Chapter 42: Gathering Wishes Sacrifice (3)

About ten minutes later, the two found Ta Bei the old blacksmith, as referred to by the hungry street kids, on the southern side of the street.

The so-called "Ta Bei" refers to the bellows set next to the earth furnace used for iron smelting in ancient times on Zero Island. Over time, the term evolved to denote the entire steelmaking technology. This iron forging technique, due to its low efficiency, had been phased out in modern times, making it a rare craft.

During the festival of the enigmatic creatures, there sat an artisan who seemed to have traveled through time from hundreds of years ago. To onlookers, he appeared as an old man with a white beard tied in a headscarf, feet in wooden clogs, sitting stoically in front of the smelting furnace. With one arm, he wielded the hammer, striking the metal billets and producing a clear, long-lasting sound.