Chapter 93: Weapon spirit

"Are you leaving now?" the old lady asked with a solemn tone when the keys were returned back to her.

Le fang Ling smiled as she answered her, "Yes, thank you for letting us stay the night." She really meant what she said. The room was much better than she had expected and it cost them way too cheaper, considering it was a festive time.

"Glad you enjoyed the stay," the inn keeper lady smiled with a sense of loss looking at the tow figures. She somehow looked a little  reluctant to let them go. Was it because she  was going to lose money or was it that she grew some form of attachment to them…

Well, nobody knows the answer to that question.

Le Fang Ling did not want to know about it either. She did not want more attachments here.

After bidding her goodbye she walked out of the inn with Nagina who gave a courtesy bow to the lady.

"Oof," the inn keeper lady sighed as she watched the youngsters walk away early in the morning.

…

The rest of the town was asleep as the festival lasted the entire night. Most of the people were lying down on their stalls and on the streets of the town catching bottles of wines, with a blissful smile on their face.

Life was short for the mortals and so they enjoyed everything without wasting a minute on anything.

The morning fog covered the entire city in its thick blanket so the visibility was almost near to zero.

They walked hand in hand until they reached a blacksmith's shop that was away from the bustling and busy town. It was a small cottage hut with water drawing well on the courtyard.

The door of the shop was not locked so, le fang ling pushed open the door and entered.

The tiny bells on the top of the door produced a clinking sound when it the door opened from outside. Hearing the chimes of the bell, a bearded old man who was dozing off on the counter hurried up to welcome his first customer.

"Welcome," A superficially polite and excited voice welcomed them as soon as they entered the shop.

"Greetings," Le Fang Ling smiled at him with a slight bow.

"A young maiden from the sect!" The old man exclaimed as he clasped his hand. It had been ages since he saw any female cultivator coming into his shops from the sect located at the top of the mountain.

Except for a feisty young lady who amused him with her tiny tricks, there had been no one.

His sleep left him as excitement  and nostalgia took over his senses.

"How may I help you?" he politely offered seats to both of the girl while he sat right opposite to them.

Before speaking anything Le Fang Ling swiftly scanned the entire shop to see how the things there were. Sadly, there was nothing that could pique her interest to buy or use them.

She could buy anything and change them with her system but she did not want to use that for now.  She wanted a weapon that could make her feel satisfied and at peace.

While she was busy looking at the crafted weapons there, the old man was also observing each and every reaction on her face while stroking his beard.

"I think I asked the wrong question, young miss." He said as he stood up from the chair he was on and approached one of the weapon in the shop that was hanging form a wall.

It was an iron blade that seemed to be quite heavy considering it's size and thickness.

A series of letters and stats appeared right beside the weapon as the system subtly analyzed  it.

[Name: The great mountain Slasher]

[Weapon type: blade]

[Grade: 2nd grade]

She watched with intent eyes at what he was about to do next. Holding the blade on his hand, he looked at her with a profound expression.

"I believe you still haven't' met your own weapon spirit," said the weapon smith with a mysterious smile on his face.

"Weapon spirit?" Le Fang Ling was surprised at the sudden mention of it. She had not heard about anything related to a weapon spirit  before.

As for the man, he did not take in to account of her surprise as he more or less knew she was unaware about it like many other young cultivators.

"So, my questions should have been , what exactly are you looking for?"  He rephrased himself.

"Dear sir, I am unaware on this matter. I hope for your enlightenment." She said humbly with a bow. The man in front of her was not just a simple weapon smith. She could at least deduce that much from the short communication she had.

"Hahaha, you are one clever young lady." He chuckled in amusement as he walked  out of the cottage holding the blade in his hand.

He stopped at the entrance and gestured her to follow him. He was going to demonstrate something to her.

…

Outside the cottage, the old man stood holding the blade with his seemingly feeble and thin hand.

He swung the blade with all his might and  landed a hit on the dead log that was lying on the ground.

Thunk!

A low and dull sound emitted from the place where the blade hit the log but there was no noticeable damage to the log.

"This is how a weapon is without having anything inside It." he said without looking at her.

He took a deep breath and his veins started to protrude on his hands as he tightly held on to the blade. He swung again but this time the blow landed on the top of wood, a little sharper than before but was to enough to cause the damage to the log or to the blade.

"This is how it is when I used only my physical strength without anything else." This time he turned to look at the curious young lady who was looking at him without blinking her eyes.

A small snort left his mouth as he readied himself to show what a weapon spirit meant in reality.

"This.." Le Fang Ling gasped out when she felt the sudden rise in the tension of the entire surrounding. The old man's eyes glowed white as his whole body got engulfed by a white and translucent aura.

His robes swayed uncontrollably as they threatened to fly away from his body if they were not tied properly.

"Nagina, show me every information that I can get on him." Le fang Ling bit onto her knuckles with a little suspicion.

"Understood!" Angina nodded her head.

The screen  appeared right in front of her while showing everything she could get about the old man.

[Name:  Zhao Yifeng

[Gender: Male

[Occupation: Weapon smith---àA weapon master in reality]

[Realm: Nascent soul realm third layer

[Affinity: Fire and water dual element based spiritual root]

"No wonder…" Le Fang Ling widened her eyes at what she saw about the old man. Despite looking like a common mortal and living among them, this old master was indeed a hidden weapon master with dual element based spiritual root.

"Fire and water huh?" she repeated as she swiped away the screen to focus on the man who now looked different from before.

He no longer looked frail and old but he seemed to have gotten stringer and younger by more than a decades at how the muscles on his hands and arms were bulging.

Even the low grade blade that could not even cut the wood piece glowed until it the qi perfectly blended with it creating an intimidating look. The wimpy weapon suddenly seemed to have gotten life and it looked as if it was alive and blood thirsty.

It looked roaring to go and well there was something different about its strength from before.

Yifeng knew he was being observed by the young maiden so he did not bother to ask her. He just did what he was supposed to do.

He swung the blade twice before striking down at the log from before.

Not only did the log was finally cut, under the immense pressure of the concentrated qi, the wood turned to smithereens and disappeared into air.

There was not even ash of the wood left on the ground to show the existence of the wood from before. It had been completely pulverized.

"So, did you see any differences young miss?" he asked her as he calmed down himself and the qi that was covering his body disappeared without a trace. He looked as if he was a normal old mortal from a normal village.

Le Fang Ling nodded her head as she made out a few differences in her head.

"Weapon spirits are the spirits of weapon," he said as he walked towards her.

Le Fang Ling: "….."

"Cough, I mean, they are the reason why weapons are powerful. Haven't you ever wondered why one weapon is better than the other one even if they are made from same materials and by the same person?" he asked her with a smile.

"It's because the wielder is different and so is the weapon spirit?" Le fang Ling answered with a small doubt.

"You are correct more or less." He said, satisfied with her answer. From her looks, he figured she had already seen his real identity that he had hidden so well.

His eyes fixated on Nagina for a while before he decided to walk in to his shop with Le Fang Ling and Nagina following him obediently.

There was something peculiar about the duo but he could not place his fingers on what that thing was.