Where Immortals Once Walked

He Lingchuan casually took the broken saber and mimicked the exact same movement. His strike ended a full half a meter before his saber even reached the board.

With a crisp snap, the wooden board split neatly in two.

The saber had not yet even touched it, yet the saber qi had already done the work.

Li Fubo could not help but be moved. “Good saber! The blade may be broken, but its spirit eye still remains, and it’s awake!”

Mao Tao cut in curiously, “A saber spirit can be awake or asleep?”

“Of course it can. When a magical artifact is broken, even if its spirit eye survives, most fall into slumber. Young Master He’s saber, however, is something worth studying!”

He Lingchuan only asked the practical question: “Can it be repaired? I want the spirit eye to be preserved.”

“This saber has already reached the level of a spirit artifact, and it’s tenacious by nature. Even broken, it still endures. To simply melt it down and reforge it would be a terrible waste.”

He Lingchuan paused in surprise. A spirit artifact? Before leaving Heishui City, the smiths there had not said a word about this. It had been just a defective piece in their eyes. Yet after only a month, it had somehow advanced? Strange indeed.

Li Fubo stroked the saber’s spine, clearly enamored. “If you want to preserve the spirit eye and fully restore it, conventional methods won’t do. Hm, we could attempt the method of saber planting.”

Mao Tao could not resist blurting out, “You can plant a saber?” He had heard of planting vegetables and trees, but never a weapon.

“Ordinarily, once a blade breaks, that’s the end of it. At best, you melt it down. However, if it has truly given rise to spirituality, then you must seek another path. After all, spirit in metal and stone is rarer than gold itself. A gecko’s tail can regrow, so why can’t a saber’s blade be reborn? Still, though, the conditions are demanding.” Li Fubo twirled his beard.

So it can be fixed after all. Relief washed over He Lingchuan. Of course, Songyang Mansion would surely demand an exorbitant price. He exhaled quietly and said, “Master Li, name your price.”

This saber had originally been a gift from Zhong Shengguang. Even as a damaged castoff, it had proven extraordinary. If fully restored, who knew what heights it might reach?

Li Fubo waved his hands quickly. “The price isn’t mine to set! I’d only charge labor. However, the saber planting method I speak of is extremely niche. Without Wu Metal, it cannot be done.”

So in the end, it all comes back to Wu Metal. He Lingchuan chuckled. “Your establishment is one of the capital’s foremost houses. Surely, you’re not lacking when it comes to such materials?”

Steward Zhao could no longer hold himself back. “Young Master He, the truth is Wu Metal is even rarer than meteoric iron. Our shop has only two pieces in reserve. In all of Shihuan City, not a single new piece has appeared in the past three years.”

Li Fubo nodded. “Even in its birthplace, Mount Wu, Wu Metal isn’t easily found. It doesn’t lie in veins like ore. Rather, it’s ordinary gold that, having gained spirituality, transforms of its own accord. Once awakened, it flees across the mountains like a living creature. Spotting it is already hard, and capturing it is up to sheer chance.”

He Lingchuan’s lips curved wryly. “Then how much does this chance cost?” He knew full well the law of rare goods commanding high prices, but unease gnawed at him. What seemed wealth enough to dominate Heishui City might prove trifling here in Shihuan City where nobles and magnates gathered like clouds.

“Just last year, Hengshui Merchant House next door sold a piece of Wu Metal half the size of our smallest reserve for the price of fifteen high-grade profound crystals that came out to about three kilograms.”

The moment the words “high-grade profound crystals” were spoken, both He Lingchuan and Mao Tao felt their hearts jolt.

When imperial nectar descended to earth, a small portion seeped underground, transforming into profound crystals. Though their properties changed drastically, they remained one of the best sources of replenishing true energy for cultivators. They were graded by color into low, medium, and high grades.

High-grade profound crystals were something that ordinary cultivators could never even dream of touching.

He Lingchuan knew exactly how much such crystals cost. He himself had only a single piece of medium-grade profound crystal. And yet here they were, talking about high-grade profound crystals in kilos!

