Becoming a god starting from blacksmithing

Chapter 15 Stormy Weather Approaches

As dusk fell, the entire town of Qingxi felt as if it had been choked.

Shen Chi stood in the shadow of the old locust tree, clutching the hundred-refined hammer. The hammerhead pressed against his palm, warm—a temperature completely different from the coldness of the Heart Seal.

Mo Chenzi stared at the black carriage at the town entrance, standing half a step in front of it without moving. He muttered to himself.

"Gu Cangming".

He seemed to be deep in thought.

"Since you've parked your carriage here, aren't you afraid we'll know you've arrived?"

"Gu Cangming? Who is he?" Shen Chi asked in surprise.

"Master of the Enforcement Hall of the Yansheng Pavilion."

Mo Chenzi finally moved. He turned around and glanced at Shen Chi.

"Go back to the shop. Don't come out tonight."

The tone wasn't one of negotiation, it was one of command.

Shen Chi wanted to say something, but Mo Chenzi had already turned and left. Not towards the wooden house, but towards the town—towards the clock tower. The old man walked slowly, but every step was steady, as if he had known this day would come.

Shen Chi watched his figure disappear into the alleyway, a thought flashing through his mind: He wondered what the old man was doing at the clock tower. But he knew the old man wouldn't hide.

He gripped the hundred-forged hammer tightly and walked toward the shop.

The road at the entrance to the town was deserted.

Every household had their doors closed. Qingxi Town wasn't large; a black carriage parked at the town entrance was enough to send a chill down everyone's spine.

Old Chen's shop was also closed. A sliver of light shone through the crack in the door, then immediately went out.

As Shen Chi walked past Old Chen's door, the door panel moved slightly, revealing a crack.

"The Shen family boy."

Old Chen's voice was kept extremely low.

"Was that car... coming for you?"

Shen Chi glanced at him.

"Yes."

Old Chen didn't speak. His lips moved, as if he wanted to say something but then swallowed it back. In the end, he only said one sentence:

"careful."

The door was closed.

Shen Chi continued walking. As he passed Aunt Wang's house, he heard hushed voices coming from inside, which then immediately fell silent. As he passed the wine shop, an eye peeked through the crack in the door, but then withdrew after seeing him.

The whole town is waiting.

Shen Chi pushed open the door of the blacksmith shop, and the hinges creaked open.

------

A-Zhu dropped the picture book, jumped off the stool, and ran to him.

"Brother Shen Chi, you're back!"

She looked at him, and her expression changed.

"The light emanating from you... has changed."

Shen Chi placed the hundred-refined hammer on the anvil: "How did it change?"

"It's shrinking." A-Zhu frowned, as if searching for a precise explanation. "Like it's afraid of something. Before, your light shone on the outside, but now—it's shrunk in, shrunk into your chest."

Shen Chi looked down at his chest. He couldn't see the light, but he knew A-Zhu was telling the truth. His heart, which had been burning hot since leaving the wooden hut, was now warm and stable. But upon seeing the carriage, it definitely shrank.

It's not a shrinking back out of fear—it's an instinctive shrinking back. Like pulling back a fist, preparing to punch.

"That carriage at the town entrance," Shen Chi asked, "can you see its light?"

Ah Zhu shook her head.

"I can't see it."

"Is it black?"

"It wasn't black." A-Zhu's eyes lit up, as if she were trying to describe what she saw. "It was empty. Like a hole. Light was sucked in, and there was nothing there. I've never seen that kind of light before—no, it wasn't light, it was no light."

Shen Chi remained silent for a few moments.

"What's inside the car?"

A-Zhu closed her eyes. After a while, she opened them again, her voice lowered:

"A man sat there. Two nail-like things were in his chest, pressing down on his light. Only a sliver remained."

She looked at Shen Chi and added:

"That trace... was also cold."

Shen Chi remained silent.

Before, A-Zhu could only see whether the light was on or not, or whether the light was trembling. Now, she seems to be able to see many more different things.

"When did you become able to see such details?" Shen Chi asked.

Ah Zhu thought about it.

"Just now. Before you came back, I was standing at the door looking at that car... and then I saw it."

Her expression wasn't like that of a thirteen-year-old. She was too serious.

"Brother Shen Chi, was that person coming for you?"

Shen Chi did not lie to her.

"Yes."

Azhu was silent for a moment, then said:

"Then I won't sleep."

She turned and took two steps toward the backyard, then stopped and glanced back at the hundred-chained hammer on the chopping board.

"Even a hammer can shine."

Shen Chi followed her gaze.

"It's connected to you," A-Zhu said. "A thread, from your chest to the hammer handle. It wasn't there before."

After saying that, she went to the backyard.

Shen Chi looked at the hammer. It was black, smooth, and lay quietly on the cutting board. He picked it up, the handle warm against his palm.

