Becoming a Martial Master: Starting as a Swordsmith

"You idiot! Why didn't you tell me about something so important beforehand!"

Li Jiwu slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly:

"Hurry up and go find him! We need to find him alive or dead! If the boss has him under his control and takes him to Father to complain, I won't be able to escape responsibility either!"

Zhang San was so startled by his shout that he immediately agreed and hurriedly turned and ran out, making sure to close the door behind him before leaving.

The room fell silent again.

Li Jiwu sat alone at the table, running his fingers through his hair, and closed his eyes in frustration.

His plan should have been flawless.

He would have Xiao Liu tamper with the knife, and make the eldest brother look foolish in public when delivering the goods. Then, he would reveal his own trick at the opportune moment and show off his face in front of his father.

But now, all the plans have fallen through. Not only did the eldest son not embarrass himself, but he also gained a lot of face in front of his father!

hateful!

Li Jiwu grew angrier the more he thought about it, and slammed his fist on the table, making the teacups rattle.

Just then, the door was gently pushed open again.

A familiar scent of perfume wafted in, and Li Jiwu knew who it was without even looking up.

Liu walked gracefully to his side, glanced at his ashen face, chuckled, and sat down opposite him: "What's wrong? Still upset about what happened earlier?"

Li Jiwu gave a wry smile: "Aunt Liu, please stop teasing me. What's done is done. That fat guy has already made a name for himself. What else can I do?"

Liu shook her head dismissively and said slowly, "The goods haven't even been delivered yet, how can it be a fait accompli?"

Li Jiwu was taken aback and looked up at her: "Then, Aunt Liu means...?"

Liu leaned forward slightly and chuckled, "Changping County is quite a distance from Qingyang Prefecture. With the current chaos and turmoil outside, it's not uncommon to encounter bandits on the road who might kill or rob you."

Li Jiwu's pupils constricted sharply, his face showing shock: "You...you mean, robbing the government's goods? This is no joke! Besides, I never intended to kill anyone!"

Liu scoffed, her eyes filled with undisguised contempt:

"You, a grown man, lack even this much courage. You're not even as good as a woman like me. What era are we living in? It's either the East Wind prevails over the West Wind, or the West Wind prevails over the East Wind. Think about it carefully. Are you really willing to hand over the Li family's legacy to that fat man like this?"

Li Jiwu's expression was uncertain, his hands gripping the armrests of the chair tightly.

Liu's words made his breathing become somewhat heavy.

His eyes held hesitation and struggle, but more than anything, they held a burning ambition and desire.

Seeing that he was interested, Liu continued speaking, her voice soft yet possessing a bewitching power:

"We don't necessarily have to kill anyone. Just robbing the goods will do, right? Then there will be no goods to deliver, and all the hard work the eldest young master has done will be for nothing. And you, the second young master, can then strategize and salvage the situation, bringing out your backup plan to make up for the lost goods. Tell me, what will the master think of you then? The future of the Li family depends on you, won't it?"

Her voice was like a venomous snake, slowly coiling around Li Jiwu's heart, then tightening little by little.

Li Jiwu's breathing became increasingly rapid, and his eyes flickered uncertainly.

He then slammed his fist on the table with a loud bang, his face flashing with a crazed light:

"We'll do as Aunt Liu says! Let's do it!!"

"That's right, you have to be decisive when necessary; that's what a real man does!"

Looking at his appearance, Liu slowly curled a smug smile onto her lips, and a faint, almost imperceptible glint flashed deep in her eyes.

......

The day after all the knives were forged, Li Chengwen began arranging for them to be loaded onto trucks and shipped out.

He kept a very close watch on this batch of goods after it was produced, practically sleeping in the warehouse.

Shen Chu knew that the fat man was worried that things might get complicated if things dragged on, and that someone else might come and cause trouble.

It's best to send it away as soon as possible.

Since this batch of goods was needed by the Qingyang County government, according to regulations, the local government was required to send people to escort it along the way.

The Changping County government assigned this task to constable Xu Zhibao, and also assigned four other constables to accompany him.

Xu Zhibao didn't object to the assignment.

His family owned a security escort agency, and before becoming a constable, he traveled all over the country with the escort vehicles.

Escorting goods is something he's been doing for a long time.

Moreover, he had been keeping Zhao Dezhu's case on his mind.

The two charred corpses, Constable Zhang's hasty closure of the case, and the strange disappearance of Zhao Dezhu—both alive and dead—

These doubts remained a thorn in his side.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to escort the Li family's goods, he also wanted to keep an eye out for relevant clues.

The day before departure, Xu Zhibao met with everyone at the Li family's house to discuss the route.

When he learned that Shen Chu wanted to ask for leave to return to her hometown of Wangchuan County, he couldn't help but take a few more glances at Shen Chu.

Aside from his unremarkable appearance, Xu Zhibao had no impression of the young swordsmith.

But when Zhao Dezhu's case came to light, Shen Chu, as a member of the knife-forging compound, might have known something.

"Master Shen, I heard you're going back to Wangchuan County?"

Thinking of this, Xu Zhibao took the initiative to strike up a conversation.

"That's perfect, our convoy is going through Wangchuan County. You can come with us, that way we can look out for each other on the road. You can get off when we reach the border, so it's safer for you to travel alone."

Upon hearing Xu Zhibao's words, Li Chengwen nodded in agreement and persuaded Shen Chu to travel with them.

Shen Chu originally planned to leave quietly after the goods were delivered, but Xu Zhibao's words made sense, so he thought about it and decided that it was a good idea.

In these chaotic times, traveling with official escort convoys is much safer than going out alone, and it can also avoid some unnecessary trouble.

So he nodded in agreement.

On the day of departure, as soon as it was light, the area in front of the Li residence was already bustling with activity.

Fifteen hundred standard-issue longswords had already been carefully bound and stacked onto five flatbed carriages.

Each vehicle was covered with a thick tarpaulin, and the ropes were tied tightly.

Li Chengwen personally circled the convoy several times, inspecting each vehicle before nodding in satisfaction after confirming everything was in order.

Five horse-drawn carriages, fully loaded with goods, were lined up in a row. The drivers sat on the shafts, whips in their hands.

Xu Zhibao, with a knife at his waist, rode a chestnut horse, followed by four yamen runners holding long sticks, all of them looking very energetic.

Li Chengwen was also dressed in a neat outfit today, riding a small pony.

Although he was still quite plump, he still exuded a majestic aura when sitting on horseback.

Li Chengwen was accompanied by two guards from the Li family, both of whom were reliable men he had carefully selected.