Chapter 6: The Master’’s Forced Apology to Qin Yu

The young lady directly ignored Tie Shou’s respectful inquiry. While carrying a faint smile, she walked over to Qin Yu gracefully. Her intoxicatingly sweet scent assaulted Qin Yu’s senses.

She seemed to be using her smile, as well as her fragrance to bewitch the young man in front of her and conquer him.

Unfortunately for her, Qin Yu was watching the girl attentively and his countenance was completely unperturbed. Not a single fluctuation could be made out from his expression.

She was like a joke for someone like him who was once Xie Di. He admitted that the young lady’s looks weren’t bad and it would be hard to find a girl who looked prettier in Luosang City, but compared to his previous woman, her looks fell short by several classes. Therefore, for this girl to bewitch him would be very hard.

When the girl was a meter away from Qin Yu, she stopped. Her face revealed a trace of surprise upon seeing the calm expression of the charming youth in front of her. He wasn't moved by her beauty?

“Qin Gongzi [1. A respectful way of addressing the son of a family with status], I [2. She refers to herself as “在下,” a humble way of referring to oneself] am Wang Murong. Even before I came to Luosang City, I’ve heard of your renowned name. Sure enough, your reputation is truly well-deserved.” Wang Murong smiled captivatingly, her voice soft as she spoke. ‘

Back then, Qin Yu had gotten second place in the Martial Examination’s qualifiers as a talent of the Qin Family and became very famous as a result. As such, it was not strange for others to have heard of him.

“Miss Murong, you’re flattering me. Despite your tender age, you’re already at the initial stage of Immersion Realm. You’re far more powerful,” Qin Yu replied with an indifferent smile. “

Wang Murong’s flower-like face changed slightly. She was startled by the fact that Qin Yu could determine her cultivation level at a glance. Generally speaking, unless someone deliberately concealed their aura, higher level cultivators could see through their cultivation based on the fluctuations in their aura. However, lower level cultivators couldn’t see through a higher level cultivator’s strength.

Clearly, Qin Yu was a cultivator at the Origin Realm, whereas Wang Murong was a level higher at the Immersion Realm. However, Qin Yu was able to easily and accurately determine Wang Murong's cultivation level. Could it be that Qin Yu was hiding his strength and his actual cultivation was even higher than Wang Murong’s?

They didn’t know that Qin Yu was once a terrifying Martial Emperor grade existence. As long as the cultivator’s cultivation level did not surpass the strength of a Martial Emperor, he could easily determine a person’s cultivation level at a glance.

On the side, Tie Shou’s heart was also filled with speculations regarding Qin Yu’s true strength. However, he was unconvinced that Qin Yu’s strength could be even higher than Wang Murong’s.

Although she was inherently talented, her terrifying family background also played a role in her cultivation. She had access to cultivation resources that others were incapable of having. The Qin family was considered a big force in Luosang City, but they were still tiny ants compared to the Wang family.

Even if Qin Yu was still an earth-shattering genius, he still couldn’t compare to Wang Murong due to such a large gap in their family backgrounds.

Furthermore, a few months ago in the qualifiers, Qin Yu was at the peak of Origin Realm before being crippled and losing all his cultivation. For some reason, he suddenly recovered all his cultivation, which was already hard to believe. Plus, he seemed to be even stronger than an initial Immersion Realm level cultivator. Then again, it was possible he learned a strange cultivation method that allowed him to spy on the cultivation of others.

Comparatively, Tie Shou preferred to believe the second option.

Wang Murong also thought the same way. Perhaps Qin Yu really did learn a cultivation method that let him spy on another’s cultivation. She immediately smiled humbly and praised, “Qin Gongzi’s eyesight is quite good.”

“It’s nothing.” Qin Yu accepted the praise without any modesty.

