5: Chapter 5 Cold Iron

West Market, Artifact Refining Alley.

Before even getting close, a scorching heat wave mixed with coal ash rushed toward him, pushing back the snow-filled sky by three feet.

The clanging sounds of iron forging rose and fell, like dense raindrops hammering against one's heart.

This was the place in the entire Qingyun Market with the fiercest fire and the most noise.

Hundreds of large and small blacksmith shops and Artifact Refining workshops were crammed into this long alley, belching black smoke day and night without ceasing.

Gu Shen lowered the brim of his cloak, revealing only a pair of vigilant eyes, slowed his pace, and swept his gaze across the signs that had been blackened by smoke.

He did not go to the large shops with flashy storefronts at the entrance of the alley.

Those places had treasure appraisers stationed there; their eyes were very sharp, and the shops often bullied customers. If they noticed anything suspicious, he would inevitably be fleeced.

What he was looking for were private workshops that didn't ask about the origin of goods and only looked at the items themselves.

After walking for the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, Gu Shen stopped in front of a shop named Xu's Iron Shop in the middle of the alley.

The shop was not large, and the entrance was piled with discarded slag. A burly man, shirtless and with knotted muscles all over his body, was swinging a large hammer, beating a piece of red-hot iron billet.

"Shopkeeper, do you buy iron Materials?"

Gu Shen stepped forward, deliberately lowering his voice, making it sound somewhat hoarse and old.

The burly man did not stop his movements and did not even lift his head: "I don't buy raw iron, only refined iron. If it's black-market goods, the price will be reduced by thirty percent."

"It is refined iron. But I only want Spirit Stones, not fragmented crystals."

Gu Shen didn't waste words either; he untied the cloth bundle from his back, took out a steel bar that had been "fire-refined" to remove rust, and threw it with a clang next to the anvil.

The large hammer in the burly man's hand paused abruptly.

He narrowed his eyes, put down the hammer, and picked up the dark iron rod. It was extremely heavy in his hand; although the surface was rough, it faintly revealed a cold, hard metallic texture.

"Hmm?"

A trace of surprise flashed in the burly man's eyes.

He casually grabbed a file and scraped hard against the surface of the iron rod.

Zzzzt.

Sparks flew, leaving only a shallow white mark, with no Impurities falling off.

"Good iron!"

The burly man raised his head and, for the first time, looked squarely at the black-robed person hiding his face before him: "This purity, I'm afraid it's been refined at least a hundred times. And the toughness is excellent; it's a top-notch material for forging Flying Sword sword embryos."

"How are you selling it?" the burly man asked.

"I have fifty catties of this kind of iron material."

Gu Shen held out one palm: "Two Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

The burly man frowned: "Too expensive. Although hundred-refined iron is scarce on the market, fifty catties is only worth one hundred and eighty fragmented crystals. Two Spirit Stones... that's the price of two hundred fragmented crystals."

"This iron doesn't need further refining; it can go directly into the furnace," Gu Shen said indifferently. "It saves you at least three days of fire labor costs. Master Xu should be able to calculate this account."

The burly man was silent for a moment, then touched the broken end of the steel bar again; it was indeed as the other party had said, the texture was terrifyingly uniform.

"Deal."

The burly man was also a straightforward person; he took out two Spirit Stones from the Storage Pouch at his waist and threw them over: "Leave the goods, take the Spirit Stones. If you have such good goods in the future, feel free to bring them."

Gu Shen took the Spirit Stones.

They felt warm and smooth to the touch, brimming with Spiritual Qi.

For the first time in these three years, he felt these two small stones were so heavy.

In this world, a Loose Cultivator might not be able to save up one Spirit Stone after a year of labor, yet this was merely a few inconspicuous construction scraps from the Wasteland world.

"Many thanks."

Gu Shen didn't stay long; he put down the remaining two steel bars and turned to blend into the crowd.

...

After leaving Xu's Iron Shop, Gu Shen did not rush to leave.

He circled around the alley a few times, and when he was sure there was no tail behind him, he turned into another side path.

There was a small shop there called Old Mo's Sundries.

The shopkeeper was a gaunt, hunchbacked old man who was wiping an old Magical Artifact on a shelf with a rag. His pair of triangular eyes were murky and listless, looking as if he were near death.

But Gu Shen knew that this Old Mo was a person who knew his goods and had a tight mouth.

"Buying or selling?"

Seeing someone enter, Old Mo asked slowly.

Gu Shen walked to the counter, took out the long, strip-shaped object wrapped in layers of oilcloth from his bosom, and placed it gently on the table.

"An old heirloom passed down in the family. I'm in urgent need of money, so please take a look at it, Old Mo."

As he spoke, he uncovered the oilcloth.

A dusty kitchen knife was revealed.

The blade was covered in man-made scratches and looked weathered, but only at the edge did it still gleam with a chilling cold light.

Old Mo's originally nonchalant expression suddenly froze the moment he saw the edge.

