Chapter 297 — Heaven-Bestowed Divine Edge
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
Shen Mu felt there was great sense in her words, though something in his heart still felt off. Nevertheless, he took out the three thousand pearls.
Si Yunxiang stole two glances into his Taotie Pouch. "And those two big eyeballs..."
"I am not giving them!" Shen Mu's face was ashen; he felt a murderous impulse.
Si Yunxiang ventured, "The Cult Leader's dragon-qilin..."
Shen Mu let out a breath and smiled. "If you can afford to feed it, take it by the halter and go."
Si Yunxiang hastily laughed. "I was only joking, Cult Leader. That glutton had best stay with the Cult Leader. Even the Patriarch would not have him—he complained the beast ate too much. I will go now and have my Si family elders fetch the treasures from Mount Shenglin, to forge swords for the Cult Leader."
Shen Mu stood there holding the flat, empty Taotie Pouch, his face green, feeling as though he had been stripped bare by this little wench and left standing without a stitch.
"This woman has fallen headfirst into a money pit. I cannot outmatch her. I must bring Ling'er over soon to take charge of the finances, or the Holy Maiden will strip me naked and suck the marrow from my bones!" thought the great Cult Leader Shen.
Si Yunxiang ran off to one side and took out a mirror. The mirror floated in the air and turned twice, and within the mirror another mirror appeared. Behind that mirror sat an old woman, who asked, "Holy Maiden Xiang, what business have you with me?"
Si Yunxiang recounted the matter of Shen Mu's sword forging, and said, "The Holy Cult Leader is forging a primordial weapon; this is no small matter. I beg Grandmother to take the finest materials from the vault and send them to the Directorate Foundry in Fangzhou."
The old woman frowned. "The Si family does not do business at a loss. The Cult Leader is still young, after all, and his cultivation is still low. What need has he for the finest treasures..."
"There is profit in it!"
Si Yunxiang displayed the treasures she had wheedled and swindled out of Shen Mu, and the Si family grandmother's eyes lit up at once. She said again and again, "So many cult-guarding-grade treasures! The Holy Maiden truly knows how to keep a house. Good, good—you are worthy of my teaching. You did not take after your aunt! That aunt of yours let money flow out like water and never knew how to reckon accounts—a spendthrift woman who ruins the family!"
She meant Granny Zhu. Granny Zhu had never cared about wealth; she always bought the expensive, never the right one.
The Si family grandmother said, "The finest sword-forging materials are usually extremely heavy—a piece the size of a finger weighs several dozen catties. And the vault does not hold so much of such material. We cannot forge eight thousand swords from it. Forging treasures of cult-guarding grade, we could make twenty-seven swords, each weighing roughly ten thousand catties."
"And the next grade down?" Si Yunxiang asked.
The Si family grandmother said, "The next grade down is not enough either. At most we could forge a hundred flying swords."
Si Yunxiang's brows knit tightly. "And the grade below that?"
"The grade below that is cold-iron essence, dark-gold essence, dark-copper essence. More than enough to forge eight thousand swords."
Si Yunxiang said, "Then please, Grandmother, bring both the finest and the next grade down, and make up the rest with dark-gold essence. The finest will be enough to give the Primordial Spirit Sword its edge."
The Si family grandmother said suspiciously, "Dark-gold essence is three times heavier than cold-iron essence. Why use dark-gold essence instead of cold-iron essence?"
Si Yunxiang smiled sweetly. The Si family grandmother in the mirror shot her a glare. "Little hussy, up to your tricks again. Mind the Cult Leader cannot lift it and swats your backside black and blue! I will send the things to Yongzhou; you have that bandit surnamed Fan sail his boat over."