The next day, Zhang Ping made a special trip to the school library. He first searched for the history of Pearl City but found no information related to ‘Wu Lian’ and ‘Nan Yue,’ indicating that these two terms were not old place names.
If they weren’t place names, then what could they be?
Zhang Ping returned to the dormitory and filled out his graduation application while pondering this conundrum.
“Could it be that the two words are meant to be read in reverse?”
In the afternoon, Zhang Ping paused from his writing and suddenly had a new idea. Although it seemed unlikely, he wrote down the two words in reverse on a piece of paper.
Yue Nan.
Lian Wu.
Zhang Ping’s eyes widened as he looked at the reversed words. The puzzle wasn’t that difficult after all. But very few people would know the answer, and the sender certainly knew him well!
Or, to be more precise, they knew the original owner of his body very well.
Not far from the orphanage in Pearl City, there used to be a beef brisket noodle shop. The signboard had the word ‘brisket’ split in half, so it looked like ‘Yue Nan’ from a distance.
Behind this noodle shop was a small garden, a paradise in the eyes of the orphans.
Before Zhang Ping entered the Pearl City Ability Academy, he often practiced martial arts alone in that garden, aimlessly throwing punches and kicks.
Times have changed, and the beef brisket noodle shop closed down four years ago. Now, there’s a armor workshop in its place, so the chances of the Celestial Foxes knowing this information are slim. Only those who knew that the original owner of his body used to practice martial arts in that small garden, and there couldn’t have been more than a handful of people.
From this, it could be inferred that the person who appeared behind him last night definitely knew the original owner of his body!
Zhang Ping tore up the paper with the words on it and threw it into the toilet. Then, with his graduation application in hand, he headed out.
Knowing the answer made him feel much more relaxed. From the literal meaning, it seemed that the other party wanted him to meet at the small garden behind the beef brisket noodle shop on the 23rd.
The numbers didn’t need to be reversed since there were only 30 days in a month, so it had to be referring to the 23rd of the month.
The graduation application process went smoothly. After all, he was just a useless Awakened with a worthless ability, so he didn’t attract any special attention.
In the evening, Zhang Ping packed his luggage and left the school.
When he arrived at Iron Soul, the owner, Chou Qiang, who had been taking care of Uncle Liu, immediately broke into a smile upon seeing Zhang Ping with his luggage.
“Little brother, your timing is perfect. I’m about to go out on a mission tomorrow, and it’ll probably take about five days. I was just worried about who could take care of Uncle Liu. Come, come, let me show you upstairs.” Chou Qiang grabbed Zhang Ping’s hand excitedly.
The shop had three floors: the first floor was the store, the second floor was the living quarters, and the third floor was the workshop.
The second floor had many rooms, and Zhang Ping chose one to settle his luggage. After putting his things away, he went downstairs with Chou Qiang, who then introduced himself as Chou Qiang, although everyone called him Stinky Qiang, a nickname he didn’t mind.
Uncle Liu’s full name was Liu Tiefeng, and he was already 79 years old. He had a son named Liu Dashan, but he had gone missing recently.
Perhaps sensing something amiss, Uncle Liu’s mental state had been deteriorating. Not only was he becoming slower in his reactions, but he also seemed confused at times. That was why Chou Qiang wanted to find someone reliable to take care of Uncle Liu.
He chose Zhang Ping mainly because Zhang Ping was an orphan student and didn’t seem to have the complicated thoughts and relationships of those who had grown up in society.
Additionally, Chou Qiang would also come by often to care for Uncle Liu, so he wasn’t worried about Zhang Ping having any ulterior motives.
Of course, he didn’t mention the latter part, and Zhang Ping only guessed it.
A student who wanted to become an adventurer.
It couldn’t be anyone else.
An orphan.
It was too easy to guess in Pearl City.
In the evening, Chou Qiang took the time to teach Zhang Ping some basic blacksmithing skills. Once he went out on his mission, Zhang Ping could look after Uncle Liu and practice the basics in the shop, so he wouldn’t be idle.
