The Emperor and His Thief - Chapter 58

Lin Xiao inwardly cursed the shop owner for not having his lips sealed. He glanced over at Bai Chenyi, then at the young man who claimed to be the son of the blacksmith. In the end, he decided to give a half-truth while still feigning ignorance.

Thinking that things might get messy, he gently put Xia Yushen down on the ground before he whispered to the boy to stand close to Long Yinlian.

“I did buy a weapon set here. But I am not sure if it is the same that the two of you are looking for.”

“Of course it is. I still remember your face, young man. Didn’t you say you wanted to give it as a gift to your Shizun?” the shop owner intruded.

Lin Xiao couldn’t help but glared at the shop owner, who only have a friendly smile on his face. ‘Now, not only did the blacksmith’s son and Bai Chenyi who knew, even Shizun knew!’

“The weapon set that you mentioned, is this dagger one of them?”

While Lin Xiao tried to rake his brain to think of an excuse, Long Yinlian joined the conversation. He took out a small dagger out of the hidden pocket of his sleeves. With the proof out in the open, Lin Xiao no longer have an excuse.

The son of the blacksmith was the first to react. He rushed over towards Long Yinlian only to be stopped by Lin Xiao who stepped in between them. “What do you plan on doing?” Lin Xiao asked, eyes narrowing into a dangerous glare as he stood protectively before Long Yinlian.

“I only want to make sure if that is really my father’s work!”

“Xiao-er, hand this over to him so he can inspect it,” Long Yinlian said to Lin Xiao.

Lin Xiao turned to Long Yinlian, then begrudgingly took the dagger and handed it over to the other youth. The other carefully took it in his hand, slowly unsheathing the small dagger and he could only gasp in awe.

“So this is the work that my old man is most proud of,” he murmured softly. He gently touched the tip of the blade, then its sharp edge then moved to the spine of the blade.

“It’s small, but very tough. The materials used is not the normal iron nor steel…” the young man said before finally focusing on the weapon’s design. “This dagger is designed for a quick, swift cut. It’s small, the curve are just enough to easily slice through the flesh. This weapon is not made for warriors but assassins,” he concluded.

Lin Xiao just watched as the other continued to mumble to himself, waiting for him to finish so that he can return the dagger back to Long Yinlian.

Then, he turned to the shop owner, his eyes appeared to be filled with excitement. “Boss! The materials that my old man used, can I have them?!”

“The materials? They were given by the Palace! It was all used up by Ji Daren when he made the weapon set!”

Hearing the shop owner’s word, the excited young man turned disappointed. Then, he turned to Lin Xiao and Long Yinlian.

“Esteemed master! May I buy the weapon set away from you? I wanted to smelt the weapons and craft a new one! Something that can surpass my old man’s work!”

“Smelt your sister!” Lin Xiao hissed then quickly snatched the weapon back, sheathing it and handed it to Long Yinlian. “The weapon set is something I bought as a gift for Shizun. I will never agree to selling it,” Lin Xiao added.

“That weapon set was originally a gift to Xinglan Wang by the previous Emperor. It is considered an Imperial Treasure. Destroying it on purpose would be considered treason,” Bai Chenyi informed them.

“…”

Both Lin Xiao and the young blacksmith was rendered speechless by what Bai Chenyi had just said.

‘Isn’t it just a weapon set? A weapon set can also be an Imperial Treasure?!’

“Young man,” Long Yinlian spoke up, breaking the awkward silence. “Since you are the son of Ji Qingzheng, can you bring us to him?”

“Why do you want to see him?”

“I wish to request for him to make a weapon,” Long Yinlian replied.

“Then, I have to disappoint you, Esteemed Master. He will not be able to fulfil your request anymore. He already passed away a year ago,” the young blacksmith informed them.

“Is that so? Then what about you? You came here to find your father’s greatest work and want to surpass him. That means you are confident in your skills in blacksmithing. Will you be willing to hear this humble blind man’s request?”

The young blacksmith’s ear twitched slightly when he heard what Long Yinlian said. A grin slowly forming on his face before he pounded his own chest. “Of course! Ever since I was young, my old man had taught me everything! What he knows, I also knows. Only…” he paused for a while before letting out a sigh. “No one believed that I could make a good weapon.”

“Xiao-er, hand me my sword,” Long Yinlian said to Lin Xiao.

The sword in question was strapped by Lin Xiao’s waist. So, Lin Xiao merely unfasten the bands and handed it over to Long Yinlian.

The older male lightly touched the scabbard before finally gripping it by the space between the two Tillang. “Young man, this sword was made by one of the greatest blacksmith in Ruanyu. The materials used is not as good as the one used for the dagger from before, but it is still something that is rare. I can provide you with the materials, but do you think you can make something like this?”

“Can I see?” the blacksmith asked and Long Yinlian gestured for him to take it. When he held the sword, he could sense how much work was being put into making the sword. From its design, ornaments, even the grip of the sword was made with attentions to details.

Taking a deep breath, he carefully unsheathed the sword. The blade shines the moment light hits it, and to his surprise, the blade was quite light. “The materials that was used… Ronggang? No… it’s different…”

“The material for the blade is not Ronggang. It’s Shuogang.”

