Chapter 148: Chapter 146 - The Price of Craftsmanship
After spending several hours discussing alchemy with Ma Xiaohua, Ao Wen set out to meet with the weaponsmith that Gau had recommended the night before. Along the way she browsed through the street markets sampling local street food that contained a surprising variety of mushrooms served up on skewers dripping rich sauces or dredged in flour and spices before being deep fried.
Most important, however, was the luxuriously soft and warm black scarf that she acquired for Feng Xi. It had been woven from the fur of a Shadow Step Rabbit and enhanced the ability of the wearer to blend with shadows and darkness. Knowing that Feng Xi intended to practice her family's archery method that allowed an archer to blend with their environment, Ao Wen hoped that it would not only help keep her love warm in the increasingly cool weather but help her in progressing her art over the course of the winter. It had cost a staggering ten spirit crystals but Ao Wen had been looking for the chance to spoil Feng Xi with a gift ever since they left Turning Leaf and this one was too perfect to pass up.
Leaving the hustle and bustle of the open market, Ao Wen made her way to a more exclusive section of Lantern City's south side. Buildings gradually became taller, grander and stood further apart from each other. Most mortals moving about wore some form of house uniform bearing the crests of one cultivation family or another while the cultivators moving about dressed in finery befitting their wealthy backgrounds. Several of the passing young lords gave Ao Wen and her long saber an appraising look before turning their nose up at her and walking away.
Seeing the superficial judgments, Ao Wen could only laugh. None of the young elite turning their nose up at her had been more than middle stage Brawlers or Initiates. Even if she restricted herself to her lowest cultivation as a middle-stage Drifter, she had no doubt that she could overpower any one of them and if she were to bring her methods as an alchemist into a confrontation then defeating all of them at once wouldn't pose a challenge. The young of small towns, it seemed, had yet to learn how to recognize when a person's cultivation stood far enough above their own that their status and connections couldn't be relied on to keep them safe. Still, a part of her missed the robes of the Celestial Flame Sacred Temple she'd worn as Cong Daiyu. No one would disrespect a Celestial Fairy even if their cultivation overshadowed hers. Perhaps she should consider taking the Alchemy Novice exam when they reached Red Moon City in the spring, if for no other reason than to be able to display something that uninformed strangers would recognize and respect and to put an end to the constant questions about her standing in the alchemy world.
All of that, however, would wait for later. For now, she'd finally arrived at a business bearing the name 'Celestial Arms' that she'd been referred to. Stepping into the shop, Ao Wen could immediately sense the powerful energy of the weapons displayed on the walls of the small shop. River's Bite, the spear crafted by Aesthete Qing for Long Ma, would struggle to earn a place on the walls of the refined establishment that displayed each sword, saber, spear and hammer as though they were precious works of art. Beside each remarkably crafted weapon, a bronze plaque had been inscribed with the weapon's name, the unique materials used in its construction, the cultivation methods it might be well suited for and the unique abilities it could empower.
"It takes a bold man to bring someone else's work into my gallery," a gruff voice called from behind a counter that blocked access to the workshop where weapons could be maintained without returning to the forge in a separate building behind the shop that served customers. "If you want me to fix something broken or upgrade the work of another smith you've come to the wrong shop. Understudy Fang Juichen is more open to that sort of commission."
"Apologies for the offense," Ao Wen said, cupping her hands and bowing slightly. "Understudy Lau need not concern himself with this," she said, lifting the heavy saber in her left hand. "I took it off its maker as payment for his insult of believing that a late-stage Aesthete could create a weapon so powerful that a trained fighter would be defeated by his completely untrained wild swings. If I wasn't in desperate need of a weapon at the time, I would have looked elsewhere for a more suitable blade. I've come to you to commission a replacement that's more suited to my style and cultivation."
"A custom commission," the squat muscular man said, scratching at the thick red stubble of his beard and furrowing his thick brows at Ao Wen as he tried to form an impression of the young man carrying such a long saber. The weapon didn't feel discordant despite the young man's short stature but it didn't feel like a perfect fit either. Clearly his comment about being in desperate need of a weapon had forced him to take the blade and from the faint aura of blood that clung to both the weapon and it's owner, he'd put the blade to use since acquiring it. "You're a Brawler?" Understudy Lau asked directly.
