Chapter 00223: Planting the Blade
# Planting the Blade
Chapter 223
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 223: Planting the Blade
After walking for several dozen zhang, the group began to disperse.
The government office could not accommodate so many idle people, and Steward Old Mo was just taking the families of the escorting army to the designated inn to settle in.
More importantly, he was sending Madam Ying and others to their new home in Xia Prefecture.
According to He Chunhua's prior arrangements, He Yue followed to the government office, while He Lingchuan accompanied Madam Ying.
About a quarter of an hour later, Madam Ying and her son finally arrived at their new residence.
This place was located fifteen zhang behind the government office, convenient for the governor to commute to work.
Other officials' residences were scattered around, and the county magistrate of Dunyu also lived nearby, with two or three rows of official residences directly behind.
He Lingchuan accompanied his mother and took a tour inside and out.
The servants began moving in luggage, organizing the interior, and cleaning the courtyard, instantly bringing life to the originally empty residence.
The house had long been prepared by the state government and was relatively clean, with a few servants assigned to clean regularly.
As soon as Steward Old Mo arrived, he rewarded these servants generously before sending them away.
The head matron only wished to use the staff brought from her hometown, though she would gradually hire more people later.
For Madam Ying, who had been looking forward to this all the way, the official residence was a great disappointment: not to mention comparing it to the Li family’s house, even the silk merchant Hu's residence they passed earlier was twice the size of the governor's residence.
The furniture inside was relatively old, and she did not know how many hands it had passed through; although the walls and roof had just been repaired, the corridor was still damaged, and the bluestone in the courtyard was either sunken or collapsed, with plants growing wildly.
Madam Ying had a keen eye and even found a few wormholes at the foot of the table in the living room.
This place fell far below her expectations, and it was even less comfortable than the old house in Heishui City.
Seeing her increasingly dark expression, He Lingchuan hurriedly comforted her, “Mother, don’t be angry. This place is too shabby; what should be thrown away, throw away; what should be repaired, repair; what should be changed, change; what should be bought, buy. Father won’t say anything about it. Aren’t you just going to show off your skills? Does our family lack this little money?”
Their house in Heishui City was also something Madam Ying had pieced together bit by bit.
Perhaps it was a natural inclination for women to love decoration; thinking about how she could complain to her husband when he returned, and how she could renovate the house over the next few months to her satisfaction, her mood gradually improved.
“Who are you calling old? Our family doesn’t lack money. Your father just arrived in Xia Prefecture, and the expenses for socializing have increased. However, the income from the new official is less, so we should save where we can… Hmm, look at the ground in this garden; it’s already collapsed. Why not just dig a deep water cellar? In summer, we can freeze some melons and fruits and drinks!”
A water cellar is a deep pond, at least one zhang deep.
No matter how hot it is in summer, sunlight cannot penetrate to the bottom, so the bottom remains icy and cool, perfect for storing food.
Additionally, it can store fresh water and serve as a fire hydrant.
Madam Ying mentioned that her husband’s promotion led to less money, which was indeed the case.
He Chunhua was an absolute local king in Qiansong County, with various sources of income, both legitimate and illegitimate.
Otherwise, with how much money their eldest son spent, how could the county magistrate’s meager salary support it?
As for the promotion to governor of Xia Prefecture, it was difficult to stretch out one’s hands when just arriving.
A seasoned person like He Chunhua would certainly first understand the local ways.
Someone like He Chunhua was not considered a corrupt official in the Dayuan Dynasty; rather, he was a capable representative of practical governance.
At least he did not dig three feet into the ground to suck the blood and marrow of the common people.
Madam Ying was still quite proud of this.
This time, she was also quite nice to her eldest son.
Before her husband returned, she had already assigned He Lingchuan a courtyard facing east.
The residences of the two brothers were about the same size, which was also a bit of her own selfishness.
Madam Ying busied herself, and when He Lingchuan entered his territory, he found the courtyard was smaller than their residence in Heishui City, but it was sufficient for practicing martial arts.
A row of peach trees had already grown into old stumps along the wall, and next summer, they would have peaches to eat without leaving the house.
In the courtyard stood a large jujube tree, which was bare in winter.
He Lingchuan thought about building a small tree house on it in a few days for the medicinal monkey Lingguang to use.
The Rock Wolf also followed in, sniffing left and right, unable to shake off its canine habits.
He Lingchuan kindly asked, “Lü Xin, should I build you a little wooden house in the courtyard?”
“Good…” Lü Xin was about to agree when he suddenly felt something was off, “Not good! Do you think I’m a dog? Do you want me to sleep in a doghouse?”
Isn’t a wooden little house just a doghouse?
Faced with its low growl, He Lingchuan shrugged, “Then you can sleep in the resting hall, and for the toilet, go to the latrine. No peeing in the courtyard! And no urinating at the base of the wall!”
Lü Xin gritted his teeth; this was too much for a wolf.
The facilities inside were complete, but according to Madam Ying’s temperament, everything was to be thrown away or changed.
Steward Old Mo had already sent someone to deliver a charcoal basin, hot water, and a tea tray.
Just as He Lingchuan had brewed himself a cup of hot tea, there was a knock at the courtyard door.
“Master, it’s me.”
From the voice, he knew it was Li Fubo.
“The door is not closed; come in yourself.”
Li Fubo entered the hall, and He Lingchuan smiled, “Aren’t you going to the government office to watch the excitement?” He was quite eager to go.
