It doesn't matter what the lord is.

"I can only say that the frequency is very high...it is also related to the weather."

"Is it about the weather?"

"Yes. It will be more obvious on sunny, cloudy, foggy, rainy and snowy days."

"Isn't that basically just being depressed every day?"

Naru took out his handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

This guy has a hard time either.

If you spend too much time with negative people, you will also become depressed. Not everyone can pull others out of the mud, and not everyone is willing to get out of the mud.

Liushi looked towards me seriously, lowered his head and said:

"I'm sorry that the city lord saw my depressed look... But it doesn't matter. From today on, I will wholeheartedly integrate myself into the garbage pile in the corner... The city lord doesn't need to care about people like me. Just use me as a convenient prop... Input materials and output equipment. This is how I am now."

After saying that, he lowered his head again.

Looking at his dusty clothes, I scratched my head and said:

"Anyway, you must have been tired after the long journey. Take a shower and have a good rest. It won't be too late to talk about anything tomorrow."

Liu Shi replied:

"No need. If there is time... I want to see the forging room first... It's where I'll be working from now on."

Naru said beside him:

"It is like this, Lord Mayor. Lord Liushi has very little rest time every day, and he only takes a bath once a week or so."

"The past was the past, and the present is the present. In Yuxi City, you have to follow my rules."

He pushed Liu Shi to the bathroom with a little force, and the latter did not refuse.

It seems that he feels that saying no is much more troublesome than taking a shower.

There was a sound of running water in the bathroom, and I stood at the door with the housekeeper Naru. Naru bowed to me again and said:

"Thank you very much, Lord Mayor. Is there anything I can do?"

I glanced at Naru and replied:

"For now, please take care of Liushi's daily life. I don't plan to arrange a new servant for him, so his daily life will be entrusted to you for now."

"I understand. Also, Lord City Lord, I have been wandering with Lord Liushi for three years, and one thing is clear to me. Although he is a bit lazy, he is actually a good person. At least now, he has reformed himself..."

I said calmly:

"No need to say more, I will observe with my own eyes."

Just at this moment, the sound of water in the bathroom stopped, followed by the sound of fabric rubbing against each other.

Before coming out, Liu Shi's voice came out first:

"I'm done. Next, let's take a look at the forging room... Or rather, please take me there...!"

When the forge was mentioned again, a glimmer of light finally appeared in Liushi's dim eyes.

It just so happens that I also want to try out his abilities.

20. Blood-stained Sword

In the dim forging room, the hammering sounds never stopped.

The hammer hit the red-hot iron block and sparks flew, and the sweat that fell on the chopping board was instantly evaporated.

I watched as a sword gradually took shape in his hands, repeatedly cooled with water and hammered.

When it is heavy, the hammer seems to split the sky and earth apart, when it is light, the crisp sound is like rain hitting banana leaves. When it is slow, the hammer falls at one point after a long while, and when it is fast, it is like the most extreme part of rock music.

Since entering the forging room, Liu Shi has never looked at me again.

All his attention was fixed on the sword in front of him.

I provided him with quite a lot of materials, some of which were low-grade materials transferred from the demon breeding farm, and some of which were medium-grade materials obtained from the last hunt.

There is only one order, which is to make the most suitable weapon in the shortest possible time.

Liushi first confirmed the meaning of "suitable" with me. I told him that it meant "a weapon that ordinary people can handle with ease." After confirming the definition of this order, Liushi devoted himself to forging. There were baskets of magic materials placed around him, and he freely used them while forging. The whole process was completed in one go without any pause.

And the test has actually begun from this time.

Considering the factor of "ordinary people", it is not appropriate to use too many high-level materials. Although it will increase the strength of the weapon, it will also increase the price of the weapon, making it unaffordable for ordinary people.

The word "at your fingertips" is even more deceptive. The previous one emphasizes versatility, while this one requires making its own characteristics based on versatility. It looks like a contradictory requirement put forward by an unscrupulous client, who wants it to be usable by most people and comfortable for everyone.

Then there was the forging time. I specifically asked him to forge low-level equipment because high-end equipment takes too long to make. If he really spent a year or two here, I couldn't wait any longer. Since it was low-level equipment, mass production was the top priority, and the time spent must also be included in the assessment.

