Chapter 102 The sword is not a sword, the tripod is not a tripod
The old swordsmith’s wine flask has bottomed out.
He opened the door, walked out of the Jia San Sword Stove with a wine bottle in his hand.
The sky was still a bit dark and there were very few people on the road.
The smooth bluestone beneath my feet was covered with a layer of morning frost, making it a bit slippery.
The old swordsmith's steps slowed down a bit.
One more reason to hate mornings.
Behind him, at the end of the winding Butterfly Creek, was the direction of the river.
There is a red sun that has been suppressed all night, and it is struggling to erupt at the end of the dark horizon of the river.
The orange-red early sun stretched the shadow of the old swordsmith carrying the wine flask very long.
The old swordsmith hated the morning sun and the noise of things gradually coming to life.
It was like a fly buzzing in his ear, reminding him to continue working after a sleepless night.
However, people's daily concentration is limited and must be replenished by sleeping. The old swordsmith has known this truth for a long time.
So now he just wants to go to the breakfast shop to have breakfast and drinks, then return to the Jiayi Sword Furnace halfway up the mountain to rest, and wake up in the evening to forge swords with energy.
He has maintained this routine for more than ten years.
However, in the past two days, the old swordsmith spent the first half of the night at the Jiayi Sword Furnace halfway up the mountain, and the second half of the night came to the Jiasan Sword Furnace by the river.
He promised the Liu family that he would make a small gadget to solve their troubles.
Fortunately, it's not too troublesome.
Last night was the last night, and the little thing is now lying in the hot charcoal stove and will be baked today.
Tomorrow the old swordsmith doesn't need to come here anymore and can continue his business at Jiayi Sword Furnace.
The old swordsmith avoided the right half of the street that was covered with sunlight, his body was hunched, and he walked silently in the shadows of the houses on the left.
If you don’t like mornings, then why go out to eat and drink in person?
With just one word, the Liu family in Longcheng could vacate a hundred-person sword furnace for his own use.
Even if the old swordsmith wants to eat the newly baked sesame cakes from Luoyang Dongshi, the Liu family will work hard to give him a portion every day that is only cold but not sour.
But the old swordsmith still left the sword furnace at the same time every day and went to the shop in the morning market to have breakfast.
In addition to being accustomed to eating it, it is also because of what the master once said.
I just don’t know if it’s superstition or customary quirks.
"Boy, do you know that every morning from Maozheng to Chenchu is the time when the Yang energy of the day is revived.
"Not only will the sword in this furnace silently absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and undergo a natural tempering process, but we swordsmiths who stay up late also need to replenish this energy.
"No matter how sleepy you are, you can't fall asleep right away. You have to go out and do more activities, such as getting a bottle of wine for your teacher.
"Well, if you listen more to your teacher and stick to this good habit, you will definitely live a long life..."
The old swordsmith had forgotten many of his master's words, and his voice and appearance had long been forgotten, leaving only a blur of his blacksmith's back. However, this small talk at the breakfast table that time had become an unforgettable memory for him.
Many words from the master.
It's the same as the saying "myths originate from the mortal world".
But the only thing that's a bit regretful is...
The master did not live as long as he did, so it seemed that he did not live a long life.
But this did not prevent the old swordsmith from dragging his tired body down the mountain on time every morning to eat and drink.
The only advantage of this Jiasanjian furnace is that it is much closer to the morning market than the Jiayijian furnace halfway up the mountain.
No one was disturbed along the way, and after a while, the old swordsmith arrived at the open-air breakfast shop run by the female earsmiths.
The genius is just beginning and there are not many people.
As for the group of craftsmen who robbed him of breakfast he met last time, he never met them again. Well, they were probably all sent by the Liu family to repair the gate.
The old swordsmith carried the wine bottle again, came to his old seat in the back and sat down, leaving the wine bottle on the table.
He took out eight copper plates and placed them one by one on the greasy, dirty black table.
Not far away from the back of the shop, Ah Qing, who was wearing a sarong, put down his work, tacitly picked up a pot of rice wine and placed it in the old man's hand.
The little girl put away the coins as usual, turned around and left with the empty wine bottle.
The old swordsmith did not look at her, but opened the cloth cover of the new pot and smelled the wine to wake him up.
In fact, he was not too tired today.
Because the gadget of Jia San Sword Furnace is too simple for him.
But I heard Liu Zian say the day before yesterday that just this gadget has attracted a powerful swordsman with a high level of Qi training.
The old swordsmith didn't care about this matter, and he was completely unmoved by Liu Ziwen and Liu Zian's flattering compliments.
He is a swordsmith, and he is only responsible for making swords.
Don't care about anything else in the world.