His withered fingers reached out as if electrocuted, stopping half an inch from the blade, feeling that oppressive cold air.

"Cold Iron?"

Old Mo looked up at Gu Shen, his voice carrying a bit more gravity.

He picked up the knife and flicked it with his finger.

Cling—

A clear, long, crisp sound echoed in the narrow shop, the lingering sound drifting and not fading for a long time.

"Good stuff."

Old Mo marveled: "This is not ordinary Cold Iron; it seems to be mixed with a very hard exotic metal... This craftsmanship doesn't look like the current style; it looks more like an ancient method from several hundred years ago."

He stroked the scratches that Gu Shen had deliberately ground out, his eyes full of regret: "What a pity. Due to improper maintenance, the spirituality has been completely lost; only the material itself can still be considered a treasure."

Gu Shen chuckled inwardly.

That was just a knife he picked up in another world; where would its spirituality come from?

But on the surface, he feigned a heartbroken appearance: "If I weren't really tight on money these few days, this Junior would never sell the family heirloom. I ask Old Mo to give a fair price."

Old Mo put down the knife, and his murky eyes rolled.

"The item is good, but this knife shape is too niche; it can only be melted down to extract the material. Let's do this: three Spirit Stones."

"Five," Gu Shen insisted firmly. "This is top-notch Cold Iron, enough to forge a High Grade Magical Artifact dagger."

"Four. No more," Old Mo waved his hand. "Melting and refining exotic metals also wastes fire."

"Deal."

Gu Shen knew when to stop.

A moment later, he walked out of the shop with four more Spirit Stones.

Plus the previous two, and his original belongings.

Six Spirit Stones, plus dozens of fragmented crystals.

A sudden fortune.

For a bottom-tier Loose Cultivator at the second level of Qi Refining, this was definitely a huge sum of money.

Gu Shen felt his heartbeat accelerating. But he forcibly suppressed the smile at the corners of his mouth, trying his best to make his pace look as steady as usual.

He did not go straight home but went to a rice shop.

"Shopkeeper, give me ten catties of Low Grade Spirit Tooth Rice, and another two catties of Yao Beast meat."

"Yo, Fellow Daoist Gu, did you strike it rich?" The rice shopkeeper glanced at him with some surprise.

Usually, this Gu Shen was so stingy he'd want to split a single spirit crystal in two to spend it, and he only bought old rice by the tael.

"Not at all, not at all. I just pawned the last of my family's belongings to get through the winter; there was no other way." Gu Shen sighed with a bitter smile, looking helpless.

After buying the rice and meat, he went to a Medicinal Pill shop, spent one Spirit Stone, and bought a bottle of Low Grade qi gathering pill.

Although he now had "essence white dew," he still had to buy this qi gathering pill.

First, as a cover, and second... he wanted to try if that [Heaven and Earth Furnace] could refine this kind of inferior Medicinal Pill filled with pill toxins?

If he could turn waste pills into treasure pills...

That would be the true path to longevity.

...

When he returned to Bitter Water Alley, it was already late.

Gu Shen stood in front of his door, took a deep breath, counted out four Spirit Stones from his bosom, and held them in his palm.

Just at this moment, a familiar sound of footsteps came from the entrance of the alley.

Ma Liu came swaying over with two followers, a toothpick still hanging from his mouth.

"Yo, Gu the Sick Ghost."

Ma Liu saw Gu Shen, and a trace of mockery flashed in his eyes: "Why are you standing at the door? Don't tell me you're planning to run away overnight? Let me tell you, leaving the market at this time is just delivering a midnight snack to the Yao Beasts."

Gu Shen turned around, his back still slightly bent, a humble smile piled on his face.

"Master Liu is joking; how would this small one dare to run?"

He stepped forward, offered the four Spirit Stones with both hands, and said respectfully: "This is the rent and the regular fee for next month; please check, Master Liu."

"Hmm?"

Ma Liu was stunned, spat out the toothpick, took the Spirit Stones, and weighed them.

Genuine and authentic.

He looked at Gu Shen with some surprise: "Not bad, kid, you really gathered them? Did you go sell your ass?"

"Master Liu is teasing me." Gu Shen kept his head low and eyes down: "I sold some old family items, and managed to scrape it together."

"Consider yourself sensible."

Ma Liu snorted coldly and tucked the Spirit Stones into his bosom: "Since you've paid the rent, live peacefully. But next month it will be the same amount; if you can't pay it..."

"This small one understands, this small one understands."

Watching Ma Liu and his group walk away cursing, the smile on Gu Shen's face disappeared bit by bit.

He looked at the backs of that group, his eyes as cold as ice.

These four Spirit Stones, he would remember them.

Sooner or later, he would take them back with interest.

Turn around, open the door, close the door, bolt it.

Gu Shen leaned against the door panel, listening to the howling wind and snow outside, touched the remaining one Spirit Stone and the bottle of Medicinal Pill in his bosom, and felt unprecedentedly secure in his heart.