tokyo creator

Chapter 110: Box Garden, Part Three

Hui Yuan was just distracted at first, but found that the forging workshop in front of him was empty again.

The fierce dispute just now seemed to be all his imagination. The entire forging workshop was empty, except for the fire that was still burning.

The spiritual vision above no longer looks at this place.

Haiyuan finally understood - it seemed that the scene describing the birth of Yukinoshita Saya had come to an end, and that was it.

So what's next?

He turned back following his sense of spiritual vision and saw the lights of a house not far away coming on at some unknown moment.

So he turned around and walked towards the main house.

Entering the entrance hall from the main house, closing the door, all the coldness is sucked out of the surrounding air in an instant.

Hui Yuan lowered his head and found that the snow between his toes had disappeared without knowing when, and there were no traces of melted water left on the floor.

He raised his head and looked at the corridor again. The corridor was illuminated extremely brightly by the daylight borrowed from the rooms on both sides.

Hui Yuanchu turned around and opened the door again, seeing that the winter night outside had turned into a spring day.

The sun is shining brightly, the branches and leaves are fragrant, and the birds are singing softly.

Looking back, there were already two more figures on the porch.

Setsuko Matsumoto has grown to seventeen or eighteen years old and is wearing a high school uniform.

She frowned and looked back towards the depths of the corridor, uneasiness appearing on her face unconsciously: "Miss Saya! Why did you pick up the wild cat and bring it home? Put it back outside quickly! In case it is When the master sees it, something like that is going to happen again... again!"

Opposite her, five or six-year-old Yukinoshita Saya stood there with her head lowered and holding a kitten in her arms without saying a word.

Although the clothes were brand new, the little girl's arms, legs, face, and almost everywhere she could see had all kinds of bruises, redness, swelling, and even blood scabs.

With a quietness that was unusual among her peers, the little girl lowered her head and replied softly: "Sister Jie... I just want to give it some medicine."

The kitten she was holding in her arms seemed to have some injuries on its feet and was a little bloody.But compared to the little girl holding it, this injury is nothing.

Setsuko nervously looked inside a few more times, then turned back and lowered her voice and said: "The master seems to be still talking to Shimokawa-kun... Then I'll get the medicine. You be careful here. But as soon as the cat meows, he will go out immediately." , did you hear? You must not let the master see it!"

The little girl nodded sensibly, and sat on the porch with the cat in her arms, while the girl tiptoed into the house lightly.

Hui Yuanchu glanced at Yukinoshita Saya who was sitting there motionless, chose to follow Setsuko, stepped on the floor and walked into the house.

Arriving at the door of the room where the human voice came from, Setsuko continued to tiptoe forward.

Hui Yuan thought about it for a while, but then suddenly stepped forward and opened the paper door with a rough "swish".

Sure enough, neither the people in the house nor Setsuko in the corridor were aware of it as usual.

The two people in the room didn't pay any attention to Hui Yuanchu who suddenly appeared in the corridor. They didn't even glance at Setsuko Matsumoto who walked softly behind him.

Those are Yukinoshita Katsumi and Shimogawa Materu.

At this time, Yukinoshita Katsumi became a little thinner again, with white hair on his head, but his eyes became even brighter.

The two arms exposed from the cuffs of the yukata were placed on the knees. They were covered with criss-crossed scars... It should be that in the scene Haihara saw before, Katsumi was trying to hurt the still baby. Saya, and suffered a counterattack.

Seeing Katsumi raising the teacup with trembling arms, Haiyuan suddenly thought of something.

——According to the evaluations of other swordsmiths, Yukinoshita Katsumi has always been a lone ranger and does not participate in communication with his peers. He seems to be always on guard against others stealing his skills.

Naturally, he did not have any assistants or disciples for a long time.

It wasn't until shortly after Yukinoshita Saya was born that Yukinoshita Katsuki suddenly accepted Shimokawa Masaki as his disciple.

Haiyuan originally thought that it was probably because Katsuki Yukinoshita's injuries to both arms had damaged his nerves, and he could no longer forge the sword.Therefore, he could only start teaching the successors immediately.

Judging from Saya's age, Shimokawa had been living in the Yukinoshita family for four or five years at this time.

This young man, who was so handsome that he was a bit evil, was holding a knife embryo in both hands.He presented it to Yukinoshita Katsumi, and at the same time said respectfully: "This is my disciple's exercise this time. Please review it with the master."

Yukinoshita Katsumi took the blade, first pointed it at the light source and looked at the texture of the metal surface, then put it on his lap, closed his eyes and started touching it in small sections, tapping lightly from time to time.

"...Barely." Keji finally opened his eyes, "However, it is still an improvement over last time."

"Please teach me, Master."

Keji threw the knife embryo back casually, and said at the same time: "The forging skills are not bad. There is already a prototype of the 'cavity' inside the knife embryo, but it is still far from the 'chamber' I want."

