Chapter 33 (1/2)

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The road on the way back was still flat. Although Ou Yangming felt uneasy as he lost some power and agility, he felt much better than when his power increased so suddenly during his journey to the forest.

He returned to the military camp safe and sound and got back to his courtyard easily since he had the waist tag of an official Military Fire Blacksmith.

Just as he fetched a pail of water to clean himself, Old Craftsman’s voice was heard.

“Fella, open the door!”

Ou Yangming quickly ran to open the door.

After looking at him from head to toe, Old Craftsman finally sighed a breath of relief, and his tensed face loosened up a little. Nonetheless, he complained, “B*stard, where have you been? You actually know that you should come home?”

While Old Craftsman was being very strict, Ou Yangming felt warmth in his heart, and he was delighted.

Since he was an orphan, he had never been someone’s concern.

‘Come home.’

The simple words almost made Ou Yangming weep.

Upon sensing his unusual behavior, Old Craftsman’s anger disappeared, and he asked worriedly, “Young fella, what’s wrong?”

Ou Yangming quickly curbed his emotions as he asked, “Old Man, why did you come so quickly?”

“You disappeared without saying a word. If someone hadn’t seen you, I would’ve thought that…” Old Craftsman scoffed, then paused for a while before he continued, “Sir Kang asked about you, and I told him that you went to run some errands. If you’re still not back, I would’ve sought help from General Chen.”

Ou Yangming could not help but laugh. Sir Kang did not look at him in the eye at all back when he was still a helper, let alone care about him. After Ou Yangming became an official Military Fire Blacksmith and handed in five pieces of Attribute Equipment, there was an instant 180-degree change in Kang Weibo’s att.i.tude toward him.

Kang Weibo visited personally to ask about Ou Yangming who had not returned for only a few days.

Needless to say, if Ou Yangming had a choice, he would rather Kang Weibo show no interest in him.

“Where exactly did you go?” Old Craftsman asked.

Ou Yangming looked away as he tried to come up with an explanation. Obviously, he was not going to tell the truth, but the thought of fooling the old man made him uncomfortable.

“Forget it, it’s fine if you don’t want to tell me, but let me tell you something.” Old Craftsman suddenly waved his hand, then mentioned seriously, “No matter what you do, you must be careful. Remember, you only have one life, and there’s no room for you to regret it at all.”

“Yes, I’ll remember, Old Man.” Ou Yangming nodded hard. He was secretly grateful that Old Craftsman did not force an answer out of him because the old man could tell that it would make things difficult for him.

“Did you gain anything from going wild outside for three days?” Old Craftsman asked.

Ou Yangming pondered for a while before he answered, “Old Man, the world outside is completely different from the military camp, I was extremely enlightened!”

“Oh? How were you enlightened? Tell me about it.” Old Craftsman was interested.

“It’s a perception, and I can’t describe it.” Ou Yangming chuckled.

Old Craftsman slapped his head snappily, then commented, “Young fella, enlightened my *ss!”

Ou Yangming quickly replied, “I was, I was. I think… Uhm, I have some ideas about increasing the Unique Attributes of a High Grade equipment.”

Due to his purple Military Fire’s unique nature, he could simply achieve that effortlessly.

Nevertheless, Ou Yangming never revealed that to anyone, thus even Old Craftsman had no idea that he could already add Unique Attributes to High Grade equipment.

“Young fella, don’t reach for what’s beyond your grasp. The most important thing about being a Military Fire Blacksmith is to be conscientious. Hmph, High Grade equipment is completely different from Good Grade equipment, and it’s more difficult to attach attributes on them. Being able to smith one doesn’t mean that you can attach attributes too.” Old Craftsman’s face tensed up again, and he added after thinking for a while, “Judging from your talent, you’ll be amazing if you can achieve that within three to six months!”

Ou Yangming was slightly moved because he could wait if a three-month period was acceptable for Old Craftsman.

“Old Man, I’ll definitely try my best, but…” He hesitated for a moment. “I realize that going outside really helps me.”

Old Craftsman giggled. “At the end of the day, you just want to go out, don’t you? Okay, I promise you. As long as you complete five pieces of Good Grade Attribute Equipment and twenty pieces of High Grade White Slate Equipment every month, you may go.”

Ou Yangming was instantly elated, but his eyes suddenly flashed as he asked, “Old Man, are you asking me to complete yours too?”

‘Old Craftsman’s monthly quota is three pieces of Good Grade Attribute Equipment, and along with my quota of two pieces, doesn’t it mean that I’ll have to smith everything?’

“Are you going to do it or not?!” Old Craftsman stared at him.

“I’ll do it, of course, I’ll do it!” Ou Yangming quickly responded, “It’s such a small matter, so leave it to me.”