"Ding, ding, ding***" repeated and regular hammering sounds.

In a hidden canyon dozens of miles away from the base camp of the delivery house, green smoke wafted out of it.

Because of the seclusion of the location, which is covered by vegetation and fog all year round, it is difficult for ordinary people to discover the few small villages hidden in the valley without a guide.

It is precisely because of the unique geographical reasons that the villages in the valley have less worldly disputes and more peace and tranquility than the outside world.

"Here it is..."

Slowly opening his eyes, Zero Yuzi was woken up by the sound of hammering in his ears.

The first thing I saw was a stout man, forging a blade with a focused attitude, and because of his full attention, the man didn't notice that he had gotten up from the bed.

"That... That one... Where is it? ”

The timid Lingyuzi hesitated for a long time, and finally had the courage to ask.

"Oh, you're awake, Miss Zero!"

Handsome, I didn't think that a forging master would look so handsome, sword eyebrows, high nose bridge, white face bag, all the looks that do not conform to this industry are gathered in one person, which breaks the perception of the unspoken rules of the forging industry that Lingyuzi has always had.

The industry that has always been pot-bellied and unkempt has turned out to be a creamy little girl, I really dare not think about it, I dare not think about it.

The man turned his head and found that the other party had woken up, so he hurriedly dropped the work in his hand, handed the tea by the bedside to the child.

"That... What is this place and why am I here? Who are you? ”

"In Shimosteel Tsukasa Hotaru, this is the Forging Knife Village, which is directly under the jurisdiction of the daimyo Sanyashiki, as for why you are here, don't you know?"

As he spoke, the man put the strange old man's mask on his face on his head, and his face was immediately covered by the mask.

"But it's no wonder, you have been suffering from a high fever when you entered the village, and my lord has repeatedly told me to ensure your safety, so I simply took you with me. Simply you don't have anything other than a fever, otherwise my forging progress will be postponed. While speaking, the man looked at the forging furnace, and then "oops", hurriedly ran to the boiler, and then picked up the blade embryo with the tongs, and jumped to his feet in pain, "Sin, sin, I actually forgot the heat when I talked to you, and the fruits of three days of hard work have been lost, and the soup has been lost!" ”

Maybe the performance of the masked steel mound Hotaru was too funny, and the rest of the children couldn't hold back the "poof" and laughed.

。。。

Evening.

The fiery red sunset sprinkled over the valley, and the remnants came out of the room.

The forging knife village is not big, but it is not small either.

Because each craftsman had a different time of forging, they put a lot of effort into choosing a location for their homes in order to ensure that no one else was disturbed, and also to have enough water to forge weapons.

Along the only river in the valley, you can see the residence of a knife smith every two or three miles, which also makes the village particularly large despite its sparse population.

As far as the eye can see, the river reflected in the sunset is like a blood-red belt, running through the entire village.

At the top of the village is the famous hot springs of the village of Forgato.

It is rumored that this hot spring is a rare treasure that not only relieves fatigue but also heals injuries in the body of martial artists, so most of the sword smiths in the village come here to soak in the hot spring after a busy day.

On the one hand, it can relieve the fatigue of the day, and on the other hand, you can exchange ideas with each other when forging knives.

Dazed all the way to the top of the valley, here really found the hot spring in the mouth of the villagers, with the direction of the steps, the sharp-eyed Lingyuzi found that there are a few people staying here to soak in the hot spring, they are all men, I think it is the forgers of this village.

"This young lady, what are you doing here, this is a man's bathing place, you won't be peeping here, right?"

A sound came from behind coldly, and the frightened little boy turned around, and found that behind him was a boy who was not tall and about the same age as her.

Hurriedly covering the boy's mouth with one hand, he hid behind the rocks by the hot springs and stole a peek in the direction of the hot springs.

Fortunately, fortunately, it did not go unnoticed by them.