The blacksmithing in this world was quite different from what Zhang Ping had imagined.
Before learning, Zhang Ping had thought that forging weapons involved hammering red-hot iron blocks and then tempering, polishing, and sharpening them.
But the crafting techniques in this world were not that simple.
“Little Zhang, I’ll demonstrate it once, so watch carefully.” Chou Qiang put on a pair of fireproof gloves and said to Zhang Ping, who was standing nearby.
Zhang Ping nodded and concentrated, carefully observing Chou Qiang’s movements.
Chou Qiang picked up several iron ingots and placed them on a wooden tray, saying, “These are refined iron ingots that can be purchased from wholesale stores near iron mines. A 10-jin iron ingot costs around 6,000 yuan.”
“That expensive!” Zhang Ping exclaimed in surprise.
Chou Qiang placed several scales on the wooden tray and smiled faintly, “You have to understand that the iron mines in Pearl City are all outdoors, and going out there is like risking your life. Every one of these iron ingots may be stained with the blood of miners and adventurers. Is 6,000 yuan too expensive?”
“…”
Zhang Ping was speechless.
Next, Chou Qiang prepared the materials and said, “These scales are from the Red Refining Snake, an exotic beast. When heated, these scales will gradually melt and emit extremely high temperatures. There’s also a substance called ‘Red Ash’ that can be incorporated into the refined iron, not only strengthening its hardness and toughness but also giving it self-healing abilities.”
“Moreover, once the Red Refining Snake Scales are added, the weapon must be forged in one go. Otherwise, once it cools down, the shape will be set, and it will be difficult to reshape it.”.
As he spoke, Chou Qiang placed the iron ingots and materials into the furnace and began to stir the mixture vigorously with his hands, looking more like he was kneading dough than forging a weapon.
“These materials need to be manually stirred evenly, so this forging technique is also called the ‘Dough Forging Technique.'” Chou Qiang seemed unaffected by the high temperatures, his eyes fixed on the fire as he worked.
Zhang Ping swallowed, noticing that despite the fireproof gloves, the flames had licked Chou Qiang’s arms, yet he didn’t seem to mind at all, not even singeing a single hair.
“Pay attention to this next step; it’s crucial.” Chou Qiang said as he lifted a lump of red-hot ‘dough’ from the fire and placed it into a black rectangular mold. He then picked up a large hammer and began pounding the raised portion of the mold, gradually flattening it.
“Bring me that red oil over there!” He paused to catch his breath and instructed Zhang Ping.
Zhang Ping immediately picked up a one-meter-tall oil barrel from the counter and struggled to carry it over to Chou Qiang.
“Not bad, being able to lift that fire oil shows that your physical fitness isn’t bad.” Chou Qiang smiled, testing Zhang Ping’s strength.
Although the Dough Forging Technique didn’t require exceptional strength, one couldn’t be too weak either.
Chou Qiang opened the lid of the fire oil barrel and poured a small amount onto the mold. A loud boom echoed as steam billowed from the mold’s crevices. Chou Qiang then pulled a lever on the side of the mold, slowly opening it to reveal a pitch-black knife with red veins running through it.
“This is the most basic step in forging weapons. This knife is called the Pearl City Knife, a standard weapon for the city’s soldiers. All blacksmith apprentices start by learning to forge this knife. Once you’re familiar with the material transformations, you may not need a mold and can forge weapons according to your own designs.” Chou Qiang picked up the knife and walked over to a testing stone, slicing it down with a flash of light. The stone was cleanly split in two, the cut smooth and even.
“This is the most ordinary knife in Pearl City!”.
Zhang Ping felt like he had just gained a whole new perspective. This was something he couldn’t learn at the Pearl City Ability Academy, and it also gave him an initial understanding of the city’s weaponry.
But he quickly snapped out of his awe, realizing that Pearl City, with such powerful weapons, was still infiltrated by the Celestial Foxes.
Undoubtedly, the Celestial Foxes were even more formidable, dangerous, and terrifying.
“Can this standard weapon harm mid-level exotic beasts?” Zhang Ping asked after a moment’s thought.
