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Chapter 11 – The Sword Archive

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Author: Azure Studio Original Source: iQing Word Count: 4065 characters
Translator: Nexus Flamehart English Source: Re:Library Word Count: 2724 words

The Sword Archive was located in the center of the Eastern Mountain. It was a courtyard-style building with several chimneys that peaked out of the roof that lead down to a large number of forges inside. The white smoke ejected from it made Sue Kirin think, it’s going to be really hot in there. In fact, due to the furnace’s temperature, it really was hot, even on the side where the morning’s snow fell on the building.

The two passed through the courtyard door and walked straight inside.

With just that simple movement they seemed to enter a different world.

The smell of charcoal ash filled the air, waves of dry heat lapped at them. The rhythmic, cymbal-like ringing noise was deafeningly loud as it resonated throughout all four corners of the room. Pillars of flame splashed about in a very eye-catching manner.

The people in the room were not collecting swords, instead they were shaping metal and other equipment or rushing to carry it elsewhere, they were too busy.

Luo Qing had no trouble intercepting a male disciple who had been running around.

“Ah, this disciple greets Elder Luo!”

His voice was a bit loud, but no one else in the room seemed to react to it. Everyone else was engrossed in their work and didn’t seem to notice in the slightest.

“Yes,” Luo Qing responded briefly and then pointed to Sue Kirin and said, “This is your little ancestor.”

The male disciple was very surprised. He looked at the Sue Kirin and the expression on his face became one of disbelief.

He had never seen Sue Kirin and now, seeing her for the first time, he found out that the latter turned out to be a loli, so it was no surprise that he was so shocked. Sue Kirin thought, but she naturally did not intend to care about another person’s rudeness.

Luo Qing lightly coughed, and the disciple returned to the matter at hand. He hurriedly bowed to the Sue Kirin. “This disciple greets Little Ancestor.”

Sue Kirin subconsciously snorted, but then realized that doing so was probably not appropriate and just coughed and nodded to play it off.

Even though her reaction looked strange, the disciple in front of her did not seem to notice.

“Sorry for bothering you, may I ask if Elder Li is here?” Luo Qing asked softly.

The male disciple hesitated for a moment before he answered.

“Of course Elder Luo, Master is here. But she’s forging a sword, maybe…”

“It doesn’t matter, take us to her. We have business with her.”

The male disciple nodded, even if he thought there might be some problem, then made a beckoning gesture.

“Little Ancestor, Elder Luo, she’s over this way.”

As they followed behind the male disciple, Sue Kirin approached Luo Qing and whispered, “Is this Elder Li an arrogant person?” Naturally, the reason she asked was because of the male disciple’s more restrained attitude when it came to disturbing his master.

Luo Qing blinked in surprise before smiling and shaking her head.

“By nature she is a very approachable person, but when she’s forging a blade she becomes very distant and uncaring, and if someone disturbs her…” Having said that, Luo Qing suddenly stopped. Most likely considering what to say, she thought over the words for a bit before continuing, “if anyone disturbs her then she will try to cut them…”

Sue Kirin was stunned and asked with notable hesitance, “then…can’t we come back another time?”

Luo Qing shook her head, “It’s okay, unless you get close and touch her, she won’t care about anything you say, because she won’t hear it.”

“She’s deaf?”

Luo Qing was embarrassed by the misunderstanding, blinking rapidly before correcting herself, “she is so focused when forging blades that she doesn’t pay attention to anything around her…”

The male disciple brought Sue Kirin and Luo Qing to a separate room deep in the Sword Archive.

There was a forge in the room and a woman who appeared to be around twenty years old was sitting in front of it. Her red ponytail seemed to be full of activity as it bounced around every time she moved.

Her face was not as round as Luo Qing’s, but she was a bit of a wild beauty, which made it a little harder to judge her.

Perhaps it was because she spent a long time working in front of the forge, but her skin looked a bit rough, though it was also proof that she was active as a worker and not just a supervisor.

She’s a refined person. That was the first impression Sue Kirin had of Li Wanting.

Although her name and appearance don’t really match.

At that time, Li Wanting was holding a small hammer and banging on a newly forged sword. Standing next to her was male disciple with a strong body and wearing large armor.

She didn’t seem to notice Sue Kirin and Luo Qing. No, Sue Kirin had a feeling she knew they were there, but because she wasn’t interested in the arrival of the two, she ignored them.

“Little Ancestor, Elder Luo, do you have to do this now or could you come back in a little while?” The male disciples who led them asked.

Hearing that, Li Wanting’s hands completely stopped working. Luo Qing was in a difficult position. Naturally, her personality was not one to rush or interrupt other people’s work. She glanced down at Sue Kirin with curious eyes.

