Gongjia Heng lived in a mountain not too far from the river bank. They could see the mountain from the river bank since there weren't many mountains around.
Shao Xuan asked a few probing questions along the way and Gongjia Heng answered them all. Unless it was about the Xia people's secrets, Gongjia Heng did not care about anything else. He talked about the weapons he had forged the most, including large cauldrons and ceremonial weapons like swords and spears. His words were filled with confidence and pride.
In the eyes of the Xia people, if they claimed to be second in forging, no one would dare claim to be first. The only ones who could surpass them were from their own tribe.
Even when Gongjia Heng was praising himself, he did not let his guard down. Although his expression and words were casual, he was able to react at the slightest movement.
A strange worm with many legs suddenly leapt out of the bushes. Even though it was lying on the ground, it was still taller than Shao Xuan and Gongjia Heng. Two antennae-like antennae waved on the top of its head, its two large, pince-like fangs lunged at Shao Xuan and Gongjia Heng. Even the half-decayed giant tree trunk could not slow down the worm at all.
Shao Xuan did not move. Gongjia Heng, who had just been showing off to Shao Xuan with a smile on his face, leapt high into the air, the hammer in his hand swinging like the wind. A powerful force was transmitted from his arm to the hammer, creating a terrifying aura as it slammed into the worm's head.
A half-meter deep crater appeared on the giant insect's head as it clenched its fangs. The shell covering its head cracked open, and brownish-green liquid splashed out from the crack.
Such a tyrannical blow did not kill the giant worm, but before the giant worm could react, the hammer flashed past like a hurricane, bringing with it a feeling of thunder.
Bang! Bang!
The broken outer shell exploded like fireworks under the barrage of hammer strikes, along with the worm's greenish-brown brain fluid. In the blink of an eye, the many-legged worm that had been charging at them was now lying there motionless. Its head had turned into a pile of mush.
After the hammer left the worm's body, it continued to dance in Gongjia Heng's hand. The thousand-kilogram hammer was as light as a feather. It felt casual.
Some people looked intimidating and strong but were actually weak inside. Gongjia Heng, on the other hand, had a Xia totem with bulging muscles that were filled with strength.
He was a blacksmith after all.
Gongjia Heng flung the worm's brain fluid and shell off the hammer, then led Shao Xuan back to his house.
"Where were we? Oh, right, a slave master named Chao asked me to forge a sword … "
With a smile on his face, Gongjia Heng continued his story, as if smashing the worm into mush was just a trivial matter.
Shao Xuan easily dragged the ten-metre-long crocodile to Gongjia Heng's house. There was a cave at the foot of the mountain where some goods were stored. There was food and all sorts of tools, including stone tools, bone tools and metal tools.
However, Gongjia Heng did not live inside. He built a stone house outside the cave. The room inside was not big, two-thirds of the space was used for blacksmithing.
On their way here, Shao Xuan realised that there were many traps set around Gongjia Heng's house. They were used to guard against wild beasts in the forest. If they could not guard against them, they could be used as an early warning.
"I live here," said Gongjia Heng, pointing at the cave and stone house.
Shao Xuan put down the crocodile and followed Gongjia Heng to look around. Perhaps it was because very few people came here so Gongjia Heng was very friendly. He looked at the food in the cave. It was okay for him to eat normally but it was not enough to entertain guests. Gongjia Heng was a man who cared about his reputation. He had bragged so much just now but now he felt that the conditions here were too shabby. He could only entertain guests with food. That was why he decided to cook the crocodile he hunted today.
While Gongjia Heng was killing the crocodile, Shao Xuan looked at the cave where Gongjia Heng kept his things. Gongjia Heng did not hide the things in the cave, allowing Shao Xuan to see. However, the stone house was not open to the public. That was where he blacksmithing. There were some things he could not show to outsiders. Shao Xuan did not mind.
The cave was dark and deeper than he had imagined. Shao Xuan lit a torch and walked in. Their eyes swept across the cave. There were all sorts of tools, plants and fruits. From the looks of it, Gongjia Heng had indeed lived here for a long time. It was about the same as the twenty years he had claimed.
After looking around, Shao Xuan walked out of the cave.
"When I was only twenty years old, I deciphered the meaning of the Xia pattern. I came out to look for Gongjia Mountain," said Gongjia Heng as he dealt with the crocodile. The 'Xia pattern' he was referring to was the complicated cloud pattern Shao Xuan had seen on the cauldron.
