Chapter 38: Mysterious Iron Treasure Sword (Part 1)

  As the last ray of sunset disappeared beyond the western horizon, a loud military horn signaled that the gates of Shangyuan City were about to close.

  Not far from the city gate, a sorrel horse was walking towards the city gate. The traveler on the horse seemed to be in no hurry at all, letting his mount walk slowly.

  This traveler was Xiao Ziyang. He wasn't in no hurry to enter the city, but he really couldn't bear to ride this fine horse any longer.

  If there is someone who understands horse physiognomy, they can recognize that this robust sorrel horse is a famous breed from Xiliang, the Yan Mountain Horse. This horse is only produced at the foot of Mount Yan in Jinzhou, hence its name.

  This horse was bought by Xiao Ziyang in Zhongshan City at a high price. His body is extremely heavy, and only such a good horse can move.

  Although he did not urge his horse to gallop all the way, this fine horse was often drenched in sweat by him after a day's journey.

  Today, because he had to rush to Shangyuan before sunset, he couldn't help but hurry a bit along the way. By dusk, the horse suddenly started foaming at the mouth. He had no choice but to let the horse slow down.

  Xiao Ziyang finally entered Shangyuan City just before the city gate was about to close, and he rested at an inn near the city gate.

  He handed the horse over to Xiao Er and stuffed a piece of broken silver into his hand, asking him to take good care of it.

  There were many guests in the inn, most of whom carried knives and wore swords, seemingly people from the jianghu.

  Xiao Ziyang felt a bit strange and paid attention to their conversations, soon he figured out the reason why these people gathered here.

  It turned out that the notorious debauchee Hong Zhuo Ke was wreaking havoc in Chu State, and within a year, he had raped and murdered more than a dozen young ladies from prominent families.

  These martial artists were all people with a sense of justice, or those who wanted to make a name for themselves. They tracked down the Red Thread Guest's trail and came together, unanimously believing that the Red Thread Guest's next target was definitely in Shangyuan City. At this time, many inns in Shangyuan City were filled with these martial artists who were pursuing the Red Thread Guest.

  Hong Chou Ke has been a scourge of Western Liang for over ten years, with countless blood debts and murder cases on his back. In the country of Western Liang, he is indeed infamous!

  Hong Xun was notorious, not because of his exceptional martial arts skills, but because of his cunning and viciousness.

  Hong Chui Ke's cruelty is because every time he picks flowers, he first uses a red silk to tie the victim's hands and feet to the bed, then ties a knot on the victim's neck. He tied it not too loose or too tight, neither causing the victim to suffocate immediately nor making them extremely painful, only then would he commit rape.

  Hong Chou Kei was also notorious for his cunning. He wreaked havoc in the Western Liang State for over a decade, inciting public outrage in the martial arts community, and was pursued by hundreds to thousands of people, yet he remained carefree and at large, which speaks volumes about him.

  Xiao Ziyang considers himself not a bad person, but also not the kind of chivalrous hero who is overflowing with a sense of justice. If the Red Thread Guest was right in front of him harming people, Xiao Ziyang wouldn't mind fighting to the death with him. However, searching all over like looking for a needle in a haystack as he's doing now, he has no interest whatsoever.

  Xiao Ziyang went upstairs after dinner and rested early.

  The next morning, Xiao Ziyang left the inn and rode his horse straight to Hui Sheng Tang, the largest medicine shop in Xuan Yuan City, which was a branch of Hui Sheng Lou in Xiang An City.

  "Zi Yu Sheng Yan" from the fourth chapter, its auxiliary cultivation medicine has some very precious medicinal materials, if not in a big city like Shangyuan, it would be difficult to match.

  Xiao Ziyang bought several rare and expensive medicinal materials that were difficult to match after leaving Hui Sheng Tang.

  He intended to leave the Upper Yuan City and find a small town with lush mountains and clear waters to settle down. However, when he saw the famous sword pavilion next to the Hui Sheng Tang, he had second thoughts.

  Xiao Ziyang's usual two horse-slaying knives were just ordinary goods, but now that he possessed infinite power, those two horse-slaying knives had long been unable to withstand his use.

  Xiao Ziyang turned around and walked towards Mingjian Pavilion, intending to buy a good sword.

  Handing the horse over to the shop assistant, Xiao Ziyang was just about to step into the shop when a middle-aged man with a luxuriant beard and dressed in magnificent attire walked out of the door.

  This person was slender and tall, with a curly beard that almost covered his face. A pair of dull yellow eyes looked somewhat lewd. He saw Xiao Ziyang and hesitated for a moment, as if he recognized Xiao Ziyang but couldn't quite remember him.

  Xiao Ziyang saw this person's expression and couldn't help but take a closer look at him, after which the two of them passed each other by.

  For some reason, Xiao Ziyang also felt that this person gave him a familiar feeling, but he couldn't remember where he had seen this person before.

  Xiao Ziyang was intelligent from a young age, with a photographic memory. If he couldn't recall something, it could only mean that he hadn't seen the person in question for at least several years.

  Xiao Ziyang walked up to the counter and carefully examined the long knives on the shelf.

  At this time, a shop assistant came up and said, "Sir, what kind of knife do you want to buy? Our store has everything from the most ordinary hundred-refined steel knives to the most precious xuan tie bao knives."

  "Xuan Tie Treasure Sword?" Xiao Ziyang's voice rose in surprise as he asked.

  The so-called Xuan Tie treasured sword is not referring to a treasured sword forged from Xuan Tie, for Xuan Tie is extremely precious and even if ordinary yellow gold were mixed with one-tenth of it, it would immediately become purple gold worth ten times as much, let alone being used to forge swords!

  Xuan Tie is a rare metal that is worth one hundred times its weight in gold! What's extraordinary about this metal is that it has the ability to transform decay into wonder!

  In ordinary pig iron, just add a pinch of meteoric iron and you can immediately forge a divine weapon that can cut through gold and jade!

  "This customer, the Xuan Tie treasure sword is rarely seen, but our shop is a branch of the famous Ming Jian Building, and such a treasure sword can be taken out." The assistant's face was filled with professional smiles, his voice calm and gentle, without the usual arrogance of assistants in large shops.

  Xiao Ziyang's heart skipped a beat as he asked, "I wonder how much this Xuan Tie treasured sword costs."

  The fellow replied: "There are three precious swords in this shop at present. The cheapest one is a short sword, priced at 25,000 silver taels."

  Xiao Ziyang patted his pocket and asked, "The short knife? I don't know how long it is. What about the other two?"

  "Why don't I take you upstairs to the third floor for a look?" The shop assistant said with a single wave of his hand, making a welcoming gesture.

  Xiao Ziyang rubbed his nose, "Forget it, I can't afford a treasured sword worth 25,000 silver Tongbao."

  "It doesn't matter if you don't buy it," said the fellow with a smile.

  Xiao Ziyang thought for a moment and nodded, "In that case, please lead the way."

  Xiao Ziyang followed the shop assistant to the third floor, where there was no counter or weapons; in this spacious large hall, a dozen tables were sparsely arranged, with a beautiful young girl standing beside each table.

  In the four corners of the hall, there are also four elegant private rooms separated by screens. This arrangement makes this place not only not look like a military equipment store, but rather like an elegant tea house.

  The fellow led Xiao Ziyang to a table and asked him to sit down, saying "wait a minute", then walked in through a side door.