"Late-stage," Ao Wen answered truthfully. "I need a better blade if I'm going to complete my breakthrough to Soldier, one more suited to my cultivation path. I was told that Understudy Lau was the only person in Lantern City who could make what I need," she offered, risking that admitting the truth would give him leverage in their negotiation but once she made her request he'd know that he was the only one who could fulfill it anyway. Admitting as much early in the conversation wouldn't put her at too much of a disadvantage.
"What's your name, young Brawler," the old bull of a man asked in a slightly friendlier tone. "And why have you come to me so specifically?"
"I'm Alchemy Novice Ao Wen," she said, ensuring that he understood she was a professional of equal cultivation even though it was an entirely different discipline. "Understudy can call me Novice Ao if you prefer. I came because I train a saber art based on the Obsidian Night Scorpion. The clan I studied with uses a black bladed saber that lends well to some of their techniques but I wasn't able to take one with me when I left. I don't need you to replicate their work but I do need something that won't reflect as much light when I'm fighting at night," she explained.
"You want a Black Blade," he said, nodding in understanding and withdrawing the last of his hostility. Even if he had no need of this young man's services, it was never wise to get on the bad side of an alchemist. "I can make one for you. My custom services for a Black Blade start at five hundred small spirit stones but given the size of blade you're looking for, it won't be less than seven hundred."
Ao Wen fought hard to keep her jaw from dropping and her eyes from widening in shock. From the weapons placed along the walls she was sure that Understudy Lau was talented enough to demand such high prices but that didn't mean she could afford to pay them! "Perhaps we can come to an arrangement," Ao Wen suggested. "I've been told that Understudy Lau is of mixed bloodlines. I'm also of mixed bloodlines," she said, placing a hand on her chest. "The muddled bloodlines of many Spirit Folk can form impediments to advancing your cultivation. I've been developing a treatment method to remove those impediments. I'd be happy to," she began to offer only to be interrupted by Understudy Lau.
"Your blade won't be less than eight hundred small spirit crystals. Bring up my bloodline again and I'll demand payment in medium spirit crystals and not less than fifty of them," he said darkly. "I have no need of the services of an Alchemy Novice and I will not barter for my work," he continued forcefully. "If the price is too high then your need must not be great. If your pockets are too empty, your skills as an alchemist must be too lacking."
"Understudy Lau, if I've caused offense by mentioning something personal, I apologize," Ao Wen said, an aura of dragon rage building within her as her amber eyes darkened and her pupils elongated into vertical slits. "But understand that offering my services in exchange for yours is not an insult to your skills. I served as the Guest Alchemist of the City Lord of Turning Leaf city and personally corrected the cultivation deviation of the Lord Mayor of Lantern City's niece. Presently, I'm preparing for the Independent Alchemist exam and I'm sure you understand that Alchemists spend as much money as they earn to advance their profession. If you have no need for my services, I can return when I've collected the funds you require from those who can only offer spirit crystals for what I can do. Make no mistake though," Ao Wen said, her tone fierce. "Insulting my skills doesn't end well. If you doubt me, ask Independent Alchemist Wai Dan of Turning Leaf how much he's enjoying his convalescence. If all goes well, he may be able to return to the practice of alchemy in two or three years time."
"I don't do business with people who threaten me," Understudy Lau said, glaring intensely at Ao Wen. "If your cultivation depends on a Black Blade, perhaps you should make the trip to Red Moon City to see if a craftsman there can meet your needs."
"I'm not threatening you," Ao Wen said, her dragon aura growing in intensity. "I'm explaining that much like you choose to inflate your responses when you feel you've been insulted, I don't take kindly to certain insults either. I'll return when I can place a deposit of three hundred and fifty spirit crystals and we can talk about what you can craft for seven hundred. Fair?"
"Come back with five hundred spirit crystals," Understudy Lau countered. "Do that and we'll discuss what I can craft for seven hundred."
"As you wish, Understudy Lau," Ao Wen said, reigning in her draconic aura and allowing her eyes to return to normal. "I hope that it won't be too long before we speak again," she said, cupping her hands in brief salute before turning sharply on her heels and striding out into the afternoon rain.
Once Ao Wen left, Understudy Lau let out a shaky breath. As a late-stage Brawler himself, he felt that he had little to fear from the diminutive young alchemist but somehow he felt like he'd touched a dragon's reverse scale and that he'd come far too close to disaster. Truly, alchemists weren't to be offended!
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JustJae
JustJae Thank you everyone for all the support! If you’re enjoying this, please check out my other work ‘Unparalleled Artist Unlikely Hero’, set thousands of years earlier in the same world and following Wu Ling the disciple of one of Ao Wen’s previous incarnations!
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