Chapter 23: Heaven's Sword and Heaven's Strategy

  It just so happens that Guo Lao's home is also in Ping Shui County, and it's on the way to Han Yu's destination. So after finding out, Han Yu invited them to travel together.

  For such a thing, Guo Lao and his wife would certainly not refuse, nor did they have any reason to refuse. So, the original two-person journey became four people!

  Han Yu saw Guo Lao's son, Guo Qing Shan, for the first time. He was a man as sturdy and strong as his name suggested, with a robust build and an honest, simple-minded appearance that resembled a great mountain.

  All the way, Guo Qing Shan's words were few, but he had a rustic quality of a mountain man, which was very likable. So, Han Yu and his son soon took a liking to this young man who didn't talk much.

  Ping County is nearly two hundred kilometers away from Beihai County. The long journey makes chatting the most suitable way to pass time.

  It wasn't until then that Han Yu realized that Guo Lao and Guo Qing Shan were actually blacksmiths, and not just them, but most of the people in their village were also blacksmiths. However, with the increasing degree of modernization, the living space for blacksmiths was rapidly shrinking.

  Guo Lao's village was no exception! As income got worse and worse, the whole village lost its livelihood, and most of the young people in the village began to work in the county town!

  The remaining elderly people who are unwilling to pass on the skills that have been passed down from generation to generation will disappear, but they must also find another way out in order to continue this ironwork business!

  Mr. Guo is a respected elder in the village, and when he was young, he traveled all over the country with his master, so he has seen and experienced a lot, which makes him the natural choice for this task!

  However, he, who was carrying the eager expectations of his fellow villagers, never thought that as soon as he got off the car, he would be knocked to the ground by a passing sedan. If it weren't for meeting Han Yu, he might have even lost his life!

  "Will you strike iron?" Han Yu raised an eyebrow in slight surprise, only to notice that the old man's arm was much thicker than ordinary people, with thick fingers and calloused palms that didn't seem like those of a typical old farmer. "What can you strike?"

  Guo Qing Shan nodded heavily and said: "Hoe, sickle, iron rake, pitchfork..."

  Han Yu's eyebrows slightly furrowed, "Are they all farm tools?" No wonder they gradually lost market share. Nowadays, in order to make money, those combine harvesters will go wherever there is a road.

  Going to the factory for a day's work is enough to cover the cost of harvesting, who would still use a sickle to harvest, dry and thresh in the scorching heat? Isn't this being too hard on oneself?

  As for the hoe, it's for weeding, but now there are those weed-killing chemicals, spray them on the ground and not a single blade of grass will grow, smooth like a football field, what's the use of a hoe?

  Iron plows and iron forks are the same! High-tech, high-tech, in the future if you want to see these things again, you might have to go to a museum!

  Han Yu sighed silently in his heart, he didn't know why, but he felt a little depressed. The things passed down by his ancestors were discarded so ruthlessly, it's really hard to say whether this is progress or forgetting one's roots.

  "Besides this, what else can you do?" After a pause, Han Yu asked directly: "Can you fight with knives?"

  "A knife?" Guo Qing Shan turned his head and glanced at his father.

  Guo Lao's eyes were fixed tightly on Han Yu, and in his dim yellow eyes, a glint of sharpness flashed that was utterly inconsistent with his age and status.

  After a while, he said in a low voice: "I've long seen that you're no ordinary kid. What exactly do you do?"

  Han Yu fell silent for a moment before saying: "For now, it's about saving lives, but in the future, who knows, maybe we'll be taking them!"

  As soon as this was said, the air in the car suddenly stagnated slightly. His son frowned slightly, he felt that Han Yu shouldn't have spoken so directly, lest they be scared off.

  Ke Guo Lao's reaction was much stronger than he had imagined: "A person who can still lend a helping hand to a dying old man, if they kill someone, it must be to save another!"

  "Blades, we can fight! I don't know how many you need," said Guo Qing Shan with a hint of excitement.

  Han Yu said: "If I could kill people, maybe a hundred, or maybe more!"

  Kuo Ching-shan frowned and said: "But we don't have an iron ladle!"

  "Come on in!"

  "We need a lot of wood!"

  "I'll think of something!"

  Guo Qing Shan turned his head to look at his old man, Guo Lao chuckled and said: "Behind our village, on the mountain, there are iron ore and timber! You just need to recruit the young people from our village to dig it up!"

  Han Yu smiled: "Good!"

  The car went straight through Ping Shui County and headed towards Guo Lao's village.

  Wei Chi Village, where Wei Chi Gong was born, is said to be the village that produced a famous general of the early Tang Dynasty who was good at ironwork. As a result, generation after generation of villagers have been involved in ironwork! It's unclear whether they take pride in this or hope to produce another powerful general through their ironwork!

  Ping Shui County is more remote and backward than Bei Hai County. This Wei Chi village, compared to Bei Guan village, also appears more desolate!

  In the distance, what can be seen first is a ring of mountains. The mountains are neither high nor large, and there are no remarkable landscapes or strange rocks, so they remain desolate to this day.

