Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 751 - 360. Favoritism

Chapter 751: 360. Favoritism

He turned his head and saw several idle youths walking towards him.

A lean man with a newsboy cap approached him, tilting his head, continually doing oral gymnastics, restlessly moving his hands and feet, at times lifting his shirt to expose his belly, at times rubbing his face, a blade of grass in his mouth, looking at the blacksmith, he asked,

"Just now, were you chatting with Polina?"

The blacksmith didn’t speak. His ugly purple eyes were obscured by fat, it was unclear what he was thinking.

"No words? Fine, you’re something—do you know that Polina, that woman, I’ve got my eye on her?" The lean man said with a smirk,

"You just live by the river, right? Take a look at yourself, what you look like. If not, have a look in the latrine. Lucky for you Polina likes to play, otherwise how would you manage if you scared someone?"

As he spoke, he scratched his neck, saying,

"Eh, I’m not making it hard for you—just to state the facts, did I or did I not tell you that Polina is the one I’ve set my sights on? Huh? The Kavgerny family hired you to make nails because the gentleman only wanted nails, not for you to climb above your station—hand over the nails."

The blacksmith remained silent, waiting quietly until the other had finished speaking before reaching out his hand, then he turned around, silently walked over to the scrap barrel, pulled out some scrap iron, and began to clean the steel anew with a steel brush.

Bang!

The man kicked the blacksmith in the butt, but the blacksmith’s massive frame didn’t budge. He immediately walked up to the blacksmith and splashed the flux on the blacksmith’s face,

"Didn’t you hear me speaking, you fat maggot?"

The blacksmith put down the steel in his hand, turned around, and walked into his house. The youths then began to laugh uproariously:

"Look at this fat maggot, his butt looks like a pig’s."

"I’d say it’s more like a young bull."

"It’s all ’toast not eaten, fines drank’—"

The youths were still laughing when one of them caught sight of the figure walking out of the house and his face changed. He quickly started slapping his companions:

"Hey, hey!"

"What now?" A few of the youths were distracted, turned their heads subconsciously towards where the other pointed—only to see the blacksmith holding a polished axe, silently walking towards them. His bulky body nearly burst through the door frame, like a towering mountain collapsing, the ground trembling. The youths, now out of sorts, turned and ran.

Bang!

Before they had gone a few steps, the axe suddenly landed in front of them, blocking their path.

The youths were startled, unsure whether to advance or retreat. They turned back only to see the hefty blacksmith wobbling over like a rolling ball. Just when they thought his cauldron-sized fist would crash down, the blacksmith opened his hand, pointed at one of them, and said,

"Loki Sperry, your father’s wood-cutting axe is still short by 400 dinars."

The youth named Loki was dumbfounded, "Where would I get that kind of money..."

But the blacksmith was not angry. He walked past everyone, pulled the axe out of the ground, and handed it to the youth,

"Next time, remember to pay it back."

With that, he turned and went back inside the blacksmith’s forge, leaving behind a group of smirking young lads.

"Pah!" Someone spat: "I thought he was tough, scared me for a second."

"A maggot is just a maggot, no matter how big it grows."

"I knew why Li Funing dared to mess with the village blacksmith, turns out because this guy is just a coward."

"Haha, haha..."

Li Funing, the initiator with the newsboy cap, laughed awkwardly and pretended to say,

"Exactly, some people, even if they hold a weapon, they don’t dare to use it, just like this useless guy, damn it, all show and no guts. We thought he was tough, but he turns out to be a total pushover, straw bag loser. If we don’t bully him, someone else will, and he even ends up giving away an axe for nothing, damn, what a coward..."

Squeak—

The door of the blacksmith’s shop suddenly opened, the youths instantly fell silent, and then they saw the blacksmith take back the hammer he used for blacksmithing, making sure to gently close the door behind him.

Click.

"Hahaha, I thought it was something serious!"

"Such a useless piece of junk, maggot, maggot, maggot!"

"Boring, uninteresting. Let that nail sit with him for a while. I’ll snatch it from him later and deliver it to the esteemed elder’s mansion."

"Go on, go on, you think you can show your face at the lord’s gate? Will they even let you in? I think we better disperse, guys. Let’s go for a stroll."

"Let’s go, let’s go..."

The area in front of The Gate gradually quieted down, and the Blacksmith sat calmly in his own home, hanging the hammer on the wall and rearranging the box of nails, setting everything in proper order.

Though his home appeared simple, each item was neatly arranged. He would occasionally adjust the furniture himself, sitting upright on the sofa, only feeling happy when every item was placed uniformly.

He admired his meticulously arranged home, a sense of Achievement welling up inside him, his gaze slowly moving until it rested on the polished copper Mirror in the distance.

Clang!

The Mirror suddenly fell for no reason, crashing to the ground, the thin body of the Mirror instantly dented by the impact.

The corners of the Blacksmith’s mouth, which had been stretched in a grin, were instantly fixed in place.

.........

"You guys are really slow, Polina, Gaslin."

The young boys and girls who had been waiting in front of the cave complained discontentedly.

"And me." The Freckled Girl said irritably, "Why do you folks always forget to call my name? My name is Xiven, Xiven!"

"Who cares about you, Freckled Sister." A boy spread his hands, "Gaslin is so handsome; the entire world adores him. And Polina, she’s so beautiful, it’s hard to take your eyes off her. Everyone can’t get enough of looking at them, who has time to look at you?"

"You! How can you say that!" The Freckled Girl’s eyes reddened in a flash.

"Alright, Dulin, don’t be such a chatterbox. My grandpa said that gossips get no wives."

Polina hurried forward to comfort Xiven, turning to give the mocking boy a cold look.

"My fault now? I’m just telling the truth." The boy named Dulin shrugged, flipping a thumb over his shoulder, pointing behind, "Look, everyone is watching you."

Polina was taken aback, turned her head to look ahead—those named boys and girls blushed but couldn’t avert their gazes, their eyes constantly fixed on them as if they were magnetized.

Polina was momentarily lost for words, uncertain of what to say.

"It’s nothing. After all, the whole world revolves around me."

The handsome Gaslin said naturally,

"Polina, you don’t need to feel awkward. People who are beautiful and charismatic can indeed receive favoritism. Rather than worrying, it’s better to simply accept it."

"If you think so, Dulin—then in my opinion, those who only judge others by their looks are bound to suffer unfair treatment from those with good looks," Polina said irritably.

Hearing her comment, Dulin immediately laughed,

"Miss Polina, you received our recognition because of your looks."

"That’s enough, that’s enough. Whether it’s Dulin or Polina, arguing any further is pointless."

Gaslin stepped in to mediate, his extraordinary charisma focusing the world’s attention on him. His grey eyes were as clear as diamonds, and his slight smile could melt a land of eternal ice:

"Since everyone is here, let’s start the main event."

"Mmm-hmm." Dulin shrugged, "It’s only because someone wants to show off—okay, let’s start."

The group turned and looked toward the cave.

"The thing inside here has a very special Effect, just a friendly reminder—that it’s not too late to back out now."

The dark-haired, grey-eyed Gaslin slowly stepped forward, scanning the crowd, and when he saw that no one wanted to back out, he smiled and said,

"Well then, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Void."