Chapter 526 - The Past (2/2)

Ou Yangming had a cold look on his face as he questioned, “Did you coerce him with that?”

“Master Ou, please speak carefully. Military orders can’t be disobeyed, so how can they be a.s.sociated with coercion at all?” Li Xinfan expressed proudly. His voice was sonorous as he asked, “You never got your military status, but you’ve stayed in the military for 2 years. Let me ask you—what does a military order mean?”

The young fellow took a deep breath. He did not say a word, but his face took on a ghastly expression.

Li Xinfan continued, “Master Ou, you’ve followed Old Craftsman for several years, and he has always regarded you as his child. I know you don’t want him to get involved in any disputes because you care for him, but do you know about his life experience?”

Ou Yangming was stunned, and he instantly fell silent.

Ever since Old Craftsman adopted him, he was sometimes beaten or scolded, but the old man’s love for him so that he would have a bright future was real.

On the other hand, Ou Yangming did not know much about Old Craftsman’s life.

Li Xinfan said with a grim look on his face, “When Old Craftsman was young, his parents died from illnesses, so he roamed about on his own. Without any skills, he could only beg on the streets and struggle on to prolong his life.”

Ou Yangming opened his mouth. His heart ached.

He had stayed with Old Craftsman a few years, but the old man only taught him how to read, educated him to be a better person, and pa.s.sed on smithing art to him.

Old Craftsman never talked about his past. Each time Ou Yangming asked out of curiosity, the old man would snort and stare in anger and would pick up a broom to act like he wanted to hit the young fellow.

As dumb as Ou Yangming was, he knew after a few times that it was a taboo, thus he never raised the question anymore.

Even if he thought about secretly inquiring about the matter… Old Craftsman was the person with the oldest qualification in the Immense Forest Military Camp. He knew about the other people, but almost n.o.body knew about him.

Having said that, Ou Yangming knew Li Xinfan was not talking nonsense.

Given the imperial family’s abilities, they surely had plenty of ways to inquire about someone or something. In fact, they could also find out things unbeknownst to the person involved.

“Old Craftsman wandered to a town near the Immense Forest Military Camp, where he happened to meet a blacksmith from the camp,” Li Xinfan continued and sighed. “The blacksmith sympathized with him. Perhaps they were congenial, the blacksmith ended up taking him in and used his military merits of a lifetime to exchange a chance to obtain the Military Fire for him.”

Ou Yangming’s heart skipped a beat because he realized that his life experience was very similar to that of Old Craftsman.

“Master Ou, I know what you’re thinking, but it’s the truth. I suppose Old Craftsman adopted you from the town and used his military merits for a chance to gain the Military Fire because of his past experience, but…” Li Xinfan looked deeply at Ou Yangming and chuckled. “Your strange inheritance method seems to be stronger after each generation. After the old man attained the Military Fire, he cultivated hard and finally became successful late in his life, where he yielded unusually brilliant results in smithing art. Now that he even fathomed the integration of Heaven and man, his smithing skill is definitely not inferior to the Superior Blacksmiths from the capital.”

He added after a pause, “As for you, Master Ou, there’s no need for me to say much—none of the blacksmiths from the past generations in this dynasty is on par with you.”

Ou Yangming curled his lips and simply ignored the general’s flatters. “General Li, why are you telling me this?”

“I’m only telling you about Old Craftsman’s life experience,” Li Xinfan responded in a deep voice and continued with a grim look on his face, “Other than that, there’s something else I’d like to tell you.”

“Please go ahead, general.”

“When we told Old Craftsman that it’s a military order, he only uttered two words after making a thorough consideration.”

“What did he say?”

“He said—yes, sir.”

Ou Yangming was startled for a brief moment, then he mumbled, “Yes, sir.”

“That’s right. Honestly, even I didn’t think Old Craftsman would agree to go so easily.” Li Xinfan smiled bitterly, then he shook his head and sneered. “The Ni family’s Three Great Ancestors and the Supreme Great Ancestors tried to make him stay, but he was unmoved but their persuasion and insisted on accepting the order. Heh, their efforts were in vain.”

When Ou Yangming heard Li Xinfan ridicule the Ni family’s great ancestors and the Supreme Great Ancestors from Changlong City, he did not know to cry or to laugh.

He cupped his hands and said, “Thank you, General Li, I’ll bid my farewell.”

Li Xinfan asked, “Are you heading to the capital, Master Ou?”

“Yes.” Ou Yangming grinned. “I didn’t want to get involved in the trouble but since Old Craftsman went over, I can’t stay out of it anymore. General Li, I hope we’ll drink and chat merrily the next time we meet.”

With that, he flashed and disappeared.

Li Xinfan was left standing with a grave look on his face. He sighed after a long time and was speechless.

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