"Yes, Miss."
"How's the investigation going?"
Following Ouyang Yue's gaze, Dongxue picked up some food and said in a straightforward voice, "Today, I searched all the blacksmith shops in the city but to no avail. Just when I was about to give up, I found a blacksmith shop. I inquired about it and it might work, but I heard that the manager has a strange temper and is hard to please. Even if the Heavenly King himself went there, he wouldn't be able to persuade him."
"Oh?" Ouyang Yue raised an eyebrow instead. "Alright, we'll meet this strange blacksmith tomorrow."
The Imperial Palace, Chenyu Hall.
The sky was filled with stars, illuminating the entire night. On the soft couch under the window of the inner palace, a man exuding a lazy air was half-reclining. His long, black hair cascaded down, adding to his charm!
At that moment, a dark figure flashed, and a man in black immediately knelt in front of the man.
"Speak," he said, his voice flat and emotionless, as if he had no interest in anything.
"Master, the maid of the Third Miss of the General's Mansion went to Old Master Tie's place today."
"Huh?" The man paused, then lowered his eyes, a slight smile playing on his pale lips. "It's her again."
Then he waved his hand and said, "Go down."
The man in black responded and then flashed out. His eyes, which were fixed on the darkness, gleamed with a sharp light.
The next morning, Ouyang Yue went to pay her respects to the Ning family and said hello. Afterwards, she took Dongxue and Chuncao to Juyuan Street, the most chaotic commercial street in the capital.
Not long after Ouyang Yue left the mansion, Xiang'er, Ouyang Rou's maid, quietly left through the back door and went to the red-light district of the capital—the Flower Street!
All along the way, Dongxue, dressed in disguise, led the way on horseback. Juyuan Street is divided into a front street and a back street. Juyuan Street is the most important of the three major commercial streets in the capital, suitable for middle and lower-income consumers, so naturally all kinds of people can be found there.
The front street mainly consists of normal commercial shops, while the back street has all sorts of things, including the legendary hooligans and lowlifes.
Today, Ouyang Yue deliberately chose a simple carriage to leave the manor and went straight to her destination without attracting the attention of those thugs.
The carriage then drove into a very quiet alley. This alley was located in the middle of a back street. Strangely, although all sorts of fierce and ruthless thugs were on this back street, they walked hurriedly into this alley, and very few people looked into it, as if they were afraid that some ferocious beast might rush out.
Ouyang Yue peeked through the curtains, observing secretly. Seeing this, she became even more curious: "Dongxue, go straight into the alley."
Winter Snow led the carriage directly to the third iron gate in the alley. The iron gate had long lost its original color due to the passage of time and was mottled. A rotten wooden plaque hung on the top with an iron hook, which was engraved with three words: "Blacksmith Shop".
Ouyang Yue gave a signal, and Dongxue immediately stepped forward to knock on the door. But before she could even speak, the door suddenly creaked open and a black object was thrown out. The three of them were startled!
☆、031、Okay, I want you!
Dongxue instinctively dodged, and Ouyang Yue lifted the carriage curtain, turned around, jumped off the carriage, and also dodged. Chuncao, however, heard the commotion and curiously poked her head out. She saw a black object smashing towards her head and immediately screamed and fell back down.
As soon as Ouyang Yue jumped down, her body twisted slightly, she grabbed the black object as it hurtled towards Chuncao, but when she saw what it was, her face immediately darkened.
It was a pair of tattered black cloth shoes with two obvious holes at the toes, and it emitted a sour smell. Ouyang Yue immediately tossed the thing back into the yard like a streamlined object. Ouyang Yue disgustedly wiped her hands with a handkerchief.
"Ouch! Which bastard threw something at me!" Then a dark figure flashed out like a whirlwind. Dongxue and Ouyang Yue quickly dodged, but the dark figure rushed directly towards Ouyang Yue. Ouyang Yue narrowed her eyes, and Dongxue quickly cleaved out a palm strike. The dark figure was extremely fast, and it bent over and dodged halfway, rushing straight towards Ouyang Yue.
Ouyang Yue clenched her fists slightly, and the black shadow's claws reached out to grab her directly. She smiled and took a step forward, her body as graceful as a willow branch, and then kicked fiercely at the groin of the running man!
"Ouch, ouch, this is terrible, it hurts so much! I'm doomed, I can't have sex anymore!" The man hurriedly put his legs together, and Ouyang Yue felt as if her legs were being clamped by two iron pincers. She couldn't move and couldn't kick anywhere. The man actually screamed.
