Twilight Boundary-Chapter 417 - 411 Forging the Evil Blade

"I only drew the knife halfway because I didn’t want to scare you, honestly, kid..."

Hu Ma looked at the frightened expression of the Sun Family’s Seventh Son and managed to hold back a laugh. This saw-toothed knife was borrowed from Zhou Datong. He hadn’t used it for long, just a year or two, but it had already been through a lot.

It had cut down quite a few people in between, hacked evil spirits, and even participated in major events like banishing the green-clothed evil ghost, eliminating the Ji Tang of the Beggar Gang, and slaying the Five Evil Gods.

The knife had taken dozens of lives, and it naturally carried an ominous aura. Once an ordinary item, it was no longer ordinary.

Initially, he intended to return it to Datong after using it, but Datong eventually refused to keep it. The knife caused Datong to have nightmares and would make sudden noises at night, scaring him so much that he adamantly refused to take it back.

Hu Ma had grown accustomed to it and become attached to it. However, he had to admit that since Entering the Mansion, it felt lacking in power. It was too light, and he couldn’t exert his full strength with it.

Moreover, while the knife had developed a certain aura, it was still made of mortal iron, an inferior material. If he were to face an expert, no matter how fierce and malevolent this knife was, it could easily be crushed into scrap iron, leading to a great loss.

Since he needed a weapon he was comfortable with and couldn’t just discard this knife, re-forging it was necessary. Thus, he looked at the Sun Family’s Seventh Son, trying to gauge whether the task was suitable for him.

The Sun Family’s Seventh Son stared at the knife before him, his eyes wide with trepidation. Good heavens, my father really wasn’t mistaken about him! At first, I only saw how young he was and didn’t quite believe he possessed such great abilities.

Knives can be ordinary or Evil Blades. When used to kill often, they develop a sinister aura. To people of the Path, such a blade is anything but ordinary.

This knife was like that. Each notch was clearly made from cutting bones—human bones, to be precise, for them to be resilient enough to shape the blade this way. Moreover, it was stained with filth that couldn’t be washed clean by ordinary means.

As it approached him, he felt an instinctive sense of danger.

Looking closer at the blade, it didn’t appear worn with age but rather recently used. If someone could make a knife like this in just a year or two, what kind of person would they have to be?

Were they dedicated to chopping people and killing hall guests?

And for such a knife to behave so obediently in front of this young manager... Doesn’t that imply this young manager...

Cautiously, he inquired, "Uncle Hu, did you acquire this knife from elsewhere, or...?"

Hu Ma chuckled, saying, "It’s from home. I’m used to it."

The Sun Family’s Seventh Son was even more surprised.

"What do you think?"

After letting the Sun Family’s Seventh Son examine it for a while, Hu Ma finally smiled and asked him.

The Sun Family’s Seventh Son paused for a moment. Then, he slowly put down the knife, took a piece of red paper from his bundle, and whispered, "Uncle Hu, why don’t we seal this first, then discuss it? Otherwise, I’m afraid it might hear us, and it might..."

Although he wasn’t skilled in the art of Shousui, managing so many shops had given him some insight.

He knew such an Evil Blade could bring calamity if outsiders discussed it. Therefore, wrapping it in red paper was necessary before they could talk about it with Hu Ma.

Hu Ma just smiled, took the knife, and sheathed it with a THUD. "It’s okay now," he said. "Go ahead!"

The Sun Family’s Seventh Son forced a smile and lowered his voice. "Uncle Hu, do you really intend to re-forge it?"

"This knife is a fine piece; it already possesses a fierce aura. However, although it’s fierce, it’s still a mortal blade made of ordinary iron. If re-forged, I’m afraid it might ruin this good foundation. In my opinion, the loss would outweigh the gain..."

"Not re-forging, just some repairs."

Hu Ma smiled and said, "It does need forging, but I still want this knife. Moreover, after it’s forged, I want to add this item."

Saying this, he took out a piece of black bone he had prepared in his sleeve.

When he gently placed it on the table, the oil lamp in the room flickered. The Sun Family’s Seventh Son had intended to take a closer look, perhaps even pick it up. But suddenly, he felt disoriented, hearing the howling of evil ghosts in his ears. He fell to the ground as if struck by lightning.

When he scrambled to get up, he used his sleeve to shield his face, not daring to look at the bone. He only felt his heart pounding anxiously as he said, "Uncle Hu, I understand your intent now."

"It is indeed possible to smelt a hundred-odd pounds of fine iron to properly serve this ’great master’ of a weapon, and then inlay your... your sinister object into it. However, by doing so, you’d be adding fierceness upon fierceness. I’m afraid ordinary people wouldn’t be able to handle such a weapon at all..."

"Although I’m not a person of the Path, I’ve heard from my father that a fierce knife can harm its owner..."

Just that knife already possessed a somewhat fierce aura, enough to frighten an ordinary person like him. And that black bone was far beyond his imagination, enough to make his heart leap and his flesh crawl! What would happen if those two were forged together?

"You don’t need to worry; I know what I’m doing."

Hu Ma laughed. "Whether you can take on this job depends on your family. If you can’t decide, you can go back and ask your father. If you can accept the job, just give me a clear answer."

