Chapter 31: "Flying dagger"
After the shadowy figure left the courtyard behind, it promptly headed into the Qiaochu quarter. With a light lit, the image of Ling Yue soon came into view.
But why would she go to that place in the middle of the night?
The answer to that question lies in the object she took with her just now.
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Gingerly taking it out, the thing was a dagger. Two fingers wide and three inches long, the edges were as thin as paper. When she flicks a finger at the blade, the metal resonated a metallic twang to showcase its fine craftsmanship.
"Holy crap, this Song family sure is wealthy to be able to use something of this purity to forge a dagger!" What Ling Yue found in the courtyard was none other than the dagger that nearly took Ye Gu's life during the day.
Because Ye Gu was still fuming over the incident, along with the poor eyesight of the other members of the family, only Ling Yue managed to take notice of the abnormality of this fine dagger.
First of all, the Yuan Iron used to make this dagger was as high as sixty percent.
Putting into consideration for the current Ye family's capabilities, refining something of this quality was not possible, let alone forge the metal into a dagger shape.
For anyone who has come into contact with Yuan Iron, they will know how much more difficult it was to forge something out of Yuan Iron than to merely refine a ore into a bar. Unless it was the master smiths in the main city of the county, it's not possible with the current skills of the smiths in Autumn Maple Town.
However, these aren't what concerned her the most, it's the lingering trace amount of spirit force left on the dagger.
If not for her immediate action today, there's no doubt Ye Gu would've been killed on the spot by the sudden attack.
"What a despicable Song House, how dare they plot against our Ye family. Just wait, I'll be sure to return the debt." Ling Yue swears.
Nevertheless, the emergence of this flying dagger has indeed opened up new doors for her on the cultivation path.
The amount of time she came into contact with the spirit force remains relatively short, and it didn't help when Mr. Red Mist's recorded few information pertaining to the cultivation methods of the spirit force in his codex.
Before she only knew how to transfer objects into her dimensional space from the outside world, but after seeing the sneak attack by the dagger, she knew then there's more to this power than mere assassination.
While playing with the dagger in hand, she was just about to use her spirit force to control the weapon when a powerful repulsion pushed her away.
So that's how it is. A touch of spirit force from the original owner is still inside the blade.
"I must think of a plan to turn this dagger into my own." As she says this, the cauldron mark in her right hand became active and sent a strand of spirit smoke into the dagger of its own volition.
The spirit force lingering inside the dagger resisted like a reactionary impulse, but against the continuous onslaught of the spirit smoke, the last remnant was soon swallowed up by Ling Yue's cauldron.
Knowing its time, Ling Yue inserts her own spirit force into the flying dagger to tame it.
"Squeak?" Seeing his mistress was still awake in the middle of the night, Little Squeak rubs his poor little sleepy eyes with his paw and eyes the dagger with a puzzling look.
"Go!" Just then only a strict order could be heard in the room before a flash of silvery light came swirling towards Little Squeak.
SQUEAK!!!
Scared to the point that all his hair became raised, Little Squeak lost all senses of drowsiness at this moment and came crashing down from the bed, his little paws sprawled upward upon landing.
Stopping the dagger one foot away from Little Squeak, Ling Yue was laughing so hard that tears were dripping down.
Seeing how his mistress was intentionally teasing himself, Little Squeak huffed a puff of unhappiness and aimed his butt at Ling Yue, refusing to talk to her for the night.
Somewhere else of the same night, there are also others who can't get a good night sleep like Little Squeak.
While the rest of Autumn Maple Town remains relatively quiet and calm as the townsfolk slept, only the study room belonging to the Song house master remains lit at this time.
Making a face full of worry as he frowned, Song Mo Shi looked like he just ate a fly right now. For today's event, he had everything planned out. Once that old fart Ye Gu dies at the hand of the dagger prepared by Master Lian, he will order his men, secretly stationed outside the Ye residence, to charge in and wipe everyone out. But thing's just had to go wrong and now he's stuck here in this predicament.
"Master Lian, what's going on here, why did the dagger miss? Or is it that you accepted the benefits of the Ye family and intentionally played me?" After two consecutive failure, Song Mo Shi's suspicion has been raised.
"Song Mo Shi, what do you mean by that statement. Are you doubting my ability or are you doubting the Alchemist Association?" Enraged, Master Lian snaps and slammed a wooden badge on the table.
On the badge, a cauldron shaped pattern was etched along the surface.
Seeing this badge, Song Mo Shi dashed out his flames regardless of how high his temper was at the moment. Taking a low stance, he began apologizing non-stop.
"Master Lian, forgive my impudence, I got a little excited and lost myself there. Even if I have a hundred balls, I wouldn't dare doubt the Alchemist Association or Master Lian."
If the members of the Ye family saw this badge now, they will no doubt likewise become shocked.
In fact, as long the person was a denizen of Da Xia, or anyone making a living in the nine reaches of this land, they will definitely recognize the meaning of this badge.
Alchemist Association, an organization with its hands reached into every kingdom of this land and held immeasurable status wherever its members went.
"Humph, if you know then that's fine. Since I have taken your fifty thousand gold, then I will certainly help you get rid of the Ye house." Whenever Master Lian recalls what happened today, his chest will become stuffy and uncomfortable again.
If he didn't need large amounts of funding in order to advance from a quasi-alchemist to a standard alchemist, he would never come to a shabby place like Autumn Maple Town.
And in order to kill Ye Gu during today's feast, he had even brought out his spirit dagger and lost it, that's his last resort weapon for goodness sake!
As a quasi-alchemist, Master Lian's spirit force cultivation was only at the seventh rank, but ever since he got his hands on that dagger, he can kill even a upper celestial realm martialist.
Thinking back on it, Master Lian found it strange too. He's dealt with many enemies before, but never once has he missed like today.
Can it be there is also a master of the spirit force inside the Ye Household?
The idea only lasted a second in his mind before it was quickly vetoed out.
If that was the case, the Ye Household would've dominated this entire region long before his arrival even if the foe was a quasi-alchemist like himself.
"Consider it my failure this time, but rest assured, there won't be a third time." Master Lian snickers at his own word.
After three crows by the morning rooster, Ling Yue had just finished her practice with the flying dagger. Right now, she can say she's quite familiar in controlling this weapon.
"I am now in the sixth rank of the constitutional domain. With the help of this flying dagger, I can kill even someone in the eighth rank if I must. It's just that, where did the Song family get this dagger from? Is there someone that capable in the Song House?" Without answers, she stores the flying dagger away and takes a nap. A few hours later, she heads off to the forge like usual.