A single thread.

He can't see it, but it's there.

------

Shen Chi asked Azhu to go to the backyard to watch over Mo Huaizhou, while he stayed in the shop.

The fire was still burning. He added a piece of charcoal, and the flames leaped up, illuminating every corner of the shop. The cutting board, the tongs, the sink, the old tools on the wall—everything had its place.

He inspected the latch. It was wooden, and not thick enough. It could be easily kicked open. He knew this better than anyone. But he latched it anyway. Not because it was useful, but because he had to do something.

He checked the backyard passageway again. The small door leading to the back street had a rusty lock, but it was still usable. In case of trouble, A-Zhu and Mo Huaizhou could use this route.

Then I picked up the hundred-refined hammer and tested its feel.

It's heavier than a regular hammer, but it's very easy to hold. The handle and his hand seem to have been broken in for a long time—it's only been a day since I got it, but it feels like I've used it for three years.

He took the fragments of the Guardian Sword from his bosom.

It fit perfectly in my hand. It was warm, a low, gentle warmth, like the temperature of the embers at the bottom of a furnace after most of the fire has gone out.

Shen Chi attached the fragments to the surface of the Hundred-Refined Hammer.

Nothing happened.

But he felt the hammer handle vibrate slightly, very lightly, as if in response.

He put the fragments back into his pocket and then sat on the doorstep.

Night had completely fallen. Nothing could be seen at the town's edge in the distance—the black carriage blended into the darkness, but he knew it was there. Less than a hundred paces.

He looked down at his hands. Calluses, mining scars. These weren't murderous hands.

But if they want to touch Ah Zhu—

He can learn.

------

late at night.

Mo Chenzi has not returned yet.

A-Zhu fell asleep leaning against the doorframe. Shen Chi draped an old coat over her shoulders. The thirteen-year-old girl, having stayed up most of the night, couldn't hold on any longer.

The hundred-refined hammer rested on his knees. The fragments of the Heart-Guarding Sword were pressed against his chest, still warm.

Shen Chi dared not sleep.

He glanced at Azhu. She was huddled in her old coat, still clutching the piece of iron, fast asleep, but her brows were slightly furrowed.

The heart seal suddenly stopped being cold—it was burning.

It's not burning with anger, nor burning with fear.

If that's the case, then let's burn it.

He gazed at the night sky, thinking of his father. When his father faced similar situations back then—did he stand in the blacksmith's shop waiting for someone to come, or did he go out to greet them? Was he ever afraid?

Shen Chi did not know the answer.

In his memory, his father was always the blacksmith at the furnace, a man of few words, but every word he spoke was counted. He never talked about himself, never about who he had beaten or where he had been.

But Mo Chenzi said—Sixth Rank, Blue Seal.

People who stand at the pinnacle of their era.

Who ultimately forced the father into the mine?

Before Shen Chi could figure this out, his heart seal suddenly moved.

A warm, throbbing sensation spread from my chest throughout my body, like someone tapping on my heart—are you ready?

Shen gripped the hundred-forged hammer tightly.

Then he heard footsteps.

It's not just one person. It's multiple people.

Come from the direction of the town entrance.

The footsteps were light and unhurried, but steady—as if they knew where they were going and what would happen after they arrived. Each step was in sync with the same rhythm, so orderly that it seemed less like human footsteps and more like some kind of ritual.

Shen Chi stood up.

A-Zhu woke up. She opened her eyes, didn't speak, just looked at him. She didn't ask "What's wrong?" because she knew.

"Let's go to the backyard," Shen Chi said.

A-Zhu stood up, walked to the backyard gate, and glanced back at him.

Shen Chi had already turned around. He was facing the door.

The footsteps grew closer.

Several pairs of boots gleamed through the crack in the door, their soles gleaming coldly in the moonlight.

Then they stopped outside the blacksmith's shop.

The door didn't make a sound.

There was breathing in the darkness outside the door—more than one person. But they didn't speak, nor did they knock. They just stood there, as if waiting for something.

Take a breath.

Two breaths.

Three breaths.

They neither left nor came in. They stood at the doorway, in the darkness, like a wall.

Shen Chi's hand did not tremble.

He was waiting—waiting for the door to open, waiting for the first person to step in, waiting for the moment the hammer fell.

But the door remained closed.

I don't know how much time passed—maybe a cup of tea, maybe half an incense stick's time—the footsteps finally started again.

This time, it's the direction we're heading.

Unhurried and steady, just as when they arrived.

Shen Chi stood there, listening to the footsteps gradually fade away and disappear into the night.

He didn't chase after them.

He knew they hadn't left—they just weren't coming in yet.

And he won tonight.

It wasn't because he drove anyone back, it was because he stood until the very end.

But he also knew they would come again tomorrow.

Next time, the door might open.