Volume 1: The Martial Path Forbidden Chapter 10: Arrows in the Dark are Hard to Defend Against

  Zhao Xian stopped Xiaomeng and let her stay aside, teasing: "This stove is very hot, splashing sparks will ruin your little face, I'll regret it for a lifetime."

  Xiao Meng was already accustomed to such words and didn't show any disgust, her small face just turned red as she stood awkwardly behind Zhao Xian.

  Xiao Meng thought of the purpose of coming to the blacksmith's shop today, and suddenly said: "Hammer brother, my father wants to ask you to make a hoe, I'll come back in a few days to pick it up." As she spoke, she took out a bamboo basket from the table, inside which was a pair of brand new cloth shoes, next to which were several large buns wrapped in a rice box.

  Xiao Meng took out a steamed bun from her clothes and handed it to Zhao Xian, her face flushed with embarrassment. She didn't dare look at him, instead lowering her head to fiddle with the hem of her garment as she stammered: "I-I made this meat bun myself, t-try some and see if it's good."

  Xiao Meng worked hard in the workshop during the day and still had to go home to do chores at night, already busy enough. These exquisite shoes and fragrant buns must have been made especially for him by someone who stayed up all night. Zhao Xian felt a surge of emotion, but when he brought the fragrant meat bun to his mouth, he thought of the tragic fate of the young servant in green clothes earlier and couldn't muster any appetite.

  Xiao Meng saw Zhao Xian unwilling to open his mouth, thinking he was disgusted with her meat bun. Her face slightly darkened and she slowly withdrew her hand, forcing a smile: "I know I didn't do well, not as good as Hua Yu sister, I'll learn from it..."

  "Who said you did a bad job?" Zhao Xian was amused by the joyful and angry expression on Nizi's face, took over the bamboo basket and put it aside, saying: "Baozi is better when it's hot, I'll steam it later, isn't it even better for lunch."

  Xiao Meng suddenly realized, only to think that she had been waiting outside for a long time, the buns were already cold. A hint of embarrassment appeared on her small face, she quickly grabbed the bamboo basket and ran into the kitchen in the back house, clattering away as she cleaned up.

  Soon, Zhao Xian started eating the steaming hot buns. He hadn't eaten enough for breakfast, so this was a good opportunity to add another meal.

  Zhao Xian sat beside a small table in the blacksmith's shop, while Xiao Meng was still by his side, pouring tea for him with a familiar and skilled manner. She looked like a good girl who knew how to take care of a household. Zhao Xian couldn't help but sigh inwardly, thinking that this young woman was gentle and considerate, and her cooking was also delicious. He wondered which man would be lucky enough to marry her in the future.

  Zhao Xian really liked her buns, and a faint smile appeared on Xiao Meng's face. With nothing to do, she began to tidy up the messy blacksmith shop.

  Suddenly, she saw on the table in the house a 'steel rod' about one foot long, hollow and embedded in a wooden handle, looking very strange.

  "Hammer brother, what is this?" Xiaomeng picked it up, and it didn't feel very heavy in her hand. She wanted to take a peek inside the hollow part, but Zhao Xian suddenly snatched it away from her. The sudden movement startled Xiaomeng, causing her shoulders to jerk, and she looked at Zhao Xian weakly.

  Xiao Meng's wronged expression softened Zhao Xian's heart, the thing in his hand was a crude prototype of a fire lance, unfortunately due to technical limitations, he couldn't make seamless steel pipes, this rough and crude thing would explode once every time it was tested, once even killing the family's 'evil dog Xiao Hua', afterwards they discovered that the taste wasn't bad, almost getting buried by Flower Language's complaints.

  Zhao Xian stopped Xiao Meng, fearing that she would hurt herself, but Xiao Meng clearly didn't think this little iron club could hurt him, with a look of displeasure.

  Zhao Xian saw this and could only helplessly explain: "Xiao Meng, this thing is called a gun. It's very dangerous and can't be touched casually."

  Xiao Meng shook her head. Gun halberds were one of the standard equipment for the army, and she had seen many when the troops passed by outside the city. They didn't look like this at all.

  She thought Zhao Xian was dissatisfied with her touching things randomly, so she came up with this lie. Xiaomeng pouted and lowered her head, saying in a low voice: "If you don't want me to touch things randomly, just say it directly, why make up such a reason." After finishing speaking, she walked out with small steps.

  Zhao Xian also felt that the explanation was problematic and it was really troublesome to explain the concept of guns to her.

  Zhao Xian thought for a moment, then suddenly grabbed the little Mengmeng who wanted to leave, inserted the fire gun into his waist, and said: "This gun is not the long spear you see, it's hung on the waist, when needed Just take it out, face the target lightly Press, can shoot things..."

  "Hammer brother, you're so bad!"

  Zhao Xian hadn't finished speaking when Xiao Meng suddenly let out a cry of surprise. Although she couldn't understand what Zhao Xian was saying, he deliberately stuck the "iron rod" into his lower abdomen and made a shooting motion with it, looking like a little boy in split pants urinating. Zhao Xian wasn't a little boy, but a man who towered over Xiao Meng by a large margin. This action seemed somewhat obscene to Xiao Meng, who was at a loss for what he meant.

  Before, Zhao Xian often joked around, but never like this. Xiao Meng's face turned bright red with shame, she didn't even know where to look, let out a cry of surprise and quickly covered her face before running out.

  Zhao Xian was not a good guy either. Seeing Xiao Meng's misunderstanding, he didn't speak up to explain, but instead revealed a sly smile and watched Xiao Meng leave. He then said loudly, "Remember to come pick up the hoe in a few days." After that, he shook his head and entered the blacksmith shop.