Toward his immodest attitude, Wang Murong could only laugh twice before continuing to speak. “Qin Gongzi, let’s go back to our original topic. I’ve roughly understood what happened here earlier and it was certainly Tie Shou Craftsman’s people who first made the mistake. Master Tie, you still haven’t apologized to Qin Gongzi.”

“What? Me? Apologize?” Tie Shou still hadn’t fully reacted.

“What, are you unwillling?” Wang Murong’s face darkened as she turned to look at Tie Shou sharply.

Tie Shou shook under her stare and hastily bowed. “I don’t dare. I—I’m willing.” It would be a wonder if he was willing, after all, as the grand and stately third-grade Tool Refiner Master, he was revered in Luosang City. In Luosang City, it was always others apologizing to him. When did he ever have to apologize to others? Not to mention the fact that the target of his apology was a youth of the younger generation?

But how could he dare to disobey Wang Murong’s orders? He was forced to choke down his belly-full of grievances and anger as he quivered while standing in front of Qin Yu. His voice was hard as he said, “Young Master Qin, it was our mistake.”

What kind of an apology was that?

Wang Murong’s beautiful face turned cold as she rebuked angrily, “This is your apology?!”

“I...” Tie Shou was bleeding from anger on the inside. Saying this much was already giving Qin Yu a lot of face, alright?! In Luosang City, this youngster was the first person who ever made him apologize.

Despite his anger, her order had to be obeyed.

He fiercely sucked in a deep breath as he faced Qin Yu and cupped his hands while bowing deeply. His voice was filled with sincerity as he said, “Young Master Qin, it’s this useless old man’s apprentices who were wrong and committed many offenses against you. I beg for your benevolence and forgiveness."

Tie Shou’s attitude and tone were truly filled with incomparable sincerity. However, in his heart he was actually choking down a belly-full of fire, wishing that he could just stomp the young brat in front of him to death. If news of how this honored Great Master Tie Shou had to bow down and apologize to Qin Yu was later spread outside, where would his face [3. Face means self-respect or dignity in Chinese culture] go?

Qin Yu was somewhat astonished as he faced the sudden apology. His interest in Wang Murong rose.

Everybody knew about Tie Shou’s position and haughtiness in Luosang City; even city lords couldn’t force him to apologize, yet Wang Murong—a young lady who was only in her teens—not only made him repent but even made him do so with such sincerity.

An old, big question arose in Qin Yu’s heart. Who exactly is Wang Murong? Why was she so partial towards him to the extent that she would even force such an arrogant man like Tie Shou apologize to a young person like him?

Could it be due to his own handsome, confident, carefree and elegant looks that stirred that young lady’s heart and caused her to fall for him?

*Cough* *Cough* That was too narcissistic of him. Although it was a possibility, the chance of it being true was quite low.

If it wasn’t that, then what exactly was her purpose? Just what did she want to do? It seemed like their first time meeting each other and Qin Yu was destitute with no riches for her to take advantage of. But taking advantage of his looks... *Cough* *Cough* Well, he wouldn’t have any complaints with that.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Qin Gongzi, what happened to you?” asked Wang Murong upon seeing the weird smile on Qin Yu’s face.

Qin Yu awoke with a jolt. “Haha! It’s—it’s nothing. I just thought that Great Master Tie Shou seems very recluctant, you know..."

Hearing those words, Wang Murong’s body suddenly released an ice cold aura, scaring Tie Shou into another low bow as he hastily apologized. “No! Of course not! Young Master Qin, this useless old man isn’t the least bit reluctant at all and is completely willing to apologize to you! Please accept this useless old man’s sincerity!”

Tie Shou was gnashing his teeth in rage. But even if he broke his teeth from anger, he would still have no choice but to swallow it down. If he offended Wang Murong, the consequences would be too horrible to contemplate.

“Sincerity can’t be shown through words but through actions.” After saying that much, Qin Yu changed the topic. “What about my saber?”

His meaning was very clear: Only when you take out the saber, will Laozi [4. Arrogant way to refer to oneself, literally means I, your father] accept your sincerity.

