"The price is good, the quantity is good, the taste is good…
"Don't let me see you again! Otherwise, I promise to beat you to death!" Zhou Shu stood at the entrance of a restaurant and looked up at the signboard. The resentment in his heart almost broke through the nine heavens.
This restaurant… It was named 'Restaurant'…
The restaurant was only a few square meters, and it had only three tables inside, one of which was reserved for a storyteller.
But there were a few rows of benches placed at the entrance.
The long benches were already full of people, each holding a large bowl. As they listened to the storyteller speak, they wolfed down the food in the bowls.
Other than those sitting, many people didn't even have seats and just stood there eating.
These people were all wearing short, coarse clothes. One look, and he could tell that they were ordinary folks who relied on physical labor to earn a living.
The food in their bowls was similar to the meat and vegetable rice from Zhou Shu's previous life. However, theirs wasn't white rice, but coarse rice. The dishes mixed with it were also black.
Zhou Shu looked around and only saw some minced meat in a few bowls. How could the price of such a place not be cheap?
But there was indeed a large amount. The large bowls were filled to the brim. Zhou Shu probably couldn't finish one himself.
As for the taste, although he didn't eat it, he felt that it wasn't any better than the pot rice in the Forging Division's workshop!
That passerby had obviously looked down on him.
Does he think I only deserve to eat this? I have two hundred and fifty taels of silver. Zhou Shu gritted his teeth. No wonder that fellow didn't dare leave his name!
Don't let me see you again! Zhou Shu said fiercely in his heart.
Originally, he had planned to turn around and leave. He had come out to improve his meals, not seek abuse. If he wanted to eat this kind of food, the Forging Division's workshop had it every day.
But the storyteller in the shop seemed very interesting. Zhou Shu, who had nothing important to do, decided to stand at the side and listen.
"Speaking of the Ten Nations Martial Arts Tournament, it starts with the military parade." The storyteller was a thin old man. He didn't look impressive, but his voice was very loud, and he was very eloquent.
"Great Xia's military parade happens once every five years. The last time was four years ago. The victor was…" What the storyteller said naturally went through some rendition. But when Zhou Shu linked the story to the things he had heard from his coworkers in the Forging Division, his understanding of this world became more and more clear.
Great Xia was not the only country on this land.
This land had four continents: East, West, South, and North, and a total of ten nations. Great Xia was located on the East Continent.
The Ten Nations Martial Arts Tournament was a military competition between the ten nations to divide resources every ten years.
This was originally a rule set by some experts in the past to reduce war. But in recent years, the Ten Nations Martial Arts Tournament had long lost its original intention.
The casualties caused during the tournaments were often more than those of actual wars. Furthermore, even with the tournament, there were still endless disputes between the ten nations.
The Ten Nations Martial Arts Tournament had long become an existence of little value.
Zhou Shu had heard this from his coworkers when he was in the workshop, but it had nothing to do with him.
Both the Ten Nations Martial Arts Tournament and wars would not involve him.
Instead, the military parade mentioned by the storyteller had something to do with him.
The military parade was actually a military inspection by the current emperor every five years.
Naturally, the inspection included weapons, which naturally involved the Forging Division.
One of the segments of the military parade was for the Forging Division to display its newly developed weapons.
The weapons of Great Xia had always been the strongest on the land. This was closely related to the importance placed by the Great Xia Imperial Court on forging weapons.
Zhou Shu had heard that there had once been a Forging Apprentice who had forged a weapon during the military parade, which delighted the emperor. In turn, the emperor had bestowed upon the apprentice the secret forging formula of a ranked weapon on the spot. The apprentice had then skyrocketed through the ranks to become a Forging Master.
There was no way to verify the authenticity of this matter. But the military parade was indeed an opportunity for Forging Apprentices. If they performed well, they could at least get a promotion and a raise.
I wonder if Xiao Zongshui took the Huben Saber to claim credit… Zhou Shu recalled that he still had the secret forging formula of the Hundred Refinements Ring Pommel Saber. If he could forge it during the military parade, he should be able to make a name for himself, right?
The Hundred Refinements Ring Pommel Saber was much stronger than the sharp standard saber.
The storyteller was narrating the story of the weapons of Great Xia from hearsay. Zhou Shu's gaze wandered, and he suddenly felt that someone was looking at him.
He turned his head instinctively and saw a man in the crowd looking away.
After Zhou Shu cultivated the Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique, his hearing, vision, and even instincts were much sharper than before.
Although the man was very fast, Zhou Shu was sure that he had been looking at him!
Perhaps it's strange that I'm only listening to stories and not eating, Zhou Shu thought. In this noisy place, it wasn't strange for the man to look at him. But he still curiously sized up this person.
The man looked to be in his thirties. He was wearing a coarse, short shirt that laborers wore, and his skin looked rough and tanned as a result of being in the weather for a long time.
Everything looked normal, except for the fact that he was carrying a long, bulky package.
