Death… and me

Chu Yang was left confused that night. Heavenly Armament Pavilion's first day of opening had attracted such a grand crowd of onlookers. Of these onlookers, there were many martial artists and affluent people with pompous appearance, who were most certainly members of some large families in the city.

How could these people have been able to withhold their curiosity and not be interested to enter for a look?

It is noteworthy that one could raise his combat ability by at least one level with a sharp divine weapon in hand, whether he was walking in the Jiang Hu or fighting in the battleground. Thus, it only made sense that all martial artists had dreams of being within reach of such a treasure.

Being in possession of a divine weapon meant that one's qualities would be far superior to that of any other ordinary weapon. It was essentially equivalent to having an extra life!

Did this not warrant more curiosity and attraction from the crowd?

Whether it was a martial family or the military, shouldn't such a weapon be enough to attract them?

Chu Yang was perplexed and could not figure out the sorcery behind it all. He thought, "As far as I know, once Iron Cloud Nation heard of the weapons, they should have come storming in regardless of the truth. But how peculiar was it that nobody actually cared. Did I remember wrongly?"

On day 2, there were still onlookers staring at his stop in wonder. However, there was a decline in the number of onlookers and no one had entered the shop through the doors. In comparison to the first day, at least there was a trio of gangsters that had tried to stir trouble.

On day 3, there were fewer onlookers. Chu Yang became depressed. It didn't matter to him if anyone had made a purchase, but it would have made him feel better if a few people at least entered to have a look around his shop. Was none of the people in the city, which numbered in the millions, curious enough to view his shop? Ultimately, what kind of sorcery was this?

On that night, there was finally something different.

After having his dinner, Chu Yang was reading the book 'Immortal Medicine' that Du Shi Qing had given to him. Upon opening the front page, there was an opening phrase: 'In this world, who can avoid death? No one. Therefore, doctors may only heal non-life threatening diseases. However, what defines a non-life threatening disease? I humbly believe that non-life threatening diseases are ones that are inflicted by external forces and cause bodily pain.'

'As for terminal illnesses, their lives are dependent on destiny.'

As he read along, Chu Yang was disturbed. The meaning of these words was clear: Any injury or illness could be cured so long as one was not old to the point of burning out the last bit of gas in his tank. Of course, this was only in theory. However, this sounded really exalted.

Bang bang!

Someone was knocking on his door.

Chu Yang was just getting immersed in the book and asked impatiently, "Who is it?"

"I heard that there are divine weapons for sale here, thus I've come specially to have a look." a tired voice came from outside.

Chu Yang's heart skipped a bit. The voice had a hint of a pompous persona and appeared to disregard anyone else, though it sounded distraught.

Only people who have become used to living with wealth could have such a voice.

Furthermore, he sounded really young.

Chu Yang closed the book and opened the door. Right in front of him was a youth in silk clothes standing at his door. His face was calm but tired. There appeared to be an unsolvable light of melancholy from his eyebrows. The youth maintained his expression even after Chu Yang had opened the door.

The youth's clothes proved his affluent status. However, he appeared to have come from afar without any rest since his clothes were covered with dust. How could one appear to be so pitiful, in contrast to his haughty voice?

Suddenly, the youth's stomach let out a growl and it appeared to be from hunger. The youth maintained his facial expression and there was no trace of embarrassment on his face.

An isolated glow of light came on as a lamp was lit.

"Please have a seat." Chu Yang could tell that the youth was definitely the child of an affluent and large family from his behaviour and aura.

This was particularly because the aura of the upper class was something that the regular officials' families were lacking in.

Large rich families typically produce spoilt kids, yet at the same time, geniuses tended to be groomed from these families as well. This was due to their initial starting position being way ahead of the typical masses.

Chu Yang was sceptical. Why would a beloved child of a large family be out at midnight? There was not even a single guard following him as well. Further, why did he appear to be so distraught?

The youth showed a faint smile and took a few steps into the shop after checking out the insides. He sat opposite Chu Yang and asked, "What is elder martial brother's name?"

"Are you here to buy weapons or make friends?" Chu Yang smiled and asked as he looked up.

