Fu Shifeng

Chapter 300 Making sharp tools

Going west from Chenzhou to Yongzhou is not without roads, but the two places are located at the northern foot of Wuling Mountains. There are a lot of rolling hills, the terrain is broken and difficult to travel, and there are many villages of Miao, barbarians and barbarians mixed in there.

When these Yili villages see a lone traveler, they usually plunder them directly, not only robbing property but also abducting people. The men were dragged to cut trees and open up wasteland. If the women were lucky, they would be taken as concubines by the village leaders. If they were unlucky, they would be taken turns to be played by the men in the village who had no wives.

Therefore, business travelers passing through this area of ​​​​prefectures and counties often travel in groups and only take familiar official roads. Even if they are exploited and extorted by the government, they can barely tolerate it.

As for Cheng Sanwu, Mu Xiangling, and Qin Wangshu, due to their small number, they attracted the covetousness of many villages along the way. Those barbarians saw two beautiful women, as well as Cheng Sanwu's majestic horses, and a Like a hungry beast, they pounced on me one after another.

Of course Cheng Sanwu would not be polite to them, and if he dared to come looking for death, he would send these barbarians on the road, killing them all the way.

However, due to the lack of information in these places, the Yili villages may not be friends with each other. The East Village plundered Cheng Sanwu and his party but they failed, but the West Village did not know it and rushed in anyway. In the end, they lost their lives in vain and were killed by Cheng Sanwu. Heads were rolling, and the big bay-red horse was walking westward almost in blood.

"Did Zhaoyang-Jun's killing go too far?"

Sure enough, when they were resting in the wild, Mu Xiangling started to blame again: "With Lord Zhaoyang's martial arts, we can scare these villagers away. Why bother to kill them all?"

"Hey - you are so kind and compassionate! With such a kind heart, I should really set up a tablet for you and let the people burn incense for you every first and fifteenth day of the lunar month. By then, just collecting the money for the incense will be enough for me. It will take three lifetimes!" Cheng Sanwu sarcastically said in a bitter tone.

On the side, Qin Wangshu pursed his lips to hold back his smile, but Mu Xiangling remained as usual, not noticing any difference: "I just feel that there are some things that you can do better, but you are always careless."

"I'm happy!" Cheng Sanwu said confidently: "Besides, these southern barbarians have come to rob and commit murder. Why should I treat them harshly?"

"Didn't Lord Zhaoyang ever think about educating them?" Mu Xiangling asked.

"Do you think I look like an academy master?" Cheng Sanwu pointed at himself: "If we have to talk about education, then killing is also one of the education. Kill those barbarians who like to rob and commit crimes, and the rest will be They are barbarians who know how to restrain themselves and will be obedient, so it is only useful to talk about education at this time."

"Jun Zhaoyang did this to punish without teaching." Mu Xiangling said bluntly: "To punish without teaching is called cruelty. This is too much. It is not popular with the world. How can it be taught afterwards?"

"Of course." Cheng Sanwu said calmly: "People in this world are not as determined as you think. As long as they kill people to establish their power, they will know what is good or bad. You said I would kill without teaching, but I said the heads on the ground will be It’s the best education. If you don’t even understand this truth, I think these barbarians will continue to suffer in the future.”

"Jun Zhaoyang's words are quite unique."

"There's nothing unique about it." Cheng Sanwu didn't take it seriously: "If you teach others, you can't even teach it. If you teach people, you will understand it once. But let me tell you, not everyone can take advantage of it. A wise one."

"Oh? I'd like to hear the details." Mu Xiangling asked.

"You know you have to correct it after suffering once. That's a huge talent." Cheng Sanwu smiled and said: "How many people have suffered a lot but still cling to the truth they believe in and refuse to change. Still. There are some unlucky ones who are so confused that they don’t even think about it after suffering a loss, let alone hope that they can become famous again.”

"Not being angry and never making mistakes are indeed the qualifications for becoming a sage." Mu Xiangling asked, "Is Mr. Zhaoyang aspiring to become a sage?"

Hearing this, Cheng Sanwu shook his head quickly as if he had a shudder: "I don't want to be a sage. It's enough for me to take care of my own food, drink, sleep, and sleep. Why do I think so much? I have to move out of the sage. Enlightenment, I think there is something wrong with you!"

"As long as the saint is immortal, thieves will not stop. Zhaoyang Jun also knows the secret principles." Mu Xiangling nodded.

"It's so hard to listen to you!"

As soon as Cheng Sanwu finished speaking, the maroon horse snorted. Qin Wangshu stood up and pressed his sword: "Someone is here again."

"It's endless." Cheng Sanwu was a little irritated, but he didn't draw his sword, and was about to activate the Invisible Divine Blade.

"Wait!" Mu Xiangling stopped the two of them, stood up and shouted in dialect in the distance: "You don't need to hide, come out."

