181: The blacksmith shop defeats the enemy, seizes treasure, and their love blossoms in the palace.

The bright yellow dragon curtains of the Imperial Study hadn't been fully lowered yet. Kangxi Emperor held the list of strongholds confessed by Elder Green Bamboo, tapping his finger on the words "West City Smithy": "Xie Hui, that stronghold in the west of the city is close to the Imperial Guard camp, yet they dare to blatantly hide Divine Dragon Cult members. They are truly audacious. I will assign you twenty Imperial Guards. Take them and make sure to capture everyone; leave no survivors!"

Xie Hui was about to bow and accept the order when Wei Xiaobao leaned in first, his eyes fixed on the silver ingots on the corner of Kangxi Emperor's desk: "Your Majesty, once we capture the Divine Dragon Cult members, can you reward me with some of the seized gold and silver? I didn't even get to touch that chest of jewelry in the Ruined Temple enough last time!"

Kangxi Emperor was amused by him and casually tossed over a five-tael silver ingot: "I knew you were greedy! For the goods seized this time, you can pick thirty percent first, and the rest will go to the national treasury."

Wei Xiaobao caught the silver ingot, weighing it until he almost laughed out loud: "Thank you, Your Majesty! Your Majesty is wise!"

Xie Hui gave him a kick and bowed to Kangxi Emperor: "I accept the command. However, there's no need to deploy the Imperial Guards. I'll just take Wei Xiaobao and Long'er—too many people might alert the enemy. The Divine Dragon Cult members are skilled in using poison, so the Imperial Guards might suffer losses if they go."

Kangxi Emperor thought for a moment and nodded in agreement: "Very well. Be careful. If you can't win, retreat, and I will send a large army to surround and suppress them."

Leaving the Imperial Study and just turning the corridor, they saw Jianning running over, holding up her skirt. Her pale yellow palace dress was stained with a bit of dust; she had clearly been waiting for quite a while: "Xie Hui! Where are you going? Can you take me with you? I'm bored to death staying at home!"

Xie Hui quickly caught her, fearing she might fall: "We're going to the west of the city to catch bad guys. It's very dangerous. If you go, I'll have to be distracted protecting you. When I come back, I'll bring you the most famous sugar painting from the west of the city; it's even tastier than the snacks in the palace."

Jianning pouted, still unhappy: "Then you must leave me something fun, or I'll tell my Royal Brother that you're bullying me!"

Xie Hui, helpless, pulled a pink plastic hair clip out of his inner universe—it was something he had brought from the real world last time, set with small rhinestones that sparkled in the sunlight: "Here, take this. It looks beautiful on the head, even more unique than the gold hairpins in the palace."

Jianning's eyes lit up instantly. She snatched the hair clip and pinned it in her hair, looking into a nearby maid's mirror: "Wow! It's so pretty! Xie Hui, how do you always have so many novel gadgets?"

"Ancestral craftsmanship," Xie Hui lied with a smile. "I have to go. Wait for me obediently in the palace and don't run around."

Jianning nodded, then stood on her tiptoes to give him a kiss on the cheek before running back to her bedchamber with a flushed face: "Come back soon!"

Wei Xiaobao curled his lip at the side: "Oh boy, this mushiness is making my teeth fall out! Brother Hui, don't show off your affection in front of me anymore; I haven't even married a wife yet!"

Long'er glanced at him coldly: "No one is forcing you to watch."

Wei Xiaobao was about to snap back when Xie Hui glared at him, so he could only mutter and follow behind. The three of them hired a carriage and rushed to the west of the city. On the way, Long'er suddenly spoke: "The Protector of the West City Smithy is called Crimson Flame Old Freak. He is skilled with the Flame Blade, and his blade is coated with poison. You must be careful of his Saber Qi."

Xie Hui nodded: "Does his Flame Blade have any weaknesses? For example, is it afraid of water or heavy weapons?"

