The Portal of Wonderland - Chapter 29

 The Bow of Purple Steel

“Thanks, Brother Feng. This should pay for the rest of the cost of my order. Please take this an make sure it is the correct amount.” Shi Mu nodded, taking two silver notes out from his sleeve and passing them to Feng Li.

“Haha, should I doubt Brother Shi? By the way, are you really quitting the enrollment test?” Feng Li laughed and took the notes without even looking at them. He looked at Shi Mu inquisitively and asked him a question. The question also interested Gao Yuan a lot, who gve Shi Mu his undivided attention as he waited for the reply.

“Has the date been set?” Shi Mu asked another question in reply.

“Seven days from now, from eleven a.m. to one p.m., in the Valley of Guang Ling. It’s said that not only the leaders of the big clans of the city, but also officers including the sheriff will be present.“ Feng Li answered without thinking.

“If so, I’ll probably quit the test. Considering that I’m judged by the blood messenger from the school as a waste person, my presence at the test will only make me a laughingstock. Also, the Qi Ling pill promised by the Jin clan has already been given to someone else, so I’m left with no chance of sensing my real qi. There is simply no reason for me to take the test.” Shi Mu answered in a calm voice.

“That’s a shame. If the messenger had not found you, with your power, and the pill, you could have passed the test.” Feng Li answered pitifully.

“It’s alright, even if I can’t become a Houtian Warrior I can still practise martial arts at home. Considering my current state, even if I can’t make much money in the future, I can still have a comfortable life.” Shi Mu tried hard to make light of his condition.

“If you really think this way, then it is probably for the best! We won’t disturb you any longer.” Feng Li nodded and immediately rose to leave.

Half an hour later, the two leaders of the Black Fox gang were on the road several miles away from the manor.

“Brother Feng, that guy is already useless, why should we help him so much, even bringing his stuff personally to his manor?” Gao Yuan did not say much in the manor, so he finally could not hold his thoughts in any longer.

“Third Brother, I don’t know why, but I was quite curious of his current situation when he asked us to get that thing for him. That’s why I came here, even asking you to come with me.” Feng Li answered unhurriedly.

“Heh, then do you have any conclusions now?” Gao Yuan grinned and asked.

“If I’m not wrong, I think Shi Mu hasn’t really given up his pursuit of martial arts. If so, we don’t want to offend him in any way. After all, remember that the famous general Yue Tai - everyone in Da Qi knows his name - was also good-for-nothing in his earlier years. But what happened later? He had quite a few strange experiences and then became a powerful innate warrior. Furthermore, during the invasion of the barbarous tribes, he used a huge blade that weighed a thousand ji, and killed thirteen Totem Fighters. That’s why he was conferred the title of National Guardian, though his family name was different that of the emperor’s. Since then, he’s been guarding the three prefectures at the frontier fortress.” Feng Li said in a serious tone.

“Big Bother, to compare Shi Mu the bastard with National Guardian Yue? He’s not worthy of such words! Besides, Yue daren[1] was only feeble and sick in his early years, it’s not the same with Shi Mu whose blood is useless! Besides, we didn’t need to send him that bow of purple steel. You know, only a lieutenant or his superior can use that invaluable weapon. To get it we bribed the retiring officer with costly presents! Only then he was willing to help us and disguised the bow as wastes from the armoury.” Gao Yuan twitched his mouth, very displeased.

“Third Brother, however invaluable the bow is, if we can’t use it then it’s worthless to us. We can’t even pull it open, what’s the use in holding it? Since Shi Mu wants a nice bow[A], why not send him one useless to us? You know, it’s common to send gifts to thus who are respected, but definitely not gift someone having hard times. He’ll remember our generosity and repay us in the future.” Feng Li explained slowly.

“I’ll follow you if your really see hope in him. After all, he did help us greatly in the past. Let the bow be a friendly gift then.” Though still somewhat unconvinced, Gao Yuan could only say so since Feng Li’s mind was set.

Hearing this, Feng Li said no more, only smiling in reply.

......

After they left, Shi Mu returned to his bedroom with the two big packs. He then set one on the table and opened it; a square wooden case was revealed immediately, it was a few feet long.

He quickly opened the case and found two gleaming daggers inside, one long and one short. The longer one was a little over three feet long, and was a slightly bent long knife whose handle was unusually long, even taking up one third of the whole dagger’s length. However, the shorter one was only a little over an inch long, and was abnormally thin all over its body, looking like a strange narrow dagger. But it seemed exceedingly sharp, and had a small iron ring at the end of its handle.

Shi Mu studied the two daggers closely, then he thumped the table with one hand.

“Peng!”

The abnormally thin dagger jumped immediately from the table and was caught in Shi Mu’s hand.

Two piercing sounds were heard.

After a tremble, the dagger turned a ball of cold light, rolling in his hand. In a moment the room was filled with cold lights, making one’s hair stand on end.

Shi Mu’s arm shook and then the dagger reappeared in his hand, darting to one of the table’s edges immediately.

Dead silence!

The table was cut as though it were made of tofu.

Shi Mu was very pleased with this result. He was now sure that the blacksmith had not bragged. He definitely made the daggers with a large amount of cold iron, otherwise they would not be so sharp.

Shi Mu lifted his other hand, and grabbed the longer knife. After holding it in the air with one hand, he nodded approvingly. Then, he inserted the shorter dagger in his other hand into the handle of the longer one, and twisted it a bit.

Crack! A crisp sound.

The whole body of the small dagger was now immersed seamlessly into the longer one’s handle, no trace of the small dagger could be seen.

This was the real appearance of the Sun and Moon Dagger.

Shi Mu put them back to the case after playing with them for a bit. With his interest still intense, he opened the other pack, and saw a light purple bow inside, its length half the height of an adult. His expression changed slightly at the sight of this long bow. Taking it in hand, he gauged that it should weigh at least 25 to 30 kilograms.

The surface of the bow felt slightly cold and was decorated with an intricate yet delicate pattern, like the scales of a fish. The pattern seemed to be made of a certain metal, and the bowstring was crystal-clear, its color milky white, glittering with silver lights which seemed to have come from some silver wires that had been mixed into the material.

“What’s this...”

Shi Mu suddenly thought of something. He held the bow with one hand while pulled the string with the other.

“Pff!”

The long purple bow was only half opened!

“A bow of purple steel!”

Shi Mu blurted out the name, surprised.

He released his fingers and the string rebounded, penetrating the air. Shaking, it let out a clear sound like a dragon’s singing, making the whole room resound with a droning sound.