"Brother, are you serious about not going home with me?"
In the south of Chaozhou City, in front of the main entrance of Jiao's villa, Jiao Yulang led the horse, his tone full of reluctance: "This villa used to be quiet and elegant, but now there are many guests who come to celebrate their birthdays. It's a good place." Not to mention asking people to occupy it, it’s really noisy with people coming and going.”
Qi Jingzhi stood on the stone steps in front of the door, first glanced at the white golden rat standing on Jiao Yulang's shoulder, then shook his head and said with a smile: "I live and eat here for free under your banner, what else is there to be dissatisfied with? Your family is from a military family, so the rules in the mansion must be very strict, so it’s better to feel more comfortable here.”
Jiao Yulang knew that the brother of the Qi family had a very upright idea, so he stopped trying to persuade him. Instead, he said angrily: "What my brother said is that after all, the younger brother ran away this time. Once he returns home, he will inevitably be reprimanded and punished. Birthday banquet I’m afraid I didn’t have the chance to go out before.”
Qi Jingzhi laughed dumbly and comforted: "You helped Pengze Water Mansion to find the jade pillow this time, which can be regarded as a moderate achievement. I think the elders in your family will not punish you too much. Now I am leaving your aunt. My birthday is only a few days away, and there must be a lot of things going on in the house, so just stay at home and don't worry about me."
Although the two of them had discussed this matter in advance, and Jiao Yulang returned the jade pillow to Pengze Water Mansion to reduce unnecessary trouble, the little boy was still a little surprised when he heard this: "The jade pillow was obviously taken back by his elder brother and Old Wei. Yes, Old Wei even lost his life because of this, and my younger brother took the credit to seek reward, which makes me feel a little regretful. I can only find opportunities to compensate my brother and the Wei family in the future."
He reached out and patted the wine bag on his waist again, and continued: "Not to mention, thanks to my brother, I got this bag of Emperor's anointing wine, and the birthday gift for my aunt has been fulfilled. In three days' time, my brother will enter the house for the birthday banquet. Just tell me my name, there is no need to bring any birthday gifts."
Qi Jing was startled, then nodded and said with a smile, "I know it well."
Jiao Yulang rolled his eyes, suddenly took out a money bag from his arms, raised his hand and threw it towards Qi Jingzhi.
Qi Jing subconsciously stretched out his hand to catch it, and just about to refuse it, Jiao Yulang had already turned around quickly and jumped on the horse, galloping away like his buttocks were on fire, shouting to himself: "I have eaten a lot of rare things with my brother these days, so I deserve it." I’m going to be the host for once! Brother, all you have to do is eat and play, and all the expenses will be mine!”
Before the shouting stopped, the little kid's back suddenly disappeared and disappeared around the corner of the street in a short while.
Qi Jingzhi withdrew his gaze and looked down at the money bag in his hand, quite dumbfounded.
He had seen this money bag before. It was filled with valuables such as gold melon seeds and gold leaves. It was indeed a huge windfall for ordinary people, but to the little boy, it was just a white gold mouse. Just daily food.
"Hey, since we are on my brother's land, he deserves to be a rich man, so there is no need to save money for him!"
Qi Jingzhi put away his money bag and looked up at the sky. Seeing that it was still early, he did not go back to his residence, but walked slowly down the stone steps.
The mountain boy blended into the bustling crowd and strolled around this prosperous city for half a day. He saw many new and strange sights along the way, but did not stop for a moment until he saw a large blacksmith shop.
The young man in the shop saw him carrying a long knife and standing in front of the door without moving. He knew that business might be coming, so he immediately came out and asked, "Sir, do you want to buy a weapon?"
Qi Jingzhi shook his head: "Can you repair the sword here?"
"Of course I can fix it! Please come in, sir!" The waiter laughed, and immediately stretched out his hand to greet the guest, trying to usher Qi Jingzhi into the store.
However, Qi Jingzhi stood still, reached out and pulled out the Qi Huchan from his sleeve, and gestured to the other party: "Can you cultivate like this?"
The man took a quick look and his eyes swept over the jagged blade and the pitted blade. He couldn't help but gasped and exclaimed: "My dear, why are you injured like this!"
He said this in a loud voice, and immediately a shirtless middle-aged man came out and took a closer look at the sharp knife in Qi Jingzhi's hand. A look of surprise flashed in his eyes, and then he shook his head and said regretfully: "It's a small injury. You need to sharpen it, and repair serious injuries. The guest's sword is not ordinary at first glance, but unfortunately it is too badly damaged, so it can only be recast, so it is better to buy a new one."
Hearing the words, Qi Jing
He shook his head without hesitation: "It cannot be recast, nor can it be replaced with a new one."
The middle-aged man was very straightforward, and immediately spread his hands and said: "The shop has repaired the swords of many men in the military and in the world. Naturally, I know the importance of it, and I would never dare to joke with the guest's sword. But now you only have this sword. In the next breath, if you are not willing to recast it, not to mention that the small shop cannot repair it, not a single blacksmith in this city has this ability!"
