from Xingyuan

Chapter 660 364 Blacksmith

Chapter 660 364. Blacksmith

Giving up on making three tacos was the right choice, and this time he switched to his best 800-layer Damascus, which he accomplished with ease, with the steel being clean and shining beautifully like the sun in its red-hot state.

Next, just fix it with a splint, straighten and lengthen the steel billet, perform partial quenching, and finally make the blade straight without bends and polish it. A good knife can basically be declared completed, and the rest is just a matter of installing a handle that fits the size of the user's palm.

But today has been busy enough.

Ever since the girl came over in the morning and said she wanted to collect the nails, she later said she would come back in the evening to get them. Sometimes he was picked on and his work was interrupted several times. In the afternoon, he cleaned the room, tidied up the shop, and delivered goods, which took up a lot of time.

He glanced at the horizon and it was already late.

——Fortunately, today’s progress has not fallen behind.

It’s just that this piece of steel is so good that he just can’t bear to use it—but the blacksmith feels too tired to work overtime hammering it today.

Wait until tomorrow when it feels just right, then heat it up and process it again.

The blacksmith was satisfied and let the steel cool naturally before putting it away and turning off the furnace.

"Hey, blacksmith fellow."

He had just turned off the stove and came out when he saw a hunchbacked old woman in a headscarf walking down the bridge. Her face was as rosy as an apple and her cheekbones were high, but she didn't look ugly and looked very kind with her broad face.

The blacksmith recognized her. Her name was Baba Yaga. She was an old woman who lived in the woods. It was said that when she was young, she was a researcher at an agency under the parliament. She had no children and lived alone on farming and raising chickens.

She would occasionally come to town to sell the fungi she grew, and many wealthy gentlemen were fascinated by the mushrooms she peddled.

"You are really hardworking. I saw your furnace start burning this morning and it has been burning till now. How many hours do you work every day? You don't work a full eight hours, do you? You will die of overwork!"

Baba Yaga walked up to him. The kind-looking old lady didn't think his ugly appearance was so scary, and she kept nagging.

The blacksmith was a little overwhelmed. Few people were so friendly and enthusiastic towards him. Baba Yajia was pounding her back and groaning constantly. He had no choice but to bring out a small stool for the mother-in-law to sit on, while he sat on the bridge pier next to her.

"Hey, good boy, I knew you would give me, the old lady, a chair to sit on."

The mother-in-law laughed, sat down without any hesitation, and began to ramble again:

"More than 80 years ago, before the void came, although we had nothing at that time, our children would not be so illusory. Now that technology is so advanced and life expectancy has increased several times, they have even lost basic etiquette and morality."

The blacksmith didn't know what to say. He just lowered his head and stared at his big feet with his small eyes.

"But I can't blame these children. In fact, we, the elders, have not taken good care of them. We are always too paranoid and sacrifice part of our long-cherished wishes for a certain purpose."

"Those children are so pitiful. They have become the vessels of our desires. Every day they struggle to realize their parents' dreams. So what dreams do they have?"

"When we are old and dead, they will take control of the world. Who will guide them then? It's all because we haven't set a good example. It's not the children's fault. They are living in a lost age, embracing a false self... It's not their fault."

The mother-in-law rubbed her shoulders and neck and said:

"Blacksmith boy, how long have you been in this village?"

The blacksmith stretched out his hand, and his five thick fingers were like carrots, covered with marks of burns and calluses.

"Five years, that's a lot." Grandma asked, "Do you like it here?"

The blacksmith was silent for a moment, then he turned to look at the neat and tidy blacksmith shop.

Although some people discriminated against and feared his appearance, no one questioned his skills. His business was not very prosperous, but his shop had been open for five years and had been doing well.

There is no war, no void invasion, and when the rain falls, the roof will not leak.

So he looked at Baba Yaga and nodded.

"Not easy."

Baba Yaga was surprised:

"You already have nothing, why do you still like this kind of life?"

Until now, the blacksmith hadn't said a word.

He just silently turned his gaze to the distant mountains. Baba Yajia followed his gaze and looked thoughtfully:

"That's where the Void fell - yeah, it's terrible here, but at least I'm still alive."

But soon, she found something wrong.

Because the blacksmith's little eyes were not looking at the vast gray mist beyond the mountains, but looking upwards to the deep dark blue starry sky.

"……what is that?"

Baba Yaga asked:

“Are you looking at the sky?”

The blacksmith stared at the deep dark blue sky for a long time without answering.

Baba Yaga says:

"You are not rich, stupid, ugly, and not confident. You are not accepted by most people and you live a hard life. You live in a remote village where no one cares about you. There is no high technology to serve your life, no knowledge to fill your spiritual world, no one to love you and accompany you. The world is falling apart, and this planet does not love you. You do not have any extraordinary abilities, and you do not even have the ability to change such a life - dear child, what on earth do you rely on to maintain your boring life?"

"moon."

When Baba Yaga heard the blacksmith's words for the first time, her dim and chaotic eyes suddenly lit up.

"……What did you say?"

The blacksmith lowered his head and said timidly in a weak voice:

"I remember I made a promise to take her to see the moon."

"What is the moon, my child?"

"I don't know. I vaguely remember that it was something... clear and bright, carrying thoughts and beautiful dreams. When the blazing sun falls on the horizon, the clear moonlight will take its place and watch over the world."

“…That sounds beautiful.”

Baba Yajia was moved, and the old woman said gently:

"Although you have an ugly face, everything you just described... is more beautiful than anything else in this world."

The blacksmith did not respond. He just sat quietly on his knees, as if he was embarrassed to be praised.

"It's no big deal, kid. Listen carefully. The charm of a person, the so-called beauty, does not come from the embellishment of appearance and wealth. A statue of a tyrant carved out of gold will be overthrown by people no matter how many times it is erected. A gentleman and a hero made of mud will always have people come to continue the incense even if it is in a temple far away in the mountains and old forests."

Baba Yaga patted the blacksmith's shoulder, as gently as a mother.

(End of this chapter)