The Master Blacksmith (1)

Fiona whispered hoarsely. "Da.. ddy... are you there? I'm c-cold."

"No, my little kitten. Don't be cold, don't be scared. Daddy is right here... right beside you..." I muttered softly into her ears.

Consoling herself, she nestled nervously in my embrace. After a few moments, I could feel her temperature warming up, and her restlessness ease.

I propped her up. "Are you okay now, Fiona?"

"Mhm.."

"Those bandits were scary, huh? I didn't expect them to have that high of a cultivation base, a Nascent Soul, and three Qi Establishment Realm cultivators. Plus, it looks like when they ambushed people, they also took their life-saving treasures along. And that last attack of theirs…" I shivered at the thought.

Fiona pulled my hand. I would have jumped up in glee if this was any other moment, but Fiona was dead serious. "We need to get stronger, daddy."

"Yes, we do. Let's head to Malindor as fast as possible."

__________

Malindor City, Mareriona Kingdom.

"No, that wasn't me that applied the poison! I only forged the weapon! Somebody is framing me!" A buff, middle-aged man screamed while being beaten by a group of people. Onlookers watched, with confusion written in their eyes, murmuring amongst themselves.

"Isn't he the famed Master Burkan?" Someone whispered, bringing out a collective sound of gasps from the crowd.

"He is! But what poison is he talking about?"

"Yes, I remember buying a chest plate from his store a few days ago, for my son!"

"His armor and weapons are all of top-notch quality, though a tad expensive. Is that enough to incur a beating?"

The sound of clapping drew everyone's attention. The beatings stopped, and Burkan fell to the ground, gasping for breath.

"The City Lord has arrived!"

The commoners drew a bow, as some cultivators gave a slight nod.

"I'm sorry for all the commotion, but this is important for the well-being of all citizens and cultivators alike at Malindor, the city of blacksmithing!"

Traces of fear appeared on some people's faces.

"We, of the city's safety service, received a report on the malicious actions of Master Burkan, the renowned smith! He is a rapacious man, applying poison on his items crafted, then threatening customers to pay and promote his reputation."

More gasps sounded about in the crowd, as some cultivators, who were also customers of Burkan, had their killing intent to soar.

"I've already paid so much, almost my entire savings of spirit stones for a sword, and now you want more, even going as far as blackmailing me?" A Qi Establishment Realm cultivator yelled angrily, preparing to draw his sword.

"What a venomous and greedy bastard! I can't believe that I once respected him as a fellow blacksmith," several well-known blacksmiths added, and shook their heads.

An elder sighed. "Talent corrupts many people. Still so young, and yet so avaricious."

"Scumbag! I've got a family to feed and put my life on the line as a hunter!" He threw a rock at Burkan.

Thunk.

A barrage of rocks, arrows, weapons, shoes, whatever people could find and throw flew at Burkan. He laid there, taking it all. Battered. Bruised. Humiliated.

"Stop. Stop!" The city lord yelled after a while, stopping all advances.

He looked behind himself, and the guards cleared, making away two people.

Burkan looked up, disheveled, and the shock in his eyes was apparent. The two most trusted people in his life were standing there amidst the guards, one with tears and one with a vial.

"Effie. Loken. It... it couldn't have been you two, right?" Burkan asked with a hoarse voice filled with disbelief.

"We have evidence collected from the reporters. Effillion Wismer, lover of Burkan, and Loken, a reputable alchemist of Malindor."

"I can confirm that Burkan was applying this vial of poison onto his weapons and armor."

"I... I was suspicious about how Burkan is never with me even though we're lovers, and that he might cheat on me. One night, I followed him, only to see him collecting spirit stones off a girl's body! After investigating his past activities, I found out he bought something from Mister Loken... and to my horror, it was an unknown poison! That's when I reported to the city lord..."

"Loken... you told me it was a gift, to improve the durability of the weapon! And Effie, you must be mistaken! The reason I'm always in my workshop, crafting... something... for you..." He realized his words were meaningless, his voice drowned out to silence. Out of the corner of his eye, he'd already caught sight of the forged jade slip in their pockets.