The Sun Family’s Seventh Son started to say, "I..." but then a thought struck him. My father told me to get close to Uncle Hu. Maybe in the future, I’ll even need him to recommend me to the Red Lantern Society for protection. If I seem indecisive now, I’ll inevitably be laughed at. I’m actually more familiar with the shop’s accounts than my father. At worst, I’ll just lose those hundred-odd pounds of fine iron and the other materials. But if we can successfully forge such an item, then whenever this young elder uses this knife, he’ll think of me. Even if our acquaintance isn’t deep now, it will surely deepen then.

His thoughts cleared. He stood up and nodded firmly. "Uncle Hu, rest assured, we can take this job! And we’ll ask the great master craftsman, whom our family retains at great expense, to forge it personally. He specializes in making tools for people of the Path."

"However, I might not be able to leave today. I need to first send a little ghost to ask the master craftsman about the rules and customs for taking this knife back, to prevent any mishaps."

"Suit yourself. Stay the night then."

Hu Ma smiled. "You’re at my mine. Surely, I won’t let you go hungry?"

In truth, he didn’t think much of it. This saw-toothed knife had indeed been with him and tasted a lot of blood. He had realized early on that it had developed a bit of a fierce aura. Sometimes, it was even more useful than the redwood sword. But this slight fierce aura wasn’t so outrageous as to warrant such a fuss.

The black bone was left by the Five Evil Gods and certainly carried an astonishingly baleful aura, enough to scare away Guests.

But the bone no longer had any consciousness and wouldn’t easily cause trouble. It might look fierce, but it was actually safe. Still, since the other party had said so much, he should respect their professional customs.

So, he arranged for the Sun Family’s Seventh Son to stay. He saw him dispatch a little ghost that night, which went off to make some unknown inquiries. That same night, the Seventh Son had servants find a few locust trees outside the valley, carve the wood into a box, sprinkle it with chicken blood, and then paint some strange symbols on it.

The next day, he wrapped the saw-toothed knife in red paper, layer by layer, and placed it in the box. Then, after incense-burning, making offerings, and kowtowing in worship, he finally, with all due ceremony, placed it onto his family’s carriage.

As for the piece of bone, the Seventh Son was somewhat at a loss. Hu Ma took it and placed it in a jar.

Only after ensuring the bone would be fine did the Sun Family’s Seventh Son leave, relieved.

Before leaving, he left a note, scheduling to pick up the knife in half a month. Hu Ma, for his part, felt a growing anticipation for this new, soon-to-be-transformed weapon.

As for other matters, there was no hurry. While managing affairs at the mine, he simply waited for word from Old Master Sun.

He stayed at the mine for about seven or eight days. By then, the mine was generating Silver Coin, its various affairs had stabilized, and he had more or less adapted to his state since Entering the Mansion. It was at this time that Old Master Sun’s little ghost was sent over.

Suddenly, a gust of yin qi surged from outside the valley, causing even the Red Lantern to sway back and forth. Then, a pink shadow shot straight into the mine’s main hall.

Little Hongtang was on a roof beam, playing with the redwood sword. Sensing the yin qi entering the valley, she grabbed her sword and charged out. This startled the shadow that had been darting towards the hall, causing it to shoot back out of the valley in a streak.

The two sides were eying each other like fighting cocks. Just as things looked dire and a fight was about to break out, Hu Ma heard the commotion outside and hurried out. He stared intently and asked, "What are you here for?"

The shadow spun on the spot, transforming into the likeness of a woman in theatrical attire, her face painted with cosmetics. She addressed him in a singsong voice, "Old Master Hu, your servant has come by order of our Old Master Sun to deliver a message..."

The female ghost drifted forward, curtsied respectfully to Hu Ma, and said in a plaintive, aggrieved voice, "It’s just that your household’s ghost is too fierce! It wanted to hit me the moment it saw me! It truly is my bitter fate. Following that damn old Sun, I’m ordered about all day long. And now, just delivering a letter, I still have to be bullied..."

Hu Ma was stunned. Delivering a message is one thing, but why start by airing grievances? What’s this? Seeing you look so wronged, am I supposed to punish my Little Hongtang in front of you to appease you or something?

He found Old Master Sun’s ghost rather peculiar. He chuckled and said, "You’ve been wronged. I’ll burn a stick of incense for you later. For now, tell me, what message have you brought?"

"That old codger said..."

The female ghost continued in her singsong voice, "In three days, it will be the birthday of Xuanzhen Miaogu, the Hierarch of the One Coin Sect. Friends from all quarters will be going to offer their felicitations. He wishes to invite Old Master Hu to accompany him to Shima Town..."

"So, the time has finally come?"

Hu Ma’s spirits lifted upon hearing this, and he smiled. "Rest assured. Go back and inform your master that I will definitely arrive on time."

He felt a surge of curiosity. He had been promised an introduction to that expert from the Not Eating Beef Sect. Now, he was being told it was the One Coin Sect Hierarch’s birthday and was invited to attend. Could this Hierarch be the expert from the Not Eating Beef Sect?

And how exactly were these relationships connected?