The sun had completely set, and the sky had grown dim. Fortunately, a crescent moon hung in the heavens, casting a cool, faint light upon the land.
"It feels good to get that all out. Thanks, Old Zhou. It's getting late, I should be going."
After pouring out his frustrations, a faint smile returned to Xiao Yan's face. He looked at the young man who had been listening to him ramble.
Zhou Changqing waved a hand in mock disgust. "Go on, get lost. I need to rest, too. I've got an early morning tomorrow."
"You got it. I won't keep you then."
Xiao Yan stood up to leave but paused, turning back with a curious look. "By the way, Old Zhou, how much money have you saved up?"
"Almost five hundred. Why?"
Zhou Changqing didn't know why Xiao Yan was asking, but he answered honestly.
Is he going to borrow money?
Can't be. It's not like he needs money for anything right now, is it?
Besides, with Xiao Yan's pride, he would never borrow from a friend with a modest background like him.
Xiao Yan's eyes flickered for a moment before he nodded. "Nothing, just curious. You mentioned you were saving up before, so I just asked."
"Alright, I'm really leaving now. No need to see me out."
"See you out? In your dreams. Get lost."
Xiao Yan left the small courtyard amidst Zhou Changqing's laughing curses.
Shaking his head, Zhou Changqing stood up, stretched his back, and headed for his bedroom.
Although it was only just past eight in the evening—a time when the nightlife of his past world would just be getting started—Zhou Changqing was already preparing for bed.
Just as he'd said, he had to be up early tomorrow.
Outside the small courtyard.
Standing on the flagstone path, Xiao Yan stared at the closed door of the courtyard, his thoughts a mystery.
"Old Zhou, thank you. For these past three years, you've always treated me like a friend. You never distanced yourself because of my reputation as a 'cripple.' You gave me a sanctuary, a place where these three years have been a little easier to bear."
"You never said it, but I know what you're saving up for."
"I'm useless now. Keeping that money serves no purpose, so let your brother give you a hand."
"I just hope you won't look down on it. It's all your brother has left, after all. I can't help you with anything else."
"Your talent is no less than mine. Once you save enough to buy a cultivation method, you're destined for great things!"
"It's just a shame... that from now on, you'll have to see the view from the top all by yourself."
A torrent of thoughts rushed through him. Xiao Yan let out a long sigh, turned, and walked away, his figure gradually disappearing into the distance.
The next morning.
Zhou Changqing rose early. After washing up, he began organizing the stacks of unfinished iron weapon blanks leaning against the courtyard wall.
He loaded all the blanks onto a handcart parked nearby, then pushed it out of the courtyard gate.
Along the way, the wheels of the cart rumbled over the flagstone road.
Soon, Zhou Changqing reached the main street.
As one of the Jia Ma Empire's major cities, Wu Tan City was heavily populated. Even in the early morning, the streets were already bustling with people.
The wide thoroughfare was a constant stream of traffic. Shops lined both sides of the street, and numerous vendors had set up stalls in the empty spaces, their calls echoing through the air.
Amidst the crowd, Zhou Changqing was no different from any other laborer.
He was dressed in plain blue clothes, his long hair tied up and wrapped in a coarse cloth. With his sleeves rolled up, he pushed the heavy cart with all his might.
Of course, his handsome, jade-like features still attracted quite a few glances.
Many young women out for a stroll would stop to watch him, covering their mouths as they giggled and whispered among themselves.
Ignoring the stares, Zhou Changqing pushed the cart across the main street and soon arrived before the large gate of a workshop.
The two guards at the gate merely glanced at him before letting him pass.
Navigating the familiar path, he pushed the cart through several turns within the workshop and finally reached his destination.
Before him was a large warehouse.
The warehouse doors were wide open, with workers constantly moving in and out.
A long line of people, all pushing carts just like Zhou Changqing, waited at the entrance.
He went to the end of the line and waited silently for his turn.
Time passed.
The weather grew hotter, and noon was fast approaching.
Finally, after waiting for nearly three hours, Zhou Changqing reached the warehouse entrance.
"Heh, it's you, kid."
To the left of the entrance was a registration desk where a middle-aged man was in charge of the ledger. Two young men stood beside him, responsible for inspecting the goods.
One of them, an ordinary-looking youth with a few scars on his face, spoke up with a sneering laugh.
Though he was smiling, his tone was laced with malice.