The last thing is quality. Quality is measured from many aspects, and I don't expect him to take all of them into account, but at least the durability should be quite good.

With these thoughts in mind, I watched the flowing stone quietly from the side.

I'm not very proficient in forging, so I was just watching for fun to a large extent.

But it is really lively.

I finally understand why so many people have the habit of collecting weapons and armor. From a certain perspective, these can also be considered works of art, starting from the time they were forged.

Liu Shi was sweating like a symphony conductor, and his originally gloomy look gradually changed.

His eyes widened and his lips curled up slightly.

When it came to the critical moment, every strike seemed to crack his knuckles.

I suddenly grabbed a handful of horns from the horned rabbit and threw them down, then smashed them into powder with a hammer. The red-hot dust melted into the sword body during the folding of the iron block and became part of the sword. When the sword was basically completed, my knowledge of appreciation finally came in handy. The fiery red sword body emitted strange green smoke. Although I didn't particularly understand it, it seemed that these materials were not well integrated.

Did the forging fail?

At that moment, Liu Shi pulled out a short knife from his belt and violently cut his arm. The sticky blood splashed on the sword and was burned by the fire, but before evaporating, it was quickly absorbed by the sword, and dark red lines appeared on the whole sword. Liu Shi's eyes showed a fanatical look, and he raised his hand to hold the sword that had not yet cooled down.

The red-hot iron burned his flesh.

The wound that could not heal itself in a short time continued to bleed.

But Liushi didn't care. He swung the sword as if pouring blood into the sword was as natural as a street vendor spreading sauce on pancakes.

After confirming that the sword in his hand was correct, he plunged the sword into cold water, then quickly sharpened the edge and handed it to me.

"Forging... completed."

The moment the sword was completed, the strange expression on his face disappeared.

It returned to its dark appearance.

I took the sword and observed it carefully. Liushi was waiting there with his hands down. Taking advantage of this time, the butler Naru hurried over to help him bandage the wound on his arm and treat the burn on his palm. This should not be the first time that Liushi used this kind of messy forging method. The butler already had gauze and herbal juice on him, and his technique was very skillful.

Although I once expressed doubts about this fancy forging technology, when I focused my attention on the sword, such doubts disappeared in an instant.

It is undoubtedly a good sword.

When I say "good" here, I don't mean it's worth a fortune, but rather that it almost perfectly met my requirements.

In terms of versatility, swords and spears are the two most common weapons. Spears are mostly used as the main weapon in the army, while swords are the first choice for ordinary people to practice martial arts. From this point of view, it is completely correct for Liushi to choose the sword as the forged weapon.

The second is that it is handy. The blade of this sword is thin and light, which also takes into account the experience of female swordsmen, and takes the path of fast attack. Four low-level demon materials including [Horn of the Drilling Horned Rabbit] are added to improve the toughness of the sword, making it not too brittle.

A good weapon cannot be too hard. If it is too hard, it will break. It is not enough to just pursue sharpness.

In terms of time, it only took two hours.

Although the grade is only low-grade [Handy], the feeling of using it is different. In simple terms, the same person using the same materials will never be able to make such a good sword.

The quality is absolutely acceptable. It is far superior to weapons of the same level in terms of sharpness and durability. It can be said that the function of every low-level material has been maximized.

[Handy] means green equipment, which can be made by the old blacksmith who makes kitchen knives in the city. However, the feeling of an elementary school student doing elementary school questions and a university professor doing elementary school questions are completely different. It is obvious that Liushi is more handy and at ease.

Judging from the test results, it is better than I expected.

And I remember clearly that just now, I clearly thought that the forging was going to fail, but Liushi solved the problem neatly with blood.

I can't figure out the principle, but I know that ordinary blacksmiths would never do this.

Genius ideas, madman actions.

After swinging the sword a few times, I placed the sword on the table, clapped my hands, and said to Liu Shi:

"Congratulations, you have passed."

Liu Shi nodded, without showing the slightest joy.

Instead, it was the butler next to me who thanked me.

"But why use your blood in the end?"