"Good!" The youth gazed at him for a moment, before speaking gently. He then took off a sword from his waist and placed it on the table. He gazed at the sword unbearably for a moment and pushed it to Chu Yang, "Since brother specializes in selling divine weapons, do you mind taking a look at my sword?"

Chu Yang was left speechless. He had opened his shop to sell weapons but to no avail for three days. Finally, a customer had come in the middle of the night. But to his dismay, he was actually trying to sell Chu Yang his weapon! It appeared that he was in the same business. Chu Yang felt that he was really down on luck.

He thought for a while before reaching out for the sword. He had nothing to do and was idling anyway.

The sword felt heavy in his hands and Chu Yang couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and exclaimed, "Good sword!"

"Brother, how can you tell that this is a good sword without even pulling it out?" said the youth who was dressed in gold clothes. His every behaviour were gentle and indicative of his good family upbringing, though his clothes were covered in filth.

"Common long swords are typically 3 feet in length, with a scabbard it would be 3 feet and 3 inches. However, your sword is 3 feet and 5 inches in total." Chu Yang gazed at the sword and said, "An inch longer is an inch longer for experts of the sword. This is specific only to swords and no other weapons. Those who believe that this rule applies to all weapons are mistaken because the sword is a gentle killer. It is long but not firm, otherwise, it would be brittle and easy to break. Therefore, a short sword is easier to create while a long sword is difficult to craft. A sword like yours must have been difficult to make since it is much longer than the common long sword. Judging from the scabbard and hilt which are old and unadorned with a faint blood aura, coupled with the fact that it remains the same though it has been through many years and experienced many kills, this must be a really good sword!"

"Well said!" laughed the youth, with appreciation in his laughter. "Brother is indeed a person who knows swords well!"

"Also, a regular longsword weighs at around 6 to 9 pounds, while the ideal heavy swords weigh in at 7.7 pounds. It would be hard to tell if it were mixed with other specific metals." Chu Yang smiled lightly.

"However, your sword has already exceeded thirty pounds." Chu Yang claimed, "A sword that does not change shape despite its weight is most definitely a good sword!"

The youth's eyes began to show greater appreciation.

Chu Yang's wrist turned. With a clang, the longsword exited the scabbard, as if it were a groaning dragon and a hissing tiger. A ray of light spread throughout the room immediately as the lamp's light was reflected upon the sword and became thousands of rays, lighting up the entire house in magnificence!

"Good sword!" Chu Yang praised as he inspected it carefully. As he proceeded, he sang more praises for the sword.

Blade as still as autumn water. Yet it appeared to be constantly shaking when still.

"Observing a beauty underneath the light is a great joy in life. However, seeing a sword underneath the light is actually the greatest blessing for those who know swords." the youth sighed. "The sword has a spirit and a heart within. The killings of Jiang Hu could be seen by looking at a sword! A famed sword is like clear autumn water. The sounds of groaning dragons and hissing tigers bring to one's mind an image of armoured cavalry stomping through Jiang Hu!"

"Yes." Chu Yang sighed, "To look at a sword is to look at Jiang Hu." He raised his head and faced the youth. "However, you and I have never met before. Your intention of coming here today is not to let me take a look at this sword to feel a bit of Jiang Hu."

As he spoke, the lights from the sword flashed. Without looking, Chu Yang returned the long sword to its scabbard, as if the blade had its own eyes.

"You are indeed an expert with swords." The youth said, smiling. "I am obviously not here just to let you view my sword. I wanted to find someone who loves swords."

His eyes flashed a pained look. "Ever since I left home, I didn't have a single penny on hand. All of the items which I had have been sold to save this sword throughout my journey of eight thousand miles to get here."

The youth looked at Chu Yang, "Brother, all I need is a hundred and twenty gold. I will leave my sword here as collateral. I will come back with ten thousand gold to retrieve my sword back."

Chu Yang fell into silence and was getting doubtful.

One only needed to look at this sword to tell that this sword was priceless. It was more than sufficient to put it as collateral for one hundred and twenty gold. Nevertheless, he could not fathom how such a good opportune would find its way to him.