Chapter Forty-Six: Casting Off the Burden

After everyone had dismounted from the flying beast, Dao Sansheng followed suit, with Li Zihong trailing behind him. Dao Sansheng felt somewhat frustrated. Judging from the situation, even if he brought her along, she likely wouldn’t be admitted to the sect, but for now, he let her follow.

“My artifact is broken. Find me a place to repair it,” the young woman said, producing a longsword from her hand. The sword was exceptionally beautiful, its patterns exquisitely carved, a decorative piece dangling from its hilt—not looking like a weapon at all.

“That thing?” Dao Sansheng gestured toward the ornamental sword.

The young woman nodded. Dao Sansheng could only take her to the sect’s shop. Li Zihong followed him, dusty and worn from the journey, until they reached the main street at the heart of the market. They were nearly at the shop run by the sect.

Guo Dachui, upon seeing Dao Sansheng enter, lit up with excitement and hurried from behind the counter.

“Little brother, you must be here for materials!” he said, his eyes crinkling with laughter.

“Senior brother, my friend’s artifact is broken. Can you fix it?” Dao Sansheng pointed to Li Zihong, who handed over her longsword. Guo Dachui didn’t take it, but instead led them inside.

They passed through the main hall and entered a furnace room where several burly men took turns hammering materials atop the forge. Guo Dachui spoke a few words, then brought over a dark-skinned man in a vest. The man had perfectly defined muscles on his arms, prominent veins in his hands, and disheveled hair.

“Let me introduce—” Guo Dachui began, but the man brushed him aside and took the artifact. “Let me have a look.”

Li Zihong handed it over. The man examined the sword, tapped the broken spot, then his eyes gleamed.

“This artifact is no good at all. Whoever repaired it last time stole the materials inside, leaving a gap. With such fine materials, someone must have had their eye on it for a long time. Miss, you’ve come to the right person. I offer honest prices, fair to all. Our Forging Heaven Valley may not claim to be the best on the continent, but our reputation is stellar.”

“I repaired it last time at your Forging Heaven Valley shop in Kunling County. He said the same thing then,” Li Xiaohong remarked.

Her words made the smiling man’s face twitch. He put on a serious expression.

“I, Iron Jin Ke, am a renowned smith in Forging Heaven Valley. Miss, you should trust me. Encountering a rogue doesn’t mean there are no good people in the world. Don’t judge everyone by one bad apple.”

“You were so tanned I didn’t recognize you—it is you, Iron Jin Ke. Weren’t you in Kunling County two months ago?” Li Zihong pressed.

Iron Jin Ke couldn’t respond. He inspected the artifact again, searching for a long while. “This isn’t my work; it doesn’t have my mark,” he said, letting go of the sword. Where his hand rested, a line of small characters read “Iron Jin Ke.”

Dao Sansheng was caught off guard. This fellow was a jinx; how could he come to the sect’s shop for side jobs after this?

“It’s me, miss. I’ll repair it for free—are you satisfied?”

“Very well!” Dao Sansheng pulled Li Zihong away, and Iron Jin Ke was so furious he was about to explode.

“Guo Dachui, what kind of people are you bringing in? Do you still want to work the front desk?” Iron Jin Ke snapped.

Outside, Li Zihong shook off Dao Sansheng’s hand and stomped her foot.

“Don’t you know men and women shouldn’t touch? You grabbed my hand, hugged my waist, all to take advantage!”

People shopping in the market gathered to watch. Dao Sansheng shouted angrily, “I’m still a child! How can you falsely accuse me?”

The onlookers laughed; everyone knew that in Windwalker Continent, some married as young as eleven or twelve. Since everyone cultivated, they matured early—it was normal.

Dao Sansheng realized he’d said the wrong thing and squeezed out of the crowd, leaving without looking back.

“Hey, where are you going?” Li Zihong called after him, but lost sight of him in the throng. She couldn't see any trace of the boy—who knew where he’d run off to?

Dao Sansheng, after much effort, finally shook off the clingy burden. He was relieved and decided to hurry back, lest she find him again. He rushed toward the mountain gate, running until the market was behind him, and only when he saw the gate did his heart settle.

At the gathering place for outer sect disciples, Young Master Liu was drinking with a crowd. They raised their cups, fawning over him, hoping to cling to this powerful tree and, in time, enter the inner sect to learn advanced techniques—drawing closer to the path of immortality.

“I heard that Dao Sansheng has already been thrown out of the sect by you, Young Master. Is it true? You must tell us, we all know your abilities are vast—but we never imagined you had such power.”

A tipsy disciple in Forging Heaven Valley robes praised Liu.

“It’s nothing, just a word from me. Not nearly as impressive as the rumors say. It’s not worth mentioning,” Liu replied, grinning so wide his mouth nearly reached his ears.

“Not nothing! I heard that Chao Xiong said if you and Dao Sansheng fought for real, you’d definitely lose. I overheard it in the dining hall.”

“If you hadn’t mentioned him, I’d have forgotten. Back then, it was him and Dao Sansheng together, making things difficult for me. Now, these small fry think they can bully me? Dao Sansheng’s been gone so long, he must have died in Kunling County. It’s time to settle the score with Chao Xiong.”

The man drained his cup and stood up. “I, Sun Dali, will go teach that kid a lesson for you, Young Master Liu. These petty upstarts think they can last; not like you, a noble gentleman, unmatched by riffraff.”

“No rush, Dali. Let’s finish our drinks, then we’ll go together and teach him a lesson. The others echoed, faces eager, as if they couldn’t wait to go.

“Don’t be impatient. I never act in the shadows. I’ll go with you, so that fellow can’t claim we bully him. I’ll fight him myself, let him fight back. That should be fair enough!”

“Hahahaha…”

“Indeed, Young Master Liu is wise. We brothers admire you greatly—always follow your lead!” They drained their cups in one go.

Li Zihong wandered the market for several rounds, searching every shop and stall nearby, but didn’t see a trace of that boy. Fortunately, he left some spirit stones behind, enough for her daily expenses—it seemed he had planned this all along.

Since she couldn’t find him, she decided to settle down somewhere and inquire about where he lived. He might escape the monk, but not the temple.