Family Cultivation: I Become a Mirror-Chapter 157 - 148 Custom Magic Artifact
"My lord!"
As Chen Donghe entered the family door, people on both sides called him "My lord." The title burned uncomfortably in his heart, but he could not bring himself to speak against it.
Before Chen Erniu died, they had met one last time. Chen Donghe sobbed, unable to utter a word. Chen Erniu grasped his hand and said hoarsely,
"From now on, act boldly. Father won’t blame you. You’re a smart child who knows how to conduct affairs. Guard the family well."
Chen Erniu understood Chen Donghe’s inner conflict. Although marrying into another family was a mutual decision, Chen Erniu no longer cared about the surname. Had it not been for Li Mutian’s father Li Genshui who had saved him, there wouldn’t be a Chen Family to speak of today. Moreover, within the Li Family’s territory, they didn’t have the conditions to refuse.
But publicly, Chen Erniu still expelled him from the family, cursing his beloved son in the street, to prove a clean break between Chen Donghe and the Chen family. Chen Erniu knew there was no need for such a ruse with the Li Family now, but he still cautiously went through the motions.
Now that the old man was dead, Chen Donghe, racked with guilt, approached his coffin. He had been educated by two men from his childhood into his teenage years and now, at twenty-six years old: Chen Erniu before he was seven and Li Xiangping after seven, one teaching him to be prudent and tolerant, the other teaching him to be ruthless and aggressive.
"Father!"
Chen Donghe knelt before the coffin, weeping bitterly. How could he not be in pain when the man he viewed as a father and his own father passed away one after another?
Li Jingtian stood by, gently patting his back. In the wind, Chen Donghe in his white robes appeared particularly frail. Li Tongya sighed softly; Chen Donghe was someone he had watched grow up, and now he had married Li Jingtian. For a moment, looking at his crying figure, Li Tongya fell silent, not knowing what to say.
Influenced by the heavy atmosphere, Li Pingyi could not help but shed tears, covering his eyes to look at Li Yuanxiu, only to see that his eyes were also brimming with tears. So, he whispered,
"Yuanxiu, brother..."
Li Yuanxiu turned his head and gestured for him to be silent. Then both lowered their heads, silently weeping without a word.
After Chen Erniu’s funeral was over, the two boys left. Li Yuanxiu sat quietly on the steps. Li Pingyi, choking up, said,
"If my father died, I’d be just as heartbroken too."
Wiping his tears, Li Pingyi looked at the tear drops shining in the sunlight on Li Yuanxiu’s face and said softly,
"Brother Yuan..."
Li Yuanxiu lifted his eyelashes and turned to look at him, just as Li Pingyi earnestly said,
"I’d be heartbroken if you died too."
Li Yuanxiu nodded vigorously, on the verge of saying something more when Li Xuanxuan came out from the court, took the child by the hand, and together they left. Li Pingyi sat for a while before getting up, dusting off his behind, and alone ducked into an alley to play.
----
Li Xuanfeng had arrived in town three days earlier and had played day and night with the river fisher-girl. That big goose was still angrily pacing around the courtyard, honking loudly. After carrying the fisher-girl around the courtyard a few times, he heard the young woman blushingly ask,
"What should we name the child if we have one?"
Li Xuanfeng chuckled and explained,
"I belong to the ’Xuan’ generation. If you give birth to a boy, his name will start with ’Yuan’; if it’s a girl, it will start with ’Qing’. That would be fitting."
The fisher-girl nodded, and Li Xuanfeng looked at the hour and then carried her back to bed, whispering,
"Guanyun Peak’s market is about to open, but I still have important matters to attend to. I’ll first step out for a while, then come back to find you after I’m done."
Having said that, he got dressed, kissed the fisher-girl goodbye, and flew westward out the door, soon landing at the foot of Guanyun Peak.
Walking a few steps along the marketplace street, as the stalls thinned out, several storefronts appeared. Li Xuanfeng looked around, chose one selling magic artifacts, and stepped through the threshold into the shop.
Inside stood a Fetal Breathing Cultivator, who greeted him with a beaming smile. Li Xuanfeng spoke in a deep voice,
"Go ask your manager how many spirit stones it would take to custom-make a Qi Cultivation Level magic artifact longbow."
The clerk who approached him was taken aback and hastened to reply,
"Alright, alright, I’ll go right away."
