Maiden Galaxy

Outside the room, Chen Mo's continued absence made Iron Blade begin to worry. That clerk sneered: "Master's sword casting room is suicide for a normal person. You should go look after that trash young master of yours. Maybe he's already dead on the floor inside."

This clerk depended on his status as Shi Cheng's disciple to be unafraid of Chen Mo's authority. Furthermore, this place was Azure Dragon Town. The Chen Family's authority could not be displayed here.

Iron Blade waited somewhat anxiously. He was actually afraid that something had happened to Chen Mo. Although it must be said that that person always hoped for bad news about Chen Mo, if this happened under the watch of his personal bodyguard, his little life would be forfeit. After a moment, Iron Blade lifted the curtain and entered the room.

Passing through a corridor, he saw a steel door. He could vaguely sense the soaring temperatures inside.

Iron Blade did not have status like Chen Mo's. He did not dare rashly disturb the work of a casting master. He stopped at the threshold, tidying himself, then announced himself. Iron Blade knocked and decided to enter if he received no response on the third attempt, the limit of etiquette. By then, intrusion would not count as violation.

"Come in."

Chen Mo's voice came from inside.

Iron Blade entered this sword casting room and was stunned by the scene in front of his eyes.

In front of the massive furnace were two iron tables. A youth and a middle-aged man were in the middle of drinking tea, chatting quite merrily. The age difference between the two was a full generation, but every gesture and word of that middle-aged man were exceptionally respectful and cautious. How was that manner befitting of Azure Dragon Town's famous and mighty casting master. In Iron Blade's eyes, he was more like a child.

The Chen Mo who should have been playing the role of the child was nevertheless lecturing freely, not awkward at all in front of the casting master.

"Iron Blade, is something the matter?" Chen Mo paused.

"Huh." Iron Blade returned to his senses and said: "Your Servant did not see Young Master come out and was somewhat worried, stepping forth to take a look."

"Oh, how considerate of you, however, I'm fine. I've just been having a very pleasant conversation with Uncle Shi." Chen Mo smiled.

"No need for the word ‘uncle.'" Shi Cheng said, self-ashamed. Indeed, he was older in age, but as for his understanding and experience of "casting," he found he was completely unable to match this young master that he had disdained previously. Some of his ideas about casting made his eyes shine with new understanding. At least on this aspect of casting master, Shi Cheng regarded himself as a youngster.

"Seniority and ranking have been this way since ancient times. I should use the word ‘uncle.'" Chen Mo said.

"For Young Master to be so courteous to This Shi, This Shi is truly ashamed of his poor conduct from before." Shi Cheng said in shame. He had an enormous change in his impression towards Chen Mo. It seemed he could not believe all those rumors around Azure Dragon Town.

Chen Mo saw that the time was getting late. He still had to return to cultivate the Northern Dipper Great Overflow. He would have to come back later when he had time to watch the casting process. Chen Mo rose and bade farewell.

Shi Cheng still wished to continue, somewhat reluctant to see Chen Mo part, but he could not impose upon someone else. He himself had been snobbish at the very start and wondered how Chen Mo felt about him. The more Shi Cheng thought, the more uncomfortable he became. Thus, he said: "This Shi was able to break through today all thanks to Young Master Chen Mo. If Young Master Chen Mo so requires it, you can send orders any time."

"I'll probably come over often to sit. I only hope those disciples of yours can let me pass." Chen Mo joked.

Shi Cheng was infuriated, "I'll go teach those rascals a lesson in a moment. Who dares be disrespectful to Young Master Chen Mo. This Shi shall expel him from the shop on the spot."

Chen Mo remained silent.

The disciples came into the shop. The clerk that had been in the middle of greeting customers spoke with subconscious mockery upon seeing Chen Mo come out, "Is Young Master Chen Mo alright, did you faint in the sword casting room, normal people cannot go to that place."

"You bastard, who let you use this kind of tone when speaking with Young Master Chen Mo."

