Chapter 228 – Watching the Flames, Melting the Metal, Listening to Iron, The Quickening, Communion, and Hearing the Heavens - Part 3

Before nightfall, Li Yuan left the Cui residence.

Back at the manor, Yao Jue teased her mistress merrily, “My lady, that Mister Li is truly gifted. He likened you to the lotus flower and himself to its leaves—lotus and leaves, naturally made for each other. Without one, the other is incomplete. If he can’t wed you, he’ll wither away to death in sorrow.”

Cui Huayin said nothing, merely stood and took a sheet of paper, writing down the verses Li Yuan had just recited. At the top, she added the words

A Gift For Huayin.

Once she finished copying it, she looked troubled, her emotions shifting between a strange flicker of excitement and an equally strange sense of aversion.

“Hah...” Yao Jue said dramatically, clutching her chest in mock despair. “Truly enough to break one’s heart.”

Cui Huayin let her maid carry on. She rarely had any liveliness in her life; in a way, this counted as entertainment.

After another moment’s thought, she murmured, “How can he be so talented? The imagery here is profound; someone could practically use it for cultivation visualization.”

Yao Jue giggled. “Must be for some

lovestruck

skill, like a Boundless Affection Sword or a Tender Devotion Blade?”

Cui Huayin found it amusing. She nearly smiled but held back at the last second.

“All right, my lady,” Yao Jue went on with a mischievous glint in her eyes, “Shouldn’t we wring him dry? Let him write a few more poems for us to enjoy!”

With a small nod, Cui Huayin silently agreed. Then realizing the hidden meaning in

wringing him dry

, she blushed and got up to lightly smack her maid’s arm. “When did you start saying such things?”

Yao Jue’s eyes grew red. “My lady, you finally look a bit more spirited.”

Cui Huayin paused, lowering her hand. “Yao Jue, remember. I am a consort officially conferred by the Emperor. I cannot marry some nobody—sixth rank or otherwise. This man may have talent, and he wishes to learn my father’s craft. My father lacks a successor. If they can help each other out, then so be it. That’s all there is to it.”

Still grinning, Yao Jue waved a playful finger. “Hah...truly heartbreaking.”

Cui Huayin lifted her hand again.

Yao Jue darted away, shouting over her shoulder, “In this flower and these leaves, each always mirrors the other—if the leaves fade and the blossoms wane, it’s enough to break one’s heart...”

Furious, Cui Huayin chased her across the courtyard, and the layer of ice around her own heart began to melt ever so slightly.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

By early August, Li Yuan finally reached his desired milestone.

Master Weaponsmithing - Rank 9 (160/160)

By mid-August, he fast-tracked his progress.

Expert Weaponsmithing - Rank 8 (79/80)

He went back to the mountaintop to see Master Zhu for the second time. That time, Master Zhu taught him about

melting metals together.

A blade’s sharp edge often required the careful addition of other metals.

By early September—

Master Weaponsmithing - Rank 8 (160/160)

By mid-September—

Expert Weaponsmithing - Rank 7 (79/80)

Li Yuan climbed the mountain to meet Master Zhu for the third time.

This time, Master Zhu taught him how to

listen to the iron.

Most blacksmiths relied on typical experience, hammering unthinking blows into lifeless iron. But to breathe life into a weapon, you first had to hear the metal’s

breath.

It sounded mysterious, but it basically meant evenly dispersing special molten metals throughout the iron, enhancing its quality and eliminating weak spots.

The flow of metal within the forge emitted different sounds as it merged. At seventh rank, a blacksmith had to learn to

listen

for those subtle changes, blending everything more seamlessly with their hammer.

By early October, Li Yuan hit another milestone.

Master Weaponsmithing - Rank 7 (160/160)

)

That day, Cui Santong did not bring him a sixth rank weaponsmithing manual.

By late October, Li Yuan made yet another trip up the mountain to see Master Zhu. When the older man looked at him, his expression was both awed and perplexed.

“I’ve never seen anyone with your level of talent,” Master Zhu said. “Neither I nor Gong Lang ever had such gifts.”

He sighed and then, as though some fiery determination arose in him, strode back and forth in front of Li Yuan a few times before bursting into laughter. Finally, he calmed and asked, “How exactly did you convince Huayin?”