Sue Kirin thought about it and said, “We’re going to wait here.” She was interested in how swords were made in ancient times and wanted to watch since she was already around.

“I understand.” Luo Qing responded with a voice, then looked at the male disciples who led them and spoke in a soft voice, “Little Ancestor said that she wants to wait here, you will continue to your own work without worrying about us.”

“This……” The male disciple was a little hesitant.

“It doesn’t matter, go.” Luo Qing said softly.

“Then… this disciple will retire first.”

After seeing Sue Kirin and Luo Qing nod in agreement, the male disciple was obviously relieved. As soon as he was given the chance, he turned and left.

Sue Kirin curiously watched Li Wanting hammering there, but it didn’t take long for her to get tired of it.

It was too boring. Li Wanting just kept folding the metal, then hammering it, and repeating the process.

I should’ve waited for another time. Sue Kirin though regretfully.

Just as she was about to tell Luo Qing of her thoughts—

“Oh, if it isn’t the Little Ancestor and Senior Sister Luo? Why are you here?”

Without them realizing, Li Wanting had already completed her work and stood up to look at Sue Kirin and Luo Qing.

It seems that by the time Sue Kirin had arrived, her work was nearly complete.

“Ah, well… Little Seven, she told me to come to you to have a sword forged.”

Li Wanting immediately asked, “Little Seven? Who’s that?”

Luo Qing made a bitter face while explaining, “The Little Seven our Ancestor is referring to is the Sect Mistress.”

Li Wanting snorted and smiled heartily, “Haha, Little Seven Little Seven, she really is a Little Seven, isn’t she? Indeed!”

“Not exactly.” Luo Qing tried to counter.

“But she just won’t admit it.” Sue Kirin answered, feeling a bit wronged.

Probably think of something, Li Wanting’s face suddenly became weird.

“Hey, Little Ancestor, did you get knocked out because you called her Seven Seven Seven face-to-face?”

“Hey, how’d you know about that?”

“By this point I suppose most of the Elders already know.”

Seeing Sue Kirin, Li Wanting could not help but snicker.

“Sister Li, let’s not talk about that, let’s talk about business.” Luo Qing tried to quickly change the subject for Sue Kirin.

“Oh pooh……”

Li Wanting cast a bored expression at the change of subjects, but directed her attention to Sue Kirin with a hint of disappointment in her tone, “Little Ancestor, you want me to make a sword for you?”

“I don’t need a sword at all, but Little Seven said that the Scorpio Temple is known for its swordsmen, so I should also wear a sword if I am a leader. Otherwise, I won’t look the part.”

“It’s not just Little Seven, I really think you should have a sword too!”

Sue Kirin originally thought that Li Wanting’s more relaxed personality would not care about this form of regulation, but in the end she was surprised. Li Wanting seemed to agree with Qi Qiqi.

It seems that the ancients really valued this kind of presentation. Sue Kirin silently sighed in her heart.

“So what kind of sword does the Little Ancestor want? What kind of sword is best for you?”

“I don’t need a sword, how would I know?”

“In other words, even if I forge a sword for you, it’ll only be used as a decoration for the Little Ancestor?”

“Well, I guess I will use it to cut things. I will cut a dish at most.” As a result, Sue Kirin was hit by Li Wanting.

“That hurts!”

Sue Kirin felt the Elder hit her and protested, but she only received a strong look from Li Wanting.

“Will you use the sword I make for you to cut random objects?”

“What else am I supposed to do with it, I don’t need a sword. I don’t even know what to do with a sword.”

“It’s good for self-protection. Maybe at some point, it will save your life.” Luo Qing noted

Sue Kirin thought about it for a long moment before agreeing that what Luo Qing said made sense.

No matter how skilled someone is at martial arts, they’ll still be afraid of sharp blades like kitchen knives.

“Well, Little Ting, what kind of sword would you choose for me?”

Li Wanting didn’t seem to care that she was suddenly called Little Ting. She opened her hand and started counting on her fingers. “Well… long sword, short sword, sabre, great sword, epee, broadsword… there are so many options, but since the Little Ancestor doesn’t need a sword, then it’s better to make something fancy looking. Alright.”

“Also—” Sue Kirin was trying to agree, but suddenly remembered something, “Is the great sword a very wide blade?”

Li Wanting nodded. She looked at the small body of the Sue Kirin and then asked with an odd look, “Little Ancestor wants a greatsword? Won’t it be difficult for someone as small as Little Ancestor to swing around?”

“Well, not only is the body of the sword very wide, it is so big that it can probably even be used as a shield, and that kind of blade shouldn’t require as much skill as a swordsman, no? With a single swing it’d have a lot of destructive power.”