A dozen natives appeared from behind the tree. Among them were men and women. They were thin and short. They were wearing simple clothes made of torn linen. They had no shoes on their feet. Most of them had disheveled hair. They looked at Cheng San with frightened eyes. Fifth class people.

Although these natives held wooden poles in their hands, they were only sharpened and not equipped with spearheads. They did not carry iron weapons, which shows how poor they were. Some people had several fish hanging on their waists, strung up with straw ropes, and still had water drops on them. They had probably finished hunting in the nearby river.

"This is almost like a monkey in the mountains." Cheng Sanwu laughed and cursed.

Mu Xiangling took the initiative to step forward. She was dressed neatly and looked like a fairy descending to the earth in the eyes of the natives. She did not come to rob or kidnap anyone like other barbarians from the Miao village.

The natives shrank back, but Mu Xiangling chuckled and asked. Although she spoke in native dialect, her voice was clear and soft, which sounded like fairy music to others, and she unconsciously put aside her fear and anxiety.

The natives spoke clumsily. They first pointed at Cheng Sanwu who was sharpening a knife in the distance, made gestures, and then took out the fish on his waist and shook it to indicate.

"They said they wanted to exchange the fish they just caught for Zhaoyang Jun's knife." After some exchanges, Mu Xiangling turned back to Cheng Sanwu and said.

"Surely the ignorant are fearless! You actually want to take my knife away from me when you open your mouth?"

Cheng Sanwu lowered his head and looked at the Hundred Refined Magic Sword in his hand. After several fierce battles, in addition to the colorful red fire marks on the blade, there were also centipede-shaped lines formed by thunder and lightning.

This is not some profound and mysterious weapon-refining method, but the Hundred-Refined Divine Sword has been facing powerful enemies such as the iron-gnawing beast and the thundering mandrill one after another. It has exhausted its sharp edge and has gradually become unable to cope with it, and its inner physical properties are on the verge of disintegration.

No matter how Cheng Sanwu cultivated his own energy in the past, in the final analysis, this hundred-refined magic sword was just a Taoist's blessing from the fire of the outer elixir. Although it was somewhat magical, it was far from being a rare magic weapon.

Cheng Sanwu was even worried that the Hundred Refined Divine Sword might not last until he could break through the innate realm.

"Why do these people want my knife?" Cheng Sanwu asked.

Mu Xiangling looked around and saw mountains, forests and wilderness: "They have lived in the mountains and forests for a long time. They lack iron tools and have no way to start farming. Even for fishing and hunting, they can only cut wood for fishing and hunting. They are a small group and they dare not do it easily. It was an act of looting, so they tried to exchange iron tools with passers-by.”

"They just want to exchange a few fish for a knife. They really don't understand the market." Cheng Sanwu folded his fingers and flicked the blade: "My hundred-refined magic sword costs at least three thousand guans, and it doesn't cost a single copper. Sell ​​it!”                                                                                                                  Mu Xiangling thought for a moment: "I did sense that there is a mine nearby, but it is a pity that they cannot access it."

Cheng Sanwu said: "Most of the mineral veins are buried deep underground, and ordinary people cannot collect them, let alone these natives?"

"This vein is exposed on the surface, and there is a stream flowing nearby. A lot of ore is lying dormant at the bottom of the water." Mu Xiangling said with a smile: "Mr. Zhaoyang may not know that in ancient times, our ancestors smelted hardware and originally mined it from the underwater river bed. Mineral sand.”

Cheng Sanwu touched his beard: "Is that place far away from here?"

"It's not far, only a few miles."

"Let's go and show them what magical means are!" Cheng Sanwu suddenly became interested.

Mu Xiangling said a few words to the natives. After hearing this, they followed Cheng Sanwu and his party through the dense forest and came to a fast-flowing stream.

Cheng Sanwu leaned over to drink the water, took a sip, and muttered: "It does smell like rust."

"What are Mr. Zhaoyang planning to do?" Mu Xiangling watched Cheng Sanwu stretch his arms and legs, but there was an expression on his face that he had expected.

"Isn't it just iron? What's the big deal?" Cheng Sanwu waved his hand: "You all get out of the way."

Mu Xiangling led the others not far away, and saw Cheng Sanwu standing by the stream, slowly adjusting his breath. Then a layer of white light appeared all over his body, and the aura of the golden elephant spread along the ground, seeping into the ground, water, and rocks. between seams.

Within a moment, the ground shook slightly, the mud and sand at the bottom of the water rolled, and countless fine sands were taken out of the air and gathered in Cheng Sanwu's palm.

These fine sands are all iron ore buried under the soil layer. Cheng Sanwu used the golden elephant essence obtained from refining the spiritual marrow of the iron-gnawing beast as a guide to induce its induction.

Seeing the fine sand continuously gathering into a ball, it was twice as big as a human head, like a dark cloud hovering in the palm of my hand. Cheng Sanwu silently moved the real fire, breathed out the wind, and the iron sand gradually glowed red, turned into liquid droplets, and melted into molten iron.