  Wei Chi village was in the desolate mountains, where they got off the car. Han Yu stretched his arms, feeling a bit tired from the bumpy ride. Even he couldn't take it anymore, but looking at Guo Qing Shan and Guo Lao, they seemed to be taking it easy, as if nothing was wrong. Han Yu slightly raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything, instead looking around!

  The houses in Wei Chi Village are very old, all made of local materials such as bluestone. The upper horizontal wood is used as a beam, and the grass is used as a cover, which looks inconspicuous, but it is warm in winter and cool in summer, much more comfortable than the cages made of reinforced concrete.

  Of course, not all houses are like this. At least Han Yu saw a courtyard built on high ground, although it was somewhat dilapidated, and could still vaguely see the appearance of blue bricks and red tiles.

  "That's where the village committee lives!" Old Guo explained in a low voice.

  Han Yu nodded and walked with his son towards Guo Lao's courtyard. Due to the recent rain, the ground was slightly muddy, making it very comfortable to step on.

  The Guo family's courtyard was not large, except for the three rooms in the middle, there was a large house with a chimney that stood out, occupying almost half of the courtyard, which should be where Old Guo and his family forged iron.

  Han Yuexin walked in. In the center, there was a blast furnace, next to it was a bellows, and a water conduit. On the walls around, hung sickles, hoes and other farm tools, but not a single weapon was seen!

  "Knives are forbidden, can't be hung up there!" Guo Qing Shan smiled foolishly and walked to the side of the iron furnace, his two arms exerting strength, it should have been cast from raw iron, looking at least over 200 catties of iron furnace, was actually moved by him three feet, revealing a dark hole underneath!

  Han Yu couldn't help but praise: "Brother Guo has great strength!"

  His son also looked stunned, and upon hearing this, nodded in agreement.

  Guo Qing Shan gave a slightly embarrassed and awkward smile, then turned around and walked down from the cave entrance. Before long, a faint yellow light appeared at the cave entrance!

  Han Yu and his son walked down the stairs, following the light. After more than a dozen steps, they reached solid ground. Han Yu's eyes scanned the area, and he couldn't help but reveal a hint of surprise on his face!

  The decorations here are similar to those above, but the air ducts, blast furnaces, and waterways are all more delicate than those above. The handle of the bellows is even smoother, obviously because it is often grasped and pushed and pulled.

  On one side of the bellows, some molds were quietly lying down. Judging from their shapes, they should be models for casting iron into swords and knives.

  The walls around were slightly cracked, as this place was often baked by fire, so although it was underground, there wasn't a bit of dampness, but instead had a faint dry air.

  Several torches hung around, burning with a faint green smoke.

  But what's most attractive is the stuff hanging on the walls of these four weeks. Unlike the farm tools above, the walls here are hung with knives, swords, and even a few iron guns! Under the flickering firelight, there is a hint of eerie killing intent!

  Han Yu walked over, reached out and took down a knife. The unassuming-looking thing weighed at least over ten kilograms in his hand, and although it wasn't even unsheathed yet, a chill had already hit him!

  "Good sword!" His son also picked one up, looked at it twice and couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.

  Han Yu grasped the knife in his hand, suddenly exerting force to swing it forward. A sharp whistling sound pierced through the air and into his ears! Han Yu's eyes lit up for a moment, and he nodded, saying: "Indeed, this is a good knife!"

  Kuo Ching-shan smiled foolishly and said: "This is called a strange sword!"

  His son's eyes lit up. This guy's martial arts skills may not be great, but when it comes to ancient weapons, he's a die-hard fan: "A Song Dynasty broadsword?"

  "No, it's an imitation of Qing dynasty style!" said Guo Qing Shan.

  "Ah!" His son let out a sigh of relief and nodded, if these two could really cast the Great Song Dynasty sword, then he would have to make them sign a contract selling themselves to him. No, he would catch them both and lock them in a small black room...

  Han Yu looked at him and said softly: "Is Mo Dao very famous?"

  "In the past, the weak Song Dynasty was able to establish its capital in the Central Plains and resist the cavalry of the Northern Dynasties thanks to the formation of the halberd-wielding army! Historical records show that a single slash from a Song-style halberd could cut both man and horse in two. When Zhu Yuanzhang founded the Ming Dynasty, he had two great regrets: one was not obtaining the Imperial Seal of China, and the other was the loss of the technique for forging halberds."

  His son patted the back of the knife and said softly.

  Han Yu stared at the strange knife in his hand again, as if he saw the scene of the knife coming out, the horse breaking, and the person dying!

  Guo Lao walked over, picked up a knife on the wall with one hand, and suddenly became like a different person. His body stood upright, his face radiant, exuding an aura of authority: "Knives are divided into three grades, the first grade takes thirty years to forge just one, known as the Heavenly Knife!"

  "Second-rate, it takes three years to forge one, and is called a ground knife!"