Li Wanting’s eyes widened instantly. Soon after though, she touched her chin in thought and began to meditate.

After a long while, she raised her head.

“The Little Ancestor’s words make sense. I will forge a greatsword for you. Do you have any other requirements, Little Ancestor? For example, how do you want it to look?”

“Cool!”

This answer stunned Li Wanting for a moment, but she quickly recovered, “Good, good, very good! Little Ancestor is really interesting!”

She seemed to like Sue Kirin and grabbed the latter’s shoulder.

“I’ll be troubling you.”

Sue Kirin laid a hand on the shoulder that was hit, and put on a fake smile.

It was really painful and she had a feeling that the area would be red when she looked.

Li Wanting seemed to realize what she had done, but she was so happy at the moment that she didn’t pay attention. “Sorry, sorry, I wasn’t thinking.” She apologized.

“It’s okay, just be more careful next time.”

Sue Kirin originally wanted to complain to the other elder, but changed her mind when she thought about how leaving the issue would be a good way to get closer to her.

Just as they finished talking, a loud sound was suddenly heard at the door.

“Junior Sister Li, you are hiding in here forging a sword! I’ve asked to see you several times. Your disciples say that you are busy. Are you really that busy or are you just arrogant and don’t think my request warrants your presence?” He shouted in a venomous tone.

Sue Kirin followed the voice and saw a middle-aged man with a face full of arrogance coming in. He actually looked very pretty, quite beautiful in fact, but the expression on his face made him look like a scoundrel, to the point that Sue Kirin immediately began to ball her fist.

Restrain thyself! My Kirin arm! Even in her past life, Sue Kirin had always hated people with that kind of unremarkable expression.

“What?”

At that point, Sue Kirin suddenly noticed the man, the sleeve on his left-hand side was empty as he only had a single arm.

Somehow, his mere appearance dampened the mood in the room.

Sue Kirin also noticed that Li Wanting’s face turned dark when she saw the man and that the eyes of the disciple standing next to her had widened into great big circles filled with hate the moment the one-armed man entered his line of sight.

Could it be that this Qin Chen is one of those so-called playboys? Did he grab the wife of Little Ting’s disciple? Sue Kirin speculated their relationship based on the plot of some of the Melodramatic TV series she’d seen in the past, but apparently her guess was wrong.

“Oh! Junior Sister Luo is also here!” The middle-aged man said with some surprise.

His voice seemed to change from when he was talking to Li Wanting, and instead when he began talking to Luo Qing his voice became so soft and gentle that gave Sue Kirin goose bumps. More importantly, when he looked at Luo Qing, his eyes changed in an incredibly obvious manner.

Does this guy like Luo Qing? Sue Kirin was puzzled, but Luo Qing responded in her usual light manner, “Senior Brother Qin, the Little Ancestor is also here.”

“Oh, ah, really!”

The middle-aged man hadn’t seemed to notice Sue Kirin. Once she was brought up though, he quickly turned to the loli and spoke, “This grandson, Qin Chen, greets Little Ancestor.”

Seeing Luo Qing’s obvious and distant response, Sue Kirin just snorted.

Anyway, her seniority is high, even if she jumped up and played Qin Chen like a fiddle, no one would say anything.

Moreover, Qin Chen’s arrogant look was also too rude.

However, compared with the two –

“What are you doing?”

Li Wanting’s reaction was much worse. She didn’t look at Qin Chen, but shook her head at the apprentice standing next to her. The apprentice wanted to say something, opened his mouth several times, but in the end couldn’t get the words out.

The middle-aged man saw it and sneered.

Sue Kirin curiously whispered to Luo Qing, “What’s the matter? Do you want me to hit him?”

“Why do you want to beat him up?” Luo Qing asked in surprise.

“He disgusts me!” Sue Kirin snorted and answered with disgust.

Most importantly, he looks more handsome than I used to!

“Little Ancestor, your sword has inspired me and I’ve a few ideas on how to design it. I will start a sketch in the next few days, and I’ll show it to you then, so—” Li Wanting said with an apologetic tone.

“Oh, then I will go on ahead first.”

Li Wanting seemed to have something to say and it most likely had to do with Qin Chen, but it seemed that she didn’t want to be seen asking for help in front of him or so Sue Kirin thought.

Luo Qing seems to want to say something, but Li Wanting spoke first, “Senior Sister Luo, you should go with the Little Ancestor.”

Luo Qing was silent for a good long while. Then she turned her head and looked at Sue Kirin.

“Little Ancestor, let’s go.”

Sue Kirin snorted and then took the lead to go outside.

She didn’t know what was going on and didn’t want to be a bother, so she simply ignored it.



 

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