Chapter 124: The Blacksmith Shop

Everyone’s faces were extremely unpleasant, filled with deep self-blame. Xu Tianlang was stunned by Xu Ziyan’s questioning, his face flushed red. He opened his mouth, but could not speak. Xu Qi, who stood nearby, found it hard to tolerate the situation. They had all once been prodigies, yet now they were being scolded by a girl younger than them. He felt uncomfortable and said softly,

“Ziyan… younger sister, your words are a bit too harsh!”

“Too harsh?” Xu Ziyan sneered coldly. “A group of Cultivators were subdued by ordinary people at the Postnatal Fifth Layer, tied up, and left their lives in others’ hands! After I saved you, instead of reflecting on yourselves, you blamed me for not warning you earlier! Hmph! Are you children? If you are children, then sorry! I don’t need naive children who easily trust others. I need comrades! Comrades I can trust with my back, comrades who let me focus on fighting the enemy without worrying about what’s behind me! With your attitude, can I trust you? Can I safely hand my back to you? If I just hand my back to you like that, what’s the difference from seeking death?”

“Ziyan, I’m sorry, we were wrong!” Xu Qi lowered his head and spoke softly. Since Xu Ziyan’s scolding made him feel guilty, he didn’t dare utter the word “younger sister.”

“Ziyan, it was my fault! However, I wasn’t blaming you earlier! I just wanted to say that if there is a next time, please tell us. Next time, we will definitely trust you!” Xu Tianlang similarly did not say the word “younger sister.”

Xu Ziyan took a deep breath, steadied her agitated emotions, and slowed her tone as she said,

“Forget it. We’ve all just left the Clan and haven’t had this kind of experience before. We don’t understand how treacherous people can be, nor would we expect that there are people in this world who would take risks and even disregard their lives for profit. But you must remember, a person cannot trip over the same stone twice! Lacking experience is not scary; we can mature through training over the coming period. But if anyone takes lacking experience for granted again, don’t blame me for being harsh—I’ll ask them to leave the team! Otherwise, I will leave!”

“Don’t worry, Ziyan!” Xu Qi said with a bitter smile. “With this painful lesson, we all now understand the dangers of the outside world. We won’t make the same mistake again!”

Seeing everyone nodding repeatedly, Xu Ziyan knew in her heart that she shouldn’t be too harsh on these rookie-level kids all at once. So she completely softened her tone and said,

“Xu Mei, Xu Lan, and Meiruo, go to the kitchen and see if there’s any food left. Take as much as we can carry. We’ll leave soon and travel on foot to Xichui Town. Xu Liangwei and Xu Peng, move all the bodies to the storage room and tie the door securely with a rope. That way, when we sink the ship, the bodies won’t float up and expose our tracks.”

Watching as both groups immediately took action, Xu Ziyan gathered the three group leaders—Xu Qi, Xu Lin, and Xu Tianlang—plus Xu Tianhai, who knew the terrain, into her room. After they sat down, Xu Ziyan said softly,

“Let’s discuss our next steps. Senior Brother Tianhai, among all of us, you know this area and the Endless Forest the best. Please speak first.”

Xu Tianhai shook his head and said, “Ziyan, I haven’t been to the Endless Forest. With my Cultivation Level, it’s impossible for me to have gone. I only know that after we pass through Xichui Town, we’ll soon enter the Endless Forest. My father said that it’s a realm of Monster Beasts, and the further in you go, the higher their levels become. I think that with our Cultivation Level, we might only survive in the outer areas of the Endless Forest. If we go even a bit further in, the Monster Beasts we encounter might be more than we can handle.”

Xu Ziyan raised her hands and rubbed her temples with her fingers, feeling a headache coming on. She didn’t know much about this world and even less about the Endless Forest. However, she had encountered Monster Beasts in the Cangmang Mountain Range. Since the Endless Forest was even more dangerous than the Cangmang Mountain Range, the Monster Beasts inside must be even more formidable. Thinking about their team, composed of people who were rookies in both Cultivation Level and experience, her headache grew worse. Bowing her head in thought, she said,

“We can’t just recklessly charge into the Endless Forest—that’s no different from suicide! We need to plan carefully and prepare thoroughly. Xichui Town is our last chance to prepare before entering the Endless Forest, so we need to make a detailed list and purchase all necessary supplies there. Be as thorough as possible; don’t leave anything out!”

“Mm!” Xu Qi, Xu Lin, and Xu Tianlang nodded firmly. Having something to do suddenly lifted their spirits; otherwise, they always felt like children being taken care of by Xu Ziyan. As former prodigies, how could they bear that? So they all began to think carefully.

“Senior Brother Tianhai, first tell us the route to Xichui Town and from Xichui Town to the Endless Forest. The more detailed, the better. Then give us an introduction to Xichui Town.” Xu Ziyan looked at Xu Tianhai as she spoke. The other three also quickly stopped their own thoughts and turned their attention to Xu Tianhai. They couldn’t help but admire Xu Ziyan even more, thinking to themselves, Why didn’t I think of asking Xu Tianhai about the situation first?

