Zhang San, please behave yourself!
Chapter 117 - 116: Fang Cunzai, You Heartless Man! (Please Subscribe)

Chapter 117: Chapter 116: Fang Cunzai, You Heartless Man! (Please Subscribe)

This night, Zhang San slept exceptionally comfortably, not knowing whether it was because he had spent the whole day hammering iron, which had tired him out.

Although he was still only at the stage of forging the iron ore into two pieces of fine iron and hadn’t moved on to the next step.

However, Zhang San did feel that, as he continued to cultivate the Power of Fire Movement, the Yang Fire around his True Core kept increasing, truly allowing his cultivation, which had been stagnating with only Qi growing, to start making further progress.

In that night’s sweet dream, Zhang San dreamt of a very amiable old grandfather who told him to wait for him on the bridge over the small river behind his house at night and guided him in the Secret Technique he had been practicing for eight years—the Twelve Layers Tower!

So, when he woke up in the morning, Zhang San washed up as usual, after all, a face this handsome had to be well taken care of.

Then he went to check on how Xu was doing.

It seemed that ever since Teacher Ma had come to give guidance last time, Xu hadn’t lost control anymore.

Seeing that Xu seemed to be getting better and better, Zhang San was at ease. Then, with a spring in his step, he ran next door to continue forging the two pieces of fine iron from yesterday.

As Zhang San got everything ready and began to forge again, Ma Lingyao stepped out of a room without a door and began instructing Zhang San.

"Forging requires strength, but even more so, it requires heart! You are now forging a weapon for yourself, you have to think about what kind of blade you hold in your heart, and how this blade should be shaped in the process. Was that last strike just right? Yesterday it was already forged into hundred-refined steel, and today you are to shape it; tell me, was that hammer blow that wasted so much energy really necessary? If the internal structure of the steel got twisted, it would be prone to flaws when used in the future, understand?"

Zhang San knew Blade Techniques, but that’s just it—he knew them.

Zhang San knew how to forge, but that’s just it—he knew how.

When it came to understanding the structure of blades and controlling every detail, Zhang San admitted he was still far behind, like all these problems his teacher pointed out beside him, they were all his blind spots.

Zhang San even felt that after he finished forging this blade, not only would his forging and Power of Fire Movement greatly improve, but he would also gain more insight into Blade Techniques.

However, Pharaoh, who had walked out of the house behind, looked worried.

Could it be that Zhang San wasn’t interested in the Twelve Layers Tower?

Besides the Twelve Layers Tower, what else could attract this lad?

What if he revealed his identity directly?

By becoming my disciple, starting directly at rank six, isn’t it much better than staying in the Town Martial Office?

...

At this time, it was noon, the sun was blazing, and the sky was cloudless.

Fang Cunzai, who had endured many hardships on his journey, finally arrived near the Shi Family Villa.

In this period, he had asked many people and finally confirmed that Zhang San and the rest had headed in this direction.

Therefore, he arrived at the gate of the Shi Family Villa, but before he could enter, he was stopped by the Manor Farmers of the Shi Family Villa.

"Who are you? What are you here for?"

Fang Cunzai immediately took out his Town Martial Office Token and introduced himself, "I am Fang Cunzai, the Military Chief of the Town Martial Office, here to..."

"There haven’t been a few people from the Town Martial Office here in the past few days; you’ve got the wrong place."

These past days, although Zhang San was learning from Ma Lingyao, many people in the Shi Family Villa knew about it, so they intentionally helped to cover up for Zhang San.

But upon hearing this, Fang Cunzai knew for certain that Zhang San and the others were here.

Fang Cunzai had already suspected why the people involved with the case had to leave—could the Town Martial Office’s physicians not treat Xu’s injuries?

Were they in a rush to come out because they wanted to destroy evidence that could prove Bai Yucheng’s innocence, or was there some other plot?

Now knowing that Zhang San was indeed here, Fang Cunzai naturally would not let this go.

"I will just rest here for a while and leave tomorrow. May I?"

The Manor Farmer spoke sternly, "Any time this month is convenient, except for these few days."

Fang Cunzai was speechless, raised the Town Martial Office Token in his hand, and said loudly, "As a member of the Town Martial Office, I demand entry into the Shi Family Villa to investigate the traces of Demon Cult Followers. Do you dare to stop me?"

Initially, the Manor Farmers thought Fang Cunzai seemed easy to talk to, so they spoke loudly, but at this moment, both of them showed respectful attitudes and let Fang Cunzai pass.

Fang Cunzai then realized, when it comes to people, you just can’t be too nice to them. Once you’re too good to them, they will just...

"Fang Cunzai!"

Fang Cunzai, hearing someone call out his name, couldn’t help but be startled. Who in this place would know him?

Turning his head, he saw a woman with a protruding belly—whether she was pregnant or just overweight, angrily glaring at him.

Fang Cunzai walked over to take a look and discovered he had never seen this woman before. Just as he was about to ask, he heard the woman burst into a tirade.

"Fang Cunzai, you faithless scoundrel, you impregnated me and ran away. And now you have the face to come back?"

Fang Cunzai was bewildered.

Not to mention the slander of my character, with such abundance below the waist, even scolding should have a limit!

At this moment, several ruffians nearby, seeing the main person had arrived, immediately gathered around to make what trouble they could.

"Is there such a shameless man in this world? He’s not planning to zip up his pants and deny everything, is he?"

Fang Cunzai frantically said, "I don’t even know her, what am I supposed to acknowledge?"