Chuncao cautiously peeked out and immediately cried out in alarm, "Ah, you scoundrel, let go of my young lady!"
Dongxue used both hands to chop down on the man's head, while Ouyang Yue stretched out two fingers and swiftly gouged at the man's eyes. If this continued, he would either go blind or be blind for a while!
"Oh dear, a bunch of vicious little girls, I'm done playing!" Upon seeing Fei jump backward, the man slapped Dongxue's hand away, flashed back to the iron gate, and disappeared in no time!
Dongxue was a little startled; such speed! "Miss, shall we go in...?"
"Go in! Of course we have to go in!" There was no such word as admitting defeat in her dictionary. She wouldn't let the grudge of having her leg pinched go unpunished!
Ouyang Yue pushed open the iron gate, only to find that the blacksmith shop was even more desolate than it looked from the outside. Several rotten wooden frames were piled on both sides, and two crooked trees in front of her were shedding rotten leaves in the wind. Chuncao covered her mouth and whispered, "Miss, this place is strange. Why don't we leave first and let my brother bring a few people over to investigate?"
Ouyang Yue laughed, "It will definitely be more interesting at night. I love these eerie rooms, how exciting! Is it winter snow?"
Dongxue nodded blankly, but her eyes flickered. Chuncao pouted, still looking around with some fear. Ouyang Yue's ears twitched slightly, and a smile of interest appeared on her lips as she walked directly into the hall.
"Smack!"
Pushing open the equally dilapidated, peeling paint door to the front hall, one sees an old man sitting on a chair in the main hall. He is dressed in patched black clothes, his hair is a mess, and his face looks like it hasn't been washed in centuries. He has bare, black feet, his legs are crossed, and he is puffing away on an iron pipe. He doesn't seem surprised to see Ouyang Yue and the other two enter, and he doesn't even lift his eyelids.
Ouyang Yue smiled and turned to Chuncao, saying, "Chuncao, go to the yard and get the shoes for the old man." She was referring to the smelly shoes she had casually tossed back earlier.
"Yes, Miss." Chuncao's expression clearly showed some disgust, but she still obediently went out.
Ouyang Yue had already walked to the front of the hall and bowed to the old man: "I have heard that you are very skilled in crafting weapons. I wonder if I would have the honor of having you craft something for me today?"
"Pfft," the old man took a deep breath and exhaled a long smoke ring that drifted slowly in the air. Behind the smoke, the old man's eyes scrutinized Ouyang Yue with exceptional sharpness. Dong Xue's body stiffened, seemingly surprised by the pressure the old man exerted on her. Compared to Dong Xue, Ouyang Yue appeared much calmer.
The girl was dressed in light green, with a smiling face and eyes that curved into crescent shapes. She looked very cute and lively, seemingly innocent and romantic, and didn't seem to understand human feelings. She also didn't seem to be being scrutinized. Old Tie's eyes deepened as he looked at her, and he said lazily, "This old man is just a lazy bum. His weapon-refining skills are just so-so. If you can afford it, I'll refine some for fun."
"Miss, the shoes are here." Chuncao frowned slightly as she brought in the worn-out shoes wrapped in a handkerchief. Ouyang Yue immediately smiled and said, "Please put these on the old gentleman."
“Yes…” Chuncao lowered her head, and as soon as she approached, the old man with the iron pipe turned and pointed at Ouyang Yue, “I don’t want her, you wear it for me!”
Ouyang Yue smiled and walked over lightly. Chuncao exclaimed, "Miss, this old man is so dirty and has no manners. How can he dirty your hands! Miss, we don't need him to refine anything. I don't believe we can't find someone better in the capital!"
Ouyang Yue smiled and waved her hand, and Chuncao immediately shut up. Although her expression still showed disapproval, she realized that she dared not question her mistress's decision after she woke up from her serious injury. A single glance from her could scare her half to death!
Ouyang Yue didn't take the shoes. Instead, she turned around and sat down in the main seat next to Tie Lao, smiling at him. "If you can refine what I want, sir, why not put the shoes on for me? But I am very precious. If you don't have the ability, how can you be worthy of my condescension? Don't you think so?"
Old Tie twitched his beard and squinted at Ouyang Yue: "Don't provoke me. Tell me what you want to refine."