"It's afraid of black iron," Long'er recalled. "The Flame Blade is driven by Internal Energy, and black iron is dense enough to block the Saber Qi. However, black iron is rare; we probably don't have any..."

"What a coincidence," Xie Hui smiled as he opened his inner universe and pulled out a black iron dagger—it was seized from Oboi's remnants earlier. "Is this enough?"

Long'er's eyes widened. She didn't speak, but her grip on her sword hilt loosened slightly—she realized that Xie Hui always seemed able to produce surprising things. With him, it felt like no matter how dangerous things were, there was no need to fear.

The carriage stopped at the mouth of a narrow alley in the west of the city. The smithy was at the end of the alley. It didn't look like much, with a sign hanging out that said "Wang's Smithy," but the sound of ironwork was absent, giving off an eerie vibe. Xie Hui signaled Wei Xiaobao and Long'er to hide at the alley entrance while he quietly crept over and peered through the window.

Inside, there were indeed over a dozen Men in Black. Leading them was an old man with a full beard, holding a glowing red scimitar, assigning tasks to his subordinates: "When that kid Xie Hui arrives later, you guys go first. I'll use the Flame Blade for a sneak attack and make sure to finish him in one blow! The Cult Leader said that whoever kills Xie Hui will be rewarded with a hundred taels of gold and promoted to Protector!"

The Men in Black chimed in, their eyes full of greed. Xie Hui sneered inwardly and quietly retreated, saying to Wei Xiaobao and Long'er: "There are fifteen people inside. Crimson Flame Old Freak is in the middle. I'll rush in first and use the black iron dagger to block his Flame Blade. Long'er, you handle the five on the left. Wei Xiaobao, you follow behind me and throw lime powder to distract them."

Wei Xiaobao nodded quickly: "Don't worry, Brother Hui! I guarantee this lime powder will keep them from opening their eyes!"

Xie Hui took a deep breath and kicked open the door of the smithy: "Crimson Flame Old Freak! Stop hiding like a coward and come out to meet your death!"

The Men in Black inside were startled. Crimson Flame Old Freak raised his Flame Blade and glared at Xie Hui: "You are Xie Hui? How dare you interfere with the Divine Dragon Cult's business! Today, I'll leave you without a whole corpse!" As he spoke, he swung his blade, and a red Saber Qi flew straight toward Xie Hui's face.

Xie Hui was prepared and raised his black iron dagger to block. With a crisp "clang," the Saber Qi was stopped by the dagger, leaving only a faint mark on it. Crimson Flame Old Freak's eyes widened: "Black iron? How do you have a black iron weapon?"

"None of your business," Xie Hui leaped forward and charged at Crimson Flame Old Freak, his dagger as fast as lightning, stabbing straight at his chest. "Take this first!"

Crimson Flame Old Freak quickly swung his blade to parry. The two fought, blades and daggers clashing, sparks flying everywhere. Long'er didn't hesitate either; she unsheathed her sword and rushed in, slashing at the Men in Black on the left. Her swordplay was fast and ruthless, taking down two in no time, leaving the remaining Men in Black too terrified to step forward.

Wei Xiaobao held the lime powder and seized the opportunity to throw it into the crowd: "How dare you bully Brother Hui! Take my 'Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers'!" White lime powder filled the air, and the Men in Black clutched their eyes, screaming in chaos.

Xie Hui seized the chance, dodged Crimson Flame Old Freak's blade, and with a swing of his dagger, slashed his arm. Crimson Flame Old Freak let out a pained grunt and turned to run. Xie Hui wasn't about to give him the chance; he threw out a rope (pulled from his inner universe), caught his ankle, and pulled hard. Crimson Flame Old Freak fell to the ground with a "thud."

"Still trying to run?" Xie Hui stepped on his back and pressed the dagger against his neck. "Speak! How many people are in the south and north strongholds? Who are the leaders?"