"Understood. So, Master, when do you think I can create a knife embryo that suits your wishes?"

"Definitely within ten years."

Hearing Katsumi's comment, Shimokawa sighed unconsciously: "...it will take another ten years."

"Do you think it's too long? You can't help it, because you are incompetent as a craftsman." Katsumi snorted coldly.

"What you should be grateful for is that the matter of forging a knife actually involves just a few simple steps, especially the ancient method - first use iron sand to smelt jade steel in a furnace. Then mix the jade steel with glutinous rice. The soup is wrapped in plant ashes and reheated. While the heat is still there, they are layered and repeatedly forged and folded...

"It's that simple, no matter how incompetent a person is, if a person like you can concentrate on one thing for more than ten years, he will be able to make a decent knife in the end.

Shimokawa continued to ask: "——'Decent' refers to having a 'room', right?"

Yukinoshita Katsuki nodded slowly and said: "Of course, this is the key to the Yukinoshita family's forging method.

"Other knife makers focus on controlling the blade itself during the beating process. They have indeed forged the blade to the extreme. The blade body itself is completely natural, without any flaws. This is their pursuit.

"...But in the ancient ways of the Yukinoshita family, it is meaningless for the blade to be too perfect."

He sneered: "The forging method of the Yukinoshita family is just right for you."

"Even if you spend ten years of concentration, the knife embryo you make can only be praised as a 'solid' product as a store product, but it is not worthy of being marked with a knife inscription. In the eyes of other forging masters, it is not valued at all. .”

"...I told you that the real key part of the Yukinoshita family's forging method lies in the final 'entering the spirit'.

"As long as the knife embryo itself is not bad and has a 'chamber', then the 'spirit' of the knife that enters the 'chamber' will naturally transform the entire knife."

Shimokawa nodded and said: "I understand, these masters have told me many times, and I have kept it in mind, so I never dare to slack off... Because according to what you said, even if it is me, I have spent ten years training to become a fighter. The ability of a usable knife embryo is also available in time.”

"There's enough time." Katsuki paused, then suddenly said quietly, "...it will still be ten years until Saya reaches adulthood."

But Shimokawa clearly understood. He nodded with a relieved expression and said, "That's good."

However, Yukinoshita Katsumi looked at him, seeming a little doubtful: "Zhen, are you really willing to wait ten years? Are you willing to accept that approach?

"My own thoughts are very simple. My whole life is to surpass Xue Chedao, so I am naturally willing to give everything.

"Why are you willing to pay so much for this?"

Shimokawa Zhenhui said calmly: "Master, my thoughts are also very simple - I want to be famous and I want to speak out somewhere."

"In other fields, I have neither talent nor opportunity... But when it comes to sword forging, although I still have no talent, I still have the opportunity to become such a true 'general'... As long as I can help you get it Give birth to the new-born Snow Tetsuto."

"I know very well what kind of earthquake the reshaping of the Snow Chet Sword can cause in the sword forging world."

Yukinoshita Katsuki said coldly: "...the one who becomes the 'general' in the sword-forging world will be the name of the Yukinoshita family that has become famous again, and it will be me."

"...Master, but without me, you can no longer lift up the forging hammer with both hands." The young man's attitude was still respectful, but his words no longer concealed ridicule.

"you--"

Shimokawa still stared sincerely at the middle-aged man opposite, and his eyes finally began to reveal his ambition: "Master, don't be angry. The reason why I speak so bluntly is just to let Master know that I am serious about being tied to your death here. . Moreover, what I want is power, not fame. You and Xuexia will be our generals, and I will take advantage of them. This is just right, isn't it?"

"Anyway, Master, didn't you just say that your only wish is to surpass Yuki Tetsuto?" Yukinoshita Katsumi fell silent.

Then he suddenly said: "Really? I thought you came here to pursue string music."

Shimochuan was caught off guard and looked a little embarrassed for a moment.

Yukinoshita Katsumi was satisfied with regaining the advantage, hugged her shoulders, and murmured casually as if she didn't care: "I said it before, we have severed our relationship long ago. I heard that she still doesn't believe that I melted Yuki Tetsuto, I spent the whole day hanging out with a group of antiquities dealers, trying to figure out where I hid the knife."

Shimokawa finally calmed down and said vaguely: "Anyway, with power and money, I can have whatever I want. This is my first goal."

Then he took a deep breath, took the initiative to raise the sword embryo above his head, and handed it to Katsumi: "Now, I just want to forge a suitable sword embryo for the master."

Katsumi took the blade and sneered: "Keep practicing and let yourself become a flawless craftsman even though you have no aura... After all, we only have one chance to use Yuk Che's Yu Gang."

"Yes! I will definitely live up to Master's expectations!"