And he hurried off. Not long after, a muscular man with a bare chest rushed in from the back of the store. Approaching quickly like the wind, the many iron tools hanging on him clanged together, indicating his cultivation level was at the peak of Qi Refinement.
"What do you require, Taoist fellow?"
The man’s face was covered in stubble, his eyes spirited, staring intently at Li Xuanfeng. His appearance was rugged, but his voice was surprisingly gentle. He watched Li Xuanfeng for a while, as if reminiscing something.
"I am Li Xuanfeng of the Li Family from Lijing. Pleasure to meet you, Taoist fellow!"
"The Li Family from Lijing? So you’re from the family of the Qing Sui Sword Immortal!"
The rugged man clasped his hands together in a greeting, his expression brightening as he realized, and said with a smile:
"I am Chu Minglian. Back in the day, I too had a small shop on Wangyue Lake. Your father’s generation and I might share some history!"
"Really?"
Li Xuanfeng’s spirits immediately lifted, and he asked in return.
"Once, the Qing Sui Sword Immortal sold a rare type of fire-born evil Qi from Yue Country at my shop. When the name of the Qing Sui Sword Immortal later became known to me, it sounded familiar. After pondering night and day, I finally understood! Oh, how I regret not offering more spirit stones back then. Perhaps I would have earned the favor of a Sword Immortal!"
Chu Minglian was quite humorous, and his jovial banter quickly closed the distance between them. Li Xuanfeng laughed heartily and responded with a clasped fist:
"It seems fate has brought me to someone with such a connection to my family. Perhaps I can save some spirit stones today!"
Chu Minglian chuckled softly, but Li Xuanfeng’s remark made him choke on his laughter. After a second or two, he burst into hearty laughter and said:
"Young brother, you sure have a sense of humor."
After saying this, he looked at Li Xuanfeng with a sigh and remarked:
"The Li Family truly produces geniuses one after another. When the Sword Immortal came to my shop, he was no more than at the Fetal Breathing Mirror level. But now he has since built his Immortal Foundation. And you, young brother, so young and yet already at the Qi Cultivation level. Your potential is immeasurable."
Li Xuanfeng exchanged pleasantries with him for a moment before swiftly getting to the point. He described the magic artifact he wanted to forge in general terms, and Chu Minglian listened attentively, then nodded and said:
"Your artifact is quite unusual. Few cultivators use a bow, let alone one so heavy!"
After pondering for a few breaths, Chu Minglian said in a serious tone:
"I would use Gold Essence from the Green Crow Mine for the bow’s body and treat it with Mysterious Fire for it to withstand the force of five thousand catties while maintaining adequate flexibility. As for the bowstring... do you wish to use a monster’s tendon or something made of metal?"
"Something made of metal, please!"
Li Xuanfeng, considering that Gang Qi could greatly damage the body and transmitted swiftly through metal, feared that a monster’s sinew might not withstand it. Metal appeared to be the best choice.
"Then we shall use the Gold Essence of the Green Crow Mine. Refining a single Green Crow Gold Essence from ordinary Green Crow ore should meet your requirements."
Li Xuanfeng nodded continuously and asked enthusiastically:
"Excellent, excellent. But how many spirit stones will it cost?"
Chu Minglian smiled slightly and explained:
"The raw materials require eighty spirit stones. Additionally, creating this will take a good half a year of my time, with a labor cost of forty spirit stones. That makes a total of one hundred and twenty spirit stones."
Li Xuanfeng felt a numbness in his feet. The price was far beyond his budget. His storage bag, together with the fifty spirit stones funded by his family, were altogether worth just over a hundred stones. Yet, he was quite taken with the bow Chu Minglian described. Gritting his teeth, he said in a low voice:
"Elder, if I were to supply the Green Crow ore myself, how much could the price be reduced?"
After a moment’s consideration, Chu Minglian answered:
"The Green Crow ore would cost thirty spirit stones. If you can bring it yourself, then you would only need ninety stones."
"Then it’s settled!"
Li Xuanfeng was invigorated and began stacking a pile of spirit stones on the table for the clerk to count. He then took out a large piece of Green Crow ore for Chu Minglian to take a portion from, watching him eagerly until he nodded with a smile, replying:
"Young brother, come to collect it in half a year!"
Li Xuanfeng nodded repeatedly. The two went to the Xiao Family’s place in the market to draw up a contract and both made a Xuanjing Spirit Oath. Only then did Li Xuanfeng leave, satisfied. He rode the winds away without any regrets about his now-empty pockets, happily off to find his little lady.
