The blind man was Tie Tou’s father. Most villagers called him “Blind Tie.” He was used to the name and wasn’t offended by it. As a result, his real name had been forgotten.
“Tie Tou, are there guests here?” facing Ye Futian and the others, Blind Tie asked his son.
“Dad, it’s Little Ling and her guests. She passed by, and I invited her to come in,” Tie Tou said to Blind Tie.
“Uncle Tie,” Ling greeted Blind Tie in a silvery voice. She was well acquainted with Blind Tie since her grandfather, Old Ma, visited him occasionally. According to her grandpa, her parents used to be dear friends with Blind Tie. Ling didn’t remember much about her parents, but she was close to Blind Tie, as he treated her very well. She had also been playmates with Tie Tou since childhood.
“Oh, it’s Little Ling.” Blind Tie’s voice became much gentler. He said, “I haven’t seen you in a while. Is your grandpa in good health?”
“Yes, grandpa is well,” Ling nodded.
“That’s good. Old Ma hasn’t come for some days,” Blind Tie said. “Come, sit down. Your guests should feel free to have a seat if they don’t mind my shabby house.”
“Not at all. We’re sorry for disturbing you,” Ye Futian said.
“Any friend of Old Ma is a friend of mine. Unfortunately, I’m blind and can’t attend to you. Please suit yourselves.” Blind Tie then turned to Tie Tou and said, “Tie Tou, pour some tea for our guests.”
“No need to trouble you. I really like the ironware you forged. Can I look around?” Ye Futian asked.
“Sure,” Blind Tie nodded.
“Thank you very much.” Ye Futian walked into the blacksmith shop to check the ironware. He picked up a knife. Although it was only ordinary iron, the knife was perfectly hammered out. The cold glint off its shiny blades flashing a warning.
Ye Futian pulled a strand of his silver hair and dropped it from above the blade. The hair fluttered down and was immediately cut in half. Ye Futian couldn’t help but exclaim, “Amazing knife!”
“Not a big deal,” Blind Tie said casually. Ye Futian inspected the same kind of knives placed near the knife he just tested. Much to his surprise, all the knives achieved the same performance.
“This is superb craftsmanship,” Ye Futian expressed his admiration.” Mr. Tie, how did you manage to forge these knives so perfectly and consistently?”
“You can do the same thing after working in a blacksmith shop for decades,” Blind Tie answered. He was saying that mastery came from experience.
Ye Futian cracked a smile but didn’t reply. He turned his attention to other weapons. Chen Yi, on the other hand, had been standing not far from Blind Tie. He seemed to be rather curious about him and sized him up and down.
“Uncle Tie is the best blacksmith in the village. All the ironware we use is made by Uncle Tie,” Ling chimed in. Then, she looked at Tie Tou and said, “Tie Tou, you will be able to help Uncle Tie in the future when you acquire the skills from practice.”
“I will.” Tie Tou smiled fatuously and said, “Actually, practice is useful for other things too.”
“What else can it do?” Ling asked out of curiosity. Although she had heard of certain things in Four Corner Village, she didn’t understand many of them because of her young age. She wanted to study and cultivate in a private school, but she didn’t really understand its meaning.
As far as she knew, her parents died as a consequence of cultivation. So she was particularly sensitive about it.
“I heard that a good cultivator can fly in the sky, drill into the ground, move the mountains, and fill up seas,” Tie Tou said with a yearning look on his face.
“Then are you going to fly away from the village?” Little Ling asked.
“That’s okay. I will bring you with me.” Two teenagers were chatting about a subject that they didn’t understand.
Blind Tie continued to forge the iron. Ye Futian and Chen Yi didn’t have anything else to do, so they said, “Ling, we have been here for a while. Let’s not disturb Mr. Tie any longer.”
“Alright.” Ling nodded and stood up. “Uncle Tie, we’ll go back now.”
“Oka.,” Blind Tie nodded and said to Tie Tou, “Go send Little Ling out.”
“Certainly.” Tie Tou nodded and stood up to lead the way. Even though he was still a teenager, he seemed to be growing into a responsible man already.
