Becoming a Martial Master: Starting as a Swordsmith

After greeting the people at his table, Xiao Liu staggered out of the restaurant.

He walked for a while, supporting himself against the wall, and after turning around to make sure no one was watching him, he immediately quickened his pace and jogged along the alley, heading straight for the forging compound.

Night had fallen, and the forging courtyard was deserted.

Xiao Liu reached the warehouse door and pulled a key from his pocket.

He had secretly made this a few days ago, and he easily unlocked the door and slipped inside.

The warehouse is neatly stacked with rows of finished long knives that have passed inspection and are ready for delivery.

Xiao Liu took out a small cloth bag from his pocket, opened it, and inside was a packet of grayish-white powder.

He picked up a small pinch and carefully applied it to the area near the hilt of the blade.

This powder is colorless and odorless, and no abnormalities can be seen in a short period of time. However, after two or three days, it will react with iron, making the blade brittle and hard, and it will chip or even break when a little force is applied.

After applying the paint a few times, Xiao Liu was about to speed things up when she suddenly felt something was wrong.

He stopped what he was doing, looked up, and glanced around the warehouse.

Logically, the first batch of finished knives should have numbered 1,500 and been neatly stacked on the shelf.

But at this moment, the shelves were sparsely stocked, roughly estimated to be no more than seven hundred.

What about the rest of the knives?!

Xiao Liu froze on the spot, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart.

Just as he was wondering what was going on, a calm voice suddenly came from the doorway:

"Little Six, what are you doing?"

Xiao Liu turned his head sharply and saw Shen Chu standing at the warehouse door, arms crossed, looking at him expressionlessly. Moonlight streamed in from behind him, casting a long shadow.

Xiao Liu felt a chill run down his spine, his back instantly soaked in cold sweat, but he still forced a smile and stammered:

"Master Shen... what brings you here? I... I just had a bit too much to drink and thought I'd come back to check how the knives were arranged, so we wouldn't be in a rush tomorrow morning..."

Shen Chu was too lazy to waste words with him. She strode forward, grabbed his collar, and with her other hand, she made a clean and swift punch to his stomach.

Xiao Liu groaned, arched his back like a shrimp, rolled his eyes back, almost vomited up what he had just eaten, and collapsed softly to the ground.

Seeing that Xiao Liu couldn't move, Shen Chu found a bundle of hemp rope in the corner and quickly tied Xiao Liu up tightly. Then, she tore off a piece of rag and stuffed it into his mouth.

Then he went out of the storeroom and called a servant: "Go to the restaurant and call the young master and Master Sun back. Tell them there is something urgent at the knife-forging compound and they need to come back immediately."

Seeing his serious expression, the servants dared not delay and ran off.

About half an hour later, Li Chengwen and Sun Ping returned one after the other.

Reeking of alcohol and with a flushed face from lingering intoxication, Li Chengwen barked as soon as he entered, "What's the matter that you had to call me back in the middle of the night? I was having a great time drinking with Lao Wu and the others..."

He was halfway through his sentence when he saw Xiao Liu, who was tied to the ground and struggling and whimpering, and he was momentarily stunned.

Sun Ping was older and more experienced, and seeing this scene, he sobered up considerably.

He strode forward, glanced at the rummaged-through knives in the storeroom, then looked at the packet of grayish-white powder on the ground, his expression darkening slightly: "What happened?"

Shen Chu briefly explained the situation.

"Load the ingredients?"

Li Chengwen sobered up considerably immediately.

He rushed to the shelf, picked up a long knife coated with powder, and examined it closely. He then rubbed the powder between his fingers, and his expression changed drastically.

"This is... brittle iron powder? This stuff will make the blade brittle, and it will chip and break not long after delivery!"

Li Chengwen suddenly turned around, rushed to Xiao Liu, grabbed his hair, and started punching and kicking him across the face.

He hit you while cursing, "You traitorous wretch! How have I ever wronged you? Why did you do such a despicable thing?! Tell me! Who told you to do it?!"

Xiao Liu was beaten until he rolled on the ground, his mouth stuffed with cloth, only able to make "woo woo woo" sounds.

Tears and snot streamed down his face, but he couldn't utter a single word.

Li Chengwen fought for a long time, until he was panting heavily. Seeing that Xiao Liu still didn't say a word, he became even more annoyed and turned to Shen Chu, saying:

"This kid's got guts! Come on, let's beat him up! We'll beat him until he talks!"

Shen Chu stepped forward with a helpless expression, stopping Li Chengwen from raising his fist again, and pointed to the rag in Xiao Liu's mouth:

"Young Master, before you hit him, at least take the cloth out of his mouth first! How can he speak with his mouth gagged?"

Li Chengwen was taken aback. He looked down at the rag stuffed tightly in Xiao Liu's mouth, then at his own fist, which was red from punching. His expression suddenly became quite interesting.

He coughed twice and complained, "Why didn't you say so sooner! I wasted all my energy hitting you!"

Shen Chu rolled her eyes helplessly, then stepped forward and ripped the rag out of Xiao Liu's mouth.

As soon as Xiao Liu could speak, he immediately knelt on the ground with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly and wailing, "Young Master, spare me! Young Master, spare me! I was blinded by greed and did such a terrible thing in a moment of folly! Please, Young Master, forgive me this time!"

Li Chengwen, too lazy to listen to his whining, kicked him in the shoulder and snapped, "Stop talking nonsense! Tell me! Who sent you?!"

Xiao Liu was kicked to the ground, his face full of fear and hesitation. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, his eyes darting around uncertainly.

Seeing this, Li Chengwen was about to step forward again when Xiao Liu finally couldn't hold back any longer and cried out in a tearful voice, "It was the Second Young Master! The Second Young Master made me do it!"

Upon hearing this, Li Chengwen's face instantly turned ashen.

He clenched his fists tightly, his teeth grinding together, and turned to rush out, yelling, "Li Jiwu! I'll skin you alive today!"

Shen Chu reacted quickly, grabbing his arm: "Young Master! It's no use going now. He can easily deny it, and you have no direct evidence."

Li Chengwen was grabbed by him, trembling with anger, but he had to admit that Shen Chu was right.

Shen Chu released him, turned to Xiao Liu, and continued, "Besides feeding the knives, where did you take the other batch of missing knives?"

Xiao Liu shook his head anxiously, "Master Shen! I was only responsible for feeding the ingredients, I really didn't steal any knives! I don't even know when those knives went missing! You have to believe me!"

Li Chengwen scoffed, "Only a fool would believe you!"