“S-S…Shuogang?!” the shop owner who was listening in to their conversation couldn’t help but voice out his surprise.

“What is wrong with you?” Lin Xiao asked. He hadn’t expected the shop owner to speak so loudly so when he heard the other’s voice, he admit he almost jumped from the surprise.

“No, what is wrong with you?! That sword was made from Shuogang, ah! Shuogang! That kind of steel is not available in this land! To get it, you must have them shipped from the sea but the risks is very high,” the shop owner told Lin Xiao.

“Is it?” Lin Xiao asked before his eyes landed on Bai Chenyi.

“Yes. The steel can be fetched at high price and because of that, any ships carrying that materials are targets for sea pirates,” Bai Chenyi said. “Out of 100 shipments, maybe only less than 10 will arrive safely.”

“I’ll do it!” the young blacksmith suddenly exclaimed. “I’ve had the chance to work with Shuogang with my old man before. I promise I won’t waste too much of the materials!”

“Alright. I will prepare the materials. Tomorrow, come to the Xia family residence by Chen Shi to pick them up,” Long Yinlian said before gesturing to Lin Xiao and Xia Yushen. “You will be making three sets. One of them is for this child here. The other two will be a pair, for both of them.”

“A pair? So one of the pair… is for this boy?”

“For him, for when he have his coming of age ceremony,” Long Yinlian replied.

“I understand. Then, I will go and prepare my forge now! Please excuse me,” the young blacksmith saluted them and was about to leave when he suddenly remembered that he has yet to introduce himself.

“How rude of me. Esteemed master, I am called Ji Xiangru. May I have the honour of knowing your name, Esteemed master?”

“Long Yinlian. And the word you are forging for will belong to my two disciples, Lin Xiao and Xia Yushen,” Long Yinlian replied.

“I understand. Thank you, Master Long. I will see you tomorrow,” Ji Xiangru once again saluted Long Yinlian before finally leaving the shop.

“Umm… Esteemed guest, can I speak with you?” the shop owner timidly called at Long Yinlian.

“If it is about Shuogang then I apologize. I will not sell it,” Long Yinlian quickly said before the shop owner could even voice out his request.

Hearing that he was rejected even before he could say anything, the shop owner could only sigh. “Not even 5 jins?”

“I’m sorry,” Long Yinlian once more, rejected him.

“Alright. Alright, I won’t ask anymore. Now you already got what you wish, is there anything else that my humble shop can offer you?” the shop owner asked.

“Yes. The three weapons will take a while to be finished, but I promised my young disciple that I’ll get him a weapon today. Do you have anything for him?”

The shop owner looked over to Xia Yushen who shyly hid behind Long Yinlian. A low laughter escaped his lips before he beckoned for Xia Yushen to come closer. “Boy, if you don’t show yourself how will I know if I have anything that will be good for you?”

Hearing this, Xia Yushen hesitated. Then he looked up at Long Yinlian, then at Lin Xiao, as if asking the two if he should listen to the shop owner.

“Xiao Shen, go on,” Lin Xiao coaxed. Only then did he come forward.

“This boy is small. Still a young sprout. Are you sure you want to give him a live weapon? What if he injured himself?”

“I won’t! Shizun and Big brother Lin taught me well! Ah’Shen won’t make mistake and injure myself!” Xia Yushen quickly replied, gone was his nervousness from before and instead, confidence was plastered on his face.

“Is that so?” the shop owner chuckled. “Well, unfortunately, my shop doesn’t have anything for a child like you anymore,” he added.

Xia Yushen’s face showed a hint of disappointment. But the shop owner’s next sentence made him excited again.

“But, there is another shop down the streets that’s specialized in making hidden weapons…”

Lin Xiao upon hearing this sentence felt a sense of Deja Vu.

“From a sword hidden in an umbrella to poison needle hiddden in a jade pin, they have it there.”

‘Sure enough! Its the same shop he tried to recommend me before!’

“Although that shop is tailored for female warriors, I’m sure they have something small and light enough for you to use,” the shop owner finished his sentence.

“Alright, we’ll go there. But, Boss, before this you also recommended me the same shop. Usually, people would be competitive and tried to get more customer. But you happily recommend us that one particular shop… Why?” Lin Xiao asked out of curiosity.

“There’s no why, ah! I just want the best for my guest even if you didn’t buy anything! Ah, maybe my explanation is not that clear. How about I go and lead you there instead?!” the shop owner excitedly offered himself.

“Your shop?”

“It’s fine! I can close it for a while!” the shop owner replied before he got around the counter and went to his shop entrance. “Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s go. The shop I mentions only open at specific time. If we go there now, we might still be able to see Xiao Me-… I mean, we may still be able to make it before they close!”

The slip up was enough for Lin Xiao and his group to have a slight suspicion on the shop owner’s real intention.

‘That excited face… that impatient look… you’re going there to see a woman, aren’t you!?’ Lin Xiao thought as he then picked Xia Yushen up and helped lead Long Yinlian out. While Bai Chenyi, quietly followed as he performs his duty as a guard.