43 The Sword Forgers (part 4)

"Laoye, are you …a human?"

Xuanye's face changed a bit. He didn't expect his wife would ask such a question. "What do you mean? In your eyes….Am I not a human? Am I beast?" He tried to make a joke.

"Laoye, three months ago, Ji Nan said that the Yue warrior stabbed you with a sword on your stomach. But you recovered so fast. And that's not the first time I have noticed that you're not a normal human being!"

Xuanye smiled lightly and said, "I wore an armor inside. Therefore, I only got a minor wound!"

"You don't age at all since the day we got married!" Madame Yan said.

Xuanye looked at his wife and said nothing.

"I'm a human. It's just I have this gift, that I can't age. But because of this gift, I can't have my offspring too!" Xuanye carefully said and clutched her hands. "

His wife started to cry and caressed his face, said, "Laoye, you still have your youth, while I'm old and dying! Every day I'm afraid and depressed that you will leave your ugly old wife for a younger woman!"

"Silly woman!" Xuanye hissed and clutched her hands tighter. "You should have known my character. Am I a type of a man who would abandon my wife just for a beautiful face?"

His wife didn't answer his question. "I'm sorry that because of my jealousy, Crown Prince You was killed, and Fuchai lost his trust in you!"

"Fuchai didn't trust me. That's his problem. Nothing to do with you!" Xuanye said. "The most important thing is that you can recover!"

"I don't think I could recover!" Madame Yan said. "The most important thing is that how I can spend my final days with you!"

Xuanye caressed her hair and said, "Tell me, what can I do to make you happy?"

"You've always treated me nicely. Having you here at home, and I can see you every morning and night is enough for me!"

Xuanye hugged her. She's his wife for almost forty years, and he loved her. It's painful for him to see her dying.

Xuanye was chatting with his wife when his servant came to their room and reported that Mister Yao visited him.

Xuanye hurriedly went to the main hall to receive his guest.

"Mister Yao!" he excitedly greeted him.

"Xuanye! It's been a long time!" Mister Yao said. He turned his head to Ying, who stood behind him and said, "Ying, greet your senior-apprentice brother, Xuanye! Xuanye, this is my new disciple, Ying!"

Ying, who stood behind Mister Yao, politely greeted Xuanye. She made a salute with her fists said, "Shixiong, I have heard from Mister Yao and Madame Ling about you!" Her heart beat uneasy as she saw him. She didn't smile, and she only looked at Xuanye for a glance before she lowered her head.

Xuanye noticed the girl who was around seventeen years old. She wore plain simple clothing with her black hair tied with a simple cloth. Her skin looked dark, but her eyes were bright. She looked shabby but quite pretty.

Xuanye also felt his heart beat uneasy. He knew that the girl must have strong internal energy as an immortal. Only immortals with strong internal energy could cause another immortal's heart to beat irregularly like that. He only nodded politely to Ying and didn't put more attention on her.

Xuanye told his servants to prepare a big feast for them. He was happy with Mister Yao's arrival. He had a big table arranged for them. Mister Yao sat in front of him while Ying sat a bit far behind Mister Yao.

"Master, what makes you come here to visit me today?" Xuanye asked.

"Xuanye, although you call me master, in reality, I'm not your teacher. You're already a refined swordsman and immortal! Therefore, I feel bad if I have to trouble you."

"Although you are not my teacher, you are my senior immortal! And I'm glad that you told me what I am. Otherwise,…" Xuanye sighed. "Otherwise, in my life, I will not be able to live in peace!"

"You are always a humble man!" Mister Yao laughed. "Even Goujian and his fifty thousand soldiers have to surrender because of you!"

Xuanye smiled plainly.

"Xuanye, I want to ask you a favor!"

Xuanye nodded, "Master, just tell me what I can do to help!"

Mister Yao and Xuanye chatted in a language that Ying didn't understand. Therefore she got bored, and while the two seniors were having conversations, she was busy enjoying her meal.

When she was a child, her family was very poor, and she didn't even have enough food. Then she was trained to be Fuchai's woman. At that time, she could live like a princess. But after she died and was resurrected, she resided with Mister Yao and Madame Ling. Although they had enough food, it was not fancy food. That day was the first time she had such delicious fancy food since she became an immortal.

"My disciple, Ying, is a brilliant girl! She's supposed to be sent to Fuchai. But her chariot was plundered, and bandits kidnaped her. She resisted the bandit and was killed. That's how she becomes an immortal!" Mister Yao said.

"Oh!" Xuanye gazed at the girl who was busy eating her food. She was holding a big chunk of pork leg with her right hand while she's sipping her wine with her left hand.