"She knows you even if you don’t know her! How do you explain that?"

"Fang Cunzai, if you’re a man, own up to it!"

"I’m telling you, Fang Cunzai doesn’t even look like a man!"

"Is that so? Just strip and check, and then we’ll know, won’t we?"

With that, several ruffians lunged at Fang Cunzai’s lower body.

Had they been bandits or robbers, Fang Cunzai would have naturally drawn his blade and cut them down.

But these were just innocent villagers from the manor, and Fang Cunzai couldn’t bring himself to strike them. Frantically dodging, he then saw a pregnant woman pointing at him and shouting, "It’s this man named Fang Cunzai who refuses to take responsibility after pulling up his pants, wanting to run after knocking me up. Folks, we can’t let him into our manor, or who knows whose daughter or young wife he might harm next."

Fang Cunzai wanted to cry but had no tears as he fled Shi Family Villa amid the jeers of the scoundrels and the harsh scolding of his fellow villagers.

Before he could escape, someone even managed to spit on his face.

Damn, what aim.

Meanwhile, Zhang San, who was busy forging, suddenly saw a ruffian run in and whisper a few words in his ear.

Zhang San nodded slightly, then took out a gold leaf and a few small pieces of gold from his Gluttonous Bag and tossed them to the man.

Outside Shi Family Villa, Fang Cunzai was desperately washing his face in a small ditch.

As he washed, he clenched his teeth in hatred.

Such shameless and despicable tactics were beneath Ling’s contempt; Wei certainly wouldn’t use such methods; Xu was honest, and Fang Cunzai understood him well.

So it was clear who would stoop so low to disgust him.

Zhang San!

Whether it was to clear the name of Bai Yucheng’s Officer or to avenge the indignities I’ve suffered recently, I won’t let you off!

I definitely won’t!

And Zhang San continued forging by the Forging Platform.

At the same time, he said to Ma Lingyao beside him, "Teacher, I think the shape of my Horizontal Blade is almost perfect now, should I start the quenching process?"

Ma Lingyao nodded in satisfaction.

"By sunset, I’ll have this blade forged, and then I’d like to treat you and Pharaoh to a meal before I leave tonight."

Ma Lingyao and the Pharaoh were taken aback, not expecting Zhang San to leave so suddenly.

"This..."

"An enemy has come looking for me, it’s inconvenient to fight, and staying is also inconvenient, so I must take my leave first. Don’t worry, Teacher, whenever I have a break, I’ll definitely make time to visit you and Pharaoh."

Ma Lingyao was somewhat moved. Although it was merely a teacher-student relationship, Zhang San’s parting words warmed his heart.

That afternoon, Zhang San finished forging his Horizontal Blade, and Ma Lingyao helped make the scabbard for him. A brand new Horizontal Blade was strapped onto Zhang San.

For dinner, Zhang San spent money to bring back plenty of good food made by the villagers.

"Teacher Ma, Pharaoh, thank you both for your help and instruction during this time. Zhang San is forever grateful. However, I’m being followed, and this matter involves some internal affairs of the Town Martial Office; speaking of it might bring trouble to you both, so please understand."

The two older men naturally understood, but the thought of Zhang San leaving so soon left them feeling very reluctant.

Especially Pharaoh, who hadn’t even taken him as a disciple yet. Why was this boy in such a hurry to leave!

Should I bring up taking Zhang San as a disciple right now?

With Wei, Xu, and Ling here, Zhang San should find it hard to rebuff me in front of his colleagues!

"I know both of you would like to take me as your disciple, which is a great honor for me, Zhang San. I’m truly grateful. But... to be honest, I myself am troubled by many problems, and becoming your disciple would surely bring you unneeded difficulties."

With those words, Zhang San immediately shut Pharaoh up just as he was about to speak.

"Teacher Ma, you are my teacher, and you’ve taught me so much. I am bound to repay your kindness properly in the future."

"Pharaoh, the debates we had let me learn a lot, especially when you taught me the secret techniques of the Twelve Layers Tower. I’m extremely grateful for that, so I’ve decided..."

Hearing this, Pharaoh couldn’t help but get excited.

What does he mean?

Has this kid come to his senses?

Does he want to become my disciple now?

Pharaoh immediately straightened up, adjusted his clothes, nodded, and said, "Speak."

"I’ve refined the Twelve Layers Tower secret method a bit as a token of gratitude."

Zhang San didn’t understand why, but although he was expressing his gratitude to Pharaoh, Pharaoh’s expression seemed a bit peculiar at the moment.

Wei, Xu, and Ling were also looking down, acting as if they didn’t know him too well.

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[Note 52]A brief introduction to Chinese laws regarding fake methods

There are many records about Chinese Tang Blades, and the information is quite complex. The most notable feature is the forging process involving hundred-refined steel, wrapped steel, sandwich steel, and partial quenching. These techniques combined propelled the Tang Blade to its peak performance and after that, there were no significant breakthroughs in cold weapon forging in China. The method mentioned in the note here refers to the wrapped steel technique.

The wrapped steel technique involves forging a "V" shaped hard steel wrapped around a core of soft steel, creating a blade. This means that the blade’s body is not made from one single piece of steel, but rather two different types. The advantage of this is that it allows the weapon to combine softness and hardness, flexibility and rigidity, rendering it durable and less likely to be damaged over time.

This is also why there is an old saying: "Good steel should be used for the blade’s edge," because the steel in the blade’s edge and interior might be different.