ChangNing’s Imperial Army

The mountain that Mr. Shen and Master Cha were at was called Mount Xiao Feng – it was one of the more unremarkable mountains within the endless mountain range near the river bank. There was a town not far from the mountain. Apart from the Daoist temple that Mr. Shen and Master Cha resided in, there were some hunters who appeared every now and then to check if there were any wild animals caught in the traps they had set up before.

At lunch, Master Cha rested her chin on one hand and knocked against the stone table with her chopsticks with the other hand. Mr. Shen came out from the kitchen covered with dirt, holding a plate of something that was black in color. “Quick, have a taste.”

Master Cha looked at it and wanted to throw up.

Mr. Shen was somewhat disappointed. “Guess some things are truly innate talents.”

Master Cha pointed at the dish and asked, “Didn’t you say you want to cook some beef for me? Did you go through great pains to buy some cow dung from the black market?”

Mr. Shen replied, “Ahem, ahem…you need to constantly remind yourself to respect me.”

Master Cha forced herself to put up with the pungent smell and scrubbed the plate. “But it’s not bad, smelling it alone made me full.”

Mr. Shen looked at the sky. “There’s something I need to discuss with you. We live a tad too far from the Navy’s camp. We waste quite a lot of time delivering vegetables there and coming back. I’m thinking, why don’t we rent a place near the camp?”

“Ok, ok.”

Master Cha’s eyes lit up. “Let’s go today then.”

Mr. Shen smiled and shook his head. “Since we don’t have much to pack, we can just pack our clothes and leave.”

Master Cha felt guilty immediately. “Indeed, you don’t have much you can bring along with you.”

Mr. Shen responded, “Alas…”

The two of them packed up and they each carried a bundle before leaving the Daoist temple. Mr. Shen’s bundle was truly rather deflated. After all, he did not have much clothes left…

Previously, Mr. Shen had already found a small courtyard house near the Navy’s camp. It was not big but it was clean. As it turned out, the owner of the house was a local minor government official. He was extremely lucky that it made people envious of him. He was transferred over to Changan city by the Ministry of Revenue. After Zhuang Yong got wind of the news, he informed Mr. Shen. Hence, he borrowed some silver from him and bought it.

Zhuang Yong was filled with regrets.

That afternoon, Mr. Shen and Master Cha arrived there. Mr. Shen got her to tidy up the rooms and went out by himself. When Master Cha saw the small courtyard house, she was in such a good mood that she wanted to sing. Apart from the children’s song, Little Swallow, that she learned when she was little, she did not know any other songs.

The little swallow, brightly dressed. Comes every spring to visit us. I ask the swallow: “Why do you come here?” She replies: “Take care of yourself…”

When it was night time, Mr. Shen finally got home. He brought someone with him. It was an old man who walked strangely. He had grizzled hair on his temples and his face looked rather haggard. Upon scrutiny, Master Cha recognized who he was – he was Uncle Chen of Yulin town, who used to be strong and muscular in the past. He was Chen Ran’s father.

It had only been a few years, and yet he was already in this state.

Mr. Shen helped Uncle Chen settle down before he took Master Cha outside to order vegetables from the farmer for the next day’s delivery. Mr. Shen walked as he lamented, “When Leng came back, he mentioned this to me before. Thereafter, I had been looking for a place nearby. Without a place to stay, it was not convenient for me to bring Uncle Chen over. In the future, he will follow us, receiving vegetables. Even when we leave in the future, he would have been familiarized with the Navy. With Zhuang Yong helping us keep an eye, this business will not land in someone else’s hands.”

“Yeah, the place we used to live in was too far. With Uncle Chen’s current physical state, he can’t travel long distances.”

“Leng is not cold at all. He is very warm.” (Note: Leng means cold)

Master Cha smiled slightly. She thought to herself: Of course. Just look at the person who taught him.

