Chapter 243: CH. 243 | Hao Family

Lin Tian could tell the exchange had drawn the attention of nearly everyone still lingering at the forge site, disciples pausing mid-motion to watch what would happen next.

He clasped his hands together and bowed his head, keeping his expression carefully humble, the picture of an ordinary man caught somewhere he didn’t quite belong.

He’d do everything he could to keep his identity hidden, refusing to let them find out the truth, no matter how many questions they threw at him.

But they kept pressing without letting up, circling him with a kind of stubborn curiosity, as if they had no intention of dropping the matter until they got a clear answer.

A few of them exchanged glances, murmuring to one another, clearly convinced they’d stumbled onto something worth digging into.

A mortal with qi that flickered, even faintly, was enough to convince them something was off about him.

None of them had ever encountered a mortal carrying even a trace of qi in their body before, and the disciples of a sect like Lingxian weren’t exactly known for letting anomalies slide.

"That’s normal. Haven’t any of you heard of basic human spiritual energy?" Li Huan asked, his voice cutting through the growing murmur with practiced ease.

Li Huan, a core disciple of the Technique and Weapon Hall, stepped forward smoothly to break up the exchange, positioning himself just enough between Lin Tian and the curious crowd to shift their attention elsewhere.

It was a small thing, but it worked, moving quickly to keep Lin Tian’s identity safe before anyone could push the question further.

Lin Tian let out a long breath, followed by a shorter one, feeling the tension in his shoulders ease slightly.

He reached out and gave Li Huan’s shoulder a light, grateful pat.

Without his intervention, Lin Tian worried they would have kept prodding indefinitely, and there was only so much deflecting he could do before the cracks started to show.

"Thank you," Lin Tian said quietly.

"No trouble at all. You hired me before to build your house and your shop. Figured I owed you one," Li Huan explained with an easy shrug, as though it were nothing at all.

He conjured a pair of flying swords with a flick of his wrist and handed them over to Lin Tian and Wei Hutong.

The two of them climbed aboard carefully, Wei Hutong wobbling slightly before finding his balance, and together they flew off, leaving Mount Tianxun behind them until the sect’s main gate came into view.

They landed and stepped onto the smooth marble floor of the front courtyard, the stone cool even under the afternoon sun.

Just behind them stretched a long flight of steps leading all the way down to where Lin Tian’s cart sat parked and waiting.

After exchanging a final round of goodbyes with Li Huan, Lin Tian left the Lingxian Sect behind, Wei Hutong staying close by his side the entire way down, still visibly buzzing with everything he’d just learned.

Wei Hutong couldn’t stop talking about it, remarking more than once that Lin Tian had explained the forging techniques better than he’d expected.

Not just the disciples, who’d come in with plenty of prior knowledge, but he himself, someone who’d never touched a forge before three months ago, had come away actually understanding the fundamentals.

Lin Tian was pleased to hear that, a small smile tugging at his mouth as he listened.

Still, what he’d taught them that day was only the basics, just the starting point for shaping raw ore into something usable.

He’d deliberately held back plenty of his own tricks and refinements, the finer details that separated an ordinary blade from something truly exceptional, keeping that deeper knowledge to himself for now.

Even so, they were cultivators, and disciples of the Lingxian Sect at that, resourceful by nature and rarely short on options.

They’d have no trouble eventually digging up more detailed knowledge on forging from somewhere else entirely, whoever or wherever that source might turn out to be.

That wasn’t something Lin Tian could control, nor did he particularly want to try.

At the very least, he’d accomplished what he’d set out to do.

He’d earned 25 low-grade spirit stones as payment for the day’s lesson, a modest sum, but not one he’d turn his nose up at.

He kept only 10 for himself and handed the rest over to Wei Hutong without much ceremony.

The younger man froze the moment the stones touched his palm, gripping all 15 with trembling, almost panicked hands, as though he half expected them to vanish if he loosened his grip even slightly.

"W-What is this, Brother Lin?"

"I’m only keeping 10 spirit stones. The rest is yours to keep," Lin Tian said simply, "Didn’t you say you wanted to marry your girlfriend? You can use that as your starting funds."

Wei Hutong’s face broke into a wide, almost disbelieving smile.

He stopped walking entirely, and to Lin Tian’s genuine surprise, dropped his head into a deep, formal bow right there on the stone path.

Lin Tian froze for a moment, eyes widening at the sudden gesture.

"Brother Wei... you—"

"Thank you so much for your kindness, Brother Lin. I’m truly grateful to the heavens for bringing me the chance to know you," Wei Hutong said, his voice thick with emotion, barely holding steady.

