Du Chengfeng just wanted to live a peaceful life.
It wasn't a particularly grand wish, and in fact, he had even realized it. Through his own diligence, with the help of Li the Carpenter, he already had a small courtyard in Yangjiabao, a place to belong.
But now, the entire courtyard was in ruins, a complete mess.
Diligence could afford him the life he wanted, but it couldn't sustain it.
To maintain this peace, to live a normal life, and to survive in this chaotic world, mere diligence was far from enough.
He needed strength, the kind that could allow someone like him, who couldn't even bind a chicken and had barely been in a fight, to stand his ground in a tumultuous world.
Fortunately, in this crazy world, such a path did exist.
Although this path might be somewhat dangerous.
"If you see me charging at your house with bloodshot eyes, use this bow to shoot me."
Before everything started, Du Chengfeng pulled Li the Carpenter aside and handed him a bow and arrow.
"At that time, I might not recognize anyone, so even if it's to protect your wife and children... Never mind, it seems useless, if something really happens, you'd better just run."
Thinking about his state after the Evil Qi entered his body, Du Chengfeng took the bow and arrow back.
With the time spent shooting, it was better for Li the Carpenter to run a few steps more. After all, he already reacted slowly, it's best not to create more trouble for him.
After making the arrangements, Du Chengfeng returned to his courtyard. The demolished house couldn't even hold a lamp, so Du Chengfeng simply sat in the courtyard under the moonlight, placing the grinding stones by his side.
After that, he picked up a curved saber from the pile of weapons beside him.
These weapons were spoils left behind by the Hu people, and upon knowing that Du Chengfeng needed them, the Yang family had delivered them overnight, even including spears used by the fallen warriors, which Du Chengfeng had specially requested.
Now, in the entire Yangjiabao, all weapons that had killed were placed in this courtyard.
What Du Chengfeng needed to do was to clean and sharpen these weapons one by one.
"Alright, I know you also want to be sharpened, but we already understand each other very well, as for now, let me meet some new friends."
Patted the heavy great saber leaning against the side, Du Chengfeng then turned back to focus on the curved saber in his hand.
To be fair, it wasn't a good saber; from the handle material to the blade shape, it was filled with a sense of shoddy craftsmanship. It was more like a bladed piece of iron than a saber. But this tattered curved saber carried such a dense scent of blood that merely glancing at it would send chills down a person's spine.
"This saber has killed at least ten people."
Feeling the concentrated Evil Qi on the blade, Du Chengfeng made a rough judgment.
This couldn't help but make him a bit pleased.
A saber capable of killing ten people in battle certainly belonged to someone skilled. And this meant that if he continued sharpening it, he would grasp all the martial skills of its original owner—a Hu cavalryman.
Of course, in terms of combat achievements, this saber certainly didn't compare to the heavy great saber by his side, but the technique it carried from Yang Fatty's pig-slaughtering skills was still far from a true battlefield saber technique.
"Of course, I'm not saying you're bad, what I'm saying is that 'stones from another mountain can polish jade.'"
Reassured the great saber once again, Du Chengfeng began setting the curved saber on the grinding stone, sharpening it.
Every nick and chipped edge told the stories and paths this saber had traveled.
And as he carefully repaired those blade damage, he gradually understood the life of this curved saber.
As he imagined, this curved saber was indeed crudely made. The blacksmith on the grassland merely hammered out a rough blade shape and installed a handle to sell it to a Hu rider. The first thing this rider did upon receiving the saber was to test it on a sheep.
The result of the test was rather awkward; the blade got stuck in the sheep's neck, creating a small nick on the spot.
Since the weapon wasn't good, naturally, the Hu warrior took the saber back to the blacksmith to reason with him, having traded several sheep for a saber, it was too much to bear if it turned out this way.
However, the blacksmith had no intention of refunds, and regardless of how angry the Hu rider got, insisted there was nothing wrong with his product.
"I made this blade with my own hands, how can there be any problem?"
Facing the repeated questioning from the Hu rider, the blacksmith started to lose patience.
"Where is the nick? Let me see the blade."
Upon hearing the blacksmith continue to argue, naturally, the Hu rider pressed his case further, handing over the saber.
Then suddenly there was a crunch, and the Hu rider was decapitated on the spot.
The blacksmith, in his temper, proved with facts that there was indeed nothing wrong with his craftsmanship.
But having killed someone, he couldn't stay in this tribe any longer—the brother of the Hu rider would come and hack him to death with a flurry of blades. So, taking advantage of the darkness before anyone discovered, the blacksmith quickly packed up his things and fled to another tribe.