The atmosphere in the room seemed to be harmonious again, the father was kind and the son was filial.

"Then, it's time for me to continue practicing." Shimokawa said goodbye.

Katsumi didn't hold back, just nodded.

Shimokawa stood up, avoided Hui Yuanchu and walked towards another door leading to the corridor.

As soon as he opened the door, a kitten came in from outside the door, rushed across the whole room, rushed to the corridor on the other side, and then jumped into the yard.

When Hui Yuan first saw it, he immediately saw clearly the color of the cat's fur and the wounds on its body. It was the cat that Saya was holding just now.

Sure enough, Saya rushed over right after.

Seeing Saya off guard, Shimokawa showed an obviously horrified expression.He immediately took two or three steps back, completely clearing the doorway.

So Saya rushed into the room in one breath. After running a few steps, she realized what place she had broken into. She immediately stopped and stood alone in the middle of the room.

Yukinoshita Katsumi was sitting next to her. He didn't speak at this time, but just looked at her coldly.

Saya's body instantly stiffened, she curled up her neck and began to tremble.

Yukinoshita Katsumi still didn't look at her, but turned to look out of the courtyard.

The kitten wasn't far away.It jumped onto the rockery a few meters away, and then stopped there temporarily, looking at the people in the room warily. .

"Saya, kill that cat." Yukinoshita Katsumi said in a casual tone.

The little girl's body trembled violently, but she just remained silent and didn't respond.

"What's wrong, Saya? Do you think it's too pitiful?"

"..."

"This won't work." Katsumi shook his head and said, "As a sword, how can you have your own ideas?"

He took out a one-handed small forging hammer from his arms.

"Yes, it's been a while since the last forging to remove impurities." Katsuki muttered, "Why, no matter how hard I can't get rid of the impurities..."

"Saya, come here."

The little girl trembled and knelt down obediently.

She buried her face deeply into the tatami, and at the same time, as if bowing to Katsumi, she stretched her arms forward as hard as she could.

Shimokawa, who was standing at the door, had some evasive eyes at this time.

"Then Master, how about I—"

"You also stay." Katsuki said without refusal.

"I..." Shimokawa left his sight.

"...You are afraid." Yukinoshita Katsumi stared at him and said sternly, "This is absolutely not okay. How can a swordsmith be afraid of swords?"

"but she……"

"I hope you can overcome your fear... Remember, Saya is just a knife that needs to be mastered." Katsuki said lightly, "Although I don't understand this fear, but... think about you just now Said ambition. In order to achieve all that, you have to face it and surpass it."

Shimokawa struggled for a moment holding the door, gritted his teeth, turned back to the house and sat down again.

Yukinoshita Katsumi looked calm, raised the hammer, and smashed Saya's arm.

At the beginning, Shimokawa Zhenhui, who was watching, could not hide his uneasiness and looked ugly.

But he gritted his teeth and forced himself to continue reading.

Unknowingly, he began to be entranced, and a strange light gradually began to appear in his eyes.

……

But Hui Yuanchu outside the house didn't want to look any more, and he slammed the paper door shut.

In an instant, all the noise in the house disappeared as the thin paper door closed.

The light in the corridor also dimmed, and the golden sunset light was projected from the entrance door.

——The scene changes again.

From the other end of the corridor, there was a gentle sobbing sound.

It seems to be a continuation of the scene just now. At the entrance, Setsuko is applying medicine to Saya's torn arms.

The little girl sat quietly on the wound in the entrance hall, letting the medicine be applied to the wound, without complaining of pain or crying.

But Setsuko, who was squatting aside to apply medicine to her, had red eyes and sniffling, as if all the injuries were on her body.

The silent atmosphere lasted for a long time, and Setsuko suddenly spoke: "No matter what the master says, about knives or whatever, no matter how many times he says it, don't believe it, just pretend you didn't hear anything."

"I know, Sister Jie." The little girl replied obediently.

Setsuko nodded, continued to sniffle, and finally finished the wound medicine and began to gently wrap Saya with gauze.

"Okay..." She finally touched Saya's head and asked, "Does it still hurt?"

"No pain."

Setsuko took a deep breath, lowered her face, and choked even more.

"Saya, I'm sorry." She finally hugged Saya gently and cried, "Saya..."

"I'm sorry... I know you remembered my words, but just like this, you will get beaten more..."

"But you still have to remember my words!"

"Sorry……"

But Saya just nodded, her face still calm: "Sister Setsue, I remember everything."

"Besides, it's not Sister Jie's fault." The little girl turned her head and looked outside the house, as if looking for traces of the escaped kitten: "It was me who disobeyed my father and wanted the kitten to escape...otherwise , it will hurt a lot more than I do now."

Setsuko didn't answer.She just took a deep breath, clenched her fists unconsciously, and clenched her teeth.

(End of this chapter)