Qi Jingzhi pondered for a moment, carefully sheathed the knife, then raised his head and asked, "In that case, do you have high-quality iron in your shop?"
The middle-aged man was obviously taken aback, and said with some hesitation: "The store has fine refined iron, and even better ones include burnt steel and flower pots. They are all high-quality steel materials that are combined with various irons and forged hundreds of times. , but the store always only sells finished products..."
Qi Jingzhi waved his hand, took out the warm money bag from his arms, and threw it to the middle-aged man: "I don't want more, I will buy one tablet of each at the market price. Send someone to Jiao's villa in the south of the city. Go to the pavilion and say that Qi Jingzhi wants it."
Hearing the words "Jiao's Villa", the middle-aged man and the waiter beside him immediately showed expressions of awe.
The middle-aged man opened the money bag and looked inside, his expression changed again, and he quickly handed it back with both hands: "Since we are distinguished guests of the Jiao Mansion, I must choose the best ingredients to serve! In addition to the three things mentioned above, everything in Donghai We have also prepared some produced heavy iron. Most of these iron materials are ready-made, but heavy iron is expensive. We need to ask the owner for instructions. If the guest is not in a hurry, we can check it out after a while!"
"The Jiao family's name is really useful, so I can be considered a fake."
Qi Jingzhi thought for a while and said, "I just want to buy some mountain products. Is there a shop nearby?"
The young waiter nodded immediately after hearing this and said attentively: "There is a restaurant not far from here. I will take the guest there!"
"Thank you!"
Qi Jingzhi nodded his thanks and followed the other party for a while, when he saw a mountain goods shop.
The young waiter went in with him and said to the shopkeeper sitting behind the counter: "Second uncle, this gentleman is a distinguished guest staying at Jiao's villa. He wants to buy some mountain products."
The gray-haired shopkeeper stood up immediately, with a smile on his face.
Without waiting for the other party to be polite, Qi Jingzhi spoke first: "Shopkeeper, do you have hazelnuts, pine nuts, torreya nuts, and walnuts in the store?"
"They are all available, and they are all of the best quality!"
The shopkeeper responded, and then seemed to have thought of something: "Your Majesty, are you going to buy a birthday gift? There is a red lacquer food box in my store. On the box is the "White Ape Offering Fruit" carved by a famous artist, which is perfect for the occasion. , I wonder if your guest needs it?"
Qi Jingzhi saw that the business experience of the merchants in this city was much better than that of their counterparts in Songling County. He immediately nodded with a smile and said: "If it is really a good thing, I will definitely want it."
"Please wait a moment, sir!"
The shopkeeper apologized, turned around and went into the back hall. After a while, he came out with a red lacquered wooden box.
This wooden box is divided into four layers, and there are indeed exquisite carvings on the box.
Qi Jingzhi looked carefully and saw secluded mountains, quiet forests, flying waterfalls and flowing clouds. A long-haired ape with long arms was kneeling on the ground, holding a stone plate with both hands. The stone plate was filled with four-color longevity fruits.
In front of the ape stood a female fairy floating in the air. She had a graceful posture and her clothes were flying, as if she wanted to ride the wind back.
Seeing that the carvings were exquisite and full of charm, Qi Jingzhi immediately nodded with satisfaction: "I want this wooden box. It just happens to hold one kind on each layer."
When the shopkeeper heard this, he immediately became happy, and started to do the work himself without asking the assistants in his shop to help.
The blacksmith shop boy who brought Qi Jingzhi over couldn't help but ask: "Second uncle, what do these four dried fruits mean? Why are they called longevity fruits?"
"You're so talkative! How can you interrupt in front of the guests?" The shopkeeper kept busy with his work. He raised his eyes and glared at his nephew, scolding him.
Qi Jingzhi did not feel dissatisfied, and smiled and explained to the waiter: "There is nothing strange about it, just because these four things are hidden in the shell. The wind does not dry it out, the rain does not get wet, and it looks like new after a long time. It is called a longevity fruit." It has always been the food accumulated by people in the mountains, and it is often used as birthday gifts for good luck."
He paused,
There was a hint of doubt in his tone: "On the other hand, the painting "White Ape Offering Fruit" was mentioned by the shopkeeper just now. I only thought it was because the white ape has a long life and the longevity fruit is offered, which means to increase blessings and longevity. . But when I really saw this picture, I realized that there seemed to be some allusions in it. I am ignorant and ignorant. I wonder if the shopkeeper can help me clear up my confusion?"
"Hi! Sir, are you going to take the school exam? Since you know the four-color longevity fruit, how can you not know the allusion of the white ape offering the fruit?"
The shopkeeper laughed, and started to explain while he was busy: "The white ape in this painting is not an ordinary person. Legend has it that he is a true immortal who has achieved enlightenment, named Lord Baiyundong. This ape immortal knelt down to offer fruit. It is for the purpose of becoming a disciple and learning Taoism, and the fruits I offer are exactly these four-colored longevity fruits."