"I swear I’ll stay loyal and devoted to you! May the heavens strike me down with lightning if I ever betray you!" he declared, his tone fierce despite the tremor still running through it.

Lin Tian smiled and reached down, helping him back up onto his feet.

Wei Hutong’s eyes glistened, brimming with something close to tears, though his gaze burned bright with sharp, hopeful determination underneath it all.

"Thank you, Brother Wei."

"Come on," Lin Tian said, giving his shoulder a light squeeze. "Let’s head back."

***

The next day.

Business carried on much as it always did.

Wei Hutong was sent out early to deliver a batch of weapon orders across town, while An Yue stayed up front, helping take down requests from the steady stream of customers stopping by.

Lin Tian remained tucked away in the third room, hunched over the forge, working through the day’s orders one blade at a time.

"You’re quite the beauty. Interested in becoming my noble concubine?" a man’s voice rang out from the front of the shop, smooth and self-assured.

Lin Tian, deep in concentration over the glowing metal in front of him, paused mid-motion.

He turned his head slightly and extended his qi senses outward, catching sight of the scene unfolding just beyond the wall.

There stood a man with an oddly flamboyant appearance, flanked by two companions who lingered a step behind him, clearly there for than anything else.

The man was leaning in close to An Yue, far too close, reaching out more than once in an attempt to touch her face.

An Yue kept shifting back just out of reach, her expression polite but strained. Lin Tian moved fast, setting down his tools without a second thought.

"Leave that poor husband of yours behind, and come live comfortably with me instead," the man said, his tone dripping with false charm.

The door to the back room swung open, and Lin Tian stepped out, carrying the finished sword order over to the counter where An Yue stood.

She offered him a warm, grateful smile, quickly wrapping the customer’s blade in cloth and tying it off securely, careful to keep it protected for delivery.

"Are you tired? I can take over for a bit," Lin Tian offered quietly, his eyes flicking briefly toward the man still hovering nearby.

"It’s fine, I can still manage," An Yue answered, though there was the faintest hint of relief in her voice at having him there.

"Tch." The man clicked his tongue loudly, unimpressed. "What kind of husband are you? Letting your pregnant wife work like this. You’re absolutely useless!"

"If you let me take care of your wife instead, she’d live happily, pampered in a cool, comfortable room, not stuck in this cramped, stuffy, dirty place," he added, gesturing dismissively at the shop around them.

Lin Tian listened to every word without interrupting. He even glanced down, noticing the faint smudges of forge dust clinging to An Yue’s hands and the hem of her dress.

Even though the man was clearly just trying to provoke him, hoping to bait him into some reckless reaction, there was an uncomfortable grain of truth buried somewhere in his words.

It really wasn’t fair of Lin Tian to keep letting An Yue help out in the shop like this, not in her condition.

"You’re right," Lin Tian said evenly, "I should be treating my wife with far more comfort, if only to protect the child she’s carrying."

The man’s face lit up, mistaking the response for agreement, "Now you’re starting to understand. It’s about time she came with me instead, since I’m clearly the only one here who can actually give her that kind of comfort."

"And who exactly do you think you are?" Lin Tian asked, his tone still calm, almost conversational.

The eccentric man grinned wide, puffing his chest out with obvious pride, "I’m Hao Bao, young master of the Hao Family in Yanzhe City."

A ripple of recognition passed through the small crowd of onlookers that had gathered by now.

"Oh, he’s the son of the Hao Family?"

"Isn’t the Hao Family’s business doing really well lately?"

"That’s right. They’re the strongest contender to become the next town ruler."

Lin Tian listened to the chatter drifting around him, unbothered, then let a small smile settle on his face as he looked directly at Hao Bao.

He reached out and gave the man’s shoulder a light, almost friendly pat.

"The Hao Family, of course. You all certainly hold plenty of power," Lin Tian said. "But even power has its limits, and one of those limits is that none of you have any right to harass another man’s wife!"

"Who do you think you are, brat? How dare you lecture us?!" Hao Bao snapped, his earlier smugness curdling into indignation.

"Me? I’m just a blacksmith who happens to love his wife with everything he has," Lin Tian answered simply, "And since you’ve decided to cross me, I’ll make sure the Hao Family is ruined within three days."

Hao Bao burst into laughter, loud and mocking, his two companions quickly following suit, "HAHAHA! What a foolish blacksmith. You actually think you can bring us down? You must be out of your mind!"