Steward Lan recounted everything that had happened in full detail.
With a flick of his toe, Liu Wuxie sent the broken saber Scarred Tiger had discarded on the floor into his hand. He flicked it lightly, producing a clear ring entirely different from the echoes of the weapons he had picked up in the Xu Household's main hall.
A cold smile curled his lips. His gaze pierced straight at Scarred Tiger, devoid of emotion.
"Are you certain you bought this saber from the Xu Household's weapons workshop?"
Liu Wuxie questioned him publicly. The eyes of the several hundred people present all converged on him, yet he remained composed. His tone carried a hint of irresistible authority, like an emperor questioning his subjects.
"Are you blind? Your Xu Household's mark is plainly engraved on the hilt."
Scarred Tiger showed him no courtesy, his face full of disdain. The reputation of the Xu Household's live-in son-in-law thundered in everyone's ears.
Every weapon made by the Xu Household bore a unique mark that could be recognized at a glance. This saber did indeed bear the Xu Household's mark. Steward Lan had not dared use force and had allowed Scarred Tiger to cause trouble here, unwilling to escalate matters.
Only the Xu Household's master craftsmen could engrave this mark; ordinary people could not imitate it. Even Xu Lingxue had believed it when she first saw the saber.
"Steward Lan, you've been with the Xu Household for over a decade. You should be familiar with weapon refining. Tell me, what is the main material the Xu Household uses to refine weapons?"
Liu Wuxie turned his gaze back to Steward Lan, asking him to explain the Xu Household's weapon-refining method and the materials it used.
"The main material for our Xu Household's weapons comes from our purple-gold iron mine. We combine it with Xiangyang meteoric iron, melt it over a fierce flame, then temper it over a gentle flame. Every weapon reaches the standard of hundredfold-refined steel."
He did not elaborate on the precise details. This much information was enough.
"Does anyone have any questions about that answer?"
Liu Wuxie swept his gaze over the crowd. The raw materials used in the Xu Household's weapons had long since ceased to be a secret, and everyone nodded.
"Young Master Liu, what exactly are you getting at with all this? What does it have to do with this broken saber? The quality of the Xu Household's weapons has cost lives. Shouldn't you give us an explanation?"
A middle-aged man stepped forward. He was a longtime customer of the Xu Household's weapons workshop. All that had been said had no connection to the broken saber Scarred Tiger had brought.
Xu Lingxue said nothing. She watched Liu Wuxie quietly, a trace of an unusual expression showing in her beautiful eyes.
"Of course it's connected!"
Liu Wuxie raised his hand to cut off the clamor around him, and the entire hall suddenly fell silent.
"Brat, spit it out. I have things to do. Hurry up and discuss compensation."
Scarred Tiger urged him impatiently. A flicker of panic passed through his eyes. It might have escaped others, but it could not escape Liu Wuxie, who took in every detail.
All attention focused on Liu Wuxie's face, waiting to see what he would say next.
"Young Master Liu, stop keeping us in suspense. Tell us what exactly is going on with this broken saber."
Everyone was growing impatient. If the Xu Household had forged it, the matter was clear: the Xu Household simply had to pay compensation.
His gaze swept around before finally settling on Scarred Tiger's face. He said, enunciating every word, "Tell me, who sent you here to cause trouble at the Xu Household's weapons workshop?"
Terrifying killing intent swept over Scarred Tiger and his companions. A bone-piercing chill sent the temperature throughout the hall plummeting. Who could have expected Liu Wuxie to say such a thing?
"I bought this broken saber from your Xu Household's weapons workshop. It bears the mark engraved by your Xu Household! Everyone, judge this fairly! The Xu Household is far too arrogant. They got my brothers killed, and now they're turning around and accusing us of causing trouble. Are you using your shop's size to bully your customers?"
Scarred Tiger continued to incite the crowd, not daring to meet Liu Wuxie's eyes. He used the crowd's strength to pressure the Xu Household.
"You truly won't shed a tear until you see your coffin. Today, I'll let you die with your eyes closed."
Liu Wuxie looked toward the refining room just as Hu Shi emerged. The clamor outside had startled him out of his contemplation.
"Hu Shi, wheel out a refining furnace!"
Hu Shi soon brought out a refining furnace, and the temperature throughout the hall abruptly rose.
"Light it!"
At the command, Hu Shi did not hesitate. He worked the bellows with his right hand, and fearsome flames engulfed the furnace used to melt iron. Liu Wuxie tossed the broken saber inside.
At that moment, Scarred Tiger began to panic.
"The Xu Household has truly opened my eyes today. You've gone to all this trouble just to avoid paying compensation. We'll count ourselves unlucky. We'll never buy the Xu Household's weapons again."
With that, Scarred Tiger headed outside with his brothers, no longer pursuing the matter. Many people looked puzzled.
"Steward Lan, stop them. No one is leaving this weapons workshop today."
His words carried authority. That air of a superior shook Steward Lan's mind, and he involuntarily unleashed his Xiantian pressure, blocking Scarred Tiger and his companions.
"What is the meaning of this? We've already agreed to let bygones be bygones. Why are you still pressing us? Are you planning to kill us to silence us?"
