In order to become a Heroic Spirit, I had no choice but to cause trouble in history.

After that, no matter how much he recovered, Shui Xinzi was never able to lift his forging hammer again.

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Chapter 302 Sword Name Crane

As the sun rose slightly, providing a sliver of light to the world, Mizushinko Masaji finally saw the faces of the two people in front of her clearly.

“You are…the one from that day…” Mizushinko squinted, trying to see clearly what was going on in Saimura Anno.

That day, he was still some distance from the battlefield.

But he had excellent eyesight, otherwise he wouldn't have been so affected by the battlefield.

The young man who came to him asking for a knife, but was left standing aside, and then saved him after he was exhausted, taking care of him for several days and saving him and his wife from dying in the forge, seems to be one of the fighters that day?

"Hmm? Mr. Shuixinzi?" Zuocun and Ryoma asked, somewhat puzzled.

Shuixinzi rubbed her eyes and looked carefully at Zuocun.

I was somewhat excited, but I was too exhausted to have any further interaction with Zuocun.

Ryoma and Samura helped Mizushinko Masaji up.

Shuixinzi Zhengci struggled to change into Wu clothes, stood leaning against the wall, and looked at Zuocun and Longma.

"Thank you... both of you, for taking care of me these past few days..." Shui Xinzi bowed to the two young men.

In Japan, it is highly impolite for Mizushinko Masaji, as an elder, to bow to Samura and Ryoma, who are his juniors.

However, apart from that, Mizushinko Masaji felt that even this level of gratitude was not enough to express her thanks.

They not only saved the couple's lives, but also refrained from stealing the knife after they fell unconscious. Instead, they put the knife aside and took care of the people first.

For swordsmen, the allure of a sword is undoubtedly terrifyingly strong.

These two young men witnessed the entire creation of this knife, so they will definitely understand its value.

However, the two still put the knife aside and chose to heal themselves.

More importantly, it was the shorter one who, without him, would have been unable to fulfill his lifelong wish of forging this sword.

The two of them were worthy of this bow.

Mizushinko Masaji led the two slowly into the living room.

The three sat down, and Shui Xinzi asked in turn, "May I tell you your names?"

"Mutsu, Samura Yasunori."

"Tosa, Sakamoto Ryoma."

"Thank you both for being such witnesses, and thank you even more for saving my life and my family's." Shui Xinzi Zhengxiu bowed deeply in gratitude.

"Please don't thank me anymore, Mr. Mizushinko. As a junior and as a samurai, it would be a stain on our reputation if we didn't save you. We would live with guilt for the rest of our lives," said Zuocun calmly.

Shuixinzi shook her head.

"What day is it today?" he asked.

“May 17th,” Ryoma replied.

"So much time has passed..." Mizushinko Masaji sighed. "Mr. Samura, is it?"

“Yes.” Zuocun nodded.

Mizushinko Masahide smiled slightly and said, "On May 8th, I left Nagoya and went to Kotobukuri to pick up a piece of tamahagane that I had ordered."

"But by the time we got the Tamagane, it was already dark."

"Because we have no servants, I am not comfortable leaving my wife at home alone, so I want to hire a carriage to come back quickly."

"But it was getting late, and no carriage was willing to take me out of the city. After dark, bandits roamed the outside of the city."

"I had no choice but to walk through the night from the old ferry town to Nagoya Castle."

"It took me a whole night to get between the two cities."

"It wasn't until dawn that I saw the walls of Nagoya Castle."

"I am so glad that I didn't meet a carriage that day, because if I had rushed back to Nagoya that day, I would have missed the sight that was so breathtaking."

He was somewhat excited and stood up from his seat.

Ryoma and Samura fell silent, feeling that something was amiss.

They knew better than anyone what had happened on the morning of May 9th.

Sure enough, Mizushinko Masaji continued, "A little while after daybreak, I came to the woods outside Nagoya Castle."

“At that time, I saw Mr. Samura.”

Zuocun blinked.

"That battle made me truly understand."

"What is a knife? And why have I failed to forge high-quality swords so many times?"

