Chapter 7 - The hot-tempered blacksmith

"Senior, I know I'm handsome, but don't stare too much."

"Was I? I didn't even notice." He motioned for him to sit on the table, but his junior preferred to sit on the bed, beside him.

Feng Liuxie slowly closed the door and lied down. "So, tell me. What did you see?"

"Nothing escapes senior. I think I saw a suspicious person next to elder Deng before he was taken away."

"He's my elder brother, Yan Shen."

"He's dangerous."

"How do you know that?" His face seemed to question jokingly at his adorable junior, worrying about him.

"Senior!" Feng Liuxie giggled at the gravity of his tone. "It's no laughing matter."

"I know." His delight vanished, only with a trace of solemnity, faintly declared his boundaries. "My family matters, I alone will solve. You need not interfere."

Yun Xialuo was at a loss for words. Though Feng Liuxie was cold towards others, he was happy his senior at least smiled and talked freely in front of him. Now, he realized all along, he had keeping everyone at arm's length. What his senior wanted was a bit of familiarity so that he has an overall good relationship, the others he befriend could never hurt him deep even if they betrayed him.

He took a step back, making sure to stay back behind the line his senior drew. "Make sure to tell me first if you need any help."

"I will." Even his smile now looked fake to him. "How was your bout? Was it fun?"

"Nah, they were all boring. Easily flustered, no memory of basics. I guess arrogance does play a part in upbringings." He boasted proudly, and openly spilling out his and the opponents' weaknesses during the match.

"It must have satisfied you to see them lay low like that."

"No, it's not enough." He paused before clenching his fists in determination. "I want to see them in anguish, pain, and bear the weight of how much sins they held over many young, innocent lives they tortured."

Feng Liuxie nodded in agreement. True if he were content with this much, he truly wouldn't be a protagonist. "Today, you took too much of a risk. Who knows if their exterior was faked?"

"I know them more than anyone else." With this, silence fell upon the room. How could he forget? He was the one who was bullied, faced their wrath, and impatience more than anyone else. He was insensitive to have brought up this topic.

Yun Xialuo was quite upset at the mention of his enemies, however, the fact that his senior made such a sad face because of him tingled his heart. 

"Leave those matters for later." He changed the subject blatantly. "Those fools will trip over themselves sooner or later. I am planning to catch those thin, loose threads to tie them in one whole swoop. They can't possibly escape unless someone intervened from the outside."

"You sounded too much like a villain just now."

His senior chuckled. "Did I? Forgive me for I've never revealed this side of me to anyone else before. Only Bi Xi knows this."

"That maid?"

"Yeah. She's the one who nags at me to eat meals everyday."

"Are you guys close?" His cheeky tone changed.

"In a way, I guess she's a childhood friend of mine. I played with her often when I was young as well as talked to her without courtesy." That reminded him to pay a visit to his sister tomorrow, it'd be better without Yun Xialuo.

Yun Xialuo frowned. Not knowing why his heart sank, he neglected this feeling. "Don't say her name." He muttered, "I will be jealous." Feng Liuxie had no idea whether he was joking or being serious, thus, decided to play along.

"Sure." He patted his head gently, simply consoling a child. "Want to sleep here? The bed's got lots of space. I feel strangely lonely today." Hugs are said to appease negative feelings and calm them down. Both were having different thoughts, nonetheless, Yun Xialuo didn't want to miss the chance to get closer to his senior.

"Why did you think I won't?" He snuggled into his senior's sturdy arms. A refreshing agar wood scent filled his mind the subtle relief. Closing his eyes, he nestled his head on his shoulder, peacefully falling asleep.

"Good night." Feng Liuxie kissed his forehead, his eyes yielding to the silence in the room.

By morning, Yun Xialuo has already started his training. After completing 1000 proper sword swings, he has 3 sets of work out - 10 push ups, 20 squats, 15 sit ups, 30 secs of horse stance, 2 laps around the mansion and finally 10 minutes of rest. Feng Liuxie was impressed he didn't slack off on training and partially felt relieve he felt no arrogance to this trivial feat.

