Night of the Broken Gliph

As the spies went after the man in black, the bald youth made his way through the brightly lit streets to the familiar city gates. “Old coachman! I want to go back!”

“Okay!”  

And the hardyhorse left Southary for the small village with them. Upon arrival, the youth paid for the fees and watched the coachman leave before heading out of the village instead of going home. 

It was the same cave, with the same spherical rock blocking the entrance. Two years had passed, and the workshop was even more secure than before. Thanks to someone’s father, who destroyed all the defensive mechanisms within, he decided to strengthen the defences.

“Master, you’re back!” As soon as he entered the cave, a respectful voice called out.

“Yeah.” The bald youth was none other than Chui Yim. 

He grew a lot in the past two years, and he was now about 160 centimetres tall. The only thing he disliked was his fair skin that never tanned despite spending a long time under the sun. “We earned another 40,000 silver taels!” Chui Yim laughed as he threw the bag on the ground, a large amount of silver spilling out. 

Unlike Chui Yim who was brimming with excitement, money wasn’t that big a deal to Kiu Chi Gong as his forging skills were the most important. Other than the money used to purchase crafting materials, all remaining profits were given to Chui Yim as Kiu Chi Gong’s self-decided school fees. Under Chui Yim's guidance, Kiu Chi Gong’s skills improved rapidly. Even though he was guessing his way around with the remaining parts of his clan’s legacy, Kiu Chi Gong’s foundation turned out to be solid. 

With Chui Yim’s guidance, he improved by leaps and bounds; he could already create grade two gliph weapons. The gliph weapon that was just sold was made entirely by Kiu Chi Gong; Chui Yim only gave him some ideas and inputs. 

“But this is likely to be our last time. The Chan Clan has already noticed us, and someone trailed after me today when I went to collect the proceeds at the auction house. If not for this gadget I made previously…” Chui Yim said thoughtfully as he took out a palm-sized jade badge and played with it. 

“Then what should we do, master?” Kiu Chi Gong asked, at a loss. 

It was a weird sight to see an adult consulting a teenager for instructions. But in these past two years, Kiu Chi Gong never had to worry about anything. Chui Yim settled everything from accommodation, food, and even forging materials. Kiu Chi Gong only needed to focus on forging and his cultivation. He led a good life.  

Now that things were changing, Kiu Chi Gong felt extremely uncomfortable. Chui Yim sighed and patted Kiu Chi Gong on his shoulder. “It might be time for us to part ways.”

“Why?” These words made Kiu Chi Gong jump. 

“Because this will be my last year in the Riding Clouds Academy. After learning the basics of gliphism, I’ll most likely advance and leave Southary then,” Chui Yim said slowly. 

“Master! Remember to not put too much on your plate at the same time! It’s easy to end up being a jack of all trades and master of none… Eh?” Kiu Chi Gong was slightly agitated. “Why are you looking at me so weirdly?”

Chui Yim shook his head, not saying anything. “Anyways, I’ll leave Southary, and you…”

“I’ll follow you!” 

“You can’t.” To Kiu Chi Gong’s surprise, Chui Yim shook his head and looked at Kiu Chi Gong seriously. “The master teaches the trade, but the apprentice’s skill is self-taught. I’ve guided you for way too long, and I’ve taught you everything I can. There aren’t two of the same metalsmiths in the world, and it’s time for you to find your own way now.

“Go wander the world, and become a metalsmith that will make your master proud. Make your name known to the world, and that’s when we will meet again,” Chui Yim said, his focus drifting slightly.

Memories of his past life came to mind, and he could hear the drawn-out voice of his own master saying the exact same thing to him.

“Flame, go wander the world, and become a metalsmith that will make your master proud. Make your name known to the world, and that’s when we will meet again.”

Master, I have now reincarnated. Will we ever meet again? 

“What?!” A teacup was thrown at a group of people. The fragments scratched them, but the group dared not even flinch. This was the Chan Clan’s main courtyard, and Chan Tiet was throwing a fit. “Great! How much money did I spend on you guys yearly, yet you can’t even trail after someone! Great work!” 

Chan Ching, who was at the side, was as pale as a sheet of paper too, but he didn’t dare say anything. The Chan Clan’s spies were all directly under Chan Ching, which meant he was responsible for this failed mission. Chan Tiet might be scolding the spies, but it was no different from scolding him. There was nothing he could do but glare at them. 

This is so embarrassing! 

“I have something to report.” Suddenly, the buff man stepped forward. Chan Ching’s eyes lit up at this. He had a good impression of this man with the code name Sir Cha. Not because he had high cultivation, but due to his meticulous character that allowed him to notice things others didn’t

“We followed the man in black into an alley, and we were no more than a minute behind him. The alley led to Southern End Avenue. To reach Southern End Avenue through the alley in only a minute is only possible by using energliph. But Aunt Po’s gliphility will detect energliph below two-chambers.”

“Clan leader, if that master and his subordinates were three-chambered gliphers, they would not need to hide; they could just destroy us with a wave of their hand,” Chan Ching interrupted. 

He wasn’t trying to speak up for the man, but that was the truth. It was hard to break through the various chambers, thus the difference between each chamber was huge. If there was a three-chambered glipher in this situation, it was a piece of cake to wipe out the entire Chan Clan single-handedly.

After a short pause, Chan Tiet got Sir Cha to continue. “Continue.”

“I feel that the teenager we met in the alley was the weirdest.”

All the spies exchanged glances, unable to understand the situation. That teenager was just an ordinary youth! Why is Sir Cha talking about him? 

“The teenager looks very familiar, and his bald, shiny head was what caught my eye. After thinking back, I realised it was Chui Yim, the teenager the Clan Leader once sent me to do a background check on.”

“Absurd.” Chan Tiet frowned. “So you’re saying that the man in black is Chui Yim? You guys described the man as at least two meters tall; how can a twelve-year-old kid become two meters tall?” 

Sir Cha shook his head. “Like what the Clan Leader said, the small bag Chui Yim carries isn’t enough to store all the proceeds of about forty thousand silver taels. But I have a feeling that it’s related to him. 

“The mysterious great master, the Kiu Clan, Kiu Chi Gong, Chui Yim who always goes to the Kiu Chan, the Man in black and Chui Yim who happened to be in the alley…” Furrowing his eyebrows, Sir Cha never thought that he had guessed the truth so simply. “I feel like they are somehow related.”

“Clan Leader,” Chan Ching spoke up immediately. “Sir Cha might not be a powerful cultivator, but he’s meticulous, and I believe him.”Chan Tiet only glanced at Chan Ching and said nothing. Chan Ching and the spies had a “one for all, all for one” relationship. It was no surprise that he would speak up for them, 

Chan Tiet thought about it. “Chui Yim might be suspicious, but he’s still a student of the Riding Clouds Academy no matter what. If you guys are discovered, we will be in deep trouble.·

“Clan Leader, did you forget that we have Chan Clan members in the academy?” Chan Ching reminded him. 

“You mean Siu Tin?” Chan Tiet looked up, shocked. 

“Yes!” Chan Ching smiled. “Young Master Ngou Tin has been a student of the academy for many years, and he already has some influence in school. Many of his followers will become branch members of the Chan Clan when they graduate. It’s best to let Young Master Ngou Tin observe Chui Yim!” 

Chan Tiet took another teacup and took a sip. Within a split second, he thought of many things. “Okay, let Siu Tin supervise Chui Yim. Don’t act alone if he discovers anything, but report to us instead.

“This is our first mission for him.”