Chapter 15: Call Me A Western Adult
Townhouse, also belonging to Japanese traditional architecture.
But finding them is very convenient; basically, one glance sweeps over, and you can see how many townhouses there are on this street.
Compared to the thatched roofs of most houses, the townhouse uses a tile roof scheme advanced by over a hundred years, with black Kyoto tiles stacked piece by piece on the roof, reflecting the sparse sunlight of the Eternal World, standing out conspicuously.
Shangshan Che approached this townhouse, and before he could release the Hundred-Eyed Ghost Eyeball to scout, he was blinded by the weapons gleaming with cold light behind the lattice windows.
The weapons in sight were either superior or rare, with even three or two blades bearing epic quality.
For a moment, Shangshan Che wanted to seize the gap while the depths of the townhouse were still blacksmithing and pocket all the weapons in the house.
But this thought quickly vanished.
Because in the shadows inside the house, there was a burly, rough-faced old man dozing on the counter.
This isn’t important.
The key is that the qi floating above his head is black.
Not the red or blood color representing “danger,” but probably the black signifying “death.”
Thus, Shangshan Che followed his inner thought and honestly knocked on the door.
Knock knock.
“Please come in.”
A dry, hoarse voice suddenly appeared beside Shangshan Che’s ear; he felt a chill inside, but his actions showed no hesitation, pushing the door open and entering directly.
“Another Hannya?”
The old man’s tone held some surprise; Shangshan Che looked at the top of his head.
【Blacksmith】 appeared prominently.
Then who is the one blacksmithing inside the house?
Blacksmith: “Since you’re a Hannya, just buy any weapon you fancy.”
Shangshan Che shifted his gaze and spotted the cheapest superior quality dagger in the corner.
【Price: 800 Soul Ash】
Turning his head again, he saw a rare quality daito, its blade clear and elegant, with several attached skills that made Shangshan Che’s mouth water.
Unfortunately…
【Price: 3200 Soul Ash】
The old blacksmith just watched Shangshan Che wander around the house for several minutes, only speaking when he reluctantly reached the doorway:
“Not buying one?”
Shangshan Che turned back, the Laughing Hannya mask calm as still water: “Can’t afford it.”
Joking aside, every weapon costs over a thousand Soul Ash; Shangshan Che really felt this blacksmith shop should be in Edo Castle.
Instead of in a one-star map like Ghost Village, where Soul Ash dropped from chopping up monsters might not even be enough to buy one.
“For the sake of you being a Hannya.”
The blacksmith’s peripheral vision glanced at the Walker token on Shangshan Che’s waist, slowly saying: “It’s not impossible to forge a weapon for you.”
Custom weapon?
Shangshan Che’s first reaction was that this old man was lusting after his body.
Don’t be fooled by the flashy blacksmith shop; it might all be a trap, with the blacksmith wanting to forge his Laughing Hannya into a weapon.
But then again.
He, Shangshan Che, wasn’t a native demon; if he died, worst case he’d wait twelve hours and be a good man again.
With this thought, Shangshan Che nodded: “What do you want me to do?”
“More sensible than that White Hannya, not bad.” The blacksmith spoke leisurely: “Less than three hundred meters east of this townhouse, there’s a small workshop.”
“It’s noisy as hell every day; just get it shut down.”
The blacksmith scoffed disdainfully: “What crap assembly line production could be better than the weapons I forge?”
Three hundred meters east?
Shangshan Che was delighted and quickly asked: “Which way is east?”
Hearing this, the blacksmith couldn’t help but burst out laughing: “Sure enough, all Hannya are dimwits with muscles grown into their brains.”
After laughing, the blacksmith didn’t forget to point the direction for Shangshan Che: “That way is east; distinguishing directions is simple too—the direction where the double moons rise at night is due east.”
Double moons.
So the Eternal World has day-night cycles too?
Shangshan Che thought, could it be that he always arrived during daytime in the Eternal World?
Or do the double moons get obscured by dark clouds too?
The thought flashed through his mind; Shangshan Che memorized the direction the blacksmith pointed, roughly estimating that the large factory he saw earlier was to the northeast.
A rough map of Aragawa Ghost Village began forming in Shangshan Che’s mind, so he thanked the blacksmith.
Without him, just figuring out southeast, northwest would cost Shangshan Che who knows how many lives.
“Go quick and come back quick.” The blacksmith waved impatiently: “If that workshop keeps being so noisy, I might not bother staying in this wilderness.”
Shangshan Che was slightly stunned and nodded to show he understood.
So this blacksmith is an NPC that can move across maps; no wonder the weapons here are priced to kill.
Running into him this time could only be chalked up to his dog luck…
Shangshan Che rubbed the Walker token on his waist.
—Whether it’s luck, not necessarily.
Leaving the blacksmith shop, Shangshan Che immediately decided to head to that small workshop to the east right now.
First, it’s close with few surprises on the road; second, Shangshan Che wanted a handy weapon ASAP—the woodcutting knife is easy to use, but wielding sword technique with it feels utterly off.
The three hundred meters passed in a flash.
Because it seemed to be starting time, halfway there Shangshan Che heard the rumbling machinery noise from far away.
Arriving dozens of meters from the destination in a small house, looking at the pale double moons just rising, Shangshan Che felt his eardrums throbbing in pain.
No wonder the blacksmith can’t sleep…
This noise is almost comparable to that factory fully built outside the village.
Standing still to adapt for a bit, Shangshan Che then released the Hundred-Eyed Ghost Eyeball.
Though the blacksmith’s request was to shut down the workshop, how could Shangshan Che let this precious Soul Ash escape.
And before acting, an intelligence network is of course crucial.
【Clumsy Worker Apprentice】
【Rank: Zero-Star】
This is the info on the minibosses moving around operating machinery in the workshop; Shangshan Che counted about twenty or thirty.
The actual number should be more… but Shangshan Che circled around without spotting their foreman.
But if it’s a test of patience, Shangshan Che who can maintain calm as still water for long periods isn’t afraid at all.
After waiting over half an hour more, Shangshan Che finally saw a burly man with a white safety helmet on his head appear in view.
The man beat and cursed at the apprentices, clearly acting like a leader, but Shangshan Che just stared at his head, waiting for the info he wanted.
【Worker Leader】
【Rank: Half-Star】
Just Half-Star.
Things just got simple.
The only difficulty is the swarm of Zero-Star apprentices in the workshop.
If the apprentices surged out, at full count one life would only take out two or three, nowhere near efficient.
In that case, the earlier discovery is important.
Through nearly an hour of observation just now, Shangshan Che could clearly see that the minibosses in this workshop differ from the factory workers and polluted farmers.
They undoubtedly possess some intelligence and can be communicated with; that elite leader too.
Since so.
Shangshan Che straightened his Western-style school uniform.
Don’t say it, this uniform is nothing in reality, but in this Ghost Village, it’s top-tier goods, worthy of being called a foreign adult.
With this getup, fooling a couple ignorant apprentices to follow him to some deserted corner—piece of cake?
After waiting patiently another hour, Shangshan Che finally saw two apprentices sneak out of the workshop to keep watch outside.
He recalled the Hundred-Eyed Ghost Eyeball, re-tied the tie at his neck, and strolled casually toward those two apprentices.