There was no way out of this situation.

"We have already concluded the punishment has already. Effilion we have all of Burkan's possessions transferred over to her, and we have revoked his license to lease a shop in Malindor City. Considering his past contributions to the city's armory, the city shall not banish him, nor strip his ability of craftsmanship." The city lord concluded.

That was it.

Burkan's reputation. His wealth. His workshop. His desire to be a blacksmith, all plummeted down the drains and doused just like that.

"Ha. Ha. Ahahaha!"

He sat there on the stone ground, in the middle of the city square, laughing without a care for the world. His muscular arms, toned from decades of hammering, were trembling, looking frail. Unlike his old proud and confident self, his back hunched over, making him seem older than he is.

The crowd dispersed, leaving behind voices of contempt.

Burkan watched as Effillion, his lover, climbed onto the horse of the city lord, smiling as if nothing had happened, and instead received blessings from someone. The city lord laughed and pulled out a paper. She signed it without hesitation.

She then rode off into the direction of his workshop, never once looking back.

"..."

After a moment of silence, Loken, the only person left in the square, threw a vial at Burkan. He'd caught it, along with his eye.

Burkan could see traces of guilt from his eyes, but had no regrets. It was as if he was guilty of losing a master blacksmith, but not a fellow friend or brother.

Loken dropped his gaze and bowed, then walked after Effillion, who was waiting in the distance.

"Hah. Probably getting that high-grade sword I refused to give him." Burkan snorted with disgust. "After claiming that we were brothers, how could he not understand that that sword was not one to take? He could covet anything in the shop, except that."

Murmuring, he collected himself and headed off to his workshop.

It was empty when he got there. They cleared the shelves out, and not even a rock remained in the material's chest. Burkan could see sword marks on the stone floor, almost like somebody dragged them out in a hurry.

"They cleared almost everything... except this," Burkan muttered, despondent. He raised the hammer, and under clearing away the cloud of dust, laid pieces of gleaming blue gems. It was his betrothal gift to Effillion, a gorgeous necklace made from lavish lycanite crystals.

"Truly an extravagant gem... I've burned out most of my spiritual essence trying to refine it... but, what was the point?" Burkan said while laughing to himself.

He looked at the weapons on the floor, thrown there carelessly like trash. "Guess this will have to do for today's sales, or else I can't even eat for the day."

Just like that, Burkan grabbed a cloth from a drawer, wrapped the few weapons up, and headed out.

______

Burkan sat on the cloth displaying some weapons; a dagger, two swords, and a spear. Beside it lay exquisite blue gems that attracted the attention of many. But when they saw the man that was selling them, they turned their heads in horror and disgust.

Burkan turned a blind eye to all of this, staring into nothingness but the front gates of the city. People would not talk face-to-face always, considering his sullied reputation, and when they were talking about him from afar, he couldn't care less. He sat there in a daze, sometimes muttering to himself. Those with voracious mouths have already exaggerated the rumors, and even if he were to somehow come up with evidence and prove his innocence, he would still suffer a loss.

"Daddy, let's see what that grandpa is selling. He's the only vendor that we've seen."

Burkan widened his eyes in surprise. 'What child wouldn't be cursing me already?'

In front of his 'stall', there was a handsome man holding hands with a silver-haired girl. The man dipped a hello and stared at the dagger.

"Good craftsmanship." He praised, picking up the dagger and swinging it.

The girl shook her head in disagreement. "Too bad that its quality is not very good. Although," she glanced at the other weapons before stopping at the lycanite crystals. "These gems seem special."

"Nope, they're not." The man grabbed the gem out of her hand and threw it afar.

The action stupefied Burkan.

'These are the two most shameless customers I've seen, and I've seen a lot of them as a master blacksmith. They waltz right up, swing the weapon without permission, insult it blatantly, and then throw the products away?!' He thought, his mind in turmoil.