What they did not know was that a couple of men in black went to the Daoist temple in the middle of the night and splashed a significant amount of oil all over, before setting the tavern on fire. Before this, they even sprayed some incense into the house. The leader of the pack had a curved bow tied to his back.

When Shen Leng saw Chen Ran in the camp, he knew that the Chen family could no longer support themselves. When he left Yulin town, Uncle Chen held his hand and told him that he could go back any time. Even though they had no maternal figure in the house to take care of them, they had a warm brick bed.

Mr. Shen had been constantly looking for a house. If not for Zhuang Yong’s help, he would not have been able to find this small courtyard house that was in a prime location.

“Oh right, when Uncle Chen came, he refused to let go of the item in his hand. What is it? It is wrapped in a very thick cloth. It looked rather heavy too. Even though he struggled to walk, he refused to let you carry it.”

“I don’t know. He said it was a precious item that he found by chance when he was fishing down by the river.”

“I think it’s something for his son.”

“That’s human nature.”

The two of them walked as they talked. They arrived at their destination and ordered the vegetables needed for the next day’s delivery. On their way back, they bought some food. After all, they were no longer in the mountains. It was a lot more convenient for them to buy things.

When they entered the house, they noticed Uncle Chen wiping his tears. When he saw them, he quickly smiled, as though he was afraid to get laughed at. He sat on the stone bench in the yard, and placed that bundle on the stone table.

“Let’s eat.”

Master Cha smiled as she walked over and started clearing the table. When she reached out her hand and carried the bundle, it was a lot heavier than she anticipated.

“You may open it. It is a gift I have prepared for Leng. When Ran came home, he told me that Leng has been taking good care of him in the Navy’s camp. I have been thinking about it – I need to return this huge favor. Hence, I went down to the river…Not many people know that there is a sunken boat within the Nanping River. I found it by chance. When I was younger, I was rather good at swimming, so I went down three times. There weren’t any valuable items except for this.”

He pointed to the bundle.

Master Cha opened it, layer after layer. After that, she stared blankly. Inside the bundle, there was actually a piece of rock…it was entirely black. She did not understand why Uncle Chen felt that this thing was valuable.

“Black steel?”

When Mr. Shen saw that item, his eyes lit up immediately. He could not help but touch it. “If this is really black steel, a huge piece like that is truly extremely valuable.”

“I don’t know what this is either. When I went down once, I couldn’t help but think that if I return empty handed it would be such a waste. This item was placed in a wooden box, which had already rotted. I used a dagger to cut it, in an attempt to see if it was a huge piece of gold or something. In the end, after slicing twice, my dagger became blunt.”

Uncle Chen smiled embarrassingly. “I am a coolie who is not knowledgeable at all. Even though I had discovered the sunken boat, I refused to tell anyone. I was thinking of looking for some valuable items and selling them, to help me lead a good life. Hence, after so many years, this piece of metal is still here.”

Master Cha’s heart ached. She wanted to cry.

“Is this thing really valuable?”

“Very valuable.”

Mr. Shen answered, “It’s too valuable. I thank you on behalf of Leng, but we cannot accept this. You should keep this for Chen Ran. I can help you contact some people and help you sell it. The money you will get from selling it is enough for both of you to spend the rest of your lives without worrying about finances.”

Uncle Chen suddenly fell to his knees. “Do you want me to kneel till I die here? If you did not tell me, I wouldn’t know its worth. Even after I know its worth, I have no regrets. I insist on giving it to Leng. If Leng leads a good life, do you think he will forget us?”

This was an old father’s desire. Even though it was a little scheming, it was honest.

Indeed, he knew what kind of person Shen Leng was. He also knew what kind of person his son was. If Shen Leng were to become successful, there was no way he would forget to treat his son well.

“Besides, living with you gives me a peace of mind.”

Mr. Shen hurriedly supported him up. “Alright then, I will accept it on behalf of Leng. Tomorrow morning, I will have to head out and I will be gone for a few days. Cha, you take Uncle with you to deliver the vegetables. If Zhuang Yong asks where I went, tell him you don’t know.”