Zhou Shu's eyes narrowed slightly. From the length of the bag, whatever is inside should be a weapon, either a sword or a saber!
Zhou Shu felt that he had some type of occupational disease. To think he could even think of weapons based on this. Great Xia was not like the ancient times in his previous life. Here, martial arts were flourishing. The Imperial Court also didn't restrict weapons. It was normal for people on the streets to be equipped with weapons.
The man seemed to sense Zhou Shu observing him. His eyelids drooped slightly, and he turned and walked away from Zhou Shu. Soon, he turned into an alley and disappeared.
Zhou Shu didn't care about this. He listened to the storytelling for a while longer, then found a restaurant that looked quite good and ate a meal that somewhat disappointed him.
Half a day passed just like that.
In the end, he really didn't know what to do, so he decided to head back to the Forging Division's workshop ahead of time.
The Forging Division's workshop was located in the northeast corner of the imperial capital of Great Xia. During this half-day, although Zhou Shu didn't do anything serious, he still walked down dozens of streets.
When he went out, he was curious about everything and didn't feel that it was far. But when he was on the way back, it became a little torturous. The more he walked, the longer the route seemed to be.
If only I had a carriage. Within the imperial capital of Great Xia, there were many carriages, which was the standard for rich people.
Even though Zhou Shu had a huge amount of 250 taels, compared to the wealthy, he was still a pauper.
"Two hundred and fifty taels, two hundred and fifty taels, two hundred and fifty…" Zhou Shu hummed happily to himself as he got closer and closer to the workshop. Two more streets ahead, and he would arrive at the entrance of the workshop.
Suddenly, Zhou Shu felt the hair on his back stand up as a strong sense of danger surged in his heart.
Almost without thinking, he pounced forward and rolled on the ground a few times before looking back.
Before he could see clearly, a white light flashed before his eyes.
Zhou Shu's pupils constricted as he stomped his feet abruptly.
His butt hit the ground, and he instantly slid a few feet away. A saber heavily slashed at the spot where he just was.
With a cracking sound, the green brick of the ground shattered into pieces, and the long saber cut several inches into it.
"Huben Saber!" Zhou Shu blurted out.
"You indeed recognized me!" a deep voice said.
Only then did Zhou Shu realize that the person who attacked him with the saber was the man he had seen at the entrance of the restaurant!
Zhou Shu subconsciously looked around. This place was only a street away from the Forging Division's workshop. If he shouted for help…
The man seemed to see through Zhou Shu's plan and didn't give Zhou Shu a chance to cry for help. With a slide of his feet, he raised the Huben Saber above his head and slashed down at Zhou Shu.
Zhou Shu had no time to yell. He rolled and crawled, dodging his opponent's attack.
He cursed in his heart. Who the hell knows you? I only know the saber. Why did you attack me for no reason?
He was starting to regret taking this route. If he hadn't been greedy for the shortcut and walked through this small alley instead of the main street where people came and went, this guy definitely wouldn't have dared to commit murder openly!
Zhou Shu cursed as he dodged in a sorry state.
He had only mastered the first level of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique, so he had limited skills. Furthermore, he had never had any actual combat experience. He would definitely not be able to win against this person if he fought back head-on.
If I can't defeat my opponent with strength, I can only use my wits! Zhou Shu's mind raced.
The Huben Saber had been invented by him, and he had only given it to Xiao Zongshui.
According to what he had seen before, Xiao Zongshui had made a deal with the commander of the Huben Troops, and the Huben Sabers were exclusive to the troops.
Even without this, the weapons forged by the Forging Division's workshop would not easily be circulated to the common people.
Where did this Huben Saber come from? He's definitely not a soldier from the Huben Troops! The Huben Troops wouldn't attack me for no reason!
A Forging Apprentice? I know all of the Forging Apprentices who could come into contact with the Huben Sabers. This person is definitely not one of them!
Who exactly is he? And why does he want to ambush me? From the looks of it, he clearly wants to kill me! He wants to kill me just because I glanced at him outside the restaurant? Is Great Xia really so dangerous?
A light flashed in Zhou Shu's mind. He shouted, "I am the creator of the Huben Saber! I know the secret forging formula of the Huben Saber!"
Pfft! The blade of the saber slashed across Zhou Shu's chest, creating a hole in his clothes. It was just a hair's breadth away from ripping Zhou Shu's stomach open.
Zhou Shu spread out his hands, indicating that he wouldn't resist.
"I have the secret forging formula of Huben Saber. I can give it to you if you want it!" Zhou Shu said.
"You indeed recognized me!" The man snorted. "Otherwise, how would you know that I want the secret forging formula of the Huben Saber?"
Zhou Shu wanted to roll his eyes, but he was afraid of angering this person. This person clearly had an extreme personality. If Zhou Shu angered him, who knew what he would do?
Zhou Shu didn't want to be killed just because he glanced at someone.
"I guessed it, really," Zhou Shu said sincerely.