Wang Murong coldly berated, “Master Tie, you must accomplish what you promise to others! This is one of the most fundamental ethics of a Tool Refiner Master. Now go get Qin Gongzi’s saber!”

“What Miss said is right.” Tie Shou choked down his belly full of grievances and rage as he agreed. “Qin Gongzi’s saber is inside, please follow me.”

As they followed Tie Shou inside the weaponry workshop, there was another sight. Ten or so apprentices were busily working. There were incessant banging sounds as they forged. Meanwhile, the huge furnace released whooshing sounds as the blaze roared.

“Greetings Master!” All the apprentices hastily called out respectfully when they saw Tie Shou pass through the door.

Tie Shou directly ignored the apprentices’ greetings and brought the group past the workshop into the weapons storage room.

This storage room was different from other storage rooms. Based on the fact that Tie Shou used two keys to open the door, it was clear that it stored high-quality goods.

The room itself wasn’t very big, but it was very neat with everything arranged into two locked cabinets. There was one in front and one to the right. It didn’t take much thought to determine that the drawer’s contents would be filled with the treasures that Tie Shou had personally crafted with utmost care.

“Miss, Young Master Qin, please wait a moment.” Tie Shou pulled out another key from his robes as he talked and opened a drawer. He carefully took out a weapons case with yet another lock on it.

Qin Yu was speechless as he watched. What’s the point of locking up this lousy toy so many times?

After opening the final lock, Tie Shou finally took out the black saber in its scabbard cautiously. With the care he took in taking out the saber, it was almost like it wasn’t even a saber, but his child.

“Young Master Qin, this is precisely the saber that this useless old man made for you. Unfortunately, it’s still missing one material so in this useless old man’s eyes, it’s only a subpar product.” As Tie Shou spoke, he slowly pulled out the knife from its scabbard.

The saber was approximately one meter long and had a slight curve along the back of the blade. Both sides of the saber had a long, thin blood slot. [5. It’s like a deep-ish indention on the blade to allow blood to flow out when you stab someone (otherwise the blood would be stopped by the blade and it wouldn’t do as much damage) and also makes the blade lighter without affecting performance]The blade appeared extremely sharp with a hilt measuring about three to four inches.

Compared to the swords sold at the front desk, this blade was infinitely better. The blades outside at the front desk were most likely created by his apprentices, while the ones that were stored here were all personally crafted by Tie Shou.

Tie Shou was worthy of being called a third-grade Tool Refiner Master. Indeed, he had the skill to uphold his impressive reputation in Luosang City.

“This useless old man has never released any substandard products. That’s why this saber has always been sealed up here waiting for the missing material to make it complete. If it wasn’t for Young Master Qin’s urgency, this useless old man absolutely wouldn’t have taken it out. In my opinion, it would be better for subpar products to be destroyed and I also don’t wish to deceive a client.”

That sentence slightly changed Qin Yu’s impression of Tie Shou. Maybe the moral quality of this old codger wasn’t great, but such work ethics really deserved to be recognized.

“What material are you still missing?” Qin Yu took the saber and asked.

“Tungsten Steel Powder,” answered Tie Shou.

“What?” At the side, Wang Murong frowned. Because of her family background, she knew about all kind of things, including this Tungsten Steel Powder. By adding it to a weapon, the sharpness and durability would increase several times, which was why it was such a rare material. Since it was extremely rare, she rarely ever saw any weapons containing such a highly regarded material. If Tie Shou wanted to make the weapon with Tungsten Steel Powder, who knew how many years they’d have to wait.

Qin Yu’s reaction was very dull as he asked indifferently, “Why don’t you use other materials as a replacement?”

Tie Shou’s face revealed a trace of despise. It wasn’t his fault if he didn’t understand tool refiners, but saying such nonsense was definitely his fault. Even if he wanted to say nonsense, at least he shouldn’t be so ignorant!