Steward Zhao continued, “As you know, profound crystals of this grade are not priced in mere gold or silver. But if we had to convert, the going rate is about forty thousand taels per kilo.”

A hundred and twenty thousand taels! So the minimum price for a piece of Wu Metal stars at a hundred and twenty thousand!

Mao Tao managed to keep his face straight, but his nostrils flared wide, and his breathing turned heavy.

Just how big a pile would a hundred and twenty thousand taels of silver make?

All his years of waylaying caravans on the Hongya Route, shaking down merchants for passage fees—after fifteen years of toil, their entire gang of sand bandits’ net profit would still barely even come up to a quarter of that sum.

He Lingchuan stroked his chin, trying to appear outwardly calm. “That’s really...” damn expensive! Even as a so-called rich young master, his monthly allowance was only two or three hundred taels. Where was he supposed to come up with a hundred and twenty thousand? “Not exactly cheap.”

What could buy a lifetime of dominance and comfort out in the countryside amounted to nothing more than a lump of metal for repairing a saber here.

It seemed that if he wanted his path of cultivation to run smoothly, he would have to find another way to scrape together money.

Steward Zhao nodded sympathetically. “Indeed, maintaining a spirit weapon is no cheap matter. And though this saber is fine, it is broken, so it’s hardly convenient in a fight. Why not consider another weapon? Our shop has many fine choices.”

He Lingchuan did not know whether to laugh or scold him. Should he be offended at the slight or grateful for the concern? He rolled his eyes. “You’re so sure I can’t afford Wu Metal?”

Steward Zhao had seen countless men like this, showing off with empty bravado. Hence, he only offered a polite smile and waved a hand. “It truly is too expensive. Speaking as a merchant, I simply hoped to save you some expense. If you truly have the money, you needn’t say a word more. Just bring it out and we will serve you to the best of our abilities.”

He Lingchuan tapped his fingers on the table thoughtfully, then turned to Li Fubo and asked, “How much Wu Metal would it take to restore my saber?”

Li Fubo bowed his head, running calculations for some time before finally answering. “A piece slightly smaller than the one sold by Hengshui Merchant House last year would suffice.”

That still meant ninety or a hundred thousand taels. Even selling himself several times over would not cover it.

However, he was not worried. He turned instead to Steward Zhao. “Does your establishment purchase spirit artifacts?”

Steward Zhao blinked. “You... have another spirit artifact?”

Below divine artifacts, spirit weapons stood at the pinnacle.

In this world, divine artifacts were practically unheard of, so spirit artifacts ranked supreme. Even a slightly inferior one would spark a bidding war among auction houses. Across the entirety of Yuan, including Shihuan City’s great houses, only a single new spirit artifact had surfaced over the past year.

Is this nouveau riche pup seriously claiming that he not only has one, but two?

Is the other one intact and usable?

Of course, a trained merchant like Steward Zhao would not voice such thoughts. He only smiled broadly, his face like a full moon. “Might I have the honor of a look?”

He Lingchuan drew out a violet-gold pestle from his storage ring and set it down on the table with a solid thunk. “Master Li, have a look.”

The pestle gleamed violet-gold, its surface engraved all over with runes. A grotesque beast crouched atop it, wide-nosed, gaping-mouthed, bulging-eyed, with whiskers bristling down its jaw. Four rings dangled from beneath its feet, while the pestle’s tapered end was honed sharp as a stake.

Li Fubo let out a startled “Eh?” and eagerly picked it up, peering so close his nose nearly brushed the surface. Before long, another cry escaped him, “Young Master He, where on earth did you get such a treasure?”

Leaning back in his chair, He Lingchuan said lazily, “First, tell me, does it count as a spirit artifact? And how much is it worth?”

The violet-gold pestle had been gathering dust in his storage ring for months. At last, it was proving useful.

Steward Zhao’s eyes were riveted on it, growing wider and rounder by the second. His voice faltered as he stammered, “Th-this... surely not... could it really be what I think it is?”