Ultimately, the protagonist's goal would be to kill the antagonist regardless the game's choices as his hatred was too great to bottle up. In the game routes, Yun Xialuo ended up stabbing him after hearing his obvious provocation, slicing him into pieces and stuffing them into one to make a present, slicing his head off, or cutting off his manhood in the public. Feng Liuxie hated the fact that the graphics were terribly bloody that fortunately, he didn't have hemophobia.

He changed into white robes, a green overcoat with bamboo embroidery, coins tied with red ribbon and a white gourd. He took a light fan to relieve the heat, and stuffed his money bag from the system's inventory into his sleeves. Descending the mountain in a cloak, he went into the city to pick some desserts for his sister. After all, she's the third most powerful person with authority in the clan that won't betray the Feng family.

"Mister, would you like some candy?" She was adorable, maybe a ten year old. She looked mature despite her age. To be working so early, her family must be sick or passed away. He looked at her with pity as she held up a stick of plum candies at him. She wondered whether he was going to buy them or not. "Will you buy?"

His hands were full with four bags of desserts from famous shops, moreover, they were pricey together. Each of them were all the newly released edition, recommended by the stores. Buying these weren't much of a problem, but he had a dilemma guessing whether his sister would truly enjoy a mundane dessert. Rather than buying it for her, he should buy some souvenirs for his disciple.

"Sure," he grinned. "I will buy three." He handed her the money, ate one now, saved one for his junior, and the other as a midnight snack. He wandered around the market, only to find nothing valuable enough for his junior.

A glint in the corner of his eyes caught his attention, it was a sword with delicate craftsmanship displayed on the wooden table. Its heft was black and slightly rough to improve the grip. The blade was as tall as his upper arm, its point was so sharp that it could wound a person, if touched recklessly and had a lotus chappe. Attached to the pommel was a gold tassel of wealth, its scabbard was glossy black, and lotus patterns were embedded at equal intervals.

Feng Liuxie contemplated why nobody is checking out such a good sword. He asked a passerby, just out of curiosity. "Why is no one looking at his sword?"

The passerby was startled by this sudden question. "You, you aren't from here, are you?"

"Yeah?". His face seemed to ask, "What does the fact that he doesn't live there have to do with the question?"

"He is Duo Qiwu, a blacksmith. His hot-temper pales in comparison to his talent for sword making. All his swords are sturdy, light and most of all, their designs are great. The sword, once bought, can be brought for repairs at half the price. But if it was broken, we would be the one greatly scolded. Those who wanted to use the swords try to persist against his harsh words, guess what they only lasted half a year." He s

"I am guessing you were one of the hard headed ones who tried his services."

"Yeah, it didn't go well at all."

"Isn't half a year quite good considering his temper?"

"Yeah, but nowadays, younger people can't bear such insult. With one harsh word against them, they go away. Customers are gods to seller, nonetheless, he's the only one to act against this unspoken rule. Only one customer has persisted."

Feng Liuxie saw a man, armed in light gears and held a sword, equal in beauty to the one he saw just now. He approached the stall, where the sword was returned gently. "Ah, the person in front of you," the passerby pointed at the man who was now walking away, "quit his services."

He handed him some silver coins, "As thanks."

The handyman accepted it without hesitation. Feng Liuxie was satisfied, for he was neither too modest nor boastful. "My name is Jiu Meng." He bowed courteously.

"The next time I come here, tell me some more interesting things! I will be looking forward to it!" He turned up at the stall, where the old man was sitting. "Hmm, can I buy your sword?"

"Are you mocking me?"

"What do I gain from mocking you?" His amusement was hidden, he could truly swear this wasn't a bad deal for the blacksmith either.

"Enjoyment?" The blacksmith asked warily.

"This is my first present to someone important to me. He would be the one seeing you for repairs, not me." He sounded quite sincere, but he still couldn't trust this young one.