Crimson Flame Old Freak gritted his teeth and refused to speak. Xie Hui applied a little pressure, and the dagger cut his skin, drawing blood: "Not talking? I have plenty of ways to make you talk. For example, I could hand you over to Kangxi Emperor and let him use torture. The palace's torture devices are much worse than my dagger."

Crimson Flame Old Freak's face turned pale, and he quickly shouted: "I'll talk, I'll talk! The south is an Inn, led by Clear Water Old Freak, who is skilled in water poison; the north is a granary, led by Black Wind Old Monster, who is skilled in poisonous smoke! Each stronghold has about fifteen people!"

Xie Hui nodded and said to Long'er: "Tie him up and take him back to the capital to be handed over to the Ministry of Justice."

Just as Long'er took out a rope, the sound of horse hooves came from outside. Wei Xiaobao ran to the door to look: "Brother Hui! It's Eunuch Hai with the Imperial Guards!"

Hai Dafu walked in, saw the bodies of the Men in Black on the ground and the bound Crimson Flame Old Freak, and said with a smile: "Young Xie, you are truly impressive to have settled this so quickly! The Emperor feared something might happen to you and sent me with the Imperial Guards to support you."

Xie Hui smiled: "Thank you for the trouble, Eunuch Hai. I'll leave this to you. I'm going to search for any treasures."

He searched the smithy and found many good things—a black iron sword (heavier than the dagger and incredibly sharp), over a dozen Secret Manuals of the Divine Dragon Cult's poison techniques, and a chest of gold and silver ingots, at least over a thousand taels.

"We're rich, we're rich!" Wei Xiaobao hugged the chest of gold and silver, his eyes glazed over. "Brother Hui, I'll hold onto this chest for now. When we get back, we'll split thirty percent!"

Xie Hui nodded helplessly: "Fine, you hold it for now. Don't lose it."

Long'er looked at the black iron sword in Xie Hui's hand and hesitated before speaking: "This sword is very heavy; ordinary people can't use it. But with your deep Internal Energy, it's just right for you."

Xie Hui weighed the black iron sword. It was indeed heavy, but it felt comfortable in his hand: "Then I'll take it. I'll use this for fights from now on."

Back at the palace, Kangxi Emperor was delighted to hear they had settled the West City stronghold and captured Crimson Flame Old Freak. He rewarded Xie Hui with a jade Ruyi and Wei Xiaobao with fifty taels of silver. Just as they were about to leave, a eunuch sent by the Fake Empress Dowager arrived and handed over a note: "Young Xie, the Empress Dowager says that Clear Water Old Freak from the South City Inn sent someone to the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility today with a message, saying they plan to raid the Imperial Guard camp tomorrow at noon. She wants you to be prepared."

Xie Hui took the note, and his heart skipped a beat—Clear Water Old Freak actually wanted to raid the Imperial Guard camp; he wanted to cause chaos! He quickly handed the note to Kangxi Emperor. After reading it, Kangxi Emperor's face darkened: "What an audacious Divine Dragon Cult, daring to raid the Imperial Guard camp! Xie Hui, tomorrow you take Long'er and Wei Xiaobao to the South City Inn and make sure to capture them before they can act!"

"I accept the command!" Xie Hui bowed.

Leaving the Imperial Study, it was already dark. Jianning had already sent a maid to wait at the door. Seeing Xie Hui, she ran over: "Xie Hui! You're finally back! I saved some snacks for you; they're still warm!"

Xie Hui followed her back to her bedchamber. On the table were osmanthus cakes and mung bean soup, all his favorites. Jianning pulled him down to sit and personally served him a bowl of mung bean soup: "Drink this quickly to cool off. You must be exhausted from fighting bad guys today."

Xie Hui took a sip; it was sweet and warmed his heart: "Thank you, Princess. You eat too."

While they were eating, Long'er walked in, holding a Secret Manual on poison techniques: "This was found in the smithy today. It contains the antidote for Clear Water Old Freak's water poison. I read through it, but there are some parts I don't understand and wanted to ask you about."