Facing this question, Liu Shi lowered his head and answered in a voice without any emotion:

"It's nothing more than suppressing the conflict between different types of demon materials. In fact, using the high-grade materials over there can also achieve similar effects, but considering the cost savings, it is best to use the cheaper ones. My life is the cheapest thing in the world, and blood is also a cheap and effective material. Using my own blood is the most suitable choice."

21. First clues

"Hey, did you hear that?"

"The Lord City Lord has taken in another extraordinary person..."

"Although servants like us shouldn't point fingers...but he's a murderer, right? A murderer who killed his own wife."

"I heard from the forgers who left that using human lives to forge is a forbidden technique... If the city lord is keen on this, one day we will also be -"

"Shh, keep your voice down!"

Walking on the street, such sounds can be heard everywhere.

Liu Shi has lived in Yuxi City for three days. During these three days, the rumors in Yuxi City have become more and more outrageous.

The matter of Liushi could not be concealed. It was better to say that this person was too famous in the forging world, in a negative sense. He was just a nobody before, and it was his honor to be favored by the high-ranking Yoshihirata family in the forging world. A person like this ended up brutally killing his wife, betraying his backers, and escaping alone. This was absolutely intolerable.

Many people talked about me behind my back, and I knew they were unhappy with me.

Although I don't care about these, to be honest, the recent situation is obviously a bit excessive.

For example, when I was on an incognito tour, I witnessed foreign merchants mocking our people:

"See? He can only rise to prominence if he kills his wife! Your city lord not only likes men, he also likes widowers!"

That’s what I said.

Although Shuang is not around, I can still investigate this kind of thing by myself.

I gently held the businessman's shoulder and took him to a dark alley to chat with him for a while. He told me frankly that someone had given him a lot of money before he came here, and that he was taught to say this by others.

There is no other way. For people like this who do not belong to any Anbu organization but spread rumors in the form of extra income, the Anbu organization of Yuxi City cannot keep them all out. This time, not all the things are aimed at Liushi. At least half of them are aimed at me.

And there are so many people who hire these exaggerated people.

For example, Li Neng is very keen on doing this. After the surprise attack during the Spring Festival was repelled, he did not have enough troops to attack me again for a while. According to the intelligence obtained from Shuang, my cheap father seemed to be a little disappointed with him. He did not give him new troops and turned to train other city lords. At present, my eldest brother Li Yi is secretly helping him, but the resources that the heir of Yunyang can mobilize are definitely far less than those of the lord of Yunyang. It is not realistic for Li Neng to make a comeback in a short time.

For example, the Jipingtian family, who drove Liushi out, was also very dissatisfied with my act of taking Liushi in. Coincidentally, the Jipingtian family was on the side of that squinty-eyed Kaia. Both the master and the servant disliked me, so they naturally hit it off and colluded with each other. I don't believe that a blacksmith family has the ability to challenge me, the lord of the Five Cities, head-on. If nothing unexpected happens, there must be that Kaia backing them up behind the scenes.

But the trouble is, these things can't be talked about.

Because there is no evidence.

It was at this time that I felt that Bai Feng was really a smart man. Liu Shi's situation was actually a hot potato. Everyone knew that he was a genius in the forging world, but he had been wandering outside for three years, and no territory was willing to take him in. Liu Shi probably heard of Bai Feng's reputation and planned to go to him, but Bai Feng was not the kind of person who really accepted everything. Liu Shi was just someone he didn't need.

In other words, he was a person who brought more harm than good to Bai Feng. Even if it was Bai Feng who took him in, it would still cause quite a stir.

I don’t know if Liu Shi realized this, and I don’t know what kind of mood he was in when he came to Yuxi Castle.

But he also went to the streets to buy materials himself these days, and I guess he knows some things clearly.

"You've given them an advantage..."

While handling official business with his legs crossed, he couldn't help but complain.

He Yue, who was sitting opposite me, put down his pen, raised his head, and said:

“Have you finally come to this realization?”

"No, I'm still very self-conscious. It's just that it came a little more violently than I expected."

He Yue looked at the document in his hand and said:

"Seventy percent of the forgers who finally stayed left in one go. This situation doesn't seem like it can be glossed over with the word 'slightly'. It's okay on my side, but Bai Huang is furious recently. After all, you didn't listen to her and that's why things are like this. If the situation continues to develop like this, it won't be surprising if she goes back to Yunhai in a rage one day."