking at the workshop assistants running out in panic, he drew a deep breath, his chest swelling, and unleashed a thunderous roar toward the Heavenly Craft Workshop's wide-open doors:
"Men! Get in there and search! In broad daylight, beneath clear heavens, some scoundrel dares attempt murder in the street! Turn this den of thieves upside down for me!!"
Infused with a hardened battlefield general's Sha Qi and fury, the roar sent all of Soot Alley buzzing. Even the paper windows of the homes opposite shuddered. The assistants who had just run outside nearly collapsed as their legs went weak.
"Who dares?!" A somewhat hurried voice, striving for composure, came from inside.
Zhao Xuan strode out in a dark blue silk robe of casual wear, his hair slightly disheveled and his face a little pale. He first glanced at the furious Li Zhenwei and Qin Tiexin, who stood holding his enormous saber, bristling with Sha Qi. His eyelids twitched violently. Then he forced a stiff smile and cupped his hands toward Li Zhenwei.
"General, why are you making a disturbance outside my Heavenly Craft Workshop? And demanding a search? We are a legitimate business registered with the authorities, and we also have..." He deliberately paused, producing a black token, neither gold nor iron, engraved with a strange furnace-and-cauldron design, and displayed it briefly. "...the backing of an immortal sect. I was checking accounts in an inner room just now and saw no suspicious person enter. Perhaps you have misunderstood, General, or... pursued in the wrong direction?"
He spoke quickly, attempting to intimidate them with his "immortal sect backing," yet his eyes involuntarily flicked toward the deep-blue poisoned needle on the ground before quickly turning away.
Li Zhenwei did not even glance at the token. His gaze swept across Zhao Xuan's face like cold lightning, as though to pierce that veneer of false composure. He stepped forward, unleashing without restraint the chilling Sha Qi of a veteran of countless battles and killings. Even Zhao Xuan, at the Qi Refining Third Layer, felt his breath catch and instinctively retreated half a step.
"A misunderstanding?" Li Zhenwei's voice was low, but every word was iron. "I saw the criminal flee over your roof with my own eyes! Had I not acted in time, my newly recruited subordinate would already have fallen victim! Workshop Master Zhao, you call this a misunderstanding?"
He pointed at the poisoned needle on the ground, then at the white mark on Qin Tiexin's Edgeless Saber. Finally, his icy gaze locked onto Zhao Xuan once more.
"I don't care who backs you. I will remember what happened today. Qin Tiexin is now a man of my Northern Army. From this day forward, if he loses so much as a hair in Ink City, or if anything at all happens to his shop..."
Li Zhenwei abruptly drew the saber Commandant Sun had handed back-the blade slid from its sheath, its bright edge reflecting a bone-chilling gleam in the morning light. Without even looking, he slashed backhanded!
"Crack!!!"
The brand-new vermilion wooden sign outside the Heavenly Craft Workshop, bearing the words "Grand opening-ten percent off for all customers," snapped in two! Its upper half crashed to the ground with a clatter, red-painted wood splintering and gold dust flaking away.
"...you will end up like this sign!" Li Zhenwei sheathed his saber in one clean movement. He spared no further glance for Zhao Xuan, whose face had turned deathly pale and whose body was trembling slightly, and waved to Qin Tiexin and Commandant Sun.
"We're leaving!"
Zhao Xuan stood beside the broken sign, his teeth grinding and his chest heaving with utter fury and humiliation. He stared fixedly at the three retreating figures, his fingers clenched white inside his sleeves. The meager spiritual power of his Qi Refining Third Layer churned inside him, almost bursting out. Yet in the end, he did not dare. The sect's iron laws and the dynasty's agreements bound him firmly like two sets of shackles. More importantly, the Sha Qi Li Zhenwei had released with that step had made him realize clearly that this mortal general truly dared to kill-and truly could! His little cultivation might not prevail against the man's battlefield-honed combat skills and ferocity.
He could only watch helplessly as the youth who had ruined his entire plan and subjected him to this crushing humiliation followed that damned general out of sight at the alley's mouth.
"Father..." Only then did Zhao Ming timidly poke his head out from behind the door.
"Get out!!!" Zhao Xuan whipped around, his eyes bloodshot, and forced a roar of utmost suppression through his clenched teeth. Frightened out of his wits, Zhao Ming scrambled and crawled back inside.
They returned to the Qin Household Blacksmith Shop.
Li Zhenwei carefully examined Qin Tiexin from head to toe, confirming that he was uninjured, then looked again at the poisoned needle and the white mark on Edgeless. His expression remained grave. "A vicious thing. It specifically breaks through a martial artist's Qi and Blood and dissolves on contact with blood, making it difficult to trace. It seems someone really doesn't want you leaving Ink City."
Qin Tiexin nodded silently. He was no fool. Connecting Zhao Ming's earlier unusual pleading and high offer with Zhao Xuan's appearance just now, who stood behind this went without saying. He simply had not expected them to dare use such vile, ruthless methods.
"General Li, I..." Qin Tiexin began, his voice a little hoarse.