Ouyang Yue took out a piece of paper from her purse and handed it over. Tie Lao initially looked at it indifferently, but then his eyes widened and he looked at Ouyang Yue in shock: "How did you get this? No, how did you ever get this map?"
Ouyang Yue suddenly smiled brightly: "Oh, this thing? I just drew it casually. Can you make it? If not, I can find another skilled person to make it!"
Iron Master's words were completely unlike Ouyang Yue's. How could a little girl draw something like this? Look at the intricate structural details in the drawing. It's incredibly detailed, from the overall structure to every single detail. Moreover, this thing is unheard of. Even he wasn't confident he could make it, let alone anyone else!
Old Tie had spent his whole life making weapons. When the blueprints for this thing were shown to him, he was shocked. If he could make it, his skills would definitely reach a new level!
“This thing is extremely ingenious. If I can’t make it, I’m afraid no one in the world can. Only I can make it for you!” Old Tie’s eyes rolled. “However, I can make this for you without charging you a penny, but you have to agree to one request.”
Ouyang Yue raised an eyebrow, her eyes crinkling into a smile: "Oh, what are your requirements?"
Tie Lao chuckled, his expression somewhat lewd, and pointed at Ouyang Yue: "I want you!"
"What! Shameless old man!" This time, Chuncao couldn't hold back any longer and screamed in anger!
Ouyang Yue's smile deepened...
☆、032, Using both soft and hard tactics!
“Okay!” Ouyang Yue replied calmly. Not only Chuncao stared wide-eyed in disbelief, but Dongxue and Tie Lao also stared at her in a daze.
Ouyang Yue smiled faintly, glancing at Elder Tie. She lightly covered her mouth with her delicate hand, somewhat surprised, but her eyes held amusement: "As long as Elder Tie can make this, everything else is negotiable..."
Chuncao nearly fainted from shock. "Miss... doesn't she understand what this lecherous old man means? How could a noble lady like you lower yourself to marry this scoundrel!"
Chuncao bit her lip; no matter what her mistress said today, she couldn't give in!
Just as Chuncao took a step forward to speak, Ouyang Yue's calm voice rang out: "I didn't expect the old gentleman to be so old. He's still very vigorous!"
"..." Old Tie didn't say anything, but he had a feeling that Ouyang Yue's words were not nice.
“I have a little savings. As long as you get things done, it won’t be a problem for you to spend a month in the red-light district.” Old Tie’s face stiffened instantly. Ouyang Yue continued, “What kind of charming women are there? Cold and aloof, pretty, cute, coquettish, and beautiful and talented. Just thinking about it, Old Tie is really lucky. If I were a man, I would definitely go and see for myself.”
Ouyang Yue directly leaned Tie Lao against the customer, and she agreed. This was obviously different from what Chuncao had expected. Chuncao breathed a sigh of relief and stood back. She thought to herself, "How could Miss be so confused?"
Old Tie twitched his beard and glared at Ouyang Yue, who looked completely innocent: "What, Old Tie, you're still not satisfied? How about I go back and find a matchmaker to pick out a few pretty maids? Old Tie, you live here all alone, and you look quite lonely. Chuncao, go back and pick out a few maids to serve you!"
"Yes, Miss." Chuncao lowered her body, chuckled, and turned to leave, clearly going to buy a maid. Tie Lao's face immediately turned red. "Come back, come back! We don't need any maids!"
Then he turned his head and glared at Ouyang Yue, saying angrily, "You little girl are very clever, you should know what the old man meant!"
Ouyang Yue looked puzzled: "I don't know..."
"How many of these blueprints do you have left? As long as they're not morally reprehensible, I'll agree to anything you ask."
Ouyang Yue's eyes lit up noticeably: "I've heard that the Tie family, known as the First Divine Craftsman, has been obsessed with craftsmanship for generations. Seeing it today, I can see that it's true!"
Old Tie stiffened, his eyes darkening: "How did you know!"
Dongxue was taken aback. She knew the name, but she couldn't connect the descendant of the First Divine Craftsman with this old iron man.
It is said that the foremost master craftsman, Tie Zhan, possessed extraordinary talent from a young age, making him a true genius of his time. By the age of ten, he was already knowledgeable in astronomy and geography, yet he did not pursue an official career, instead showing great interest in craftsmanship and formations. Despite his family's objections, he devoted himself to his studies and went on to forge five renowned weapons, each one a coveted artifact.
