Chapter 101: Firecloud Blacksmith Store
For the next week, Shen mulled over what Yu Ruyan said. He heard everything possible from her but those hardly helped him to figure out anything. He went through all the details he could remember about this world, especially the upper level continents and tried to figure out if he was someone from those families.
His memory from last life wasn’t clear. He could still remember many things. Besides everything he remembered about this world came from a novel. He could only remember a limited amount of information from a novel, and he always wrote them down. Yet nothing helped him in figuring out his origin. Nor did they give him a clue.
Yu Ruyan wanted to advise him many times, but she stopped. If she told him to stop, he might take it more seriously behind her back. She only hoped he would understand and won’t be distressed about it anymore.
It took Shen another half a month to realize, thinking about something when he had limited information was foolish. And it also limited his growth. He might have a family somewhere in this world but since they sent him away, they must have their own troubles.
He wondered if his family had a powerful background. Whether they were having some internal troubles to send their successor away. He even made a wild guess that they were wiped out and the fate of the family fell on his own hand... Shrugging, he opened the door after almost a month while muttering, “That’s why I never loved family arcs. They are too idiotic—”
“Uncle, you are finally out!”
The little girl, JuJu, greeted him.
Shen raised his brow. He almost forgot about this little girl. Seeing her here, he instantly understood Yu Ruyan brought the girl with her. That was something even Shen himself had planned to do. It would have been all good, if the girl knew her place and not call him an uncle.
“Little girl. you mean big brother, right?”
“Uncle, you mean Ju Ju, right?”
“Hoho, little girl. You shouldn’t argue against your elders.”
“Hoho, uncle. You shouldn’t engage in worthless chatter with your juniors.”
“...little girl, you don’t seem to know your place.”
“...uncle...” the little girl couldn’t bring out any comeback anymore. In one way or another, Shen had given her another home. She was in a losing position here. She looked at Shen with her teary, upturned eyes.
“I-I guess it doesn’t matter...”
JuJu’s attack was a fatal one. Enough to even force Shen back. She might be young but a crafty one. He got the chills just by thinking about what she could do five or six years later.
Then he asked her a few questions before letting her go. JuJu came to Yu Villa with Yu Ruyan and others. It didn’t seem like she started cultivating any techniques and Shen didn’t recommend her cultivating right now either. It’s not that she didn’t reach her optimal age for cultivation. From five-six years almost anyone could cultivate. But Shen wanted her to get used to life here and also enjoy her childhood a little more. After he moves to Greencloud City, he will take his sweet time to train her. Yu Ruyan seemed to have some similar ideas.
Giving her a pear-shaped fruit, which was unbelievably sweet, Shen disappeared. Only JuJu could be seen mumbling happily as she bit on the fruit, “Perverted uncle, hehe...”
If Shen heard her, he would demand back the good intentions he had for her. Fortunately or not, he was already too far to hear her mumbling.
In the villa courtyard, Shen found Mingyue Gelou cultivating One Nurturing Will. He calmed down habitually and lost himself in her movements. It was a familiar scene of the years he spent with Yu Ruyan, Lingshuang and Mingyue Gelou. Whenever they practiced sword dance, he would always be there to watch over them.
After half-an-hour Mingyue Gelou finally stopped and noticed Shen. Pleasantly surprised, she asked while wiping her sweaty body, “Eh, Shen? You are out from seclusion?”
Yu Ruyan didn’t want others to know about his past or worry about him, so she told others Shen retreated to seclusion. It wasn’t false but not true either. Shen smiled as he placed his hands on her sweaty waist, “Hmm, yeah. You are cultivating diligently. Where’s Ruyan and ShuangShuang?”
Gelou didn’t resist as her cheeks flushed red and naturally responded, “Sister Ruyan is training Lingshuang. I think she took her to fight demonic beasts. Do you need anything?”
“Hmm...” Shen put on a pondering expression. “What if I need you?” he said as he licked the beads of sweat forming on her neck.
Gelou’s blush deepened but she protested weakly, “It’s still day...”
Shen found her expression too cute, which tickled his ego to tease her more but decided not to do so. Shen whispered in her ears as if a devil whispering.
“Haha, I am just joking. I’ll have you at night then. Rest now, I might be late.”
Mingyue Gelou only nodded weakly and didn’t ask anything. When he said he will have her, she felt shame taking over her.
Shen once again kissed her forehead and left the villa behind.
Firecloud Blacksmith store, the best blacksmith store in Hundred Miles City. No matter the time and event, it was always filled with customers. Shen came here for two reasons. First, to buy a mold for making needles and second to search for someone.
The store hall was extremely spacious. The temperature inside was also warmer than outside. Since it was cold outside, it wouldn’t be weird if someone entered the store to keep their body warm.
‘They wouldn’t do that right?’ Shen wondered.
The spacious main hall had a plethora of weapons ready for sale. There were rows of weapons such as sabers, spears, swords, halberds, hatchets, battle-axes, hooks, tridents, whips, truncheons, hammers, claws, rods, lances, cudgels, throwing stars, bows, crossbows, pikes, and shields……!
He glanced at them as a voice interrupted his thoughts.
“Hello, how can I help you esteemed customer.” Shen heard a natural and melodic voice.
Shen turned his head. A plain-looking woman in her forties greeted him. She wore plain clothes, which made her look even more amiable.
“Hello, I need a mold that can create an instrument that’s as thin as a strand of hair.” Shen described what he needed and checked his surroundings once again.
“Oh, you have found the right shop. On this street, there are no more than three blacksmith stores, but this shop is the only one that can meet your needs. I hope that we have what you are looking for. Please come with me.” The woman smiled as she replied. Her smile looked natural rather than the professional smile Shen was used to.
Shen smiled as he followed behind the woman and walked towards the inner room, which was normal since he was looking for a mold and not a finished weapon.
They crossed a gray iron door and entered one of many rooms on the north side of the shop. The room was not too big, about five meters deep, three meters wide, and five meters tall.
“Here are some of the smaller molds and containers that we have created. Oh, and over there are the needle molds that you were looking for.” The woman pointed at tens of black unidentifiable objects that were sitting in an inconspicuous corner, which were as thick as an arm, and had many small holes in them.
“These should do it...” Shen remarked while holding a mold that fit his demands. He was a bit skeptical whether he would be able to control the Primordial Genesis Flame or not. So, he took nine more molds. He was not short on cash and having a few extras wouldn’t hurt him. While if he didn’t have enough, he had to come again.
“How much are these?” Shen asked after picking a total of ten molds.
“It’s twelve taels of silver per mold. Since you took ten, you can pay one hundred and ten taels of silver.” The woman said with a fresh smile.
Satisfied, Shen paid for the molds and the woman led him outside. When Shen reached the main hall, he glanced at his left and right. Failed to find the familiar figure, Shen asked the woman in front of him, “Um, is Huoyun Liu-Li not here?”
“Oh, you are acquainted with Liu-Li?” The woman said with surprise.
Shen, on the other hand, became uncomfortable. He asked with almost non-existent hope, but this woman looked as if she had a close relationship with Huoyun Liu-Li. “Ah, yes, you can say that...”
The woman didn’t mind Shen’s suspicious behavior and said thoughtlessly, “Liu-Li returned to her master last week. Do you need her for something? I can relay it to her when she comes back later.”
“Oh, it’s alright. I’ll see again. Thanks for the help.” Shen nodded towards her and left the Firecloud Blacksmith Store.