There is a blacksmith shop in the bazaar in the west of the city.

Unlike all the other blacksmiths in the world, there were no old, gray-bearded master foundries, no bearded, scruffy, drunken middle-aged masters.

There was only one person in the blacksmith shop.

A woman who is old but still charming.

The blacksmith shop was small and had no name. The only living person in the shop doesn't have a serious name, Xiao Xuan only knows her surname Yu, so he calls her Yu Shi Niang.

Yu Shi Niang is a native of Kyoto, and he doesn't know anything about her other than that.

They are not friends.

But it's not the relationship between the boss and the customer.

Because every time Xiao Xuan takes anything in this shop, he doesn't need to pay even a tael of silver.

In the private room on the top floor of Hongfu that day, the moment he received the task, he knew that he might need to come to her again.

When Xiao Xuan walked into this nameless shop again after a few months, a scorching breath mixed with a large cloud of white vapor immediately hit his face.

There was still the familiar sound of iron striking in his ears, and Xiao Xuan finally escaped from the white steam, but he didn't expect an iron hammer to break through the air and fly out on the top of his head.

The trajectory of the hammer flying was just right, otherwise Xiao Xuan's next place to go should be a nearby pharmacy or medical hall.

Xiao Xuan broke out in a cold sweat on the back of his neck, and complained to the man who came out of the shop: "I said, when will you become a little more normal here? There is no blacksmith shop in the whole capital where a hammer weighing hundreds of pounds flies around every day." ”

When the white vapor dissipated, someone twisted his waist and walked around a dazzling pile of iron tools.

The man walked in a hurry, walked to Xiao Xuan and stood still, rolled up his sleeves with both hands, revealing two jade lotus-like arms.

"Normal? There won't be half a normal person coming to me. ”

This is a middle-aged woman in her early forties, dressed in the most common style worn by the people of Great Xia, but this does not hide her unique charm after the years.

It is hard to imagine that a woman would become a blacksmith and choose to spend her days working with those rough and heavy iron. What's even harder to imagine is that judging from her figure alone, she doesn't look like a person who can carry a hundred pounds of heavy objects.

Xiao Xuan looked at the woman's towering breasts, and couldn't help but think that if it had been placed twenty years ago, even the most famous Oiran in Xuanyang City today would probably not be able to match half of her color.

Yu Shi Niang didn't know what Xiao Xuan was thinking, and even if she knew, she wouldn't care about that trivial compliment. It's just that seeing the young man's gaze completely fall on the position below his neck, he can't help but be a little annoyed.

A hint of blush flashed on her fair face, she glared at Xiao Xuan, and said angrily: "The kid surnamed Xiao, if you have something to say, the old lady still has so many important things to do." ”

Xiao Xuanxin said that your shop can't see half of the customers from the beginning of the year to the end of the year, let alone a human figure, even if there are three or two cats and dogs, where do you come from so many important things to do?

"I need a bow. ”

Yu Shi Niang frowned slightly, didn't ask anything, just picked up a piece of dead wood on the ground, waved it gently, and asked, "What is it for?"

Xiao Xuan smiled and said, "You know, I can only kill people, and I won't use a bow to kill any chickens and ducks." ”

Yu Shi Niang stared at the young face for a while, and then nodded: "It seems that this time it is not easy." ”

"After all, it is the capable who work harder. ”

"The bow is there, but what about the arrows?"

"Naturally, I have to bother Shi Niang. Speaking of this, Xiao Xuan paused, and added, "You must be able to penetrate the Xuantie heavy armor of the red horse." ”

Although the imperial history is an important task in the center of the Great Xia court, it will not let the red cavalry guard it all day long. Xiao Xuan made this request to avoid some possible dangers.

"How many?"

"Ten is enough. ”

Yu Shi Niang thought of the fine Xuanjing bow that she treasured, and couldn't help but feel sorry in her heart.

After all, it's still going to be cheaper for this kid.

"I have ready-made bows, and I can only make one arrow a day, so I need ten days. ”

"That's ten days. ”

"Ten days, one bow, ten arrows that can penetrate the heavy armor of the dark iron, right?"

"That's right. ”

A young innkeeper and a blacksmith shop proprietress talk softly on a sunny afternoon about how to complete an assassination of a high-ranking court official. It's just that neither he nor she took this matter too seriously.

Between the two of them, they talked so casually, as if what they bought and sold was not a murder weapon that could kill people, but a green vegetable and radish in the vegetable market.

Xiao Xuan rarely comes to this small shop hidden in the city, and he never pays every time he comes here to buy something, so Yu Shi Niang always feels a headache every time she sees him appear at the door of her shop.

A deal was negotiated, and according to the usual practice, they hadn't seen each other for a long time, and the two wanted to gossip.

In Xuanyang, there are very few people who can speak to Xiao Xuan.

This mature and beautiful woman counts as one.