"No need to say more." Li Zhenwei gave his broad shoulder a firm pat. "Once you've chosen your path, don't look back. Leave these lurking demons and capering clowns to me. All you need to remember is that from this moment on, you are a man of my Northern Army."
Qin Tiexin nodded firmly and said nothing more. He went back inside, picked up his enormous, already-packed bundle, and lifted the Edgeless Saber, now wrapped again in coarse cloth.
Li Zhenwei's gaze fell on the long object wrapped in cloth. The situation earlier had been too urgent for a close look; only now did he notice its astonishing length and the natural tautness of Qin Tiexin's arm muscles as he carried it.
"Is that the saber you forged for yourself?" Li Zhenwei asked.
Qin Tiexin murmured assent and loosened one end of the cloth, revealing the dull black blade and its strange, faint blue-and-red patterns.
A gleam flashed in Li Zhenwei's eyes, and he stepped forward. "May I have a look?"
Qin Tiexin handed it over. Li Zhenwei grasped the hilt, and his hand immediately sank! He had prepared himself, but its weight still exceeded his estimate. With a low shout, he braced his waist and stance, the muscles of both arms bulging, and barely managed to hold Edgeless level. He could not carry it as easily as Qin Tiexin did. The blade's dense, massive solidity, as though connected to the earth itself, and its light-devouring black color both secretly astonished him.
"A fine saber!" Li Zhenwei slowly lowered it and let out a long breath. His gaze at Qin Tiexin was filled with surprise and still deeper appreciation. "It must weigh at least a hundred and seventy jin! And you can swing it to temper your body? Well done, lad! I thought I'd recruited a highly skilled blacksmith. Who knew I'd picked up a born warrior in the making as well!"
A little embarrassed by the praise, Qin Tiexin scratched his head without speaking.
The more Li Zhenwei looked at him, the more pleased he became. He was about to say something when Qin Tiexin set down his luggage, walked to the counter, and took a neatly folded sheet of coarse paper from his robe, offering it with both hands.
"General Li, this... is for you."
Li Zhenwei took it, unfolded it, and froze.
It was an IOU.
The handwriting was crooked, but every stroke had been written with the utmost care:
"I, Qin Tiexin, have borrowed exactly forty-five taels of silver from General Li Zhenwei. This document stands as proof. I will repay it in the future. Borrower: Qin Tiexin (fingerprint). Twentieth day of the first month, nineteenth year of Chengping, Great Xuan."
A bright red fingerprint had also been pressed beneath it.
"What are you..." Li Zhenwei looked up at him in puzzlement.
Qin Tiexin kept his head lowered. His voice was quiet but clear. "The forty-five taels you left before were payment for repairing your saber. I... used some to buy travel gear, leather armor, and the materials for this saber. I shouldn't have touched it, but... I truly needed them. So count it as a loan. Once I earn my military pay, I'll definitely repay you."
Looking at the youth's earnest, stubborn face, then at the IOU in his hand with its still-wet ink and bright red fingerprint, Li Zhenwei did not know whether to be angry or laugh. He opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing. He merely sighed heavily, carefully folded the IOU, and put it into a concealed pocket close to his body.
"All right. I'll keep it." He looked at Qin Tiexin with complicated eyes. "You can repay me once you've earned merit, been promoted, and received a silver reward." He understood that the youth was not settling accounts with him, but holding fast to the scales of "fairness" in his heart. In times like these, such character was rarer than gold.
"Everything packed?" Li Zhenwei surveyed the much emptier shop.
"Yes."
"And the shop? All arrangements made?"
"Yes. I gave the key to Aunt Wang next door and paid five years of management fees at the yamen."
Li Zhenwei nodded without asking further. "No time to lose. Since someone doesn't want you leaving, we'll make a point of leaving early. We set out this afternoon. For now, come fill your belly with me!"
At the beginning of the hour of the Snake, at Ink City's largest restaurant, the Drunken Immortal Pavilion.
In a private room overlooking the street on the second floor, the third round of empty dishes had already been cleared away. Li Zhenwei and Commandant Sun had barely touched their own bowls and chopsticks. Both stared across the table in astonishment.
Qin Tiexin sat there, his posture as upright as ever, but the speed and quantity of his eating were truly staggering.
Four empty, extra-large bowls were piled in front of him-the kind used for noodle soup, each large enough to hold three days' worth of food for an ordinary household. Beside them stood a stack of more than twenty empty steamed-bun plates (each had originally held two fist-sized white-flour buns). Four plates of soy-braised beef, two roast chickens, and an entire river fish braised in brown sauce had been reduced to bones and juices. A basin of pork stewed with cabbage and tofu had been emptied, broth and all. Now he was holding his fifth enormous bowl of rice, eating great mouthfuls with the last plate of stir-fried seasonal vegetables. He chewed powerfully and swallowed smoothly, as though that bottomless stomach could never be filled.
Commandant Sun could not help whispering to Li Zhenwei, "General, this... Little Brother Qin's appetite is almost equal to our whole five-man squad's rations..."
