The Complete Second Story

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

Inside the shed, the stove fire burned bright red.

The Ghost Mouth on Zhou Yang's shoulders opened, and he reached into a pair of iron tongs, pulling a roughly shaped, red-hot flat-headed wood-chopping knife from the furnace. He placed it on the anvil, then grabbed a hammer—

The hammer blows fell like raindrops, striking one side of the machete's blade in rapid succession.

Gradually hammer that side of the blade to create a slope, shaping it into a cutting edge.

Sparks flew everywhere.

A few sparks landed at Zhou Yang's feet, illuminating the scene beneath his feet for a moment.

Several shadows were wriggling at his feet.

With each hammer blow, those lingering images slipped one after another into the book "The Knife Credit Ledger" tucked into Zhou Yang's belt.

Zhou Yang focused intently on adjusting the curvature of the blade blank, smoothing out the pits in the cutting edge.

At that moment, he was the only one in the shed.

In the afternoon, A Fu carried a basket of hoes and sickles and went out to sell ironware throughout the village. Zhou Yang repeatedly dipped the cooled knife blanks into the furnace fire.

The red-hot knife blank was repeatedly clamped onto the anvil and forged.

The originally crude flat-headed machete blank, with each forging, became more and more regular in shape—finally, Zhou Yang adjusted the thickness of the back of the blade one last time, and then inserted the entire red-hot blade blank directly into a trough of black water next to him.

Quenching!

Quenching causes the hardness of steel to increase dramatically.

Increased hardness will also lead to decreased toughness.

During the forging of swords, any hidden flaws left on the sword due to imperfections in the forging process will be exposed after quenching.

"Laugh--"

Zhou Yang looked at the bright red knife blank, dipped it into the water trough, and stirred up billowing white smoke.

He dared not relax for a moment and immediately took out the quenched blade blank.

Watching the blade blank turn dark red in that instant, he immediately threw it back into the water.

Repeat this process several times to allow the temperature of the blade to decrease gradually, rather than dropping abruptly to its lowest point, which could cause the blade to crack or bend.

The quenching step is extremely important.

If not handled properly, the rough draft of the machete that he painstakingly forged over a long period of time could be completely scrapped.

This knife is connected to his karmic entanglement with the Karmic Retribution Body he borrows knives from next time, and will even have various effects on the Karmic Retribution Body's future life.

Therefore, although Zhou Yang currently has little experience in blacksmithing, he still hopes to do his best.

Make this knife look quite professional.

A moment later, he took out the knife blank, which had been completely cooled in the water, and examined it carefully.

The blade did not chip or crack.

The blade is slightly bent, but it has little impact and can be straightened.

Zhou Yang looked satisfied. He placed the blade blank on the anvil, tapped it a few times with a small hammer to straighten the slight bend in the blade, then heated the base of the blade until it was red-hot, wedged the red-hot base into a piece of wood, and flattened the exposed end of the blade.

Sharpen the blade and refine the handle to better fit your hand.

With all these tasks completed, the flat-headed machete was finally finished. Holding the long-handled flat-headed machete, Zhou Yang lifted the curtain of the shed and went outside to take a look.

It was nearly dusk, and it was time for him to finish work.

Perhaps to dispel his own wariness towards her, A Fu paid her wages—four taels of paper money—before leaving in the afternoon, which was several times more than usual.

Zhou Yang then returned to the shed and released the Ghost Head Averting God god.

A pale hand grasped the faceless head and placed it on Zhou Yang's shoulder.

On that head, two holes twitched slightly, sniffing the deathly aura permeating the air.

When the deathly aura intensifies suddenly, it indicates that A Fu or other uninvited guests are approaching.

"Next, we will look for an opportunity to create the ' Gate of Rest Averting God ' as well."

"Chang Dafeng's accumulated Mindfulness are not as good as mine, yet he has already opened the gates of 'opening' and 'resting' and created two Averting God. My current progress in cultivating ' Draft of Divine Makeup and Ghost Painting ' is far inferior to his."

"Also because I live in Guan Village, I can't freely apply the various rituals of ' Draft of Divine Makeup and Ghost Painting.'"

Zhou Yang glanced at the Ghost Head Averting God and pulled out the "Knife Credit Ledger" from his waistband.

Turn to the third page of the book. On the third page, those wriggling ink dots solidified into clear words, filling the blank spaces in this story.

"A Woman Rides on a Golden Pagoda."

On the Linzang Kora Route, the owner of the "Quejicang Silversmith Stall," Queji, and his son, Aji, were ordered to go to the "Nengsheng Liberation Temple" to cast a "golden stupa."

"Who knew that the golden pagoda would suddenly change and emit a strange fragrance."

"The father and son, Queji, fled on short mules, only to be ambushed by the ' Maji ' family on the way."

"Yundan Langjia of Maji's family ordered the " Eba Mishu" he had invited to chant a poisonous curse and set out offerings, causing the short mule ridden by Queji and his son to have an accident and die.

Knowing he was no match for the sorcerer, Queji took the initiative to engage with Maji's enemies, allowing Aji to escape.

"Aji ran wildly and saw the sun in the sky, which turned into the shape of the golden pagoda they had cast in the ' Nengsheng Liberation Temple '."