  A hundred meters away from the blacksmith's shop, at the entrance of a hutong, there were two men wearing hemp robes, shivering with cold. They occasionally poked their heads out to look around. Due to the cold weather, both men had frostbitten faces and occasionally spat out saliva, revealing yellow teeth. They whispered a few sentences to each other, and when they saw Xiaomeng approaching, they immediately withdrew their bodies.

  Xiao Meng carried a hemp skirt, walking quickly on the street, her embroidered shoes made of fabric making "crunching" sounds on the snow-covered bluestone pavement. Although it was winter, her face still had a rosy glow, and she occasionally lightly bit her lower lip. She turned back to glance at the blacksmith's shop, saw Zhao Xian return to the house, and then pouted, as if afraid of being discovered. Hurriedly lowering her head, she ran off down the street.

  Two men with a stuttering speech exchanged a glance, had a brief conversation, and then one of them patted the snow off his body and followed...

  "Zhao Da Chui, you're up quite early!"

  Outside the ironwork shop, a gust of wind and snow blew in, and Huang Tian Tian, with a playful smile on her face, walked in from outside. Because the temperature inside the house suddenly rose, she took off her fiery red cotton-padded jacket, revealing a yellow satin flower skirt, but her wrists were tied with iron-studded cuffs, looking cute, yet inexplicably exuding a strong and fierce aura. She was not very old, but had been exercising for many years, her chest was high and full, her legs were long and sturdy, well-developed in all the right places, if it weren't for that hint of rogue air about her, she would be a true beauty.

  How did she end up here? Zhao Xian's head is already big, this girl's personality can't match her looks at all. She's so rough, who can handle her in the future? If we marry her into our family, won't we be bullied to death?

  Zhao Xian mourned for the third young master of the Ling family for a moment, then smiled and said: "Wow! What kind of evil wind blew you here today? Your wedding day is also approaching, and you must invite me to drink at your wedding."

  "When you..." Huang Tian Tian's face turned dark upon hearing this, her earlier smile gone. She tossed the big knife to Zhao Xian and coldly said: "Don't meddle in other people's business, take good care of the knife. As long as I'm satisfied, your silver won't be less."

  Zhao Xian took over the big knife and saw that there was a gap as small as a fingernail on it, and the snow-white blade was dazzling.

  Zhao Xian looked at him a few times, furrowed his brow and said: "What were you chopping, to ruin the knife like this?"

  This mountain-opening knife was made by Zhao Xian, who spent several months using high-quality iron materials and folding and hammering it more than 30 times. Although it is still far from being a hundred-refined steel, in Changzhou where heavy industry is not developed, it is already considered a top-notch good knife. Unexpectedly, a notch was chopped out of it.

  Huang Tian's eyes revealed a hint of regret, and he glared at Zhao Xian with a huff, saying "This is all your doing. You broke Ling Dabaozi's sword and chipped the knife."

  Because of the cold weather, she ran to the side of the huge charcoal stove, stretched out her small hands to warm up by the fire, and stood far away with a disgusted face, afraid of touching Zhao Xian who was dirty.

  Zhao Xian didn't bother to care about her attitude, the blacksmith's body couldn't be without some dust. He took a look at the knife's notch, it was folded and forged, the texture inside was layered, it could be repaired, unless it was melted and re-forged. Since he broke the knife, naturally he had to fix it for the person. Zhao Xian threw the knife aside and said: "I'll accompany you to make a new one, considering you lent me the knife, I won't charge you money."

  Huang Tian's eyes lit up, and she immediately jumped to Zhao Xian's side, saying seriously: "You'd better be sensible, my requirements are very high, don't try to cheat me with inferior goods, or else I, the captain, can shut down your shop." After nodding at Zhao Xian, she revealed a playful smile and began strolling around the blacksmith's shop.

  Although it was winter, with light snow still falling outside, the blacksmith's workshop was unusually sweltering. Zhao Xian wore only a leather apron to block the flying sparks, his arms exposed in the air, reddened by the fiery glow, revealing robust muscles that had a strong visual impact.

  Zhao Xian was almost infatuated with himself, and in his heart, he thought: "This figure is simply more perfect than a clothes rack. If those lonely women in the boudoir were to see it, they probably wouldn't be able to move their eyes away, and who knows when they'll get to use it..."

  Unfortunately, Zhao Xian's fierce image, paired with the sparks flying everywhere, looked like a rough man in Huang Tian's eyes. However, yesterday's confrontation between Zhao Xian and Ling Xian was unexpected, making her wonder if Zhao Xian would really be able to handle it, so she came today to test him out.

  The sun shone brightly for a moment, and she walked to the door with an elegant demeanor. She stretched out her slender hand, catching a few snowflakes. The cold wind blew against her skirt, and her delicate waist added a touch of spring color to the winter scene. Her thin lips slowly curved into an enchanting arc, and she softly opened her mouth, whispering: "Spring..."

  "Come on, spring is here, come and help me with the fan, you really think you're a princess."

  Zhao Xian let out a soft rebuke, and the hammer struck the red-hot iron with a loud clang, startling Huang Dajie so much that she jumped. She quickly turned around, her small face as black as the bottom of a pot, and gritted her teeth: "Are you crazy? I was just getting into the mood to recite a poem for you, and you ruined it with one hammer strike."

  Every time Huang Tian Tian gets angry, she would widen her eyes to add a few points of 'killing aura', but what kind of killing aura can this 16-year-old little girl have? Widening her eyes and combining it with the mature gesture of putting her hands on her hips, no matter how you look at it, it's hilarious.