On the 15th day of the fourth lunar month, it was the Zhou family's grand birthday celebration.
To the south of Qingyun City, there was a mountain named "Zhaolu". The Qingjiang River flowed past the foot of the mountain, and its tributaries converged at the foot of the mountain to form Yingyue Lake. Along the shore of the lake were clusters of buildings in a scattered pattern. The common folks called this place Zhou Family Village, and in the martial arts world, it was the renowned swordsmanship family in the Great Wei Dynasty, Shuiyun Sword Pool!
The buildings in the central area of Zhou Family Village had a long history, and the members of the Zhou family lived there. About seven to eight out of ten of the buildings around it had been expanded in the past few decades. Due to the fame of "Sword Saint" Zhou Chiyang, countless martial artists came here to learn swordsmanship, but only over three hundred of them could actually be accepted as disciples of the Zhou family.
The Zhou family had lived here for generations. Their ancestors had a sword-casting villa, and their main business was to forge various weapons for the martial arts world. In the previous dynasty, they were just an unknown small family.
Because the old master of the Zhou family was generous and loved making friends, and during the founding of the Great Wei Dynasty, he also forged a lot of battle knives for the rebel army, the Zhou family then got on the right track. However, they were still just a second-rate family in the martial arts world.
It was not until the contemporary "Sword Saint" emerged that the Zhou family soared to prominence, established a sect and changed its name to "Shuiyun Sword Pool", becoming a martial arts family in Zezhou second only to Junshan Terrace.
The old master of the Zhou family was too old and had long since ignored worldly affairs. Currently, the head of the Zhou family and the leader of Shuiyun Sword Pool was Zhou Huaili, the eldest son of the old master of the Zhou family and also the elder brother of the contemporary Sword Saint.
At noon, the sounds of music and singing continued on Zhaolu Peak. The renowned martial artists from all over who had come to celebrate the birthday were drinking and chatting merrily in the Sword Release Hall by the side of Yingyue Lake. The village was bustling with noise, but it was quite quiet behind the ancestral residence.
By the water pool at the foot of the mountain, there was an old blacksmith shop with a darkening signboard hanging on the door. One could vaguely make out the four characters "Zhou Family Shop", which was where the ancestors of the Zhou family had started their business.
The furnace fire that had been passed down in the blacksmith shop for a hundred years still hadn't gone out, and the clear sound of iron forging came out:
Ding——
Ding——
The old master of the Zhou family, with white hair, bent over and held a hammer in his hand, striking the iron block clamped in the tongs.
Because of his advanced age, his strength wasn't strong, but his technique was extremely steady. Looking at it from the side, it even had a unique rhythm.
Zhou Huaili, the leader of the family, stood outside the blacksmith shop with his hands in his sleeves. He looked to be around fifty years old, with a three-foot green sword hanging from his waist, and his imposing manner was quite remarkable.
As the elder brother of the contemporary Sword Saint and a genuine kendo grandmaster himself, Zhou Huaili's status in the martial arts world was definitely not low.
But in the face of his father, no matter how old Zhou Huaili was, he could only stand quietly at the door like an ordinary son, listening to his elder's long-winded words:
"The martial arts world is like the tide of the Qingjiang River. When the tide rises, it will surely fall, and vice versa. Without waves, it will become stagnant water... When forging a knife for Xuan Yuanchao back then, who could have imagined that this son who was expelled from the Xuan Yuan family could join the army at a young age and make great contributions, and master a peerless saber technique, becoming today's Saber Lord? When your grandfather forged a knife for Kuangyazi back then, Kuangyazi was at the height of his power and dominated the saber world. Who could have imagined that today, it's hard to find even half of his descendants in the martial arts world..."
The old master of the Zhou family had been staying in the blacksmith shop with a heavy smell of smoke and fire for a long time, so his throat wasn't good. He spoke slowly and hoarsely, and it was hard to hear him clearly without listening carefully.
After listening patiently for a long time, Zhou Huaili said:
"Father, you've told these old stories hundreds of times."
The old master of the Zhou family forged the iron in an orderly manner, as if he hadn't heard his son's words, and continued to mutter:
"It's not easy to make a living in the martial arts world. Tell me, if I had turned Xuan Yuanchao away when he came to ask me to forge a knife back then, how many people of the Zhou family would still be alive in the world today?"