Xie Hui put down his bowl and took the Secret Manual: "Alright, let's go to the side room to talk. Don't disturb the Princess's rest."

Jianning pouted but didn't object: "Then rest early and don't talk for too long."

In the side room, Xie Hui flipped through the Secret Manual. The handwriting was a bit messy, but he could mostly understand it. He pointed to a section: "This water poison is made from the venom of a Clear Water Snake. The antidote says to boil honeysuckle and mint, but that's actually wrong. You should add a bit of coptis, otherwise, you won't be able to cure the root cause."

Long'er's eyes lit up: "How do you know? You also know poison techniques?"

"I know a little," Xie Hui smiled. "I learned it somewhere else before. By the way, I'll teach you two lines of the introductory Mind-Cultivation Technique of the Nine Yin Manual today. Remember them well."

He softly recited the mnemonic for the Mind-Cultivation Technique. Long'er listened intently, asking questions from time to time, and Xie Hui patiently answered. Before they knew it, they had talked until midnight. Long'er looked at Xie Hui's profile and suddenly felt very secure—back in the Divine Dragon Cult, the Cult Leader would only force her to practice martial arts and carry out missions. No one had ever been this patient in teaching her things, let alone cared if she understood.

"Thank you," Long'er said softly. "If I had met you sooner, I wouldn't have suffered so much in the Divine Dragon Cult."

Xie Hui looked at her and smiled: "It's not too late to meet now. With me around, no one will be able to bully you again."

Long'er's cheeks flushed slightly. She lowered her head and didn't speak again, but her inner defenses had completely crumbled—she knew she had completely fallen for this man.

Xie Hui pulled out his walkie-talkie, walked into the courtyard, and pressed the call button: "Shuanger, are you asleep? I settled the West City stronghold today; everything is fine."

Shuanger's groggy voice came through the walkie-talkie: "Brother Hui... It's good that you're okay. I made some cotton clothes for you and put them in the small universe. The weather is getting cold; remember to wear them..."

"Okay, I got it. Go back to sleep," Xie Hui said with a smile. "I might have to go to the south of the city tomorrow. I'll come see you once I'm done."

Hanging up the walkie-talkie, Xie Hui looked up at the moon, full of motivation—tomorrow he'd settle Clear Water Old Freak, and the day after that Black Wind Old Monster. Once the Divine Dragon Cult's strongholds were all taken down, he could peacefully look for the remaining forty-two chapter sutras, then win over AKe, and advance the plot step by step.

Returning to the side room, Long'er had already put away the Secret Manual and was sitting by the bed waiting for him: "I'll go with you to the south of the city tomorrow. I know how to guard against Clear Water Old Freak's water poison; I can help."

"Alright," Xie Hui nodded. "Rest early so you'll have the energy to fight tomorrow."

Long'er nodded. Watching Xie Hui walk out of the side room, she silently recited the Nine Yin Manual Mind-Cultivation Technique he had taught her—she knew that from today on, her life would never be as dark as before, because Xie Hui was a beam of light that illuminated her path.

Early the next morning, as soon as Xie Hui woke up, he saw Wei Xiaobao running in excitedly: "Brother Hui! Eunuch Hai said the Emperor wants to reward us with silk and jewelry! Let's go collect them! Also, the gold and silver I brought back yesterday has already been split into thirty percent. Look!" He held a small cloth bag filled with silver pieces.

Xie Hui smiled: "Don't be in such a hurry for the rewards. Once we settle Clear Water Old Freak, the Emperor will surely reward us more. Come on, let's head to the South City Inn first. Don't let them escape."

The three packed their things and headed toward the south of the city. On the way, Wei Xiaobao was still muttering about the rewards while Long'er provided more intel on Clear Water Old Freak. Listening to them, Xie Hui already had a plan in mind—today, he would definitely take down Clear Water Old Freak for good!"}],