(6) Arrived at Shuanglong Town

  "Which mountain are you from?" the other party asked in a low voice, "What brings you here?"

  "I'm not from any of the nearby mountains," Yang Shuo Ming said calmly, "I'm just a passerby, I encountered bandits and barely escaped, these were all taken from the bandits' hands."

  The dark, thin man riding the horse stared intently at Yang Shuo Ming, as if trying to see through him. Yang Shuo Ming maintained an innocent smile on his face, but was already prepared for battle.

  He has already decided that if the other side makes a move against him, he will counterattack at the fastest speed.

  Just a moment ago, his "computer eye" had already come up with the best course of action to take out all of them based on the ideas flashing through his mind.

  The other party stared at Yang Shuoming for a while, possibly because he felt that the handsome and weak young man in front of him was too different from the bandits he had seen before, his face gradually relaxed.

  "Are you an overseas student?"

  "Yes, I just graduated last year." Yang Shaoming replied vaguely.

  "Come with me and make a statement to the security team, then you can go." The other person pulled on the reins of his horse. "However, for the sake of maintaining order, these guns and knives cannot be returned to you."

  Yang Shuo Ming nodded slightly and didn't say a word.

  When he came out of the security team, the sky had already completely darkened.

  Yang Shuo Ming stood on the street, looking at the dim lights in the surrounding houses, and for a moment, he felt a little dazed.

  At this time, he can be said to have nothing on him, his pockets are cleaner than his face, except for the few pieces of roasted fish left over, there is nothing.

  "Recently, the ground has not been too peaceful, and everything is done with caution." The security captain, Yang Shuoming, who had already known his name was Xu Yuanjin, said to him after finishing the record, "Try not to cause trouble."

  Yang Shuo Ming still didn't understand why he was saying these things to himself, and he didn't go into details.

  He is now considering how to survive in this space-time.

  Just as Yang Shuo Ming was standing there in a daze, he suddenly saw a middle-aged woman walking quickly towards him.

  The woman was dressed very simply, and her face was very kind. She came to Yang Shuo Ming's side, as if she had something to say to him, but didn't know how to start, with a look of embarrassment on her face. Yang Shuo Ming looked at her in surprise, not knowing what to do for the time being either.

  "This little brother... is he just from the mountains?" She hesitated for a moment and asked in a low voice.

  Yang Shuo Ming hesitated for a moment and nodded slightly.

  "This is what Miss wants you to have," said the middle-aged woman, taking out a small red cloth package and stuffing it into Yang Shouming's hand.

  Yang Shuo Ming was stunned on the spot, while the middle-aged woman had already turned around and ran away quickly, soon disappearing into the streets.

  "What's going on?" Yang Shuo Ming curiously opened the small red cloth package, inside were ten neatly stacked silver dollars.

  Yang Shuo Ming picked up a silver dollar and examined it carefully, and after recognizing that it was an American Eagle coin from Mexico, he couldn't help but smile wryly.

  He suddenly realized that the "young lady" the middle-aged woman had just mentioned was actually the girl he had rescued from the bandits.

  Thinking of her now safely back home, Yang Shuo Ming still felt a sense of relief.

  Having money in his hands (although not a lot) made Yang Shuo Ming feel a sense of stability. He knew that at least for a while, he wouldn't go hungry.

  After finishing the last few pieces of fish meat, Yang Shuo Ming began to consider his next move.

  Since coming into this world until now, he has experienced two fierce battles in a row. Although they were all shocking and dangerous, they made him have a deep understanding of the harsh survival environment.

  The girl with the surname Huang, who was rescued by him, was obviously the daughter of a wealthy family. The fact that she could be kidnapped by bandits and taken to the mountains shows how bad the security situation is here.

  Thinking of this, Yang Shuo Ming couldn't help but look down on the security captain who had confiscated his gun, while also making plans for his next move.

  In such a world, without weapons, one cannot protect oneself.

  Yang Shuo Ming knew it was impossible for him to get a gun now, so he decided to get himself a suitable knife.

  As a seasoned knife enthusiast, Yang Shuo Ming suddenly remembered the treasured knives he had collected in his previous world.

  He thought to himself that the two "Tangcao" knives he had just received from a famous domestic knife maker would eventually become cheaper, and his heart couldn't help but feel another wave of indescribable physical pain.

  At this time, Yang Shuo Ming's eyes were constantly displaying various combat knife diagrams in the upper left corner. For Yang Shuo Ming, what he needed most now was a practical knife that could be used as both a wilderness survival tool and a self-defense weapon. He had previously designed one with a heavy axe-like blade similar to "Tracker" and serrations on the back that could be used as a saw. He even gave it a name: "Xiang Long". The Knife Slave had already agreed to make it for him, and the drawings had been given to the Knife Slave, but now the Knife Slave's version of "Xiang Long" was out of reach.