Zhou Changqing recognized the young man. His name was Le Li, a low-level worker in charge of watching the warehouse, a nobody.
Zhou Changqing glanced at Le Li but said nothing, simply standing in place and waiting for his goods to be inspected.
Seeing that Zhou Changqing was ignoring him, Le Li's expression instantly soured.
He couldn't stand Zhou Changqing. He'd hated him from the very first time he saw him.
It was simple, really. The kid was too good-looking, and it pissed him off. Otherwise, he wouldn't have spoken up just to give him a hard time.
Besides, the kid was just a nobody blacksmith, yet he always wore that high-and-mighty, cold expression. It was infuriating to look at!
Feeling he'd lost face, Le Li was about to start shouting.
But before he could open his mouth, the middle-aged man sitting at the desk spoke first, his voice sharp with impatience.
"What are you two standing around for? Get to inspecting! It's almost noon. If this isn't done before lunch, I'll skin you both alive!"
At the manager's rebuke, Le Li and the other youth, who had been about to enjoy the show, flinched, a hint of fear in their eyes.
Le Li swallowed the curse that was on the tip of his tongue. He and the other youth quickly began inspecting the iron blanks on the cart.
"Sir, a total of one hundred and twenty sword and saber blanks. No defects."
After finishing the inspection, the other youth reported respectfully to the middle-aged man.
The manager heard this, recorded it in his ledger, and waved his hand. "If there are no problems, then take them into the warehouse and pay him."
"Right away, sir."
Bowing and scraping, the youth led Zhou Changqing into the warehouse, had him unload the blanks, and then gave him ten gold coins.
Le Li could only watch from the entrance, seething in silence.
After receiving his payment, Zhou Changqing left without a backward glance.
He paid Le Li no mind.
It wasn't the first or second time the guy had tried to cause trouble for him. But Le Li was the type to be all bark and no bite, nothing to be afraid of.
To put it bluntly, he was just a pathetic clown.
And with Zhou Changqing's strength, why would he ever spare a thought for a clown who wasn't even a Dou Practitioner?
Le Li's face was dark as he watched Zhou Changqing leave. He clenched his fists, his eyes filled with venom.
"You little bastard. Just you wait until I get my chance. I'll ruin that pretty face of yours, and then we'll see how proud you are!"
Leaving the workshop gates.
Zhou Changqing felt the ten gold coins in his tunic and looked back at the workshop with a helpless expression.
"I wonder how long it'll take to save up enough to buy even a low-grade, Yellow-tier cultivation method."
"Dammit. It doesn't matter what world you're in, there are always heartless capitalists exploiting the common folk!"
He cursed silently, filled with a resentment he could do nothing about.
This workshop belonged to Kiel'ro, the arms tycoon of Wu Tan City. It was just one of the many weapon forges under his control.
Kiel'ro was a Three-Star Dou Grandmaster who controlled nearly all the weapon sales channels in Wu Tan City. He was fabulously wealthy and owned a massive number of workshops.
Though his power couldn't compare to the three great clans of Wu Tan City, he was still a top-tier figure beneath them.
Why was he said to exploit the common folk?
Because of his monopoly. A monopoly meant he held all the power. When it came to weapons, whatever Kiel'ro said, went.
Kiel'ro's existence left nearly every blacksmith in Wu Tan City with only two choices.
Either sell their forged weapons to him at a low price, or find a new trade.
It seemed like a choice, but in reality, there was no choice at all.
Though some had tried to resist, their efforts were futile.
First, almost no one would buy weapons from an independent blacksmith. Second, anyone who dared to interfere in the arms industry was swallowed up by Kiel'ro, their families often ending up ruined or dead.
But that wasn't the most shameless part. The most shameless part was that Kiel'ro had a rule: he would only buy weapon blanks from the forges, not fully assembled weapons.
This drove the acquisition price down to rock bottom.
Take Zhou Changqing, for example. He had forged one hundred and twenty weapon blanks in a month, which was a high output, but it only earned him ten gold coins.
Kiel'ro, however, would take those blanks, have them assembled, and sell the finished products for ten times that price!
If he had paid even a slightly lower-than-market price for finished weapons, Zhou Changqing would have saved up enough money for a cultivation method long ago.
Unfortunately, Zhou Changqing currently lacked the strength to fight back. Otherwise, he would make that Kiel'ro understand the meaning of a grudge that deserved to be repaid by skinning him alive.
Pushing down his bitter resentment, Zhou Changqing shook his head and walked away.