Li Yuan answered, “She loves poetry, and I happen to know a little. She’s stayed in that courtyard over six years. Sooner or later, someone had to help her walk out.”

Master Zhu’s already grave expression turned even more serious. “But yours is a political match,” he pointed out.

After a moment’s thought, Li Yuan replied, “She may seem noble and withdrawn, but to me, she’s like a girl bearing a lot of worries. I believe I can learn to humor her, coax her. I’m decent at writing poetry; she likes what I compose.”

Master Zhu inclined his head slightly. He already knew most of this from his own inquiries, and now that he’d heard it directly from Li Yuan, he felt there truly might be no more suitable match under heaven. He stood in silence a long time, then placed a hand on Li Yuan’s shoulder. His eyes looked a bit red, and his throat worked before he spoke again.

“Take good care of her. If one day she demands you avenge her mother, don’t indulge her. Just say that I forbade it, and show her a letter I’ll prepare. That should settle it.”

“Vengeance for her mother?” Li Yuan’s gaze flickered with surprise.

So there’s more to the story...

“What happened?” he asked.

Master Zhu, having already accepted Li Yuan as a future son-in-law, felt no need to keep secrets. He guided Li Yuan to a quieter spot near the cliff edge and recounted, “There was a member of the Jing Clan—Jing Yunhe, the eldest son of their current clan head. Back then, I was only a live-in son-in-law of the Cui Clan, not yet enlightened in the true art of smithing, often traveling abroad. Jing Yunhe was a notorious playboy.

“One day, while I was away, he harassed my wife, Huayin’s mother. The Cui Clan did nothing beyond making him offer a trivial apology and take three cups of penalty wine. That was all. The poor woman couldn’t bear the disgrace and the mockery; she ended up poisoning herself.”

He paused briefly, then went on, “That’s why Huayin changed so much afterward. I understand her motives. She wants to stand above them all, to return in splendor so the Cui Clan regrets casting her aside, and to make the Jing Clan pay in blood. I’m telling you this so you know she was once a sweet, innocent girl. If she ever upsets you later, remember what she’s been through and give her some leeway.”

Another long sigh escaped him. Then, forcing a smile, Master Zhu turned to Li Yuan. “Come, my good son-in-law, let me pass onto you the next rank of my smithing skills.

“Smithing is difficult precisely because each step demands absolute perfection. If you lack tremendous talent and comprehension, you’ll never succeed.’

“In truth, my lineage’s smithing skill doesn’t differ too much from other schools at the ninth, eighth, and seventh rank. But starting from the sixth rank, it takes its own unique path.

“Ninth rank is about observing the flame, eighth rank is melding metals, seventh rank is listening to the iron. After truly mastering these three, you must merge them all into one—reaching the apex we call the embryonic stirring or

the Quickening.

”

“You’ll learn to sense the faint stirrings of life in what was once lifeless metal, like a newborn moving in the womb.”

Li Yuan frowned. “But metal isn’t alive.”

Master Zhu nodded. “It isn’t. So it must be imagined, visualized—

“Metal has no life, but you do.

When you watch the fire, that flame becomes its

blood

.

When you melt metals, those metals become its

organs.

When you listen to iron, you’re not just hearing the material;

you’re sensing the quickening of a new life within.

“Only by casting your own living will into the steel can you, in the future, imbue blood gold crystals with a trace of vitality—enabling a metal, which has no soul but does have flesh, to develop a glimmer of spirit when you forge a spirit weapon.

“Puppet makers rely on engraving special circuits for their constructs. That’s their most guarded secret. We weaponsmiths rely on perceiving the embryonic stirrings. That is our secret.

“If you can feel the Quickening, you’ll be able to forge top-quality seventh rank weapons...and use blood gold crystals to create sixth rank weapons.

“Then, when you can commune with the metal, you’ll be stepping into the territory of fifth rank. Finally, when you can hear the heavens, you’ll have reached the fourth rank.

“I know you came to me because you’re interested in forging spirit weapons. So, should you manage communion, you’ll have achieved your goal.

“As for hearing the heavens, I’ve secluded myself here in the mountains for years and remain no closer to it. I suspect that part may just be a legend in our lineage’s teachings.”