Chapter 153: A Genuine Business (1)

An hour hadn’t even passed upon Yan Dechang’s arrival at the Weaponsmiths Quarter when he received news from one of Qian Su’s messengers. The officer who ordered a hundred ‘Yan Curved Knives’ from them had arrived hastily at the Weaponsmiths Quarter on their rhinodrake steeds with a couple of his attendants and subordinates in tow.

Yan Liqiang’s family’s big client was the Yingyang Commandant Gong Tieshan, the head general of the 2,000 troops stationed at Huanglong County. The army camp that Gong Tieshan commanded was known as the Gong Barracks, which ranked amongst the armed forces of the Pingxi Prefecture Military Governor’s Office. According to the Great Han Empire’s military regulations, the title of the forces that ranked higher than a battalion could be named after the head officer.

Qian Su was the Quarter Master of the Weaponsmiths Quarter, and his military rank was of the Feiyang Commandant. Gong Tieshan was the head general of the Gong Barracks. Although they shared the same rank as commandant officers, his military rank was still higher than Qian Su’s by a level. In a county like Huanglong County, both Qian Su and Gong Tieshan could be counted as leading figures in the military. They shared a good relationship with one another. A few days ago, after Qian Su obtained a kukri knife that Yan Liqiang made from Yan Dechang, Gong Tieshan immediately noticed it when he randomly visited the Weaponsmiths Quarter. Gong Tieshan tried it out and was incredibly interested in it. Once he inquired where the kukri knife had come from, he ordered a hundred of them from Yan Blades without a moment’s hesitation.

In regards to Gong Tieshan’s arrival, no matter if it was either Qian Su or Yan Liqiang, none of them dared to neglect him. The moment Gong Tieshan arrived at the entrance of the Weaponsmiths Quarter on his rhinodrake steeds with his subordinates trailing behind him, Qian Su, Yan Dechang, and Yan Liqiang personally waited for his arrival to respectfully welcome him at the gates.

Gong Tieshan had a strong build and was two meters tall. His body was about twice as wide as Yan Liqiang’s, so when he rode on the rhinodrake steed, he was literally akin to a moving mountain. With the build he had, along with his thick black beard and the soft scales armor on his body, nobody dared to be contemptuous to him since he seriously appeared as though he had the formidable prowess of a martial practitioner from afar.

If it wasn’t a valiant rhinodrake steed and was an ordinary horse instead, the steed would not be able to move anymore if Gong Tieshan was sitting on it.

About ten personal troops on their rhinodrake steeds stood in two orderly lines behind Gong Tieshan. Five of his close subordinates each carried bows on their backs while the others carried blades. Their armor were bright and distinct; they looked extremely exuberant.

When he saw these troops charging over on their rhinodrake steeds, Yan Liqiang turned to cast a meaningful glance at Qian Su, thinking to himself that it was as what Uncle Qian had mentioned earlier. This Commandant Gong was indeed a man of panache and pride as an ordinary commandant would never put on such a show when going about in a county. The most a commandant would ever bring were about four to five men and that was enough. But with Commandant Gong, it was as though he was afraid that nobody would know he was the general of the Gong Barracks.

Qian Su gave a light smile as he returned Yan Liqiang’s glance.

The eleven men in this party came galloping in on their horses like thunder, they rushed to the main gates of the Weaponsmiths Quarter without rest before pulling the reins of their rhinodrake steeds. The eleven rhinodrake steeds raised their front hooves as they let out a unanimous long cry, their bodies seemingly standing straight at once…

“Hahaha! Old Brother Qian! Are the goods finally here? I have been waiting anxiously for them…” Gong Tieshan laughed out heartily. Although his figure was tall and burly, he was incredibly agile. Before the rhinodrake steed’s front hooves had touched the ground, he gently pressed on the back of the steed with his palm. With a lift of his leg, his entire being had already lightly leapt down from the rhinodrake steed’s back, landing before Yan Liqiang and the rest.