Before Iron Blade could do anything, Shi Cheng's expression turned grim, leaving the disciples trembling in fear, frightened out of their wits. How could their master speak up for a cripple. "Quickly give Young Master an apology. From now on, Young Master Chen Mo is a benefactor of my Shi Clan's shop. Treat him as you would me. Understand!" Shi Cheng scolded, fearing that if these clerks provoked Chen Mo, he would not longer come over.

The apprentices stared dumbstruck, only regaining their composure after a long while. They promptly bowed their heads and admitted to their wrongdoings, muttering in their hearts about what happened to this master. Normally, he did not show such flattery even when the Qing Family came to the door. Even if this Chen Mo was from Chang'an's Chen Family, everyone knew he was merely an abandoned child. He was not even worth exploiting.

"Uncle Shi, no need to be this way. The clerk doesn't understand matters. He'll know from now on." Chen Mo did not put on any airs: "Also, Uncle Shi, don't call me Young Master. Just call me by name."

"Very well." Shi Cheng was an optimist.

The longer Iron Blade looked at the scene before his eyes, the more disbelief he felt. How in the world did this Chen Mo surprisingly make a casting master so submissive. Even those Qi And Blood Nine Turns warriors were unable to do so.

The two of them chatted once again.

At this time, the door opened, and a gust of cold wind rolled in, accompanied by a melodious, sweet voice.

"Is this shop's casting master in?"

Everyone turned their gazes all at once.

An elegant and beautiful young girl had come in. She wore a long skirt as red as evening clouds and was draped in a red damask. Her black hair was bound together. She had a dainty gait, wrists as white as silk, pupils like clear springs, and cinnabar lips. Every frown and smile was graceful.

At first glance she was a girl that was very easy to get along with.

"Your Servant is here."

The girl was not from Azure Dragon Town, but judging from her natural and unrestrained bearing, she did not seem to be from a commoner family. Shi Cheng politely answered.

"Oh, it seems you are Azure Dragon Town's best sword casting master?" The girl's pace was nimble and swift, spry as a dancing butterfly.

A beautifully fragrant scent poured into Chen Mo's lungs.

"I have something, will you be able to repair it?" The girl's wrist flipped, and a small sword appeared in her hand. This sword appeared considerably valuable at first glance due to the Red Heart Jade it was forged from. The sword's hilt was like a red thread, as if carrying the feelings of longing a girl had toward the man she admired, but the sword hilt had a very deep blemish, splitting this red thread, truly a pity.

Shi Cheng took it and gave it a look over, inquiring the history of this sword.

The girl did not hide anything. This sword was named "Fateful Marriage,"¹ bestowed by a young lord of Chang'an. Because of a certain incident, it sustained damage and was somewhat vexing, so she wanted to find someone to repair it.

"This Shi is unable to help you with this sword." Shi Cheng shook his head. He was completely baffled about this sword and naturally had no way to restore it. "Lady should go try the Sword Casting Villa."

"I did already. The Sword Casting Villa used every kind of method and was unable to repair it."

"The Sword Casting Villa's ‘Great Bright Sun Fire' was unable to fix it?" Shi Cheng said in astonishment. The Great Bright Sun Fire was considered the most powerful fire of the Great Chong Dynasty's casting masters. If this fire was incapable, perhaps none were.

"Can it truly be there is no fate?" The girl heavily sighed.

Chen Mo was originally about to leave. Hearing this girl's plight, he said: "I see it can be fixed, but you are using the wrong method."

"En?"

The girl blinked and stared at Chen Mo.

She had originally thought that Chen Mo was merely a customer inside the shop and paid him not attention. Hearing him say this, her heart flared with a glimmer of hope. "Do you have a way? If you can repair it, then This Lady shall promise you anything."

Shi Cheng inwardly laughed. This is the Young Master of Chang'an's Chen Family, what could he possibly gain from you. However, hearing that Chen Mo say there was a way to repair it, Shi Cheng's curiosity was also piqued. From his perspective, this "Fateful Marriage" sword ought to be an "ancient treasure" left over from antiquity. It was not something an ordinary casting master could manage. Could it be that this young master even had the strength of an ancient casting master?

