Gao Zhong tugged at her jet-black braids, and said with a smile: "What do you want a knife for, it's a man's thing." Besides, you already have a ban, who else dares to bully you. ”

"When I lived down the mountain, there was a knife next to the girl in every tent." Jin Ling pouted and said unconvinced, "Grandma once said that when I grow up, she will give me one, she said that women can only protect themselves with a knife, and they will have to protect their husbands and children in the future." Ban can only protect me from being bullied by wild beasts, and when I go out of the mountain, I still have to protect it. ”

Gao Zhong looked at her vigorous appearance, and couldn't help laughing: "Okay, in that case, you can buy a knife here, and it will be counted as a gift I gave to you for Grandma." ”

The shopkeeper stood aside, laughed, and said, "There are a lot of short knives in our shop, each one is of the highest grade, and it can be used for a lifetime. ”

As he spoke, he clapped his hands, and out of the corner came a young man dressed in black, and he whispered to the young man, "Ah Zheng, you will take this girl to the treasury and pick out a short knife that fits your hand." ”

Jin Ling jumped and followed the young man and disappeared behind the shelf. The shopkeeper turned around and asked, "I wonder what Childe wants?" ”

Gao Pet pursed his thin lips and smiled, took out a slender package from his arms, handed it to the shopkeeper's green hands, and said lightly: "It's nothing, I just want to ask someone to help me see such a thing." ”

The white cotton cloth was carefully uncovered, revealing a dagger slightly longer than the palm of the hand, the handle and sheath were carved from rosewood, and the ornamentation was clumsy and fine, much lighter than an ordinary dagger. The shopkeeper took two steps forward, looked carefully through the light cast by the skylight, and tapped the shell with his dry fingers, and there was a faint jingling sound from inside.

He shook his head, handed the dagger back to Gao Chong's hand intact, coughed twice and said: "It's a very beautiful dagger, and it's old, but the material and craftsmanship are not excellent, so it can only be used as an antique." ”

Gao Zhong held the dagger and sighed: "I originally thought that the owner of the 'Lingfeng' would be a person who knows goods, but I didn't expect it to be as vulgar as ordinary people." ”

The shopkeeper was not angry, and whispered, "What does Childe mean?" ”

"Although I am not an expert, I also know that weapons are divided into many kinds just like people, some are gorgeous in appearance, some are clumsy but practical, some are like heroes born out of thin air and sweep the world, some are vicious and insidious, you can see blood without being unsheathed, some can protect the safety of your master's life, and some can burn a person's soul." Gao Zhong said lightly, as if he was just tasting the world's fine wines, "The mediocre people in this world only know that weapons made of iron are the best quality, and among them, weapons made of burnt steel are the most precious, but they don't know that swords are not expensive or cheap like people." Those most murderous weapons are like heroes in troubled times, they can cut the world, but they can only bring disasters to the world, for an ordinary woman, maybe it is not as precious as a short knife by her sweetheart Changpei's side. ”

"Childe is right." The shopkeeper whispered, took back the dagger, and slowly rubbed it in his hand, "However, weapons are made to hurt people after all, a dagger without a blade, I'm afraid no one will come to buy it." ”

He slowly drew out the dagger, revealing the jet-golden blade, the clumsy lines on both sides were filled with dark red cinnabar, just by looking at the color of the pattern, you could know how many years this dagger had been washed, as if there was a story hidden in each line.

"It can be seen that it is the craftsmanship of the party members." He let out a long sigh, "Legend has it that two hundred years ago, the Dangxiang people had a battle with the Tubo, and the Dangxiang army was not good at casting weapons, and the equipment such as sword contradictions was much worse than that of the Tubo army, and the road to the Central Plains to buy weapons was cut off, resulting in frequent fiascos in a year. Later, the party leader sent a team of 1,000 people to secretly go south, and spent a lot of money to buy my Great Song Dynasty skilled craftsmen to learn the art of alchemy. Legend has it that less than 100 of them eventually returned to their homeland, but they forged their own sophisticated weapons for the Dangxiang army. This technique, which flourished in the early years, has long been lost in the Central Plains, and only a few well-forged weapons remain. ”

Gao Zhong was stunned for a moment, but the shopkeeper didn't look at him, just lowered his head, and continued as if talking to himself: "This dagger has a peculiar style and texture, and after so many years, it is still stainless and incorruptible, and the blade is hardly worn, not like an ordinary blade, it is about an extremely valuable ritual weapon." ”

"Not bad." Gao Zhong hung his head and said lightly: "After that war, the craftsmen of the Dangxiang clan did their best, and finally some people even jumped into the flames to sacrifice the furnace, and finally cast a set of divine blades, which were sealed under the tower as the treasure of the town, hoping to keep the peace of the realm forever." Legend has it that there were originally seven different artifacts, but after so many years of war, most of them were lost or destroyed. This dagger is the smallest and most delicate of the seven artifacts, and it has not been bladed since it was cast, and it was later introduced to the family of the Wei Mu clan and became a treasure passed down from generation to generation in the family. ”

"Hehe, I didn't expect this artifact to be real." The shopkeeper laughed dryly again, "I haven't collected those legendary weapons for many years, if I was young, I would definitely be enthusiastic when I heard such a story, but it's a pity that I'm old now, so I can only guard this small shop and do some reselling business." ”

"What if I say, I want to sell you this dagger?"

"That's too expensive, I'm afraid." The shopkeeper still had a smile on his lips, "I don't know if I can afford this price." ”

"All I need is a sword in exchange." Gao Pet said calmly, "A sword in your shop." ”

"Which one does Childe want?"

"You'll have to see it." When Gao Zhong spoke, a smile as sharp as a knife appeared on the corner of his mouth, "What I want is a sword that can really be used by me." ”

The dagger in the shopkeeper's hand was silently pushed back into the sheath, and after a long time, he coughed a few times and said slowly, "I probably understand what Childe meant." ”

In the dark storeroom, dust filled the air everywhere, and rows of shelves of red sour branches stood quietly in the faint light, and I don't know how far they extended.

The old shopkeeper had become unusually nimble in the small, dimly lit space, and he took his favored hands and examined every inch of the joints and lines from his fingertips to his elbows, and even leaned his ears to hear the sound of tapping his wrists.