They were all disciples of an artifact sect and lived so close to the capital, so how could they not recognize such a famous treasure?

He could no longer afford to mind his composure. Turning eagerly to Li Fubo, he urged, “Master Li, please test it, please!” Then he turned back to He Lingchuan. “Young Master, forgive us, but we must authenticate it.”

“No problem. Test it as you like.” True gold fears no fire.

Li Fubo produced a vial of unknown solution and let a drop fall onto the pestle. At once, the runes engraved on its surface broke free, drifting off the shaft and circling lazily around it. He stared without blinking, then finally whispered in awe, “The Demon-Subduing Incantation of Mount Xiao, there’s no doubt about it.”

He then hurried into the inner hall and returned with a finger-sized ingot of Wu Metal, which he brought close to the beast head crowning the pestle.

The beast’s eyes, which had been closed and still, suddenly snapped open. With a single gulp, it devoured the piece whole.

“What’s the need for such a fuss? And wasting a fine piece of Wu Metal, too.” He Lingchuan lifted his broken saber and rapped it thrice against the beast head. Clang, clang, clang. “Hey, wake up! Give us a song or two!”

That beast head had never liked him to begin with. Now it was downright furious, bellowing three times in a voice as resonant as a bull’s roar. The ceiling beams rattled, and dust showered down in a steady drizzle.

But Steward Zhao and Li Fubo were beside themselves with delight, grinning from ear to ear. “It truly is the Chaofeng Beast! This truly is State Preceptor Sun’s violet-gold pestle!”

“So this is a Chaofeng[1]?” He Lingchuan muttered. He could hardly be blamed for not recognizing it. Of the Dragon’s nine sons, aside from the one famed for carrying steles, the rest all looked more or less alike.

“They say when this pestle was forged, a shred of the Chaofeng’s divine soul was fused into it,” Li Fubo said reverently. “In this day and age, even if we wanted to cast such a treasure, we could never again find a beast soul so rare.”

Steward Zhao could not hold back either. “Might I ask how you came upon this treasure, Young Master He?”

The greater the value of a treasure, the more its provenance mattered. Songyang Mansion was a famed artifact sect, and they could not simply and openly accept stolen goods.

“This is my young master’s trophy of war!” Mao Tao cut in at just the right time, puffed up with pride. “That Old Snake Sun Fuping fell to our Lord He and Young Master He together!”

The three men across from them all stiffened in shock. Steward Zhao blurted out, “So your lord is none other than the Qiansong Commandery’s...”

News of the former state preceptor Sun Fuping’s disastrous defeat in the Panlong Desert had spread through the capital months ago. Naturally, Shihuan City, as the second capital, had also heard every detail.

“Yes, the former Grand Administrator of Qiansong, now Governor-General of Xia Province.”

Steward Zhao’s attitude toward He Lingchuan changed in an instant. His smile turned obsequious, and his back bent even lower. “Such a peerless treasure is far above my station to handle. I must report it upward. Might Young Master He grant us a moment’s patience?”

He Lingchuan waved a hand languidly. “So long as you’re quick.” At last, it seemed like there was going to be progress.

Steward Zhao and Li Fubo promptly withdrew, leaving by the rear hall. A boy attendant stepped forward and changed out their tea for two fresh, steaming cups.

* * *

The two men exited Songyang Mansion through a back gate, crossed two narrow lanes, and entered a spacious estate.

The compound was nearly half the size of Songyang Mansion itself, yet unlike the bustling atmosphere there, here the grand residence housed no more than ten servants, and everyone moved with hushed steps.

Wintersweets were in full bloom. The snow along the garden paths had been swept clean, and the bare branches overhead held golden trays filled with millet and pine nuts set out for the birds and squirrels to feed on through the winter.

As they passed a greenhouse, Steward Zhao caught sight of exotic flowers and rare plants vying in splendor, untouched by the season’s cold, as though time itself dared not touch them.

1. The Chaofeng (嘲风) is one of the Nine Sons of the Dragon. It’s used in architecture to ward off evil spirits, protect buildings from fire and disasters, and basically look good. ☜