"Go and gather ninety-nine thousand nine hundred droplets of Lingering Impurity Dew² and place them into a hundred liang of Daughter Red Sand.³ Finally, place your sword into the dew and let it soak for a night. This blemish will then recover on its own." Chen Mo said.

The girl's cute mouth hung agape. She turned her gaze to Shi Cheng, inquiring his opinion on the veracity of this.

Shi Cheng shook his head. Clearly, Chen Mo's method to repair weapons surpassed his Early Stage Casting Master thinking. In casting, there indeed were cases where water was used as an intermediary, but conditions as harsh as Chen Mo's were rarely seen. 

"What is Lingering Impurity Dew?" The girl wrinkled her brow.

"Lingering Impurity Dew" came from the "Lingering Impurity" Spirit Flower. Growing in remote place, no stalk of Lingering Impurity could be seen, otherwise, they would wilt. Under the moonlight, the flower bud would produce dew. This was called Lingering Impurity Dew. This dew was very expensive. Regardless of whether it was used in medicine, weapon, magic weapon refinement, or some other aspect, it was very useful, but each droplet would evaporate at first light, so it was very rare to see them at market.

"Chen Mo, how do you know that this sword can be fixed using these things?" Shi Cheng was baffled.

"I saw it in an ancient text. It's up to you whether or not you believe me."

Chen Mo glanced at that red short sword.

In truth, this Fateful Marriage sword had a partner, and its name was "Dew Water."⁴ The two combined together were considered a complete weapon. Furthermore, this weapon's history was very out of the ordinary because Chen Mo saw this in the Book Of Casting's "Star Weapon Chapter."⁵

No mistake, this Fateful Marriage was possibly a Star Weapon belonging to a Star General.

However, a Star General's Star Weapon was forged by destiny. Other than by death or by free will, the weapon would never leave the Star General, until the Star Name rose again and a new Star General inherited the Star Name. Star Generals were able to sense the whereabouts of their Destined Star Weapons, to come forth and forcibly retrieve them. Regardless of just what this Star Weapon's history was exactly, Chen Mo felt this was very thorny.

He left the shop.

Chen Mo closed his eyes, recalling in his mind Shi Cheng's process of casting weapons. Iron Blade followed behind him, increasingly unable to see through this young master.

Chen Mo remembered something and turned around.

"Iron Blade, I see that you don't have a weapon. I'll give this blade to you."

Iron Blade was stunned. Chen Mo had already tossed a coldly glinting broadsword at him.

This blade was covered in a fish scale pattern, and it was thick yet light. It was a Grade 4 weapon. Iron Blade was overjoyed at this turn of events. As a warrior, everyone wanted to possess a quality weapon, to be awe-inspiring like those Star Generals. But good blades were hard to find. Quality blades were worth a thousand gold, not a sum an ordinary Qi And Blood Warrior could bear.

"Young Master!!" Iron Blade was full of complex emotions.

"Uncle Shi gave this blade to me as a gift. It's useless to me. Take it for yourself. Your name is Iron Blade, so having a sword like this is quite befitting your identity. If only you could be loyal to the end. Don't disappoint me." Chen Mo's expression was carefree, turning around and walking towards home without another look.

Just at this moment, a thud came from behind him.

Chen Mo turned his head back to look. Iron Blade's tall figure was surprisingly kneeling on the ground.

"Henceforth, Iron Blade is determined to offer Young Master full loyalty and to protect Young Master!!" The man's voice was as resounding as a bell, pledging a solemn vow.

"I don't need your protection. I just don't want to see someone go die like cannon fodder."

This was the small modicum of benevolence that Chen Mo could leave him.

He may as well.

This Iron Blade man had grabbed onto it.

1. 姻緣, As in the red thread of fate. ↩
2. 前塵露水 ↩
3. 女兒紅砂 ↩
4. 露水 ↩
5. Unfortunately, the two phrases combined together form 露水姻緣, meaning "casual romance." In other words, a short-lived relationship. ↩