Maybe Hu Jiu can be counted as half.

The so-called gossip, of course, is irrelevant. It's nothing more than an inexplicable poor scholar living in the small inn in the south of the city, or a lascivious drunk who was stripped naked and hung upside down in the market in the west of the city.

The two talked for a long time, Yu Shi Niang reached out and put the messy hair scattered on her forehead behind her ears, and sighed softly: "It's just that you kid doesn't know how to practice, otherwise, an ordinary iron bow is enough, where do I need to take out my treasures." ”

Xiao Xuan knew the truth of what she said, and thought of the incident he had been pondering about recently, and responded, "I will go to take the entrance exam of Wufeng Academy." ”

When Yu Shi Niang heard her say this, her eyes were full of incredible emotions, and she said in surprise: "I remember that you don't know how to practice." ”

"I really don't, in fact, I haven't started practicing until now. ”

"In that case, I don't think you'll be able to pass the entrance exam of the Bladeless Academy. Yu Shi Niang responded without hesitation, she knew very well that a large sect like Wufeng Academy, every time a mountain was opened, there would be a certain number of places, and the conditions were quite strict, which was not something that ordinary people could consider at all.

It's just that cultivation requires an infinite number of resources, and resources are always limited. For the three major sects of Great Xia, they undoubtedly occupied most of the cultivation resources of the Xia Kingdom, but the disciples of these three families were more than 10,000 people, so if they were evenly divided, no matter how many resources they had, they would be insignificant.

Xiao Xuan shook his head and said very firmly, "Ordinary people say that they know that something is impossible to complete but insist on doing it, this is stupidity, but in my opinion, as long as you take the first step, you are half the success." ”

The young man raised his face and smiled slightly in the dim light of the shop, "Besides, I have a reason why I have to do this. ”

Yu Shi Niang looked at his unshakable expression and felt a headache.

She was about to say something, and a guest arrived.

The man had not yet appeared, and the laughter had already arrived. The laughter is a little old, but it is indescribably chic and uninhibited, and it has a bit of free and easy.

The next moment, a Taoist appeared at the door of the blacksmith shop.

This is an old man.

The old Taoist wore a shabby Taoist robe, and he didn't know how many patches there were on it, and he looked extremely shabby. The man had white hair, a beard the length of a foot, and a thin face. It's just that when he first entered the door, the pair of eyes rolled slightly, and his gaze skipped over the young man in the shop, and fell directly on Yu Shi Niang behind him.

Xiao Xuan looked at it and sighed, where did this lecherous Taoist come from?

There is only one Tao in the entire Great Xia, and that is the Tao of the state religion.

In other words, all the Taoist priests in the Great Xia Dynasty were followers of the state religion. Having said that, it is not that all the Taoist priests of the state religion are cultivators, there are far more than 10 million people in the state religion, but there are very few who can actually practice. Most people just believe in the morality of the state religion, put on a Taoist robe, and are willing to be ordinary believers.

Just like the Taoist standing at the door of the shop at this moment, Xiao Xuan couldn't see any trace of a cultivator from him. This man is dressed shabby, and his eyes are obscene, no different from those market gods and charlatans.

"Cough, this little brother!" The man stared at Yu Shi Niang for a long time, and finally reluctantly withdrew his gaze, cleared his throat, and said in a loud voice: "I see that your Yin Tang is black, there will be a big disaster in the near future!"

Xiao Xuan was quite speechless when he heard this, if he only had a little suspicion that this person was a god stick who came to deceive, he was already eleven points convinced at this time.

Such an opening statement is very familiar.

Lao Dao ignored the other party's contemptuous eyes, and said to himself: "Poor Dao has a treasure book here that cannot be taught by our country, which can just teach people how to turn evil into good fortune, drive away evil spirits and avoid disasters, you and I meet here today It is also fate, and Poor Dao will give you this strange book!"

Lao Dao took out a thing from his arms and handed it over.

It was an old book with a yellowed cover, and the corner of the book had even been slightly rolled up, so you could see how many years it had been. However, it is very strange that there is no title on the cover, and there is no text pattern.

After listening to the Taoist's high-minded talk, Xiao Xuan looked at him in a daze for a long time, then looked down at the old book in the Taoist's hand, and then smiled bitterly: "This ...... Seniors, we don't know each other, and it's not good to be gifted by others. ”

He didn't feel any danger from this shabby old man, but that didn't mean he would choose to have any kind of contact with the other party. Like the story of countless legends in which the young man was appreciated by the world's masters, was given a peerless secret book, and then achieved immortal deeds, Xiao Xuan thought that it would not befall him.

He doesn't believe in luck, or he doesn't think he's going to have that kind of luck.

Lao Dao brushed his long beard and said with some approval: "I can't imagine that you can withstand the temptation so much at a young age, but my country's religion is righteous, and it is impossible for the poor Dao to die without help, you must accept this book!"