Hearing this, Qi Jingzhi couldn't help but become interested, and immediately asked: "Who is this female fairy that he is apprenticed to?"
The shopkeeper didn't want to but shook his head: "The goddess that the monkey immortal worships is naturally even more remarkable. There are many theories about his identity. I have only heard of three types. Some people say that she is the Yanhuang's. Some people say that my biological mother is the eldest disciple of Lord Yin, and some say that she is a sage master of the military dynasty. On the contrary, few people know the name of this goddess, at least the little old man has never heard anyone mention it. .”
While he was talking, the shopkeeper had placed the four-color longevity fruit in full bloom and decorated it with red silk, making it even more festive.
The young man consciously took the food box and after Qi Jingzhi paid it, he led him back to the blacksmith shop.
Four ingots of iron are already prepared. They don't take up much space, but they are extremely heavy to carry.
Although Qi Jingzhi didn't know how to inspect this kind of high-quality iron material, he had been using knives all year round and could tell the difference between good and bad. He weighed it carefully and paid the bill happily, almost depleting the money left by Jiao Yulang. Most of them were used on that ingot of East China Sea sunk iron, which can be said to be worth gold.
The young man was very diligent and put the four ingots of iron in the coarse cloth bags in the blacksmith shop. He took Qi Jingzhi all the way back to the main entrance of Jiao's villa with a cloth bag in one hand and a wooden box in the other.
Qi Jingzhi thanked him solemnly, and didn't care about the surprised looks from other people. He took the things he bought and returned to the small courtyard where he lived.
He lowered the door bolt, closed the doors and windows in the room one by one, took out the four iron ingots, and placed them on the table one by one.
The young man sat at the table and sighed softly: "Huchan, Huchan, your injury is too serious. It cannot be repaired by ordinary blacksmiths. You can only recast it. It is too dangerous."
"Although Jiao Yulang once mentioned that a truly powerful person can refine spiritual weapons, it's a pity that Brother Wei is of a low level and doesn't have the dignity to ask someone to reshape the blade for you. After thinking about it for a long time, Brother Wei, there is only one way to try... …”
After saying that, Qi Jingzhi's throat twitched, and then he suddenly opened his mouth and spit out a ball of colorful spiritual energy.
Without waiting for the ball of colorful spiritual energy to unfold, he quickly reached out to grab it, shook it, and unfolded it into a thin piece of spiritual energy cloth.
Qi Jingzhi wrapped the five-colored spiritual cloth around his body, and then reversed the method of closing the orifice, communing with the heaven and earth with all his heart, and exploring the endless secrets of the Creator.
The next moment, he felt a chill between his brows, as if a hole had opened, and his five senses suddenly enlarged and rapidly extended outward.
Qi Jingzhi gathered his spiritual consciousness unskillfully, and tried his best to make it fall on the four iron ingots on the table in front of him, and he immediately noticed the difference.
In his induction, these four iron ingots all had a faint golden aura coming out. Among them, the aura of Donghai Sunken Iron was the strongest, while the burnt steel and Huabin were about the same, about 50% of Donghai Sunken Iron. The spiritual light was obviously much dimmer, only 10% of that of Donghai Shentie.
On the contrary, the aura in fine iron is the most lively and agile, closest to the colorful aura. The aura in burnt steel and flower pots is much more stagnant. As for the East China Sea heavy iron, its aura is almost solid. Qi Jingzhi looked at it After a few glances, my heart became heavy.
He thought for a moment, stretched out his left hand to grab the fine iron, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't grab the spiritual light inside.
Not long after, Qi Jingzhi's forehead was already sweating.
He put down the fine iron ingot, let out a breath of turbid air, and then took out the sharp knife, and without hesitation used the tip of the knife to prick the tip of the index finger of his left hand.
A drop of bright red blood immediately emerged.
Qi Jingzhi pressed the tip of his index finger on the fine iron ingot and carefully sensed the golden aura inside it again.
After a moment, he thoughtfully took back his left hand, stabbed each of the remaining four fingers, wrapped the fine iron ingot with the bloody fingers, and immediately closed his eyes.
The young man was silent for a long time, then suddenly his fingers were like hooks and he pulled back hard.
Under the central control of Angry Crane Xingu, Qi Jingzhi had used all his strength, and it seemed that he was still sitting peacefully on the stool. In fact, his legs had already moved in a very small way according to the floating and sinking formula of the Minghe method. He was rising and falling, and even used the Wing-washing Strength to penetrate the lumbar spine and left arm.
As Qi Jingzhi exerted all his strength, he actually pulled out a trace of the golden aura from the fine iron ingot.
But before he had time to rejoice, the golden aura suddenly broke apart. Qi Jingzhi was caught off guard and fell backwards due to his own strength.
At the same time, the broken golden aura quickly circled between the fingers of his left hand, and then seemed to be attracted by something, and quickly disappeared into the wound on his index finger.