"Did you hear about me?"

"Yeah."

"Then why did you?" The old man himself seemed puzzled as to why a customer would choose him rather than other blacksmiths. It looked like he's aware of his own temper.

"Oh, don't misunderstand. I don't want to torture him with your words, rather train him through you." Duo Qiwu looked at him with distrust. "You may choose not to believe, but this world is never kind to the weak. He at least needs a defensive item to guard himself against. When he comes to your workshop on repairs, don't hold back. It's okay to lash out because he will need to deal the same type of people later in the future. I'm afraid I can't be there for him when he needs it." He was quite honest in his purpose, the blacksmith judged.

"What if I refuse?" He vanished. Without a sound, Duo Qiwu could feel a presence behind him. He regretted testing Feng Liuxie. The fact that he could feel no murderous intent, but rather the sincerity from his words, made him cower in his mind. Gathering courage, the blacksmith glared, ignoring his instincts warning him. "Are you threatening me?" That this youth was dangerous.

"I am not. Isn't serving customers respectfully your job? Yet, you defy this and treat them as if they are the same as you. You should distinguish they aren't blacksmiths, rather they are customers who used the sword in exchange for money. If customers still come for your services, that means you are just bad at making swords. "

"I know." He lowered his head in shame that a younger person with almost no experience in life is reminding him. "I envy your rationality."

"This just means I didn't have a good childhood. Nothing's good about that. Aren't you free? You only need to restrict that freedom just a little bit, then you can survive in life." Feng Liuxie chuckled. "At least, try to hold your temper or else who would be your money source? I will pay you in full, so make sure you keep this conversation as a secret?" He patted his shoulder. "You should know what to do now, right?"

He just nodded in response.

[You threatened him.]

That was only a light warning, doesn't count as a threat. System returned as his maintenance was over. Feng Liuxie left the money at the table, taking the sword with him as he wiped off the last pieces of candy that he finished.

[You sure he will heed your advice?]

No, but he will try to change. He has to or else he will die in the future.

[What do you mean?]

He was one of the most important figures of the war between Feng clan and Poison clan. His involvement added fuel to the flames, through him many weapons to kill people were created. His swords were so sturdy that the poison clan had a rough time dealing with them.

Their intention for peace was destroyed, when the main clan took more damage from the attack than they would, lots of disciples died to keep the elite disciples and masters alive. There were more than a few traitors dressed up as Feng clan's disciples. They mistakenly thought Feng clan was intent on killing them, and that there was no need to reason with them any longer.

In the mean time, Duo Qiwu was forced to create weapons through 'madam'. Yan family kidnapped him and other skilled blacksmiths to make weapons, treating them as slaves in the basement. Separate from the one patriarch built, it was existent since long ago under the mountain. He rebelled against them, ended up being more injured, after failing countless attempts. He was devoid of his will to live, and eventually turned to suicide for salvation.

The Feng clan in one of the routes had both the support of Yan family and other nobles who backed them with materials from behind in return for smuggling of weapons where they take responsibility if found out. The nobles are not taking any risks by doing this. They can get lots of weapons for their private army, and if Yan family fails, they cut off loose ends to prevent anyone from tracing it to them.

That's why in order to prevent the Feng clan's failure and catch those rotten nobles who all helped Yan family in one swoop, the third imperial prince, Ren Liying, had to be made aware of their actions. He was betting that since he hadn't met or done anything to Ren Liying, his belief for justice and decisiveness had stayed the same.

Of course, Feng Liuxie wasn't doing this for revenging his new family. It was because these rotten nobles will get in the protagonist's way in the future. It's better to grant them the mercy of death, than being physically tortured for life. Whether the protagonist remembered his past life, or he didn't, when he hears of it, his goal will become easier to attain.

Feng Liuxie hoped he would remember all his good deeds when he turn crazy in the future, which is very unlikely. Given a small percent of getting into his good shoes, he would do anything to take himself out of Yun Lang's killing list.