“Goodbye.” Ye Futian could tell that Blind Tie wasn’t an enthusiastic host. He followed Tie Tou and Little Ling and left the shop. Walking next to Ye Futian, Chen Yi transmitted his voice directly to him, “This man is not so simple.”
“Why do you say that?” Ye Futian asked.
“I believe that practice makes perfect. But do you really think that a blind man can forge that kind of weapons?” Chen Yi said,” Besides, although the ironware is nothing but common items, they are absolutely the best. He would be a remarkable armorer if he knew how to cultivate.”
“But I can’t detect any trace of cultivation from him.” Ye Futian actually felt the same way as Chen Yi.
“That’s why he is not simple. He might even be at a much higher cultivation level than you and me,” Chen Yi replied with a smile. They communicated via voice transmission, so other people didn’t hear their conversation.
Ye Futian seemed to be ruminating about it. The situation in Four Corner Village might be more surprising and complicated than he expected. Even an ordinary blacksmith was so powerful…
Among the group of teenagers who came out of the private school earlier, the boy named Muyun appeared to have a high status. Tie Tou obviously wasn’t highly respected in the village. But if Tie Tou’s father really was a top-level cultivator like Ye Futian and Chen Yi suspected, how powerful would Muyun and other teenagers’ fathers be?
Muyun seemed to be insinuating that his older brother was cultivating in Outer Realms. He wouldn’t be so haughty and pompous if his older brother weren’t an extraordinary cultivator.
While Ye Futian and the others were walking back, several teenagers suddenly popped up in front of them and blocked their path. The ringleader was Muyun, who Ye Futian had seen earlier.
“Muyun Shu, what do you want?” Tie Tou stared at the young man in front of him. Muyun Shu was his full name.
Muyun was one of the most well-known and influential surnames in Four Corner Village.
“The teacher said you made a lot of progress recently. I wonder why a blind blacksmith’s son can gain the teacher’s praise. I’m here to test and see if you deserve his approval,” Muyun Shu said with a disdainful look.
The son of the blind blacksmith was commended by the teacher.
It vexed Muyun Shu.
Ye Futian looked at the three teenagers in front of them and was surprised that they would pick a fight right here.
He didn’t like Muyun Shu. He realized that there seemed to be two different types of people in the village. One type of villager lived a quiet and secluded life. Muyun Shu belonged to the other one.
As he expected, there were conflicts wherever people resided. Even teenagers couldn’t rise above the cliche. He was similar when he was young.
“Good,” Tie Tou took a few steps forward and shielded Ling behind him. The light was glowing from his body as he released a bundle of domineering energy. Ye Futian even faintly sensed a bit of will might from the glowing light.
Ye Futian was astonished. Tie Tou was still in his teens and couldn’t possibly comprehend the Great Path. The only exception Ye Futian had met was a person with the Divine Fetus of the Great Path.
There was no way that Tie Tou had understood the Will of the Great Path. So it must be that he was born with this power. Perhaps his innate ability was activated for some special reasons.
Did it happen in that private school?
When Ye Futian was outside of the private school before, he saw that the sound inside turned into golden runes like the Divine Music of the Great Path.
Muyun Shu darted a menacing look at Tie Tou.
“Tie Tou, they have more people. Don’t fight with them,” Ling hurried to say.
“Bigmouth. What an annoying orphan,” Muyun Shu mocked her. Ye Futian frowned in displeasure. It was the second time this boy said such biting words. He was unscrupulous and ill-behaved at such a young age.
“Shut up!” Tie Tou bellowed in a frenzy.
“These hooligans,” Beigong Ao said and stepped forward. Muyun Shu shot him a cold look and warned, “You don’t have the right to intervene in matters concerning Four Corner Village. Otherwise, you would be a dead man walking.”
Beigong Ao glared at Muyun Shu with frustration. How could a young man be so insolent?
At this point, the crowd started to gather around them. Some young men wearing fine clothes were observing them quietly from afar.
It seemed like a lot of people were watching the drama unfold with great interest.
“He is right. Stay out of our business,” one man said offhandedly.