"Father has always been generous in his life, and everyone in the martial arts world knows it. If not, on your hundredth birthday, there wouldn't be so many friends from the martial arts world coming to offer their congratulations..."
"This isn't just about generosity. A handful of rice given to someone when they're down is far better than offering a thousand pieces of gold when they're prosperous. A cold look given to someone when they're down might lead to their entire family being exterminated in the future. That's how the martial arts world is..."
"Father, I'm already past the age of fifty and not young anymore. It's your birthday today. Take a rest for a day."
The old master of the Zhou family paused in his iron forging for a moment. After a short silence, he picked up the hammer again.
Ding——
Ding——
It became quiet inside and outside the blacksmith shop, with only the sound of iron forging remaining.
Zhou Huaili waited for a while. Seeing that the old master of the Zhou family wasn't in the mood to go out and meet the guests, he stopped persuading him and turned around, walked out of the ancestral residence, and came to the Sword Release Hall by the side of Yingyue Lake.
"Sword Release" meant seeing through the way of the sword. Back then, Sword Saint Zhou Chiyang had achieved enlightenment by the side of the lake, thus soaring to prominence, transforming from a small sword-casting master into the most powerful swordsman in the martial arts world at that time.
Therefore, the Sword Release Hall was regarded as a sacred place of Shuiyun Sword Pool. On ordinary days, idle people were not allowed to enter. It was only opened during celebration banquets, and those who could enter were all renowned martial artists from the area.
Zhou Huaili entered from the back of the Sword Release Hall with his servants. He could see that the spacious hall was filled with distinguished guests. Outside the door was the Yingyue Lake with its clear blue water. By the side of the lake stood a huge stone with the character "Xia" (chivalry) engraved on it, which was personally carved by Sword Saint Zhou Chiyang back then. The characters were as sharp as silver hooks and iron strokes, revealing their edge. Many people were observing them under the huge sword.
When he saw this character "Xia", a hint of faint displeasure flashed in Zhou Huaili's eyes.
As the saying goes, "Every family has its own hard-to-read scriptures", and the Zhou family was no exception.
Zhou Huaili took charge of the family early on. Because of the family property and wealth, he wasn't very kind to his younger brother who was deeply loved by their father. Although they didn't draw their swords against each other, there were many quarrels between them.
After his younger brother's swordsmanship became famous throughout the land, instead of teaching his elder brother a lesson, he engraved a character and then left with his sword, starting to travel through mountains and rivers and never returning to his hometown.
Zhou Huaili knew that his younger brother was teaching him a lesson and, like their father, hoped that he would "see the error of his ways". But he never thought that there was anything wrong with his own behavior.
His younger brother, Zhou Chiyang, was obsessed with the way of the sword and had no interest in mundane family businesses. He even looked down on his worldly and utilitarian elder brother. He was a chivalrous hero admired by everyone in the martial arts world, but such a person could only be the "face" of the family, not the one to manage it.
In the martial arts world, all forces talk about "chivalry" on the surface, but if they only care about this, no matter how great their abilities are, they can't accumulate family property.
He, Zhou Huaili, was indeed worldly, not noble and chivalrous enough. But without his worldliness, where would the Zhou family have all these distinguished guests today, and where would they have the vast fields outside?
If he hadn't worked hard to manage the family for half his life, no matter how great the reputation of the Sword Saint was, the Zhou family would still be just a small family, still making a living by forging iron to this day.
The distracting thoughts flashed by. Zhou Huaili entered the Sword Release Hall. When he saw the guests present, he put on a beaming smile, cupped his hands and said:
"Madam Xue, Brother Xuan Yuan, I've kept you waiting. My father is old and has been forging iron all his life. He feels uncomfortable if he doesn't stand by the furnace every day. He will come out later..."
The guests in the hall were all renowned martial artists around Zezhou. The seven or eight people sitting at the main seats were all grandmasters famous in the martial arts world. The Three Immortals of Sanjue Valley in Wuzhou, Xuan Yuanhongzhi, the leader of Junshan Terrace, and others were all among them. It could be said that the major families and sects near Zezhou had all sent people here.
But among those present, the ones with the highest status were undoubtedly the two women sitting at the main seats!