“Yeap! They have just arrived. How could we simply dare to allow Lord Gong to wait? Hahaha…” Qian Su also emitted a hearty laugh. Then, he pointed at Yan Dechang. “Let me introduce this man to Lord Gong, this is my senior brother, Manager Yan. The blade that Lord Gong has taken a fancy to is forged from Manager Yan’s blacksmith workshop!”

It was probably Yan Dechang’s first time being introduced as a manager by others, so he was slightly embarrassed. “Yan Dechang greets Lord Gong…”

“The ‘Yan Curved Knife’ that Manager Yan made is extraordinary and it has a style of its own. Not bad. Not bad…” laughed Gong Tieshan as he exchanged conventional greetings with Yan Dechang.

Yan Liqiang was just standing next to Yan Dechang. Probably because Yan Liqiang was too young and didn’t seem like any important figure, Gong Tieshan only shot a light glance at him as he conversed with Yan Dechang. Then, he treated Yan Liqiang as though he were invisible.

“Ahem…ahem… Lord Gong, this is Yan Liqiang, Manager Yan’s son and also my nephew.” Having seen it to this point, Qian Su quickly proceeded to introduce Yan Liqiang to Gong Tieshan.

“Greetings, Lord Gong…” Yan Liqiang stepped forth neither haughtily or humbly and paid his respects to Gong Tieshan.

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Although Gong Tieshan’s status was higher than the rest on site, Yan Liqiang had already gone through so much in Pingxi City and he even dared to go and fight against the Prefectural Governor. Thus, although he was respectful towards a Yingyang Commandant, he wasn’t in the least bit anxious at all. So when he paid his respects to Gong Tieshan at this moment, he had the air of an overbearing presence that was not normal for an ordinary young man.

Yan Liqiang’s bearing made Gong Tieshan earnestly glance at him twice. Afterwards, he furrowed his brows slightly, seeming to have recalled something, “Wait…Yan Liqiang… I think I have heard of this name before…” After thinking deeply for a few seconds in all seriousness, Gong Tieshan suddenly slapped his hands together. “Right! That young man in the rumors who received the teachings of a deity in his dreams! He was the one who imparted the knowledge of performing moxibustion on the navel to save people who drowned a few months ago in Huanglong County! He was known as Yan Liqiang as well!”

“Hahaha! It’s great that Lord Gong still remembers!” Qian Su smiled. “My nephew is quite skillful. He only stayed at Huanglong County a couple of months ago for a few days and he already left behind a method to save people who have drowned. After he returned to Qinghe County, he nabbed first place among the top three in the Martial Arts County Trial Examination. Now he’s a student at the Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy. As a matter of fact, two days ago, Liqiang discovered that his family was forging your goods so he rushed to the Weaponsmiths Quarter from Pingxi City without any rest, weary from the journey. He insisted to come here to receive Lord Gong. He is thankful to Lord Gong for doing business with them. If there’s a chance in the future, Lord Gong must take good care of my nephew… ”

If just ordinary fold came to welcome Gong Tieshan, Gong Tieshan naturally wouldn’t take notice of it. But this was the rumored young man who had received strange teachings from a deity in his dreams as well as nabbing first place in the Martial Arts County Trial Examination of Qinghe County. He also had taken the trouble to specifically run all the way from Pingxi City to Huanglong County to ‘welcome’ him. The honor he had given him was too great.

After he listened to Qian Su, as expected, Gong Tieshan instantly felt important. He took another look at Yan Liqiang, and his eyes immediately turned cordial and amiable by ten folds. “Liqiang is so young and has shown such potential. He will definitely have a promising future. Liqiang, if you have anything you need Uncle’s assistance with in the future, find me at all costs…”

“Thank you, Lord Gong…”

“Hahaha. Go! Let’s make a move! Let’s all head in and see the goods…” Gong Tieshan laughed as he walked towards the Weaponsmiths Quarter. Qian Su, Yan Liqiang, and his father naturally trailed after him.