Scarred Tiger grew furious. All ten men drew their weapons, looking ready to attack at the slightest disagreement.
"Since you're already here, leaving without clearing things up shows far too little regard for our Xu Household. Do you really think we're so easily fooled?"
Liu Wuxie looked harmless to man and beast, leaving others unable to fathom him. He walked over to the refining furnace, picked up the tongs, and gripped the broken saber that was about to melt. The molten iron was actually blue, rather than purple-gold.
"What's going on?"
Hu Shi was stunned. He had spent several years in the Xu Household's refining workshop. Their molten iron had always been purple-gold; blue molten iron had never appeared before.
"Hu Shi, melt this down too."
Liu Wuxie was in no hurry to explain. He took a saber that had not yet fallen from the wall and tossed it in front of Hu Shi to continue melting.
Time passed, second by second. After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the Xu Household's saber began to melt. Strangely, this time the molten iron was purple-gold, entirely different from the broken saber Scarred Tiger had brought.
The sight shocked countless people. A trace of astonishment flashed through Xu Lingxue's beautiful eyes, along with a hint of surprise.
Steward Lan's expression turned frighteningly grim. Others might not know, but he was very familiar with Canglan City's weapons. The Xu Household forged its weapons with purple-gold ore, while the Tian Household used blue wind stone, which melted into blue molten iron.
The onlookers were dumbfounded as well. This broken saber clearly had not been forged by the Xu Household. The molten iron was the best proof. But what explained the Xu Household's mark?
Everyone could not help recalling how the Xu Household's master weapon refiners had been poached. Those master craftsmen all possessed the Xu Household's core secrets. Engraving its mark would not be difficult.
"Scarred Tiger, you dared bring a fake broken saber to frame the Xu Household! You must be tired of living."
Steward Lan was furious. He had almost been fooled. Had Liu Wuxie not appeared, today's events would certainly have harmed the Xu Household. Who would have thought that a weapon engraved with the Xu Household's mark had not actually been forged by them?
"Perhaps we made a mistake. We saw the Xu Household's mark on it and assumed it had been bought from the Xu Household. The mark on it can't be false."
Scarred Tiger's gaze darted about evasively. With the matter exposed, his tone had changed as well.
With the Xu Household's mark engraved on the broken saber, coming to its weapons workshop was perfectly reasonable.
The other party had admitted his mistake. They could not actually kill him, could they? The mark could not be false. Ultimately, there was still a problem within the Xu Household itself that had left an opening involving its mark for others to exploit.
Steward Lan was in a difficult position as well. The matter had been cleared up: the broken saber Scarred Tiger had brought had not been forged by the Xu Household, yet it bore their mark. Someone had deliberately framed them.
Everyone's gaze once again converged on Liu Wuxie, wanting to hear what he had to say. He had exposed the fake broken saber Scarred Tiger had brought, so he should have the greatest say.
"Will you tell me who is behind this yourselves, or shall I force it out of you?"
Liu Wuxie's eyes were like sharp arrows bearing straight down on Scarred Tiger, frightening him into taking a large step back. This piece of trash had frightened him into retreating time and again today. Even if he left the Xu Household's weapons workshop, he would have lost all face.
"Young Master Liu, no one instructed us. I made myself very clear just now. I didn't know this broken saber wasn't forged by the Xu Household either. We're victims too. Two of our brothers died in the mountains."
Scarred Tiger began playing the sympathy card. For injuring Shopkeeper Dong and the others, he would at most have to pay some gold coins. It was not a crime deserving death.
"You truly refuse to see reason!"
Liu Wuxie was growing impatient. He could not be bothered to waste any more words on them, and terrifying killing intent descended.
Having spoken, he advanced toward Scarred Tiger step by step. The ten men retreated toward the door, watching for a chance to escape. Steward Lan was in the Xiantian Realm; as long as they avoided him, they could escape. As for that piece of trash Liu Wuxie, Scarred Tiger and his companions had never taken him seriously from the start.
"Let's go!"
Scarred Tiger did not hesitate. At his command, he led the ten men in a swift breakout toward the door.
"Steward Lan, if even one person escapes today, get out of the Xu Household."
Liu Wuxie did not act. A bunch of trash was not worth his trouble. His words carried a soul impact that shook Steward Lan's mind. He involuntarily rushed forward, unleashing his Xiantian pressure and blasting Scarred Tiger and his companions back. They all fell in the center of the hall.
Planting a foot on Scarred Tiger's chest, Liu Wuxie said without a trace of emotion, "Now you can talk. Who instructed you to come here and cause trouble?"
Everyone stared at Liu Wuxie as though he were a monster. When had the Xu Household's good-for-nothing become so formidable?
"You piece of trash! If you have any guts, let me go and fight me one-on-one!"
Scarred Tiger tried to struggle up, only for Liu Wuxie to stamp him back down. He gnashed his teeth in fury, cursing Liu Wuxie as trash.
"You've successfully angered me!"
A short saber suddenly appeared in Liu Wuxie's hand. It flashed and vanished, and blood sprayed.
"Aaaah..."
Scarred Tiger let out a piercing scream. His entire right arm had been severed at the shoulder, and blood stained the floor red.