"Unfortunately, I searched for twenty years and still couldn't find the place. That's why I just stayed here. Every year, I would go out to look for it. If I couldn't find it, I would come back here temporarily to rest and look again." Gongjia Heng told Shao Xuan about his many years of hardship. At the same time, he wanted to give a piece of advice to the young man, Shao Xuan. Do not do things beyond your capabilities or you will regret it.
He had searched for twenty years and still couldn't find it. No wonder Gongjia Heng did not mock the other people who went to look for Gongjia Mountain. He was the same. Fortunately, he was still alive and had not given up.
"At first, I couldn't get used to it. Many of my tools were made of gold and my food was much more delicate. But after I came here, I could only try my best to get used to it." All these years, Gongjia Heng had learned many jungle survival skills from the tribes living in the forest. He did not have special ropes or copper chains so he used vines instead. He knew which vines were suitable for hunting and how to make straw ropes. After so many years of searching for Gongjia Mountain, he had used up a lot of the gold he brought back. When he lacked materials, he would help the tribes in the forest forge weapons for low pay in exchange for materials. Sometimes, he would ask them to bring some when they went on a trade trip.
He was different from the tribesmen who grew up in the forest. For the first twenty years of his life, Gongjia Heng lived in a city ruled by slave masters. As a Xia, he had excellent blacksmithing talent and lived a good life. Many people tried to flatter him. Even the slave masters would give him special treatment when they wanted weapons. However, after coming here, he could not continue like that. Gongjia Heng's strategy was to be friendly to the tribes in the forest. He needed people to work with him and ask for help.
With his identity as a Xia and excellent blacksmithing skills, other than a few tribes who were extremely xenophobic and isolated from the rest of the world, Gongjia Heng met other tribes who treated him with respect. This was why he was so friendly when he met Shao Xuan.
As long as they did not have ill intentions, Gongjia Heng would treat them with friendliness.
"Is that cage specially made to catch crocodiles?" asked Shao Xuan.
"Yes! There are many fish here. "Gongjia Heng nodded solemnly. In such a primitive environment, in order to save materials, he could only learn to use materials other than metal. However, as a Xia person, he still leaned towards making metal. He had made other items in the past, but due to certain reasons, he abandoned the other metal items and made that cage. Many people laughed at him for being silly and wasteful! But he did not regret it.
"There's a giant fish in that river. Oh, it's the crocodile you mentioned. It's huge though. I was almost eaten by it a few times when I crossed the river. I don't even know how many weapons I lost in that river." Gongjia Heng grew angry at the mention of this. He looked in the direction of the river with hatred in his eyes.
Looks like they had a grudge.
Speaking of crocodiles, Gongjia Heng had lived here for twenty years. Even if he had never seen a crocodile in the first twenty years, he had lived in the forest for many years.
"The river is deep. When they're in the water, they only show their eyes and nostrils." Gongjia Heng told Shao Xuan this so that Shao Xuan could understand the crocodiles better.
"Their strong tails can propel them to swim quickly underwater. At the same time, they can reduce the waves and sneak up on their prey. Even if they lose a leg in a fight, it's fine because they're born to be strong. Many of them are missing a leg. That's a sign of their fighting style. That's why, Shao Xuan, if you encounter a crocodile that's missing a leg, do not underestimate it or you'll regret it. "
Gongjia Heng said, "However, when you came here, the crocodile that's missing a leg is inconvenient. In shallow water and on land, they use their legs more. Sometimes in shallow water, they can even jump by stepping on rocks underwater."
"Yes, I've experienced this before." Shao Xuan had compared the crocodiles here to the crocodiles in the Drumming tribe. The crocodiles here had stronger hind legs. And their teeth. If the Drumming tribe's crocodiles' teeth were blunt cones, these crocodiles' teeth were sharp steel nails.
Many aspects showed that the crocodiles here were more dangerous.
"Wow, I didn't expect this fish to be over a hundred years old. It can be used as armour." Gongjia Heng picked up a scale and passed it to Shao Xuan. "When the time comes, you can use its bone plates as armour. These fish can make good armour after they're over a hundred years old."
"How do you know it's over a hundred years old?" asked Shao Xuan.
"Look at the top." Gongjia Heng pointed at the scale. "Look at the patterns."
The scale Gongjia Heng passed to Shao Xuan had some patterns on it. They were like tree rings, showing the crocodile's age.
As for the bone plates, this was another difference between the crocodiles here and the ones in the Drumming tribe. The crocodiles here had over a hundred bone plates under their skin. It was a type of hard armour that covered the crocodile's back. Shao Xuan could cut the crocodile's mouth with his sword but he might not be able to cut the crocodile's back. Young crocodiles might be able to cut it but over a hundred years old, it would be difficult.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