“Alright!” Xu Tianhai thought carefully, trying hard to recall and speak in as much detail as possible. Xu Ziyan, Xu Qi, Xu Lin, and Xu Tianlang listened attentively. Xu Tianhai spoke very thoroughly, and Xu Ziyan and the others listened with great focus. After Xu Tianhai finished speaking, the group began to study and formulate a detailed plan, as well as list the items they needed to purchase.

After expressing his own opinion, Xu Lin habitually looked toward Xu Ziyan, and his expression suddenly became dazed. They say a focused person is the most beautiful and captivating! At that moment, Xu Ziyan was radiating that kind of charm. Already elegant and refined, Xu Ziyan now appeared even more confident in her demeanor, her every movement like a captivating melody. Her inner and outer beauty combined perfectly, making her charm stand out even more.

Xu Ziyan finished her speech, and everyone was noting down what she had said. The room fell silent, snapping Xu Lin out of his daze. He felt a wave of shame and secretly glanced around. Seeing that everyone was seriously contemplating the plan and no one had noticed him, he quietly sighed in relief. Along with his shame, he also set aside his anxious heart.

What he didn’t see was that after he confirmed no one was paying attention to him and lowered his head to think about the plan, a helpless bitter smile flickered across Xu Ziyan’s lips.

After everyone left, Xu Ziyan summoned the Little Kunpeng again and played with it for a while. Then she sank her consciousness into Kunpeng’s Heart to take a look, and once again found herself caught between laughter and tears. The Little Kunpeng had messed up the medicine bottles Xu Ziyan had placed inside Kunpeng’s Heart, scattering them everywhere. Fortunately, it hadn’t broken any Jade Vials or opened their lids. Xu Ziyan thought for a moment, then took out twenty Jade Vials. She drew some blood from the Phoenix and the Kunpeng, filled the twenty Jade Vials, and stored them in her Storage Bracelet. After playing with the Little Kunpeng a bit longer, she fed it two Elixirs and sent it back into Kunpeng’s Heart.

※※※

Before even entering Xichui Town, Xu Ziyan was stunned by the sight of the majestic wall in the distance.

“This is a town?” Xu Ziyan murmured softly to herself.

Xu Tianhai, walking behind her, explained in a low voice, “This is actually a military stronghold. Because it directly faces the Endless Forest, those Monster Beasts often try to pass through here to attack the inland areas. So this place serves as a barrier for the Northern Region. Although it’s not as bustling as a city, its sturdiness is unmatched by any inland fortress.”

“Oh~~” Xu Ziyan nodded lightly, then said to the others in a low voice, “Let’s enter in separate groups! Don’t cause trouble! After buying what we need, rest for the night, and we’ll leave early the next morning.”

As before, Xu Tianlang’s second group went first, followed by another group every fifty meters. Xu Lin’s first group followed Xu Tianlang, then Xu Qi’s third group, and finally Xu Ziyan walked alone at the very back. They encountered no dangers. No one would have thought that Xu Ziyan and the others would come to Xichui Town, only a few dozen miles from the Endless Forest. Also, since Xu Ziyan and the others had hidden their Cultivation Levels, they all entered Xichui Town smoothly.

After entering Xichui Town, Xu Tianlang from the first group first booked an inn so that if anyone got separated, they would have a meeting point. After that, everyone split up to purchase the items assigned to them.

Xu Ziyan walked out of a shop. She had completed all the tasks assigned to her, but she was still looking around to see if she could buy anything else for herself.

Hearing the clanging sounds of metalworking, Xu Ziyan’s heart stirred. She followed the noise, turned a corner, and saw a blacksmith shop. She stepped inside and saw people busy working near the furnace. An old man sat in a chair, holding a teacup, constantly watching two middle-aged men and three young men forging weapons by the furnace. Seeing Xu Ziyan enter, he set the teacup on the table, stood up from his chair, and walked toward her with a smile, saying,

“Young lady, are you looking to buy weapons?”

Xu Ziyan looked the old man over, then glanced up at the weapons hanging on the wall. She couldn’t help but feel slightly surprised. The weapons on the wall weren’t just for ordinary people; there were actually weapons for Cultivators as well. Of course, they were all very ordinary Artifacts, like Flying Swords, and there weren’t even any slightly higher-grade Magic Treasures. Still, this made Xu Ziyan instantly feel respect for the old man in front of her. She clasped her hands respectfully and said,

“Sir, are you the Master here?”

“Yes, I am the owner of this shop,” the old man said cheerfully.

Xu Ziyan looked over each weapon on the wall one by one. The quality of those Flying Swords was about the same as what the Clan had given her, so she lost interest in buying any. She walked over to the tea table, took out paper and a pen from her Storage Pouch, drew diagrams of a few components, and handed them to the old man, saying,

“I want to forge these!”