As for personal honor and disgrace, glory and wealth...
Those seniors who forged swords for Emperor Sui at the Butterfly Creek were so glorious and noble.
With the full support of a great dynasty that had just completed the unification of the north and the south and was rising like the rising sun, the world's treasures were taken like baht and discarded like sand.
It was the best of times, when swordsmiths were carefree and their ideas for the tripod sword were radical and bold.
But it was the worst of times. Dreams suddenly ceased. Looking up, the mountains and rivers were broken, and the world was in chaos. No matter how magical the tripod sword was, it could not suppress the rise of heroes in troubled times.
Then he fled south with the emperor. By the Butterfly Creek, the sword furnaces were destroyed, and the heads of the swordsmiths fell into the rolling river.
But all the brilliance in the past seemed like a distant dream.
But the most painful thing for a swordsmith is never death.
The man is dead, but the sword has not yet been drawn from the furnace.
Because all the swordsmith's reasons, joys and anger, and words are all on the sword.
Some people say that the end of Qi practitioners is immortality.
The founder who left behind the myth of Yue girls, the first generation of Yue virgins, relied on the mythical spirituality to be passed down from generation to generation in the land of Wu and Yue, achieving a certain sense of immortality.
The swordsmith who crafted the Taoism used the tripod sword left behind to achieve eternal life in the same sense.
In future generations, no matter how powerful the Qi Practitioner or the noble King is, as long as they come into contact with this tripod sword, they must honestly follow the rules set by the swordsmith to use it.
This is more like a heritage that spans time and space.
A swordsmith who crafts the mythical path has no lethality compared to the qi practitioners of the other eight mythological paths.
However, the most extreme killing in the world is designed by the swordsmith!
At an ordinary breakfast stall, the old man thought to himself and took a quiet sip of wine.
Ah Qing brought a plate of hot steamed rice and placed it in front of him.
The old swordsmith took out his greasy chopsticks, pulled his long beard aside, and began to eat slowly.
The slow look was just like the gadget he cast at the Jiasan Sword Furnace last night.
With ease.
Even last night, he borrowed some elements from a certain tripod sword that was forged by one of his masters, and put it on the gadget to make it look a little special.
The Liu family and the swordsman with middle-grade spiritual energy cultivation might be surprised and satisfied when they see it.
However, the old swordsmith was not satisfied, because there was no point in walking on the same path that his predecessors had taken.
Only the Jia San Sword Furnace would play like this, which is considered a kind of tribute to his master.
As for the sword lying quietly in the sword furnace, what the old swordsmith was doing was much more complicated.
It is far from what the Jia San Sword Furnace can match.
Still stuck in some kind of bottleneck for a long time.
In fact, this sword could have been produced a long time ago, but he has yet to find a satisfactory and perfect solution.
It is better to lack than to overdo.
So the old swordsmith kept it pressed in the furnace.
It was only recently that he had some ideas and decided on a general direction, and he couldn't delay it, so he made the final announcement not long ago.
But the Liu family didn't know about this.
If I knew about it, I would definitely urge him early.
But the old swordsmith didn't bother to explain to them.
What’s the point of walking the same old path that our predecessors have walked again?
"Why should a sword be a sword? Why should a tripod be a tripod..."
In front of an open-air table in the downtown area, the old man took a sip of hot soup and murmured softly to himself, but no one heard him.
In the busy street in the morning, life is full of life, and everyone is doing their own thing. After Ah Qing served the new customers a plate, she returned to the wooden bench under the shed. Her hands were not idle, and she continued to work with other simple female workers.
Exquisitely woven sword spikes.
After a while, she seemed to be tired in the middle of the journey. The pretty girl in a sarong temporarily put down her work, thought for a while, took out the "blue butterfly flower" given to her by a young county magistrate, and placed it in the sun.
She had a quiet face, lowered her head to look at it, and occasionally touched the Pythagorean-shaped piece of paper on the butterfly flower with her little hand. The companions around her turned their heads and glanced at her, not paying attention, and everyone was doing their own thing.
At the table not far away, the old swordsmith was lost in thought for a while. At a certain moment, he shook his head gently, immersed himself in eating the last bite of breakfast, and slowly lowered his chopsticks.
As usual, the old man stood up without saying a word, picked up the wine bottle and left, but just as he left the table and turned around, he suddenly caught a glimpse of blue flowers from the corner of his eye.
The next moment, an old man paused and fell back to his original position. He picked up his chopsticks again and stared quietly at the empty dinner plate.
The morning market around was noisy and lively, but no one noticed this inconspicuous scene...
Damn it, Ah Qing has a character card, how could he be knifed? Brothers are too cruel, Bang Bang, give me two punches! (I feel sorry for you again)