As for that knife, the blacksmith didn't discard it, thinking at least it was still a piece of merchandise; maybe it could be sold somewhere else.
The idea was good, and Du Chengfeng saw no downside to this kind of frugality. The only unfortunate part was that he hadn't seen any of those Hu people's battle techniques in the memories from this knife.
Since there was no issue with the knife itself, presumably the blacksmith later sold it to some warrior?
"This knife of yours can't even kill a sheep!"
Another buyer of the knife, a Hu rider, began to shout at the blacksmith.
The blacksmith initially wanted to evade the issue, but the Hu rider persisted. It seemed these grassland men all despised swindlers and insisted on making the blacksmith explain himself.
After much bickering, the blacksmith was annoyed, so he simply took back the knife and swung it with one move.
A large human head rolled to the ground, proving there was no problem with the knife.
But he couldn't stay in this tribe either.
"...No."
Du Chengfeng already felt that something seemed a bit off, yet the journey of the blacksmith and the knife continued.
No one knew if it was the blacksmith being too unlucky or this Unlucky Curved Saber being too unlucky. The blacksmith passed through nine tribes, sold the knife nine times, and all nine times something went wrong. Each time, the buyer would come back with complaints, and the blacksmith himself would be driven to anger every time.
Sometimes, the blacksmith even regretted it afterward, but once his temper flared up and he had the knife in hand, he just couldn't control his impulse to swing it down.
"Ah, this..."
After witnessing all this, Du Chengfeng even thought, should the blacksmith just get rid of the knife? Was it really worth fleeing everywhere so disastrously for this piece of scrap metal?
Coincidentally, the blacksmith thought the same. After running into trouble nine times in a row, even a pig would sense something was wrong. So, the deeply worried blacksmith hastily went to a large tribe called the Qingyang Tribe, hoping to find a famous shaman to take a look.
But just as the blacksmith was about to reach the shaman's door, passing soldiers caught him and brought him into the camp.
It wasn't until he was locked up in the camp that the blacksmith learned the Qingyang Tribe was preparing to head south for grain, and all those taller than a wheel were going south. He was simply out of luck, arriving at such a time, and that knife, having claimed nine lives, had stained him with some ominous evil aura, further branding him as a warrior who had seen blood.
As for his blacksmithing tools, they were all tossed aside by the soldiers.
The Qingyang Tribe did not need an extra blacksmith at the moment. His craftsmanship, which he thought could take him around the world, was meaningless here.
So, mounted on a horse and equipped with a saber, the blacksmith joined the soldiers in riding south. At first, he was a bit panicked, but soon he thought this might be his good fortune. How could toilsome blacksmithing compare to looting in the south?
He had heard that the south was different from the Northern Desert Grassland, not only warm in climate and abundant in resources but also with wealthy Southern Chen people, with their houses brimming with silks and treasures. With a good haul, why would he ever return to blacksmithing?
Thinking like this, the blacksmith gripped the curved saber and followed behind the Armored Hu General, charging first into the Yangjia Fort, hoping to seize a big reward.
Then, in this memory, Du Chengfeng saw his own face.
"This..."
Returning to his senses from the memory, Du Chengfeng was momentarily silent.
This time he didn't experience any loss of consciousness, it seemed the evil qi from the curved saber was far from affecting his sanity. However, the memory the knife brought him was somewhat exasperating.
Especially after seeing that blacksmith being cut down by his own hand, the subtle awkwardness made him immediately cast the knife aside.
Perhaps the best use of this knife was as a gift to "loved ones"; giving it to anyone you disliked would surely ensure their life was as peaceful and prosperous as possible, considering the knife's ominous curse.
But sharpening this Unlucky Curved Saber wasn't entirely fruitless for him.
Though he didn't learn the battlefield skills he desired, he did gain a clear understanding of the blacksmith's craft. Even if not yet reaching the height of a master, at least in selecting iron materials and handling steel, Du Chengfeng had grasped the basics.
"That's not too bad."
Thinking this, Du Chengfeng turned his gaze towards the pile of weapons beside him.
This time, he could immediately discern the quality of those weapons.
Which ones looked imposing but were actually shoddy, and which ones appeared unremarkable but were efficient in use—Du Chengfeng just glanced over these hundreds of weapons and understood them all.
But soon, Du Chengfeng's gaze stopped on a particular axe.
It was the best piece in the pile of weapons, and the one that left the deepest impression on Du Chengfeng.
It was the great axe left behind by the Armored Hu General he had slain.