The knife smiths who were immersed in the hot springs didn't notice the sudden appearance of the Zero Yuzi, but even if they found out about the existence of the Zero Yuzi, it didn't matter to these reckless men, anyway, they were all soaked in the hot springs.

Let go of the boy's mouth, and in the boy's surprised eyes, Zero Yuzi continued to walk forward blankly.

She is out of place here, looking at the ordinary scenery around her, and she has an indescribable melancholy in her heart.

"That little sister!" The boy behind him ran to Lingyuzi, "If you can, you can stay at my house tonight?" ”

"Don't, don't get me wrong!"

Perhaps to understand the meaning in Lingyuzi's eyes, the boy blushed, a pair of little fingers on his chest rubbed wildly, and his gaze at Lingyuzi was momentarily stunned and then turned his head to the side weakly.

"The family has stocked up on pickles lately, and I don't think you have tasted local pickles, so can you stay for one night...

"Don't worry, I live with my grandfather, and the purpose of inviting you is just to welcome guests!"

In the end, the boy's voice grew louder and louder, almost to the point of shouting, and it is not difficult to imagine how much courage the boy mustered to speak his heart.

"What's your name?"

"Little Iron! That's what they all call me! ”

Looking directly at the boy named Xiaotie for a long time, Ling Yuzi suddenly said, "Isn't it too presumptuous to set off now?" ”

"Uh, it hurts?"

The expressionless words of Ling Yuzi made Xiao Tie slow down for a long time, and after pinching the meat on his arm, Xiao Tie, who felt the pain, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"Don't be presumptuous, how can it be."

。。。

The two stopped and chatted while enjoying the scenery by the river.

Of course, Xiao Tie said a lot throughout the whole process, and the surplus just casually said "grace" from time to time.

In such a lively atmosphere, the two finally arrived at Xiao Tie's residence before the last bit of sunset disappeared.

"That's.。。?"

"Oh, that's the pickles I told you about."

Following the direction of Lingyuzi's finger, a purple plant that was probably a vegetable lay quietly on a bamboo shelf.

"Is the color different from the outside world?" Xiao Tie smiled and picked up a piece of the pickle he said in his mouth, "I can't help but tell you secretly, the material of this pickle is very rare, and it blooms for a few days every year. ”

"It took a lot of effort for my grandfather and I to get these dishes."

Under the oil lamp, Xiao Tie carefully put the pickles into the huge vegetable jar one by one, and it could be seen that he cherished this ingredient very much.

Although it is a little far away, the aroma of the pickles still enters the nostrils of the remnants through the gentle evening breeze.

As the fragrance entered the nasal cavity, Lingyuzi rarely frowned.

Something unknown in its mind, it was resisting the plants in front of it.

Although she didn't understand, she still chose to follow her heart and subconsciously blocked her nose with her sleeve.

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, I just think these dishes are special."

The frowning Lingyuzi didn't say much about this, but looked at the simple thatched house, and there was no other movement inside.

Xiao Tie, who did not doubt him, continued to take care of himself, "It is said that I also learned about the existence of this dish from other people's mouths, but I heard that the family that first discovered this ingredient is dead. ”

"It is said that he was killed by a thief who did evil in the mountains, and the family did not have a complete body, which is really pitiful."

"Bandits?"

Hearing this, Yuzi seemed to think of something, as if he had been pricked in his head, squatting on the ground in pain, his thin shoulders shaking slightly, and the tears in his eyes burst out of his eyes.

"Are you alright?"

Xiao Tie, who didn't know why, immediately threw down the pickles in his hand, ran to Lingyuzi's side, and said worriedly.

"No... It's okay... Just remembered something. ”

The jasper-like smooth forehead was covered with beads of sweat of different sizes, and the dignified hands of the little head were protected by the dignified face.

Xiao Tie's words reminded her of too much, joy and joy, pain and sorrow. Until the picture stays on two men, two men who changed the fate of her life.