  "Third-rate, it takes three months to forge one, and it's called a human knife! As for the knives that people usually talk about, machine-made in bulk, at most they can only be called iron sheets! The one in your hand is precisely a third-rate human knife!"

  Han Yu's eyes gleamed with a thick, intense light as he said in a low voice, "Is there a Heavenly Sword here at Old Guo's place?"

  "The world is fleeting, thirty years forged a knife, I don't have that kind of temperament!" Old Guo slowly shook his head.

  Han Yu couldn't help but reveal a disappointed expression, but then he heard Guo Lao say: "However, although I didn't forge the Heavenly Sword, my ancestors passed down a sword that is said to be three points sharper, three points harder, and three points more flexible than the Heavenly Sword! This sword was forged by three generations of my ancestors over a period of 60 years!"

  Guo Lao turned his head and looked at Han Yu with a smile: "Are you interested?"

  Han Yu silently looked at the knife in his hand, a first-class strange knife that was worth tens of thousands of yuan if it were to be sold outside. As for the heavenly knife, it was something that could enter the ranks of the world's top knives! Exceeding the heavenly knife? Han Yu couldn't estimate its value, but he knew one thing - he couldn't afford it! So, he slowly shook his head.

  "Don't you want to take a look?" Guo Lao still had a smile on his face.

  Han Yu said honestly: "I want to, but it's useless to look at it, I can't afford it now!"

  "Haha, what is a knife? It's just a tool for killing people. If it can't kill people, then don't call yourself a knife!" Old Guo smiled and said: "You saved this old man's life, you can choose one of these knives as a reward!"

  Han Yu did not refuse this time, and slowly nodded his head, looking at each of these knives one by one.

  These knives are of varying lengths, but all exude a chilly aura, any one of which can be considered a good knife!

  Even among them, Han Yu saw a rather inconspicuous knife that emitted a murderous aura as if it were tangible.

  Ground sword!

  Han Yu's eyes flashed with a hint of sharpness, and he walked over, but just as he was about to reach one of the knives on the ground, his gaze suddenly shifted to the corner of the wall beside him, where a dull, lifeless knife lay abandoned.

  It's a bit longer than the Mo Dao, but its body is slightly narrower. The entire thing is dull and lusterless, looking like an unfinished product that was carelessly discarded by its owner. A thick layer of dust still clings to it.

  Han Yu didn't know why, but his heart moved and he slowly walked over.

  Explore hand, grasp knife.

  At the moment he touched the icy hilt, Han Yu felt as if his heart had been stirred up, and his entire being was shocked. The nameless heart method involuntarily circulated a cycle, and with a flick of his wrist!

  A streak of cyan light suddenly appeared, it tore through the dim yellow flames like lightning, and then disappeared with a "whoosh"!

  At this time, a sudden and sharp piercing sound like a needle piercing the air finally rang out.

  "Good sword!" Han Yu's hand stroked the sword, but saw that on the body of the sword, fine and twisted lines like ripples spread out, and at the top of the hilt, two small seals floated with a sense of elegance: "Tian Ce"!

  "What a great name!" Han Yu sighed and praised again, then slowly put the knife back.

  "Isn't this knife good?" Guo Lao's voice rang out, with a hint of skepticism.

  "Good!" Han Yu said bluntly, "However, it's too precious! The quality of this sword far surpasses that of the earth sword. It's obviously that legendary heavenly sword! Although Han Yu liked it very much in his heart, he also knew the value of this sword! So he didn't dare to take it for himself!"

  "What value? Since you can appreciate it, then it's destined for you! Fate is its greatest value!" Guo Lao smiled slightly and walked over, picking up the knife and handing it to Han Yu: "This knife is called Tian Ce, forged by my ancestors over three generations. Remember, a knife must be wielded with dominance, standing tall and proud, never let it be buried!"

  Seeing Han Yu didn't move, Guo Lao frowned and said: "Do you think this knife is more important than an old man's life?"

  Han Yu hesitated for a moment before accepting it with both hands, respectfully saying: "Thank you, Old Guo. Please rest assured that Han Yu will not dare to tarnish the reputation of Tian Ce Wei!"

  Guo Lao smiled slightly and nodded in satisfaction, saying: "The purpose of our ancestors forging the sword was to compare with the Song Brocade Ancient Sword. If you can meet it in the future, you will fulfill this wish for your ancestors, and it will be a great merit!"

  "Songwen Sword?" Han Yu's eyebrows furrowed slightly!

  Guo Lao narrowed his eyes and said faintly: "The casting method of this sword has been lost, but I heard that someone in Japan has recovered it!"

  Han Yu's eyes flashed with a hint of mockery as he whispered, "Are they worthy?"

  PS: Collected up to 600, added an extra chapter today, hehe, guaranteed four updates!! By the way, there are nearly two thousand brothers in the group, but only over five hundred collections these days, it's really a bit less. Brothers, if you're in the group, shout out to them, are they all asleep??? If flowers are sent, I'll add more updates, and if brothers give me motivation, I'll add two chapters, even if Xiaolang is bleeding!!