And even a raging real fire that could burn a living person to charcoal in an instant, under Cheng Sanwu's exquisite control at this moment, did not leak out at all, and the people nearby could not feel the heat coming towards their faces.

Qin Wangshu witnessed Cheng Sanwu's move from a distance. Although he had already seen what he was capable of, he was still shocked at this moment.

If you just use the searing skill to forcefully melt gold and iron and break weapons, then there are similar martial arts secrets in the Chamberlain Yinlong Division, and even the Yanfeng Sword Technique is one of them.

However, with such violent power and energy, there is inevitably the risk of self-injury when activated, especially if the luck lasts for a long time. Even if a martial artist who has cultivated Gang Qi has a physique that is far incomparable to other people, he still cannot withstand the continuous stimulation. He may burn his own meridians before melting gold and iron.

As for someone like Cheng Sanwu who blows up the flaming wind and smelts iron with his bare hands, it shows that his physical strength and vitality are no longer comparable to those of ordinary warriors, but are closer to those legendary immortals and Buddhas.

Mu Xiangling had already guessed that Cheng Sanwu would do this and watched his every move with a calm expression. But when the natives saw this, they were shocked and fell to their knees one after another, with faces full of awe, as if they were seeing gods.

Cheng Sanwu ignored what others thought, he concentrated on it, and the hot molten iron held in his palm kept turning, gradually getting smaller as it was being tempered by the real fire.

The heat has come, and before the molten iron has cooled down, Cheng Sanwu flips his hands and fiddles with it. The molten iron is divided into a dozen parts, and he flicks it with his fingers, as if being struck by an invisible casting mallet, and gradually takes shape.

Of course Cheng Sanwu would not make any swords and weapons for these natives. At best, they would be axes for logging and hoes and iron plows for land reclamation.

After a series of bell-like sounds, more than a dozen iron tools were formed one after another. Then Cheng Sanwu waved his hand and threw them into the stream to quench, causing them to cool rapidly.

According to common sense, Cheng Sanwu's method of casting ironware can be described as rough, but the physical properties of gold and iron smelted with real fire are extraordinary, and it is much more durable than ironware made by ordinary craftsmen.

Taking pictures of these dozen iron tools from the air, Cheng Sanwu looked at them for a moment. He couldn't say he was very satisfied, but he didn't force them anymore. He turned around and waved to the natives, took away a few wooden poles, and then put the iron tools on them. Tools such as axes and hoes.

"Okay, take it and use it." Cheng Sanwu casually threw these iron tools to the natives. They held them respectfully with both hands, and their eyes shone as if they had found a treasure.

Mu Xiangling took the opportunity to teach the natives how to use these iron tools. From afternoon to dusk, Cheng Sanwu lit a fire and grilled the fish offered by the natives.

After Cheng Sanwu finished eating, Mu Xiangling had almost finished teaching. He stood up and said, "Okay, how much you can learn depends on how hard you teach. No matter how good the tool is, it depends on how people use it."

Mu Xiangling did not object. After standing up to say goodbye, the three of them disappeared into the twilight of the mountains and forests under the awed eyes of the natives.

"What are you looking at?" Cheng Sanwu led the horse and felt Mu Xiangling staring at the back of his head.

"I think Mr. Zhaoyang is indeed determined to become a sage." Mu Xiangling recalled the old story: "A sage observes images and makes utensils, prepares everything for the benefit of the people, and frees all people from ignorance and poverty. This is a supreme merit."

"Here we go again." Cheng Sanwu stopped, turned around, rolled his eyes, and asked impatiently: "I have never seen anyone like you, who just preaches every day and always hopes that others will become sages. You What good will this talk do to you?"

"Jun Zhaoyang, you have the power to shake the world, so you should naturally become a sage." Mu Xiangling's eyes were clear and without any pretense: "If you make a mistake, countless living beings will suffer disaster. I don't want to see it. To this kind of thing.”

"In the past, everyone was afraid that I would cause trouble." Cheng Sanwu's expression gradually turned cold: "Now that I have restrained my temper, you have taken advantage of me again. So what do you want me to do next? Learn to cut meat from a bald donkey and feed it to the eagles? For one thing Piling up flimsy reasons and risking your life? Don't go too far."

Qin Wangshu already knew the relationship between Cheng Sanwu and Fu Shifeng, and now his words hinted that it was clearly Fu Shifeng who was behind Mu Xiangling. They used Cheng Sanwu to deal with the big monster in Xiaoxiang, and even Qin Wangshu could see it clearly.

"No." Mu Xiangling shook his head and said, "These words are not what others want me to say, but my own wishes."

Cheng Sanwu first stared at Mu Xiangling for a moment, then turned around, ignored her, and silently started on the road again.

(End of this chapter)