Li Zhenwei's eyelids were twitching too. He had known the lad could eat, but seeing it himself was still a shock. Watching Qin Tiexin's angular jaws shift slightly as he chewed, and the broad, sturdy chest and arms whose contours remained visible beneath his padded clothes, he suddenly understood somewhat why the lad could swing a hundred-and-seventy-jin saber. That build, that appetite-he was practically a beast in human form!
He raised a hand to summon an attendant. "Another basin of rice, two roast chickens, and soy-braised beef... another five jin!"
The attendant gaped, looked at the wreckage of dishes on the table, then at Qin Tiexin's calm expression, which plainly showed he was not yet completely full, and hurried off with an acknowledgment.
Qin Tiexin put down his bowl, a little embarrassed. "General Li, am I... eating too much?"
"Eat! Eat your fill!" Li Zhenwei waved his large hand. Far from displeased, his eyes shone. "A good appetite is a blessing! And means you can fight harder! Once you're in the army, I can't promise everything, but there'll be all the food you can eat! With that strength and appetite, you'd be letting down every grain you've eaten if you didn't become a fierce warrior charging through enemy lines!"
He studied Qin Tiexin closely again. Even seated, the youth stood a head above him; upright, he would probably approach nine chi (about 1.9 meters). His shoulders were broad enough to all but block a doorway, his arms thick, his finger joints large. His muscles filled out his padded clothing, yet he did not look clumsy, instead possessing a sense of coordinated power. He likely weighed upward of two hundred and fifty jin, but with his large frame and dense muscles, he looked imposing and powerful rather than bulky.
He was truly born to wear heavy armor and wield a great halberd! The more Li Zhenwei looked, the more pleased he became. Even his anger over Zhao Xuan's assassination attempt was considerably diluted by the delight of having found a treasure.
In the end, Qin Tiexin finished the newly served rice, roast chickens, and soy-braised beef before finally putting down his chopsticks and breathing out in satisfaction. This was the fullest, most satisfying meal he had eaten for as long as he could remember. He had not even known he could eat so much. Instantly, the sensation of recovering Qi and Blood filled his entire body. Not only had his earlier deficit been replenished, but a considerable surplus had accumulated inside him.
He could probably go two days without eating.
When they settled the bill, the Drunken Immortal Pavilion's proprietor looked at the empty bowls and plates that required two attendants to carry away. His abacus beads clattered, and even his smile had grown a little stiff.
At the middle of the hour of the Goat, the sunshine was just right.
Outside Ink City's southern gate stood two sturdy horses and a hired carriage with a blue canopy. Li Zhenwei and Commandant Sun rode ahead, while Qin Tiexin, accompanied by his enormous bundle and the Edgeless Saber carefully wrapped in thick cloth, sat on the carriage shaft. The driver was a plain, honest middle-aged man.
Qin Tiexin's enlistment papers and the registration placing his shop under military protection (which Li Zhenwei had specifically ordered expedited) were all complete and tucked safely against his body.
It was time to go.
Qin Tiexin looked back through the city gate. Buildings blocked the direction of Soot Alley from view. But he knew the little blacksmith shop was there, its door locked, quietly awaiting a return whose date remained unknown. His master's grave stood on Emerald Cloud Mountain, facing the sun. The neighbors were perhaps busy making their living.
Ink City's gray walls looked somewhat worn in the afternoon sunlight. The clamor from within gradually grew indistinct.
He watched for a long time, then turned back toward the dusty official road ahead.
In his heart, he softly said:
"Goodbye."
Li Zhenwei shook his reins. Hooves clopped and wheels rumbled.
"Hyah!"
The horses and carriage started moving, heading north, toward the frontier, toward a road ahead that was unknown yet held hope. They rolled slowly away, picking up speed until they finally became a tiny black speck at the end of the official road.
Atop the southern gate tower, a figure in an inconspicuous gray robe stared into the distance where the party had disappeared. His fists were clenched so tightly that his nails dug deep into his palms, drawing thin threads of blood.
It was Zhao Xuan. His face was so dark it seemed it could drip water. Frustration and venom churned in his eyes, along with a barely perceptible trace of... fear.
Qin Tiexin had left, taking that strange giant saber and following that general who was like a god of slaughter.
His shop remained, but under military protection, it had become chicken ribs-little to gain from, yet hard to discard.
The second "Divine Forging Furnace," the top three on the Contribution Ranking, the Spirit Awakening Pill... all his schemes, all his ambitions, seemed to have dissolved into bubbles along with that receding carriage.
A cold wind swept across the battlements, stirring up dust.
Zhao Xuan stood for a long time. In the end, he could only fling his sleeve viciously, turn, and disappear into the gate tower's shadows.
Only the fragments of the Heavenly Craft Workshop's sign, severed by a single stroke of Li Zhenwei's saber, still lay scattered at the mouth of Soot Alley, silently recounting that morning's heart-stopping events and the utter collapse of an ambition.
For Qin Tiexin, the story of Ink City had come to a temporary close.
And the frontier's wind, snow, and beacon smoke awaited him ahead.