A Good Blade (Continued)

The two drank until quite late, and because she had drunk so much, Jian Mo slept very soundly.

When Jian Mo was woken up the next day, she lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, somewhat disoriented.

Zhou Fu nudged his shoulder and called out again, "Jian Mo, did you hear what I said?"

"Hmm." Jian Mo's eyes darted around, then her gaze fell on Zhou Fu's face. A headache was running through her. "You mean the glass burning thing?"

Zhou Fu pulled him up by the hands. "Yes! All the glass we fired yesterday failed. A whole kiln full of black sand has now turned into a jumble of broken glass pieces!"

Jian Mo rubbed her forehead. "The black sand we brought back from the Jintuo Tribe? Were it used to make glass yesterday?"

"Yes, didn't you know?" Zhou Fu emphasized, "They came out as lumps, completely unformed, and looked really strange."

Jian Mo hadn't noticed. "I forgot, I'll go check."

Zhou Fu grabbed a fur robe from a corner of the bedding and gave it to him. "Put on your outer garment first."

Jian Mo got up, rubbing her head, and Zhou Fu downstairs.

The fire pit on the first floor had been lit, but perhaps because Wu Jiong was not there, the fire was covered by ash, leaving only a little bit of charcoal with an orange glow.

The earthenware pot used for boiling water was moved aside, and some steam was rising from it—it seemed the water was ready.

Jian Mo glanced at it. "Did Wu Jiong go see it?"

Zhou Fu: "Yes! The clan leader went out as soon as he received the news."

Jian Mo: "Then let's go too."

It was a bit cold outside, Jian Mo wrapped her animal skin robe tighter around herself and hurried toward the river.

Before he even reached the kiln, he could see a large crowd gathered there from afar.

They were talking, and the noise was so loud that even from such a distance, he couldn't make out what they were saying, but he could sense that everyone's emotions were complicated.

Someone caught sight of Jian Mo out of the corner of their eye and shouted, "Jian Mo is here!"

Everyone tacitly made way for Jian Mo, waiting for her to come over.

Jian Mo didn't refuse. He walked through the crowd and stood in front of Wu Jiong and Qing Kuo: "What exactly happened?"

Qing Kuo showed him an open ceramic box. "We used black sand to make glass, following the same steps as before, but the glass didn't form properly; it just came out in clumps."

As Qing Kuo spoke, Jian Mo had already looked at the pottery box.

There should have been a flat piece of glass at the bottom of the ceramic box, but now there are several lumps of things—some of which are not even formed pieces of glass, and some are messy, lumpy objects.

He picked them up one by one to examine them and found that the objects at the bottom of the ceramic box were mainly of two types: one was slightly greenish glass beads, and the other was a honeycomb-shaped blackish-red object.

There's not much to say about glass beads; it's likely that impurities were present during the firing process, causing the glass to clump together and preventing the formation of a smooth piece of glass.

As for the reddish-brown object, Jian Mo picked it up gently in her hand, and the cool touch told her that it was a metal.

He tapped the surface of the object lightly, and the sound of his fingernail striking metal was very clear.

Jian Mo subconsciously looked up at Wu Jiong.

Wu Jiong: "It looks like metal chunks have been burned out."

Jian Mo took a deep breath and came to a conclusion. "The sand we brought back is probably mineral sand."

Qing Kuo: "Mineral sand?"

Jian Mo: "Right. Didn't the Jintuo Tribe say that when they mine, they need to go into the mine to find intact metal blocks? I guess besides high-quality metal blocks, they also produce mineral sands there."

Everyone looked at each other; most people didn't understand.

Jian Mo looked at Wu Jiong.

Wu Jiong replied in perfect unison, "I understand. Everyone else, go back first. Qing Kuo, De Jiang, you guys stay here."

This means holding meetings in small groups.

The other members of the tribe didn't ask any more questions and immediately turned and left.

Most of them have a somewhat carefree personality, but they are very united in protecting the tribe.

After everyone left, the patrolling orcs conducted a final check and patrol nearby. Jian Mo looked at the remaining core members of the tribe and explained seriously, "Ore sand is sand containing metal; it's also a mineral."

After speaking, Jian Mo paused, waiting for the others to react.

After they pondered for a moment, Jian Mo continued, "When we make glass, we add alkali to the ore. The alkali should lower the melting point of substances other than metals, so the other substances melt first and solidify together, and then the metal melts as well."

This was a bit hard to understand, but the orcs and sub-orcs present were among the smartest in the tribe, and they slowly came to their senses.

Qing Kuo: "So, we brought back copper from the Jintuo Tribe?"

Jian Mo: "I suspect it's not just copper. Natural mineral sands usually contain all sorts of metals and are not pure. Among the metals that can be refined, besides copper, there should also be iron—iron is another metal."

Jian Mo's words were actually very informative. After he finished speaking, he paused and waited for everyone to understand.

After a few breaths, everyone realized what was happening, their eyes filled with surprise, yet also a barely suppressed tension.

Wu Jiong said in a deep voice, "In any case, it's a good thing that the tribe has obtained metal. Everyone, remember to keep it a secret."

As he spoke, he looked at the others.

Qing Kuo immediately said, "We need to tell everyone so they understand the seriousness of this matter."

De Jiang: "We need to have a meeting."

They arranged everything in just a few words.

The Riverside Tribe doesn't produce metal, so their sudden acquisition of it would surely cause all sorts of speculation if word got out.

Their method of obtaining metal was also quite unusual; no one knew that ore could be smelted into metal, and if they did, there would probably be disputes.

In severe cases, it could even lead to wars between tribes.

Jian Mo was unfamiliar with these things in the tribe, so she remained silent the whole time.

After they finished discussing, Jian Mo, "How much ore is left?"