Yan Dechang had delivered a total of more than a hundred ‘Yan Curved Knives’ to the Weaponsmiths Quarter. Apart from the one hundred blades that Gong Tieshan ordered, there were a couple left. Yan Dechang had already used them as gifts and had gifted them to Zhou Yong and the rest who had come to the Yan Residence to help out last time. Upon receiving Yan Dechang’s kukri knife, Zhou Yong and the others were ecstatic towards them and was extremely happy.

One hundred kukri knives were packed inside a simple wooden crate with straws separating a few of the layers. Each and every single one of the kukri knives was sheathed with a leather scabbard, which looked both simple and stylish. Those wooden crates were placed inside the drawing room where Qian Su stayed. The four of them went straight ahead to Qian Su’s quarters.

When they arrived, Gong Tieshan opened up a wooden crate at random and took out a kukri knife. He removed the knife from the scabbard, examining the kukri knife’s quality and craftsmanship. He weighed the knife in his hands, nodding his head in approval after brandishing the knife in the air. He then sheathed the kukri knife and remarked, “Not bad, not bad! This is definitely made from high-grade well-tempered steel. The craftsmanship is exquisite…”

“There’s no doubt about it. The knives Lord Gong wanted were all crafted under my senior brother’s supervision. None of them dared to be careless and sloppy in their work!” Qian Su commented at the side.

“How much do these cost?” Gong Tieshan was incredibly satisfied, so he wanted to pay straight away.

Yan Dechang wanted to voice out a price but Yan Liqiang shot a glance at him. In the end, he smiled and said, “My father once told me that Lord Gong’s acknowledgment of the blade we forged is already the greatest trust and encouragement towards the Yan Clan. These aren’t something that can be exchanged with a large sum of money. So, as for these kukri knives of the Yan Clan, we will not accept even a single candareen. Everything will be gifted to Lord Gong as a thank you to Lord Gong for supporting us!”

The moment Yan Liqiang spoke, Yan Dechang kept silent, appearing to have agreed tacitly as well. Instead, Qian Su and Gong Tieshan were taken aback by his words.

“How can I? The price of these one hundred kukri knives is not exactly a small sum…” replied Gong Tieshan promptly.

“Everyone says that it’s hard to find a close friend in the world. To these blades, Lord Gong is their most intimate friend. As they say, rouge and powder are bestowed upon a beautiful woman while the treasured blade is bestowed upon a hero. This small sum of money amounts to nothing. But when it comes to Lord Gong’s acknowledgment and insight, how could that be bought with money?”

“Good. Good. Good…” Gong Tieshan erupted into laughter, promptly saying ‘good’ three times. His entire being was beaming with redness as he strut about, pleased with himself. “Since Liqiang put it this way, I will accept your token of kindness.”

“That should be the case. That should be the case. This is originally my senior brother and Liqiang’s token of appreciation. It’s truly hard to find a close, intimate friend. Fortunately, Lord Gong is a man who understands blades. Just one glance and you are able to determine the profound wonders of this blade. Back then, when I first saw this blade, apart from finding it to be strange, I wasn’t able to sense a good thing about this blade!” Recovering from his senses, Qian Su also began to ‘help’ Liqiang out at the side.

“Of course…” Gong Tieshan revealed a proud look on his face. “Although this blade is strange, as long as it falls into the hands of those who understand blades, they would be able to identify the mysteriousness behind this blade. When cutting down with this blade, we can use a less energy by drawing support from the blade’s change in power to attain a greater, formidable might. This blade is indeed amazing. I have experienced thousands and hundreds of blades and never have I ever came across such an ingenious kukri knife. Comparing this with the Shatu men’s kukri knife, theirs are not worth mentioning at all. By the way, I wanted to ask this before, how did Manager Yan think of forging such an ingenious kukri knife?”