  According to Yang Shuo Ming's imagination, a three-dimensional stereogram of the "Xiāo Lóng" appeared in his eyes, along with various data on its components.

  For Yang Shuo Ming, his self-designed "Xiao Long" is no longer a decorative knife, but something he must have now.

  Yang Shuo Ming started walking forward along the street, looking for a blacksmith's shop.

  Soon, Yang Shuo Ming saw a shop in the distance with red flames flickering inside, and from time to time came the sound of clanging iron.

  Yang Shuo Ming quickened his pace and arrived in front of the blacksmith's shop, pushed open the door, and was met with a wave of heat. He saw an old man and a young man, who looked like father and son, one wielding a large hammer and the other a small one, forging a red-hot iron bar.

  At this scene, Yang Shuo Ming recalled the time when he went to Zhejiang Longquan Sword Factory to learn from Master Zheng Wudang how to forge a Longquan sword.

  Two blacksmiths who were hammering at the iron noticed Yang Shuo Ming, but did not speak and continued to work. Yang Shuo Ming found a place to sit down and observed their movements.

  After a while, the two blacksmiths finished their work. The young blacksmith wiped the sweat from his face and asked Yang Shaoming: "What do you want to forge?"

  Yang Shuo Ming heard his question, at this time he didn't know how a strange idea flashed in his mind, he immediately took out a silver dollar and handed it to the blacksmith.

  "I'd like to have a try at carving, doing it myself, using your tools and materials, is that okay?"

  The young blacksmith looked at Yang Shuo Ming with some curiosity, took the silver dollar and looked at it, then sized up Yang Shuo Ming from head to toe, his eyes finally falling on Yang Shuo Ming's clean and white hands, a hint of mocking smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

  "Don't you trust the craftsmanship of our Liu family?"

  "No, I just want to try it myself." Yang Shuo Ming said with a smile.

  At this time the old blacksmith walked over, and the young blacksmith handed the silver dollar to his father. "Dad, this customer wants to try out our stuff."

  The old blacksmith looked at the eagle-shaped thing, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. He immediately walked up and took Yang Shuo Ming's hand, looking it over before chuckling and saying, "To be honest with you, little brother, your hands don't really look like they're suited for this kind of work."

  Yang Shuo Ming smiled slightly and didn't say a word.

  "Since you want to try, then come on." The old blacksmith with a weathered face smiled thickly and nodded, "However, you'd better hurry up, it's getting late, we were originally going to work for a while longer before stopping."

  Yang Shuo Ming nodded, got up and came to the front of the furnace, his eyes fixed tightly on the flames. The old blacksmith and his son exchanged a somewhat amused glance. Perhaps because they were tired from working all day, the two people didn't go to see what Yang Shuo Ming was going to do, but instead went to rest in the inner room.

  Yang Shuo Ming's gaze turned to the iron bars arranged in the corner of the wall, and at this time, his eyes were constantly scrolling through the analysis data of each iron bar.

  After analyzing and comparing for a while, according to the indication in his eyes, Yang Shuo Ming used tongs to pick up a thick iron bar and put it into the furnace fire to burn.

  That night, the small ironwork shop's furnace burned all night without going out, and the clanging sound of hammering on metal also rang out for almost the entire evening.

  The next morning, warm sunlight shone on his face, waking up Yang Shuo Ming. It was only then that he discovered a quilt had somehow appeared on his body.

  He rubbed his somewhat dry eyes, sat up, and only then discovered that the old blacksmith was sitting on a stool, looking at the knife in his hand with a serious expression - "Xiaolong" made by Yang Shuo for a whole night.

  "…Overall length: 330mm, front blade width: 65mm, rear blade width: 45mm, material: coarse carbon steel…"

  At this time, Yang Shuo Ming's eyes displayed the relevant data of the "Xiaolong" combat knife.

  "It's really true that one can't judge a person by appearance." The old blacksmith sighed, his eyes shifting to Yang Shouming who had already woken up. "Good sword, it's truly a good sword."

  Yang Shuo Ming raised his hand to lift the backpack, wanting to get up, but a sharp pain came from both hands, and he couldn't help but grimace.

  "How's your hand?" The old blacksmith smiled and said, "You got a few big blisters from grinding all night. I put some medicine on them while you were sleeping."

  "Thank you, old man." Yang Shuo Ming said gratefully as he looked at his hands, which were now neatly wrapped in clean white cloth.

  "What's your surname, young brother?" The old blacksmith handed the knife to Yang Shouming and started chatting with him, introducing himself. The old blacksmith was surnamed Liu, sixth in his family line, and everyone called him Old Liu Six. The young blacksmith Yang Shouming saw last night was his son, Liu Xiang.

  Yang Shuo Ming told Liu Lao Liu his name and briefly said about his experience (he, who was familiar with history, hid the "rescue beauty" section to protect the reputation of the girl he rescued), and a look of incredulity flashed in Liu Lao Liu's eyes.