"It can be said that if it weren't for that battle between Mr. Zuocun and the other, I wouldn't have been able to forge..." He took the nameless sword in his hand and slashed it at his table.

It didn't make much of a sound; the knife sliced ​​through the table like it was cutting tofu.

Then, the table split in two and fell to the ground with a thud.

"A knife like this!"

Samura and Ryoma stared in surprise at the table that had been split in two and was now lying on the ground.

The knife was of extremely high quality, but neither of them expected it to be this sharp.

Shuixinzi sat back down in her seat and sighed.

"I suppose I'll never be able to lift a forging hammer again. This knife will be my last creation in this life."

He sat there, deep in thought.

"Mr. Zuocun has come to see me to ask for a sword, hasn't he?" Mizushinko Masaji asked, looking at Zuocun.

Zuo Cun made no other move, simply sitting upright and nodding: "That was what I was thinking, but since your body can no longer swing the hammer, sir, I naturally won't force you."

Shui Xinzi smiled.

"Please follow me." He had regained some strength, stood up, picked up his knife, and led the way.

Zuo Cun was a little confused.

Ryoma chuckled and nudged Samura with his elbow: "Go on."

After thinking for a moment, Zuocun nodded, stood up, and followed behind Suishinko Masaji.

The two returned to the forge, and Shui Xinzi picked up a small hammer and a thin iron awl.

After tapping the hilt of the sword gently for a while, Mizushinko looked up and asked.

"This sword is inspired by my battle with Mr. Zuocun. Why don't you name it, Mr. Zuocun?" He seemed to have transformed back into the burly swordsmith, asking Zuocun without turning his head.

"is this okay?"

“There’s nothing wrong with it!” Mizukiko Masaji smiled. “Go ahead and tell me.”

Zuocun also saw through Suishinko Masaji's plan.

He looked at his white Wu-style clothing and then thought of someone.

That person had a head of pale pink hair.

"Let's call it..."

The day I met her was the true beginning of my life.

His swordsmanship was as nimble as a crane's, and his demeanor was elegant and aloof.

"Crane wings, white crane wings, I suppose."

"Hmph, does that mean crane feathers? It certainly matches Mr. Saemura's swordsmanship perfectly." Mizushinko Masaji grinned and started tapping with the small hammer again.

A short while later, Suishinko handed the knife with the engraved characters to Zuocun.

Using the sunlight, Zuocun read the small characters on the hilt of the sword.

"The knife was completed on May 17, 1855, and was presented to Zuocun by the third generation of Shuixinzi."

There were also two words on the blade.

"Crane wings".

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Chapter 303 Target: Kurokawa Mountain

Lady Mizushinko woke up the next day, and during this time, Samura and Ryoma continued to take care of the couple.

Mizushinko Masaji met the other protagonist of that day's battle, Miss A-Long.

This caused a minor commotion, and Ryoma spent a long time explaining to Mr. Mizushinko before calming him down.

After all, Mizushinko Masaji watched the entire battle that day, and Miss A-Long also used some methods that didn't seem like, uh... human methods.

In short, Mizushinko Masaji reluctantly accepted the premise that Miss A-Long was an Onmyoji (lol).

After waking up, Lady Mizushinko learned that Mizushinko Masaji had given the sword to Samura, but the complaints Samura had expected did not materialize.

She simply took the knife, completed the final step in its preparation, and then solemnly returned it to Zuocun.

When the crane wings were retrieved from Lady Shuixinzi, they had already been fitted with a hilt, tied to a handle, and placed in a scabbard.

"Should I contact the officials to find some death row inmates to test the knife on Mr. Saemura?" Mizushinko Masaji asked.

Testing and sharpening the blade are crucial steps in the creation of a new sword. Generally, the test subject is a person, a privilege reserved for the samurai class.

Typically, knife testing involves using imprisoned criminals as test subjects, cutting them in two with a single stroke.

It's cruel, but it's common knowledge in Japan.

“No need, Mr. Shuixinzi, my sword… Crane Wing, there are better candidates for testing it.” A glint of light flashed in Zuocun’s eyes.