Xuanye could not imagine that the girl was supposed to be sent to Fuchai, together with Xi Shi and Zheng Dan. He had seen how graceful and lovely those two girls. While the immortal girl – Ying- although she's pretty cute, she looked childish, uncultured, and not elegant at all.

"Ying is our talented disciple. Therefore, we want to give her a good precious sword. But where can I get a precious sword, if it's not a sword forged by you - a disciple of Ou Yezi," Mister Yao said.

Xuanye sighed and said, "To forge a sword, I need some hands to help me!"

"That's not a big problem. Ying could be your assistant!" Mister Yao said.

"Huh? That girl?"

"Don't underestimate that girl! My wife and I have trained her, and she's a powerful swordsman now. She could be a good assistant. She's a hard-worker!"

"Blacksmithing is not a work for a girl!"

"Don't underestimate her! My wife and I want to give her a good powerful sword since she has a natural talent for swords. She could tell the quality of a sword only by flickering her fingers on it. Therefore I'm pretty confident she has a talent in blacksmithing," Mister Yao said.

"I might be willing to forge a sword for her. But I can't take her as an assistant or take her as my disciple!"

"That is alright. When can you deliver the sword then?"

Xuanye pondered and said, "My wife is ill, and I'm taking care of her now. For this sword, I have to think it over. If you allow me, I will decide in the next few days!"

Mister Yao nodded his head and said, "Thank you, Xuanye!"

Xuanye once again glanced at the girl who was eating her hearty meal. He couldn't help thinking why his teachers cared so much for her. He wondered if the girl was talented, as Mister Yao said.

That night, Mister Yao and Ying stayed at Xuanye's house.

The next day, early in the morning, Ying had already gotten up from her sleep. She had used to work even before the sunrise. But in Xuanye's house, everyone just got up after sunrise.

She was bored as she had nothing to do. She didn't bring a book, and she could only walk around in the inner courtyard.

Xuanye, who woke up early in the morning, was surprised when he saw a woman who was not wearing maid clothing was walking around in the inner courtyard.

"Hey, who is there?" he asked and walked toward her to check.

Ying turned her head and saw Xuanye. She only saw him at a glance, and only this time she saw his face clearly. Her senior-apprentice brother had a long thick black beard, black hair, with beautiful brown eyes. Ying was stunned to see his eyes. His eyes showed such compassion and patience. His eyes reminded her of her father.

Ying spontaneously widely smiled and replied, "Shixiong, it's me, Ying!" She bowed a bit to greet him.

At the same time, Xuanye was also surprised to see her. Her wide smile revealed her neat white teeth, and her eyes sparkled, showed her wittiness. Although her skin looked dark, she looked elegant and beautiful. Totally different from the shabby plebian girl he saw the day before.

"Oh, you!" Xuanye said. "What are you doing here?" He spoke in the Yue language.

"Hmm, I use to wake up very early! But since nobody's awake, so I'm just walking around here!"

"Oh! Mister Yao has not gotten up, has he?"

Ying shook her head.

"By the way, Shixiong, Mister Yao said, that you will consider about," Ying said and paused for a while, and she smiled excitedly, "My sword!"

"Hmm!" Xuanye nodded.

"Shixiong, you don't have to worry about assistant. I could help you," Ying said excitedly. "I'm also pretty smart. As long as you teach me, I think in the next few years, I could be a good blacksmith too!"

Xuanye raised his eyebrows, "Blacksmith works is not for girls!" Xuanye said. This was the first time for him to hear someone praising herself smart. With her beautiful childish face, he could not help looking at her straight to her eyes. Indeed the girl was very appealing.

"Shixiong, you're underestimating me," Ying laughed. "Every day, I carry twelve big buckets of water and walk for tens of li across the hills. So I guess I could handle being a blacksmith!"

Ying noticed how Xuanye's eyes were beautiful, and he looked wise and kind with his long beard and compassionate eyes. Instead of considering him as her senior-apprentice brother, she considered him as her grandfather. Therefore she spontaneously pulled his hand's sleeve like a child and said, "Shixiong, please, take me as your apprentice in blacksmithing. I will be your good disciple! Please…I will not disappoint you!"

Xuanye, born from a very conservative aristocrat family in practicing ancient rites (Zhou Rites), was shocked by Ying's behavior. He spontaneously pulled his hand and said sternly, "Girl, behave and be polite!"

Ying was also shocked. She's from a barbarian Yue country. Also, she considered Xuanye as an old grandpa. Why did he have to be so mad like that?

"I'm sorry," Ying said in a low voice. "Shixiong, I…I just want to be a blacksmith and forge a sword!"

"I've told you, this is not a work for a girl!" Xuanye said with a stern voice, and he walked away, left Ying alone in the courtyard.

Ying was dumbfounded. She didn't understand why her senior-apprentice brother was so mad.