Legend has it that when Tie Zhan was at the height of his power, there were even rumors that possessing his weapon was enough to conquer the world. But the highest power must eventually decline. How could ancient emperors allow such rumors to disrupt the court? At that time, all four kingdoms sent assassins to kill Tie Zhan.
Tie Zhan knew his fate was sealed, so he passed on his life's work, a handwritten manuscript, to his beloved disciples and sons. Then, when assassins came, he jumped into the furnace. But the assassins from the four countries did not give up hunting down Tie Zhan's descendants. After more than ten years of pursuit, Tie Zhan's descendants died one after another.
The First Master Craftsman had long since become a legend. Dongxue couldn't believe that the old man in front of her was a descendant of Tiezhan.
Ouyang Yue stared intently at Tie Lao. Tie Lao's eyes were deep and dark, a glint of light flashing in them. In the eyes of the court, Tie Lao was the descendant of a criminal. If this matter got out, Tie Lao would definitely be hunted down!
It's clear that Ouyang Yue said this with a threatening intent!
Ouyang Yue had also unintentionally read a description of Tie Zhan in an unofficial book; it was only mentioned briefly, but she kept it in mind.
She is a secret agent, not an ancient person. She doesn't know how the ancients flew and hid, and her self-defense methods are different from those of the ancients. Since this era cannot manufacture handguns, she has to find another way, which is why she thought of creating hidden weapons.
She sent Su'er to the Underworld's Treasure Vault to check information about the Tie Zhan clan. She had a vague feeling that Tie Zhan was also a genius of his time, and he couldn't possibly have been unaware of this day. Just like in modern times, there are some families with ancient histories that are not known to outsiders, but Tie Zhan doesn't have a single successor? That's why she sent Dongxue to inquire from house to house, wanting to first check the level of blacksmith shops in the capital.
Seeing that Tie Lao's gaze was growing deeper and deeper, eventually turning into a dark murderous intent, Ouyang Yue squatted down, picked up the tattered cloth shoes that Chuncao had thrown on the ground, and with a smile, carefully helped Tie Lao put them on for him. Her action stunned the other three people in the hall.
Old Master Tie's eyes grew deeper and deeper: "Old Master Tie is a descendant of the First Divine Craftsman. I trust your reputation. I hope that only the four of us will know about what I have made!"
Old Tie looked at Ouyang Yue and suddenly burst into laughter: "You clever little maid, alright, you come in with me. You two stay outside. If you sneak in and die, I won't be responsible for your families!" With that, he turned and walked towards the inner hall. Ouyang Yue simply waved her hand, signaling Chuncao and Dongxue to wait there.
Ouyang Yue was inside for a full two hours. Just when Chuncao and Dongxue couldn't sit still any longer and wanted to force their way in, Old Tie laughed heartily and pulled Ouyang Yue out. His eyes were shining, and his face was beaming like a flower: "You little devil, you know quite a lot. I've really broadened my horizons! Don't worry, I'll take care of that thing. If you don't want me to tell, I absolutely won't!"
"Who is Grandpa Tie? Of course I trust you. I'll wait for your good news."
The two, who were quite unfamiliar with each other when they went in, came out like two close grandchildren, which made Dongxue and Chuncao stare in disbelief. Even after they got into the carriage, they were still a little dazed.
Inside the blacksmith's shop, Old Tie stroked his messy beard and smiled meaningfully: "What a fine girl."
He turned and went into the inner hall, then went through several secret passages before entering a small courtyard. Inside was an ordinary stone house, but once inside, all the tools for forging weapons were readily available. This was where Tie Lao worked.
On the other side, Ouyang Yue breathed a sigh of relief after finishing her business with Tie Lao. Thinking that she had been out for quite a while and it was already noon, she said, "Dongxue, let's not go back to the manor yet. Let's find a restaurant to have something to eat before we go back."
Ouyang Yue's carriage turned off Juyuan Street and arrived at Chenghua Street. Finally, Dongxue stopped the carriage downstairs at Xiangmanyuan. Xiangmanyuan was one of the top ten restaurants in the capital, so it was naturally bustling with activity.
Just as Ouyang Yue was being helped down by Chuncao, a figure suddenly rushed out of the restaurant. The man's eyes widened when he saw Ouyang Yue, filled with undisguised hatred, and he cursed, "You bitch, you dare to come here again? Get out of here!"
Ouyang Yue was taken aback, and her expression immediately darkened when she saw who it was!