Master Cha responded, “Well, I truly don’t know in the first place…”

“Forget it, I will leave in the night instead.”

Mr. Shen wrapped the black steel up once again and carried it. “You will know once I’m back.”

Mr. Shen left hastily. Leaving the old man and young lady somewhat dumbfounded.

For almost a day and two nights, Mr. Shen barely rested. He hired a fishing boat for a high price and traveled downstream for a night. When it was daybreak, he hired another chariot and traveled the entire day. He paid the coachman even more money. After toiling in the middle of the night, he finally arrived at his destination.

Mr. Shen carried the heavy bundled and entered the mountain in complete darkness. He knocked on the door of a Daoist temple. A small Daoist boy rubbed his eyes and asked who he was looking for. Mr. Shen instructed him to ask if the person who came here twenty years ago carrying a letter requesting for help was still here. If he was still here, he instructed the boy to tell the man that his old friend named Shen Xiaosong was here to meet with him.

A few minutes later, the owner of the temple with grizzled beard shuffled out. When he saw Shen Xiaosong, he greeted him. “Benefactor!”

Mr. Shen supported the old Daoist devotee up. “Don’t call me that. We are friends. I have come here to ask you a favor.”

The old Daoist devotee invited Mr. Shen in. And the two of them held up a candle and talked through the night. On the second day, the old Daoist devotee instructed everyone to close the Daoist temple before entering the backyard and stayed there for three full days.

Several years ago, something strange happened in Great Ning’s military workshop – two consecutive batches of weapons were problematic. When the Ministry of War sent someone to investigate, they found out that best armorer in the workshop stole the most expensive materials to sell because his child was severely ill. He had to be executed because of this.

At that time, coincidentally, Mr. Shen was accompanying a big figure to visit the workshop. After he got wind of what happened, this big figure decided to pardon him, outside of the law. This big figure in question was the current emperor. Perhaps, he had already forgotten about this small matter a long time ago.

At that time, Prince Liu sold Mr. Shen a favor. After all, in Yun Xiao city, there were not many people who were able to play chess with him. That night, he released the armorer and announced that he had jumped into a well out of fear of punishment.

Twenty years had passed. If Uncle Chen did not show up with black steel, Mr. Shen would have entirely forgotten about that person.

The armorer concealed his identity and took the letter given to him by Mr. Shen, as well as some money, and hid in this Daoist temple. Twenty years later, he became the owner of this Daoist temple.

After three days and three nights, when he finally came out of the backyard, he looked extremely haggard. He had been working for three full days and nights without stopping. Fortunately, they were in the mountains. Or else, it would have aroused suspicions.

However, Mr. Shen did not want to rest. His eyes were red as he said his goodbyes to him. He carried the sword and embarked on his journey home.

After he left the Daoist temple, the owner of the temple fell to the ground and started bawling for some reason. No matter how much the small Daoist boy tried to comfort him, it was of no use. After bawling for quite a while, he fell asleep. He slept for a day and a night. Even though his eyes were tired, they were bright.

“That sword is probably my proudest creation in my entire life.”

The small Daoist boy felt that the owner of the temple was extremely capable and omnipotent. He felt that he must have anticipated that an old friend would visit him years later, hence, he had set up the tools and smelting furnace in the backyard several years before.

Mr. Shen spent one day and one night to rush home. Even when he fell asleep during his journey home, he hugged the bundle tightly. When he woke up, he would immediately open it up to take a look. On the blade, near the shaft, there was a word carved on it.

Leng.

The sword looked exactly the same as the standardized Great Ning hengdao, and shared the exact same dimensions. There were red and black cords coiled around the shaft as well. However, it was worth almost ten times more than the Great Ning black cord sword.

The sword weighed approximately 60 pounds. It was smelted nine times during the process.

Mr. Shen was extremely exhausted but he was still smiling.

“Leng, here’s a new black cord sword for you.”