"His father and Maji's enemies were all trapped under that tower, yet they were still smiling at him."

He suddenly lost consciousness.

This story is now completely complete. Search "Germany" on Bing to see the latest chapter!

As Zhou Yang finished reading the last word on the page, the many words turned into ink blots and began to wriggle, forming new characters. "Borrowing money and settling accounts, retribution is imminent."

You will borrow a knife from "Aji" to break free from his "uncertainty about life and death, and his muddled existence".

"Aji will become your Karmic Retribution Body."

Do you offer knives on credit?

It was now time for Zhou Yang to finish his work.

Being in A Fu's house, he wouldn't casually borrow money or make purchases in this dangerous place. So, after reading the complete story on the pages, he rolled up the book and tucked it back into his belt.

After taking the wages that A Fu had placed on the wooden stump, Zhou Yang left A Fu's yard, closed the gate, and hurried home.

The second story told in "The Knife Credit Ledger" is quite different from the story of Ding Ling.

The style of the personal and temple names mentioned is quite different from the personal and place names that Zhou Yang usually encounters.

This inevitably made Zhou Yang wonder—was the location of the second story under the rule of the Great Zhao Dynasty?

What is that place like? To people, is it a desolate and dangerous place, or a benevolent one?

All these daydreams were nipped in the bud by Zhou Yang as he approached his home.

He walked into the passageway behind the courtyard gate, calling out, "Mother!"

"I'm back!"

The mother's cheerful response did not ring out as Zhou Yang had expected.

The end of the corridor was completely silent, as if no one was home.

But at this hour, it's getting dark, how could no one be home?

As Zhou Yang pondered these thoughts, he didn't stop. He strode out of the passageway and turned to see his "family" in the courtyard— Zhou Laogou standing at the entrance of the main room, hands on his hips, the hem of his tattered vest pulled up behind him.

His face was gloomy, and when he saw Zhou Yang enter, he stared at Zhou Yang fiercely.

There wasn't a trace of kindness in his eyes.

Huang Shaozi lowered his head, twisting his hands in front of his lower abdomen, and paced around the yard.

She seemed not to hear Zhou Yang's calls. Zhou Heigou stood beside the Laogou. When he saw Zhou Yang enter the yard, his triangular eyes narrowed, and a cold glint flashed across Zhou Yang's face. He suddenly sneered a few times, "A-Yang, you seem quite happy."

The provocation and malice in "Second Brother's" words were undisguised.

He had already been scolded by Huang Shaozi several times for frequently provoking Zhou Yang, and had become much more restrained.

After that, Huang Shaozi was much more "friendly" to Zhou Yang when he was around.

Now they have openly provoked Zhou Yang again.

Upon hearing this, Huang Shaozi merely glanced coldly at Zhou Heigou without uttering a word of reprimand.

The old woman then turned to look at Zhou Yang, her eyes filled with reproach, as if blaming him for returning at the wrong time.

But as darkness fell, Zhou Yang didn't go home. Was he perhaps waiting to die outside?

Zhou Yang's smile faded.

He frowned, glanced at everyone, assessed the situation, and then had an idea. He said, "It's almost dark, hasn't my brother returned yet?"

My mother clearly looked anxious and worried.

The Laogou seemed to be worried about something, but unable to solve it, so it vented its anger, born of its helplessness, on Zhou Yang. However, nothing major had happened at home recently.

Although the winter harvest is approaching, harvesting crops is a joyous occasion, and there's no need for everyone to look glum.

Based on his elder brother's help to the Xiao Family that morning, Zhou Yang deduced that something might have happened to the Baigou!

His mother's words confirmed his suspicions!

Huang Shaozi clapped his hands repeatedly, his face full of anxiety, and said, "He said he was going to help out at the Xiao Family this morning, but he didn't come home at noon!"

It's almost dark, and your older brother still isn't home!

"This is so frustrating! It's driving me crazy!"

Xiao Fei's death was not peaceful!

"Those ghosts in Guo Family Alley kidnapped him and harmed him!" Zhou Laogou said grimly, still staring at Zhou Yang. "You knew your elder brother was going to help the Xiao Family, why didn't you stop him?"

"Are you a member of the Zhou Family?"

Upon hearing this, Huang Shaozi's expression changed instantly, and he turned to look at Zhou Laogou.

She didn't dare to argue with Zhou Laogou in person, so she turned to look at Zhou Yang, hesitant to speak. Before Zhou Yang could say anything, Zhou Heigou said sarcastically, "He hides in his room every day, busy with his own things. He keeps all the money he earns from guarding the fire tower for himself."

Unlike me, I have to go with my father to tend the crops before dawn.

He spends all his time working in his own fields!

"I'm absolutely devoted to this family, though I don't know if some people feel the same way..."

With the Revelation Ceremony approaching, every single paper coin accumulated will be of great use during the Revelation Ceremony.

As soon as the Heigou barked, it headed straight for Zhou Yang's savings, intending to completely cut off Zhou Yang's future!

Zhou Yang's successful survival of the night guarding the fire tower had made him suddenly wary of Zhou Yang!