“No. The lord has already gone and instructed me to come over first to handle matters for you.”
“Handle matters?” He Lingchuan was momentarily taken aback.
“Planting the blade.”
He Lingchuan slapped his forehead: “Even the Marquis of Songyang is more invested than I am!”
This master indeed had a big heart. “The precious blade needs to be left undisturbed for half a month; during this time, it cannot be moved. Is this place convenient?”
“This is it.” He Lingchuan rubbed his hands, unable to hide his excitement, “Come, let me see the blade planting method of Songyang Prefecture.”
Li Fubo first took out something and handed it to him: “This has been repaired; please pass it on to your father.”
He Lingchuan looked and saw it was the walnut boat, formally known as the Mustard Seed Boat, which he had previously used to throw at Dong Rui’s Ghost Monkey, causing it to break.
“Is it repaired so quickly? Truly worthy of Master Li!” Compliments cost nothing, and he could say them freely.
Li Fubo smiled: “This was personally repaired by our lord.”
He Lingchuan let out a long “oh”: “I will definitely pass it on.”
He thought to himself, his mother would definitely get angry.
Li Fubo took out a copper furnace from his storage ring, threw it to the ground, and muttered a few incantations.
The palm-sized copper furnace transformed into a height taller than a person.
He Lingchuan was already accustomed to such techniques from Songyang Prefecture.
“Master, take a few steps back.”
He Lingchuan complied and stepped back.
Li Fubo patted the furnace body, and the lid opened up in all directions, immediately releasing a powerful wave of heat.
Even from a zhang away, He Lingchuan felt the scorching heat.
In such a spacious room, the temperature had risen at least five degrees.
It should be noted that this was still under Li Fubo’s careful control of the furnace temperature; otherwise, if the true fire surged, the wooden bed and counter would be ignited instantly.
As the lid opened, the furnace body transformed into a platform for the craftsmen to operate.
At first glance, He Lingchuan saw the block of golden mud.
At this moment, its color had changed from bright gold to dark gold with hints of green and pale yellow in certain corners, resembling a rural charcoal pile that had been visited by cats, dogs, and geese… It looked nothing like the beautiful appearance it had before.
However, as Li Fubo controlled the fire, the most noticeable change was that its volume had increased by more than double.
Although it remained solid, small bubbles of lava occasionally appeared on the surface, with dark red liquid slowly flowing inside, even glowing red from the cracks in the mud shell.
In simple terms, it resembled a block of continuously burning lava.
He Lingchuan humbly asked, “How do we operate? Where is the alloy?”
“The alloy has already melted into the golden mud, along with seven other materials,” Li Fubo said seriously, “Two of which were specifically instructed by the lord. As for the specific formula, I’m afraid I cannot disclose it.”
“The alloy has melted?” He Lingchuan asked in surprise, “I thought the essence of gold was the hardest in the world, and it wouldn’t melt without being struck by lightning for ten days or half a month.”
“True gold is not afraid of fire refining,” Li Fubo smiled slightly, “Unless there is a catalyst.”
Then he took out two fist-sized pieces of alloy and handed them to He Lingchuan: “This is the leftover material; please keep it safe.”
Although these two pieces of so-called scraps looked small, they were worth several times more than the same volume of gold.
He Lingchuan accepted them.
From this, it could be seen how carefree Li Fubo was; he hadn’t even called He Lingchuan to witness the melting of the alloy.
He Da Gongzi had indeed said that he would handle everything, but without witnessing the melting of the gold, who knew if Li Fubo had taken advantage of the situation and pocketed some for himself?
After all, the alloy He Lingchuan had purchased was so large, and if he took a piece or two while melting it, no one would know.
“You already know that I started melting the alloy in Ruxian, and the process of dark fire forging cannot be interrupted. It took quite a bit of effort to bring it onto the carriage,” Li Fubo pointed at the molten golden mud, “The alloy is the most important material for planting the blade; it must be fully integrated into the golden mud medium to be absorbed by the precious blade. Now its temperature has dropped rapidly; you can plant it.”
“How do we plant it?”
Next, He Lingchuan removed the wrapping from the hilt and used the liquid handed over by Li Fubo to clean the surface of the hilt.
He didn’t know what that substance was, but when it was poured on, it sizzled and produced green smoke, corroding the hilt into a thousand holes, resembling a honeycomb.
He Lingchuan felt pained watching, but Li Fubo said, “Let it bleed, cover the hilt completely.”
This step was called feeding the blade, and it had to be done with the owner’s blood.
It wasn’t enough to just take blood from the heart; He Lingchuan pricked his ring finger with a small knife, letting drops of blood fall onto the hilt, filling the small holes.
“Apply it evenly.”
He Lingchuan followed suit, but soon discovered that the hilt, like a sponge, absorbed the blood completely.
The speed of absorption could only be described as ravenous.
He simply made a large cut on his arm to increase the bleeding.
The broken blade was unceremonious, drinking as much as it could, not caring at all about draining him dry.
Li Fubo watched intently.
After He Lingchuan fed it for a long time, feeling uneasy, he couldn’t help but ask, “Hey, is this normal?”
“Not normal.” Li Fubo’s answer made He Lingchuan’s heart skip a beat, “The amount of blood I used for other precious blades I planted was only about twenty percent of this one. But since it has come to this point, you should satisfy it.”
Such a bloodthirsty blade, especially one that craved the owner’s blood, was something he had never seen before.
(End of Chapter)